Temporal Gambit

by Larry A. Brown

  He paused for a moment, thinking. “LOGOS, do you have access to any information about the dates of solstices during that period?”

  <>

  Speaking aloud, Martin concluded, “So that means we have the date and the place where I must confront Xen … Michael and stop him somehow.”

  “Then our next challenge is to get you to the project site,” Andrea said. “I’ve been thinking about this. Surely the old man will alert the authorities about you, and I’ve already observed more Watchers on duty in this area. We can’t risk traveling through the main part of town where they might recognize you.”

  “So is there an alternative?”

  “Yes, but not a good one. We must journey through Gehenna.”

  “Gehenna?”

  <>

  “Oh. Hell.”

  “Yes, you might say that,” Andrea admitted. “It’s dangerous, but we don’t have many other options.”

  “Why’s this place so bad?”

  “As much as the regime would like to, they cannot eliminate all prohibited activities. So they designated an area of the city as the ‘realm of the reprobate’ where the strict rules of the Manual of Discipline are not enforced. The Watchers from the Ministry of Purity avoid it altogether, leaving it under the control of several rival mobs of organized crime. Frankly, it’s the unorganized crime which concerns me more.”

  He gave her a concerned look. “You apparently know this Gehenna well.”

  “I did undercover work there a few years ago. Some unsavory business; I won’t go into the sordid details. But that means I have connections with some of the mob bosses. I’m hoping this may help us get through in one piece.”

  Before leaving, Martin surveyed the poor, unsuspecting people waiting outside the Temple to take the Cleansing. As if reading his mind, Andrea said, “I agree it’s tempting to warn them. But we could only save a few. If we can get you back to the project, maybe you can devise a plan to save them all.”

  She paused with a puzzled expression on her face. “But I wonder. If you succeed, and this history never exists, that means my life will change as well. Another Andrea in another world. But what will happen to me?”

  Martin had no answer to that question.

  24

  Taking back streets and alleys to avoid detection, Andrea and Martin made their way toward Gehenna. No physical wall separated this district from the rest of the city, but the borders of the forbidding region were obvious. Clean avenues gave way to streets lined with odorous garbage and the rusty metal shells of burned-out vehicles. Obscene graffiti covered the walls, depicting illicit scenes which Martin guessed would have made even his lecherous ex-brother-in-law blush; he knew his mother would not have approved.

  As they moved cautiously through the streets, the ambient noise of chaos surrounded them: breaking glass, gunshots, screams of both women and men. Even though it was daytime, gloom hung in the air, darkening every long shadow.

  Although their path through the area twisted like a maze, Andrea proceeded with a definite sense of direction. Finally, they approached an old brownstone building with a crumbling exterior. She led them to the back where she gave a series of knocks on the door that sounded like a secret passcode.

  When a muscle-bound thug opened it, she addressed him without hesitation. “Tell Dark Eyes that Angelique is back.” After a few minutes, he returned and led them into a narrow hallway, gesturing toward an open door at the end.

  “Let me do the talking,” she warned Martin, “and don’t stare.”

  He followed her into the room where they saw an extremely large man sitting at an ornate desk. Heavy maroon drapes darkened the windows. In the dim light, Martin first thought that the man wore tinted contacts but then realized that his eyes were totally black with no white sclera around the irises. Martin quickly turned away. This mysterious character was definitely someone you wouldn’t want to offend.

  “Angelique, you’re looking well. How long has it been?”

  “Not long enough, Dark Eyes. I’ve been busy.”

  “Other people’s business or your own? You’re not working for yourself now, are you?”

  “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t want you as competition.”

  “Very wise. You always were the smart one.” The man tapped his fingers on the desk. “Too smart for your own good. I remember you left our garden of earthly delights in somewhat of a hurry. Any trouble?”

  “Always, but I got out in time. Now I’m back, and not that I don’t enjoy chatting with you, let’s get to the point. I need to call in a favor. You owe me at least one. The warning about the bomb, remember?”

  The man smiled, not in a pleasant way. “I prefer not to remain in anyone’s debt. How can I help?”

  “We need safe passage through Gehenna to the west side. We want to avoid any problems with your goons or anyone else.” She glanced at the two thugs watching Martin by the door.

  “The west side? You dealing with Louie these days? Tsk, tsk. I thought better of you, Angelique.”

  “Save the sermons, Dark Eyes. We need to get to a place beyond Louie’s territory.”

  “Well, since you are going that way, I could use some assistance myself. Let’s say, safe passage if you deliver something to Louie for me.”

  “Not more drugs for the kids. You know me. I draw the line on that.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “No, this is for grown-ups only. Special grown-ups.” His eyes lit up with a sinister gleam. “You’ll like this. The Indonesians have created a new pharmaceutical, one that puts the users in an extreme state of hypnosis, making them highly controllable. Louie intends to slip these pills to our Essene elite the next time they come calling. Think of all the mischief Louie might suggest they do once they return home.”

  “Controlling Gehenna not enough for you two? You want the rest of the city?”

  “What is enough? I don’t have that nasty word in my vocabulary,” he said, shaking his head with a facetious pout on his lips.

  Andrea hesitated but then agreed to his terms. Dark Eyes pushed a button under the edge of his desk, and a man entered with a package. Apparently he knew Andrea well enough to anticipate her compliance with his request.

  “I suggest you take the old parkway. We’ve had less trouble with the independent traffickers in that area. Don’t worry. I now have a vested interest in your getting to your destination safely.”

  “I’m touched by your personal concern.” Andrea took the package and nodded to Martin, directing him toward the door.

  Once they left the crime boss’s headquarters, Martin broke his silence. “Angelique, huh?”

  “They like to call me their Angel of Darkness to counter the Essene’s Angel of Light. It gives me some credibility. I suppose you noticed why they call him Dark Eyes.”

  “Couldn’t miss it.”

  “Before he escaped to Gehenna, the Purity Patrol tried to eliminate him due to his physical defect. Dark Eyes is one of few people who’s survived the Cleansing. How he managed it, no one knows, but he’s hated the Essenes ever since. He’s cooperating with Louie only because this new mind-controlling drug will give him his chance at revenge.”

  “Why do they expect any of the Essene leaders to show up in Gehenna? I thought you said they left this place alone.”

  “Long ago, the original Essene community may have been genuine in their piety, but today’s rulers are nothing but power-mad hypocrites. They enforce their strict code of ethics only to demoralize the people and keep them under their control. I
n secret, they come to Gehenna for their ‘unholy Sabbaths,’ as they call them, where they have as many women as they want, often by force. In short, their only god is their insatiable appetite for everything they officially oppose.”

  With Andrea in the lead, they headed toward the parkway the crime boss had suggested. Along the way, they observed suspicious eyes watching them from second-story windows and shady alleys, but no one interfered with their progress. Dark Eyes must have gotten out the word.

  “So who’s this Louie we’re going to see?”

  “Louie the Lech. He’s as low as they get. If Dark Eyes controls the market on illegal contraband, Louie runs all the prostitution and drugs in the district. Between the two of them, you can get just about anything a depraved mind can imagine.”

  Martin hesitated before asking, “All that about doing these people favors. How deep undercover were you?”

  “Very deep.”

  “So deep you have to swim in their sewers?”

  “You do if you want to stay alive.”

  Turning a corner, they stumbled upon a mongrel dog devouring something out of an overturned trash can. In horror, Martin thought it resembled a human arm. The mutt bared its teeth and let out a menacing growl, warnings which they quickly heeded by backing away. However, when they tried to retreat down the road, three other dogs started following them. Soon these were joined by a pack of rabid-looking hounds materializing out of the shadows.

  Andrea cried, “Run!”

  Martin needed no convincing. They darted down the street with snapping teeth closing in on them. Martin tossed a trash can in their direction, but it hardly slowed their frantic pace. Then Andrea spotted a fire escape ladder, and they reached it just as the hungry pack was about to have its two-course dinner. As he followed her up the rusty ladder, Martin felt one dog catch his pant leg in its teeth and heard it rip.

  “That was close!” He peered down at the raving mass of bestial ferocity howling and jumping at the ladder. “I guess your boss friend doesn’t control the local wildlife.”

  Heading toward the roof, Andrea replied, “We’re lucky it was the dogs. The bobcats can run faster.”

  “And don’t tell me the sewers are crawling with alligators.”

  She gave him a wry look. “How did you know?”

  “It figures.”

  They reached the top of the fire escape and made their way over several adjacent rooftops until Andrea was convinced they were blocks away from danger. Martin found an unlocked hatch on the roof, which opened to stairs. They descended carefully, hoping that the noisy arguments coming from the surrounding apartments would cover their footfalls on the creaking steps.

  They had almost made it to the ground floor when a burly man smoking a cigar stepped through a doorway. “Well, what do we have here?” He peered at Martin briefly before checking out Andrea with more interest.

  “We won’t be any trouble. Just passing through.” Andrea attempted to move around him, but he blocked her way.

  “Not so fast, pretty lady. This is private property. You have to pay the fine for trespassing.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Oh, I can think of several forms of payment.” He approached her with a wicked grin.

  “Leave her alone!” Martin cried and took a swing at the much larger man, who batted his arm away, then responded with a punch to his stomach. Martin fell to the floor, and the man raised his foot to smash him in the face but stopped when a bottle shattered on his head. Barely fazed, the man turned toward Andrea, who seemed surprised to see what little effect her action had on the brute.

  Lust was no longer on his mind. Grabbing her shoulders, he backed her into the corner, took the cigar from his mouth, and held its glowing tip an inch from her face. She struggled in vain to escape his grasp, but then his expression changed from rage to puzzlement. Eyes wide open, he mumbled something, then slowly crumpled to the floor with a knife in his back. The carved handle of the blade depicted a scorpion about to sting.

  Still on the floor, Martin twisted around to see who their defender was. Light pouring through another door in the hall outlined a slender female form in a long gown. Her lovely Asian face smiled at the hulking corpse.

  “You’re welcome,” she told a speechless Andrea. “Dark Eyes said you might need some roadside assistance along your way.”

  Martin got to his feet and stood by Andrea. “We’re very grateful you were here.”

  “My pleasure. He was scum. I’ve wanted an excuse to kill him for weeks.” She turned back to her room but added, “Right outside, there’s an entrance leading down to the old subway. No trains run in this part of town anymore. Take the tunnel about two miles west, and you’ll reach Louie’s territory. Good luck. You’ll need it.”

  Following the mystery woman’s suggestion, they exited the building, descended to the subway, and walked along the rusty tracks. Fortunately, electricity still ran in the tunnel, so the lights helped them avoid the overgrown rats.

  Someone must have alerted Louie of their coming. Two of his men waited for them on the abandoned platform. Andrea recognized the tall one and nodded to him. He reached out for the package, but she insisted on delivering it personally. They climbed the stairs, walked across the street to an old hotel, and entered the dilapidated lobby.

  A scrawny man with dyed-black hair which mocked his obvious age sauntered toward them. His bright green suit was covered with assorted stains. Without hesitation, he greeted Andrea with a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze on her lower cheek. “My Angel! So good to see you. Our mutual associate on the east side sent word you were gracing us with your heavenly presence again.” Louie eyed Martin suspiciously. “Who’s your shadow?”

  “A friend.”

  “Not too friendly, I hope.”

  “Don’t get jealous, Louie. Martin’s a decent guy, the kind you won’t find around here. He’s too straight to get involved with people like us. Let’s get to business, shall we?”

  The two of them stepped into a side room. Martin paced nervously as Louie’s two henchmen stared silently at him. He tried to focus on his mission. Once they reached the Chronos Project facility, he still didn’t know how he would program the computer for the time jump. He hoped the scientists had left some notes. Since Andrea had worked undercover there for a while, perhaps she had learned something that would help.

  “Martin.” He turned at the sound of her voice. “It’s time to go.”

  “Good. We don’t have long before nightfall, and we still have a lot to figure out once we get to the lab.”

  “You’re an intelligent man, Martin, resourceful and very brave. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

  His eyes widened as he realized what she meant. “Wait a minute. What are you saying? Aren’t you coming with me? I need your help.”

  “I’m sorry, Martin. I can’t. My place is here.” To make her point clearly, she wrapped her arm around the loathsome Louie, who smirked licentiously.

  “Andrea! Oh, no, what did he do back there? Did he force you to take the drug? Is he controlling you?”

  She gazed at him for a moment, her face filled with regret. “No, I chose this path for myself some time ago. I’ve seen too much of this terrible world to hope there are any good solutions left. I’ve traveled too far down this road to turn back now.”

  She left Louie’s side and stepped closer to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “But Martin, you can turn back. You can turn back time itself and change this — all of it, including who I have become.”

  She leaned over and spoke softly but intensely. “You can make all this go away. Please, Martin. End this.”

  25

  Despite his passionate pleading, Martin failed to change Andrea’s mind. Distraught but seeing no other way, he left her with Louie the Lech and headed in the direction she had pointed out. Louie’s men accompanied him for a few blocks until he crossed out of Gehenna and into an industrial part of town.

  From Andrea’s inst
ructions, he knew he had several miles to go to reach the project lab. Spying a bicycle leaning against a wall, he reluctantly borrowed it. With any luck, no one would miss it. If his plans succeeded, the owner and this entire world would cease to exist in their present state.

  Martin pedaled down the street toward the afternoon sun, wondering if this trip made any sense at all. “LOGOS, I’m not sure what to do. I’m not a scientist. I’ve never understood the technical aspects of time travel. Naively, I had hoped that Andrea might be of some help, but now it’s only me. Or you and me, I should say. Any ideas?”

  <>

  “I’m glad one of us has confidence in this plan. Tell me: how have you managed to perform all these self-improvements?”

  <>

  “OK, before my head explodes, save the technobabble for the Einstein crowd. Let’s call it something simple like … the cosmic cloud. Infinite storage capacity, am I right?”

  <>

  “I think I’ve just been insulted.”

  <>

  Martin rode on until he saw the familiar building which housed the Chronos Project. Similar to the situation in his original reality, no exterior signage identified the building or its purpose, although, thankfully, in this world it wasn’t located twenty miles outside the city limits. A chain-link fence surrounded the property, but the gate was unlocked. He approached the area cautiously but didn’t observe anything suspicious.

  “LOGOS, I don’t think anybody’s home. Let’s go take a trip back to the past. We’ve —”