Christine frowned and glanced from Ian to Colonel Bradford and then back to Avigail. Christine had no idea what it meant to enter the Far Lands, but she had a sudden fear it meant that Galen had jumped through a bridge to another place…a place not on this Earth.
Vio stood up excitedly and for a long moment the two women spoke to each other in a strange language. Finally, however, Vio turned to Christine. “Your work with Galen may be over. He’s very near now…close now,” she corrected herself.
Christine stood stunned and couldn’t help but cast a guilty glance at her old boss. “Close to what?” She asked. It was a question everyone in the room had on their minds.
Vio cocked her head and smiled. “Close to becoming one of us,” she added and with a simple motion which clearly included her and Avigail. “Close to becoming a Traveler…close to becoming a Tar.”
Avigail laughed aloud. “A Tar that cannot fight,” she replied and continued to snigger for several long moments.
“What the hell does that mean?” Armstrong asked stepping farther into the room. He held up one hand and a stump in submission as Vio’s right hand dropped to the hilt of her sword. The color quickly left his face.
“Would you stop doing that every time I speak?” He asked her, staring intently into Vio’s face. She was exceedingly lovely and just having her eyes on him caused the breath to catch in his throat. He’d dreamed about her vividly the night before, a dream so wild and erotic that he woke with a blush still on his face.
Vio did not smile at him, but she did remove her hand from her sword. “I will try,” she informed him evenly. “If you swear you are a friend of Galen’s and will do him no harm.”
“I swear,” Armstrong answered quickly, resisting the urge to glance Bradford’s way. He tried to sound sincere even though he did not actually mean what he said. If Bradford gave the order to kill the strange engineered boy…then kill him he would, he just hoped it wouldn’t mean his own death in the process. Currently, however, Galen was big news and was drawing the attention of the entire government in Washington. Armstrong was sure the boy was safe for the foreseeable future. And before this was over Armstrong had little doubt that he and Director Kwan would be called before a Congressional hearing. The entire Cryogen enterprise had turned into one large fiasco.
“Ian what are you doing here?” Christine asked, though in her heart she felt she knew the answer. Her heart was correct.
“You’ve proven your point Dr. Dawkins,” Colonel Bradford said before Crane could speak. “We’d like to move the lad back to Cryogen…where we can study him more effectively.”
“Cryogen,” Christine commented suspiciously.
Blue stood and moved forward to stand next to Christine. He was at least as large as one of the FBI goons hovering in the background and not for the first time Adam was thankful for the man’s presence. Lord knows he would find Blue’s dark skin and black eyes very intimidating. Of course, beautiful though they were, Vio and Avigail were the two the FBI muscle truly needed to worry about.
“You the one that was going to kill Galen?” Blue asked Crane, who reflexively took a step back from the man.
“I…I had orders from…” Crane began.
“Orders,” Blue spat and glared at the smaller scientist.
“The orders have been changed,” Colonel Bradford informed them in his most authoritative voice.
“Only because we got him on the news,” Dorothy insisted as she moved to stand on the other side of Christine.
From behind Adam smiled. Galen’s list of allies had grown…and his new friends were not shy about standing up for him. But now that he thought back…he had not hesitated to stand up for Galen either. He’d put his life and happiness on the line for the boy. Adam was glad. It’d been a fine decision and it made him feel very good.
Bradford made a weak effort to smile at the large woman from Iowa but failed. “Perhaps,” he admitted to her, “but the plain truth is, the boy belongs to Cryogen and the United States Government and we mean to study him and capitalize on the knowledge only he can give us.”
“The boy is a human being!” Dorothy exclaimed loudly, boldly pushing forward until she was standing feet from the tall, tough looking Colonel. “He’s no slave! He’s as free as you and me!”
“Colonel…” Armstrong said softly, but Bradford shook off his subordinate.
“Listen,” the Colonel began again. “We mean the boy no harm and when our tests are complete he will have his normal life,” he promised though he doubted the tests would be done within his own lifetime let alone the shortened version the test subject seemed to be on.
“We’ll hold you to that,” Blue answered softly.
Bradford nodded and then glanced over at Dr. Crane.
“Christine, we need to see the boy,” Ian said. “We need blood samples. When was the last time you checked on R89?”
Without fully realizing it Christine found that she now completely agreed with the idea of moving Galen back to Cryogen; she needed the labs. She knew that and she needed the expertise of the people within the organization if she was ever going to get to the bottom of the mystery of Galen Dawkins.
“Too long. Come with me,” she told Crane, and led Ian toward the back bedrooms even though she was relatively sure Galen was no longer in the FBI building.
Colonel Bradford made to follow but the cute teenage girl with the beautiful eyes and flowing hair abruptly stepped into his path. Bradford saw that she was wearing a pair of swords on her narrow, boy like hips but they were sheathed so he attempted to push past her, but somehow she managed to remain directly in front of him, blocking his way.
“Miss…” he began growing irritated, but suddenly he was looking at the tip of what appeared to be a very sharp sword. The point was only about an inch from his right eye and never wavered. Bradford stopped moving abruptly. He’d not seen the girl move to draw the weapon; one second in was in its scabbard and the next it was pointed at his eye.
“You will go no farther,” the girl insisted her full lips pressed tightly together. “He’ll not be moved while he’s in the Far Lands.”
Bradford nodded, trying to hide his confusion and then took a slow step back. It was only then that he realized the older woman…the looker, also had her swords drawn, each pressed firmly against the exposed necks of the men guarding the door.
“This was in my report sir,” Armstrong explained from behind him. And it was true, Armstrong had gone over his encounter with the women in great detail…Bradford just hadn’t believed him. He did now.
“So it was,” he replied, backing away another step from the girl. “So it was. Dawkins, if you would send Crane to me when he’s finished here,” the Colonel added and without further comment he quickly left the room taking his henchmen and Armstrong with him.
“Jesus!” Bradford exclaimed when the door closed behind them. “Jesus, they were fast! We have that on camera. I need to see it. Who are they? Where in the hell did they come from? Have we taken any blood samples from either of those women? Jesus!”
“We don’t know who they are or where they’re from, but I don’t think its Jersey,” Armstrong quipped as they walked quickly down the hall. He was also looking forward to checking the video of the last few moments. “And no, we haven’t tried for samples. Would you?”
“Jesus…I want those women!” Bradford exclaimed and Armstrong’s heart fell. A chill ran up his spine and Armstrong repressed a shudder. The women were incredibly dangerous and taking them would be no easy matter, holding them even harder. The Colonel would have to understand that.
“I want them!” Bradford repeated pointing at Armstrong as if he’d guessed his thoughts. “I want them both!”
XXIV
“Time has no speed limit.”
Galen Dawkins
May 24th 2015 Old Earth
Galen was unconscious for two full days and while Vio and Avigail waited patiently for him to come around, Christine was nearly besid
e herself with worry. She could not understand what had happened to him and why he would suddenly fall into a deep coma. Dr. Ian Crane was equally puzzled and the two performed every conceivable test on the boy despite the assurances of the women from the other side.
Colonel Bradford could have cared less. His attention had shifted completely away from the enigmatic boy to the strange women. The closed circuit television cameras revealed something completely impossible. The cameras were able to slow down and analysis the movements of the woman named Vio. They were incredibly fast, much faster than any human being ever recorded, but the movements of Avigail were utterly mind boggling. They were so fast that even the cameras could not capture her drawing the weapon. In one frame her hands were relaxed and by her side and incredibly, in the very next frame she was holding the weapon at Bradford’s eye. No matter how slow they ran the digitally captured image forward, one moment her hands were empty and the next she had her sword at the ready. It made no difference what speed the video was displayed, the visual outcome was always the same…just like in real time…just like it was to the naked eye. It was as if time actually stopped for an instant, allowing her to draw her weapon, and then restarted. And while her movements didn’t exactly break the laws of physics, in Bradford’s mind they should have. Nothing was that fast…nothing.
The women were an incredible find. They had to be studied, Bradford knew it, but unfortunately so did every intelligence department in the country at the moment. He needed to get them back to Cryogen, where the top genetic scientists in the country were already working. It was just plain bad luck that the women revealed their talents in the middle of an FBI building, now everyone was vying for them. Bradford felt blessed that Director Kwan had the kind of pull necessary to pry them away from the Feds, the NSA and Homeland Security. It only took six hours before the word came down, Galen and the strange women were to be put under the control of the DOE. First of all however, they needed to be taken into custody…which was a strange notion since the women were currently residing peacefully inside a federal building. From the very beginning, Bradford foolishly dismissed the bulk of Armstrong’s reports as fantasy, claims of lighting fast movements, and of being able to cross miles and miles in an instant, of the existence of other worlds; it all seemed like some queer delusion, but now Bradford was beginning to wonder if it all might be true.
‘Jesus!’ He thought and cursed himself for not trusting Armstrong. He was a good man, the best, and Bradford knew he should have backed him…even if Armstrong had sounded slightly crazy in the beginning. They needed the women. They needed them docile and immobilized, in short they needed them sedated, and they’d finally received the green light by the powers that be. The FBI would be ready for their first attempt tonight.
They would use gas, Penthrane to be exact. With a flip of a switch the building’s engineers could remove the guest quarters from the rest of the building’s ventilation system. It was a safeguard built into most of the newer federal buildings and allowed them to flood the guest area with gas without endangering the rest of the building. It was a necessary precaution; occasionally guests of the FBI were exceedingly dangerous. Tonight, after the women went to sleep, their quarters would be flooded with the gas, and hopefully before anyone realized it, they would all be fast asleep.
†
Adam groaned as he woke the following morning. He felt weak and unusually groggy. The inside of his mouth felt like a rat had crawled in during the night and died. He sat up slowly, and fought down a wave of nausea He couldn’t think straight and his brain felt as if it were sloshing around inside his skull. He remained very still, trying to fight down the queasiness and after a few minutes his head began to clear. He turned his head slowly…Blue was still fast asleep on the cot.
“Blue,” Adam said softly, knowing it was not nearly loud enough to wake the man.
“Blue,” he tried again, a little louder this time, but still the man did not stir. ‘Christ!’ Adam thought and rose very, very slowly. His stomach did a quick flip but then settled. He walked over to the kitchenette and gingerly put on some coffee, within seconds dark brown liquid was streaming into the clear pot. Adam’s head was thumping mildly but otherwise he was in no real pain, he just couldn’t think straight. He wondered absently if Christine had any aspirin on her. He felt she probably did, she was a doctor after all.
He poured a glass of lukewarm water and drank it slowly, then turned as a bedroom door opened. He expected it to be Dorothy or Christine, but it was Galen, who smiled cheerfully at Adam. The young man wavered slightly as he walked into the room.
“Hey Adam!” He said loudly. “Do we have anything to eat I’m starving?”
Adam immediately thought of eggs but then groaned as his stomach rebelled. “I’ll bet you are,” he answered quietly and pulled a loaf of wheat bread off the counter then opened the refrigerator. Inside was a package of baloney and pre-wrapped sliced cheese. He took it out along with a plastic bottle of mustard and set it on the table for Galen.
“Help yourself,” Adam added and slid a package of paper plates across to him.
Galen quickly ate three sandwiches before the coffee was completely brewed. Adam poured himself a cup and gingerly sat down across from him, feeling better by the moment.
“You don’t feel well?” Galen asked as he spread mustard on what would be his fourth baloney sandwich.
Adam shook his head carefully. “No…my head…and my stomach,” he answered. “But I’m coming around,’ he added and took another sip of coffee. “I’m going to ask Christine for some aspirin.”
Galen smiled. “We need to get to St. Louis…quickly,” he said as Adam stood, his legs firming up quickly beneath him, but before Adam could move the other bedroom door opened.
“Ooooh coffee!” Dorothy said excitedly as she emerged from her room. “My tongue feels like I swallowed a dirty sock,” she added and moved gingerly toward the table.
Adam frowned. “Mine too,” he said confused. Galen took a large bite of his sandwich, then stood and met Dorothy. He gave her a quick hug. “We need to go back to St. Louis,” he told her.
Dorothy smiled at the growing boy and patted his arm. “Once Ned gets here,” she answered and Galen frowned.
“Blue,” Adam called out loudly and moved over to give the big man nudge. Blue’s eyes slowly opened, or more accurately his left eye. He stared at Adam for a moment, his one eyebrow furrowed.
“What?” the man said and closed his eye.
“How do you feel?”
“Like crap? Why do you ask?” Blue sat up gingerly, and tried to swallow several times. His tongue was dry and swollen. He moved toward the coffee like an automaton. Galen laughed at the large man’s antics, his mouth once more full of baloney sandwich.
“Wait until you get old,” Blue said with a smile of his own.
“That will be a good long while,” Galen replied but no one paid the boy much attention.
Adam however was not smiling, or laughing. The fact that the three of them woke feeling slightly ill was suddenly very ominous.
“I’m going to check on the girls,” he said in a rush.
“Christine was sleeping when I got up,” Galen said happily.
“I’ll run in and check on her,” Dorothy replied after taking a careful sip of coffee.
Adam pulled the door open to the room where Vio and Avigail slept and his heart dropped. It was empty. He strode in and for some insane reason checked the small closet. It was also devoid of people. He moved back out into the main room just as Dorothy emerged.
“Christine’s fine…though you may want to make another pot of coffee,” the big lady said with a smile. She was quickly shaking off her earlier queasiness and feeling better. Adam ignored her and walked quickly to the one restroom in the place. The door was closed and without bothering to knock, he threw it open. The room was empty.
He slowly turned back to face those in the main room.
“They’re gone,” he s
aid, his heart pounding.
Blue stood up quickly. “What do you mean gone?”
“I mean gone,” Adam answered. “Vio and Avigail are not here. They’ve been taken.”
†
Vio woke sitting upright in a comfortable chair, her hands bound in front of her with metal shackles. Her head felt odd and her mouth was very dry, and she had to fight down a wave of nausea. Avigail sat directly across the aisle from her, her head slumped to one side but her chest was rising and falling slowly, indicating deep sleep. Vio glanced around gingerly at her strange surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a long narrow hallway lined with a host of chairs all facing forward and all identical to the one she was sitting in. The walls on the outside of the hallway were curved and were lined with tiny rectangular windows. A few seats forward of her position were several men, deep in conversation, one she recognized as the man called Bradford…Colonel Bradford. Vio did not recognize the man with him. Slowly, fighting the queasiness, Vio turned her head and shoulders to peer behind her.
“Easy sweetheart,” a large man said from directly behind her. He was also a stranger, but across the narrow aisle she spotted Agent Armstrong, who stared at her, his expression a mixture of guilt and apprehension. As she caught his eye, Armstrong stood and walked down the hallway away from her. Vio noticed there were another three men behind her and one severe looking woman. Everyone around her was young and fit and completely expressionless. They all stared back at her, their eyes cold and suspicious. Armstrong paused for a minute at the end of the hallway; his back turned to Vio, but then he returned carrying a cup with him. He sat in a seat across from her, directly in front of Avigail, and held out two little white pellets and a cup of water.
“Here, this will help if you’ve a headache,” he told her and offered her the pellets and water.
The Best of All Possible Worlds Page 41
