"What makes you think he's going there? Why wouldn't he go to get Avery?"
"Just a hunch," Carver said. "I think this other Grey is linked to him somehow. And the laser weapons are there as well."
"All right. We'll be down in five minutes."
When Carver reached the section where Batar was being held, he immediately ran down the stairway with his gun drawn. He should have waited for the others, but the soldier part in him said seek and destroy. With his Beretta drawn, he eyed the area to make sure the Grey wasn't loose somewhere. After discovering it was clear, he opened the door to the room and went inside. Batar was the only one in the room, so he relaxed a bit. 'You must be going nuts,' he thought to himself. 'This whole situation is getting you frazzled.' He placed the gun back in its sheath, and turned around toward the door. As he did, he faced another three and a half feet tall Grey staring up at him. "Varloo!" he said in shock.
"Surprised to see me?" he said telepathically with an evil grin. "It's been a long time, General. Thirty five years for you, but only a few seconds for me."
"What do you want?" Carver asked.
"Call your men off, General, or I'll crush your skull right here and now."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't play games, you know I can read your every thought."
The general walked over to the intercom in the room, and pressed the button reluctantly.
"Squadron I, receive," he said.
"Squad I, acknowledged," a voice answered.
"Call off the attack," the general said. "It's a false alarm."
"Squad I received and acknowledged. Out."
"Very good, General," Varloo said.
"What do you want?" he asked again.
"My friend for one. And a little retribution for your insane, barbaric experiments you were about to perform on me."
"No harm done, we didn't even get a chance to prick you."
"No harm done? You tortured my friend Dr. Avery with your mind games, and your threats. You will pay dearly for that, I promise you. He will complete his plan, and there will be nothing to stop him. But this time it won't be the Tolarions he creates, but a new intelligent race that will eliminate the need for humans. I also want the two vials that were with the Grey as well."
"They were sent to the lab. They've been contaminated."
"You're a terrible liar, General." Varloo could sense several men with some type of cryonics weapons heading through a hallway five minutes away. "Oh, Carver," he said, and placed his hand towards his forehead. "You've made a bad mistake, my friend!"
Carver began to feel intense pain, until he fell to the floor unconscious. When he awoke, several of his men and Dr. Reynolds were over him. The other Grey was gone, and there was no recollection in his mind of what just took place.
"What happened?" Reynolds asked.
"I don't know," Carver said, dizzy. "I thought Varloo was down here, and when I got into the room, I suddenly passed out. What happened to the
other Grey?"
"He's gone, Sir," Reynolds said. "Either he attacked you, or Varloo did."
The general sat down in a chair for a minute. "Have the men do an intensive sweep of the area. If you find either one of them, shoot to kill."
"Yes, Sir," the squad leader said. "Sir, we did exactly as you said, and disregarded your order."
"Thanks, Sergeant," he answered. "A lot of good it did me. He got away anyway."
"General?" Dr. Reynolds said. "I think I know we're he's going."
"Where?"
"His ship. General, are you sure you're going to be all right?"
"Yea," he said. "I just need to sit down a while. Major, take some men and go out to the ship. Put the base on lockdown until you're sure the Greys aren't in the complex. Dr. Reynolds, contact Lieutenant Barkley and tell him I need to speak with him right away. I'll be in the debriefing room."
"Yes, General," he said.
The soldiers left the room, and the general and the doctor were alone.
"Al, I'm sorry, but I warned you this might happen."
"Well," the general said. "Maybe he'll leave now he's got his friend."
"Are you sure that's all he wants?"
"Yea, I think so."
"You didn't tell them where the vials were, did you?" Reynolds asked, and opened the refrigerator. He saw the two vials were untouched. "How come he didn't probe your mind for them?"
"I have no idea," Carver said. "I don't remember. What about the laser weapons? Are they still in the lock box?"
The doctor went out into the main room, and checked, but neither of the weapons were taken.
"Yes, they're still there," he said, as he stood in the doorway. "You better get some rest."
"Not until I talk to Walker," he said.
"Well, all right, but I better help you there, you don't look so good."
"My age must be catching up with me."
"It's a little more than that, I'm afraid. the disease progresses with age."
When Walker came to the debriefing room, Carver was a little more alert.
"Come in, Mr. Walker. Sit down, let's chat," he said. Jeff followed his order, sat down, and smiled.
"What's wrong, General," he said. "You don't look so good."
"I had a run in with one of the Greys. Anyway, the one I was holding down in the lab either escaped, or was taken by Varloo. If you know more than you're telling me, you better start talking. You claim to not know my visitors downstairs, but they seem to know you. You claim you don't know what are in these vials, but I think you're lying." He placed the two quarter full vials on the table, and Jeff picked up the blue one, and looked it over carefully. "What is it?"
"If I tell you, will you promise to destroy it?"
"Our labs couldn't find any known substance on the planet that matches its characteristics or properties," Dr. Reynolds told him.
"That's because you won't find it anywhere on this planet. It comes from another universe. It's called Triachilite."
"Triachilite?" Reynolds asked. "What does it do?"
"If I tell you, will you destroy it, please?"
"I'll consider it," Carver said. "What the hell does it do?"
"Honesty, General, works two ways. If I trust you, do as I say and destroy it."
"Very well, I promise I'll get rid of it."
Jeff handed him the vial with the blue liquid.
"It's a telekinetic drug," he answered. "It's what gives Varloo his power."
"We saw no telekinetic powers in the Grey we had in the lab," Reynolds said.
"He doesn't take the drug. He doesn't have the formula, Varloo does."
"Where did he get it?" Carver asked.
Jeff sighed, looked away, then back at Carver.
"Dr. Louis Avery. Through encrypted data in the android, which will be installed in him tomorrow."
"Impossible!" Carver said. "None of this makes any sense! How could this Varloo get the formula from him if he brought it here in the first place?"
"Have you ever heard of the grandfather paradox?" Reynolds asked.
"Yes," Carver said. "But I don't see how it pertains to this situation."
"If he obtains the information from him in the future, and goes back to the past to give it to him, who really created it?"
"I have no freakin' idea what you're talking about," Carver snorted.
"It's a time warp syndrome," Jeff answered. "Varloo placed the information in his mind when he was just a boy, but we have no idea if that's what originally happened. There is the possibility Avery created the Tolarions on his own; or maybe another outside entity was involved."
"The question is what do we do about it?"
Jeff held out the green vial. "This is the antidote," he told him. "But let me be perfectly clear-neither of these are to be used by humans. They will kill you."
"So if we can get close enough to this Varloo, and inject him, are you saying we can capture him?" Carver asked.
; "Forget about capturing him, General," he said. "You're going to have to kill him. Otherwise this time paradox won't end."
"Oh, don't worry," the general laughed. "I intend to. I just sent thirty troops out to his ship to bring him back dead or alive!"
"You shouldn't have done that, General," Jeff said. "They will fail against his powers. Let me handle this...On second thought, I changed my mind. I'll keep the vials for now, if you don't mind." He grabbed the blue vial out of Carver's hand.
"Now who's being suspicious?" Carver asked.
"Like I said, you don't know what you're dealing with. I'll need you to keep an eye on Avery while I go out to the ship."
"What makes you think you can stop him?"
"I'm not sure I can. But I'm the one best equipped for the job. Take care of my wife and my lieutenant while I'm gone. I'll need one of your cryonics weapons, a radioactive resistant suit, both those laser pistols, and a prayer."
"Now wait just a minute," Carver barked. "How the hell do you know about the cryonics guns? And what do you mean, give you the laser pistols? You're forgetting who's in charge around here."
"I'm from the future, remember? I need those weapons to take him out."
"Even if I agree to it, what will happen if you fail?"
"Then God help us all!"
"You seem like a religious man, Mr. Walker," Reynolds quipped. "Why does someone from an advanced future still believe in God?"
"I've seen things that make me question if there is a God," Jeff answered. "But at the end of the day, I know someone's watching over me. There has to be."
"I hope you're right, Mr. Walker," Carver said. "I'll see you get what you need to complete your mission, but I'd like to at least keep one of the pistols in the name of science."
"That's precisely why I can't let you have it. No trace of us should be left behind once I leave here. The girls will be all right here, they both
have skills that would be a valuable asset to you."
"What about the project?"
"Continue as you would without me, but don't leave Avery alone at any time. Varloo is capable of being anywhere if he's reached the power of levitation."
"How will we know if you're successful?"
"If I am, I'll be back for my friends."
"This whole thing is crazy!" Reynolds said. "What about the AI chip that's supposed to go in the android?"
"Do not allow anyone near it except Angelica Avery."
"But her father's supposed to put it in," Carver said.
"Then she has to watch him to make sure it isn't tampered with. Where is the chip now?"
"I believe it's in the robotics lab, in a safe."
"Who has the combination?"
"Dr. Avery, and his daughter of course."
"Then you need to get guards down there right away to guard it until tomorrow. And he's not to open the safe until you give the order."
"He'll never agree to that," Carver said.
"Tell him he doesn't have a choice!" Jeff said. "If you don't, Varloo will succeed with his plan. Before I leave, I have to speak to Ms. Avery, so I'll meet you down in the cargo bay pick up the items I need."
"About what?"
"Just something I have to discuss with her before I leave."
"Remember, Mr. Walker, no secrets."
"I just wanted to say goodbye personally, that's all."
"Well, all right," he sighed. "Meet you down in the cargo bay in twenty minutes."
Jeff placed the vials in his pocket and left the room. Dr. Reynolds looked over at his colleague, and shook his head in displeasure.
"What's the matter now?" Carver asked.
"Well, now we're alone, I'll tell you. Not only does our friend Walker have friends here, but he has them somewhere else."
"I don't have time for riddles, Reynolds! What the hell are you
saying?"
"Our communications division received a message yesterday. Apparently several different messages."
"Ah, from the ISS? Finally!"
"They weren't from the ISS."
"Where the hell were they from?"
"Mars, Sir."
"Mars?"
"They were under a different frequency, and undecipherable."
"Probably telemetry from the old rovers. It's surprising they're still working."
"They weren't from the rovers, either. They were alien in nature."
"Alien? What the hell is going on?"
Reynolds took off his glasses, and put his right hand on his hip.
"That, Sir, is a good question. Let' just assume this Mr. Barkley, or Walker, or whatever he calls himself, is telling us the truth. Is the signal from his people trying to protect us, or from the Grey's people trying to destroy us?"
"I don't think it really matters at this point. Either way, we're in deep
shit!"
"That's an understatement. If Walker is telling the truth about this 'Triachilite,' we are all in grave danger. If Varloo creates the drug on a massive scale, and the signals are from a nearby Andronian ship, then that's it for humans."
"But Walker said himself it couldn't be found in this universe, so how would they mass produce it?"
"He can travel through wormholes, remember? He also wants the Averys for some strange reason."
"Well they are connected by blood."
"It's almost as if their his children. This race of hybrids he wants to create may be a way to finally finish us off as a race. But there'll always be a trace of human in them."
"Walker said something about Varloo being a hybrid himself. Could it be he also had a human mother or father?"
"That's a very real possibility. To tell the truth, I wouldn't have bought into any of this if I hadn't seen what I saw thirty five years ago."
"Yea," Carver said. "I'm beginning to regret that day."
"Do you think this Walker will be successful?"
"No," he said, and bowed his head. "No, I don't. He's too sure of himself, and that's not a good quality in any soldier. You should never underestimate your enemy."
"Well, he seems to know what he's doing," Reynolds stated, as he cleaned his glasses with a tissue, and then put them back on his face. "But if he fails, we'll have no other alternative then to give in to the alien's
demands."
"We'll kill him before he gets inside!" the general declared.
"General, he's already been inside, and stole the other Grey right from under your nose. Face it, without Walker, you've already lost!"
"Well, I'm still waiting to hear back from the deployment on their results."
"If you're still waiting, they're probably already dead. I'll tell you something else. I think you better talk to our other visitors while he's gone to see if they can help us, and do all you can to help Sarah get better than she is. You're going to have to be nicer to Avery if you want him to cooperate."
"I know I've made some major blunders!" Carver said, and slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Damn it, Frank! How the hell did we get ourselves in this mess?"
"By messing around with something we didn't understand. We should
have left Varloo in the desert to die the first time."
"You're right, Frank. I've been such a fool. Trying to always play the big head honcho, telling everyone what to do!"
"You're a general, that's your job."
"Yea, but I didn't always follow my own orders. What right do I have to make someone follow mine?"
"You did what you had to do to protect the security of the base. Stop beating yourself up over it. It is what it is. You've got an ally waiting down there to help you, and the aliens are still missing."
He nodded, started for the door, then turned back towards him. "Do you think we'll have a future when this is all said and done?"
"Well, if we do," Dr. .Reynolds said. "It certainly won't be anything like we envisioned it to be."
Carver opened the door, and shook his head. The two of them started to walk down the hallwa
y in the direction of the cargo bay.
"Time travel," he jested to his lifelong friend. "Ain't it a bitch?"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Before he went down to the cargo bay, Jeff stopped by Angelica's room. It was late, and he knew she wouldn't answer right away. He knocked four times, each time a little louder. Finally, his grandfather answered the door, not to pleased to see him.
"Oh," he grumbled. "It's you. What do you want?"
"I need to speak with your fiancé right away," Jeff answered.
"About what? Haven't you done enough damage around here?"
"Please, it's an emergency."
"What happened, the little gray men come to claim your testicles?"
If it wasn't for the fact of the seriousness of the situation, he would have laughed at his grandfather's crude joke. Right now, however, wasn't the time.
"I'm telling you, it's a matter of life and death!"
"Why don't you just get back in your time machine or space craft or whatever, and-"
Angelica heard the commotion, and came out to calm her husband down.
"Honey, it's all right," she said. "Go back to bed, I'll take care of it."
"I'm beginning to think you're all nuts around here," Tom Walker said, as he threw his arms in the air, and went back to the bedroom.
"What do you want?"
"You need to get down right away and guard your AI chip from your father. The Grey's been taken, and I have to go stop the other one before he completes his plan. Here's your pocket computer back; and do you have any small air tight containers around?"
"Yea, I think so."
"Grab them, and come back." She shut the door momentarily, and came back with two small pill containers. He dumped half of the green liquid from the vial into one of the containers. "I don't know if this will be enough to defeat him, but it will have to do."
"What is it? Enough to defeat who?"
"Varloo, another Grey. He has telepathic and telekinetic powers, and is extremely dangerous. This liquid is called Triachiline. It is an antidote to the telekinetic drug that he injects himself with to give him powers. He'll be much weaker with it in his system. You need to give it to your android, and have him hide it somewhere where he only knows where it is. When the time comes, you can retrieve it from him."
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 17
