**
A half an hour earlier, Maggie was getting shot in the chest by Patrick. She collapsed to the floor exactly as Hugo had seen it, Patrick quietly closing the door as he left.
“I’ll be here in about ten minutes,” Hugo announced, looking to Mr. Hansen. The man was staring at a laptop with streaming video from several of Maggie’s many security cameras.
“Do…do you have to keep that illusion up, it’s disturbing to look at,” Maggie mumbled, trying to look away from the front door, but unable to do so. She’d taken her attempted assassination rather well when he’d come to her door with Thoth and Mr. Hansen to let her know what was going on, but watching yourself die was probably way up there on the disturbing scale.
Thoth just sat at the table, taking a careful sip from his mug. His expression told Hugo he was genuinely interested in the proceedings. Apparently he'd never had this particular plan before.
“Sorry Maggie,” Mr. Hansen responded apologetically.
Pretend Maggie disappeared at Mr. Hansen’s voice and the real woman let out a small sigh. She turned her attention to the man sitting to the left of her, carefully sipping his beverage, “Thank you, Thoth. I really appreciate your help,” she brushed strands of her curly hair away from her face.
Thoth…blushed, “Don’t worry. I hope this works; I never wanted you to…well…I hope this works,” his voice trailed off.
“Is it a huge risk, trying to change the past?” She asked as she turned her full attention to him.
“Not really a risk, it just doesn’t work. If you negate the reason why you go back in the first place, you don’t and the event doesn’t change.
Maggie raised her eyebrows, “How will you know if this works?”
“When we go back to the present, and you’re still alive.”
Mr. Hansen cleared his throat to get their attention, “You…Hugo…you’re here.”
Thoth set down his cup, “I better go. I’ll need to be there when he comes to me.”
Maggie stood with Thoth, “If I’m still alive when you get back, please feel free to come over for coffee anytime.” Thoth nodded, face getting red, and then he was gone and Hugo came through the door. It was embarrassing watching himself break down, but Maggie placed a hand on his arm, smiling sadly at him, which distracted him at the very least. And then that Hugo disappeared. Mr. Hansen waited several seconds and then dropped the illusion again.
“I guess that means it worked, right?” Maggie asked, hope in her voice.
Hugo nodded, “Yeah. I think that’s it.”
“That was fascinating,” Mr. Hansen said, smiling slightly. He closed the laptop with a small click, “I’m glad I could help.”
“Yes, thank you, Andrew,” Maggie gave him a hug once he was standing, and then offered one to Hugo as well. “Thanks for looking out for me. I’ll be more careful about letting you in in the future,” she said with a chuckle.
“Good. I’ll talk to you later Maggie. Give me a call if you need anything, and please be careful.”
She nodded, “I will.”
“Ok. Let me take you back, Mr. Hansen,” Hugo created the portal and then paused, “Oh, Maggie, I almost forgot why I came over here in the first place. I have a list of people I’d like you to check up on. Would you be willing to-”
“Of course. I work with you now, remember?” She smiled.
“Right. Ok, I’ll be right back.”
Hugo followed Mr. Hansen, who had already stepped through the portal, into his office, and then closed it, “Thanks again Mr. Hansen, I really appreciate your help.”
“Of course,” the man replied, knitting his hands together in front of him, “We may not be on speaking terms right now, but she is still a friend and a colleague.” He smiled sheepishly, “And I must admit, altering the past is a fascinating concept to finally see in action.”
Hugo shifted, “I’m just glad it worked.” Mr. Hansen nodded his confirmation. “Ok, I’ve got to go, talk to you later,” The burst of wind from the portal ruffled his hair.
“Hugo,” Mr. Hansen’s voice seemed to will the portal shut and Hugo turned back towards the vice president, “We haven’t talked in a while, I just wanted to know how you’re doing. I know things are happening…rapidly.”
Hugo nodded his agreement, then carefully considered Mr. Hansen’s question, surprised at his answer, “I think I’m doing fine. Terrified, but only because a lot is at stake; we can’t fail, we just can’t.”
“You won’t,” Mr. Hansen said, the confidence in his voice causing Hugo to blink several times in surprise.
“H-how are you?” Hugo asked, trying to deflect the strange twisting feeling in his stomach.
The Vice President’s return smile was soft and slightly sheepish, “Terrified as well. It’s….hard without Mr. Gideon.”
Hugo smiled back, “You’ve done a lot, even today, and from what Crysta’s told me, you’re doing a great job with the company as well.”
Mr. Hansen continued to smile, “Well, we both have work to do then, don’t we?”
Hugo nodded and the portal opened again. He stepped into Maggie’s kitchen where she was waiting for him. He wrote out a list of names for her and she said she would look into it and get back to him. Hugo thanked her and went back to Crysta’s apartment.
She stood at the burst of wind, pinching her lower lip between her teeth. “What happened?” She took his hand and led him back to the couch.
He took several deep breaths and she laced her fingers with his, “Patrick killed Maggie,” Hugo answered, feeling a shiver run down his spine at the reminder of her bloody body.
Crysta’s eyes widened and she spoke before he could continue, “What? How? Why! Why would-”
Hugo held up his hand and she closed her mouth. “We fixed it. Thoth took Maggie, Mr. Hansen, and me back in time so that Patrick only killed an illusion, and then I saw that illusion to ensure I’d go to Thoth and start the process of fixing it.”
Crysta’s eyes were still large, her lips slightly parted, her face white, “You…went back in Time… you…” She looked down at her hands and then returned her attention to his face as if looking for something, “So Maggie’s ok now?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. And since Patrick thinks she’s dead, there’s no reason for him to go back there. But I told her to be careful.”
“Wasn’t that a huge risk, altering the past like that?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe. But I had to try something. I couldn’t just let her…”
“I know. Just…you be careful too. If something had happened I-we would have never known. You would have just disappeared... or something.”
He looked at the couch. He hadn’t really thought about what would have happened if it didn’t work, or any of the things that could have gone wrong. And he wouldn’t have had a chance to say goodbye, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
She cupped the side of his face, leaning in to give him a light kiss, a smile on her face, “I know. Just you be careful too, ok?”
The Sound of Wind Page 109
