Branch Off

by Dario Solera

  “Fired at?” Sarah said. “What if civilian vehicles come through?”

  “Risks are too great, Dr. Davinson,” he said.

  Sarah was startled to discover that he knew her name.

  “We’ll protect our airspace, and that’s it. You and Professor Richards will be transferred to the Institute and will begin working to control the anomaly.”

  “What do you mean ‘control’?” Richards asked.

  Rubais pierced him with his look. “You will find government officials at the labs to discuss the details, Professor.”

  “I don’t like it,” Sarah whispered to Richards. “They’re militarizing everything. They want to take ownership of the anomaly.”

  “All nonessential civilian personnel and all refugees will be transferred to the Morges army base. Questions?”

  Sarah asked, “What will happen to them?”

  “They will be taken care of and protected. Anything else?” He waited for a few seconds. “Very well, you have your orders. This briefing is over.”

  People scrambled to their feet and began shuffling out of the tent, talking about the events, while Rubais spoke with two other uniformed men in private.

  Sarah and Richards followed the flow outside and moved to a quieter place where, as they had agreed upon before, Léa and Gagnier were waiting.

  “Does anyone have a pen?” Sarah asked.

  “Here,” Richards said, handing her a fountain pen.

  “I mean a real pen, Professor,” Sarah answered with a smile.

  Gagnier handed her another.

  Sarah grabbed Léa’s hand and scribbled her home address and phone number on it. “Find a way to get to my place. Will, a friend of mine, will be there waiting for you.”

  “We could help the other refugees,” Léa said.

  “I’ve got the suspicion that none of those people will be treated like refugees. Why put them in an army base? You’ll never get out once you are taken there.”

  “I cannot ignore a direct order,” Gagnier said.

  “This is not your army. It’s almost the same, but it’s not yours. They’ll treat you as a civilian. They already took your gun and those of your men.”

  Léa and Gagnier exchanged a glance.

  “Trust me. Try to escape during or before transport. Do you have money?”

  Léa nodded.

  “Yes,” he said. “Assuming it’s valid.”

  “It surely is. Don’t talk to anyone, and take a bus to my place. Wait there. I’ll be in touch.”

  ***

  “Friends are coming. Let them in. Don’t answer me, I’ll be off the grid,” Sarah texted to Will. For good measure, she deleted the sent message and shut the phone down.

  She and Richards waited outside the tent and watched Léa and Gagnier shuffle near the army trucks with the other people. There were a dozen vehicles lined up at the camp’s gate.

  The night before she hadn’t noticed it, but the camp had a barbed wire fence all around it. The two gates were both manned by armed guards.

  “Sarah, are you sure about what you’re doing?” Richards asked.

  “No.” She paused for a moment. “They will help us, and…”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “You talk like a Yankee.”

  Sarah giggled. “That’s what I am, after all. Look,” she said, nodding slightly in the direction of the trucks.

  A woman had slipped on the mud and sprained an ankle. Two soldiers had gotten closer to help her stand. Unseen, Gagnier grabbed Léa’s right wrist and pulled her between the vehicles.

  “They’ll make it,” Sarah said with a smile.

  “I hope so. If the army has taken control of the operation, they won’t like snoopers. Or fugitives.”

  ***

  The last truck roared away on the muddy road toward Geneva.

  Sarah was sure that Léa and Gagnier hadn’t gotten on the vehicles. They were probably still around, waiting for the waters to calm so they could sneak away.

  An armed soldier walked in their direction. “Dr. Davinson and Professor Richards?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I have orders to take your phones.”

  “Mine is dead,” Sarah said as he handed it to him.

  Richards gave his as well with a frown, and the man pocketed them away.

  “Follow me.”

  He guided them to a nondescript, black SUV with two plainclothes men in the front seats. “Please get in. You will be escorted to the Institute.” The man in the passenger seat took the two phones and placed them in the glove box.

  “Are we prisoners?” Sarah asked while getting in.

  “No, madam. This is for your protection.”

  “Protection from what?”

  The soldier studied her for a moment and then closed the door. She spotted the driver eying her from the rearview mirror.

  Seventeen

  The truck’s engine idled behind them as they walked in the snow, keeping their backs low. The thick morning fog provided a little cover as they smuggled out of the camp and into the adjacent field through a providential gap in the barbed wire.

  “Stay down,” Gagnier told Léa in a whisper. “Move to those bushes.” He had grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from the crowd.

  Her heart pounded fast in her chest, and she felt hot inside her winter clothes. Gagnier followed her now, telling her to run faster. She was moving as quick as she could in that quasi-crouching position that stretched the muscles in her legs.

  Finally they reached a thick group of bushes and hid there.

  Gagnier peeked out. “They didn’t see us.”

  “And now?” Léa asked between breaths.

  “We’ll wait for a while. Observe. The trucks should leave in a few minutes, then I believe surveillance will turn to keep intruders outside rather than visitors inside.”

  “You sure?”

  “I hope.”

  “How do we get to Geneva?”

  “We’ll walk.”

  “What? It’s thirty kilometers!”

  He shushed her.

  “Sorry.”

  “Not thirty. More like eight to ten, if we stay near the road. We can make it by midafternoon.”

  ***

  The hike in the snow had been awful. Léa’s legs burned, her feet ached, and she could barely stand, let alone walk, when they got to the first suburbs.

  They had followed a tiny dirt path, passing some short, bucolic buildings, until they had reached a larger road that crossed the highway with an underpass, and from there they had continued southward, walking on the main way like anyone taking a stroll.

  Now they stood a couple hundred meters from a low house, painted a dull cream color with a tidy garden in front enclosed within a well-kempt hedge. On the opposite side were trees and an abandoned wooden cabin. There was no place to walk other than the main road, and Gagnier looked around.

  “What if they search for us?” Léa asked. “I mean, they’ll figure out we’re missing sooner or later.”

  “That’s correct. They can’t risk us talking to the public. By the way, we need to find new clothes.”

  “You mean buy.”

  “Do you see shopping malls? We’ll break into that house.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. The garage is empty and all the lights are off. There should be no one; probably they’re at work.”

  “I don’t like it,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Yeah, but it’s that or stealing a car. Follow me.”

  They walked to the gate, which was open. The street was still silent and empty.

  Inside the garden was a tiled path that led to the front door, but they followed the branch going to the backyard.

  Gagnier glanced through the windows. “See? There’s no one at home.”

  Léa had her heart in her throat. Despite everything—the war, the hundreds of dead and wounded—breaking into someo
ne else’s home and stealing felt like an excessive measure.

  She jumped when he broke a glass pane. She watched him opening the door and stepping in cautiously.

  Léa kept her eyes on him as he looked around the house from the kitchen. She was certain it was the first time for him, but he seemed experienced in that kind of thing.

  “Come on,” he said.

  The moment she set her feet inside, a knot of guilt built in her chest. “I’m not sure,” she whispered. Or was it fear of being caught? She felt sorry for the stains of mud they were leaving on the polished wooden floor.

  Gagnier closed the door. “Let’s find the bedroom.”

  “What if there are no suitable clothes? Will we break into another house?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t always be such a pessimist.”

  Everything looked modern, despite the outside appearance being older. The furniture was new, and judging from the toys scattered everywhere, the place was home to a young family.

  Along a dim corridor, they passed a small bedroom with more toys on the floor, two beds on the sides, and a desk below the large window.

  The next door was that of the main bedroom with a wide double bed on one side, a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe, and a couple of padded chairs.

  Gagnier opened the first doors in the wardrobe. “Suits. Too elegant.” He moved to the next. “Women’s. Have a look here.”

  Léa peeked inside. There were several pairs of jeans, tops, and a set of tailored dresses. On a shelf above were pullovers and a couple of hoodies.

  “That’s more like it,” Gagnier said, pulling out a pair of thick khaki trousers, a polo shirt, and a dark blue sweater. “They’re almost my size. Found anything?”

  She hadn’t even touched the clothes in front of her.

  “I’ll grab this backpack as well,” Gagnier said. “It’ll come in handy for our stuff.” He turned and met her gaze. “Look, you don’t have to take a lot of things. Just a hoodie, so if they are searching for us, they won’t spot us so easily.”

  Nodding, she pulled a black woven pullover from the top shelf, removed her current one, and put on the new.

  “Put it here,” Gagnier said, extending the backpack. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll use the restroom. You can wait for me in the kitchen.” He disappeared into the bathroom with a pack of clothes under one arm.

  Léa went back the way they had come and watched outside in the backyard. It was a nice, protected space, with a tall hedge all around, shielding it from the rest of the world.

  She drank some water straight from the tap.

  The clock on the wall read almost five in the afternoon. Making a few steps toward the corridor, she spoke loudly. “We’d better go. It’s late.”

  “One minute. I’m changing clothes.”

  Sounds of a car’s engine came closer.

  Léa’s breath stopped as she listened to the vehicle’s door opening, someone saying something, and then the door closing. The car pulled away. She froze in the middle of the kitchen, unable to move.

  “Come.” Gagnier pushed her toward the back entrance. “Watch the broken glass,” he whispered. He opened the door slowly and ushered her out, shutting it behind him. At the edge of her vision, Léa thought she saw a shape moving inside the house, at the far end of the corridor.

  They walked, staying below the height of the windows, toward the corner of the building. There was no one in the garden, but the path to the gate was in plain sight.

  “Wait,” Gagnier said in a low voice, which seemed to boom in the quiet of the town. He looked around, peeking inside the window above them. “Go.” He pushed her forward and they ran to the front gate. In a couple more seconds they were in the street.

  Léa walked fast—almost ran. She felt pursued, guilty, with a crawling sensation on her back. She could almost hear police sirens behind her.

  “Slow down,” Gagnier said. “Act normal.”

  She forced herself to walk slower, but the consciousness of doing so made her lose all motor coordination. Her legs quivered a little, and it was as though all the eyes in the world were on her.

  “We’re just out for a stroll,” he added. “We’ve got nothing to hide.”

  Eighteen

  The SUV pulled up in front of a secondary entrance to the Institute. The building had rough concrete walls, no windows, and many security cameras. Two men dressed in black suits and black greatcoats guarded the door.

  She had never used that access before. In fact she didn’t even know it existed, as it was at the far side of the lab complex, away from the traffic and crowds pestering the main gate.

  When she tried to open it, she found the door of the car locked.

  One of the two guards walked over and opened it from outside. “This way,” he said with a German accent.

  Sarah and Richards followed him into the building after exchanging a worried look.

  Inside, another guard was waiting for them. “Follow me.” The towering man could weigh a hundred kilograms, and his steps on the tiled floor of the long corridor were strong and regular.

  Glancing back, she saw the door already shut. She pondered the idea of stopping, declaring herself out, and walking outside. After all, she was a free woman, and despite the unique situation, she had the right to do whatever she pleased.

  But she was also curious, and in a way, the colonel’s words had gotten on her nerves. Controlling the anomaly was an out-of-this-world request. Even just understanding what had happened would be a tremendous achievement, and yet her gut told her that walking away would be a pity.

  “I’ve never been in this wing,” Richards said.

  “Neither have I.” She could guess that it was the main building, but the precise geography of the place escaped her.

  “Please wait here,” the guard said, gesturing for them to enter a room.

  They complied, and the man closed the door.

  “Did he lock us inside?” she asked right before checking the knob. “He did! What the hell?”

  “Sarah, this is getting bigger every hour.”

  “I don’t give a damn. They can’t do this.” She fell onto one of the four steel chairs around the small desk at the center of the room. After releasing a powerful sigh, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  With a move that she could have expected, Richards’ face produced a polite smile.

  The place was cold, and the metal furniture didn’t help. Sarah rested her head in both her hands, with her elbows pinned on the table, staring at the closed door. “At least there’s no see-through mirror.” Why were they here? What were they waiting for? “They mentioned government officials. Who could they be?”

  Both of them jumped when the door opened without warning. The guard outside let a man into the room and closed the door.

  He could be in his forties, dark hair with just a hint of grey. His impeccable black suit, white shirt, and fire-red tie accentuated the sharp features of his face. The man sat down at the table in front of Sarah, put a folder down, and with his right hand pointed at the chair near her.

  Richards complied.

  The inscrutable character stared at his two guests for a long time, first Sarah and then the professor.

  She glanced over at her colleague and saw that his expression was hard. He looked back at the man in an unsteady, fierce way that she hadn’t ever seen.

  “They told me it is your fault,” the newcomer began, “but I believe we should give you credit for what you have done.”

  “It was a mistake. It was not in the plans,” Sarah said.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that it has happened, and on Swiss ground, too.” The man sported a sinister grin. “Your job will now be to find a way to control the anomaly.”

  “Control?” she asked leaning forward on the table. “We don’t even know what it is.”

  “We need to be able to close and open it at command, Doctor.”

  “That’s ridiculous! We don’t
even know if it’s dangerous. And I bet my ass it is.”

  “Let me restate it. We need to be able to close the anomaly, open it up again, and most importantly, open it toward other dimensions as well.”

  “You’re nuts. You’re out of your fucking mind.”

  “We’re playing with the unknown,” Richards added with a calm but firm voice. “This is a paradox that we didn’t even suspect could happen.”

  Someone knocked on the door and the man turned his head slightly to the door. “Yes?”

  The guard came in and handed a slip of paper to the man.

  He read it and smiled even further. “Doctor, Professor, perhaps you don’t understand how things work now. I give orders, you obey. If you talk about this with anyone outside your team, they will die. If you mention it to the press, you will die. I have ears everywhere. If you even think about telling someone, I would know.” The man’s eyes pierced Sarah’s. “The official story that you should mention, if asked, is that you are studying the anomaly to shut it down forever. Are we clear?”

  Sarah felt a mild urge to vomit, which was exacerbated by the disgusting grin on his face. Everything looked much bigger than she had thought. Bigger than her and Richards, of course. She couldn’t picture herself working under that kind of pressure, yet the man didn’t seem to give her any other choice.

  “Are we clear?” the man asked once more after a while.

  “Yes,” Richards said with an unsteady voice.

  With her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, she spoke again. “Did you threaten all the other members of our team?”

  “No. That would have been indelicate. We replaced them with a small group of trustworthy scientists and engineers.”

  “Trustworthy. Of course.”

  “Doctor, are you going to cause problems?”

  She was about to talk, but Richards startled her by placing a hand over hers. She took a deep breath. “No.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Can’t you see that it might take years? We might never understand the anomaly, even.”

  “Yes. But it would be stupid not to try, don’t you think?” The man stood and opened the door. “Bring them to the labs,” he told the guard, and with that, he was gone.