The Garden

by Craig W. Turner

  CHAPTER 15

  Claire hurried down the long corridor, trying to predict where Reilly might have taken Robert. She was guessing one of the private conference rooms nearby, but was hoping to spot someone from the leadership team, who might know, to save time. She felt bad leaving Landon to fend for himself in front of the students, but with how quickly they’d pulled Robert away, there was clearly more at stake than a blown presentation. Lunch was next on the agenda for the group, but her intent was to simply find out what was happening and be back to the tour straightaway.

  There was no unusual traffic in the hallways for her to follow, so she made her way to the emergency stairwell. Waiting for the high-speed elevators to go just five floors was an exercise in futility as she’d wait ten times the time it took to just walk. She hopped up the stairs three at a time and emerged through the door on the 7th floor, where an array of conference rooms lined the corridor. She knew that Reilly had a favorite and speed-walked across the lavender carpet toward it. The high-efficiency halogens overhead adjusted as she passed each of them, struggling to keep up with her swift pace while lighting a customized path for her.

  She reached the room she suspected they might be in – all the way at the other end of the floor. Reilly liked the room because it was one of the few with floor-to-ceiling windows and was on the right side of the building, overlooking the compound’s center square – a thrilling, if distracting at times, view, especially when lit up at night. During the daytime hours, Claire thought the room was a little bright for meetings, as the sunlight pouring in made it difficult to see holo presentations.

  The utility light on the side of the door was illuminated red, meaning the room was occupied. The room was not specifically set aside for Reilly, but because everyone knew he was fond of it, no one else ever reserved it. Reasonably certain they were inside, she rapped lightly on the door. It was odd that someone would attempt to interrupt a closed-door meeting, but she had a feeling they’d respond.

  They did. She heard the magnetic locks unlatch and the door was cracked open. The crevasse filled with Keegan’s tattooed face, staring at her – the last thing she expected, or wanted, to see. She started to comment, but saw seriousness in his eyes, so she softened. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Keegan didn’t answer, simply opening the door to let her in. She stepped inside and locked eyes with Robert, sitting at the conference table, who threw up his hands in frustration – at her for some reason. “What is it?” she asked again, this time defensively.

  “The kids,” Robert said, his tone disapproving. “You can’t leave the kids like that.”

  She looked around the room. With Keegan and Robert were Reilly and Senator O’Neill, both also seated at the table. “Landon is there with them,” she said slowly, continuing to assess the room. “This seemed more important.”

  “It’s not,” Robert said.

  “Robert, let it go,” Reilly said, then motioned to Claire to shut the door behind her. She pulled it closed and the locks magnetized again. “Claire, grab a seat.”

  Sitting, she glanced up at Keegan. While yesterday he’d purposefully avoided eye contact with her, now he was looking at her empathetically, as if trying to explain the situation to her without using words to do it. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.

  Reilly leaned forward in his seat. “Claire, the Attorney General’s been trying to shut us down for a long time, and Senator O’Neill tells us that he now believes he’s got a way to do it.” Claire started to respond, but he held up a hand, quieting her. “Apparently, they gathered their legal minds together and conjured up with a plan that, while it’s a stretch, could have some legs. It looks like he’ll be able to secure the warrants he needs to move forward.”

  “Warrants?” she asked. “How long?”

  “Probably within twenty-four hours,” O’Neill said, jumping in. “Definitely within forty-eight.”

  Claire sighed. “What’s their play now?”

  Reilly jerked his thumb at Robert. “What we hear is that they’re going to go after Robert for using time travel for personal gain.”

  She laughed. “That’s absurd.”

  “Prove that he didn’t,” Keegan, who was pacing the room and was now behind her, said.

  “What are they going to accuse him of?”

  Reilly was shaking his head. “We don’t know. Everything. Anything. The AG’s office could come up with all kinds of things. And unfortunately, as you will realize, he’s only doing the President’s bidding.” U.S. President Roland Fitcher, only months into his first term in office, was a long-time outspoken opponent of the program, and had campaigned against SATP leading up to his election. “I’m afraid, if they’re successful in demonizing Robert, we’re out of business.”

  “Well, no,” Claire said. “We’ll fight it, right?”

  “There’s nothing to fight, Claire,” Reilly said. “If they show up here tomorrow with a cease-and-desist, there is nothing we can do. And believe me – it won’t be a phone call from the Oval Office. It’s going to be FBI agents storming through this building with weapons drawn.”

  “What could they possible think we’re doing in here that would warrant a response like that?” She looked around the room at each of them to read their faces, but came up empty. She could not imagine what kind of accusations against Robert they could manufacture.

  “Look at where I’ve been, Claire,” Robert said, dejected. “I’ve searched for treasures, I’ve investigated unsolved murders, and I’ve witnessed key military initiatives. And in so many of those missions, I was the only person who went. Every other person on the face of the planet was at my mercy if I chose to change something in history to a different timeline. The question isn’t what they are going to charge me with. The question is what aren’t they going to charge me with.” His voice raised as he spoke.

  “Hold on,” said Reilly. “Hold on. Let’s not be melodramatic. We don’t know what’s going to happen.” He paused, watching to make sure Robert was calming down, which he did. “That being said, I don’t want to see you go to jail tomorrow, so let’s start thinking about getting you out of here.”

  “I’m not going-” Robert started to say, standing up.

  “Listen,” Reilly said, “we’re going to minimize damages here, and we’re starting with you. As of this moment, we can’t prove that you’re innocent of anything. And we definitely can’t prove that you’re innocent if we don’t have access to the time lab.”

  “I think I should leave for this part,” O’Neill said, standing. She walked toward the door without anyone responding, turning just before she triggered the lock. “Andrew, I’ll keep you posted.” She slid out the door and was gone.

  Claire returned her focus to the room and watched as Robert shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “We can beat this.”

  “We can’t, Robert,” Reilly said. “They are going to shut us down and they’re going to put you away. Even if you’re found not guilty, you’re going to spend the next three or four years of your life on trial or in prison. Is that what you want?”

  “Look,” Keegan said, his deep voice attracting everyone’s attention. “I didn’t say anything while she was in here. But Robert’s right. If he runs, he only exacerbates the problem, and comes off looking like he does have something to hide. If they want to shut us down, and you’re confident that they can do it, there’s really only one option.”

  “Which is?” Reilly asked.

  “Which is we go down swinging.”

  “You want to fight the President?” Claire asked. “Are you insane? Can’t we rally the partner nations? I know Canada-”

  Keegan was shaking his head. “That’s not what I’m saying.” He leaned his massive frame forward on the table. “Let’s get back to why we’re here. Why SATP exists. The science. We’re here to study our world and its history. Our only choice is to make this program so invaluable – with Robert as our fearle
ss leader – that people will destroy the President for even thinking about shutting us down. Politically.”

  “How do we do that?” Claire asked, suspiciously.

  “We go all the way,” Reilly said with a sigh. She looked at Reilly and then back at Keegan. Had they talked ahead of time?

  “We don’t have time,” Robert said, again shaking his head. Claire couldn’t remember Robert shaking his head so much ever. He was the most positive person she’d ever met, but now his negativity was sapping her own energy.

  “It doesn’t matter if we don’t have time,” Keegan said. “We make the time. Look, it’s either we do something big, or those of us who don’t go to prison go find something else to do with our lives. I don’t want to go to prison.”

  “You wouldn’t-” Claire started to say.

  “Claire, c’mon,” he said. “I’ve been on as many missions as he has. Whatever case they want to make about Robert they could make about me, too.”

  She hated when he was right, so she deflected. “When you say we ‘go all the way,’ you’re suggesting that we-”

  “Yes.”

  “Please,” Robert said. “It can’t happen. Let’s drop the subject.” Now he stood and began pacing the room himself.

  “Why not, Robert?” Keegan asked, following him until Robert stopped face-to-face with him. Well, face-to-neck.

  “Keegan, the idea was a stretch when it was first conceived, and it’s an even worse idea now, when you talk about rushing it through,” Robert said, his all-American look contrasting inches below the multicolored ink patterns on Keegan’s face. “Look, it’s a neat idea. It’s a great fantasy. I love that you’re so excited about it. But it can’t happen.” He paused. “It’s too late. Let’s just call our attorneys and the get ready for the storm.”

  Keegan turned to Reilly, who looked down at the table and shook his head. Then he turned to Claire, which was exactly what she did not want to happen – ending up in a scenario where she would be his ally. “I’m not making this decision,” she said, realizing even as the words were coming out of her mouth that she wasn’t saying no.

  The Garden of Eden. What had started out as a bit of a running joke among project members had taken on shape after several months of hypothesizing: could time travel be used to visit the time that supposedly witnessed the Biblical account of the Garden of Eden? It had been a grand debate for a few years now, split predictably between a group of Creationists on the project staff and the actual scientists who used fact instead of myth to come to their conclusions. Claire herself had taken an active role in the debates, which at one point were merely for sport. But someone on the team – to this day no one had admitted to being the one – had approached the SATP research division with a request to get the ball rolling on an investigation, initiating at least part of the process that would take place when any time travel destination was identified. The research crew had put together a voluminous body of work to date, but by no means had come up with anything conclusive, including no recommendation as to whether the team should or should not attempt what she had viewed from the beginning as nothing more than a dare. One that would do nothing but lead them on a wild goose chase.

  “Doesn’t get any bigger than this,” Keegan said.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Reilly agreed, his eyes still fixated on the Formica tabletop in front of him.

  “Robert,” Keegan said, continuing his argument, “the stage is set. It’s not like this is a brand-new idea. We’ve been working on it for years. You pushed the envelope with the Egypt trip, and while there were some issues, yes, the technology worked. It worked. It was only a matter of time before we started getting antsy to stretch those boundaries again. There’s not too much further back we can safely go.” Claire watched as Robert continued to stare at him blankly. “Look, we brought this guy in solely for this trip.” He motioned vaguely downstairs to let everyone know he was referencing Landon.

  “That’s not why we brought him-” Robert said, cutting himself off. “Honestly? That’s a spin of the truth.”

  Keegan’s mention of Landon reminded Claire that he was still downstairs with the students. It crossed her mind that he would not even know where the cafeteria was to take them to lunch. Perhaps one of the teachers who’d been on the tour before would help. Embarrassing, but he’d survive.

  “Look,” Reilly said quietly, finally lifting his head. “We’re not going to spend the afternoon going around in circles about this. Here’s what needs to happen.” He pointed at Robert. “You – go pack up some things. I’m willing to defer judgment for a few hours as to whether we should get you out of here, but I want you ready to go if that’s the decision we come to.” Robert started to respond, but Reilly cut him off. “That’s not a request.” He pointed to Keegan, then stopped, rubbing his chin for a moment, thinking. After a moment, he said slowly, “Go down to research and talk to Chester Davies. See if you can get a handle on whatever work he’s done to date on your Eden idea.”

  “Absolutely,” Keegan said, a bit too excitedly, Claire thought.

  “Keegan,” Reilly said, stopping him. “Just Davies. Nobody else in research. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  Reilly looked at Claire. “Why don’t you get down there and save that poor kid from the students? They’re probably eating him alive.”

  She realized she was still looking past Reilly at Keegan, who was openly beside himself with excitement. It didn’t seem right. While she was truly ambivalent about the justification for an Eden experiment, she didn’t feel this was a moment that called for enthusiasm. She turned her attention to Reilly and stood.

  “What about coordinates?” she asked, assessing for herself the many items on the mission prep list that would need to be tackled. “It takes weeks-”

  “Don’t worry about it, Claire,” Reilly answered.

  “We have that,” Keegan said.

  “What? How?” She looked back and forth between Reilly and Keegan.

  “Just go take care of the kids,” Reilly said. “Last thing we need to do is make them suffer for our bad politics.”

  “Claire,” Robert said, catching her, “I’ll call over to marketing and have them put together something for the kids. I feel awful I had to run out like that.”

  “Not your fault, Robert,” she said slowly. “But that’s nice of you.”

  “Good,” Reilly said. “Are we all set? I’ll do some homework and see if I can’t get a little more info on what the AG’s plans are.”

  “Don’t do anything to speed him up,” Robert said, warning. “We tip him off that we’re investigating him-”

  “Don’t worry,” Reilly said. “I want you and the rest of the team together on the 89th floor at 4 p.m. Good?”

  “New guy?” Robert asked.

  “That’s what he’s here for,” Reilly said. “Isn’t it?”

  A moment later, Claire was hustling back down the corridor toward what she hoped was a cafeteria full of seventh graders.

  CHAPTER 16

  Amy Cheng slumped back into her chair and let out a deep sigh. “Shut down?” she asked quietly, looking at the floor and not directly at Keegan, who’d delivered the “bad news” to her. “How is that possible?”

  “Not only is it possible, but quite likely,” Keegan said. She listened to his voice. While the news he was giving her would abruptly change their lives and, for most of them, not in a good way, she could almost hear excitement coming from him as he told the story. Her first thought was that Keegan had always been jealous of Robert’s gravitas, so he might take a moment or two to revel in Robert being knocked down a peg. But despite how he felt generally, she knew Keegan wasn’t that selfish. There was something else.

  She decided to address it head-on, looking up at him. “What’s Robert saying? This has to be incredibly difficult for him.”

  “He’s frustrated, as you might imagine,” Keegan said. “And angry. Probably a little upset with himself for not seeing it coming
.”

  “How could he have? How could any of us? If it’s true, it’s a creative approach, you have to admit.” Keegan nodded at her. “I just can’t believe it.”

  Finding Keegan standing outside her door was unexpected, as typically following a big mission, as the team’s lead analyst he was tied to Robert’s hip as they debriefed. The full team always had the opportunity to sit with Robert when he returned from a trip, but the bulk of the responsibility for capturing his report fell to Keegan. That was primarily because Keegan was designated team leader for follow-up missions to Robert’s. Once Robert’s work was done and he was onto planning his next mission, Keegan took over. Usually, they wouldn’t see him for a few days, at least.

  But if seeing him was a surprise, his telling her that SATP was in jeopardy shook her. One day after the program’s most glorious moment, they were being shut down, dropping them from the high of highs to the low of lows.

  Shut down on U.S. soil, she reminded herself.

  “You know the partner nations won’t stand for this,” she said, allowing her common sense to overtake her emotions. “With the amount of money that has been put into the program, they’re not going to sit on their hands and just let it all come to an end. This isn’t the President’s decision alone.”

  “What can they do? If we’re forced to shut down-”

  She stood. “There’s nothing in the SATP charter that says the facility has to be in the United States. There are other countries represented in the treaty, all of whom would jump at the opportunity to house the time lab. Wouldn’t you think?”