The police officer told Evan that they were going to move Bryan around to the back of the building while they searched the rest of the facility. They would take him to the station for booking and questioning soon after. Evan told the officer that he appreciated their help and that he would comply in any way necessary.
Sandra was near tears when Evan said, “You can’t blame yourself, my dear. In all of my years of business, I’ve learned one thing for sure: you will always have enemies, and they’ll always be the last person you would expect.”
A strange grin emerged on Evan’s face, and he took Sandra’s hand. They started to walk back up to the main entrance. Evan told Cassie that Sandra would speak with her later.
Cassie waited until Evan and Sandra were out of sight before she started around the building. She needed to talk to Bryan and find out what had really happened.
The sirens had started to die down. Matthew sat in Cameron’s car for over twenty minutes thinking about all the mistakes he had made with Amanda. He was kicking himself for not telling her how he felt. He had written a dumb letter. He thought to himself, “She probably thought the letter was stupid…or what if she never read it?”
He wasn’t sure what he should do next, except he knew he needed to check his phone. He had two messages. “Maybe one of them is from Amanda,” he thought hopefully.
The first message seemed to be from Cassie, but it was all broken up. The only thing he could get out of it was “Addie…trouble…her plan.” Matthew didn’t know what it meant, but he hoped the second message would clear it up.
The second message was from Addie, and it was crystal clear. “Matthew, it’s Addie. Listen carefully: we are in full retreat mode. We have been compromised and are being tracked by Keith Kellington. After you listen to this message, you must get rid of your cell phone. They are tracking us and using the phones to find our positions. Once you trash the phone, head directly to the rorimite tunnel. Don’t stop until you get there. We cannot get caught here, Matthew. The entire operation is at risk.”
Matthew thought about Addie’s message and determined that Cassie must have been trying to warn him of the same thing. He thought, “Cassie was saying that Addie was in trouble but she had a plan.” Matthew opened the car door and took his phone to the nearest trash can. He took out the battery and threw it away. After a few shots to the phone with his boot, he pulled it apart and trashed the guts.
Matthew’s mind was still distraught over the letter from Amanda, but he knew that the mission had to be completed. He jumped back into Cameron’s car and sped off toward the rorimite tunnel. For him, it was time to go home.
Cassie snuck around to the back of the building where the police had taken their squad car with Bryan Chance in the backseat. There were several officers standing around, but none were by the car. They were talking with each other or with bystanders around the scene. One of them was giving an interview to a local television station.
The back window of the squad car was cracked open just enough to allow some air into the car. Bryan sat there, a stoic look stained on his face. Cassie knelt down by the car and pretended to tie her shoe. She said, “I know you don’t know who I am, but I know who you are. I’m a friend of Matthew’s, and I know all about the time travelling and the Hathmec. Matthew met me back in 1984 when I was younger, and he trusts me. He wanted me to keep an eye on you and Addie today. Can you tell me what happened?”
Bryan sat silent for a minute and then asked, “If you know Matthew, then you should know the names of his mother and brother.”
Without hesitation, Cassie replied, “April and Connor. Connor can be an ass sometimes.”
Bryan chuckled. “I guess you do know them.”
Cassie asked, “What happened?”
Bryan turned his head to the crack in the window and said, “We’ve been betrayed by one of our own. You have to get a message to Matthew and warn him. Addie has betrayed us. This was a setup from the beginning.”
Cassie stood up from her extended shoe tying and asked, “A setup for what? Why would she set you up?”
Bryan shook his head. “I don’t know, but she has my Hathmec. That means I can’t defend myself against the Minister. He’ll be able to read my mind and know everything I know. Matthew is in great danger.”
Cassie slinked away from the car and called Matthew’s cell phone. She tried multiple times and left a message, but there was no response. She ran back over to the car and told Bryan that she couldn’t reach him. She was starting to panic.
Bryan said, “I know where he’s going. He’s heading to the rorimite tunnel.” Cassie looked at him with a blank stare.
“It’s the way we travel through time.” Cassie shook her head and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know what it was called.”
“It’s about an hour out of the city in a field across from this address.” Bryan gave Cassie the address and told her to hurry. “You have to warn Matthew about Addie and keep them from going into that tunnel. If they’re still here, there’s a chance I can get free before running into one of the Minister’s guys. If they leave, there’s no telling what the consequences could be in the future.”
Cassie heard some officers in the background making their way back to the car, so she started to walk away. She could see an officer leading Evan Elliott to the vehicle. She increased the speed of her walking to a slow jog. It wasn’t long before she sped off, hoping to get to Matthew before Addie.
Evan Elliott spoke with the officer at length about the incident at the facility. He congratulated several of the boys in blue and shook their hands. In a few minutes, some of them began to move away from the squad car, so Evan eased his way over to the cracked window. Leaning down slightly, he said, “I can’t wait to get inside that mind. Oh, the things I will see.” Agent Bryan knew the ramifications of his situation, and they were potentially disastrous to Walter and the cause. All he could do now was sit there and hope.
Matthew was the first to arrive at the field that housed the rorimite tunnel. He’d thought about Amanda for the entire hour of the drive and had come to a decision about the trans-x charm.
Amanda had told him in the letter that she expected him to take back the Hathmec pendants he had given to her and Steven. He decided to take a different approach. He thought about Amanda and a smile came to his face. He finished the short hike up to the tunnel and found it to be in good shape.
Matthew held his Hathmec in his hand and shared the trans-x charm with Addie, Bryan, Steven, and Amanda. He placed the heart-shaped carrier stone on the ground beside the tunnel and waited to see what happened. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed—nothing. Matthew was hopeful, but he was also realistic.
“Matthew! Matthew!” His heart raced as he turned toward the female voice.
Addie ran toward him. She had changed out of the dress she had worn to the press conference and into her more comfortable black pants and black tank top. Matthew asked, “Where’s Bryan?”
Addie replied, “He’ll be here in a minute. He wanted to hide the car, just in case we were being followed.”
Matthew stood in front of the tunnel and asked, “How did you find out about Keith? Did you see him at the press conference?”
Addie reached into her back pocket and said, “Yeah, he was there. I think he had some of his goons following us, so that’s why we made the call to get out of there.”
Matthew grinned. “I guess you can tell that I found the trans-x charm. I copied it to your Hathmec a little while ago. Were you able to complete your secret mission for Walter?”
Addie slid up to Matthew’s side. “Oh, yeah, mission accomplished.”
Matthew felt a quick stick into the side of his arm, and he pulled away. He started to rub the spot and gazed at Addie. “Did you feel that?” He started to feel weakness in his legs and went down to one knee. “Addie, what’s going on? Everything’s getting fuzzy.”
Addie replied, “Wow, I gave you twice the amount I g
ave Agent Bryan. I’m surprised you can still talk.”
She picked Matthew up by the shirt after tossing a carrier stone on him. “I would slit your throat right now, but I still have plans for your whole family. I wouldn’t want you to miss all the fun.” Matthew grunted as his feet left the ground.
She dragged him to the front of the tunnel entrance. He tried to regain his balance, but his legs and arms just wouldn’t function. She plopped him down and said, “Such a big man. What a joke! I played you and your little girlfriend from the second we got here. I even made sure that she left before you could tell her how you felt about her.”
Addie removed the brush that covered the rorimite tunnel and said, “I knew you were close to giving in to your stupid teenage feelings. I wonder what she would say if she could see you now.”
“I would probably tell you to leave my boyfriend alone, you bitch!”
Chapter 20
BLOOD TIES
Addie turned her attention away from Matthew, who was struggling to get the feeling back in his body, to Amanda. She had used the trans-x charm to travel from Tennessee to Virginia in a matter of seconds. The heart-shaped carrier stone she had left for Matthew sat at her feet as she glared a hole through Addie.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with you, Amanda. You need to go back to your family and let me take care of Matthew.”
Amanda replied, “It doesn’t look like you’re taking care of him. I heard what you said. You may have played me, but you couldn’t change me. After all you did and the lies you spewed, you still couldn’t keep us apart.”
Addie rolled her eyes. “I never wanted to hurt you. You should never have been a part of this. I was trying to protect you and Steven. You’re both innocent.”
Amanda took a step closer. “Innocent of what? We were all in this together, and you’ve done nothing but lie since we got here.”
“So, what now, little girl?” Addie asked. “You’re not going back with us.”
Amanda cracked her knuckles. “Oh, I’m going back.” She scattered a few carrier stones around the ground and said, “Try to stop me.”
Matthew tried to speak, but the words just wouldn’t come out. He’d been injected with a heavy narcotic. While the health charm was keeping him conscious, it wasn’t working fast enough to clear the other effects.
Addie raised her hand and motioned Amanda forward. “Let’s see what you got.”
Amanda lunged at the more experienced fighter and was caught with a quick kick to the stomach and a slap across her face. She staggered off to the side to collect herself. The sting of the slap pulsed through her cheek. Addie stepped menacingly after her, saying, “I know karate, judo, and just about every other form of self-defense ever invented.”
In one quick movement, she grabbed Amanda by the hair and plunged her knee into her abdomen. “I’ve been trained for this. I don’t even need a Hathmec to take you down.” From where he lay nearby, Matthew watched in horror, unable to do anything to help his love.
Amanda fell down to her knees and doubled over, the wind knocked out of her. Moisture from the wet ground felt cold as it seeped through the knees of her jeans. Addie closed in, fists clenched, and said, “One hundred years of preparation is awfully tough to beat.” As she leaned down toward Amanda, though, a baseball-bat-sized tree limb struck her in the head. Amanda had noticed it on the ground beside her and now wielded it with purpose.
“You may have years of fighting experience, but I had eight years of softball.” With that, Amanda slammed the limb into Addie’s back and then clocked her again across the face. Addie could feel the grain of the wood as it dimpled her cheek.
The force of the blow sent Addie flying back and skidding across the ground like a damaged Frisbee. Her smirk of domination was gone, and her demeanor shifted. This wasn’t a joke anymore. She grabbed some loose dirt and threw it into Amanda’s eyes. Momentarily stunned, Amanda dropped the tree limb.
Her advantage regained, Addie jumped to her feet and proceeded to land multiple punches to Amanda’s head and body. After four connections, she threw a haymaker that caught nothing but air. Amanda was gone. Addie scanned the immediate area—nothing. The only other person there was Matthew. Looking at him with a smirk, she said, “I guess she wasn’t as into you as you thought.”
She snickered and then felt the hard impression of a real baseball bat into the back of her knee. She fell to the ground, and there stood Amanda towering over her. She was holding a slugger bat and a long-handled knife.
Amanda said, “I would have brought these with me in the first place if I’d known I needed them.” She had transported back to her home in Tennessee, where she had left another carrier stone, and returned with some weapons. She held the knife out in front of her to keep Addie on the ground.
“What did you do to him?” Amanda now asked. “Why can’t he speak?”
Addie held her hands in the air. “It’s just a little knock-out narcotic. I have something that can reverse those effects…if you’ll let me reach into my pocket.”
Amanda didn’t trust Addie, but she also didn’t know what would happen to Matthew if he went through the tunnel in his current state. She agreed to let Addie reach in her pocket. She watched her closely as she pulled out a round ring.
Matthew recognized the ring and tried to get Amanda’s attention, but it was too late. Addie snapped her fingers, and the vibration knocked Amanda to the ground. The knife flew off into the distance, and Amanda crashed into the cold mud.
Addie looked to Matthew. “I bet you didn’t know Walter had given me one of those, did you?” She grabbed Matthew under the arms and pulled him to the tunnel. She was about to jump through when Amanda grabbed her around the neck from behind.
“I won’t let you take him!” Amanda fought frantically with Addie in front of the tunnel. Matthew tried to grab Addie’s arms as they went at it. Addie was able to work her hand into her other pocket as she scuffled with Amanda to grab her other vile of the narcotic she had given to Matthew.
She held it in the air and started to plunge it into Amanda’s neck. Amanda had borrowed as much strength from Addie and Matthew as she could, but she still wasn’t strong enough to stop her. Then Addie’s hand was stopped by someone new to the scuffle. It was Cassie Jenkins.
“You’re not going anywhere with these kids.” Addie glared at the middle-aged woman and said, “You’re right. I’m not taking them anywhere.” She proceeded to grab both Amanda and Cassie around their necks. “We’re taking them.”
Matthew had just regained his legs and stood shakily with his back to the rorimite tunnel entrance. Addie pulled Cassie and Amanda into the opening, running over Matthew in the process. And in the blink of an eye, they were all gone. The tunnel closed as if it had never been there.
Inside the tunnel, Amanda reached for Matthew and grabbed his hand. Addie had released her and Cassie but now had a tight grip on Matthew. Amanda could see that Cassie was in great distress, so she also reached for her hand and held on tightly. The images of the past surrounded the time travelers until a light materialized at the other end. Although Amanda shot in and out of consciousness, she never let go of Matthew.
“What in the hell is going on here!” Walter was beyond concerned as he looked at the mass of bodies piled on the floor outside the rorimite tunnel. Amanda Curry and some other woman lay on top of Addie and Matthew. Johnson ran in from a side room and started to pull them all apart. Addie was the first to come around.
Walter stood over her. “Agent Addison, what’s going on here? Where is Agent Bryan? Why did Amanda Curry come back with you? Who is this other woman?” It took a moment for Addie to regain her full cognitive functions. Everything came back to her in slow waves of recognition.
“Walter, you need to get Matthew and Amanda to the infirmary. We were being attacked before we went through the tunnel, and they were both injected with some type of poison.”
Walter asked, “Who were you fighting with? What ki
nd of poison?”
Addie replied, “I don’t know, but it hurt both of them. Please, we need to get them to the infirmary,”
She stood up and moved over to Amanda, picking her up by her arms. Johnson had some rolling beds brought in to lay them on. Walter pulled Johnson over to the side and explained what he wanted checked on Matthew and Amanda. Addie took that opportunity to stick Amanda and Matthew with the last of the vile she had hidden in her pocket. Amanda had just started to wake up, but the injection took hold before she could speak. Addie stroked Amanda’s hair and said, “Don’t worry, we’re gonna take care of you.”
Matthew and Amanda were wheeled out of the rorimite room, and Walter turned his attention back to Addie. “Who is this other woman?” Addie approached Cassie, who was still unconscious on the floor, and did what she did best. She lied.
“This woman needs to be taken to a holding cell for questioning. She was part of the Minister’s team that attacked us before we escaped back through the tunnel.” Walter was perplexed at the things Addie was telling him, but she was one of his most trusted agents, and he had no reason not to believe what she said. He ordered that Cassie be taken to a holding cell until she woke up, at which time she would be questioned.
Johnson picked up Cassie and said, “This woman doesn’t have a Hathmec.” Walter looked at her closely. “She may not even survive the trip, but we’ll see.”
Johnson left the room, and Walter looked at Addie. “Where is Agent Bryan?” Addie put her hands over her eyes and began to cry. Walter put his hand on her shoulder. “Did something happen to him back there? Is he dead?”
Addie went into a long description of Agent Bryan’s heroism. She made up a story in which he gave his own life to save the rest of the group. “He was such a hero, Walter. We wouldn’t have made it back if it wasn’t for him.”
Walter was disappointed but also concerned about the events around Bryan’s death. “I just don’t understand why you encountered such a problem from the Minister’s team on this mission. It should have been avoided.”
Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed Page 29
