Bellos played the Knofer hologram.
“I better have the final interview.”
“What do you think, Mathew?”
Bellos lifted his head, “I think Brock is succeeding. Get this information to both Burns and Swanson. Tell Burns to initiate highest defense mode. I’ll be with our final visitor. Oh, and Thom, did we retrieve anything on Angie’s status?”
“We got a reading from her Knofer. We are trying to trace it, through the same efforts we are using to track the Sidron vibrations. When this last event occurred, we registered her Knofer as active, but only during the event. All went dead, after that.”
Bellos and Wheeler walked out the door and turned in different directions again. Bellos entered the room, which held the oldest of the three visitors. Both men looked at each other, and shook hands. The man said, “My God, you haven’t changed a day. Hello again, Mathew; isn’t it?”
Bellos was a bit shocked, but he quickly replied, “Andrew, you remember?”
“Yes; I guess I am about 15 years older, than the last time we met. And yes, I did think it was a dream; nevertheless, I began talking it out, and writing what I saw, last time. Why am I here, again, now? Did you ever find out what happened those years ago?”
Bellos looked him over, from head to toe.
“You should sit down for this, I think.”
Bellos sat beside him.
“The last time we met, we were across the hall. It was 15 years ago for you; but I just came from that room, not 5 minutes ago, for me. I walked directly from our meeting there, to here.”
“I woke up in my bed, thinking I dreamed it all, until I found this.”
He pulled out the flash-drive head set vault, from his last meeting with Wheeler, years ago, and handed it to Bellos.
“I couldn’t use it, of course, in any way. I thought about having it analyzed, but what good would that do. It would have been destroyed. I told parts of the story to a close friend; but, we drank a lot together, so it was easy to brush off as bullshit. I carried that with me, almost every day, everywhere, knowing somehow I would write about it; but, I never did, that I know of , anyway.”
“Well you did later, and your book has become a prime element, in a mystery here, which we are now trying to solve.”
Bellos accepted the file back and sat, praying the man wouldn’t disappear.
“Mystery?”
“Yes, it looks like the wrong people read your book. Ultimately, that’s why you are here.”
Bellos opened the room’s door and the guard handed him something.
“Is this your book?”
Andrew took it and began reading.
“These are my words, my name, the copyright is dated…Jesus!”
He sat down, shaking a bit.
“You were right about Mr. Burns. I did meet him before; I think. He was a new hire, right? Bragging, that he could time travel? I showed him that flash drive thingy too. At first, he refused to comment. Finally, he studied it, enough to confirm that it came from you, here. I told him things, he couldn’t discount, that I saw last time. After that, he was very informative. We shared many thoughts and ideas. Eventually, he gave me a headset session, and everything became so clear to me. Déjà vu became real memory. I remember crying, for a week or so, after he left. It affected me in so many ways.”
“I am sorry, Andrew. We don’t make it a practice to interfere in people’s lives, on the surface, unless it’s necessary. I thought giving you the headset next door would trigger your memory, of a man named Marion Brock.”
“No; not familiar…”
“How about anyone named Brock?”
Andrew shook his head no. Then he hesitated for a second.
“Wait; a long time ago; I think; it was when I was in college. I remember the Vietnam War was a big deal to us kids…”
“Long ago is right.”
“…Something about weapons, or ammunition; but it wasn’t Marion. It was another name; and, it was the first time I met your Mr. Burns too.”
“Nicolas…”
Just then, Bellos’s Knofer clicked again. But this time it was Jake Burns.
“Sir, I have important news. I need to speak to you right away.”
“Go ahead Jake…”
Bellos turned and remarked to Andrew, “Speak of the devil; it’s your friend, Jake Burns.”
Andrew froze, as Bellos tapped the Knofer and Burns appeared as a hologram in the center of the room.
“Go ahead Jake.”
“Sir, we have traced the Sidron waves back to an event in 1965. It seems there was a great intensity-an ‘Inflation’, a small Big Bang. In this case, an anomaly resulted. A posit of time separated from our timeline.”
“Not an explosion?”
“Of sorts, Sir; of course there was no sound; but it was a great disturbance; and it was within the Sidron. I believe it was a result of two or more people, having ‘compatibility’ with a Carrier, an overload; apparently another person was the catalyst, in some way. The combination of so many, triggered the event.”
“Catalyst; I hate that word now; I wonder?”
“You don’t think Ms. Angie; do you Sir? I mean she was the catalyst needed for C.P.T. …Perhaps…”
For a second, Bellos had a blank stare. Then, he stepped to the side of the hologram, revealing Andrew.
“Jake. Say hello. Do you remember Mr. Andrew, here?”
Bellos gestured toward his visitor. Jake startled; and then, he bowed, respectfully, saying, “Oh my, interesting; good to see you again, my friend.”
“Well, I wish I could say the same.”
Bellos began again, “Jake, I think there may be two possibilities for that catalyst you mentioned.”
“Ah, yes; I see what you mean. I’ll have the lab run comparative tests, if our visitor, there, will consent.”
“Good idea.” Bellos smiled. “Well, Mr. Andrew, what do you say; care to help solve our little mystery?”
Andrew looked at the book, and around the room.
“Will I be allowed to see more than just this room?”
“I think I can arrange that.”
Burns began to rant, “Sir, I am reading a new event. We have another problem.”
Wheeler burst through the door.
“Sir, we have another problem.”
“Another one…Well, one of you spit it out!”
Jake blurted, “Sir, I just got word that Secretary Swanson has disappeared.”
“What? Christ! Wheeler; take Mr. Andrew here to the lab. Run comparative tests on his blood and DNA, with our records. Get everything on a genetic profile. See if we have any matches or similarities, in any of the colony vaults.”
“Jake, where are you?” Bellos tapped his Knofer, entering the code, to initiate a holographic map of inner Earth.
“I am at X-1500 miles east of core, Y-angle 30 degrees north, northeast linear.”
Bellos pin pointed Burn’s location.
“Do we have any Intel, on what happened?”
“Sir, we need to talk, in the same room. I suspect our communiqué is contaminated.”
“Do you have a fix on the suspect’s location?”
“My Carrier does, yes.”
“Then follow the signal and keep in touch. I want to know location and source.”
The Knofer cut the call; and, Wheeler spoke to Bellos quickly, “Mathew; Gordon was in his office. Patty says he disappeared before her eyes.”
Bellos squinted and whispered to himself, “Brock and a Carrier.”
“Thom, I have to go. I have a meeting with the Bering Strait Commission. Keep digging. Get me anything you find out. Test Mr. Andrew, and get me the results.”
Chapter 21
Rosse
Both Jack Sheldon and Abby Johnson seemed very uneasy, during the plane ride to D.C. Jack fidgeted, looked out the window; and then, said, “I feel like I should be three places at once. There’s so much, back at the Complex too; and, now, Brian and Angie.�
�
“They will be all right; GGM is on it.”
“How soon, before we land?”
“Same as two minutes ago; try and relax a little; the pilot will tell us when we approach.”
“Relax? Are you married, Johnson?”
“No; not yet.”
“Well, I am; and not just married. I married the love of my life. She is the love of my death, too.”
“Interesting choice of words.”
“Yes, because we did die; sort of anyway. Regardless; you wouldn’t understand.”
“Well, you are right about that. Look, down there, the ancient nuclear power plant outside Harrisburg Pennsylvania. I read about nuclear power on the surface. Some thought, for a long time, that it was the energy saving messiah; stupid people.”
“Yes, electricity was in its infancy, then. What is that sound?”
“It’s coming from your pocket.”
“Oh, my phone.”
Jack fumbled and finally answered, “Hello, Rach; is that you?”
“No, Dr. Sheldon, this is Charlie Rosse.”
“Rosse?”
Jack was befuddled, for a few seconds.
“Hello, Mr. Rosse, how coincidental, I am on my way to D.C., to see you. Have you met with my wife?”
Johnson looked on, pensively; she tapped her Knofer to trace the call.
“He’s not in D.C., at all, Jack.”
“Yes, I met your wife, briefly. That is why I am calling, as a matter of fact. She is with me. We are on a little trip together, and we would like you to join us.”
“Jack,” Abby whispered, “he is calling from Rio de Janeiro.”
Jack rolled his eyes; and, then, he spoke into the phone, “You mean you kidnapped my wife?”
“Strong word; kidnapped; let’s just say, you two have been invited to a meeting. And if I were you, I’d bring the last part of the notes, on your treatise, my friend.”
“I am not your friend. You harm her, and it will be the last thing you ever do!”
“Oh, she won’t be harmed; rest assured. We only want those pages. You know that.”
“Where?”
“You have a pen and paper?”
“Yes.”
“Write these coordinates down. We will call you, when you are within a half hour, of landing. And Doctor, do I have to tell you; come alone?”
“I’ll be there.”
Rosse hung up and Jack looked at Johnson, “Did you get all that?”
“Yes, it’s on its way to GGM. I’ll give it to the pilot. Jack, one of the Knofers we tracked came from Rio. Does your wife have one?”
“Frankly, I’m not sure.”
“I’ll be back; try not to get too upset; we need your brains working, not your emotions running wild.”
The plane turned south east, toward Rio.
Chapter 22
Back to the Courthouse
Angie and Brian finally made it back to the steps of the courthouse. They stood looking up at the clock tower.
“Guess we are early”
“Brian, you can’t trust that time. You heard Mr. Wheeler.”
“Jesus, Angie, he was a hologram. And why should I believe any of this. Time anomaly; the whole thing is ridiculous. It’s bad science fiction.”
“Yeah; well, I believe him. I lived it. Let’s go.”
“Wait; didn’t you tell me you were outside on these steps, when it happened?”
Angie stopped cold.
“You are right. We need to look right here. Let’s see. You, I mean, the other Brian, and I came out of the doors, up there. We walked down the steps, over there. Come on…Yes, about here. Look around; see if you notice anything strange.”
“Strange? This whole thing is strange.”
“Yes, well; blurry then; or something in the air, that shouldn’t be there.”
“Jesus, this is nuts. Okay, I am looking for blurry. Nope, everything seems in focus…Now what?”
Angie sat on the steps, frustrated.
“Hmm, maybe it’s something else; or somewhere else.”
“Good thinking, Babe; brilliant.”
“Maybe, we are approaching this from the wrong angle.”
“Why don’t we go inside, and get a cup of coffee, at least. Better yet, I could use some food.”
“Inside; that’s it, Brian!” She grabbed his head and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you. Come on.”
“Where?”
“To room 210; where it must have started; it has to be there.”
“Are we going inside?” Brian rose slowly, and followed her. “Yeah that makes perfect sense. You can’t find anything out here; so, it must be in there; great deduction, Sherlylock; oh my God!”
Angie turned at the top of the steps and replied, “We have to search, where the event took place. The only other place with people was room 210. We start there. Come on, slowpoke.”
“I find your reasoning, hard to believe. How could you know that, anyway?”
“Think about it; was I the event, or collateral damage. That means; it was someone else?”
“Well, how do we find out who?”
“Simple, nothing has happened to me. I am just with you. We search. Slow laborious search; now come on.”
“Your reasoning is women’s thinking, Baby, not deductive.”
“Well; come on, anyway; I’m not a lawyer.”
“Well, I am; or will be, once I pass the bar exam.”
They walked quickly up the stairs, opened the double doors and hurried to room 210.
“Okay, that was fun; here we are, inspector Angie.” Brian opened the courtroom door, “Please; after you, Miss.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Brian stopped, as the door closed.
“Boy it’s a different place, without the commotion, isn’t it?”
Angie had already walked to the judge’s bench.
“My guess is; if the event was in here, it was in the jury box, or, in the court area around here. We’ll each take a side. You look over there; be thorough. Examine everything, inch by inch. But don’t touch anything, especially, if you see something odd, or looks like it doesn’t belong.”
“What the hell does that mean? I have no idea what to look for.”
“Wheeler said, we will know, when we find it. Just take your time”
“Fine…”
After a time, Angie stood up strait, as though she had an epiphany.
“Brian, you hate this guy right, I mean Marshall. You hate him, right?”
“Yes, I hate him. I’d have him dead, if I could. He arranged to have my parents killed; wouldn’t you?”
“He’s here; in here somewhere; isn’t he?’
“I guess so; down in the jail cell. I don’t know; so what?”
“I want to meet him. Maybe he knows something.
Let’s find him, Brian. I am sure he is somehow involved with all this.”
“What about our search, here?”
“I just want to talk to him.”
“The holding cells are right under us. Why would they let us in? It’s sentencing day.”
“Come on. You know your way around here; you are the lawyer for God’s sake. Get me in there. We’ll think of something.”
“Jesus, Angie; well, you’re not boring; I’ll give you that. Follow me.”
They walked out and around to the stairwell. At the bottom was a guard desk.
“I am sorry you two;” the jailer said, “we are not opened to the public, and it’s not visiting hours. You have to leave.”
Chapter 23
O. P. A. S.
Jake Burns walked into the main lobby of the O.P.A.S. Corporate Offices [Oregon Particle Acceleration Sciences] in downtown Seattle Washington and stood before the main receptionist.
“May I help you,” she asked.
“I’d like to see Mr. Oscar Randall. I believe he is expecting me.”
“Your name, Sir?”
“Jake Burns, Detective Inspector
Jake Burns.”
“Oh, yes I see it here. Mr. Burns, you may go up. Take elevator 10 down that hall up to the 30th floor. His office is strait out the elevator.”
Burns exited the elevator and walked out and through glass double doors into Randall’s reception area. The secretary bid him sit; and within a few moments, a 5’8” gray haired man in a dark well tailored suit walked out to meet Jake.
“Mr. Burns, I am Oscar Randall. Please come in.”
They shook hands and Jake followed him into his office. It was forty feet wide by one hundred feet long and bound on two sides by windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean. One wall was jagged rock, to remind everyone of the glorious mountains surrounding the skyline and port. At one end of the massive office were a couch, several lounge chairs and a fifteen foot bar, with a fully stocked kitchen behind it. Randall walked behind the bar and called to Jake, “Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”
“All right, yes; do you stock Potato Vodka?”
“You speak my language; straight or rocks?”
“Straight, please.”
“I’ll make it two.”
Jake meandered next to the wall cabinets that lead to the bar. They displayed the surprising history of O.P.A.S. and it’s product lines.
“Mr. Randall, I thought you were only into particle science.”
“We don’t advertise anymore. I often wonder if the public thinks so too. We started as one of the ‘Brock Companies’. As you can see, we have been involved for centuries; and those are just the highlights. They had to diversify long ago, due to monopoly laws. Then those changed. It all was highly controversial for a long time. A lot of underhanded political negotiating took place, as you can imagine. They bought and sold us three times. Other companies and affiliates became business units, so we could maintain a foothold and stay the premier scientific developer of particle phenomena in North America.”
Jake was captivated, “I didn’t realize the magnanimity of it all.”
“Yes; really something, isn’t it? Like I said; those are just highlights.”
1965: Nicolas Brock founds the Brock Ammunition Company:
2040: Brock Finance develops revolutionary Drone Warfare Modules to fight Global Terrorism
2160: Dark History: New Family Leader of Brock Finance, Marisa Ann Brock, invests in New Nazi movement to rid world of terrorism. Pakistan falls to Nazis
Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust Page 37
