Laws of Time

by Jeff Yee

  “I assume I’ll eventually know, right?”

  Lisa hesitated and didn’t answer.

  “C’mon Lisa,” said Sean, not waiting more than two seconds to get a response. “At some point, the conspirators need to be held accountable for their actions!”

  “Yes, when it is public information,” Lisa finally answered after collecting her thoughts. “But until we have the full story and have everyone involved, this information will stay within the CIA. I hope you understand.”

  Sean was disappointed, but grudgingly answered, “Understood. Can you at least tell me how you nailed David Kim? CIA torture method?”

  Lisa laughed at the suggestion. “No. No torture required. We have David’s phone and found a record of the call in the phone’s memory. David was smart enough to use an anonymous SIM card in his phone when he received the call, but he didn’t wipe his phone clean. The phone itself also keeps a log of calls placed and received. Apparently, David used the SIM in his phone for the call that night and then he swapped the card for his personal one immediately afterwards. Although we have no trace of the anonymous SIM card that he used, he completely neglected to delete the call log on his own phone. I’m sure he didn’t think someone would track it down to his phone, but thanks to your sleuthing abilities, we did.”

  “That’s great, but what happens next?” asked Sean.

  “The only evidence we have right now is a call record to another anonymous phone about the same time Ryan was kidnapped. To be honest, it’s not a lot of evidence. David hasn’t disclosed much at this point. But we’ll continue interrogating him until we get something.”

  Hearing that there was not a lot of evidence caused Sean’s blood to boil. Angrily, he replied, “We both know that he can’t get away with this. Please, Lisa, let me know if there’s anything else that I can do to help.”

  “Sean, I will. But please have patience. Our system will work its course and those involved will be punished. I need to be careful on my side because I don’t know who’s involved and how high up the chain this runs.”

  “Okay, thanks Lisa,” said Sean. “Please call me if you have anything else you can share.”

  “Will do. Bye Sean.”

  As the hills of La Jolla passed on his left, Sean sat quietly in the back seat, staring out into the beautiful San Diego scenery. La Jolla, translated literally in Spanish to The Jewel, offered a calm setting to relax Sean’s nerves after his call. Fortunately for Sean, his two bodyguards made no mention of his conversation. It was not their place to discuss his personal matters. Instead, Sean thought silently about the possibilities. Is David Kim the pawn or the king? If he’s the pawn, who is the king? Cordeiros? Who could possibly be involved and why? And of all places, what was their motive to take Ryan Graves to North Korea?

  Chapter 45

  A CIA agent in his office was the last thing that Rob Cordeiros expected upon returning from the Capitol Building. His assistant, Emily, had given him a warning before he stepped into his office that a government official was eagerly waiting for his return. Cordeiros strutted in, sized up the man and greeted him in a condescending tone. “What can I do for you son?”

  Agent John Clements had been briefed with Cordeiros’ profile and was not surprised that the cocky senator rudely greeted him as a junior staffer. He quickly turned the tables on the senator to get a reaction. “Senator, I’m here to inform you that your aide, David Kim, has been taken into custody and is being investigated for the kidnapping of Tace Technologies scientist Ryan Graves.”

  Playing it cool like a seasoned politician, Cordeiros reacted like he was surprised, “He’s what? What’s the charge?”

  “David has been linked to the kidnapping of Ryan Graves. We found a call record on his mobile phone this morning that links him directly to the kidnappers.”

  “I’m shocked,” said Cordeiros. “I don’t know what to say. David has always been a very loyal and trustworthy member of my team.”

  John Clements was not getting the reaction that he had hoped for, so he asked the candid question. It was a long shot, but the conversation was being recorded and he knew that if he could get a confession from the Senator, it would be a major boost to his career. He looked Cordeiros directly in the eyes and said, “Senator, we have reason to believe that David Kim did not act alone and I suspect that you have more information.”

  “Get out!” Cordeiros yelled. “I am a senator and a patriot and I do not need to be spoken to in such a manner. Get out of my office…” Cordeiros looked down at the agent’s nametag and continued, “John Clements. I’ll speak to your supervisors about your behavior. I have no info that can help. Get out!”

  Without having any information that tied the senator directly to David Kim, John Clements left, as he was requested. Before leaving, he left his business card on the desk and said, “Here’s my number in case you have anything that would be helpful.”

  Cordeiros repeated again, “Get out! If I’m going to call anyone, it’s your boss!”

  After the CIA agent left his office, Cordeiros slammed the office door behind him. Then he grabbed the agent’s business card, tore it into pieces and threw it into the trash. Frustrated more with David Kim than the CIA, Cordeiros kicked the garbage can across the room in anger and walked in circles around his room. He couldn’t believe that David had made such a simple mistake.

  Suddenly, Cordeiros stopped pacing frantically around the office. He had an idea, but he had to wait until he knew for certain that the CIA agent had left the area. Once he confirmed that Clements was nowhere in sight, he walked to his assistant’s desk and asked, “Emily, do you mind if I borrow your cell phone? I need to make a personal call and I left mine at home today.”

  Cordeiros’ accommodating administrative assistant gave him a mobile phone, unaware that he was his carrying his own phone in his jacket pocket. The senator was smart enough to realize that his office could have been monitored, that his phone could have been tapped, or that various other CIA methods could have been used to build a case against him. But the CIA would not have expected him to use his assistant’s phone.

  Down the hallway was a vacant office. Cordeiros grabbed the phone and walked towards the empty room, making sure that it was clear before he placed a call. Checking the hallway, he found no one. The CIA agent was gone and no one had noticed that Cordeiros had slipped into a quiet place to make a phone call. Quickly, he dialed a number on the phone.

  “Hi, this is Bill,” answered Lieutenant General Bill Bradshaw.

  Even though the office was empty, Cordeiros talked towards the back corner of the office, making sure that his voice would not carry into the hall if someone was listening. “Bill, it’s Rob Cordeiros. Something urgent has come up. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “Yes, but let me step outside. Hold on.” Ten seconds went by before General Bradshaw was back on the line again. “Okay, I’m in a better position to talk now. What’s up?”

  Senator Cordeiros explained, “Bill, we have a problem. Our plan is at risk because of a mistake from one of my aides. If we’re going to carry out our plan, we need to correct this problem.”

  “What’s the issue?”

  “Let’s just say,” answered Cordeiros, “that it’s a phone call that should’ve never been made, and if it gets tracked back to me, our time travel ambitions are dead.”

  “What was the call? I mean, who was the call made to that makes this important?”

  “That’s not important. It’s not why I’m calling. The less you know, the better it is for you.”

  Bradshaw didn’t like being kept in the dark, but went along anyway. “Alright, so why did you call me?”

  “I need your help to correct the issue. Although it’s not your mess to clean, I know that you have as much at stake here as I do. You understand the power of time travel and want to make it happen too.”

  “Okay, and…”

  Cordeiros continued, “And all we need to do to set things back to normal
is to remove a record of a phone call from my aide’s phone. It’s that simple. Then we’re back to business.”

  “Who has the phone now?”

  “It’s not who has the phone now that is important, it’s who had the phone yesterday.”

  “What does that mean?” asked a confused Bradshaw.

  “It’s too late to remove the record of the phone call today. It’s too late. To correct the issue, we need to go back to yesterday to remove the record.”

  “You mean… time travel?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?” asked Bradshaw.

  “I have information that Tace is in the middle of a backwards time travel experiment. We both know and understand what happened the last time they conducted a backwards test. We need to get a note back in time with instructions to correct our little issue.”

  “Your little issue,” Bradshaw corrected the senator.

  “My issue, but our joint problem that affects both of us now.”

  “So what do you want from me?”

  “You have your guys there on site protecting the Tace lab, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  Cordeiros explained, “If your team could take control of the time machine, we’ll send a message back to ourselves, addressed personally to you. For your eyes only. This message needs to arrive yesterday. It will provide us with instructions to remove the phone call that links my aide to this issue.”

  Bradshaw thought about it for a moment and then said, “I get it. I understand how it will get rid of the issue, but how am I supposed to commandeer the machine? How can I justify my actions?”

  “My office can manufacture evidence that Tace has violated the moratorium banning human time travel, giving you the authority to go in and prevent such a measure.”

  “That won’t hold for too long. Someone will uncover the truth eventually.”

  “But that’s the beauty of it,” said Cordeiros. “Once we send the message back in time, none of these events take place. The phone record is gone. There is no link to my aide. And there is no reason for us to take over the machine. Once we send the message back in time, none of this will have ever happened.”

  If Bradshaw had not had a personal experience changing the events of time with the North Korean mission, he would not have believed Cordeiros. However, he knew and fully understood the capability to change the world’s timeline. Bradshaw hesitated briefly before answering, “Inconceivable. I see your point. Once we change the events in time, it doesn’t matter what we do today.”

  “Right. So what do you think?”

  The general took a few seconds to answer, but then replied, “I’m in. I’ll do it.”

  Cordeiros was thrilled. He found an answer to his problem. After explaining the details of his plan with General Bradshaw, he walked back to his office, returned the mobile phone to his assistant and reclined in his leather chair. He smirked, because he knew that he had beaten the CIA. Even if he was arrested, it was too late. With his plan in place, assuming things would be successful, it wouldn’t matter what would happen to him next. What mattered most to Cordeiros was the execution of his plan in San Diego and the successful removal of the phone record from David’s phone in the past. Sitting back in his chair, he amused himself with his devious plan. It was just the beginning. Once he controlled time, he knew his power would be endless.

  Chapter 46

  Kris’ security guards were normally quiet and respectful to not intrude in his business matters. So when he sat in his San Diego office conducting a meeting with his marketing director, he knew something was strange when the superior officer took a call on his communication device. The one-sided conversation was meaningless to Kris – he could not understand what was going on. Irritated with the distraction of his security detail, he shuffled closer to Nicole McGuire and continued his meeting.

  Unexpectedly, his assistant interrupted the meeting. Barging through the door, she ran to his window. “Kris, you need to see this!”

  Reacting quickly, Kris raced to the window, followed closely by Nicole, his astute marketing director. They quickly spotted the military platoon marching up the Tace Technologies corporate campus. Kris counted a total of eight army vehicles – cars and trucks loaded with men. They were heading in the direction of his infamous lab in Building Twelve.

  “Will!” Kris called out to his security detail. Having spent a lot of time with them, he knew them well and he knew them by name. His two bodyguards, standing just outside his office, came to his call when the name was called. “What is this?” Kris said pointing out the window to the military convoy.

  Will Masterson looked apologetic. “Sorry, Mr. Harrison. We have orders to seize the time lab.”

  His eyes grew wide. Kris exclaimed, “Under whose authority?”

  “Dunno,” answered Will. “I just know it comes from the top.”

  Without hesitation, Kris raced out of his office, abandoning his meeting. His two security guards chased behind him, tailing him closely without interfering. They knew where he was going. Skipping his normal method of traveling across campus via the company golf cart, Kris sprinted the length of four football fields between his office and Building Twelve. By the time he arrived, the military had already taken a position in front of the building.

  Five men armed with machine guns were guarding the door, dozens more were visible inside the lobby and a handful of men coordinated the operation from their trucks outside of the building. As Kris approached, the senior member of the five-person team securing the building perimeter stopped him before he could enter Building Twelve.

  “Halt!” said the soldier with an intimidating rifle. “No one’s allowed into the building.”

  “Who gave you the damn authority to take over my building!” shouted Kris, visibly upset.

  “Sir, you’ll need to step aside,” said the soldier, positioning his rifle and making sure that Kris was aware that he had the control.

  “I will not step aside,” said Kris. “I am the CEO of this company, this is my building and I demand an explanation. Who’s in charge here?”

  The soldier looked at his teammates for the appropriate response. They each shrugged – not exactly the help he was looking for. With the CEO standing angrily in front of him, the soldier decided to call his commanding officer. Getting on his radio, he said, “Sir, we have a situation out front. The CEO is here and he’s demanding an explanation.”

  It took less than a minute for a tall, dark-haired man to exit Building Twelve. Once outside, the man spotted the situation immediately and walked towards Kris. “You must be Kris Harrison,” he said.

  Kris was still angry and ripped lividly into the man. “Yes. Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’m Colonel Dan Montoya. I’m in charge here. I have an executive order to shut down this lab and arrest the people in this building for failure to comply with a federal ban on human time travel.”

  “What are you talking about?” shouted Kris, growing even more frustrated. “Human time travel?”

  “That’s all I know. Something about illegal activity transporting a man. My orders are to stop such activity and make arrests until things can be sorted out.”

  “That’s a bunch of crap. There’s no illegal activity going on. I’d like to go in and speak with my people inside.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Harrison. Can’t do that.”

  “Okay, if you can’t let me in, I’d like to have someone from my company come out to explain what the hell is going on inside there.”

  “Sorry. No one’s allowed to enter or leave.”

  Kris changed his tone, pleading his case with the colonel. Forceful measures were not working, so he attempted a sympathetic approach. “Colonel, if those were your men in there, you’d want to be with them, right? These are my men. I am their leader. Please…”

  “If I let you in, you won’t be allowed to leave,” said the colonel before Kris could finish his request.

  Kri
s looked inside the building, hoping to get a glimpse of one of his employees.

  “I’ll pretend that you were already here in the building,” continued Colonel Montoya, “before we arrived. You can go in, but I’ll stick to my orders. I will not let you out of the building once you go in.”

  Kris briefly contemplated a decision and then determined the right course of action. “Yes, I understand. I want to be with my team.”

  Colonel Montoya waved him in. The team of five soldiers blocking the entrance parted to allow Kris access into the building. Once inside the lobby, Kris had to navigate through the chaos of soldiers to get access to Lab Nelson. Some of the men stood idle in the lobby, others meandered in the hallway, and a handful of soldiers were busy escorting Tace employees into Lab Nelson. The colonel had previously ordered all Tace employees into one room where it would be easier to keep them under military surveillance. Before Kris could enter the lab to join his team, another man grabbed his arm.

  “Mr. Harrison, I’m Lieutenant Armando Garcia,” said the skinny man with black-rim glasses. “We’ll let you in, but I need your phone first. No communication is allowed outside of this building.”

  Kris looked at the basket of phones that the man was carrying. He had apparently collected phones from all of the Tace employees locked up in the building. Reluctantly, Kris added his to the pile. Then, after handing over his phone, Kris was given permission to enter Lab Nelson. Walking past security and into the lab, Kris found the men and women of his company huddled in one room. He counted twenty-one of his employees who were being treated like hostages, but at the very least seemed to be safe and unharmed. With the exception of one man, all of the employees were seated cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by the military. The exception was Ryan Graves, who was standing by a computer talking to two uniformed men.

  Kris approached Ryan and interrupted their conversation. “Ryan, you okay?”

  Happy to see his friend, Ryan joked, “Service here seems better than North Korea.”