by Clark Graham
“I’m hoping you have news that can get me out of here. Did you get control of the…” James stopped to look around to make sure the guards were out of earshot. “Well you know what.”
“I have no news. There is no trace of that ‘machine’ anywhere,” Ross replied.
James slumped back in the chair. “Then I’m stuck here.”
“You always were stuck here. I wasn’t about to try to get a plane, that, in my opinion, should never have existed. It doesn’t matter, however, no one going to bust you out of jail, in the past or the future.”
James smiled, through his depression. “One could only hope. Phillips has a version of it. I just have to wait until he can fix the Vmax3 drive.”
“If what Dalton says is true, we won’t even know. All this,” Ross motioned around the room, “won’t even be a distant memory.”
“Still, it would have been an awesome thing to have the power to fix everything that’s gone bad through time. I figured out how to do it, too. Change the past, then go into the future and see how it works out. If it’s better, keep the changes, if not, go back and change it back.”
Ross chuckled. “You would have been playing Time God. Deciding who lives and who dies. Now someone else might take up the role and I’m sure they don’t have the stellar ethics that you possess.”
James gave him a sideways glance. “I was going to get rid of a few annoyances along the way. I suppose you’re right. I’m not the man to be making those decisions. Still, Time God does have a ring to it.”
Ross glanced down at his watch, “Well, Time God, I have to go. Visiting hours are over.” He stood up and motioned for the guard to let him out, then shook James’ hand. “Take care of yourself.”
“It’s only for a little while,” James replied.
When Ross finally came through the last of the security gates, Williams was waiting for him in the car. “Why do you bother with the man?”
“You should come in with me one of these days. He looks really good in orange.” Ross suddenly realized his motivation. He was briefly disappointed with himself.
“I suppose you’re right. I would love to see him in orange. I will come in next time.”
Both men laughed.
Chapter Fifty-One
Atlantic Ocean
2044
Phillip Anderson stood on the back of the ship looking at the submersible. The thing was huge. It was almost as large as the Vmax3 plane that it was being used to find. The captain of the research vessel walked up to him.
“Beauty, isn’t she.”
Phillip started at it. It had engines on the tips of the fins. It looked like an alien spaceship. “I wouldn’t call her beautiful, but I will say it the most powerful looking submersible I’ve ever seen.”
“I think she’s a beauty. She can stay submerged for two weeks at a time with a crew of tow. The sonar and metal detectors are in the pod on the bottom.”
“Can we find every piece of metal on the sea floor? It’s believed Dalton blew the plane to bits.”
“The Carra May can find and retrieve even the smallest piece of metal on the sea floor. If it’s down there, we’ll get it. It will be a massive jigsaw puzzle in the end, with extra pieces. Do you think it’s worth it? It’s going to take years.”
“Yes, I have to get Senator James out of prison. I’ll go to a time he isn’t in jail, then get rid of his enemies.”
“You can do all that with your machine?”
“I just need the Vmax3 drive, then I can do anything.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” the captain smiled.
Two divers boarded the submersible and the ship’s crane hoisted it into the ocean. It soon disappeared below the waves.
“There she goes,” the captain said. “We’ve plotted out the currents and the projected debris area. It’s a hundred miles long. It will take about a year and a half to get all the bits and parts.”
“I guess Senator James will have to cool his heels a little while longer.”
When the captain made his way back up to the bridge, the First Mate said, “Isn’t this like looking for a needle in the haystack?”
“A million needles and an ocean full of haystacks. If they are missing even one part, it won’t work, then the impossible task of putting the thing together when we do give them the parts.”
The first mate scratched his head. “Why are we doing this, then?”
“We needed to test out the Carra May in all conditions. This way we can do it on Senator James’ dime.”
The first mate nodded, “I see.”
“No, this is the end of the line for James’ quest. The tides and currents have spread that machine of his far and wide. Turn on the camera, I want to see what they’re doing down there.”
