by Tim Heath
Know this, therefore––whatever way you choose, you don’t get to have it your way. But what type of husband and father would you be if you placed the life of this man over that of your own family? Why don’t you think about that one for a little while and then call me back? You have fifteen minutes to decide and if I don’t hear anything, trust me, you’ll end up alone, and you’ll have the blood of millions on your head.”
The phone in Brendan’s car went dead, and for a moment he just sat there, speechless. An angry motorist sounded his horn from behind, alerting Brendan to the fact that the traffic had moved up some way ahead of him so that he was now sitting holding up the cars behind. Brendan pulled away slowly, not knowing what to think, or what to do. He felt sick inside, worse than he’d ever felt before, gutted to the very core. Everything, it seemed, had fallen into place and now it had all changed. How could he go on, knowing what he knew and yet what option did he have?
After a while, Brendan started to reason about how things now stood. If he were to turn on Robert, because of the way events had recently unfolded, Nigel would have access to the man who previously he had only feared from afar. Chance had thrown Brendan and Robert together, and Brendan was sure that he had Robert’s confidence. It would be easy now to hand him over to Nigel, but where would that leave him? But then again did he have a choice anyway? Nigel had been right to say that Brendan wouldn’t choose the life of Robert over that of his family. And yet Brendan knew that would be playing right into the hands of Nigel and would finally give Nigel everything he had ever wanted. But again, that thought came back to Brendan––what choice did he have?
Reluctantly, while he drove through the clearing roads, Brendan called Nigel and when it was answered, just said:
“Okay, I’ll do it your way,” and then Brendan hung up, pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out the car, desperate for air so that he wouldn’t be sick.
Robert had opted for a small Bed and Breakfast just on the outskirts of the city centre, the sort of place that let rooms on an hourly rate, the clientèle usually of the less savoury type but that didn’t bother him too much, and besides, he’d stayed in worse places in his time.
In the light of day though, the room looked a mess, and it was evident that it hadn’t been maintained in a long time. Robert had been up early, showered and dressed as Katie lay asleep on the spare bed against the far wall. Coming out of the bathroom he paused and looked at her, a sense of peace upon her like that of a sleeping child, the rest had done her a world of good. He had no way of knowing what her home life had been like nor what she had to put up with, but from yesterday’s experience, he could guess. So now it wasn’t just himself who was homeless but Katie too.
That added a slight complication to matters as he had always been a lone agent but this whole situation had just happened to him. Besides, a little female company was a welcome change, though he wouldn’t involve her to a level that it would threaten her safety, as much as he could help it anyway.
She half turned, clearly still asleep but rousing slowly, her leg coming free from the sheets, half hanging out of the bed. She had beautiful legs, Robert had always thought so, and the soft pale skin caught his eyes, and he watched for a moment, the bed sheets covering her up again at the thighs so that she remained decent. Robert stood there silently for a few seconds, and it was only then that he realised Katie had woken and was looking at him, a smile on her face.
“You know you only have to ask and you can see the whole lot,” she said, playing with him as he turned around a little embarrassed and went back into the bathroom.
He could hear her getting out of bed, the cheap and old bed frame making a lot of noise as it had done all night. They passed each other at the bathroom door as he went out again, not saying a word, and after she’d entered she locked it and moments later the shower was turned on.
Robert went over to his bag and found his chief notebook. His research had taken on some new turns and what he was now solely searching out was all the information relating to this unknown third brother.
Robert had a hunch that he was working on. The world knew of the brilliance of Christopher and Nathan Wentworth, and it was assumed to be Christopher who made the breakthrough with the first Door, the one through which Nigel ended up using. Later Nathan made a copy, the Door which Robert was able to use. But what if both had copied something already drawn up by their troubled brother Austin? And if that was the case, Robert’s hopes were that it had not just been on paper that Austin had worked, but that somewhere an actual Door existed, the original therefore, and more importantly than anything else, almost certainly an earlier Door than the one Nigel Gamble had first gone through.
Robert had so far been able to trace Austin, as far as he was aware, to a home in Switzerland, such was the lack of evidence and paperwork on the matter. That was understandable, as in that era it wasn’t something to advertise, the fact that you had a son who was mad. As it was still the time when few travelled too far, it was openly documented that both Christopher and Nathan made trips to Switzerland over many years and it was on a lake in Switzerland that Christopher drowned in a boating accident.
Robert knew that the answers might well be in Switzerland. Before going to Switzerland, Austin had only ever lived in the house which Robert had just left. Therefore if he had actually developed his plans, it would surely have been in the freedom and peace of the Swiss home that he would have made such a Door. If it did indeed exist, in reality, and not just on paper, then it became the most valuable piece of property in the entire world, and it was vital to everyone that Robert found it first. Such a Door in anyone else’s hands, especially someone like Nigel Gamble, could only mean trouble as had already been proved. He was deep into his research when Katie opened the bathroom door, the noise making him jump and pulling him back to his senses. She wore a towel around her as she dried her hair a little with a smaller towel before dropping it onto the bed, her hair looking long and inviting. Robert caught himself, again looking a bit too long, but Katie didn’t mind, glad for the positive attention she was still getting from a man. Robert turned back to his book, the small, cluttered table partially blocking a mirror attached to the wall. With her back turned to him, he could see her in the mirror, the towel around her now off. He looked away for a moment, but he found himself looking back a second time as she was pulling up her underwear and putting on a short-sleeved white shirt with the same jeans that she had worn yesterday.
Robert’s eyes returned to his book, and a few moments later she came over to see what he was doing, touching the back of his head gently in a way that hadn’t happened in years, that soft gentle, almost motherly touch.
“What have you been doing?” she asked.
“Oh this, it’s just some research I’m working on,” his hand randomly gesturing over the table.
“It looks interesting.”
“It really isn’t,” he said, shutting his notebook so that she couldn’t read anything he didn’t want her to see and quickly clearing up the other books, putting them back in the bag. Katie returned to the bed, picking up the towels and dropping them down onto the floor ready for room service to clean away once they’d gone. Robert also started to pack some things away, but in truth, they’d travelled light, with very little other stuff with them, such had been their swift exit from the village the previous day.
“So what’s the plan then?” she said.
“There’s a couple of places I need to check out, and there’s a man I’ll meet up with who’ll hopefully be able to sort somewhere for us to stay for a while, so we’ll get moving in a bit if that’s okay? Maybe we should find somewhere for some breakfast first?”
“Yes, that sounds good to me.”
Robert went over to the door and opened it then stood to one side, ushering her out first, which she liked. She duly complied and Robert followed, closing the door firmly behind him. Across the road stood a mainly truckers’ café, it was somewhat scruff
y-looking, but it was cheap, and the food was plentiful. They sat there together, mostly in silence, digging into the food when it arrived, washing it down with a pot of tea which they shared between them.
Having finished, Robert excused himself and went to find the toilet. Katie watched him walk away; he was an attractive figure, tall and lean in simple black trousers, a dark navy blue sweater on top of a loose-fitting white shirt. She knew she was attracted to him, but there was more to it than that, she felt safe with him, and not just because he’d rescued her from her old life. Katie felt free with Robert, almost too free, becoming another person, her wild side unleashed and Katie liked it. She didn’t know where she would go, or what to do but Katie felt safe with Robert around and staying close to him knew she would be all right.
A minute later Robert re-emerged and came over to her again. They picked up their things and left, having paid for the room in advance the night before, it being the sort of place it was, in the area it was. They then crossed the road and got into the car.
“I just need to send a text, and then we’ll be off.”
Robert wrote a message to Brendan, still aware that any voice message would soon be picked up by Nigel. In the text, Robert said briefly how things had changed and that he wanted to meet Brendan later that day as he was in the city and Robert asked Brendan to call as soon as he could. Having sent the message, Robert put down the phone and turned to Katie. In the early morning light, she looked stunning, her green eyes picking up the sunlight well and sparkling as she turned to him.
“Shall we go?” he said, her nod and smile telling him all he needed to know. He switched the engine on and pulled away. The roads were still quiet as the traffic would only be starting to make its way into the centre about now. He thought to himself how he would have to watch it with Katie, how he could see himself falling completely in love with her and how that would distract him in such a way as to make him vulnerable. He resolutely told himself to leave things there, to no longer pursue anything for fear of dragging her into his crazy world that threatened anyone that got close to him. He didn’t fit in her time anyway, but then the thought came––where did he belong anymore? And for the first time in his pursuit of Nigel, Robert asked himself the question––what will I do if I do end up catching him? Not knowing the answer to that simple question scared him. Robert's life had changed so much since he’d first stepped through that Door, everything familiar was now gone, but Robert knew there was no going back, no undoing what Nigel had done without finishing what Robert had come back to do. His focus had returned, his mind now thinking again about the task at hand.
What he needed to do was to talk with Brendan again, as well as do some final research where things had all begun at the Department of Information, which might involve a run in again with Jessica but he hoped that could be avoided. He expected all his best efforts would be needed to get himself across to Switzerland, to start the groundwork of tracking down any further clues as to what Austin Wentworth might have achieved over there.
25
Sitting in his dining room at home in his family house, Brendan read the text message from Robert while drinking his coffee which had been freshly made by his wife. She was always thinking of him, one of the many things he loved about her. The flowers he’d purchased sat proudly in the middle of the table, their scent filling the whole room.
Brendan still felt sickened by the turn of events but had also come to realise that the end of it all was suddenly in his hands. If Nigel could be believed, and though Brendan would keep his distance he would just have to trust Nigel, then it would all be over very soon. Even getting that message that morning seemed surreal as it was all happening too easily, but the end was undoubtedly in sight now. Knowing what Brendan knew he just wanted out and the thought of being set up for life to spend the rest of his days with his family was releasing. There was no way to undo what had been done anyway. Though the future had been changed, it was not his future and even then wasn’t the future always being rewritten by the choices of today?
But it had been the thought of being alone, seeing his family all die that had finally made what Brendan would have to do a lot easier. Brendan knew many of the terrible things that Nigel had done, but because of his own involvement, Brendan was just as guilty as his boss was in them all. But now all these lives could be saved by this medicine being made available. It wasn’t the first of such breakthroughs that had come from the group, and now Brendan could understand them all. When presented in the right way, Nigel’s scientists would think they’d found the cure themselves so that when the disease was made known, the treatment could be sold. Nigel, of course, would always get very rich because of this and Brendan knew every nation in the world would need to buy the drug, but it would also inevitably save millions of people, and now again because of this drug, these lives included his dear wife and children. Was it a crime to make money? Was it a crime to produce life-saving drugs, even if you had stolen the solution from some time in the future? It undoubtedly wasn’t a bad thing to do.
Brendan kept his own situation and hurt out of his thinking, aware that going there would break the positive bubble he’d made that could almost justify doing what he had to do. Saying it the way he had just been thinking made it almost sound like the right thing to do. To sacrifice one man for the sake of millions of others, and though Brendan would personally profit from such a betrayal of confidence, he tried to convince himself that in fact, this was the right thing. Of course, deep down he didn’t believe any of it, but he wouldn’t admit that, even to himself. Instead, he hoped that in time, with some distance from events, he would feel better, forgetting all that had happened and just enjoying the rest of his life, wherever Brendan would end up, knowing that he would get as far away from Nigel as was possible.
Hearing movements upstairs, the kids up and about, Brendan finished his drink and left. He didn't want them seeing him feeling the way he was, getting his mind into gear instead like a soldier going into battle, his head down and ready to do what needed doing, even if Brendan didn’t agree with it, but as always he was just following orders.
Sixty minutes later Brendan was pulling into the office car park, many spaces available, not that it mattered with his own private space next to the main entrance. Besides, very few drove in nowadays, such was the cost of travel and fuel. On the way he’d called Nigel out of duty, really alerting him to the fact that Robert had sent him a message that morning. Nigel had been almost excited, telling Brendan that today would be the day things all cleared up, pressing Brendan to make sure that he did indeed meet with Robert that day, to deal with him once and for all so that the problem would go away and his own family could live. The reference to Brendan's family had worried him, desperate as he now was to keep Nigel’s hands from harming them. Brendan finished that call and quickly thought of a hotel that would suit the situation, before calling Ted Hague and ordering the use of his men actually to carry out the act. Brendan had decided that he would stay well clear of the hotel, not wanting to be anywhere near the place so as not to be connected in any way to what would have to take place.
Getting out of the car, Brendan walked to a phone box near the office, making it all appear as usual as possible to Robert, and he confirmed to him the meeting place, address and time when they would see each other again, as well as sorting out somewhere for him to stay.
Putting the phone down, he felt strangely flat, empty inside, but shook those thoughts from his mind and made his way to the office, greeting the reception desk before getting into the lift and going to his room on the top floor.
Five hours later Brendan had left the office again, deciding to meet with Ted Hague secretly just around the corner from the hotel to talk things through. Finding a small sandwich bar in the basement of a tall Victorian townhouse on a quiet side street, they chatted away in one of the dark corners to remain as unseen as possible.
Ted had a team of three guys waiting for him as well as a good
contact on the front desk of the hotel who would confirm to them when Robert was in the lift. The meeting was to be on the top floor where the hotel conferencing facilities were. On that day, there were no meetings planned, which made the hotel just perfect, and therefore what happened on the top floor would remain on the top floor as no one else would be around. It would be a straightforward hit and sounded very simple to Brendan. The lift would be stopped remotely just outside the top floor. The guy on the desk would then confirm that their target was in fact inside and the team would then get the doors open before opening fire with their silenced guns. There could be no escape from such a small target area, and the lift could then be cleaned thoroughly and returned to regular working order, the whole team exiting with the body stored away in a laundry trolley ready to be disposed of later.
If everything went to plan, they would be in and out of the hotel within twenty minutes. Brendan liked the organised plan he was hearing and sent Ted on his way, leaving himself a few minutes later so that he would not be seen exiting the place with Ted in case anything went wrong. Brendan was to wait in his car for a call from Ted as soon as it was done. His meeting with Robert had been arranged for two, and it had just turned half-past one. Brendan saw Ted driving away back past him down the road, a man sitting next to him in the van that advertised itself as a laundry truck. It disappeared around the corner and was gone, and Brendan knew there was no turning back now.
