by James McEwan
“You mean Vergil, don’t you?” She stood up. Thad nodded yes. “He is going to be okay, he will have a hell of a headache when he wakes and a few stitches, but no worse for wear.”
Thad felt a hundred percent so he stood to match her stance. “So what happens now?”
Chief Case sighed and gripped the back of the chair. “That is a good question, one of many that I still don’t have the answers to. I guess your fates will be decided between the Commander and your counterpart. A government assassin he may be, but he is still with the government and has real power that we have to deal with.” She pulled the chair back to the desk where she had taken it from. “For now, I would rest.” she paused and her face changed from one of confidence to one of shock. “What is wrong with you?”
Taken by surprise at her question and reaction Thad asked. “What? What do you mean, wrong with me, I feel fine.” as the words left his mouth, he felt that familiar tingling feeling.
“You’re fading away, you’re transparent!”
He looked down at his hands and arms and sure enough, he was transparent. He looked like he did when he activated the Trans-Dimensional device, but he was not sure what was going on because he did not have the device with him, nor did it work.
“How are you doing that?” Case asked, completely stunned at what she was witnessing.
“I’m not doing anything, this is just as big a mystery to me as it is to you, I assure you.” again as soon as the words left his mouth he snapped back from whatever dimension he was transferring to. He became solid once again, but unlike the times before, this time there was pain, a lot of pain.
Thad tried to scream, but the pain had robbed him of his breath and he made more of a groaning sound as he collapsed to the floor. “Mr. Hammer, are you okay?” Chief Case asked as she was unlocking the cell door.
She had given thought that he may be faking all of this somehow to escape again, but she abandoned that thought when she saw him lying on the floor shaking from the pain. She was willing to take the chance and opened the door. She dropped down to her knees next to Thad, who was on his side. She rolled him onto his back.
Thad felt Chief Case’s hands on him, and as soon as she rolled him onto his back the pain was gone, but it had left him strangely drained of energy. His skin looked gray, but the color was returning. Chief Case looked down on him. “Are you still with me?”
“Yeah, I think. What a trip that was.” he said as she helped him sit up.
“I would say I have never seen anything like that. You sure you didn’t do that?” She helped him up and onto the bunk.
“Well I have, but it wasn’t me. The time that the trans-dimensional device got me over here, but I never had pain before, that is new.” Thad said.
“I think we should have the doctor look you over again.” Case said and backed away from him.
“It will do no good, there is only one doctor that can help me and he isn’t here.”
Case left him sitting on the bunk. She turned and closed the cell door. “Well, you stay here and rest while we sort this mess out.”
Thad laughed. “Like, I’m not going anywhere.” he pointed to the locked cell door.
Chief Case laughed this time. “I’m sure that a man of your skills could bypass the security system on this boat.”
Thad understood that she was showing him respect for his skills. “Well, I thank you for your confidence in my abilities, but it has been a long time since I have needed those skills. I’m sure that your security system is more than a match for me.”
“Now, don’t go trying to lure me into a false sense of security. I know that you have skills that we can only imagine and I have to admit that I’m starting to like you, so do me a favor and stay here please?” She asked, with a smile on her face.
“I’m flattered, but can I ask you a question?” “If you promise to stay put, you can ask anything you like.” Case said, as she walked to the cell door.
“I promise to stay here until you come get me.” Thad accepted her condition .
Satisfied, she said. “Then, ask away.”
“You just said you are starting to like me, why?”
She blushed at the question. “Well… since you have been aboard, other than the initial lie, you seemed to have been honest with me and even though I don’t feel that you have told me everything, I do believe what you have told me.” She shifted her weight before continuing. “And there is the fact that when you had your chance to escape you took great pains not to seriously injure or kill any of my people, which I do thank you for.”
“You’re welcome. As I told you, I don’t mean you or any of your people any harm; I am just trying to save my friends.”
“I believe that, and now that your question has been answered I have other matters to attend to.” She spun on her heels and left before for he could exploit the rapport he had built with her.
Chapter 22
Marcus opened his eyes to find the kind,but stern-faced visage of Commander Hayes looking back at him. “So you are still with us then?”
Marcus’s head was pounding like a bad rock band had set up shop and was using his skull as a practice space. “Apparently, any idea what he did to me?”
“We were hoping that you could tell us that, but it seems that you have no more information than your quarry.” she said, as she set down the tablet she was reading from.
“Speaking of my quarry, where is he?”
Commander Hayes handed him a cup with water. “Here, drink!” He took the cup from her and drained it. For some reason, he found himself extremely thirsty. “Your quarry is still on board and in a holding cell. My security chief is looking after him.”
He handed back the cup. “Good, as soon as I’m able to get out of this bed I want him ready to leave with me.”
Hayes looked at him with concern. “First, the doctor says that it will be a couple of days before you are going to be up and about. Second, I’m not ready to release him to you just yet. There are far too many questions, and I intend to get answers.”
Not sure if was the meds or the frustration or a little of both that made him lose his usually controlled temper, his face flashed red. “Listen to me, I want him ready to transport within the hour and if you try to stop or impede me in any way I will have you brought up on charges of obstructing my investigation and I will pull your convoy license and disband your people.”
Hayes was not impressed, nor did she like being threatened. She had come down here to see if there was any chance to connect to what was, in fact, her son. However, now she was angry, no one threatens her or the people in her charge. She leaned in close, so close that he could feel her breath on his face. “Now, you listen to me! I don’t respond well to threats. I may be a retired fleet officer, but I still have extremely powerful friends, so don’t think for one second that I’m intimidated or scared of you.”
“I guarantee that one comm call and you will find yourself sitting in front of those same friends explaining why you interfered with an agent of the Federation.”
She bit her lip and kept her thoughts to herself. “Let me make myself clear. You are here by my good graces, you are being treated by my doctor, and you will get the prisoner if and when I say so, do you understand me?”
Anger was driving Marcus’s drug-clouded mind now. “Look you stupid bitch….” Was all he said, before slipping into a drug induced deep sleep. Hayes, with her finger on his drug-dispensing button, had been pushing the whole time she had been talking to him. She set the button down near his bed. Heartbroken, she had come down to see this man in the hopes that he was a good man and that he would do what is right. It was clear that the man from another dimension had been telling the truth all along. Now, she was not sure what do.
She made eye contact with the nurse. “Keep him sedated as much as you can and keep him away from the comms and that is an order!” The nurse acknowledged the order and watched the Commander march out.
Thad sat on th
e bunk with his back to the wall wondering about his life back home. He wondered how the twins were doing without him. He wondered what Eve was up to and if she had run off with her handsome captain. This was the first time he had time to let his mind wander and he found himself a bit homesick. His eyes were closed, but he heard the outer door open and he could tell by the soft sound of the boots on the floor that it was a female.
He expected to hear Chief Case’s voice, but it was Commander Hayes instead. “Mr. Hammer, are you awake?”
Thad opened his eyes and turned his head towards her. “Oh, I’m very much awake, just thinking about my family.”
Curious about him she asked. “Do you mind telling me about them?”
Homesick and with nothing else to do he thought “why not?” He told her about how Doctor Hammer had saved him and about the day he died. He told her about his wives, about Eve and he even told her about Roxy. She listened carefully, taking in every detail, as a starving man takes in food. Finally, she asked. “Any children?”
“Fiona had been pregnant, but…” a tear formed in his eye “but she lost it due to… well she lost it.”
She could see the pain in his eyes and didn’t push it. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He wiped the tear away. “Me too, but I hope that once I get back, to try again with both my wives.”
“Grandchildren! What would that be like?” She was unaware she had slipped up. Caught up in the conversation, she forgot that he didn’t know that she was his mother, or at least the one from this dimension.
Thad caught the comment and wondered why the sudden interest in him and his family. “What no children of your own?”
He was fishing and she knew it. She decided that he had been honest with her she would do him the same courtesy. “No, at least none that I knew of.”
He thought that was a strange comment. “None that you knew of?”
“Yes, at least until now.” She looked into his steel gray eyes ... the same gray eyes as hers.
Thad put two and two gether. “No, no way. You’re the mother of him.” pointed towards the door.
“Well, I would not say mother, at least not in the normal way anyway, but yes he and you share my DNA.”
Floored by this revelation, Thad found that words had abandoned him. She smiled a soft motherly smile at him. “Look, Thaddeus, this is just as strange for me as it for you. To find out that my DNA was used to create a child without my consent not to mention the fact that he is nothing, but a government trained and controlled killer is a little more than I expected to deal with today when left the comfort of my bunk.”
Finally able to find words, Thad left the bunk and came to the barred door to his cell. “I can only imagine what you are going through, but you understand that means somewhere back in my dimension I have a mother.”
Amanda Hayes could not help herself, she took his hands in hers. “I’m not sure why I feel this way, but even though I’m not the version of your mother that gave you life, however, I do feel connected to you somehow. I tried to connect with Marcus, but he seems cold ... like he is missing something, something that you have, but I just can’t put finger on it.”
Thad squeezed her hands. “Humanity.” She raised an eyebrow. “He is missing his humanity. The people behind the program that made us they tried extremely hard to erase any trace of humanity from us.”
“You seem to have yours, why the difference.” she asked.
“I think it has to do with a choice I made that led to a life-changing event.” he replied.
“The Space Pirates and Doctor Hammer.” she pointed out.
“Yes, Doctor Hammer not only saved my life, but he saved my humanity and taught me how to love.” Thad said, as he let go of her hands.
“I see, well the question is, what to do now?” She sighed heavily. “If I let you go then I run the risk of dealing with the wrath of the federal government. However, if I turn you over, I feel that it means your death as well as others.”
Thad smiled, because he knew something that she didn’t. “He’s bluffing.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“He’s bluffing. He doesn’t have the pull he says does. The whole program operates in the dark. They have been lying to the rest of the government. If the top brass found out what they were really paying for they would pop a fuse, to say the least.”
“So you are saying that I just need to inform my friends in the high command that they have been had?” she asked as she mulled the idea over in her head. Thad nodded in lieu of an answer. “But, without evidence, I would look like a fool. No I need proof before I can do anything.”
Thad smiled. “That, I can give you.”
“Too bad that neither of you will live to make use of it.” The voice came from the doorway behind them.
Hayes spun around to see Marcus standing in the doorway, pistol in hand and bandages around his head. She felt bad that her son of this dimension was a monster. “You should be in sickbay, where is your nurse?”
Marcus stumbled into the room and bumped into a desk. “You’re right, I probably should be in sickbay, but I have a mission to complete. Oh, and the nurse, lovely girl, but not too bright. She should have never tried to stop me.”
Anger flashed over Hayes’s face. “You better not have hurt her!”
“Sorry. Snapped her neck like a twig. Now listen up! I’m done screwing around here, now that I have what I came for, there is one last thing I need to do..” Marcus pointed the gun at Thad’s chest.
“What do you mean you got what you came for?” Thad asked.
“Your little friend was happy to help me with the location of Doctor Hammer. So I don’t need you anymore.” Marcus replied.
“You kill him too? You bastard!” Thad was angry.
“No need to. He was so doped up that he would tell anyone about anything, besides he knows nothing about me or my mission.”
Hayes interjected. “So, why did you kill the nurse?”
Marcus looked her straight in the eye. “She got in my way. Now here is what is going to happen. I’m going to kill him and you are going to walk me back to my ship where we will leave and once we are out of range of your guns I will dump your body somewhere over the plains.”
“Do you think you can kill your own mother?” Thad said in a desperate attempt to appeal to any shred of humanity he might have left.
“Excuse me?” Marcus was a little shaken by the news. He swung his head back to face Thad. “What are you saying, she is my mother? You know that we had no mothers, no fathers, just the others, our brothers, and sisters.”
“Look at her, look in her eyes. She is your mother. She is the one that gave you half your DNA. Do you really think you can kill her just to finish your mission?” Thad pointed at Hayes through the bars.
Marcus looked back at her then he looked back to Thad. “If I can kill children, I can kill her.” He pulled the trigger twice. The bullets tore through Thad’s chest. One of them smashed into a rib and spun through him like a whirling blade. Thad slumped against the bars of the door to his cell.
Hayes screamed. “No!”
Marcus pulled the trigger one more time. The bullet hit Thad in the forehead, the force knocking his head back. Gravity did the rest as his body fell back onto the floor of the cell. A pool of blood expanded outward from underneath him.
Marcus turned the pistol to Hayes. “Now walk or join him!”
“Why should I do anything you say? You are going to kill me anyway so I guess here is as good as anywhere and if you kill me now you will never get out of here alive” she said defiantly arms crossed.
Marcus’s head was swimming with pain and he really didn’t want to deal with this. He held up a remote detonator. “Because I attached a charge to your power cells. One push and we all die, everyone.”
In Hayes’s years of military service, she had seen enough detonators to know that he wasn’t bluffing about this. “Okay, I will come with you.”
> Marcus managed a small smile. “Glad you see it my way, now come.” He pointed the gun at the door.
“I’m ashamed that you share my DNA.” she said, as she walked past him and into the hallway. Marcus shrugged off the comment and followed her out of the room.
Thad lay on the cold floor; pain racked his body and mind so much that his brain had shut off. The pool of blood reached its max size then thanks to the nanobots in his blood it started to recede. His body was repairing itself and what was left of the bullet that shattered when it hit his skull was slowly pushed out of the wound, which was healing over.
After a few minutes, Thad sat up sucking in a massive gulp of air. With his chest heaving, he spoke out loud. “I’m really getting sick of that.” He jumped to his feet and filled with rage he kicked the door. He kicked, and kicked and it bent, but it refused to fail. “Damn it!” He grabbed the bars, shook the door, and screamed, but nothing he did gave him the freedom he so desperately needed.
Marcus walked Commander Hayes down the rumbling corridors. They walked in silence towards the flight deck. Amanda Hayes was not going to go without a fight. She was waiting for the moment to arise, but it never came. Marcus marched her onto the flight deck where this time there were several techs working. Marcus slid the gun under his shirt and leaned in close, his mouth so near her ear she could hear him breathing. “I put the gun away, but don’t try anything I still have my finger on the button.”
One of the flight techs spotted them and he ran right over. “Commander, what are you doing here this time of night?”
She very calmly told the tech that she and the agent were leaving for New Dallas to deal with the intruder, and then she instructed him to get the agent’s ship ready for departure. The tech nodded and ran off to do his job. Marcus stepped up next to her. “Nice job. Just a few more minutes and your people will be safe.” She stood ramrod straight and defiant but said nothing.
Still not sure what to do, Thad searched the cell for anything he could use to get out, but much to the credit of Chief Case there was nothing he could use. Frustrated, he kicked the metal toilet, denting it.
