BackTrek (28 page)

“Will I be such an asshole?” He asked
coldly.

“If you’re lucky, you will. Enough with the
compliments. You’ve got your own mess to clean up in the lab. Call
in Truman. Ted Truman. He’ll ensure that everything is set right.
But remember what I told you about the M.P.”

“King?”

“Yeah. He’ll be trouble for you later.”

“I’ve got the dope in the safe. I should be
able to plant it in a day or so.” The younger Atwater said as he
carried the metallic suitcase to the rear of the room and laid it
on the copier which stood silent in the corner. He looked up at the
portrait on the wall, and smiled slightly at it, as he remembered
the day he had posed for it. He grabbed it by the corner and it
swung away from the wall on its hinges. Hidden behind it was a wall
safe. He opened it.

“Fuck the dope. This guy is too slippery for
that.” The older Atwater said as his younger counterpart began to
stuff the bundles of cash into the now opened safe. “You need to
take him out. For good. Just make it look like an accident.” The
younger man stopped.

“I don’t know about this. I’ve never had
anybody killed before.” He said, the worry evident on his face.

“What, you gonna wuss out on me now?” Atwater
asked. He had ordered so many killed over the years that he
couldn’t remember a time when he might have hesitated. He walked
towards the younger man.

“No. It’s just that-” Atwater began to crowd
the younger man into the corner.

“That what. That you’ve got no backbone? That
you’re a spineless little shit!” Atwater, enraged, swung again. He
intended to backhand the other man, but this time his younger self
was faster. The younger man caught Atwater’s arm in mid swing and
held it fast. He looked coldly into his face as it reddened with
anger. His arm began to shake as he still tried to move it forward,
but it was held firmly in place. The anger in his face began to
fade, rapidly being replaced with fear as he recognized the
coldness in the other’s stare.

As Jack walked down the ramp after having
once again gone through the still opened time gate. He saw Ted bent
over the guard at the doorway. He just squatted there as he
concentrated on the man’s face.

“Dead?” Jack asked as he approached.

“Yeah. No pulse. Do you recognize him?" Ted
asked as Jack walked up beside him. As he focused on the man’s face
his heart began to race. This was the victim. This was the murder
victim. The death that he had investigated so many years ago. The
mysterious homicide that had ultimately led to his the discharge
from the military. His mind began to reel as he realized that this
is where it had all began.

“It’s him.” Jack said.

“I know. And he’s laying exactly like he was
the night I had to move him.”

“You? You moved him. I thought you said-”

“Them, us, they. It’s all the same Jack.
Don’t you see that?” Jack looked at his friend, and realized that
he was right. Ted had told him that he had been involved in the
cover-up. Jack’s assumption that his involvement had been minute,
had been just that, an assumption. Still he had simply followed
orders. And more importantly, Jack now believed that.

“So we’re ten years in the past? This is the
night?”

“Looks that way. What now. Where would he
go?”

“He has to plan to go back. So he has to
leave tonight. He has to be here somewhere.” Ted nodded as he rose
from his crouch. The belt wrapped around his wounded left arm
flopped as he stood.

“What will we do when we find him?” Jack
asked.

“We take him in.” Ted answered.

“And what if he refuses to go?”

“It stops here, Jack. Either he goes, or we
stop him here and now.” Jack hesitated, as he stared blankly at his
friend, and then nodded his agreement. He knew that Ted was right.
The rules of law were good for all things normal, but sometimes
judgment and execution had to be a package. He knew in his heart
that he could pull the trigger if it came to it, but he would
regret his actions. But he also knew the consequences of inaction,
and that they had already proved far more deadly. He was willing to
pay whatever price it took to protect his family. If the only way
to stop Atwater was to do just that, stop him for good, then so be
it. Jack bent over and picked up the guards handgun. He checked the
clip and ensured that a shell was chambered.

“Let’s do it.” He said. They exited the lab
and headed for the common area. Jack followed Ted, and as they
crossed the large underground opening, Jack knew that they were
headed to Atwater’s office.

When they arrived, they each took a position
on either side of the door to Atwater’s office. Ted held up three
fingers and Jack nodded his understanding. Ted mouthed the words,
and counted down to three. Jack took the lead, with Ted right
behind him and they stormed into the room. With his gun up ready to
fire, Jack was astounded at the scene before him. Atwater. Two
Atwaters. They fought, and had each other by the throat. Suddenly
the pair slammed against the wall, and one connected with the
other. A right fist to the jaw. The injured Atwater’s eyes rolled
into his head as his knees buckled. His large size fell victim to
gravity. As the man fell over, the other stepped back and watched
him fall. As he fell, his head slammed the corner of the desk, and
then he hit the ground, silent. Jack and Ted hesitated. They were
unclear of what had happened or of what to do next.

“Shit.” The conscious Atwater said.

“Freeze, Atwater!” Jack yelled. Atwater was
startled by his yell. He had not yet realized that anyone else had
entered the room. Jack walked towards him and slowly Atwater raised
his hands, as he revealed that he was unarmed. As Jack rounded the
desk, careful not to step on the fallen man which lay sprawled on
the ground, he realized that the man that stood before him, this
Atwater, was the man that had attempted to kill them earlier. His
younger version lay immobile on the floor.

“Turn around and face the wall!” Jack
commanded.

“But he’s-” The older Atwater began.

“Now!” Jack said, as he aimed his gun at the
taller man’s head. Atwater silently turned and placed his hands on
the wall. Jack approached carefully from behind, and glanced back
at Ted to ensure that he was covered. Ted had lost a lot of blood,
and was unsteady on his feet, but he held his gun in his uninjured
hand rock steady, and just waited for Atwater to make a wrong move.
Jack stuck his gun in its holster, and grabbed a pair of handcuffs.
He slapped one cuff around Atwater’s upraised right hand, and
savagely pulled it behind his back. Atwater groaned. Jack grabbed
his other hand and just as savagely brought it behind him, and
locked it into the other handcuff. The he slammed Atwater further
against the wall, and began to search him. He looked for any hidden
weapons.

“How? I thought you were-”

“Dead? You don’t have what it takes to kill a
man like me.” Ted said, as he spat the words out in anger. Jack
swung him around and pushed him. He stumbled across the room. Ted
moved out of the way as Jack shoved Atwater out of the office, and
then forced him to the ground in the outside office.

“If he so much as wiggles, shoot him.” Jack
told Ted, and then returned to the office.

“We can’t take the other one back, Jack.” Ted
said, puzzled as to why Jack had returned to the office.

“I know, Ted. I just want to clean up a
matter or two.” Jack disappeared into the office and moments later
returned with the metallic suitcase in hand. “Let’s go.” He said as
he bent down and grabbed Atwater by the handcuffs, and lifted him
to his feet. Ted led the way, and Jack pushed Atwater ahead. They
made their way back towards the lab. Just as they reached the other
side of the expansive underground opening they heard footsteps on
the other side and quickly ducked into the hallway leading into the
lab. Jack looked back and saw a young man, an M.P. that led a group
of men towards Atwater’s office. His heart quickened as he
recognized the young man, and a slight smile spread across his
face. Careful not to be seen, Jack pushed Atwater further down the
hallway. Ted was already at the entrance to the lab. As Jack pushed
Atwater into the lab, Ted checked the settings, and hoped that they
had not changed. As far as he could tell, the gateway was still
open and still opened to their time.

“Ready?” He asked Jack. Jack nodded, and the
three of them approached the ramp. Jack grabbed Atwater by the
cuffs and pushed him up the ramp and through the gate. Ted was on
his heels. As Ted staggered through the gate into the lab back in
their own time, he immediately noticed that Atwater was gone. Jack
stood at the end of the ramp. An empty pair of handcuffs hung from
his hand. They were still locked closed.

“Ted?” Jack asked, dumbfounded.

“Where is he?” Ted asked, and instinctively
drew his weapon. The sudden action was more than he could handle.
The lack of sleep, physical exertion, and the loss of blood had
finally caught up with him. The room began to swim before his eyes
and as he felt himself fall. He could hear the sounds that
indicated that the gate was closing. As he fell into a heap on the
ramp, his gun clattered out of his hand. He reached for it blindly,
but could not focus as blackness filled his vision. He felt Jack
next to him, and then was alone as his mind slid from a struggle to
remain conscious, to an embrace of the darkness.

The sun shone brightly across the petals of
the red and yellow flowers that danced easily in the afternoon
breeze. The smell of the hot dogs and hamburgers that cooked on the
grill was enhanced by the occasional cloud of smoke that rose from
the fenced-in backyard. Children laughed and played, as they ran to
and fro, and chased one another with brightly colored water
balloons. Brandon ran around the swing set, and was attacked by a
slightly larger boy. His blue balloon landed square on Brandon’s
back, and exploded with a gush of cool water that sent him into a
dance that had no resemblance to anything ever attempted by a
human. But even as the water still ran down her brother’s shirt,
Bella retaliated. She came out of nowhere, and smashed her own
balloon across the top of the larger boy’s head. He stood there and
laughed. Dumbfounded. And soaking wet.

Balloons flew in all corners of the small
backyard, except for one area that had been ruled ‘Off Limits’.
This is where the picnic table sat, covered in a red checkered
table cloth that occasionally flapped in the wind, as if it tried
to keep time with the dancing flowers. The half dozen kids ignored
the two grownups that tended the grill. If they weren’t targets, as
far as the kids were concerned, then they weren’t even there.

“How’s that beer?” Jack asked his friend, as
he turned his own up and finished it off.

“Cold.” Ted replied. “My favorite kind.” He
finished his off, grabbed Jack’s empty bottle, and tossed them both
into the trash. He opened the cooler that sat beside the table and
fished two more long neck bottles from the icy slosh inside. He
handed one to Jack as he set his on the table, and winced at the
sudden pain in his arm.

“Arm still sore?” Jack asked as he twisted
off the top of his beer. He took a long slow sip and set his bottle
on the table.

“Yeah. The doc says it’s healing just fine,
but it sure does seem to be taking forever.”

“It’s only been two weeks, Ted. A gunshot
wound doesn’t heal over night.” Jack said, slightly exasperated at
his friends impatience.

“Have you told anybody?” Ted said as he
twisted off the top of his own beer.

“What? About Atwater? Hell no.”

“Me either." Ted said, his gaze still focused
at the ground. “I don’t think we should.” Jack looked up at Ted and
thought for a moment. His mind poured over all that he had learned
over the last two weeks.

“It’s not like they wouldn’t believe us. Not
with the way things are now.” Jack said as he took another sip of
his beer.

“I’m not sure I believe it. I mean we come
back through the gate and every thing has changed.”

“For the better.” Jack added.

“True. But still. Now I’m the C.O. of the
project. What do I know about being a C.O. I’ve always been a
grunt.”

“According to what I was able to dig up,
you’ve been the C.O. for the last five years. They may be pretty
big shoes to fill, but you can do it. You have done it, evidently.”
Jack said with a smile.

“And what about you?” Ted asked.

“Well, evidently I never left the military.
Just transferred into your department. The project still falls
under military control. In this time line, it never split into its
own entity.” Jack said, as a serious look lingered on his face.

“So the whole episode about you being framed
ten years ago...it never happened?”

“No. When we went back to get Atwater, we
changed the past. Instead of him setting me up and getting you
involved in the cover-up, we turned the tables.”

“I still don’t exactly understand what
happened.”

“When I went back into the office to ‘clean
up’, I called the M.P. office and reported a homicide, pointing my
finger at Atwater, and indicated that it was drug related. When we
were leaving I saw them. The M.P.s. Ted, I was leading the squad.
At least, a younger version of me was. They were headed for
Atwater’s office. Later on I did some research and found that he
was arrested. They confiscated the coke that he had hidden in his
safe, and matched the bullet that killed the guard to the gun that
was in his office. He was tried and convicted on both charges.
About a year after he went to prison, he committed suicide.”

“He killed himself?” Ted asked.

“Yeah. That’s why when we brought him back
through the gate, he vanished. He couldn’t exist in his original
time line because he had killed himself nine years earlier.”