Linkage: The Narrows of Time (42 page)

Lucas grabbed the stunner from the back of
his waistband and pulled open the Velcro strap holding the other
stunner against his ankle. He ran for the portal with both guns in
hand. On the way, he motioned for Bruno’s guards to follow him to
the Krellian ship. Lucas yelled a commando scream as he jumped into
the rift like Rambo breeching a terrorist encampment.

Chapter
31

Assault

When he arrived on the other side, his feet
slipped out from under him, sending his ass and elbows crashing
into the floor. Lucas rolled out of the way as fourteen of Bruno’s
security detail stormed through the portal behind him. They, too,
slipped on the floor, one after another, sending them sliding past
Lucas on their butts.

“Welcome to the party, pal,” Lucas told the
last guard to arrive.

The exchange room looked like a biological
bomb had detonated: The walls were covered in a flood of orange
blood, as runny chunks of the Krellian tissue oozed down from the
ceiling, dripping into piles on the deck plating. It reminded him
of Dexter’s kill room, minus the plastic.

When he stood up and walked to the banquet
table, gravity tugged at the seat of his blood-soaked pants. The
four geriatric men were squatting on the floor—cowering in the
fetal position. The naked female translator was alive, but lying on
her side with a stubby piece of tentacle hanging from her spine.
Her face and body were covered in orange tissue and she was sobbing
into her hands.

The security team deployed, in standard
two-by-two formation, to cover the corridor outside the wall
opening. Lucas lowered his weapons and searched the room for his
brother, but couldn’t find him. Kleezebee and Bruno were missing,
too.

Then he remembered he was wearing the
disruptor vest. He looked down at it, expecting it to be
smoldering—it wasn’t. He hand-checked the condition of the wires
and sonic pads to find they hadn’t overloaded as Claude had feared.
“Too bad Dad’s not here to see this,” he said. His father’s
invention was a resounding success, well, after a little of
Kleezebee’s tweaking.

“Let’s fan out, search the ship,” one of the
commandos yelled. Lucas assumed he was the leader. The name on the
man’s uniform said Harkins.

“I’ll join you,” Lucas said, following them
into the hall.

“Team leaders, I want three teams of four . .
. Sergeant Nash, you and Phillips remain here and guard the
portal.”

“Yes, sir,” Nash replied.

The three teams scurried off in different
directions, each taking a different hallway. Lucas decided to
follow the group with the commander and one of the Bruno copies.
They went to the right.

The Krellian ship was divided into a
labyrinth of short, angled hallways lined with flaming torches.
Lucas expected the passageways to be filled with smoke, but they
weren’t—they were only filled with the runny splatter of orange
blood and tissue.

Each shiny, green corridor looked identical,
making it tough for Lucas to maintain his bearings. He felt like he
was running through a carnival funhouse, trying to navigate a maze
of endless mirrors. Even if he rescued his brother from the bugs,
he wasn’t sure he could find his way back to the exchange room.

The end of each corridor had an
octagon-shaped hatch that forked into two adjoining hallways.
Harkins made only right turns, which Lucas assumed was the most
efficient method for searching the seemingly endless network of
passageways.

Lucas kept expecting to be ambushed by a
Krellian welcoming party as they turned each corner, but there
weren’t—only more orange blood and tissue on the floors and walls.
It appeared the range of the disruptor vest was far better than
they hoped. Or maybe, his decision to max out its power did the
trick.

Eventually they came across a
twenty-foot-wide nook on the right. Access to the room was blocked
by a lattice of black, riveted metal bars—stamped flat instead of
round. Inside, they saw a herd of naked women, bunched together in
the back-left corner. Many of them—two of which had to be under
sixteen—had fully extended bellies that looked ready to pop. The
floor was filled with a hay-like substance and reeked of excrement.
It was a hundred times worse than the chemical smell in Griffith’s
chem-lab back home.

“Let’s go, men. Kleezebee’s not in there,”
Harkins said, turning his head and shoulders to continue down the
hall.

“Hey, wait a minute! You can’t leave these
women here,” Lucas said.

“We’re not here for them.”

“But they’re human. We have to get them
out.”

Harkins moved closer to Lucas, shuffling
through his men. “Look, we don’t have time for this.”

Lucas raised his stunner and fired it at the
ceiling. “Make the time, goddamnit.”

Harkins leaned in close and sneered at
Lucas.

One of his men—the one that looked like
Bruno—said, “He’s right, boss. We can’t leave them here.”

Harkins bit his lower lip and shook his head.
A few seconds later, Harkins told Lucas, “Fine, but they’re
your
problem.”

Lucas nodded without hesitation, knowing that
this delay could mean he might never see his brother again. But he
had no choice; it was the right thing to do even if the Krellians
were waiting around the next corner to ambush them. Earlier, when
Alicia first appeared through the rift, he had failed to act when
she held out her hand and pleaded for his help. He wasn’t about to
leave the women there to die.

Harkins told the Bruno copy, “Hand me a
brick.”

Harkins took the C-4 and broke it into three
smaller blocks before attaching them to the inside of the door’s
hinges. He inserted a detonator into the center of each block, then
said, “Stand clear.”

The explosives detonated, sending the bars
clanking across the hallway in a cloud of smoke. “Let’s move it,”
Harkins said, “they probably heard that and are on their way here
with reinforcements.”

Lucas ran inside the cage, leading the way.
“Ladies, you need to come with us.”

None of the two-dozen women budged from the
back wall. He held out his right hand, trying to appear friendly.
“It’s okay; we’re here to help you. But you need to come with us
right now.”

One of the smaller women in the back row
pushed her way forward through the herd. Lucas couldn’t believe his
eyes when he saw the dark-haired beauty. “Abby?”

She flew into his arms and cried
hysterically. He held her tight, feeling the hand-carved, alien
tattoo etched into her shoulder. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

Lucas realized that the theatre flash must
have been some type of sampler probe, not a destructive energy dome
as he’d first thought. It snatched her up along with the rest of
the students standing completely inside its perimeter. Jasmine had
been cut in half because she was straddling the edge of the
field.

Abby leaned away slightly, looking up at him
with her tear-stricken eyes. “They’ve got Drew.”

“I know. That’s why we’re here. Do you know
where he is?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head and
sniffing. “I only saw him once, when they carried him past our
cell. But that was yesterday.”

“We have to leave, now!” Harkins yelled.

Lucas broke free from her embrace and led her
out of the confinement cell. Abby stood half-crouched among the men
in the hallway, with her arms and hands trying to cover her
privates. Lucas removed his vest, then unbuttoned his shirt and
gave it to her to wear. The other women joined them in the
corridor, flocking around him as if he were a famous celebrity.

“Do you remember the way back to the exchange
room?” Harkins asked Lucas.

“I haven’t a clue.”

“I can take him, sir,” the Bruno copy
said.

Harkins did not respond right away. Instead,
he turned slightly and spoke into his communicator watch. “Harkins
here.” A few seconds later, he told the caller, “Where? . . . Are
they injured? . . . Secure the area. We’re on our way back.”

“Dr. Kleezebee?” the Bruno copy asked.

“Yes, they’re back at the portal.”

“What about my brother?” Lucas said.

“He’s there, too, along with Bruno and
Trevor. Everyone’s in one piece.”

Lucas looked at Abby, who was smiling through
her tear-swollen eyes.

“Let’s double-time it,” Harkins said, running
down the hallway, back in the direction they came. Lucas and Abby
followed Harkins, while the Bruno copy helped herd the rest of the
women.

After running through a maze of hallways,
they finally turned the last corner. Lucas could see a flock of
soldiers standing guard outside the exchange room. He couldn’t wait
to see the look on Drew’s face when he waltzed in with Abby on his
arm.

When they entered the room, Drew was standing
with the help of Bruno’s left shoulder and arm. Drew’s face lit up
with a huge smile.

“Look who I found,” Lucas said, presenting
Abby to Drew as if she were a royal princess entering the
ballroom.

“Abby!” Drew shouted.

Abby sprinted over to him and planted a
passionate kiss on his lips.

Lucas walked slowly to his brother, waiting
for Drew to finish his smooch and come up for air. When he did,
Lucas asked him, “Are you okay?”

“I’m hungry and exhausted, but other than
that, I’m fine,” Drew replied with Abby’s arms wrapped around his
neck.

“Where the hell did you guys go?”

Bruno held out his watch. “We never left. We
knew they’d attack, so me and my watch were ready.”

“Shit, we ran right past you.”

Kleezebee lifted one of his shoes, letting
the orange blood and tissue drip from his heel. “You detonated the
vest, didn’t you?” he asked Lucas.

Lucas nodded. “Not only that, I cranked it up
to full power.”

Harkins added, “I think it took out the
entire ship. So far, we encountered no hostiles.”

“The disrupter signal must have been
transmitted across their bio-comm network, destroying them all,”
Kleezebee said. He patted Lucas on the back. “Nice work.”

“Thanks, Professor. But it was just dumb
luck. I really wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“I’m sure it was more than that,” Kleezebee
said.

“Orders, sir?” Harkins asked Kleezebee.

“Search the rest of the ship. There’s
probably more humans on board.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“What about the energy domes?” Drew
asked.

“If they’re all dead, then we should’ve seen
the last of the energy fields.”

Lucas turned to his little brother and
smiled. “How about that? Dad’s invention saved Earth!”

“Too bad we can’t tell anyone,” Drew
replied.

“Can we go home now?” Abby asked.

Kleezebee cocked his head in Bruno’s
direction. “Take ‘em home.”

Lucas whispered into Drew’s ear, “When we get
home, there’s something I need to tell you about your biological
father.”

Drew looked confused for a moment, then
nodded.

Bruno helped Drew and Abby through the
rift.

Lucas stayed behind. “So, Professor, what are
you going to do with your new ship?”

“Take my people home, assuming we can figure
out how to fly this thing.”

Lucas looked around at the blood and guts
covering the walls. “It’s gonna need a fresh coat of paint and a
ton of disinfectant. A little 409 wouldn’t hurt, either.”

Kleezebee chuckled.

Chapter
32

Homecoming

Lucas returned to the silo through the portal
and found Drew sitting in his wheelchair. Abby was sitting in a
chair next to him, still wearing Lucas’ shirt. He wondered if
Kleezebee intended to find her some real clothes.

Lucas looked at the video screens and didn’t
see any active energy fields. In fact, half the screens were turned
off. Obviously, the crisis on Earth was over.

“You said you had something to tell me?” Drew
asked.

Lucas checked to make sure Kleezebee wasn’t
nearby. The professor was across the room, standing next to Bruno
and talking with the white-robed elders from his home world. If he
kept his voice down, the professor shouldn’t hear him. “You know
how you always thought your bio-mom was impregnated by anonymous
sperm?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, as it turns out, it’s wasn’t so
anonymous after all.”

“What do you mean?’

Lucas pointed in Kleezebee’s direction.

“Bruno?” Drew replied.

“Not him . . . Kleezebee.”

Drew stared at Kleezebee for what seemed like
a full minute, then said, “No way.”

“Seriously, he owns the fertility clinic your
mother used.”

Drew shook his head vigorously. “I don’t
believe you.”

“Trust me, it’s true. Hey, at least Kleezebee
didn’t knock her up the old-fashioned way.”

Lucas tried to stop Drew when he rolled his
chair toward Kleezebee. Drew fought off Lucas’ grip, sped across
the room, and nearly smashed into the back of Kleezebee’s leg. He
tugged on his mentor’s sleeve. “Excuse me, Professor, but I need to
ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Lucas told me that you’re my real father, is
this true?”

Kleezebee glared at Lucas.

Lucas shrugged and threw his hands into the
air. “Sorry, DL, I thought he had a right to know.”

Kleezebee turned to Drew and replied, “Yes,
it’s true. I’m your biological father.”

Drew looked stunned. “Why didn’t you ever
tell me?”

“You already had a family, and I didn’t want
to butt in. I knew you were healthy and happy, and that’s all that
mattered to me. Besides, I get to see you almost every day.”

Drew’s face turned a deep shade of red, then
he looked at Lucas as if he were searching for guidance. Lucas
wanted to help, but didn’t say anything—not a peep. This was one of
those times when Drew had to decide what to do on his own.