Linkage: The Narrows of Time (43 page)

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Authors: Jay Falconer

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Drew turned back to Kleezebee and wrapped his
arms around Kleezebee’s legs, nearly knocking the man off his
crutches. Lucas could see Kleezebee fighting back tears, trying to
maintain his self-control. The professor pried Drew’s arms loose,
then knelt down to give Drew a reciprocal hug.

When the mini-reunion was finished, Lucas
realized Kleezebee hadn’t brought the four-wheeled cart back from
the Krellian ship. “Dr. Kleezebee, didn’t we forget something on
the other side? What about the BioTex canisters?”

Bruno laughed. “They were filled with spoiled
milk from the mess hall. Only the first canister I carried was
real.”

Kleezebee told Lucas, “You do realize that
you two, with help from your father’s marvelous invention, saved
billions of lives in both dimensions? The Ramsay men are
transdimensional heroes. Congratulations!”

Drew replied with pure joy, “We have to tell
Mom. . . . Dad finally invented something that worked.”

“She’ll love that,” Lucas said. It would be
good for her to get some vindication for supporting John’s
endeavors all those years. Even during the lean financial years,
Dorothy never wavered despite constant second-guessing by her
friends, her co-workers, and even her estranged father-in-law, Roy.
Lucas wondered if Roy would apologize for his pigheadedness.
Wouldn’t the grumpy old man change his perspective once he learns
that his only son was not a dismal failure after all?

“It’s a shame the government will never know
what we’ve done for them. They still think we’re mass murders,”
Drew said.

Bruno replied, “The minute Larson recovers
from surgery, the first thing he’ll do is contact General Alvarez
and tell him you’re still alive. I doubt we can fool them
again.”

“He’s never going to stop looking for us, is
he?” Lucas asked.

Bruno shook his head. “No, I’m afraid
not.”

Lucas asked Kleezebee, “I don’t suppose
you’ll help us clear our name?”

“Sorry, can’t do it. That would require
exposing our technology and our existence on your world. But what I
can do is offer you sanctuary on our world, where you’ll be treated
as heroes and live in peace.”

“What about Mom?” Drew asked.

“She’s welcome, too.” Kleezebee turned to
Bruno and said, “You should probably go get her and bring her
down.”

As Bruno left the room, Kleezebee told Lucas,
“You must decide soon. We’ll be leaving your universe and won’t be
coming back.”

Lucas pulled his brother aside to chat in
private. Abby joined them. “I don’t see that we have a choice, do
you? I don’t want to live on the run as fugitives. Besides, after
Kleezebee and Bruno leave, who’s going to watch our back? Plus,
where would we work? The planet is in ruin and science lab’s been
destroyed. It’ll be fricken years before they build another one, if
ever.”

“You’re right,” Drew said. “There’s nothing
for us here. The future’s where we need to be. Imagine what we’ll
learn. Their science must be light years ahead of ours.”

“Plus we don’t have to worry about Mom’s
medical bills.”

Drew nodded, then looked at Abby. “What do
you think?”

“My parents are both gone, so there’s nothing
to keep me here, either. I’ll go where ever you go, sweetie,” she
said, planting another passionate kiss on Drew’s lips.

“All right, then I guess we’re going, as long
as Mom comes with us,” Lucas said, trying not to stare at his
brother’s make out session.

“What about Grandpa Roy?” Drew asked.

“What about him?”

“I know you’ve been secretly talking with
him.”

“Only just recently. But trust me, he’d never
come. His military career is all he cares about.”

“Don’t you think we should ask him? After
all, he’s family.”

“No. Mom would never allow it. He blew his
chance at that Thanksgiving.”

For the next handful of minutes, Kleezebee
took charge of the introductions between his crew and the diplomats
from his home world.

Right after the portal closed, the elevator’s
bell chimed. Dorothy walked out of the lift with Bruno holding on
to her right elbow. She was grinning from ear-to-ear, obviously
ecstatic that both of her boys were safe.

Lucas tugged on Drew’s shirtsleeve to direct
his attention away from Abby. He whispered, “Mom’s here. You might
want to save the spit-swapping ’til later.”

Dorothy hugged Drew, then kissed him softly
on the cheek. “I thought I would never see you again.” She hugged
Lucas, too. “Oh, I’m so happy that both of my boys are home safe
and sound. I prayed all night for your safe return. Thank the Lord
almighty.”

Dorothy stared at Abby, who was sitting next
to Drew, holding his hand. She was still wearing only Lucas’ shirt,
which left most of her legs and upper thighs exposed.

“Mom, this is my . . . friend, Abby,” Drew
replied. “We just rescued her from the Krellian ship.”

“Are you all right, dear?” Dorothy asked
her.

Abby nodded and then stared off into space.
She wrapped her arms around Drew with her right cheek pressed flat
against his chest.

“She’ll be okay, Mom. She just needs a little
time to recover.”

Lucas walked over to Kleezebee and asked,
“How long do we have before we need to leave, Professor?” He
figured Kleezebee would need at least several days to recall his
people and gather up their advanced technology. Kleezebee probably
wouldn’t want to leave anything behind that might cause a shift in
the balance of power on Earth.

“It’ll take twenty-four hours to evacuate our
people and equipment. You have until then.”

Twenty-four hours? Lucas thought. That’s not
enough time. Shit, it’ll probably take Kleezebee that long just to
clean out his office. “Okay, we’ll be ready by then. I just have to
clear this with Mom. She’ll probably want to pack a few
things.”

“That’s fine, but keep it light.”

“Sure thing, Professor.”

* * *

The following morning, Lucas and Drew
returned to the video surveillance room with their mother and Abby.
Under Bruno and his security team’s protection, they had returned
home the night before and collected a few personal mementos,
including clothes and the family photo albums. When they stepped
off the silo’s elevator, two groups of personnel and equipment were
stepping through the portal. The rest of the room was nearly
empty.

“Are you ready to go?” Kleezebee asked.

“Yes, we are,” Lucas replied, helping his
mother toward the rift’s opening.

Drew and Abby were a few steps behind. Bruno
was carrying two suitcases filled with their keepsakes.

“What about Trevor?” Lucas asked.

“He went through an hour ago with our
inventory of BioTex,” Kleezebee said.

Lucas and his mother stepped into the rift.
Once on the other side, they were greeted by Trevor and some of the
elderly diplomats who had been rescued the day before.

Lucas turned around and waited for Drew. A
faint shadow appeared near the portal’s midpoint. It started as a
fuzzy mass, then grew in size. After it solidified, Bruno stepped
through with the pair of suitcases.

“I thought Drew was next?” Lucas asked
Bruno.

“Don’t worry. DL will send him through
next.”

“What does DL stand for anyway?”

“If I tell you, you can’t let him know you
heard it from me. He’ll have my head.”

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. Come on;
tell me, what does it mean?”

“Drockmorton Leslie.”

Lucas broke into a hysterical laugh. “No
shit? Drockmorton? No wonder he goes by DL. I would, too.” Lucas
turned his attention back to the rift.

“How much longer?” Dorothy asked.

“Shouldn’t be long now, Mom.”

The rift shimmered a few times, then a pair
of faint shadows appeared. Lucas could see an outline of a
wheelchair and two people holding hands. “Here they come,” he told
his mother.

Just then, the portal flickered twice like a
TV set on the fritz, then the rift suddenly collapsed with Drew and
Abby still inside.

“Oh, my God!” Bruno shouted.

“What the hell just happened? Where’s my
brother?”

# # #

Book #1 in the Narrows of Time Series -
Written by: Jay J. Falconer