Authors: T.A. Uner
“How did you find me?” Johnny fingered the box cutter in his jean pocket nervously. “It’s not like I announced where I was going.”
Argos grinned. “Let’s just say I’ve been keeping an eye on you since your Dad’s disappearance.”
“How do you know about that? It happened suddenly, and the government wasn’t too upfront about telling my mom
how
he disappeared. I know he’s dead. They’re just keeping it from us.”
Argos nodded. “I know how you feel.” He paused, as if searching for the right words. “But your Dad is
missing
. There’s a big difference between missing and dead, son.”
Son? He hasn’t even known me for five minutes and he’s calling me son?
“I seriously doubt that, Argos.”
“It’s true. Listen Johnny, do you know exactly which agency your father worked for?”
“No. My mom said it had something to do with intelligence. Does it matter?” Johnny said irritably. “He’s not coming back.”
The two Red Dobermans growled at Johnny. Argos shot them both a stern glance and they stopped and looked at him abashedly. “Sorry Johnny, they can be touchy sometimes. They sense your unease. But you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m guessing it was the CIA? Maybe he was a deep-cover agent? I know he traveled a lot,” he said, reminiscing about his father and wondering how his old man had never mentioned Mr. Argos Better from Louisiana.
“Close. I think you should know that your father was lost on a mission, working for the same agency I work for.”
“And what agency is that, Argos?”
“We’re called the American Legends Project—and I’m what they call a Time-Healer.”
Johnny’s forehead became furrowed with confusion. “A ‘Time-Healer’?”
Argos nodded. The dogs kept panting.
“Okay, now you’ve lost me, Argos,” Johnny said. “If Argos is indeed your
real
name.”
“C’mon brother, work with me now!” Argos then lowered his voice, “bad enough that your father is missing, don’t make this any worse; I really need your help.”
“Why?” Johnny chuckled nervously. He had come to Saguaro for one purpose only, and now this creepy fool, and his super creepy dogs were preventing him from completing what he had set out to do.
“I can’t tell you… yet,” Argos replied before wiping his brow with a handkerchief. “But trust me, you’re really important, and without you I can’t complete my next mission.”
“What mission?”
The two Red Dobermans growled again. Johnny liked dogs, but these two were getting on his nerves.
“Can’t tell you that either.”
“
What can’t
you tell me, Argos?”
“For now let’s just keep everything on a need-to-know basis. Now come on Johnny, let’s get back to Gina. We’ve got work to do.”
“Gina?”
Argos nodded. “My car.”
“You named your car ‘Gina’?”
For a moment Argos looked flustered, almost as if Johnny had insulted him but the agitated look faded as quickly as it appeared. “Long story.”
I bet
. “You mind if I take a wizz before I come along?”
Argos looked at him suspiciously. “Can’t you hold it?”
“Naw, it’ll just be a minute.”
Argos stared at him meticulously and then nodded. “Alright Johnny, make it quick.”
Johnny flashed a sly smile at the strange trio before taking two steps backward and disappearing into a dense shrubbery patch. From behind his cover he eyed Argos and the two dogs to make sure they weren’t following him. Then he darted off.
Johnny didn’t even want to know who Argos was or what he was up to. And then there was the bit about Johnny’s Dad; he had almost fallen for that sad story.
These scammers are getting ballsier every day. Probably got my social security number from somewhere and did a background check on me. How else would they have known about Dad? Can’t fool me Argos.
Johnny made his way down Wasson Peak, constantly looking back to see if he was being tailed. He knew the dogs could probably track him, so he picked up the pace until his heart was pounding against his chest and his pulse throbbing in his neck. But he knew he couldn’t be abducted by this strange man calling himself a “friend” of his father’s.
“Where’s a Park Ranger when you need one,” Johnny muttered. He drew his box cutter again and slid open the blade. Not to cut himself, but he’d do his best to defend himself if he had to. At least this encounter with Argos had helped knock some sense into him. Now he knew he had to live, at least long enough to find someone who could help. Maybe his mom was in danger too.
Up ahead, he saw some buffelgrass dotting the ground where volunteer workers were digging up the earth with pick axes, attempting to remove the plant from the park grounds. They wore white hats and one man had a backpack strapped on him. Johnny wiped the sweat from his forehead and eyed the panoramic red hills which dotted the horizon. Soon the visitor center would be visible, but he had to reach the volunteers first if he was to escape Argos and his dogs.
Above him he heard the strange sound. It sounded like a cross between a jet engine and a loud hiss. As if a thousand rattlers were hovering above him.
When he looked up he almost wet his pants.
A car was floating above him. Its wheels were retracted and in their place were strange turbofan-like engines, only more futuristic looking. They throbbed as they maneuvered the car closer to him. He heard a loud pop and seconds later he was entangled in a net that grew tighter around him the more he struggled. Soon he was rising quickly into the air, above the workers. Dammit! Johnny started screaming for help, hoping one of the men below would catch a glimpse of him. None did. Instead, he found himself being pulled higher and higher into the air, before the car launched itself forward and accelerated towards Route 10.
A few minutes later, Johnny felt himself being lowered towards the ground. He looked around, hoping to see any signs of life other than him and this blasted car that had abducted him. He felt the net loosen around him before it dropped him on the shoulder of Route 10. The car touched down ten feet away from him before its turbofan engines reverted back to standard wheels. Johnny then took off again. Behind him Gina’s door opened and the two Dobermans jumped out before chasing after Johnny. Seconds later, they’d pinned him to the ground.
“Get off me, you creepy mutts!” Johnny said as he struggled to push off both dogs. They felt like they weighed a ton. A shadow loomed over Johnny and Argos’ judgmental face stared down at him.
“Now that wasn’t a nice thing to say to my dogs.”
Johnny glared at Argos. “There are laws against what you’re doing… this is abduction.”
“You told me you were going to take a leak and then next thing I knew you’d ran off like a jackrabbit.” Argos whistled and Jessie and Studs stepped away from Johnny.
Johnny slowly stood up and brushed himself off. “Can you blame me? You claim to know my Dad, then drop all this BS on me and expect me to believe you?”
The dogs growled, but Johnny was too spent to care. It wasn’t even noon, yet he felt as if two days had gone by without a wink of sleep.
Argos nodded solemnly and for a moment Johnny thought the strange man with the muscular frame was regretful for what he had done. “I know, I should’ve told you more, but I was under orders, and the agency I belong to isn’t keen on releasing information about itself to the general public.”
“Yeah, what’s up with your car, man?” Johnny stared at the Camaro. It was the first time he got a good look at it and its sleek crimson paint job featured a dual white stripe across its hood. “Looks like it’s been refurbished. Gina I presume?”
Argos pressed a button on a keyless entry remote and the doors hissed open. It sounded like an airlock opening in one of those sci-fi flicks Johnny watched on cable.
“Yep, that’s Gina—a 1968 Camaro—my pride and joy. I suppose I should tell you more about AL and why we want you to help us. Can I trust you not to disappear on me again?”
“I guess.” Johnny inched closer to the strange flying car. It’s alloy rally wheels were so finely-polished Johnny could see his reflection. He remembered his father had once taken him to an auto show in Phoenix a few years back. The memory soured his stomach and he turned away from the reflection.
“What’s wrong?” Argos asked. Jessie and Studs approached Johnny and eyed him with concern.
“Ohh, just remembering my old man. He used to like classic cars.”
Argos smiled. “I know.” The Dobermans barked their agreement.
“I just wish I knew what happened.” Johnny fought back the painful emptiness in his chest.
“Like I told you earlier, it was on an AL mission. We were partners. But he was assigned on a solo mission. That’s how it happened. But this really isn’t the place to be discussing AL material.” Argos whistled and Jessie and Studs dashed into Gina before taking their place on the rear seat. From inside Gina, they looked at Johnny and Argos expectantly. “Why don’t you get inside the car? If you don’t like what I have to say, I’ll take you home and you’ll never see me again.”
Johnny exhaled. “Fine.”
***
As soon as Johnny slipped inside Gina he was amazed at her interior. An impressive looking dashboard featured various digital screen readouts of various onboard systems. Some were basic readings like air and engine temperature. But others contained readouts of unfamiliar systems labeled “Heal-Time” and “Nuclear Coasting.”
The door hissed shut as soon as Johnny and Argos had strapped themselves in. Argos pressed a button on the steering wheel and Gina lifted off the ground like a Harrier Jet. Argos pressed his foot down on the accelerator and they were off.
Johnny held on to the sides of his leather seat. Looking out the window and eyed the scenery beneath him. The desert landscape was a mixture of rust red dotted with jagged hills and brushland.
“
Impressive
, huh?” Argos said as Gina climbed higher into the clouds. Johnny nodded, while his stomach tried adjusting to the new altitude. He hoped it would not betray him by expelling his breakfast. “So now that we’re by ourselves, what do you want to know?”
Johnny turned away from the window. “Tell me more about Time-Healing.”
Argos scratched the stubble on his chin. “I had a feeling you’d ask about that. Well, like the term implies, operatives like me are called Time-Healers. We’re sent back in time to make adjustments in history; to make sure everything turns out the way it’s supposed to.”
Johnny exhaled. “Wow…so time-travel
is possible
? Hard to believe.”
Argos pulled out two dog treats from inside the armrest and Jessie and Studs went to work on them. As the dogs munched on their snacks he thought about his next question. “How is it done? I mean…time-travel?”
“Very carefully Johnny.” Argos paused for a second to collect his thoughts. “There’re these folks who work for American Legends, TMCs, which is short for Time Manipulation Crunchers. We call them Eyeballs for short cause they’re constantly eying all the timeline permutations. As you can imagine, it’s a stressful job, and one miscalculation can foul up an entire Time-Heal.” He rapped his knuckles on Gina’s dashboard. “So far I’ve been on five missions and have five THCs.”
“THCs?” Johnny said.
Argos smiled. “Ohh right, I meant Time-Heal Completions. It’s how AL designates successful time-travel missions.”
“What happens if you mess up?” Johnny and Argos eyed each other. Johnny wanted to know more about Argos’ experiences. He was also curious how the dogs fitted into all of this. Perhaps he could also learn more about his father’s secret life through this experience.
“It hasn’t really happened…yet,” Argos answered. “We have RMs—which stand for Rewind Missions—but that’s to go further back if any mission errors occur. They retract the agent who cannot complete a mission with a Time-Heal Completion, and send in another agent to go slightly further back and clean up the mess. But those rarely happen. AL Eyeballs keep close tabs on Time-Healers and there hasn’t been any issues yet.”
“These Eyeballs sound like bad-asses.”
“They’re impressive alright. Only the top recruits who score perfectly on their aptitude tests make it to the final round of selection, and then they compete against one another in computer simulations. The winners of these simulations graduate to TMC status: the best of the best. When we get to AL Command, you’ll meet our best Eyeball, Patrice Waters. She’s a little older than you. A real bright light she is. Graduated Harvard at 16, earned her PHD at MIT at 18. Director Mitchell snatched her up as soon as he could. Her scores in the simulation were phenomenal.”
“Sounds like someone you’d want on your team.”
Argos looked amused. “I’m glad you think so Johnny, because she’s been assigned to train you.”
After greeting a pocket of turbulence, Gina shook as they rose higher and higher amongst the clouds. To Johnny it felt as if he was sitting inside a commercial passenger jet. Yet this wasn’t like any flying experience he remembered.
“Are there any other cars like Gina?”
“Nope. She’s the first Time-Incursion Vehicle. Besides, AL is still in its early stages of operation—it wouldn’t be economical to build too many cars like Gina. In addition to the exuberant amount of antimatter needed to power the Time-Displacement modulator, the risk of a Time-Splinter Paradox is too great.”
Johnny’s eyes narrowed. “Time-Splinter Paradox?”
Argos grinned sharply. “Let me explain: say someone with malevolent intentions was able to overpower an AL Time-Healer and take control of a TIV, they could conceivably manipulate the timeline to their benefit. Become someone with enough power that can change the course of history for their own benefit. That’s why it’s called a TSP.”
Johnny nodded. “Splinters would form within the timeline.”
“Right,” Argos replied. “I knew you’d catch on quick. My recruiting skills are still top notch.” Both Dobermans barked in agreement with Argos. Johnny found it quaint how the dogs were so in tune with their handler.
Must be an owner-dog thing
, he thought.