Authors: T.A. Uner
“I didn’t know that,” Patrice said looking at Argos who also looked surprised.
“I guess history wasn’t a huge subject for you at MIT, huh, Patrice?” Johnny said jokingly.
Patrice giggled. How she managed to under these circumstances was anybody’s guess.
Johnny stepped away from the monitor and offered Patrice her seat. “Maybe you can dig a little deeper. It makes sense, with your familiarity of TimeBoss’ systems,” Argos said.
Patrice spoke directly to TimeBoss. “Evaluate research variables conducted by Agent Veto.” She waited for the omnipotent Supercomputer to digest her question and disembogue a response. Lights flickered across various consoles as TimeBoss ran calculations at incomprehensible speeds.
“I believe I’ve found an answer, Miss Waters,” TimeBoss said.
Patrice crossed her arms. “Tell us.”
“Perhaps it would be better if I showed you.” TimeBoss’ holographic emitter brought up a 3-D visual of its findings. The turquoise-hued reading listed names, which, at first, Patrice did not recognize, and then as the readout list grew longer she realized that they were the names of high schools, most of which were located in the USA. There were also some listed from the UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Russia, and even China. “There has been a 117% increase in hacker communication traffic containing the term Omega Day.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Argos said.
“Cross correlate the Lycarian name Grendis with this occurrence,” Patrice added. The room was suddenly a lot warmer than usual. “Has the temperature control been altered?” she asked.
“Not that I am aware of Miss Waters,” TimeBoss said. “But I now have an estimate of what this all means. I must say it’s very alarming.” A second later the 3-D visual changed and began listing every bit of information TimeBoss had accumulated in its rapid search. Everyone in the room read the data and their eyes widened, as if watching a gory scene in a horror movie.
“The lynch-pin attack is at
my
high school,” Johnny exclaimed. “I’ve seen those two guys in the hallways in between classes.” He pointed at the digital images of Bloodboy and Diablo.
“No!” Patrice said. “This can’t be right.”
“I’m afraid it is,” TimeBoss replied. “Grendis is coordinating global school shootouts on May 24th. Codenamed: Omega Day.”
“I’m afraid I have even more bad news,” TimeBoss said.
As if we needed to hear that,
Johnny thought. TimeBoss spat out another 3-D image. This one resembled a flow chart. Dates appeared, while bar graphs indicated timeline calculations kept fluctuated like blips on a heart monitor. “So what’s the bad news?” Johnny yelled. His body felt like it’d just stepped into a cooler.
“Calm down,” Director Mitchell said. Johnny turned his head. He hadn’t even noticed Mitchell enter the room.
“Agent Veto—to answer the question you’ve posed—I’ve detected a TSP.”
“But didn’t we fix those in 1861 and 1969?”
“Affirmative—and negative.”
What the hell does that mean?
“Perhaps this will shed some clarity on the dilemma,” TimeBoss exclaimed. The flowchart disappeared and the face of an adolescent boy appeared. “Where do I know that kid from?” Johnny said.
“Perhaps because this student, Edward Castle, is from your school,” TimeBoss said.
“You know him?” Argos asked.
“Not personally,” Johnny began, “but I’ve seen him in the hallways. I hear he’s the first freshman in over twenty years to be asked to play in the varsity band. Supposedly one of the sickest young trumpet players in Arizona.”
“Why are you showing us this boy’s picture?” Director Mitchell asked.
“Because, Director Mitchell, my timeline examiner indicates that in twenty-seven years, Mr. Edward Castle will become President of the United States.”
Patrice shook her head. “Makes sense, Grendis probably had this planned all along. In the event his people failed, killing Castle was his insurance policy. She looked at TimeBoss like a proud mother. But despite learning about AL, he still didn’t factor in TimeBoss’ inventiveness.” When Johnny looked at her, she smiled at him. “Officially, TimeBoss doesn’t exist on record. For secrecy purposes, he’s never been added to any file. We couldn’t risk anyone finding out about him.”
“This Grendis is a real pain in the backside,” Argos said, addressing Johnny. “How ‘bout you and me finally take him out.”
“Let me guess, you got a plan to lure him out in the open…right?”
Argos smiled at his charge. “You catch on pretty fast Johnny; you know that?”
May 23
rd
10:47 PM
Omega Day was scheduled for tomorrow: May 24
th
. That gave AL a full day to alert the local police, FBI and CIA while planning their next move. Also world law enforcement agencies in all targeted countries were alerted via TimeBoss in encrypted messages to prevent its detection from any of Grendis’ hacker allies. “It makes me sick to think the lynch-pin operation is happening at my own high-school,” Johnny said as Argos was supervising the two technicians making final adjustments to Gina.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like Grendis caught us totally unprepared; we’ve got a chance to get to the perpetrators before they try and kill Edward Castle, or any other student.”
This didn’t make Johnny feel any better. His stomach, always queasy during AL missions made him wish he’d skipped dinner earlier in the AL cafeteria. The mystery meat—that was supposed to be sirloin—wasn’t going down well. A quick trip to the restroom would be at the top of his checklist before embarking on the next mission, that is, if he could hold it down long enough.
The next day they headed to Johnny’s high school and waited in the parking lot. Gina’s scanner was set to scan the vicinity for anyone carrying a weapon within school property limits. Outside of that radius, local police SWAT and FBI agents were on standby to assist AL. They agreed that the operation would be carried out in secrecy to prevent panicking the school. This was a hotly debated topic, but law enforcement agencies didn’t want to risk spooking the Omega Day perpetrators, they may never get a better opportunity to apprehend the shooters.
“All this waiting is driving me crazy,” Johnny said. Jessie and Studs were scratching themselves in the back seat.
Argos checked his watch. “We still have time. Omega Day in our part of the world isn’t supposed to commence until 1pm Pacific time.”
“That means it’s already started in other parts of the world,” Johnny said concernedly.
Argos nodded. “There’s nothing we can do about that except pray that the law enforcement branches of those countries were successful in stopping Grendis’ plan.”
Johnny turned towards Argos. “Since we have time I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure Johnny, what is it?”
“Before, when we were talking about your early days in AL, you told me about your wife and two children.” Johnny paused to collect his thoughts. “But what ever happened to your Red Doberman Rusty?”
Argos’ eyes blinked wearily, like a man about to part with a beloved family member. He looked out the window and Johnny followed his gaze. Above them, the sky was clear except for a convoy of wispy clouds resembling the old clipper ships Johnny had read about in history class.
“I suppose it’s only fair I tell you the rest. Although at the end of every story, there’s always a new beginning.”
***
“These two puppies are the feistiest, Son,” Argos’ father Randal said proudly.
Argos took each of Rusty and Mandy’s puppies in hand before inspecting them. “Any idea what you’ll name those two?” Randal asked.
Each puppy was a rich golden brown with soft silky fur, causing Argos to remember his two children, Jessie and Studs, and how he’d held them each after they’d been born.
“Son you look deep in thought,” Randal said.
“I think I’ll call these two Jessie and Studs, Dad.”
Randal looked at Argos reflectively and smiled. “A fine choice of names, Son.”
Argos placed Jessie and Studs close to Mandy so they could join the other puppies. “No disrespect to the other dogs,” Argos added, “but when you said ‘fiesty’ I just had to have a closer look.”
Randal placed his hands on Argos’ shoulders. “No need to explain, Son. I felt the same when you were born.”
Argos eyed Mandy, Randal’s female Red Doberman who’d given birth to Rusty’s puppies. “I really wanna thank you Dad, for running the kennel while me and Rusty have been away working with Scott.”
Randal waved off Argos’ compliment dismissively. “Aww, it’s been a pleasure. I’ve been looking for something productive to do, your mother’s sick and tired of me pacing around the house. These dogs have been a blessing for us both. And don’t forget my neighbor Ray’s twin daughters have been helping out a lot too. Those girls are both studying to be veterinarians so it’s been a fine experience for them as well.”
Argos had nearly forgotten about Ray Grant, his father’s next-door neighbor, and retired veterinarian. He needed to get him a gift to show his appreciation. He started thinking about Gina again, and then realized he needed to get to work. It was four PM. Randal flashed him that “I understand” look and without another word, he and Rusty were off to AL headquarters. As they drove through Pasadena along route 210, he grew more curious about the TIV program and the modifications to his ’68 Camaro. In the backseat Rusty was panting excitedly, as if he knew what Argos was thinking about. They turned off 210 and into the mountains along the restricted government-built road that lead to the underground AL installation.
As much as Argos respected Dr. Murdoc’s contribution to AL, he could never get used to the alien’s heady orange pupils. The alien scientist was gregarious enough to elicit trust from his human counterparts, but assimilating his extraterrestrial features would probably take time. “Agent Better,” Murdoc said before an unusually wide smile spread across his lips, “I hope these modifications we’re making to your beloved automobile are acceptable?”
“Of course Doctor,” Argos said, “who am I to stand in the way of progress. If it means that a whole fleet of TIVs will be constructed. As long as it helps AL’s cause.”
“Right,” Murdoc said, while scanning Argos’ face, “and for a moment I thought you’d be apprehensive about volunteering the use of your personal vehicle.”
Rusty padded up to Murdoc and the alien patted the dog on the head. “These canine creatures you humans love so much are quite loyal; they remind me of Rockgrots, a large mammalian-type animal indigenous to my home world. Quite similar to your rhinoceros.”
A few minutes later, while Argos and Dr. Murdoc were looking over the refit specifications for the Camaro, Director Mitchell and Scott Veto arrived to check on their status. “How soon can TIV-1 be operational Doctor?” he asked Murdoc.
Murdoc’s eyes lit up like lamps. “I would say within a week, Director Mitchell. I’d like to get it done before I’m transferred to the new Life Station Division.”
Scott looked over the Camaro and smiled at Argos before running his hand lovingly across the Camaro’s hood. “I’m looking forward to cruising across spacetime with you in this beauty, old buddy. But calling it TIV-1 seems a bit prosaic. You think of a catchy nickname?”
Argos scratched his cheek. “I was thinking of naming it after my wife Gina. She always brought me good luck.”
Scott looked at the Camaro and grinned. “Gina it is then.” Murdoc had the technicians move Gina into repair bay 1 to accelerate the massive upgrading process.
“I just hope that when they’re done transforming her into a TIV, she’ll still resemble the car I’ve come to know and love. You know how much time I spent restoring her?”
“You’ve only told me about a thousand times,” Scott replied good-naturedly. “I think Murdoc’s people will take that into account when they upgrade her.”
They decided to focus on studying their next mission briefing in the recreational lounge while the TIV refit continued. In the meantime, Argos realized they’d still have to use the Time-Displacer one more time before Gina could be cleared for use. He could almost feel the massive headache he’d have to endure one last time, not to mention the loss of appetite, both side-effects of Time-Displacer use. No wonder AL is aggressively pursuing the TIV project, he thought.
As Argos was reading his briefing, the klaxon went off. Rusty leapt to his feet and followed him and Scott out of the lounge. In the corridors, Argos noticed fire personnel scrambling towards the main hangar. “What’s going on?” Scott asked one of the firemen.
“An explosion in the hangar bay,” the man said as he hurriedly slipped on his firefighter jacket.
The situation in the hangar bay was a cacophony of issued orders and the sound of fire extinguishing mechanisms working overtime to contain a large fire near repair bay 3. Argos’ chest constricted when he thought of his Gina being destroyed. Yet he felt more concern for the safety of those working on her. Despite Scott’s overtures to stay out of the firemen’s way he and Rusty took off like a pair of missiles towards the scene of the fire.
To his relief Gina has been salvaged from the fire, however repair bay 1 had been cordoned off, while a half dozen medics were tending to the injured technicians. Two LifeBots were assisting them. Argos noticed that Dr. Murdoc wasn’t amongst them. Scott arrived and noticed his absence as well. “Where’s Murdoc?” he asked a medic. The man shrugged his shoulders, his face covered with sweat and black smudge from the smoke. “A FireBot went in there two minutes ago to find him,” the medic said dejectedly, “it hasn’t returned.”
“Shit,” Argos said. He took two steps before Scott grabbed his arm.
“Where you think you’re goin’?”
Argos pointed to a large medical kit near one of the medics. “To grab a respirator and find Murdoc.”
Scott eyed Argos as if he was insane. “How long you think you’ll last in there without protective gear?” Scott said, pointing at the billowing black smoke.
But before Argos could attempt a rescue, Rusty jetted towards the flames and disappeared into the black smoke. “Rusty,” Argos called out. “Come back here!”