BackTrek (16 page)

“So is that why we can only go to June
seventh?” Jack said.

“Yes. Now the best that we can tell, due to a
sheer accident on our part, the time gate was activated on June
seventh at six forty-five. When it was activated, the gravitational
wave form generated by the gate vibrated at the exact harmonic
frequency that our gate was functioning at yesterday. And the
result, just as Kip Thorne had predicted, was a wormhole through
time. Hawking would have been very upset.” He muttered absently to
himself.

“Wait a minute. Now you’re telling me that
your system has only been online for a day?” Jack asked.

“Well...functioning...yes, but we’ve been
working on this concept-” The Doctor began before Jack
interrupted.

“You expect me to-” Jack began.

“Jack. It works. What more do you need.” Ted
said as he laid his hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but...okay. You’re right.” He turned
back to the Doctor. “So how do you open this tunnel anyway?” Jack
asked. A low pitched whine began to increase in intensity.

“With the time gate. Huge super-cooled
ceramic based electromagnetic plates are placed in very close
proximity of one another. A gamma ray beam operating in the
exahertz range renders a microscopic opening in the fabric of space
time, and gradually over a ten minute period of time, they expand
an opening that, assuming the frequencies are in sync, will open a
tunnel to the past.” The whine had grown in pitch and volume.

“What about the future?” Jack asked, his
voice all most at a yell to be heard over noise.

“Not possible!” Morgan yelled over the din.
“At least not yet. Based on our theories, if we, in the future
attempt to come back to this space at this time, the gates are
opened, and the frequencies are matched...then yes, it could be
done. But it’s way too early for us to be concerned with that. For
the time being, we need more information on exactly how to
synchronize the gates. It appears as though changing the frequency
of the waveform will be the only way to open multiple gates to the
same space.”

“Doc, how much longer before we’re ready?”
Ted asked. The Doctor turned from Ted and looked out through the
glass window of his office and into the lab. He glanced at the
large digital countdown clock that hung on the wall within the lab.
The whine had become excruciating.

“Phillips! Fire the beam.” Morgan yelled.
Phillips keyed the sequence, the lights flickered, and a blinding
light emitted from center of the machine in the inner lab. Suddenly
the noise rose in pitch and became inaudible. He smiled.

“About two more minutes.”

“Jack, are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Can we go in yet, Doc?”

“Not until the gamma beam is terminated.” He
said as he stared at the circular hole that was surrounded by
dozens of heavy, flat, rectangular plates with bundles of cables
streaming away. The hole gradually expanded in size, as sparks
swirled around the bright glowing opening, and pulsed in an
unearthly rhythm. Jack swallowed hard. He wasn’t afraid. Now that
he thought about it, he could never even remember having been
afraid of anything. But this was against the forces of nature
itself. What he watched, and was about to participate in, was
beyond belief, and almost beyond reality. Apprehensive. That was
how he felt. They watched as the bright green numbers continued to
count down, and the bright glowing hole continued to widen.
Electricity arced fiercely from panel to panel.

“Phillips. Kill the beam.” Phillips nodded to
Morgan and keyed the sequence. The glowing center of the machine
winked out. Inside the hole, the sparks continued to swirl and
pulse, until the countdown clock finally reached zero.

“It’s not working.” Jack said, as he was able
to see through the hole to the other side. There were no longer any
sparks inside the gateway.

“On the contrary, Mr. King. The gate has
opened.” Morgan responded.

“But I can see right through it.” Jack
countered.

“What you see on the other side…is this
room...this room on June seventh. Ted, you may proceed.”

“Let’s go, Jack.” Ted said, as he headed for
the door that led into the lab. Jack followed quietly, not sure
that if he walked through the gate that he would be anywhere,
except on the other side of the room. Ted hesitated at the ramp
that led up to the gate.

“I’ll go first. Count to five, and follow
me.” Ted said, and Jack nodded in response, even as he leered
cautiously at the electrical sparks that still jumped from plate to
plate around the gate. Ted walked up to the gate itself and without
hesitation, he went through. Jack stood there for a second and
watched as Ted walked down the ramp on the other side and then
motioned for him to follow. Jack walked up the ramp to the gate,
hesitated slightly, and then darted through the gate to the other
side. Much to his surprise, he had felt nothing unusual as he went
through the gate. Even when he came down on the other side, he felt
as if he had just walked across the room.

“See. I told you it wasn’t working.” Jack
said. Ted pointed back across the room, and Jack turned to look.
His eyes couldn’t believe what he saw. Through the gate he could
see Dr Morgan in the lab, as he peered at them though the glass
panel. He could see Phillips as well in the outer lab, but when he
looked around the gate at the outer lab, he could not believe his
eyes. Another figure stood in the lab. It was Ted.

“Come on, Jack. We don’t have long to get
there.” Ted headed for the door and Jack hesitated. He swallowed
hard, and slowly turned away from the image in the window.

“That’s you?” Jack asked. Ted smiled.

“I told you it works. Come on. We’ve got to
hurry.” Ted said. They exited the lab and entered the hallway, the
doors closed behind them. Ted turned to the left, and Jack
hesitated.

“Hey. I thought it was this way.” Jack
said.

“That’s the way you came in, but the top
level is guarded at night. We can get out of here quicker by using
the freight elevator. It’s a little slower, but we shouldn’t run
into anyone.” Jack caught up with him and they headed for the
freight elevator. Once they turned the corner, Ted opened the set
of wide doors that covered the entrance to the elevator. Jack
followed him inside as Ted hit the up button. After a brief
hesitation, the elevator began its slow ascent. The two stood
quietly in the dim light from overhead.

“Why are we going to wait and get him while
he’s trying to get away?” Jack asked. “Why not get him before he
kills those two people?”

“I want to do that, but I’m not sure if we
can make it in time. The primary mission is to catch him. If we
make it in time to stop the murders, then so be it.”

“Is that all?” Jack asked. He had a feeling
that Ted had something more that he held back from him.

“We don’t know what will happen if we run
into ourselves. In theory it would be no different than the two of
us standing here now, but in reality it may cause a host of
problems that we’re not yet capable of dealing with. I mean, do you
remember seeing yourself before? If you didn’t then, then you can’t
now. Time is funny that way.” Jack pondered the paradox that could
develop if in fact he did run into himself. If it had not already
happened to him, then it shouldn’t happen now. But if the past
couldn’t be changed, then of what use was this whole project. He
hoped that the theories were just that, theories, otherwise he’d
never be able to save Tracey and the kids. And at this moment, that
was his whole reason for being.

Suddenly the elevator came to a stop, and Ted
slid open the doors. They exited the freight elevator and headed
down the hallway towards a door marked exit. As they approached the
door, it began to open. They froze in their tracks, and looked from
side to side for a place to hide. There was none. As the door
opened further a uniformed figure emerged from the doorway. He saw
them and immediately and brought up his weapon. He aimed first at
Jack, and then at Ted.

“Hold it right there! What are you doing
here? This area is unauthorized. Identify yourself.” He said as he
crouched slightly and thumbed off the safety on his M4 assault
rifle. His voice was ice steady, as were his hands. There was no
doubt in either Jack or Ted’s mind that this soldier would drop
them in their tracks if they even thought about moving.

“It’s okay. I’m Ted Truman. We were just
working late and-”

“This area is not authorized.”

“Look we took a wrong turn and took the
freight elevator instead. It’s not like it’s a major problem. Just
radio back to your superior and he should have us listed as being
authorized.”

“You just keep those hands where I can see
them, mister, and I’ll decide what I need-” Suddenly a loud alarm
began to blare, and it startled the guard. “What the-” Overhead
sprinklers began to spray water. “Shit!” He said as he tried to
step out of the way of the spray of water as it fell. Ted leaped at
the distraction, disarmed him, and after a swift blow to the back
of the head, had knocked him unconscious. He reached down and
grabbed the large ring of keys that hung from the guard’s belt.

“Come on!” He said, as he ran for the door
that the guard had entered from.

“Where did all this come from?” Jack said
asking about the fire alarm and the sprinklers that continued to
rain.

“I don’t know and I don’t care. We’ve got a
job to do.” He said as he ran through the doorway. They ran down a
short hallway, and finally came to an outside door. Ted fumbled
with the keys and finally got one to fit in the lock. He quickly
unlocked the door and freed them from the complex. He ran off and
left the ring of keys ring in the door. As Jack ran by, he felt
that the door should stay secured. He grabbed the keys, locked the
door and pocketed the key ring. He ran to catch up with Ted who had
already broken the window of a car in the parking lot. As Jack
reached the car, he saw that Ted was hot wiring the car, and
suddenly the ignition began to turn over. The engine came to
life.

“Come on, Jack. Get in.” Jack ran to the
other side as Ted toggled the unlock button. Jack jumped in and
before he could close his door, Ted had already begun to accelerate
out of the parking space. Their time was running out.

Ted brought the car to halt on the main
street beside the restaurant, and he and Jack jumped from the car
and headed for the parking lot. As they rounded the corner, Jack
clearly heard the ricochet of a bullet fired from a silenced
weapon. Jack looked at Ted. They were too late to save them.

“I was afraid of that, Jack.”

“Quick! Let’s get around back before he has a
chance to get away.” They turned around, headed for the rear of the
restaurant. Quietly, they ran down the alley away from the main
street. Jack pointed to a slight alcove at the rear of the
restaurant, and Ted took up position there. Jack headed to the
intersection of the alley from the parking lot and peered around
the corner. The killer was at the other end of the alley. He looked
back towards the parking lot. Jack ran quickly across the alley,
and drew his weapon as he went. He leaned his back against the
brick wall, raised his gun, and flicked the safety off of his gun
with his thumb. Seconds passed in silence. His heart beat loudly in
his ears. Suddenly the killer rounded the corner and headed away
from Jack towards the main street. Jack’s grip tightened on his
gun, as he brought it down and carefully aimed towards the killer.
As the killer began to pass the alcove where Ted hid in the
shadows, Ted leaped out with his weapon drawn. The tall man stopped
dead in his tracks. Ted turned him around and headed him back into
the alcove. Jack holstered his weapon, and began to head towards
him when he heard footsteps echo up the alley behind him. He turned
to look down the alley and saw himself, his other self, as it came
towards him. The other Jack’s gun was up and ready to fire, as he
began to turn the corner towards the main street. He had not even
seen Jack in the darkness.

“He got away.” Jack said, careful not to
startle his other self. He did not want to be shot on accident. He
remembered all too clearly his frame of mind at this moment.

“You saw him go by?” The other Jack asked. He
had not yet eased his weapon all of the way down. Jack could tell
that he was uneasy, and suddenly he remembered why. So much had
happened over the last few days that he had completely forgotten
this part of what had happened. The stranger in the alley had
completely slipped his mind, and now here he was. Now he was the
stranger.

“He’s gone.” Jack replied. His other self
edged cautiously to the edge of the alley, and peered around the
corner. “Jack.” Jack said, as he tried to stop him before he found
Ted and the killer.

“Who are you?” His other self asked.

“Who I am is not important. Not as important
as a lot of other things in your life.” Jack answered. As the words
flowed from his lips, it shocked him that they seemed so familiar.
This was way beyond any deja vu he had ever experienced.

“How do you know my name?” The other Jack
asked.

“I know you, Jack. But I know more than just
that. I know things. Lot’s of things.”

“Like what?” His other self asked
suspiciously

“I know Ted.” Jack said, as he watched as the
expression changed on his other self’s face.

“Ted? You mean Ted Truman? That
son-of-a-bitch put you up to this. You’re stalking me?” The other
Jack fired back in anger.

“No. But I know Ted. And I also know that he
can help you. He can help you to solve problems. Problems so big
that losing the killer that you were chasing will seem
insignificant. Listen to him, Jack.” He began to walk towards the
end of the alley, careful to keep in the shadows.