As Ryan paced
back and forth, he became more and more agitated. There is an answer and I’ve got to find it somehow. I just don’t know
where to begin looking. I’m getting really frustrated. The sound of his
comp-com ringing startled him out of his thoughts. Duncan was calling him. “Duncan.
What’s up?”
“I’m just
calling to check on you to see how you’re doing.”
“How I’m doing?
How I’m doing? How the fuck do you think I’m
doing?” Ryan answered with a little more heat than he intended. But then
again, with all the rage and frustration, maybe it wasn’t enough.
“I’m not going
to insult you by saying I know what you’re going through because I don’t. I
wish I could understand, though. What can I do to help you get through this?”
“That’s kind of
a stupid question, isn’t it?” Ryan responded sarcastically as he ran his hand
through his thick, chocolate brown hair. “The answer is rather obvious. I need
Ethan in my life, and I don’t give a flying fuck what time period we live in,
as long as we’re together.”
“You know that’s
not possible.”
“Fuck you! I’m
gonna make it possible.”
₪₪₪₪₪
“I just don’t
know what to do,” Chris told Alicia over the telecommunicator. “He hasn’t
opened the shop in a week. I think his heart isn’t in it anymore. He’s been
depressed ever since Ryan was taken back to his own time, and it’s getting
worse. He’s not eating or anything. All he does is sleep. I’m starting to get
worried about him. I’m also worried about the shop. It’s his life; and what
about his customers?”
“I’ll come over
and try and talk to him. Why don’t you go to the shop, find out who his current
customers are and call them and let them know that he’s really sick and will
reopen the shop when he’s feeling better.”
“That sounds
like a good idea. I’ll talk to you later.” Disconnecting, Chris headed up to
Ethan’s bedroom. As expected, he was asleep. Laying a gentle hand on Ethan’s
shoulder, Chris whispered, “Ethan, I promise you that I will do anything and
everything I can to help you and Ryan. There’s an answer out there somewhere
and we’ll find it together.”
He left Ethan’s
room and headed out to the shop. Grabbing Ethan’s tablet, he went from piece to
piece, gathering customer names and telecommunicator numbers when he noticed a
strange metal box with a button on it in an open desk drawer. Pulling it out,
he examined it closely. He recognized it as one of the boxes Ryan and his
associates used to return to their own time. I have an idea.
₪₪₪₪₪
Okay. They disabled my normal access codes,
but I’m willing to bet that they forgot about my emergency override access codes.
I could submit my resignation via scheduled delivery comp-com messaging, then
use my emergency codes to go back to Ethan. This time, they won’t be able to
slip me a beacon. What’s that ancient saying?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
They won’t get a second chance to trick me.
Ryan was convinced he had a solid plan; the only problem was when he could accomplish
it.
₪₪₪₪₪
After rereading
the periodical article several times, Liam set it down. “Okay, supposing that
this article is correct,” he pointed to the article about the four Evans’s
disappearing without a trace, “I can think of three ways the paradox alarm
could have been triggered; one, neither Ethan nor his brother were supposed to
come forward at the same time; two, only Ethan was supposed to come forward and
three, all four Evans’s were supposed to come forward at the same time. The
question is how do we figure out which one, if any of them, are correct?”
“As I see it,”
Cindy opined, “the only way is to try all three; just be ready to send them
back if and when the alarm goes off.”
“Good luck
getting Duncan to agree with that,” Adrienne spoke up.
₪₪₪₪₪
“Ethan, get up. You need to shave, shower and
get dressed. You’re going on a trip.” Chris ordered, shaking Ethan’s shoulder.
“What? Why?
Where am I going?”
“Just get your
ass out of bed and get ready. I’ll tell you once you’re dressed. Be sure to wear
tight jeans and a clingy t-shirt.” Chris grabbed the covers and pulled them
off. “Ewww,” he said when he caught a glimpse of his naked brother.
Ethan got
himself ready, dressing in his tightest jeans and t-shirt. “Okay, so where am I
supposed to be going, and when am I leaving?”
“Hold out your
hand.” When Ethan complied, Chris slapped the beacon into his hand and hit the
button.
“What the fuu…”
Ethan said as he dematerialized.
₪₪₪₪₪
The klaxon
sounded then the alarm system announced, “Unauthorized
travellator activation. Unauthorized travellator activation.” Before the
alarm repeated its warning, everyone was up and running towards the control
room. Arriving in the control room they found a startled Ethan standing in the one
of the travellators. Surprisingly, nobody noticed that the paradox alarm did
not sound. Liam was the first to reach the control panel, turning off the
alarm.
“Ethan? How did
you get here?” Clearly shaken, he slowly held out his hand with the beacon. “How
did you get ahold of a beacon?” Ethan just shook his head, the shock of an
unexpected trip through time preventing him from answering.
“I think I can
answer that question,” Connor said. “I’m willing to bet that this was Ryan’s
and he dropped it when I snagged him and brought him back.”
“Speaking of
Ryan, someone should call him and let him know that Ethan is here.” Adrienne
directed her next statement to Ethan, approaching him slowly and holding out
her hand. “I’m Adrienne. I’m a good friend of Ryan’s. Why don’t you come and
sit down. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Water please,”
Ethan whispered.
Duncan burst
into the control room. “What the fuck is going on?”
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