The Time War Ch. 41

Chapter 41: Goodbye, Sarah

"It was a bomb," said Sarah calmly. She pointed to the explosion on one of her holomonitors.

It was the year 2398, just over fifty years ago. By then all nations of the globe had joined the World Government, but the World Government had been negotiating a new treaty with member countries to give it expanded powers, to globally set wages for workers and production quotas for companies, as well as prices. The World Government felt that its global economy experts knew better than the free market how much of each item should be produced and how much it should cost.

In the main timeline, the Treaty of Argent had been ratified and countries fell under the near-total control of the World Government in economic matters.

But then someone detonated a bomb which blew up all the treaty negotiators, which totally derailed ratification and changed the timeline as they knew it.

"A bomb," said Strayker. "That's rather blunt, isn't it? We shouldn't have much trouble finding the source of that, should we, Sarah?"

She felt his eyes on him.

"No sir," said Sarah. "I'll have the location for you within an hour."

********

John Calle was feeling much better. He had just gotten off from a two week leave, a leave in which he saw Sarah nearly every evening. He was becoming closer and closer to her--dare he say he was falling in love? Maybe he was.

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was in love with him. She never said anything, but he knew.

Calle still felt remnants of his programming, the feeling of guilt for being a white male. But whenever he had those thoughts, he firmly pushed them aside. He was a member of the Continuity Service, and he had a job to do.

********

Calle stood at the ramp to the Binochi Corridor with Major Castleman and his team, waiting for Sarah to open the Corridor. Everyone, including Major Castleman, Daniel Acton, and Karin Mulhbaum had welcomed him back, saying how glad they were to see him back in action again.

He turned to the control console, and saw an odd exchange between Sarah and Colonel Strayker.

"Sarah, I want you to go into Systems and check the backup allocation. It's been acting up lately, I want to make sure that everything has been resolved."

"Yes sir, right after this mission," said Sarah.

Strayker shook his head. "I want it done now, I have a meeting with department heads in an hour and I don't want any problems." He paused. "Naomi can handle the mission, can't she? Or is that a problem?"

Sarah looked up at him. "No problem, sir." She turned to Naomi. "Naomi, start the mission, will you? I'll be back in a few minutes." She got up and left. Strayker's crystal blue eyes followed her as she left the room. Then he trained his gaze on Naomi.

"Space/Time coordinates... set," said Naomi briskly. "Activating the Binochi Corridor... now."

The Corridor lit up in front of Calle, bathing him in its light and heat.

"All right, team, let's go find that bomb," said Major Castleman, marching into the Corridor.

********

They knew the bomb was somewhere in the Chancellery Building in Marseille where the conference was being held. But it was a big building, so they split up and searched. They weren't really worried about encountering anyone, as the local time was three o'clock in the morning before the Conference began.

And so Calle was surprised when he entered a storeroom, to find the room already lit, and a man pointing a compression pistol at him.

"Hello, John. It's nice to see you again," said John Locke.

*********

"You act like you were expecting me," said Calle, not making a move for his own weapon, which was still holstered.

"Of course! That was the whole purpose of this little exercise," said Locke. "We knew you would find something as obvious as a bomb. We drew you here because we wanted to have a little chat." He hefted his compression pistol, and bit his lip. "Do you mind if I put this down?"

Calle shook his head.

Locke put it down on a counter in front of him, and suddenly the tension in the room dropped a few notches. "I have many things to tell you, John Calle, but not much time to tell it in."

"And what do you want to say?" Calle asked, still not reaching for his own weapon.

"That you're working for the wrong team," said Locke.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're working to preserve the World Government," said Locke.

"And you're working to destroy it," said Calle.

"We believe in individual rights and liberty," said Locke. "And you do too."

"You don't know what I believe."

"You'd be surprised what I know," said Locke. "I know you blame the World Government for the death of your fiancée."

Locke's assertion hit Calle like a ton of bricks. He was exactly right. It was the World Government which had abolished border controls, allowing the illegal immigrant from Guatemala into the country. It was the World Government which had legalized Weed on a global level, which the Guatemalan was smoking when he rammed into Marion's car. And it was the World Government which decreed that air cars be made lighter and lighter, which almost certainly caused Marion's death.

"How did you know that?" Calle said.

"Don't you want her to be alive? If you join us, Marion can be alive again!"

It was a powerful lure. Suddenly Calle remembered the vision he had seen in the Binochi Corridor, the vision of Marion with him at Mohonk. Could that vision come true if he joined Locke?

"I... I am dedicated to the continuity of the timeline," said Calle. "It's bigger than you or me or anyone's personal desires."

Locke gave a bitter laugh.

"What's so amusing?" Calle demanded.

"You," said Locke. "John, the World Government is not supposed to exist. It never did."

********

"You're lying," said Calle, blinking rapidly. He had to be.

"No," said Locke. "The World Government didn't originally exist in the main timeline."

"No," said Calle.

"Murna Feinbaum is not even supposed to be a World Government Senator. She's supposed to be a hair stylist in Topeka, Kansas," said Locke. "Red Jerry Foote is supposed to be in jail for murdering his wife. Li Shen is supposed to be a carpenter. And Alyssa MakePeace? She's not supposed to be the President who signs up America for the World Government. She was meant to run a small holistic candle shop in Fresno, California."

"No." Calle shook his head.

"It was all changed, all manipulated, to make things happen that way," said Locke. "Your Commander made it happen. He's the one who created the World Government."

"No! We're the Continuity Service. We leave things as we found them!"

"That's a lie," said Locke. "It's true you counter changes that other factions make. But that doesn't stop your own commander from making changes that he wants."

"I don't believe you," said Calle. He couldn't believe Locke. If it were true, it would mean that Commander Strayker was responsible for the creation of the World Government. That he was responsible for Marion's death.

"You have to," said Locke. "There's proof. Come with me and I'll show you-"

Suddenly, he heard a voice in his ear. "Get out!"

"What?" said Locke.

"It's a trap! Get out now!" said a feminine voice in his earpiece.

Locke's eyebrows shot up and he grabbed his compression pistol. But he hadn't gotten three steps towards the door when it opened up, revealing Major Castleman, Daniel Acton, and Karin Muhlbaum, all with their own pistols pointed straight at him.

Locke reached up with his free hand, pulled something off his collar, and thrust it into his mouth.

Major Castleman sprang forward, knocking Locke's pistol arm aside, and thrusted his fingers into his mouth. Locke fought him, but Castleman was too strong. Castleman fished something out of it and held it up to the light.

"A Filotistan chip," he said admiringly. "You really are dedicated to the cause, aren't you? Fanatic." He turned to Karin. "Take him away."

Karin and Daniel led Locke out of the room. Castleman looked at Calle. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," said Calle. "How did you know?"

"We'd better get back to Headquarters," said Castleman. "The Colonel is expecting us."

********

"William," said John Locke, by way of greeting. He was sitting in the Commander's office.

"Richard," said Colonel Strayker, smiling as he handed Locke a drink. Locke smiled back as he took it, but it was a tight grin.

"Actually, I go by the name John Locke now," said Locke, taking a sip.

"So I've heard," said Strayker.

"And you....?"

"Strayker. Colonel Ted Strayker," said Strayker.

"Only a Colonel?" Lock inquired. "Why not a general?"

"I thought about it," said Strayker. "Colonels tend to be more active managers than Generals," said Strayker.

"You always were good with branding, William," said Locke waving his arms around him. "The Continuity Service."

"Don't laugh," said Strayker. "It sounds a lot more sophisticated than the Time Police, doesn't it?"

"I suppose," said Locke.

Strayker studied him. "You never really thought you could win, did you?"

"Actually, I did," said Locke.

Strayker sighed. "Richard, Richard. The world needs more control, more guidance."

"Says you," said Locke. "What about the loss of liberties, of freedom for the individual? Do you really believe a bunch of bureaucrats in Brussels know more what people around the world want than the people themselves?"

"If the bureaucrats, as you call them, are the best and the brightest, yes," said Strayker. "Most people sleepwalk through life. They don't know what they want."

"But you do, I suppose," said Locke, draining his drink. He looked at Strayker's severe white suit. "Nice outfit. Especially the high collars. A nice authoritarian touch."

"Thanks," said Strayker. "It goes with the territory." Then he looked at Locke a long moment, and sighed. "You know where this has to end."

"I suppose I do," said Locke, staring at his empty wine glass.

"You could save yourself a considerable amount of pain if you'd just tell me your point of origin," said Strayker.

Locke nodded silently for a long moment. "Bring on the pain, William."

********

"Sarah."

Sarah turned around, but only for an instant. Her eyes were glued to her holomonitors. She and Calle were the only ones in the control room, at the moment.

"Yes?" she said.

"How are you?" said Calle.

"You have never asked me that before, John Calle," said Sarah.

"Yes I have."

"Not here you haven't," said Sarah.

"I'm asking now," said Calle.

"Rather busy, John. Is there something you wanted?" She continued to stare at her monitors.

Calle nodded slowly. "I know it was you."

Sarah slowly turned and faced him. "You know it was me... what?"

"I know it was you who betrayed us to John Locke. At least twice."

Sarah raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

"The last time I ran into John Locke, he was on his way to blow up Air Force One, to prevent Alyssa MakePeace from joining the World Government," said Calle. "But he ran into me first. He persuaded me to let him go. I let him bomb that plane, thinking MakePeace was on board... which she wasn't."

He took a deep breath. "Colonel Strayker almost caught me. But you manipulated the recorded footage to edit that out from the record."

"I did," said Sarah.

"At the time, I thought you did it to protect me. But then I realized that you were the one who assigned everyone their posts on that mission. It was you who gave me the key role of watching Air Force One in the first place. You put me there because you knew Locke could persuade me to let him board the plane to plant the bomb... which I did."

Sarah said nothing.

"On this mission, John Locke was clearly expecting me. He knew I was coming. Once again, you were the one who assigned us to investigate different parts of the chancellery. And once again, it just happened to be me who ran into Locke, and not anyone else on my team." He paused, giving her a chance to speak. But she still said nothing. "And then, while we were talking, Locke got a warning. From someone at CS. But it was too late for him."

Sarah wet her lips. "Colonel Strayker sent me on an errand in systems. I wasn't able to return until the mission was underway."

It was an admission of guilt.

"Why, Sarah?" said Calle.

"There's a lot you don't know, John," said Sarah. Suddenly her eyes grew wide as she stared at a holomonitor she had been keeping an eye on, specifically, one trained to the hallway just outside the control room. She quickly turned to Calle. "Draw your weapon."

"What?"

"Draw it now!"

Calle had just drawn his compression pistol from his holster when Colonel Strayker entered the control room, accompanied by four Continuity Service operatives with compression rifles. He walked up to them calmly, as if seeing Calle pointing a gun at Sarah was a common, every day event.

"Captain, Sarah," said Strayker. He turned to Calle. "When did you find out?"

"A few moments ago. I was just about to call you," said Calle.

Strayker nodded. He turned to Sarah. "You know, Sarah, we might never have suspected you, if you hadn't gotten sloppy. We had holocam surveillance on Alyssa MakePeace's bathtub, and her kitchen, and her airplane, but still could never catch the person trying to kill her. And then it occurred to me that you were in charge of surveillance," he said, waving to her holomonitors. "You removed the footage of the assassin each time. You also removed the footage of Captain Calle letting the assassin board the plane to plant the bomb, didn't you?"

"No," said Sarah calmly. "There was no need. Calle was an unknown variable. I created a gap in the sensor grid instead."

Strayker nodded. He turned and gave Calle a hard stare. Calle looked back at him for a long moment. Then Strayker gestured with his compression pistol. "Take her away."

As Sarah was led out of the room, Calle turned to Strayker. "What's going to happen to her?"

Strayker sighed. "It's always complex when feelings are involved, isn't it?" Calle didn't answer. Strayker considered for a moment. "If, and I do mean if I am convinced that Sarah cooperates with us fully, and I do mean fully, then she will be allowed to retire with dignity and honor."

Calle nodded. "Thank you, sir."

********

John Locke screamed at the top of his lungs as the Time Lash crashed through his body like the ripple of a wave. Doctor Vladek and Colonel Strayker watched dispassionately.

"I so hate doing this to you, John," said Vladek. "This is an inhumane treatment, and I am not an inhumane person."

"Then don't do it!" Locke cried. His body was dripping with sweat. He had received seven lashes already, each more intense than the next, and his body was contorted with pain.

"But I have to, John," said Vladek. "Believe me, this hurts me much more than it hurts you."

Locke managed to give a bitter laugh. "Where have I heard that before?"

"Just tell us where your point of origin is," said Strayker. "We don't enjoy doing this, John!"

When Locke didn't answer, Strayker said, "Again."

Locke screamed in agony as another ripple of the Time Shaft went through his body. At that moment John Calle entered the control room. Strayker gave him a quick glance but quickly returned to focus on Locke. Calle watched silently as Lock endured two more lashes from the Time Shaft.

This was too much, even for Calle. "Sir, don't you think this is a little too much?"

"Too much, Captain?" Strayker said.

"I saw you do this to the Goodlife we captured. The crazy insane people who wanted to blow up the Moon and destroy the Earth," said Calle. "But Locke isn't in the same category as the Goodlife, or the Temporal Social Justice Warriors. He's just... misguided."

"Is he, Captain?" said Strayker, giving him a sharp look.

Calle realized he was simply digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself.

"Captain, somewhere out there is another Time Shaft, operated by Jean Jacques Rousseau and maybe Thomas Jefferson and other famous names misappropriated from history," said Strayker. "We have a unique opportunity to shut them down, and I'm not going to pass it up. Again, doctor!"

"No!" Locke sobbed. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Please, no more!" he cried.

Strayker leaned close to him. "Then tell me your point of origin."

Locke trembled in fear. The pain had clearly broken him. He nodded, and whispered something.

"What was that?" Strayker asked. "Speak up, John. We can't hear you!"

"4201 Westerner Street... Kansas City, Missouri... an underground... underground bunker," he sobbed.

"Thank you, John," said Strayker, patting him on the shoulder. "I know how hard that was for you, and I appreciate it."

Locke's head hung down, and he made little sobbing noises.

Calle knew it was unwise, but he had to speak up. "Sir, when I spoke to Locke... he claimed that he was the one trying to restore the timeline... and that we were the ones changing it." He watched Strayker's face carefully, looking for any signs of guilt. It was an extremely explosive subject to bring up... but Calle had to know, one way or another.

Strayker looked up at Calle, and without a hint of guilt or hesitation, said, "Why, of course!"

"Of course?" said Calle. That hadn't been the answer he was expecting.

"Of course he believes that," said Strayker. "He's suffering from temporal psychosis. It's a common affliction for someone who travels through time as frequently as our friend John here has. He's been fighting us for so long, that he's lost track of what's real and what's not."

"He has?"

"I'm sure, in his mind, he really believes that he is the preserver of the timeline," said Strayker. "You've been with us for just over a year now. Imagine if you've been doing this for more than ten years like Locke here, fighting with the factions, changing the timeline back and forth, this way and that. Imagine how easy it would be to get confused, to forget how the timeline originally was. Somewhere along the line, he forgot that he's trying to change the timeline, and decided that he's actually restoring it!"

"It's an extremely common delusion," said Doctor Vladek. "We see it in our most experienced operatives all the time."

Calle bit his lip and looked over at Locke, still tied to the Time Shaft, now a completely broken man, and then back at the Commander. He nodded slowly. "Very well, sir." He turned to go. As he did, he heard Strayker say to the guards, "Untie our friend here and return him to confinement. And then bring Sarah to the control room."

Sarah. They were going to torture her next.

Calle almost ran to the detention area. He saw Sarah sitting behind a forcefield. Her eyebrows went up when she saw him.

"I'm here for the prisoner," said Calle.

"I just got a call from the Commander," said the duty guard. "He wants her brought to the control room."

"I'll bring her," said Calle.

The guard looked uncertain.

Calle drew his compression pistol. "It's all right."

********

Calle led Sarah into a supply room and quickly shut the door behind them. "Sarah, you have to tell Strayker everything you know."

"He's going to put me through the Time Lash, isn't he, John?" said Sarah. She never looked more vulnerable than she did now.

Calle bit his lips, hard. Then he said, "He told me that if you cooperate, that you'll be allowed to retire, with dignity and honor."

Sarah gave a mirthless smile. "With dignity and honor. One of the Commander's favorite phrases. Do you know what that means, John? Do you?"

Calle shook his head.

"It means a one way trip through the Binochi Corridor. You go into the Corridor... but you don't come out," said Sarah.

Calle's eyes widened.

"They're going to torture me, and then they're going to kill me."

For the first time in his life, Calle saw fear in her face. Her lips were trembling. Her eyes were pleading.

Calle took a deep breath. He found himself trembling too. He looked at his compression pistol, and he slowly aimed it. It would be kinder this way. Much kinder.

Sarah's eyes widened as she saw the pistol being raised. She looked at Calle, and now there were tears in her eyes.

Calle took another deep breath. Could he do it?

Could he really?

He had to!

And then, his heart pounding, he handed his pistol over to her.

"Here. You may need this," said Calle.

Sarah took the pistol from him, and then leaned close and gave him the kiss of his life. She grinded hungrily against him.

And then she pulled back.

"Go," said Calle.

Sarah nodded. But first, she raised the compression pistol and shot him.

********

"You just happened to be walking by the detention area, and you'd thought you'd do me a favor and bring her to the control room. Is that what you are asking me to believe, Captain?" said Strayker.

The glare of those hard blue eyes was almost as painful as the compression burn in his shoulder that Doctor Vladek was bandaging.

"Ow!" said Calle.

"Try not to move," said Vladek.

"I'm not moving," Calle said, glaring at him. He turned back to the Commander. "Sir, I won't lie to you. When I heard you were interrogating Sarah next, I purposefully went down to bring her to you."

"Why?" Strayker's eyes were insistent.

"To make sure you didn't mistreat her, that you didn't do... more than what needed to be done," said Calle. "But she... surprised me."

"She surprised you?" said Strayker.

"She told me she loved me. She tried to kiss me. Then she grabbed my gun, and shot me," said Calle.

"And that's what you want us to believe," Strayker said.

Calle channeled his anger. "Colonel, in case your memory failed you, I was the one who apprehended Sarah. I was the one who turned her over to you!"

"I remember," said Strayker. He looked away.

I got him to back down!

Strayker rubbed his unruly blonde hair and sighed. "Well, the important thing is that we found Locke's base of operation."

"You did, sir?"

Strayker nodded. "A team raided it 30 minutes ago. We found their Time Shaft, and three other operatives. Imagine that, his entire group consisted of only four people. Ah, the lure of the libertarian philosophy." He gave a derisive laugh. He paused. "With all of Locke' s men rounded up, that leaves only Sarah on the run."

"We'll find her," said Calle.

"Yes, we will," Strayker affirmed. He glared at Calle. "And when we do, she'll be interrogated, thoroughly. And anyone who assisted her escape will go through the same... experience. Are we clear, Captain?"

"Yes, sir," said Calle.

Sarah.

At that moment it struck him that he would never, ever see her again.