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.
“Wait! Where do you think you’re going?” The other Jack asked as he began to approach him. Suddenly Jack could see his other self on the edge of recognition, when it dawned on him that the shadow that had hidden his face was about to disappear.
“I know you!” His other self bellowed.
"Better than you can ever realize.” Jack said as he continued to walk away. He knew that his other self would be approached, even as he walked, by a uniformed officer that would take his mind off of the stranger and focus it back on the killer that got away. Jack hurried over to the alcove to assist Ted. As he rounded the corner, Ted still had Smith’s tall frame pinned against the wall, as he waited for Jack to come before he continued any farther.
“It’s about damn time, Jack, what took you so long?” Ted said as he turned towards him.
“I ran into someone I know.” Jack said, a slight smile on his face. “So this is the scum bag that caused all my problems?” He asked. He wanted nothing more than to draw his weapon and blow the man’s head completely off of his shoulders.
“The one and only. We’ll get him back to the lab, and get some DNA samples. We’ll find out who this creep really is, and then...erase him.” Suddenly a shrill beeping sound began. It startled Ted, and Smith took advantage of the distraction and whirled around. Suddenly a gunshot echoed down the alley followed by the unmistakable sound of a silenced weapon being discharged as shot after shot was fired. Jack stood frozen in shock, until Ted’s body crumpled to the ground and Smith began to towards him. He dove for the corner of the alcove, as a bullet ricocheted off of the brick wall, just inches above his head. He heard Smith laugh behind him as he rolled over and around the corner. Again, a bullet ricocheted off of the brick wall beside him. He retreated back to the alleyway, as bullet after bullet impacted the wall beside him. He reached the relative safety of the alley, and rounded the corner at full trot. He threw his back against the wall and raised his gun, not sure if Smith had followed him or not. Seconds passed as his heart pounded in his chest, and then he gradually eased back up to the corner of the intersecting alleyways. He counted to three, and then lunged from behind the corner. He aimed into the now empty alley that led back to the main street. Cautiously he approached the alcove, ready to fire if Smith was still there. Only Ted lay on the ground. Smith was gone. Jack ran to Ted’s side. His broken body lay there haphazardly on the ground. Blood still oozed out of his wounds. No pulse. Ted was dead. Jack inspected Ted’s abdomen, and was thankful for a quick death as he realized that he had been repeatedly gut shot. He probably had not made it the ground alive.
Jack looked up the alley, and then down the alley towards the street. His mind raced over all that had happened. Smith was still on the loose, which meant that Tracey and the kids were still at risk. But would Ted having died change any of that, or did Ted die before, and Jack just didn’t know that it happened. This intersection of time lines was almost more than he could handle. Paradox begot paradox, with different strings of thought, and all circular in form. To Jack, the logic still collided at every turn. Finally he decided, as he still knelt beside his friend’s body, that he had to try and warn Tracey. If he could get her and the kids away, then everything would be all right. At least, for now.
Chapter 23