Jack awoke the next morning well before the wake up call ever came. He had showered and left the motel when the phone began to ring. Almost an hour earlier, he had called a taxi, and well over thirty minutes had passed since the driver had picked him up from in front of his room. Even as the phone continued to ring in the empty motel room, Jack had arrived at his destination. He paid the driver and got out.
Jack turned away from the yellow taxi. It turned and sped back out to the main gate. Under different circumstances, Jack would have thought the entire cab ride comical. The driver had talked incessantly about his dreams of retirement in Florida, as Jack had gripped the arm rest for dear life. He had wondered if the cabby would ever make it to retirement. The high speed accelerations, and two-footed-stand-up-in-the-seat braking had made Jack wonder whether the cabby would even survive until next week. But Jack’s mind was focused. He was about to attempt to infiltrate a military base, and was sure that it wouldn’t be child’s play. He had exited the cab in the visitors parking area located at the main gate, but not officially on base. No special stickers or passes were required to enter this area, and taxis often came and went through this lot. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, he thought. He walked towards the visitor’s center, and went inside.
A single line of people patiently waited, but at least the line was short, Jack thought. After a few brief moments, the next person was called forward. That left only two others in front of him. Time passed slowly, but soon enough the line moved forward again. Only one other person ahead of him, he thought. He glanced at his watch again. Each time he looked down, he wondered if his watch had stopped, or if it was just his heart. The next in line was called forward, and Jack was finally next to be assisted. He shifted his stance, as he became restless. He desperately tried to remember exactly what time he had arrived here the other day. Finally, he was called forward.
“Yes, sir. How can we help you today?” The uniformed soldier asked from behind the chest high counter.
“My name is Jack King. I am here to see Ted Truman.”
“Okay. Just one second, sir.” The soldier said as he typed the information into his computer terminal. “Sorry, sir. The system has been running slow all day.” The soldier said apologetically, as he gave Jack a half hearted smile. Jack shifted his stance again and looked at his watch. He nervously glanced behind him. He half expected to see his other self pull up at any moment. “There you are, sir.” The soldier said. “You’re cleared for entry. Just keep this pass with you at all times. Do you know where you are headed?”
“Yes, I do. Can I exit out that door?” Jack asked, as he pointed towards a door near the rear of the building.
“Yes, sir. Right out that door, and then-”
“Down three blocks and take a left.” Jack interrupted.
“Yes, sir.” The soldier smiled slightly and handed Jack his pass. “Next.”
Jack walked to the door, and calmly exited. Once outside in the sunshine, and the heat, his nervousness returned. He glanced back towards the gate again, and was relieved that his car was not one of the cars in line at the gate. He trotted down the road towards his destination. He covered the three blocks in a short time, and soon stood at the entrance. Jack opened the door and entered the same building that he had entered a few days before. Behind the same desk sat the same uniformed soldier.
“Hi, I’m Jack King.” Jack said. The soldier looked up, nodded, and typed at his keyboard. Shortly he looked back up.
“You’re cleared Mr. King.” He said. “Just follow this hallway straight back and through the door at the end. Take the first elevator on the left to level Delta.” As the soldier pointed down the now familiar hallway, his desk phone rang. Jack looked at his watch. This was going to be close, he thought, as he rushed down the hallway and through the door at the end. As the door swung shut he glanced back, and saw himself, his other self, approach the soldier’s desk. Too close, he thought, as he skipped past the first row of elevators and hurriedly began to push the button to summon the elevator. He glanced at his watch again, and jabbed at the elevator button. Just as he pressed the button for the third time, he heard it ding. The door opened painfully slow, and he lunged inside just as it was open wide enough for him to slide through. He immediately reached for the door close button and began to jab it repeatedly. The door to his car remained open. He pushed it again and again, as he peeked out and saw the door to the lobby begin to open. He jumped back, a thankfully, simultaneously, the elevator doors began to shut. Jack jammed his finger against the button that he had practically beaten into the wall, and leaned on it, as he listened intently. Seconds passed and he heard a rumble that slowly increased in volume, and then the tell-tale ding of the other elevator car as it arrived. Faintly he heard the doors slide open, and then after a moment’s hesitation, slide close again. Again he heard the elevator car rumble downward. He released his firm hold on the close button, and exhaled, as he realized that he had been holding his breath during the entire time he was in the elevator.
He took a moment to catch his breath and then relaxed slightly. He scanned the elevator panel, and found, much as he expected, that there was no button for the Delta level on this car. He punched the open door button. They slid open. Jack stepped back down the lobby to the first elevator and punched the button on the wall, and began to wait for the elevator to return. He was past the gate. He was past the guard. He was in the installation, and he was on time. All he had to do now was wait until the right time arrived, and make sure that he didn’t run into Ted and his other self, and everything would be fine.
A few minutes passed and then finally the elevator returned, and once again he made the seemingly perilous trip downward. Once Jack had finally arrived on the Delta level, he felt much better. There was so much going on down there that even in his civilian clothes, he didn’t stand out that much. He followed a small group of unformed men down a corridor and entered into a shower area. The men separated and went to their separate lockers, while Jack just walked around like he belonged there. He rounded the corner of one set of lockers, and saw exactly what he wanted. A young man, evidently getting ready for a shower, had tossed his used white lab coat into a laundry basket. Jack walked past him, and nodded to him as he passed. Jack took three more steps before he stopped and turned back to see him disappear around the corner. Jack rushed back to the laundry basket and grabbed the coat. He shrugged his way into the flimsy material. It was a close enough fit to pass, Jack thought as he stuck his arms out to see just how short the sleeves would be. Not too bad, he thought. He checked his watch.
Now incognito, he felt even more comfortable as he began to walk out of the shower area. As he entered the main area, he saw Ted and his other self, as they entered the main lab area. He looked at his watch. The gate should be fully open in another ten minutes. He headed towards the main lab. Through door after door, he shadowed his counterpart and his best friend. He kept a safe distance, and immediately looked down if he thought they would look back. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction when they paused at the entrance to the project lab. Ten steps in the opposite direction brought him to a corridor to the left. He turned down it and stopped. He glanced at his watch as he counted to ten, and then went back into the main corridor and headed back towards the project lab. When he reached the door he peered through window mounted in the door and saw Dr. Morgan as he briefed the others. Jack waited patiently, with his stomach in knots. Finally the briefing was over and the group stepped closer to the door that entered into the inner lab, where the time gate sat. Jack eased through the door into the project lab, and stealthily slid to a corner out of the way. He grabbed a clipboard that sat on the desk next to him, and pretended to check and cross check very important things while he constantly watched both the count down clock and the group by the doorway.
“It’s not working.” Jack heard his other self say.
“On the con
trary, Mr. King. The gate has opened.” Morgan responded.
“But I can see right through it.” The other Jack responded.
“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 led the other Jack through the door and into the inner lab which held the time gate. Jack watched as Ted walked up the ramp, paused, said something to the other Jack, and then went through the gate. Jack’s eyes marveled at the intensity of the blue sparks which randomly jumped from plate to plate as the time gate stood wide opened. Suddenly the other Jack ran up the ramp and through the gate. Jack mentally ran through his mind what had happened when they had gone through. First he had been unable to believe that it was real, then, he had turned and saw the other Ted. A few more seconds, he thought, as he turned and saw Morgan reach for the dial that would begin the shut down sequence. His heart began to race.
“Touch that dial, and you’re a dead man, Morgan.” Jack said as he dropped the clipboard and drew his gun. Morgan and Phillips stared at him. Morgan stepped towards Jack. “Stop right there Dr. Morgan. This isn’t about you.” Suddenly Morgan’s eyes widened, as he recognized Jack. Morgan’s mouth opened and he looked towards the doorway that Jack’s other self had stepped through not even minutes before. “That’s right Doc. I’m back. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, step to the rear of the room please. Slowly and carefully. I would rather not see anybody get hurt.” Slowly the others began to shift towards the rear. Jack worked his way around to the doorway that led to the inner lab.
“You’re looped?” Morgan asked.
“Twice Doc...or, at least I will be in moment. Thank you all for your cooperation.” Jack hurriedly went through the doorway and ran up the ramp to the time gate. He passed through without hesitation. First Phillips and then Morgan gathered at the glass walls of the outer lab, and stared after Jack in awe. They were shell shocked at the realization that the machine did in fact work. Dr. Morgan, back in control of himself, casually walked over to the main control panel and slowly turned the dial backwards. He silently activated the sequence to close the time gate, and smiled.
“Good luck, Mr. King. I hope that you find whatever it is that you need so desperately...or, maybe it will find you.” He said to himself, almost under his breath, before he turned and left the control room. “Phillips! Where is my damn coffee?" He his voice echoed down the corridor.
Jack came through the gate and headed for the main door. Without hesitation he opened the door and peered out, just in time to see the pair ahead of him turn the corner down the corridor. He couldn’t go that way, so he headed in the other direction. The direction that Ted had said was always guarded. He came out into the opening and looked carefully for any movement at all. It was silent. He crossed to the other side and stealthily headed for the elevator. He reached the elevator without any problem, punched the button, and the doors opened instantly. Once inside, he hit the button for the first floor. He felt the elevator surge upward, and waited impatiently as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened and Jack peeked out into the empty lobby that held the bank of elevators. He listened for a second and then headed for the door that led back to the entrance. As he cracked the door open, he listened carefully for any sound, and heard what he expected to hear. A voice, on the phone. It didn’t sound like the same soldier that had been on duty that morning, and in this time line, Jack knew he had probably already gone home. But there was a voice, just the same. As he listened, he determined that the owner of the voice probably sat at the desk. Briefly, he wondered how he could distract him long enough to get past him. Suddenly he saw the fire alarm box that hung on the wall, not inches from were his hand was pressed, and he knew that he had an answer. He pulled the alarm.
Chapter 28