The Legend of Things Past (Beyond Pluto SciFi Futuristic Aventures Book 1) (15 page)

Donovan rushed from the room, careful to keep his pace to only
a brisk walk.

Next he went to Colonel McGregor’s room. He knocked, but no
one answered.

Where could he be?

Donovan decided to check the cafeteria first. He got lucky.
Colonel McGregor was in line. “Colonel McGregor, could I have a word please?”

Surprised, McGregor stepped out of line.

“What is it?”

“I want to get away from the base for a little while. Care
to join me for a bite?”

“Well, I was just about to…”

“Aren’t you tired of eating the same things all the time?
Let’s go out and get something to eat.” Donovan looked at him pointedly.

Colonel McGregor raised his eyebrows, understanding lighting
up his eyes. “Why, yes, of course. Let’s go.”

He may not have known what Donovan wanted but he was curious
enough to want to find out.

They left the base in a standard army skycar. Once they were
outside the base General McGregor started talking, but Donovan just shook his
head.

Not yet.

They landed at the edge of a small city about five miles
away. They left the sky car and Donovan led Colonel McGregor to a burger stand.

“BG Knight, what’s going on?”

“Nothing at all. I’m fine. Order something.”

They both ordered food. They waited for it in silence. When
they finished eating, Donovan led Colonel McGregor away from the skycar, into
the forest.

“Do you have a watch with you?” Donovan asked.

“Yes,” McGregor said.

“Let me see it.”

McGregor unstrapped his watch and handed it over. Donovan
broke it in half and threw it with all his strength. Donovan had left his own
watch at the fort.

“What the hell?!” McGregor stuttered. “What on earth is
wrong with you?”

Donovan grabbed his arm and led McGregor deeper into the
trees. “
Shhh
.”

Colonel McGregor let himself be dragged into a dense part of
the forest. When Donovan let go, he shouted, “What the
hell
is going on
here?”

“We’ve been bugged,” Donovan said. “I can’t explain how I
know right now—I have to hurry, but Tobias has the whole base bugged. He’s been
aware of our every move this whole time.”

McGregor’s mouth fell open then snapped shut again. “But
how…?”

“It doesn’t matter. Listen, would it be possible for you to
make a tiny microphone that can record what I’m saying without being detected
by Tobias’s security system on Lohiri?”

“Yes, I think so—but why? You have to tell me something. I’m
sure General Umar isn’t aware of this little meeting. If you want me to disobey
him, you’d better give me a damn good reason.”

“I don’t have time!” Donovan dragged his hands over his
head. He breathed deeply. “Okay. The base is bugged. I can’t tell anyone I know
without alerting Tobias. I can’t bring everyone off the base without arousing
suspicion. General Umar would never agree anyway.

“Tobias offered me one last deal. He still wants me to join
him. This is my chance to get close to him. I have a better chance at killing
him that an army ever would. I need to steal the strengthening formula and meet
him.

“But first, I want to try and get the location of the cure
from him. That’s why I need the recorder. I need it to send what it records
directly back to you—just in case he kills me before I can kill him. You’re the
only person who can make it for me. I can’t tell anyone else for fear of
letting Tobias know that I’m not going to be joining him. If I stay silent,
he’ll assume that I’m still thinking it over.”

Colonel McGregor finally acquiesced.

“Can you make it in the next twenty-four hours and meet me
again for lunch to give it to me?”

“Yes. It’s a simple enough device.”

Donovan leaned into his face. “Can I trust you with this?”

Colonel McGregor backed away. “Of course you can. I happen
to agree that you have a better shot. None of us agrees with General Umar’s
plan—well, except Tracee.”

Donovan flinched at the sound of her name.

“Okay,” Donovan said. “Let’s go back. Act like nothing
important has happened at all. Go to the cafeteria tomorrow at 1600 hours. I’ll
come in about ten minutes later. Don’t order. Act like you’re still deciding
what to get. I’ll invite you to the same burger place.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“And remember. No watches.”

Donovan felt relief sink in on the flight back. He had a
plan. It would work. He just needed to have a little patience.

“I recognize in thieves, traitors and murderers, in the
ruthless and the cunning, a deep beauty—a sunken beauty.”

—Jean Genet

May 17, 2176

Fort Belvoir, VA

Donovan Knight

The next day Donovan met McGregor in the cafeteria, but
McGregor insisted that they eat at the fort. Donovan slammed his plate down at
the table and scarfed his food down, wondering why McGregor didn’t want to meet
him but unable to ask him why. Was he going to betray him? Did he decide not to
help Donovan after all?

Donovan saw Tracee watching him from the next table, but he
ignored her.

“Hey,” Colonel McGregor said when they were finished, “I
just remembered. I left my watch in your room. Can I come and get it?”

Suddenly, Donovan understood that Colonel McGregor was up to
something.

“Yeah, sure,” he said.

They met in his room and Colonel McGregor pulled a small
black device, rectangular in shape, out of his jacket pocket. He flipped a
switch on the side.

“There,” he said. “Now we can talk comfortably.”

Donovan looked at him questioningly.

“Oh, it’s a signal blocker and signal creator,” Colonel
McGregor said. “It’ll block Tobias’s spying system within a ten foot radius.
It’ll also send out fake signals to his system so that he doesn’t see any blind
spots. He can’t hear us now.”

Donovan was instantly euphoric. “You’re a genius!”

McGregor shrugged. “I thought that’d be better than having
to meet up in the middle of nowhere.” He dug into another pocket and withdrew
another device, this one like a tiny bead that rolled between his fingers.

“Here’s the microphone.” He handed it over. “It’s already
recording and sending the audio to my computer.”

“Perfect,” Donovan said. He was impressed. Hesekiel McGregor
really was the smartest mind in technology. Donovan put the tiny dot into his
pocket.

“I need to ask for your help with one last thing,” Donovan
said. “I need you to hack the fort’s security system and open the high security
vault that houses the formula.”

Colonel McGregor frowned. “How did you know about that?”

“Tobias. He showed me the footage on my computer screen.
That’s when he made the last offer for me to join him.”

“I see.”

“Can you do it? Can you open the vault so that the alarm
doesn’t go off?”

Colonel McGregor nodded. “Of course. I’m a genius,
remember?”

For what seemed like the first time in weeks, Donovan
laughed.

When the lights went out and the majority of people had gone
to bed, Donovan crept along the dim halls to the high security vault. He
approached the corner and paused before turning. He’d heard whispers. He
chanced a quick peek.

There were soldiers guarding the door to the vault. Four of
them. That should be easy enough. They didn’t seem to be too alert. They were
talking in low voices about what they would do when the graveyard shift was
over.

Donovan rounded the corner at full speed, shooting
non-lethal bolts as he went. They all hit home before the soldiers even
realized what was happening. They collapsed, e-guns clattering on the ground as
they slipped from their fingers.

Donovan moved quickly. It was only a matter of time before
the shocks wore off. Donovan had set his e-gun to the lowest level—it would
only last about five minutes.

He stepped to the door and waited. It was Colonel McGregor’s
turn now. It seemed like a long time, but only two minutes passed before the
door slid to the side, revealing another door with a small screen set in its
surface.

Donovan tapped the screen and it lit up revealing a
keyboard. He entered the code Colonel McGregor had given him. The door swung
open.

A blast of cold air washed over Donovan. The vault was
freezing cold. Donovan stepped inside and went straight for drawer 695, where
McGregor had told him the formula was stored.

Sure enough, there is was. A test tube filled with what
looked like water.

Donovan closed the drawer and turned to leave when a group
of soldiers rounded the corner. They paused for a moment, uncomprehending.

Donovan was shocked, too. McGregor had blocked the camera
system so that it couldn’t see him. So what were these soldiers doing here?

There must have been a shift switch that they hadn’t known
about.

Donovan jumped into action. There was no chance of
convincing them that he was supposed to have the formula—not with the other
four soldiers slowly recovering from his volts and rising unsteadily to their
feet.

Donovan fired a round of shots, all of which hit the newcomers
square in their chests.

Donovan stepped over their bodies and turned the corner,
only to bump into a fifth solider who was speaking into the headset that looped
around his ear.

All Donovan heard was the word “intruder.” Without really
thinking, he punched the man in the face. The soldier’s head snapped backward
and he reeled from the force of the blow. Donovan struck again, breaking his
arm. He ripped the headset from his ear and threw it to the ground. He stomped
on it until it was in tiny little pieces.

Then he ran.

There would be more soldiers. It would be Donovan against
the whole fort. He ran to the nearest medical room that he knew of and locked
himself inside. He found a syringe, removed the cap from the test tube, and
sucked the formula into it.

He discarded the test tube.

He paused. He hated needles.

He steeled himself, raised his arm, and plunged the needle
into this leg, pushing the plunger down.

An odd sensation spread through his limbs—a tingling.

Within seconds, his sore muscles were no longer sore and the
tiredness due to the late hour disappeared. With a new confidence, Donovan
exited the room.

He strolled down the hallway feeling sort of drunk. For no
apparent reason he was really happy. He walked to the elevator at a leisurely
pace. He pushed the down button and waited for the elevator that would take him
to the basement.

Once there he would steal a space ship and teleport to
Lohiri.

The elevator doors slid open, but Donovan didn’t go inside.
There wasn’t enough room—it was packed with soldiers. They streamed out and
attacked.

Donovan swung his fists left and right, feeling an extra
surge of energy that he just had to release. They all carried bulletproof and
electricityproof shields. Donovan punched straight through them.

Then he remembered that he was much stronger now. It was good
thing they had the shields or Donovan may have killed them. He resolved to hold
back to prevent serious injury. Nevertheless he still broke a few arms by
accident.

“Move out of the way!” A voice came from the left.

The soldiers moved away from Donovan to allow General Umar
to get through.

“Knight!” he shouted. “What the hell are you doing? Why are
you doing this?”

“I saw you,” Donovan said. “I saw the meeting you had in the
vault. I heard what you were planning to do. You lied to me—betrayed me. My
grandfather was right. I’m better off on his side.”

General Umar’s face turned bright red. Whether from embarrassment
at being found out or anger, Donovan didn’t know.

Donovan backed into the elevator and pushed the button for
the basement. A few soldiers moved to stop him but General Umar commanded them
to stop.

“He’s used the formula. He’s too strong. Let him go.”

The doors closed and Donovan was enveloped in silence.

He stole the smallest and fastest space ship and left Fort
Belvoir. He turned on the teleporter and zoomed through the wormhole.

“There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.”

—Neil Gaiman,
American
Gods

May 18, 2176

Fort Belvoir

Captain Brian
Umar

Brian Umar was asleep when his father summoned him to his
office. He hurriedly got dressed.

He knew what had happened before he even got there. The news
had spread like wildfire through the fort. There was far much more activity
than usual. Soldiers ran back and forth down the halls. Brian heard them
talking about it as they passed him.

Donovan had broken into the high security vault and stolen
the formula.

Brian couldn’t feel shocked. So many unbelievable, crazy
things had happened in the last few days that he hardly believed that he could
ever be shocked again. He only wondered why Donovan would do such a thing.

Was he really that stubborn? Did he steal it so that he
could go and fight Tobias on his own and prevent the battle from happening? Was
he really that noble? Brian wasn’t sure, but he didn’t believe anything his
father said about Donovan being a traitor.

Jonathan, Natalee, and McGregor were gathered in his
father’s office and they were all discussing why Donovan would react the way he
had. Had they really misjudged him so?

“It doesn’t matter that we trusted him,” the General said.
“He’s our enemy now. When we attack Lohiri, we will aim to kill him as well as
Tobias.”

McGregor nodded, quickly accepting the plan.

Natalee and Jonathan looked shocked.

“Do we really need to kill him?” Jonathan asked. “Couldn’t
we capture him alive? I mean, maybe this is all some kind of misunderstanding.
Maybe he’s just trying to—I don’t know—prevent a battle from taking place. He
was against it from the beginning.”

Brian was surprised that Jonathan had the same exact idea as
him.

“I doubt he’s that noble,” McGregor said. “He comes from a
line of insanity. He probably really did join Tobias.”

“This can’t be real,” Natalee said. “This isn’t like him.”

“And you know that after only knowing this man for a week?” McGregor
said harshly.

She was about to say something angrily when the General
spoke.

“That’s enough. It doesn’t matter. For whatever reason,
Knight has betrayed us. We must treat him as we would any other enemy. And that
means going for the kill. Is that understood?”

There was a reluctant round of “yes, sirs.”

Brian left the meeting thinking deeply. He thought his
father overestimated the power his authority had over human emotions. The only
one in that meeting who seemed likely to take a lethal shot at Knight was
McGregor.

Jonathan clearly admired Knight and saw him as a friend more
than a General. And Natalee seemed to have some emotional ties to him. Brian
wondered what had gone on between them in the short time that they’d known each
other.

In any case, Brian just couldn’t convince himself that
Donovan had betrayed them. He couldn’t explain Donovan’s actions in a way that
made sense, but he had a good instinct about people. Donovan was still on their
side. He just had to prove it somehow.

He went to Jonathan’s room and told him his plan. He didn’t
know if it would accomplish anything, but Jonathan was more than happy to help.

They broke into Knight’s room and searched it for clues.

It didn’t take long for them to find the cameras.

Jonathan sat heavily in the desk chair. “How come no one has
ever found these? They weren’t even that well hidden. There’s a whole spying
system in here. And this cord…”

Jonathan held up a black cable.

“…leads outside this room. The whole place could be bugged.
Who knows who’s listening to us right now?”

“Maybe no one found it because no one was ever looking for
it,” Brian said. “I wonder if this is a military spy system—or something else.”

They looked at each other.

Jonathan’s face mirrored what Brian felt—eerie.

“Let’s get out of here,” Brian said.

They returned the room to exactly how it’d been before and
rushed out the door.

Suddenly, a hand was on Brian’s chest, pushing him back
inside. The door shut behind them. It was McGregor.

“Were you following us?” Brian asked.

“Yes,” McGregor said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black
device. He flipped a switch on its side.

“What is that?” Jonathan asked.

“A signal blocker,” McGregor said. “It blocks the spying system.
No one can hear us now.”

“Wait, how’d you know about the spying system?” Jonathan
asked.

“Donovan told me about it,” McGregor said. “He’s not a
traitor.”

Well, that was the last thing Brian had expected. “You’re a
good actor. You seemed ready to have Knight’s head back there.”

“Well, I had to act natural, didn’t I?” McGregor said. “Now,
we have to do this quickly. I need your help.”

Brian was stunned at the story McGregor told. Tobias had
been spying on them all this time. Donovan had found out about it but kept
silent to protect them all.

“The spy system actually belongs to the military. I did some
research—classified files. It was part of an initiative that Tobias launched
years ago for so called security purposes. He’s been hacking the military for a
long time. Watching our every move.”

“We have to tell the General,” Brian said.

“I did,” McGregor said. “He didn’t believe me. He thought
that Donovan was making it up to keep him from attacking Tobias. He refused to
even conduct a search.”

“The fool!” Brian shouted, unable to stop himself. “He’s an
absolutely stubborn
prick
! He put us all in danger for the sake of his
pride! I swear to God, if that man wasn’t my father I’d strangle him.”

“Calm down, Captain,” McGregor said. “Now that you two have
actually found the system and can vouch for Donovan, too, maybe he’ll listen.”

Brain mumbled under his breath, “Idiot old man.”

He yanked the door open and they followed him out.

When they reached the General’s office, Natalee was already
there.

“Can we have a word with you, General?” McGregor said.

Brian let him take the lead.

The General looked at Natalee. “Are we done here?”

“Yes, sir,” she said bitterly.

“Wait,” Brian said. “She should stay. She’d want to know
about this.”

Natalee looked back and forth between Brian and McGregor.
“What is it? What’s going on? Is it Knight?”

Jonathan shut the door.

“Yes,” Brian said. “We’ve found something.”

“Out with it, boy! What is it?”

“The same exact thing that McGregor tried to tell you
before,” Brian said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. “Donovan is
still on our side. Chaplain and I found a spying system in his room. The
direction of the cords suggests that it stretches outside his room—it covers
the entire base.”

The General looked flabbergasted. “But—it can’t be—Knight
was just saying that to…”

“Look, you old stubborn fool!” Brian shouted, leaning across
his father’s desk. “Listen to us or we’re lost.”

The General stared at him in shock but didn’t say anything
more.

“The system,” Brian continued, “was installed as a part of
an initiative that Tobias created years ago. He’s been spying on us the whole
time. He’s always known our every move before we ever made it. He’s been toying
with us. He knows we can’t stop him.”

“Our only hope is Knight,” McGregor said. He pulled the
signal blocker from his jacket and quickly explained its purpose. “His mission
is protected so long as we keep it to ourselves. We must go on like everything
is the same—as if we believe Donovan is a traitor.”

“But,” Jonathan said, “surely we must do something else? We
should look for the cure here on earth, like Donovan said. Maybe he was right
and this was all just a distraction. Tobias doesn’t want us to find the cure so
he’s trying to get us to believe that he has it with him, when really it’s
hidden close to home.”

“We can’t…” General Umar stopped and cleared his throat, as
if the shock of his son’s rant had dried it out. “…We can’t carry out that
massive of an operation without the rest of the base knowing what’s going on.”

“I’ll create a way to send everyone electronic messages that
Tobias can’t see.”

“Good.” The General began to gather control again. “Notify
me when the message is sent. I will delay the attack by a couple of hours, but
that’s all I can do without arousing suspicion. After that, we’ll proceed as
planned—well, at least on the surface. Let the soldiers know that they must not
shoot Knight to kill—only to stun and capture. If at all possible, try to miss
him altogether so that he can complete his mission. We must all protect his
cover.

“I also need you to put together a couple of teams to search
all known buildings that were of importance to Tobias.”

“Yes, sir,” McGregor said. He left the room.

“Sir,” Natalee said. “I want to go to Lohiri. I want to be a
part of the attacking battalion.”

The General stared at her.

“Me, too,” Jonathan said. “I want to help Donovan. If his
cover is blown and he needs backup, I want to be there.”

“That fond of him are you?” the General said, an amused
smile playing at his lips. “Go ahead. Serve me where you will.”

“Thank you, sir,” Natalee said.

“I wish I could be so noble,” Brian said, “but I’m afraid
I’m not a very good fighter. I’ll stay and help out here.”

“All right, soldiers, prepare for your parts,” the General
said. “Get as must rest as you can in the next few hours. I’ll summon you when
it’s time.”

Natalee and Jonathan left the room.

“You did a good job there, Father,” Brian said. “For a
moment I thought your stubbornness would be the end of us.”

His father smiled. “I have learned that being right isn’t
always the best thing. Your mother taught me that. I just wished I had learned it
before the divorce.”

“Father…” Brian had never heard him speak of the divorce
before. He had always avoided the topic.

The General waved his hand as if to wave Brian’s words away.
“Get on, boy, and help with the efforts. Either get some rest or help Colonel
McGregor.”

“And what about you, General?” Brian said. “Will you ever
rest?”

“Not for a while yet. It’s not a General’s job to rest.”

Brian smiled, feeling for the first time that he really understood
his father.