The machine. He had to destroy the machine. He was bone tired, his eyes were bloodshot and scratchy and he was weary. He hadn’t eaten or slept and the fury that coiled inside him was dormant for the moment.
“Good evening Mr. Meadows.” Marylin said as he stepped off the ferry boat.
She handed him a cup of steaming coffee, fixed just the way he liked it and he nodded his appreciation as Macon ruffled Bob’s fur and have him a good scratching behind the ears.
“Would you mind stepping into Captain Macon’s office? We have something we’d like to discuss with you.
After they gathered inside, took their seats and closed the door, she offered her condolences for Scarlet then they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Jessie sipped his coffee and waited. He’d gotten good at being patient.
“The road has put a few miles on you.” Macon finally said. “I guess it’s rough out there.”
“You have no idea.” Jessie answered and looked between the two of them.
“Right.” Marylin said. “Let’s get started, shall we? A number of us have become concerned with some of the changes Mr. Horowitz is implementing. We disagree with the direction he is taking with the Tower. At one time it was his to do with as he pleased but obviously times have changed. We believe its resources could be utilized in a better manner.”
She was uncomfortable voicing her concerns aloud, especially with an outsider. It almost felt like treason. She’d dedicated her life to Mr. Horowitz and his vision of self-sustaining buildings. They would do much to alleviate poverty in third world countries, reduce the planets carbon footprint and give meaningful employment to millions. She’d worked eighty-hour weeks, many nights sleeping in her office. She’d foregone a social life, marriage and children. She’d been instrumental in researching the right politicians that had weaknesses that could be exploited to fast-track various permits, contracts and exemptions. Some rules had to be bent for the greater good and she believed in the Tower and the good it could do once its usefulness had been proven. She’d been loyal and worthy of her boss’ trust and now she was going behind his back, plotting against him.
“What Miss Marylin is trying to say is Horowitz has let the power go to his head. He’s becoming another Hitler.” Macon said, not mincing words. “He’s experimenting with those blood samples the doctors got from Scarlet and the results are a little unsettling.”
“Are they using them to go through the time machine?” Jessie asked, his voice urgent.
They both looked surprised, they had planned on slowly working their way up to it, slowly building the layers of the story so he would believe it and help them put a stop to it. Neither answered. Something was different. In this world, in this timeline, Horowitz was already out of control. Something had changed. He hadn’t made a deal with the CEO to go after the hard drives yet but Horowitz wasn’t waiting for them this time. They didn’t know he already knew about the machine and Marylin hadn’t given him the documents from Alienhunter471 yet.
“Look at me.” He said with heat and gestured to his face. “Do I really look like the sixteen-year-old kid that left here a few weeks ago? I’ve been through it. It has to be destroyed.”
“When?” Macon asked. “You just left.”
Marylin was the first to recover and wipe the stunned look off her face.
“So the machine really does work? You survived it? We thought you two had similar reanimate antigens in your blood except it affects you differently. You’re not slowly becoming more and more undead.”
“Yes, it works.” Jessie said urgently. “But have they figured it out, are they sending the injected people through?”
“Not yet.” Marilyn answered. “But they’ve been using it nonstop. Mr. Horowitz is having them make small jumps of a few days and they are getting better at it. They send coordinates back to themselves once they figure them out. It won’t take long before they try to send one of the smarter volunteers. One that can still think and obey orders. That’s one reason we needed to see you, we wanted to warn you not to let them get any samples of your blood. Some of the things they’ve created are barely alive, more undead than human and their minds are like five-year old’s. The microbiologist is getting better with every batch, though. They think the virus in them will keep them alive when they are sent through the machine. If it does, it’s more important than ever they don’t get any of your blood.”
“It needs to be destroyed.” Jessie said. “Do you have any C-4? Dynamite? Grenades?”
“No, Jessie.” Marylin interrupted. “We can use it for good. If you can survive it, why can’t you stop the outbreak? Why can’t you go back and fix everything?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Jessie said and turned for the door, ready to leave. “I tried.”
“But we can help.” Macon said. “Maybe you didn’t do it right.”
Jessie ignored them and jerked the door open.
“He has a small army of super soldiers down there.” Marylin said in a rush. “Most of them are insane, I don’t think you’ll be able to fight your way through them.”
He paused in the doorway. He would tear the machine apart with his bare hands if he had to but it needed to happen fast. Horowitz knew he’d be looking for blood, knew he’d want to kill him and Samed for what they did to Scarlet. If he saw him coming, he could push a few of the men into the chamber and send them back a week. They could be
