Open Writing

PART THREE

UNIVERSES

Cal and Karen stared, and their senses were threatened with overload at the sight of the man whom they had thought dead for several centuries. Bill was saying more in the way of greetings, but neither of the travelers was listening. Both had tears in their eyes, and it was all they could do not to rush to the rostrum to greet their old friend. But Cal knew they could not do that; as a former member of the American military, he had a good idea what the President’s Secret Service detail would make of such an approach. They would have to be cautious.

Moving steadily, they began to make their way towards the front of the crowd, all the while keeping their eyes on the stage and the miraculous sight of their friend and traveling companion, whom they had thought taken from them so long ago. Bill O’Rourke now sat at the rear of the podium while President Truman spoke, outlining the plans the government had for the visitors, as he called ’tau and his companions.

Cal and Karen moved through the crowd while the President spoke, and they had almost reached the front when ’tau and his entourage suddenly stood and filed off the stage. Unsure what to do, Cal took Karen’s arm and led her towards the side of the stage where the others were exiting. They reached the wings, and two Secret Service agents blocked their path, telling them in polite but firm voices that they could go no farther.

Cal saw no point in trying to convince the agents that the alien travelers were friends of theirs, so they retreated to a position near where a group of limousines was waiting.

“We’ll have to wait here and hope either Bill or ’tau catches sight of us,” he said.

At that moment, there was a commotion behind them, and they turned to see the dignitaries, led by Secret Service agents, filing through the crowd. They would pass within a few feet of Cal and Karen’s position, and the two travelers waited in anticipation. A moment later, ’tau and Bill appeared, and Cal waited until they were abreast of him, then spoke quietly.

“Hey, Wild Bill. How goes it?”

Both Bill and ‘tau turned their heads sharply, and for a moment looked straight at Cal. Then they were past, leaving Cal standing staring after them. He became aware of Karen tugging at his sleeve, and turned back to her.

“They didn’t know me. Bill looked straight through me like I wasn’t even there, same with ’tau. They didn’t recognize me. I don’t get it.”

Karen held on to his sleeve, gently pulling him away from the crowd towards a clump of trees. There was a park bench beneath it, and they sat down and watched the crowd disperse.

“Maybe you’re forgetting where we are, Cal,” said Karen. “Of course they didn’t know us.” Cal looked at her puzzled. “They are this universe’s Bill and ’tau. I don’t know what they’ve been up to, but it obviously didn’t include us.”

Cal thought about that. “But that’s our Hermes. If they’re from this universe, what are they doing with our ship?”

“Good question.” Karen nodded. “But, unless we can find a way to get through their security, we may never find out.”

Discouraged, they began to move toward the nearest exit. They didn’t know what their next move should be. They had counted on Bill and ‘tau to recognize them and maybe take them with their entourage, or even introduce them to this world’s leaders. Now, they were back where they started.

“I suppose we’d better try to get back to our universe. Those creatures might have gone by now, and maybe the others are waiting for us.”

Karen looked at him dubiously as they sat on an empty park bench. “I don’t know, love. Remember, time passes much faster there than here. It’s probably only been a few minutes back there. The aliens will probably still be in the chamber.”

Cal sighed, and they were sitting on the bench when two Secret Service agents walked up to them.

“Excuse me, Colonel Ferguson, Doctor Purdy,” said one of them. “Would you care to join Doctor O’Rourke in the car over there by the entrance?”

Cal and Karen stared open-mouthed at the agent, then looked in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, there was a large black car parked across the exit they had been walking towards.

“Did, ah, did Doctor O’Rourke ask you personally to fetch us?” Cal asked.

“Yes, sir,” replied the first agent. The other agent was monitoring the area, his eyes constantly on the move. The first agent spoke again. “He apologizes for not responding to you in the park, but he felt such a response would be a little too…public.”

Cal nodded. “Yes, we understand, and we’ll be happy to come with you. It’s been a long time since we saw either Bill, Doctor O’Rourke, and his friend.”

He turned to Karen. “Come on, hon. Let’s go get re-acquainted.”

* * * *

At the car, one of the agents opened the rear door, and Cal and Karen climbed in and sank into the luxurious leather embrace of the rear-facing seat and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim light. Then they looked at the two men sitting opposite them.

’tau was inscrutable, just as they remembered him; Bill O’Rourke, however, looked at them grimly, then turned to ‘tau, “What d’you think, ’tau? Are they the real deal, or what?”

He peered at Cal and Karen again. “They sure look the part, I’ll admit that.”

Karen looked at him for a moment, then said, “When I went for my walk just after we landed on ’tau’s world, you followed me. You were going to shoot that big, lumbering creature, but ’tau did something to your rifle and it wouldn’t work.”

Bill stared at her, then broke into a huge grin. “God damn! It is them! Jesus Harvey on the tree, you guys sure are a sight for sore eyes! Where y’ been?”

With that, the floodgates opened, and they embraced, awkwardly, across the space between the seats. After a few minutes of back pounding and tears, the questions began. After ’tau expressed his pleasure in seeing them telepathically, he communicated nothing further.

It seemed they had hardly began talking when the limo swept up the White House drive and stopped at the entrance where the Secret Service agents opened the rear door and they all climbed out. Bill explained to the agents that Cal and Karen were old friends from his universe. “His universe”? Cal looked at Bill in surprise, but Bill only nodded and said he’d explain everything later.

Cal and Karen were ushered inside, and were given passes to be clipped to their clothing and worn at all times. Then Bill, accompanied by a pair of Secret Service agents, led them to the elevator, which took them to the third floor and their quarters. The agents left, Cal and Karen looked at each other, and someone rapped on the door. Cal opened it to find Bill grinning at him.

“Hey, ol’ buddy! Settled in all right?”

“Yeah, fine. Come in,” Cal smiled, still rattled by recent events.

“Accommodations meet with your approval?” Bill smirked.

“Sure,” Cal said, wondering at Bill’s odd manner. He closed the door and Bill sat on one of the small sofas just inside the door. Cal and Karen sat on chairs opposite him, and they looked at each other in silence until it became awkward. Then Karen said, “How’s Kathy?”

Bill smiled. “Oh, she’s fine, she….” Abruptly, his smile became a glare, and he took a small handgun from his pocket, spoke quietly into a small communicator, and the doors behind him opened. The two agents who had shown to their room entered and, at a glance from Bill, took up positions on either side of the door.

Bill looked at the two travelers, and said to Karen, “How long have you known?” he asked, the gun never wavering from a spot midway between them as he slowly screwed a silencer onto its barrel.

Karen’s gaze was level. “For certain, not until just now, although Bill had a charm that you couldn’t hope to reproduce. We knew that Bill’s wife died in a car accident long before we even left Earth. I don’t know if you’re a double, or this world’s version of our friend, but you’re not Bill O’Rourke.”

“All the same, you two are the ones who are under the gun, not I.” their captor sneered, lifting the gun minutely.

“Do you know who you’re dealing with? You wouldn’t get off one shot with that little popgun before my husband took it from you and shoved it up your ass,” Karen scoffed.

Cal shifted uncomfortably. “Ah, sweetie, maybe it’s not wise to antagonize a man who’s holding a gun on us.”

“Bill” smirked. “Listen to hubby, sweetheart. And don’t forget the two men by the door.”

“Ah, yes. They are cardboard, aren’t they?”

Cal stared at her. What was she doing? The two agents stepped forward as “Bill” levered himself out of the soft sofa, his gun momentarily pointing at the floor. In a flash, Cal understood what Karen was up to. When the three men were aligned, he exploded off of his chair and gave “Bill” a karate chop on the bridge of his nose, grabbed his gun and fired two shots at each agent. The smell of cordite hung in the air, as he stood poised, alert for any sound or movement outside the door, but weapon’s silencer had reduced its noise to small pops, and nothing happened.

Karen stood slowly, staring at the carnage.

“You know, honey, sometimes I think I don’t know you at all.”

They laughed nervously. “Yes, you do,” Cal said, bending down to feel “Bill’s” neck for a pulse. Finding none, he watched as Karen checked the two agents, but they were both dead.

Karen looked at “Bill”. “You know, it’s creepy to see him lying there like that. I mean, he’s exactly like…”

“No, he isn’t, honey,” said Cal gently. “He was nothing like the Bill we used to know. For one thing, I don’t think I could have taken out our Bill that easily, nor would I have wanted to try.”

“What about the other ’tau? I’m assuming he’s a fake, too?”

“Not fakes, sweetheart; I suspect they are this universe’s version of the people we knew. The big question is, even if it’s the real ’tau, where did they get our Hermes?” They contemplated the question briefly, then he said, “Come on, we’re still a long way from safe yet. First, we’ve got to find a way out of here.”

Karen looked around the room. “Maybe there’s a heating duct, or …”

“No, but I’ve been here a few times, remember? Thanks of a grateful planet, and all that. In fact, we both came here when the last President was inaugurated, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” Karen smiled. “In fact, I remember something very specific, something to do with the Lincoln bedroom?”

“Yeah, okay,” Cal said. ”Well, that wasn’t just me. You were as horny as I was; besides, you looked so damn hot in that little red number.”

They smiled briefly, then Cal said, “Let’s get back to our present problem. If I remember correctly, there’s a laundry shaft just down the hallway from this room. Maybe we can find a way out from there.”

“All right, sweetheart, but whatever we do, we’d better do it fast. Someone’s bound to notice those guys aren’t at their post outside our door.”

“Right,” said Cal. “Let’s move.”

They went to the door and opened it a crack; there was no one in sight in either direction. Moving quickly and quietly, they left the room, closed the door, and hurried to the biggest sheet metal laundry shaft they’d ever seen, covered by a door that slid up into the wall, and closed if not help up. Cal glanced up and down the hallway. “I’ll go first, if you’d like.”

“And leave me here alone? Step aside.”

She leaned her upper body into the opening, then kicked off, and dropped like a rock, her shoes thumping the sides. Cal waited a few seconds, then gripped the wood frame of the opening, pulled his legs up and stuck them into the shaft feet first, wiggled, then let go, his arms over his head, and hurtled into the unknown.