Chapter 2 – The Rittenhouse Long Game

Carol stood in the large room, waiting on the Mother Ship to land, when the ground started vibrating. With a loud bang and a whoosh, it arrived back on the landing pad. Rittenhouse members quickly ushered the portable staircase under the door. She waited for the passengers to tell her the news. The door began to slide open and then,

"Goddamnit! Goddamnit, we need to take care of that son-of-a-bitch! Right now!"

Carol sighed. Well, that couldn't be good.

As she watched, Dennis and Emma came out of the Mother Ship. Dennis's son, Lucas, was supposed to come out too, but he didn't follow. She looked at Emma, and Emma shook her head. Dennis marched up to Carol, and stuck his face into hers.

"That goddamn soldier boy shot my son, Carol! I watched as he did it! You said he had been taken care of! I want him hurt and I want him gone!" Spittle flew from his mouth.

Carol glanced at Emma. Emma sighed and then said, "The Three Musketeers figured out what we were up to, somehow. Lucas was passing off the film to Hearst's guy when Wyatt opened fire. Rufus helped, but it was Wyatt that killed him."

"It was supposed to be an easy mission! I told him he was going to come home!" Dennis began sobbing. "I need to avenge him! I need to take care of that problem!"

Emma placed her hand on Dennis' shoulder. "Dennis, you have to go home to Martha. You need to grieve, and to take care of funeral preparations. We will take care of Wyatt, and your son will be avenged, I assure you. You have to trust us."

Dennis nodded. "Yes, yes of course. I need to go to my wife and tell her. But you promise me, you promise he will suffer."

Emma smiled a little smile, "Oh he will. He and Lucy both."

A cold streak of fear went shivering down Carol's spine. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Emma could not wait. All she had experienced for months now was failure, all because that little bitch Lucy. Everyone thought Lucy just walked on water. Well, Emma was the one who had sat there for nearly a damn decade without modern plumbing. And what did she get? "Oh, we have to treat Lucy well!" She was the one who gave up her life, and what did she get? "No, Emma, we have to treat Lucy like fucking royalty!" She was done.

Emma turned to Carol. "Its time to put our plan into action. To get Wyatt out of the way, and by doing so, either leave Lucy vulnerable or leave her so unmotivated she will have trouble brushing her teeth, needless to say time travel."

Carol stepped towards Emma. "I won't let you hurt her. Even if she is against us right now, I know she will realize she is in the wrong. She is Rittenhouse!"

"Emma's right."

Emma smiled. And here came her new boy toy. Just as she hoped.

Nicolaus walked towards them slowly, staring at the time machine. "It still baffles me that this machine can make all of our dreams come true." He gazed at the machine, and then turned and looked at Carol. "But Lucy, and her cohort Wyatt, are blocking our efforts. Emma has devised a plan that will keep Lucy somewhat safe, but possibly end our troubles. You should listen to her. We could use her leadership."

Emma smirked at Carol's eyes shifted from Emma, to Nicolaus, and back again. "Hmmm. And just what is this grand plan, Emma?"

Emma clapped her hands together. "What is the best way to get a man to do what you need? Lead him around by the penis. And that's what we are going to do."

Nicolaus shuddered and held his hands up. "Please, women should refrain from such vulgarity. Even if you insist on dressing like a man."

Emma rolled her eyes. Crazy old prude. "Excuse me. We should convince him to leave the project through his weakness – love. Wyatt has never forgiven himself for his wife's death. We know he took the Lifeboat out to try and save her, somehow, and he failed. Now, all we have to do is give her back, and we won't have a broken Wyatt anymore. He'll be so ecstatic, he'll want to spend all of his time with her."

Carol shook her head. "He's a soldier. He may want to spend time with her, but he'll put the mission first."

Emma grinned. "That's okay. You see, we'll save Jessica. We'll get to her so early, that she will be raised with us, loving us, and when the time comes, she'll work for us. If he takes her back, we'll gather all the intel we could need as she batts her pretty eye lashes and gets Wyatt to talk on the pillow with her."

Carol appraised Emma with a look. "Its smart. But how does it get him out of the way, or Lucy out of the way?"

Emma chuckled. "After this last mission, let's just say Lucy will be heartbroken if Wyatt's wife is back in the picture. It will be a lovely little love triangle. I figure either Wyatt will quit the mission, or more likely, be so distracted with his new found fortune that he won't be able to help poor Lucy out of some historical trouble she may find herself in. And Lucy will be so heartbroken that she will either quit, or, eh, slip and fall on that pretty head of hers."

"Now, now," Nicolaus cautioned. "She is my great granddaughter. Carol, with this plan, she may even see the good we did for Wyatt, bringing back his wife, and decide to join our ranks. Either way, it can't hurt our cause." He slid a hand down Emma's shoulder. "Can you do it now, before they even get back?"

Emma smiled. "For you, anything. We have just the asset to put in place."

San Diego, 1980

A bird chirped, then squawked loudly as a large round object burst into the scene. There was a sliding noise as a door opened in the canister, and then a man fell out, retching. A red haired woman followed.

"Ugh, just stand up, it'll pass in a second." Emma rolled her eyes at the man. What a sissy.

The young man put his hands on his knees, and shakily brushed his mustache. He stood up slowly, his thin body towering over Emma's. He squared his shoulders, fixed his glasses, and brushed his black hair. "So that is what you do all the time. My goodness."

"Yea, yea," Emma retorted. She began walking forward. "Follow me, we have a long walk."

"Quite, yes," the young man said, and followed her.

Emma handed him a journal, a digital phone, and a recharging tube. "Remember, use the phone as little as you can. The portable recharger should stay charged, but it is theoretical. The journal includes all of what you should do. Repeat back to me what you have discussed."

"Um, I am to apply to the listed medical schools and go through medical school – again, may I add. I am supposed to conduct research resulting in stem cell discoveries. I am supposed to, at some point, reach out to a Dan and Mindy Jackson, whose son will be ailing from cancer. I am supposed to get them to agree to the treatment, and get them to love me, essentially. Then, I will be met with another Rittenhouse agent, and we will convince them to become agents of Rittenhouse, via their daughter, Jessica."

Emma smiled. "That's correct. You are going to find a woman named Carol Preston. She is your Rittenhouse contact. You will give her the journal to read. She will know just what to do."

Oh, if only Emma could see Wyatt and Lucy's faces when they got her little surprise.