Chapter 7
Fenmore reached the top of the ladder and scrambled up to the walkway above.
"Come on!" He said in a low voice as he beckoned to Zak.
Earl was shaking as he pulled himself up the final rung of the ladder. His arm was throbbing and as Fenmore grabbed him and pulled him he was grateful for the help. Zak climbed up after him and the three men stood together in the shadowy walkway, Earl leaning on the rail that ran across it as he glance at his jacket and felt relieved the blood had not leaked through; the last thing he wanted Fenmore to know was that he was injured. The implant in his arm was biting at his flesh and he felt like he had piece of broken glass stuck in his arm; that chip was busted for sure, he knew it, he could feel it...
"They have patrols up here but I'm guessing it's minimal because we're on a lower level." Fenmore said as he checked his weapon.
Zak did the same to his own gun.
Earl left his weapon at his side; there was no way he could respond fast with his arm cut up like it was...
Zak looked along the walkway at the closed doors that lined it.
"Which way?" He wondered.
"Straight ahead. We're still in the maintenance area – one of these doors will be unlocked."
Fenmore went first, moving quickly and silently up the walk way, checking each of the doors in turn.
Zak turned to Earl.
"Are you okay now?"
Earl nodded.
He looked down at the dizzying drop to the ground floor.
"Thanks for helping me out back there."
"No problem."
Then Zak caught a flicker of something he couldn't read in his friend's eyes.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Earl couldn't look him in the eye because he didn't want to lie to him.
"I'm fine." He replied, ignoring the pain as he checked his weapon.
"Let's go..."
Then Fenmore tugged at one of the heavy doors and it swung open.
"That was easy." He remarked.
Then a sharp crack split the air and something hit Zak, throwing him against the pipe work on the wall.
He felt winded for a second and as steam began to hiss from the punctured pipe he reached down and saw his shirt was torn; there was a bloodstain emerging and he reached down, felt the pain and breathed a sigh of relief – it had hurt, it had caught him – but it was a minor wound.
"It grazed me...what was that?"
Earl grabbed him by his shoulder and slammed him against the wall as more gunfire sounded and the pipes beside them were punctured with holes.
Steam filled the air and Zak coughed.
"What's going on?"
"The guards just took a shot at us." Earl said, "They must be way over there but they'll be on top of us any minute now – we can't see 'em, they're in hyper time. But they can't see us now because of the steam... "
And As Zak pressed his hand to his side again as an ache spread through his body, Earl pulled him through the doorway.
More shots rang out and Earl raised his weapon and fired a volley of shots back at their invisible assailants.
Then as Zak recovered from taking a hit, Earl slammed the heavy door shut and sealed it.
He let go of the weapon and leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
"You handled that situation better than me." Zak told him.
"That was pure adrenaline!" Earl replied, "Don't count on me to pull that kind of stunt twice, I don't have it in me..."
"This way, guys!" Fenmore shouted down to them.
Zak and Earl looked up at the ladder, it was inside a narrow tunnel that went all the way up to the next level.
Earl gave a sigh of despair.
"Not again!"
The pain in Zak's side was easing off now.
"You have to go on." He told him, "It's not safe to go back now."
"Tell me about it!" Earl muttered, then he reached for the ladder and began to climb.
Zak stepped onto the ladder and let Earl go a short distance ahead, then he began to follow.
"Move your asses!" Yelled Fenmore as he climbed onwards.
Then bullets hit the sealed door, punching through the first layer of steel and landing heavy on the next, making the door weaken.
"Next set of rounds and they'll be through that door!" Earl said as he glanced back down.
Then he began to climb faster, ignoring the pain in his arms and the breathlessness that reminded him he was weak and wouldn't be getting any stronger. As he climbed Zak followed. Then another round of shots hit the door on the floor below and the door burst open.
Hyper time watches bleeped and the guards became visible.
They raised their weapons and Zak swung around, balancing carefully as he aimed the gun and kept his finger on the trigger.
Shot after shot boomed out and as the three men fell in turn and he saw just how fast these bullets cut through flesh, Zak felt his stomach turn over: There were blood spatters up the wall, over the open door and one of the men had almost had his head sliced off by the gun fire. They were all dead and dead by his hand but there was no time to think about what he had done; it was kill or be killed...
Fenmore reached the next level quickly; He stood over the shaft and looked down, keeping his weapon trained towards the ground in case they had more company.
Earl climbed as fast as he could, stopping twice to catch his breath and then deciding it was better not to stop because doing that only reminded him just how weak he felt and then it was harder to get going again.
As he slowed down Zak climbed up to him and then they climbed together, reaching the top almost at the same time.
This time Fenmore had already busied himself looking for a way to the next level.
Zak looked down. The dead bodies of the guards were far below them and it was a hell of a drop from here...
"Hold on." He said to Earl, who was clinging to the ladder so hard his knuckles were turning white "I'll go up first and then pull you up."
"Okay." Earl replied, keeping a steady grip on the ladder as Zak climbed up and passed him, got onto the narrow ledge and then offered him his hand.
"Take it slow." Zak told him, "There's no safety rail up here. When I pull you up stay tight against the wall and don't look down!"
Earl took a shaky breath.
"You can be sure I won't look down." He said in a low voice, "I'm starting to get dizzy, Zak..."
Zak leaned over, holding onto a pipe on the wall to steady himself and Earl grabbed his hand, then pulled him up quickly, as he stumbled up to the ledge Zak grabbed him and pushed him firmly against the wall.
Earl stayed against the wall and closed his eyes as he got his breath back.
"Thanks dude." He said, still breathing hard, "Let me know when the door's open – I can't look down, I need five minutes to rest..."
"We don't have five minutes, Dr Dopler." Fenmore reminded him.
Earl opened his eyes and glanced at Fenmore as his eyes narrowed.
"No I guess we don't! What ever, man! I'm still along for the ride..."
Fenmore ripped off a metal grille and tossed it aside.
"This crawlspace will take us through to the level where we need to be. I'm turning left about half way and carrying out my separate orders. I want you and Earl to carry on to main control and when you get there go into hyper time and do your stuff. I'll meet you at main control shortly after."
As they moved closer to the narrow, square tunnel, Fenmore made a move to get inside but Zak hesitated.
"You're leaving us? Why? What are your separate orders?"
Fenmore smiled.
"Classified." He stated.
Zak stood his ground.
"I don't give a shit about classified, I'm putting my life on the line and so is Earl! We need to know what you're doing; we're supposed to be a team."
Earl sounded weary as he spoke up.
"Leave it Zak – I get it already: Were heading for main control to destroy their project. He's heading off the Randall's office before he catches up with us. I know what his orders are. He kills people."
Zak stared at Fenmore.
"You're here to kill Randall? I thought the FBI wanted to arrest her?"
Fenmore shrugged.
"Some people are beyond incarceration." He stated, "Some people have to be taken out. Now let's get moving before we meet up with another invisible army; I'm not getting my ass blown off for the sake of a time wasting conversation."
Then he disappeared into the crawlspace.
Zak glanced at Earl.
"You go next; if you get into trouble I'm right behind you."
Earl shook his head.
"You go first; I need to take five minutes to get my breath back. I'll be okay, I just don't want Fenmore to know how I'm feeling. I think he'd rather shoot me like a lame horse than help me out if I get sick."
Zak looked him in the eye.
"Five minutes." He repeated, "Then if you're not behind me I'm coming back to get you, okay?"
"I'll be there, don't worry about me." Earl replied.
Then he watched as Zak got into the crawlspace and began to make his way up the tunnel.
Earl sat in the crawl space and leaned up against the side of the tunnel as he breathed hard and wished the pain in his upper arm would ease off.
He glanced back up the tunnel; Zak had followed Fenmore and he was now out of sight.
Earl moved as quickly as he could, unstrapping his gun and then partly taking off his jacket.
"Oh no..." He said aloud as he saw the large bloodstain on his shirt. Then he partly unbuttoned it and pushed his shirt off his shoulder and took a look at the wound: It was open, the incision where the implant had been put in had split and a small shard of metal was sticking out of the cut.
"Oh man this is gonna hurt!" He exclaimed, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath and grabbed the implant and pulled it out.
He dropped the bloodstained chip onto the floor and checked the wound again. The other half of the chip was still in there and the pain was still burning and he knew it had to come out.
Earl stifled a yell of pain as he gave the cut a squeeze and blood ran down his arm. The pressure forced the wounded flesh upwards and the rest of the chip became visible. He caught the metal and gave it a tug, feeling relieved when the thing came out and only a small amount of blood followed; if he had hit that ladder any harder when the chip broke he knew there had been a good chance it could have embedded in an artery and if that was the case he would be bleeding to death right now; but that wasn't the case. The bleeding was minimal and stopping quickly and the pain was becoming much more bearable now.
Earl quickly straightened up his clothing and buttoned up his shirt again then secured his weapon again.
He wiped his blood stained hand inside his pocket so Zak didn't wonder where the stain came from, then he began to crawl up the tunnel as fast as he could, so he could catch up before Zak started to worry and wonder why he took so long.
As Zak looked back yet again and wondered how long Earl would take, he breathed a sigh of relief as he finally saw he had began to make his way up the crawlspace and then Zak slowed down a little to let him catch up.
"You took your time." He remarked.
"Well I guess being sick like I am is something of a disadvantage, Zak!"
Zak glanced back at him.
"Okay, dude - you didn't have to bite my head off!"
Earl carried on crawling up the tunnel.
"Sorry Zak but I'm kind of sore right now – I'm not in the mood for discussing the many reasons why I find this kind of stuff a little bit of a challenge!"
"I get that, chill out, Earl!"
"Sure." He snapped as his voice became edged with sarcasm, "I'll forget I'm sick, I'll forget my molecules are totally fucked...and I'll forget I'm in a dangerous situation I probably won't come back from...I'll just forget about it, I'll chill out..."
Zak just shook his head as Earl carried on muttering to himself, concluding that at least he was still coping- if he was strong enough for a bad temper and sarcasm, he was definitely okay to carry on...
As they came to the fork in the tunnel, Fenmore paused and waited for Zak and Earl to catch up.
"It's time to go out separate ways." He stated, "Activate hyper time now."
And the watches beeped and the world shifted, then everything fell still once more.
"Remember," Fenmore said, "I'll join you at main control. Then we'll go back down and come out of hyper time and wait for recall."
"And it all sounds too easy." Earl remarked bitterly.
Fenmore ignored his remark.
"Good luck." He said briefly, then he turned left and disappeared up the tunnel.
Earl was looking into the darkness.
"He didn't mean that. He doesn't care what happens to us. That dude's got his own orders to carry out - after that he's out of here, you wait and see- he won't be back for us."
Zak looked at Earl. There had been something so final about the way he said that and it had got him thinking - and worrying...
"He said he's coming back. Even if he doesn't, we've got each other – I'll back you up all the way."
There was sadness clouding Earl's eyes as he looked at Zak Gibbs.
"You and me have been through a lot together, haven't we?"
"Sure we have."
"Well this might be the one time when we don't make it through together." Earl told him, "I'm sick, I'm tired and I know this is going to get rougher than a few guys with big guns shooting at us from a distance. When we go in there it won't be long before they detect us and I don't think I can crack that code in five minutes. And there's something else too – if we blow the upper level every person working in this building will go up with it."
Zak stared at him.
The loss of life had been one thing he hadn't considered when he had taken on this mission and been blinded by the thoughts of one more adventure to make the world a safer place.
"I didn't think of it like that."
Earl explained some more.
"These people working on the project – they're scientists just like me – they're working for Randall's organisation but they don't know what her real agenda is- they don't know any more than I knew Gates was planning to use hyper time as a weapon. I'm not going to kill innocent people, Zak."
As they were hunched together in the crawlspace Zak looked back at Earl and wondered where this conversation was leading. There was a look in Earl's eyes that made him wonder what the hell was going on in his mind – it almost sounded like the guy was saying goodbye to him...
"What are you going to do about it?" He asked him.
Earl fell silent for a moment, he looked away, he ran over this plan as he had thought it out and then he looked back at Zak and spelled out the facts:
"I can crack the code to get to the auto destruct. But these kind of devices often have a second code, it's like a fail safe to make sure that the decision is made by the person in charge. I may not be able to crack that second part of the code- it could be anything – Randall's date of birth her, bra size- or it could be a random set of letters and numbers and I may have no chance of getting the permission to set the delayed timer."
"So what's the alternative?"
Earl knew he wasn't about to like the answer, but now was the time to tell him everything, before they went straight into danger.
"Manual detonation. Somebody has to push the button. The explosion will be immediate and enough to wreck the whole floor. The lab's a secure contained area – the rest of the building will be okay as long as everything's locked down. But no one in the main lab will survive once that button's pushed."
Zak thought about it.
"I remember when we blew the lab at QT – there was a bomb proof chamber under the main control-"
Earl shook his head.
"I doubt if Randall has one of those. I saw the layout of the place. I've got a photographic memory and I knew what I saw on the map. There's no shelter in her main lab."
Zak shook his head.
"No, that's a crazy plan. We're not taking chances like that – you and me are going home when this is over."
"You're going home."
Zak stared at Earl.
"We are going home, Earl!"
"No." He said quietly, "When I almost came off the ladder, when I hurt my arm the implant got smashed. It was broken in half and I had to pull it out of my arm when I got into the tunnel. I'm not going home, Zak. They can't get me out of here, my teleport link is gone."
Zak had heard every word Earl had said but as he blinked away tears he shook his head again.
"No, Earl! There's no way you're blowing this place up and taking yourself with it! You're coming home with me – I'm not leaving without you!"
Earl checked his watch.
"Zak, we're in hyper time. We don't have the time for this conversation. Let's get moving."
"No!" He said in a shocked voice, "I'm not letting you do this to yourself! There has to be another way!"
Earl gave a sigh and looked at him with tired eyes.
"I'm sick. After going through all this I doubt if I'd have been able to make it back and be in any kind of fit state to use my machine anyway – I'll probably die if I go through teleport a second time, I'm getting weaker by the minute. Fenmore's right – I shouldn't be here. That chamber I built was my last chance and I should have stayed behind and used it but I couldn't have lived with doing that knowing I'd let you go into a dangerous situation alone."
Then Earl checked his watch again.
"But maybe you're right." He said, hoping Zak would fall for his bluff, "There probably is another way - and I'll probably find it when we get to the main control. Let's go, we can't afford to waste any more time."
Zak looked back at him.
"I hope you're right."
Earl managed a smile.
"Hey, I'm a genius, remember that, dude!"
"That's what I'm counting on." Zak replied, and then the two men took the right turn in the tunnel and began to make their way towards the passage that led to the main lab.
Using a small magnetic screwdriver, Alchemy Fenmore loosened the last of the screws that held the metal grille in place. Then he gripped it and gave it a push and softly lifted it free before climbing out and standing up on the soft carpet that lined the hallway:
This was Randall's private office area and intelligence had already told him there were no patrols within this part of the building – only cameras that slowly turned and relayed the scenes back to security control above. Fenmore waited for the camera to turn then he dashed quickly across the corridor and opened the door and went into a large, bright room where the windows were wide and the floor was marble and a woman in her forties sat frozen at a polished desk with unblinking eyes fixed on a computer monitor.
Fenmore approached her silently and smiled: Hyper time? This stuff made everything so easy...
His hands crept over the shoulders of the woman at the desk; he still had a smile on his face. He paused to run his hands over her tailored suit that clung to her curves, then he breathed softly against her bobbed, light brown hair.
There was a light blinking on a panel and it carried a message that read Unauthorised hyper time activity detected.
He glanced at the screen; there were the guards Zak had shot dead on the lower level.
"You lost us?" He said aloud, "With all the guns you have above the surface you sure don't keep a close watch on the maintenance area, do you?"
And the woman blinked, turned her head and smiled.
"Did you actually think I was in real time just now?"
He looked down at the hyper time watch on her wrist and laughed.
"I don't miss much, Ms Randall."
Then as she stood up his smile faded.
"The package is delivered just like I promised."
Randall looked back at him hopefully. It had been a stroke of luck to find out Agent Fenmore had been ordered to take her out and wreck her research, but and even better one to find out he was easily bought off with cash...
"Thank you so much for bringing me the most important piece of research material in the world – Dr Dopler's the only living person on the planet to have Accelerated Molecular Disorder and once we've used him for research we'll soon solve the problem of ageing in hyper time. Then nothing can stop me and my associates, the world will be at our feet."
Then she looked hard into his eyes.
"Where is Dopler?"
"With Zak Gibbs. They're about to break into the main lab in hyper time. Don't worry about Gibbs - he's no one."
"Thank you." Randall replied, and then she picked up the phone and called security, asking for back up in the main lab.
Zak had finally reached the end of the tunnel. Then he paused in the crawl space and looked through the metal grille: The control center was much like the one he recalled at Gate's lab back in the old days, but this platform was not raised, it was a brightly lit dome in the middle of the room and there were three people working inside it and many others at controls outside of the cell; all were frozen in hyper time and he could see no movement anywhere.
"I think were safe to go in." He said, tugging at the grille and then kicking at it. The cover fell off with a crash and he climbed out, then turned back to Earl and grabbed his hand and helped him out.
"What now?" He wondered.
But then he noticed the look in Earl's eyes.
"I guess you were right." He said quietly, "I should have listened to you..."
And he glared at Alchemy Fenmore as rage took over.
"You're right – we never should have trusted him!"
As they were surrounded by armed guards, Zak kept hold of his weapon. His finger was on the trigger and he was prepared to fight his way out of this or die trying.
But Earl just looked at him and shook his head.
"Don't be crazy, Zak. It's not you they want... don't you see, this is a setup! It's me they want."
Delphina Randall smiled.
"Well done, Dr Dopler - you are as smart as I was led to believe."
Zak looked at him in confusion.
"Why would they want you?"
Randall explained.
"He's got Accelerated Molecular Disorder- we need him for research. He's the key to finding a cure. Once we've done that the possibilities for hyper time are endless."
Zak took a step closer to Earl. As he closed his hand over his arm he felt him shaking.
"They can't do this to you." He told him, then he glared at Randall.
"You're too late! We were sent in here to destroy your work! The FBI knows all about your links with the Far East."
She smiled and shook her head.
"I never had any intention of sharing the power with any associates further than my own country, Zak. I severed ties with the Far East a long time ago and all evidence to show there may have been a connection is long since gone. I only used the connection to gain some vital components I needed for my own research. Mr Fenmore is going back to his superiors with evidence that my work consists of nothing more than medical research to cure Accelerated Molecular Disorder. They can't touch me. I'm innocent of all wrong doing."
And Alchemy Fenmore smiled too.
"Guess what, Dopler? You're coming to work for Ms Randall. You're going to sign yourself over to her research lab so they can use you to find a cure for ageing in hyper time."
Earl stared back at him in disbelief.
"You think I'll agree to that? Dude, you are insane if you think I'll ever agree to it!"
"You will agree." Delphina Randall told him, "Because if you don't, I'll have your friend here shot dead in front of you. So what's it to be, Earl? Hurry up, I don't have all day to stand around and wait for your signature."
And she held out a document and a pen.
"Take it and sign it or Zak Gibbs dies."
"Don't do it!" Zak yelled.
Then he was grabbed and his arms were pinned behind his back as a gun was pressed to his temple.
Earl's eyes widened in fear as he watched the guard's finger hover over the trigger and Zak was forced to wait, powerless to do a thing about it as the gun pressed harder against the side of his head.
Zak closed his eyes and took in a shaken breath.
"Don't do it." He whispered, "Don't let them do this to you, Earl!"
But then Zak was held tighter and that was enough to silence him.
Earl's hand shook as he snatched the paperwork from Randall.
"I won't let them shoot you, Zak!"
Zak dragged in a breath.
"They'll shoot me anyway!" He yelled with the last of the breath he could grab to find his voice, "Don't you see that?"
"Mr Gibbs will be leaving the building unharmed, Dr Dopler." Alchemy Fenmore stated, "Under the strict understanding that his family will remain unharmed as long as he sticks to his story and keeps his mouth shut about the rest of it."
Zak could barely breathe and the gun was bruising his temple as he blinked back tears.
"Earl, don't do this!"
But Earl just scratched his signature across the paperwork and handed it back to Randall. Then he looked at Zak one last time and his voice trembled as he spoke.
"One of us has to get out of here, dude. I always knew it wouldn't be me."
Then Earl took off his gun and lowered it to the ground.
"Do what you like with me but let him go."
Randall glanced at two of the guards.
"Take Dr Dopler to the research lab and secure him."
One of the guards reached out to grab Earl's shoulder but he pulled away sharply.
"There's no need to force me." He stated, "I'm too sick to put up a fight. At least let me do this of my own free will, it's probably the last thing I'll ever do."
Then the guards led him away as Zak gave a sob and tried to get free, but they held him firmly until Earl had left the room and the door had closed securely behind him.
As Randall gave the order for the guards to let go of him, Zak wiped his eyes and he looked hard at her.
"What are you going to do to him?" He demanded.
"We'll take blood and tissue samples from him and then take some biopsies from his internal organs. We'll keep him alive as long as he's useful."
Zak stared at her.
"You can't treat him like that!"
"What difference does it make?" Randall said, "He's dying anyway."
Then she smiled at Zak.
"But you can forget all about your friend and go home to your family – as long as you forget about what happened here today."
Zak was desperate to pull something out of nothing to save Earl. He thought about it, and then he figured he had nothing to lose by trying.
"He's already found a cure for Accelerated Molecular Disorder."
Interest sparked in her eyes.
"Explain?" She said cautiously.
"Earl's planning to build a chamber..." He paused, thinking about his family. The chamber was at his family home in the basement and he couldn't put his family at risk over this... "It's just at the planning stage but he wants to build it. It works like a decompression chamber, except that it reverses the damage caused by staying too long in hyper time –please listen to me, I'm telling the truth! You can't torture him and treat him like a lab rat, he'll die and he doesn't have to – nobody has to die from the disease that killed my father ever again because Earl has the cure!"
She looked at him doubtfully, but all the same considered his words because there was something about what he had just said that seemed to ring true.
"Is this right?" She wondered as she looked at Zak, "Is this chamber he's planning to build a guaranteed cure?"
Zak nodded.
"You could send your people into hyper time and they could stay in it for as long as they wanted to, a stay in that chamber would reverse the effects. Ask him! Ask Earl about reverse hyper time! Ask him what he's planning to do with it!"
Delphina Randall looked into his eyes.
Zak looked back at her.
"Please, you've got to believe me!" He said desperately, knowing this was the only chance he had to try and save Earl from a painful death.
Earl Dopler had no idea that Zak was still at gun point and begging to have him released.
As he lay back on a reclining chair with his shirt off and his wrists strapped down he looked around the white room with the blank walls and resigned himself to the fact that this mission had gone badly wrong, Fenmore was a double crossing dirtbag and he had been right all the long when he had thought he was the one who wouldn't be coming back...
Medical staff came to take blood samples from his arm, he weakly told them to be careful because he was already hurting - but the needles bit deep and they took his blood and then left him alone again.
He was still cold and shivering after a painful come down from hyper time when he had first entered this room and been sprayed with a burst of liquid nitrogen but no one had even cared that he was cold.
No one had spoken to him; they hadn't even bothered to clean his arm up after taking his blood and that worried him a lot.
What worried him even more was the fact that he had a view through a window into the next room and that room was being set up to carry out surgery.
Earl gave a quiet sob and screw his eyes shut tightly as tears ran down his face.
"I love you Kellie." He whispered, wishing he could speak to her one last time. He wanted to see Zak one last time too, just tell him that he was sorry how things had turned out, that he wished he could go home but now he never would - and he wanted to tell him that he loved Kellie, he wanted her to know that he had never intended for things to turn out this way...
Earl took another look around the blank room and then closed his eyes again, not wanting to think about what would happen to him next.
Instead he thought about Kellie, remembered her kiss and remembered how it felt to hold her in his arms.
Then he made a silent vow that when the end came, no matter how it came or how much pain he was in, there was one thing they couldn't take from him and that was his memories; When the end came, he would close his eyes and remember nothing but the fact that he loved Kellie Gibbs and that would be his last thought as he remembered the face of the woman whose name was written in his heart.
On the level below the floor where Earl was being held, Zak was still trying to convince Randall that he was telling the truth.
"I don't know the specifics of the machine!" He said to her, "I'm not a scientist! It's Earl you need to be taking to, he can explain it all – he's got a photographic memory, he can draw a copy of the blueprint for you! Please believe me – don't treat him like a lab rat – ask him about the machine he's built."
Then Agent Fenmore spoke up.
"Ignore him." He stated, "Zak Gibbs is lying, he's just trying to save his friend. Earl Dopler hasn't found a cure – there is no chamber."
Zak looked at him sharply.
"You know about his machine!"
And Fenmore fixed him with an expression he couldn't read.
"Stop lying, Zak. We both know Dr Dopler hasn't invented anything that can fix the ageing problem."
And he turned to Randall and said it again:
"He's lying; he's just trying to save his friend."
Then as confusion clouded Zak's eyes, Randall spoke again to Fenmore.
"Maybe we shouldn't let him go."
"No." Fenmore said at once, "We can trust him. He wouldn't want to think any harm might come to his family, would you Zak?"
And Zak slowly shook his head.
Then Fenmore glanced at Randall again.
"I think it's only fair we let Zak see Dr Dopler one last time so he can say goodbye. Would that be better than nothing, Zak?"
And Zak nodded as he blinked back tears, not wanting to think about what would happen to Earl after he left him behind. If he could do nothing else he was sure that Earl needed to see someone who cared, even a touch or hug or a few words would mean so much to him right now.
Then Fenmore stepped forward and took the hyper time watch off Zak's wrist and slipped it into his pocket.
"I'll take that," He said, "The only place you're going is home after you've said goodbye to your friend."
"Watch him." Randall said cautiously.
Fenmore laughed and put his hand on the weapon he carried.
"You bet I will."
And his voice hardened as he looked at Zak.
"Come with me, Zak. You can see Earl one last time but of you try anything I'll have to shoot you, understand?"
"Sure." Zak said quietly, "I just want to see him one last time, I want to say goodbye."
"This way." Fenmore said, and then with one hand on the weapon he led Zak from the room and towards an elevator - and while they walked, Zak silently wondered whose side Fenmore was really on...
