Chuck Vs. The Omni


Chapter 7: The past is relative

Casey and Jeffrey made their way across the remainder of Bedloe Island. A rowboat bobbed against the pier and Casey stopped Jeffrey in his tracks.

"We aren't getting anywhere tramping around this heap. The only way to find out what's really wrong is to get into Manhattan. We're taking that boat."

Jeffrey's breath came out in frosted plumes and his teeth chattered. He nodded and gripped his arm. Casey was getting used to the boy's clinging tendency. In an odd way, he felt comforted as a fatherly instinct kicked him. However, he felt it would have been easier to go about all this alone. The way he preferred it.

If that was the case, I might as well have let him drown. He quickly dispelled his thought with a grunt. What kind of monster am I to think about letting a child die?

The wind whistled eerily through the statue's remains as the neared the dinghy. A bizarre chill saturated the air and it wasn't from the cold. Casey glanced at Jeffrey; he sensed it too, and his frightened dark gaze wandered across the span of Manhattan as he looked for a source.

Jeffrey tugged on Casey's shirtsleeve. "Look at all the smoke rising. What happened over there?"

"That could just be fireplaces, kid, nothing more." He said unconvinced.

"I don't know, it's like the buildings are smoldering."

Casey rubbed his cold nose to catch a whiff of the air, and he smelled the faint scents of fire, burned bricks, and decay. They finally reached the boat and Casey unwrapped the ropes off the wood post. He put Jeffrey inside and climbed in. He grabbed the oars and rowed away with brisk strokes. The exertion warmed his tight muscles.

"It shouldn't take us too long, there's a strong wind blowing and the water is choppy enough for us to coast."

"Where should we go first?"

"I plan on dumping this wreck by the South Street Seaport, or whatever it's called in this time. Then, I'm getting us some new clothes."

"I guess we'll have to start at the Lower East Side…just remember, they don't take American Express, and we can't use modern money."

Casey sighed. The kid was right, why didn't he think of that?

Because it's not your job, Major…you'll have to accept that this little Jones boy knows more than you about being a Voyager.

"Good thinking, kid. We'll have to do a little shopping off the clothesline express."

Jeffrey bit his lip and briskly rubbed his arms. He rocked back and forth.

"I…I…I hope we get there fast. I'm turning to a Popsicle!"

"Tell me about it…my limbs are ready to crack off."

The rest of the boat ride continued in silence. Jeffrey found a little more warmth by laying in the center of the boat and curling his body into a fetal position. Casey wished he could do the same. He glanced down when he felt a tap on his leg.

"Just so you know, Casey, the omni is usually very precise. It always lands Bogg and me at the right place and the right time."

Casey ceased rowing and let the boat drift. He cupped his hands and blew into them to relieve the stiffness in his fingers. The wood dug into his palms.

"I'll keep that in mind, kid." He picked at a few splinters and resumed rowing. He peeked at Jeffrey and nudged him with his foot to stay alert.

"You don't want hypothermia. Your body could go into a state of shock and you won't even realize it."

"Okay. I've been out in the cold before, but this is just brick!"

After fifteen minutes, Casey glided the boat to an abandoned dock. He rowed it to a post and tied up the ropes securely, in case they needed it again. Jeffrey climbed out and jumped up and down like mad to keep warm until Casey grabbed him.

"Do you wanna take another dunk in the ocean? This wood is rotted up, be careful." He grumbled.

"Look, I'm cold, this is the only thing I can do about it, lighten up!"

Casey shook his head and imagined how a young guy like Phineas Bogg handled the kid. Apparently not with his back hand like I might! He fumed.

Jeffrey wasn't rambunctious, he was very mature for his age; it was his smart mouth that caused trouble. Casey dragged him off the dock toward the outskirts of the city. He expected to see this section thriving with the huddled masses of dirt poor tenement dwellers selling wares in the streets and doing laborious work in sweatshops. There was barely a soul in sight. He noticed people spying on them from a apartment windows but they immediately drew their curtains and locked their doors.

"There's something rotten in Denmark, kid. I know old New York and this is not the City I remember from the History Channel."

Jeffrey smiled as they walked the deserted cobblestone streets.

"They have a history channel? Neat! Is it like PBS?"

Casey looked up and sighed. He forgot the kid was stolen to Voyager world before Cablevision was the rage.

"Uhh…sorta…it's a cable channel, that's a bunch of channels that air specialized programming, there are tons of them now."

"Wow, we only had like six cable channels or something. I can't remember."

"I remember…the eighties were my days, kid. I was in my late teens and early twenties then. 1982? Hmm, I was 19 and pretty green in my NSA training. I never really got caught up in all the pop and pap."

"Gee, you must be like fifty years old."

"Hey watch it! I'm only forty-six."

"Oh!" Jeffrey looked him over. "Well…I guess being a spy keeps you healthy, you sure don't look it. I would have pegged you to be…thirty-five!"

Casey smiled lopsided. "Thanks, trying to build up the brownie points now, huh?"

Jeffrey smirked. "Yeah, it wouldn't be cool if you hated my guts when I need your help. I think I can trust you. You work for a secret service, it's your job to protect people."

"Hmm, good call kid, still working those points."

Jeffrey shrugged shyly. "It's just like Voyagers, a little. We protect people we meet in the time zones, but we don't use weapons or get the cool badges and stuff. At least Bogg doesn't. He hates guns."

"No weapons! That's lame…Heh, what do you get besides headaches and back aches? A gold V pin? Maybe that comes with retirement instead of a watch. I can't imagine their HMO."

"I don't know about that stuff, but they inoculated us for all known diseases throughout time. That wasn't fun! I was sick to my stomach for like two weeks!"

"It makes sense and it's necessary. You wouldn't want to drop dead from Spanish Influenza or black plague in the fifteenth century." Casey said, impressed with Headquarters' operations.

A Voyager had to rely mightily on his wits and natural graces…not his big guns and cell phones. Casey checked his pockets. His cell phone was long gone. A hundred and twenty two years from now someone might fish it out of the water. He changed his thought, the East River was a cesspool, it would lay at the soiled bottom with the mob victims.

He wrung his shirt again, irritated. "All right…I've had enough of this! Something better clue us in here or else I'm gonna…"

A young woman's intense scream broke the silence and Casey pointed toward a razed brown-brick tenement. They saw her run for her life out of the rubble. Her long wool skirts tripped her up and her dark bun spilled over her shoulders.

"No! Stay away from me!" She pleaded.

Jeffrey gaped in shock and shook Casey. "What the heck is that?"

Casey and Jeffrey gawked at the scene. A life-size copper robot constructed with knobs and flashing buttons rushed after the woman on a base with four wheels. It whirred and beeped as a mechanical voice emanated from its gramophone shaped mouth.

"Halt! Halt! Intruder! Intruder!"

It raised a skeletal arm and prepared to attack the helpless woman. She screamed again and crawled away. Casey raced ahead; he picked up a brick and flung it.

"Get away from her, Robby the Robot!"

The robot backed up and rotated itself to face them. It's heavy, metal eyelids blinked twice and glowed fiendishly red.

"Intruders! More Intruders!"

Bullhorn alarms pierced the air and built up intensity until it the entire city fell under red-alert. The robot pointed its hand and a blue beam shot out from its fingertip. Casey leaped atop Jeffrey and tossed him aside. He grappled for the blades strapped against his leg. He pulled one and was ready to toss it straight between its eyes when he heard a loud clang. The robot cocked its head and turned. The woman had found her bearings and clutched a wooden two-by-four with a snarl on her attractive face.

"Take that, you fiend! Leave us alone! Go away!"

"Kill! Kill! KILL ALL INTRUDERS!"

She lost her nerve. "No! Help me!"

The robot poised to release lasers from its eyes when Casey expertly flung the blade into the clock shaped mechanism on the back of his head.

"Bulls eye! That's the weak spot."

Waves of electricity shot through its joints and its body quivered. The robot spouted gibberish and the laser functions zapped out of control. Casey grabbed the startled woman and they all ran for cover under a store awning. The robot shook and exploded into hundreds of springs and tiny parts.

Casey acted as a shield and ducked with Jeffrey and the woman. Little shards of copper and coils bounced off his back until everything finally settled into a small, fiery heap. He rose slowly and wiped the debris off his clothes. The woman stood and faced her rescuers. She was tall and graceful with round sapphire blue eyes and pursed, full lips that enhanced her prominent features. She arched a pointed eyebrow at Casey and her expression contorted in happiness.

She leaped into his arms and smothered him with loving kisses.

"Oh my Lord! Thank heavens! It's you, Matthew! I thought I'd never find you again after the siege! Where had they taken you? I've missed you so much, love!" She exclaimed with a light English accent.

Casey had no choice but to kiss her, but then stopped himself. He felt very strange. She slid out of his arms and looked him over.

"Oh my! You're not Matthew…but…but you…you look just like him! It's almost uncanny…granted he has green eyes and…he's smaller in bulk…wait, he's much younger…but the height is the same, the hair color. You have the same nose." She tearfully stepped closer and stroked his face.

Casey smiled to put her at ease. She held her mouth and covered her cheeks.

"The smile! Oh, that smile! It's his!" She gasped.

The woman stumbled and Jeffrey caught hold of her before she tripped over rubble. He had a sinking feeling in his gut, but he waited to see what happened next.

Casey shook his head. "No, no my name's not Matthew, its John, John Casey and I'm…"

"John Casey! You must be a relative! My husband is Matthew Jonathan Casey! He's never mentioned you before!"

Casey felt as if someone punched a hole in his stomach and he groaned. He held her shoulders gently. "Uh…yes. I'm his distant, older…cousin from California…would you excuse us for just one moment miss…"

"Colleen."

"Colleen, I just have to talk to…uhh…"

"I'm his ward, Jeffrey Jones!" Jeffrey cut in, deciding not to use the father-son ploy as he did with Phineas at times. He was often surprised when it worked out for them, because they looked like night and day.

Casey tugged Jeffrey's collar and led him into the general store. He leaned unsteadily against the counter and knocked over a jar of peppermint sticks.

"Talk about family reunions, this is impossible. That's…that's my great-great grandmother, Colleen Baldwin! She started my family line in America when she came from England. She married Matthew Jonathan Casey in 1885. I know that much!"

"Woah! She does kinda look like a relative…you both have that lovely snarling lip. The apples don't fall far from the trees in the Casey clan."

"Or the Baldwins." Casey mused. He could tell she came from tough stock.

"Are you from New York?"

"No…but the Caseys settled in Chicago after they migrated from the West. I think that…hold on, I don't want to leave her out there alone."

Colleen eyed them curiously, and shivered from cold and fear. The bullhorn alarms subsided, but from the corner of her eye she saw a giant flying apparatus slowly drifting past the island. It was a brightly colored and garishly decorated blimp that made daily rounds across the city and monitored all the activities of its inhabitants. The sign, 'MASTERMIND OF THE FUTURE' blinked on and off from huge red and yellow bulbs tacked onto the outer layer.

"Look! It's back again!"

Casey took her hand. "Come inside, Colleen, you'll get sick and…" He gazed at the airship. Jeffrey ran out to watch.

"Now what the hell is that? Ronald McDonald's new advertising?" Casey shouted at the sky. Jeffrey wanted to laugh, but stayed quiet. There was nothing funny about the current state of New York City.

"That thing belongs to the Mastermind! He laid siege to this city after destroying the Statue of Liberty on inauguration day. Matthew and I visited to see the statue, thankfully we were delayed and hadn't made it to Bedloe before she…"

Colleen broke into sobs. "Oh…Matthew…he was taken by the Mastermind!"

Casey and Jeffrey stared at each other apprehensively and led her into the abandoned store. They locked it up tight and drew the shades. Jeffrey went about trying to find dry clothing and shoes in the back room. He was very hungry too, and spied meats and cheeses to make sandwiches. Casey propped Colleen on a stool and she cried in her arms. He clutched shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly.

"Tell us everything that happened, Colleen. We need to know…names and dates."

Jeffrey glanced out the doorway and Casey winked at him. He'd caught on to a Voyager's work.

Colleen composed herself and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "Like I said, we came to see the inauguration in October, but it was also because of Matthew's work…he's…he's a bounty hunter and he had secret information that led him to Manhattan Island."

Casey grinned in wonder. "Way to go gramps!"

The Caseys had a long history in law enforcement. "Who was he looking for, Colleen?"

"A crazy inventor, I believe…like a mad scientist out of the Frankenstein novel! His name was Wilhelm Julian. My husband was assigned to track him down after he foiled his plot to disturb the weather patterns in Chicago. Wilhelm created an actual tornado on September 18th!"

"Wilhelm…oh no! I've heard of him…I mean…"

Jeffrey came out from the storage room bundled in miss-matched and over sized clothes, but warm. He held a pile out to Casey.

"These are the biggest I can find. What's wrong?"

Casey excused himself from Colleen and took Jeffrey to the end of the counter. "Colleen's husband was bounty hunting Wilhelm Julian, he was the guy who sponsored the auction at the hotel in 2008! How the hell is that possible? Is Julian a Voyager?"

Jeffrey scratched his head. "He could be! Maybe that's why he's so inventive and stuff…unless…"

Drake's snide face passed through his mind. Jeffrey wouldn't put it past him to remove a lunatic from his own time zone to wreak havoc in others. Drake's ultimate game was to destroy the fabric of history.

"Unless what? He's a Jules Verne fanatic?"

"Bogg and I are tracking this rogue Voyager named Drake. He likes to mess up history. He could've took Wilhelm to the future! Drake has a silver omni, it's better version than Phineas' omni. It has open time calibration."

Casey smacked his head. "Then Chuck's guesses were right. Wilhelm is plotting to destroy California with a massive earthquake! My boss told me he liked to play around with the elements. Pretty sharp, kid!"

Casey grabbed the clothes and hurried back to Colleen. She moved behind the counter and sliced up bread so they could all eat.

"I thought you and the child might be hungry."

"Thanks, we are. Hey…how did Matthew stop the tornado? I mean, what did he do about that?"

Colleen wagged a knife at him with a small laugh. "I told him if he didn't die trying, I would kill him myself! Matthew dragged along a weather scientist and a shaved ice maker into a giant hot air balloon and tempered the tornado's formation with the cold! Thankfully, it was enough to shrink it and send it spiraling over the Des Moines river. But it still hit the town of Joliet...he prevented so many casualties though! What that man puts himself through…and me!"

Casey laughed, thinking he might've done the same thing. He started to remove his shirt, then turned red with embarrassment when Colleen cleared her throat and arched her brows. It was almost like dressing in front of your own grandmother, though Colleen was still very young and beautiful.

"Sorry. He sounds like quite a character, what made you marry him? Besides the obvious?"

Colleen chuckled and lifted a pickle barrel lid. She brought a few pickles to their plates and dressed the sandwiches. Casey and Jeffrey dug in.

"You mean those dashing and rugged Casey good looks? Matthew was a real charmer, and so intent on courting me. He used to come to my home every day with a long stemmed rose until I finally agreed."

Casey folded his arms with a wry smile. The rose ploy never got old. Wouldn't Roan Montgomery be so jealous to know it was really a Casey tradition?

"Why'd you hesitate?" Casey had a clue, it was the same reason he avoided long-term relationships.

Colleen drew a sharp breath. "I knew the kind of work he was involved with. It was dangerous, I thought it was impractical…and…I was scared, John. I felt if I married him, I would somehow lose him to tragedy. He did not know it right away, but I was desperately in love with him. I had a change of heart. A marriage is for better or for worse, and I realized it was far worse for me to never share love with him if I refused. I admire his occupation. He is such a brave man. We've had quite a few adventuresome times together."

Colleen burst into more tears and Casey hung his head. A deep and frightening thought came to mind.

"Colleen, do you and Matthew have children?"

Colleen blushed pink and toyed with her mid-section. "Oh John, he doesn't know it yet, but I am pregnant, I feel it! I come from a family of doctors and I know the signs. I must be a month at least. We've been separated for nearly that long. I fear he may be dead! Matthew stormed Wilhelm's headquarters in Central Park. He searched him out for nearly two months after the Statue of Liberty disaster. Wilhelm took the entire city hostage with that flying machine and he keeps it grounded in the park. So many have since died at his hands. We couldn't flee. His mechanical men attacked him. Matthew tried to protect me and he was kidnapped!"

Jeffrey finished off his food and nudged Casey in the ribs. "This is not good! He whispered frantically. "Colleen, can you tell us exactly when Matthew was kidnapped?"

"It was December 5th…we hid out in that building you saw me running from. You must get dressed, John, you're frozen and you'll catch your death."

Colleen stared at him longingly, thinking of her beloved. Casey gazed sympathetically and then looked away saddened. She puttered around the counter refilling their fountain drinks and trying to keep herself collected. Casey went to the stockroom and changed into the clothing – baggy, navy blue carpenter pants and a tight, white thermal shirt with brown suspenders. The boots were a decent fit. Jeffrey knocked and Casey grunted for him to enter.

"Okay, I figured it out and this is what we do, we have to go back to October 28th, 1886, and stop Wilhelm from destroying the statue."

"Wait a minute, what about my ancestor? He was kidnapped in December."

"That doesn't matter. If we stop Wilhelm, then he'll never siege the City and the kidnapping won't happen. Your family can enjoy the inauguration. The red light is the Statue of Liberty bombing."

"You're right. And my great-granddaddy can catch the SOB later and bring him down!" Casey punched his palm.

Jeffrey waved his hand. "Wait. I don't know about that one, because then that'd change Wilhelm being in the future. Matthew may just never catch him."

"Then we might!"

"Maybe…but…never mind." Jeffrey was confused with all the time paradoxes. If he and Major Casey captured Wilhelm, events would be altered in 2008. They went to the counter and finished up their meals.

"What do we do now?"

Jeffrey set the dials on the omni. "Now we have to save Lady Liberty."

"Great, so then Wilhelm can get away and turn California into rubble in my time."

"You're forgetting that Chuck, Sarah, and Phineas are down there, they'll know what to do." Jeffrey tried to sound confident.

Casey pointed to Colleen. "And what about her? We can't just leave a pregnant woman in the middle of nowhere to be zapped down by a wicked CP3-O!"

"This time zone won't exist once we leave and she'll be fine." Jeffrey insisted.

"What if we can't stop him? What if something goes wrong and he kills Matthew? Or what if he kills Colleen!"

Casey felt so agitated, he started to sound like Chuck with his 'what ifs' and complaints. A shrill high-pitched horn filled the area and Jeffrey clasped his ears. A looming shadow passed the windows and Casey ran back to Colleen and dragged her to the floor. Jeffrey shoved himself under the counter just as a huge laser beam shattered the windows and burned the stools to a blackened crisp.

Colleen wailed and clutched Casey for protection. "He's found me! Please, don't let him kill me! I have to live for our child!" She moaned.

"Then move now! Don't stay here, he's gonna fire again! There's a back exit!"

"What about you and Jeffrey?" Colleen was afraid to leave his arms and buried her head against his collarbone with small sobs. "Take me with you!"

"Don't worry about us, Colleen. We'll make it...please...just go!" Casey lifted her chin and gazed at her tenderly. He quickly kissed the top of her head. He understood why his great-great grandfather fell in love with this brave woman. Her eyes brightened and she reluctantly crawled away into the stockroom.

"Don't forget about me." She called back.

"Never, Colleen. Go and take care of that baby." He whispered to Jeffrey. "What if she dies?"

The air tingled with static again, and the dissonant noise built up for a fiercer attack.

"If he kills Colleen now, it won't matter because it's still a red light! But if he does when we find him, then you cease to exist. We gotta go!"

"Wait! What if we…?"

Casey's last 'what if' went unheeded as they burst into the cosmos. The laser sliced across the counter and engulfed the entire store in flames.