Wyatt was hit with a myriad of emotions when he walked through the doors of Mason Industries. He hadn't been back since that awful night and now as he walked down the hall, he was assaulted with a flood of memories. How many times had he walked down this corridor with her? How many conversations had they had…how many did he wish they would've had? He agonized over every second of wasted time as he made his way towards the launch bay where Agent Christopher was huddled with Jiya and Bam Bam.
Upon Wyatt and Rufus' approach, she lifted her head and gaped at them, "What on Earth are you doing here, Wyatt?" I don't remember including you on the text." She shot an accusing glance at Rufus who mouthed out his defense in the form of "I told him no". She rolled her eyes at Rufus' attempt at silent vindication and turned sorrowfully to Wyatt, "Master Sergeant Baumgardner is going to take this, you are in no-"
"Where did the sonofabitch jump?" Wyatt interrupted.
"Wyatt." Agent Christopher said more firmly, "You are not going on this mission. You've just lost your wife.
Wyatt met her look of sympathy with a menacing glare. He took a deep breath to steady his voice, 'With all due respect, ma'am, that is exactly why I am going on this mission. No one here wants Garcia Flynn dead more than me. I think I have more than enough reason to kill that asshole and I'll be damned if I'm going to let somebody else take that chance from me."
"That's understandable, Wyatt…but you know as well as I do, that to go into battle when you aren't ready emotionally…" Agent Christopher shook her head at him.
"Ma'am," Wyatt said in a voice of quiet desperation, "staying home and doing nothing…where I'm reminded every second of every day that she is gone? How can that be better than fighting to bring her killer to justice? How can I help Lucy if I'm here and not out there?"
Agent Christopher eyed him warily, "I don't want vigilante justice, Wyatt. That won't benefit you in any way" she looked at him closely, "…and it won't bring her back."
Wyatt flinched at those words. He wouldn't believe them, he had to bring her back, there was no question in his mind. He had to, or there would be no saving him from himself this time, "I just want the chance to make things right." he pleaded in a harsh whisper.
Agent Christopher pursed her lips and studied Wyatt for a long while. He knew that he looked like absolute hell, he knew that she could tell that he had drunk himself into oblivion time and time again, but he hoped that he looked desperate and determined enough to help her see past all of that. She must have decided that Wyatt's fighting spirit was worth something…or she was just trying to avoid the fight that would inevitably come if she refused him because after several beats she answered, "If you get the opportunity, you bring Flynn in alive, you understand me?"
Wyatt clenched his jaw as Rufus shot his eyes towards him, "Yes ma'am."
Bam Bam turned towards the Homeland Security officer, "Wyatt is like a machine. No matter what he's going though, he rises up to the occasion. I've seen it loads of times." He gave her a reassuring nod, "I'll watch over him. I'll keep him out of trouble"
"See that you do" Agent Christopher sighed, though she didn't look convinced. "Garcia Flynn has jumped to July 23, 1892, Pittsburgh…Mr. Chartris tells me that was the assassination attempt of a man called…Henry Clay Frick."
Wyatt's eyes shot up. He knew that name. He knew that mission. Lucy had told them about it that day they went back to Johnstown…he was one of those Rittenhouse Country Club members…but who the hell was Mr. Chartris?
The answer to that question presented itself in the form of an elderly balding man who looked every part of the clichéd historian. Mr. Chartris shuffled slowly over to their huddled group, a large folder in his hands, his thick glasses sitting on the tip of his nose. Wyatt, Rufus and Bam Bam all exchanged unimpressed looks as the new historian erupted into a hacking cough, before clearing his throat and droning on in monotone about the Homestead Steel Strikes.
He had just gotten to the economic reasons for the strike when Wyatt interrupted in annoyance, "Flynn is not going after Henry Clay Frick because of a strike. He's going after him because he was a member of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club."
Mr. Chartris blinked slowly at Wyatt, "That's true, he was a member, but the sad events surrounding that Club occurred in 1889, not 1892. Those events have nothing at all to do with the Homestead Steel Strikes. Now as I was saying –"
Wyatt interrupted again, this time addressing Agent Christopher, "Ma'am, Flynn told Lucy he was dead set on proving her wrong…those assholes didn't own up to the failures with that dam, they wrangled their way out of it and if I know Flynn, he's not going to let them slide. If they're Rittenhouse, he's going to make sure they suffer."
"Young man," Mr. Chartris piped up, annoyed at the interruption, "The assassination attempt of Henry Clay Frick –"
"by an anarchist, right? What was his name?" Wyatt looked towards Rufus who shrugged bewilderedly.
"Andrew Berkman" Mr. Chartris drawled lazily.
"Yeah, that guy." continued Wyatt. "When he tries to kill Frick, it sways public opinion in his favor. Frick gets the sympathy vote – strikes are shut down – and that asshole wins again." Wyatt spat out in irritation. "I'm pretty damn certain Flynn's not going to let that happen."
Mr. Chartris huffed out a breath in annoyance, "If Henry Clay Frick is part of this organization that Mr. Flynn is so determined to rid the world of, why would he care so much about public opinion? Hmmmm? Killing Frick would certainly make a martyr of him, but his goal would be met, Henry Clay Frick would be dead. Now back to the economic reason for the strike…"
"Maybe" gritted Wyatt angrily, "Flynn isn't planning on killing Frick. Maybe he wants to kill Berkman and frame Frick so that Frick comes off as even more of an asshole in the public's mind than he already was…what would happen then? Huh? Public opinion stays on the side of the strikers? Henry Clay Frick is ruined? Possibly accused of murder? Seems a hell of a lot more damning than a bullet in the brain. Flynn wouldn't let him off so easy, not after all the trouble he went through in Johnstown."
"Hear hear!" shouted Bam Bam as the entire room turned to stare at him. "Hell, if that wasn't damned impressive. For a minute there, I could've sworn you were channeling her, Wyatt." He winked at him, before nodding seriously, "She'd be proud of you."
As much as Wyatt's heart ached, he felt a surge of peace and comfort at the thought that Lucy was…somehow…still there with him. He reached into his pocket and held fast to her rings as he mused over how she had unwittingly prepared them for this mission just by being Lucy. Her enthusiasm to share her historical knowledge with them had at times, irritated Wyatt…but right now, he was oh so grateful that he had paid attention. It was like she was helping him to succeed…like she wanted him to succeed, giving him the information he needed to figure out Flynn's plans and motives without her there beside him…all so he could save her.
And he would save her.
Mr. Chartris looked extremely affronted when Agent Christopher asked him to wait in the conference room while she discussed the mission further with her team. With one last glare at Wyatt, the old man shuffled away leaving Wyatt, Rufus, and Bam Bam standing at the ready for Agent Christopher's orders. "Alright, I want you three to be extremely careful. Without an historian on the ground we have no way of knowing the ins and outs of the days events.
Wyatt shook his head as he sat down at the computer and began typing away.
"What are you doing, Wyatt?" asked Agent Christopher.
Wyatt smiled to himself, "I'm going to have Lucy in my back pocket." he muttered as he pressed the print button. He looked up at four faces glancing down at him nervously. Wyatt shifted in his chair uncomfortably under their scrutiny, "We did this for the Paris mission…remember? It worked then. This" he held up the printed papers, "will give us all the information we need, but, " Wyatt stopped short and frowned, his brow furrowed in pain.
Rufus shook his head slightly in understanding and shot Wyatt a supportive glance, "Still not as good as the real deal, though." Wyatt didn't look up at Rufus, he just nodded in silent assent.
Agent Christopher studied the two of them for a moment before turning to Bam Bam, "Master Sergeant Baumgardner, I'm giving you the lead on this mission."
"What?! Why?" spat out Wyatt angrily.
Agent Christopher sighed as she looked at Wyatt with pity, "It's not that I don't trust you, Wyatt…but you have just suffered an extreme loss. I need someone with a more level head to take the lead on this mission. It's nothing personal."
Bam Bam nodded at Agent Christopher while glancing sideways at Wyatt, "Thank you for the opportunity, ma'am. I won't let you down."
"See that you don't." Agent Christopher sighed. "Now, I want you all dressed and ready to go in fifteen minutes."
Wyatt was ready in ten.
He paced the floor of the launch bay until Rufus and Bam Bam finally emerged from the locker rooms. "You two ready?"
Bam Bam slapped Wyatt on the shoulder before he clambered into the Lifeboat, "Listen, I hope you aren't upset about the…" Bam Bam began uneasily, "It's nothing personal, Wyatt. You know as well as I do, you're the best out of all of us."
Wyatt shook his head, "No…that was never true. Lucy was the best out of all of us." His fists clenched by his sides, a move that did not go unnoticed by Rufus. "Let's go get that sonofabitch."
Bam Bam clambered into the Lifeboat as Rufus took Wyatt aside and whispered urgently, "You heard what Christopher said, right? No vigilante justice, Wyatt."
Wyatt stared back at Rufus coldly, "I'll do whatever I need to do to fix this, Rufus. I don't give a damn about what Christopher or Bam Bam have to say about that."
Rufus stared back at Wyatt with concern, "Just remember, Wyatt…you're one of the good guys." He gave Wyatt one last meaningful look before clambering into the time machine himself.
Wyatt took one last look at the scene around him…things seemed so very wrong without Lucy there at Mason…they seemed even more wrong as he buckled himself into the LifeBoat to see Bam Bam sitting in her seat. He closed his eyes and threw his head back on his chair as Rufus prepared the launch.
With a sickening jolt he felt the LifeBoat depart and land, but he refused to open his eyes until he heard Bam Bam exit through the hatch. Opening his eyes, Wyatt sat and stared at her empty chair until Rufus called him to attention, "Wyatt…are you sure you're okay? You can always stay here –"
"Nope. I'm fine, Rufus." Wyatt said tersely. "Let's go find Flynn."
It didn't take them long to locate Frick's office in the Golden Triangle area of 19th century Pittsburgh. He was one of the most well-known men in the city and with the notoriety that came from the Homestead Steel Strikes that were still going strong, everyone in town knew where Henry Clay Frick operated from. It was in the Chronicle Telegraph Building on Fifth Avenue. It was a large building located on a sloping street. The streets were bustling with activity, but Wyatt was only focused on locating the one person who could help him save Lucy.
Bam Bam suggested that they split up. Wyatt could position himself outside of Frick's office and wait for either Andrew Berkman or Garcia Flynn. Rufus was to watch for Frick across the street at the Duquense Club, where Frick was known to have eaten lunch before the attack was made…and Bam Bam would be down the street at the hotel where Berkman was staying, armed with a photograph, ready to protect the anarchist from an assassination attempt before he had a chance to make his own.
Placing Wyatt inside the office building, Bam Bam argued, would allow him, as the better soldier, to have the best possible vantage point should either he or Rufus fail in their duty. Wyatt would be the last line of defense for Frick or Berkman…whichever of the two men happened to be on Garcia Flynn's kill list.
That was what Bam Bam had told Wyatt, anyway.
In truth, Bam Bam placed Wyatt in the office building so that he would be surrounded by people, witnesses…that he hoped would keep Wyatt from reneging on his word to Agent Christopher. By following Berkman, Bam Bam would hopefully be the first to encounter Garcia Flynn should Berkman be his intended target and by trailing Frick, Rufus would be able to join Wyatt when Frick finished his lunch and returned to his office. Rufus, therefore, would be there to keep Wyatt in check, should he need it.
Wyatt sat down in the large paneled lobby outside of Henry Clay's Frick's office. Pretending to read a paper, he glanced warily at the other individuals in the waiting room. He tapped his foot nervously, anxious lest Bam Bam take out Flynn before he had a chance to question him, before he could force him to admit what he had done in 1963 to change the timeline. After looking at the paper for about fifteen minutes or so, Wyatt began pacing fitfully in the lobby, glancing nervously at the clock and matching it to the time on his own pocket watch. Where the hell was everyone?
Just as he was about to storm out and find Rufus, a formidable looking bearded gentleman came barreling through the doors, followed not by Rufus, but by Garcia Flynn himself. Had Flynn been looking straight ahead, there would have been no way that he would have missed Wyatt. As it was, Flynn was chatting with Frick and had his eyes turned towards the businessman rather than at his surroundings. Turning quickly to hide his face, Wyatt watched out of the corner of his eye as a smiling Flynn charmed his way into the office of one of the most notorious members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. They were both soon joined by another man whom Wyatt knew from his reading was John Leishman who had also been a member of that damned Rittenhouse Country Club.
Seeing them all together, sent a wave of fury through Wyatt's system. His eyes narrowed and his fingers twitched as he watched the office door click shut behind the three men. He slowly and purposefully made his way towards the office when Rufus came rushing in breathlessly asd skidded to a halt beside Wyatt, "Did you see Flynn?" he panted.
Wyatt scoffed irritably, "Yeah, that sonofabitch just walked in here with Frick." He reached into his coat for his gun as he growled out, "I was just about to –"
"You were just about to what, Wyatt?" Rufus asked with a meaningful glare.
Wyatt closed his eyes and heaved out a sigh, "I can't have Flynn killing Frick now, can I?"
"I thought you said Flynn was here to kill Berkman?" Rufus spat back, unconvinced. "Besides, I don't hear any sounds of distress in there." he added, tilting his head towards the door.
"So we're just gonna let Flynn get away again? Is that it?" Wyatt spat out. "He's right there, Rufus. All I have to do is go in there and grab that sonofabitch and make him talk."
"And what happens when he tells you…if he tells you what happened in 1963? Huh?"
Wyatt bit his lip and shook his head angrily.
Rufus nodded slowly as he looked at Wyatt with concern. "You know, if Flynn had killed Jiya, there wouldn't be anything in this world that I would want more than to make him pay for what he had done." Furious tears sprang to Wyatt's eyes as he clenched them shut. "But that's not who I am…and Wyatt, it's not who you are either."
Wyatt cursed under his breath and stalked away from the door of Frick's office angry at Rufus for being so damned dead on in his observations. Of course, it was easy for him to talk in hypotheticals…he hadn't actually lost Jiya. She was safe. She was alive. She hadn't been carrying his child before she was senselessly murdered by a psychopathic mad man and a bunch of elitist Rittenhouse dicks. Hate and rage coursed through Wyatt's veins in a way he had never known before. He knew Rufus was right. He knew he had to get a rein on his emotions or he was going to end up no better than that murdering sonofabitch Garcia Flynn….but right at that moment he didn't care. Three of the people responsible for Lucy's death were sitting just beyond that door and Wyatt wanted nothing more than to make each and every one of them feel just a fraction of the pain he was feeling.
He paced like a caged animal up and down the hallway beyond Frick's office, fighting an inward battle. How he wanted to burst through that door and make them all pay…how he wanted to torture Flynn until he talked and then revel in the satisfaction that he would trade Flynn's life for Lucy's…but that thought made him pause.
How could he ever face her if he became a cold-blooded killer? Hell, how could he face her if she found out he had disrupted history in such a way by murdering Henry Clay Frick and John Leishman? He chuckled miserably through his tears as he thought about what she would say to him for doing something so reckless.
He missed her so much it hurt.
He buried his face in his hands as he tried to stop the strong impulses coursing through his veins, screaming at him to take revenge. He was better than this…he knew it…but the hate he felt towards the men just beyond that door down the hall, was more than he had ever felt towards anyone in his entire life. He was so focused on his own inner turmoil that it took Rufus physically grabbing his arm and pulling him towards Frick's office to bring him back to his senses. "Wyatt! Um…if you want to get in that office, now is a time to do it!"
Snapping to attention, Wyatt raced down the hall back to where he could see Bam Bam battling it out in hand to hand combat with Garcia Flynn. A bloodied Henry Clay Frick was desperately trying to crawl away from a crazed Alexander Berkman who was now brandishing a file at both him and John Leishman. Wyatt crashed into the scene, gun drawn an immobilized Berkman with one shot to the leg and one blow to the head. He kicked away his file and the .38 that he had dropped throwing him roughly to the corner of the office, unconscious. Frick and Leishman breathed out their thanks, but in that moment Wyatt's hate for them returned full force. He stood there staring at them…rich, powerful jackasses who never took responsibility for the over 4000 lives they took, all so they could have a place to fish and swim. Flashes of the dead he saw in Johnstown flitted through his mind, Lucy's broken and bloodied body lying lifeless underneath that tree and it was all too much to take in. With tears of rage falling down his face, Wyatt shakily pointed his gun at the two of them.
'Wyatt…what the hell are you doing?" Rufus gritted out desperately as Bam Bam continued to battle with Flynn in the corridor.
"They killed her Rufus…Flynn would never have blown that dam if they would have just listened to the engineer. If they would've fixed it, she never would have died."
"Wyatt!" Rufus yelled as he pulled his free arm. "C'mon man, this is not who you are. You are not like Flynn."
Wyatt's hands shook as he wrenched his arm out of Rufus' grip and held his gun in both hands staring at the Rittenhouse assholes who had basically ignored every warning, every concern about the dam and got away with it. This wasn't just for Lucy, it was for all of those 4,000 plus dead.
"Wyatt, you do this, there's no going back." Rufus warned. "How do you think Lucy would feel if you murdered someone for her?"
"She's not here, is she, Rufus?" Wyatt spat out. "These assholes are as much to blame as Flynn."
"Killing them won't change anything Wyatt." Rufus said with a strained voice as he tightened his grip on Wyatt's arm. 'C'mon man, they're not worth it." he pleaded.
Once again, Wyatt was hit with an inner battle. As much as he wanted to pull that trigger…he couldn't…and it made him shake with fury. Fresh tears spilled out of his eyes as his knees nearly buckled from underneath him. Rufus, seeing Wyatt's slipping resolve, hugged him around the shoulders with one arm, and lowered his gun with another as Wyatt cried bitterly into his chest – ashamed for what he had almost done….or what he could not bring himself to do. Rufus waved to Henry Clay Frick and John Leishman who both breathed out sighs of relief as they sat frozen watching him pull a despondent Wyatt away from the office.
"You okay, man?" Rufus asked Wyatt as he gripped his shoulders.
But Wyatt wasn't listening to Rufus, he was suddenly aware that he wasn't seeing Flynn or Bam Bam and it caused a stab of panic to his heart.
Dammit.
He raced down to the Main Lobby, his eyes sweeping over every inch of the place in total desperation. There, next to the main door, was Bam Bam, bruised, bleeding and breathing heavily. Wyatt was next to him in an instant, "Where's Flynn?" he demanded with a growl.
Grimacing, Bam Bam pointed towards the doors, "He just ran out."
Not even stopping to check Bam Bam for injuries, Wyatt raced out of the doors and out onto the streets of downtown Pittsburgh ignoring Rufus's pleas to remember what Agent Christopher had said.
Desperately searching the bustling street, Wyatt's head was on a swivel looking for anyone who even resembled the psychopathic mad man. He had almost given up hope of finding him when he suddenly saw Flynn limping off to his left towards the Monongahela River. Wyatt aimed his gun, zoning in on a shot that would incapacitate Flynn when the sonofabitch turned his head, saw Wyatt, and took off like a shot down the street. Wyatt sprinted after him as fast as his legs could carry him, dodging carriages, horses, and street cars as he pelted his way down the streets of 19th century Pittsburgh.
Flynn had just reached the Hot Metal Bridge when Wyatt felled him with a shot to the leg. His face twisted in pain, Flynn crawled to the nearest post on the bridge and propped himself up to look at Wyatt who had his gun pointed directly at Flynn's chest. "Are you going to shoot me Wyatt?" he asked with a wry smile. "As you see, I'm unarmed. Your newest team member saw to that."
Wyatt clenched his jaw as he worked to control the fury in his voice, "Oh there's no doubt I'm going to kill you, you sonofabitch…but first, you're going to tell me about Vegas 1963."
Flynn gave him a curious look, "Now that is an odd request. If you weren't clever enough to figure it out then, why does it matter now?"
"Don't play games with me, Flynn. What the hell did you do in Vegas 1963?"
Flynn shook his head, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you quite so tense before." He studied him for a moment, before his eyes widened in understanding, "I was sorry to hear about Lucy."
Wyatt cursed at him as his hands shook, "Don't you dare talk to me about Lucy, you asshole. You killed her."
"I warned her." Flynn disputed. "I told her countless times not to interfere."
"So you think she deserved it?" Wyatt gritted out as tears formed in his eyes. "You think she deserved to die in that flood?"
Flynn jutted out his chin and studied Wyatt with narrowed eyes, "You're a soldier, aren't you? You know as well as I do that there are casualties in war. We may not like it…but those are the rules of the game."
"Except this isn't a game." Wyatt yelled out, "These are people's lives…this was Lucy's life…and you took it away just to prove a damn point."
Flynn sneered at him, "Well, you have a chance to end everything now. You can shoot me and Rittenhouse will have free rein to do whatever the hell they want to do." He chuckled softly as he looked at Wyatt through narrowed eyes, "You think I'm bad? Wait until you see what they will do with the time machine."
"I don't give a damn about Rittenhouse." Wyatt growled as he moved closer to Flynn.
"Unwise" Flynn said "That was Lucy's problem too. She refused to see that they are the real villains here, not me."
"Don't you say another word about her." Wyatt spat out in fury.
Flynn nodded in what Wyatt surmised as mock sympathy, "I see. She meant something to you?" He leaned forward and whispered harshly to Wyatt, "Now you know how I feel. When they murdered my family."
"And you murdered Lucy." Wyatt whispered dangerously as he pressed the gun into Garcia Flynn's chest and gripped onto his shirt front. "So tell me, asshole," Wyatt continued as he lifted him Flynn the ground and pressed his back against the bridge rail, "tell me what you did and I may think about letting you live."
Flynn smiled at him maliciously, "You should have shot me when you had the chance." In one quick move, Flynn knocked Wyatt's gun out of his hands and gripped him by the throat, turned quickly and slammed him into the bridge post. Despite injured leg, Flynn threw all of his weight against Wyatt as he pummeled him with punch after punch to his face and body.
Having not eaten in several days, Wyatt was weaker than he normally would be on a mission and every blow Flynn delivered seemed to sap him of the little strength he had left. He had failed. Flynn now had the upper hand, he had no gun, no way of making him talk. It was not going to end like this. It couldn't. Wyatt mustered up the rest of his strength and gripped Flynn around the throat, the two men, choking each other and leaning dangerously over the bridge railing.
"I'm going to kill you, Wyatt." Flynn gritted out angrily as pushed Wyatt further over the railing.
"Go ahead," Wyatt gasped. "Put me out of misery." He gripped hard onto Flynn's neck as he pressed his foot up against the lamp post readying himself to push them both over the rail into the churning water below, "But if I'm gonna go, I'm taking you with me, asshole."
BANG.
A deafening shot rang out as Wyatt felt the full weight of Garcia Flynn slump down on him. He looked up in shock to see Bam Bam standing just to the right of him, lowering a smoking gun and Rufus standing nearby, his mouth wide in disbelief.
"What the hell did you do?!" Wyatt shouted at him in anger as he pushed Flynn away from him.
"I just saved your life, Wyatt." Bam Bam said seriously. "What the hell were you doing?"
Wyatt didn't answer him. Garcia Flynn lay on the bridge path, unconscious and bleeding. Wyatt crouched down beside him frantically searching for a pulse. "C'mon, c'mon you bastard." He gritted out through tears of rage. He pushed himself off the ground in a fury and made a dive towards Bam Bam only to be held back by Rufus. "Damn you, Bam Bam!"
Wyatt cursed as his tears spilled out onto his flushed cheeks. It was all over. There was nothing he could do.
Garcia Flynn was dead.