Gaby, Gunn, Kane, Klezmi, and Silva are mine.
Rated PG-13 : sexuality; harsh language, strong violence.
Year: 2003
"God damn it. I should have killed him when I had the chance."
Wes sighed. He had heard the same thing from Eric so many times last night and today that he had lost count. "You did the right thing, at the time. And there's nothing we can do about it now," he answered, a little sharply. "We have to concentrate on finding Dad."
They were in Wes's office at Bio-Lab, Wes sitting at his desk while Eric paced restlessly. Wes frowned, remembering the incident to which Eric had referred. Conwing had been one of Ransik's soldiers, had helped him in his attempt to change history by preventing the creation of Time Force. He had kidnapped Eric, and tried to force him to release the voice lock on his morpher. The Rangers had found them just in time. Eric had defeated Conwing with their help, and come close to killing him, with Wes helping to talk him out of it. Now part of him regretted their idealism.
Eric stopped and stared at him. "It has to be soon. You remember what Conwing was like." The harsh lines of his face tightened before he turned away.
"I remember." Conwing had killed Commander Porter, the Silver Guardians' first leader, in cold blood. He had viciously beaten both Eric and Dr. Zaskin, and the Rangers had stopped him almost in the act of cutting Eric's throat. "He's a sadistic bastard." He clenched his jaw, hearing his voice tremble.
"Wes..." Eric was looking at him again, with a softer expression. "We'll find him. Don't give up."
Wes smiled wanly. "I won't."
"I checked with Gunn. He's got contacts. Maybe one of them will come up with something."
Daryl Gunn, the Bio-Lab internal security manager, had been unexpectedly helpful in similar situations in the past. Wes nodded. "Maybe. I hope so."
Eric began to pace again. "We should check that shack Conwing took Michael and me to."
"Right. And there's the warehouse Steelix and Frax used. He might be familiar with that too."
"What's the address? I'll check them myself."
Wes told him. "Call me if you find anything. I'm going to visit Dr. Zaskin. Maybe he'll remember something else."
They both looked up at a knock on the door. When it opened, Eric stiffened slightly. Wes hid his own impatience at the interruption. William Kane, tall, blond, and imposing, stopped just inside the room, smiling as his black eyes rested on Eric for a moment and then focused on Wes.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "I was wondering if there's any news, and if there's anything I can do to help."
"There's nothing new yet," Wes answered. "Thanks for the offer."
"If you need me to handle anything for you, just let me know."
"I will. Thanks again."
"There are some important issues coming up at the next board meeting, including the merger plans. If you want any help, or any background on Geneco, I'm available."
"Thanks. I'll let you know."
Kane and Eric stared at each other for a moment. Then with a nod, Kane turned back to the door. "I don't want to take any more of your time. Good luck." He left, closing the door behind him.
"Jerk."
"He was trying to be helpful."
"Maybe. He's still a jerk." Eric started for the door. "See you later."
Wes rested his head on his hand, trying to think. How had Conwing gotten out of prison in the future? How had he gotten back to 2003? Perhaps most important, what did he want? Maybe all he was after was money, this time. Or maybe not.
He sighed again, and stood up. There was nothing much he could do except wait. Visiting Michael Zaskin again was a long shot, but it was the only thing he could think of.
Wes walked out through the entranceway doors and headed into the parking lot, blinking for a moment in the late afternoon sun. He stopped and looked around as he heard his name. Steve Miller was hurrying toward him.
"Wes! Any news yet?"
"No. Nothing so far. Have the police come up with anything?"
"Nothing. They're looking. Doing everything they can."
"I know." He smiled and patted Miller's shoulder. "I'm heading for the hospital. Be back later."
They had reached Wes's car. As he stuck a hand in his pocket for his keys, Wes noticed a folded piece of paper tucked under one of the windshield wipers. With an angry thought about the inappropriateness of getting a ticket -- or perhaps an advertisement -- at a time like this, Wes grabbed it. He stopped to open it and glance at the writing.
"What is it, sir?" Miller asked.
"Nothing," Wes said. "Just an ad."
"Well, I'll see you later."
"Right." Wes watched him until he was a few yards away. Then he returned his attention to the note, reading it more slowly this time.
"If you wish to see your father alive again, come alone to the phone booth on South Silver Highway, two miles west of the city limits, at sunset tonight. We will discuss terms of a ransom. No police, no Silver Guardians, no Quantum Ranger, unless you want your father to die."
Wes refolded it and crumpled it in his hand, thinking uneasily that he should tell Eric, or Miller. He was fully aware that it could be a trap, but he had to take the chance, and Eric would never let him do it. He had gone up against mutants alone before, and now he was more experienced. He should be a match for Conwing. And he could always call for help on his morpher, if necessary.
The sun was beginning to set, the sky a mass of red and violet-tinted clouds as Eric parked at Silver Hills Hospital. He wanted to make a quick visit before going back to Bio-Lab. The hospital staff had learned from experience not to delay him, and soon he was knocking on Zaskin's door. He stepped inside to find Bio-Lab's chief scientist looking much better than the night before, his wife again sitting by his side.
"Michael. Mrs. Zaskin," he greeted them. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, thanks. The doctors say I'm doing very well."
"He can go home tomorrow," Mrs. Zaskin said, smiling.
"That's good." Eric smiled absently.
"Any news about Alan?" Zaskin asked.
"No. Not yet. But we'll find him."
"I hope so. The thought of him with Conwing..."
Eric felt that nervous urge to pace again. The same thoughts had been haunting him. "I know. But Conwing must want him alive for some reason, or he would have killed him right away."
With a frown Zaskin muttered, "I'm surprised he didn't kill me."
"Frankly, so am I."
"Do you think he wants money?"
Eric shrugged. "I don't know. I can't think of anything else he could be after."
Zaskin shuddered slightly. "God, when I saw him again -- it was terrifying." He looked up at Eric. "It must be hard on you too, knowing he's back."
"I got him before, and I'll do it again." Eric heard the harshness in his own voice. At least it covered the fear he felt at the thought of confronting that coldly brutal monster again.
"How's Wes taking it?" Zaskin asked.
"Wasn't he here earlier?"
Zaskin looked blank. "No. Was he supposed to come?"
"He said he was. Damn." Eric gave in, and paced the room briefly.
Zaskin watched him. "You look worried. Do you think something happened to him?"
"No..." he looked at Zaskin's anxious face. "He probably got a lead he wanted to follow up."
"I hope so."
"He was going to ask you if you remember anything else that might help us."
Zaskin looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. All I remember is Conwing attacking us. He didn't say anything."
"Did you see a vehicle?"
"No. Sorry."
Eric summoned a smile. "Don't worry. You've been a big help already." He stepped to the door and turned back with his hand on the knob. "I have to get going. Wes or I will visit again tomorrow."
"Let me know if anything happens."
"Yeah. See ya."
In a few moments Eric was striding across the parking lot. He was annoyed. If Wes had found out something, why hadn't he been in touch? He knew Eric was almost as worried as he was, that he would want to be in on any development. With a mental shrug he decided to check in with Steve Miller as soon as he could. If Wes had found something, he would certainly have left a message.
The Red Ranger pulled over to the side of the highway and stopped his vectorcycle. Wes took a few seconds to look around before dismounting. Even in the tension of the moment, he noticed the beauty of his surroundings, the darkening sky painted with the rusty colors of sunset, almost untouched land stretching out around him. The only signs of humanity were the highway and the phone booth where he had stopped. At this point the road cut through forest, the woods coming close to where he stood. He looked up and took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air.
There was movement. He looked intently. A small, one-person flyer was arcing through the sky, headed in his direction, hard to see in the dusky light. For a moment he thought it was Eric, in the TF Eagle, but it didn't look right. He peered more closely. It was coming right at him.
For another moment he hesitated, but his instincts were suddenly screaming. He started for the woods at a run just as the first energy blast stabbed down, striking the ground where he had been standing a moment before. He dodged, zigzagging into the trees, stopping underneath one to look upwards again.
For a moment he thought the flyer was gone, but then he saw it again, coming back in from the other direction. Another beam shot toward him, striking the tree sheltering him as he leaped away. An explosion threw him to the ground as a fireball burst from the tree trunk. He rolled onto his hands and knees and scrambled under another tree.
The flyer sailed away, rising into the sky again to loop back. As he watched, climbing back to his feet, noise and fire erupted around him again, flinging him down. As he pulled himself away, he saw that the tree over him had been struck, its branches bursting into fiery fragments. A second flyer shot overhead, sending another burst at him. He barely managed to avoid it.
The colors swirled around Jen as she tried to stay focused on her task, keeping the ship centered in the flux of energy and elemental time that was a timehole. She was lucky, the timestream was stable, and the ride was relatively smooth. In moments she shot out of the other end, over the familiar beach north of Silver Hills.
The ship was undamaged, and Jen had the luxury of picking a good landing place. She chose a spot hidden from the highway by a rise of land, where it looked like no one would come looking, especially before the warm weather. She set down the ship and turned off the engines, and sat, shivering with reaction, the tears starting again, the images coming back now that she was out of immediate danger.
"There's no time..." she murmured aloud. Suddenly filled with urgency, she unstrapped herself and got up. She needed to see Wes, needed to reassure herself that he was alive, and that Eric and Mr. Collins were alive. She activated the ship's scanner.
Eric paused for a moment as he passed Gaby's office door. He was tempted to go in, just for a moment, just to say hello and see if she was still angry. But she might not want to see him. He frowned unhappily. He had honestly tried to consider her feelings, tried in his way to be a gentleman, but it had come out all wrong. She had been insulted. Maybe it was all a mistake, he had been wrong to even try to start anything.
There was no time now to do anything about it. He was in a hurry. With a sigh he walked on, headed for Steve Miller's office. A few minutes later he was fidgeting impatiently in the doorway of Miller's office, watching him on the phone, knowing he was being rude but not particularly caring. Miller eyed him and quickly ended his conversation.
"Anything?" Eric asked.
"Nothing."
"Where's Wes? He was supposed to visit Dr. Zaskin, but he never showed up."
Miller looked puzzled. "That's strange. I saw him leaving earlier. Said he was going to the hospital."
"He didn't mention anything else? Somewhere else he might be going?"
"No." Miller hesitated. "Sir... There was a note on his car. I thought he looked strange when he read it, but he said it was nothing."
"One way to find out." Suddenly sure something was wrong, Eric raised his morpher. "Wes!" he called.
Wes got to his feet and ran as the first flyer came after him again. They were taking turns, buzzing him and firing, hitting the trees he tried to shelter under. Slowly they were driving him toward the edge of the forest. He circled, and stayed under cover, but they always seemed to be able to target him. He realized they must be using some kind of detectors.
His breathing was becoming loud in his helmet, his legs heavier. Already he was slowing down. Wes knew he couldn't keep this up for long. Desperately he looked around for better shelter. As he slid to the ground behind a large boulder, he raised his arm to call for help.
Even as he took a breath, he hesitated. If Eric came in the Eagle, it would be two against one, with Wes stuck on the ground, unable to help. He lowered his arm again, unwilling to buy his own life at the cost of Eric's. But in the next instant, the decision was taken out of his hands as his morpher bleeped.
Even as he heard Eric's voice call his name, another blast struck at the boulder, followed by a second as both flyers attacked. The rock cracked and began to crumble, sending fragments crashing down on him.
Eric was on his feet. He had heard an explosion, crashing, and a scream, in Wes's voice, that had sent a chill though him. "Morpher. Locate the Red Ranger!" he said, and waited for the telepathic response.
"The Red Ranger is located near South Silver Highway, approximately two miles west of the city."
"What is it?" Miller asked.
"He's in trouble." Eric whirled and ran for the door, raced down the corridors as fast as he could, and burst out of the building into the twilight.
"Quantum Power!" He hardly noticed the light and surge of power as he morphed. In another instant the Eagle was swooping down. Eric didn't even wait for it to land, he leaped up to meet it. In moments he was sweeping above the highway, scanning the ground below.
His pulse quickened as he spotted Wes's vectorcycle, parked at the side of the road. Almost at the same instant, he saw them, two flyers circling above the trees nearby like vultures, firing at the ground. He knew immediately who they were shooting at.
Eric sent the Eagle at them, already drawing the Quantum Defender. He knew his weapon stood little chance against two flyers equipped with larger blasters, but he also knew there was no way he was going to let them kill his friend without a fight.
Jen gave a thought to Alex, grateful that he had included new model Timeflyers in the timeship's cargo. These flyers were perfect for her mission, small, maneuverable, and equipped with blasters. They also could convert into vectorcycles and could be summoned with the morphers. There were five on board, obviously intended for herself, Alex, Lucas, Trip, and Katie. Enough for Wes, and Eric if he wanted one.
She had spotted something with her scanner almost at once. Mutant DNA and the signatures of Ranger morphers being activated. Gripped by the sense of urgency she had felt since she landed, she had unpacked and expanded one of the flyers; morphed -- feeling an unexpected thrill of nostalgia, enough to bring more tears to her eyes -- and taken off.
Now she had found them, and not a moment too soon, from the way things looked. She flew lower, straight at the three flyers. Two of them, the two her scanner showed contained mutant life signs, were attacking the third, which she recognized as the TF Eagle. She fired as soon as she was in range, striking them both before they could react to her arrival.
As she turned back for another run, she saw the Eagle bank and start an attack again. Together they exchanged intense fire with their enemies, looping higher into the sky. She could see the Eagle was outmatched by the fighter flyers, but Eric didn't back off. She tried to shield him with her better-armed aircraft.
The two other flyers suddenly rose above them and circled. She fired at them again, targeting one while Eric concentrated on the other. After a few more moments they turned sharply, climbed again, and sped off together.
Jen hesitated, tempted to pursue them, but the Eagle was descending, plunging into the trees. Eric might be hurt, or his flyer disabled. She followed, slowing and coming in low to spot the Eagle on the ground, the Quantum Ranger next to it, apparently unharmed. He looked up at her, then ran to a pile of rocky fragments. As she flew closer, she saw him bend over another red-suited form, just getting to his feet among the stones. Wes. She looked for a landing spot.
Eric and Wes moved closer together, staring up at her as she set down, Eric holding his weapon ready. Then she was on the ground, opening the top of the flyer, leaping out. She stood for a moment, just looking, seeing them stare back. She raised her morpher and tapped it, transforming back to her normal self in a flash of light.
"Jen?" Wes said hesitantly. He demorphed and started forward.
She ran, throwing herself into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. "Wes!" she choked. "Wes..." For the moment, it was enough, just to hold him again, and know he was alive. She felt his arms tight around her as he pressed his face into her neck.
"Hate to break this up, but... what the hell are you doing here? Not that I'm not grateful." Eric's voice reminded her of his presence, and she turned her head to see him demorphed, watching them with a slight smile. She let go of Wes, smiled back, and somewhat to her own surprise stepped up to him and hugged him too. After a moment, he patted her shoulders and then grasped them and moved her back.
"Now I know something's wrong," he said, his voice unexpectedly gentle.
"Yes," she said, wiping away the tears that had started again before going back to Wes's side. He put his arm around her, and she leaned against him thankfully. "Something's wrong. Everything's wrong."