Norman, Silver, Purple, Gaby, and any others you don't recognize are mine.
Rated PG-13 : Harsh language; violence; strong sexual references.
Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one.
The meeting was over, finally. Wes stood with the others and started out, his eyes on Eric's back. He followed until they were away from the crowd and then caught up, reaching to tap Eric's blue-uniformed shoulder.
"Wes. What's up?" His face was as unrevealing as usual, only a very faint smile showing emotion.
"I need to talk to you."
"Talk away." They turned, starting down the suddenly empty hallway together. Unexpectedly reluctant, Wes hesitated. Eric looked at him, a trace of amusement on his face now. "Well?" he asked, with just a hint of sarcasm. "I don't have all day."
"Dad told me something." Wes paused again.
"And what was that?"
"He said... He said you and Jen are seeing each other."
Eric definitely smiled this time, an amused and somehow hostile smile. "Seeing each other. I guess that's one way of putting it."
"You mean... it's true? You're going out with Jen?" Wes stopped walking to stare in shock.
"We stay in more than we go out."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do I have to spell it out?" He smiled again.
"Yes! Are you dating Jen or not?"
"Dating? Not exactly."
"Then what, exactly?"
"We don't really have what you'd call a relationship. At least not as far as I'm concerned." Eric leaned closer, his smile widening. "But she's a great lay."
Wes glared speechlessly for a moment before bursting out, "You bastard! You don't even care about her!"
Eric shrugged. "Hey, we both know it can't last. Why not have some fun in the meantime?" He turned away, starting for his office again.
Wes took a step and grabbed his arm, seeing anger flare in his eyes as he turned back. "How could you do it? Both of you! You know how I feel about Jen!"
Eric pulled his arm away. "And I'm supposed to care exactly why?" He looked Wes up and down insolently.
"I thought... I thought we were friends!"
"Think again."
"You... you acted like my friend. All the times we hung out. The things we talked about. I even invited you to my house!"
"Yeah, well, that gave me the chance to get closer to your father. And it's paid off." Again that tight, contemptuous smile. "You're a fool, Wes. Why would I waste my time on you?"
Wes took a step back, a sensation of unreality sweeping over him. "I can't believe this..."
"Face it. You're useless to me, to Jen, to your father." His smile was malevolent, vicious. "I've always had to do the hard work while you coasted along. Well, I'm sick of it. I want everything you have. Bio-Lab, your dad's respect. Your girl." Eric took a step closer, jerking a thumb at his own chest, his face darkening with something close to hatred. "I deserve it. I'm going to get it. And you can't stop me."
"No! You can't have Jen!"
"But I already have her. Ask her yourself." He sneered, glaring, for a moment before turning and walking quickly away, leaving Wes standing alone in the hallway.
"State your name for the court."
"Wesley Collins." His eyes met Jen's, his face calm and controlled. Jen watched him through a blur of tears.
"Did the prisoner discuss her plans with you, the night before she was supposed to return to her own time?"
"Yes, sir, she did."
"Please summarize that discussion for the court."
His expression softened slightly. "She didn't want to go. We talked about it. About what might happen if she stayed. History would change. Just her presence in my time would have an effect. And it would be worse if we got married, had children. If she prevented me from marrying someone else."
"And did the two of you reach a decision?"
"Not exactly. I told her she had to go. That we couldn't do all that damage to her time -- this time -- just to please ourselves. But she wouldn't listen."
"Wes, no... That's not right..." Jen whispered.
"I'm sorry, but it's true. I was surprised. Jen always seemed so responsible. So dedicated. I was shocked when she said she was staying."
"What did you do?"
Wes shrugged, a hint of a smile lifting his lips. "She wanted to give up everything, for me. What could I do? I agreed, although I didn't really want to. I got money from my father. Took her away. We kept moving. But after a few months they found us."
"What happened then?"
"They cornered us in a motel room. All of them. Alex, Lucas, Katie, Trip, even Eric. Jen wanted to fight, but I said we had done enough damage already, we couldn't hurt our friends when they were just doing their jobs."
"So you surrendered."
"Yes, sir. We gave up. They brought us here."
"Can you give us further insight? Any reason why the court should show mercy?"
Wes raised his chin, gazing at Jen steadily. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks as he answered. "No. She betrayed everything she said she believed in. I felt betrayed too." He paused, his mouth drawing into a thin line. "To tell the truth, I don't love her anymore."
Through the numbness of misery, Jen watched him descend from the stand and return to his seat next to Alex, not even sparing her a glance. The judges murmured together for a moment, before turning back to face her. She raised her hands to wipe her wet face, wincing as the handcuffs shifted on her wrists and the chain between them rattled.
A glint of light caught her eye. A ring, its facets flashing, glimmering in sparks of color. It was on the third finger of her left hand. The ring Alex had given her. Only -- no, it was a different ring, from a different man. She stared at it, some forgotten part of her mind insisting it was important, it was real, more real than...
"Does the prisoner have anything to add in her own defense?" The voice boomed at her, distracting her. Her hands dropped back down, the ring forgotten.
Jen straightened her back. She might be disgraced, but at least she could show some courage and dignity now. "All I can say is that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know I did wrong. I have no excuse, no explanation. All I have is regrets."
"Are you ready for sentencing?"
"Yes, Judge, I'm ready."
"You know what you've done." The voice was low and hostile. "You betrayed Time Force. Deserted the people of your own time. Cheated on your fiancé. Risked altering history. And all for love." The word sounded like a curse.
There was a brief pause before the voice began again, now cool and impersonal again. "The prisoner is accused of tampering with the timestream for her own selfish purposes. Accused of being a traitor to Time Force, to the oath she swore as an officer, and to her fiancé, the man she said she loved." He paused. "What is the judgment of this court?"
"Guilty."
"Guilty."
"Guilty!"
"The prisoner has been found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison, alongside Ransik, Conwing, and Steelix, the worst temporal criminals in history. Take her away."
"No..." Jen cringed back as the guards closed in on her, grabbing her arms and dragging her away, into the dark, blind, helpless and alone, pulling her roughly along to an unknown but terrifying fate.
The clock tower. Wes parked his motorcycle, got off and stood for a few moments, looking up. The building was so familiar, rising above him, the huge clock face staring out over the city in the sunlight. He smiled, then blinked in surprise.
Something seemed... not entirely right. A flash of memory came to him. The clock face, broken, shattered, pieces of glass flying around him... A great burst of flame and noise, the tower burning, a pile of ruins and ashes...
But there it was, still standing, everything perfectly normal. He shook his head in bewilderment before walking into the 'Nick of Time' shop door.
"May I help... Wes! Hey, great to see you!" Trip was behind the counter, putting a book down and jumping off his stool, a big grin on his face.
"Trip! Man, it's good to see you, too." Wes stepped forward to meet him, as he came around the counter, shaking hands enthusiastically.
"So -- what are you doing here?"
Wes's smile faded. "I want to talk to Jen. Is she here?"
Trip's face sobered too. "Well, yeah. But I don't think she wants to see you."
"What do you mean? Why not?"
"You know Jen. She's always busy. She doesn't have time to hang out."
"I'm not here to waste her time. But I'm going to talk to her."
"Wes..." Trip blocked his way as he started for the back of the shop and the stairs.
Wes looked at him in surprise. "Trip, what are you doing?"
"Trying to stop you from making a mistake."
"I'm going up." Wes gave him a hard look, and started forward again.
Trip stood aside with a sigh. "Okay, it's your funeral. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Wes trotted up the stairs, feeling a moment of almost overwhelming nostalgia, as if he hadn't been there for years. But of course that was silly. He shook the thought away as he emerged from the stairwell and walked out into the main room. It was all exactly as he expected, a large, dusty space, dimly lit by the sun's rays slanting through tall, stone framed windows. He glanced up to see the clock bell, hung from the ceiling. Again an image came to him, the bell falling...
But then he saw Jen, sitting at the display screen, interfaced with Circuit. The owl-like computer turned its head and blinked at him. She was researching something, as usual, concentrating on her work. Katie was in the main living area, sweeping up. Lucas was sprawled on the sofa, watching television. Wes nodded to them, ignoring their lack of welcoming smiles, and approached Jen.
"Wes!" She seemed surprised, and not pleased, as she looked up. "What are you doing here?"
"No hello?" Wes smiled, pulling up another chair and sitting.
"Sorry, I'm kind of busy." She glanced at the screen again, and then shut it off rather reluctantly and faced him. "Hello. What do you want?"
"Jen... I want to talk to you."
"Now? Can't it wait?"
"No. I need to talk. Now."
She studied his face, seeming about to refuse but apparently finding something there to change her mind. She frowned, and called, "Lucas, Katie, would you excuse us?" Lucas got up, and both of them headed for the stairs, giving Wes distinctly unfriendly glances as they went by.
"All right," Jen said as soon as their footsteps faded. "What is it?"
"It's... I had a talk with my dad. And with Eric." He was unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"With Eric? What about?"
"About you, actually."
"Ah." Jen leaned back, folding her arms. "I suppose I can guess what you said. You wanted to know if we're together. If we're seeing each other."
"Yes. And he told me." Wes watched her face for any trace of embarrassment, shame, even discomfort, and only found a small, almost smug smile.
"Yes, I'm seeing Eric. Why not?" Her smile deepened.
"But I thought... you and me..."
She shrugged slightly. "We went out a few times. So what? I'm free to date whoever I want."
"He said you're... seeing a lot of each other. Only he didn't put it like that."
"Yes, we're sleeping together. Not that it's any of your business."
"Jen..." Agitated, angry, he stood up. "I love you. You know I do. How could you do this?"
"What do you mean, how? I don't owe you anything."
Anger came, stronger now. Hot words burst from him. "You don't owe me? Who fixed you up in this tower? Gave you the chance to open that odd job shop and earn a living? You'd still be living on the damn beach if not for me!"
She jumped up to confront him, face to face. "Yeah, a dusty, dirty old clock tower! Not exactly luxury! Thanks a lot!"
"It's the best I could do! A lot better than nothing!"
"And I suppose you expect me to jump in bed with you, out of gratitude!"
"What?" Wes stopped, chilled at the expression of fury on her face. The face that should have been smiling, should have looked at him with love... He could almost see it... "This is wrong," he muttered. "It's all wrong..."
"This is the way it is," she said, her voice low and hard. "We don't need you. I don't want you. I'm sleeping with Eric, and I like it. And there's nothing you can do about it."
"Maybe." Wes heard his own voice, just as hard, determination squaring his shoulders. "Eric doesn't care about you. He's just using you. All he wants is sex."
"You're lying. You'd say anything to split us up."
"Maybe I would. But it's true. And I'm going to make him tell you the truth."
"Go ahead." She crossed her arms. "Try it. See what happens."
"Yeah, we'll see." With a last glare, he turned away and headed for the stairs, holding back his feelings, the tears that wanted to flow, until he reached the bottom.
"Wes."
He looked up, seeing all three of them, Lucas, Katie, and Trip, standing in his way in the small shop office. It was Lucas who had spoken, standing in front of the other two, his face unfriendly.
"Lucas. What is it?"
"You shouldn't have come here. You know you're not part of the team. Don't make trouble for Jen."
"I'm trying to help her!"
"Are you?" It was Katie who asked the question, stepping up beside Lucas. "Or do you just want her for yourself?"
"I want her to be happy. If Eric really cared for her..."
"You'd still be trying to break them up. Leave her alone."
"No!" He took a step forward. "After all I've done for you. You're all ungrateful jerks."
"And what about you?" Trip asked softly. "Only thinking about yourself..."
"Are you going to get out of my way?"
Lucas stared at him coldly, then stepped aside. After another long moment, Katie moved also, her face hard. Wes started forward, pausing long enough for Trip to give him a long look before turning to give him room. In another moment he was on his motorcycle, speeding away as fast as he could.
Eric watched the ground stream below him grimly, as he flew above stretches of forest, an expanse of trees giving way to slopes dotted with rocks and bushes. Raising the morpher on his left wrist, he spoke into it. "Highlight it for me."
"Highlighting location of red and pink morphers." The morpher didn't exactly talk to him, its 'voice' spoke only inside his head.
He frowned inside his helmet, trying to keep track of where he was, his mind slipping back to less than half an hour earlier. Steve Miller's call had shaken him up. Wes and Jen, missing. His fault, he couldn't help feeling. His fault for leaving them to fight Norman Ryder alone. It had seemed like a reasonable decision at the time, but look how it had turned out. And now... he had been forced to leave Gaby in a motel in Canela Beach, alone. She would leave in the morning, and keep moving. But still...
Concentrate on the problem at hand. Finding Wes and Jen would mean finding Norman. With Norman eliminated, Gaby would be safe. Find them -- hope they were all right. He blinked, startled out of his thoughts, as a targeting display lit up in his helmet visor.
"Both of the morphers are there?"
"The red and pink morphers are at the displayed location. Neither is active."
Not active. That might be bad. If Wes and Jen weren't morphed, they probably weren't fighting. Not anymore. Eric felt his jaw clench. If only he had been here, maybe he would have realized they were missing earlier. Maybe he could have prevented whatever had happened.
It took him perhaps a minute to find a landing spot and leave his flyer. Another couple of seconds to demorph. Then his cell phone was out and pressed to his ear.
"Steve?"
"Yes, sir. Have you located them?"
"Yes." Eric looked upwards. He was deep in the hills surrounding the city, looking at the entrance to one of the silver mines that had given Silver Hills its name. The first major one, if he remembered his rather patchy knowledge of local history. "I'm at the old Hillside silver mine. Both of their morphers are inside."
"Got it. We're ready to move out."
"Good." He turned to look out at the city skyline, visible beyond the forest. "Get here as soon as you can, but don't move in until I contact you. I'm going to try to get Wes and Jen out." And try to take care of Norman before any Guardians had to risk their lives.
Steve's voice held just a touch of reluctance as he responded, "Yes, sir."
Eric hung up, morphed again, and climbed up the slope. In a few seconds he was standing in the mine entrance, seeing footprints. Several, going in and out. Two sets going in, one of them the only woman-sized prints, were fresher than the others. With a deep breath, he faced the darkness and stepped inside.
TBC...
