CHAPTER 3
"We don't, Frank. The panel doesn't think this is worth a backstep," Bradley said, sadly. He glanced around the room again, his sweeping gaze greeted with a look of shock from Donovan to understanding from Ballard. Ramsey seemed indifferent; he never trusted Olga completely and held her background against her.
"If those guys blow up the dam, the whole southwestern United States will be in the dark, and the Colorado river will be a hell of a lot wider than it used to be," Parker argued, grabbing at anything that might get a backstep approved.
"I know. That's why the NSA feels it necessary to deal with this immediately and hopefully avoid the need for a backstep.
Parker looked to Bradley, pleading with his eyes. "Oh, come on, Bradley!"
"I'm sorry, Frank. We're sending a Griffin team out there now, but I'm afraid that's all we can do."
Parker slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and stormed from the room. Donovan looked to Bradley, both men knowing what Parker was going to do, but neither one was going to stop him.
"Thank God no one lives in Nevada," Parker muttered as he pushed the pedal to the metal, quickly red-lining the tachometer. Parker blinked a few times then rubbed his left eye with his fist.
"Must have sand in my eye," he mumbled, swiping at the rogue tear that had escaped. How was this different from any other time this job had put Olga's life in jeopardy?
"Well, if this gets screwed up, I can't fix it, that's how," Parker murmured angrily. He looked to his left at the desert whirring by, a blur of red and occasional green. Look, the reason I am the way I am with you… I haven't known a lot of women like you, who've got it going on upstairs, who look as good as you, and can give it back to me as good as I give it… It felt like he'd told her that only yesterday. He'd said it in one of the other time lines, on that perpetual day. Of course, he remembered it, but she didn't. Parker vowed to tell her as soon as this was all over. Dammit, he'd get her to write it down if that's what he had to do to keep it from being erased by a backstep.
Parker remember the rest of that never-ending day… Well, I could say I'm a big romantic, but that would be manipulative based on what I know, and what's already gone on. Or I could agree with you and try to impress you with my honesty, but that would also be manipulative based on what I know. So seeing how I'm damned-if-I-do, and damned-if-I-don't, and mostly just damned happy you're alive, I decided this one time to keep my mouth shut. Maybe this was a better course of action…Parker clenched the steering wheel tighter as he barreled down the deserted Nevada highway towards Lake Mead.
Olga sighed and adjusted her position on the ground in the shadow from the truck. Jay had picked up a rifle from the front seat of the truck cab and was now patrolling the road deck of the dam like a prison guard. Jim was sitting next to Olga in the shade. He was talking on and on about whatever came to mind, none of it connected to whatever was said prior. Jay stopped pacing as he spotted something glistening in the sun down at the Nevada side of the road deck.
"Jim, get the cell phone from the cab, will ya?" he asked. Jim jumped up, whacked his head on the truck, then stumbled over to the truck and retrieved the cell phone.
Bringing it over to Jay, he asked, "What's up?"
Jay nodded towards in the direction of the object he'd seen before.
"Ooooh…."
Jay waved the phone around in the air, trying to find an area where he could make the call. He punched in a number and waited. Bradley Talmadge picked up on the other end.
"Dr. Talmadge, I see you got our home video. I forgot to mention one thing. When I said we wanted Backstep secrets, I was hoping you'd either bring them yourself, or send Dr. Ballard. Not a griffin team. Now, if they come any closer, I will… well, you know." He hung up before Bradley could get a word out.
"Jim, etgay hetay riggertay," he said, enunciating each word slowly. Jim looked blankly at him. "GET THE TRIGGER!" he yelled, sending Jim running for the truck.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Olga asked, no longer bored. In fact, she was starting to get worried. Before, these two had seemed nothing more than bumbling idiots. Now, it seemed they meant business. Olga knew that no one would deliver the information the terrorists were demanding but she at least figured that a rescue attempt would be made. She was prepared for what might happen, though. It was part of the job. Bradley had an 'L' pill for situations like this. She looked around, not seeing anything.
"Well, it seems we have company," Jay said, walking over and kneeling next to her. "Do you see down there, that thing that randomly shines in the rocks?" he added, point to where he had pointed before. "That, my Commie Comrade, is the sun reflecting off of a gun. Or perhaps a belt buckle. But either way, it's a Griffin team. And they're unwelcome at our little party." He stood up and took a few steps closer to the Nevada side of the dam.
Jim came up along side Jay, carrying a small silver box with a few buttons and a switch on it. He handed the trigger to Jay.
"They've moved closer," Jay said, watching the Griffin team and absently taking the trigger from Jim. "They're on the road deck," he added.
Olga watched as Jay gave Jim the rifle and started running towards the Griffin team. All the color drained from her face as the Griffin team started shooting, filling Jay's body with lead. He stood for a moment, arms spread out, laughing and slightly gurgling. He brought his hands together and deftly flipped the switch on the trigger, then crashed to the cement.
"Ya lyublyu tebya, Frank," Olga whispered.
Parker stood next to the smoking car, angrily beating the roof and kicking the front tire.
"Damn American car," he grumbled, giving the tire one last kick. "They're not meant to be driven hard." He'd pushed the car too hard for too long and burned the engine out. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and sighed.
"It's only a 20 minute run from here. Piece of cake. Except that it's 100 degrees...in the shade," he said to no one. Hang in there, Olga he thought, looking at the long stretch of road in front of him. He turned around and kicked the tire again for good measure, then started running down Route 93.
Parker hadn't gone more than 100 feet when the explosion tore through the silence like a freight train through a china shop. The vibration shook the ground, causing Parker to trip and stumble a little. The thunder that accompanied the vibration sent chills up Parker's spine. He knew what had happened. He was too late.
A/N: "Ya lyublyu tebya" means "I love you". Whee! Please review guys. I like to know that people besides Edele are reading my stuff. Reviews make me happy :D
