Parallelogram : Day Two : Chapter 61
Five Days, Ten Hours, Twenty Minutes
"It wants to talk to you," Colonel McGinty announced, looking at Frank Parker. The chrononaut sat quietly at the table, reviewing the small cache of papers Bruce Hammett had placed in front of him on the recent activities of Senator Arthur Pendley. He closed the file and stood.
"What's Larry want now?" Parker asked, rising and walking over to where the man waited.
"Like I said," the man tried, "it's asking for you." He crossed his arms and stood looking through the glass port into the isolation chamber. The alien was seated on the cot. Its eyes were quizzically discovering every corner of the room in which it sat, waiting patiently for what was to come next. "The Mallathorn says ... Larnord said that the mission here is complete, and it'll be returned home now."
Surprised, Parker opened his eyes. "No kidding?"
"No."
He watched as the being's tentacles slowly lifted once more, swirling gently in the air about its head, and then they relaxed – dropping like a brick – and slapped the skin around its small shoulders.
"Then I guess I'd better say goodbye."
"Frank," McGinty said, leaning close to the younger man, "you can't let Larnord leave this world. It brought us the gift of time travel after your ... well, after your untimely death. Your act of courage sacrificed yourself and the Sphere ... and Larnord gave us the ability to restart the BackStep Program with fresh technology. The President ... the government ... hell, the world owes the Mallathorn a debt of gratitude, but ..."
"But that doesn't extend to allowing him to leave now that he's concluded his mission, colonel?" Parker asked abruptly, cutting the man off in mid-sentence.
The two stood their ground, refusing to give the other any high ground in the argument.
Finally, Parker offered, "Colonel, the truth to the matter is that I don't even belong here ... in this world ... in your timeline." Pointing at the window, he asked, "How can you expect me to go in there and tell Larry that it's his duty to stay?"
The man tried to summon the logic, but, after struggling to find his words for several minutes, he shrugged.
"Let the little guy have his peace," Parker concluded. "It's the least we can do."
The door swung open, and Parker reached up, pulling the clasps on the helmet toggle, and yanked the fishbowl off his head. Lowering it to his side, he brought one hand up and tussled his hair.
"You know," he told the Mallathorn, "I'm really not going to miss this suit ... once I get back to my own timeline."
"I do not know that that will be possible, Frank."
Walking easily over to the cot, the chrononaut sat down beside the alien being. "Larry, you know that, in my own timeline, I have a pretty consistent track record at doing the impossible. If you want to keep playing this word games, okay. I'll let you have this last one. But, somehow or other, I'm going home."
"We all go home, Frank," Larnord told him. "Sometimes, going home is all we can do in order to put our lives back in order."
"I'll give you a big 'amen' to that, Larry."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Never mind."
The creature again lifted its tentacles, a gesture Parker had come to know as showing its confusion with his phrases, his words, his terms.
"The colonel says that you're taking off?"
"Yes, Frank. It is time for me to leave."
Pursing his lips, Parker nodded. "Larry, the colonel has reminded me of my obligation to the United States government. They do sign my paycheck, after all ... so, given what's happened, I'm only going to ask you if it's absolutely necessary that you leave, and I'll accept whatever answer you give to me. Okay?"
"I have to leave," it said. "My mission here was solely to create this timeline – to re-order the events as I've done – and to bring you here. Now that I'm certain you've arrived, I know that I can leave this world in your capable hands."
"My capable hands?" Parker cocked an eyebrow at small creature. "But I thought you said that this timeline was destined to be destroyed? Earlier, you made it sound as though there was nothing that I could do."
The Mallathorn smiled. "I only acknowledge that you have stated your intentions to prove my foundation as incorrect, Frank. This timeline – as all timelines inevitably do – will end. When will it end? You have taken me to task, so I will show you the same courtesy you afforded me in listening, in compassion, and in understanding."
The chrononaut reached out and placed his hand on Larnord's nearest shoulder. "Thank you," he said.
"Thank you, Frank," it replied, "for making me believe in your species once more."
McGinty and Hammett stood waiting outside the isolation chamber. They watched as the being craned its neck, drifted into midair, and whispered something into Parker's ear. The man – with no expression – nodded, and then he placed his helmet back on his head, latched it back into place, and walked from the cot.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Hammett asked.
Shrugging, McGinty offered, "Who can tell? Maybe it's just passing advice from one weary time traveler to another. They're kindred spirits, I suppose." As the hydraulics to the chamber's door sounded, the colonel concluded, "I suppose we'll never know what was said."
The heavy door creaked mechanically as Parker pushed it open. Hammett stepped up and took the nearest arm, and he tugged on it, helping the man out. The chrononaut stepped into their room, and, together, the two men heaved the mighty door closed. Once it latched electronically, the three faced one another.
"Mr. Hammett," Parker announced, "thanks for the behind-the-scenes tour of the Pentagon. It's nice to see that all those tax dollars didn't go to waste. Sorry about the mess in your library, but I'm not the one with the brain powers. You can take it out of Larnord's allowance."
The director of security chuckled.
"Colonel," the young man finally said, "my time here is done. I think I need to get to the White House to find out what's gone on while I've been out of commission. And, sir? I'd like you to contact Director Talmadge. Let's regroup the entire BackStep team. Now that I know what the hell is going on here, let's put our heads together to find out what we can do to stop it."
END of Chapter 61
