The Secret

PART VII:

Rajesh was shocked and dumbfounded. He had only to look at Ian's face to see that he was hurting. He might try to put on a brave face but his emotions were clear to his friend. Rajesh had never known that Higgins had worked so closely with Ian's uncle, and from Ian's reaction to Higgins explanation, neither had he. He felt a surge of anger on his friend's behalf. He had always felt that Higgins was not trustworthy but had kept him on because Ian had wanted it. He looked over at Higgins again. He noticed that Higgins was bending over to fit that 'crucial' piece somewhere in the bottom of the machine. Though the gun was still in his hand, he was not paying them any attention. This was his chance. He nudged Ian, standing next to him, with his arm. And with a jerk of his head at Higgins, signalled to him what he had on his mind. "You take the gun," he mouthed. Ian got the message. At the other end of the wall, Quinn noticed that Rajesh was up to something and silently pointed it out to Remmy who stood next to him. He nodded in acknowledgement. Just as Rajesh and Ian were about to make their move, the basement door unexpectedly swung open. Everyone immediately turned around. The stocky figure standing there could be none other than Stephen Kingston. "I want to see this, how the original machine works." he told Higgins. The reply he got was only a grunt. After a moment Higgins turned around with a growl of frustration. "This isn't fitting in properly!" Kingston had taken a position against the wall where he could keep an eye on Higgins as well as the captives. He pointed to Wade. "You are small enough to crawl under and fit it in. Do it. Now!" Wade looked at him in apprehension and went forward to do as he said. As she bent under the mass of wires and pushed them out of the way, Higgins described to her how exactly she was to fit in the hexagonal piece. She suddenly gave a yelp of pain. She had pricked her finger on something. Kingston, who had been watching the sliders, was distracted. He turned towards the machine, walked a few steps toward it. Rajesh moved away from the wall slowly, not wanting to make any sudden moves to attract his attention. Ian followed and Quinn seeing him did the same from his end of the wall. They had a plan in their mind, Rajesh and Ian would jump Kingston and Quinn and Remmy would get Higgins. But they had to get rid of Higgins' gun first. With a two to one ratio they had a very good chance against their captors. But Kingston was only momentarily distracted. He saw their reflections in the dull metal of the machine and turned around. In a flash he had taken out a gun and was aiming at Rajesh and Ian. Quinn decided to take a chance and lunged at Higgins, going for the gun in his hand, Higgins was taken by surprise but still managed to retain a strong hold on the gun. There ensued a furious struggle. Kingston whirled around and tried to fire at Quinn, but Ian grabbed his hand and twisted it upward. He and Kingston fell to the ground when suddenly a shot rang out. There was absolute silence after the loud bang. Rajesh ran to the huddle on the floor, but Kingston stuck his leg out and tripped him. Rajesh fell on his face near Ian, and something wet seeped through his shirt. He looked in shock at the red stain on his chest. He didn't feel any pain, didn't think he had been hit. Then he looked at Ian lying on the floor and realised in horror that the blood came from him, a large pool was rapidly forming.

Wade had seen the pairs of feet approaching and as soon as Higgins turned around, rolled out from underneath and ran out to the side. When Kingston had fallen to the ground, one of the timers had fallen out of his coat and lay on the floor. She grabbed it and sprinted to the side. Higgins tried to fight Quinn, who had twisted his arm behind his back. Remmy kicked Kingston's gun away from where it lay on the ground and before he could get up and knocked him down again with a blow to the jaw when Kingston tried to rise once again. This time he sat down firmly on the man, trapping him under his somewhat considerable bulk.

Wade had just seen the blood and she was appalled. She saw the Professor come to help Rajesh with the wounded man, and Quinn struggling with Higgins. The professor called out to her. "Get help, now hurry, he's losing a lot of blood." She ran out of the basement, and rushed towards the library from where they had come. She was sure that she had seen a telephone there. She prayed as she ran, hoping that the number for the emergency service was 911 on this world too.

Quinn twisted Higgins's arm upwards, and tried to get him to drop the gun, but before he dropped it, one shot was fired. It didn't hit anyone, instead hit a light bulb above them, which burst with a loud noise.

Wade had just made her way up the stairs to the living room when she heard the gun shot. He heart jumped to her throat as she stopped in her tracks. Right after that came one more loud sound, like a small explosion. She stood for a moment, horrified, and then ran ahead with her heart thumping. There was nothing she could do even if she went back; hopefully no one had been hit. Her only hope was the police and an ambulance. She reached the library panting. She hadn't realised that it was at the other end of the house when they had come here. Skidding to a stop in front of the white instrument, she hurriedly lifted the receiver and punched in the numbers. To her relief the voice on other side said, "911, Emergency."

Higgins struggled in Quinn's grip, but to no avail. The other man was too strong for him, especially as his hands were twisted behind his back. . The professor found some rope lying on the side and was now helping Remmy tie up Kingston. Soon, both Kingston as well as Higgins were trussed up tight. Quinn left to see if Wade had called for an ambulance. The Professor and Rajesh were supporting Ian, who lay on the ground, his face white as a sheet, but still conscious. Rajesh looked anxiously at the door, waiting for help to arrive. If they didn't come soon, there was no telling what could happen. As it was, Ian had already lost a lot of blood. The bullet was embedded in his shoulder, but he couldn't tell if it had damaged any nerve or major blood vessel. He saw that Ian had a tight grip on the Professor's hand, refusing to let it go. Quinn climbed out of the basement in time to hear the wail of sirens as police cars and ambulances drew up at the door. He and Wade lead two attendants carrying a stretcher to the basement with the police right behind them.

PART VIII:

The sliders had been treated to a sumptuous lunch the next day, courtesy Rajesh. They were to slide right after and had decided to do it from Ian's hospital room, at his request. He had wanted to see what a vortex looked like. The bullet had not harmed anything major and he was on the road to recovery. Earlier that morning, Rajesh and Quinn and the Professor had worked on the sliding machine and with help from the Arturo of this world's recovered notes, had been able to figure out how it worked, using the piece that Higgins had had with him. It turned out to be a microchip of some kind. But, Ian and Rajesh had decided to put away the machine, at least for now, seeing the furore it had caused. "The world doesn't seem ready for it, not with men out there who want it for their own purposes." The police had arrested Higgins as well as Stephen Kingston. Ian had accepted that his uncle was dead, the last bit of hope extinguished after the confession Higgins made. Higgins had told everything to the police, as well as agreed to testify against Stephen Kingston.

The sliders filed into Ian's room silently, followed by Rajesh. He smiled and said in a stage whisper, "I know this is not visiting hours, but I've got connections." Ian had been reading a magazine. He shut it, motioning for them to close the blinds of the room and then shook hands with each of them in turn and gave Wade a hug, thanking her for calling the ambulance in time. He then turned at last to the Professor. "I will always remember this time," he said gravely. "I feel like I got a chance to say goodbye to my uncle, properly. Thank you for this..." The Professor reached down to envelop the man in a warm hug, surprising everyone there. He had never done anything like this before. Usually he was quite reserved. He broke away from the embrace with a slightly uncomfortable smile. The timer beeped from Quinn's pocket. It was time for them to leave. "Watch out!" Saying this he pointed the timer at the corner of the room and activated it. A shimmering and sparkling blue and white vortex appeared. Ian and Rajesh looked at it wonder and amazement even as a bunch of papers on the bedside table flew all over the place. "It's beautiful! Thank you, thank you so much for giving us a glimpse of this. I really can't express what I feel right now……" Ian said. "Maybe one day we'll meet you again, if we ever decide to travel through parallel worlds." The sliders waved farewell and leaped into the vortex one by one, Remmy the last of all, saying "See you then…" The gateway between worlds decreased in size, till it finally disappeared.