The Great Altruist (51 page)

       
    
The guard nodded and turned to leave. As he hurried down the hall, James stepped out of the shadows near Roger’s office. He heard every word spoken in the office but turned away for his quarters instead of confronting the man Archer had so often spoke highly of. Val may very well still be standing in the same spot she was when he left, and may not have gotten dressed for all he knew. The hallway between Roger’s office and his quarters were usually noisy; many people were often bustling about. Not now. James heard nothing but he needed to find the other civilians and let them know of the organization’s real plan.

       
    
James didn’t make it to his room. Archer’s voice called from behind.

       
    
“James!” he shouted. “Wait!”

       
    
“John,” he said, “I just heard Roger in one of the empty offices. He was talking with a security guard.”

       
    
“What's going on?”

       
    
“Tell me the truth. What is the purpose of this mission?”

       
    
“The same as I told you the night we met: to bring back advance knowledge from the future and help the world. Why do you ask?”

       
    
“And there's nothing else you know about?”

       
    
“No, James, I've told you. Did Roger say something different?”

       
    
“It’s worse than that, John. He has a device. From the future. The guards are in on it. Do you have any clue what he's up to?”

       
    
“No, but I've often been kept in the dark,” Archer replied, shocked. “I'm so stupid for trusting so blindly.”

       
    
“I know you and I believe in the mission, but it looks like it was all a ruse to find this weapon he has.”

       
    
“I swear to you, James, I had no idea of any of this. Please tell me: what else did you hear?”

       
    
“Seven billion lives will end. Whatever that weapon can do, we can’t let it happen. What do we do?”

       
    
“We have to figure out who else is in on it,” Archer said. “But only after you return with your wife.”

       
    
“Are you sure?”

       
    
“Absolutely. We made a deal, James. It'll give me plenty of time to come up with a plan. We’ll be arriving in earth’s orbit in a few minutes. Do you have what you need?”

       
    
“No, I haven’t picked up the medicine yet. I was distracted by my...partner.” James remembered the furiously angry and naked woman he left alone in his room.

       
    
“I always suspected that girl would be a handful,” Archer said, smiling. “Be
careful. The vial you need has a red rubber band on it. I
’
ll alert what members of the crew I know I can trust and I’ll have a plan by the time you return.”

       
    
James smiled. “I appreciate it, John.”

       
    
Archer ran down the corridor in the direction of the bridge.

       
    
James made his way back to his room to get his wrist teleporter. As he approached the room, he saw Val sitting quietly on the bottom bed.
She’s dressed, thank God!
She saw him enter the room and smiled uncomfortably.

       
    
“I need to talk to you,” he said.

       
    
“About before, I…” she began.

       
    
“No, it’s a little more important than that, Val.” He sat on the bed next to her. “I need to leave for a while, but I’ll be back. I need you to do me a favor, though. Whatever Archer tells you to do, I need you to listen!”

       
    
“What’s wrong?” she said. “You’re scaring me.”

       
    
“Everything will be okay. Roger has a device from the future. We need to stop him.”

       
    
Val shook her head.

       
    
“What’s wrong?” he asked

       
    
“Oh, James,” she said, “you weren’t supposed to find out about that.” She stood up, reached for a gun behind a lamp, and held it to James’s head.

       
    
“You knew?” he said.

       
    
“Of course I knew. Everyone on this ship knew. You and Archer are too shortsighted to see the truth: this world can’t be saved. It needs to be destroyed! And I joined this mission to see that it does.”

       
    
“Val, please,” he pleaded. “I need to see my wife. I have to save her first. Help me get to her before they do anything stupid. We’ll talk about all this later.”

       
    
She cocked the gun and moved closer to him. “Why should I help you save another woman?

           
“I was assigned to keep an eye on you for Archer’s sake, James, but I also meant what I did before.” She stepped closer to him. “Something happened during those two months. It stopped being an assignment; I fell in love with you.” She lowered the gun and her grip on it a little.

       
    
James pushed her away. “I told you already. I’m in love with my wife, and I have to save her.”

       
    
“There isn’t enough time. Everyone on that planet is going to die, James. If you want to live, you have to stay here…with me. We’re willing to let you help us rebuild if you stay with me.”

       
    
James stepped closer to Val and embraced her, as though accepting the offer. “You’re a beautiful girl, Val.” Val smiled broadly;
I've got him
! “But Helen of Troy couldn’t keep me from her.” Val didn’t have enough time to get angry with James. She suddenly felt a cold shiver, but only for a split second. She was unconscious so quickly, she never realized how hard James struck the back of her head with a lamp. She went limp but James caught her before she fell to the ground. He carried her to the bed and laid her down.

       
    
With Val no longer a concern, James ran out of the room and hurried to the medical lounge where the drug awaited. Inside one of the lockers, he found the vial with a red rubber band on it; the one Archer assured him was the cure for his wife. He placed the vial in his jacket pocket and rushed to one of the empty cargo holds. He entered the name of the hospital into his wrist device. Within seconds of the device finding the correct coordinates, he saw the
Apocalypse
no more.

       
    
James knew the mission to save his wife might be the last thing he ever did if Archer's coup never materialized. It didn’t matter to him. If Roger’s device could really annihilate everyone on earth, there was little he could do alone. Standing alone against a spaceship with the power of a doomsday weapon was foolhardy. His only hope was that Archer could find someone on that ship that didn't know Roger's true intention. If his days were indeed numbered, he was going to spend them with Genesis – even if only a few minutes.

Chapter 9

       
    
Val awoke on the bed in James's quarters. She immediately massaged the back of her head where she was struck. Grabbing the gun still on the floor, she ran from the room to report to Roger.

       
    
Roger was in his office and unaware of any commotion on-board.

       
    
“Roger!” she shouted as she entered the room.

       
    
“What happened to you?” he said as he noticed her gripping her head.

       
    
“Grant! He's on to us. He knows about the weapon. And Archer, he's staging a coup.”

       
    
Roger calmly stood up and helped Val sit down. “There's no need to worry about Archer. The crew is loyal to the cause. We'll find him. Where's Grant?”

       
    
“I don't know. He left talking about saving his wife. I failed. I did what you told me, Roger. It didn't work. He's still in love with her. I tried so hard.”

       
    
“Val, you did well,” he said. He knelt beside her. “You’ve more than redeemed yourself in my book. Will you be all right?”

       
    
She wiped a stray tear from her eye and cleared her throat, toughening her demeanor. “I'm fine. I'm with you now to the end.”

       
    
“I'm glad to hear that. Come!” he said, helping her to her feet. “We need to get Archer. He and the crew need to be on the surface when the device is fired!”

       
    
James arrived at the hospital’s entrance in a flurry of light from the teleporter. He hadn’t reset his watch to the current time but the clock outside the hospital told him he only had minutes before his other self would leave her room for the last time and leave the hospital with Archer.

       
    
James rushed ahead to the hospital and into the room where Genesis lay just after he saw Archer and the other James leave the parking lot. She was just as still as he left her. He grabbed the vial from his pocket and took a syringe from the nurse’s tray. Hoping desperately he did it right, he injected the medicine into her arm and waited. A moment went by and there was no change in her condition.

       
    
Minutes went by and still Genesis was motionless. The weapon on the ship could be fired at any moment. All he wanted was to see her smile one last time. He knelt beside her and held her hand. He kissed her skin tenderly and whispered to her: “Wake up. Please wake up.”

       
    
To his shock and simultaneous joy, Genesis suddenly awoke. She coughed slightly before opening her eyes, but James finally saw what he spent months of waiting and slaving for the organization to see: the beautiful smile of his wife. Genesis immediately sat up in surprise and grabbed hold of James’s hand.

       
    
“What happened?” she said.

       
    
He grabbed hold of her and kissed her deep. “Too much to explain now. Hurry! We need to get out of here quickly.”

       
    
“Are we in trouble?” She jumped out of bed and started getting dressed.

       
    
“Not with the law; worse. I’ll explain as we go.”

       
    
“Where are we going?”

       
    
James hadn’t thought of where to go. “I don’t know yet, Gen.”