Part 30 (1/2)
ominous. And what if it was like a one-way door, calibrated to let him in, but not to let him back out again' Was it a trap' ”James. You aren't thinking of going in there, are you'” ”It appears to be the only sensible course of action.” ”But if it's calibrated to let humanoids through, then it's probably some sort of trap.”
He nodded. ”That seems like a likely hypothesis.”
”As far as I know,” Gar said, ”the Bureau doesn't use traps along these lines to capture runaway humanoids. I've never heard of something like this.”
”You could be wrong,” Annie retorted. ”And don't forget, this is a different world from the one you
remember. Who knows what might have changed' If you're wrong, James might be killed.”
”But the other alternative is for us all to die of the heat,” James pointed out. ”That option is not acceptable.”
”But James'”
”The longer we stand here and discuss this, the faster you and Gar will die of hyperthermia,” James snapped. Annie was struck again by his authoritative tone, a tone very much at odds with his basic gentle nature. ”I am going to attempt to enter. If I do not return in ten minutes, go on without me and attempt to
find shelter and water. Gar, if you use your gun on a low setting, you may be able to cut into a cactus to find water.”
He stepped into the quivering image of the holo-image. Immediately he disappeared, and Annie could
see nothing but sand and saguaro cacti.
She stood there, feeling the sun beating down on her shoulders, and stared at the image until it stopped
rippling. Gar looked over at her, apparently seeing all her worries etched starkly on her face, and reached out and awkwardly patted her shoulder.
”He'll be all right,” he said.
”You don't know that.”
”No,” he admitted. ”But I have to believe it. James has been ' the only constant in my life. The only thing
that never changed. I can't envision a world without him in it.”
Annie turned her head and looked at him thoughtfully. There was no mistaking the earnestness on his face. ”Then why did you'”
She broke off abruptly, realizing that what she intended to ask was too personal. But Gar finished the question for her. ”Why did I try to kill him'”
”Him and his people,” she said stiffly. ”Why would you want to kill them'”
”I never really wanted to kill him,” Gar said softly. ”I convinced myself that it was the patriotic thing to do. The right thing to do. It hurt to think about James' death, and yet'.” ”And yet somehow you thought the world would be a better place without all the humanoids who'd taken care of you and your people for years. Why'”
At her sharp question, Gar dropped his eyes. ”My father was killed by a humanoid,” he said, almost too softly for her to hear.
”Your father'”
Gar nodded. ”He and my mother invented the time-travel device,” he said. ”One night he was there alone, working on fine-tuning it. A humanoid broke into the facility. He tried to defend it, to prevent an unauthorized excursion into time. The humanoid killed him and used the TDM.”
Annie felt a chill go down her back.
”Was it James'” she asked in a whisper.
Gar shook his head. ”No. The humanoid was never identified, nor found. But that was the catalyst that
led me to work in the Bureau. The humanoids were becoming a major security issue. Many more of them escaped into the past than is generally realized, and we failed to locate most of them.” He stopped and sighed. ”For what it's worth, I repeatedly argued with the Director of the Bureau against destroying the humanoids. But once the decision was made ' it was my duty to destroy them.”
She tried to steel herself against the very real anguish in his voice. ”You knew it was wrong.”
He sighed. ”Yes. Deep down, I knew. I can never forgive myself for the part I played in the destruction of James' people. It's easy to excuse one's actions by hiding behind the s.h.i.+eld of duty, but I knew better.”
Annie looked away from the pain on his face and suddenly noticed the hands on her watch. ”It's been nine minutes. Shouldn't he be back by now'”
She saw his throat work as he swallowed. ”We'll wait another minute.”
”We'll wait as long as it takes,” she corrected sharply.
”Annie. Be reasonable. If they've captured him, what's the point in our standing here waiting to be
captured'” ”I don't want to be free if he's been captured. If you want to go on'go ahead.” Gar stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. ”No. You're right. I've thrown my lot in with you and James. I'm not going anywhere without him.” ”All for one and one for all,” Annie said. ”What'”
”It's a quote from a very old book. It means we stick together, no matter what.”