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“Don’t call it in, Rose. I have a bomb planted somewhere in this building with evidence that links you with it. Remember the killings at the wharf? I did it. I killed those smugglers and took possession of the bomb. Besides, don’t you want to know why if Diana’s death was truly an accident?”
Gary watched as his betrayal stung her from the inside, slowly working its poison in her system. Her eyes, even from his distance, was turning red. He held his breath and waited for the first tear to roll, it didn’t. Instead her eyes starred at him as if he was a stranger - a stranger she had lived with for two years, loved and made love to. He needed to leave; the clock was ticking but he could not leave her like this. A line from Sherlock Holmes rang in his head: Emotion is a chemical defect found in the losing side.
He was unsure of what to do with his hands. He glanced at them for a while and then at her face. He stretched out his right hand and his eyes followed hers as it moved towards her gun. He smiled. They were both soldiers. Perhaps, she would understand he had a duty to perform just as she had hers. He was a patriot. He would not sit back and watch America disintegrate when it was destined to become the world’s superpower.
When Gary woke up four years earlier in a universe different from his own, he thought it was a LSD-induced dream. His therapist had warned him to stop using LSD. But it was not a dream. He woke up I a universe that had the wrong kind of America. There were many things wrong with the country - just two many. The country was a loose confederation with bickering at every point. There were talks of succession. The country depended on the United Kingdom for aid. On the other hand, the United Kingdom was facing a war threat from Czar-controlled Russia. Everything was a far cry from the America he knew.
“Rose, you won’t understand but I really need to do this.” He pleaded, his eyes begging understanding from hers. He watched her face keenly, waiting for the first tear to roll. He needed her to cry, to let it out. He noticed her hand was over the butt of her gun. She would not intentionally hurt him but he could leave no room for mistakes.
“I loved you Gary. I trusted you despite what Diana said.” She murmured softly, taking her time to pronounce each word. She wanted him to know how much hurt she felt, how much pain was running through her veins. She fondled the hilt of her gun, savouring the feel. It was the only thing that felt real at that moment.
Gary thought of Diana, the medium with the crystal ball. That girl suspected far too much. He didn’t care much for the mystics but he was scared of her. The first day they met, Diana mentioned that he looked as someone who had lived for almost two hundred years. If only Diana had not trailed him to the wharf, she would not have slipped and dashed her head against the shower knob while she had her bath that same evening.
“Rose,” Gary called out, his hands slightly raised as he walked towards her and then stopped abruptly, “I love you too. This is for a better future, for a better America. I have this vision…. Remember my drawings? They are real. I don’t belong here. I am from the future. No. That’s wrong. I am from the past, a past that’s supposed to be our future. I know I don’t make sense right now. I wish I could…” He sighed and looked down at his hands.
“Gary, what do you need a bomb for?” Rose demanded. Her body begged her to allow her tears wash some of the pain away. Her legs wanted to walk to a corner and lean against the wall. Her eyes were tired of seeing the face of the one person who had caused her the most pain. But she remained in her spot, her eyes squarely on him.
Gary sighed. He didn’t have the time for all of this. He had just planted the bomb and entered the store-room to change into Suit and drive out of the building as a chauffeur. Rose wasn’t supposed to be here; it was her day off. Perhaps she had found the building schematics and put things together. Perhaps it was just dumb luck. He also needed to disappear. He remembered Vladimir, the beautiful nurse he had met from Russia, in a province called Ukraine. She was a terrible cook though. He remembered his first night at her place, the food she cooked was so bad not even the dog would eat it, except for her borscht it was to die for.
“For Christ’s sake, what do you need a bomb for, Gary?” Her bellow jolted him out of his reverie. It was then he noticed the drawn out gun. The safety was off. Perhaps he had underestimated her. He walked to a wooden crate and sat. He motioned to another just across him. She didn’t even take her eyes off him. He smiled again.
“You find this amusing? You have a bomb set under the United States Capitol and you are laughing? I want you to tell me where the bomb is and how to turn it off. Now, get up!” Rose commanded as she walked towards him. It happened in an instance. Rose was on the floor with the business end of the gun pressing against the back of her neck.
He left her on the ground and disassemble the gun, dropping its pieces on the floor. He pulled off her radio and dropped it on a shelf. He returned to his crate and took his seat. He then brought out his gun and laid it by his side, making sure it was in her direct line of sight.
“The bomb has a blast radius of two miles. Seeing as we can no longer get out of the blast radius on time, all thanks to you, allow me to tell you a story. Four years ago, a former CIA Agent woke up on the wrong side of the universe. CIA is an intelligence agency America was supposed to have. Let’s just say they make things happen.” Gary paused and searched his pocket for a cigarette. He found a pack. He offered Rose. She did nothing.
“Now, this agent was from a universe were the United States of America was the world’s superpower.” He narrated as he lighted a cigarette stick. “Imagine his surprise to find the United States to be a measly lump of disjointed nation-states, bickering among themselves like little children. The president, who’s supposed to be the most powerful man in the free world is no more than a puppet for the congress. The US dollar is useless and we depend on the United Kingdom for aid.” He paused to confirm if she was listening and took a drag from his cigarette.
“To be honest, it isn’t no one’s fault. Well, maybe a little. You see, what you describe as The Great War is simply one of the two bloodiest wars in the history of mankind. The second one, the one that’s yet to happen, is what sparks tremendous growth in the American economy. You are just a police officer so you probably don’t know much. But you’ll agree that America loves violence. The lack of a foreign enemy is what puts us in this state. I have seen what America can become when it unites to fight an external enemy.” He paused to take another drag.
Gary glanced at his wrist watch and chuckled. “You know, Diana was right. Or was it the crystal ball? I’m an evil man. But I am the right kind of evil. In my former life, I was in charge of causing little evil here and there to make sure the people in charge made the right decisions before it was too late. What I’m doing here is no exception. A bomb goes off in Capitol Hill, it is traced to Ukraine. Ukraine is connected with Russia. The US and Great Britain go to war and the rest will be truly history - history as I know it.” Gary smiled as Rose’s eyes expanded in horror. She murmured something.
“Did I what? What did you say?”
“Was it real? Did you love me?”
“Oh dear.” Gary smiled. “I was actually fond of you. Of course, I needed access into the building. I’m not going to lie that I chose you at random. You were attached to the capitol so you had the access I needed. You know, you wouldn’t be here if you had just shot me and warn the others. As Sherlock Holmes once observed: Emotion is a chemical defect found on the….”
They both spoke together: he, “losing side”; her: “I’m pregnant.”
The bomb timer read: ZERO!