A New Order
A NEW ORDER
Beginnings Book 31
Jacqueline Druga
A New Order
Beginnings Book 31
By Jacqueline Druga
Copyright 2020 by Jacqueline Druga
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Thank you so very much to Kira and Al for all your help with this book
ONE
It was so reminiscent of seventeen-year-old Frank.
That dopey look, the slight tilt of his head, the parting of his lips before he spoke, the single confused word of “What?”
Joe grimaced.
He tried to stay in control, staring at Frank, Dean and Henry. He had waited for their return, anxiously waited.
Jason had set up a time travel backup. Sending Joe back in time the exact millisecond that Frank, Dean and Henry traveled twenty-five years back in time. He was an assurance that they didn’t screw things up like they had the reputation for.
He pulled them aside after the return from Vegas, joked around a second, placated their responses before blasting the question, “What the hell did you three assholes do to time!”
That was when there was a weird pause, Frank looked at him and said, “What?”
“You heard me,” Joe said.
“Yeah, I did,” Frank replied. “You’re right there. I can’t believe you’re asking us that.”
“Did you hear me?” Joe asked. “I said Jason sent me through the exact time you did. So, I would know if you changed time.”
“Okay,” Frank said.
“Okay? Well, you did.”
“No, we didn’t,” Frank replied.
“Yes, you did.”
“No.” Frank shook his head. “We didn’t. We interacted with very few people and used the eraser. We did not change time.”
“Frank …”
“Maybe you did,” Frank said.
Joe growled. “Frank, did …”
“Dean,” Frank turned to Dean. “Weren’t we careful.”
“Very careful,” Dean said.
“Henry, tell him,” Frank said.
“Joe, we were super careful.”
“See?” Frank asked.
“No!” Joe blasted.
“Dad, maybe it’s different because you traveled back in time and changed things.”
Frank was so calm, Joe knew he believed what he was saying.
Joe stared at him for a second. “You know what?” He took a breath and gave a closed-mouth smile. “You’re right.” He swatted Frank’s arm. “I’m busted. I was trying to make a bad joke. It didn’t work. Sorry.”
Pacifying Frank spoke. “It’s okay. It’s good to have you joking. That was funny. Ha.” He faked a laugh. “Ha, ha.” Then nudged Dean. “Wasn’t it?”
Dean laughed.
Then Henry.
“Funny, Dad. Yeah, it was. You got us.”
“Yeah, I got you,” Joe said. “Meet me at my office in an hour to discuss the trip.”
“Will do.” Frank gave a thumbs up.
Joe turned to walk away.
“And Dad,” Frank said. “You look good in that shirt. Glad you like it.”
Joe looked down to the ‘What happens in Vegas’ tee-shirt, he nodded and continued to walk off.
After he was out of earshot, Frank turned to Dean and Henry. “Okay…”
“He wasn’t joking, was he?” Dean asked.
Frank shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“We couldn’t have changed anything,” Henry said. “How?”
Frank shrugged.
“No.” Dean shook his head. “No way. We were way too careful. Almost to the point it was painful to use the eraser.”
“Yeah, but I know my Dad,” Frank said. “He wasn’t joking. Something is up. He won’t say a word again, he’ll just sit back and wait for us to react to different things. If … things are different.”
Dean grunted. “This is frustrating. There is no way to know until we walk right into it.”
“Not true,” Henry responded. “I can run through history. It’s gonna take hours, but I can do it like I did the last time. Just hide out. Undoubtedly, the reason for the time trip will be different as well.”
“What do you mean?” Dean asked.
“I’ve been the constant on a lot of trips,” Henry said. “The number one thing that changed, along with whatever ripple occurred, was the reason for the trip. We’ll need to find out that as well.”
“What do we do?” Dean asked.
“Simple,” Frank replied, lifted his phone and dialed. He gave a single nod to Dean. “We’ll find out right … oh, hey Hal. It’s me, Frank…. Yeah, I know we just … Hal, listen I have a question. What was the mission for the time trip?” Frank cringed. “Fuck, Hal. I need to know. No, I need to know. No, tell me. Fuck. Fine. Don’t tell me. I just want you to settle a fucking argument between me and Dean because we’re arguing over what really was the main directive…. I don’t know, it’s Dean he thinks he knows it all.” Frank winked at Dean with a smile, mouthing the words, ‘I got this.’ then he nodded as he listened. “A huh, and the shipment?” Frank listened intently. “Got it. Thanks. That’s what I thought.” He hung up and said nothing.
“Frank?” Henry called his name.
“What did he say?” Dean asked.
“Oh, he told me what the mission and sub-mission was.”
“And?” Dean asked with impatient.
Frank nodded. “It’s a little different.”
“A little different?” Dean asked. “How different.”
“A little. Not much. I don’t think. Maybe more. I don’t know.”
“Uh!” Henry screamed. “What did you do, Frank?”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“He didn’t, Henry,” Dean defended. “We stuck to the plan. Maybe it was you.”
“Dean, it wasn’t me. I spent all day with a woman no one knows and I lied to her. So she knew nothing.”
“Okay. Okay.” Dean held up his hands. “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe it’s not that different. Maybe nothing changed.”
Frank only looked at him.
“Damn it. What do we do?” Dean asked. “Seriously.”
“I have a plan,” said Frank. “Henry goes to history and starts his comparison. Sneak in there, Henry, don’t let fuckin Trish see you.”
“How am I supposed to do that, Frank?” Henry asked. “She’s the warden of time.”
“I don’t know. Figure it out. In the meantime, me and Dean will go about our business.”
Dean laughed. “Go about our business. Frank, and what are we supposed to do if something is really different.”
“Easy,” Frank answered. “Go with it.”
“Go with it?”
“Go with it. The last time things changed our reaction gave it away that we screwed up something. We don’t react. Besides, look around. Everything seems fine. Really,” Frank said. “How much different can it be?”
TWO
It was good to be back. Not that he was gone all that long, but Hal was able to return home, stay back after the flight landed because they had been quarantined before they left.
He sat back at his desk, sighing out in relief, but knew the moment wouldn’t last long. There was a knock on his door, and Hal called out, “Come in.”
Elliott stepped inside. “Captain, good to see you back.”
“Thank you, Elliott. Good to be back. Did I miss anything.”
“Just a mad rush to test everyone to see if they had the bacterial.”
“This morning. Then everything shut down for three hours. May I?” Elliott pointed to a chair.
“Please.”
Elliott sat. “How was the trip.”
“It was amazing. We contemplated using the HG Wells and taking a side trip, maybe to 1955 Vegas, but we decided against it. But seeing it in its current state was still breathtaking.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you think it was a success?”
Hal nodded. “I believe so. They secured the shipment.”
“That will be a nice surprise.”
“Yes, although, I was a bit worried. My brother called me.”
“Frank?”
“Do I have another?”
“Um, yeah, Jimmy.”
“Damn it.” Hal cringed. “I am working on that.”
“I know you are. You have been doing well.”
“Thank you. Anyhow … Frank, he called me, a few minutes ago, asking me why we went to Vegas and took the time trip.”
“He doesn’t recall.”
“He used some excuse that he and Dean had a bet. I didn’t believe it.”
“Maybe it was time bits,” Elliott said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Time bits. Doctor Godrichson mentioned that sometimes time traveling causes confusion. He calls them time bits.”
Hal laughed sarcastically. “The only reason not to remember things is because things were screwed up and …” he paused. “Good God. You don’t think?”
“No. No. You would think they learned their lesson.”
“You would think.”
“It was just Frank being Frank.”
“True and unlike Frank, get this.” Hal folded his hands and leaned into his desk. “He brought me a tray of sushi.”
“Sushi.”
“Well, technically it was a roll. California Roll. But it was delicious.”
“That was very nice of him.”
“It was. I mean, I can’t recall the last time I had sushi. I mean, when is the last time you had it?”
“Yesterday.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yesterday,” Elliott said. “Frank brought it back from New Town.”
“Are you serious?” Hal asked.
“Yeah, they make these rolls there …” Elliott slowed his speech. “You didn’t know? I mean they have Chinese food.”
“It’s not Chinese food, Elliott. It’s Chinese people making food.”
Elliott raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t. Don’t argue semantics with me.” Hal pointed. “I hear it from my brother. And he’s going to hear it from me. I can’t believe he brought you sushi and not me. What …” He stopped when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Blue, the town doctor stepped in. “Sorry to bother you, Captain.”
“Not a bother, Blue, what can I do for you.”
“I need permission to shut down Bowman immediately. Shut the borders. In fact, initiate a town-wide quarantine.”
Slowly Hal stood. “Why are we doing that?”
“We just had eight men check in with the bacteria. Or at least I think it is.”
“How? How?” Hal stammered is questioned. “We were clean yesterday. How is that even possible?”
<><><><>
“Danny Hoi,” Lars Rayburn dropped a folder in front of Roy and Johnny. “He is our carrier.”
“Aw, man,” Johnny’s head hung. “I didn’t think you were right.”
“Rarely am I wrong,” Lars said. “Ellen actually called it first. There had to be a reason so many are getting sick when we are being so careful. There is good news.”
Johnny peered up. “Good news.”
Roy nodded. “Yes, he is the only one and …. While a Carrier can be a curse, he or she can also be a blessing. Somewhere in them is a resistance to the illness. We can use him.”
“We need antibiotics,” Johnny said. “Hopefully, we’ll have them soon.”
“Tomorrow,” said Lars. “If all goes as planned. Or rather went as planned.”
Roy looked at his watch. “Speaking of which, where is Dean. I expected him here so we could proceed.”
“In a perfect world, people,” Lars said. “We need to find another solution just in case that doesn’t work out.”
“We’ll know when Dean gets here,” Roy said.
“If he was successful,” replied Lars. “And I am going to head back down to the cryo lab, I have a few things I want to try with the antibodies Dean gave me yesterday. I mean I have slowed it down even more. Maybe I am missing something …”
“Hey,” the voice entered the room with a knock on the archway of the lab door. Danny Hoi stepped inside. “You guys wanted to see me?”
“Yes, Danny,” Lars said. “Please come in.”
Danny took a step inside and immediately, Johnny, Lars and Roy placed on masks.
“Don’t touch anything,” Roy told him.
Danny laughed, then turned serious. “You’re kidding right.” He looked at them. “You’re not kidding. Do I have the bacteria?”
“Worse,” Lars said.
“Worse?”
“You, my friend, are a carrier,” Lars told him. “You are a threat to anyone and everyone you come in contact with.”
“Oh my God.” Danny teetered and reached for the counter, before he did, everyone yelled out, “Don’t touch!” And his hand sprang back.
“We will need you to immediately go to the ward,” Lars told him. “For the safety of this community. Now thankfully, we had all negative tests from Bowman yesterday and shut down Beginnings this morning, so your contamination is now localized here.”
Roy added, “So we just need you to list everyone you were in contact with today.”
“Everyone?” Danny asked.
“Everyone,” Lars said.
“That’s a lot of people, Lars.”
“Fortunately it’s only Beginnings. I mean, you didn’t leave at all, we had the gates …” Lars saw it. There was something on Danny’s face. Worry, guilt, both. “You didn’t leave Beginnings, did you?”
Danny lowered his head.
THREE
The continuous beeping gave Frank a peace of mind. Although not as much as the replies to his recent Hoi Book post.
Frank couldn’t wait. He knew Henry headed to history but that would be hours. Frank decided he was a good enough detective to try to determine what, if anything, was different. It was a way to bide time until Henry had definite answers.
Frank was getting good at wasting time. Being unemployed did that.
First thing he did was seek out Dan from security. He was running a check by the fields, when Frank found him.
“Have you seen or heard from Hank?” Dan asked.
“Not since yesterday when I was training him.”
“Maybe you broke him?” Dan laughed.
“That’s possible. So …” Frank breathed out. “Robbie.”
“Robbie.” Dan lowered his head. “I miss him.”
“And he is where?” Frank asked.
“Is this a trick question?” Dan asked.
“No. Just asking where you think Robbie is?”
“Um … heaven?”
“Fuck.”
“Purgatory?”
“Fuck.”
“Frank, sorry, there’s no way he went to hell.”
“You’re right,” Frank said.
“You’re angry, I get it, but Robbie was a great guy.”
“He was.”
Was.
Frank was hoping, really hoping that somehow, something they did changed time and Robbie was back. It was a far-fetched wish, but it happened before.
“Alright, I’ll let you be,” Frank said.
“Is that all you needed?” Dan asked. “To know where Robbie went.”
“Yeah, just one of those days.”
“I get it.”
Frank moved on.
If it wasn’t Robb
ie, then there wasn’t really anyone else it could be.
Maybe if things were different they didn’t really deal with anyone particular person.
Unless someone died.
Frank went into instant panic again.
Who died?
He thought about finding Chaka who was filling in for head of security, but Chaka was too new to Beginnings he wouldn’t know who died and who didn’t.
So, Frank went about it, old school way.
He posted on social media.
‘Hey. Just got back from the mini vacation. Anything new? Different? Any one die in the last ten years.”
His replies were immediate.
Ha, ha, ha, you’re funny, Frank.
All is the same.
We have bacon in Bowman.
Glad you’re safe.
You’re a moron.
There were a hundred comments and Frank was relieved, not a single person said anything had changed. Frank took that as good news. Maybe his father was playing a prank. After all, if anything was different, surely someone would have mentioned it.
<><><><>
That was it for Joe. After seeing Frank’s asinine Hoi Book post, he was done. He just wanted to hide until they were going to meet. Joe figured by that time Henry would have at least checked some of history and the three of them would have discovered the difference.
It was all still new to Joe. He hadn’t figured out the extent of the ripple. He knew there was one. After his trip, on his way to being tested, he discovered a big change. If he wasn’t so collected, he probably would have looked like a nut case. But Joe maintained his composure, got tested, went into the private quarantine and tried to figure out how it happened.
Jason called him before Frank, Dean and Henry arrived, and Joe blew him off. Now as every minute passed, Joe was leerier about being out and about.
He was so focused on getting back to his office, the ringing of his phone startled him and he stopped right before the office door.
He did a cringing dance when he saw who it was, then answered it. “Hello.”
“Joe,” Jason said. “You have successfully avoided me.”
“No, Jason, honestly I’m not. I’m just busy. They just got back and I’m getting ready to meet with them.”