Never Love A Stranger Part 30

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."

He nodded and went back to staring at the holo-image. Annie watched the hands on her watch move.

When thirteen minutes had elapsed, she saw the holo-image begin to quiver and shake.

"Something's happening," she said.

They stood there, staring at the wobbling desert. Suddenly James emerged out of nowhere.

"James!" Annie flung herself toward him, but he stepped back, out of her reach. Puzzled and a little hurt,

she paused and looked up into his face.

"It is all right, Annie," he said softly. "Everything is all right now."

"It took so long. We were afraid you'd been captured."

"I had to convince them to let you in. It took quite a bit of persuasion. But you and Gar may come in

now."

"Come in'" Annie looked behind him, at the desert. "Come into what'"

"You will see," he said. Turning, he walked through the holo-image. She took a tentative step forward

and discovered she could pa.s.s through the barrier now.

Annie blinked as she stepped into an entirely different landscape. Behind her, she heard Gar's startled

gasp and realized he'd stepped through the invisible wall, too. She looked around, staring at the impossibility of a small, bustling village, and further away, a landscape of wide green fields.

"This can't be real," she said. "Is this another holo-image'"

James shook his head. "This is the reality, Annie. The holo-image is designed to mask this place."

She looked around at the busy town, seeing people walking along the streets. Most of the people were

young and attractive ' beyond attractive, really. Every person she saw was stunningly gorgeous. There were no old people, nor any children.

"They're humanoids," she said softly. "Aren't they'"

James nodded. "They've created a life up here, away from the cylinder cities." He gestured toward the extremely handsome, dark-skinned man who stood a little distance away, watching them. "This is my best friend, Charles. He is the mayor here."

"I thought Charles was dead," Annie said.

Gar's jaw was slack as he stared at the crowds. "I thought they were all dead. I thought we destroyed them all."

"Evidently we did in fact succeed in changing reality," James said. "I am not quite certain how, but my

informants a.s.sure me that there was never a purge. The Bureau gave that impression to the inhabitants of the cities, but they permitted the humanoids to leave the cylinder cities and come onto the surface."

"Then the humans don't know they're here' Is that why they have the holo-images and force fields'"

"Yes, to keep the humans out. Too many of the humans would want them to be forced back into slavery, if it were widely known they had survived. Therefore they do not want anyone to find them. They do not fully trust the Bureau, either. It took a great deal of persuasion for me to let them let you in. Fortunately Charles is my best friend, and he believed me."

"But I persecuted them," Gar said harshly. "I killed them."

"No. Apparently in this reality that never happened. You argued persuasively to the Bureau that the humanoids should not be destroyed. It was your words that saved them."

"That's ridiculous," Gar said sharply. "That never happened. I don't remember'"

"But they do. You never killed anyone, Gar. Neither did I. In this reality everything we remember never happened."

"What did we do to change things'" Annie asked. "Was it the night of the fire'"

James shook his head. "It is difficult to say without doing more research. There is no way of knowing." He looked around at the busy village, his eyes s.h.i.+ning with happiness. "But what is important is that my people survived. All of them."

Chapter 25.

The afternoon pa.s.sed in a pleasant blur. Annie and Gar were escorted to a cool hut, where Annie relaxed and enjoyed being out of the sun. She didn't spend any private time with James, but he was glowing so happily she doubted he cared. He obviously didn't need s.e.x to be in a state of ecstasy just now.