Ann Aguirre - Mortal Danger

In a motion that crackled like icicles spearing into the snow, he came around his desk to greet me. He seemed … jolly, and that was one of the worst things I’d ever seen. “Before you begin your business, Edie, let me convey my condolences for your loss.”

That was an unexpected blow. On some level, I grasped that he was keeping tabs on me, monitoring his investment. But I hated knowing he had seen me break down so completely. The tears I shed for my mother belonged to me and me alone. I squared my shoulders, refusing to let him get to me.

“Do you know who did it?” That wasn’t why I had come, actually, but with the question posed, I waited to see how he would answer.

“It’s tragic, but sometimes terrible things happen. ‘To what serves mortal beauty?’” He lifted a shoulder in an eerie, crackling shrug. “From a poem, I think, about how man must fade. Sad for you, no doubt, but sometimes it’s simply … fate.”

“You’re saying it was just her time?” My tone sizzled with skepticism. If I hadn’t known about the old man with the bag and his awful children, I might’ve taken the words at face value.

“I may be terribly old,” Wedderburn said in an ominous tone. “But I don’t claim to know all things. For instance … where is your beloved this afternoon?”

Kian burst through the door with a panicked look, as if Wedderburn might be doing something unspeakable to me. “I’m here,” he said, breathless.

I turned, aware we were on shaky ground. Without being sure where he’d been, I couldn’t even lie to cover for him. And Wedderburn knew it. Still, I put my hand out and Kian took it. His fingers were cold beyond bearing, and they trembled in my grasp.

“Sorry to trouble you. Are you done, Edie?” His urgent tug on my hand said I was.

In coming to headquarters, I’d intended to ask about Kian, but now that he was here, it was impossible. So I nodded. “Thanks for your kind words about my mother.”

As Wedderburn nodded in dismissal, Kian dragged me out of the office and toward he elevator. He was on the verge of a full collapse, something I’d never seen before, and I didn’t resist when he zoomed me past Iris and out to the car. He wasn’t parked in the underground garage; we speed-walked several blocks and he wouldn’t answer any question I asked until we were inside the Mustang.

“Seal it up,” I ordered.

Fortunately, he did, or we would’ve had our first real fight. I made a mental note to ask where he’d gotten a new tin of the stuff, but there were more important issues to discuss. He was shivering so hard that I wasn’t sure he should drive, but when I said so, Kian shook his head. “H-have to get you away from there. Give me five minutes.”

My trepidation increased with his silence, but eventually, he pulled over and rested his head on the steering wheel. Confused and feeling helpless, I rubbed his back. He was the stubbornest person I ever met, and the only solution was to wait him out. A few minutes later, he straightened and reached inside his jacket and silently passed me a packet of papers.

“What’s this?”

“It’s faster if you just read it.”

“Okay. But afterward, you have some serious explaining to do.”

“I will, I promise.”

These pages had the look of official documents, stamped and coded in a system I didn’t recognize. The words themselves were clear; this was a contract , ordering the death of one Mildred Kramer, signed by K. Wedderburn and witnessed by S. Mawer. I read it over three times, but it didn’t make any sense.

“Why?”

Kian handed me another file, marked Acquisitions. I understood now why he had been so eager to get out of the building. When he said he had something to do, he was spying for me. My stomach churned with sick dread as I skimmed this dossier. A lot of it was hard to interpret, having to do with eddies and currents, but this phrase seemed unmistakable.

In Edith Kramer’s optimum timeline, her mother dies. She works alongside her father to complete the project. All research shows that the outcome hinges on that pivotal event.

“It’s time travel,” I said, suddenly sure. “That was the project my mom and dad were working on when she—” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

But Kian was nodding. “I think you’re right.”

“But … that doesn’t even make sense. They’re using technology my dad and I develop right now . How can they use something I haven’t invented yet?”

“Wedderburn made a deal with an immortal who has temporal powers. From what I hear, it was expensive, so he wanted his own method of mucking about in the time stream.”

“So he went forward, stole our tech, and brought it back for his own use in the game.”

“Pretty much. And now he has make sure you stay on the right path, or this whole version of the universe will be wiped out.”

“Jesus. No pressure.” Now I was shaking, too.

“It’s not like the world would end , Edie. Not for everyone else. Things would just … shift, like two steps to the right or something.”

“After all the mystery, it’s a relief to know what’s waiting for me. But … to make sure he wins and I remain a viable piece in play, Wedderburn had my mother killed .” I curled one hand into a fist. “And then he said he was sorry.”

He looked as if he wanted to reach for me, but he feared how I would react. “I had no idea, I swear.”

“I know. You’re a pawn, like me.”

At that, he shook his head. “Not even that. Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“The other night, you said you couldn’t take this. I know how much you want out. You remember how I said Raoul stole an artifact and disappeared?”

“Yeah.”

Calmer, Kian put the car into gear. “I lied to you, Edie.”

“About what?” I couldn’t look at him, tracing the edge of the dash. Maybe I’d rather not know; I couldn’t lose my one true thing, not now.

“When I said I was taking those classes in hopes of figuring out how to win my freedom? That’s bullshit. I’ve only ever been looking for a way out … for you.”

“I don’t like where this is going.”

“So in my Religion and Magic class, the professor mentioned a protective icon. Most of the class sleeps through his digressions, but I took notes. And then I searched the database at WM&G.”

“You found something?”

Kian nodded. “I tried to get it for you. It would’ve let you follow in Raoul’s footsteps, but … I failed. The security was too tight, so I grabbed those files instead. When Wedderburn finds out—”

“He’ll know you’re not loyal. Jesus, what have you done ?” I got mad because I didn’t know what other emotion could serve, certainly not the tsunami of fear sweeping over me.

“It won’t be until tomorrow, I think, when he gets the reports. It would’ve been worth it if I had succeeded. I’m sorry.”

I took a second look at the file, but there was nothing about what had happened to the Teflon crew. Apparently, Wedderburn took me at my word when I declined. Maybe Kian was right when he guessed that Dwyer was trying to drive me crazy by hurting the people around me. There was nothing to confirm or deny the speculation, however, in these files.

“Then … we have one night left together. Just one.”

“You’ve given me so much more than I ever expected,” he said softly.

There had to be some way out of this maze, but my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. I fell silent, the closer we got to my place. How am I supposed to go upstairs, eat Japanese with my dad, and act like nothing’s wrong? I wanted to cry, break things, and scream until I had no voice left.