“This is from our contact in the FBI. It seems your entire board of directors has had a mishap over the East River tonight. They were all killed.”
Moira stared at Niles for the briefest of moments, not really understanding.
“How many of your board of directors were children of the Holocaust?” Virginia Pollock asked.
Moira didn’t have to answer as all of them saw it in her face. She lowered her head.
“They all grew up at your privately funded orphanage, didn’t they?” Sarah asked.
“Yes.” She looked up and the briefest of sad smiles crossed her lips. “Can you imagine the magic they believed brought them out of those camps? We intercepted the largest contingents from transports, but most had already seen the insides of smaller camps, so they knew for the most part what the Nazis had in store for them. As I said, most were very, very bright.”
“Now some of those brightest are dead. Perhaps you better enlighten us as to why and who would want that,” Jack said as he waved Ryan over and told him quietly to make sure the outside watch was aware of the situation. Ryan quietly left.
“I don’t know who this could be. The board always had complete autonomy to act in the best interest of the children and their security.”
“We’re not real big believers in coincidence,” Niles said as he turned to Jack. “Colonel, I’ll leave it up to you for a go, no go. This was clearly an assassination at a very inopportune moment in our plans. This could bring those other sister agencies charging in and I don’t think the president can stop the avalanche.”
Collins looked at Moira and decided she didn’t know anything more than what she had said. The only thing Jack figured her guilty for was being human enough to save kids from a fate worse than what history had planned for them.
“Master Chief, Henri, Charlie, I can’t order you to go.”
“I didn’t bust my ass building that thing and then nearly come to blows with Slim, er, uh, Dr. Pollock here, not to go. I figure whoever is out there threatening this thing is going to act regardless if we go or not,” Jenks said as he avoided the stark eyes of Virginia.
Ellenshaw looked up from the table and then slid the glasses back up on his nose. He looked directly at Niles. “I have to go.”
“If this is the only way I can get out from under the thumb of this Group, what choice do I have?” Farbeaux said as he shook his head at Ellenshaw and his weak answer to a life-or-death question.
“If it’s a question of volunteers, I don’t—” Sarah started to say but Niles cut her off as he examined the clock on the wall.
“It’s not. Dr. Morales, is Europa ready?”
Sarah angrily looked from Niles to Jack, who just shook his head, angry that once more she tried to bully her way onto the team. He was going to have to put her in the same drifting lifeboat as Ryan.
“Okay, Jack, get your team ready, we go in thirty.”
The meeting broke up with the individual departments crowding around Jack, Henri, and Charlie as they sent a myriad of intelligence on ancient Antarctica their way. No one approached Jenks as he stood with Virginia. Instead of barraging him with warnings she simply placed a hand on his broad chest and patted him lightly.
“Keep an open mind out there, Harold.”
“I’ll just be another old fossil where we’re going, Slim. Besides, my carcass is too tough for anything to chew on for too long. I’ll just wait them out.”
“Listen, animal life back then is probably a little more patient than any current species.”
Jenks winked and then looked over at Collins, who was shaking hands with Niles.
“Good luck, Colonel. Bring him back if you can, but lose no one else, or this whole thing is for nothing.”
Collins nodded. He had no intention of losing anyone else. He turned and he faced a smiling Henri. He half turned to Compton as he was about to say that he couldn’t guarantee all of them were coming back, but just smiled back at Farbeaux instead.
“Jack, er, uh, Colonel?”
Collins and Farbeaux stopped and turned and saw Sarah standing with Anya.
“You two are on my shit list… again,” he said as he eyed McIntire exclusively. “Now, I have given orders to Ryan to beef up outside security. Since you two don’t seem to perform a duty around here, and have time to saunter off on a Nancy Drew mystery tour, you will be assigned a post by the commander. We’re a little shorthanded. I hope it’s not too boring for you amateur sleuths.”
Sarah fumed but turned and left with a stuttering Will Mendenhall close behind.
Anya stood her ground. “Thank you for doing this, Colonel.”
Jack stared at her before edging past the former Israeli agent. “I’m not doing it for you, Anya.”
Henri smiled at the dark-haired woman and nodded. “Complicated, isn’t he?” Farbeaux left the office.
The activity inside the newly and hastily renovated conference room slowly drizzled to nothing until only Alice Hamilton and Niles were left inside. Compton looked up into the large monitor and saw Xavier Morales looking at them. The activity around the computer genius was bustling as the comp center made ready for the dimensional shift of the doorway. Niles reached out and studied one of the disturbing pictures in charcoal. He let it slide through his fingers. Alice remained silent as she knew the director was debating something in his thoughts. It was these meanderings that etched a sad crevice of doubt on his lined face.
“A morality play is at work.”
Compton and Alice both looked up at Morales, who continued to see them from Nevada.
“The right to change one’s destiny. I suspect that is what the director is concerned with.”
Niles shook his head. “You would have liked Pete Golding,” he said with a small but sad smile. “You’re a lot like him.” He then looked over at Alice. “Only far less timid about voicing his opinions of my psyche.”
Morales smiled. He knew some thought him far-thinking beyond his years, but he knew it was nothing more than a young man’s exuberance in experiencing everything he could inside of his limited and paralyzed world.
“Sorry, but you never asked my opinion. I thought I would voice one.”
“Voice it, everyone’s opinion is valued here,” Alice said as she was curious as to what someone so young could think about the changing of destinies.
“Morally, I think we’re wrong. Just because we have the power to change things, do we have that right? Don’t we learn from the harsh realities thrust upon us through adversity? I believe deep down that we could very well lose our humanity if we allow this as a viable practice beyond this one experiment. When I saw what those children had survived through those horrible pictures, I, like most in the room there or inside the comp center here, wanted to save them all. We have the power as I said, we could go back and stop it from ever happening. Colonel Collins seems like he would be more than capable of going back and placing a bullet into that maniac Hitler’s computer, simply avoid it all. But what will we have learned from that barbaric little man? After all, we have the power to do that, don’t we — the very power to change the world forever.”
“Thank you, Doctor. What would you do in my place?” Niles asked as he slowly stood and with the help of Alice limped to the large observation window and the active scene below.
“I’m easy, Director Compton, my world consists of this chair and my work. I would go in a split second if I could, morality play or not. I would go and get our man. That is why I disqualify myself from the problem of morality plays and leave it in your capable hands.”
“Yes,” Niles said as he glanced up at the monitor before returning his good eye to the rush of personnel on the floor below, “you’ll fit in nicely round here.” Niles turned and limped from the room.