Regression (38 page)

“
You didn’t cause the
plane to crash. It’s not your fault, don’t think that it is. It was
likely a mechanical failure. You didn’t force them to take the
flight. Look, I think I have a name of a person you should see
tomorrow, after you get rested up, who can help you with your
feelings. Survivors often feel guilt and blame themselves. You
don’t need to go through that alone, okay?”

“
Thanks.” Security
personnel arrived on the scene and questioned her about the flight
before she was transported to the tower. Babak met the ambulance at
the door and immediately moved her to a private room on the
executive level. She pinned his gaze with questioning eyes. “What’s
this?”

“
Because there’s a
risk of…accidental information leakage…when someone from the
executive has been injured we use this room and I personally attend
to their care.” A sad half-smile touched his handsome face. “Some
regard it as ostentatious but an accepted fact among the staff no
one other than me does executive care.”

“
Okay.” With
red-rimmed eyes, she steadily held his look. “They’re gone, Babak.
I held Norton in my arms and he slipped away from me. I tried…” She
started to sob, he offering the warmth of his shoulder and
arms.

“
Shhh. It’s okay. You
did everything you could. Norton was too seriously injured from the
explosion.”

Slowly the tears faded. “Any idea
what happened?” Sniffles punctuated her speech.

“
They’re checking into
it right now, but there was an explosion in the fuselage.
Thankfully you weren’t out over open water or none of you would
have stood a chance.” He pulled his stethoscope from his coat and
closed the door before returning to her bedside.

“
We should check your
progress, make sure everything is okay.” She nodded. He listened to
her abdomen with his stethoscope.

“
Those are strong boys
or girls you have there. They didn’t even notice the
excitement.”

“
Thank goodness. I was
ill enough from the previous evening’s incidents and then the crash
compounded things.” Her head snapped up. “You noticed it was
twins.”

Grinning, he patted her stomach.
“You already knew? Too bad, I wanted to be the bearer of that news.
How did you find out?”

“
Peter helped me. I
haven’t told anyone else yet, except Peter and Melik. They have
some interesting thoughts about my purpose in this timeline,
though, because of the plasmid. I think finding out more about
these babies would help us.”

His eyes widened. “Peter? Melik?
They know?”

“
Peter found out by
default when I encountered the antivirals at Sanctum…”

“
I forgot to warn you,
they would not have harmed the babies but better safe than sorry at
that early stage of gestation.”

“
We told Melik while
researching the plasmid.”

“
Well, no worries,
they’re just fine. The amniotic fluid is an incredible shock
absorber. But we’re overdue for an ultrasound and I want to
complete the amniocentesis soon too. You are fourteen weeks now?
I’ll wait a few more days, you have had enough to deal with this
past week but an amnio can be done now and I think we should do the
analysis.”

“
Do you think the
drugs they slipped me will affect the babies?” Her face puckered in
worry. “That’s not really something I had to worry about
before.”

“
I doubt it. You’re
past the point of major organ or system development and you aren’t
a regular user of the drugs… are you?” he teased. Adya rewarding
him with a slight smile. “If you were living the clubbing lifestyle
then I would say yes, there would be a chance of some problems with
the babies but one isolated incident is unlikely to cause
noticeable effects.”

“
Thank
you.”

He nodded, turning to the door.
“See you soon. I’ll have Danielle schedule you in for the
ultrasound and amnio. Be sure to drink lots of water for the
ultrasound.”

“
Yes, Doctor…I’ve been
through this a few times.”

Later that day, Babak brought an
envelope to Adya.

“
Who’s this
from?”

He shrugged. “I’m sorry, I don’t
know. It arrived through interoffice mail. I’ve got to go, I’ll
check in on you later.”

Waiting until he left, she pried
open the seal, finding two tearstained sheets.

Dear Adya,

This is a letter of
both thanks and goodbye. I have to thank you for the fact I have
felt more alive in the past two weeks than I did during the years
prior. You gave me the impetus to achieve my dearest wish, one I
never thought possible. For that reason, I cannot hate
you.

Although I should not,
I can’t help but blame you, though, and so I must leave. I don’t
think I could stay anyway surrounded as I am by his life’s work,
and mine.

I will do nothing
which could harm you or Three Eleven. I am not so selfish as to
sacrifice the world in my own personal grief. I will simply
disappear with what I think is enough money to keep me off the grid
and away from those who would choose to use me to their own ends in
their work against Three Eleven. You will find all files in order
and accessible under Abraham’s directory on the system.
Instructions are on the following page.

I will watch from the
sidelines, hoping and praying the work of Three Eleven is
successful, but I can no longer be a part of it.

Jennifer

Another flood of guilt and pain
besieged her senses, the weight of losing her friend pushing her
into deep despair. Sheeting rain began to cascade down the window,
a flash of lightning blinding her. The world wept with her until
exhaustion pushed her over the edge into sleep.

The hope is still
there. You need to carry on.

I can’t. It is too
great a burden.

You need to. For their
sake. For our sakes. We live on through you, don’t let us be lost.
You are the last and you have come further than any of us. Keep
going.

I am so
tired.

You will
prevail.

A sober group of individuals attended the emergency meeting
in the Three Eleven boardroom two days after the accident.
Animosity radiated from some of the executive, snippets of comments
such as “fool’s errand” and “pointless” assailed her ears as she
seated herself at the table. The conversations continued until she
finally stood up.

“
This is unproductive.
Abraham is dead. Norton is dead. I know this, I was there and
almost died too. Expressing your personal feelings is not going to
change this fact, placing blame is not going to bring them back. We
need to collect ourselves and move on from here.”

“
That’s the problem,
where the hell do we go from here? Abraham kept things going,
organized everything. And where the hell is Jennifer?” Kian looked
over at the empty chair, eyes widening. “She wasn’t on the plane,
was she?”

Adya held up the letter. “Jennifer
wasn’t on the plane, but she won’t be returning. She has resigned.”
Shocked silence followed the pronouncement. She waited for someone
to speak, but none commented, their faces blank or anxious. She
sighed and seated herself. “Our first order of business should be
to select a chair for meetings as well as a secretary. Do any of
you feel comfortable running these meetings?”

The men looked at each other
hopefully until Melik spoke up. “You seem to be comfortable enough
giving a guiding nudge. I nominate Adya to the position of chair.”
His direct gaze dared anyone else to make a nomination.

Troy spoke. “I will second that
nomination. When Adya spent her week in my lab she demonstrated
excellent organizational skills, respected rules and procedures but
was open in offering suggestions and ideas. I do not hesitate to
offer my support.” Surprised at this assistance from unexpected
quarters, she nodded her thanks. With Abraham’s death he was now
the oldest regressee, and that fact alone lent extra credence to
his opinion.

“
Okay, looks like none
of the rest of us really want the job anyway so have at it, Adya.”
Hovannes’ choice of words made her flush. Melik caught her eye and
winked. She looked around the table at the expectant
faces.

“
I expect I can
combine the role of chair with recorder, they are complementary.
Now, I didn’t see any news coverage of the incident while in the
hospital. Has notice gone out to the world at large regarding the
loss of two members of our team?” A minute nod of Peter’s head
acknowledged Adya’s skilful reference to Norton and
Abraham.

“
Abraham and Jennifer
normally handled the press.” Sorrowful brown eyes emphasized Kian’s
pain.

“
So at this moment,
very few people are aware of the loss?” Heads around the table
nodded.

“
What about the Island
residents? How much do they know?”

Kalani shook his head, “I think
rumours are flying but there hasn’t been an official announcement.
My team was debriefed shortly after the accident and advised not to
disclose the news until an official statement was
prepared.”

“
Then we need to
prepare one. Any details about the cause of the
accident?”

Sieghard Schmidt shared his news.
“Our old adversary Anvolussion has resurfaced but has graduated to
violence from simple rhetoric.” At thirty, he was a long term
resident of Sanctum. Adya’s gasp was lost in his sonorous voice as
he continued, “For those of you who were not with us when
Anvolussion first raised its ugly head, it’s a political group.
Believes Three Eleven exerts too great an influence on the
governments of the world and has too much power financially, giving
us the ability to control the world. If only they knew…”

Adya began “I think they−” but was
interrupted as he continued.

“
They want to not only
see revolution, they want anarchy. Hence the name, a combination of
anarchy and revolution. They were a thorn in our side back in the
late seventies, wanting free access to all technologies and
completely transparent public operations so they could trace any
activity. Unfortunately not something we could consider due to the
very nature of our presence in this timeline. They did not respond
well to Three Eleven declining their proposition. Underground for a
while, I am disappointed to see they have not only re-emerged but
have resorted to bloodshed.” He paused a moment, studying his
knuckles and clearing his throat before continuing.

“
The results of their
attack could have been much worse. I expect their operatives over
estimated the flight duration and their bomb was meant to detonate
in mid-air with no survivors. We would not have detected their
involvement without the wreckage to investigate. An incendiary
device was planted in the fuselage.”

“
I am so very sorry I
wasn’t able to get everyone out safely.” Adya dropped her eyes from
the assemblage, guilt assaulting her senses.

“
We know you tried,
Adya.” Peter, seated beside her, touched her arm.

The group discussed strategies to
deal with the problem of Anvolussion, ranging from infiltrating the
group to buying the members out. No consensus was
reached.

“
I do not want to
trivialize the loss of life but perhaps we can use this opportunity
to turn the general public against Anvolussion? Sympathy would rest
with Three Eleven after an announcement of the consequences of
their violence.” Adya’s suggestion found a murmur of agreement
around the table.

“
Who should be the
spokesperson?”

“
Sorry, I don’t do
public speaking.” Santino expressed his horror at the
thought.

“
I don’t think any of
us do, we’re scientists, not politicians.” Uba’s statement was
received with another round of nods, the rumblings at the table
spiralling into discussing how lost they were without Abraham. Troy
spoke up.

“
If someone prepares a
statement, I’ll go to the press with it.”

“
Any spin doctors in
the house?” Adya’s attempt at levity worked, tension lightening on
a few faces. “Work tonight preparing draft statements and meet at
oh nine hundred tomorrow to develop the final wording. Personally,
I need a bit of quiet time.” Ducking her head, she collected the
papers in front of her.

“
Alright, sounds good.
I second that.” Babak stood. Peter followed suit.

“
See you tomorrow
morning.” The remainder of the executive also rose and filed out of
the room. A few approached Adya with expressions of sympathy for
her injuries, whom she thanked for their concern. Troy was just
leaving as she caught his arm.

“
Thank you for your
vote of confidence, I appreciate it.”

“
Everything I said was
true, I’ve no reason to doubt your competence handling the table.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
Yes, and thank you
also for taking the public relations role.”

“
Don’t thank me yet,
we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. Can you call a press conference, I
wouldn’t know where to start and I expect you might have a better
idea.”