Dulce Truths

“Someone…?” Walter manages, but trails-off as the static build-up in the air increases, and then electrical sparks begin to appear. They’re like miniature lightning bolts, blue and flashing here and there. The lights in the room begin to dim, and then a crackling sound can be heard.

“Look out!” Mark shouts, and just as he begins to dive for the wall. He’s not a second too late — just then a shimmering portal appears in the middle of the room, the same kind that Turn saw back in Dulce just hours before. It stands there flickering that oil-in-a-puddle look for a moment, and then there’s a bright flash as someone comes through. And then just like that the portal is gone. It takes a moment for the four men in the room to adjust their eyes, but when they do they widen them in surprise.

“Bobbie!” Turn is the first to say, followed by a, “Stu!” from Walter and a, “What in the hell are you two doing here?” from Mark.

“Hey, it’s nice to see you too!” Bobbie says in that go-fuck-yourself tone of his.

“No, I’m serious,” Mark says, “what are you doing here? What’s happened at Blue Lake?”

“What… you don’t know?” Stu says. “Gosh, you sent me back from here to tell me to get ready, and come here now!”

“Don’t know?” Bobbie scoffs. “Course they know. Or were you thinking of something else besides your father gettin’ killed and you takin’ the blame before breakin’ yourself out?” Bobbie shrugs. “Not a whole lot.”

“Something’s happened or you two wouldn’t have been sent here,” Walter says.

“Yeah, somethin’s happened alright,” Bobbie says. “Carl was killed in that breakout of yours and people are beginning to wonder. One of ‘em was Jake, and when he took his concerns to General Anderholt… well, he vanished.”

“Vanished?” Bennewitz says. “Or maybe just went AWOL? I hear there’s a mighty fine bar just a couple miles from Blue Lake, after all.”

Bobbie chuckles. “And I could clean out their full stock right about now. “No,” he continues, shaking his head, “Jake wouldn’t have run off like that… something’s happened to him. And when you couple that somethin’ with the Dutchman’s death and you takin’ the blame for it, well…” he looks at Mark and nods as he says that last, “then there’s a pretty good bet that something’s going on, and it sure ain’t good.”

“So you found Donlon and he told you about the plan,” Mark says.

“If you mean the Trifecta, then yes.” Bobbie shrugs, looking from Mark to Walter to Turn and finally at Bennewitz. “Donlon thought you’d be here. Said you might have some strange company too.”

“Strange as in new and different… or strange as in something else?” Bennewitz says, getting up close to the super soldier and looking at him this way and that. Bobbie begins to grow uncomfortable, like he’s suddenly some zoo animal.

“Uh… just strange,” Bobbie says.

“And of course my future self told me… and now he’s… where exactly?” Stu says.

“Waiting to turn into you,” Mark says, giving Stu a strange look. “Didn’t you write the book on the physics of time travel, after all?”

Stu only frowns to that.

“If we sent you back then that means you’re going after Tommy,” Bennewitz says, “and that means the soul catcher’s days are numbered.”

Stu rolls his eyes. “I was afraid it was something like that.”

Bobbie takes the slight lull in the conversation to look back at Mark. “Say, what the hell is goin’ on around here? And this is Montana… right? Donlon said you’d probably be in Montana… right before he stuck me in that teleporter gizmo and sent me here.”

“Yep, this is Montana,” Mark says, “and Donlon was right about where we’d head. But I’m troubled to hear it’s mainly business as usual back at Blue Lake. Are you telling me that’s it… that no one’s doubting the bullshit Anderholt’s feedin’ em?”

Bobbie shakes his head. “Besides Donlon and Charlie and Heather and me—”

“Heather!” Mark says, rushing forth to grasp hold of Bobbie’s shoulders. “Is she alright? Anderholt hasn’t gotten to her?”

“No… no!” Bobbie says, surprised at the vehemence in Mark’s voice. “She’s fine… and working with us… and by ‘us’ I mean Charlie and Donlon and me.”

“That’s it?” Bennewitz says.

Bobbie scoffs. “What the hell’d you expect… the cavalry? C’mon, pal — can’t you see what’s goin’ on? It’s sure clear to me at least that we’ve got traitors in our midst, and they’re probably working with the Grays.”

“And the Grays have always worked for the Reptilians,” Mark says, more to himself than anyone else. He looks lost in thought. The others see this and leave him to it.

The men — now numbering six instead of four — get settled back down. A moment of looking about comes, as if they’re trying to remember what it was they were discussing before everything got thrown off by Bobbie and Stu’s unexpected entrance. Finally Mark clears his throat, pulling all eyes to him. He in turn looks to Turn.

“Like I was sayin’ before these two jumped in us… let’s explain where you really come from.”

28 — Old Memories