The Unknown: Part One

             *Somewhere in time, an event that Trevor and Marin are unaware of taking place*

Captain Ross Hubert chewed his lower lip thoughtfully as he scanned the paperwork on the desk before him. The survey was littered with we believe and we think, a factor Ross knew would get him in on his boss’s bad side. Oh, why can’t they find any evidence? He groaned inwardly. Ross brought his fist down with a slam! Then glared at the papers before him. A lot of good these do. He growled. Nothing on that elusive man or his partner.

 The forty-three-year old officer stood up and stretched, tossing the survey aside on his already cluttered desk. He’d deal with that later. The boss hadn’t called him in for an update yet. He had a little time to think up a good explanation as to why there was nothing to report on.

            “Coffee, Captain?”

            Ross turned towards the door to his office to face a freckled Lieutenant, his fiery red hair a stark contrast to his blue army uniform. The young officer held a coffee pot in his hand and a mug in the other.

“Yes, thank you, Lieutenant.”

            The Lieutenant poured the Captain the caffeinated drink. “Here you go sir.”

            Ross accepted the mug and gulped down a third of it without pausing to breath. The hot liquid was a welcome distraction from the problem he had at hand, one he wasn’t excited to come back to.

            “Any news on Project Thirty-Six?”

            So much for taking a break on the matter. He glared at the Lieutenant and set his mug down. “You are dismissed, Lieutenant. On your way,” he muttered.

            The Lieutenant saluted and marched back down the hallway, leaving the Captain alone with his problem again. “Oh,” he moaned, collapsing in his chair, “what am I going to tell the Major?”

            Nothing that he’d want to hear.

~oOo~

            Sidney Wellington slipped into the waiting room, his hands shaking as he clicked his heels in a salute to the guard. “I’m here to see the Major,” he stammered. “I was told he’d like a cup of coffee.” Sidney tried not to spill the pot he held in his right hand, but his nerves causes his hands to jolt like a lizard on a hot summer day.

            The guard looked him over and nodded. “You may pass, Lieutenant.”

            The redheaded officer gave a curt nod of thanks and forced himself down the dark hallway. It was his first time being called to the boss’s office. He’d heard stories that the Major kept a rattlesnake in a glass cage under his desk, and another tale that claimed he had a jar of black widows as a window decoration. The insanity of the rumors were easy to laugh at in the safety of the barracks, but now that he was on his way to see the man it was a different matter.

            What if they were true? What if the Major was as mad as they claimed? He’d once heard that the Major had put a man on the front lines just because the officer had spilled water on his paperwork. Would he do that to a poor guy who’d been put up to the task of bringing him his coffee?

            This is foolish, Sidney chided himself, no one can be that mean. Not even a man in his position. Or could they? After all, where did the rumors come from?

            There was the door.

            Sidney balanced the coffee pot and mug in one hand and tentatively reached with the other to open the door to the office. He paused, then decided perhaps the best course of action was to knock first, just in case. With a deep breath he balled his fist and gave two light raps.

            For a second or two there was silence, then a muffled, “Come in!” told him he’d have to continue on after all. Here goes nothing.

            The Lieutenant opened the door and stepped into the room, expecting to see exotic wildlife in cages everywhere and a uniformed man with a crazed look in his eye. Instead he found a neat and orderly office with a grey-headed figure hunched over a laptop, his cap dangling from the side of his chair.

            Sidney snapped to attention as the chair swiveled around to reveal the Major, his green eyes catching sight of the coffee pot in the Lieutenant’s hand. “Ah, you brought my coffee.”

            His voice was surprisingly soft and quiet, why, it was normal. Sidney wasn’t sure what to think. He’d heard countless stories about this man and now he didn’t look all that impressive. Whoa, the guys really trumped up on this story!

            “Yes, sir,” Sidney nodded. He poured a cup of the caffeinated drink and handed it to his superior officer. “Will that be all, sir?”

            For a second the Major didn’t speak, he took a sip from the coffee mug and nodded in approval. “Did you make this yourself, officer?” he asked.

            Sidney nodded.

            “You did a fine job.” The Major set his mug down and glanced up at Sidney. “Tell me, what did the Captain say to you about Project Thirty-six?”

            The young serviceman started, nearly dropping the coffee pot in his hand. How did he know I talked to the Captain? “Excuse me, sir?”

            “You know what I’m talking about,” the Major leaned back in his chair, his eyes boring into Sidney’s. “You asked the Captain about Project Thirty-six. What did he say?”

            Sidney’s mind raced as he tried to recall what the Captain had mumbled. Why did the Major want to know? Wouldn’t he get a straighter answer if he just asked Captain Ross himself? Sidney had only been trying to make small talk, he'd heard a couple of stories about Project Thirty-six and was curious to know if there had been any new developments. Was he in trouble?

            “Nothing, sir,” Sidney stammered, hoping his answer satisfied the commander. “He merely dismissed me when I asked.”

            “Ah.” The Major nodded, a small smile crossing his face.

            The smirk on the man's lips brought Sidney to the conclusion that the stories had circulated for a reason, the Major’s demeanor was beginning to frighten him. He was so cool and calm, surely he was going to explode any minute.

            “Lieutenant,” Sidney brought his mind back to the present as the Major began to speak again, “I’d like you to tell Captain Ross I want to speak with him.”

            “Sir, yes, sir!” Sidney switched the coffee pot to his left hand and saluted.

            “Dismissed.” The Major waved him off.

            The young Lieutenant left the room relieved nothing had happened to him and a trifle guilty that something he might have said was going to get his Captain in trouble. I hope for the Captain’s sake there was a development on Project Thirty-six.

~oOo~

            “Nothing?”

            Captain Ross, his hands in a sweat and his military cap in his hands nodded.

            The Major stood up, his small frame of five-foot-nine more menacing than that of a man a foot taller than him. Ross took a step back as the Major looked him right in the eye. “Captain Ross, you have failed to deliver.” His tone had a dangerous edge to it, his eyes cold and calculated. “I don’t like it when my officers don’t deliver.”

            “Give me more time,” Ross pleaded, “I need more time. You can’t expect me to find the target in two days when he’s had a lifetime of experience in hiding!”

            Click. Ross froze as he stared into the barrel of the old-fashioned Lugar. He looked up into the Major’s gaze, his heart pounding against his chest.

            “Captain,” the Major said slowly, “That’s exactly what I expect you to do.” He clicked the safety back onto the Lugar and pocketed the weapon, turning his back on the Captain and heading to his desk. “I’m giving you forty-eight hours to either find Trevor Trekker or some historical document that will tell us where he is in time." he picked up a piece of paper and stared at the image. "I have some unfinished business with the man to attend to.” 

            

*Look for part two at the end of May*