Pandemonium engulfed Dinnie’s lab. First the neutrino alarm had gone off, drawing everyone’s attention to the detector, but before any of them could move, another alarm, this one a floor or two away, shrieked over the first one. Seconds later, another alarm, closer to their lab, joined the first two. Dinnie didn’t have to act startled. The alarms scared her witless, and her reaction was no more or less real than anyone else’s. She raced out of her office, pointing at the detector alarm and yelling, “Turn that off!” as she ran past it. Someone silenced it, while two of her team stared at the detector, at least trying to do their job. The others stared at each other in uncertain fear. Part of the problem was that no one was sure what the other alarms were for. A fire or hazard alarm was a deep buzz at one-second intervals, along with flashing exit lights. This alarm was a nonstop ringing bell, first one, then the other. They sounded the same note, but came from different directions, as if each alarm was focused on a particular area. The first came from above them, the second seemed to come from the south wing. Where the labs are. Before Dinnie could speak, they all heard the ominous click of doors locking.
“What the hell?” That came from Dinnie’s secretary Cass, who ran to the door, jerking at its handle. When it didn’t budge, she kicked the door, then slapped her hand against it. Dinnie reached her, grabbing her hand before it hit a second time.
“Take it easy, Cass.” Dinnie tried to sound reassuring.
“We’re locked in!” Cass’ eyes were wild as she gripped Dinnie’s shoulders with both hands. “They’re going to keep us here. They won’t let us go home, and I’ve got kids to take care of. What will happen to them?”
Dinnie looked around in frustration and saw her data technician Mike, approaching at a quick trot.
“Mike, take her,” she said through clenched teeth. Cass’s fingernails were digging into her arms. “I’ve got to make some calls and find out what’s happening.”
Mike put an arm around Cass, pulling her away from Dinnie. Holding Cass firmly to his side, he turned to Dinnie. “Wait,” he said. “You need to know that just before the first alarm, we had a sharp peak in neutrinos. Right here.”
Dinnie stared at him, then glanced around the room. “Here?” She hardly got the word out.
“Not this room,” Mike said. “But this building. It was almost simultaneous with the first alarm.”
“Get her settled.” Dinnie pointed to Cass’s desk. “Then get on the detector. Check Labs 4D and 3B. I want to know if the neutrinos originated in one of those.”
She turned to her office, but turned back before moving. “Mike.”
“Yeah?”
“Find out where they went.”
~~~
Feldman cased Lab 3B in quick steps, his eyes darting everywhere, not missing anything. There just wasn’t anything to see. O’Brien stood at attention, staring straight ahead, with his lips squeezed tight, as if to keep any more words from falling out. O’Brien’s supervisor was at the guard station, running the room’s security video of the event. Feldman had already seen it once. The fact that it corroborated O’Brien’s rambling story only made him madder.
“Th-th-they were both standing at Altair’s station,” the guard had stammered. “Just talking, sir. They were just talking, not loud, but not whispering either. Then the alarm went off, and I came right around to tell ‘em to back off and put their hands on their heads. But before I could say anything, Altair just picked up his computer and they both vanished.” He shook his head and ran a hand over his buzz cut. “Just vanished,” he repeated.
Feldman stared at Altair’s work station, then turned to Green’s. “Did Mr. Green have his Pad?” he asked.
O’Brien’s eyes darted to his supervisor, and the security feed. “I believe he did, sir.”
“Mr. Feldman.” The supervisor glanced up from the screen. “Dr. Warner is calling you sir. It’s marked urgent.”
Feldman tapped his Pad to put her on the speaker. “Where are you, doctor?”
“In my office, sir,” Her voice was crisp and professional, with no hint of fear. Good. Feldman liked that in an underling. “Sir, you should know that we picked up two spikes in neutrinos, just before the alarms went off. We’ve traced the bridges. They have a different signature than the interdimensional one. These are local.”
“Excellent work! Where did they go?”
“Queen’s University. Just off the old quad.”
Feldman turned and snapped a finger at the supervisor, who was staring at him, open-mouthed. “We have a team on campus. Get them over there, now! I want those people returned. Alive.”
He brought his attention back to his Pad. “Dr. Warner, did you know our guests have slipped the cage?”
There was a pause before she spoke. “No sir, I didn’t know it. But I knew it was a possibility, unless you’d given them the go-ahead to run an experiment.”
“You would have been told if I had,” Feldman said. “Now, I want to know everything you’ve got on Andrew Green. I want his complete record, but send me whatever you’ve got available as soon you as have it.”
“Mr. Green?” Her voice climbed a register. “Isn’t he there?”
“He vanished with Altair. Get me that data.”
“Yes, sir.”
Feldman closed the connection, pressed another button to call Dr. Russell, and turned to the supervisor, who barked, “The Queen’s team is looking for them, sir.”
“Keep me informed immediately, whatever happens,” Feldman said. “Also, I want a complete sweep of this room, and Lab 4D. I want it yesterday.” He turned his attention to the woman waiting on his Pad. “Dr. Russell, what have you got on those tracking chips?”
“Full-spectrum tests aren’t done yet, sir. So far, I’m not seeing any anomalies.”
“I want you to check through all your tests on Altair and Andrews. See if there’s something in their tissues that can be used as a tracker. Altair had to have some way of finding where she was, before he could transport her.”
“Sir?” Dr. Russell was clearly bewildered.
“Just do it doctor. I need that information now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Feldman closed the call, grinding his teeth in fury. It took all his control to not hurl the Pad against a wall. Eyes closed, he counted to four, then turned to the guards. “Get a team to go over today’s feed. I want to know what they did and what they said. Do the same with the Andrews feed. You’ve got an hour.” He swung around on a heel and covered the steps to the door in four strides. “I’ll be in the neutrino lab with Dr. Warner.”
~~~
Moving with gentle slowness, Andy lay Moira’s head in his lap. Her hair was wet and tangled, and he ran his fingers through it, starting at her scalp, brushing down until he hit a snag. He continued the movement, watching her face for any sign of consciousness. His mind raced in a hundred circles, fleeing from worry over Moira to the presence of Sam and Sarah, to life in the Allied Rebels. He had always had a plan for his life, with clear short-term goals to achieve on the way to long-term goals. Now he was racing into a supernova. He had no idea what would happen next.
He felt a pressure on his hand and looked down to see Moira’s eyes open, fixed on his face. Her hand covered his, hindering his massage of her head. He was keeping her balanced with the other hand against her waist, so he just smiled down at her. “Are you all right? How do you feel?”
“It hurts,” she whispered. Then louder, “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story. But Karen’s taking us to meet the rebels. There’ll be a doctor for you. For now, don’t try to move. You’re safe.”
“They caught me at the hotel,” she said, her eyes closing. “I had to run, and I think it made the injury worse.” Her eyes popped open. “Someone was shooting at us. Are you all right? Where’s Karen?”
“Shhh.” He patted her head. “Everyone’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Who were those people with you?”
He gestured toward the other side of the van and she turned her head. “Sam Altair and Sarah Andrews. Your interdimensional people.”
Sam nodded, and Sarah lifted a hand in a brief wave.
Moira started to sit up, but jerked to a stop, gasping. Andy gripped her around the shoulders. “Moira, stay still.”
Sarah rose with swift grace and knelt by Moira, adding her hands to Andy’s. “Please don’t try to get up. We’re not going anywhere.”
Moira stared at her. “You ... you’re real.” She moved a hand to stroke Sarah’s arm. “You really came over that neutrino bridge?”
“Yes, we really did.” Sarah smiled, but Andy thought it was a bitter one. “That’s the last thing that went the way it was supposed to.”
Moira returned the smile, but the pain behind it was obvious. “Our plans seem to be coming out the same way. But you must tell me how the bridge works. I did some equations, but I have so many questions, starting with how you found our universe. How are the universes placed relative to each other? What sort of ...”
“Moira.” Andy touched a finger to her lips, as Sarah and Sam exchanged an amused glance. Andy was dizzy with relief that Moira felt well enough, and alert enough, to jump right into questions.
The lips under his fingers moved sideways and she glared at him. “You,” she said from behind his hand, which he finally moved, “have been working with them all day. You’ve had all your questions answered.”
He shook his head. “It hasn’t been that way, I’m afraid. Sam and Sarah were taken prisoner as soon as they got here, and we’ve been working on Albert Feldman’s ominous projects. It’s been pretty tense all day.”
Sarah stood, and bent down to pat Moira’s shoulder. “We all have questions. Sam and I did not know what to expect here, and I don’t mind telling you that I’m terrified. But I hope we do have a chance to talk about the science. It really is amazing.”
The van eased to a stop as she was speaking, then began a backup turn. Sarah sat close to Sam, taking his hand. When the van stopped again, Karen and the driver got out. Andy slipped a hand under Moira’s knees, hoping they had reached their destination.
“I can walk,” Moira said in faint protest.
Andy glanced with some concern at the van door, while sparing a tiny smile for Moira. “No, you can’t.” He could hear voices out there. What was Karen playing at?
At last, the back doors opened. Andy was relieved to see Karen holding onto a wheelchair, but not the people behind her. Two women and two men, all pointing pistols at the van’s occupants.
No one moved.
“Is this necessary? Andy asked.
Karen shrugged. “You wanted safety. They don’t stay safe without precautions.”
Moira turned her head to look. “She has a point, Andy.”
Karen held out an arm. “They won’t shoot unless you give them a reason to. Come on. Everyone’s waiting for you, including the doctor.”
Andy glanced at Sam, who tilted his head and swept an arm toward the door. So he stood, striding forward with what he hoped looked like confidence. He had nothing to hide from these people. They’re the good guys.
He tried to project his confidence as he placed Moira in the chair. She was biting her lip, but managed to smile at him. He stroked her hair one more time, then Karen turned the chair around and entered the building. Sam and Sarah waited with Andy until one of the guns indicated they should follow.