Story part 19

19
“I repeat, I will take that, Mr Grey.”
The two whirled, features contorted in their anger.
“Who are YOU to demand our colleague hand over ANYTHING to you, Colonel?”
The military man smirked. “I am head of the Primal Rock Project, Professor Slongur, Professor Lagarto. That Rock is therefore MY property.”
Lagarto spluttered, outraged. “YOU are head of NOTHING. This is OUR project…..”
“Tsk, tsk, Professor. I assure you YOUR project has been OURS, from the very beginning. We do not fund research of this calibre without keeping overall control.”
He motioned two of the troopers with him to take hold of the academics.
“Come, Mr Grey, you at least do not require, ah, persuasion?”
“Indeed not, colonel. I shall be the model of cooperation.”
“More than you have been with these two, I hope.”
He turned slightly as the two were led past under escort. “Your security, professors, does have flaws. The sudden increase in surveillance was more than enough to draw immediate attention. We learnt a lot that you have kept to yourselves. More than enough to justify taking complete control over the operations from here on in.”
Walking with the colonel, Dave wondered exactly how much the military knew. “You have been very - trusting - of my friends the professors, colonel.”
“Not at all, Mr Grey, not at all. We just gave them a little bit too much freedom as it were.”
“Give an inch and take a mile.”
“Exactly. But never totally out of sight, never. Visitors are never out of sight.”
“Ah, you know.”
“We knew as soon as they appeared, Mr Grey. They are not friends, ours or yours. Your arrival has proven a long awaited catalyst. Now your real work begins.”
Work did indeed begin. Early daylight flooded the main laboratory, and a small group watched in fascination as Dave placed the rock in the machine.
Nothing happened. No movement. No lights.
A few groans of disappointment rose. Dave quietened them with a wave of his arm. He had not expected anything; there was nothing to be disappointed about - yet.
A twist to a dial there, a check of power levels here, only a date was missing.
“Colonel, it’s ready. What date do you want?”
“2010. You can do it?”
“Yes and no.” Brows wrinkled in confusion. “THIS is the date controller, in alien language I can’t read.”
Slongur clapped his hands. “Yes! OUR project is still OURS until we tell you how to translate the controls!”
“Not quite, professor. You already told me what the other controls were.”
“And you still don’t remember enough to know. We have a bargaining tool.”
“Maybe.” The colonel thought quickly. “Meet you more than halfway, gentlemen. You translate; I let you continue with whatever you had in mind for the thing - with surveillance of course.”
“You consider THAT halfway?!”
“More than. You could both be out of here, now, permanently.” He grinned maliciously. “I have other projects gentlemen, I could hand both of you over to some equally single minded medical people who have already expressed more than mere curiosity about you.”
“Check and checkmate, Profs. Help ME at least?” Dave smiled at the suddenly deflated and small looking men.
They smiled at him, more trusting of their ‘colleague’ than anyone else there. Setting the date, Dave laid a hand on the rock. A white flash!
“What the nether hell?!” Mike stood on the small pad where the two had been trying to materialise objects for so long.
My machine works! He thought. Now where indeed in the nether hell had that thought come from?
“Welcome back Mitchell. How goes it?”
“Sir?” He drew himself up. “Sir! Special Agent Mitchell is sorry to report things do not go well in 2010. The leader of the project there, Davi Grayson, rumbled me. Sorry sir. You will find a record of the disappearance of prisoner Mitchell from Site Double Zero. I take it this is 2189? Sir.”
“Never mind Mitchell. Yes, this is 2189. We have secured the Primal Rock here. We have the means of sending you back to retrieve the 2010 one. Clean up now, you go back aysap.”