Next week's story post 30

I am away on hol next week, so posting now what you should be waiting for still.

30

“Ah! At last! Welcome, gentlemen, welcome!”
Davi and Petar barely heard, they still heard the whistling bullets coming for them. At least Mitchell did not seem to have come with them.
“You have something for me, I believe?”
“No. You have something for US. We have come from 2010 in pursuit of our females friends.” Davi was thinking on his feet as usual, hoping that the military man would believe him.
“Hah! Of course you have! Dave, please bring our guests.” He turned. “Dave? Where is he?!”
“Our colleague has taken a little longer lunch break than normal. Shall we find him for you?” Slongur spoke silkily. He would also like to know where Dave had got himself. Both men had looked for him earlier, and noted that the female guests were also nowhere to be seen. Dave was a resourceful and devious fellow. The colonel did not seem to have noticed.
“A kind offer, gentlemen. Yes, do so, please. You would know where to find him more than I.”
Two armed men suddenly appeared at a run.
“Sir! The women have gone!”
“Find them! Find Mr Grey! Now!”
Davi and Petar had watched and listened in fascination. Mr Grey seemed to have matters under his own control here, not the two, nor the military. Petar swiftly emptied his pocket and kicked the rock under a dark bench out of sight.
Davi knew the two disappearing through the doors ahead of the fatigue clad figures were the ones he needed to speak to. It would have to wait. They needed to get the rock out of the machine in front of them. They needed the rock under the bench to remain unseen. He wished he knew where the rock from 2010 was.

…………

Lagarto raced ahead and out of sight of the militia, doubling back to where Slongur waited. He had seen the feint and ‘disappeared’ himself.
“Any ideas, Slongur?”
“None whatsoever. Wherever he vanishes to, it is well out of sight.”
“Out of sight. Out of sight - of course!”
Lagarto gestured quickly at the solitary figure sat at the security screen. A swift blow to the neck and they watched fatigue clad men searching the entire facility.
“Out of sight, Slongur, out of sight! Look for the parts the system is missing!”
“Very clever, Dave, very clever indeed. Multiple little blind spots. But where do they lead?”
“That is given, Lagarto. THINK! What was Dave researching on his own?”
“The work of a minor genius indeed. What the man would be with memory! What he could tell us of home!”
“Let us hope that the colonel remains as unknowing as he is seemingly stupid. Come, let us go to him. I think the lab has become a very dangerous place indeed to be now.”

………

The colonel turned back to Davi and Petar. Things were going awry, but he at least had these two, and the one working machine.
“No, no, gentlemen, please stay where you are.” He brandished an old fashioned pistol.
“As long as you are pointing that thing, fine. We already met Mitchell with one of those. Just missed us in fact.”
“Really? That IS unusual. I take it he didn’t get the rock then?”
Petar was about to answer in the negative but Davi stopped him. It had been a trick question, and Davi had given him the clue!
He laughed. “You already got the rock! Mitchell appeared back in 2010 again, everyone went for him of course. He managed to fire off plenty before we came here.”
“Yes, you came here. Just as I wanted actually. But HOW? You have no machine. You obviously have a rock ….. AH! The ROCK! Gods below, have I been blinkered! Of course! You don’t NEED a machine, do you? DO YOU?”
The two looked him in the eyes with shrugs and innocent expressions.
He bristled. “DON’T make me angry, gentlemen! I don’t need to kill to get answers.”
Davi laughed again. “It’s not us you need to be talking to you know. Those two you just sent off to look for Mr Grey are the ones you need. They have the answers you want.”
“Those freaking aliens? Don’t make me laugh! They think we don’t know their plans to take over this planet, hah! They don’t know what WE have in mind for them!”
BINGO, guess confirmed Davi thought.