Inverted (a Neil / Tenet fanfic)

Chapter 6

"I haven't been told there's a Tenet camp here in Norway" Crystal reproached when she was recovered enough to visit the camp.

"There was no need. Not yet" Neil grinned, showing her another room "This is more a base for experiments, while the one in New York is a physical training one".

"You know that I enjoy experiments, anything linked to physics" she teased "So why didn't you send me here in first place?".

He shrugged "We've been told that you wanted to become a secret agent. So it seemed that shooting, combat, strategy and stuff like that were your field, not lab activities".

She scoffed, but didn't dare to reply. She couldn't afford to reveal too much about herself, after being already too much exposed.

"Crystal, let me introduce you to Wheeler. She runs this place and she enjoys physics as much as you do" Neil pointed at a woman in her forthies who approached them in paramilitary clothes "Wheeler, she's our new recruit. You can tell her more about our job".

Crystal shook the hand that the woman offered with a friendly smile.
"It's great to have you here, Crys. Neil said that you're the hero of our latest mission".

"What?" Crystal dropped her jaw and gazed at the man, who just raised his hands with an awkward face and dismissed himself.

"Wheeler like John Archibald Wheeler, the American physicist?".

Wheeler grinned with pride "I have physics in my blood".

"So what do you do here? There are so many room and many mirrors" Crystal asked frowning.

"Didn't you meet Barbara in New York?".

Crystal recalled the thin woman wearing a white lab coat that seemed more appropriate than military clothes "Yes, but we didn't speak much".

"We work on entropy" Wheeler said tried to be simplistic "And on inversion. Like inverse radiation, and inverted world...".

Crystal found the topic more advanced than what she was used to deal with "Like time travel?".

"Much worse and more complicated than that. We are working in the dark. Experimenting with futuristic technologies that we can't fully control yet".

"Nuclear weapons are more controllable" Crystal tried to joke.

"I definitely agree" Wheeler introduced her to another room, that was like a medic camp.

"Ives!" she exclaimed when she recognized one of the patients laying on a bed.

"Crystal!" he called with the same enthusiasm "I was worrying on why you weren't paying me a visit".

She approached him, glancing at his bended arm, and grabbed his sane hand.

Ives hissed in pain, then at her apologizing stare, he laughed, slapping her arm "I'm alright. I'm just being lazy".

He pulled himself up and tried to pull her closer, but she stepped away to sit on the opposite, empty bed.

"You dealt with worse than just a bullet. You had a freezing swim. I'm sorry for missing it".

"It wasn't funny" she cut off nervously "I really expected to drown and die in that bloody SUV".

Ives sighed "Neil would have never left you there. He'd rather have died with you than facing something like that again".

He turned silent and Crystal knew that he mentioned something he didn't want to talk about.
But she felt a name behind that silence.
Heath.