TITOR

23. Sabotage

Nina's heart skipped a beat when she saw the man standing nearby. After escaping one danger, she now had to face another. Her fate was once again uncertain. Trapped, her mind raced to find a way out of the situation. However, before she could devise an escape plan, the man pulled down her hood.

"I saw you, but when I chased after you, you were already gone. Luckily, I managed to find your trail again, and here I am now, Nina Tipler," the man said after revealing his face.

Nina gasped, her eyes widening as she looked at the man. "How do you know me? Who are you?"

"General Wickham sent me to assist Professor Tipler in locating you," the man replied.

"Dad ...," Nina murmured.

The man continued, "I was with a friend of mine who was assigned to bring you and John back. However, at that time John's location had not been found, so we split up. My friend searched for John in the ages of his presumed location, while I am here."

Nina breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with that half-machine man."

The man was taken aback. "A half-machine man? Who are you talking about?"

Nina recounted her time travelling, being separated from John, and finally being stranded in the old Roman city. The man nodded repetitively as he listened to Nina's narrative. The unknown cause of the time machine's malfunction left the man shaking his head.

"We'd better go home, and let that half-machine slman stay here forever," said General Wickham's envoy.

Nina nodded. "You're right."

The man placed his hand on Nina's shoulder and pressed the holographic button on his watch. For a few moments they waited, but the expected time vortex never appeared. They exchanged a brief glance, then the man tried once more, but to no avail.

"Weird, why isn't your watch working?" murmured Nina.

"Is this something you've experienced?" the man asked.

Nina nodded. "Sometimes it didn’t work, but other times we were thrown into the wrong time. It’s really strange. If there’s a problem with the time machine, it shouldn’t cause random malfunctions like this. The only possibility is ...."

The man watched Nina who looked down and was stunned for a while. "Did you find anything?"

"I don't know, but from the various possibilities, I suspect this is no ordinary malfunction," Nina replied, worried.

"What do you mean?" The man looked at Nina, astonished.

"Sabotage." Nina returned the man's gaze seriously.

"Sabotage?" the man asked.

Nina nodded. "There are people inside the DST who want to thwart John's mission."

The man's eyebrows jerked downwards, deepening the creases on his forehead. His lips pressed tightly together, and his jaw clenched. "Traitor! We have to get home and find that traitor before things get messy!"

"The only way is to find the half-machine man. He's our ticket home," said Nina.

The man looked at Nina thoughtfully. "If I'm not mistaken, when I passed a patrol of Roman soldiers, I heard them talking about a prisoner who was going to fight in a gladiatorial arena. Could it be him?"

Nina shrugged her shoulders. "We won't know until we confirm it. I think we need to investigate at the Roman base."

The man smiled. "I happened to pass by their base earlier, so I still remember its location."

Nina nodded, and the two walked away. Entering the lion's den was no easy task. Although she felt anxious, Nina's belief that General Wickham's envoys must be capable and strategic made her doubts disappear. Of course, General Wickham would not send just anyone on such a mission.

***

The moon shone dimly in the sky, illuminating the dusty streets with a faint silver glow. The cold and silent night added to the eerie atmosphere as they moved through the narrow streets and dark alleys of the old Roman city. Ancient buildings stood proudly around them, as if they were silent witnesses to this risky journey. The night breeze blew softly, carrying the distinctive scent of the ancient city mixed with the scent of dirt and dust.

Nina and the man were getting closer to the Roman army base. With cautious steps, they approached the walls of the base. The man signalled to Nina to wait for a moment. When the guards turned around, they ducked and ran quickly to the other side of the building, constantly looking for an opening to enter. They skulked through the dark, narrow hallways. Their breathing was held, trying not to make the slightest noise. Occasionally, they hid behind walls or pillars when soldiers' footsteps could be heard approaching.

After several minutes that felt like hours, they arrived near a room guarded by Roman soldiers. From behind the wall, they heard the voices of two Roman soldiers having a conversation. Nina signalled to the man, and they approached to overhear the conversation.

"It's amazing that he made it to the finals without using a weapon, let alone facing tough opponents with weapons," one of the shorter soldiers said in an astonished tone.

"Yes," replied the stocky soldier, "that prisoner is indeed extraordinary. He fights with only his bare hands and still defeats all his opponents."

"What is his name? I heard they call him 'Son of God'," asked a rather short guard.

"Yes, that's right. Unfortunately, no one knows his real name," replied the burly soldier.

Nina and the man exchanged glances. There was no doubt that they had found an important clue. The man touched Nina's shoulder, signalling her to back away slowly. Carefully, they slipped back out of the base, avoiding the eyes of the soldiers on guard. They finally managed to reach a safe place, where they could talk without fear of threats.

"I don't understand what they were talking about," Nina said.

"So here it is ...." The man translated the conversation of the two Roman soldiers to Nina.

Just like John, he was a trained soldier who was often deployed to various countries so he knew several languages. Nina listened carefully to the man's explanation, and when he was finished, they discussed the next step to take.

"There's no doubt about it, it's Xavier. There's no way anyone can defeat armed gladitors with their bare hands, other than that guy is half machine. We have to devise a plan to save Xavier," Nina said.

"Ah, so his name is Xavier." The man nodded in understanding. "We have to do it quickly before the gladiatorial games start tomorrow."

"You're right. But we need to know the location of the arena," said Nina.

The man smiled. "Leave it to me. As a military member trained in various missions, finding information like this is not difficult. You'd better get some rest, Nina, because we might face a difficult obstacle tomorrow, considering that as a prisoner it won't be easy to get close to Xavier."

Nina shook her head. "No, I don't feel safe in this ancient city. They could find me at any time. I feel safer with you."

The man nodded. "All right. Let's go."

They walked quickly and disappeared into the shadows of the night with a growing determination to get their tickets home. Both knew getting to Xavier would be no easy task, but there was no other way. It was the only way they could think of to get back to the future.