Time Hunter (Book 2 - Jump Line series)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Instantly, we were back in OnyxFive, in a large office.

"Why are we here?" Audrina whispered.

"You'll see."

Before I had a chance to say anything else, the door to the room flew open. On the other side stood General Paul James, a smug look on his face.

Audrina's eyes widened. "Crap," she said under her breath. "I knew at some point we would see him again, but I was really hoping to avoid him for at least the next decade or so."

"I knew you'd be back," he said, his eyes narrowing as he studied our faces.

"Of course you did." I stepped to the front of the group. "We paid a visit to Artek. Dr. James was a little surprised."

"I'm sure she was."

Samuel took a step forward. "Aren't you shocked to hear that she's alive?"

Paul let out a sigh. "No. I've known she was alive for quite a while. And she already warned me that you would be stopping by."

Samuel didn't hesitate. In one swift move, he had Paul pinned to the wall.

"What else aren't you telling us? These little games are getting old," Samuel asked through clenched teeth. I had never seen him this mad before. His entire demeanor had changed. He was consumed by rage. "You told me that she was dead, that you had found her body."

"It wasn't my doing. She wanted all of you to believe she was dead. It was the only way she would be safe to continue her work. She also knew someone on the team was working against us, and she needed to get that person—who we all know now is Luther—off her trail," Paul said as a look of pain crossed his face. "She figured out a new way to travel through time and was about to finish her research when Troy paid her a visit. She knew she had to take protective measures, which is how Esa became a part of the plan."

"Is that really what she wanted, or is it what you both wanted?" I asked, shaking at the realization that Samuel and I had been duped by our own parents. They had lied to us both repeatedly because of their obsession with science. Maybe it wasn't even about science, but rather ego.

Paul pushed away from Samuel. "Let me down, Captain Samuel James. That is an order."

Samuel glared at him but finally took a step back. "Fine, but we want answers. Now."

"Okay," he said, smoothing out his shirt. A dark red mark was left on his neck, with the outline of Samuel's hand.

"Your mother and I knew there was a mole. We suspected Luther, but we also questioned whether or not Theo might be connected," Paul said.

"Wait. Why did you think Theo was a traitor, and why are you only telling us this now?" I asked. There was no way Theo could be a traitor. He was the leader.

"We tracked him to NorthStar," Paul said, his eyebrows arching. "There were other things as well. Esa, we approached you about the possibility. You were angry at first, but then you also started tracking Theo. You, too, found him at NorthStar."

Images of NorthStar came rushing back into my thoughts. When we had been there, everything had seemed so familiar. I knew I'd been inside before, but I hadn't remember being there because of Theo.

"You became very upset. We all worried that our secrets were getting into the wrong hands, so your mother hid the information and then, as a precautionary measure, she put a clue on you, in case something happened to us. You were jumping to 2007 to give us the insurance we needed that Luther wouldn't go against us. This time, you weren't jumping to pull a body but to kill someone—Luther's grandfather. But something happened during the jump and you lost your memory. We think you hit something during transit. Dr. James saw what happened. She thought about pulling you back, but then we realized this might be the perfect plan. If you were hidden, we at least had some hope that if someone tried to mess with our team, we had you safely hidden away. So, she went back and put something inside your body that would prevent the rest of the team from feeling your energy. It was remarkable science. I have to admit, I was impressed with her work that day."

Rage ignited inside of me. I wasn't entirely sure I believed Paul's story. Why was he only divulging this information now? We had talked back at NorthStar. He had told me a modified version of the story then, but the added parts made a big difference.

"You left me there for three years." I seethed. Three years was a long time, too long of a time for someone to leave their child.

"Yes, because we were trying to collect more evidence. We weren't ready for you to come back. Plus, the war continued to wage on. We weren't entirely sure we would survive," Paul said. "It was safer for us to know that at least one of you was hidden with information that could hopefully save your mother's work."

"Three years!" I yelled again. "It shouldn't have taken you three years to figure out the truth. In the meantime, you destroyed my life."

Paul shook his head. "Don't forget, I also couldn't get on the line. Your mom thought it would be a giveaway that we were working together, and she wanted Troy and everyone to believe that she had died, so she would be able to work on quietly, including getting into Troy's lab, if need be. I had no way to visit you, Esa."

Samuel looked over at him. "So, you finally convinced me to take you on the line?"

"Yes. I was tired of all of you being able to travel through time while I was stuck in this year. We know the world is dying. I don't intend to be here when it does." Paul looked over at me. "Esa, it was a mission, and one you volunteered for at the time. You knew the length of the mission was not set."

"No. I was protecting all of you. But who was protecting me when you sent me off alone?" I said as a single tear slid down my warm cheek.

Paul shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. "You're a soldier. Stop crying."

My back went rigid at his statement.

Audrina moved forward. "So, what grand plan do you and Dr. James have up your sleeves?"

A gleam flickered in Paul's eyes. "We're not limited. It's time we unlock all of our capabilities."

"What do you mean?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

"I mean that this team has the right capabilities to be able to go to another planet, another solar system, and start over. We've developed a new way to travel, and I think we can now do it," Paul said. "It's time for us to go and visit Dr. James at Artek."