To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 24

"That's a bit harsh," I whispered, worriedly looking at the others to see if they'd been offended. His jokes were a bit too harsh and had gotten him in trouble many times.

"Sorry." Derek chuckled. "I was just trying to assert dominance. I'm just excited to see you again. Is Polly okay without you? I know she's been having trouble at school."

"She's fine, Derek. I really think we need to focus on the issue at hand, though." I loved Polly, don't get me wrong, but by keeping Derek safe I would indirectly be keeping Polly safe.

"You're right." He released my hand and led the group toward the giant computer he'd previously been using as a hiding place. "Those things have been blocking my access to certain sections of the station so I came here in an attempt to get them back online. Unfortunately there's a passcode to get in so I'll need you four to find it and bring it back here so we can regain control of the ship."

Even though I knew he was trying to dumb down his words for us I still had no clue what he was talking about.

"How do we find it?" Zora asked, allowing her poker face to return.

"My friend Ace programmed it and he's locked himself inside one of the safe rooms along with four other engineers. You'll need to find him, bring him here, and escort the other four to a working ship so they can return to Manica and get help. We've lost all communications with the planet. Di barely managed to contact you three before we were blocked off."

"Is Ace doing okay?" I asked. Derek's best friend had seemed somewhat hesitant about moving into space and now he'd be able to say "I told you so" to us.

"He's fine but won't be for long if we lose control of the ship. I'm counting on you guys." He cast each of them a reassuring smile before glancing my way for a split second. "I'm not sure if I want you going, though."

"I'll be fine. I'm a Valdis."

He raised an eyebrow. We both knew that he was talking about the alternate reality in which his wife died but I refused to believe it would happen. "I'll be extra careful," I reassured him. We'd managed to not kill his grandma, though she died of a heart attack a year later, so I believed we could save my life too. And his. And Polly's.

Derek hesitated, drawing in a breath to say something before releasing it and nodded, putting his faith in me. "I'll lock myself in here and do what I can to help you, which isn't much."

"We can handle it," Jala answered, eager to go.

"What about me?" John Philips suddenly popped out from behind the door and jogged toward us, sweat pouring down his face despite not participating in any of the action. "I can't go with them!"

Derek shot him a look of annoyance, clearly hoping that he'd died in the attack, before looking away, his left eye twitching slightly. "...You can...stay in here with me so long as you don't touch anything."

"As your boss I have the right to—"

"You...!" Derek reached for my hand and started squeezing it again, veins popping out on his arms. "You are the reason all of my men are dead. If you dare to touch anything I will send you out to deal with the problem you created, is that understood Sir?" He emphasized the sir darkly.

John stepped back, insulted, but nodded, squinting at him through his glasses. "Fine. But if I know you're doing something wrong don't think I'll hesitate let you know about it."

"I know," Derek whispered, shooting me one last look of desperation before letting go and walking toward the control panel. I took one more moment of watching him roll up his sleeves and start pressing buttons before I finally followed the heroes out the door.

"I love you," I heard him say through my earpiece before he locked himself in. "Please don't die."

"Same to you," I said, making sure to sound confident. The only ones who had a chance of dying today were those aliens and maybe John Philips. Not us. We could change the story. We would. I had to keep telling myself that, otherwise I'd stop blindly believing it.