Section F: Fairy Tales & Physicists

Chapter 22

And in yet one more surprise, on a day that really already had more than its fair share, the scientist turned out to be alive.

And awake.

Squinting in the light of Fields' phone, he looked up at the agent, recognition registering on his pain-wracked face. "Oh. It's you. I...I'm...so sorry." He tried to sit up, but fell back with a cough, blood flecking his thin lips.

"Stay down," commanded Fields, drawing his gun as he shone his woefully inadequate light around their position, searching for any sign of Radovic—for trickery, for an ambush—for anything at all. He saw nothing, but the pitiful sphere of illumination his phone provided was far too small for that to be any kind of reassurance. "What happened here?"

"He shot me." The surprise—the wonder—was evident in Featherstone's voice. "When I saw that poor princess fall, I...I..." He swallowed. "She was bleeding, Agent Fields. Real blood. So real. All of it was so real." He shuddered. "I know it sounds foolish, but I didn't truly understand what he had done—what we had done, until that moment. And then I understood all too well. So, I told Doctor Radovic it had to stop. That nobody else could be hurt, or...or killed. We argued and then we struggled—and he...he shot me."

Fields became aware of the lab-coat's bloodstains, black in the phone's dim light. "Right. And where's Radovic now?"

Featherstone pointed vaguely down the tunnel, in the direction leading away from the control room. "That way. I...I tried to follow, but couldn't...go any further. I'm so sorry, agent. For...for everything."

"Yeah, yeah." Fields sat back on his haunches, as his brain made a valiant—but, he suspected, futile—attempt to churn through the multitude of variables and confounding factors at play in order to come up with a viable course of action. Featherstone clearly needed medical help, but then so did Embers. The portal needed to be shut down, but Radovic also had to be caught. Peregrine would be no doubt be on her way to the car park, but to get there would need to dodge the dragon. Back at the hangar, Britney's and Embers' (relative) safety would only last until the portal churned out something really bad.

And those were just the first few factors that sprang to mind.

For just the briefest of moments, he thought back with longing to the now seemingly golden-hued, halcyon times of just that morning, when all he had to worry about was a broken heart and a career down the toilet. He sighed. Those were the days.

"Give me your radio."

Featherstone blinked at him. "What? How did you—?"

"There's no phone signal out here, and you and Radovic had to be in contact somehow. Hand it over."

As Featherstone laboriously did so, every movement clearly an effort, Fields' heart sank; the little device was obviously low-powered and short-range only. Regardless, he thumbed the transmit button.

"Radovic, can you hear me? Radovic? This is Agent Fields. You're under arrest. Advise your current position and stay right where you are. Running will only make this worse for you." Static-punctuated silence was the only reply. "Radovic?"

More static. Swearing under his breath, Fields was just about to pocket the radio when an idea came to him. A wicked little idea, which prompted a wicked little grin. He hit the transmit button again.

"You know, you'll never get away with this. The agency will hunt you down, wherever you go. You're just not as smart as you think you are, Professor Radovic."

For a few seconds more, the silence persisted. But only for a very few.

"Doctor!" The little speaker transformed Radovic's outraged roar into an indignant squawk. "My title is Doctor, you moronic, cretinous excuse for a functional human being! Can you blame me for wanting to take over this world when law and order is left in the hands of vacuous, half-witted imbeciles who can't even learn a simple title? Imbeciles like you, Agent Fields? And that brainless, good-for-nothing partner of yours? If anything, you should be grateful to me."