After Image
Chapter 21

Luckily for Viola, most of the cars between her and Will were only ghost Images and she ran through them with the scientific principle of the quickest route from A to B is a straight line. The agents in pursuit did not have that same luxury and had to take the same weaving course that Will was taking. Bowling through a SUV, Viola ran straight through Will and came to a jerky halt, turning towards him. When he saw the ghostly form of Viola in front of him, he too put on the breaks and backed against the SUV for more cover.

“Quinn, any advice on how I pop into the correct universe at this point?” Viola asked as she saw the agents advancing on their position.

“I could tell you the appropriate coordinates for your starting point, but I doubt with the way your mind works it will help. Just do what you always do, think about what you want and make it happen,” Quinn replied.

Viola concentrated on Will. She wanted to be where Will was so that she could pull him back here and they could be safe again, at least until her quantum energy was completely used up. Will became solid and she sighed in relief. She grabbed his hand before he could protest just as she saw one of the agents coming into view. He shot his gun at the same time that Viola started the process to conceal them in the half Imaged state. She sighed in relief when she saw the bullet hit the SUV causing a pock mark in its pristine skin.

“That was a close call,” she huffed as she glanced around at the many agents that now surrounded them. Thankfully, they were all iridescent. She heard Will grunt from behind her and turned her attention back to him. She saw blood congealing on his shirt where a hole was gaping in his biceps.

“Sit down and grab my leg,” she shouted at Will who responded by doing exactly as she said. She disengaged her hand from his and tore at the bottom of her dress. The bottom came of in a clean strip and she wrapped it snuggly around Will’s right arm, staunching the flow of blood.

“Quinn, any chance I am able to Image in this state?” Viola asked.

“I can’t answer that accurately with the data I have, but I am going to assume now is not really the best time to test that hypothesis,” Quinn replied.

Viola looked back at Will and grabbed his hand again, helping to pull him to his feet. “That will have to do for now until we get out of the immediate danger.”

“You are surprisingly calm for the amount of imminent danger we are in,” Will replied. Viola was scanning the parking lot for a car that was solid and spotted one on the other side of the parking lot.

“My family has been disaster prone my whole life. We were a magnet for Murphy’s law: ‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.’ Growing up in that constant disarray kind of makes you either break down in hysterics or makes you stay calm and figure a way through it. Truthfully, the majority of my family is the break down into hysterics kind, but after they are done with that they soldier on. I just gave up on the crying thing when I realized it didn’t help at all and sometimes made it worse. I leave my crying for when I am alone and the situation is handled, and then I sob like a baby.” By the time Viola had finished talking they had reached the solid car. It was a sleek looking silver Mercedes Benz. “So how are we going to use this gem do you suppose?”

Will responded by smashing in the driver’s side window making the alarm howl, magnified in the space between universes by the added siren of the two cars combined. Viola slapped her left hand over her ear to cancel out some of the noise and did not let go of Will. He opened the door and in only a few minutes he had done something to the wires in the car that caused it to stop yelling at them and also to start running as Viola kept her hands firmly pressed to his back. When he sat back up, he grabbed Viola’s left hand and gestured for her to step in the driver’s side. She awkwardly - while trying to maintain contact with Will - got into the passenger seat. Will got into the driver’s seat and closed the door.

“We might have a problem,” Will replied once they were inside.

“Well we have many problems at the moment, which one might you be referring to?” Viola replied.

“This car is a standard drive. I need both my hands.” Viola sighed, set her right hand on his arm and let go of his hand placing it on his shoulder. The agents that were pursuing them were getting closer.

“We better get moving quickly. Us damaging this vehicle seems to have made the changes in both worlds, but I am not sure that will be the case with any damage caused by people from just one of the world’s. Too much damage and it might become intangible for us in this state,” Viola said pushing her foot into the floor in a mental response to get the car moving.

Instead of replying, Will put the car into gear and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. They went from still to blazing fast in seconds. Viola held on to Will’s shoulder with a vice grip as he weaved between the rows of intangible cars.

“Do you think this car will slide through the ghost Images like we do?” Will asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” Viola shouted grabbing her seatbelt and securing it around her waist. When she looked up she saw that Will took her answer as something that should be tested and was running a straight line for the ghost cars in front of them. Viola held her breath in anticipation of impaction, her thoughts straying to her nieces and what would happen if they found out she was dead, and then they were through the other side, the ghost cars passing right through them. “I would slap you so hard right now if I could move,” Viola said in response.

“It was an educated guess,” Will replied, laughing. Viola glared at him in response and shivered from the cold air pouring in from the window. She glanced behind them and saw some ghost cars following. She wasn’t sure which universe they were in pursuit, but she had to assume both.

“Let’s lose our tail before I Image us back into our original reality,” Viola replied.

Will grinned. “With pleasure. Slamming into a higher gear, Viola was jammed back into her seat as she watched the crazy half solid half ghost world fly by the windows.

It was surprisingly easy to lose their pursuers as they got deeper into city, as quite a few of the building were ghosted and Will ran the car right through them. When we were near the outskirts of town and no one was in pursuit that they could see, Viola decided it was time to get out from the half Imaged space.

“Slow down, Will, I’m Imaging us back into our reality. Actually we should probably park, I am not sure what will happen to the other car when we quantum shift apart from it,” Viola said.

Will pulled behind a gas station and parked the car. Viola released the hold she had on the other universe and felt her ears pop as she came back to her own universe. She let out a sigh and suddenly, the adrenaline wearing off, she felt utterly exhausted.

“We should get another car. An older model if possible, one that doesn’t have GPS tracking,” Will replied. He opened the door and got out of the car. Viola didn’t budge and so he turned back to look at her, she looked pale, which was hard for Viola to look as she had always been a porcelain white to begin with.

“I think I used up a bit too much energy,” Viola mumbled, her eyes half closed. “Quinn, can you make sure they can’t track us. I am sure there is a tracking device embedded in my head with the chip. Can you direct them in the opposite direction that we go?” She asked the air.

“Of course Viola, I have already been doing so before your request. Your quantum reserves seem to be near their depletion levels. I suggest you rest.”

Viola grumbled a response and passed out. Will left her sleeping in the car while he arranged a new ride and bundled her into the passenger side. He checked her pulse; it was weak, but stable. He hoped that their bizarre escape hadn’t taxed her system. Mrs. Ironside had told him of the many Viola’s out there that burned out after using their power too much, killing themselves in the process. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case with this Viola. His Viola.

Viola woke up as the car jolted over a pothole in the road. Her eyes were wide and she grabbed the dashboard, startled. Will just sighed with relief. “I didn’t know if you were going to wake up or not,” He said. It was pitch dark out. They were driving on some small back road. Viola could see the outline of trees against the night sky. The lights of the car shining a yellow glow on the road ahead of them were the only light. There was no moon to brighten their path. Another pothole jumped out of the dark and again Viola was jostled in her seat.

“How long did I sleep for?” Viola asked.

“About four hours.”

“Are we headed to anywhere in particular?” Viola prodded.

“I’m taking you to Eli.”

Viola got comfortable in her seat again and realized that she was no longer in the Mercedes Benz that they had started in. This station wagon looked old and worn and smelled like stale cigarette smoke. She grimaced at the smell. She glanced again at Will and noticed his wasted expression.

“We should pull over somewhere and get some rest,” Viola said.

Will yawned and winced which reminded Viola of his gunshot wound. She Imaged a hypo-syringe and began lifting Will’s sleeve. He flinched and batted her hand away. “What are you doing?”

“Helping out with that wound we have neglected. Has it stopped bleeding?”

“Haven’t had the time to check it. We can do that when we get to Eli’s place,” Will replied stubbornly.

“I’d rather not have an anemic driver, thank you,” she pushed the hypo-syringe closer to his arm and again felt Will’s hand bat her away. “What is wrong with you?” Exasperated, she waited until his hand was back on the steering wheel and in a swift motion, not caring where the syringe landed, depressed it and felt the car swerve in response. They ended up in the ditch on the side of the road, front end of the clunker station wagon smoking. Viola flicked on the inside light and was confronted with Will glaring at her.

“Just so you know, I don’t approve of you giving me strange concoctions that you don’t even know the contents of without my permission,” Will said, and hit the steering wheel with his hands in frustration as he saw the state of the vehicle. “Viola, you made me crash the car. What are we going to do now? We are in the middle of nowhere.”

“Are you hungry or something? You seem really cranky suddenly.” Will did not respond, just gazed with an angry expression out the window. “I can easily Image a new car for us, one that can’t be tracked by anyone, at least not in this universe.”

Will finally sighed and spoke softly. “I’m sorry. I just had a lot of time to think on the drive with you asleep. I thought you were going to die and I didn’t know what I was going to do if that happened. It would all have been for nothing.”

“You mean ruining your career?” Viola prompted.

“I thought a lot about that as well. I guess it won’t be so bad being a fugitive as long as you’re around.”

Viola rolled her eyes and slapped Will on the back. “Don’t go sappy on me now. I don’t plan on being a fugitive forever, you know. I promise that I will get things back in order for you too, Will. I owe you that much.” She stepped out of the battered station wagon and Imaged a brand new hatchback Yaris for them to dive. Will got out of the station wagon as well and flexed the arm that had been shot. He removed the makeshift bandage which was heavily soaked in his blood and examined the damage. As with the miraculous healing of Viola’s leg, the bullet hole was gone, replaced with a modest scar, which was also slowly disappearing. He stepped into the driver’s side of the Yaris and started the engine. Viola was already in the car waiting.

After they had been on the road again for a few minutes with nothing but silence, Viola decided to speak. “Would you like coffee, a snack, dinner?”

Will shook his head. “I don’t think there is anything on this road that will be open, or coming anytime soon for that matter.”

“You have a magic genie sitting in the seat beside you. Your wish is my command.” She blinked her eyes in old I Dream of Genie fashion. She had the sudden thought that maybe people like her had lived in the past before and that was where the myths about djinn had come from. It was plausible, if not possible.

“Do you know anything about a drink called a London Fog?” Will piped up.

Viola’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? That is my all time favorite thing to drink!” She Imaged two London Fogs in travel cups and handed one to him.

He took a tentative sip and gave a sound of delight. “This is smashing, maybe be the best Fog I have ever had.”

“Well your personal genie only serves the best after all,” Viola said giggling. “Where are we going anyway?” She asked. Her stomach grumbled at the same moment and she decided to Image a warm meal in a to-go container. She had pasta on her mind. Whenever she thought of food she had pasta on her mind, so she made a hot plate of cheese cappelletti which filled the car with a heavenly smell of rosea sauce. She started shoveling it into her mouth waiting for Will to answer her.

“As I told you we were heading to Eli’s place, I assume you mean which part of the planet are we headed towards? He found himself a place just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. We should be there in another three hours. Are you sharing your dinner?”

Viola looked up from her dinner and speared a piece of cappelletti offering the morsal to Will. “North Carolina? Why didn’t he go back up to Canada to stay with my family?” Viola asked.

“It’s rather complicated I am afraid,” Will replied. “It will make more sense when we get there, I hope.”

“Do the CIA know that Eli is in Asheville? It seems like a bad idea to go where they assume I will go.”

“Someone helped him go underground. They have no idea where he is right now.”

“So how do you?” Viola offered another piece of food to Will who took it, chewed and swallowed before answering.

“This person has been helping me to arrange for your escape as well.”

“And this person is?”

“Mrs. Ironside,” Will replied slowly.

“And we are trusting the ex-director of the program who stole me from my life and cut open my brain, why?”

“I think it’s best if she explain it to you, Viola. Can we just drive in peace until we get there?” Will shuffled nervously in his seat. There was silence for a while between them as Viola divided the food she had Imaged between them. She tossed the to-go container into the back of the Yaris when she was done and stuck her thumb between her middle and ring fingers on both sides squeezing her hands together subconsciously out of habit. She wasn’t fond of having nothing to do with her hands.

“Does driving in peace mean no talking?” Viola quested. “After all, it will keep you awake better if we are talking. I guess we could listen to loud music as well.” Viola made to turn on the stereo and felt Will’s hand brush it gently aside.

“I keep forgetting you know next to nothing about me. Of course we can talk, Viola.” Viola let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into her seat.

“How much of what you told me when we first met was true?” Viola asked softly.

“Everything, minus my name and moving to Canada. I moved from Cardiff to London when I started working with MI:6. My name is Ralph William McGunigle. Everyone just calls me Will.”

“Ralph?” Viola stifled a laugh. “You are definitely not a Ralph. At least the unfortunate name I got saddled with was my middle name. Clemence.” She grimaced as she said her middle name and she and Will burst into laughter.

“So, McGunigle and not Czernicki. I can live with that. What is that, Scottish in origin?” Viola prodded.

“What is you obsession with Scotland?” Will asked, exasperated. “It’s actually an Irish surname. I really did grow up in Cardiff though, so I am a Wales boy, not an Irish one.”

Viola coloured a little as she realized that she had asked about Scotland on the walk after board games day. “I just really want to visit Scotland. My favorite actor is from Scotland as well.

“Do you have any sibling?” Viola asked changing the subject.

“I have a really large family. If you can believe it, it’s bigger than your own. I have five brothers and one sister. Not to mention the many aunts, uncles, and cousins that seem to always be around.”

“That sounds really wonderful,” Viola said, thinking about how much she missed her own family. “You must miss them very much being so far away from them.”

“Truthfully, aside from holidays, I never got to see them all that much, not since I moved to London. Work always kept me so busy. Although my sister, she is only eighteen, came to live with me for about six months after she got out of school. She had dreams of being a model. My mother actually thought that I would be able to change her mind about pursuing that as a career. I mean Edith is a gorgeous girl, it’s just she is smart as a whip as well. We all wanted to see her doing something earth shattering instead of posing for a camera.”

“So did you change her mind in those six months?” Viola asked.

Will laughed. “I may be the oldest of my brothers and sisters, but that had absolutely no weight with Edith. Try telling a stubborn Welsh born eighteen year old she can’t have her heart’s desire. She turned into a feisty terror and snuck out of the house so often during those six months I actually started to think that she didn’t live with me at all. What you should know about Welsh women is that they can turn into vicious unstoppable buggers when provoked.”

Viola was laughing. “How long ago was this?”

“Last year.” This made Viola laugh even harder.

“So what happened?”

“Exactly what she wanted. Actually, she got a modeling job about a week after she started staying with me and didn’t tell me. She just acted like a feral cat when I tried to talk sense into her and when she had made enough money to get her own flat six months later she packed up and left. I left the matter for my mother to deal with.”

“Did your parents approve of your career choice?” Viola shifted in her seat to get a better look at Will. On the dark road with only the headlights for illumination she couldn’t see much. It didn’t matter, she just liked to look as if she was interested in the person that was talking. She always thought it was rude, unless you were driving, to not look at the person you were talking to.

“In a way they were. I think they would have preferred if my career choice would have been closer to home, in Cardiff. I did have a lot of offers there. In fact, I worked for a computer firm in Cardiff when I first got out of school. That was where I was recruited to MI:6.”

“So you were a techy at MI:6? Here I thought only James Bond types worked for MI:6.”

“You sure have a lot of stereotypes in that brain of yours,” Will replied.

Viola frowned. “I can’t help it. The only things I am exposed to in regards to Britain are the television shows I watch. I try not to be so stereotypical, but I am without enough information on the subject, okay?”

“No need for defensiveness, I was just teasing,” Will replied. Viola harrumphed at this. She hadn’t realized that their relationship was at the teasing stage.

“So, if this was your first field assignment and you had never had field training, how were you such a good shot? You seemed a natural in that crazy situation that happened.”

“Video games of course. Besides, it’s a requirement to actually know how to shoot a weapon to be in the MI:6 even if you are not required to use one.”

“Video games, figures,” Viola replied. “There is a reason I don’t play first person shooters.”

She paused as her thoughts wandered to the military training games that the United Stated employed to train there soldiers and it made her think of the guard in the hallway outside the door of her room, lying dead on the floor. She shuddered as the image imposed itself on her thoughts. “Was that the first person you had killed?” Viola finally asked.

She watched Will grip the steering wheel tighter and his whole body went tense. She wished that she could see his face so she could try and decipher what he was thinking.

“Yes, it was,” his voice was soft and full of regret. The sincere pain in those three words made Viola feel slightly better.

“Why did you?”

“He had a gun, was set to fire at me and I shot. I didn’t realize I was aiming for a kill shot until I saw him slip to the floor dead. Truthfully, I just wanted to wound him. I didn’t think I was that good of a shot. I didn’t think I was so conditioned to kill.” He sounded desperate and Viola could image he too was plagued with the haunting image of that man dead on the floor.

“Promise me that no one else will die because of me,” Viola said.

“I can’t promise that, Viola. I can promise you that I will never again take another person’s life with my own hands.”

“Thank you, Will. That means a lot. Did you… did you know the man you shot?” Viola asked.

“Rudy Decker,” Will replied, his voice clenching with emotion. “He had a wife. They had only been married for thirteen months.” Viola jumped in her seat as Will hit the steering wheel repeatedly in anger and frustration. She shook a little from fright watching him deal with what he had done. How will I react when I replace out who has been killed by things that I have done? She wouldn’t go to anger, she would go to despair.

“Thank you, Viola, for trying to turn me away from being a killer. It’s not what I ever wanted. Had you not stubbornly forced me to take the tranquilizer gun, I would have let the intensity of the moment fuel me and who knows how many other wives would be without their husbands. You sure you don’t have Welsh blood in you?” Will said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Don’t think his death is just your responsibility. It only happened because of me,” Viola replied.

Will jerked the car to a stop and pulled to the side of the road and turned to look at Viola, flicking on the light so she could see the cold seriousness of his features. “Do not take responsibility for my mistakes, Viola. Rudy’s blood is not on your hands. It never will be. Atonement for his death is mine and mine alone. I can’t have you be sullied by my actions, ever. Do you understand?”

Breathless, Viola merely nodded. Her heart was pounding in her chest violently like she had just been running for her life. Will flicked off the light and started driving once again. Viola suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore and quickly flicked the radio on, tuning in to the first station she could replace. It was playing oldies from the fifties and sixties, a good distraction for her as she tried to figure out what was going on inside of her.

In that moment, with the look of burden on his face and his reluctance to let her share that, she had wanted to reach over to him, grab his head and kiss him passionately. It was a feeling she had never in her life experienced and it was breaking the entire structure of the world she had carefully built around herself. She felt the walls crumbling and an ache form in her chest. She stared out the window and watched the night slowly slip by as they got closer to Eli and Mrs. Ironside. Think about that and not him. She repeated to herself over and over. Don’t let them in. Never let them in. They can hurt you if you let them in. She tried hard to convince herself of this, but the ache in her chest refused to go away.