Fic-Kiss the Bride
In the years of working at the ARC, Matt Anderson had yet to work without his team. Yes, there were times we he was separated from his team, working on his own, but they’d known where he was and he knew where they were. There were no solo missions to speak of, nothing at work that would ever exclude all members of the team-including team meetings-yet there he was, sitting in his lab, knowing that he was alone for the next two days. The feelings that came with that knowledge were…uncomfortable to him. Just as uncomfortable as to the reason of the teams absence.
Matt sighed to himself and reached across his desk. He dug beneath the piles of reports he’d finished yesterday. Lester, like to others, was out as well, so his reports still remained-and would continue to remain- on his desk for another few days. Matt found what he was looking for and pulled it out. It was a clean, white, heavy envelope. He easily lifted the lip open and reached into it, pulled out its contents.
Inside was a single sheet of cardstock paper. The paper was a faded white with a pale yellow ribbon glue in the center. Over the yellow ribbon was another piece of paper, trimmed in lace. On the top left corner and bottom right corner, three small pearls were glues to the paper. On the center paper, Matt let his eyes scan over the gracefully written words;
Emily Merchant
and
Zacharias Sellar
Request the honor of your
Presence
At their marriage
On Tuesday, the fourth of
October
Two thousand and eleven
At four o’clock
He’d read the invitation thousands of times since the day he’d received it, but still it didn’t seem real to him. It didn’t seem right. Emily was getting married tomorrow afternoon. Being part of the wedding party, the others were obligated to be at the site for the rehearsal and the ceremony, leaving Matt alone at the ARC for the next two days. Not that Matt had been excluded from the wedding, no. He’d politely declined the offer to be a part of the wedding party. There was something about being a groomsman to the man-whom he’d never met- who would marry an ex-lover that didn’t feel right. Besides, someone was needed to ensure the ARC was still standing after the wedding.
A familiar alarm sounded, pulling Matt from his thoughts of Emily’s wedding. Matt mentally thanked God for the first time for an anomaly. He tossed the invitation back onto his desk and rose from his chair. He moved fast through the corridors to the Hub. Red lights faded in and out every few seconds as the alarm continued to ring. Matt entered the hub and headed for the ADD. Jess was nowhere near replacing, but it was good to know there were people other than herself and Connor who could operate the system without difficulty.
“You’re not going to like this, sir.” Said the tech.
“Where is it?” Matt asked.
“Very far north.” He answered. “It would take too long to reach it by car.”
Matt nodded. “Guess now’s as good a time as any to test the company’s new vehicle.”
“Captain Becker will be less than happy to hear about that.” The tech said.
“Well, Becker’s not here to test it, is he?” Matt asked. He turned to leave for the elevator.
“No sir. I’ll have the jet standing by for you.” He said.
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Matt turned the wheel of the rental explorer down the secluded road. The tech had sent him the coordinates while Matt had still been in the air. Already, he disliked his solo mission. The trees surrounding the road cleared as Matt reached the coordinates. Matt stepped on the breaks as he gazed at the structure in front of him. Something had to be wrong.
“Are you sure these are the coordinates?” Matt asked.
“Yes sir. I checked several times.” The tech replied.
Damn. Matt cursed. He stepped the gars again, continuing toward the castle. He directed the vehicle near one of the side entranced and shut down the car. Matt climbed out and grabbed his EMD from the back of his car. Matt looked up at the castle structure of Wedderburn. The castle where the wedding was taking place tomorrow.
The castle didn’t look any different from his last visit a few years ago, save for the weather. The pale stones reached high above the ground. The four leveled castle was still as majestic as ever. The window panes were clean as the rain fell from the glass. The roof was accented in small rises ever few feet. The four points of the castle held four towers, giving the castle the fourth story. From the side entranced, Matt could see the interior decorations already taking place through the window. He jogged up the stairs and through the doors.
Matt entered into an unoccupied section of the castle. The halls were silent as Matt moved through the castle. He followed the directions of the portable detector through the castle. He watched for any signs of occupants and creatures. But as he moved through the castle, he found nothing. Matt took the stairs up to the next few floors, finding more occupants. But they seemed preoccupied too notice Matt as he moved through the section. He moved up through the levels without any problems. He walked out on the roof, where the coordinates of the anomaly directed. He walked on the rooftop, looking for the anomaly.
“A little late, don’t you think?” asked a voice.
Matt turned his head. Standing- well leaning actually- several meters from him was Becker. His arms were folded in front of his chest. It was rare him in anything but black, so his worn jeans and dark green shirt beneath his leather jacket was different. Matt noticed the holster on Becker’s belt, with a weapon. On the roof beside Becker’s foot was an activated sealing device.
“The RSVP date expired almost a month ago, but I’m sure Emily can make the exception.” Becker said.
“Can’t take a day off Becker?” Matt asked. He started walking toward Becker.
“Frankly an inventory day is more thrilling than this.” Becker replied.
Matt smirked. He spotted the anomaly several meters from Becker. “How long ago did you find it?”
“About an a hour ago.” Becker answered.
“Creatures?”
Becker shook his head. “None that I’ve seen.”
Matt sighed. “Doesn’t mean something hasn’t come through yet. What’s the era?”
Becker turned and knelt next to the device. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Matt asked.
Becker looked up. “The device isn’t registering an era.”
Matt frowned. “That can’t be.” He moved dropped to his knees beside Becker. He looked at the calculator on the device. The red numbers read: error.
“What in the hell can cause this?” Becker asked.
Matt shook his head. “I’m not sure. But Connor might know. Where is he?”
“East wing, first floor with the others. They’re finishing the set up before the rehearsal.” Becker answered.
Matt pulled out his cell phone and dialed Connor’s number.
“Becker? We’re starting the rehearsal.” Called another voice.
Matt froze. His eyes rose from the roof toward Becker. Becker’s gaze was fixed behind Matt, toward the roofs entrance. Matt turned and looked over his shoulder, in the direction Becker was watching. Walking on the rooftop searching for Becker was the bride-to-be. Her dark brown curls were pulled into a loose pony, leaving a few strands to bounce alongside her face as she walked. Her body was wrapped in an off the shoulder burgundy sweater with a slight wrap around her shoulders. She wore jeans that were made for her figure, flattering her curved hips. The slimming legs of her jeans were tucked into the dark brown cuffed boots. Her steps echoed as she walked across the roof, searching for Becker.
Emily tuned her head, spotting Becker and Matt. Surprise filled Emily’s face. “Matt?”
Matt and Becker rose from the roof. Matt still held his phone, waiting for Connor to answer.
Emily frowned as she walked toward them. “What are you doing here? I thought that-” her sentence trailed off as her eyes caught sight of the sealed anomaly behind the men. Utter horror overtook her surprise. “Oh my god. Did a creature slip through?”
“We’re not sure, but there haven’t been any signs yet.” Becker explained.
“Do you have any idea what might’ve slipped through?” Emily asked.
Matt closed his phone. “No. The calculator’s not reading any timeline. Connor’s not answering his phone, where is he?”
“Uh he’s-he’s downstairs with the others. We’re about to start rehearsal.” Emily explained.
Matt nodded. He walked around her toward the roof entrance. “Look, you’re going to have to postpone the rehearsal for a little while. At least until Connor’s had a chance to look over the equipment.”
Emily turned and followed behind Matt. “I can’t postpone the rehearsal Matt. Henrietta’s already being irrational.”
Matt looked at her and frowned. “Who?”
“Groom’s mum.” Becker answered.
“Oh.” Matt said. He opened the roof door and started down the stairs back into the castle. “Look if a creature came through that anomaly before Becker sealed it, you’re going to have a bigger problem than your irrational mother-in-law.”
“Future mother-in-law. And I am well aware of the dangers here, Matt.” Emily replied. “But Zacharias and his family only know a fraction of my life and my previous job. You happen to be a part of that.”
“Thanks for the inclusion.” Matt said.
“My point is that if you go barging into the ceremony hall when no one was expecting to see you here, it’s going to cause even more problems.” Emily explained.
“Well it’s not a wedding without a few complications.” Matt replied.
Emily grabbed Matt’s arm and stopped him in the hall just above the descending staircase to the second floor. “I’m serious, Matt. Everyone is already nervous as it is. Let me go down and find Connor. I’ll explain that Becker requires Connor’s help and send up to the roof. That way no one is suspicious and Connor takes a look at the device.”
“Emily?”
Emily, Matt, and Becker all looked down quickly. At the base of the staircase stood-who Matt could only assume was-the groom. He was fairly tall, possibly as tall as Becker. His skin tone was darker, giving an Asian hint to him. Possibly going back several generations. His hair was black, trimmed, and well mannered. His jeans were a dark blue and well kept. His dark read polo was tucked into his jeans. His hands were tucked into his pockets as he shifted glances between Matt and Emily.
“Zacharias.” Emily gasped.
Zacharias took his hands from his pocket and walked up the stairs. “Darling what’s going on? Who’s this?”
“Matt Anderson.” Matt answered.
Zacharias frowned slightly. “Emily’s previous boss and partner. I thought you’d said he declined?”
Emily nodded.
“Yeah I did, but we have a situation going on.” Matt answered.
“Darling, could you find Connor and have him meet us on the roof?” Emily asked.
Zacharias nodded.” Yes, of course. And I’ll let my mother know we’ll have to postpone the rehearsal for a little while.”
Emily smiled. “Thank you.”
Zacharias smiled as he turned back down and descended the stairs.
Matt turned back toward Emily.
Emily looked to Matt. “What?”
“Your fiancé accepted that a little too easily.” Matt said.
Emily folded her arms in front of her body. “And the problem with that being what?”
Matt leaned against the railing. “Just what did you tell him about your previous employment?”
“We’re bounty hunters.” Becker answered. “In a sense.”
“I told him that we work with the government to apprehend dangerous fugitives.” Emily explained.
Matt lifted his brow. “You told him we’re bounty hunters?”
“It was the closest occupation I could find without telling him the truth. And that’s basically what your job is.” Emily replied. “What else was I supposed to tell him?”
“You couldn’t come up with anything better?” Matt asked.
“This team isn’t exactly a traditional work group in any setting, Matt.” Emily explained. “Look at the contrasts between Jess and Becker. You can’t honestly believe they work together without their occupation being out of the ordinary.”
Matt shook his head. “Some story, Emily.” He turned and headed back up to the roof.
“Look I know it wasn’t the best story, but how else was I supposed to explain my friendship with such a variety of coordinated people?” Emily asked.
“To be fair, it wasn’t even Emily’s idea.” Becker said. “It was Connor.”
Matt turned. “And you agreed to this?”
Becker shrugged. “Considering the circumstances it was the best option.”
Matt shook his head and turned again.
“What does it matter what I told Zacharias, Matt? If I recall, you didn’t seem to mind what story I told him.” Emily said.
“That was probably before an anomaly opened on the roof.” Becker answered.
“Shut it, Becker.” Matt snapped. He pushed open the door back to the roof.
“Look, it’s not like the story matters. The only reason I told him anything about working with them is because his mother asked.” Emily explained. “Zacharias was perfectly content with my telling him I worked for the government.”
Matt turned around and faced Emily. “Well that makes perfect sense. Tell your future mother-in-law that we’re all bounty hunters. I’m sure that impressed her.”
“Would you stop mocking me?” Emily snapped.
Connor entered the roof. “Hey, Zach said there was somethin’ goin’ on up here.”
Matt looked away from Emily. “The calculator’s not giving us a date.”
Connor frowned. “That can’t be.”
“Well it is.” Becker said.
Connor walked around them to the device. He dropped to his knees and started inspecting his device. “Oh, Emily, you might want to head back to the ceremony hall. I don’t Jess can take much more of Zach’s mum.”
Emily nodded and headed back toward the roof entrance.
“Is it possible it’s just not working?” Becker asked.
Connor shook his head. “Not a chance, I ran a diagnostic on it before we left.”
“So why can’t we get a time?” Matt asked.
Connor looked to the anomaly. He swallowed nervously and looked back down at the calculator.
“Connor?” Matt asked.
Connor looked up nervously. “This is just a theory but…the anomaly could lead to the future. That’s the one timeline I wasn’t able to configure into my calculator.”
“Could there be another reason?” Matt asked.
Connor shrugged. “Possibly, but that’s the only reason that I can think of that would explain this. We’ve dealt with conflicting timelines before, but the calculator always had a way of depicting them. Here, there’s nothing. The only conclusion I can think of is that the anomaly leads to the future.”
Becker shook his head. “Great.”
Connor rose from the roof. “Has there been a creature sighting yet?”
Matt shook his head. “Nothing yet, but that might be because everyone’s inside and not outside.”
“If a predator came through, wouldn’t they be able to sense the heartbeats, or any sounds, through the stone?” Becker asked.
“Not necessarily.” Matt answered. “We managed to hold them back with heavily shielded compounds. If the stone is thick enough, the predators won’t be able to sense any food nearby.”
“And I’m pretty sure someone would have noticed a giant bug slipping through.” Connor said.
Becker nodded and sighed. “So what now?”
Matt folded his arms in front of his chest. “There’s no telling if anything came through or not. Unfortunately we can’t get a team up here for at least a few hours.”
Connor whistled. “Can you imagine what Henrietta’s reaction would be?”
Becker shook his head. “Frankly I don’t want to think about it. As much as we need to maintain a low profile up here, we can’t risk anything coming through. What’s the soonest you can get a team up here?”
“Three hours, maybe four.” Matt explained. “An hour back to base, an hour back, and the drive could take another hour or two.”
Becker winced. “Four hours is a massive time loss up here.”
Matt nodded. “Unfortunately it’s all we’ve got. If anything came through, it’d be too dangerous to search without backup. Are there any guests arriving tonight?”
Becker shook his head. “No. No one but the wedding party is staying here tonight. Everyone else arrive tomorrow.”
“Henrietta’s idea.” Connor stated.
Matt nodded. “So all we have to do is make sure everyone stays inside until backup arrives.”
Suddenly thunder rumbled loudly above them. The clouds had grown dark, blocking out the sun entirely.
“Which could take even longer.” Becker stated.
“Let’s get inside and find the others.” Matt said.
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