Time of Fate (Wealth of Time Series #6) by Andre Gonzalez (e book reader online txt) 📗

we have?” he asked, begrudgingly pulling out a small bottle of water from the side flap on his seat. He had made a personal vow to not drink in front of other Road Runners, except for Alina. Too many eyes were present and he had a reputation to uphold.

“I have confirmation that Chris returned to Idaho after killing Thaddeus. Now, it’s expected to be heavily guarded, so we have to plan exactly when we want Steffan to freeze time. We expect some serious backlash from Commander Blair for not being told that this is happening, so the less time the better. There are still some unknown factors. Once time is frozen, we don’t know how Chris will react. Will he stay put and fight from his house? Get in the car and drive away? Does he know how to fly a plane? Because that can make things complicated.”

“We need to keep eyes on him the entire time,” Martin added. “I don’t know how he’s done it in the past, but he’s been able to somehow enter my mind and see where I am. Would hate for him to start running before we even arrive.”

“I wouldn’t count on that happening. We’ve done our homework on the Keeper of Time ability and how it works—it’s all in the blood. Chris is growing weaker by the minute. See, the Keeper blood isn’t meant to last forever. Past Keepers have died at a normal age after stepping down from their role. The blood itself is not what makes them invincible; contrary to public belief, it’s the presence of that blood in another living being that keeps the Keeper from dying. So even if Sonya hadn’t died today, she’d just keep aging and eventually pass away, deeming that injection of Keeper blood in her system useless.”

Martin nodded, drinking his water as he grew entranced by the lesson.

“What’s happening right now has never happened before, at least from the Keeper history we’ve been able to research. Chris’s body had always been aging, even as the Keeper, but his invincibility and other abilities have not. Our team of hematologists believe that his body is going through a sort of catch-up period. Think of Sonya as a dam holding everything together: invincibility, special powers, natural time travel abilities to name a few. Her death is the breaking of that dam and now everything is ‘catching up’ or regressing to match Chris’s current age—which we believe is right around 100 years old. The very blood in his system is now eroding to match that age, just like it would a regular human man. With that erosion goes his powers. If nothing changes by the time we arrive to Idaho, it’s very possible that Chris won’t even be able to travel through time by sheer will like he used to.”

“Well, that would make this all a lot easier,” Martin said with a laugh.

“It would. He won’t be able to enter your mind, won’t be able to jump through time. He’ll just be a fragile old man you have to hunt down and put the final nail in his coffin.” Alina grinned as she said this last part.

“There is no way it’s that simple.”

“But it is—that’s why there’s been the sudden push for Sonya’s life. These findings have been gradually coming along for the past five years. Combine that with Chris’s age, and the window has opened for this opportunity. Getting Sonya was the hard part, but she threw us a bone. I wonder if she knew all of this?”

Martin didn’t want to discuss or speculate about Sonya. Not yet. “If I know Chris, he has plans in place for this exact scenario already. The guy plans every single detail and prepares for all possibilities, even the ones we might consider impossible.”

“You’re probably right. And he’s in amazing shape despite his appearance. He moves around just fine and will likely make a run to save his life.”

“Do we know what weapons he has access to? I’m ready for a shootout, but who knows with him.”

“We don’t know for sure, but suspect there are fewer unique weapons at his disposal in his new house. Destroying his mansion was so crucial to all of this, too. We got him out of his safe space and away from what was certainly a bunker full of weapons from the past and future. And keep in mind, this reality is going to hit Chris at some point—it may already have. Once he realizes he’s mortal, expect rushed decisions and scrambling. He may inject the nearest person he finds with his blood as a desperate attempt to save himself, but that process typically takes a few hours until it actually works. This is why you’re going to kill every Revolter on his property, even while they’re frozen. We can’t afford any gambles.”

“You want me to shoot frozen statues?”

“Think of it as target practice and you’ll be fine. Hey, if they weren’t frozen they’d be shooting at you, so it’s all justified.”

“You amaze me.”

“I know. Once you kill them, it’s a matter of hide-and-seek. Make sure you’re not in a position to get shot while you work through his house. He’s in the middle of absolutely nothing—not even trees to hide behind—so we don’t expect him to run on foot. Slash the tires of any vehicles on the property and guarantee he doesn’t leave.”

“And what if he has just enough power left to slip away?”

“That won’t happen. We have eyes on him. A team is set up about five miles away from his house. They have drones, cars, a helicopter, and a single-engine airplane. We are ready for anything. We also have people planted in every year covering a 500-year period. Keep in mind, we are counting on a rushed decision, so none of this guarantees anything.”

“And all of these people know to not make any contact with the Council?”

“None at all. This entire team is on the same page. Chris dies tonight, and nothing will stop that