Page 88 of Wild Oblivion

After a moment’s hesitation, I set it atop a large metal lab table and did as he asked. It spun slightly as it slid down the smooth surface. Like a high-stakes game of shuffleboard, it came to rest within his reach.

As promised, he let Giselle go.

She ran toward us and would have embraced Henrik had her wrists not been bound.

He worked at untying her.

The two goons stood by, guarding us with their weapons ready. We weren’t out of this yet.

46

Klaus took the crystal and placed it on the mount between the two ominous towers. It looked like he was going to bring Frankenstein's monster back to life. The equipment was connected to a device on the table. Small enough to fit into a suitcase, the device had the retro-futuristic look of something from the dawn of the atomic age. A perfect sphere the size of a grapefruit floated, suspended magnetically amid a hexagonal array of Casimir plates. The array sat on a stand affixed to a base, loaded with dials, buttons, and analogue gauges. The heavy power leads snaked to the twin towers that flanked the Vrilkristall.

"You don't want to do this,” Henrik said.

"Of course I do.”

"You don't know what you're dealing with.”

"I know exactly what I'm dealing with," Klaus said, full of confidence.

After he'd freed Giselle's wrists, Henrik approached Klaus.

She clawed at him to stay behind, but he waved her off.

The two goons still stood behind us, blocking the exit.

I muttered to JD over comms, “We’re in a red brick warehouse on the corner of Industry and Avenue K."

I didn't hear a response and wasn't sure if we had lost communication. The network connection could have dropped. Klaus could have had some type of cellular jammer in the warehouse. It wouldn't have surprised me.

Henrik approached Klaus, using the cane to steady himself. He marveled at a device atop the table. Recognition flashed in his eyes as he stared at the orb. It had been over a half-century since he'd last seen it. His weary old eyes looked from it to Klaus. Henrik squinted hard, trying to see if it was really him—the long-lost scientist. "Where did you get this?"

"Where do you think, old man?"

Henrik scowled at him.

With joyful exuberance, he declared, "It works!”

Henrik continued to survey the man.

Klaus smiled. He motioned to the device. “Take a good look. It’s everything your father worked so diligently for.”

“How did you get this?” Henrik asked, still uncertain.

The evil man’s eyes filled with enthusiasm. "Come with me. The power of the Vrilkristall will allow us to journey across time. Imagine what we could accomplish. Time is ours. We will become like gods.”

“We are only men, and my time is at an end.”

Klaus laughed. “My time is just beginning.”

He flipped a few switches, and the device powered up. The crystal glowed with intensity, and plasma arced between the two towers and the crystal. The orb of the time dilation device came to life, and a bluish haze formed around it. The hum of energy filled the warehouse, and the air smelled sharp and clean, like after a rainstorm.

"I must warn you," Henrik said. "You have no idea what you're dealing with. You have no way to calibrate the device. There must be proper testing.”

"It is you who doesn’t understand. It is now your time to shine. You can be a part of history.”

Henrik laughed. "I have already been a part of history.”