Refuge in Time

by Sarah Woodbury

  By now Llanberis was well behind them, and they were making their way northeast. They had to be getting close to the compound, even if it wasn’t showing on the map as yet. Cade was taking the drive in stride. Perhaps the journey would have been more momentous for him if it hadn’t been dark and raining and he could have seen something of the scenery through the windows.

  Typically for rural Wales, the roads were narrow, and Livia was forced to hold onto the handhold above her head. She wanted to ask Sophie what it had been like in Earth Two, but she held her peace. She had an inkling anyway, given the fervor with which Sophie didn’t want to return. The question would be part of whatever debrief Chad—or Five—demanded. Meanwhile, something was evidently wrong with Michael in that he’d stopped talking, his shoulders had tensed, and he was gripping the wheel with both hands.

  She glanced towards the adjacent seat, realizing Cade had turned silent again, and now she saw why. Between one second and the next, he’d fallen asleep. Livia then moved her hand to lightly rest on the seat beside Michael’s left shoulder, though without actually touching him. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

  He spoke through a tight jaw. “What do you make of the vehicle behind us?”

  Immediately, both Sophie and Livia turned to look, but all Livia could make out were headlights of an unusually square shape. “Do you think we’re being followed?”

  “Either that or the driver thinks we’re in a Grand Prix race.” If anything, Michael drove a little faster. “I was curious as to why that tractor was out on the road at this hour on a Sunday night. I’m genuinely afraid it was there to slow us down, which it did. For miles.”

  Livia pulled out her phone and dialed Jack Stine’s number yet again. It rang and rang without anyone answering. The fact that it was Sunday night was no excuse, and she was really starting to worry she was not only out of the loop but deliberately excluded from it. She really didn’t want the Security Service to have gone back to its bad old ways.

  While the circuits could be busy again, she couldn’t help but fear the entire project had been a sham from start to finish. She had assumed Five was keeping a close watch on the situation and hadn’t really believed it was from this far away, not even out of a desire not to spook David more than he already was. Had she been sent to liaison with David for her benefit rather than his? It was shameful this was the first time the thought had occurred to her.

  Michael noticed her poking at her mobile again. “Five might know where you went, but they can’t know what you did there. You know what was most concerning to David, yeah?”

  Livia nodded, but Sophie looked from one to the other, having been left out of their unspoken communication again. “I don’t.”

  Michael growled deep in his chest. “Chad told David the CIA have an interest in the time traveling that goes beyond merely controlling members of his family for research purposes.”

  Livia took up the explanation. “They have a plan to ride one of them back and forth between Avalon and Earth Two. At best, they would do this in order to create a haven for the human race if everything goes to hell here, as it appears to be doing. At worst ... well, you can fill in your own ideas.”

  Sophie stared at Livia in horror and then looked at Cade. “I had no idea.”

  “We didn’t either, not until Chad told David, and he told us,” Michael said. “You have to admit it makes sense from their point of view.”

  “How can anyone be so evil?” Sophie said.

  Michael’s expression turned wry. “You are only learning this now?”

  Sophie shook her head. “No, it’s just that ... he’s a little boy!”

  “He would be perfect, by their lights. He could be easily manipulated, and even if he refused to cooperate himself, they could control him physically. If they stuck him in a bus or a plane and drove into a mountain, what do you think would happen?”

  Sophie shook her head again, appalled.

  “A bunker for modern people to hide out in Earth Two would be bad enough,” Michael continued. “David’s bigger concern was that, with the proper weapons and a small force of men—maybe even as few as thirty—a modern man could overthrow not only him but every country in Europe. As you well know since you’ve just come from being in the middle of it, in Earth Two, men have been trying to do exactly that since David arrived twelve years ago. Before, they built armies, but he’s survived two assassination attempts in as many weeks. His death would cause upheaval and chaos, but imagine what a few automatic weapons could do to a medieval force armed with swords, pikes, and bows.”

  “I do know about that,” Sophie said. “I lived in Earth Two for just a fortnight, but I saw. We used what amounted to a rocket launcher on the front gate of Beeston Castle.”

  “And that was in the service of David,” Michael said. “He wasn’t fundamentally concerned about you, Andre, and George, but if one of you had the ambition to rule, and the three of you had chosen to keep the weapons Chad sent on the plane to yourselves, you could have done a great deal of damage before David worked out a way to stop you.”

  “Like Lee did,” Sophie said.

  “Which brings us to the question of the hour,” Livia glanced behind her to the car still on their tail. “Where are we going now?”

  Michael wet his lips. “If we think Chad orchestrated what happened with the plane and with David, we can’t allow Cade anywhere near him.”

  “Chad isn’t evil,” Sophie said softly. “You can’t think it.”

  “We have a boy to protect,” Livia said. “We cannot endanger him. That said, our choices about where to go are limited. It’s a Sunday night. Everything is closed up tight. Chad wanted us to take Cade to the compound, but I’m afraid if the people in the vehicle behind us have friends, it isn’t defensible. And where else can we go in North Wales where there will be more police and security than the warehouse?”

  “I’m not going to argue,” Michael said. “I don’t have any better feelings about this than you do.”

  Thus, he left behind the little lanes and, in short order, was screaming down the A55 at eighty miles an hour.

  The vehicle with the square headlights kept pace. Fortunately, the accident that had slowed them on the way to Llanberis had been cleared, and fewer people impeded their way.

  Sophie turned permanently in her seat so she could watch behind them. Or maybe she was terrified of the speed and was trying to ignore the view out the windscreen. “Both MI-5 and Treadman Global should know where we are, right? You two have mobiles that can be tracked and are in a vehicle with GPS.”

  “Our mobiles are trackable.” Livia looked down at the phone in her hand, tempted all of a sudden to chuck it out the window. “Chad will know where we are.”

  Finally, Michael took an exit on the left, squealed around a few corners, and pulled onto the lane that led to the warehouse.

  Livia was actually happy to see the media vans and vehicles of every size and description lining both sides of the road. She glanced behind them yet again, but the following vehicle had disappeared. Some of the pressure on her lungs eased, though really there was no justification for it. The car wasn’t there anymore because it knew where they were going.

  They cruised down the narrow road, which didn’t appear to have been repaved this century. She hadn’t noticed the potholes on the way out. It improved twenty feet before the entrance to the car park, at which point Michael took his identification from his wallet and held it out to the agent who stopped him.

  “Michael Dawar, Treadman Global.”

  Livia leaned forward to show her badge, as she’d done on the way out. “Livia Cross, MI-5.”

  The guard gave each badge a good look, and then waved them through.

  Livia stayed leaning forward to better speak to Michael. “I see you didn’t tell him about the car chasing us.”

  He grimaced. “No.”

  Livia sat back in her seat. “How many more ways could this evening go wrong?”

&
nbsp; Michael drove along the eastern wing of the car park, having to stop again to show his ID to yet another agent and telling him, “I was David’s bodyguard.”

  “I remember, sir.” The man spoke into his walkie-talkie, heard something back, and then directed them towards a parking space, one of six empty ones nearby. Even as Michael obeyed, Livia heard him grumbling to himself. “I hate this. Anyone who happens by could look in the window and see Cade. I should have gone somewhere else.”

  “We were being chased,” Livia said matter-of-factly. “And the last thing we want is to take Cade somewhere we can’t defend. That car was real. We didn’t imagine it.”

  Michael eased to a stop and then turned to look at her. “Chad would not have sent anyone to chase us. I’d like to think Five wouldn’t either. There’s a third party involved.”

  Sophie gave a shake of her head. “I can’t decide if my time in Earth Two feels more like a dream or this does. This is definitely not the reception I was hoping for.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  3 April 2022

  Sophie

  “We can’t tell anyone he’s here.” Sophie glanced to where Cade was leaned against the door, sleeping with the utter abandon of a child. She might not want to time travel back to Earth Two with him, but she wasn’t going to throw him to the wolves either.

  “Nor you.” With an amused look on his face, Michael reached across to open the glove box and took from it an American baseball cap, which he put on her head. “Better than nothing.”

  Sophie adjusted the cap so it fit more comfortably, understanding her sudden appearance might not be smart if they wanted to keep her and Cade’s time traveling a secret. The car park was full of vehicles and people, none of whom Sophie recognized, though for the most part they were hiding their faces under umbrellas or wide hats, since the rain continued to fall, if not as heavily as before. It was testimony to how preoccupied everyone outside was that none of the agents or other officials had come to knock on their window to find out what they were doing.

  Livia reached for the door handle. “Michael, you and I should talk to Bard and see what’s what in the warehouse.” Then she looked hard at Sophie. “Will you sit in the driver’s seat?”

  Sophie bit her lip. “You need me to protect him, don’t you?”

  “Please.”

  Sophie hadn’t been particularly chuffed to find Livia accompanying Michael, even if she had been Mark’s friend and ally at MI-5. Still, in the fortnight Sophie had known Mark, he’d shown a pragmatism and good judgement that made Sophie think she ought to give her the benefit of the doubt. Livia was certainly smart, and everything she had said so far had made sense.

  Michael extracted a gun from the small of his back and handed it to her. “Take this.”

  Sophie put up both hands. “No. I’ve never held a gun in my life.” Then her expression firmed. “We’ll be fine.” She paused. “Send Chad to me. I want to talk to him.”

  Michael and Livia exchanged a worried glance that would have had Sophie laughing if there weren’t so many more important things to think about than the chemistry between them.

  “If Chad Treadman is behind everything that’s happened, if he has that kind of drive and reach, none of us will ever be safe. Better to know the truth and deal with it.” She shooed Michael out the door and then scooted across the gearbox to the driver’s seat.

  Michael gently closed the door, so as not to wake Cade, and the pair were soon out of sight. Watching them disappear, Sophie harrumphed to herself, folding her arms across her chest. They hadn’t even left her a mobile so she could play Candy Crush.

  Then the front passenger door opened, and Chad plopped himself on the seat.

  He was grinning. “I’m so glad you’re safe.” He reached for her and, being an American, was a micro-second from giving her a hug. But the expression on her face was enough to stop him. “What’s wrong?”

  George’s sneer rose before Sophie’s eyes, and his and Andre’s accusations were on the tip of her tongue. “We need to talk.”

  “We sure do! How are the others?”

  “They were fine when I left.”

  “Good. I want to hear all about your time in Earth Two!” He glanced towards the rear seat and lowered his voice. “That’s Cadell?” He butchered the pronunciation, as they all had.

  “We’re calling him Cade.”

  “That’s a relief. I can’t manage the Welsh at all.” He looked back at her, and she didn’t know if it was just because it was dark or she was out of practice looking severe, but he wasn’t getting that she was angry with him. He continued, “Michael and Livia have gone to find out what’s happening with the investigation. I’ve been shut out.”

  “It’s probably just as well since you’re a suspect.” There. She’d said it.

  He looked at her, surprised. “You too? I don’t understand why you would think I had anything to do with someone shooting up the warehouse. I didn’t want David to go, at least not yet.”

  She took in a breath. “Andre and George thought you had something to do with the RAF forcing us to time travel.”

  The accusation appeared to stun him, and he sat looking at her with his mouth open for a full three seconds. “I didn’t!”

  “They said there was no way MI-5 could have found Anna that fast.” She didn’t mention that Livia hadn’t agreed with their assessment.

  “Why on earth would I do that to you?”

  “So we would time travel!”

  Chad put up his hands palms out, as if to ward off her anger. “I had no idea Andre was going to fly the plane into Snowdon.”

  “But you filled it with gear! Why would you do that if you didn’t think we would be traveling?”

  “It was just stuff I had collected! I’d been preparing for someone to arrive since I hired Ted. You know that. You were part of it.”

  Sophie took in a deep breath through her nose and subsided a little.

  Chad put a hand on her arm. “Look, I’ll deny it until I’m blue in the face. I wasn’t working with MI-5. Did I think it was a good idea to plan for every eventuality? Yes, I did. But I was genuinely sending you to Ireland, not to Earth Two.”

  “You have spent the last fortnight profiting from our disappearance.”

  “Yes, I have. But did Michael tell you why I plastered David’s face all over the planet?”

  “To protect him from MI-5. Yes, he said.” She bit her lip as she studied him.

  Chad put his palms flat together, as if in prayer. “I am not a villain, Sophie. I’m an opportunist and a businessman. That is all.”

  “What about Cade?”

  “Nobody else knows he’s here. I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “You could drive up your ratings if you let it be known who he was.”

  At first Chad appeared to scoff again, but then he looked at her more closely. “You really think that little of me?” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that, not with what we know about these other interests. They want him. He’d never be safe, and I fear I couldn’t protect him.” He had his hands clasped in front of him now, his forefingers to his lips. “Remember what David and Anna told us? That they arrive where they’re supposed to? The powers-that-be brought Cade here, Sophie. To me. Would they have done that if I was going to hurt him?”

  Sophie wanted to believe him. “What about Jasmine?”

  “What about Jasmine?”

  “She knows I’m here.”

  “Of course Jasmine knows. She’s manning the hotline. My senior staff had to be kept in the loop, but only them. You may not have noticed at the time, but I sent the bulk of my staff home the night Anna arrived at the castle. Nobody but the few of us knew you were on that plane.” He looked at her intently and, not for the first time, asked Sophie’s opinion, “Would Jasmine accept a bribe from an outside source?”

  “No,” Sophie said instantly. “Why would she? You pay her extremely well.”

  “I do, don’t I?” Chad had a mo
ment of smugness. “That’s my motto: find good people, pay them well, and reward them when they do good work.”

  “What about Livia?” Sophie said, ignoring his moment of branding.

  Chad raised one eyebrow. “You don’t like her?”

  “Surprisingly, I do. Though I’m surprised you let her be part of this at all.”

  “It wasn’t entirely up to me. Michael is clearly one of those people I need to pay well. If anything should tell you I have nothing to hide, it’s that Livia remains part of our team.”

  Sophie wanted to believe him, but that only made the need to press him all the greater. “You could be hiding him from MI-5 not because you want to protect him but because you want to keep him to yourself.”

  “No.” Instead of taking offense, he leaned forward and fixed his eyes on hers. “I would never, ever hurt Anna’s son. I could never want to harm any of them. How do I prove this to you?”

  “I don’t know that you can.”

  He sat back. “Michael said you hadn’t yet talked to your parents.”

  “I didn’t want to in front of the others, and besides, I don’t have a mobile.”

  “I can remedy that right now.” Chad reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a device, which he handed to her. “I’m glad you didn’t call them yet. As I said, except for a handful who had to know the truth, I kept your disappearance under wraps. I had Candy send your parents texts and emails from your accounts while you were gone—not too many—but in keeping with your regular pattern.”

  Sophie swallowed hard. Candy was his personal tech whiz, an American with purple hair and a habit of chewing giant wads of gum. She was also Sophie’s friend, and she was glad Candy hadn’t been left in the dark. “My parents don’t know I went to Earth Two?”

  “No. With everything else going on, it wouldn’t have been fair to you to tell them. I did the same for George and Andre.” He tipped his head towards the warehouse. “Michael and Livia told you the story here?”