Heather was just coming through the patio doors with Wells when he entered the kitchen. The dog rushed over to greet him. Michael rubbed his head while looking at the woman standing at the doors.
“I’m back, and I don’t feel any different,” he smiled.
“Did you find out what you wanted?” Her face was cold and on the verge of tears.
“No...we need to go back.” That uneasy sense of dread fell into his belly again. Heather wrapped her arms around her stomach and came closer to him. She stood in front of him gazing up into his eyes.
“I don’t understand. Wasn’t that the right time?” He saw the tears ready to spill down her cheeks.
“Yeah, it was the right time, but Joe just vanished, so we didn’t see what happened.” His frustration made the tone of his voice harsher than necessary. Heather hugged his neck. He held her tight trying to comfort her fears. “I have to go back,” he whispered into her hair. Her body tensed. He knew she’d be upset.
“Even if you’re there, how is that going to help you figure out what happened? He disappeared, vanished into thin air. What’s going to be different this time?” Tears were dripping down her face.
He tried to smile, wanting to be brave for her. She was right, but the feeling in his gut was telling him to go back. There had to be something to see or find that would help ease his mind at least.
“People don’t just go poof like a magician’s trick. Something or someone took him, and I just can’t live without knowing who or what.” His face was grim. “Listen, I know you’re scared. Hell, maybe even mad at me for doing this, but I’ve spent the last thirty years trying to find out what went on. I can’t give up now, not when I’m this close.”
She gave him a weak smile knowing she didn’t have the right to control him. Her hands brushed away the tears as she curled slowly onto the sofa against the arm. Wells jumped up beside her and rested his big head on her knee. Michael leaned down to kiss her forehead and went back to the computer room feeling guilty.
Sitting at the desk, he glanced up at Billy, Sam, and Jon. His best friend was settled in his usual slouching style on the only other chair in the room. Jon was perched on the table while Sam leaned against the doorframe.
“I’ve got to figure this out, guys. What did we see, Jon? One second he was there and the next, nothing. We know it happened, but that’s impossible. I can think of a few things that could make that happen: alien abduction, a sinkhole, and teleportation. I didn’t see a spacecraft. There wasn’t any sign of a sinkhole, so the only thing left is teleportation. What do you think, Dawn?”
“I agree, and you have the technology to prove the theory. I think that is exactly what happened to your friend.” Jon and Billy were nodding in agreement.
Michael frowned. Somebody else had developed the ability to travel in time but had gone one-step further and could transport people without the aid of a beacon. An image of the transporter room on the Enterprise in Star Trek emerged before his eyes. He could see the shimmering outline of his friend Joe congeal and become solid—a shocked, frightened seven-year-old boy standing alone on an alien ship with no idea of how or why he’d been taken and no way to get home.
“Somebody in the future.” He banged his hand on the desk. “There has to be someone in the future who took him, but why? Aliens might certainly have the ability, but why take Joe? Nothing makes sense.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“The obvious answer is that without you, there would be no time travel in the future.” Jon was trying to help. Michael was shaking his head.
“They would’ve had the means in the future without me. Somebody else could come up with the technology eventually. I did all this because Joe vanished, but their machine had to be able to snatch him thirty years ago. There was no way they’d know I’d take this path because my friend vanished. I could’ve been like every other heartless bastard and shrugged and forgotten about him. Sorry, Billy. I’m just trying to figure this out; you know I’d never give up on Joe or you.” Billy smiled and nodded.
“Alternate timelines,” Sam suggested. “Their time already had the technology, but they wanted this version of time to also have the ability. They thought we needed the capability, but why?” He sounded as if he was plucking ideas out of some old movie.
Michael groaned. “I’ve never been able to get my head around the concept of a multiverse. Everybody in this time having a duplicate in multiple universes is impossible to imagine. Every action I take is either repeated or ignored by the ‘then’ they live in. There had to be somebody else in that time or...” he arched his eyebrows.
“What,” Jon and Billy demanded at the same time.
“Somebody else is working on time travel in this universe. They aren’t developing the technology for the same reasons I am, and the ‘me’ in that other time is forcing this me to work faster. Do you see what I’m saying? That’s the only idea that makes sense.” All three men in the room were shaking their heads at him.
“Look.” He jumped forward in the chair, excited, almost vibrating. “Think twenty years into the future and where this technology might lead humanity. There wouldn’t be a need for cars or planes anymore. We could just jump into a booth like that one in the corner and zap ourselves anywhere on the planet. If the people in this universe are going to use the technology for their own gain, then maybe in that other world I’m trying to stop them before they can succeed. Head them off at the pass, so to speak.” He shrugged, expecting them to reach their own conclusion. Understanding dawned on their faces.
“They’d hold a monopoly on transportation.” Billy grinned and then frowned. “Oh yeah, I see what that would mean to society. They could charge what they wanted; people could also go back in time making history as polluted as some rivers.”
“Exactly, and the ones in this time might even try to make sure their competition never succeeds in duplicating the technology. They’d stop at nothing to keep me from achieving success. People like that might be responsible for our kidnapping in Monaco.”
“But wouldn’t that mean you’d never develop time travel?” Jon was struggling to understand.
“I don’t know for sure. I think once information is available, even if the person who developed the idea removes any traces from history, the words are still out there. All they have to do is copy what I’ve done and then they can get rid of me.” There was still lingering doubts in his mind, but the premise made sense.
“So what now?” Billy wanted to know.
“Who among our competition is working on anything close to this technology?”
Billy considered the question, leaning forward and straightening in the chair.
“There were two other bids for the Mars probe. One company operates here, and the other is in Europe. I’ll have to go into the office to find out their names. All the other computer businesses in this country are working on the hardware side as far as I know, but I’ll check.”
“Go, see what you can find and call me when you get something. Jon, I need you to be ready in case they come after the information or me again. I don’t have any experience with fighting for self-preservation. You have to deal with that from now on.”
“Okay, but we start now to make some changes.” His smile flashed. Michael wasn’t sure he was going to like the near future. He nodded.
“Let’s go figure this out with Heather. She’s going to be as much a part of this as I am and might have some suggestions.”
Chapter 19
They did have discussions. Sometimes they were calm and other times one of them was raging or crying, but in the end, they arrived at a plan. Wells needed to go out twice during their brainstorming session. Darkness had descended, so Heather took him for a walk. Michael went with her for a change. Jon made contact with people he could trust because they were going to need backup.
The dog led Heather and Michael along a familiar path down the valley. Stars shone overhead in a cloudless sky. The light faded, making t
heir surroundings indistinct. They’d walked this trail many times, but tonight seemed different. Important, Michael thought. I need to get this over with and become average again. I almost wish I’d never seen a computer, but that’s not going to change. She needs me, and I need her. He smiled to himself. She needs me. What a laugh that is. There’s never been a more independent woman. The truth is, I think she’s become more important to me now that my parents are gone. There isn’t anyone else to share my life, my feelings with.
Wells stopped, snapping his head to the right as small twigs cracked nearby. Something was moving in the brush, but all they could see was darkness. A low rumble came from the dog’s chest as he slowly turned facing the direction of the sound. Even in the darkness, they could see the tension in his body. Michael reached out and touched Heather’s arm. A small squeak escaped her mouth. He tugged her elbow to get her to follow him back toward the house. They had no flashlight or any means of protection with them. Whatever was out there, all that stood between them and imminent attack was the dog. Michael didn’t like depending on an animal.
Heather jerked on Wells’ leash as she turned to follow Michael toward the house. Lights glowed to show them their destination nearby, but the brightness also made everything around them darker. Haste and fear made him lose the path several times, only realizing the mistake when he was up to his knees in brush. Twenty feet more, by his estimate, and they’d be on the deck. The Labrador stopped and turned back in the darkness. His growl was louder now, definitely sharper and meant to be a warning to anything hiding out there.
Michael stopped and urged Heather to run ahead. Wells didn’t want to move, but the leash tightening on his neck made him change his mind. He ran ahead, forcing her to follow as best she could. Michael was on their heels. His imagination gave him the feeling of claws raking down his back any second, which added fuel to the fires of fear raging in his stomach.
The patio door slammed shut. Michael pressed his face and hands to the glass to look out into the dark. Nothing moved that he could see, but he was certain whatever had been in the brush was still lurking out there. His heart was hammering inside his chest, the terror making his knees shaky. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Heather standing in the middle of the room. Her face was ghost white and the hand still holding the leash was shaking at her side. The dog panted and stared at the door, ears up as if whatever he’d sensed was going to appear any second.
Michael went to her, trying to hug away the fear. She gripped his shoulders as if she was drowning; holding him so tight, he found breathing difficult. He looked over and saw Jon sitting at the dining room table watching them, an expression of surprise and concern on his face.
“Something was out there. Probably just a wild animal, but Wells wasn’t happy. We didn’t have a flashlight, so we don’t know for sure.”
“Better safe than sorry.” Jon smiled, but he wasn’t happy. “From now on, you don’t go out of the house without protection, and I don’t mean the dog. I’m calling some friends of mine who will be here tomorrow. They are all well-trained in the protection business and are going to be with you two every minute.”
Michael could tell there wasn’t any point in arguing. Jon was the expert and doing the job he was hired to do. He bent to unclip the leash from the dog’s collar. Wells dashed at the patio door as soon as he was free. His nose pressed against the glass, his ears erect and listening, and the hackles on his back rose. A rumble came from his chest. The thing is still out there.
Heather moved first. She closed all the blinds and switched off all the lights, including the one over the dining room table. The darkness was not total so that familiar shapes of the furniture could still be identified. Jon slid his chair back and moved to the farthest window on the left next to the wall. He pulled the drapes back a fraction of an inch with his left hand as he peered out into the darkness while holding the right arm stiff at his side. He probably has a gun, Michael thought and felt safer somehow but wondered where the weapon came from. Wells barked once from behind the curtains and scared them all.
Tension mounted as the seconds ticked by. All eyes stared at the darkness at the back of the house. Suddenly, the dog’s tail could be seen waving side to side. He knew what was in the dark, and he wasn’t threatened any longer. Jon let the drapes fall and slipped the pistol into the belt of his pants. The smile was back on his face; his teeth shining in the dark.
“Rabbit,” he said. Wells wagged his tail faster and whined to get outside. “I don’t think that’ll be much of a threat, but I’m staying with you tonight.” He switched the lights on. “I’ll organize a schedule for my men to be here around the clock when they arrive tomorrow. You need to stay inside until this menace is neutralized.”
“Where did the gun come from?” Michael asked with a nod. “You aren’t supposed to get the carry permit until tomorrow.”
“That’s my personal weapon that I’ve had for about five years now. Don’t worry, I have an international carry permit.”
Michael felt exhaustion replace his tension. He looked at Heather and could see the same thing happening to her. She yawned. Jon smiled at both of them.
“Go to bed, the two of you,” he ordered. “I’ll make myself comfortable out here, and Wells will make sure there are no surprises.”
As tired as he was, Michael didn’t fall asleep right away. He listened to Heather breathing into his shoulder and thought about all the possibilities for why this was happening to them. Her breathing slowed, and his mind slipped into darkness.
He was being chased through the hills. Something large and unseen in the darkness had stalked him for hours and was just about to pounce. He jerked up in bed trying to figure out where he was. The memory of the beast’s claws about to dig in made the skin crawl on his back.
He climbed slowly off the bed and shuffled into the shower. Sweat had caked onto his body, making him feel grimy, and his legs felt like lumber from running too long. Hot water splashed over his face, down to his legs, washing away his sense of dread. The smell of food cooking as he toweled dry made his stomach growl. Heather was at the stove making breakfast when he entered the kitchen.
“Morning,” he said and kissed her cheek.
She dropped the spatula and grabbed his face with both hands, planting her lips on his. He could feel the warmth and the passion coming off her. The patio door opened then, and Jon and Wells entered. Heather let his face go and returned to the cooking. There was no sexism in their relationship, she just liked to cook and was better at it than he was. He decided he loved her.
“Morning,” Jon called from the door. Wells barked and ran to check his bowl for food.
“How did you sleep?” Michael asked with genuine interest.
“Very well, thank you. I’m thinking of getting a sofa just like yours for my place. I found the leather very comfortable to sleep on.” He winked and put a broad smile on his face. His hair was standing up in spikes, and his shirt looked like crumpled paper.
“Breakfast is almost ready,” Heather said and took plates out of the cupboard.
They ate, and Michael cleared the table. He was still feeling a little edgy about last night’s activity in the woods.
“You don’t have an alarm system.” Jon’s voice was even, matter-of-fact. “I took the liberty of calling in a company to install one this afternoon.” Jon was taking the situation seriously, and Michael didn’t mind. “My friends will arrive at three, and I’ll pick them up at the airport. There’ll be somebody here to keep you company while I’m gone so don’t worry.”
“Who are these people? I thought you said you were a police officer,” Heather asked.
“I was. I was also in the military. The men I’ve called are friends of mine from both periods of my life. They’ve agreed to help us until the threat has been eliminated. I might have offered them a permanent job to get them here. I hope you don’t mind, Michael.”
Michael wasn’t listening. He was thinking about someon
e else working on time travel. Billy could find out what the competition was developing, but even that information couldn’t truly indicate who was trying to solve the puzzle. If anyone looked at my company, there wouldn’t be anything that said Michael Eldridge is working on time travel. Even when I find out who they are, how am I going to stop them? Should I stop them? Are they responsible for Joe’s disappearance?
Finding out who they were didn’t guarantee there was a way to get Joe back. His friend had gone to some future dimension. They’d seen Flash Gordon as kids, and he’d read The Jetsons after losing Joe, so imagining what some other dimension might be like wasn’t difficult. His life could be better, worse, or very similar, but still foreign to a boy of seven.
Jon smiled. “I’ll be back in an hour.” Michael nodded. Totally lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t heard a word.
“What?” he asked.
“I said that friend of mine should be here in a few minutes, and then I’m going to the airport. I’ll be back in an hour.” He smiled again. The look showed he understood Michael had been away.
“Fine. I’m going to call Randal in Florida and find out how things are going down there. Yell for me when the security guys arrive,” Michael said, walking down the hall.
Heather had been standing silently by the table listening and watching. The two men left without another glance at her. She turned toward the dog standing at the other end of the table panting. His eyes shifted to her, and then he turned and went to his rug by the fireplace. She sighed—a sound of utter dejection—and started washing the dishes.
Randal said he was managing well. Nothing unusual was happening with the probe, but the landing was still months away, and they might be excused until then.
Michael told him about the situation and gently suggested that the technical chief might be on his own. Randal took the news in stride but told Michael not to worry. They disconnected, and Michael felt much better about leaving Randal to handle everything alone.
An Altered Course Page 22