A Chronetic Perspective (The Chronography Records Book 2)

by Kim K. O'Hara

  “I—” she started. And stopped.

  “What?”

  She cleared her throat, a useless gesture. “I guess it might be a little awkward around the office now.”

  “Could be.”

  Well, that wasn’t helpful. Try again.

  “Okay, look. I don’t want it to be awkward.”

  “It’s all right, Dani. I know better than to get into a relationship with a co-worker. It was my mistake. Won’t happen again.” He smiled, but it was strained.

  “I’m…sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. I overstepped.”

  She nodded. “Do you want me to transfer to another section?”

  His eyes widened. “No!” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I hired you for your talents and insights. I still want you on the team.”

  Tears brimmed. She blinked them away. She knew that things wouldn’t be the same between them. Not for a long time, if ever. I don’t know if I can do this.

  His voice softened. “Do you want to transfer?”

  She started to nod, and then she paused, and then she shook her head. Finally, she shrugged, hands out, palms up. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

  DANI’S APARTMENT, First Hill, Seattle, WA. 1750, Tuesday, September 12, 2215.

  “Hi, Mom. You busy?”

  “Dani! What a surprise. I have a few minutes. Hang on. Let me connect the vid.”

  The vidcall came through and Dani swiped it to her viewwall. Her mom’s house—what she could see of it—would have been neat and tidy except for dozens of fabric samples draped over every visible piece of furniture in the room. Another one of Livia Adams’ famous projects. She always had something going.

  “Ignore the mess. We’re planning costumes for the winter play.”

  “I like the one on the left there.” Dani nodded toward a shimmery, swirly design over her mother’s right shoulder.

  “Which, the purple one? You just like the way the pattern changes. Ever since you were a little girl, you’ve liked vari-color prints. Remember that blanket? You used to kick it off you at night. Your father had me sew stones in the edge binding so he could tuck it under your mattress and make it stay.”

  Nostalgia swept Dani and she could almost feel the worn blue tatters of her favorite childhood softee.

  “I carried that everywhere. Whatever happened to it?”

  “You know, I’m not sure. We put it in a box in storage, but I dug through all those boxes when you left for college, and I don’t remember seeing it.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I was just curious.”

  “Did you just call to reminisce? Or…?”

  “Or what? No, I was just talking with a friend.” She winced as she said the word, but she hoped it didn’t show. “He was asking about my family. Made me remember we hadn’t talked for a while.”

  “So nothing happened? Nothing out of the ordinary?”

  “Uh, no.” Not unless she meant the awkwardness of the ride with Lexil. And her mom didn’t even know Lexil, so she wouldn’t mean that. “Why do you ask?”

  Her mom was shaking her head. “I can’t say. He wouldn’t want me to tell you. And the play committee is due to arrive any minute. I’m going to have to go. But let’s talk more soon, okay?”

  “Mom! You can’t just leave me like that. Who wouldn’t want you to tell me? And tell me what?”

  “Oh, Dani. Don’t get all agitated. Some things are just better if you wait. It’s a good thing, I promise. He said he was going to make everything right.” She turned toward the door, just out of Dani’s view. “They’re here. I miss you and love you. Bye, Sweetie!”

  The vidcall blinked out and she was gone.

  Somehow, Dani got through the rest of the evening. She put on some music and reheated the leftover soup from Saturday night, adding a few more ingredients for variety. It was good. She concentrated on the flavor and tried not to think about what her mom had said.

  There were clothes to be washed. She put her lab coats and a few pairs of pants in the clothes machine and straightened up the kitchen while she waited to put the folded clothes away. She wondered about how Marak was doing with his government contacts, and what Kat might have found out from her uncle. She should call them tomorrow to find out.

  She tried not to think about who her mom might have been talking about. It couldn’t have been Lexil. Could it? She’d mentioned where her mom lived. He wouldn’t have dared to track her down and call her, would he?

  She wrested her mental processes back and wondered about that poor kidnapped man. Well, rich kidnapped man. But money couldn’t buy everything, obviously. When had the detective said his daughter was coming?

  Eventually, her tired mind gave up and she crawled into bed. Sleep would feel good. Everything would be better in the morning.

  This time, she knew it was a dream. She was in one of the observations boxes at the lab, hooked to the neurolinks, scanning an object. She looked to see what the object was, but it was hazy. She concentrated on the scan. In front of her was the garden with a patio that she had seen in her other dream. And there, again, were Dr. Seebak and Dr. Brant, who was crying.

  Doc reached over for her awkwardly. Then he seemed to think better of it. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Dr. Brant looked up. “Why else would I have this lapse of memory, Mitch?”

  “Could you have fallen asleep? It was late at night.”

  “I don’t think so. And I was so groggy when I got home. I hardly remember anything from after the accident, until the next morning.” She thought for a minute. “And I remember absolutely nothing from before the accident.”

  Their voices faded. Dani strained to hear.

  And then she was walking in the woods with Lexil. All the awkwardness was gone, replaced with a rosy feeling of new love. Their hands brushed, once, twice. Their fingers intertwined. They stopped in the middle of the path and he turned to her. She barely heard his words, until he said, “Would you let me kiss you?” Of course she would. She wanted nothing more. He leaned in closer. She closed her eyes and tilted up her chin. The first touch of their lips was electric. The second was bliss. Her arms rose of their own accord, her palms cupped the back of his head, pulling him toward her. But something nagged at her. Something that had to be finished first.

  She was back in the lab, watching the garden patio.

  Dr. Brant’s voice gradually became audible. “I’m so glad Royce was there to take me home.”

  Her voice faded again. Dani could see her lips moving, and she tried to read them. The air got hazy and she couldn’t even see that. Suddenly her voice came back. “I’m worried about the family. What will happen to Lexil if Elena doesn’t wake up? This is all my fault.”

  Dani felt the dream slipping away. She tried to get it back, but the effort woke her up. She blinked to turn on her eyescreen and check the time. Only 0300 hours.

  What had she just dreamt? She felt like she needed to remember it, to think about it, put words to it before she forgot it. That walk in the woods. With her boss. She could still taste his lips on hers, feel his hair between her fingers. Her stomach knotted up. She hated the part of herself that pushed any chance of love away.

  And that other part. Dr. Brant had been talking about an accident, and she mentioned Elena. Dani knew that name. Elena Howe, brilliant founder of Chronography, and also Lexil’s mother, who had died after an accident eight years ago. How could Dr. Brant think any of that was her fault?

  What kinds of strange stories was her mind spinning? What was her subconscious mind trying to tell her?

  She lay back down, letting the bed mold to her shape. Soon her restless thoughts ceased, and she was fast asleep.

  DANI’S APARTMENT, First Hill, Seattle, WA. 0715, Wednesday, September 13, 2215.

  Dani woke up. She stretched and swung her legs off the bed. As she got ready to go, she tried to keep her mind off what faced her at work.

  This was ridiculous. She was a professional. She could
easily ignore her confusion about Lexil and focus at the tasks that awaited her. Or maybe not so easily. But it could be done…despite the dream. Even after four hours, she still had those images in her head, that taste on her lips, and the wistful yearnings in her heart. Somehow, she would shake this.

  She took the larger Xpress tube car to work and was relieved to find it full of people, all preoccupied with their own thoughts. So much better than having to ride somewhere with Lexil.

  What a stupid thing to happen. She couldn’t believe she’d let the perfect work environment get destroyed over one moment of weakness. If only she’d turned away instead of toward him! She knew he would have stepped back, changed the subject. A little awkwardness might have remained, but not much. Nothing like this.

  He’d left it up to her to decide whether she wanted a transfer. It really might be for the best. She resolved to talk to Doc about it. He seemed like the sort who would understand.

  She could get more involved with the police investigations or historical research. There were plenty of opportunities, and they’d made it plain when she moved to Lexil’s group that she’d always be welcome back.

  As soon as she made the decision, she felt better. She’d miss the rest of the team, of course.

  Who was she kidding? It was Lexil she’d miss.

  .

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Safety

  WEST SEATTLE MARINA, Alki Beach, Seattle, WA. 0730, Wednesday, September 13, 2215.

  Kat had no idea what Uncle Royce had sent her to find on his boat, but Marak was not having much luck in finding someone to help them get her uncle released. They were toying with the idea of asking for some kind of weekend pass, if they couldn’t accomplish a general release. But who knew whether that would help?

  She wished she could talk directly to the originator of the messages, whether that was a person or an organization or what. Someone clearly knew something. Lexil and Dani had been no help on that front.

  But there was still a task at hand. So she had roused Jored early, packed up a bag of breakfast snacks, a picnic lunch, and activities, and the two of them were here now, standing at the top of the ramp at the West Seattle Marina, with her uncle’s keystarter in her hand. She’d told the lawyer that her uncle had given permission for her to use the boat for a family thing, and he’d been quite willing to help. No doubt, they’d have to come back to him soon if they made any progress on this whole effort.

  It was a beautiful day, at least. No sloshy puddles to wade through on her way to the dock. No slippery wood on the ramp.

  She boarded the boat. The familiar sway in the waters of the Sound brought back memories. Fireworks with the family. Happy meals. She still couldn’t reconcile those images of her uncle with the horrible man she had discovered he was.

  And she was willingly helping him to get free. It left a bad taste in her mouth.

  The object she was after was back in the galley, with the child-size life jackets. Maybe they wouldn’t actually have to take the boat out on the water. Maybe she could just get whatever it was and leave.

  “Are we going to go way out there? So we can explore some islands? But not the big Mystery Island. Nobody’s supposed to go there. But can we go to some other islands?” Jored was spinning around with every other step, half walking backwards and half walking forwards.

  “Mmm hmm.” Kat was barely listening, but she didn’t blame him for being so eager. They had done without their usual summer trips because Royce hadn’t been available to take them. It had been almost a year since their last boat trip. Jored could do with some reminders. “You watch your step, young man. You remember what Uncle Royce always tells you about walking on the boardwalks.”

  “Oh yeah. He says to step carefully, straight up and down. Because you never know…”

  “…which board might be slippery.” They finished the sentence together.

  “Uncle Royce knows a lot about boats, doesn’t he, Mom? He’s really smart. He knows a lot about everything.”

  Kat felt a pang of guilt, encouraging her son’s fond memories. Uncle Royce, as it turned out, was no role model. Someday, Jored would have to know about that. But he was only seven years old. Not now. Let him have his safe world, for as long as he could.

  “Yeah, he’s a pretty cool uncle, isn’t he? And I know he thinks you’re pretty cool too.”

  “Is he coming to drive the boat? Do we have to wait for him?” Jored peered around her, up the ramp, as if he expected Uncle Royce to be at the top, waving.

  “No, son. He’s busy today. He said we should go without him. We can have fun without him, right?”

  Jored nodded. “We have to have life jackets, don’t we, Mom? Can’t untie the boat until we put on our life jackets.”

  She was glad he could move on so easily to other topics. “Nope, we can’t. That’s really good that you remember rules like that.”

  “I’m a good rememberer. I can figure things out, too.” He looked at her eagerly, waiting for her confirmation. She could only hope that he wasn’t so good at figuring things out that he’d find out where Royce had been gone to.

  “You sure can. You helped Dani and Lexil out quite a bit with that equation. They were pretty impressed!”

  “Can we go to see them after we get back from our boat trip? I like the lab.”

  “Maybe. We’ll see how much time we have. Wait up here. I’ll go get your life jacket. Don’t go near the railing, okay?”

  “Okay.” He sat down on the middle seat, as near to the center as possible, doing everything he could to show her he was doing exactly the right thing. He looked up at her, beaming. “I’m being good. I’ll stay safe right here.”

  She laughed. While she was below deck, she’d be able to see him the whole time.

  She reached into the cabinet under the dish drainer and pulled out two child-sized life jackets, uncovering an oilskin bag. She’d seen that before, and always assumed it held flares or other emergency equipment. But since that was the only other thing in the cabinet, that must be what Uncle Royce had sent her for.

  Time for that later, when they got out on the water.

  “Here’s your life jacket, son. Do you want help putting it on?”

  He scoffed. “It puts itself on. I can find the button.” He draped the synthetic flexfabric over his shoulders and pressed the edge where the controls were. The life jacket unfolded itself and wrapped around his chest and back, fitting seamlessly and inflating with strategically placed areas of buoyancy to protect her son should he ever find himself in the water.

  “Now I’m safe. You have to be safe too, Mom.”

  She found the adult life jackets on the main deck and followed the same procedure to put on her own jacket. “Are we ready?”

  “Ready!” His wiggly body confirmed his readiness at least as much as his words did. No matter what purpose Royce had for getting her out on the boat, she determined to have a nice day with her son.

  She sat at the helm, and Jored cuddled next to her. “This is going to be Special Family Time, isn’t it, Mom?

  Indeed it was.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Asperity

  RIACH LABORATORIES, Alki Beach, Seattle, WA. 0815, Wednesday, September 13, 2215.

  When Dani arrived at the lab, the rest of the team was clustered around a simulation.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  “Hey, Dani.” Silas smiled. “We managed without you.”

  She smiled back. She was sure she’d still have friends here, once she got the transfer.

  “Lexil, when you have a minute, could I ask you something?”

  He looked up. His face was carefully neutral. The spark that had always hidden in his gaze was gone. Good. That would make it easier to tell him. “Sure thing. Hang on a sec.”

  She went over to her workstation. She might as well start gathering her few personal items together to take with her to the whichever other section had a need for her at the moment. Her worktablet. Her box
of tissue. Her cute little bird-thing that Kat had given her for her last birthday. “Just something to keep you happy at your boring job,” she had said. That was before Lexil had come and started this division. The next job was not going to be nearly as exciting as this one, but her mental health was more important. She couldn’t deal with the issues here.

  “What’s up?” Lexil voice, so close behind her, made her jump. She turned. His eyes were on her small pile of stuff. He winced.

  “I’ve, uh, made a decision. I’m going to go talk to Doc.”

  “Transfer?”

  She nodded.

  “You don’t have to do that, Dani. Please don’t. This whole thing was my mistake.” He spoke quietly. It wasn’t a matter for the rest of the team.

  “I don’t blame you. Lexil. I just know I would have…difficulty…working as closely with you as we have been. We can still be friends, I’m sure. I just need some time.”

  He frowned and bit his upper lip. “You can do what you need to, of course. But I wish…”

  Those big brown eyes again, with that lost puppy-dog look. It would be so easy to behave as she had in her dream, yield to the emotions churning inside her. She steeled herself. The longest that kind of thing would last was a few months, and then it would be over. He’d lose interest, move on. She’d rather keep the friendship intact and save herself from the miserable break up. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. It’s not that big of a place.”

  His look spoke volumes, willing her to reconsider.

  She turned away. “I’ll go talk to Doc and be back to get these things when I find out where I’m going.”

  He nodded slowly and stepped back.

  She left the lab, acutely aware that the other researchers had missed nothing despite their efforts to appear busy. As she left, they all looked away quickly. She appreciated the pretense of privacy.

  Doc was in his office. She waited at the door until he spotted her and stood to invite her in.

  “Good to see you! How are things going?” His question was meant to be perfunctory, she was sure, but she chose to answer it honestly.