by Libby Drew
He cleared his throat and turned his attention from Saul to the passing scenery, which was equally distracting, but not in the uncomfortably-tight-pants sort of way. Although he had suffered more than the occasional hard-on while jaunting. The thrill of living and breathing the past could be one long, vigorous session of foreplay, at least for him, which might explain the root of his addiction to time travel.
But this night with Saul was completely off-script. He was getting to see unexplored parts of the city. Hear them. Smell them. These were the parts of a place tourists from the future had little interest in, where the daily living took place. Like Reegan’s childhood res district, it wasn’t spectacular to look at unless you were a student of social interaction. If you were, it was gold at the end of the rainbow. The world changed, but Reegan had learned long ago that people mostly stayed the same. Human nature was a fixed element, more refined in some circumstances, less in others.
Saul had taken enough turns for Reegan to lose his bearings. He studied the nav system, smiling at the name printed across the top of the device. An old Garmin, one of the first. A tiny toy car drove along the screen, following the green grid lines of D.C.’s streets. Absolutely adorable. It even spoke with a British accent. Maxie would pay a pretty penny for an old piece of tech like this, especially one in such prime condition. “Why are we headed southwest?”
Saul propped an elbow on the door, driving one-handed. He slouched in his seat with the easy grace of a panther, and Reegan had little trouble imagining what he’d look like when he sprang at his prey. Uttering a ragged groan, he pressed his hands against his face. His physical response to Saul was out of hand. Did the guy bathe in pheromones? The synthetic ones could turn a eunuch into a rutting dog, but Reegan couldn’t remember when they’d hit the streets. The decade after this one, maybe. And what reason would Saul have to use them anyway? No, Reegan was going to have to chalk this one up to sexual chemistry. The natural kind.
“You okay?” Saul glanced at him before taking a sharp turn onto a broader avenue. Traffic was heavy. Spectators leaving the rally.
No, not okay. Not in the slightest. And the list of reasons stretched a mile. “Where are we going?”
Saul didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he shifted in his seat. The leather jacket he’d donned before leaving the office creaked loudly. “I’m going to check some of the smaller motels that don’t require ID. Start with those closest to where we saw her last, and work outward from there.”
“Are there many?”
Saul shrugged one shoulder. “Enough. You won’t find them in the AAA handbook, but they’re there. Most are pay by the hour.”
“You know this from personal experience?” That didn’t sit well. Reegan crushed the feeling that rose up. It resembled jealousy, and no way was that healthy.
“I know a lot of them from back when I was on the police force.”
Maxie had mentioned that part of Saul’s past. “Why made you leave and branch out into private investigations?”
“Sorry. I don’t air my dirty laundry until the second date.”
Nothing good, apparently. “Sorry to pry.”
Saul turned off the main drag onto a quieter side street. He didn’t acknowledge Reegan’s apology. “I’m putting a couple of hours in tonight, but that’s all. After 3:00 a.m., being out and visible does more harm than good, especially in my line of work. If your lady hasn’t bolted from the city, she’ll be holed up in a hotel somewhere.”
Reegan clenched his teeth. Every second counted, but they had to balance that with practicality. “You’re the professional.”
That earned him a sharp, humorless laugh. “That’s right. I am.”
Conversation after that was confined to concise questions from Saul and the elusive answers Reegan gave in return. Was she wealthy? Resourceful? Intelligent? Why would she take off without her medicine?
Reegan answered as best he could without giving away the truth about himself and Silvia, studying how Saul reacted to each response. A slight clench of his jaw. The way his hands fisted onto the steering wheel. These were obvious clues that Saul didn’t appreciate Reegan’s evasiveness. Putting a wall of lies between them would lead to trouble, but there wasn’t much Reegan could do about it.
“Why can’t you tell me why she needs the medication?”
“I don’t want to violate her privacy.”
“Since you’ve told me it’s a matter of life and death, that doesn’t really fly with me.”
“I’m sorry.”
And on it went, until thankfully Saul swung the Rover to the side of the street and parallel parked into a space that Reegan could’ve sworn a bicycle wouldn’t have fit into. Just another skill Reegan had never had to learn but that he perversely missed at the moment. Saul’s expert handling of the vehicle made Reegan feel less than capable, and he needed no help feeling incompetent at the moment. His mood soured even further.
He didn’t inquire about the neighborhood. He didn’t have to. He knew it well, but in his time, it was quieter. Less respectable and more dangerous. Reegan turned in a circle, taking in the tight press of bars, convenience stores and dark storefronts. Even at 1:00 a.m. the street was busy. Alive. A tangle of color and sound and smells that simply didn’t exist in many places in his time.
It was quieter in the future. Entertainment wasn’t advertised. People kept to themselves more, the fallout from a society tethered to a virtual world. Isolation could be complete in some cases. Reegan had written an article once on the rise of cyberschooling. The idea that children would be gathered together in one physical location to learn reading, writing and arithmetic boggled the minds of most, yet it had been done that way for a millennium before technology changed it.
Change wasn’t always good.
Silvia had understood that, clinging to the quiet and smoky atmosphere of the Tabby Kitten with both hands while she sang to the sad tones of a piano. Reegan could almost hear her husky voice now, crooning about jealousy and lost love. The memory brought a smile to his face.
Maxie was right. Reegan’s adolescent subconscious controlled more of his decision-making paradigm than was strictly healthy. Hopefully his burst of nostalgia didn’t get him killed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to drive the memories away.
Saul eyed him as he came around the front of the SUV. “Maybe you should leave the hat.”
Leave his hat? Just the suggestion had Reegan clutching it protectively. “Why?”
“It stands out.”
That was the point. Then again, this wasn’t his typical jaunt. “Not sure I should be taking fashion advice from you, but okay.” Reegan tossed it onto the seat of the Rover and closed the door.
“I’m not trying to win a modeling contract here.” Saul zipped his jacket, and Reegan once more admired the fit of the brown leather over blue jeans. Saul took off down the sidewalk, pace even and unhurried, and Reegan followed, trying to keep his fascination with his surroundings in check.
He opted for conversation instead, since Saul could easily be just as fascinating a subject. “You know the city pretty well.”
“Yep.” Saul’s stride didn’t falter.
This guy had polite brush-offs down to an art. “Were you born here?”
“Yep.”
It was a small connection, but it made Reegan smile. “Me too.”
“Oh yeah?” Saul shot him a glance as they turned the corner onto a slightly quieter street. “What part?”
Res district three, Reegan almost blurted. “East of here.” He watched Saul absorb and process the information. It wasn’t the safest part of town these days. It wasn’t exactly ritzy in Reegan’s time either. “I moved when I started college.”
“Where’d you go to school?”
Reegan clammed up. Enough oversharing. Eventually he’d slip, and based on what he’d seen of Saul so far, the other man wouldn’t let a mistake like that go. In fact, he’d pick it apart until Reegan’s half-truths and partial a
nswers were forced into the light. The last thing he needed was Saul knowing Reegan attended Georgetown, a school only a few miles away. There’d be no explaining that.
He felt Saul’s eyes on him, waiting for an answer. “It was a long time ago.”
The corner of Saul’s mouth twitched. “Fair enough.”
Reegan breathed a sigh. They’d both keep their secrets for now. Although Saul’s, however haunting, weren’t going to be the ones to get them killed.
They checked a handful of hotels. Some of the buildings they stopped at didn’t even have a sign out front, yet Saul seemed to know exactly what door to use and what to say to whoever was standing there. A few people recognized him. Reegan saw more than one do a double-take, but the old acquaintances never made trouble. After the third time it happened, Reegan relaxed a bit. Saul oozed competence in more than just driving. Maxie’s instincts had paid off.
They turned a corner and Saul stopped, pointing at a set of concrete steps that led to a cracked glass door. “Last stop. It’s getting too late to do much good.”
Reegan bit back a frustrated sound and glanced up to the hotel’s neon sign. One of the few buildings that had one. The Blue Moon Inn. He did a double-take. “I’m sensing a theme.”
“Me too.” Saul stood beside him, also staring upward. “Do you believe in coincidence?”
Reegan knew just enough about time travel to understand things weren’t as random as people liked to hope. How that connected to day-to-day coincidence was a philosophical discussion for another time. “I do tonight.”
Saul’s shoulder bumped Reegan as he pushed past. “Stay outside for this one, okay? I don’t want to intimidate anybody.”
“You think I’m intimidating?”
“Just being outnumbered can make someone twitchy. I don’t know anyone here. I have no idea what we’re dealing with.” He jogged the three steps to the door and pushed through into a dingy vestibule that Reegan assumed was the lobby. The doors sported a layer of yellow smoke residue that had settled darker orange where the glass was cracked. No matter how Reegan tilted his head, he couldn’t see anything but shadows moving on the other side. Being left out made him nervous.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Saul, but Silvia’s life wasn’t the only one on the line here. The odds were against them, and Reegan wanted to improve that however he could. He wasn’t going to judge the man because of a broken bottle of booze and shabby office. Carving an existence out of crappy circumstances was a universal plight. Hell, it was Reegan’s plight.
After what felt like an hour, Reegan glanced at his bio bracelet. Only ten minutes had passed, but that was more than Saul should have needed for a few questions. Where the hell was he?
A figure pushed through the door and jogged down to the sidewalk. Reegan pressed back against the brick, tense, but the shadow had a familiar profile. “Saul,” Reegan called, voice pitched low, and the figure swung his way. Saul didn’t look like a cop, not how Reegan pictured them, but he moved like one, his stride that combination of relaxed ease and coiled tension that most people were never able to achieve. He did lots of things like that. Pushing aside his Pavlovian reaction, Reegan grabbed Saul’s arm. “What took you so long?”
Saul peeled his fingers away. “I showed the guy inside Silvia’s picture. He said he hadn’t seen her.”
Reegan’s heart sank despite his annoyance. “Then why were you in there for ten minutes?”
Saul leaned close. Their cheeks brushed, and Reegan almost missed the soft words that followed. “Because he was lying.”
No need to ask how he knew. Reegan knew a liar when he saw one too. It didn’t take a genius to pick up on the obvious tells. “You got him to admit that?”
Saul nodded, gesturing for Reegan to follow. They turned right at the end of the block and began walking in the direction of the car. The buildings grew darker, the street more empty, but Reegan tried not to let it bother him. Saul glanced around as they walked, eyes scanning the deep shadows of alleys and recessed doorways. “He admitted it. Didn’t take much.”
“You threatened him?”
Saul cocked his head. “Threatened him? With what?”
Reegan opened and closed his mouth, mind spinning for an answer, but there was no salvaging the situation. “You just…look big. That’s all. Thought you might use that.”
A long silence followed. They walked another block before Saul answered. “I do use that. But very rarely. Nope, all it took was fifty bucks. Everyone has a price, and around here prices are rock bottom.”
He stopped, and Reegan realized they were almost at the car, though the street looked a different place than an hour ago. Most of the signs were dark, and the few streetlamps didn’t make up for the lack of light. A few people walked the sidewalks, but none were laughing. Their eyes followed Reegan and Saul, suspicious and a little afraid.
Reegan hunched his shoulders and kept his gaze averted.
Saul faced him, hands on his hips. “She asked him about Georgetown. The best way to get there. Places to stay in that area. Do you know why she’d focus in on that neighborhood?”
“No idea.” He cringed at the blurted lie. “Well, maybe.”
Saul waited for Reegan to explain, then continued when he didn’t. “He also said she paid for a room here, but ran out about ten minutes later, and he got the impression she wouldn’t be back.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No. Maybe she got spooked by something. Does she know you’ll be coming after her?”
Reegan considered what he knew of Silvia and added what he’d learned of Victor D’arco earlier in the evening. “She probably suspects somebody will come after her.” But who? However she tried to cover her tracks to Blast in the Past—and she had, the disguise proved it—her cover had failed fast. D’arco knew where she was. But how could Silvia know that? She couldn’t. Not yet. She probably suspected Reegan was on her tail, though.
Reegan grimaced and lifted his head to meet Saul’s eyes. “She’s probably expecting me to come after her. She was my responsibility tonight, and I screwed up by letting her get away.”
Saul’s left eye twitched a few times, but his voice stayed calm. “You implied as much.”
“But she’s not running from me. I mean, that’s not what drove this whole thing in the first place. I promise you that.”
“Right. You said she had a fight with her husband.”
Reegan paced a tight circle on the sidewalk. “Yeah, something like that.”
As calm as Saul appeared on the outside, his eyes swam with agitation. “Is this guy violent? Dangerous?”
They were going to have this conversation now? In the middle of the street in the dark? “He wasn’t particularly polite. I don’t know. I already told you, I just met him tonight. I don’t know him from Adam.” The reminder of that meeting had him reaching for one of his bruised wrists. He rubbed it through the cuff of his shirt.
Saul watched the gesture with knowing eyes.
Reegan shoved his hands in his pockets, and for several long seconds a tense silence spun out between them. Saul broke it by turning on his heel and starting toward the Rover. “We’re done here for the night.” He arched his back in a stretch as he walked, and more than one vertebrae cracked. “I’m going home. Grab a few hours of sleep. You still insist on tagging along tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Saul didn’t even blink. “Be at my office at ten. We’ll get a fresh start then.”
Seven more hours that he’d be stuck in the past. But he couldn’t ask Saul to work nonstop, and Reegan needed rest too. Eventually the ripples he was causing would catch up to him, and it wasn’t going to be pretty, but for now he’d have to deal with the harsh reminder that he was human. Mortal. In need of sleep.
He peered into the night, hoping for a miracle. A glimpse. She’d been here, and not all that long ago. How was she faring with the timeline? Her ignorance of the Novikov Principle made him break out in a col
d sweat. Who knew the risks she was taking. Probably best not to dwell on that if he wanted to get any sleep.
“Fine. Ten it is.”
Saul punched the lock button on his keys as they neared the car. The Rover beeped. “Where are you staying? I can drop you.”
Reegan shrugged. “Wherever’s close. One of the shitholes we passed coming in.”
Saul’s stride faltered. “Seriously?”
“Why not? It’s convenient.” And now that the prospect of rest was near, he wanted it badly. What could happen to him while he was sleeping? Unless there was a fire. Or a robbery. Or lightning struck. A passing meteor wasn’t out of the question. Reegan pressed at his temples when his head started to pound. God help him, at this rate he wouldn’t be able to close his eyes.
Saul took his elbow. “You’re carrying several thousand dollars in cash. How long do you think it’s going to take for that information to make the rounds once you pay for your room?”
Reegan pursed his lips. “I’ll make sure to lock my door, Mom.”
“I’m not trying to patronize you.” Saul’s voice had softened, but the message was no-nonsense. “But you’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger. I realize you can probably take care of yourself, but if you really are trying to help Silvia, you need to stay intact.”
Right. At least for another day or so, until D’arco put a bullet in him when he stepped out of the portal. That kept the situation in perspective. As for holding his own in a rough neighborhood, Reegan had grown up in the toughest res district in D.C. He didn’t need anyone holding his hand. “Listen—”
Something whizzed by his face, setting his skin aflame. Bricks shattered on the building behind him. Stunned, Reegan flinched as his cheek began to sting and warm liquid trickled down his jaw and onto his neck. “What the—” He got hit from behind before he could finish his sentence, and that heavy weight carried him roughly to the ground. The air whooshed out of his lungs. For several seconds the panic at not being able to draw a breath swamped him.