by Bob Blink
"And you are sure this was to happen last night?" Jim Laney asked.
Jake looked at the calendar just to be certain.
"Absolutely. According to Jim when he called me, it took place on Friday night, last night," Jake replied.
"What could be different?" Susan asked. "Has anything else changed that might alter events?"
Jake knew that everything should proceed as before, with only his actions causing any change to events. He was, after all, the only person who was seeing all this for a second time. This time around, however, he'd been aware of what was to happen in advance for a long time, which hadn't been the case when it had originally taken place, nor when he'd looped back and they'd caught the foursome. But even though he'd known what was coming, he hadn't said anything, nor done anything, related to the situation. He couldn't see how his awareness might have affected events. It had never happened like this before. Not in a decade and a half of Back-Tracking had he seen an anomaly like this.
"We'll try again tonight," Susan said. "Just in case the timing is off for some reason."
Jake could tell Susan was uncomfortable with the situation. He nodded numbly and said "okay," but he wasn't really paying attention as he tried to think what might have happened. Something wasn't right.
Two days later they dropped the effort. No one had made any attempt on Susan, and they had no idea who the foursome Jake had warned them about might have been, or if they had ever existed. Jake was starting to doubt his recall, and had tried to think of any kind of an experiment he could run to verify his Back-Tracking memories were still sound, because he knew what had happened simply wasn't possible.
Chapter 2
"It always works as it used to?" Karin asked. "No matter what you try?"
Jake nodded unhappily. He'd spent the last couple of days trying every combination of Back-Tracking he could think of, trying to find a scenario where the strange event in Washington would repeat itself.
"Nothing gives me an unusual result. I'm always seeing exactly what I have come to expect. That's the way it's supposed to work. The past events should follow the same path, except where I interfere and force a change."
"You're certain you've tried everything?" Karin insisted. She knew how much this was bothering Jake, and had tried making suggestions that might help resolve the matter. He'd been grumpy since the anomaly had happened, to the point even Janna was a little uncomfortable around him.
"I've tried everything I can think of other than make another long jump back, like the one I made before this occurred."
Jake really didn't want to make another such jump. For one thing, he didn't believe that was the problem, and the thought of reliving those same weeks yet again appalled him, not to mention he'd felt thick-headed for a few days after making the loopback. There was no reason he could think of that the length of a Back-Track should affect the normal order of things. He also didn't believe that dealing with two independent events had any influence either. The two matters couldn't have been more removed from one another, and they were separated by nearly a month in time.
He knew that Susan and Jim had a somewhat different take on the situation. Susan had delicately hinted at the matter. It was clear they were befuddled, and concerned about Jake. It was also pretty clear that they didn't have much belief that the kidnapping had ever happened. Over the years they had learned how things worked with Jake's ability, and his claim this time failed to follow the proper pattern. Since from their perspective the kidnapping hadn't happened and no one had made an attempt, there was no evidence that it had ever been planned. Despite Jake's verbal description of the culprits, a bit generic he had to admit, none of the supposed individuals were recognizable to either of the agents.
Susan's concern was based in the magnitude of the Back-Track that Jake had used prior to informing the agents of the planned abduction. A couple of years ago he'd demonstrated a severe vulnerability to multi-jump Back-Tracking, to the point he'd nearly lost the ability to Back-Track at all. For a while, Karin had even feared for his life. Since that time, Jake had avoided longer jumps backward. This was the first time since that revealing episode that he'd gone anywhere near as far back. Susan was concerned that the longer jump may have had another, previously unseen, effect on his brain. While he didn't exhibit the swelling and loss of ability this time, perhaps the effect was more subtle, causing him to mistakenly believe some event that hadn't really happened.
"I'd rather you didn't do that again," Karin said.
There were times she wished he'd never had the Back-Tracking ability. She hadn't been comfortable with him making the jump, and was still feeling guilty it had been because of her he'd made it in the first place. She had been in on the conversation with Susan, and knew what she feared. Karin couldn't say that she didn't have some similar worries about possible side effects of Jake having gone back so far.
"If that is somehow responsible, then it would be best not to take a chance. If you don't do that kind of Back-Tracking from now on, then this should never happen again."
"Possibly," Jake agreed.
He couldn't deny he had some small worry that the long jump might have affected him in some subtle way. It certainly had been a factor when he'd made the long backward trip before, but that time he'd gone much farther back, and had felt the effects more noticeably even as he'd worked his way back in time. This time he'd felt nothing to concern him beyond the slight stuffiness in his brain.
On the other hand, he still had the vivid memories of the phone conversation with Jim Laney when he'd been at the range, learning that Susan had been taken. For him, the attempt remained real, and always would seem that way. It was too detailed and set for it to have been some false memories his brain had generated. He'd sorted through the details carefully, trying to trip up what he could recall and prove it a construct, and had failed miserably.
"I'm concerned this isn't over," Jake explained, looking into Karin's eyes and seeing the concern there. "I am willing to bet there will be some other kind of attempt against Susan."
As he spoke, he pictured the images that Jim had sent him. The hard-looking male that Jim had said was probably a gang member, as well as the other one who looked almost too sophisticated to be a criminal, and to a lesser degree the other two males. He'd only glanced at their images, and found he couldn't reliably describe them. although he was certain he'd know them if he encountered either of them. He hadn't expected to need to describe them, believing he'd return to find Jim and Susan having identified all four of the individuals.
"You should go to Washington," Karin said forcefully and unexpectedly.
That surprised Jake. Karin usually was against him being away, especially to DC where he often ended up being away far longer than planned.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you aren't going to be able to rest until you have sorted this out. If you are there, you can speak face-to-face with your friends. You can go through their mug books and maybe spot the individuals you claim to have seen pictures of. That might give them some place to start looking."
Jake thought about it. He'd been considering asking Susan to arrange a session with one of the San Francisco FBI office artists, and attempt to generate a sketch of the two people he recalled clearly. He'd hoped that might be enough to generate some interest from the two agents.
"Also, what if you are right?" Karin added. "What if something does happen? Maybe being there will make it easier to solve quickly."
"What about Janna?" Jake asked.
"She'll be fine. I think she'd rather have a Daddy who is a little less grumpy. A few days away might help a lot."
Jake slowly nodded.
"Perhaps you are right. I'll see what flights are available."
He turned toward his computer to check on reservations, as Karin turned to answer the phone. Jim hadn't done more than bring up the web browser when Karin made a sound that caught his attention. He looked over toward her, and the stricken look on her face told him that what h
e had feared must have happened.
"Susan?" he asked.
Karin nodded. She held out the phone, and he reached for it, certain of what he was going to hear.
Chapter 3
"Jake here," he said, speaking into the phone with an eerie sense of anticipation.
As he had half guessed, it was Jim Laney on the other end. From the tightness in his voice, Jake could sense the strain his friend was under. This had to be about Susan.
"You were right," Jim said, his voice tightly controlled. "They were after Susan. They used a sniper to shoot her just a short time ago."
"Susan?" Jake asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.
"Dead," the FBI agent replied. "Both bullets struck home, and either would have been sufficient."
"Both bullets?" Jake asked.
"They didn't want to take any chances. It looks as if there were a pair of snipers, shooting from slightly different angles. Somehow they coordinated their shots, both hitting her in the center of her chest, but exiting at different angles. We don't know yet where the shots came from, but we will soon enough."
Jake reminded himself this could be undone. All he needed to do was Back-Track with the relevant information and they would make sure Susan wasn't anywhere near where the killing had taken place. Even so, at this instant in time, his friend was dead. Killed by persons they didn't know anything about.
Laney was still talking.
"We're going to need you here," he said. "This one is going to require you're ability to unravel. Are you certain you can still Back-Track and stop this?"
Jake knew the uncharacteristic doubts Jim was expressing were based both on his concern for Susan, but also because of the recent oddity surrounding Jake's claim of a kidnapping attempt, that from Laney's perspective had never materialized.
"This is straight-forward enough," Jake promised his friend. "Once I alert you and Susan to what happened here, it won't ever take place. But first you need to find out everything you can and then call me back so I can bring you the appropriate information when we meet."
"As soon as we know the specifics, I'll call you," Jim promised. "In the meantime, you can get your travel plans in place."
Jake shook his head, but realized Jim couldn't see him.
"No, it doesn't work that way. If I fly to Washington now, I won't be able to Back-Track with the relevant information. I'll be physically too far away from where I was on that earlier date. I'll have to Back-Track here in California, then take a flight a few days ago, arriving in Washington then."
"Of course," Laney agreed chastened. "I knew that. I'm just not thinking very clearly at the moment."
"Understandable," Jake soothed. "Just get back to me as soon as possible."
Once again Jake disconnected, feeling like this was a sick repeat of what had happened a little over a week ago when Laney had called regarding the kidnapping. He had to admit he harbored just the faintest concern that something might not go well as he attempted to undo this killing. The unexplained, non-materializing kidnapping attempt was still in the back of his mind.
"They used a sniper to kill Susan," Jake explained to Karin, who had overheard enough to have deduced she had been shot, and probably killed.
"Do they have any idea who?" she asked.
"None, although I'm certain this is the same people who made the kidnap attempt that has somehow mysteriously vanished from history. I'm the only one who recalls that," he reminded her.
"When will you be going?" she asked.
"As soon as Jim calls back with the information I need, I'll Back-Track to the first of the week. Then I'll fly to Washington and contact Jim and Susan with the details. We'll be able to undo this easily enough, and hopefully catch those responsible as they make their attempt."
Karin examined her husband.
"You're a little worried that when you go back and tell them, that the shooting won't take place, aren't you?"
Karin was always very perceptive and knew Jake thoroughly.
Jake grinned sheepishly.
"A little," he admitted. "What if when I go to Washington, we set up to catch those who made this attempt and find no one appears? This would be the second time something like this has happened, and would suggest, at least to them, that my memory or ability has become suspect. Frankly, I'll be a little concerned myself. I'm the only one who will have these memories once I go back."
"It's real," Karin said emphatically. "Remember this conversation. I don't know what happened before, but this is all real. There is an explanation. You just need to sort it out."
It wasn't until the next morning that a very tired sounding Laney called him back.
"Two snipers, just as I said," the agent explained. "They left the rifles behind. Very impressive work done on them. Both .300 magnums. The shots were taken at over five hundred yards in one case and nearly seven hundred in the other. Both from rooftops. One was an office building and the other an apartment."
"Where was Susan when it happened?" Jake asked.
He knew that her office was inside a secure FBI facility, and lacked any external windows. Her apartment was also extremely secure, with gated underground parking, and a special elevator up to her apartment. The only windows she allowed open to the outside overlooked the river, with no structures within fifteen hundred yards that would have a view into her private spaces.
"She was having lunch with a White House representative. It was outdoors, but not in a public way. They were eating inside an enclosed courtyard and only a couple of buildings are high enough and close enough to have a view inside the area. That's what made it relatively easy to decide where the shots had to come from."
"Someone had to know she was going to be there," Jake pointed out.
"We thought of that," Laney agreed. "The lunch was a last minute thing, called by the White House. That wouldn't have given them much time to set up, which suggests someone knew what they wanted and planned for the luncheon in advance. That's something you'll need to tell me to pursue when you contact me a few days ago."
"What about the lunch partner?"
"We don't think he has any involvement. He is sedated at the moment, but he was almost struck by one of the exiting bullets. Something else to investigate, but my gut says he wasn't aware of what was going to happen."
"Okay," Jake said. "Give me the specifics I need to remember."
Jake had an excellent memory. He had to, since his memories were the only thing that traveled backwards to his earlier self. He wrote a few notes as Jim read off the key information, which he ran through a couple of times after their call was complete. Then certain that he had everything, he shook his head and Back-Tracked.
"I thought you didn't see any point in going to Washington?" Karin asked, when he told he had to make flight reservations.
"Someone killed Susan," Jake told her.
"Oh, my God!" Karin exclaimed. "When? How?"
"About five days from now. I need to take back the details so we can stop it."
"So you were right after all," Karin said. "Someone was after her all along."
"That's how I see it," Jake agreed.
He pressed the print button which would give him his boarding pass and the confirmation of his flight and hotel reservation. For once, Karin didn't say anything. She'd become uncomfortable with flying of late. Too many terrorist threats, but more importantly flying was one of the activities that she felt put Jake at risk. The flights quickly put him out of range of his earlier self, which put him in the unusual situation of not being able to Back-Track should the need to do so arise. Today, he'd be taking a flight that he knew would arrive safely and without difficulty, because he'd already been five days in the future, and here had been no news of a problem. His taking flights that were known to have arrived safely made Karin much more comfortable.
"How long will you be there?" she asked.
"At least a week," Jake guessed. "A lot will depend on how things go. I'll call you daily with
updates."
Karin nodded and hugged him close.
"I'll go and pack for you. Make sure that you save Susan. We owe her a lot."
Jake stepped out of his hotel into the fresh spring air of Washington, DC. He'd had a lot of time to think on the plane about recent events, and was anxious to see how this encounter was going to play out. The last time he'd lived through these days he'd been in California. So already, history was following a different track, at least for him. His presence was subtly altering the lives of those he came in contact with. The staff at the hotel, who hadn't had him as a client before. He was also changing the history of the maids, the waitresses and cab drivers he would interact with. Hopefully everyone else, especially those key to the events this was about, were simply engaging in the same activities they had while he'd been in California.
He glanced at his watch. He'd check in with Jim and Susan tomorrow. He had a number of days before the sniping would occur, and he hadn't called to alert them to his arrival. He wanted the day to do some looking around on his own. Someone knew far too much about Susan and her activities, and once he linked up with them he might be watched as well. Someone might get curious who he was. Given the oddity of the failed kidnapping, Jake wanted to see as much as possible before formally entering the game.
He spent the morning visiting the restaurant where the shooting would take place and walking the area around it. He had lunch in the courtyard where she would be killed, and spotted three buildings that had a view over the surrounding structures and might offer a sniper a shot at someone inside. Two had been used, he reminded himself. Later in the day he walked past all three buildings. He had no means of accessing the apartment building, which made him wonder how the sniper had gotten inside, especially with the gear he had to carry in. The other two structures were office buildings, and he was able to blend in with the crowds as he passed through the entrance and made his way into the elevator for a ride to the upper levels. Nothing stood out as he made his way to the roof entrance that would grant him access to where the sniper had made his shot.