Once the body was wrapped, Marcus secured it to the table. The straps were placed over the shoulders and shins. He wrote down his report and placed the folder in a slot by the panel. He checked the time and looked over at Ryan. It was just past noon in their time. Marcus walked over to Ryan and began securing him to the chair. He then pulled Ryan’s weapon out of his waistband and placed it in a bucket next to the controls. He dialed in the date and was about to press go when Ryan began to speak.
“This may be the last time we have a chance to talk, Marcus. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“You’re not guilty. I’m already aware of that, Ryan.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Okay, then what?”
“I didn’t sleep with her.”
Marcus heard the words, but he didn’t believe them. He wouldn’t say it before so why should he believe him now, after all these years? Was he trying to get on his good side, so he’d let him go? He decided to ask him.
“It’s got nothing to do with this. I made a mistake before and I’ve been living with regret ever since. I should have never let you believe that I did.”
“So why did you? If you’re telling the truth, I mean.”
“Sara had something over my head. If it had gotten out, I’d lose my job for sure. I didn’t want to take the chance.”
“So, she blackmailed you. How convenient.” Marcus didn’t believe his story. He sunk into his chair by the control panel. “So, if what you say is true, Sara made the whole thing up. Why would she do that?”
“Cold feet, I guess.”
“You’re telling me she found out about the one time you did drugs and threatened you to go along with her little scheme all because she had cold feet?”
“I’m telling you the truth, Marcus. Just like I’m telling you the truth about Billie Reynolds. You know me better than that. Have I ever lied before?”
“If you’re not counting the time when I asked you if it was true—then yes.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking. That’s why I’m telling you now,” Ryan said.
The more they discussed it, the angrier Marcus became. He was ready to settle down and start a family. He was committed to the woman. He hadn’t even dated another woman since that day. He had plenty of opportunities, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt like he was cheating somehow. Now he’s hearing there was a possibility that she hadn’t. Marcus slammed his fist into the panel. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You’re being taken in.”
As Marcus pressed the go button, the chamber began to shake fiercely. It felt like an earthquake, but he had studied Fort Lane’s history as part of his courses in the Bureau Academy, so he knew there hadn’t been an earthquake in this region for a long time, especially not in this era. He knew it was a time quake. They slipped into the time stream as the machine trembled. If it continued, they would not be able to land safely. As the quivering continued, things inside the chamber began to flash in and out of existence just as the building next to his apartment had earlier that morning.
Before Marcus knew what happened, Ryan’s handcuffs were gone, and he was free. Ryan rushed to the control panel and tried to change the date and time. Marcus unfastened his seat belt, jumped on Ryan’s back, and tried to stop him from reaching the panel. He threw his fist around Ryan’s neck, hitting him in the cheek. Ryan shook him loose and jotted around, throwing his right fist in Marcus’s direction. It connected with Marcus’s jaw, throwing him backwards. Ryan charged at Marcus before he had his footing; his head connected with Marcus’s ribs, knocking him on the floor next to the table, where Billie’s body rested. They both jumped up, throwing fists at each other. Marcus was knocked backwards and his back hit the wall.
The rattling slowed but by then, the machine was already damaged, and sparks began to shoot out of the control panel. A wire broke loose and hit Marcus, zapping him. He jumped and pulled away from the wire leaving it hanging where it hit him. He turned to Ryan. “If you’re telling me the truth, why can’t you just come in? Why do you have to make this so damn difficult?”
His breathing was hard and forced. “This is my life, Marcus. You know there’s no coming back from this. I’ll lose everything because I was framed. It wouldn’t matter if I was found innocent. Everyone would have it on their mind, and the captain would be forced to let me go. I’ve seen it happen before. I must nail this son of a bitch before I’m ever charged. It’s the only way.”
The swinging wire that had already struck Marcus, hit the control panel as a spark flew from the end, igniting a fire on the control panel. The smell of melting plastics from the buttons and knobs, burned Marcus’s nose. It reminded him of an old tire company that had been burned down years ago while he was on another job. Only this time the smell was muskier, somehow.
An alarm screamed out for Marcus to land, but it wasn’t safe to even do that. Lights began to flash across the control panel, and everything was going crazy. Marcus turned to the panel with his hands on top of his head, trying to figure out what to do. In case of fires, there were extinguishers in place that would deploy, but they weren’t working, so there wasn’t anything he could do about the fire.
Somehow the date was shifted, and they were sent back the other way. The chamber tilted, knocking both off of their feet. Billie’s body was knocked clear from the straps and fell off the table. Ryan took his chance to go for his weapon. Marcus couldn’t stop him—Ryan was just too fast.
The vibrations grew stronger, not because of the time quake but because the time chamber couldn’t stand the abuse any longer. The machine was falling apart. If they were thrown from the machine while it was inside the time stream, they would be destroyed instantly. A red light began to flicker as the alarm cried out, louder and with more anger. Marcus and Ryan covered their ears in pain from the loud squeal of the alarm. Ryan bent over, closed his eyes, and screamed.
There was a bright flash of light, blinding Marcus for a moment. He could feel his body being thrown from an invisible force of energy as an explosion’s bang pierced his ears. The chamber was shredding apart, and if he didn’t land the machine now, he wouldn’t survive this. Another pop from the end of the wire sent out sparks in a fury. He could feel the chamber’s shift as it was tossed out of the time stream.
As the fire raged, sparks flew from the control panel. Each spark hit the floor causing more fires. Marcus stomped on the fires with his shoes, putting them out. The control panel just became too hot and exploded, pushing Marcus and Ryan backwards. Everything went dark at once, all sounds ceased to exist, and the smell of plastic and metal burning was gone.
When Marcus opened his eyes, he found himself on a deserted railroad track. Ryan, and Billie’s body were gone. The machine—gone. In cases like this, the time chamber was designed to evaporate, destroying all evidence of time travel. It was the best way to keep the secret. His communicator was destroyed and since he didn’t know the time period, his GPS wouldn’t do him any good.
Marcus looked up and gazed into the night sky. The stars were bright as they peered down at him. Because it was so dark, he couldn’t tell what part of town he was in and the tracks didn’t clue him in on the location either. He stood up as his aching body barked at him. Marcus looked down the track in both directions and made a choice which way to go based on the stars. He was glad he had chosen the right direction. He didn’t care if Ryan was telling him the truth or not, about both stories; he had to locate him and Billie’s body before anyone else did.
As their argument repeated in his mind, Marcus slowly followed the tracks. Every time he reached a street, he looked in both directions for signs of life. The deserted street yelled back at him to keep going straight. His clothes were torn, his body screamed at him, and it was chilly. He continued to ponder over the things Ryan told him. He was framed, he didn’t kill the woman. He hadn’t slept with Sara. He was scared his drug use would have had him fired. He destroyed their
friendship over fear.
His thoughts shifted to Billie Reynolds. Why would someone frame Ryan? What would a person have to gain for doing that? Why would someone kill her repeatedly? Why was she so important? Was it vengeance? Was it personal? Did the killer have something to gain from her murder? Did she know who the killer was?
A breeze swept in bringing with it, a crisp cold temperature. He rubbed his arms and tried to warm them. The uniform was thin, not capable of keeping anyone warm. As he stopped at another street, he spotted a bench under a streetlight. He saw a sweatshirt and rushed over to it. Marcus slid the hoodie over his head hoping it would fit. When it did, he pulled the rest of it down covering his waist. Damn it, Ryan, why did you have to argue with me? We’d be back home, and I’d be working on the next case. He couldn’t get Ryan off of his mind.
Marcus sat down on the bench and stared at the empty street. He noticed a bus coming down the street. He waved it by when it reached him because he wasn’t planning on taking the bus. They didn’t have busses anymore in his time, but he’d seen them enough during his travels, so it wasn’t the first one he’d seen. He learned that waving them by would stop them from trying to pick him up. When the bus kept going, Marcus noticed something on the other side of the street. He looked at it for a minute, trying to figure out what the paper was as the edge of the paper jiggled in the wind. It was on the ground and wouldn’t hold still long enough to be revealed what it was. When ‘newspaper’ registered in his mind, he jumped up and crossed the street. He picked up the paper and checked the date. September 12, 2022.
Now that he knew what year it was, he could locate the bureau station and get different clothes. He would need a new communicator as well. They would have anything he would need. He pushed the sleeve back and looked at his watch. He set it to reveal the proper time and date. Timing would be off just a little until he made it to the bureau station, and he was fine about that. Once it was set, he pulled up the top piece to reveal a GPS monitor map. A red dot reveals where all the stations are, so he followed it. Marcus calculated that it would take him around 30 minutes to reach his destination. The streetlights lit up the street. It felt like the crisp air rushed through him, and he shivered as he pushed his hands into the sweatshirt’s pockets. It had been a while since his bones could feel the cold.
The sun peeked over the horizon, revealing an orange glow. Marcus smiled because it meant warmth. He checked the time—20 minutes had passed, so he was almost there. The street was beginning to get busy. He stopped and looked at the people as they walked by him. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him, which was nice. He checked for the location again. He was only a couple of blocks away.
Marcus stopped right in front of the building as a man bumped into him. “Oh, sorry,” he told the man. The man didn’t reply back, he just kept walking. Marcus made a quick note to himself not to stop so abruptly.
The bank wasn’t open yet, so Marcus sat down on a nearby bench and waited for 9 a.m., which was the time the bank would open for business. He watched the pedestrians come and go as he sat there.
One woman sat down next to him and smiled. She was an obese woman. The dress she wore was tight and made her look heavier than she appeared before. It appeared she had two stomachs, and her wide hips had dimples. A bus came, she left with it, and another woman joined him for a little while.
This woman was much smaller, maybe too small. Marcus could see her ribs through her white buttoned-down shirt. Her black slacks were pressed as if she’d been up all night ironing them. He glanced in her direction and thought she was going to work, since her clothes appeared so professional. She left on the next bus that came.
Finally, it was time for the bank to open. Marcus stood up and approached the rotating doors. The lobby area was large. The floors were made of marble, windows replaced one wall, and chairs were scattered throughout the area. On the left was a set of counters where people were beginning to line up to make their transactions for the day. He wasn’t there to make a deposit.
Marcus lifted the top of the watch and looked for the mark that revealed where the door was. He followed the red dot to the wall next to the series of windows. The door was marked as “employees only” but he knew what was hidden inside. He looked behind him to make sure no one was watching, pressed a button on his watch and a code appeared where the GPS was. He pressed the numbers on the key-pad next to the door. He quickly opened the door and slid inside. The closet stored paper for the computers and such. The shelves were full of these papers. Marcus looked through them, searching for the button that would open the back wall. When he located it, he pressed it and the wall slid back and opened. He walked through and the door returned to its position. He removed the sweatshirt and tossed it in a trashcan. He approached the woman sitting behind a desk. She was typing something up and hadn’t noticed him yet. She had blonde hair tied up in a bun, a white blouse with white buttons, pearl earrings, and the glasses she wore were black. Her skin was smooth. Her fingers moved swiftly as she typed.
“Excuse me, Marcus one-two-four dash one-five reporting in. I’ve crossed a major incident and need to file a report.”
“Oh, my. Fill this out and wait to be called,” she said as she handed him a clipboard with a paper attached to it. Marcus took it and sat down on the first chair that was lined up along the wall. He answered all of the questions in full detail, afraid to leave something out. He heard his name called and looked up.
Marcus recognized the man wearing a blue suit on the other side of the room. He had trained with him at the academy. “Hey, John.” He handed the paper to him.
“Follow me, Marcus,” John said as he opened the door. He remained quiet until they reached a cubicle and John sat down behind the desk. “Marcus, can you tell me what the fuck is going on?” His voice revealed anger.
“Excuse me?” Marcus asked.
“I’ve been hearing reports that the time stream was damaged and it’s looking like your signature was being used during the time of the jump.”
“Yeah, that’s what I came here to report. I was bringing in a suspect and there was a time quake. The time chamber was destroyed, along with my communicator, and the suspect disappeared. He’s somewhere in this time.” He heard someone laugh, so he looked away. His eyes returned to John, and he continued his report. Then he added, “how damaged is the stream?”
“Let’s just say no time jumping for a little while.”
“Damn,” Marcus said.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You know my wife and kids are still in 2244.”
“Are you serious, John? I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. She wants a vacation and that’s where she goes. I have no way of reaching her. You better hope this gets fixed, Marcus.”
“Trust me, I do too. I have a life back home, John.”
“I know you do. Listen, I’m sorry for yelling. I’ve just been pissed since I heard about the time stream. I know it wasn’t your fault. But you will get into deep shit if you don’t find that suspect. If we’re stuck here, and he’s on the loose, who knows what damage he’ll do? Find him.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll need a change of clothes and a new communicator.”
“I’ll set it up. Marcus, I know who your suspect is, and I know he’s wanted for Billie Reynolds’s multiple murders. Find the woman before you find Ryan. Protect her at all costs.”
“Yes, sir.”
John pulled out a thick envelope from the drawer and handed it to Marcus.
“What’s this?”
“That’s enough money to tend to your needs while you’re here. Once you find the woman, find a safe place to hide her. Ryan will know you’re coming here so don’t bring her here.”
“Yeah, I know Ryan all too well. He’s probably already staking this place out.”
“I agree. Go back out to the lobby and wait there. I’ll get things rounded up for you.”
“Thank you, John.” Marcus headed out to the bureau lobby and sat down in
the same chair as before. He slid the envelope into his pocket as he waited. When John called his name again, he jumped up and returned to the second room. He followed John to a small room where a set of clothes were waiting for him. A communicator was on the table next to the clothes.
“The communicator has been assigned the same number you had before. Anything that was tied to that number will be found in the new one. Once you’re ready, let me know.”
“All right, thank you, John.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He closed the door, leaving Marcus alone in the room to change.
It was a detective’s uniform—navy blue pants, white shirt, navy jacket. Marcus removed everything from his pockets, placed his weapon on the table, and slid his clothes off. He tossed everything into the trashcan next to the door. He put on the new clothes, returned his weapon to his side, and slid the envelope into his front right pocket, along with the new communicator. His two sets of glasses went into the other pocket. He opened the door and searched for John.
“I’m heading out.”
“Good. Once you find the woman and have Ryan detained, call headquarters in this time. Don’t mess this up, Marcus.”
“Yeah, one screw-up is plenty.” Marcus smiled and left the building. The communicator was set to listen in on 9-1-1 calls so if anything happened, he would be the first to know.
Chapter Five
Billie Reynolds was the type of woman that a person couldn’t lie to. She could read people by watching their body language and facial expressions. Her mother often told her to take a job with the police, but it wasn’t something she could see herself do. She found herself caring for plants, and she was quite good at it, and even created new plant species. Her rare plants sold enough to pay rent and keep her living a healthy lifestyle, although she remained in the house where she grew up. It reminded her that she always had a good life. Her parents were good to her and had kept her in line. Today, as an adult, she was thankful for what her parents had given her.
Murder Through Time (World Bureau Legacy Book 1) Page 3