“I have. I brought Ryan’s weapon. I knew there was a reason to keep the damn thing, but I never thought I’d be using it on agents. Where do you want to me to hide?”
“You won’t be here. Ryan has a hideout, and I’ll give you the address. There are other even younger copies of us heading there now. They will drive Marcus and Ryan out the back, where you will catch them off guard. One of my housekeeping friends works for Ryan and has given me all the exits.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. He took a step back, allowing the younger copy to pick it up. They couldn’t touch; otherwise, the world would be torn apart, starting with them, and it would be quite painful. At least that was the theory—no one wanted to test it and he understood that. “All of the exits are on there. I marked the rear exit with a red “x” so you know where you can hide. If everything works as planned, and it will, they will come here after they leave the hideout. I’ll be waiting.”
The 28-year-old copy put the map in his jacket’s pocket. “Once they leave, what do you want me to do?”
“Come here, but don’t let them see you. I want them to think we’re not tailing them yet. We will soon. I’ll share the rest of my plans at that point. We are going to have some fun.” He began rubbing his hands together. He never thought of fun like anyone else did—parties, gatherings, games; those things were not fun. Chasing after his sister, trying to kill her—now that was fun.
Chapter Eighteen
Marcus had to change his plans since Charles was spotted at the library. It was like the man knew they’d be there, and he wasn’t comfortable with that.
Marcus knew he was the top of his class in the bureau of his time, but there were other agents who were better than he was throughout time. He admired those men and women. Those agents deserved to be at the top and he worked his ass off to be half of what they were. He was honored to have information to a top-secret bureau location among those men and women.
As he drove the car out of the garage with the directions burned in his memory, he saw Charles standing by the library. He turned, knowing that he had been watching. “Do you see other versions of Charles anywhere?”
“Nope, other than the one by the library, we’re in the clear,” Ryan said.
“Good.” He turned down another street and turned around, heading back towards the garage down a different street.
“What are you doing?” Billie asked.
“I have a plan.”
“You want to share with us?” Billie asked.
“There are secret tunnels under the city. They were put in a long time ago by one of the leading agents of our time. They were designed to keep us hidden when our identities get blown. I studied the directions, so I’m pretty sure we can get close to the next bureau station without being seen. Charles won’t know where we are.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Ryan said.
“Since we’re on a different street, Charles shouldn’t be looking in our direction, so we might be able to sneak past him,” Marcus said. As he crossed the next street, Ryan and Billie searched for Charles. He couldn’t be seen anywhere, so they assumed he moved to another location in search of them.
Inside the garage was a special door for cars to drive through. Only the agents were supposed to know where it was, and it blended in with the rest of the walls. It was located on the bottom floor, so Marcus drove to the lowest level and located the area. Marcus got out of the car and located the hidden button to open the concealed door, while Ryan got behind the wheel and waited for the door to open. Once opened, Ryan pulled forward. Marcus leaped into the back seat and Ryan drove through; the door closed automatically.
The tunnel was made of concrete, with lights sunk into the ceiling, illuminating the path.
“Drive until you have to turn, then go left,” Marcus said.
“Got it.” Ryan drove until there was a fork and he turned left. Twenty minutes passed before Marcus said anything else, then said to turn right and then left again. After Ryan made his last turn, Marcus told him to exit the tunnels. “How often have you taken these tunnels?”
“Enough to know where we are. Park once you get on the street. According to the directions the woman gave us, it should be right there.”
“Got it.” Ryan exited the garage and parked on the street. “I don’t see anything. These look like normal businesses, and it’s not showing up on my watch.”
“It won’t. I see the building, it’s straight ahead.” He pointed up the street. Three buildings ahead of them was a tall building made of brick. It appeared to be a flower shop with a large window, nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t marked with the bureau's symbol to alert other agents, so it was the perfect hidden location.
“What’s your plan?” Ryan asked.
“While you are driving around, keeping Billie on the move, I’ll head over there and acquire what we need. Once I have the weapons, I’ll page you. Do you remember the code words we used to use?”
“Yes.”
“Great, I’ll use those to alert you when I’m ready. Meet me right at the front door and keep the engine running.”
“Got it.”
“If it’s not safe, don’t come.”
“I know the drill, Marcus.”
“I know you do, but I’m not taking any chances. If you can’t come, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Papa Smurf got the girl.”
“Right.”
Billie started to laugh.
Marcus looked at her sideways. “What’s so funny?”
“That cartoon is still big?”
“Yeah, which is why it works so well. Keep your head down, and do not get out of the car. All cars owned by the bureau are bullet proof, so you’ll be safe in here.”
“Okay,” Billie said with a smile.
Marcus knew she wasn’t wearing the glasses anymore, but he also knew she still had them. Being in the car would keep her safe, but he didn’t want her getting rid of the glasses. “Just in case, keep those glasses handy.”
Billie patted her pocket. “I will.”
Ryan drove off as Marcus took the alley on the right. He checked to make sure no one was following him or the car.
When he reached the building, he went inside. There were a few customers, so he waited until they were gone before saying anything to the man who worked there. The small area was filled with floral arrangements, so it was hard for anyone outside to see people inside, which made it the perfect cover. If Charles happened to walk by, he wouldn’t see Marcus unless he went inside. And there was no reason for him to come inside.
The floral aroma filled the space and took Marcus back to a time when his mother was a good person. She was arranging the floral bouquet on the counter as he played with the pots and pans on the floor next to her feet. She peered down at him as he was watching her and smiled. She was so beautiful, with the orange glow from the sun washing over her. The hair was pinned up, but strands had fallen and danced with the breeze. Marcus pulled in a breath and let go of the memory as he smelled the aroma around him.
Marcus kept himself busy, acting like he was deciding which flower to purchase. He was looking at the different colors of roses. He wondered why there were so many to choose from. As a woman past him, she smiled. “Get the red ones. She’ll thank you for it.” Her voice was gentle.
Marcus smiled back and nodded his head. “Thank you. I think I will.” He heard the bell chime as the woman left the flower shop. Marcus turned towards the counter and headed towards the man, still standing behind the long white counter. “I’m Marcus one-two-four dash one-five. I’m in need of assistance.”
“I’ve been expecting you. Follow me,” the man said. He was a tall man, slender. He pulled off his white apron and hung it on the coat rack next to the door in the back. It was one of those doors that open in both directions. As they passed through the door, it swung back and forth until it slowed to a stop. In the back room, there were even more flowers. The man didn
’t say a word. He pulled a cart filled with bouquets out from the wall revealing a door behind it. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. “I can’t go with you because I need to mind the store. Once you reach the lower level, ask for Marge. She’ll help you find what you need.”
“Thank you,” Marcus said as he nodded.
The man opened the door and waited for Marcus to enter the next room. It was dark and cold, like an old basement. A light turned on automatically as the door closed. He heard the click of the door locking and the sound of the cart being returned, followed by the sound of the bell chiming at the front door. Marcus assumed another customer had entered the shop.
Marcus twisted around the small space until he found a set of stairs. He followed them; going in the only direction they took him—down. At the bottom, he saw a woman sitting behind a desk and asked to see Marge.
The young lady didn’t say anything. She stood up and left the room. When she returned, she was with an older woman. “I’m Marge,” the old woman said.
Marcus couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He knew there were older agents still in the bureau, but she was old—75 or 80, tops. Her white hair was curly, her skin was covered in wrinkles, and she had thin lips. He imagined she was a knock-out in her early years, but aging was not kind to her. “I need some weapons.”
“Of course, you do. That’s why you’re here. I was told you’d be coming down. The woman at the library is my great-granddaughter. She called ahead to let me know you were coming. She also told me what was going on. You weren’t followed, were you?”
“I was not.”
“Good. I have many clients here, so I’m going to turn you loose with my best agent. Tell him everything you need, and we’ll get you taken care of. Then you need to file the paperwork, so we know what’s coming in and going out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Marcus wasn’t sure what else to call her. He felt like he was speaking with his own grandmother.
“Marcus, if you know what’s good for you, you won’t utter those words again. My name’s Marge, not ma’am.”
He felt like he was being scolded, but the way she spoke was calm and collective. But he didn’t feel any less yelled at than if she had been shouting at him. “I apologize, ma—Marge.”
“See, that’s not so hard.” She turned around and began walking down a hallway. Marcus followed her. Her heels clicked as her feet moved with grace. She stopped in front of a metal door and keyed in the numbers on a box next to the door. Marcus didn’t pay any attention to the numbers. “Jeremy, help this man with everything he needs. Then take him to register them.”
“Yes, Miss Marge.”
She left Marcus alone with the man. Jeremy reached out his hand, so Marcus shook it.
“I’m going to need your ID.”
“Of course,” Marcus said. He pulled his wallet out and slid the ID out of the pocket. He handed it to Jeremy.
The man picked up a clipboard, slid the ID through a card slot, and typed some information at the top of the clip board. “Hang onto this clip board. When you see the weapon you want, write in the serial numbers here.” Jeremy pointed at the digital clip board. “Once you are finished, you will turn this in, and the weapons will get registered.”
“All right. Do you need to hold onto my ID?” Marcus asked.
“No, sorry. Here you go. They will scan it again once you’re finished.”
“All right.” Marcus had never been to this location before, but he had been to others. They ran the place the same way, so he had seen those clip boards before. They looked like clip boards, with the same idea where paper is held onto them, but these didn’t hold papers anymore. They went digital. His ID was scanned into this unit when Jeremy slid it across, kind of like a credit card machine. He laughed to himself as the idea came across his mind. Credit cards hadn’t been used in a long time in the year 2244 but he wasn’t a stranger to them.
“So, let’s begin.” Jeremy led him to the next room. He opened the door and the lights turned on. The all-white room was very bright. The walls were covered with weapons hanging from metal hooks. Below them were shelves where the bullets and handguns were displayed.
Marcus looked everything over. He wasn’t sure of the circumstances for when he’d use each weapon, so he played it safe by grabbing several of the different types. Semi-automatics were a big choice, and he wasn’t sure if Billie would be able to fire such a weapon, so he only took two of those. He grabbed several different handguns; they were automatics as well. He grabbed a couple smaller ones to fit Billie’s hands just in case she did want to help. He wasn’t sure if she would. He thought maybe he should have asked before heading into the building. Then he checked on the ammunition and grabbed a couple extra boxes of the bullets and slugs.
“What’s going on with this guy?” Jeremy finally asked as he handed him a large bag for transporting the weapons.
“Have you heard about the time quakes?” Marcus asked. He had all the serial numbers written down, so he began filling the bag. A smaller bag was used for the bullets and slugs. Both bags were black and had the bureaus’ label on them.
“Well, yeah. I wrote a paper on it during training. Do you think this guy made it?”
He stopped and gazed into the man’s eyes. “I know he did. But we had it all wrong. The simple fact of killing his sister wasn’t the cause of it—showing his multiple copies was, I just know it.”
“Yeah, I can understand that. We’ve been protecting the people from the knowledge of time travel and then this happens. I bet it sent a lot of people into shock.”
“Probably.”
Everything that Marcus had chosen was from this time period, so these weapons were meant to kill. When the bags were filled with his choices, Jeremy took him to another room to turn in the clip board and sign the weapons out. A young woman greeted them as they entered the room. She was dark-skinned and had long, braided hair. Marcus smiled as he handed her the clip board. She looked everything over. Jeremy set the bag of weapons down on the long white counter and handed the smaller bag to Marcus.
“May I see your ID?”
“Yes.” He pulled his ID out and handed it to the woman.
Jeremy was about to leave the room. “So, Brandi, we still on for later?”
“Hell, yeah. I got off at five, okay?” she asked.
“All right. I get off at four, so I’ll just wait around,” Jeremy said as he opened the door.
“All right, sugar.”
As they were talking, Marcus noticed the photo of Charles sitting on the counter next to the bag of weapons.
“Did you account the fact that he’s using his younger versions as well?” he asked as he pointed the photo out to the woman behind the counter.
“Yes, we are. There are a few agents getting that information now as we speak. Thank you for sending these out.”
“I can’t take credit for that. Listen, you got any radios by chance?” Marcus asked.
“Yes, we do. Want the earpieces too?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
“How many?”
“Three,” he told her.
The woman left the room for a moment and returned with small radios that fit inside a jacket. Earpieces were tucked away inside a small case. She placed the case on the counter, opened it, and added the three radios to it. She closed the case and handed it to Marcus. She picked up the clip board and added something to it. “All right, I just need your signature. The radios and earpieces were added.”
“All right. Thank you.” Before leaving, Marcus asked to see Marge. He began to think of a few things that bothered him.
“What can I do for you, Marcus?” Marge asked.
“Do you have access to the weapons that are worked on from our time?”
“We share the same data base, yes. It’s not updated due to the time stream so sometimes it takes a day or two. With it being down, we haven’t had new updates in the last couple days. Is there something you needed?”<
br />
“Yes. Charles worked with these weapons. I only heard about it through my training, but there is a way to shut the weapons down. I know of one weapon that is in his possession so if we get that piece shut down, he won’t have access to it anymore.”
“That’s right. When we heard who this man was, our top agents were sent off to do that. If he doesn’t have others working with him, that shouldn’t be an issue.”
“What if he does have people on the inside?”
“Then it’ll be a problem. If you have access to a communicator from this time, call this number, and the agents in charge will notify you either way.” She wrote down a phone number and handed it to him.
“Thank you, Marge.”
“Hey, it’s what I do. Good luck, Marcus.”
Marcus smiled and pulled out his communicator. He returned to the flower shop before sending the code to Ryan. Once he replied, Marcus rushed through the store and stepped outside. Ryan was right outside the door. Marcus jumped into the back seat, and Ryan peeled off.
“Head to the park.”
“The park? Wouldn’t we be out in the open?” Billie asked.
“Not that park. Ryan knows, what I mean.”
“Where are we going, Ryan?” Billie asked.
“A long time ago, there used to be a park north of downtown. There were a lot of murders there, so the mayor decided to close it down. A building was built there, and now it’s apartments for agents on vacation.” It was a vague explanation, but it was more than Billie needed to know. Nothing else was said as he drove to the apartments. Marcus put the case of radios inside the smaller bag.
Ryan turned off the street and into the parking lot. In the center of the parking lot was a shrine of some sort in a small grassy area. It was like the parking lot was built around it. It was a tall statue of a man with children sitting at his feet. “It’s a memory of what was here,” Marcus said.
“You know I’ve lived here my entire life, and I didn’t know about this place. Why have I missed it?”
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