A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2)

by Marc James

  “I need to get home.” Faraday declared.

  “I don’t think we can do that Faraday. Chase perhaps you should head home while we have a chat, is that alright?”

  Chase nodded. As he left Bobby noticed him grasping his head in pain. Once Chase had left Faraday spoke again.

  “There must be a way, we all got here and we can all get back. We just need to find out where the wormhole will be.”

  “I understand your point but how are we supposed to do that?”

  “Maybe it will appear in Dallas?”

  “I don’t think it works that way, I lived there for years and the only times it ever appeared was when you guys came through it.”

  “So we’re just stuck here! I have nothing left to stay for!”

  “The three of us are in the same boat Faraday. David lost Sharon, you lost Jane and I have lost Nancy. We have each other.”

  Faraday nodded his understanding. “Then the three of us need to get back home, we need to help David get her back.”

  “We have to be realistic, we are stuck here. There is no way back, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

  “We don’t belong here.”

  “I’ve been living in the past much longer than I lived in the time after I was born. I’m used to it and look at you Faraday, you haven’t aged a day since you got here. I know you’re still young but I noticed that Jane had aged a little, and David has aged. You might be like me and if you are it means we have all the time in the world.”

  Faraday had considered this previously, he too had noticed Jane age slightly. Perhaps he was immortal, but even if he was he didn’t want to wait all that time to see his family again.

  “So what do you think we should do?” Faraday asked.

  “I think we should find Jacob Cohen, it’s our job and he’s still the only lead we have.”

  “He didn’t do it Bobby and I’m more concerned with that fucking Will. I don’t give a shit about our job.”

  Chapter 33

  Richard Nixon took his seat in the Oval Office, it was 15:00 on Tuesday 25th February. He resented the fact that this was still not his office but he had no intention of giving up the hunt, the next election would be his. He waited for Kennedy to explain why he had been invited, he presumed it wouldn’t be anything positive.

  Bobby Kennedy looked at his old adversary, he had a face that made him impossible to trust. He was the type of man that if he sold you a used car or even a new car for that matter, you could be sure that a half mile down the road the wheels would fall off. His top lip was wet with perspiration, this had been a key reason his brother Jack had won a television debate against Nixon. He just didn’t look like a President, far less did he act like a President. He was as dodgy as they come.

  “So Richard, do you know why I asked you here today?” Bobby asked jovially.

  “No I can’t say that I do.”

  “Well Richard as you may be aware we are currently trying to track down a man named Jacob Cohen, he caused the death of Lee Harvey Oswald and is a former CIA agent. We are aware he is receiving financial support from someone wealthy, someone that has an interest in my not being President anymore.”

  “And you assume it must be me?” Nixon asked angrily.

  “No of course not, but you do fit the bill Richard. You have done well in your life to go from humble beginnings to where you are now. I am not trying to suggest you have dodgy dealings or anything of the sort but I wanted to ask you man to man if you knew anything about it?”

  “Mr President allow me to speak frankly. I did not grow up with the same benefits that you did, my Daddy hadn’t made his millions through illegal activities. He led a good honest life and we had to work for everything we got. Your Daddy spent the prohibition era sidling up to the Mafia and cutting crooked deals. I know why you got into the White House, and why your brother was here before you, you got here because your Daddy bought the votes. I have worked for everything I have achieved, I went to law school and worked hard and over the years, and I moved up the ladder myself. I am a self made man Mr President, and I didn’t get here by lying or cheating as your family did. So to answer your question, I know absolutely nothing about it, but what I would warn you is that you shouldn’t be surprised when people criticize you for the immoral things you and your family have done.” Nixon smiled as he finished speaking.

  Bobby had no idea how to respond to that statement, Nixon had just blown him out of the water.

  “Well I am glad to hear that Richard because whoever it is will not get away with it. Thank you for coming in. It must be nice for you to see the inside of the Oval Office and to think of what might have been.”

  “I wouldn’t be so smug Mr President, the people have lost faith in your hippie, free love reign. Now is the time for action, but we all know that you are not a man of action, are you?”

  “Richard I have run for President twice and won both times, whereas you have run twice and lost both times, I think that should tell you what the people want.”

  “You were elected because of your brother’s death, the people seem to think that he was a good President.”

  “He was the greatest President this country has ever had.”

  “Which is why he was assassinated by the people.” Nixon added sarcastically.

  “He wasn’t assassinated by the people, he was murdered by men like you Richard.”

  “Well I’m sorry to say that you may well be assassinated by the people if you don’t begin to do what is best for the nation.”

  “Are you involved in this?” Kennedy asked again.

  “I don’t need to plot your downfall Mr President, you seem to be doing a good job of that yourself.”

  “If this country was in your hands we would already be involved in a nuclear war!” Kennedy shouted.

  “Your damn right we would! I wouldn’t let the Russians attack us, or place nuclear warheads in Cuba. What the hell is Castro still doing in Cuba?”

  “I don’t want him there either, but I don’t think it is worth risking a nuclear holocaust.”

  “Communism must be destroyed.”

  “I couldn’t agree more Richard, but not through war. People must see that democracy works and then they will want democracy, the people have the power.”

  “You are beginning to sound like a communist, Mr President.”

  “You are beginning to sound like a Nazi, Mr Nixon.”

  Chapter 34

  The man was crying on the bed in the studio apartment, he had taken quite some time to track down, which had annoyed Jacob greatly.

  “Stop your snivelling Garrett!” Jacob shouted.

  “I’m sorry, please you don’t have to do this.” Garrett tried. He knew there was no use in pleading for mercy, he had known Jacob Cohen for many years.

  “I do have to do this Garrett because you betrayed us. You betrayed the CIA you piece of shit!”

  “I didn’t know what else to do!” Garrett cried.

  “I’ll tell you what you should have done. You should have kept your mouth shut, do you have any idea of the damage you have done to this country?”

  Garrett nodded as the tears ran down his face. He tried to scan the room for any weapons that were lying around, but there were none, his only way out was the one small window in the tiny apartment. Jacob was blocking the door and he knew he was no match for Jacob.

  “Who helped you?” Jacob asked.

  “No one, I’ve told you I worked everything out myself.”

  “So you only told Bobby Stinson?”

  Garrett nodded again.

  “Have you spoken to him since then?”

  “No honestly, I know nothing.”

  “You’re not here for what you know Garrett, if you had just kept your mouth shut there would be no need for you to die.”

  “We serve the President, I was doing the right thing!” Garrett yelled.

  Jacob laughed hysterically at Garrett’s words. “We serve the country, not the
President. I would like you to make a phone call for me, if you do it I’ll let you live.”

  Garrett looked up at the man, he didn’t believe him but there was no other choice. “Who do you want me to phone?”

  “Bobby Stinson.” Jacob replied with a smile. He removed a piece of paper from his the pocket of his black trousers, he was wearing a matching black shirt. “Everything I want you to say is on there, his number is at the top. Just say what is written down and I will let you live, if you say anything else, then I will kill you.”

  Garrett nodded his understanding. He read the letter briefly and then picked up the phone, his hand shaking. Once he had dialled he waited for the voice of the only man who would be able to save him.

  “Hello.”

  “Is that Bobby Stinson?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “This is Garrett Underhill, we met just before the Kennedy assassination.”

  “I remember, how are you?”

  “I’m calling to let you know that Jacob Cohen is with me, he has been highly amused watching you and your idiot, eye patch wearing friend. He was amused when he found out that your family had died. He said that it is probably Karma for everything you have both done to our country. He said that he expected better from you, and that you seem to have no idea what you are doing, perhaps it would be better to hand in your resignation now, before anyone else is killed.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I can’t answer any questions, will you resign and admit to the media what you have done?”

  “What have I done?”

  “You framed the CIA and Lyndon Johnson.”

  “No I didn’t.”

  “If you don’t say you are going to resign, more people will die.”

  “Tell him I’m coming for him.”

  Bobby did not hear a response on the line, all he heard was a gunshot, followed by laughter.

  Once Jacob had pulled the trigger he lifted the receiver. “Hello Bobby it’s nice to finally talk to you.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  “No you did.”

  “Did you kill Nancy, Clint and Jane?”

  Jacob laughed. “Maybe.”

  “I will kill you!”

  Jacob laughed again. “I think not. I wanted to give you a chance to do the right thing, we both know Hoover will join the winning side, but you seem loyal to that idiot in the White House. If you and your friend resign, we will leave you alone.”

  “You think I’m going to let you kill my family and get away with it?” Bobby shouted.

  “I’ll keep killing if you don’t!”

  Bobby thought for a moment, if he would stop, perhaps resigning wouldn’t be the worst idea. “No one else will die?”

  Jacob laughed. “I didn’t say that, but I’ll let you, the pirate and your doctor friend live.”

  “Who else will die?”

  Jacob laughed again. “I can’t tell you that. Thousands, maybe even millions. But no one else needs to die if both you and Kennedy resign.”

  “Kennedy is going nowhere.” Bobby answered

  “Well then I can’t stop yet.”

  “Well then neither can I.”

  Jacob laughed. “Good, I want to kill you anyway. Just to give you a little clue, look to the sky and there you’ll see me.”

  “What does that mean?”

  The line went dead.

  Chapter 35

  David knocked gently on the cabin door, he heard Howard’s response and then entered.

  “Dr Lewis, how are you this evening?”

  “I’m looking forward to getting home to tell you the truth. May I sit down?”

  Howard stared at David’s clothing, he had not changed since he got here. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

  David was slightly taken aback. Howard rose from the table holding a box of tissues in one hand and a tissue in the other. He lifted the waste paper basket with the tissue and slowly walked over to David, as if David were a lion.

  “Take three tissues.” He instructed.

  David went to do it.

  “Don’t touch the box!” Howard shouted.

  David gently removed three tissues.

  “Use one for each hand and use the other to wipe the door handle when you leave.”

  “No problem.” David replied, slightly bewildered.

  Howard slowly walked back to his desk, not once taking his eyes from David. He sat down and watched for a moment before speaking.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “I was just wondering how much longer this is going to take?”

  “We should be there in a few hours. Hopefully the Russian will be able to tell us which portions of the ship have the warheads and the codes, and we will carefully remove it. Once that is done we will be able to head back.”

  “Will that mean another five days?”

  “Has Abaddon not explained our return journey?”

  “No.”

  Hughes looked stunned. “Well it won’t be on this ship.”

  “Will we be home quicker?”

  “Hopefully, if all goes to plan.”

  They were interrupted by the phone ringing.

  “Excuse me.”

  Howard picked up the phone as David listened in. “Hello...He’s on the plane?...Excellent, bye.”

  “What was that?” David asked nosily.

  “Nothing to worry about. Will that be all?”

  “Yes thanks.” As David turned to exit the room, Hughes shouted.

  “Wipe the door!”

  Chapter 36

  Bobby had just got off the phone with the President, as it transpired he was about to come out to see them, as he hadn’t had any time to do so since the bombing. Faraday and Bobby had decided to take some time off to get their heads together, but Jacob’s phone call had put pay to that.

  “What do you think he meant?” Faraday asked.

  “I presume its NASA.”

  “Well we should call them, if David is there he will be able to respond to any threats.” Faraday advised.

  “I don’t have a number, I could call Abaddon, he would surely have it.”

  “Yeah I would guess so.”

  Bobby walked back over to the telephone and called Abaddon.

  “Hello.”

  “Abaddon its Bobby Stinson, is David still with NASA?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Do you have a number I can reach him on?”

  “I should do, may I ask why?”

  “Jacob Cohen just phoned, he’s killed Garrett Underhill one of the men who helped us during the Kennedy assassination. He told me his next attack will be coming from the sky, I’m guessing that means NASA.”

  “May God have mercy on us all. I will call and let him know. Have you spoken to Hoover yet?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Okay I will call him too. Did he say anything else that may be useful?”

  “Not really, he said he wanted me to resign and he wants Kennedy to do the same.”

  “He’s insane!” Abaddon snapped.

  “I know. The President is on his way here.”

  “Good. I’ll be in touch with any news.”

  “I’ll do the same.”

  Bobby turned to face Faraday. “Abaddon is calling David and Hoover. We need to catch this bastard!”

  Faraday was about to respond but before he could Clint Hill and President Kennedy entered the living room.

  “What did he say Bobby?”

  “He wants you to resign, same goes for Faraday, David and myself.”

  “He said he was attacking us from the air?”

  “He said, look to the sky and there we’ll see him.”

  “Mr President I think we should return to the White House, it is the safest place in the country.” Clint advised.

  Kennedy nodded his acknowledgement. “What are we doing about this?”

  “Abaddon is calling NASA and David is there now. He is also calling Hoover...”

>   The phone rang interrupting Bobby’s train of thought. He walked back over and lifted the receiver.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Edgar, a plane flying from Las Vegas has been hijacked.”

  “What!”

  “It’s headed towards the strip.”

  “Fucking hell! What are we doing about it?”

  “We have planes in the air, but if the target is one of the casino’s we can’t do anything to stop it. There’s not enough time. Is the President with you?”

  Bobby gestured for Kennedy to take the phone.

  “What?”

  Bobby watched as Kennedy turned a bright shade of scarlet. “We can’t do anything?”

  “Where is it now?”

  “Marty, where the hell are those planes?”

  “It’s hit?”

  “Jesus Christ! How the fuck could you let this happen!”

  “I want all domestic and international flights grounded. Nothing fly’s, unless it’s us.”

  Kennedy slammed down the phone.

  “We need to go to Las Vegas.” He instructed.

  “Sir I need to phone for extra security before we can go anywhere.”

  Clint walked over to the phone and ordered Air Force One to be readied and for an extra Secret Service detail.

  “What did it hit?” Faraday asked.

  “The Flamingo Hotel.” Kennedy replied.

  Bobby’s jaw dropped, that was Meyer Lansky’s casino.

  Chapter 37

  After a terribly long and tedious journey, they had finally reached the site of the submarine’s remains. The sky was dark and it was freezing on the deck of the ship. David had been purely observing whilst Hughes walked around the ship in a buoyant mood.

  Sergei had been advising Hughes on how best to lift the submarine for the best part of two hours. He had explained how essential it was to ensure the grapple did not destroy the submarine, there was a real chance that it could break apart.

  David didn’t care anymore he just wanted to be home, he didn’t care who had the nukes. There were plenty more of them. He struggled to light a cigarette with the strong winds, so he decided to go back to his and Sergei’s cabin.

  Once he had sat down on the bed he sparked it up and his thoughts turned to Sharon. All being well he would be back with her in the coming months. He had thought on multiple occasions about having to kill Martin Luther King, he wasn’t happy to be doing it but Abaddon was right. He would be dead anyway if it hadn’t been for them. And he would become more than a man, he would become an icon, an idea, and an idea can never be destroyed.