What James Did: The Accidental Time Travellers-Book 3

by Marc James

  “Tanks? I thought it was just soldiers defending this place?”

  “No, there’s tanks alright, we wouldn’t even get to the gate.” Will replied.

  “Son of a bitch.” Bobby said under his breath.

  “So if you can’t build a time machine, then what will you do?” Will asked.

  “Well, we will pretend to build one. He gave us six months to finish it.” Bobby advised.

  “We get to live in here for six months?” Will asked.

  “That was the deal.” Bobby nodded.

  “What about my family?” Emmerich asked hopefully.

  Bobby paused for a moment, he was unsure as to how to respond.

  “Emmerich how many times do I have to tell you this? They are dead, you can’t change that!” Will yelled.

  Emmerich just stared at Will, he did not cry this time. “Do you have anyone in your life that you love Will? Because I do and I will not leave here until I have them back.”

  “Well then you will never leave here.” Will snapped.

  “Why do you always have to say things like that? Don’t you realise that this is hard enough?”

  “Emmerich, I am trying to make this easier for you. They are dead. There is no doubt about that, you having this crazy fantasy that you will see them again is false hope.”

  “But it is hope. Without hope, we may as well be dead right now.” Emmerich snapped.

  Bobby knew that he couldn’t tell Emmerich the truth of what had happened, it would kill him. “I’ll ask Mengele about them and see what I can do.” He lied.

  “Thank you Bobby.” Emmerich smiled, he had tears forming in his eyes.

  “And if they are dead, will you help us?” Will asked.

  “I will not leave here without them.” Emmerich repeated.

  “It’s every man for themselves now Emmerich.” Will argued.

  “I pity you.” Emmerich snapped.

  “Well, you shouldn’t Emmerich. You have to understand that we are not in the ordinary world anymore. You must adapt or you will die. You must forget about whatever your life was before this place because it no longer exists. Even if we do manage to escape, and even if we can somehow save your family, that life is gone. If you return to Germany, they will find you and they will kill you. The only hope any of us has is trying to get back to America, or at the very least Britain.”

  “And what will you do?” Emmerich asked.

  Will smiled for what felt like the first time in his entire life. “I will do exactly what Bobby said I would do, well with the exception of that woman. I will go to the Allies and I will tell them everything that I know about this evil place. And I will devote my life to doing to these bastards what they have done to us. I will humiliate them, I will hurt them, and I will kill them.” Will shouted.

  “You will dedicate your life to this place?” Emmerich asked in astonishment.

  “Not to this place, to killing the bastards that have done this to us.”

  “That is not a life.” Emmerich replied. “Your life should not be built around revenge or you will never be happy.”

  “And will you say that if your wife and child are dead?” Will barked.

  “If my wife and child are dead, then my life ended when I arrived here. As I have told you, I will not leave here without them.”

  “You meant that literally?” Bobby interjected.

  “Of course I did.”

  Chapter 24

  The younger Wernher had made both himself and his older self a coffee, whilst the others sat in the dining room. He sat beside his older self on the green couch in the middle of the huge living room. They both took a sip from the coffee, slurping slightly.

  “So why have you come here?”

  “After the war ended I defected to the United States.”

  “So we lost the war?”

  “Yes, poor military decisions cost us victory.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Trying to conquer Russia, it is insanity. The sheer size of the country, the size of the population and the freezing conditions make it impossible to defeat. Look at what happened to Napoleon.”

  “So what is it you did in America?”

  “We tried to land a man on the Moon.”

  “Did it work?” The young Wernher asked with enthusiasm.

  “No, it didn’t. I was later arrested by a man named Bobby Stinson, he believed me to be guilty of treason, and I was due to be executed. I was in my cell a couple of hours ago and then the young man with the blonde hair came to talk to me. He had some sort of time machine with him and took me to meet the others. They explained that their friend was locked in Auschwitz, as a result of the real traitor’s actions. They need our help to get in and get out with the man.”

  The young Wernher nodded his understanding. “So who is the prisoner?”

  “The man who imprisoned me, Bobby Stinson.”

  “So why help him?”

  “I don’t want to help him, they do. They have threatened that unless I do as they ask, they will kill me.”

  “Who threatened you?”

  “The man who stayed in here after the others went into the dining room. His name is Jacob Cohen and he was the one that was guilty of treason.”

  “I don’t see why we should help them, it is they that are the foreigners here, and there is no reason to be scared.”

  “This was my thinking. One of them has the time machine with them, if we were to give that to the Fuhrer then he would undoubtedly be pleased. The Nazis currently have the best space programme, the time machine would give us an advantage in the war effort, and then we could turn our attention to the programme. We can explain to Adolf that I am you from the future. The scientist that created the time machine also helped to build an atom bomb, he is in the other room.”

  “The atom bomb, and it worked?” The young Wernher asked in amazement.

  “It flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “Quite.”

  “So we tell the others that we will help them, lead them to Auschwitz. Whilst we are there, I will explain the situation to Mengele and they will be captured.”

  “Exactly, but they have an escape plan. It will not work as they are planning to simply drive away, but we need to get them far enough into Auschwitz so that there is no chance of escape. The two who are staying in the car can be allowed to leave, they know nothing of value.”

  “I see, well I will phone Josef Mengele and tell him we are coming, I can explain we need workers to build V2 rockets and he will show us who they have available. Whilst he is doing that, I will sneak away with him for a moment and explain what is going on. There will be no chance of escape.”

  “Terrific, we will need uniforms for them.”

  “That will not be a problem, I have plenty to spare. I will call Josef if you want to tell the others I have agreed to help them. We can have dinner and then show them to their rooms and we will leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “We must tread carefully. We cannot allow them to become suspicious. The others should not be a problem, but Jacob already seems to suspect something is amiss.”

  “Is he dangerous?”

  “Quite. We must be careful. The others do not trust him, so just try not to do anything to anger him and it should be okay.”

  In the dining room the atmosphere had been cold, Jacob was staring straight into Clyde’s eyes and had been since they had sat down.

  “Did you not learn your lesson Jacob?” Clyde asked aggressively.

  Jacob chuckled. “Two on one is hardly a fair fight, does your girlfriend always do your fighting for you?”

  “Is there really a need for this bickering?” Edward asked.

  “I would warn you not to irritate me at this moment doctor.” Jacob snapped.

  “You are not in charge here.” Clyde barked.

  “Yes I am.”

  “No you’re not!” Sarah interrupted.

  Jacob la
ughed mockingly again. “Who is then? We have two shitty bank robbers who don’t even know who the Nazis are, and who can hardly walk. A journalist whose only qualities appear to be her looks. A lunatic who invented the atom bomb and the cursed time machine that brought us all together, and a kid who once thought he was a hero, but now seems to have realized how pathetic he is.”

  “I’m pathetic?” Chase asked in disgust.

  “Yes Chase you are. Like I said earlier you had three field missions, during the first one Oswald died, during the second you were captured and later lost your mind, and during the third you were shot. It’s hardly an impressive resume.”

  “I do what’s right Jacob, not what benefits me the most. You are only here out of revenge and as far as I can tell you offer us nothing but trouble.”

  “In order to actually do what is right, you must succeed at least some of the time Chase, you have failed to do anything of value.”

  “And what have you done?” Chase snapped, blushing a little.

  “I overthrew Castro and Bobby Kennedy, I found Oswald, and I caused the plane crash. She isn’t even interested in you Chase.” Jacob laughed.

  “You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Chase yelled, his face now scarlet.

  “Oh no? I’ve seen the way you look at her, I think she is here for Bobby.”

  “Shut up Jacob.” Sarah snapped.

  “And who is going to make me?”

  “You do realise Jacob that those victory’s you just mentioned all led us to be here.” Chase shouted.

  “Yes, you are quite right. But you were trying to stop me every step of the way.”

  Clyde rose from the far end of the table and walked towards Jacob, he stopped in his tracks when the older Wernher entered the dining room.

  “No more fighting. We are in, my younger self has agreed to take us to Auschwitz first thing tomorrow, he has uniforms for us and the prisoners can just wear their ordinary attire.”

  “Well done Wernher.” Chase said.

  “Yeah good work.” Sarah added.

  “Thank you, he is going to make us some dinner and then we will get an early night.”

  “How far are we from Auschwitz?” Chase asked.

  “This is my home in Krakow, we can make it there in little over an hour.” Wernher replied.

  “And we have a car?” Clyde asked.

  “Yes we have a Mercedes Benz 770, we should all be quite comfortable, it is a big car.”

  “Could we get a Ford V8, they are very reliable?” Clyde replied.

  “Not in Nazi Germany I’m afraid.”

  Around an hour later Wernher had prepared dinner and they were sat around the long dining room table. He had made potatoes and beef.

  The young Wernher sat at the top of the table, to his right was his older self, Edward Teller, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. To his left were Chase, Sarah and Jacob. The atmosphere had improved slightly, but Jacob and Clyde had various staring contests throughout the evening.

  “So Dr Teller, I here that you successfully made the atom bomb and a time machine, quite a life you have led.” The young Wernher stated.

  “Well, it’s not a time machine, it is a wormhole generator and I was part of the team that made the atom bomb.” Edward replied modestly.

  “Still, very impressive. Tomorrow morning, who will be wearing the Nazi uniforms?” Wernher asked.

  “Myself, Dr Teller and Wernher.” Chase replied.

  “And what about the rest of you?”

  “Well, Bonnie and Clyde will stay in the car, and Sarah and Jacob will be our prisoners.”

  Wernher nodded his understanding. “Bonnie and Clyde will need uniforms too. Should anyone ask why we have prisoners with us, I will explain that they are being used to build rockets that I am working on. Try not to talk, let me answer any questions.”

  “So Wernher, do you know Hitler?” Jacob asked, smirking at the older Wernher.

  “Yes.” The young Wernher replied.

  Jacob laughed. “You see, your older self is normally quite reluctant to admit he is a Nazi war criminal, or so I am told anyway.”

  “I wouldn’t describe myself as a war criminal.”

  “But you said we are going to Auschwitz on the pretence that you are choosing slave labourers.”

  “Yes.”

  Jacob laughed. “I think that makes you a war criminal.”

  “Would you rather I didn’t help you?”

  “No he doesn’t mean that.” Sarah said apologetically.

  “Well, what does he mean?” Wernher asked looking around the table.

  “He’s an asshole.” Chase replied.

  “Agreed.” Clyde added.

  “Well, at least I’m not a Nazi.” Jacob chuckled.

  “But you are a war criminal.” Chase stated.

  “Perhaps you should just eat your dinner.” Edward suggested.

  Jacob laughed again. “If I have to tell you one more time, it will be the last thing you ever hear. Watch what you say to me!”

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Clyde barked.

  “Clyde I would give you the same advice.”

  The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. After dinner, Wernher led them all to their sleeping quarters.

  Both Wernher’s shared the master bedroom, Bonnie and Clyde shared a room, Sarah and Dr Teller shared another and Chase shared with Jacob.

  Bonnie and Clyde stayed awake long into the night, Clyde smoking cigars whilst Bonnie smoked cigarettes.

  “Do you think we can do this Clyde?” Bonnie asked, the fear palpable in her voice.

  “Of course we can, we have escaped dozens of shootouts.” Clyde said confidently, puffing on his cigar.

  “But these people, they aren’t normal.” Bonnie replied.

  “Sarah, Edward and Chase seem okay.”

  “Chase seems like a complete wimp, he never stands up to that nutcase.”

  “I think he is frightened of him.” Clyde agreed.

  “I don’t like him one bit.” Bonnie stated.

  “Who, Jacob?”

  “Yes.” She said inhaling her cigarette deeply.

  “I don’t like him either, he won’t be surviving tomorrow, I guarantee that.”

  “I don’t think we should stay here tonight Clyde, I don’t trust them.”

  “We have to baby, how will we get home with the world at war?”

  “Clyde what if we need to run, neither of us can do it.”

  “We won’t, I’ll get us out of there baby. You know that.”

  “But it won’t be a Ford V8.”

  “Bonnie have you ever met someone that can drive like I do?”

  “No.” She conceded.

  “And have you ever met a man that can shoot like me?”

  “No.” She conceded.

  “Well, there you go.” He smiled.

  Sarah felt slightly awkward at having to share her room with Edward Teller, but Chase had insisted that he would put up with Jacob, he didn’t trust him with the others. They lay side by side, perfectly still, neither one wanting to disturb the other. Edward’s breathing was fast, as she looked at him she saw that his eyes were wide open.

  “Are you alright Dr Teller?”

  “What? Oh, yes it’s okay. Nothing to worry about.” He said quickly.

  “Are you worrying about tomorrow?”

  “Yes, only natural I suppose. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m a little worried, but I thought I would be worse. My primary concern is Jacob, I just don’t believe that we can trust him.”

  “It had crossed my mind.” Edward agreed.

  “Not only that, but Bobby walks with a limp, if we need to get away quickly it might not be possible.”

  “Is what Jacob said true?” Edward asked.

  “Which part?”

  “Are you here because you love Bobby?”

  “That is quite a personal question.” Sarah replied, blushing.

  “I’m sorry, thi
s is possibly the last night of our lives, you can share your secrets.”

  “Well, you have a point there. So answer my question and then I’ll answer yours. How do you live with yourself after everything you have done?”

  Edward was silent for a moment. “I do my job Miss Salmond. You are a journalist and you have, I’m sure done things that play on your conscience. Lawyers knowingly save the lives of guilty men. I am a scientist and I produced a bomb that helped win the war. That does not play on my conscience in the slightest. I did not drop the bomb, I did not kill anybody. If I handed you a gun that you then use to shoot someone, is that my fault?”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I did pull the metaphorical trigger in Mr Stinson’s case, I am here to fix that. Also, Faraday didn’t give me much of a choice. So now you answer my question?”

  “I wouldn’t call it love, I like him, and I thought something might happen before everything that went wrong.”

  “You are taking an incredible risk to save the life of a man that you simply like.”

  Sarah did not respond.

  “Do you know that Chase seems infatuated with you?”

  “He’s not infatuated, he is a gentleman, he is looking out for me.”

  “Seems like there is more to it than that.” Edward replied.

  “Trust me there isn’t.”

  “Do you think we can do this?” Edward asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Get in and out of Auschwitz in one piece.”

  Sarah paused before answering. “If everything goes according to plan then there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to.”

  “The thing is though, how likely is it that everything will go according to plan. Since we have all been together, Jacob and Chase have physically tried to fight each other. Then he recruited two bank robbers, who can barely walk, to help us. Then he fought the bank robbers before antagonising a Nazi, who is our only hope of getting in and out of Auschwitz.”

  “So what is it that you are trying to say?”

  Edward sighed. “With the people that are accompanying us, I think we are doomed.”

  “I know Jacob can’t be trusted, but it is better to have him on your side than to have him against you.”

  “I entirely agree, but he doesn’t actually act as though he is on our side, does he?”