Hiding the smile that wanted to burst forth he folded the note and placed it back in the palm of his hand. He fiddled with the knobs, pressed the button halfway, then fiddled with the knobs again. After standing up with a moan, he pressed his hand to his back, sliding the note into his pants. Mike turned with a disgusted look on his face and muttered, “You’d think the twenty-second century could come up with a better idea for a toilet than the eighteenth century.”
Mike lay on the cot and thought about the note. The kid had written that help was on the way. That’s all he needed to know to make all the pain disappear.
He didn’t know how long it would be but the day passed quietly. Other Guardians shoved food at Mike with a grunt. He stared at the four walls and wondered, hoped, prayed that Shauna hadn’t been hurt. If she had he knew he’d kill the bastards. Mike pushed that thought from his mind and went through a dozen scenarios for escape. The only problem was he didn’t know where his help would come from.
The cell plunged into darkness with the last of the twilight and he closed his eyes. He pictured his home in Bend, his brother Scott and the beautifully decorated city he’d left at Christmas. Mike hadn’t realized how much he loved that town and his brother until he’d stepped through a time warp. He wanted to go back. He wanted to feel free again. No matter how many modern conveniences the twenty-second century had, he felt stifled and watched. Maybe it was because his face was posted all over the world as public enemy number one.
Mike laughed a bitter sound. He’d never done an illegal thing in his life, never taken an illegal drug. He’d been both brother and father to Scott and he’d been proud of the responsibility. He grew up early but never looked back.
A whisper of sound reached him. The door slid open. Mike tensed.
A blinding yellow light shone in his face. “Hey! What’s that for?” He hoped he wasn’t in for more torture.
“Get up,” a harsh voice said.
Mike rose and turned his back to the light. A rough hand swung him around. “Get moving.” He was pushed forward and stumbled through the door on protesting legs. Once the door closed behind him the Guardian shoved him forward.
Mike didn’t ask questions knowing they wouldn’t be answered. He tried to see the route he took in case he needed it later but the light was directly in his eyes. “Door open.”
He was pushed into the room and heard, “Door close.” The door slid shut but it didn’t sound right. With the light out of his eyes, Mike waited for them to adjust to the darkness in this new cell.
He heard a moan. Fear flooded him and he turned to the sound. “Oh, God. Shauna?”
“Mike?” Her voice was weak, scratchy.
He found her cot and sank to her side. “What’d they do to you?” He wanted to kill. He felt a white-hot rage flood him. Mike knew if he had a weapon he’d go on a rampage like a crazy man.
“I’m okay. They didn’t use drugs. They’re saving that for later. God, I’m thirsty.”
Mike searched the cell. The only water he could use was in the toilet. He cupped his hands and brought a sip to Shauna. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, it’s toilet water.” He held his hands steady while she sipped and licked his hand. “Oh, baby. I’ll kill them.”
Shauna started to laugh but gasped. “No need. I’ll heal.”
The bravery of her words struck Mike to his core. This woman was a warrior. She had an iron will and a heart of gold. His love for her filled him with pride and strength. She laid her head on Mike’s shoulder and took shallow breaths. “I wonder why they brought you here.”
“To torture me by letting me know they hurt you.” Mike felt her face and it felt fine. He ran his hands over her shoulders and felt her stiffen and pull away. “You might have a dislocated shoulder.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
Mike wiped short strands of hair off her forehead and kissed her. He gently moved her away and said, “Hold on.” He helped her lean against the wall and went to the door of the cell. It wasn’t closed all the way. The Global Guardian had been putting on a show for the others but made sure they could escape the cell.
Knowing he couldn’t tell her anything, he pulled her to him to kiss her. He helped her up while at the same time putting his hand to her lips to tell her to be quiet. They staggered to the door. Mike pushed on the plastic material and it slid open.
Dim lights lit the hallway. Mike didn’t know which way to turn, so being right-handed he turned right. He wondered if there were cameras in the hallway and figured there were. Staying close to the right wall, they stumbled down to the end and turned left. They had just approached the end of that hallway when he heard voices. Mike stopped, holding Shauna up against the wall. The voices were getting louder. He glanced back down the hallway but there was no place to hide. Now he heard boots stomping and laughter. Yellow lights flashed back and forth in a casual pattern. They must be doing a routine check. Mike’s adrenaline kicked in and he felt his heart race.
He saw the open door at the last second when a light from one of the Guardians’ beams had swung past it and ducked into the room with Shauna. Mike scanned the room and saw they were in a supply closet. The door slid shut creating darkness. Shauna slid to the floor taking Mike with her. He rubbed her lower lip softly and nipped it.
The voices stopped outside their door. Male laughter was heard but the wall muffled the words. Mike prayed they wouldn’t look in the closet.
It seemed forever but his prayer was answered when they heard another voice say something. The voices moved away from the closet and Shauna’s head fell to his shoulder. He heard her panting from exertion and pain. “It’s okay, we’re okay,” he murmured.
Suddenly the door slid open shedding light into the closet. The kid Guardian gestured to them. “This way.” Mike helped Shauna up and they followed the young boy out of the prison to a waiting skycar. Once Shauna was secured in the passenger seat, the kid shoved a medical kit at him and said, “There’s Pain Away in there and the ‘Roll Away Injuries’ medical device. God be with you.” He shut the door and left.
Mike raced around to the driver’s side and slid in. He fired up the mini jet engine and lifted off before the computer said they were cleared for takeoff.
“Invisi-shield on,” Mike said.
“Invisi-shield on,” replied a mechanical male voice.
“I hope you’re right,” Mike said to the computer. He flew an erratic course away from Global Guardian headquarters. They’d been taken back to New York and the main prison and he wanted to get as far away as possible. As fast as possible. “Max speed.” The computer setting changed and the little craft surged forward. The force shoved him back in his seat and he heard Shauna moan. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Hang in there. Autopilot, fly course as directed.” When the skycar continued its erratic course he fumbled on the floor in front of Shauna’s seat and pulled up the medical kit. He rummaged around inside, found the Pain Away and shot a burst of it into Shauna’s thigh. She immediately sighed in relief.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I wish I could have given it to you sooner. I’m sorry.” Mike searched the sky for any green and whites. Nothing. “Tell me what happened.”
Shauna turned her head toward Mike and gave him a small smile. “They hauled me out of my cell, shoved me into a room with a metal chair.” She turned her head back to the windscreen. “I’d turned to sit down when they punched me in the ribs.” Shauna’s voice hitched and tears pooled in her eyes. “I refused to give them Mom and Dad’s whereabouts. They pulled my shoulder until it came out of the socket. God, that’s pain. I still don’t know why they didn’t use truth drugs. But I’m glad. For now, Mom and Dad are safe.” Shauna hugged her arm close to her body.
Mike scanned the sky again, saw only normal sky traffic and reached into the medical kit. He pulled out a modern-day triangular bandage. “I don’t know how to work this. The material’s too flimsy.” He fumbled with the thin, yet strong bandage. It was clear, wit
h no colors in it. If it’d been on a table or floor it would have blended in perfectly.
“Take the edge…there,” Shauna pointed with her good hand. “Pull it out away from you and the bandage unrolls. Good. Now just place the tip on my shoulder, wrap the wide part around my arm and touch the leftover tip to the material at my shoulder.”
Mike did as he was told and the bandage automatically fused together creating a sling with no seam or knot at the top. “Wow. Some things in this century are really great.”
Shauna chuckled but sucked in a breath from her sore ribs. “Yes and other modern-day conveniences are intrusive. Like the Global Guardians.”
They left New York airspace heading east over the Atlantic. Douglas had told Mike to meet them in Switzerland. He didn’t have a skycar owned by The Subversives so he couldn’t punch in the emergency code and get the coordinates. He figured that he’d find a way to find Shauna’s parents once he got closer to Switzerland. “Know where your parents’ hiding place is?”
“No. Just the code.”
“Won’t do us much good. The code only works with Subversive-owned skycars. How long until we reach Europe?” Mike checked his instruments paying close attention to the invisi-shield. The computer said it was still working. He hoped so. He’d stolen a skycar that was shocking pink and orange. Colors that would stick out against the blue sky like a red warning flag.
“About a half hour at max speed.”
“Good. Now all I have to do is get you there safely, land without being noticed, use that rolling thing on you to fix you up, find your parents, overthrow the CEOs and maybe I can get a cup of Starbucks in between there sometime.”
Shauna laughed.
“The Pain Away’s working, I see. You didn’t even feel your ribs when you laughed. And you have color back in your face.” Mike leaned over to kiss her. “I love you.” The kiss was passionate yet tender. He felt Shauna’s heartbeat, strong and steady. Mike ran a hand over her cheek, his thumb stroking her lush bottom lip. “God. I love your lips.”
Shauna murmured something. She gave him one more kiss then leaned back into her seat. He saw exhaustion stamped on her face. “I think I’ll rest for a few minutes. Seat flat.” The seat lay flat and turned into a bed. Shauna was asleep before it had finished its conversion.
Mike fiddled with the radio and turned on some soft, classical music. He watched the sky but all was calm.
It amazed him that he was flying a skycar. If only his brother could see this. Scott wouldn’t believe it. He wished he could get a picture of himself at the controls. The thought tantalized him and he searched the inside of the skycar. He knew every craft had interior and exterior cameras but he’d not read anything in the manuals that said they could be used for a picture. Probably because pictures didn’t exist anymore, holograms did.
That’s it! He’d get a hologram of himself flying and somehow transfer it to an old computer. He punched a few buttons on the console and heard a whirring sound. The camera over his controls pointed directly at him. He snapped some shots from every angle inside, then ordered the exterior cameras to snap shots of him from outside. Now all he had to do was transfer these snapshots from this skycar to a computer.
Mike rummaged through the medical kit searching for anything he could use as a computer to transfer the holograms to. He figured everything was one nowadays. He lifted a small black pouch and out fell a two-inch square device. It looked like Shauna’s time travel device. But it couldn’t be. He turned it over and over. It must be. How’d it get here? The only explanation was the young Global Guardian who worked for The Subversives. The kid must have confiscated it from somewhere and shoved it in the medical kit. What a lifesaver! Now all Mike needed was for Shauna to wake up. Then she could download the holographic snaps to her device and figure out how to get it to a twenty-first century computer.
Satisfied that he’d worked out the pictures as much as he could, Mike studied Shauna. Her color was back but dark circles under her eyes attested to her fatigue. Little puffs of air blew out of her mouth with each breath. A raw need raced through him and he clenched his teeth. Mike wanted to protect her from harm and hadn’t done it. This brilliant scientist, warm and giving woman was his and he couldn’t keep her safe.
Somehow, he vowed…somehow he’d keep her safe. If it was the last thing he did in his life, he’d protect Shauna from harm.
“Skycar 42068, squawk frequency 121.7.”
Mike jumped at the sound of the mechanical female voice. Shauna lurched up, her eyes wide. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know. How do they know our skycar designation?”
“Don’t answer.”
Mike narrowed in on the invisi-shield. The green light had turned yellow. “Shit.”
“What?”
“The invisi-shield is weakening.”
“Punch up another battery and see if that helps.” Shauna shifted in her seat. “Seat up.” The seat rose to the normal position.
The battery light glowed orange. “We’re almost out of battery for the shield,” Mike stated.
“Skycar 42068, turn to frequency 121.7 to hear Morning Star.”
“Oh my God!” Shauna exclaimed. “It’s Mom. How’d she find us?”
Mike pushed the button until the frequency showed on the glass monitor. “You talk to her, sweetheart.”
“Morning Star, this is skycar 42068, over.”
“Hello, darling. How are you?”
“Is this line secure, Mom?” Bright tears ran down Shauna’s cheek. Mike reached over and wiped some away.
“As tight as a hangman’s rope around his prisoner’s neck,” her mother laughed.
“Bad analogy, Mom. We’ve just escaped the Global Guardians’ main prison in New York.”
“Oh, darling…are you all right?”
“Don’t tell her. Don’t worry her,” Mike said.
“We’re fine. How’d you find us?”
“We have our ways, darling daughter. Our network is vast. Follow coordinates sent to your computer. We’ll meet in twenty minutes. Over and out.”
Mike pulled up the new coordinates and plugged them into the computer. The skycar arced left and descended two thousand feet. “Your mother’s amazing. She must have nerves of steel.”
“Yes, she is amazing. I don’t know how they found us and don’t really care. Just hearing her voice healed me. At least emotionally.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Mike said. He rubbed her arm with light strokes.
“What for?”
“I couldn’t protect you. I should have. I’ll never forgive myself for you getting hurt.”
Shauna leaned toward Mike and shook a finger in his face. “First of all, you’re not my protector. I’m my protector. Second, you stumbled into my life and didn’t choose these events to happen. You gamely took over my cause. Third, the world is different now. You can’t protect what you can’t foresee.” The intensity drained from Shauna. “So, Mr. Forrester, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your gallant thoughts and I love you.”
Mike grinned at the harsh, determined sound of Shauna’s voice. This woman wouldn’t back down, didn’t, even when the odds were stacked against her. If he’d had any doubts about his love for her before, she just cemented his decision to spend the rest of his life with her.
Somehow.
“I took some holograms of me flying while you were sleeping. Want to show my brother someday. Got any ideas how to make it into a twenty-first century picture?”
“If I had my travel device I could just upload it.”
“It’s right here.” Mike handed it to Shauna. “The Guardian who’s a Subversive stuck it in the medical kit. I found it while you were resting.”
“Oh, great!” She took the device and said, “Upload holographic pictures.”
“Invisi-shield failed.” A blaring horn sounded inside the skycar. “No battery backup.”
“Shit.” Mike fiddled with the buttons trying to get it to w
ork. “Got any suggestions?”
“Run like hell.” Mike snapped a look at Shauna and saw the grim determination on her face. Her lips were drawn in a straight line, her eyebrows lowered. “I’m not going back to prison.”
“Neither am I.”
“Skycar 42068. Pull over and hover.”
The green and white came out of nowhere. “Double shit. Autopilot off.” He took the controls and shoved the vehicle into a nosedive. The seat harness snapped against his shoulders so hard he knew he’d be bruised. He ignored the pain. “You okay?”
“Just add another few bruises to my bruises. Got a plan?” Shauna scanned the passenger-side monitor. “The green and white’s approaching.”
“Warning! Warning! Laser lock. Attack imminent,” the computer blared.
Mike rolled the skycar to the right and dived. Luckily the skycar lanes weren’t crowded but he had to do a corkscrew maneuver to get out of the sight of the laser. Screech horns blared from the few skycars nearby. Mike flew the craft like a fighter pilot. He’d seen enough movies and played too many computer games not to have a few moves up his sleeve.
“Skycar 42068 land now.” The Global Guardians flew a straight line to intercept them.
Mike dived to the ground. “If we dump this craft maybe some people will hide us.”
“We won’t have time to land. They Guardians will have us surrounded.”
Mike flew up and turned left over land. “Damn, we almost made it.”
The green and white put on a burst of speed and came up behind them.
“Fly back over the water. I have an idea,” Shauna said.
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