“How long have you been living here Charlie? James and I had no idea that you lived in the same street.” She carefully reached out and gently held his right arm as they walked. “Oh, I bought this before James finished at Winchester, I think it was 1966. Of course I knew that you were coming to live nearby.” Charlie was comforted by her arm in his and slowly he realised that he felt more positive about the future. He had a few moments to dwell on the irony of that feeling. After 55 years following a pre-trodden path he was breaking trail for the first time, and perhaps it was not such a bad thing after all.
They entered Charlie’s house and Alison was given a guided tour. The house was full of the most beautiful antique furniture which Charlie had collected over the years. The study was the only room with any photographs on display and Alison was shown the pictures of James playing Winchester College Football and Fred and Enid Yardley standing proudly in front of their rented house in Victoria. Charlie reached inside a drawer and pulled out a picture of himself, dressed in his “racing outfit” that he had worn to the Derby in 1947, with Fred next to a very ancient looking motorcycle. “I can see the resemblance between you and James but I don’t think I would have ever have guessed without seeing the photographs side by side. Fred Yardley is shorter than I imagined.” Alison gave the picture back to Charlie. “I am a most terrible host. Alison, my dear, can I get you a drink? Alfred and I have a gin and tonic on the go which I will freshen up.” Charlie led Alison back into the drawing room and sat down on the large leather sofa. “I would love a gin please, Charlie,” she said. Alfred sat on the armchair near the window just to the left of Alison. “You’ve had quite a tough time over the last few days. I’m sorry to impose myself on your privacy but my instructions are very clear.” Alfred could not really imagine how she felt. She had lost her husband, but there was clear evidence that his life was not cut short. He wondered if she should be treated as a bereaved widow or whether the planning that she and James had done prior to his leap backwards in time might change the way that she viewed the situation. He remembered how serene she had looked when she arrived at the Dagger Building, knowing that James had already disappeared. Their aim, and James’ goal, was to help Tom whom they knew to be injured. Alfred wondered whether the failure to go back to the same time as Tom would make her bitter or regretful.
Charlie went into the kitchen to finish the rice and take the curry from the oven. He had opened a bottle of rosé, always good with Indian food he thought, and had popadoms and peshwari naan ready for the table. The three sat at one end of the mahogany dining table. “This is the first time that I have entertained anybody in this house. I normally have a little Christmas party at my house in Christchurch Street. I did not want any of my activity here in Drayton Gardens to be too conspicuous.” Charlie paused, took a sip of wine and continued. “James is,” and he emphasised the verb, “a very brave man. I know that he died several thousand years ago, but he only left this morning and so has several years of life ahead of him. I am sure that his Army training will stand by him and he is pretty fit.” Charlie had kept his views of James deliberately in the present tense. It helped and Alison surprised them both by saying, “James will be with me until I die. We were so close that even though he has gone, he has left an indelible mark on my soul. I do not intend to mourn him at all. Of course I regret that he is gone, but he went knowing the risks and with noble intensions in his heart, and so I intend to be joyful and celebrate every memory of his life.” There was silence for nearly a minute.
Charlie broke the silence. “Back in 1947, I had to make a choice between joining the Army and undergoing officer cadet training or taking the civilian option. Had I joined the Army then, I would have been in the very first company of cadets to go through Mons Officer Cadet School. James was in the very last company before Mons closed down. Perhaps if I had joined the Army things may have been a little different, but then that might have been something that I could not change.”
Alison and Charlie did not know the detail of the kit that James had with him when he made the journey back in time and Alfred thought that he could lighten the mood by telling them all about it. He went through every detail and the other two were very interested. “Thank goodness that poor boy did not have to deal with my toe. It took ages to get better and was not very pretty to look at.” Charlie looked down at his right foot but resisted the temptation to take his shoe and sock off. “That gold disc that he inscribed was from one of his sensor gadgets that he had made and I bet that he would have used the Swiss Army knife that I gave him for his birthday to scratch the message. Maybe one day we will get a better understanding of his experiences.”
Alfred was finding it difficult to come to terms with the logical challenges of time travel. “Charlie, you must have thought about this often enough from 1947 until now. How is it possible for you, and James for that matter, to be sent back in time and then not change the course of events that shaped the world that you travelled back from? What if you killed your own father before you were conceived for example?” Alison heard the question but did not quite understand the direction of the logical argument. “Charlie would never do anything to hurt his father, Alfred. He loved him too much,” Charlie smiled as he responded to Alfred’s question.
“I am no philosopher, but you are right, I have thought about this, time and again. How I would love to have changed my father’s mind, before he took his own life. I think that once a path has been made, it cannot be altered. If I were to be given a gun there would be no way that I could kill my father, not because I loved him, Alison, but because it had never happened and therefore could not happen. That is why I did not manage to get into Larkhill Camp before James sent himself back in time. The gold disc was a fact that could not be altered and we know that James used it to send a message to us.” Whilst Charlie was speaking, Alfred wished that he could mention the Stone Message but knew that he would probably never be allowed to mention it to Charlie. Charlie continued. “Throughout the day today I have been asking myself if there was any way that I could have stopped my dear son from sacrificing himself needlessly. I am in no doubt, and this is my only salvation, that no matter how hard I might have tried, there is no way that I could have changed a thing.”
“Do you think that James really sacrificed himself needlessly Charlie?” asked Alison. Charlie immediately regretted using that particular phrase. “No, Alison, I don’t. His departure does seem cruel to us, but he will have had an important part to play in the era that he joined. Who knows what acts of good he may have done. He may well have become a hero, a leader or a wise old sage. Who knows, but although his departure from the 21st century may seem to be a great loss, his arrival in 3000 BC is bound to have been a great benefit to the people then. I was silly. I shouldn’t have used the term needless sacrifice at all. He left here thinking that he would somehow help me. I am sure that he would not waste any time at all using his knowledge and experience to help others.” Charlie reached across and squeezed Alison’s hand. Alfred made a mental note that he should suggest to Gaskin that both Alison and Charlie be told about the Stone Message, because the story does show that James did indeed attain some status amongst the people of Stonehenge. Alison was beginning to look tired, it had been a long day and she needed to get home.
The boys walked Alison back to her flat. She was not miserable at all and was looking forward to seeing more of Charlie over the coming days and weeks. Whilst they were out, Alfred went to the car parked across the road from the Gordons’ flat. He said hello to Mutt who was inside and reached in and took a small grip off the back seat. “What time will Jeff take over?” he asked. Mutt shrugged his shoulders, “That depends on his new girlfriend,” he said as he winked at Alfred.
Charlie and Alfred had a glass of whisky together and continued to chat about the experiences of the past. Alfred reached into his small grip and pulled out a scruffy envelope. “We know that your landlord, oops sorry, we know that Merchant is still away having
treatment and so I tasked one of my chaps to find the note that your father had written to you. After what you had said to us earlier I thought that you might like to have it back.” Alfred handed the envelope to Charlie. He carefully opened it and looked again at the letter. After a minute he said, “Yes he does mention being at peace with God.” Charlie then read out the paragraph:
“After I left you, I took a taxi to Waterloo Station. I must have been half asleep but I had the clearest of dreams that I was able to discuss my feelings with an Angel, maybe God Himself, in that taxi to Waterloo. I felt happy when I went to find my train and know that this is my only option. I love you Tom. I know that we will be together again one day. Take care. All my love, Daddy xxx.”
Charlie managed to remain composed but Alfred had a lump in his throat. He had to have a little cough before he could speak. “I think your little chat to your father was a good thing. You know that you could not change the course of history, but at least he was more at ease after that taxi ride.” Charlie nodded, took a large sip of his whisky and then allowed a few gentle tears to fall from his tired eyes.
---oooOOOooo---
Further analysis of the skeleton found in the Long Barrow revealed that it was beyond doubt that of Professor Gordon. The DNA gave a one in a fifty thousand certainty but the indication of a long healed broken arm, sustained in his school days, clinched the identity. It was estimated that he had managed to live to about 75 years of age and was clearly a celebrity of the Stonehenge era. Nothing more could be deduced from the available evidence. The Beast was dismantled and, together with all notes and computer data, was put into secure storage somewhere deep underground in Wiltshire, not so very far away from Stonehenge. One by one, the names on the Stone Message VRK were crossed off as they died. Eventually the story would only be available to the Head of MI5 and any surviving incumbents of that post.
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