“I think we need one more Daniel in this room,” Daniel said. “When can we break him out?”
Vitoria smiled. “Tomorrow.”
********************
Daniel stretched out on the couch. A small lamp on a table provided the only illumination, but thinking didn’t require much light.
The others had retired for the night, with Aiden assigning Vitoria to a bedroom down the hall and Jacquelyn to a converted attic over the garage. He’d offered his own bedroom to Daniel, but the couch was comfortable enough.
It was a good time to absorb everything he’d learned. The breakdown of society, the deception from the Committee, Father’s speech about the nature of time and Vitoria’s contradiction. One believed firmly in fate, the other rejected it.
Then there was the small matter of returning to his own time. He had no belt to do it, and even if he could retrieve the belt and press the right buttons, death probably awaited. Zin had been right all along.
Daniel pushed thoughts of death away. Vitoria seemed to think they had connections inside the prison, and maybe she was right. Tomorrow would be a big day.
The floorboards behind him creaked and Daniel turned. Jacquelyn stood in the hallway wearing the same hillbilly t-shirt and shorts that she’d borrowed. She leaned against the wall and folded her arms.
“You’re not really going to sleep on the couch, are you?”
Daniel tipped his head. “Probably won’t sleep at all, I guess. Too much on my mind.”
“Want some company? I’m wide awake too.”
Daniel took his feet from the couch and Jacquelyn sat, snuggling close. “Sorry about all this, especially what Aiden was saying about your jump back. I’d hate to think you wouldn’t make it, but then, I hate to think about you leaving at all.”
Daniel didn’t have a reply. There wasn’t much to say.
Her shy persona kicked in. “I also wanted to apologize for… you know.”
Daniel examined the pretty face framed by reddish-brown hair. Her nose turned up at the end, and her teeth weren’t perfectly aligned, but the slight imperfections only added to her beauty. Flawless faces were for models.
“Don’t worry about it.” Daniel shrugged. “It’s funny, really. You’re sorry you propositioned me, and I’m sorry I didn’t take you up on it. My mistake pulled you into a lot more than you expected. Vitoria said you might be compromised?”
“Yeah, maybe. Aiden’s going to do some digging. I might still be able to go back to work, but I’ll probably call in sick for tomorrow.”
“You really are a receptionist, aren’t you?”
She looked up. “Of course. What’d you think?”
“Well…”
“You thought I was a prostitute?”
“Maybe not that clear-cut, but…” The cutoff shorts and her long bare legs still reinforced the idea.
“No!” she whispered loudly and then paused. “Well, okay, I can see how you might think that. Some people would say I am.” She hugged her knees to her chest and looked up. “I owe you an explanation.”
Daniel could guess where it might start. “When we crossed the park tonight, I asked how we could have left the party without being stopped. That explanation?”
She reached over to the lamp table and picked up the yellow flower she’d removed from her dress earlier. Her eyes cast down, she handed it to Daniel.
“The flower says it all.” She sighed. “I am a receptionist, but I’m also a satin sash.”
Daniel examined the flower. “Not following.”
“You didn’t notice the women in the office wearing yellow satin sashes? Including me?”
He had, but he hadn’t assigned any meaning to it. Their retro clothing seemed altogether odd. The sashes that some women wore just seemed to be part of their fashion.
“The sash is a signal. It means we’re approachable. Ready and willing, so to speak. And that we have access to birth control pills.”
Unexpected. Fascinating. But so explicit.
The sexual part wasn’t surprising—she’d already shown that side of her. But the overt fashion implied that everyone knew and approved.
He twisted the yellow flower in his fingertips. “The flower is the same signal?”
“Sash for the office, a yellow rose worn at the collarbone for social events. That’s the code.”
“And the men all know this?”
She pushed his shoulder. “Of course, that’s why we do it.”
“The women too?”
She shifted, pulling up one leg and facing him. “Daniel, I didn’t set up this system, and I don’t like it either. But it does benefit me. I get access to birth control, which is illegal for everyone else. And I don’t have to say yes. I can politely decline any offer. Usually we just say we have our period and they go away. When a guy hears that story enough, he gets the point.”
“But when you say yes, you get something in return?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, usually. Job preference, higher pay, a better desk, whatever. Sometimes one guy can help fend off the other scumbags, so I give him special attention. But there are a few guys in the office that I fuck just for fun. I’ve told them I don’t want anything. They’re nice to me anyway.”
“And what do the women think? The ones who don’t wear the sash?”
“They understand. We’re in this together. Nobody blames a woman for a rotten system that men set up. The sash is something any woman can put on or take off. Her choice, and one of the few choices we have left these days.”
Daniel handed the flower back to her. “Thanks for telling me.”
Jacquelyn focused her green eyes squarely on Daniel. “So, does that make me a prostitute?”
“No.” Daniel shook his head resolutely. “Absolutely not. That makes you a survivor. Keeping your head above water, doing the best you can within a bad situation.”
She laughed and tossed the flower across the room. “You know what? I’m done. Hell, I’m thirty-two years old. I can’t keep doing this forever.”
Another change in the timeline.
“Did I just screw up something else in your life? Jacquelyn, I’m not judging. The sash is entirely your call.”
She laughed. “No, it’s not you. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Haven’t accepted an offer for a couple of weeks now. I guess things changed when Vitoria asked me to join the resistance.”
“And your first assignment was me?”
She smiled. “Yeah, that part I didn’t mind at all. I was so excited when you walked into the office. I was ready to jump you right then.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
They sat side by side in silence for a minute, their breathing becoming synchronized. “Well… with the sash gone, I guess that sets you free.”
“I feel free,” she whispered. “Like I can do what I want. It feels really good.”
Pivoting on her knees, she threw one leg over and squatted on his lap, facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her nose up against his. Her breaths came strong, and he could feel her body shake with each powerful beat of her heart.
Daniel’s pulse quickened as his lips brushed lightly against hers. His breathing became shaky. He wasn’t sure how far this was going, but he didn’t feel like stopping it either.
She grabbed his hand and pushed the knot at the midriff of her t-shirt into his palm. Between strong breaths, she whispered. “You don’t have to… but if you want to… untie the knot.”
Daniel’s heart was suddenly pounding as hard as hers. His hand trembled, but the knot wasn’t difficult to untie.
She reached down and slipped the shirt over her head, tossing it away. She lifted slightly on her knees and pushed her bare breasts to his face.
Daniel soaked in the moment, breathing in deeply. Her skin was velvety soft, with a slight scent of lavender. He ran his hands down her back, caressing each vertebra, her ribs just below smooth skin, and further down to the curves of her waist. She he
lped him slip her shorts off.
She lowered, allowing her lips to skim across his face, finally settling at his mouth. They kissed with intensity.
“My room in the attic over the garage,” she whispered. “The bed is big enough for two.”
“Yeah?” Daniel panted.
“Yeah. You don’t want to sleep on the couch tonight. Do you?”
Daniel’s lips wandered down her neck. “No, I really don’t.”
She hopped off his lap and held out a hand. “But I want to make this perfectly clear,” she said in her serious, if breathy, persona. “You don’t owe me anything. Okay?”
Daniel took her hand and stood up. “Okay.”
She kissed him hard. “This fuck is just for fun.”
********************
Her deep breathing signaled sleep. He pulled the sheet over her bare skin and propped another pillow behind his head. There probably wouldn’t be any sleep for him tonight as he pondered the deepest of thoughts. Mortality. And women.
Death might be close. He’d already accepted the high probability. Regardless, if he could find a way to return to his own time, it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. He couldn’t remain in the future, and it wasn’t just about the nuclear launch. Nala was in the past, still waiting for him. Drawing him back like the strongest of magnets.
Shifting, he propped his head on an elbow and gazed upon the sleeping beauty next to him. Jacquelyn’s hair cascaded across the pillow, the red highlights muted in the dark of the room. Her cute nose crinkled a little with each breath. Asleep, Jacquelyn was just as lovely. It wasn’t hard to defend why he’d joined her in bed. She’d asked.
Well, more than asked. She stripped naked on my lap.
Daniel took a deep breath, acknowledging to himself that the story didn’t end there. Yes, she’d asked, but he hadn’t gone along just to be agreeable. He wanted her. He chose her, fully conscious of the complications.
But he had no regrets. He’d shared a delicious celebration of pleasure with a thoroughly delightful woman. He’d make the same choice again. Still, that didn’t eliminate the complications.
Strangely, he wished Nala were here, so he could tell her everything.
30 Instances
“Wake up.”
A hand pushed rhythmically on Daniel’s shoulder. He opened his eyes. Vitoria leaned over the bed. He sat up, pulling the sheets away and exposing Jacquelyn’s naked backside to bright light that streamed in from the hallway.
“What’s up?” Daniel asked, his mind somewhat fuzzy. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep, but sex had a way of relaxing the body and calming the mind.
“Get dressed. We are leaving,” Vitoria said.
Jacquelyn stirred, noticed Vitoria and pulled the sheets up to cover herself. “Oh my God, sorry.” She looked like she’d been caught by a parent.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vitoria said. “But playtime is over. It will be daylight soon, and we need to move while it’s still dark.”
Daniel jumped out of bed and pulled pants on. “Where are we going?”
“A transfer point that Aiden has arranged. I’ll tell you more on the way.” She left the room, leaving Daniel and Jacquelyn to get dressed.
Jacquelyn stood up, her eyes pleading. “I left my clothes downstairs.” She clearly didn’t want Vitoria to see her naked again.
“Just a sec.” Daniel ran downstairs. Jacquelyn had thrown the t-shirt halfway across the living room. It draped across a lampshade. He grabbed her shorts along with a woman’s jacket in a hall closet and returned to the bedroom.
“Thanks,” she said as he handed the clothes to her. “Guess I got carried away last night.”
“Me too.” He kissed her on the cheek. “But no regrets. You were…” He watched her slide the t-shirt over her head. “You still are…”
“Playtime is over. So, says the boss.” She slipped on the jacket and then rummaged through the closet until she came up with some casual sneakers that seemed to fit. “Wonder what the rush is about.”
“We’ll find out,” Daniel said. They returned to the main level of the house and found Aiden and Vitoria in the kitchen, studying a map that had been projected into the air from a device lying on the counter.
“Things are happening fast, and we’re probably not safe here,” Aiden said. “My connection is secure, but that’s always a relative thing. They can triangulate our position if they know what to look for.”
“And they are looking,” Vitoria said. “Enforcers everywhere, scouring Atlanta for you.”
Aiden nodded. “The extra patrols on the street are a risk, but also an opportunity. My informants tell me the contingent of enforcers that are normally stationed at the prison have been called away. Only the regular staff is left, and most of them are sympathetic to the resistance. They say it’s now or never, so we’re pulling the trigger. Our Daniel should be out within the hour.”
“No guns, no dynamite, no helicopters,” Vitoria said, smiling. “Just lots of bribes and excellent connections.” She patted Aiden on the shoulder.
“We’ve established a transfer point,” Aiden said. “We’ll take two cars. Vitoria will drive alone and you two come with me. They’ll need satellite reconnaissance to spot us, and that’s hard even when the sun is up. While it’s still dark, we should be safe.”
“Sounds good,” Daniel said. “Let’s go.”
Aiden shut off the map, picked up a small bag and headed out the front door with the rest following. The night air was still and cool; even the crickets had calmed. No hint of any sunrise, though Vitoria said the drive to the arranged transfer location would take nearly an hour.
********************
The main floor of the hundred-year-old building was longer than a football field, two levels high, with glass that ran down the centerline of the roof. The Atrium, as the prisoners affectionately called it. During the day, the glass let in the sun. In the early morning hours prior to dawn, the vast open space was equally bright, lit by two rows of spotlights down its length.
A single guard dressed in blue guided an older man down the center of the Atrium. A patch on the guard’s shoulder read, United States Federal Penitentiary, Atlanta. The old man was dressed in orange with chains on his wrists. He walked slowly, his back hunched, his hair long and gray.
“June third, 2053,” the old man said in a hoarse whisper. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
The guard made no reply. He glanced at the prisoner and his lips tightened into a careful smile. The guard gave a small nod.
“We’re going for a stroll this morning?”
The guard nodded again.
“Thanks, Watson. You were always good to me.”
At the far end of the atrium, they passed through a security door, and down a short hallway. Another guard dressed in the same uniform manned a desk in front of the next door. The guard grinned as they approached. He typed a few strokes on his computer keyboard, and a strip of plastic ejected from a printer. The guard assembled a security pass and handed it to his colleague.
“Be careful at the gate, Watson. Bennett is on duty this morning.”
“Will do,” Watson said. “That fuckhead better not give us any problems.”
“Just keep your head low if he does. We’ll get this done.”
Another door marked Release Prep led to a small room with closets full of men’s clothing. Watson pulled out a key and unlocked the chains from the old man’s wrists. He eyed the stoop in the old man’s stance, selected a hangar and handed a set of clothes to his prisoner. As he put them on, the old man seemed to marvel at his new clothes.
“Manny has the cameras offline. Maintenance issues. At least, that’s the official statement. We’ve got about ten minutes. Should be smooth, but you never know.”
“Will Vitoria be outside?”
“No. They’re taking you to a transfer point. Even I don’t know where it is.”
The old man smiled. “Smart young lady.”
Watson put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You take care of yourself now. Your work is done. Let the next generation take over.”
The old man looked better in a proper suit. He even stood a little taller, though his face showed the internal weariness that came naturally from years behind bars. Watson pulled a walking cane from a cabinet and handed it to him.
“It’ll make you look distinguished.”
“Thanks.” He leaned on the cane and hopped a few inches into the air, almost managing to click his heels together before he came down. “Fit as an Olympian.”
They passed through an exit to an outside courtyard. The sky was dark, but the ground was lit by spotlights mounted on the building and along a fence a hundred feet away. Rolls of razor wire decorated its top.
They started across a walkway toward a double gate but only made it halfway before another guard came running up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Watson!” he yelled, drawing a gun from a holster on his hip. He waved it wildly between the two of them.
“Just hold on, Bennett,” Watson said. “This is not your business.”
“The hell it isn’t!” the frenzied guard yelled.
The old man held up a hand. “I’m so sorry, Officer Bennett. It’s my fault. I meant no harm, but Officer Watson and I were talking about a rare conjunction of Venus and Mercury and since it was still dark, he very kindly offered to escort me out for a quick view.”
He pointed the metal handle of his cane to the dark sky. “Do you see it? Right there. Very beautiful tonight.”
The guard’s eyes twitched left and right, and his head turned to the sky for a brief moment. The old man swung the cane, catching the guard at his left temple with a loud smack. The gun went clattering across the walkway, and the guard slumped to the ground.
The old man studied the cane, twirling it in his hands. “Doesn’t have the same weighting as a good four-iron, but effective.” He turned to Watson. “Sorry, this might cause some trouble for you.”
Watson bent down, felt for a pulse at Bennett’s neck and lifted one eyelid. Bennett’s eye danced up and down, and he let out a groan.
The Quantum Series Box Set Page 82