“I don’t know what contact you’ve ever had with the criminal element in your country, but my experience tells me they don’t usually consider much beyond their own gain,” Habbib spoke gently.
“There’s no way they could steal it, is there?” Sam demanded.
“I suppose they could try to get a copy from the lab or from NASA but having the code wouldn’t do them any good without the correct...” Fear suddenly gripped his throat. Holy shit, I was just about to say the correct code and coordinates. They’d also need a computer, but they’d be able to steal one of those.
“What were you going to say?” Walker asked.
“The program for the probe wouldn’t do them any good. I built that to communicate with Mars and nothing more. They would need to do some major reworking before they could use the program to jump through time.” I need to keep some of this to myself. I don’t really know if I can trust these people. Especially since we only have their word that they’re working for the US through Britain.
“So, they would need you as well as the program,” Walker completed the thought. He stood up and walked to the small window set high in the wall. “Now I understand why you need protection.” His tone of voice sounded as if he’d finally put the last piece into the puzzle. “They only need to abduct you and force you to write them a program which will allow them to conduct criminal activity all across time.” He turned back to Michael with a frown on his face.
Michael nodded. “What happens now? I still want to be in my room to receive that call.”
“I don’t think we can risk having you return to your rooms. We need to move you to a safe place at once. When you’re ready to go back to the United States, we can escort you to your plane. Then you’re on your own until you land on American soil.”
“But I need to be in my room. If I miss this call, there could be serious repercussions.” Michael heard the whining in his voice but didn’t care. He had to be there when the computer called.
Walker shook his head. “This is for your safety, sir. We’ll make certain that all of your belongings are retrieved and brought to you. I must insist that you let us do what we think is in your best interest.”
Michael and Sam exchanged worried glances. Michael finally gave a resigned shrug and his anxiety evaporated. I won’t be there to answer the call, and the computer won’t be able to find me. There’s no way to know if my setup works without doing all of this again in some other part of the world.
“How would they have known I was coming here? Sam is the only person who knew where we were going, and I trust him completely.” Anger now replaced his disappointment.
Walker shrugged. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to find out when and where someone is going. These criminals probably have people situated in the airport at which you filed the flight plan. Maybe there is someone here. But at any rate, they know where you are. My government was not specific about who the criminals were or how they found out about your plans. As far as we’re concerned, Mr. Eldridge, your safety is our top priority. We have our orders, and there are no exceptions.” He nodded at Habbib. “We’ll take you to a safe house now, and our people will collect your things. Don’t worry, the hotel bill is already settled. Please, gentlemen, we must go now.”
Sam and Michael left the station between Walker and Habbib. The same driver took them careening through the streets of Monaco once more. Michael felt confident that anyone trying to follow them would have a terrible time keeping up with this lunatic.
The tight cluster of buildings receded, giving way to more modern single-family homes.
“Wider streets, fewer people traveling on them, and less traffic will give us an advantage over anyone trying to ambush us,” Walker explained.
What, he doesn’t think we’ve seen movies before? The idea of a safe house probably came from a Hollywood movie in the first place. He’s likely going to tell us to keep away from the windows, too. Michael grinned at the thought.
“When we get inside, please stay away from the windows and don’t go outside. This place is owned by the British government. The neighbors are used to seeing foreigners coming and going so they aren’t likely to notice us.” Their driver lurched to a stop at the curb in front of a small bungalow. Many more modest homes filled the block. The sudden stop thrust all three men into the back of the front seats.
Once inside the house, decorated with Moroccan style furniture and plain white walls, Walker led them down the hall indicating the bedrooms and the bathroom.
“Habbib does the cooking, so I hope you like spicy food. I must stress what I’m about to say in the strongest terms, gentlemen. If in fact, we are attacked, you will follow my directions to the letter. Bullets will be flying, and I’m not willing to die just yet. If I’m obliged to worry about you two wandering off, I’ll likely get all three of us killed. Have I made myself clear?” He stood at the end of the hall with his hands on his hips.
Sam and Michael meekly nodded their understanding. They sat nervously in the dim living room while Habbib and Walker clattered about in the kitchen. The only weapon they’d seen was strapped to the detective’s hip, so they weren’t feeling very secure.
“This is going to be hell. I’m sorry, Boss,” Sam moaned.
“Why? This isn’t your fault, but I still need to get back to the States. The computer has already tried to contact me,” Michael said while looking at his watch, tension and concern gripping his voice. “This whole trip has been a bust, but worse yet, who could have leaked information about what we’re doing?”
“I agree with Walker—bad guys with contacts everywhere. There’s no point in worrying about that right now. We need to survive long enough to get back stateside. You can hire extra security then.”
“Yeah, and all I have to do is pay them well enough to keep them loyal while living like a caged animal for the rest of my life,” Michael frowned.
“We’ve made some coffee; anyone want a cup?” Walker asked from the kitchen doorway. Michael felt as if the British spy had been listening but pushed the negative thought away. Less than a minute later, all four men were in the bright kitchen sipping the hot brew.
“Is there anything special I can make you for breakfast or will a typical American meal be sufficient?” Habbib seemed more like a mother hen at that moment. Michael smiled over the rim of his cup.
“That’s fine with me, but do you know when our things will be here?”
“My men are clearing your hotel room at this moment. They’ll come directly here…with as much caution as they can implement,” Habbib said with a slight grin and flourish of his hand. He seemed to Michael to be a man wanting only the best for them. His voice gentle when he spoke, he always appeared to be smiling. “I expect they’ll arrive in the next hour or less, but why are you so concerned about your belongings? Surely, there is nothing which you could not replace easily.” The smile faltered.
Michael could see the Inspector’s mind was connecting the dots. He knew he could replace everything in the bag, but not the cell phone. His suspicions grew. The men keeping them “safe” had to know more than they were letting on, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to trust them. They might believe the phone was a gadget for another project.
“I left a valuable piece of technology in my room. The item wouldn’t seem like much to you…a circuit board with a light and a number pad, but the project I’m working on will fail without that part. You understand, don’t you?”
Habbib glanced at Walker. Both men tried to hide their smiles. A sense of doom drove into Michael’s gut like a cold steel fist. He knew from the glances they’d exchanged that the two men holding them “safe” were, in fact, the criminals.
“So how is this going to work? You get the technology and threaten me or beat the code out of me so you can jump through time,” he said, his voice full of accusation and hatred. He could see Sam jerk with surprise as the words came out.
“Oh please, Mr. Eldridge, we are not animals.
Our employers want the code and do not care how we obtain the information. We are more civilized men willing to make this ordeal painless if possible. The lengths and means we must use to fulfill our obligation are entirely up to you.” A cold smile appeared on Walker’s face and froze Michael’s soul.
“When your things arrive, you’ll give us the code. Take as long as you like to write it out, but be assured we will be testing what you write. Once we hold a working copy, you’ll be taken to the airport and will be free to leave.” Habbib stood by the counter, twitching like a rat waiting for a piece of cheese.
“I don’t remember every line. There’s probably a thousand pages of code. How am I supposed to remember all that? If I had my computer, I’d just print the program out for you. Trying to remember everything could take weeks.” Michael could remember every line and every word he’d used in the program, but hoped they wouldn’t know that about him. Forcing them to return him and Sam to the States where he could get help was their only chance of survival.
“We can sympathize with your problem, but we know a thing or two about you and your program. First, we are aware from magazine articles that you have an extraordinary memory. Total recall of everything you’ve seen I think one editorial said. Second, you are the sort of person who has solid attachments to people close to you. You lost a very close friend when you were younger and longed ever since for a chance to return through time to find out what happened to him.” Walker’s smile became colder. Michael waited for a forked tongue to flick between his lips. He silently swore never to give anyone an interview again.
“What you must understand…” Walker rose from the table and stood beside Michael. “If we take you back to your lab, Mr. Worthy stays in this house. So, either way, we will get what we want. Oh, by the way, if you’re thinking of giving us something that doesn’t work, you might think again. Every time the program doesn’t work, we’ll remove a piece of your friend here. As I said, Mr. Eldridge, we will do what must be done. His ten fingers and toes will go first, then his feet and legs.” He patted Michael on the cheek and left the house.
Sam gave Habbib an evil glare. A revolver appeared in the detective’s hand, motioning Michael and Sam back into the living room.
“Relax, and remember there are at least four men outside with orders to shoot you both on sight.” He shoved the gun back into his jacket.
“I certainly didn’t see this coming. I’m sorry, man.”
“Don’t worry; I’m sure there would have been someone else waiting for us wherever we went. All we can do now is cooperate and hope for the best.” He shrugged, but Michael could tell from the determination in his eyes that he wouldn’t just calmly wait.
I need to figure out a way to get us out of here. Perhaps I can use the phone to get the computer to contact the real police. I’ll give them what they want if that’s the only choice between Sam and the program, Michael thought.
A magazine on the table caught his eye—a popular computer technology issue from six months earlier. One of the headlines on the cover was about his involvement in the Mars probe. He reached for it and flipped to the article. Scanning through the words, he read about how he was developing a method of bending time. The journalist went on to outline how this would give NASA the ability to communicate instantly with the probe.
That was in the first half-page, but then the story became nasty. The journalist noted the reactions of many leading scientists stating that altering time was impossible. “Michael Eldridge is a computer hack and knows nothing about physics,” declared a well-known physicist. Others were quoted as saying that the natural order of time will be altered if the communication were lost in space.
“Radio signals travel forever,” a scientist stated. “Once it gets beyond our solar system, other worlds will be affected, and this will lead to untold disaster.” The reporter summed up the story saying; “Michael Eldridge is dancing to a dangerous tune—his own.”
Well, now I know where they got their information, he thought with an inward groan.
Two raps, a moment of silence, followed by three raps on the door and two tall, swarthy men entered the house carrying suitcases. They dropped them on the floor and left.
Habbib stood in the kitchen doorway. He arched his eyebrows and indicated with a nod that Sam and Michael should retrieve their bags.
“Get settled and have a good night’s sleep, we’ll start when you wake up.” His hand was inside his jacket as they picked up their luggage and headed past him to the bedrooms.
Michael shut his bedroom door. Setting the bags on the bed, he pulled open his suitcase. The altered phone was on top of his clothes, wires still attached. His eyes scanned the device quickly to make sure there wasn’t any damage before thumbing the switch to on.
The light blinked twice and then stayed lit. Did that mean the computer had tried and failed or was the phone ready to make a call? He didn’t know. He’d given the phone a number the computer could use like a name, and the computer had a similar set-up. He punched in the twelve digits for the machine in his house and waited. The light on the phone in his hand blinked twice and stayed on. This time, the flashing was immediately followed by a vibration in his hand.
His heart stopped. The computer was contacting him. He’d succeeded in making the contraption work across time and distance. Now, how do I tell the computer we’re in trouble, he wondered?
Sinking onto the edge of the bed, he stared at the wall. He’d loaded tons of information into the computer, but how was he going to communicate with his computer from here? Morse code would be easy, but he didn’t know the language. Then another idea slowly became clear in his mind. Using the numbers for the letters of the alphabet, he carefully punched them into the phone to spell out a message.
We are being held captive in Monaco send help at once
The light blinked twice and remained steady. He was about to shut off the phone when he felt more vibrations in his hand, and there were four beeps. The tones didn’t mean anything to Michael until he pressed different numbers. He discovered the message was ASAP. Leaving the phone on, he pushed the device deep into his bag. The computer was already thinking ahead and searching for the signal. They were going to be rescued.
He sighed as he switched off the overhead light. Morning sunlight was already beating on the curtains. Their chances of being saved were better now, but everything depended on the computer contacting a human being to relay their situation. Relying on a machine was a long shot, but that’s all they had between survival and death. They wouldn’t be walking away from this house once the criminals got the program. His head hit the pillow, and he was asleep in minutes. His last thought was of Heather.
Chapter 13
Sunlight was turning the heavy curtains on the window to sheer, and birds chirped loudly as if they were sitting on the windowsill. The room was stifling hot. He sat up and dropped his legs over the edge of the mattress. Everything about this situation seemed to be a nightmare he couldn’t escape.
He decided to stay in the room as long as possible to reduce the chances for the criminals to extract the code before being rescued. A vision of a SWAT team busting through the front door entered his mind. The reality, which occurred seconds later, was a tall, menacing man in a dark suit striding into the bedroom.
“You come now,” he commanded in broken English. His hands seemed to be the size of tennis rackets hanging down to his knees. The goon stood with his back to the wall near the door, waiting for Michael to leave the room.
“I don’t suppose you’d have been gentle waking me up either,” Michael mumbled. There was no point in being brave, especially when he had no training in self-defense.
Walker and Habbib sat huddled together in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones over mugs of coffee. They became silent and looked up as Michael entered.
“Good morning, Mr. Eldridge, or should I say good afternoon. I trust you slept well,” Walker said cheerfully.
“Coffee’s in the
pot by the mugs,” Habbib added.
“Thanks, I did.” The coffee smelled strong enough to hold up a spoon. “The Incredible Hulk was a bit of a shock.”
“He’s really quite gentle until he feels threatened, or you try to escape. His name is Eric, and he’ll be responsible for anything you need. The man once crushed another man’s skull with one hand, so don’t try anything,” Walker grinned.
“Any breakfast, Habbib? Bacon and eggs would be great.” Sam asked from the doorway as Eric followed him into the kitchen.
“As you wish.” The detective placed a pan on the stove and turned a dial on the back panel.
“I want you to start writing the program immediately after breakfast.” A threatening tone in Walker’s voice belied the grin on his face. “Your flight plan said you’d be here four days so you must be done by then.”
Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Bacon sizzled as Habbib worked at making breakfast. The coffee wasn’t as strong as he’d expected. In fact, Michael liked the taste.
“One thing I need to make clear,” he said. “I sometimes have to go for a run to clear my head. Being out in the yard isn’t good enough because the running gets my blood circulating.”
“That’s fine.” Walker shrugged. “Run if you must, but the longer you take, the more Sam will lose. If you’re not finished in four days, we’ll have no choice but to start nipping off his fingers and toes. Enjoy your breakfast, gentlemen.” He stood and left the kitchen as Habbib set heaping plates on the table.
Michael waited for Sam to taste the food. When he attacked the meal, Michael did, too. Ten minutes later, their plates were clean enough to return to the cupboard. Sam used a piece of toast to wipe up the last bit of egg. He burped quietly behind his hand and tossed back the last of his coffee.
An Altered Course Page 14
