by Julie Cross
“But you thought I really meant something else? That I would get sick of you?”
“Yeah,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“Not a chance.” I grinned and kissed her before standing up. “I’ll move wherever you want me to. But I think you need a new roommate.”
“You’ve never met her,” Holly said.
“Yeah, but I know her type.” I grabbed a few of the bags and dumped the contents onto the bed and started digging for some clothes.
“What are these?” Holly asked, holding up a pair of underwear so giant they covered her whole head.
I cracked up. “We could go sailing with those. Or jump out of an airplane.”
She was still laughing when she held up a bra. “Seriously? Forty-two D?”
“Go take a shower, I’ll find the smaller ones.” I grabbed her hands and pulled her off the bed, then brought my mouth to her ear. “I’d still love you even if you fit into those giant panties.”
“I’ll work on it. It’s gonna have to be a big breakfast,” she said with a laugh before closing the bathroom door.
I called Adam while I dug for smaller underwear. “Hey, Adam. Any luck with the project?”
“Damn, I just went to bed ten minutes ago,” he mumbled sleepily. “But no luck yet.”
I sighed to myself, then I switched from English to French so Holly wouldn’t understand just in case she overheard me. “Okay, well, then, the way I see it, I have a couple of options. If I’ve somehow managed now to slip into a date before I exposed my abilities, then I won’t do any time jumps and just keep searching for information.”
“And what if someone knows?”
I found a razor and shaving cream in the pile of stuff and set it aside. “Then I have to choose a side.”
“Wow, so it’s almost like join or die,” Adam said.
Those words didn’t hit me as hard as I thought they would. I guess part of me knew it would come down to this eventually. “Yeah, I imagine it’s something like that.”
I could hear Adam suck in a breath over the phone, then he finally spoke again. “Just because you choose a side doesn’t mean you’re on that side … do you understand what I’m saying?”
He was right. There were loopholes in this game. Ones I could use to my advantage. “Good point. Let’s just hope plan A works out. My life would be so much easier if I could keep everything a secret from those Tempest people.”
“Somebody’s got their head on straight,” Adam said. “What happened to you?”
“Too much. Way too much.” The bathroom door opened, so I switched back to English. “Talk to ya later, Adam.”
I tossed the phone onto the bed and turned around. Holly gripped a towel with one hand and the other she held in front of me. “Any luck, or should I get some safety pins?”
“You’re such a good sport.” I pointed to a pile of clothes that were non-giant-sized and she sifted through them.
“You were talking about me in French again, weren’t you?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows suspiciously.
“Maybe … but we only said good things.”
* * *
John was still in the lobby when we went down for breakfast. When Holly walked in front of me, I turned around and saluted him. He gave me a small nod. I could only assume he’d be off duty soon and I might be in the hands of someone a little more suspicious. Someone not as easy to manipulate. At least I already had the floor plans memorized.
After breakfast, we went shopping and bought clothes that didn’t have the hotel logo on them. Back at the hotel, we changed into our swimsuits, then we went down and sat by the pool, dangling our feet in the water. It was nice, since I hadn’t done anything remotely relaxing in weeks. Not that I wasn’t keeping my eyes open for trouble.
“Why is this place so deserted?” Holly asked.
“It’s Friday. Lots of people will check in tonight, for the weekend.” I slid off the side and into the pool.
She got in the water and sat next to me on the steps. “Did you mean what you said earlier, about changing dorms? You don’t have to. Your room is so much nicer. I took a tour of that building before I applied.”
My arms snaked around her waist and I pulled her so she was sitting sideways on my lap. “Yes, I meant it. If that’s what you want.”
“Well … let’s see … no Katherine Flynn around objecting to us closing my bedroom door. No doormen writing everything down in those secret spy books.” She touched the sides of my neck.
I leaned down and kissed her. Just as I was debating luring Holly back to the hotel room, I caught a glimpse of a very familiar man in a blue suit and black sunglasses making strides in our direction.
What did he know? Just that I’d left town without calling? Or something more … I groaned and moved my mouth to Holly’s neck. “How long can you hold your breath?”
I didn’t let her answer before I pulled her underwater for about five seconds. She was laughing when we came back up. Dad stood at the edge of the pool, arms crossed, sunglasses pushed down to the end of his nose.
Holly’s eyes went wide. She put her feet back on the bottom of the pool and walked toward the steps. “I’m going to … uh … get a drink from the bar.”
“Would have been nice to hear about your little vacation,” Dad said.
“Sorry, forgot to call.” I climbed out and grabbed a towel from the chair, keeping my eyes on Holly. “What are you doing here?”
“I was worried about … What are you doing with this girl?” he asked.
“Her name is Holly.” I rubbed my hair with the towel.
“I know her name—”
“Then maybe you could try using it,” I suggested, trying to sound like an annoyed, spoiled teenager.
Another man wearing a suit slid into a chair next to where Holly stood at the bar. I couldn’t see his face, just his dark hair and his build. The bartender set two glasses of ice on the counter and then held up a pitcher of iced tea and filled them to the top.
Holly looked over her left shoulder at a noise in the distance. It was just long enough for the man to drop something into her glass. Before all the recent life-threatening events, I never would have noticed that, and the thought scared me to death.
I ran toward them, hearing Dad’s footsteps behind me. I came up behind Holly and covered her glass with one hand, then turned my head to whisper in her ear. “Let’s get out of here. We can get a drink somewhere else.”
“Um … okay.”
I forced down the fear that was building inside me. It was obvious that their intent was not good. I grabbed her by the hand and started walking away from Dad, fast.
“Jackson! Where are you going?” he shouted at me.
Holly glanced over her shoulder and started to slow up. “Maybe you should talk to him?”
I shook my head and pulled her along more quickly. We headed for the back of the building and away from hotel patrons.
I didn’t even see anyone when we ran past the Dumpsters, but suddenly an arm hooked around the front of my neck, and my brain just snapped into full defensive mode. No pounding heart. No shouting. No sign that I was even the least bit startled. Just perfect silent defense emerging from some locked-up part of my brain.
Holly leaped backward, and in just a few seconds I had the attacker flat on his back, staring down the barrel of his own weapon. It was the man from the bar. I finally got a look at his face. I had seen him before, for a split second while jumping, that time Courtney snuck out of school to meet me, in 2003.
Now I was breathing hard, shaking a little, trying to figure out what to do next. Dad ran up beside me and took in the situation. “Freeman, what the hell happened?”
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Holly stuttered out while staring down at my attacker, who was still lying on the ground. “Jackson … how did you … do that?”
I didn’t have time to answer anyone. The guy named Freeman hooked his foot around the back of my leg, attempti
ng to force me to fall forward. I stumbled a little intentionally to get him to stand, then forced him onto the ground face-first, arms pinned behind his back. I had performed this maneuver several times on Dad in 2007. I pressed my foot against his spine to make sure he couldn’t move, then dropped his gun into my swimsuit pocket. I didn’t know how to use it, but I didn’t want him to have it, either.
“Okay … how did you do that?” Holly asked.
Plan A was officially demolished. No hiding now. But who was the real enemy?
“Just basic self-defense,” I said to Holly before turning to Dad. “What the hell do you want?”
Dad managed to wipe the shock from his face and he kept his distance while Freeman squirmed under my foot. “We caught your friend … we know what he’s been doing.”
I glanced around the corner and saw a very pale Adam Silverman being escorted by Dr. Melvin.
Yep, cover blown, big-time.
“Adam?” Holly said. “What are you doing here?”
Adam didn’t answer. His eyes moved from Freeman to me to Holly.
“Mr. Silverman stole confidential CIA documents and Dr. Melvin believes you assisted him,” Dad said before lifting one eyebrow at me. “We know what you can do, where you’ve been, when you’ve been. All of it.”
I glanced at Adam and his weary expression silently answered my question. I hated to even think about what they’d done to him to get him to talk. I never should have dragged him to Dr. Melvin’s office yesterday. It was a good thing I hadn’t told him everything.
“Wait a minute … CIA?” Holly asked.
I finally looked at her face and knew we’d have to tell her something. I thought of Agent Stewart in 2007 being only nineteen. Holly might believe this lie. “I’m training … to be an agent. Like my dad … actually, me and Adam are both joining.”
“Is that what you guys are always doing together … when you’re off acting like idiots?”
“Adam and I like to do different research projects … we just started the training thing. He’s mostly hacking into computers.”
“Obviously,” she said.
“Is that true?” she asked Dad.
I couldn’t believe she’d trust his opinion over mine.
“Yes, it’s true,” he said, not missing a beat. Maybe he thought we’d get to the point faster if he went along with my lie. Obviously, we were going to have to make up a story for Holly anyway. It’s not like we could tell her about time travelers.
I stared at my dad’s face and put every ounce of intensity I could muster into my voice. “Since you stopped Adam from getting the information, you’re going to give it to me. I’m tired of lies and bullshit. Whatever it is, I just want to know.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Jackson,” Dad said slowly.
“Fine.” I released Freeman and reached for Holly’s hand again. She clutched it instantly, which surprised me a little, considering what she had just found out. I grabbed Adam’s arm and started to drag him along with us, too. After we got a few feet away, I yelled over my shoulder, “I guess I’ll do this my way. I hope you know what you’re getting into. There’s no way Adam told you everything … especially since even he doesn’t know everything.”
Dad was right in front of me in no time. “Hold up a second … all right … you win. Maybe we can tell you. I didn’t realize how much you already … guessed.”
“Great, just me and Dr. Melvin.” I turned to Adam. “How about you and Holly go back to the pool and you can brief her … on the rules?”
“The rules?” Adam asked, looking puzzled.
“Yeah, you know … having knowledge of an agent’s identity … remember?” I prompted.
“Oh … those rules.” He slung an arm around Holly and she glanced over her shoulder at me.
“I’ll be right back, I promise.” The four of us watched them retreat, then I turned back to Dad. “You better make sure nothing happens to them. And keep this jerk from dropping things in people’s drinks.”
“What the hell is going on?” Freeman asked Dad.
“I’ll explain later.”
“Let’s go, Dr. Melvin.” I pointed toward the far exit door of the hotel and then we walked in silence up to my room.
As I got into some clothes, Dr. Melvin sat on the couch in the front room and waited for me to talk first.
“Is Jenni Stewart still alive?” I asked. “She’s still an agent and everything?”
Melvin balked a little but then answered, “Yes, she’s in New York.”
I pulled the chair over from the desk and sat right in front of Dr. Melvin, then I removed Freeman’s gun and held it in my hands. “Now tell me about Axelle.”
“Why don’t you tell me how much you know first and maybe I can fill in the blanks?” he said, talking to me like I was five.
I had to laugh and then raise the gun a little, even though I’d never used one. But Dr. Melvin didn’t know that. “Nice try. I visited a really interesting place once. This underground wing of the hospital, and I’m curious what exactly goes on down there.”
His eyes were the size of golf balls and then he nodded and sank farther into the couch. “Okay, I’ll explain … Axelle is a project designed to use a combination of my research on the Tempus gene and future technological developments we’ve obtained from various sources. The actual application of Axelle began in 1989, when we successfully implanted a fertilized egg into a surrogate mother. My team used the eggs of one of the female EOTs.”
“Wait, so, you stole some EOT woman’s eggs?” I asked. “Is that why they’re so mad?”
“They aren’t happy about the experiment, if that’s what you mean. And yes, we took the woman’s eggs. But we used the sperm of a normal man. An anonymous donor.”
“Did you kill her?” I asked. “The EOT chick.”
Melvin shook his head. “No, she escaped.”
My heart pounded twice as fast. “Is her name Cassidy?”
“How do you know that?”
If I had been standing, I would have fallen over. The woman who tried to take me back to this timeline was biologically my mother. No wonder she looked just like Courtney. And what had she said to Dad? I believe I have a say in his well-being, given the circumstances. Much more than you ever will.
It was already too much and I almost told Melvin to stop, but hiding from the truth didn’t appeal to me nearly as much as it used to. “We may have run into each other … Go on with the story.”
“Axelle’s purpose was to mix the genetics of time travelers with that of normal humans to see if any abilities developed and, if so, how they differed from the others.”
It felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of me. Another missing piece of the puzzle snapped into place.
“Half-breed … Frankenstein,” I muttered under my breath. It made perfect sense now. “Why would you want to create more of them?”
“Honestly, Jackson, I had no idea you would even be able to time-travel. Of course, we hoped for it. But we at least wanted to bring someone into the world with similar brain activity. The capacity they have to hold information is fascinating. I’ve been far more interested in that than I was in their ability to travel through time.”
Yeah, like that made me feel better. “Why the half-mutant experiment? Why not go for the full deal?”
He nodded slowly. “This part is the hardest to understand. It’s the main reason Tempest has to fight this constant and sometimes near-impossible battle. I can certainly try to explain, but you may lose trust in our organization.”
“Um … it’s a little too late for that,” I said. “You might as well use everything you’ve got. I doubt my impression of Tempest could get much worse.”
His face fell, but just for a second. “The EOTs lack normal emotions. The ability to grasp concepts like fear, love, or grief.”
I groaned and tried to refrain from rolling my eyes. “You’re right, that’s a lame explanation. So, basically, the Enemies of Tim
e are evil sociopaths, and Tempest agents are the equivalent of Mother Teresa. Not very original.”
He sighed and attempted to flatten his wild gray hair. “I never said evil. This is completely different. Perhaps they lack emotions because they don’t see any permanence in time. For me and most people, losing someone you love is devastating because that person is gone and you can’t go back to a time when they were still around. If I could, maybe death wouldn’t weigh so heavily on my life. The fact that they can jump around and potentially re-create history is dangerous. It’s the same for you fooling around with time-travel experiments. But the biggest threat isn’t what they can do, it’s the lack of humanity behind their decisions.”
Well … I could go back and see Courtney anytime I wanted and her death still had the same impact on me. Maybe even more. I was so absorbed in Dr. Melvin’s explanation, I forgot about the gun and the fact that I was practically holding him hostage. “None of them seemed evil. They even apologized for … well, for something that hasn’t happened yet … something that won’t happen anymore,” I said firmly.
Even Dr. Melvin’s composure had changed. I was the student and he was the teacher. “This is why it’s hard to explain. We live in a world with people like them. Not actual EOTs but those who make every decision through logical and calculated risk.”
“Again, that doesn’t seem so bad.”
Dr. Melvin lifted his eyebrows. “Really? Then think about war. Someone is in charge in every country. One man or woman has to make a decision to send soldiers off to fight. Young people who have loved ones that need them, men and woman with children waiting at home. Whoever gives the orders to risk those lives is making a calculated decision. Weighing the benefits of losing a few lives in the hopes of saving more. We need people like that in our world, yes, but imagine if everyone was like that.”
My shoulders slumped farther down as the weight of his words pressed on top of me. “Do you think I’ll be like them? I was normal until I was eighteen. What if I just keep changing and eventually I’m the same as them?”
Melvin smiled a little. “I’ve known you since before you were born, Jackson. You could never be the one sending people off to die, no matter how many lives it saved. Their methods are mathematical and yours are heartfelt, though impulsive at times. It’s a wonderful quality. But it’s also a weakness.”
