15 Minutes- The Complete Saga Boxset

by Jill Cooper

“You’re different than the others. Your ability. Your power. It’s growing and I don’t think even I can stop it.” Daniels licks his lips. “You can do things none of the others can. With you, my calculations are always off. You never do what I expect.”

  “Why?” I say softly, the first time I’m able to find my voice at all.

  “My belief, you are the first. The original Lara before the timelines split and fractured into a hundred different possibilities. You created the splits. The divisions. Almost the way a cell separates and multiples. You not only have your abilities, but you have theirs. You’re the secret. The code.”

  Daniels starts toward me, his hands grip the open air. “And I must have you.”

  I back up away from him and straight into a box. Glancing back at it, I see Lara’s serene old face, she should be a grandmother. Not a sick science experiment.

  “Ready the box,” Daniels calls to someone standing off to the side. The flunky nods and rushes off.

  Behind Daniels, I hear the telltale click of the safety release on a gun. His head jerks in that direction.

  “Move,” Cassidy snarls, “and I blow your head off.”

  It’s nice to have law enforcement in the family.

  17: Future Cassidy

  Jeff drives us through the garage and it’s nailed down tighter than a sardine can. He slows down at the gate and flashes his ID. “Have business with Daniels.”

  The security officer just waves him on after a quick glance at his lawyer ID. In the past, no one liked having to deal with lawyers, which I guess makes the future no different. Not special. No one likes lawyers.

  But this one I love. As he drives us past the security stop, I can only see the back of his head. Soon we’ll both be rushing into danger. There’s no time to tell him how I feel. I can’t risk the distraction. From my spot on the backseat’s floor, I shift. “Pick a spot in the back. Isolated as you can get.”

  Jeff doesn’t nod or say anything, but as he turns left, I know he’s heard me. He takes orders like a real soldier. I imagine he’s nervous, scared. Everything I am, but at least I can control it. He’s not as used to dealing with it as I am.

  Once the car is parked, he shuts the headlights off and takes out the key. He turns to the backseat and looks at me. “You really ready for this?”

  I nod. “I can’t imagine I’ll get any more ready later.”

  His eyes are withdrawn and serious. If I’m honest with myself, he looks a little green. When he exits the car, I wait for him to open my door. His hand reaches for mine.

  I grip it and step out of the car into the garage. It’s moist and the sound of the car door closing resounds behind me. We head toward the glass doors. The Rewind emblem is etched in the center.

  Jeff’s handshake as he fumbles with his ID and nearly drops it. He sighs and his cheeks redden. “Sorry. Just…sorry, Cass. I don’t think I can do this.”

  “You can.” I squeeze his hand to give him strength. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I thought you couldn’t handle it. You’re my only hope. If you can’t do this, it doesn’t get done. And Lara, just a teen, she’ll be hurt. Or worse.”

  I can’t say what I think will happen to her. Death? Destroyed? Tortured? I have no idea to what lengths Daniels will go to keep her and where she’s from under wraps.

  “You can handle this,” I whisper and kiss his cheek. “Now swipe your card and just walk in there like any other day. Just bringing me in to talk to Daniels.”

  Jeff nods and struggles for a breath. I can’t read his eyes and I’m terrified I’m wrong. I’m terrified he can’t do this. Maybe he’s not up for the challenge. If I put him in harm’s way and we fail, I’ll never forgive myself.

  He swipes the card and I hold my breath for a split second, but it seems like minutes tick by before the light glows green and we step inside.

  The elevator at the end of the hall will take us right up to security and straight to Daniels. Jeff takes me by the wrist and pulls me into the elevator. I stay a pace or two behind him, so it appears he’s in control.

  Inside he pushes the button to the second level. From my peripheral vision, I can see the camera is activated. I turn from Jeff’s eyes and look straight at the camera. “You’ll explain all of this to Daniels,” Jeff says with venom in his voice.

  It’s good. So good that it makes my heart skip a beat.

  Defiant, I just snarl at the camera. “I didn’t kill that woman. Daniels will know that. He can prove I didn’t.”

  Jeff tugs on my wrist so I stumble. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

  When the door dings open by the security checkpoint Jeff takes the lead and pulls me from the elevator. I go willingly, but reluctantly. Over by the security booth, Jeff flashes his ID and we get to bypass the usual metal detectors and scanners.

  The security officer glances at his comm, his eyes wide. “She’s wanted by Global. What the hell is she doing here?”

  “Daniels,” Jeff says with a shake of his head. “She’s his pet subject. She’s asked to plead her case to him. I figured he’d want to see her.”

  “I have something he wants.” I hold up the leather bound diaries If the security guard knows what they are, it doesn’t show in his stony expression.

  He puts his finger to his ear. “I’ll radio ahead. Let Daniels know you’re on your way.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Jeff says with an even tone and an even smoother stare. “I’ve taken the liberty of calling ahead.”

  “It’s my job, Sir.”

  “And it’s my job as lead counsel to get in there and get this done before anyone notices we’re here. The cameras have swept us once, it can’t happen again or Global will know I’m bypassing their authority. Let me in so Daniels can make the call.” Jeff pauses and we watch the guard struggle with his decision.

  “Have you ever crossed Daniels?” Jeff asks and lowers his head to meet the security guards eyes.

  From the fright in the security’s widening eyes, I’m sure Jeff has him where he wants him. Over the years, Daniels has been known for his temper. .

  He finally sighs and waves us on. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  Jeff shakes his hand. “You won’t regret this, I promise.” He gives the pearly white lawyer grin he does so well. He ushers me ahead and we slip past the crowd.

  “You did great,” I whisper.

  He turns about twenty shades of green. “I felt like I was going to throw up the entire time.”

  I chuckle and we turn the corner toward the elevator that will take us upstairs to Xavier’s office and walk straight into my captain.

  “Captain Davis!” My mouth falls open and I stare into his beady little eyes. If I was scared of him before, I’m now shaking. He’s staring at me with his soulless peepers and his arms cross.

  “The both of you better rethink exactly what you’re doing or you’ll find yourself on the wrong end of a lethal injection.” He glares at me and then Jeff. “The both of you.”

  I’m pretty sure a feather could knock Jeff over, but I remain strong on the outside. On the inside, I’m quaking like a little girl. “Five minutes, Sir, that’s all I need to explain myself. I didn’t kill that woman. I promise you that.”

  He glowers at me.

  “One minute. Thirty seconds. Just let me plead my case before you rain hell on my head, Sir. Please.”

  The captain sighs and throws his head toward a private office. “You have ninety seconds.” He says as we step inside. He closes the door swipes his ID across the handle to lock it, and then turns the cameras off inside, thanks to his Global executive status.

  Taking a deep shaking breath I look at Jeff and then back at Davis. “Jeff is innocent in all this. I forced him to come along. You can’t hold what I’ve done against him.”

  The captain isn’t buying any of what I say. He glowers. “Ninety seconds, Winters. I won’t reset the clock again.”

  I nod and close my eyes. “I didn’t kill Katie Jackson.
I was trying to help her. Daniels is setting me up.”

  “Hmmf.” Davis rubs his chin. “You’re practically his prodigal daughter. Why in God’s green earth would Daniels set you up, of all people?”

  “Because he knew I was closing in on him, Sir. I have proof that Daniels manipulated the video from the future of Reynold Jackson murdering his wife. It was false. I know that he got Judge Thompson to sign a quick execution order to keep Reynolds from talking to me.”

  “Why?” The captain barks.

  “Because Reynold was working with Rewind retractors. He was looking for these.” I hold the dairies up. “The dairies Daniels wrote seventy-five years ago, that were stolen by my family and were given to my great-aunt for safety. Daniels has used to the future and knows one of these days I’d come for him. Well, the day of reckoning is here.”

  The captain is unconvinced and I see the doubt on his face. “You don’t have a future that can be read.”

  “He wiped it, Sir.”

  “You have proof of that?”

  “Not yet.” I take a deep breath. “But let us go into Rewind and we can get that proof. Please, Captain. You know I would never murder anyone. I wouldn’t make this up.”

  He crosses his arms and his eyes are unforgiving. “You hurt some people at that hotel. You handcuffed that poor cleaning lady to a bathroom pipe.”

  Jeff shifts beside me and I can’t stop to wonder what he thinks about me. All I can do is puff up my chest. “I didn’t kill anyone. I did the best I could just to scare those in hotel security. I just needed to get here. Daniels has a girl up there against her will. We need to get in there and stop him from hurting her.”

  “Who?” The rise in Davis’s voice demands an answer.

  “Lara Montgomery.”

  His eyes flicker. “Impossible.”

  “She’s a time traveler, you know that. With her, nothing is impossible.”

  “That’s why he came to the precinct.” The captain talks to himself more than to me.

  But, I nod anyway. “Daniels doesn’t want anyone to know about her. I’m betting you can figure out why.”

  The captain sighs and mutters a swear word under his breath. “It was highly irregular. He’s never been to the precinct that I know of. Ever. And then to demand someone in my custody?” He shakes his head and points his finger. “So help you God if you’re wrong about this. Any of this. It will be your head on a pike, Cassidy.”

  There’s nothing I can do other than to say, “Yes, Sir. I won’t be wrong.” But inside, I cringe. Inside I’m scared that everything I’ve known, everything I’ve ever been, is just going to be wiped clean.

  “I’m going to need to call this in. Get a warrant before we stomp up there. If we can even secure a warrant. What you have barely warrants one, but I can call in a favor.” Davis flips his wrist over to activate his comm and I grab his wrist.

  His glower intensifies and I have no choice but to ignore it. “Sir, Daniels knows the judges and some of the offices. He’ll be warned I’m coming.”

  “I have to follow the law, Winters.”

  My eyes flash with defiance. “But I don’t. I’m a guilty suspect right now so if you let me go, I can get up there and make sure Lara’s okay and help her. Then you can call it in, do whatever you want, but she’s already been alone too long with him.” I swallow hard and let my words wash over him. “Sir, he doesn’t want her to ever leave this place. He wants her dead.”

  The captain nods. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Get up there and secure that girl, but you’ll be questioned when the police show. And if Daniels has video proof that you killed Jackson, no one will be able to save you.”

  I take a shaking breath and Jeff takes a step forward. “He could have manipulated the data. There’s no way you can hold her--.”

  “Enough!” The captain shouts. “I’ve listened to enough and bent as far as I can. I can’t question Rewind without proof. So go get the damn proof!”

  “Yes, Sir.” I spring into action and grab the door. “Jeff, stay here. It’s not safe up there.”

  “Don’t ask me to stay behind.” His jaw tenses.

  “I just did. You stay here. You plead my case and tell them everything I’ve told you.” I hand Jeff the diaries. “Go over all that. It proves that Daniels experimented and killed people in the name of science. This place is built on the dead, Jeff and it’ll go a long way to prove his character. Please.”

  Jeff gazes at the diaries and finally he nods. His eyes are moist as I lean in and kiss him. Hungrily, desperately, I cling to him for a moment. “Be careful, Cass.” He whispers into my hair, nuzzling me close. “I don’t want this to be good-bye.”

  “It won’t,” I whisper even though I know it’s a lie.

  The captain issues me a short warning. “Fifteen minutes.”

  I turn and sprint toward the elevator. I hit my comm and set a timer. If I’m going to get Lara and send her back into the past, I have to hurry.

  There’s no time for mistakes.

  ****

  I have fifteen minutes.

  Well, more like fourteen minutes, twenty-nine seconds as the elevator doors open. I step out and can picture time ticking down as I approach Daniels office. The door is closed and there are two guards outside, Chuck and Harris.

  Large and skilled, I’m not looking forward to going head to head with them. They shift when they see me; stance widens and they cross their arms in front of their bodies, looking official rather than relaxed.

  “Is he in there?” I ask and keep my arms relaxed, but my hands are ready if they decide to reach for their electrical weapon.

  “He’s busy.” Chuck doesn’t bother to look at me.

  Harris is more cordial. “He took a visitor into the restricted zone. He shouldn’t be too long. Just dropping off a package.” His lips twitch up in a greeting that unnerves me.

  The restricted zone.

  I’ve never been in there. I’ve never made it in, although I’ve always been curious about what goes on in there. . I’ll need to figure out a way to get in.

  “Great well, I guess I’ll just make my way to the little girl’s room.” I twist on my heel to scoot around to the side, but Chuck puts his hand on my shoulder. I freeze and inside I go numb.

  “You really think we’re going to let you just go, Winters?” His face is set in stone; his narrowed eyes say he’s ready for a fight.

  Harris just flashes his comm to me and there’s a slow, silent red light flashing.

  Silent alarm.

  “I was hoping to do it the easy way.” My hand twitches toward my electrical wand.

  We enter a shit storm. Chuck’s arm comes down to bash me. I swing my wand free and use the strength of my upper body to block him. Harris is on my right and he moves to grab my waist. My body twists and I deflect him away with a slash of my weapon. It jolts through his arm, a direct hit.

  I back away from them as Harris grabs his arm. He grimaces with pain as his wrist lights up with electricity. His comm is holding the charge. Chuck is speaking into his comm. Soon the place will be swarming with guards and officers, all loyal to Daniels. Breaking through Chuck and Harris is my only option to get to Lara. I twirl the baton in my hand as Chuck readies his.

  He cracks his neck side to side. “Ever since training, I’ve wanted to mop the floor with you.”

  “You never could.” My tongue licks the corner of my mouth as he comes at me. His wand zaps against mine as I meet each of his offensive maneuvers. When Harris gets close, I have no choice but to use roundhouse kick to hold him back.

  “Wasn’t allowed to,” Chuck argues. “Daniels wouldn’t have you hurt. I don’t know why, but you were always his favorite.”

  “Probably wanted to kill me himself.” I throw myself at Chuck and our wands clash against each other.

  He slams into the wall and his face is strained from pain as he tries to pull his wand away. The charge is heating up between us and it’s growing hot. It blazes aga
inst my skin and being that Chuck’s skin is practically against the wands, for him its worse.

  The further he pulls his wand away from me, the more the electrical bolt grow, almost an arch between us. I use both hands to steady my wand and just when I plan to send the electrical bursts through him; Harris grabs me by the waist and throws me off. Slamming me into the wall.

  Chuck screams as the electrical charge between both of our wands go wide. It zots through the walls, the floor, and jolts down toward the elevator. I duck as Harris throws a punch and he hits the wall with his fist.

  I bend down low and go under his arm. Behind him, I kick him in the back. Grabbing his hair, I send his face crashing into the drywall. I pull him back, to do it again, but he elbows me in the gut.

  Clenching my abs, I try not to feel the jolt, when behind me Chuck has found the will to move and sticks his rod against the bare skin of my back. . The electricity travels through me and I scream, falling to the ground. Crawling as if I’m a crab, I skitter away.

  Chuck is on me, although Harris isn’t moving, he’s still crumbled on the ground. There’s a maniacal sneer on Chuck’s face as he twirls his baton. Mentally unstable and laughing, he grabs the wand with both hands and plunges it straight down toward my heart.

  I grab his wrists with both hands and twist them up until they’re at an unnatural angle. My feet come up and meeting his stomach. He rears up under the power of my legs and slams into the wall behind me.

  Rolling away, I jump up to my feet as he crashes down to where I just was. Chuck moans, blood coming from his nose. The wind is knocked out of him and that’s all I need. I push my wand into the small of his back.

  Chuck groans. His body twitches and when he’s close enough to death’s door to see it swing open, I pull my wand away.

  “Sorry, old Chuck.” I whisper and take the wand from his limp hand. I holster both weapons and run down the corridor toward the restricted zone.

  It’s time to get her. Time to get Lara.

  I only have five minutes left.

  ****