Blood Trail

by David Rhodes

  “I would not risk changing the timeline for anyone or anything. I’m sure that was a big discussion with other people when you went public. It can’t be done. I never went back to save Pete, Marilyn, Mitch or Jimmy. I won’t go back now. Do I want to jump again? Yes, I do, and I will. But not to change the timeline.”

  Charles turned to Lisa and she started slowly, “I wish I could go back and save Ron. We were still friends, but we had recognized that he was a field person. He always wanted to work, and I was…not a party person, I don’t like parties that much, but more of a ‘let’s go do something fun’ person. I wish I could save Lauren and maybe save everyone else too. But I was around Lauren and Ron enough to know not to disturb the timeline. No matter what you do, you affect things. And this was the second time something has happened. Personally, I’m never jumping again.”

  As Lisa dropped her head and wiped her eyes, Barman said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up now. Perhaps we should meet again in a few days, after you are released by Doctor Blacke and things start to settle down.”

  “Dr. Blacke has told us we are free to leave tomorrow,” Charles told him. “So, we can meet whenever you like. I do have one question for you and then maybe I can address something you said earlier.”

  “Go on.”

  “Every time we have gotten involved with someone, two things have caused problems; money and safety. It doesn’t appear that money is an issue with you so tell me about your safety record.”

  “We had our share of accidents when we first started. We learned, and it slowly has gotten better. I can’t think of any recent accidents, but I can get you all of the records if that will help.”

  “What happened with the Stegosaurus and the Rex? Was that an accident?”

  “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

  “There was a Stegosaurus skeleton in the Rex area. I wouldn’t think you would feed the Stegosaurus to the Rex, too much of a possibility the Rex would get injured, so I just wondered if it accidentally got in there and was killed.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Barman said. “Ray, didn’t the Rex area used to be a Stegosaurus pen?”

  “Yes, yes, yes it did,” Budgem agreed. “There could be a Stegosaurus skeleton still out there. Thanks for letting us know, I’ll look into it first thing.”

  Charles started nodding his head and then said, “Okay, that’s all I needed to hear. Mr. Barman, I mean Jack and Rachel, I’m on board. I’m not sure what I can do for you as a spokesman, but I am interested in publishing several scientific articles now that time travel is known.”

  As Barman stood up, so did everyone else. He quickly walked to Charles and Lisa and shook their hands and said, “This is a great day for RABAR, a monumental day. We’ll get all the details ironed out in a few days.” He turned to Dr. Blacke and asked, “They will be released tomorrow?”

  “They will be.”

  “Then we’ll fly both of you to corporate headquarters tomorrow afternoon for a huge press conference. Will you be up for it?”

  “I think so,” Charles said. “We are still getting over our injuries though.”

  “A short press conference then. We’ll see you both tomorrow.”

  As everyone walked from the room, Dr. Blacke called out, “I want to see you both in the Medical Building in a couple of hours, okay? I’m going to try and detail what you can do and how much rest you should get over the next few days. And medicine,” she laughed, “lots of medicine.”

  When they got back to their rooms they found they had been moved. “Sorry for the bother,” an orderly said. “If we had known you were a couple we would have put you in the same room when you came in.” They took an elevator up to the top floor and it opened into a spacious living room that was filled with flowers. “This is our VIP quarters,” he told them. “After I leave, visitors must contact you on the intercom to be let up. Then just press this button. If you don’t have any questions I’ll let you get acquainted with your new rooms.”

  “How do we get back up?”

  “The elevator will recognize you both.”

  As soon as he left, Lisa hugged Charles close and whispered, “I need to rest. We’ll talk later.”

  “I’m tired too,” Charles said aloud. “Let’s find the bed and take a nap.”

  They quickly found the king-size bed and fell asleep.

  “That went well I thought,” Barman said.

  “It did,” Rachel agreed. “And you only touched on the ‘O’ word.”

  “If they aren’t thinking about it then neither are we,” Barman laughed.

  “I was surprised we didn’t have information that they were a couple.”

  Barman picked up a report and said, “It says here they’ve been holding hands and he visited her last night and she went in to see him first thing this morning. I get it. What did you think of them?”

  “What I expected. He’s the science guy, all business, and she’s a bit of fluff. I don’t see this romance working out for very long either.”

  Barman laughed, “You’re always so cynical.”

  Rachel laughed too and replied, “It’s why we have so much money. What’s next?”

  “I’m going to make some calls and get the press conference set up. This will be huge. Oh, and I’m going to make sure Budgem keeps a lid on outside communication a while longer.”

  “That won’t make the workers happy.”

  “Triple time will.”

  “You’re getting generous in your old age.”

  “Tomorrow, with all of the publicity, our stock will quadruple.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.”

  “And I need to think about a new head of Security. Richards almost dropped the ball.”

  “He came through,” Rachel pointed out, “and he does do what you tell him. He keeps us up to date on what really happens around here.”

  “Maybe, but the cleaning crew could probably do that,” Barman snorted. “Anyway, one more night here in the slums and tomorrow morning we’ll be making news all over the world.”

  “We’ve fooled presidents and generals for years. It will be just one more time,” Rachel said confidently.

  Chief Richards called Officer Jenson into his office and said, “I know the brass thinks that Dawson is being level with them, but I don’t. I didn’t buy anything he was saying.”

  “Why not? I thought he sounded sincere.”

  “He sounded sincere, but he wasn’t. Something is wrong with all of this.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t put my finger on it yet but for one thing, how did they get into the Rex pen without setting off an alarm? They only set off the alarm when they came out of it.”

  “Some type of dampening device?”

  “No, at least not on them when we stopped them. And why were they there? Where were they walking to? Why would they have had a dampening device? I’ve been asking for cameras all the way around that pen for years, but I’ve had to put up drones and alarms instead. We don’t even know where they got in at. We might have a breach in the fence and not even know it.”

  “Do you want me to go look?”

  “No, and something else. I think you connected with them a little yesterday, maybe enough to just drop by and talk to them. And to fix the bug you put in Dawson’s clothes.”

  “Do we have any bugs that actually work?” she asked. “This is frustrating.”

  “Listen, if I can pop Dawson trying to go back and save his wife, I’ll save RABAR a lot of money. A lot. Mr. Rex can eat the mistake if you get what I mean, and I’ll get a promotion out of it for sure. And a raise. And more money for the Security Department.”

  “And a raise for me?”

  “I’ll need a new Chief won’t I?”

  Jenson smiled as she said, “I’m on it, Chief.”

  “Good. I’m putting Security on alert until they are gone. I expect something from those two.”

  “Well, they’ve been in the Ty
rannosaurus pen, so something else? Are they going to steal a machine?”

  “That’s not a bad idea, Jenson, not bad at all. To go back in time and save their group they will need one. I’ll triple the guards on the machines.”

  “I’m off to be engaging,” Jenson said as she left.

  Lisa woke up and found that Charles was already up. “Did you actually sleep any?” she asked when she found him sitting in the kitchen.

  “Yes, a little, but my mind is racing. First all the bad luck of the jumps and then the good luck provided by RABAR. Couldn’t sleep after that.”

  “Sounds like you need to take a walk,” Lisa suggested.

  “Sounds great,” Charles replied. They took the elevator and were quickly outside. As soon as they were far enough away from the building, and Lisa had yawned again, Charles asked, “What did you see?”

  “At first there was nothing, and I mean nothing. I thought they were either telling the truth or they were the best liars ever because I couldn’t read anything. Then you brought up the Stegosaurus. I wondered why you asked me about it, but it really worked. Jack changed completely for a few seconds, could have just been he just didn’t really think you would ask a question and he was caught off guard.”

  “But?” Charles asked.

  “But Security Chief Richards just about fell out of his chair when Jack asked him about it. But you know, it could have been he just didn’t think he was going to be asked to say anything in such an important meeting.”

  “But?”

  “But Jenson sealed the deal. As soon as you brought it up she took a deep breath in and just stared straight ahead. She didn’t blink, she didn’t move. Then she slowly sat back in her chair like she was trying to distance herself from everything. She stayed that way for several minutes before she began trying to act normal again.”

  “What do you think?”

  Lisa told him, “I think the Stegosaurus got in the pen by accident and that people were probably hurt or killed. So, if they are hiding safety facts I think they are hiding the one thing that barley got a mention.”

  “The oil.”

  “They want us to think that part went away but it didn’t. They offered you a billion dollars. I just can’t imagine they have that kind of money from selling dinosaurs to zoos and running dinosaur camps. They want you to work for them where they can watch you and control you. Although you are just a scientist and you just want to make jumps and write papers.”

  “Liked that part did you?”

  “You sounded the part. I think you sold it,” Lisa said.

  “Hope I didn’t surprise you too much about Lauren and Ron. I guess I made it sound like we didn’t care for them that much.”

  “I had decided you might go that way but still, I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. But then I reminded myself that you’re going to make things right. You are going to change things.”

  “I am,” Charles agreed. “I am.”

  “Because you didn’t bring up one thing either,” Lisa pointed out.

  “You mean my time machine that will be waiting for us in the Rex pen?”

  “You got it. So, what’s next?”

  “Well, we can’t leave with them tomorrow. Who knows where the time machine would be trying to appear in the twenty years in the future time period?”

  “So, it has to be tonight.”

  “Yes. I’m unsure what to do though. We have to get into the Rex pen and then stay alive long enough to get to the time machine.”

  “No,” Lisa said as she shook her head. “You have to stay alive long enough to do all of that. I can be part of whatever diversion we can think of.”

  “We’ll see,” Charles replied.

  “Let’s change the subject, there’s Officer Jenson coming our way.”

  “Officer Jenson, how are you?” Lisa asked.

  “Now by the time I got you out of Med yesterday you were both calling me Sharon, remember? Maybe not.”

  Lisa replied, “I know I don’t remember.”

  Charles shrugged his shoulders and added, “Sorry, I don’t either.”

  “Well you do remember the fifty dollars I loaned you, right?”

  Lisa and Charles looked at each other and smiled as Lisa said, “Sorry Sharon, we’ll remember you from now on though.”

  Sharon laughed and told Lisa, “Hold still for just a second, you have something on your collar.” She pulled on something and then brushed Lisa’s shirt and told her, “Something was stuck to your shirt, I think I got all of it off.”

  “Thanks. We were just getting ready to eat; would you like to join us?”

  “Actually, Doc asked me to point you in her direction for one last inspection and to give you the meds she promised. I’ll walk that way with you though.”

  “Thanks,” Charles said. “Because I doubt if we remember where the Med Unit is.” They continued making small talk until they arrived at a building marked Medical Center. “It’s nice and cool in here,” Charles noted as they walked in.

  “Too cool for me,” Sharon said. “But I don’t spend a lot of time in here. This way to the Doc’s office.”

  They walked down a hall and then through an unmarked door. Doctor Blacke looked up from her desk and said, “Sharon, I see you found them.”

  “I took care of everything,” she replied.

  “Great. Charles, Lisa, pull up a couple of chairs and I don’t think this will take very long.” As she examined them she asked, “Well, did you find the meeting exciting? I mean, a billion dollars. Wow.”

  “It is overwhelming,” Charles replied. “I mean, it’s unreal. I can’t comprehend having a billion dollars. I might actually settle for less.”

  “Don’t do that,” Sharon said. “The Doc and I would be happy to help you spend it. Right Doc?”

  Doctor Blacke smiled and said, “You need to take the money Charles. You lost everything, and they took everything you would have had. They owe it to you. Plus, I doubt if Sharon will be the last one to try and weasel money away from you.”

  “Weasel?” Sharon laughed. “They already owe me fifty dollars.”

  Doctor Blacke shook her head and told them, “You have to look out for Sharon.” Then she asked them both, “How do you feel?”

  “I feel fine,” Charles replied.

  “I do too,” Lisa agreed.

  “Great,” Dr. Blacke said. “There are no problems with you. Well, other than you lied during the meeting today. And I guess since Charles did most of the talking he was the one that was lying, and you were just backing him up.”

  Lisa looked at Charles then asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever been told you talk in your sleep?”

  “Uh, yes.”

  “When you were under the anesthetic you talked. And you never mention Charles. It was always Ron or Ronnie. Never Charles.”

  “I’m sure she just - ” Charles started.

  Doctor Blacke held up her hand and said, “You don’t have to explain. We just need to know what it is you are going to try to do.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Charles told her.

  “Are you going back to rescue them?”

  Charles shook his head and emphatically said, “No.”

  Sharon sat down and said quietly, “We thought you were.”

  Lisa looked at Charles for several seconds until he slowly nodded his head. Then she said, “We’re going back to stop all time travel.”

  “How?” Doctor Blacke asked.

  Charles paused then said, “I’m going to have a conversation with myself.”

  “We didn’t see that coming,” Sharon said.

  Doctor Blacke smiled and told them, “Even better. Then you’re going to need our help. Chief Richards didn’t believe you today. He is making plans right now to stop your attempt.”

  “And I thought I did such a good job,” Charles said.

  “I did too,” Sharon said. “But the Chief, well he is good at what he does. He’s
adamant that you’re going to steal a time machine and go back.”

  “You’ll need a diversion and help getting into buildings without setting off alarms,” Dr. Blacke told them. “And as soon as you steal a time machine they’ll know it and track you.”

  “We’re not stealing a time machine,” Charles said. “We have one waiting for us already.”

  Sharon smiled and said, “In the Rex pen. Of course, that’s why you weren’t detected getting into the pen. You were already inside of it.”

  ‘Okay,” Doctor Blacke said. “That does change things but once they know you have traveled they will just wait for you somewhere. They’ll know to watch the EXENCO site or…or your house. As soon as you are within scanner range they’ll get you.”

  “Scanner range?”

  Sharon walked over to Lisa and took some of her shirt material between her thumb and finger and said, “This is special. It’s like time DNA fabric. When it goes to a different time period it can be tracked. It’s just one of the ways that people are watched when they travel. There are a lot of others, too many to go over, but you’ll need to change your clothes before you go.”

  “At the very least she’ll need to leave the bug behind,” Doctor Blacke said.

  “Bug?” Lisa asked.

  Sharon tapped Lisa’s shirt collar and said, “I turned it off when we met. Remember?”

  Charles shook his head and said, “We’ve been talking about things. If we’ve been listened to then there’s already no way this will work.”

  “Don’t worry,” Sharon smiled. “I used a bug that speaks static and likes to shut off. Now when I turn it back on it will work fine for fifteen minutes and then it will malfunction again. Drives the Chief crazy.”

  Doctor Blacke looked at her watch and advised, “We can’t be in here much longer. Tell us your basic plan and then we’ll meet you for dinner in the main dining room. Sharon, keep the bug working until we meet in a few hours so there is nothing to bother the Chief and make him want to replace it.”

  “Got it.”

  “Well now that we have help, I do have a plan,” Charles said. “Simply, it is this. Tonight, we need to go into the Rex pen. If the Rex is not there that would help the plan a lot. If there is something happening on the other side of this complex, say a fire or something like that, that would help too. Before we crawl under the fence the alarms need to be shut off. That’s it. Sound simple?”