by Bob Blink
Jake considered the situation and concluded it could easily have worked that way.
"Jake, do you think it would be possible to Back-Track and meet with Anne before her accident? We could learn what she is concerned about, and prevent her death."
"We have time to do that if we choose, but I wouldn't do it now," Jake said. "For the first time we have some real leads. I assume you are of the same opinion as me, that the initial attacks against you were instigated by this sister of Jeff Rineri?"
"That now seems likely, although I have no reason why," Susan agreed.
"I think the CEO gave us a clue," Jim said. "Apparently Susan's friend questioned whether this Natalie was truly responsible for the discovery of the extremely valuable serum they are testing. I'll bet if we check back into her history, we might come up with something that supports that."
"I think we should pursue Jim's idea for now. Going back is something we have lots of margin to attempt," Jake said.
He didn't know exactly how to explain to Susan and the others the risks of looping back. He'd learned that great care was required to maintain a time flow that wasn't changed except in the small way one desired. He'd learned the hard way what carelessness could cause. Once he'd skipped a meal at a restaurant he'd eaten at and found horrid the first time around. The effects of that simple change had almost cost him the reason he'd looped back. Now it was clear that there was another person looping around in the period. Even if he could be diligent, was this other person aware of the importance of minimizing changes, not to mention what they might do once they realized their murder, assuming that's what it was, was undone. Their new actions might disturb the flow making Jake and Susan's efforts impossibly more difficult.
"What will you be doing?" Norm asked.
"If Susan is right, we might be seeing this woman, and maybe even the truant Paul before long. When did they disappear?"
"We don't really know, beyond the fact Natalie was in the facility Saturday. So the earliest was Saturday night, more likely the next day."
"That suggests they aren't coming here. We'll have to have a closer look at what Jeff is doing, and I guess Tony was correct we should plant some listening devices in Jeff's rooms. I think you should initiate the background checks of this woman, and we need to rethink what we've been seeing with Jeff's activity of late. Maybe it will tell us something."
"You don't think looping back to save Anne is wise just now?" Susan asked again.
"I don't think it would tell us anything we don't know or suspect at the moment, and it risks losing our path. It's taken us too long to get a break like this."
"Okay," she replied reluctantly.
Jake felt bad, but he really was concerned at the potential screw-ups that could result from modifying the timeline with an enemy Back-Tracker on the loose. Normally, it would have been automatic. He also suspected that whoever this Back-Tracker was, his or her talent was limited. The fact they didn't go back farther to block the actions that led Susan to them suggested as much. Either they couldn't, or didn't understand their ability sufficiently to realize what was possible.
"Call us if anything develops," Jake said. "We'll do the same."
Immediately upon hanging up, Jake said to Tony, "Let's go check on our friend Rineri. I would hate to discover he has suddenly disappeared also."
As they headed out to their vehicle, Jake considered what they had learned. He realized that Susan would have preferred to send Solly and Lester to New York to support them, but she realized having the two retired agents there would have prevented Jake from operating as he preferred. Besides, Susan had great faith in Tony, and had decided the two agents could be better used in Boston checking on Natalie Rineri's background.
Tony drove, knowing the city far better than Jake, but by now their route from the house near Columbia University, across the East River to Astoria where Jeff Rineri had his home was burned into both of their memories. Tony took Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard which led them to the Robert F. Kennedy Toll Bridge. On the far side of the river they turned onto the 278 freeway, and in a relatively short time were in Astoria, where the Rineri brother lived.
"Do you think he'll still be here?" Tony asked as they neared the house.
"We can't know how far back their Back-Tracker jumped after Susan and the others showed up at East Coast Pharmaceuticals," Jake explained. "Clearly enough that the sister didn't come to work that day or the day before. That means she was alerted before Monday morning, and possibly even earlier. There's no reason to believe they hadn't alerted Jeff at the same time."
"Maybe I'm confused, but if he had been alerted, and elected to run, would we have memories of trailing him the past couple of days?"
Jake grimaced.
"No, you have it right. Just like Susan found Natalie absent from her workplace, we wouldn't have spotted Jeff. That means they haven't warned him, which doesn't make much sense, or he was waiting to leave for some reason. I'm going to be curious whether he is still around. He could have decided that we couldn't learn of Natalie's disappearance and Anne's death until today, so he didn't need to hurry. He would have been told when Susan would show up at the firm."
"You don't believe he's the one who has your ability?" Tony asked.
"No, too much about the way he acts suggests otherwise," Jake said, thinking back on what they had observed the past couple of days.
Then Tony was pulling into a parking slot across the street and half a block down from where Jeff Rineri lived.
"His car is still here," Tony said, spotting the sporty Mustang in the front drive. "So is the car of the girl he picked up last night who followed him home."
That suggested, but didn't prove that he was still here. Until they had a visual on him, they couldn't be certain.
"I should have planted those video cameras in his place like I wanted," Tony said. "Then we'd be certain."
Jake admitted that Tony had been correct, but at the time he hadn't wanted to risk anything that might reveal their presence.
"The fact he is still where he can be easily found proves to me that he isn't their Back-Tracker," Jake said. "What I don't understand is why he hasn't disappeared. Do you think they are concerned he might lead us to them?"
"They could have warned him without revealing their location if that's their concern," Tony said. "I think they might be using him as bait."
"Bait?"" Jake asked. "To catch us you mean. That's pretty cold."
"Maybe not," Tony pointed out. "You've showed me how you do this Back-Tracking, and they would have to believe they could loop around and save him if anything bad happened to him. They have to have realized that it wasn't Anne who led us to where Natalie works, so it had to be a connection to her brother. That suggests someone would be watching him. Since they know where Susan, Jim and Norm are, they might be thinking, correctly as it turns out, that our Back-Tracker could be watching the brother."
Jake thought about what Tony was suggesting.
"Jeff could have known about the possibility we would be watching him for a couple of days," he said finally.
"Maybe from before we even arrived," Tony agreed.
"All the strange activity that we witnessed might have been to drag us around so we could be spotted, or to set up the watchers he would need to guard his back," Jake added. He tried to think back if what they had observed made more sense in this light.
"They would have to be pretty good," Tony said. "While I wasn't exactly thinking about someone watching for us, I kept my eyes open to the possibility. I haven't noticed anyone."
"Perhaps that's because they didn't need to follow us. Jeff could have had them set up in places they could safely watch without being detected, and then simply led us to those locations. They could have spotted us, and after we showed up in enough places where he went, they'd have a make on us."
"Shit!" Tony cursed. "You are probably right. That could be exactly how they worked it."
"Do you think they know where
we are living?" Jake asked.
"No one trailed us back to the rental," Tony said with assurance. "I watched for trails. That's automatic. I also scanned the car for any form of tracker. It is clean."
"Perhaps they are being very careful with that task also," Jake suggested. "If a couple of cars ran a multiple tailing effort, then dropped away, you'd probably discount them. Then, if they were already in position the next time, they could pick us up closer to the rental, and follow us a few more miles. Perhaps they haven't found us yet, but are getting close?"
"Why would they think they had to be so careful?"
"They don't know who you are, but they might believe one of us is the Back-Tracker. They are concerned if one of their vehicles is spotted, we'd Back-Track and they'd not be able to pick us up the next time through the time loop."
"Maybe," Tony agreed. "But if our guesses are true, then we were probably spotted and identified a couple of days ago. The only thing that makes sense is they hope to trap us somehow. Whether that means a simple execution, or an attempt to capture us for interrogation, we can't know. We also don't know how close they are to executing their plan."
Tony unconsciously reached under his windbreaker and checked the small Springfield in its holster.
"I'd guess they'd go for a quick elimination," Jake suggested. "If they have any thought one of us might be their enemy Back-Tracker, they wouldn't dare risk us realizing we'd been busted and escaping by looping back. They'd want to drop us before we realized we were vulnerable."
"You mean while we were sitting here confidently performing our stake-out of Jeff?" Tony asked. "Smug that we know he is inside with a young woman he picked up so openly the night before."
Tony started the SUV and smoothly pulled out and drove away.
"Of course, we could be wrong," Jake said. "He might not know about us at all."
"I'd bet against that," Tony said, as he drove away, watching for any sign of pursuit or tail.
"We go home a different way," Jake suggested.
"I think we don't go home at all just yet," Tony said. I want to go somewhere and think this out first."
Half an hour later found them crossing the Verrazon Narrows Bridge. Tony continued until he spotted a golf course off the road, and pulled into one of the large parking lots spottily occupied by the morning golfers.
"You know, this thing you can do is kind of fun when it is being used for our benefit. I can't say it makes me very comfortable when someone else is doing it. You don't think it's Jeff, so who do you believe they have with the ability?"
"There's no way to be positive based on what little we know. I'd guess either Paul or Natalie. They seem to be key to everything that is happening, and whoever has the ability has been keeping it relatively quiet. Based on the studies Susan had Shaun run, the Mob group Paul is involved with hasn't had an unusually small history of arrests which might hint at use of the ability. That makes me biased toward Natalie, but what little we know of her suggests she has relied on her superior knowledge to solidify her position. I can't help but wonder if whoever it is has little experience with the ability, or is a little afraid of it. Perhaps it is something they have discovered only recently."
"Until we figure out who it is and put them out of action, we are at considerable risk," Tony pointed out. "They can lead us into something, see what action we take, and then use the ability to go back with the perfect counter to what we are doing."
Jake nodded. He'd done the same himself many times.
"We need to make this situation work for us," Jake said after a moment's thought.
"How?" Tony asked.
"They are trying to use Jeff as bait to get us," Jake said. "We are pretty sure of that. So, we have to make them think we are falling for it, or at least one of us is. That might bring the others out of hiding as they attempt to close the trap. I think their Back-Tracker will want to be certain they have found the person the FBI has who mimics their ability. That suggests once they believe they have a shot at me let's say, they will appear. Maybe we can use that to close the trap on them instead."
"You sound like you have already decided you become our bait," Tony replied. "I don't think Susan would think much of that, nor is it strategically wise. You are the only one that can undo mistakes."
"They don't know you," Jake pointed out. "They might have a lead on me as Bob Trask who works with Susan. That means it makes more sense for me to be the one they spot."
"This is an interesting discussion, but it is all moot. There's a good chance they have already made the two of us, working together."
"That's now," Jake said. "But it wouldn't be that way if I Back-Track to the moment we just arrived in New York, and we run this entire operation differently. I'll remember everything we have learned, and can brief the earlier you. We'll plan an operation that looks like there is only one of us, who is watching Jeff unaware of the possible trap. Meanwhile, we are setting things up to catch them. Since we've already monitored Jeff through those days, I'll be immediately aware of any changes in his actions. That would alert me that they might have looped back and were planning on making some kind of a move. There were only a couple of places where he could have setup a trap before, and I'd avoid following him to those places just in case, so those locations wouldn't be available to them. We'll also limit the number of times I allow myself to be spotted, since we already know what he is up to. With the pre-knowledge of events, and you watching my back, the risks would be nonexistent."
"The risk is never nonexistent," Tony argued.
"Extremely small then," Jake corrected confidently. "From what I've seen, their Back-Tracker is somewhat inexperienced and makes mostly small jumps. We'll know if they are planning something."
"I thought you just told Susan that additional Back-Tracking could complicate or invalidate everything we are learning?" Tony asked.
"Perhaps," Jake replied. "There's a lot I don't know about the interaction of multiple Back-Trackers. But this situation is different than the one I was talking with Susan about. If I were to Back-Track to allow Susan to change how she approaches Anne, their Back-Tracker would certainly be aware of it. That could trigger the very concerns I was warning Susan about. However, our current situation is likely the result of the last Back-Track their person implemented. I can think of no reason they would have triggered a follow-up. If I Back-Track within the current framework, I'd be affecting something their Back-Tracker wouldn't be able to detect a change in, because he'd have no memories of the way the events have played out the last couple of days. We'd arrive in New York, and all they would know would be the new way things play out. The events here are enough removed from what is happening in Washington with Susan and Anne, that I think we can do it without triggering anything."
"You're absolutely sure about this?"
"Not a hundred percent," Jake admitted, "but it seems consistent with everything I've observed. Besides, if we are to do anything, we have to take some risks. As it now stands, we are limited and might have to run, assuming they know too much about us."
"I'm not certain Susan will approve of this," Tony warned.
"I don't plan on telling Susan," Jake revealed. "She needs to be focused on events as she has seen them. Knowing about us doing something tricky could be just the change that makes this all go bad. We'll tell her afterwards."
"So, you'll go back, tell me what happened this time around, and we'll move into the rental as before. Then we'll see if we can lure their people out by making them think they have tricked you?" Tony asked. "Just when do you do this?"
"No time like the present," Jake replied, and Back-Tracked.
Chapter 30
Saturday Afternoon, May 14
Jake frowned at the familiar sense that his mind was processing memories of days yet to come. The dull ache in the back of his head also alerted him to the fact his future self had just Back-Tracked. He and Tony were currently passing an extremely large railroad yard on their approach to New Yor
k City. It was Saturday afternoon, and they would soon be arriving at the rental house that Tony had arranged for them.
"Small change in plans," he warned Tony, who looked at him oddly.
"Did something just happen?" he asked. "I saw you grimace a moment ago."
"They are expecting us. We believe that Jeff is being used as bait."
Jake explained what normally would have taken place over the next couple of days, including what Susan would learn about her old friend on Tuesday morning.
"That's what we learned over the next couple of days and what Susan informed us on the Tuesday call?"
Jake nodded.
"Natalie is nowhere to be found, and Susan guesses she might be with this Paul Martin somewhere. You and I were concerned that Jeff Rineri might have fled as well, but he hadn't. The only logical reason we could come up with is they were using him for bait, to try to catch us."
"You came back so we can turn the tables on them somehow, didn't you?"
Jake nodded, and explained what they had discussed.
"Susan is going to be furious when she learns that you knew about Anne for a couple of days and didn't inform her," Tony pointed out.
"I'll have to explain how her knowing would put the primary loop in danger."
"You don't think she'll call bullshit on that?" Tony asked.
"Maybe, but we need to see how this works. Maybe developments will render the issue moot."
After they had made the necessary arrangements and obtained the keys to the rental house where they would be staying, they headed out again and obtained a nondescript car for Jake to drive. They had already agreed that they would travel independently and only one of them would perform the monitoring duties this time around. As far as Jeff Rineri and his supporters would see, only Jake would be trailing him. Jake had already summarized the kinds of things they had observed the brother doing when they had monitored him the next two days.
"I don't like that you are exposed," Tony said when they were discussing the plan as they ate their dinner of pizza and beer. "Susan would be livid. The whole reason you were moved out of Washington was to ensure you weren't spotted, and could be available to unravel any complications that developed. What if they simply decide to shoot you from ambush? There's nothing I can do for you if you are dead."
