A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2)

by Marc James

  “I can assure you it is not. You have been helping this psycho!”

  “I haven’t been helping I’ve been doing my job.” She said defensively, she was beginning to show signs of self doubt.

  “Call it whatever you want, but if you don’t tell me what you know then I can’t stop him.”

  “He doesn’t tell me what he is planning, he just tells me what he wants me to report.”

  “Hoover said that Jacob had told you about Cuba?”

  “He only mentioned that he would be going there.”

  “He didn’t say why?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know anything that could help us? You know we are trying to save lives!”

  Sarah was silent for a moment, Bobby seemed to be getting through to her. “I think Mengele lived in Cuba, he might know?”

  “Mengele was in Cuba?”

  “Yes I’m certain.”

  “Well that’s a start. When I spoke with Mengele previously he mentioned anti-Castro Cubans. Do you think Jacob would try to overthrow Castro himself?”

  “I don’t know, he’s not exactly predictable.”

  “How did you become involved with him?” Bobby asked, genuinely curious.

  “He approached me about Oswald, he said I would get an exclusive interview with the man.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I’m a journalist, I follow the story.”

  “You honestly have no way of contacting him?”

  “I swear I don’t!”

  Bobby considered the situation for a moment, it looked as though Mengele was his best lead. He glanced at his watch, it was 17:30.

  “Will you let me go?” Sarah pleaded, interrupting his train of thought.

  “I don’t think you would be safe Sarah.”

  “Why?”

  “He will find out that we have you in custody, his mole will tell him. When he finds out that we know he is in Cuba, he will know that you talked.”

  The remaining colour in Sarah’s face drained away. “You bastard! You have got me killed!”

  “You have done this yourself, I am trying to help you!” Bobby yelled back, he felt exhausted.

  Sarah looked to be on the verge of tears. “I was just doing my job.”

  “I know you think that, but you have listened blindly to the accusations made by a psychopath and you have destroyed the President’s reputation. If we do end up at war then you will be partially responsible.”

  Sarah could not hold back the tears any longer.

  As Bobby watched the woman cry he suddenly felt guilty for having caused it, even though he knew that she deserved it. “But you have done the right thing today and I appreciate that.”

  She smiled slightly.

  “Sarah, do you want to help your country?”

  “Of course I do.” She sobbed.

  “If I send agents to accompany you to the Washington Post, will you write an article telling the truth?”

  “What do you want me to say?” She asked through the tears.

  “I want you to say that there was no Soviet involvement in the ship sinking, I want you to say that the story was fabricated by Jacob Cohen, who is now the most dangerous man in the country. Tell the people that he coerced Oswald to come forward and that Oswald committed suicide because of the guilt he felt. We can give you a picture of Cohen so that the readers can get in touch with the FBI or the police if he is seen.”

  She looked sceptical. “You want me to retract my own story?”

  “As you yourself have said, it is your job Sarah.”

  “Will you let me go home?”

  “No. It is not safe, you will stay in our custody for the time being. But I assure you that your stay will be far more comfortable.”

  “Can I stay with you?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Can I stay in your home?”

  Bobby was shocked, he found himself wanting to say yes. If ever he had a chance with a woman like Sarah it would be under those circumstances. “No, I’m afraid not. It isn’t safe, you know what happened to my family.”

  “I’ll help you.” She finally agreed.

  “That is excellent, thank you Sarah. You are doing the right thing.”

  Bobby lifted the receiver and again dialled Clyde Tolson.

  “Clyde I need you to accompany Miss Salmond to the offices of the Washington Post. Take any agents that you want and give her a copy of a photograph of Jacob Cohen.”

  “No problem...sir.” Clyde still sounded vexed.

  “She is then to be returned to the offices here and kept in custody, but no handcuffs, and ensure that she receives clothing and whatever food or reading material that she desires. She is not our prisoner, she is being kept here for safekeeping.”

  “Is that a joke?”

  “No Clyde it is not a joke. Get in here!”

  Bobby slammed the phone down and smiled at Sarah.

  “You have very beautiful eyes Mr Stinson.”

  Bobby blushed like a teenager, the moment was interrupted by Clyde’s arrival.

  “Thank you again Sarah, I will speak to you very soon.”

  Clyde led Sarah out of the office and Bobby watched her go.

  Bobby lifted the receiver and this time phoned Washington County Jail.

  “Good evening it is Director Stinson from the FBI, I would like you to have Josef Mengele transferred to the FBI headquarters immediately.”

  “Good evening Director, he has already left and is on route to your offices.”

  “He has already left?”

  “Yes sir one of you agents came by to collect him almost an hour ago, I’m surprised he isn’t with you yet.”

  “Who collected him?” Bobby shouted.

  “Agent Carter.”

  “Will Carter?”

  “Yes sir.”

  Bobby slammed the receiver down ferociously and then picked it up instantaneously. He called the Attorney General.

  “Teddy, it’s Bobby Stinson.”

  “Bobby how are you?”

  “Not good Teddy, Will Carter has taken Josef Mengele from jail.”

  “So?” Teddy slurred.

  “He must have heard that he is being sacked. He has no reason to have taken him, he will kill him!”

  “Fucking hell!” Teddy slurred again.

  “Are you drunk Teddy?”

  “No of course I’m not. Where would he go?”

  “I have no idea!”

  Chapter 65

  It was early evening in the beautiful Plaza Vieja, the square had been a hub of activity all day. Groups of Cubans had been gathering, listening to preachers in the square warning of the return of Christ.

  Chase and Faraday watched on in silence as the people listening to this latest preacher seemed to be panicking.

  “He is furious with us all! We have abandoned Catholicism and God. We have followed blindly like sheep as we have been led by the anti-Christ, Fidel Castro. Sunday 2nd March is the day of His return, and He seeks vengeance!”

  “Shut up!” One of the crowd interrupted.

  “You will see my brothers and sisters He will return, Sunday 2nd March is judgement day for our people. If we rise up now, He may let us escape the fires of Hell, but if we stand by and do nothing, He will condemn us for eternity!”

  As Faraday watched on he could hardly believe the amount of people that seemed to believe this, of course there were some that thought the preachers were crazy, but a significant portion of the crowds were offering their support and of those that weren’t they certainly looked scared.

  “This must be what Jacob Cohen’s plan is.” Chase declared.

  “I think so.” Faraday agreed. “It’s insane, why do so many people believe this shit?”

  “So you’re not a religious man?” Chase asked.

  “No I most certainly am not, are you?”

  “I am.” Chase replied.

  “Really? I wouldn’t have thought you were the type?”

 
; Chase looked baffled by Faraday’s words. “Not the type? Do you just think everything is chance? That we just happened to be put on this planet?”

  “Big Bang and then Evolution for me.”

  “This is God’s plan Faraday. All of it, everything that has ever happened, is part of God’s plan.”

  Faraday didn’t reply, he had no desire to batter Chase’s beliefs. He knew that David believed in God, but he wasn’t what Faraday would describe as religious. Bobby seemed to think of himself as a God, there probably wasn’t room for another. As he looked across the square he noticed that there was a man staring straight at them. He wasn’t breaking eye contact even for a moment, his attention was fully on Faraday and Chase. He looked to be of Cuban descent and was dressed in casual clothing, he certainly didn’t look like a government man. He watched as the man spoke into a radio.

  Abaddon must have told Jacob they were coming, Faraday reasoned. They certainly stood out, Faraday wearing an eye patch and Chase having long blonde hair. He noticed the man looking to the right of where he and Chase were stood, as he glanced in that direction he saw there was another Cuban man staring in their direction.

  Faraday wanted to tell Chase, but he didn’t think he should given that he was essentially on the same side as Jacob Cohen now. Instead he continued watching the preacher. Some of the crowd had dispersed and were walking towards the first man Faraday had noticed.

  Both men stood silently until they felt the cold metal of the guns pressed hard against the bottom of their spines.

  The man who spoke had a Cuban accent. “Mr Cohen will see you now.”

  Chapter 66

  Will looked down at Mengele with nothing but hatred in his heart. This man was surely the most evil man that had ever lived. The millions of people that had passed through Auschwitz, on their way to death had all suffered unimaginable pain and suffering because of this man. Will aimed another punch at Mengele’s face, he was barely recognisable now.

  “Just....” Mengele spoke softly.

  “Just what, you Nazi fuck!” Will screamed, he himself was crying. He had enjoyed some success in bringing the war criminals to justice, but never had he caught a fish this big.

  “Kill me....” Mengele moaned.

  Will laughed at the pathetic animal in front of him. “You want me to show you mercy?”

  He kicked Mengele hard in the stomach, leading to more groans of pain. The night sky was dark and the two men were lit only by the Lincoln’s headlights.

  Will was standing on the grass, as Mengele lay on the ground naked and writhing in pain. The evil face looked more like the Devil’s now, the majority of it was covered in blood. Will’s hands were bleeding now too, he was unsure how many times he had punched Mengele.

  Hours had gone by, as Will enacted what little revenge he could on the man who had tortured and killed millions of children, women and men. He knew how he wanted to end Mengele’s life and the time for that would be soon. With the amount of blood that Mengele had lost he would be dead within the hour, Will didn’t want him to get away that easy.

  “Do you consider yourself to be human?” Will asked through his tears.

  Mengele replied with only a splutter of blood.

  “Answer my question!” Will screamed at the man who had ruined so many lives, entire families were killed by this beast.

  Mengele spluttered again. Will leaned in, so he could hear the response. “Do you?”

  “Yessss....” Mengele spat.

  Will rose to his feet and kicked Mengele in the ribs. “Well you’re not!”

  Mengele let out another groan, but it wasn’t loud, he seemed to have lost the ability to scream. Will walked to the open trunk of the Lincoln and removed the petrol canister. He walked slowly over to Mengele and heard the pathetic sobs. No one would miss this man.

  “You are the Devil!” Will yelled. He emptied the contents of the petrol canister over Mengele, who again let out groans as the petrol stung his cuts.

  Will removed the silver Zippo lighter from his pocket. He lit the lighter and almost laughed as he heard Mengele scream. He dropped the lighter onto Mengele and watched as the flames ensconced the beast. The screams were horrifying, Will was not affected, he had heard those screams in Auschwitz. On this occasion the man doing the screaming deserved it.

  Will watched and continued crying as the flames continued to rise, the screaming was getting louder. Will almost felt sick, but he knew he had done what was right. He continued to watch until the screaming stopped.

  Chapter 67

  They were led at gunpoint into the darkened room, Faraday was trying to reassure Chase that they would be alright, but it was difficult to convey that message with a look. They had been led past over fifty Cubans, there was no way out of the safe house.

  The darkened room was lit only by a small desk lamp, there was a man with his back to them sitting at the desk. The walls of the room were lined with cracks and seemed to be covered in damp, the floor was stone. Faraday knew he would not be killed but he was terrified for Chase, particularly after the disconcerting dream he had had on the flight to Cuba.

  The silence was broken by the Cuban with the gun to Faraday’s back. “Mr Cohen the American’s are here.”

  The laughter emanating from Jacob was terrifying, Faraday could feel Chase shaking by his side. Chase should never have been sent on this mission, he had next to no experience.

  Jacob rose from the seat and turned to face both men. His eyes were almost black like a sharks and his stubble seemed to be transforming into a beard of sorts. His hair was black and neatly combed back.

  Jacob walked towards Faraday and Chase, and stood staring at both men as he continued to laugh.

  “So you are the men that Kennedy has sent to stop me?” He continued to laugh. “Have you seen how many men I have here at my disposal?” His laughter echoed in the small damp room. He stared at Faraday for a moment with those evil eyes, he then broke the stare with a smile and turned his attention to Chase. “You boys not talking?”

  Chase stared at Faraday with the fear apparent in his eyes. “What do you want?” Faraday asked.

  Jacob smiled broadly again. “Well I think you may already know what I want Mr Faraday. I am here to overthrow this communist regime. Since you seem to be the leader of this pathetic little team, I don’t think we need blondie.”

  “Don’t touch him!” Faraday ordered.

  Jacob clearly found this hysterical. “Take him to the other room.” Jacob said to the Cuban behind Chase. Chase was led past Jacob and through a metal door. Once the door was closed, Jacob ordered the other Cuban to leave Faraday and Jacob in privacy. When he too had left the room Jacob began to talk.

  “So you’re the turncoat. How very noble.”

  Faraday could hardly believe the audacity of Jacob. “You’re saying I’m not noble, you have tried to lead you own country to annihilation.”

  “Quite the opposite Mr Faraday, I am trying to save my country from annihilation, you on the other hand are happy to sell out your friends for personal gain.”

  “Would you prefer I hadn’t joined you?”

  “I would actually yes, I was looking forward to dealing with the three of you myself, but now only Bobby Stinson is left. I almost feel sorry for the man.”

  Faraday was furious, he pulled the Smith & Wesson revolver from his holster and pointed it straight at Jacob. “I can switch sides again if you want.”

  Jacob laughed. “How would you propose to go about that? Shoot me, and then escape from over one hundred angry Cubans? What then, do you think Abaddon would keep quiet?”

  Faraday suddenly felt very idiotic.

  Jacob was in hysterics. “You fool. Put that away and let us talk.”

  Faraday did as he was asked, hoping that Jacob wasn’t too angry.

  “That’s better and just a word of warning, if you ever try to pull anything like that on me it will be the last thing you ever do.”

  Faraday nodded his under
standing, he didn’t feel quite so invincible now.

  “So what did our mighty leader tell you was happening here?”

  “Nothing.”

  “He told you nothing?” Jacob struggled to hide his surprise.

  “That’s right.”

  Jacob didn’t laugh this time, he looked incredibly irritated. “We are here staging a coup.”

  “I established that.”

  “How incredibly perceptive of you, what you may not have fathomed is that it is intended to fail.”

  “So what is the plan?”

  “Well these Cuban’s are trying to create panic amongst the population. They are spreading the word that the second coming of Christ in imminent. On Sunday 2nd March, Howard Hughes has arranged for a submarine to appear of the Cuban coast, it will fire rockets into the air that are designed to warn the Cuban population that Christ has indeed returned. The plan is that the Cubans will rise up and try to overthrow Castro.”

  “So where do you intend to fail?” Faraday asked, genuinely confused.

  Jacob couldn’t help but laugh. “There will never be enough Cuban’s that will actually rise up against Castro. The submarine will have a US insignia, which will undoubtedly be noticed by the Cubans and that will incite the Soviets to threaten a war with the US.”

  “Okay.” Faraday replied.

  “Kennedy will of course deny all knowledge of the events in Cuba, but when Castro shows the world the American soldier captured he will be forced to admit that he authorized the uprising. He will of course do whatever he can to avoid proceeding to a nuclear war, and will probably be forced to make some very public concessions to the Soviets.”

  “You are insane. Why risk so many lives?”

  “Because he does not deserve to be remembered fondly as his brother is, the people will know that he is a poor leader.”

  “Who is the American soldier?” Faraday asked, hoping he didn’t already know the answer.

  Jacob laughed again. “Your blonde friend.”

  “No! I won’t allow you to do that.”

  “You won’t allow me?”

  “I mean it Jacob, you will not turn him over to Castro!”

  “And how is it you intend to stop me?”

  Faraday went to grab is gun once again but Jacob grabbed his hand before he could and then elbowed him in the nose, successfully disarming him. “I warned you already not to do that.”