Jack left the alley and entered the main street. He headed for the car that Ted had driven to the restaurant. Quickly he realized that there were several uniformed officers that were near the car. They paid it too much attention to make Jack comfortable. He turned and began to walk up the street in the opposite direction. As he reached the next intersection, he turned around the corner and began to run. After a couple of blocks he came to a parking garage. Jack slowed down and walked in the side door, glad he was able to bypass the guard at the exit gate. Jack walked into the garage, and began to pass car after car. He looked into the driver’s window of each. Finally he saw what he wanted. A careless driver had locked their keys in the ignition. He drew his gun from its holster, grabbed it by the barrel, and used it to smash the driver’s side window. As he opened the door, he used his foot to rake the shattered glass out of the seat, and then sat down in the car. He glanced at his watch, and was briefly puzzled by the early hour. Though it was dark outside, he realized that his watch was still set to his time. His real time. Not the time line that he was in. He started the car, and backed out of the parking space. As he came to a stop, he didn’t realize that his back tire ran over a blackened melted square of plastic that lay on the ground. He shifted gears and drove towards the exit, and crumbled the blackened mess behind him.
As Jack pulled up to the exit gate, he glanced on the dashboard in front of him and saw the parking stub. He grabbed it as he pulled even with the guard booth. As nonchalantly as he could, he offered the stub out of the window. The guard slid open the window of his small air conditioned booth, took the ticket, and inserted it into a small electronic reader on the counter in front of him. He hesitated a moment and then turned back to Jack.
“Two dollars.” The guard said. Jack pulled his wallet from his back pocket awkwardly, as he was firmly belted into the seat. He opened it, and thankfully saw two one dollar bills. He pulled them out, and offered them to the guard. He took them, and shoved them into his drawer. The guard nodded at him and activated the barricade. It swung up. Jack eased out onto the main street, as he let out his breath. He headed for Tracey’s house. He had to warn them.
As much as he could, he kept his mind focused on his mission as he drove to the home that he had lived in for so long. He knew that his actions in the next few hours would mean life or death for his family. His whole family. He was careful not to think too hard on this aspect, because he knew he would become too emotional. It would overwhelm his ability to do what he needed to do. He was still upset at the death of Ted, but regardless of that, this was his chance. His only chance, to save his family. He drove cautiously as he ticked off the miles. The last thing he wanted, was to be detained by a fellow member of the police force. That would put him in the worst situation possible. If they wished to detain him, he could not harm them. But he also could not let his family die. Not again. He entered his neighborhood, and came to a full stop at the stop sign. He carefully counted to three, turned, and slowly accelerated.
A few more turns, and Jack drove up into the driveway at the house that he had lived in for the last ten years. All except for the last few days, he thought. He came to a stop behind Tracey’s car, and tried to formulate what he would say to her. He had to fight the urge to grab her and hold her. Just the chance that he might see her alive was going to be a hard emotion to control. How many times had he thought that he had to see her one last time, and now here was the opportunity, but she probably wouldn’t even speak to him. In her time line, he knew that she was mad at him, and the last thing that she probably wanted from him was to be bothered by him. How he wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her how sorry he was for all that had happened and all that he had done. That he loved her more than life itself, and would do anything to make her happy. But in her current frame of mind, he knew that she would not listen. It was his fault, and he knew it, but it didn’t change the way that he felt, or what he longed for. He got out of the stolen car, and walked slowly to the door, apprehensive yet determined to get her to listen and understand how serious this was. He knew that if he mentioned the time travel concept at all, that she would shut him out as a lunatic.
He instinctively reached for the door knob, but hesitated and thought better of it. He chose to ring the doorbell instead. Seconds passed with no sounds from within, and subconsciously he began to become nervous, as he wondered if he was already too late. He reached to ring the bell again, and heard the dead-bolt as it turned from inside. The door opened slightly, and Tracey peered through the crack. He watched in amazement as her expression changed from simple aggravation to anger.
“What do you want, Jack? To ruin the rest of our evening?” She asked sarcastically.
“Trace, I’m sorry about what happened. Something came up-”
“I don’t care, Jack. I’ve had it. That’s why you’re outside, and I’m inside. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Who is it mommy?” Bella called from inside the house.
“Trace, it doesn’t matter how much you hate me right now. I’m here for a different reason. You’re in danger, you’re all in danger. You’ve got to leave, and you’ve got to do it now.”
“Leave? Why? And go where? Your place, I presume.”
“Trace, you can go wherever you want, but you’ve got to leave.”
“Mommy! Who is it?” Bella called again. Trace looked back inside the house, but was reluctant to tell her daughter that her father was at the door. She was too angry at Jack to let the emotions of their children drown it out. Not yet anyway.
“We’re not going anywhere, Jack. Not today, not tomorrow, never. And, especially not with you. Someday, hopefully, you’ll get it. Until then, I would appreciate it if you just left us alone.” Tracey began to close the door, and quickly Jack shot out his hand to stop her.
“Trace, this isn’t about me. You’ve got to listen to me. You have to leave. Pack the kids and get out. And you’ve got to do it now!” He said, as he raised his voice with her for the first time that he could ever remember. He realized that it was a mistake as he saw the reaction on her face.
“If you step foot on this property again, Jack King, I’ll have your ass incarcerated so fast that your own boss won’t even be able to stop it. Now get your damn hand off of my door and get the hell out of here!”
“Daddy? Is it Daddy?” Bella said as she approached her mother’s side.
“Go back in the living room, Bella. It’s nobody.” Tracey said, as she tried to calm her daughter.
"Bella! It’s Daddy! You’re in danger, sweety! You’ve got to talk Mommy into all of you leaving the house tonight!”
“Damn you, Jack!” Tracey blurted out.
“What’s he saying, mommy?” Bella asked timidly, as the fear suddenly bubbled to the surface of her voice.
“There’s a bad man coming, honey! And he’s coming tonight! Mommy needs to get you all out of the house!” Jack said. His hand now grasped the edge of the door and held it open even as Tracey tried to close it.
“You bastard!” She said as she kicked the door. The door slammed his hand against the door jamb, and sent sharp stabs of pain up his arm. He fought the agony for a few seconds and tried not to yell. He finally managed to get his hand out of the door. The door closed completely. He heard the dead-bolt turn. The door was locked tightly. He had failed. She didn’t believe him, and was angrier than ever. He stood there in shock, as his mind raced to his next course of action. Smith had gotten away, so that meant that he would show up there. Here. At the house. Tracey would not leave, which meant that they would still die. She wouldn’t listen to him, so there was no way to persuade her to leave. His only option was to stake out the house, and be there when Smith showed up. And this time, he thought, the option to take him into custody was not even an option. Jack would shoot on sight, regardless of the consequences.
Jack climbed back into his stolen car, and headed for the apartment.
He planned to make a few calls, and call in some old favors to get the equipment that he would need tonight. That and maybe grab a quick bite to eat. In his excitement earlier in the day, he had failed to eat anything at all, and now, though everything was on the line, he was famished. Traffic was light as he headed to his new home, but the few cars still slowed him slightly as he made his way there. Finally, he pulled into the parking area beneath the apartment complex, and parked the stolen car at the rear. As he walked to the elevator, his mind began to run through what he would need to stake out the house tonight, and how much time he had to get there.
When he reached his apartment door, he quickly found the right key and managed to open the lock and the door almost simultaneously. As he entered, he walked straight to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and began to rummage through it when he heard a faint noise. A slight hiss, almost like static. It was soothing, yet irritating at the same time. He thought that the TV must have been on and he had not noticed it, or maybe even his clock radio had gone off. He walked into the living room and listened for the sound and its source. As he rounded the table near his chair, he bumped it, and it crashed to the floor. Even as he bent down to pick it up, he realized where the sound came from. In shock he looked towards the bathroom. He now recognized the sound of the shower. Instinctively he reached for his weapon when suddenly he heard a voice.
“Hello?” He heard a muffled voice call from the bathroom. “I’m armed!” It said in response to his silence. Jack’s mind whirled as he realized that the voice was unmistakably his own. Then his mind began to remember this exact instance, only hours ago, when he had been in the shower and heard a noise. Jack knew that his other self was on the opposite side of the bathroom door, gun in hand and was ready to shoot. Jack ran to the front door, opened it and ran out. He heard the voice from the bathroom call out again. He didn’t bother to lock the door. He shut it quickly and ran down the hallway towards the elevator, and repeatedly punched the button until the door opened and he was safely inside. As he rode the elevator to the garage parking area, he couldn’t help but wonder what Ted would have thought about what had just happened. He had been concerned about what would happen if you ran into oneself while being time looped. What would happen if you were killed by one’s other self while in a time loop. What would Einstein have thought about that, he wondered.
Chapter 24
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