“Yes ma’am, better safe than sorry.”
Chapter 11
Maria’s pull back from active membership in the 7/17 club went largely unnoticed. She told her friend Caroline that she had met a man and was going to move in with him. That ended any speculation as to why she wasn’t attending club meetings with the same regularity. But, it did not stop Caroline from asking why she would make such a change after so many years.
“I just can’t understand why you want to get so involved with a mortal?” Maria was glad this conversation was happening over the phone. She hadn’t needed to suppress her smirk at the comment. Baker’s use of the monikers mortal and immortal seemed backwards now. It had turned out that the only ones susceptible to death right now were the Skippers.
Caroline had been on the verge of divorce when the first skip happened. Despite that, she had tried to recreate her first life for the sake of her two children. Lovelle had done the same thing for his son, although his marriage had been a very good one. And like Lovelle, Caroline had failed to get her lost children back, but, had brought another one into the world instead, only to lose that one in the second skip. Understandably, she was more than a bit leery of any emotional entanglements that could lead to another such loss. Maria and her husband had never conceived a child and she considered herself fortunate for having been spared that grief. Caroline had found someone new after the second skip and shared her third and fourth life with him. But, as time went on, she found it impossible to stay with someone who couldn’t share her secret, and couldn’t understand her adamant stance against having children when she so clearly adored her nieces and nephews. Since then, she had never allowed herself to become more than casually acquainted with a man.
“I was with my husband in Cuba for all those years before I escaped. I know how to handle the secrets, and I was lonely.” Maria answered.
***
Separating herself from the club may have been easy, and it may well have been safer for her, but, it did cause her to miss the arrival of Elton Hardy. Hardy was a British Skipper who claimed to be looking for a change of scenery. If she had continued associating with the club she would not only have seen the charming Brit at the monthly meetings, but would have seen how quickly he and Baker had become as thick as thieves. She might have had Lovelle check him out, and they might have learned what he was up to before it was too late to do anything about it.
Hardy had arrived at Bakers door unannounced one morning. He had known about the 7/17 club for quite a long time. But, he had chosen to leave it alone. He hadn’t needed to deal with it at the time. Now he did. He had been avoiding this part of the world entirely. But, he was sure that Baker would have information that was useful to him. So, although the club might be dangerous for him, he needed them. The very sort of coordination of efforts that made them a threat, also made them valuable.
Hardy had waited to come to America. By comparison, the rest of the world had been low hanging fruit. What little efforts have been made in other parts of the world for the time travelers to come together had only made them easier targets. But, he wasn’t so sure he could expect the same from the club. It had resources and a decisive leader. That would be all to Hardy’s benefit if he could utilize them, and much to his detriment if they turned on him.
A pert young woman greeted Hardy as he entered the offices of the club. Judging by her age, he knew her not to be one of the time travelers. He was a little surprised to see her working so closely to Baker. “Can I help you?” The cute little blonde asked him.
“I would like to see Mr Baker, if he is available.” Hardy asked. The woman’s smile broadened, apparently pleased with the sound of his proper British accent. He noticed he got that reaction quite a lot in America.
“Is he expecting you?”
“No, but, if you would tell him that a member in absentia is here I believe he will want to see me. The young lady happily trotted off to inform her boss, and a few minutes later Hardy was shown into Baker's office.
“Well how do you do?” Baker drawled in his disarming southern inflection, “I'm Cedric Baker. But I think you already knew that.”
Hardy extended his hand, “Elton Hardy” he introduced himself.
“Please.” Baker said and gestured toward a chair. Hardy sat and Baker continued. “Tell me what I can do for you.”
“Well, as I told the young lady at the reception desk, I am also a member of the 7/17 club. I am hoping to find the companionship that I have been missing for quite a long time. I am also hoping that I can help you.”
“How's that?” Baker seemed unsure.
“Well, if I'm not mistaken, you have a problem. A rogue agent as it were. Someone has been doing some gratuitous killing, and I don't believe they are affiliated with you.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“I have been watching your club for a little while now. I am a cautious man by nature. So I decided to see for myself if the vigilante was among you. I am quite certain that he or she is not.”
“Vigilante?” Baker feigned ignorance, albeit unconvincingly.
Hardy sighed slightly then cut himself off. He was irritated at having to prove who he was, but, didn’t want Baker to know it. He thought that his presence in the man’s office discussing these things was evidence enough. “Okay, I understand your reticence at discussing this matter with me. So let me just establish my credentials. I was born on July 17, 1969 at precisely 9 a.m. your Pacific time. I have been traveling through time, turning back the clock as it were, from 2003 to1985 repeatedly. I am a soldier by training, but, I grew tired of repeating that same existence, much as I love my comrades. I’ve done a few things in my years. Now I’ve come to the United States for a change. I discovered your club, and I am interested in your situation. Am I incorrect in assuming that you would like stop the vigilante?”
“No, no, you are quite correct.” Baker answered and seemed to relax.
“Well, I believe I can help you with that. You see, I am sort of a reformed interventionist myself. Oh, nothing outside the law. But, I did dabble with changing things. A few resets back I decided to try my hand at police work. I gave up soldiering for a time and went to work for Scotland Yard. I believe I became quite good at it during that first life, but the second, life, well, let's just say I cracked a few cases. But that is the past, and, unlike those we find ourselves living amongst, we cannot relive our past. Suffice it to say, I do not believe tinkering with events that have already occurred is a good idea, regardless of good intentions. Nevertheless, I do now have certain skills. And I believe I may be able to, with your help, find this vigilante.”
“And I believe I might take you up on that offer.” Baker smiled. “I’ve grown a little tired of chasing him or her. I don't much like having someone running around playing God. Killing people and changing the future. I don't think God needs any help. As a matter of fact, I believe that God is testing us. Giving us this power to see what we will do with it. And I believe that as long as this man or woman, this killer, continues to muck about the timeline, God will continue to turn back the clock.”
“I believe you may be right.” Hardy agreed. That was, however, far from his own convictions. But it would serve his agenda to have this man's trust.
Life 9
Chapter 12
Life nine started off with a surprise. Only a few days after the skip, Lovelle found himself being watched. Keenly aware of who should be around him in suburban Detroit, and trained as he was in surveillance, Lovelle spotted his tail right away. Having never been made aware of him, Lovelle did not know his observer was Hardy. He only hoped the kid/man would disappear before he had to leave for Florida. With any other mission Lovelle had a lot of flexibility in the timing. But, he had no way of coordinating a change of schedule with Maria. If Baker had decided to go back over his list of possible “Immortals” Lovelle didn’t want to be seen running off to Florida. Skipping out on a big chunk of your junior year then returning to c
omplete high school was not typical behavior. That might not be a smoking gun link to the vigilante, but, he knew it would get him a second look.
In the meantime Lovelle had to do his prep work without raising suspicion. It took time to secure a new identity, and winning the trifecta at the horse track also had to be done on a specific day, whether he had a tail or not. But, Lovelle was very experienced at surveillance, and although he wasn’t used to being the subject, he knew how to shake a tail. And, he knew how to do it without looking like he knew the tail was there in the first place. Over the years he had been shaken off purely by accident, and he knew what that looked like.
Hardy did not follow him every day, seeming to just pickup the trail randomly. Lovelle was able to use these off days to arrange for his alter ego. But, when it came time to head to the horse track with his newly minted ID, there was Hardy. Lovelle cursed under his breath, and then smiled to himself. It had really been too easy so far. He could have expected his luck to turn, and in fact he had. He’d already prepared for his escape and so set the plan in motion.
Lovelle had arranged with couple of buddies to help him get away for a little while. They believed that he was going to meet up with a girl his parents didn’t approve of. That seemed to explain his odd recent behavior, so they didn’t question it. He would buy their tickets to a movie and they would swear he had been with them if ever asked. They would have done it without the bribe, but, since he was offering they thought, what the heck. Conveniently, there was a new movie complex just a couple of miles from where they all went to school, and only a mile from the Detroit Race Course where his big payoff awaited him.
He met the boys outside the theatre, making sure his observer was observing. The guy was a good distance away, but, he was there all right. He was plenty out of site if you weren’t looking for him, and he did not believe Lovelle was on to him. Lovelle and his friends went in and he purchased tickets for all of them. His friend Shane gave him a funny look when he bought the third ticket.
“Just a little insurance.” Lovelle answered the unspoken question. They made small talk for a few minutes until he was sure his shadow wouldn’t be joining them. He expected the guy wouldn’t bother. He would probably wait a little while, and then stake out Lovelle’s car. It was important that the watcher remain unaware that he had been detected. Lovelle needed him to be complacent.
After a few minutes Lovelle gave his friends a few bucks for drinks and popcorn then proceeded through the theater and out the back exit. From there he made his way around to the parking lot opposite from where his car was packed. That was where he had locked up his bicycle a day earlier when he hadn’t been tailed. This he rode the one mile to the horse track.
***
His windfall secured, Lovelle now had everything in line for his trip to Florida, except for the continued presence of Hardy. He was coming up on a hard deadline for getting there in time to make his arrangements and set off for Cuba. He wouldn’t risk the mission regardless, but, he had hoped that his observer would give up on him before he had to leave. Taking off for even a couple of weeks would certainly cement him as a person of interest to the club. How long could he maintain his anonymity under that sort of increased scrutiny? He wasn’t sure how he would handle it if he was still under surveillance when he took his leave. Could he afford to simply return and allow things to play out, or would he and Maria be better served by disappearing as soon as they came ashore? If he chose that path, there would be no going back. It would be as good as a written confession. He didn’t want to have to go underground from now on, but, he would if that was what was necessary to get Maria out. Once again, fortune smiled on him and his shadow stopped coming around. He wouldn’t count on him not coming back, but, it had been nearly two months and he was quite sure he had given the man no reason to hurry.
The fact was, Lovelle was just the first of several suspects that Cedric Baker wanted to check out. Based on time of birth in the records, Lovelle was the chief suspect, but, clocks could certainly be off by enough to make it someone else. Baker had given Hardy nearly a dozen names and Hardy was determined to rotate his surveillance among them until he found the right one. Lovelle had seemed a particularly good suspect so he had devoted a generous amount of time to him at the beginning. He had hoped to get lucky and save himself a lot of hassle, but, to no avail. Assuming the vigilante was among Baker’s suspects, at some point he knew one of them would have to do something that would tip him off. What he didn’t know was how close he had come to seeing exactly what he was looking for. And it wasn’t an opportunity he would get again anytime soon. Lovelle’s other missions were not so time sensitive he couldn’t work around Hardy’s schedule , especially since his future trips would be of a shorter duration. And Lovelle would be looking for him over his shoulder for a long time to come.
***
The mission to Cuba went off almost flawlessly. This time Lovelle didn’t wait for Juan and Manuel to challenge his competence. He arranged their first meeting at a gun range where he casually demonstrated his skill with several weapons, all while they chatted about what he wanted them to help him do. They could hardly help but be impressed as this “kid” placed one round after another in the center of a target at what was the outer range of the AK-47 he was firing.
None of that really mattered, as there was no firefight this time. They arrived precisely a half hour earlier than their previous visit. They were able to get in and out before the patrol boat showed up, and left Cuba, passenger in tow, without incident.
Lovelle and Maria enjoyed another youthful reunion as they quietly sailed back to Florida and took leave of their compatriots. Having worked all the kinks out of their plans the last time around, everything went quickly and Lovelle brought Maria back to Michigan after only a few weeks. Still, he had been gone too long to salvage the semester of school. And, although he hadn’t told them face to face this time, his parents reaction was largely the same. He endured lots of “Why the heck…” “What were you thinking?” and “Do you realize…” admonishments before things settled down and he was able to get back to normal life. Normal for him, at least.
By comparison, this life had actually begun relatively uneventfully. The presence of Hardy at the outset had been the only real curve, and it had turned out to be easily navigated. He had told Maria about his curious visitor and she reported that she hadn’t ever run across anyone of that description when she was associating with the club. But, they decided to limit their exposure to the outside world as a couple in case the shadow reappeared. If Maria was wrong, and the man did know who she was, that would be another dead giveaway. No coincidence was going to explain away a relationship between a known Skipper and a suspected one, especially a Skipper who by all rights should be living in Cuba at the moment.
***
Within a few months Lovelle did spot his tail again. He had parked his car in the usual place, a block south of the school. He was walking with his friend Shane when he spotted Hardy parked a little ways down the street, just watching the students go by. The observer knew Lovelle’s habits and right where he could pick up his trail. But, Lovelle knew the shadow’s habits as well. Clearly the man was used to watching people who had no reason to think he was around. He was following the rules of surveillance, but only carefully enough to avoid detection by the unwary. Lovelle imagined he did the same thing when he watched most of his targets. It was easy to become complacent when your quarry is completely unaware, and when you haven’t been challenged in a long time.
But in this case the advantage was Lovelle’s, with Hardy being the one who was unaware. Lovelle was easily able to set up a scenario where Maria could observe the observer from a safe distance. Hardy liked to park in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant that Lovelle always passed after departing school for the day. Hardy could then follow him home, or to the job he worked to keep up appearances. Hardy used a couple of different cars and only used the trick every few days. But, no matter h
ow he staggered the time between these spot checks, Lovelle had no trouble identifying him. While Hardy made sure the visits were spaced randomly so no one could detect a pattern, there was one mistake he made. Consistently, he used this particular technique the day after he staked out Lovelle’s street. Also, he always used a different car for the two jobs. So, when Lovelle spotted him on his block in a beige sedan he knew his tail would be around the next day, probably in the little red hatch back he’d been in when he had shown back up outside the school. Lovelle had Maria pick him up outside the elementary school that shared a lot with his own school after fifth period. He skipped the final hour of school and she drove him to a little bike shop across the road and a few store fronts down from the restaurant. From there Lovelle located Hardy with his telephoto camera lens. She confirmed for him that she didn’t know the young man in their sites.
“I’m not sure that really matters. If he is from the club then he’ll know who I am anyhow. I’m sure Cedric has cameras in the offices.” Maria cautioned.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Lovelle agreed. “And since he was here just a week after the skip, if he has an association with Baker it must go back to the last life. He’s probably seen everyone who stepped foot into the club in the last sixteen years.”
“What are we going to do? If he keeps showing up he’s going to see me eventually. After that you’ll never shake him off.”
“I don’t know what I can do about him other than keep trying to avoid him. If he’s persistent enough he’ll figure it out eventually. I don’t know how much Baker knows about my past, but, he knows I was still living in Detroit at least for a while after high school. Depending on how thorough his records are, he might know exactly what apartment I was living in, and, what day he found me at home. That could be pretty hard to replicate. They might find me out and I won’t even know it. Plus, if we escape detection for this skip it won’t take any time at all to figure me out if he comes back for the start of the next one. All I’ll have to do is make one little move that he knows is different and he’ll know. And I can’t remove him because it might actually kill him. And even if it doesn’t, when he comes back he’ll know. ”
Time Skip (Book 2): The Time Skippers Page 10
