WINDOW OF TIME

by DJ Erfert

  Adam lifted his shoulders. “It’s been years, doctor.”

  Motioning toward the seats with her arm, she said, “I have a good digital camera. When we get back, Lucy should be coming around. If she thinks it’s all she needs to complete her mission, then we can take off. We have our sat phones in case you need anything while we’re gone.”

  Rocky stepped into the main cabin. “I don’t think Lucy is going to be very forgiving when she wakes up. In fact, I think she’s going to be mad as hell.”

  Sunny stood between the seats and watched Johnny carry Lucy down the aisle to the Murphy bed. “Yes, I thought about that too.”

  “And yet you still made your choice of slipping her a Mickey?” Rocky asked. Grinning he shook his head. “Either you’re very brave … or very foolish.”

  Sunny hoisted a backpack by its strap. “Sometimes it’s only a fine line between the two, Captain Sizemore.”

  Twenty-four

  “Jim, there’s activity.”

  He walked back over to the monitor and leaned over Kate’s shoulder, watching the plane’s narrow door fall forward. A big man wearing black descend the steps. “Who is that?”

  She squinted at the screen. “Uh—” Kate sighed loudly. “That’s Dusty Rhodes. He’s an LA firefighter who came into the agency yesterday with Lucy and Sunny.”

  “What’s he doing there?” Jim asked, raising his voice at the screen.

  “He, um, he seems to be helping Dr. Pettigrew down the steps,” Junie said a little sarcastically.

  “What’s she doing there? And where’s Agent James?” Jim watched the two face each other, holding hands. Another man dressed in khakis and a dark t-shirt came down the steps. Another man dressed in black followed him. “Who’s that behind Agent Sanderson?”

  Kate sighed again. “That would be Johnny Cartwright, Lucy’s boyfriend.”

  Jim slammed his fist against the counter. “What’s going on? Where did they come from? Why are they there?”

  “Calm down, Jim,” Junie said with her hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you call Lucy and just ask what her plans are?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. Then she’ll know we’re watching her.”

  “So what?” Junie leaned closer and whispered loudly enough for Kate to hear also. “We’re spies, remember?”

  “Not yet.” Jim tapped a few keys and adjusted the satellite’s view and watched as Dusty and Johnny climbed back aboard the plane while the doctor and pilot walked away. “I’ll know when to break our surveillance, but right now isn’t that time. We’ll follow Sanderson and Pettigrew to see what Lucy sent them to do.”

  ~*~

  “It’ll take a moment to push-start it,” Adam said as he stood next to the motorcycle.

  The small settlement Sunny and Adam had walked to had several semi-modern buildings, two decent looking houses facing the ocean, and no cars that they could see. But it did have several two-wheeled cycles in various states of disrepair. Adam found the best looking bike and rolled it down the road.

  “Hurry up!” Sunny removed one of her tennis shoes and swept the dirt off from the bottom of her foot. Before they had left the plane, she had changed from her black battle dress uniform into those a tourist might wear in an effort to blend into the background. Adam had also.

  “Cool your jets, doctor. I’m doing my best, but this isn’t like turning a key.”

  “Is there gas in it?”

  “I checked that first.”

  “Oh.”

  Adam asked, “Have you ridden a motorcycle or scooter before?”

  Sunny shook her head.

  Adam grinned. “Then you get to push.”

  “What? I thought you could start it?”

  “I will. I’m going to pop the clutch.”

  “Huh?”

  Adam straddled the bike, pulled in the clutch lever on the left handlebar, and toed it through all the gears. “Okay, now this is a fairly flat length of road. I need a good push to get the wheels turning, so when I let out the clutch, the engine should start.” He caught the lost look in her eyes. “The ignition switch is missing, so I can safely assume the owner of this fine piece of machinery starts it this way as a rule.”

  Sunny tugged her shoe back on and then placed her hands on the back edge of the seat.

  “Now, start pushing.” Adam lifted his feet as Sunny used everything she had to push a man who outweighed her by fifty pounds on a bike down a dirt road. Level or not, it wasn’t an easy task, yet a hundred feet or so later after a sudden lurch and a loud bark, the motorcycle whined like, well … a motorcycle.

  Adam’s smile grew wide. “Get on before it runs out of gas.”

  Jumping on back, Sunny grabbed him around his waist and said in a rush, “I thought you said you checked for gas.”

  “I did. I just didn’t say how much there was,” Adam said, laughing. “Hold on, Doc. It’s been a while since I’ve flown on two wheels.”

  The disorienting sensations were similar to airsickness. The wheels touched the road, but at times they skidded sideways until Sanderson regained control, and all Sunny could do was keep her face pressed against his back and wait until he found the turnoff. The two miles went by in a nauseating blur. When he stopped the bike, she lifted her head and took a deep breath of dusty air. “Where’s the road?”

  “I passed it. Let me see that map again.”

  Sliding the backpack from her shoulders, she asked, “Why did you pass it?”

  “Agent Pettigrew, I assume you’ve had some field experience?”

  She took the map she stole from Lucy’s pocket and gave it to Adam. “Yes, of course. I was a field medic for the first part of my career. Why?”

  “Did you actually go on any missions as an agent, or did you stay in the background and treat the agents who were injured on the job?”

  “I guess it depends on your definition of what a mission is.” After taking a quick drink from her water bottle, she said, “Like I said before, I don’t plan on going beyond the fence to take any pictures.”

  “That’s good, but we’re not going to ride up to the front gate on a noisy motorcycle. It looks like the compound is only a half mile inland. I think we should walk from here.”

  “All right.” Sunny slid off the back of the bike and took another drink of water, watching Adam hide the small motorcycle off the road behind a bushy palm tree. The dead palm fronds draping down spread wide enough to conceal it where only the back end of the tire could be seen. Holding out the bottle of water to Adam, she said, “We should get moving then.”

  Adam took the bottle. “Yeah, but we probably should stay on the road to avoid the snakes.”

  Sunny’s stare flew to the ground around her feet. “Snakes?”

  “Yeah, the island is polluted with them.” Adam took a big swig of water.

  “Oh, crap,” she cried, standing up on her toes. Then she heard Adam laughing. Flashing her stare up at him, she saw the water running down his chin. “Are you serious? Are there really snakes or are you trying to scare me?”

  Adam wiped his face with the back of his arm. “Oh, there are snakes, but they aren’t poisonous, just a nuisance.”

  Sunny backhanded him across his stomach. He didn’t flinch, but her hand stung from the impact. She picked up her backpack and strode down the dirt road.

  “But you do have to watch out for the poisonous sticks,” Adam said, running to catch up.

  “Yeah, right. I believe that.”

  Adam grabbed her hand.

  “What are you doing?” Sunny tried to pull out of his grasp.

  “Look, if anybody comes down this road and sees us walking, they’ll assume we’re just lost if we look like a couple.”

  Sunny yanked her hand away. “I’ll listen for an engine.” He laughed again. “What’s a poisonous stick? Or did you make that up?”

  “No, I’m serious about that.” He pointed off to the side of the road. “In between the palm trees there are plants that most peo
ple are allergic to if you rub up against them.” He ran his hand up her bare arm. “You probably should have kept your long sleeves on.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” They came upon the turnoff leading into the interior of the island. The road narrowed and became rougher, but it didn’t seem like such a hardship until Adam changed their plans again.

  “We need to get off the road now.” Adam cut between to palm trees and headed south.

  “Why?” Sunny asked without following him.

  “Come on, Agent Pettigrew.”

  Sunny heard the sarcasm in his use of the term agent. Not wanting to prove Adam right, that she didn’t belong there, that she really was only a doctor, she carefully stepped off the road and into the dense brush of the desert-like landscape. Holding her arms close over her chest, Sunny kept her sights on the ground as she walked—until she ran into Adam. He may not have been laughing out loud, but she’d have liked to wipe the smile from his smirking face.

  “The compound should be up here.” He turned, pointing over his shoulder. “We need to be quiet now.”

  “I am quiet,” Sunny slipped off the backpack. The only vital piece of equipment she brought lay inside: her personal digital camera. She knew every aspect of her Sony, and she could change settings in the dark if necessary. It would take the best pictures in the daylight that they had left, and if needed, it had infrared for after the sun went down.

  “Let me hold that.” Adam lifted her backpack from the ground. “We don’t want an errant snake crawling inside when we aren’t looking, now do we?”

  “Oh, crap,” Sunny whispered, looking down at her feet. “I wish I wore my boots.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll suck out any poison it bites into you.”

  She froze. “I thought you said they weren’t poisonous.”

  Adam grinned. “Did I?”

  Sunny let out a fast breath. “I can’t believe you.” She ignored the satisfied look on the pilot’s face and walked around him. The sand made their steps relatively silent. She figured the outside fence to the compound wasn’t too far ahead. A hundred yards closer and Sunny touched a button on her camera, turning it on. The lens cap automatically dropped away and dangled from a short cord. The roofs of two buildings peeked from between the palm trees. She took a picture, then moved closer. Now she could see three identical buildings. After she made sure the next pictures turned out well, which they did, Sunny moved closer and stopped beside a bushy palm and knelt down.

  “There isn’t any activity,” Adam said, kneeling beside her. “Why take so many pictures of the same buildings?”

  Sunny pointed toward the compound. “I have a clear view of the center. Since I already have those buildings documented, I want to capture any people, and I think that when someone in the compound goes anywhere, they will need to walk through there. When they do, I’ll get their picture.”

  Adam nodded. “Makes sense.” He dropped down onto his butt, getting comfortable. “This could take a while.” He leaned his shoulder against Sunny. “Want a drink?”

  “I’m good.” Sunny kept her camera up, looking through the lens like a binocular.

  As the time passed, she heard Adam riffle through her backpack. The sound of thin plastic being torn apart preceding the faint aroma of chocolate told her that he’d found the stash of her favorite granola bars. Surprisingly, he didn’t bother asking if she wanted anything to eat. Of course, she would’ve said no, but he should’ve asked anyway. It annoyed her. He annoyed her, with the way he kept brushing up against her every time he moved. Like their little bit of desert island wasn’t wide enough to keep him from rubbing against her?

  After a few hours of sitting in the warm sand with the sun in her face, her thirst became too much to ignore. “Is there any water left?”

  “I’m not sure.” Adam picked up her backpack and opened the zipper all the way. “How many bottles did you bring?”

  “Two.”

  Adam stopped looking. “Then, no.”

  Sunny picked up her camera again, held it up to her eye, and tried very hard not to sigh too loudly.

  “I didn’t know we were going to be here so long, or I would’ve rationed what we had,” he told her.

  “It’s okay.”

  The sun was nearly down behind the buildings, and still nobody had walked through the center of the compound. The whole afternoon seemed like a waste of time; with the exception of a few pictures of the buildings, there had been no activity. Sunny was fairly sure that the agency’s satellite had most likely flown over that morning and shot exceptional, clear pictures of the place. Unless they didn’t think about positioning a satellite to cover the island. Or maybe the place was deserted. Could that be the reason for Lucy’s mission? Had Brockway told her to actually go into the compound and look around?

  “We should be getting back,” Adam said, zipping her backpack up again. “It’s getting late, and I’m hungry.” He stood up and shrugged on the backpack.

  Her finger reflexively pushed the shutter button, taking another picture. “In a few more minutes.”

  “Come on, Doc. Just what do you think you’re going to see that you haven’t seen in the past four hours?” He tapped her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Maybe Adam was right. Sunny had thought she would be helping Lucy in doing surveillance, yet all she’d accomplished was finding out that Adam was a first-rate flirt.

  “You’re probably right.” A moment before she went to lower her camera, movement caught her attention. “Wait! I see something.” With a touch of a button, she focused in closer and quickly snapped a couple of pictures of men coming out of the building across the center yard.

  “Sunny …”

  Adam’s voice had an edge to it. She froze when she realized the men were carrying rifles. “They aren’t headed toward us—are they?”

  Adam knelt down next to again. “Quiet …” He pushed his shoulder in front of her, tilting his head out far enough to look around the bushy dried palms. With one hand, he pressed Sunny down closer to the ground. She didn’t resist, and she flattened herself to the sand with her heart pounding in her throat. Had she miscalculated? Did they stay too long? Were they seen?

  Adam cursed under his breath and whispered, “I think they know we’re here.”

  “Oh, Adam … what do we do?” Sunny looked back toward the road. She couldn’t see it through all the bushes, but she knew it was there. “Should we try to run?”

  “Hell yes, and right now!” He stood up, hauling her to her feet as he turned away from the men approaching.

  With his hand clenched around her arm, Adam ran hunched over. Sunny followed beside him, trying not to trip during their fast escape. Yelling from behind them amped her pulse even faster. When someone pulled her from Adam’s grip, Sunny screamed and swung her camera around into the head of the man who had grabbed her. She heard Adam yell her name just before the man she’d hit punched her face—and then the world went dark.

  Twenty-five

  “I’ll raise you five,” Rocky said, dropping a red plastic disk onto the seat between him and Johnny.

  “Okay … I’ll call.” Johnny placed his chip on the pile. “Show me what you’ve got, hot shot.”

  Rocky groaned, throwing his cards, face down, onto the seat. “You’re hard to bluff, Cartwright.”

  Grinning, Johnny glanced down the aisle at Dusty. “Don’t take it personally. I’ve learned from the best.” He stood up and stretched his arms up, touching the plane’s ceiling while feeling his muscles lengthen, releasing the tension from his body. Lucy had been sleeping for over four hours, thanks to Sunny’s unexpected intervention. Dusty had been sitting on the Murphy bed across from Lucy since Sunny left. Every so often he’d take her temperature and pulse and write the results down on a chart Sunny had started before leaving with Adam.

  Sitting down beside his best friend, Johnny asked, “How are you doing?”

  “Me?” Dusty exhaled loudly. “I would have thought you woul
d’ve asked about your girlfriend.”

  “She’s fine,” Johnny said as he leaned forward and took her hand. “But you’re worried about Sunny.”

  “Yeah, for good reason.” He leaned against his knees with his elbows. “I don’t know how long they’re going to be gone.”

  Lucy’s hand moved.

  “I think her sedation’s wearing off,” Johnny said quietly.

  “It’s about that time.”

  Rocky stepped nearer. “Then you’d better get your story straight as to why she’s here and her doctor isn’t.”

  Dusty took the satellite phone from his pant’s pocket when it vibrated. “She may be able to explain it to Lucy herself,” he said, grinning as he opened the small phone and touched the speakerphone button. “It’s about time you called.”

  “Excuse me?” Brockway demanded. “I need to talk to Agent James immediately.”

  “Who is this?” Dusty stared at Johnny.

  “I’m Assistant Director James Brockway, Agent James’s boss. I need to speak to her now.”

  “Uh, Mr. Brockway, Lucy, uh, she’s unconscious.”

  “What?” Brockway asked loudly. “Why? What happened?”

  Dusty stood up, paced to the door, and looked out the window. “Sunny—Dr. Pettigrew gave her a sedative because Lucy has pneumonia and wouldn’t rest.”

  “Wake her up now!” Brockway said, shouting.

  “Why? What’s so urgent?” Dusty turned to Johnny and said, “Something’s wrong!”

  “We’ve been monitoring the mission via satellite. Agent Sanderson and Dr. Pettigrew are in trouble. They’ve been taken into the compound.”

  “Is she …” Dusty faltered, stumbled over his words. “Is Sunny hurt?”

  “They didn’t go quietly. Wake Agent James up. She needs to go after them now.”

  “Can I call you back, Mr. Brockway?”

  “No. I’ll give you five minutes to wake her up and I’ll call you.”

  Dusty touched the phone off and quickly opened Sunny’s medical bag. The compartment holding the drugs had several different vials inside. Dusty took them all out and started reading the labels. “Johnny, put oh-two on her. See if that wakes her up before I give her a stimulant.”