by Jill Cooper
“And where did you apprehend the suspect?”
“Coming off the red line train. He had…flowers for his wife.” I don’t know why I add in the detail except it keeps flashing in my mind. In the back of the court, the sobbing from Katie grows.
“And your TTD link, did it identify the suspect as Reynold Jackson?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Can you point him out to satisfy the court?”
“He’s sitting behind the guilty table.” I raise my finger and point at him and Reynold stares me down, but now there are tears in his eyes. He knows what is about to happen.
I’m not dismissed. The judge speaks his sentence. “Reynold Jackson, by the power of the Global Community and Rewind Protection, I hereby sentence you to a swift and merciful death.”
Not a sound rolls through court. I suck on my bottom lip and study Reynold. His shoulders round and he hunches forward as if he’s been struck. The denial on his face gives away to fear, pain—the inevitable acceptance is sure to follow.
“We will leave it to the court scheduler to appoint a time for sentencing to be carried out. Before then you will have time to make your peace with family and friends, if they do allow it. Thank you for your service, Officer Winters. You’re free to go.”
I nod my thanks and step down as I walk past Reynolds he grabs my hand. I jerk backward, but his grip is strong. Officers are on him in an instant and jam him on both sides with their electric batons.
Reynold’s head rocks backward and his grip loosens. Where he is struck surges with a blue electrical charge. He collapses, his head on the table, but it was just a tap, and he will recover, at least until sentencing.
I hurry away as my nostrils burn with the smell of his flesh and open my palm; he’d slipped me a piece of paper.
Quickly I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one noticed. I unfold it and read the words Xavier is setting me up. Please, help me.
I stick the note in my pocket and don’t give it another thought. There’s no way Daniels or anyone else could manipulate the system. I hurry along with my day. I head into the lobby, but then when I remember I left my purse behind, I do an about face.
What was it my mother always told me? Something about losing my head if it wasn’t attached?
I head back toward my seat and see the soft blue purse resting on the floor. I bend down to pick it up and then I hear voices. It’s the judge and Daniels. I peer up over the chairs and see them huddled together in a powwow at the bench. Xavier whispers in the judge’s ear, who only looks serious as he nods, going along with whatever he is told.
And Xavier smirks.
A cold smirk that trembles my skin.
3:Present: Donovan
Lara Montgomery and I were supposed to leave it all behind. Run away, a fresh start. With the help of some powerful people, I was sure we’d be successful. I never thought they’d stop us from getting away. I hadn’t thought they suspected.
But as I sat in the Montgomery living room with colorful ‘welcome home’ balloons deflating all around me, my stomach sank.
They knew. They saw.
They stopped us. Dead in our tracks.
“Where is she?” I had seen Miranda angry before, but never like this. Her mouth bared her teeth as she slammed her fist into the agent’s chest. “You tell me where you have taken her or I swear to God I will call the press. I will call anyone who will listen to me! You bring me back, my daughter!”
Her voice shook with anger, concern, but never quivered with tears. She was in full-on mama bear mode and the homicidal look in her eye would be enough to scare even the toughest man.
The agent took her by the elbows and pushed her back gently. “I know you’re concerned for your daughter, but there are things you don’t know. Things you can’t understand, Mrs. Montgomery. But I promise you on my oath to protect this country; we’re not going to harm Lara. And she will be back.”
“Not good enough.” Miranda gritted her teeth and shook her arms free. “Don’t handle me like I’m a problem. I don’t trust anything you say. I tried for Lara, but this ends now.” She pulls her phone from her pocket.
The agent stands up straighter. “Go back on our arrangement and you void your plea deal. Put your phone away.”
Miranda glares at him. She’s about to launch another tirade, but John Crane steps up. Lara’s father isn’t as gaunt as he was in prison. He’s put together, clean-shaven, and calm as he puts his hand on Miranda’s shoulder.
She looks to him and her nose flares. “You think I care about that now, John? Our daughter?” It’s only now that her voice shakes with emotion.
“It’ll be harder on Lara if you go to prison. Jax.” John’s eyes flicker to Jax who is leaning against the wall. I’ve seen Jax go through some horrible stuff in the last year, but I’ve never seen his eyes look so empty. Void, even though he’s in the room, it’s as if he isn’t there.
He thinks this is entirely his fault. Maybe it is.
Maybe if he had come clean long ago. If he put my mom in prison ten years ago, none of this would’ve happened. Hard to say when time travel is involved.
Miranda finally nods. John reaches her in a way few others can. They’re close and as John rubs her shoulders; his nose is nearly touching her fine curls. They’re nearly spooning right in front of Miranda’s actual husband—at least still on paper.
Her voice is the calm before the storm. “Leave us alone. Get out of here and don’t come back. Not without our daughter.”
“First thing in the morning. She’ll be returned to you unharmed. You’ll see, the government isn’t the enemy.”
I snort as the door opens. I’ve heard that before and don’t believe a word of it. They wanted to control and hurt Lara, no matter what they said. I knew it. Everyone knew it, but there was nothing, not a damn thing, anyone could do about it.
The agent leaves us and the deafening silence hangs. It is only broken by the whispers between Miranda and John. Her head is leaned against his. “Our baby… I need our baby back.”
“I know.” John whispers and strokes her arms. “But she’ll be fine. And she’s going to need us to be strong. All of us.”
“She was held captive for two years. I know she changed it, but…she screams at night.” Miranda whispers. “Those memories will never leave her. She must be so scared, John.” Miranda crumbles against John. Her emotions finally getting the better of her.
And my own emotions? They’re building in my chest. I don’t know what they’re doing to Lara, where she is, or if they’ll ever let her go.
We got so close breaking free. To slipping away.
I slide down to the sofa and hang my head. I’m glad the twins are upstairs and don’t see us like this. If they knew the danger Lara was in. God, if they knew…I grip my head in my hands and I steel myself from the coming tears.
But I don’t want to cry. I’m the strong guy, right? Supposed to hold it together for Lara, whose been slipping. I don’t want to admit that the agent was right, not to myself or aloud. Lara didn’t want her parents to know.
And I promised I’d take care of her no matter how much time she had left. Fine job I’ve done of that.
I’m a heel and want to kick myself, but someone sits beside me and grips my knee. “You all right?” Jax asks.
Glancing up, I shrug. “Worried about Lara.”
Once Jax and I were close. He worked with my dad, but he knew all of my mother’s murderous secrets and did nothing. I know he was wedged into a hard spot and Lara loves him like a second father, but what he did—it’s unforgiveable.
Jax glances back at Miranda and John. I can’t imagine what he feels when he looks at them. At how seamless Miranda accepted him back in her life. “I’m worried too, but we know how resilient Lara is. We all know the stories.”
I nod, but can’t keep the truth from spilling out. “But it’s chipped away at her. She’s great at being strong, but at what price, Jax?”
Jax’s
face falls. “You blame me, just like everyone else, huh?”
“Lara doesn’t blame you.” It’s not exactly an answer, but how can I feel anything else? Lara is my girl and she’s missing. She’s been hurting a long time. If I didn’t get angry, what kind of boyfriend would I be?
I rise and Miranda turns to me. “Are you going?”
“I’d like to wait here, if that’s alright with you. For Lara to get back.”
Miranda nods and relief softens her features. “God, yes. Please.” Miranda extends her hand and I squeeze it. “She’s going to need you, Don. I know I don’t have to tell you.”
“I just need to go make a phone call. I’ll be back.”
“Okay.” Her words are soft as she leans in and kisses my cheek. In the last year, as my own family was torn apart, in many ways Miranda has been like a mother to me, too.
Upstairs on the second level, I take out my phone, but I pause as I hear the sound of laughter and fun coming from Molly’s room. Depression spirals down on top of me as I slide into Lara’s room and sit on her bed.
Wish she were there. Wish she could tell me what it is I’m supposed to do.
Instead, I dial a secret, memorized number. It only takes a few rings for Senator O’Reily to answer. “Are you ready?”
I squeeze my eyes shut and my heart is bombarded with pain. “They took her, Marcus. She’s gone.”
Marcus lets out a long, drawn out sigh.
“What do we do? What do I do?” How do I get her back?
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do other than wait. I can bring the matter up tomorrow on the floor. Launch a hearing into how she is being treated.”
I’m so angry I can’t sit still. I grandstand even though no one is in the room to see it. “There’s no time for a hearing.”
“It’s the only thing I can do. I’m a politician. Did they say how long they’re holding her?”
As if, their word can be trusted. “Until tonight.”
“It changes the timetable, but it doesn’t mean we abandon the plan altogether, Don. You and Lara will still get your second chance. It’s the only answer for you or the country. Of everything, I am sure of that.”
“And if they’re lying? If they never let her go?”
Marcus doesn’t have an answer and I don’t want to wait around for him to make up some patronizing tale to calm me down. With a grunt, I end the call and lean up against the wall. I’m in Lara’s room. The pink and brown décor with sparkling pictures hanging up are a constant reminder of her absence.
“Damn it, Lara.” My brow creases. “Where are you?”
4: Present: Lara
Waves of nausea roll over me as my eyes flutter open.
I don’t know where I am. Or when I am, but I am definitely lying in a hospital bed. Around me, machines beep. The walls are padded and I recognize the emblem on the door.
I’m back at Rewind.
Sitting up fast, my neck stiffens and surges with a shock of pain. I gasp and fall back down on the pillows. When I try to rub my forehead, my arm jerks back due to the restraints around my wrists, tethered to the bed.
I’m a prisoner.
“Let me out!” I rear my head back and scream. My body bucks in the bed. I know someone is watching, so I thrash around until they come to my aid.
The door buzzes as it unlocks and my chest heaves from panic as someone I’ve never met strolls into the room. He’s in a fine black suit underneath a white overcoat. The lapel of his jacket holds an ID badge.
It says his name is Xavier Daniels.
With blond hair and blue dim eyes that make me distrust him immediately, he can’t be a day over the age of thirty. He touches the top of my head like I’m someone special to him. I jerk my head away.
“Don’t you touch me.”
“We’ve done what we can to help you, Lara. I thought we should meet before we return you home.”
Return me home? It feels like the carrot on the stick, designed to lure me into something I desperately don’t want to do. I glower at him. “Then why the restraints? Why the drugs?”
“We didn’t want you to run. We thought you might hurt yourself if you woke up here and were able to move around freely. The last thing we want is for you to hurt yourself.” He pulls a key ring from his pocket.
If he’s trying to lull me into trusting him, it’s not going to work. I stare at the key even as he slides it into the restraints and unsnaps them.
I rub my wrists and realize they don’t hurt, but the phantom pain is still there from my captivity of last year, even though because I changed the past, it never happened. To me, it’s real.
It happened.
My eyes spy him as if he’s a criminal. A danger. If he’s in Rewind, I can’t trust him.
Never will.
“I’ve been put in charge of Rewind.” Xavier extends his hand to me and I don’t shake it. Instead, I consider spitting on it, but I keep my venom to myself. “I’ve been following the trials closely; I know how you feel about this place. If everything you say is true, I don’t blame you.”
My eyes narrow. “Of course it’s true.” Asshole.
Xavier gives an ‘hmmf’. “If you’ll feel the back of your skull, you’ll see we’ve fit your port with, well it’s a lot of techno mumble, but it’s a restraint device. It will keep your little spells of freezing time, slowing time, from happening.”
Quickly I fish behind my head and I feel a small bump where my finger used to slide into the port. Almost like a protective little covering or nub. I draw a quick breath, not sure if I’m upset to be modified against my will or happy that the time spells will come to an end.
“It will also monitor any time travel attempts you try to make. The data will be sent here, wirelessly of course. So, there’s no need for you to come in or be hooked up to a computer. I know how traumatic that would be for you, considering your circumstances.”
So they’ve neutered me. “And you expect me to thank you?”
Xavier shakes his head. “I wouldn’t expect that. You need to learn to trust me. Respect me. I understand that better than I can tell you. One day, it’ll happen.”
I glare at him. “It’ll be a cold day in hell first.”
He laughs. “I was hoping we could keep this cordial. The U.S. government has a vested interest in you and you have a vested interest in keeping your mother, step-father out of prison, so if you would please like to adjust your attitude…”
My face falls and I think I would like to punch the little weasel in the face, but instead I nod. I comply even though I hate it. “Adjusted.”
Smug little good for nothing weasel leers straight at me. “Good. Good. We’ll run a few tests to make sure it’s stable and reporting everything it should. Then we’ll return you home. As I understand it, your parents are very anxious to get you back safe and sound. I’d hate to disappoint them, Lara.”
Mom and Dad must be so worried. Jax too. I nod and agree to go along with what he has planned. Live to fight another day, right? So why do I feel like I’ve given myself over to the enemy? I lay back and Xavier checks a few things on some overhead monitors.
I study him and his eyes flicker down to me. For a brief moment, he strokes my cheek. “It’s a hardship for such a young girl, and I am sorry for the position this puts you in, but I do hope we can be friends, or at least friendly.”
“If you don’t keep me against my will, I guess we can at least be cordial.”
“Good.” Xavier helps me sit up. “Blood pressure, brain activity, oxygen rate, and location are all reporting in fine. I’ll get your escort--.”
“Location?” I whisper and touch the nub on the back of my skull. They put a stinking GPS on me?
“For your own protection.” Xavier shrugs. “Just in case anyone were to want to kidnap you or harm you—I know how it must feel but, the government wants to ensure you’re safety.”
“They think I’m their property.” As I say it, Xavier’s face goes
ghostly pale. You think the man in charge of the Rewind Agency would have a better poker face. “Think I didn’t know?”
He stutters and I snort.
“Next they’ll try to patent me.”
“No one has ever patented a human being that I know of.” Xavier’s mumble doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Not for lack of trying, I bet. They think my brain is their tech. I know it’s true, so don’t even.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder and I don’t have the internal strength to shrug it off. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“No, it’s worse.”
I’m no longer a person. Not in the eyes of anyone with any power.
Now I’m nothing more than a thing. A means to an end.
And what that means for me? Scares me.
****
The reality of the situation sets in as I’m put into a car and driven home. I’ve been fitted with a GPS device that stops me from traveling back in time. That means there’s nowhere I can run, nowhere I can hide. All our plans, all our secrets now are for nothing. And the government might protest it’s for my own good, but whom are they kidding?
I’m not the naïve kid I was who went back in time to save Mom. They want the secrets of my mind and don’t want me to interfere. Don’t want me to stop them.
When I try to time travel, nothing happens. Things don’t slow down, nothing pixilates, and I don’t have even a slight itch of a headache.
They’ve neutered me worse than Rex ever did. I guess I know what Rewind was working on for the last year. A way to stop me. A way to study me so they can replicate me.
And when they’re done with me? Then what. What will it mean for me?
Outside the rain slows down to a slow splatter as the car pulls over to the curb. I stare up at my home, the Montgomery brownstone where I’ve lived for the better part of my life. Seeing it should make me feel better, but it doesn’t. Inside is my family, my sister, and brother. I should be happy to be away from Rewind and back home.
But knowing what’s coming? Complicates matters.
