Time Riders

CHAPTER 69

1957, Washington DC

It was after dark when they finally entered Washington DC. A curfew was in effectand the streets quiet and still, street lamps buzzing softly amid the hiss and patter of sleetdrizzling down. They decided to ditch the army truck on the outskirts of the city when theyspotted a roadblock ahead. The rest of the route into the city they navigated throughDC’s subterranean network of sewers.

Bob efficiently led the way, Liam following, grimacing at the stench of sewage and the sightof rats running alongside him on a brick ledge, eyeing him cautiously as they scuttledpast.

Finally, Bob cocked his head, his eyes fluttered. He took a left turn off the main tunnel.‘We go up this access ladder. The co-ordinate stamp indicates a location fifty yardsfrom this position.’

Bob clambered up the ladder. At the top he gently, cautiously, pushed aside a round sewagecover. He poked his head up to check the lay of the land, then ducked back down.

Liam was right behind him on the ladder. ‘Is it clear?’

‘There are no enemy units in line of sight. Please stay close to me.’

‘How long have we got until the window opens?’

‘Seventeen minutes,’ replied Bob as he pulled himself up.

Liam nodded. A pretty close thing. But they were here in time and that’s all thatmattered.

He clambered up the ladder until his head was poking out of the manhole. Hecould see a four-laned boulevard. Nothing moved along it. The buildings on either side — rows of three- and four-storey town houses — looked occupied. Dull vanilla lightsflickered beyond drawn curtains. Liam thought he saw the diffused silhouette ofsomeone’s head and shoulders crossing in front of a bedroom lamp.

People still living in the city, then.

But subdued, cowed… frightened.

Above in the night sky, still hovering like a dark thundercloud, he could see Kramer’scommand ship in position above the White House. Several dozen searchlights lanced down fromit, sweeping the sullen and silent city, hunting for any citizens foolish enough to dare breakthe curfew and step out into the night.

‘Come!’ whispered Bob.

Liam pulled himself up, and scrambled across the empty road, joining Bob in the mouth of adark and litter-strewn backstreet.

‘This is the location,’ said Bob. ‘Twenty yards along,’ he added,pointing to the end where garbage pails and boxes were piled against a wood-slat fence.

They made their way down to the end, carefully doing their best to avoid kicking any looseclutter across the ground.

‘This is the location,’ said Bob, squatting down. He began shifting aside severalwet cardboard boxes full of rubbish. ‘Recommendation: we clear this space ofobstructions. Otherwise density warnings will prevent them from opening the timewindow.’

Liam nodded and eagerly began to help. He suddenly realized, for the first time sincethey’d been sent back into the past, since things had gone so completely pear-shaped onthe White House lawn, that they were actually going to make it home to 2001.

‘I owe you my life, Bob,’ he said, slapping the support unit onthe back. ‘You got us here in one piece.’

Bob tossed a wet handful of mushed cardboard and rotting refuse to one side. ‘Missionparameters will be met only when you and the data that has been acquired are successfullyreturned to the field office for analysis.’

Liam grinned. ‘All right, Bob. I was just trying to say thank you, that’sall.’

‘Thank you?’

‘Yeah, you know… thanks. You rescued me. I reckon youweren’t meant to do that, were you? I’m pretty certain you should’ve gonethrough the back-up window six months ago, to be sure.’

Bob’s eyebrows locked. His mouth opened and shut. ‘My mission prioritieswere… recalculated.’

‘Mission priorities recalculated, huh?’ Liam’sgrin widened. ‘What I think you mean is that you chose to rescue… afriend.’

Bob’s confused frown became a loose approximation of a disapproving scowl.‘Negative. I do not have friends. I am a biological weapons platform, a field supportunit.’

Liam pursed his lips and nodded. ‘Fine. Sure… if that’s how you-’

Bob’s eyes fluttered. ‘This location is currently being scanned for densitypackets.’

‘That’s them, isn’t it? Foster? Maddy?’

‘Affirmative.’

Liam clapped his hands together. ‘Oh yes! Jay-zus-’n’-Mother-Mary,we’re going home!’

‘One minute until window opens,’ said Bob. ‘Please stand clear.’

Liam obediently stepped back, as did Bob. They both waited in the dark for the telltale paleflicker of light.

‘Ten seconds.’

Liam grasped Bob’s hand and shook it. ‘We make a good team, don’twe?’

Bob looked down at the young man’s hand, folded in his giant sausage fingers. For amoment the gesture seemed to be lost on him, then he managed an unattractive smile.

‘Good team,’ he replied.

A pale spark appeared, flickering dimly like a firefly. Then a moment later Liam felt agentle puff of displaced air against his face, a soft pump of air that sent several dampscraps of newspaper fluttering up the backstreet, and empty tin cans rolling noisily acrossthe ground.

Some grit in his face — Liam was blinking and rubbing it from his watering eye whenBob’s deep voice rumbled.

‘This is not good.’

Liam rubbed the grit out, wiped the tears off with the back of his hand and gazed down at thewindow: an undulating sphere of soft, pale-blue light. It was no bigger than a football,bobbing gently a couple of feet above the ground.

‘What the — ?’

‘They have insufficient power,’ said Bob.

‘That’s it? They can’t make it any bleedin’ bigger?’

‘They have insufficient power,’ said Bob again.

‘Oh no,’ cried Liam. ‘Oh Jeez, no, no, no… this can’t behappening!’

Bob turned to look at him. ‘Liam O’Connor, you mustbe very quick.’

‘Quick? Doing what?’

Bob pulled a long knife from his belt. ‘Neither you nor I can go back, LiamO’Connor. But the data that they need must goback.’

Bob pushed the knife into Liam’s shaking hands. ‘You must bevery quick,’ he said again, dropping heavily to his knees so that Liam could reach hishead.

‘I… I can’t,’ said Liam, the blade trembling erratically in hishands. ‘Bob… I can’t do this!’

‘I will not feel pain. Insert the blade between the top of my neck and the base of myskull, that is where the cranium casing is weakest, then press very hard — ’

Liam nodded. He stepped round behind Bob, and raised the blade until it was pointing towardsthe dark mop of hair at the back of his head.

‘You must do it now,’ insisted Bob.

‘I… I…’ Liam could feel his whole body shaking. His stomachtightening, lurching, getting ready to eject the last meal he’d eaten.

‘You must do it NOW.’

The small blue shimmering light hovering above the ground began to flicker and modulateuncontrollably. In the middle of the sphere, Liam thought he could just about make out theflickering, undulating form of someone… no, threepeople… waiting, beckoning for him, for someone, something… anything… to step through.

Then it was gone.

And once again the backstreet was dark and quiet, save for the soft pattering of sleet aroundthem.

‘I’m sorry,’ mumbled Liam. ‘I’m sorry, Bob. I justcouldn’t do it.’