colourful package design. ‘What do you reckon those little teddy bear fellas are
made of?’
Bob scowled disapprovingly. ‘Probably
nothing particularly nutritious.’
‘Maybe not, but it looks fun.’
Liam dropped the cereal box in the trolley. He smiled up at Bob. ‘You remember
what
fun
is
,
don’t you?’
‘I can supply a definition of the word
and several thousand cultural references to the word including –’
‘Never mind.’
Chapter 18
7.25 a.m., 12 September 2001, North Haven
Plaza, outside Branford
Maddy brought the tray over to the booth
and sat down opposite Foster. He wasn’t looking so good this morning. Perhaps a
couple of sleepless nights hadn’t helped. Perhaps it was the artificial lighting
in this coffee shop. He’d looked healthier in Central Park: sun on his face and a
fresh breeze ruffling the tufts of snow-white hair on his head. Healthier and happier
back there.
‘Coffee, milky and sweet, just how you
and Liam like it.’
‘Thank you, Maddy.’
She sat down, grabbed her latte and looked
out across the mall. There was a toddlers’ play area and a fake palm tree, beyond
that the mini-supermarket where the others were food shopping. She thought she caught a
glimpse of the bristly top of Bob’s coconut head above an aisle. An hour’s
stop over here, that’s what she’d told them. An hour, grab something to eat,
then she wanted them all in the RV and back on the road. The further away they were from
New York, the better.
Foster sipped his coffee, testing the heat
with his lips. ‘I think it would be safer if you were to head somewhere else.
Somewhere other than Boston.’
‘Where, though?’
‘Anywhere.’
‘Why?’
He took his time answering. ‘I just
think it would be safer.’
‘They can’t know where
we’re going. We lost them, right? We got clean away.’
‘What if they know your family lives
in Boston?’
‘But those support
units … they don’t
know
me. They don’t know anything
about me. How the hell are they going to guess my folks live in Boston?’
‘They know
something
about
you, Maddy. They found you after all, didn’t they?’
‘They found our field office. Maybe
we’ve been … I dunno … leaking traceable tachyons. Maybe we
just got careless and left a breadcrumb trail? All the coming and going backwards and
forwards in time, that’s going to leave some kind of a mark, right? Some kind of a
trackable signature maybe?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. In
fact, you probably know as much, if not more, about this technology than I do
now.’
‘You think?’ She looked up from
her styrofoam cup at his craggy face, seeing the ghost of Liam in there among the folds
and wrinkles. ‘Maybe so,’ she said. ‘After all … not so very
long ago, you were just a young lad from Ireland, weren’t you?’
He looked like he was going to say
something, then laughed. ‘That’s about right.’
‘Foster, there’s something
I’ve always wanted to know.’
‘What?’
‘How we got picked. Selected. Me, Liam
and Sal. You too, I guess. I mean, who knew so much about us? Who knew I was on that
plane? Who knew Liam and you were on that particular deck on the
Titanic
? Who
knew exactly where Sal was in that burning building?’
‘I … don’t
know.’
‘And how come they knew we had the
necessary skills?’ Sherubbed her temple. ‘Not that
that’s helped so much. I’ve messed up more than I want to think
about.’
‘The three of you were perfect,’
he replied. ‘Perfect recruits,’ he added. ‘You’ve done so very
well.’ He patted her arm gently. The lightest touch. ‘Don’t be too
hard on yourself. From what I’ve heard you tell me, you’ve been busy saving
history over and over.’
‘Well, more like fighting fires. But
we’re here still. The world’s the same as it ever was. For what good that
does
made of?’
Bob scowled disapprovingly. ‘Probably
nothing particularly nutritious.’
‘Maybe not, but it looks fun.’
Liam dropped the cereal box in the trolley. He smiled up at Bob. ‘You remember
what
fun
is
,
don’t you?’
‘I can supply a definition of the word
and several thousand cultural references to the word including –’
‘Never mind.’
Chapter 18
7.25 a.m., 12 September 2001, North Haven
Plaza, outside Branford
Maddy brought the tray over to the booth
and sat down opposite Foster. He wasn’t looking so good this morning. Perhaps a
couple of sleepless nights hadn’t helped. Perhaps it was the artificial lighting
in this coffee shop. He’d looked healthier in Central Park: sun on his face and a
fresh breeze ruffling the tufts of snow-white hair on his head. Healthier and happier
back there.
‘Coffee, milky and sweet, just how you
and Liam like it.’
‘Thank you, Maddy.’
She sat down, grabbed her latte and looked
out across the mall. There was a toddlers’ play area and a fake palm tree, beyond
that the mini-supermarket where the others were food shopping. She thought she caught a
glimpse of the bristly top of Bob’s coconut head above an aisle. An hour’s
stop over here, that’s what she’d told them. An hour, grab something to eat,
then she wanted them all in the RV and back on the road. The further away they were from
New York, the better.
Foster sipped his coffee, testing the heat
with his lips. ‘I think it would be safer if you were to head somewhere else.
Somewhere other than Boston.’
‘Where, though?’
‘Anywhere.’
‘Why?’
He took his time answering. ‘I just
think it would be safer.’
‘They can’t know where
we’re going. We lost them, right? We got clean away.’
‘What if they know your family lives
in Boston?’
‘But those support
units … they don’t
know
me. They don’t know anything
about me. How the hell are they going to guess my folks live in Boston?’
‘They know
something
about
you, Maddy. They found you after all, didn’t they?’
‘They found our field office. Maybe
we’ve been … I dunno … leaking traceable tachyons. Maybe we
just got careless and left a breadcrumb trail? All the coming and going backwards and
forwards in time, that’s going to leave some kind of a mark, right? Some kind of a
trackable signature maybe?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. In
fact, you probably know as much, if not more, about this technology than I do
now.’
‘You think?’ She looked up from
her styrofoam cup at his craggy face, seeing the ghost of Liam in there among the folds
and wrinkles. ‘Maybe so,’ she said. ‘After all … not so very
long ago, you were just a young lad from Ireland, weren’t you?’
He looked like he was going to say
something, then laughed. ‘That’s about right.’
‘Foster, there’s something
I’ve always wanted to know.’
‘What?’
‘How we got picked. Selected. Me, Liam
and Sal. You too, I guess. I mean, who knew so much about us? Who knew I was on that
plane? Who knew Liam and you were on that particular deck on the
Titanic
? Who
knew exactly where Sal was in that burning building?’
‘I … don’t
know.’
‘And how come they knew we had the
necessary skills?’ Sherubbed her temple. ‘Not that
that’s helped so much. I’ve messed up more than I want to think
about.’
‘The three of you were perfect,’
he replied. ‘Perfect recruits,’ he added. ‘You’ve done so very
well.’ He patted her arm gently. The lightest touch. ‘Don’t be too
hard on yourself. From what I’ve heard you tell me, you’ve been busy saving
history over and over.’
‘Well, more like fighting fires. But
we’re here still. The world’s the same as it ever was. For what good that
does
Similar Books
