Chapter 18
by Dan Kirk
Sandcastle
It was the scariest term for me personally, and one that would forever change my life here in Nevada. As we drove at top speed out of town and down the highway towards the Air Force base, I had to put aside any thoughts or concerns about how this would impact the school. No matter what was said there, everyone would know that something major had happened, and that I was involved. It would only be a matter of time before angry parents demanded answers.
That was a problem for the future, though, and as we made a sharp turn onto the base’s access road, I put aside those thoughts. Instead, I had to think about what was happening somewhere, maybe even here. Sandcastle was the code term for an assault, or impending assault on someone connected to the Do Over project. There were several possibilities, and the lack of gunfire at the school or on the way here indicated that there was no immediate danger to me personally.
Instead there was probably danger to someone else who knew about time travel, or who was associated with me either now or in the past time line.
The base was already on alert, and we were stopped at the entrance to verify everyone’s identification. A full squad of armed soldiers were there, and they were putting up the anti-terrorist barricades. All across the base, as we drove to the administrative building, it was evident that the base was going into lock-down mode. Armed soldiers streamed from the armory to take up defensive positions all along the perimeter. When we reached the building, I formed up in the middle of the group and we made our way inside after being checked by the guards at the entrance. We took the elevator down into the new sub-basement and bunker complex and Ridgeway stopped at the doors to the Operations Center.
This was one of the newest additions to the base. The Operations Center was a communications and planning center. The walls were lined with communications consoles, radar consoles, maps, and other various tools that would allow the base commander to know what was going on not only in the immediate area, but for a good size portion of the surrounding states and the entire west coast. A quick glance at the main plotting table showed a slide map of central California and I knew the immediate danger was in my hometown. For the first time in two days, my mind thought about Brian and I wondered if he was okay.
“Colonel, General.” I said curtly as I moved to stand at the plot table. Colonel Kowalski was an officer on the move. He’d made Lt. Colonel in May of 1982, and last year had been given a choice of a Pentagon desk or a promotion and the executive officer position of this base. He’d chosen the promotion in part because his family loved it here, and because he knew it was a high-visibility posting with the powers-that-be. He was standing next to an older man, who was about five-ten and had graying hair. That man was General Barstow, the current commander of this fully-operational facility.
“Mr. Jones, it’s good that you got here safely.” General Barstow said. “We’re getting some very disturbing reports from your old hometown.”
“What’s going on, sir?” I asked him slowly, trying my best not to sound too anxious.
“Details are sketchy at the moment.” General Barstow stated. “Fill him in Colonel while I call Washington to tell them we have him secured here.”
“Yes, sir.” Kowalski said as the General picked up a secure phone from the edge of the plot table and began speaking softly. “Davey, less than an hour ago, the FBI team watching Dr. Waszaclowski reported him being approached by several men of Asian descent. They went to investigate and have not been heard from since. There are reports from local police of gunfire in that area and the local commander is sending more agents to investigate.”
“He doesn’t come back in time until next month.” I said with a frown. Waszaclowski was the mad scientist who had started all this. The plan had been to pick him up when he came back in time and then decide what to do with him.
“We know that, but this is probably an attempt by the Chinese to grab him before we do.” Kowalski said impatiently. “That’s not the only problem we have.”
“What else?” I asked, my momentary relief that Brian was safe disappeared.
“Can you think of anything special about today in relation to your old friends in Modesto?” Kowalski asked and it took me a few moments to figure out what he was referring to.
“Yeah, it’s Trevor’s birthday.” I said carefully. “We always ditched school that day and had a big party for lunch at his house and then went to the batting cages or something like that.”
“Well, the local police are reporting that a group of armed men were seen going into the Rush house.” Kowalski said and I had to grip the table because of the fear that welled up in me. I wanted to be there, doing something about it, but instead I was stuck here, hundreds of miles away. “Local police have surrounded the place and are trying to negotiate with the men inside, but there’s not much progress. Another FBI team is on the way. I know you’re worried about your former friends, but they aren’t a big risk to national security. We think the Chinese might have assumed you’d be there, or that they could use them against you.”
“I’ll steal a nuke and destroy Beijing if they hurt them.” I muttered and could see the look of worry on Kowalski’s face. I wasn’t lying. I wouldn’t endanger the security of my country, but I’d find a way to make them pay if Brian was hurt.
“That’s not going to happen, we hope.” Kowalski said softly. “The big issue is that we cannot find Sean Rule. We’ve already asked the Modesto Police to send an officer to his school, but they were told that he had not shown up all week. The officers then went to his house and his parents said he wasn’t there anymore.”
“Oh crap.” I muttered, remembering all the stuff Sean had gone through with his parents after they found out he was gay. That was this year, and there was no telling if he’d run away or what. He could have been picked up by the Chinese and his family would have assumed he’d run away.
“There’s concern that they’ve already managed to grab him.” Colonel Kowalski said gravely. Something was nagging at me about Sean and his parents, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it just yet. That was when Major Lapin approached the central table. He nodded at me while waiting for the General to get off the phone with Washington. Major Lapin was a tall man with a bushy brown mustache and a lean figure. While we waited for the General to get off the phone, I idly wondered what kind of conversation he’d have with his wife tonight.
“Davey, the President would like to speak with you.” General Barstow said while holding the phone out to me. I crossed the distance between us and took it nervously.
“This is Davey Jones.” I said cautiously.
“I’m glad to hear you’re safe.” President Reagan said calmly. “I want you to know the FBI Director and Secret Service are covering this directly. We’ll see that everyone is as safe as possible.”
“Thank you sir.” I said simply, not sure at that moment what else to say.
“We’ll be keeping your General Barstow in the loop as well, so just stay there and let the experts do their jobs.”
“Yes, Mr. President.” I said carefully. He was right, and after a farewell, I hung up the phone to listen to Major Lapin’s report.
“…are in place for blocking Highway 50 ten miles West of Highway 278 and ten miles East of the town itself. The third squad is ready to seal off 278 twenty miles north of our position. NAS Fallon is sending up a Hummer for AWACS, and a CAP of four F-14’s. They’ll have two A-6 Intruders ready on the tarmac in case we need ground support.” Major Lapin was saying to the General who nodded.
“Stop the highway traffic and hold anyone who might be Chinese or Russian.” General Barstow ordered. “Search all vehicles and especially all trucks.”
“Yes, sir.” Major Lapin said before turning smartly and returning to one of the communications consoles. The main map shifted shortly after and the projector now put up a display of the surrounding areas with red markings showing troop deployments.
“The secondary team should be picking up your friends and family right now and bringing them here.” General Barstow told me as he traced the outline of Highway 50 and our checkpoints. Secondary yellow lines appeared showing the back-up forces now being deployed. These were mostly Air Force personnel with only basic ground training. If this had been a serious attack, they’d be hard pressed to defend their assignments. Still, it wasn’t like we were being invaded. A foreign country was just conducting armed operations on our soil.
Forty minutes later, I was informed that my family and friends, as well as their entire families, had been picked up and brought onto the base. Anyone who could be effectively used as a tool against me and who was in Eureka was now secured. Police officers in Ceres were being sent to my grandparent’s homes for similar precautions.
“How you holding up?” Dad’s voice surprised me a little because I’d forgotten he had clearance to be in here. He put a hand on my shoulder and I let him give me a short hug.
“I’m on edge, but doing okay overall.” I admitted honestly. I looked around the darkened room, lit mostly by the projected maps and consoles as well as some blue lights and suddenly wished I was back on the Diego Garcia with a whole host of weapons at my command. Here I felt ineffectual, superfluous as regular reports streamed in from the field teams.
“We’re going to have to give the families, or at least the adults in those families a more real explanation.” Dad said softly, trying to distract me from worrying about Modesto.
“Yeah, and you’ve already planned for that.” I said with a touch of sarcasm, earning a reproving look from him. I shrugged it off and started cursing as a memory surfaced.
“Fuck, Colonel Kowalski!” I nearly shouted. The Colonel turned from where he was looking at the display and gave me a frown. For that matter, Dad was frowning at my choice of language.
“What is it?” The Colonel demanded.
“Sean, I think I know what may be happening with him.” I said quickly and moved to stand closer to him so that there was less chance of other people overhearing. “Sean, you see, he had problems in his freshman year of high school. His parents are really religious and he’s gay. They caught him…masturbating in late 1983 to a gay porn magazine. He mentioned once that they tried to get him to go to a conversion therapy place in the first time line. In the second, they never got the chance because of the support he got from me and my friends. He might not have gotten that support this time around. That first time, he got them to change their minds by going to see a counselor at his church. This time, for whatever reason we don’t know, he might not have done that. His parents may very well have sent him off to that place.”
“I’ll call the FBI control center and give them that information.” Major Kowalski said. “I think they’re sending an agent to talk with them so he can use that. Good thinking.”
“Thanks.” I said before going to stand next to Dad again. He gave me an odd look until General Barstow came back towards us. The General was frowning like mad and actually looked a little sad as he faced us.
“Gentlemen, I have some bad news.” He said softly. “The Ceres Police Department sent officers to both of Davey’s grandparent’s homes. Those officers were fired on at both houses. More officers are being sent there as we speak.”
“Oh damn.” Dad said as the blood drained from his face. “Is there…is there any reports of casualties?”
“Just two dead police officers so far.” General Barstow said softly.
“Don’t the Chinese understand that this is an act of war?” Colonel Kowalski stated and I had to shake my head at his thinking.
“Yes, they know it’s an act of war.” I answered his rhetorical question. “We know it as well, but we’re not going to be able to publicly blame them. More than likely we’ll say it was gang activity or something like that because to admit that it was a concerted Chinese effort would eventually result in the public becoming aware of time travel. We don’t want the panic that would cause, so we’ll blame gangs or something else.”
“I hate politics.” Kowalski murmured and I almost smiled. I couldn’t really smile though, because now I had to worry about my grandparents dying because of me. What got me was that they were going after my friends and family, not me. They should have known where I was and made an attempt at me directly. It was obvious that they were after any American who knew about time travel because they’d attacked Dr. Waszaclowski, but they hadn’t attacked me and that had me worried. It also had the General worried because he fretted over every car that was let through the checkpoints and considered closing them altogether as another hour passed by. Dad and I both grew more and more nervous at the lack of news from Modesto and Ceres. When it did come in, it came in all at once.
“Go ahead Major.” General Barstow said once we were all gathered back around the central table. The Major’s face was screwed up in a grimace as he shuffled through several papers holding his notes. After a moment, he took a deep breath and focused his attention on the General.
“Sir, we’ve got bad news, worse news, and some good news here.” Major Lapin said in a voice that was almost shaky. He was purposely not looking at me or Dad, and I felt Dad’s hand on my shoulder. His grip was hard, telling me he was bracing for the bad news. I was doing the same with a death grip on the table.
“Let’s hear the worst first.” The General ordered and Major Lapin nodded.
“The Ceres Police Department reports the situation in their town is secured.” Major Lapin began and I wondered how this was the worst news. “Twenty minutes ago they were finishing setting up a perimeter when armed men, apparently Chinese, rushed out of the house. Several officers were injured, and two more were killed before all of the assailants were killed. They moved into the house and found the occupants were all murdered. There is preliminary evidence some of them were tortured.”
“Oh dear God.” Dad whispered and I almost collapsed. They were talking about my grandparents, my Aunt Bev, maybe Uncle Ron, my cousins Michele and Bryan, and who knew who all else was there.
“Identification on the deceased is expected to take a few more hours.” Major Lapin continued after our interruption. He still did not look our way. Dad was breathing heavily and I could hear the beginning of a sob. I couldn’t afford the time to grieve just yet; there was more to come. I was a Naval Officer, I kept telling myself in my head. Officers do not show weakness, even in the face of news like this.
“Next is news on Dr. Waszaclowski.” Major Lapin continued softly. Okay, this was easier to handle even if it was bad news. “This news is mixed in that Dr. Waszaclowski is dead. Preliminary information indicates the two agents assigned to follow him managed to stop the abduction attempt on him. In the firefight, one was killed outright and the other seriously wounded. The wounded agent followed his worst-case orders and killed Dr. Waszaclowski with his pistol before he was shot dead by the attackers. We have sketchy descriptions of Asian men and a green van that left the scene. A state-wide APB is being broadcast for the van but more than likely they’ve had time to disappear into San Francisco’s Chinese community.”
“At least the fucker’s dead.” I whispered vehemently. At this moment I’d have probably killed him myself for all the crap that I’d gone through because of him. Part of me wished I’d just never participated, even if that meant I’d never gotten that chance with Brian.
“Yes, well, on to slightly better news.” Major Lapin said with a quick glance at me. His face showed some surprise at my vehemence. “The situation at the Rush farm has been resolved. The officers there managed to get a phone tap in and when they heard an incoming call in Chinese, they decided to rush the house. In the ensuing firefight, several officers were injured, two fatally. Several of the adult occupants of the home were also injured and are being treated in local hospitals now. All of the teenage boys and girls in the home were unharmed. They and their families are in protective custody at the moment until Washington decides what to do with them.”
“Thank you, God.” I whispered softly, but loud enough for the others to hear. I didn’t care what they thought, but Brian was safe, as were Brandon and Trevor.
“Yes, we’ve also had news on the Rule boy.” Major Lapin continued. “The agents sent to his parents house were told to leave by the parents. They got a National Security warrant and entered the home, questioning both parents. The parents finally admitted they committed their son to the Blue Hills Mental Health Center in Colorado Springs. They claim he was a danger to himself, but brochures in the home indicated they were looking at the facility’s ‘conversion’ program for homosexuals.”
That statement earned me several looks from the General, the Colonel, the Major, and Dad, all of whom knew I was gay. After dealing with me on a regular basis, they all had decided it didn’t really matter, but I knew they were expecting some sort of reaction. Maybe they would have gotten it in some other circumstances, but I’d just learned several of my family members were dead because I might not have insisted enough that they be protected.
“Two agents are being sent to Colorado Springs right now with a court order.” Major Lapin continued after I made no reply. “They will take protective custody of the Rule boy. At this time the orders are to send him out here. I believe they think you’ll be able to deal with him a little better than most people. Once things settle down some decisions will have to be made regarding his long-term placement.”
“That’s good.” I said, remembering how nice Sean had been as a kid. It sounded like he hadn’t been in that facility for long so he likely hadn’t suffered too much damage. Sean had blossomed with good friends in the last timeline and I had no doubt he could do so again. I knew David, Sam, and Derek would welcome him with open arms. Maybe David would even find him cuter than me.
“The perimeter around this area is secure and we will continue to be on high alert in case of any more attacks in the near future.” Major Lapin finished up. “We’ve been authorized to continue search routines for the next two days. Also, Captain Kohn in town has reported that things are secure. He’s met with the students in Mr. Jones’s class, and my wife, and explained to them the penalties for discussing what they saw. They were told to not mention Mr. Jones having a weapon, nor a radio. We’ll be able to use any number of cover stories once we hear back from Washington.”
“Thank you, Major.” General Barstow said with a nod of his head. “Chaplain, David, you both have my deepest sympathies on the loss of your family members…”
The sound of the secure phone ringing at the end of the table interrupted him, and kept Dad from voicing any response. I looked at my father carefully and saw that he was regaining control over his emotions, but there were still tears in his eyes. There were tears in my eyes too, and I had to struggle in order to not lose control again as Dad’s eyes met mine. The General clearing his voice drew our attention back to him and he was holding the phone out towards us.
“Chaplain, the President would like a few words with you.” Brigadier General Barstow said solemnly and Dad cleared his throat before taking the phone. I could hear Dad talking softly to the President, but not well enough to make out words. After a few moments, I stopped trying to listen and instead looked down at the map table. It was really a flat white board made into a table with a projector hanging over it. The projector was attached to a computer and pushed out a graphic of maps generated specifically for the military by ESRI. It was a brand new piece of equipment, and one that I’d helped design for a consulting fee. ESRI didn’t know who their mystery consultant was, but they knew I was worth every penny of the multi-million dollar deal.
Some might say I was lining my own pockets with my knowledge of the future while not helping the business economy. We were still in a slight recession nationally, but things were starting to turn around. After much discussion over the last few years, it was determined that I should not be paid a salary by the government, but through private consulting projects and patent rights. The government would enter into contracts with contractors for specific equipment, and if I knew enough to help out on some equipment design, as I had with this projector/computer system, then I was given the contract through the company. My national security briefs though, were delivered free to the government.
For some reason that arrangement actually sat better with the people in government, especially the Congressmen who had been informed about me. My bank accounts were now in the tens of millions, not including the stock investments that almost equaled the amount in the banks. Mom didn’t know about the real scope of my wealth, but Dad had a pretty good handle on it since he had to co-sign most of my checks and account transfers. I’d even offered him a salary of one hundred grand a year for his help with everything, but so far he hadn’t needed to take me up on that offer.
“David.” Dad’s voice held an edge to it that told me he had been calling my name for a little while. I looked up from the table and brought my brain out of its ruminating. I knew it was a defense mechanism against the thoughts of what had been happening back in Modesto, but it was tough to concentrate on the present. I didn’t know if I should be happy that Brian was safe, or upset that he’d been the focus of an attack, or if being happy that he was safe was a betrayal of my dead family members, or… “David, the phone.”
“Oh, yes, sorry.” I said weakly as I took the phone from him. “This is Jones.”
“How are you holding up, son?” The President’s voice was weary and full of concern. Dad had moved behind me and was putting a hand comfortingly on my shoulder. It was amazing how much different our relationship was. I could actually lean on him for support. “David, are you there?”
“What?” I said in confusion for a moment before remembering. “Oh, yes, sorry, Mr. President. This has all hit me a little hard.”
“I can imagine.” The President’s voice was full of concern now. “I want to tell you how sorry I am that all of this happened to you and your family. I’ve just gotten off the phone with the FBI Director. His agents will be in Colorado Springs shortly to get the Rule boy out of the clutches of those doctors. I never liked their techniques ever since you described them to me and I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a full probe into that facility’s operation, and any others like it he can find in the United States.”
“Thank you Mr. President.” I said softly.
“David, I also want you to think about what we need to do regarding your…friends in California and their families.” He continued. “We both assumed since you weren’t friends with them in this time line that they would be safe, but that’s been proven wrong now. We both know the old adage about putting all your eggs in one basket, but I’m thinking right now that it would be easier to protect one basket than to protect three or four.”
“That does make sense.” I said numbly, not quite sure where this was heading.
“I’m glad to hear you are of a like mind.” The President said softly. “There will be several details that need to be worked out, but I think moving them to Nevada in protective custody for the moment would be a good idea. It will be difficult to force them to stay there, but I believe we can provide them enough incentive to want to stay. They also deserve to know the full reasons on why they were attacked. Your reports on their loyalty to this country and the way they dealt with your secret in the last time line all indicate they are trustworthy individuals. When they arrive out there, you are authorized to tell them the full story, or as much as needed at least, for them to understand the situation.”
“Thank you, sir.” I said with only one thought running through my head.
Brian was coming to Nevada.
“Very well, David.” The President said with a heavy sigh. “Again, you have my condolences on your loss today, and my best wishes for the days ahead. We’ll talk again soon.”
“Thank you, Mr. President and good luck.” I said before handing the phone back to General Barstow. He hung it up and I felt Dad’s hand leaving my shoulder.
“Mr. Jones, Chaplain, I believe you two aren’t needed here anymore.” The General said softly. “Your family is upstairs in conference room 301 along with your friends.”
“Thank you General.” Dad said while I nodded. We walked out of the operations center and headed for the nearest elevator. I barely noticed the two soldiers who followed us at a discreet distance, and neither of us said a word to each other on the elevator ride to the ground floor. Then we switched elevators to head up to the third floor. Both of us knew the way. Dad finally did speak up just as the elevator doors opened on the third floor. “Son, I’m going to take your mother and Jenny into the other room and tell them the news. Why don’t you talk to your friends and their families?”
“That’s fine.” I said dully. Inside a war was raging between my emotions. Part of me wanted to dance across the hallway in giddiness that Brian was coming, and another part of me wanted to break down and cry over my dead family members.
It was one hell of a price to pay to have Brian back, and I felt a little guilty because a part of me was saying that it was worth the price.
When we entered the conference room, it was full of people. In addition to my mom and sister, Derek was there with his mother and father, and four siblings. David and Sam were there with their parents as well. To my surprise, Tammy had somehow gotten included in the group along with her father, Coach Crutchley. Julie was there as well, with her mother and father. I’d never seen them before. Like their daughter, they were both short and of slender build, although her father had the weathered look of the farmer that was his occupation. Mom and Jenny stood up while everyone else looked at us expectantly. That was when I noticed for the first time that my pistol was stuck in my belt on my right side. David’s eyes, and most of the parents’ eyes had gone there first thing.
“Susan, Jenny, why don’t you come with me?” Dad said softly in the sudden silence that filled the room. It had been filled with a quiet murmur moments ago. As I watched my Dad file out with his arm around Mom and my sister, I noticed that there were two Special Forces guards in the room near the doors. They were holding their rifles attentively and looked just as edgy as everyone else.
“Sergeant Sims!” I barked. “Why don’t you take the younger children downstairs to the cafeteria?” I asked the senior of the two men. He looked at me for a moment before nodding. “Mr. Mulkey, they will be fine there until we’re done.”
“Okay.” He said and turned to his wife. “Honey, you can go with them if you want.”
“Okay.” Derek’s Mom said with a nod. She was a slightly portly woman, and ushered the kids out of the room. To my surprise, there weren’t any protests from them, but they did give me odd looks. When they’d left the room with Sergeant Sims in the lead, I motioned for the other Special Forces guard to leave the room. He didn’t protest and shut the door ont he way out. When I turned around, I saw every eye was on me. Instead of speaking immediately I looked around the room. It was a typical military conference room with overhead lights, a long rectangular table, and cheap art on all the walls. Glass windows on the far wall gave a view of the eastern part of the valley. I could almost see my house from here. I realized my thoughts were still scattered so I sat down at the head of the table and faced everyone else. The few who had been standing sat down as well, and everyone was silent, waiting for me to speak.
“First let me express to you my apologies for the disruption of your daily lives today.” I said in as adult a voice as I could. Luckily my voice had already finished dropping. I was fifteen now and had almost reached my deep adult voice. It did tremble a little though as I continued speaking. “Also, let me convey the apologies of the President.”
“The President of what?” Mr. Mulkey said sharply. His eyes were trying to pin me down, but they had no real effect. Ever since that day two years ago when he’d been told that Derek would be given more information than him, he’d rested uneasily about that. He was smart enough to not push Derek, but he’d been attentive to every possible slip.
“President Reagan.” I answered him simply and saw the look of triumph in his eyes. There were a few indrawn breaths from the other adults in the room and I looked over to see Tammy’s mouth hanging open.
“You expect us to believe that?” Mr. Mulkey pressed, trying to gain the upper hand or something. “Do you forget that I’m the Superintendent of the school district? What were you doing with that gun in school? You know you will be suspended, maybe expelled for that.”
“Mr. Mulkey, several American citizens are dead today.” I said with a tired voice and this time the gasps are a little louder. “We’re lucky it was no one here. I’ve carried that gun for two years now and there has never been an incident. The reason it came out today was that several hundred miles from here, people associated with a secret government project were attacked and killed. I am associated with that project and there was credible reason to believe an attack might happen here. The Air Force mobilized the Rapid Reaction Force and removed me from the school so that no other people would be endangered. Your children, who are my friends, were later secured so that they could not be kidnapped and used against me.”
“You have a mighty high opinion of yourself.” Mr. Mulkey said sourly. Derek looked slightly embarrassed but shrugged his shoulders at his helplessness.
“Mr. Mulkey, I’m here to give all of you a fair explanation of what happened today.” I said to him tiredly. This was not the time, or the mood, to have a pissing match. If I went down that road, I’d call in the guard and have the man arrested. As emotionally drained as I was feeling, I needed to be calm and mature. “I’ve received some very bad news today. My grandparents, at least one Aunt, and several cousins of mine are dead today. If you want to compare penis sizes to see who is the bigger man, I’m not in the mood. If you want a real explanation, then please listen instead of trying to prove something.”
“Why you…” Mr. Mulkey started to exclaim, but Derek stopped him with a hand on his father’s arm.
“Dad, you’ve been wanting to know about this for two years now.” Derek said softly, but with an edge. “Now’s your chance if you don’t blow it.”
“Fine.” Mr. Mulkey said with a wave of his hand. A piercing scream from down the hall announced that Mom had just heard the news about her parents. Everyone looked towards the doors at that noise and then back at me.
“My mother has probably just learned that Chinese agents tortured and killed her parents, most likely to find out where I was.” I told the groups and this time even Mr. Mulkey’s mouth dropped. “I know this is sounding like some fiction novel, but it’s real and unfortunately all of you are involved in it. Everything you have seen or heard here today is classified Top Secret by the U.S. Government. To reveal it to anyone not specifically cleared for the information is to commit Treason under the definition set forth in the Constitution of the United States of America. Breaching the security of this information will result in the minimum term of life in prison and may result in a death sentence depending on the circumstances.”
“You’re serious.” Mr. Crutchley stated in his gruff voice. His eyes met mine squarely and when I nodded, he returned the nod. “Fine, speak.”
“Does everyone understand what I just said?” I asked and everyone except Mr. Mulkey nodded. After a short staring match he nodded as well. “This next part is going to sound like a science fiction novel, but it is reality. In the year two thousand and four, a scientist by the name of Dr. Waszaclowski perfected a machine that could transmit data back through time. The technology of the day, and some inventive use of experimental techniques allowed him to scan a brain’s memory and transmit that back through time to a person’s younger self.”
“Bullshit.” Mr. Mulkey coughed, grabbing everyone’s attention. To be honest, all the adults looked wide-eyed. So did Tammy and Julie, although my friends were sitting calmly and nodding their heads. “That is theoretically impossible.”
“In 1949 many believed it was theoretically impossible to travel to the moon, but by 1969 Neil Armstrong was doing the moon hop.” I countered and Mr. Mulkey snorted.
“Yeah, but Buck Rodgers had been going to the moon in comic books for decades before that.” He pointed out and I smiled at the same time as Derek did.
“Dad, you watch Star Trek.” Derek pointed out and Mr. Mulkey blew out his cheeks.
“What does that have to do with all this?” He demanded of his son.
“How many times does Captain Kirk and his crew go back through time in their shows?” I asked for Derek and I was surprised at the soft chuckles from Mr. Wells and Mr. Crutchley.
“He’s got a point there.” Mr. Crutchley said gruffly. “Go on Davey.”
“I was the test subject in the first major experiment of this technology.” I explained carefully. “The scientist lied about the actual nature of the experiment and I found myself stuck in 1981, in my twelve-year old body.”
“Which was when you came to live out here.” Mr. Wells said with a nod of his head. “I think everything makes sense now. You’re a teenager with the memories of a thirty-odd year old man.”
“Not really, Dad.” David said with a smile while Sam started chuckling softly. Even Derek was smirking a little bit.
“He’s not thirty-something in memories.” Derek stated.
“He’s really sixty-something.” Sam added. “Or was it seventy?”
“It’s sixty-two, twerp.” I snapped at him testily and he smiled. His smile got a return smile from me and I relaxed a little while the adults in the room were staring. Tammy was also getting looks from her father, and sort of blushed for the first time since I’d known her. It was amusing, and I’d have been laughing if it had been any other situation. The great, unassailable Tammy was blushing.
“Sixty-two?” Mr. Mulkey said in a disbelieving voice.
“Yes, this time line we’re in right now is the third one for me.” I said softly and could see the amazement growing in their eyes. There wasn’t disbelief there, just…amazement and a little bit of fear. “After serving as a naval officer in World War III during the second time line, I commanded a fleet during the Battle of Taiwan. The Chinese lost that battle, and were severely hurt during the fighting. They managed to get their hands on the time travel technology and built their own machine. As the officer with the most experience with time travel, I was sent in with a team of Navy Seals to stop them. We arrived too late to stop their first time traveler from going back, so I made the decision to follow him back in time again, giving up my marriage and everything I’d accomplished in that life in order to come back in time and make the government aware of the danger. We didn’t know the name of the time traveler, just his description from my memory. Despite our best efforts, he was able to come back in time and get his government to believe him before we could find him and assassinate him. Today, his government tried to either capture or kill the scientist who first developed this time travel technology, members of my family, and my friends. More than likely if I still lived in Modesto, I would now either be dead or in the hands of the Chinese. That is what today was about.”
“You are not dating my daughter any more.” Coach Crutchley said gruffly. For some reason, what he said struck me as hilarious and I started to laugh madly because this whole time, it had been her pushing to date ME! Everyone stared at me until I calmed down enough to answer their questions, but Crutchley’s words set off a mantra in my head.
Brian is coming, Brian is coming and we’ll finally get the chance to be together.
