chapter 4

Jones and Williams shook their heads while adjusting to these new sensations. The fresh air was unbelievable. Even in New York with its polluted air, it was amazing to breathe natural air, rather than artificial air. The disturbed dust around them had started to settled to the ground, leaving a mess of rubbish on the floor.
Quickly regaining their senses, Jones checked his watch, it was still working. He glanced at the tiny blip flashing repeatedly and touched the screen which projected a small visual map. The dot was stationary on the road name, 116^th Street. He looked at Williams, who was doing the same.

Jones was a typical soldier. Sullen and moody. He was well trained, was disciplined and was always focused on the mission. He expected the same from his team. Missions failed if you lost your focus and got sloppy.  Although there had not been much time for planning, he felt he was well prepared. They had been given clear instructions and this was a well-focused team.

Find Darcy.
Retrieve the device.

 ‘We haven’t got much time,’ grunted Williams. He was slightly younger than Jones, but equally prepared. He looked permanently cross with an intense face that made you shiver. No one messed with Williams.
Jones said nothing. He just looked at the flashing dot and walked out of the alley into the street. Williams followed the way an obedient dog follows his master. Neither of them had any idea where they were going, but it did not matter. If they followed the marker, they would find Darcy and get the device back. No matter what!
  The streets were busy with people coming and going. No one paid any attention to the strangely dressed men. After all, this was New York. Strange was the order of the day. The only thing that was slightly out of place were the blasters hanging from their waists.
   In the future, no one carried a weapon, unless you were authorized to. It was instant imprisonment on Saturn VI. No one ever came back from there, so you never carried a weapon. It was thought that if you went to Saturn VI, life was a living hell. It was always dark, hardly any food and it was cold, really cold. But no one had come back to confirm those rumors.

Although Jones and Williams were authorized to, it never occurred to them that it would be different in 1980. The police and military carried weapons, but not futuristic soldiers.

They had been walking, turning down various streets following the small dot, when a police cruiser drove into the road they were on. The distinctive square Sedan, sky blue in colour and white stripes running down the side, drove slowly along the tarmac. The soldiers were oblivious to its presence, but the car slowed to a stop at the sight of two shiny men both glancing at their wrists.

 ‘You boys lost?’ shouted the Officer as he wound down his window.
Jones and Williams ignored him and kept on walking, focused on the mission. The Officer stepped out the car.
  ‘Hey, buddy. I said are you boys lost?’ He was now behind them, but they kept going, focused on the mission.
The Police Officer was not happy. One thing he hated was rudeness. Even though New York was a crazy place, these two looked unusual. He reached out and tapped Jones on the shoulder. That was a mistake. Jones instantly took that as a hostile attack, grabbed the Officer’s arm, threw him over his shoulder and he landed flat on his back in front of Jones and Williams.

Out of breath, he tried to reach for his gun, which was securely holstered to his hip. But even before he could reach for it, two Star-Trek like weapons were pointed at him.

‘Drop your weapon!’ commanded a voice from behind them. The second officer, who had been sipping coffee in the cruiser, watched with disbelief as his partner was thrown in the air like a paper doll and tossed to the ground. He burst out of the door, spilling his coffee all over the ground and pulled out his weapon. 

‘Put your weapons down?’ The second officer held his police issue pistol out in front of him. He was a rookie and had barely held his weapon away from the station, yet alone fired it. His hands were trembling as Jones and Williams turned around slowly. This was getting out of control.

Before leaving the year 2080, they had been instructed not to interfere or interact with anyone. Especially not to kill anyone. Messing with the past will mess with the future. Killing a Police Officer might mean that his children were never born if he were to have children. Maybe they would start a revolutionary business in the future or even become President.

As the standoff continued, the First Officer was trying to stand up. He was badly winded and felt the pain run down his spine. Jones and Williams were soon to find themselves in a difficult situation and killing anyone was not an option. They had one chance to get out of here and fast. They were still holding their futuristic blasters and in one swift move, fired at the police cruiser. The explosion was deafening as the car flew airborne in a ball of flames, sending the first Officer into the air from the force of the blast.
  Jones and Williams made a break for it down the nearest road, sprinting as hard as they could. Before the Officers could react, they had turned down another road and were lost in the distance. The burning cruiser had crashed down to the ground with a bang and then disappeared into thin air as it imploded.

Catching their breath, they regained their composure and checked the route of the holographic watches they wore. They were still on track.

‘What’s the plan?’ asked Williams.

  ‘We must find out what Darcy has done and get the device. She could have already messed up the timeline.’

The two men continued heading for 116^th street. It was not far. Looking behind occasionally, they saw no sign of any Police cars or Officers chasing after them. Considering what they had just witnessed, it was unlikely the two men would ever mention it again.

  Turning the corner, they walked onto the street where Darcy was located. Williams tapped on his watch and the screen zoomed in to give a more detailed map of the area. It showed Darcy was in the Public National Bank.  The two men stopped short of the building and surveyed their surroundings.
  ‘No way are we getting in there with these,’ said Jones pointing to the blasters.
  ‘We’re going to have to ditch them. Then we can find Darcy.’
They found a trashcan and dumped the blasters in the bin. Hopefully, no one would find them, and they would be crushed when the truck came by. Having ditched their weapons, they walked up the steps to the bank, hoping that Darcy would cooperate and give up the device.

Darcy was sitting casually on an armchair reading the most boring magazine she had ever seen. Banking news could help you sleep and should only be read by insomniacs. Jones and Williams saw her the moment they stepped into the bank and calmly walked up to her as if they were meeting an old friend.

‘Darcy Freeman?’ stated Williams.

‘Who’s asking?’ questioned Darcy.

‘I’m Williams and this is Jones. You know why we are here.’

Darcy looked the two men up and down, examining them carefully. Their clothing was out of place and they wore a familiar insignia on their jacket.
  ‘It’s too late. The device is locked up,’ was all Darcy said.
  ‘Then get it.’ Jones was getting impatient. The longer they spent here the more attention they drew to themselves.
  ‘No!’ Darcy was defiant in her response. Her plan depended on great timing, so she had to stall these two for as long as possible.
Williams was not waiting any longer. He grabbed Darcy by her top and pulled her off the chair toward him.
  ‘Listen carefully.’ His breath smelled stale. ‘Get the device back now!’
There was aggression in his voice. Darcy was sure he would not stay calm for long. Exactly what she had hoped for.
  ‘It’s not that easy,’ replied Darcy. ‘It’s locked in a safety deposit box. Downstairs.’
  ‘It is easy. You go downstairs and get it back,’ said Jones forcefully.
  ‘What if I say no?’
  ‘Then we will make you.’
  ‘I still say no!’
Jones look at Williams, this was taking too long.
  ‘We WILL make you!’ Jones finished talking, pulled Darcy towards him and forced her to walk ahead of him.
  ‘Now walk. We’re going downstairs.’
At the same moment that Jones pushed her, Darcy screamed. It was ear-piercing and high-pitched, so that Jones and Williams stopped. Stunned.
People paused to look. The security guard leapt into action, the same way that a sleepy dog reacts when being called by his owner. Slow and steady.
  ‘Help! I’m being robbed,’ screamed Darcy.
  ‘Shut up!’ yelled Williams over Darcy’s screams.
  ‘Shut up. Shut up,’ he repeated over and over.
By now, the security guard had woken up and pulled out his weapon, it was pointing straight and Jones and Williams. Not again. Jones and Williams had been focused on the mission.
Find Darcy.
Retrieve the device.
And keep a low profile.

Darcy was still screaming, and Jones was trying to shut her up, but it was only making things worse. Someone had called the cops, as the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.

No killing.
Do not mess with the timeline.

Jones and Williams did not have much choice. Darcy was drawing too much attention. The security guard held his weapon steady; people were encircling the two men and Darcy would not shut up. Jones let go of Darcy and walked toward the exit with his hands in the air. Williams thought about following him, but instead he pressed the button on his watch. In a flash of light, he disappeared just as Jones turned around to see his partner disappear into thin air.

  ‘What the hell,’ he shouted.
The Police burst into the bank, some dressed in body armor, others in plain police uniform. They were shouting at Jones to get on the ground and before long they surrounded him and pinned him to the ground. He counted at least 12 Officers before hearing the clink of handcuffs being drawn. ‘Damn it,’ he thought.
Keep a low profile.

He had no choice. Before the Officer reached out to grab his wrist, Jones pressed hard on his watch. The button on the side when held for more than 3 seconds, sent you back. It was supposed to be used when the mission was finished and without anyone noticing. Now 12 Officers and an entire room of people watched as Jones disappeared in a flash of light right in front of their eyes.

While all this was happening, Darcy had calmly walked out of the bank without anyone noticing. She turned around as she went down the steps of the bank, to see a flash of light as Jones vanished.