Skyline (25 page)

But
for a red brick duct-taped to the bottom, the metal box was empty.

“Damn,”
Monroe said. “It’s a decoy.”

This
was why Ana’d kept the bomb so similar. She was banking on their not realizing
in time.

Bill
shoved the box away. Heavy from the brick, it skidded only a few feet. “She
wanted
us to fight her. Wanted to distract us from wherever she put the real bomb.”

“Why?”
Felix asked.

Charlotte
pinched her nose. “Because we can’t come back here at the same time without
getting debilitating headaches. If the bomb were any other time, she wouldn’t
need to distract us.” She wouldn’t need a decoy. “Fan out. Everyone use your
phones for light. Charlie, use mine. We have to check every brick. There should
be some clear cut lines.”

Bill
joined Charlotte as they used the lights from her astrolabe to look at the
stones. He’d take the left side of a room; she’d take the right. While they
looked, Felix and Monroe called out as they found other rooms empty. They ran
out of rooms quickly; there wasn’t much to the fort. Bill took Charlotte’s
astrolabe, and Charlotte wandered, trying to think.

Monroe
and Felix kept wandering through already checked rooms. Bill ran his fingers
along the walls of the main interior room. And Charlie surveyed the room they’d
come from, slowly stepping toward the decoy bomb.

“Charlie?”
Charlotte leaned against the arched doorway, trying to see what he had.

“What
if …” Charlie reached a hand out toward the bomb, gripping the red brick that
had fooled them with its weight.

“What
is it, honey?” Charlotte asked, though they didn’t have time. He’d seen Ana’s
light; what if he’d seen something else that he was processing only now?

Charlie
undid the duct tape and pulled the brick from the empty metal casing. “What if
this
is the bomb?” He flipped the brick over.

Underneath,
the brick was hollowed out, dozens of cables tangled together inside, a few
orbs visible. But the bottom of the brick was visible for only a split second.

In
the next second, the bomb disappeared, taking Charlie with it.

“Charlie!”
Charlotte yelled. She raced to her purse beside the door, but it was empty.
Right, Bill had the astrolabe. “Bill! Bill!” She raced over to the glittering
room she saw. “I need that,” she said as she took it from him. She spun through
the years as she ran back to the room where Charlie had disappeared. First the
display spun too fast—she’d have been in the distant future if she released—and
then she overshot on the way back. “Damn it!” Charlotte said. She couldn’t get
the date right.

“Charlotte!”
Monroe was beside her, along with Bill and Felix. But while they watched, confused,
Monroe yanked the orb from Charlotte’s grasp. “You can’t just leap away; we
have to
think
!”

“Charlie’s
gone!” Charlotte shouted, gesturing to the empty space. “That brick took him.
It was the bomb!”

“It
was?” But Monroe shook himself. “That’s what I’m saying. You need to catch us
up. There’s time to—”

“There
isn’t,” Felix said, and plucked the orb free from Monroe’s hands. “This is what
we’ve been fighting
for
, Monroe. If you don’t understand that—”

“I
do!” Monroe said. He breathed and placed a hand on Charlotte’s arm. She didn’t
feel warmth from him today. Just danger. “Trust me, I do. Charlie is
why
we can’t go racing in. There’s time to think. Time to pause and get this right.
This is just like the Hudson River.”

“Oh?”
She threw Monroe the most hateful look she could muster. “Is scuba gear gonna
help us here? Or, what, a crane? We have to save him, ’Roe.”

“And
then?”

“We’re
going.” Charlotte accepted the astrolabe from Felix and felt his hand inside
her elbow. She turned on the astrolabe and, focused now, spun it to the correct
time. Five minutes out from noon on April 8, 2016. “Come if you like.”

She
felt Bill’s hand on her shoulder. “Of course we’re coming.”

Monroe
gritted his teeth. “Fine. But once he’s safe, we focus on Ana. On the bomb. And
if we need time?” He tilted his head down, stared into her with his dark brown
eyes. “You take us anywhere else so we can plan.”

Charlotte
didn’t reply. As soon as she felt Monroe’s hand, she released her grip on the
astrolabe, and it pulled them through time. The interior of Fort Wood was first
illuminated with the torches of the Union Army, then the flickering electric
lights of an early construction crew, until at last it glowed with life as it
became the museum underneath the Statue of Liberty.

Now
laid with tile, lit with electricity, the marble stones pristine, the room was
cool with air-conditioning. A line of chattering tourists wrapped around and up
the stairs. In the center of what was now a lobby stood the original torch
they’d seen at the unveiling, all metal and yellow glass plates, like a warped
stained-glass window.

The
walls had been removed, the interior widened. Now Charlie would appear right
behind them. “Five minutes till,” Charlotte said, crouching to where that
little boy had been. He may’ve been wiser, but he still needed his mom.

“Then
we have time to talk,” Monroe said. But they didn’t.

Her
black-haired boy appeared before them for a split second, then was gone.

“What
the … ?” Charlotte asked. How could he disappear? This was where the bomb would
explode. Above, no one seemed to notice. A few guards spoke at the open metal
doors, unaware.

“Oh
shit,” Monroe said. Beyond where Charlie had disappeared, Ana stood.

“Time
for round two, bitch,” Ana sneered, bracing herself.

“Bitch?”
Charlotte said, glancing down to where Charlie had flickered for a moment. He
still wasn’t there. Felix would have to take care of him; she needed to stop
Ana from ever hurting Charlie again. “You stole my child!” She raced forward,
but as soon as she reached Ana, Monroe yelled something behind her.

She
skidded, turning with wide eyes to see that Charlie had reappeared. And then
Ana grabbed the longer half of Charlotte’s hair and yanked her to the ground.
“Fuck!” Charlotte yelled, her head slamming against the floor. Her vision
blurred as she saw the guards split up, one on his walkie-talkie, the other
stepping forward, pulling a baton from his belt.

“Take
him!” Bill said in the distance. Hopefully he meant Charlie. “I’ve got the—”
His voice cut off.

Ana
guffawed. “Idiot.” She raised a leg above Charlotte’s head, then let it fall.

Charlotte
rolled to the side, then raised an arm to block Ana’s blow. Her block turned
into a tight grip, and she wrenched Ana to the floor with her. “We’re going to
save them,” she hissed, clambering on top of Ana. “Every fucking one.”

“That’s
enough!” a man shouted, and Charlotte twisted to see the guard, white hair
coming from underneath his cap. “Get off her.”

But
while Charlotte was distracted, Ana shoved. They tumbled over each other, each
trying to gain the upper hand, until at last they ran into the old metal torch.
Charlotte took control again. The security guard raced to follow, but she
wouldn’t be distracted this time.

Across
from her, Monroe knelt to where the bomb had been. Above him, Felix clutched
Charlie safely in his hands. Neither Bill nor the bomb was in sight. Even after
all he’d said about being something else. About not needing to sacrifice
himself.

It
was more important to stop Ana than to worry. “How dare you?” She raised an arm.
“He’s just a little boy!” She slung a punch directly at Ana’s nose. The impact
made Ana’s eyes glaze over. How could she ever have tried to talk this woman
into becoming Leanor? She wasn’t going to stop until Charlotte stopped her.
“You’re the bitch!” She swung again, but Ana twisted her head away. Charlotte’s
knuckles hit the marble.

She
recoiled, massaging her bleeding fist. A second hand closed around her arm and
tugged her back from Ana. Above her, an aging guard set his mouth into a line.
“That’s
enough
,” he said. But Ana didn’t care. She jumped to her feet,
slung a kick into Charlotte’s already bloody stomach. Charlotte crumpled to the
floor, dangling by the wrist the guard clutched.

Two
visions of the floor floated around, slowly coming together. Ana raced away
from Charlotte—punching the younger guard as she ran—to where Charlotte had
dropped her bag. Going for her astrolabe. The guard above yelled something, but
it didn’t slow Ana.

Beyond
her, Felix was kneeling to Charlie. Whispering something in the boy’s ear, then
saying a quick word to Monroe. Once Monroe nodded from his position on the
floor—he must’ve been waiting for Bill to reappear—Felix was away.

He
ran to where Charlotte and Ana had first fought. Where Charlotte’s purse was
just now being picked up by Ana. Felix jumped as she lifted a strap. He grabbed
the other strap midair, clutched it to his chest, and tugged the bag as he fell
under Ana’s legs. The tug and the force of Felix’s fall sent Ana into a spin,
cracking her head loudly on the marble floor.

Her
eyes fluttered shut. Just like that, Felix had knocked her out.

Charlotte
struggled to her feet, blinking to regain her surroundings. The aging guard was
still next to her, but at some point he had let her free. The other guard was
on the ground, fingers squeezing his bloody nose. “Don’t go anywhere,” the
nearby guard instructed her.

She
rolled her eyes. “I’m fighting for my
child
.” And she strode away, not
caring if he followed. Felix joined her on her walk, giving back her bag—and
the astrolabe inside. She knelt beside Ana and lifted her hand. It fell with a
slap. Her breathing was even. With Charlie so close and the guards watching,
Charlotte didn’t kick Ana in the side like she wanted to do. As Ana deserved.

Then
Bill flickered into sight, clutching the brick that had taken Charlie. Monroe
yanked him back, but this time the bomb remained in place. It must’ve been done
jumping through time. “Holy shit,” he said, shaking his head back and forth.
Charlotte crouched at his side. Bill put his fingers to a wire, but then
paused. “Any ideas?”

Charlotte
had barely seen it inside Fort Wood, but now that she got a better view, her
hand shook. The bomb had been broken down into its simplest parts—a few cables,
a small black computer board, and several orbs. All submerged in the explosive
purple goo. Any spark would make the whole thing explode in their hands.

“I’ve
called backup,” the aging guard said. Behind him, the younger guard nodded as
he clutched his nose in bloody hands.

“Good,”
Charlotte said. “Maybe they can help.” She glanced at Monroe, and he guided the
guard away, murmuring softly. Whatever lies he was spinning didn’t matter.
There had to be some way of defusing this bomb without setting off the
explosive.

Bill
shucked his shirt, balling it up in his fist. “For the goop,” he told
Charlotte, his face reddening. He pulled out a long wire, cleaning off the
purple explosive as he did. An orb soon followed, then another, and another—all
the little time devices that had bounced Charlie then Bill through time. After
each orb was cleaned, Bill would pull out the next and wipe off the purple goo.
There wasn’t time for all this.

The
guard was pushing Monroe away, striding back over. “What are you doing there?”
he demanded before he could see.

The
orbs kept coming, and still too many components rested within the explosive.
There was no way they’d defuse it before the bomb went off. The Blast would
happen any second now.

At
least Charlie was safe in Felix’s arms. And Monroe was safe, too. In time, even
Ana would be okay, maybe one day becoming the Leanor Charlotte knew. The
Council surely wouldn’t kill her if the Blast had never happened.

Charlotte
had done it. She’d saved them all. Maybe that would be enough—to save not only
a half million New Yorkers, but save them, too. If her family had one another,
maybe it’d be okay if she wasn’t there anymore. With the bomb primed to
explode, she’d have to give her family up to truly save them.

“Thirty
seconds to the Blast. We have to get rid of the bomb.” She pulled her bag over
and lifted the astrolabe out.

“Char,
what?” Monroe asked, pushing past the guard. “You can’t. That’d be …”

This
wasn’t Pier Fifty-four. This was the final bomb. “I know,” she said and
illuminated the astrolabe. Not much time left on the date below. “Twenty-five,
twenty-four.” She gazed into Felix’s dark eyes, saw his worried eyebrows, his
lips squeezed to one side. Worried, but understanding. “I love you Felix.”

Charlie
stepped forward, his arms wide. “I get it, Mom.”

She
squeezed him, hating herself for leaving him this last time. He deserved so
much more than her. Monroe came closer. “’Roe, help Felix take care of Charlie.
And Bill? Take care of ’Roe.”

Bill
kept his hand on the brick. “I’m coming with you,” he said. Turning to Monroe,
he added, “And we’re coming back.”

Charlotte
continued spinning time backward, not arguing. From the fierce look in Bill’s
eyes, it was clear he wasn’t going to stay behind. Nothing she could say would
change that.

Charlotte
finally arrived at a time a thousand years ago. No one would be around to be
caught in the Blast then. But right as Charlotte let go, someone crashed into
her. The astrolabe activated, time rewound, but there was a new passenger.

Ana
was coming through time with them.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Ana’s
momentum sent Charlotte tumbling away from Bill once time restarted, hundreds
of years in the past. No longer were they on marble floor, but on a marshy
oyster bed, long before the island was built up to hold Fort Wood or showcase
the Statue of Liberty. She and Ana rolled together, split apart, then popped to
their feet.

“Time
for round
three
,” Charlotte spat as she tucked the astrolabe and bag
under her right arm. She should’ve kicked Ana in the gut. Should’ve made sure
the woman was down for the count, even if Charlie was watching. Even if the
guards held her afterward. This bitch was going to ruin everything.

“You
fucking
idiots
!” Ana said with a sneer, but didn’t throw any punches.

Why
wasn’t she fighting now? She’d been content to fight in the fort, in the lobby
of the Statue of Liberty, but now …

Ana
breathed in, out, furious. But her hands were empty. There was no bag at her
side. No astrolabe in sight. Maybe she’d hoped to knock Charlotte’s astrolabe
away instead of traveling with them. Instead she’d gotten herself stranded in
time.

“Charlotte,”
Bill called, snapping her attention back to the bomb. “I need your help.” Not
looking over, he added, “And you, Leanor, might as well make yourself useful
for once.”

“If
you think—”

“Oh,
shut up.” Shoving past Ana, Charlotte knelt to help Bill. The long group of
miniature orbs lay on the marshy ground beside the bomb. Only a few wires
remained in the purple goo.