The Time Rip (41 page)

Jeremy returned the smile. This could only be Janet. “Janet, good to make your acquaintance at last. Freya is sleeping at present.” He turned to Greg and said, “I suppose you could not have brought her to me at a time closer to the one she was occupying. She is going to be severely time lagged now and most likely will not sleep well tonight.”

Greg grimaced, “You seriously expected me to bring her to you at three in the morning? You probably would have shot me before you realised who I was. No way in this world would I disturb your beauty sleep.”

He turned to Janet as he spoke, “A word to the wise: if you like the skin you’re in, don’t take Jeremy by surprise, especially at night. He’ll have you flat on your belly with your hands cuffed behind you or a gun to your head before you have time to blink.”

Jeremy shook his head at Greg, “No, that’s not true, Greg, I only do that to you. Everyone else gets offered tea and cake.”

Never one to miss an opportunity, Janet said, “See, I told you that you need to work on your social skills. For a man employed to finesse people, you have a lot to learn.”

Greg merely rolled his eyes. “Janet is on a drive to improve our procedures. She has most kindly begun with our computer system, which she informs me is in need of updating.”

Janet shrugged, “Well, it’s true. I was able to hack into the main frame in less than twenty minutes this morning. Which reminds me, you still owe me a tenner for betting I couldn’t do it.”

Jeremy smirked and said to Greg, “I can see you’ve got your hands full here.” Then turning back to Janet, “Does Freya have software skills I’m not aware of?”

“I guess you’ll have to ask her. But seriously, Jeremy, if you ever have problems with your computer, I’ll be more than happy to be your IT support.” Janet looked up at him, straight-faced, sincerity in every nuance of her voice and expression.

Jeremy gave her a lazy smile, “You put me in mind of Daniel when you talk like that. My brother,” he added, on seeing her enquiring look. “Perhaps you would like to inform me what you and Freya hoped to achieve with your midnight excursion.”

“I was installing some software for Greg while things were quiet. It’s always hard to find a time when people aren’t accessing the system so it can be re-booted. Freya was kind enough to keep me company.”

Greg looked up, “She was searching for a time device. I was watching the cameras and she went through every room here, looked in every drawer and cupboard that wasn’t locked. She even managed to find Branigan’s chocolate stash, and we’ve all been looking for that for weeks. Don’t tell me she wasn’t looking for a time device, Janet, because I won’t believe you.”

Janet scowled suddenly. She ignored Greg and leapt to her feet, crossing the room to Jeremy and sliding a bit over the paperwork on the floor. “Well, she wouldn’t have to if someone wasn’t keeping her a prisoner in another era.”

She glared up at Jeremy, not in the slightest bit intimidated by him, hands on hips. “You can’t keep her there forever, and you’re going to have me to deal with if you upset her. I don’t care who you are, if you hurt one hair on her head I’ll write a bug for your computer system that’s so vicious you’ll be reeling from the impact for the next ten years.”

Jeremy fought to keep his laughter from spilling over into his eyes. “Is that what she thought, that I would keep her there forever? Then she misunderstood the situation she found herself in. I never expected her to believe that I would not take her home, or that she would be so reticent to show me the location of the time rip. Besides, I don’t know why you are so worried, she has twice outsmarted me, my reputation is in tatters from her endeavours.”

Greg chuckled softly and glanced up from his laptop. “Face it, Jeremy, you’re not as good as we’ve all been led to believe. I mean, she can’t be more than five and a half foot, probably under eight stone, and she’s got the better of you twice.” Greg shook his head sadly.

A smile twisted Jeremy’s mouth at this, “That’s all right, Jones. I’ll be happy to demonstrate my lack of ability any time you’d like to drop by.”

Janet sighed and looked across at Greg. “You said you’d get me a coffee and doughnuts if I was good. Well I’ve been good for two hours now.”

Greg rolled his eyes, “High maintenance. You women are all the same.” He got to his feet and waded through the mess to the door. As soon as it clicked shut behind him, Jeremy turned to Janet with raised brows.

She perched on the edge of Greg’s desk and swung one bare foot while she thought.

Jeremy suppressed his laughter at her lack of attire. Obviously, Greg was having much better luck than he.

She narrowed her eyes and glanced up at him. “How can Freya hold onto any independence in a relationship if she is reliant on you to bring her between time zones? It’s not as if she could get a bus home if you have an argument.”

Jeremy let out a breath between his teeth. This was always going to be the sticking point. “I cannot allow her to have access to a time device, Janet. It would be far too dangerous.”

“And she can’t continue to use the time doorway because…” Janet looked at him pointedly.

“Do you know whether the farmhouse is occupied in this era?”

“No,” Janet said slowly. “You’re worried someone else may stumble on the doorway.”

He shrugged. “It’s already happened, but even were the house available, there would be problems in setting someone up. It is possible one of my brothers could be persuaded to live there in order to keep an eye on the thing, but whoever took on the house would need much support before they could live in this era without causing suspicion.

“We generally train for around six months before undertaking a job. To put someone in there who knows nothing of this age and expect them to blend in seamlessly is rather naïve. So even if one of my brothers were willing to do this, who would train him? As a company, we do not have endless resources. I am based in 1908. I cannot spend my time here in 2008. As it is I have to inform my colleague every time I leave. There are also a set number of times per month that one is allowed to travel, for continuity reasons. It takes twenty minutes out of my day every time I leave 1908, and all those minutes add up.”

Janet bit her lip and then looked up at him, her face set with determination. “Okay, take us across to the farmhouse now and we’ll see if it’s occupied. Freya said it’s empty, but I’d just as soon check first. If it is, I’ll find out who owns it and get the paperwork started. You persuade your brother to buy the house, I presume it won’t be too large an expenditure if inflation over the next hundred years is anything like the last, and if you want, I will go over there every day to train him up on 2008 and help him settle in. Who better for him to learn from than someone who was brought up in this era?”

“It may take months for a conveyance to go through, even if the property is empty. Do you understand what you are proposing? It might mean a complete disruption of your life for the next year.”

Janet shook her head. “I’d do anything to help out Freya. It’s not a problem for me.” She gave him a challenging look.

Jeremy nodded once, pulled his time device from his pocket, and held out a hand. “It is necessary to have skin contact in order to take another through space and time. Janet eyed him a moment and he grinned. “Don’t you trust me?”

Janet shook her head on a slight laugh, reaching out to take his hand. “No, but I trust Greg.”

There was a blinding flash, a feeling of falling and they were standing at the edge of the field looking onto the farmhouse.

Jeremy viewed the dilapidated property dispassionately. Janet stepped forwards to get a better look and he glanced down at her. “Don’t wander off, and watch where you are treading.”

They made a rough circuit of the house. The glass on the back door was already broken, the boarding missing, so Jeremy carefully put his hand through and opened the door.

He held up his time device and shone a bright light around the empty room. The floor immediately in front of them was littered with shards of glass, and dust lay thick all around, but the rest looked in surprisingly good shape.

Janet shuddered suddenly. “D’you think there’ll be rats?”

“I thought you said you would do anything for Freya?”

“How gentlemanly of you to remind me.”

“Come here. I’ll lift you past the glass and we can see what the rest of the place is like.”

They explored the dark building quietly, Janet making the odd threat about what she would do to Jeremy if she happened to step on a spider in her bare feet. The boards across the windows let in very little light and Janet clutched Jeremy’s arm, making him laugh again.

“Quit laughing at me, you rat, this place is freaking me out.”

“You are the one who suggested we come here now,” he said, “Since you may be visiting one of my brothers here, you may as well get used to it.”

“Yeah, but it’s not gonna be in freaking darkness. Why do we have to look round all the rooms anyway?” Janet winged, “It’s obvious it’s uninhabited, let’s just go, huh?”

Jeremy shook his head. “Wait until I tell Greg what a chicken you have been.”

Janet merely snorted. “That’s not gonna work. I’m a girl: we’re supposed to be scared of creepy places.”

“This from the woman who broke into Greg’s office at three in the morning.”

“Hey, it was dark, but it wasn’t creepy.”

They reached the top of the stairs and began to look around. “I’m getting a real bad feeling here.” Janet whispered, curling her hand involuntarily around his arm. A slight shuffling noise in the next room had her gasping and digging her fingers into him, “Jeremy!” she whispered in a squeak.

She felt his laugher as he made for the door. He shook his arm free and gripped her by the hand, forcing her behind him. He turned slightly to whisper back to her, “Stay close to me, Janet, and don’t make a sound. If there’s trouble, I will flash us back to the office.”

He turned off the light on his time device and waited a moment for his eyes to adjust; then walked casually out to the upper landing and entered the next room as if he were merely out for a stroll. He could feel Janet’s anxiety as he surveyed the room. Suddenly he laughed and pulled her forwards. “It’s a cat. Look, it has kittens here.”

He held up his time device as he spoke, turning on the light so she could see for herself the scrawny tabby surrounded by kittens. The cat mewed and looked up at them, light reflecting off its eyes.

Janet gave a shaky laugh and said, “Can we go back now? I think I peed my pants.” She felt his laughter and there was another flash of light.

Greg was sitting behind his desk, several takeaway cups in front of him along with a bulging paper bag. Janet rushed to his side and cast herself upon his lap saying: “I think I’m going to just stay here for the rest of the day now.”

“How about a doughnut?” Greg said.

She sat up, instantly revived, and reached eagerly for the bag, “Doughnuts. Now I’m okay.”

Greg looked up at Jeremy enquiringly.

“Janet suggested we take a look at the farmhouse in this era to see if it is occupied. It was boarded up and we had a bit of an adventure which turned out to be a cat upstairs.”

“Ah, baby, are you okay?” Greg asked, looking almost sincere.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Girls are supposed to be scared of dark, creepy places. You’ve been watching those wonder woman reruns again. And you,” she looked up at Jeremy as she spoke, “I can’t believe you kept me there while you went on your little superhero crusade. Obviously, chivalry is dead where you come from. Poor Freya must need her head examined to have fallen in love with you.”

Jeremy laughed and said, “Janet, I would never have allowed you to be harmed, Greg would have had my head, and what do you mean that Freya is in love with me?”

Janet sighed in exasperation, “Of course she is in love with you, why do think she runs a mile every time you are too nice to her. Knowing Freya, she is probably running like mad from the thought of commitment. God forbid she comes to depend on someone. It might mean she has to face the fact that life is uncertain.”