Time Salvager (41 page)

Her stomach twisted when the speck turned sharply up the mountain and climbed to her level. Any doubt of whoever it was not knowing her location was erased. Sweat poured down her face even though her atmos was keeping her cool. The ship looked like James’s ship, one of those collies that the ChronoCom people used. If it was someone from the agency, she was as good as dead. James had told her how badly ChronoCom wanted to capture her. Now, of all the fool things she could have done, she had exposed herself without any means of escape.

The collie leveled off and the ramp swung open. James flew out, landing dramatically in front of her in a kneeling position, kicking up a circle of dust in all directions.

“What in the black abyss are you doing here by yourself?!” He thundered, looking directly at her hiding place.

Elise felt the urge to laugh and cry at the same time, but she wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of seeing that. With exaggerated casualness, she sauntered out of the bushes. “Oh, hello. I thought you had already left. I would have rescheduled my little excursion.” She managed to look abashed.

“I delayed it. Change in our jump plans. I won’t be leaving until tomorrow. No one would tell me where you went. I dug it out of Sammuia.”

That darn boy couldn’t keep a secret. Well, she couldn’t blame him. He was scared enough of James as it was. “You didn’t bully the boy too much, did you?” she asked. “It’s not earning you any points with the Elfreth, you know.

James was working himself up over nothing. “I told you not to leave the tribe when I’m away. I can’t protect you if something happens!”

Again, that assuredness in his voice as if he knew what was best for her. Nothing got her angry like someone who felt like he had the right to patronize her. It hadn’t worked for her parents, and it wasn’t going to work for James. He was looking out for her; she appreciated that, but he wasn’t anyone who had authority over her.

“Now you look here…” she began in what she considered a very reasonable tone.

“Don’t argue with me,” he snapped. “Where we’re at right now is the complete opposite of not leaving Boston.”

The discussion went rapidly downhill. James was someone who was obviously used to getting things his way, and at his age—she wasn’t actually sure what his exact age was—it was a hard habit to break. Elise admitted he intimidated her when he was angry, but she wasn’t going to just stand there and take his abuse.

“I’m a big girl, by Gaia, and I have a job to do.” That argument didn’t get her anywhere. It never did.

“From now on, I’m going to order the watch guards not to allow you to leave the city when I’m not there.”

Elise’s eyes went wide. She looked up at him, locked eyes with his, and took a step forward. “What did you just say?” Her sudden intensity made him take a step back.

“I said, from now on—”

“Stop talking right now.” She shook her finger at him. “I’m not your kid. I’m not your student, and I’m definitely not Sasha. You don’t own me. You don’t get to order me around.”

“If you’re not going to listen to reason…”

“Get over yourself, James. Don’t tell me what to do and expect me to just agree. I need to go on these trips to collect samples. I’m trying to cure this damn planet from a thousand years of neglect and abuse!” she said.

“It’s a simple request,” he snarled. “When I’m on a jump, don’t leave Boston. Why can’t you listen?”

“Because it took me a month to even reserve that car for this trip. I’m not going to cancel it on your say-so!”

“You’re not going to cure anything if you’re dead. It’s my job to protect you.”

“No, it’s not your job. Your job is to look after everyone.”

“I don’t care about anyone else!”

Elise stopped in her tracks. There was a long, awkward pause. “You should,” she finally said. “They’re your family too.”

James turned away. “No, they aren’t. I have no family. Not for a long time. I could care less what happens to them. I just need to know you’re all right.” He sat down on the ground and looked out over the mountain to the vast jungle below. “I can’t lose you like I lost Sasha. Nothing else matters.”

“Oh, James.” She softened, and sat down beside him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder. “I’ll never replace your sister; no one can. You have to stop blaming yourself and focus on the present. I need you. The Elfreth need you. And to be honest, you need them as well.”

He grunted. “What could I possibly need them for? They’re weak and helpless. I’m their protector. I’m killing myself feeding and supplying them. What could they possibly offer me?”

She squeezed his arm close to her body. “What could I possibly offer you?”

He looked at her. “That’s different.”

Elise shook her head. “No, James, it’s not. Open your eyes and let people in. Like you let me in.”

She tried to catch his eye, but he was still looking away.

“Listen, mister,” she said. “You work way too hard pretending to be a stone golem, but you’re a really good guy.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, looking on as the wind swayed the jungle canopy, a sea of rich life that was becoming a scarcity in this world. Even here, though, she could see the hints of brown on the edges, an encroaching disease that was threatening to invade this still relatively lush land.

James must have been reading her mind. “It’s pretty up here, isn’t it?” he said.

“It is. It used to be like this all over the world. And stop trying to change the subject.”

“And you’re going to bring it back?”

Elise stood up. “I’m trying, but we’re not going to get anywhere sitting around.” She walked a little up the path. “You coming?”

James looked like he was about to protest, and then shrugged. “I guess the city can survive a few more hours without us.”

“Sorry, pal,” she said, “I’m staying overnight.”

“Black abyss you are. Didn’t we…”

“You can stay with me if you like.” She grinned. “You know, so you can watch over me.” James hesitated. “Come on, I could use a lackey, and since no one else is here to volunteer, you’re it.” She pointed at a small clearing halfway down the path. “You can start by setting up camp and cooking dinner while I finish collecting samples. I’m starving.”

Elise continued working but stayed within earshot for the next two hours, finishing up her sample collection on top of Mt. Greylock. She was mindful to stay within sight of James. The last thing she wanted was him to go off his rocks again. She’d have to do something about that one of these days; she just wasn’t sure what exactly. He meant well but she could tell he lacked soft skills when dealing with people. At least he didn’t berate her in front of the Elfreth; otherwise they would have a serious problem.

By the time she returned to where she had left him, James had done more than a passable job with the camp. A small animal—Elise had long learned not to ask what anymore—was roasting in a tin plate above a neat little fire that roared in the center of a circle of stones. James was bent over a pot stirring a spoon in a greenish broth, and a small tent was pitched just off to the side, near the edge of the foliage. The whole thing looked almost quaint.

“Well, look at you.” She smirked as she dumped her pack on the ground and approached the fire. “All you need is an apron and we’ll be ready to play house.”

As usual, her twenty-first-century quips went right over his head as he met her comedic genius with a deadpan stare. “I have food. The rations I found out of your daily pack, and I was able to capture the protein—”

“Uh-uh.” She held her hands up. “I don’t want to know if I’m eating a rodent. I’m just going to pretend it’s all chicken.” She looked behind him. “Where did you park the collie? I thought we could just camp in there tonight.”

“There’s not enough level ground to park it. I sent it down the mountain.” He paused. “Would you like me to call it up?”

Elise studied the lone tent on the ground and then James, a wicked smile growing on her face. “I guess we can shack up.” She sat next to him and powered off her atmos. She bent forward and inhaled over the pot. “Smells good.”

The biting wind immediately soaked through her clothing and into her bones. She shivered and leaned into him. His body stiffened as she huddled close, and she felt his unsure hands drape around her shoulders. It was almost cute, but really, she was getting tired of having to do all the work.

“Do you think you will be ready to leave at first light?” he asked. “I don’t like being exposed like this. There are still people looking for us.”

“We haven’t heard from your ChronoCom folks since we joined with the tribe. They could have given up already.”

“They won’t stop looking for us, ever.” James paused. “Listen, Elise, there’s something you need to know. There’s more to what happened on Nutris than what I’ve told you.”

Elise felt his hands shake and pulled away from his shoulder. He avoided her gaze and stared intently at a small rock at his feet. His usual stoic facade was cracking as she saw anguish twist his face.

“What is it, James?” she asked.

He exhaled. “I found out who was responsible for the Nutris Platform’s destruction. It was a megacorporation from the present named Valta. ChronoCom was complicit in the disaster as well.”

The words didn’t register in her mind at first. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, responsible?”

“Valta arranged to have Nutris destroyed so they could obtain the technology on the platform. ChronoCom carried out the job.”

“You?” she gasped.

“No,” he pleaded. “It was another chronman. I had nothing to do with them planting the explosive. I was only sent back for the retrieval.”

“You told me that it was a natural disaster! Now you’re saying it’s your people who did it?”

“I didn’t find out about the sabotage until afterward,” he said.

Something about that sentence niggled at Elise. “Wait, when did you find out about this?”

He hesitated again. “I won’t lie to you. I found out that night you told the Elfreth you were from the past. I was waiting for a good time to tell you.”

A hundred images of her friends on Nutris ran through her head. Thinking they died in an accident was vastly different from knowing they were murdered. Murdered by people in this very time she was trying to save. By James’s former colleagues, in fact.

Elise didn’t know what to think. She did know she had to decide whether she could trust him. If she did, then she had to believe that he had nothing to do with Nutris’s sabotage. If she didn’t believe him, then this should be the last time she ever saw him again. She could send him away from the tribe then. He would do so if told. Maybe that was for the best. But she already knew her answer.

Elise clutched his hands. “You promise me you had nothing to do with it?”

“I swear it upon my sister and mother,” he replied in a whisper.

“You promise me you’ll find whoever is responsible and make them pay?”

“I’ll give you that justice. I didn’t…”

“Good, now hush. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Stoke the fire, will you? It’s getting cold out here.”

For the rest of the night, neither said much. Mostly, they both stared at the fire. Elise’s mind raced as she clung to the memories of her past life, of friends and places that she would never see again. She couldn’t help but compare it with the world she now lived in, and think about how much she had lost.

To be honest, she surprised herself. The first few days she was here, she didn’t think she would last. After all, she had lost everything and was now trapped in what was essentially a completely foreign world. Yet, here she was, still trying to be that scientist and still trying to do good.

She looked up at James sitting just a meter away. She owed it all to him. Though he wasn’t aware of it, she knew how much he had sacrificed for her. Qawol and Grace had told her not so much about his past, but what his people were. She’d had to go to them because James wouldn’t volunteer any information.

Once she realized what he had given up, she was touched. Grateful as well, but more touched, because in the end, she knew where his feelings came from. Sure, he was awful at showing his emotions, but that’s just the way he was.

Elise moved close to him and nestled into the crook of his arm. “It’s cold.”

James put his arms around her and held her close. “I’ll get more wood,” he said.

“I think we’re okay for now,” she said.

Of course James didn’t get the hint and started to get up. She pulled him back down and put a finger on his lips. “Don’t you dare think about getting up again,” she murmured, bending his head down and covering his mouth with hers. At first, he froze at her contact, and Elise thought she had misread his feelings for her, that maybe all this time, he just considered himself her protector.

Then he softened just a little and she felt him return the kiss. He put his hands on her hips. Elise linked her fingers behind his neck and pulled herself onto him. James brushed the hair away from her eyes. She felt each of his calluses as his fingers brushed down her cheeks toward her mouth. He continued to hold her as if he were afraid he’d drop her and she’d break. It wasn’t enough. Putting both her hands on his face, she kissed him with renewed intensity. If he was going to treat her as if she were some sort of frail china doll, then he had another thing coming. The pressure drove him backward and they found themselves on the ground, still cocooned in James’s exo.

“About leaving at first light,” she murmured, brushing his cheek with hers as she breathed in his ear and tugged at his shirt. “You might want to reconsider that.”

FORTY

T
RAITOR

“Are you sure,” said Levin, a slow burn roiling in the pit of his stomach.

He was sitting in the meeting room next to Young’s office. To his left sat the director, Kuo, Hameel from the Handlers Operation, and Buchanan, the medical quartermaster. Levin tapped the metal surface of the table with his fingers in succession as the vid hovering over the center of the table played on a repeated loop. The evidence was there for everyone to see.

There was Handler Smitt hacking into the security net for the east wing, first inserting a doppelganger hack into the system, and then using a paint band to impersonate one of the licensed miasma techs. He hadn’t done a bad job; most standard security audits would have missed it if Levin, having anticipated James’s need for miasma pills, had not implemented additional security protocols in the medical ward.