What James Did: The Accidental Time Travellers-Book 3 (9 page)

Chapter 16

Bobby was thrown back into the tiny cell, each and every time this happened the stench hit him first.  His throat was so dry, he couldn’t cope with much more and he knew it.  He clattered into Emmerich and the door was slammed shut.

“Did he do the same again?”  Emmerich asked.

“Yes, another bucket of salt water.”  Bobby croaked.

“How are you feeling?”  Will asked.

“Terrible, I can’t take much more of this.”

“We need to get out of this place, if we stay and do nothing then it’s just a matter of time.”  Emmerich stated.

“It can’t be done.”  Will replied.

“Of course it can.”  Emmerich argued. 

“I agree with Will, I don’t have the strength.  My hip is fucked, I can hardly walk and I’m so dehydrated.”

“Bobby you won’t be able to drink much more salt water, probably a couple more days.  At least if we try then we have a chance.”

“Bobby is right, I’ve been here for months, I don’t have the strength either.  You just got here, so maybe you should try yourself.”

“I can’t do it alone.”  Emmerich sighed.

“Why are you even in here Emmerich?”  Will asked.

“I was a member of the communist party.”  Emmerich replied his voice filled with regret.

“Emmerich, for your own sanity, you have to realise that you will not leave here.”  Will replied.

“So you would rather just give up?”  Emmerich asked indignantly.

“Look at us Emmerich.  The three of us are locked in a cell that we can’t even move around in, I have only seen your face once when we were being fed.  We have burns from pissing in our clothes and being unable to change.  Bobby hasn’t eaten and has only drunk salt water for almost a week.  How exactly do you intend on getting us out of here, how the hell can we even escape this cell?”  Will raged.

“I am going to die here.”  Bobby said, almost crying.  If he had any fluids in his body he probably would have.

“So am I.”  Will replied.

“There is still a chance for you Will.”  Bobby advised.

“How do you figure?”

“You don’t die here.”  Bobby replied.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I’m from the future and I knew you, you will kill Josef Mengele.” 

“You are delusional.”  Will advised.

“I’m not delusional, you will one day work for me, but I will not know you.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is me from my past, this is my present.” 

“So how did you end up here?”  Will asked.

“I was sent through a wormhole, my best friends betrayed me.”

“Do you know me?”  Emmerich asked hopefully.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“How do I escape?”  Will asked.

“You will be liberated, when the Nazis lose the war.  You will then devote your life to tracking them down and killing them.”

“So we are friends?”  Will asked.

Bobby wasn’t sure how to answer that question.  “In a way I suppose that we were friends, you did something and I hated you, for a while anyway.  You redeemed yourself by saving one of the men that went on to betray me.”

“So what happens to me?”  Will asked.

“I don’t know, I guess you are still in the sixties, or perhaps the seventies.  Unless Faraday got to you.”

“Who is that?”

“One of the men that betrayed me.”

“So what did I do to him?”

“You raped his wife.”

Will did not reply.

“Bobby I think the saltwater is messing with your thoughts.  You need to help me escape.  My wife and child are out there somewhere, I cannot stay cooped up in this cell and just pray that everything is going to be alright.  I have a responsibility to protect them.”

Will would usually have shouted down Emmerich, but the shock from what Bobby had said still rendered him silent.

“Emmerich I’m sorry but this is a death camp.  People do not leave this place, we will not leave this place.”

Chapter 17

Faraday and Guy walked into the Auld Hole in the Wall, it felt strange to be back after so many years.  The pub hadn’t changed a bit, although when they entered there was no one there except the barmaid.  The left-hand side was the bar, the door opened into the middle of the pub, at both sides there were comfy couches, and at the right-hand side was a television hanging on the wall.  Faraday noticed that Guy wasn’t staring at it this time. Instead, he was looking around the empty pub.

“It looks like you were right.  That man did lie to us.”  Guy stated.

Faraday considered the statement.  “I think there’s a good chance of that. That’s what Jacob does.”

“What should we do?” 

“Let’s get a drink.”

They approached the bar and Faraday ordered two pints.  The barmaid was an attractive woman, perhaps in her early twenties.  She had brown hair and dark brown eyes, she was slim and about 5ft 7in.  She wore a white blouse and a black skirt.  She smiled at Guy and Faraday as though she had known them for years.  When she put the pints down on the bar, Faraday realised he had no British currency.

“I actually only have dollars.”  He said apologetically.

“On the house, Mr Faraday.”  She said with a smile.

“Are you a friend of Jacob’s?”  Faraday asked.

“I am, my name is Scarlett.  Who is your friend?”

“This is Guy Fawkes.” 

Scarlett didn’t seem to recognise the name, but she shook his hand.

“Very pleased to meet you.”  She said, in her Scottish accent.

“You too my lady.”  Guy said, smiling back at her.

“So where are the others?”  Faraday asked.

“The others are here as well, they suggested perhaps we should have a chat and get to know one another.”

“How many of you are there?”  Guy asked.

“Well, I suppose there are three of us.”  She replied, before pouring herself a glass of white wine.

“Only three?”  Faraday asked, a little disappointed.

“How many were you expecting?” 

“Well, the way Jacob said he had men on the ground, it made me think that there were quite a lot of you.”

“Shall we have a seat?”  Scarlett replied, walking around the bar before locking the door.  Faraday and Guy took a seat at the high table in the middle of the pub, facing the television, which was on the opposite side of the room from the bar.

“That television is even better than the one in your house.”  Guy said, gazing towards the television.

“Yes they are much better than they were in the sixties.”  Faraday agreed.

Scarlett took her seat opposite Guy at the table.

“So how much did Jacob tell you?”  She began.

“He said that Abaddon nuked the Russians, Vietnam and Korea.  He said that America essentially dominate the world and that Alex Salmond will be assassinated.”

“Well then you are up to date, we need guns first and foremost. I don’t see any.”

“Well, we both have two guns, so that makes four between us.”  Faraday replied.

“That should be enough, I doubt Mum will need a gun.”

“Your mother is one of the three?”  Faraday asked almost stunned.

“Yes, but she is getting a little old to be running around with a gun.”

“How old is she?”  Faraday asked.

“Well, she’s only in her fifties, but she has had quite a tough life, she doesn’t want any more trouble.”

“Why is she helping then?”  Faraday replied.

“She is a member of the SNP and she and Jacob are old friends.”

“I had no idea Jacob had so many friends.” 

“Mum said you would be like that.” 

“Your mother knows me?”  He asked in confusion.

“My mother is your wife.”  Scarlett replied.

“Jane?”

Scarlett nodded and smiled.

“So you are my daughter?”

Guy looked at Faraday thoroughly bemused.

“Mum said I looked like you.” 

“Oh my God....”  Faraday managed.

“I think you should give her a hug Mr Faraday.”  Guy interjected.

Faraday nodded and felt incredibly awkward as he hugged his daughter for the first time.  He hurriedly sat back down.  “So how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-one.”  Scarlett replied.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“Mum explained everything, you have nothing to be sorry for.”  Scarlett smiled.

“You are beautiful, Jane did a good job raising you.”  Faraday said in amazement.

Scarlett smiled.  “She is a great Mum.”

“Where is she?”

“She is upstairs in the flat.”

“Is she alone?”

“Yes, Clint is in the office.”

“Clint Hill?”  Faraday asked in surprise.

“Clint Stinson.”  She corrected him.

“He’s alive as well?”

“Yes.”

“What about Nancy?” 

“She died a few months ago, lung cancer.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.  So how do I get to the flat?”

“If you just go up those steps towards the toilets, take the door on the right and head up the stairs.”

“Can I go and see her?”

“Of course.”  Scarlett smiled.

Chapter 18

As they entered the diner, they received strange looks from the few people that were there.  Jacob led them to a booth at the far end of the diner where a young man sat beside a young woman.  They too looked stunned at the amount of people Jacob had brought with him. 

Clyde Barrow was a young man, he had brown hair in a neat middle parting, he was slim and was dressed smartly in a black pinstriped suit, a white shirt and a red tie.  Bonnie Parker was also young looking, she had blonde hair and wore quite a lot of makeup, and her lips were as red as Clyde’s tie.  She wasn’t beautiful by any definition of the word, but she could certainly be described as cute.  She too was well presented, she wore a black dress, with an ivory coloured jacket, and she also wore a white hat.

Everyone managed to squeeze tightly into the booth, and Bonnie and Clyde’s apprehension was clearly visible.

“Some day they’ll go down together, and they’ll bury them side by side, to few it’ll be grief, to the law a relief, but it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.”  Jacob said with glee.

“Hello again Jacob.”  Clyde spoke with a tone of resentment.

“Hello Clyde, Hello Bonnie.  How are you both?”

“A little confused Jacob.”  Bonnie replied.

“Why is that?”

“You asked us to meet you here, you didn’t tell us why and you’ve shown up with four other people.  What is going on?”

“Are you still writing the poems?”  Jacob asked.

“Tell us why we are here!”  Clyde barked.

“I told you to meet me here because unless you help me, today is the day that you’ll go down together.”

“Is that a threat?”  Clyde barked.

“No Clyde it is not a threat, it is a fact.  A few miles down the road a group of police officers are waiting to ambush you, they will not hesitate and when they see you, they will shoot to kill and they will succeed.”

“How could you possibly know that?” 

“I am from the future Clyde, I am here to offer you an alternative.”

“The future?”  Bonnie asked sarcastically.

“That’s right, only moments ago we were in the year 1963, isn’t that right?”  Jacob asked the table as a whole.

“He is telling the truth.”  Sarah said.

“So what is your alternative?”  Bonnie asked.

“Well, I know how experienced you both are at organising jailbreaks, getaway driving and killing.  I need your help with all three.”

“Which prison?”  Clyde asked.

“You won’t know it, it hasn’t been built yet.”

“You want us to go to the future?”  Bonnie asked.

“Yes, I want you to come with me to the 11
th,
May, 1943.”

“You want me to go back to Germany?”  Wernher interrupted.

“Please give me a minute doctor.”  Jacob replied glaring at the man.

“Germany?”  Clyde asked in surprise.

“Yes, in a few years’ time the world will be at war once more and there is a man imprisoned in a German death camp.  We want to bust him out.”

“Who?”  Clyde asked.

“He was the head of the FBI.”  Chase interrupted.

Bonnie and Clyde both laughed.  “You want us to help the law?”

Jacob glared at Chase now.  “He is ex FBI, he also spent time working with the Mafia.  He was sent back in time to 1943 as a punishment for going against the President.  He is no cop, he is a crook.”  Jacob explained.

“Is that right?”  Bonnie asked, directing the question at Sarah.

“Yes.” 

“So what is the security like?”  Clyde asked.

“Pretty heavy, guards with machine guns, electric fences, barbed wire, dogs.”  Jacob surmised.

“Sounds pretty risky.”  Bonnie replied.

“I will not lie to you, it is dangerous.  I would not have come to you if I didn’t think we could do this.  I have broken out of prisons before, Chase here is handy with a gun and both of you are the same.”

“What about the rest of you?”  Clyde replied.

“This gentleman is Dr Teller, he created a time machine that we will use.  This lovely young lady is Sarah Salmond, she is a friend of the man we are trying to save and this is Wernher Von Braun, who we have just busted out of jail.”

“Why am I here?”  He asked in frustration.

“We need your help Wernher.  Like Bonnie and Clyde here, you would be dead if we hadn’t intervened.  We need you to tell us where you lived in Nazi Germany.  We need to go and visit the younger you, and we need him to get us Nazi uniforms and access to Auschwitz. “

“You are out of your mind.”  Wernher barked.

“Why?”  Jacob asked, obviously irritated.

“I cannot get the seven of us and my younger self into Auschwitz.”

“Why not?”

“It will not work, plain and simple.  Why would the younger me agree to help the enemy?  Do any of you even speak German?”

“I speak a little.”  Teller replied.

“As I recall you defected to the United States Wernher, I am a little surprised to hear you describe us as the enemy.”  Jacob spoke with a smile.

Wernher blushed.  “I just meant that at the time I worked for the Germans.”

“You mean the Nazis?”  Jacob chuckled.

“I was not a Nazi, I am a scientist.”

“Where is your scientific curiosity?”  Jacob laughed.

“You are out of your mind.”

“You and Dr Teller will do the talking, Chase with his blonde hair and blue eyes is the definition of the Aryan race, so the four of you will be in Nazi uniform.  Myself and Sarah can come in as prisoners, whom you have chosen to work on your rockets. Bonnie and Clyde will have a getaway vehicle and enough fire power to kill anyone that get’s in our way.”

“You want me to walk you into Auschwitz as a prisoner, you really are crazy.”

“Wernher this is actually very simple, you either help us or you die.”  Jacob smirked.

“This cannot be done, I will die either way.  If you really think, you can walk in and out of Auschwitz as if it were a holiday camp then you are very mistaken.”

“The plan actually makes sense Wernher. You can walk into Auschwitz and if we are with you, I see no reason why this can’t work.”  Chase interjected.

“That’s the first sensible thing you have ever said.”  Jacob chuckled.

“What am I to do if a guard takes a dislike to one of you, I can’t stop him shooting a prisoner?”  Wernher stressed.

“You won’t need to, just tell us where you lived and we shall go and talk to you from the past.  You will persuade him to help us.  Bonnie and Clyde, I need your answer, do you want to die today or help us?”  Jacob barked.

“Thing is, we aren’t as able as we once were.”  Clyde stated.

“How do you mean?”  Jacob asked in confusion.

“Well, I have a pretty bad limp, I cut my toe off in prison.  Bonnie had an accident recently and she struggles to walk at all.”

“As I said I want you both in the car, you can drive and you can both shoot.”  Jacob smiled.