The Time Travel Directorate (15 page)

Checking the time,
Vin noted the budget talks would begin at any moment. He was just about to grab some food when his reading pane signaled a breaking news alert.

Vin
watched as the ticker for Standard D appeared in angry red font. He blinked at the number. This would send a message all right. Vin belatedly hoped it wouldn’t cost Director Hay his job, but concern over his daughter had obviously blinded him to any potential fallout.

Seconds after
the ticker appeared, an incoming message from Smiley flashed on the screen.

“
Well, well,” Vin said. “What could you be up to?” he asked aloud, reading the terse missive.

Disruption in Standard
D, all inspectors to await further notification from Central Computer.

He
wondered why the message came from Smiley’s personal account and not from Central Computer. It must mean he was out of the office.

“He is traveling. Maybe he is with
Kanon,” Vin said, his heart racing.

His
suspicions were confirmed when he heard the sound of a locker being slammed in the deployment room. Standing up in his cube, Vin watched a harried-looking Chief Smiley fly down the hallway.

After waiting
several seconds, Vin followed, watching the back of Chief Smiley’s head as he threw open the door to his office. Though it was clear he was furious, Vin couldn’t pass up an opportunity to question Smiley—Kanon’s life may depend on it.

Eyes glued to the door
, Vin slowly walked towards it—careful not to make a sound. Hearing excitable conversation from within, Vin belatedly realized Quill must still be inside. Vin strained to make out their conversation. Failing in this, he took a blunt approach, pushing the door open.

“Vin!”
Quill said sharply, as Chief Smiley turned with a grimace.

“Everything okay?”
Vin asked casually, taking a seat from across them.

They were standing behind Chief Smiley’s desk, neither looked pleased to see him.

“Haven’t you seen the alert go out?” Chief Smiley snapped. “Standard D is going haywire. The present world as we know it is at risk. How could this happen. What . . . ” Chief Smiley stopped himself.

S
itting down heavily, he pulled his reading pane toward him and began tapping angrily.

Quill was
equally flustered. Fumbling with his reading pane, he gave a little cry, throwing it on the desk.

“Look!”

“What is it?” Chief Smiley quipped.

“Read it!” Quill
cried in anguish.

Vin
leaned forward, it was another breaking news alert.

Budget agreement reached following a jump in Standard
D. Director Hay to address American public following this message.

“
Open the link,” Vin demanded.

W
hen no one moved, he clicked on it himself, activating the 3D screen. The projection was poor, Director Hay must have recorded it from his reading pane. Looking very much like a silent movie villain, he began his address.

“First let me thank the American public, for your patience during the government shutdown. I am happy to say just this evening we reached an agreement
for the Time Travel Directorate to resume operations. As you know, this agreement was preceded by a shift in Standard Deviation.”

Vin
glanced at a silent Chief Smiley as Director Hay continued.

“This
shift is attributed to the criminal Julius Arnold, who has taken advantage of the government shutdown to conduct a crime spree throughout history. He traveled to restricted areas and committed numerous atrocities. I’m positive it was his actions that have impacted Standard Deviation. Now the shutdown is over, my immediate action is to deploy every inspector to interdict him.”

Vin
watched as the resolute nature of Director Hay cracked ever so slightly. He knew what was coming next.

“He has infiltrated the trust of many within the Directorate
and has been successful due to the cooperation of my daughter, Kanon Hay. As such, I’m hereby directing every inspector in the vicinity to deploy immediately, to discover the fugitives Julius Arnold and Kanon Hay—dead or alive.”

Vin’s
stomach lurched. He was so confident that Smiley needed Kanon alive he had forgotten the rules of engagement. No wonder Director Hay was anxious for Vin to find her.

Vin looked blankly at his raptured audience as the video ended.

“What happens now?” he asked.

Instead of Chief Smiley flying into a rage, as he expected, he seemed to have formulated a plan.

Calmly, he put his reading
pane to one side and gave Vin a saccharine smile.

“Report
to your area of responsibility. When we get a tip on where the fugitives are, you’ll be contacted via Central Computer.”

“Was I ever formally assigned an area of responsibility?”
Vin asked, trying to figure out what Chief Smiley was up to.

“
Indeed,” Chief Smiley replied. “Now that Inspector Hay is a wanted fugitive, you can deploy to pre-revolutionary France—use the wardrobe room for a disguise. Report any unusual activity immediately. Now, if you’ll excuse us. Quill started a filing project for me.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,
” Vin responded, rising to leave.

After closing the door, he
stood in the hallway for several moments, unsure what to do next before he remembered Chief Smiley’s words.

“Wardrobe,
” Vin repeated, an idea formulating in his mind.

Turning, he walked toward the deployment room, and as the
thought blossomed, he broke into a run. Scanning his badge, he entered, hoping his instincts were correct. His stomach lurched when he saw the deployment room in disarray.

In Chief Smiley’s haste to return to headquarters, he had left his locker wide open, its contents spilling
out onto the floor.

“Finally, you slip up,”
Vin cried, studying the garments carefully.

A black jacket, black hat and trousers could only correspond to one particular point in history—the
location in which Julius Arnold had first overstayed.

Salem,
Massachusetts.

Vin
took out his reading pane and referenced the case files regarding Julius’ visits to Salem, focusing on the years 1692 to 1693. He still had no clue what exact time location Kanon was held. Vin would have to use the web as Kanon did—with his will.

He’d better act
quickly. The Directorate wouldn’t be empty for long. Vin wondered when Chief Smiley would tip off Kanon’s location—deploying inspectors en masse. He would have to be ready for anything.

Vin
took his web out from his locker. Standing on the trap door, he looked around the empty room—not sure if he would ever see it again. All of his training led up to this moment, there was no margin for error.

Looking down at the blinking reading
pane, he pushed the red button.

Kanon
knew she was in Salem. The one-roomed home with its stark accoutrements fit the Colonial era—combined with the fact that it was the first location Julius had overstayed. It was hard to build up personas, as she knew from experience. Julius must be anxious to continue where he left off.

As she studied the room,
Chief Smiley appeared beside her. He whipped off his web and tucked it into his belt before taking her web away.

“
Change into this,” he directed, pulling open a chest and tossing her a black dress.

Kanon
dutifully followed orders, hastily assuming her garments and tucking her elaborate court gown into the chest as Smiley delicately looked away.

H
er movements on autopilot, Kanon tried to get a handle on the situation. By now, Vin would know she was missing. Hopefully, he could glean some information regarding her current whereabouts.

Feeling a rush of air,
Kanon turned, watching as Julius Arnold appeared in the cabin.

“
Ahh, Salem,” Julius said, smiling broadly at her.

Taking
a seat at a modest wooden table, he propped up his feet.

“So,
I’m assuming you have made your decision?” Julius asked.

“
Once I have an idea of what your plans are,” Kanon replied, fearing she was running out of time.

If she refused to help them
, she would be abandoned—alone, without a web. That was assuming Julius was feeling charitable.

“
My, my, Inspector Hay, it appears as if you are stalling,” Julius commented.

“Nonsense,
” Kanon replied, her voice wavering. “May I have my web back?” she asked.

“Out of the question,
” Chief Smiley replied.

Julius
shifted his attention, fixing Smiley with a stare.

“
I’d like to see some more assurances that everything is laid out according to our plan,” he began. “Starting with where you’ve stashed all the webs.”

“I’ve given you no reason to doubt me, or our friend,” Chief Smiley snapped, moving towards the hearth.

Kanon’s
ears perked up. Who was their friend? Could it be Inspector Habit? Kanon decided to take advantage of the obvious tension between them.

“
I have access to Central Computer,” she noted. “I can help you find any inspector you wish.”

“
Nonsense, I’ll feed you the information,” Chief Smiley said, giving Kanon a dark look.

Julius gestured for her to sit down
.

“Did you say you had access to Central Computer?”
he asked.

Kanon
nodded in the affirmative, sitting down across from him.

“We expect the budget deadlock to be over soon,” Julius said. “That means inspectors will be heading our way. We need Central Computer to track their moments, it’s important to time the main event perfectly.”

“And what is
the main event?” Kanon asked, hoping Julius was bold enough to answer.

He smiled at her, relaxing in his chair.

“You’ll have to wait and see. After I’m through with Salem, your precious Directorate will be history.”

N
ot knowing what to say at this startling pronouncement, Kanon remained silent. She wished Vin were there. Maybe then they could hatch a plan to get out of this mess.

Looking at Chief Smile
y, she realized this would be difficult. He was watching her like a hawk. She would have to think of a distraction.

As if keen to her reflections, Chief Smiley straightened, studying the reading pane on his web intently.
Color drained from his face as he swallowed heavily.

“I have to go back
,” he said, his odd tone drawing their attention.

“What
for?” Julius asked, as Chief Smiley began walking quickly toward the door.

“
There has been a jump in Standard D.”

Chief Smiley
exited the room, with Julius turning to Kanon with a frown.

“If Standard
D changes, there goes your whole entire theory, poof!” she said sweetly.

“You stay here
,” Julius snapped.

His
dark eyes flashing, he drew himself to his full, forbidding height. Kanon recognized the man who had sent her to the guillotine as he followed Smiley out of the house.

As he exited
, Kanon heard him call out to a guard situated outside.

“There goes my exit strategy,” she said ruefully, looking
around her makeshift prison.

Julius
must have concocted some illustrious position for himself to have such manpower. She must tread carefully.

Kanon
rose, searching the room to see if she could discover anything of use. Finding nothing, she sat down at the table, tapping her fingers on the wooden surface.

She had never seen Chief Smiley so flustered. With
Standard D impacted, it would make it very difficult to convince Congress, the world even, that vice-driven time travel represented a new world order. Julius Arnold was now under pressure. Kanon wondered what his next wicked act would be—hopefully, she could get out of there before it occurred.

They convened for the
afternoon meal in Julius’ residence. It was the largest house in the village, much more elaborate than the one-room house that had become Kanon’s prison. The house itself was a veritable compound—its fine workmanship done at considerable expense. From what Kanon could piece together, Julius had installed himself as a town magistrate. From the way the servants fussed and fretted over him, he had clearly strong-armed the village into accommodating his every whim.

Kanon
looked across the table at Inspector Habit—who was staring intently back at her. She pointedly eyed the loose fabric hanging below his left arm.

Julius gestured to him.

“Inspector Hay, you remember Inspector Habit?”

“How is the arm?”
Kanon quipped.

“I wouldn’t say such t
hings if I were you,” Habit barked back.

“None of that,
Kanon is one of us now. We don’t have time for these silly games,” Julius responded, smiling at the two of them before tapping his glass for a refill.

Julius was acting as if
Kanon accepted his proposal to join them. Though she wasn’t sure what this meant to her current predicament, Kanon decided to go along with it—for the time being.

Shifting
his attention, Julius gave Chief Smiley a fierce look.

“Are you going t
o tell us what’s going on with Standard D? Or are you going to sit there brooding?”

“I
can’t tell yet,” Chief Smiley replied, looking down at his food with disgust.

It was some kind of
meat and a brown mash of oats. Though it tasted awful, Kanon forced it down—committed to maintaining her strength.

“
Central Computer is reporting a change to Standard D,” Smiley continued, “but I haven’t seen the models behind the figures yet.”

“Why not?”
Julius asked.

“
Director Hay has been finalizing the budget agreement and I’m having problems accessing Central Computer. I find it impossible that Standard D has been compromised. With all the things we’ve done in history, it doesn’t make sense.”

“
We’ll put it to the test tomorrow,” Julius said mysteriously.

“
Are you going to fill me on your plans?” Kanon asked, her heart beating rapidly.

“We’re hanging some witches,” Habit responded. “Or drowning them, whatever Julius decides.”

“Pulled them together from
various towns and municipalities, an odd assortment, I’ll grant you,” Julius indicated, burping loudly before taking more bread for himself. “I’ve invited some press sympathetic to our cause to witness it. Should be on everyone’s reading panes tomorrow morning.”

“
You are bringing in travelers?” Kanon asked, incredulous.

“How else are they going to write me a first-hand account?” Julius responded
. “Once Smiley here fixes the anomaly in Standard D, that is.”

“
That would seem to be the most important part of your scheme. If Standard D continues to spiral out of control . . . ” Kanon paused for effect, watching as Julius whipped around to address Smiley.

“You told me there could be no change in Standard D, and now you’re telling me there is, but you don’t have access to the computer to prove it?”

“I
. . . ” Chief Smiley stammered, his face reddening.

“You better ha
ve a handle on this by tomorrow. I’m not going to be embarrassed because of you. That’s the entire reason you’re involved, to control it from the inside. If you aren’t capable of that, what good are you?”

As he delivered this speech,
Julius transformed from a genial dinner companion to a forbidding presence. His face darkened as he spat out the words, bits of foam forming at the sides of his mouth.

Inspector
Habit smiled at the exchange. No one, it seemed, like Chief Smiley.

“I’ll fix it
,” he uttered.

“See that you do,
” Julius snapped, shoving another piece of bread in his mouth and chewing methodically.

He turned to
Kanon.

“
As for you, be on your toes tomorrow.”

Kanon
nodded, stealing a glance at Inspector Habit, who stared boldly back at her—his features a portrait of dislike.

“
What do you want me to do?” Kanon asked quietly.

“
You seem to have an inflated sense of purpose,” Julius said. “Your value is bloodlines. You are Director Hay’s daughter. Any inspector who threatens me has to get through you first. Are they likely to do that? You’ll be the first one to find out.”

“Ah
,” Kanon said.

It was clear she was nothing more than cannon fodder for Julius, in the event that inspectors
came looking for them.

“Anyone that comes near Julius must be eliminated
,” Inspector Habit added. “And if you don’t live up to your end of the bargain, I have a wonderful list of ancestors of yours to torment.”

Kanon
let the threat wash over her, careful not to respond. She was no fool—they didn’t trust her any more than she trusted them. Chief Smiley had made no mention of whether or not the budget talks were over. There could be inspectors arriving at any moment. And when they did, Julius would surely escape. The only fugitive left to capture would be her—offered up to the Directorate on a silver platter.

She felt like the Duchess at the guillotine.
Though Kanon had done nothing wrong, she was subject to the will of the mob.

“
Leave us,” Julius barked, waving his hand at both her and Chief Smiley.

Watching his erratic movements,
Kanon realized he was drunk. He must have consumed several hard ciders and ales throughout the day.

Chief Smiley was the first to exit, slinking out of the room like a Siamese cat.

“What did I tell you about him?” Habit said, toying with his glass.

“He’s been forced out
,” Julius admitted. “He’s just not telling us. But we have her now.”

Julius
looked at Kanon and gave her a wide grin.

She
rose from her chair, unsure if this was the moment. Julius was drunk, vulnerable. If she could only get him alone, she might have her opportunity. Thinking quickly, she sat back down. Inspector Habit moved forward, preparing to remove her forcefully.

“
No, let her stay,” Julius said. “It seems that Inspector Hay has something to tell me.”

Kan
on took an even breath.

“I do,
” she heard herself say, improvising on the spot as the plan formed in her mind. She watched as he stifled a burp. “I have some information about the Directorate,” Kanon said in a low, measured voice.

Ju
lius clapped his hands together and chuckled.

“
Inspector Habit, a quill, if you please.”

Begrudgingly
, Inspector Habit rose, placing writing implements in front of Julius.

“Leave us
—we are overdue for an honest discussion,” he directed, taking the quill in his hand and bringing it to life with a small pot of ink.

Kanon
watched as his hand glided over the paper, feeling her heart beating at a rapid pace. Inspector Habit took his time leaving the room, obviously displeased with the situation. Kanon watched him exit before turning back to Julius.