A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2) (29 page)

“No not to me.  But you are still pure evil.”

“No I’m not, I’m a good man.”  He protested.

“You torture the most vulnerable people in society and you think that you are a good man?”

“I do that for our country, it is research.”

“You are no better than Josef Mengele!”  Will snapped back.

Gottlieb appeared to be on the verge of tears.  “I am employed by the OSS, it is my job.”

Will removed the gun from his holster and pointed it at Gottlieb. 

“What did you do to David Lewis?”

“What?”  Gottlieb replied, the appearance of the gun had increased how terrified Gottlieb was.

“He was in for one day and you tested him with LSD.  I was then ordered to follow him to see what he was doing.  So what did you do to him?”

“Nothing.”  Gottlieb stuttered.

“If you tell me what I want to know I will let you live.”

“Really?”  Gottlieb asked hopefully.

“Yes, now tell me what is David doing?”

Gottlieb eyed Will suspiciously. 

“Tell me!”

“He is working for Abaddon.”

“Doing what?” 

“I don’t know!”  Gottlieb pleaded.

Will raised the gun and pointed it at Gottlieb.

“They are trying to get rid of Kennedy!”  Gottlieb shouted in panic.

“Are they going to kill him?”

“No, everything that has been going on, like the ship being blown up has been an attempt to destabilise his position.”

“So is Abaddon working with Jacob Cohen?”

“Yes.”

“So what is David doing?”  Will asked again.

Gottlieb was silent.

“I swear I will kill you if you don’t tell me.”  

“He’s going to kill Martin Luther King.” 

“What?  Why?”

“They are going to blame Kennedy.”  Gottlieb replied.

“Who are?”

“The blacks.”

“Why would they blame Kennedy?

“They’re going to make it look like he planned the hit.” 

“How?”

“I don’t know.”

Will raised the gun to Gottlieb’s head.

“I swear I don’t know!”  He yelled.

“Well what do you know?”

“I’ve told you.” 

“What about Jacob Cohen?”             

“You don’t want to get involved with that man.” 

“I’m not afraid of him.”  Will stated.

“That’s because you’ve never met him.” 

“Where is he?”

“Havana.”

“Why?”

“He’s arranging a plot against Castro, but he’s going to betray the Cubans helping him.  He has two of your friends with him.”

“Helping him?”

“No he has them held hostage, he’s going to hand them over to Castro once the coup has failed.”

“Jesus, when is the uprising?”

“Sunday.”

“How do I find them?”

“You can’t stop them.” 

“How do I find them?”  Will repeated.

Gottlieb sighed and glanced at his watch.   “My colleague Donald Cameron will be flying down to Havana tonight, aboard a private jet.”

“Why?”

“He is going to hypnotise your friend.”

“To do what?”

“Accept all responsibility for the uprising and state that they were working under Kennedy’s orders.”

“Can you get me on that flight?”

“There’s nothing you can do.”

“You don’t know that!  Can you get me on that flight?”

“I could say that you are a bodyguard for his trip.” 

“Let’s do it.”

Chapter 70

After the service Bobby managed to get away from David for a minute and approached Annie, the poor woman looked absolutely terrible.  She had been one of the few in attendance to have cried.  Bobby had almost felt emotional but he had managed to remain composed, Clyde Tolson was inconsolable. J Edgar Hoover was laid to rest in the Congressional Cemetery next to the graves of his parents, and a sister who had died when she was an infant.

As he hobbled towards Annie she nodded her head to acknowledge Bobby.

“How are you feeling Annie?”

“It’s just so terrible, who would have done this?”

“We’ll catch them Annie.”

“I hope you do.”

“How’s your head?”

“It’s sore.”

“Have you remembered anything that could be useful?”

She shook her head.  “I never saw him coming.”

Bobby sighed.  “We’ve had people out in the area asking the neighbours, no one saw anything.  We managed to lift some prints but as of yet there is no match.  Will you be okay financially without Hoover?”

“Well I’m certainly not retiring, I’ll find something.”

Bobby nodded his head and smiled politely.  “Well if you ever need anything, you know where I am.”

He turned away from Annie and saw Teddy Kennedy standing just down the path, towards the exit of the cemetery speaking to David.  He hobbled over to Teddy and David.

“How are you Bobby?”  Teddy said.

“Well it was a lovely service.”

David nodded his head in agreement.

“Have we got any leads on Will Carter?”  Teddy asked.

“We didn’t have any earlier, we have agents out looking for him.” 

“What happened?”  David interrupted.

“He abducted Josef Mengele and set him on fire.  He’s dead.”  Teddy explained.

“Not much of a loss really.”  David replied.

“That was actually something I needed to discuss with you Bobby.”  Teddy began.

“How do you mean?”  Bobby replied.

“We broke the law holding Mengele, we never charged him with any crime.  We never told the media of the arrest and he was killed by one of our own.”

“He is not one of our own.”  Bobby argued.

“Well regardless you hadn’t spoken to him, so he hasn’t officially been fired.  We are letting him go.”  Teddy stated.

“I fired him.”  David interrupted.

“You did?”  Bobby asked.

“Yes he was following me.”

Bobby blushed.

“Regardless the President and I have discussed it, and we are not going after Will.”

“I can’t believe you.”  Bobby replied.

“If the truth got out about how he was held we would be seen to have broken the law.  He was a Nazi, no one will miss him.”

“Agreed, but what Will did was disgusting.”

“Mengele deserved what he got.  Just focus on Hoover and Jacob Cohen.”

Chapter 71

“It’s a small world after all,

It’s a small, small world.”

There was a brief second of silence before the song started again. 

“I can’t take anymore of this.  I need to get out Faraday!  Turn the fucking music off!” 

The stench in the small dark room made Faraday wretch as he sat on the single mattress.  They had been locked in the room for bordering on twenty four hours, and they had not even been given a bucket.  Both men had used the corner of the room to do the toilet, and in the heat the smell was truly repugnant.

The smell was nothing in comparison to the song that kept repeating.  It had been playing nonstop since they were locked in the room and the volume was almost deafening.  Faraday rose from the mattress and began pounding on the metal door.

“Let us out!  Turn off the music at least!”

Even if there was anyone on the other side, they probably wouldn’t be able to hear him over the sound of the music.

“What are we going to do Faraday!  I just want to die, I can’t take anymore of this!”  Chase shouted.

“I know but we can’t give up yet, they are trying to make us lose our minds!”

“They have already fucking done it!”  Chase yelled back.

Faraday took his seat back on the single mattress and tried desperately to think of anything other than the song.  “It’s a small world after all.”

“Fuck off!”  Faraday screamed.

Why were they doing this?  He was on their side!  He was not sure he knew why he was on their side, although to be fair he couldn’t think of anything other than the small world.  He glanced over at Chase who had his hands in his ears.

Faraday started to cry.  He put his hands in is ears as he did so, it made no difference, the volume was so loud.  He looked around the room desperately for something, anything that could be used as a weapon.  The only item other than the mattress was the lamp, but without that the smell and the noise would be even more unbearable, it would take away another sense.

“Faraday please kill me!”  Chase wailed.

Faraday didn’t respond.

“Seriously please kill me, I can’t take this anymore.” 

“No don’t give up.”  Faraday tried to speak with some form of passion but he couldn’t, he was broken just like Chase.

“It’s a small world after all,

It’s a small, small world.”

Chase was crying now too. 

“Please Faraday just do it!”

“No!”

“It’s a small world after all,

It’s a small world after all,

It’s a small world after all,

It’s a small, small world.”

Chapter 72

Will sat directly opposite Donald Cameron on the couch of the private jet.  He had only been on a plane as fancy as this the day that he and Chase had apprehended Mengele.  Donald Cameron was a much older man than Will.  He looked about seventy and had white hair, he wore black rimmed glasses and a cream linen suit.

Will had changed his clothes in the car, he was now wearing a black skin tight t-shirt and light blue jeans.  He had wanted to kill Gottlieb but he needed to get on to the plane.  The Scottish doctor across from him seemed to be a little wary of his presence.

“So why is it I need you?”  He asked, clearly irritated in his posh Scottish accent.

“Havana is a dangerous place, we are heading into a revolution sir.”

“I would think Jacob and his Cubans could have protected me adequately.”

“No need to take any chances.”

“I concur, which is why your presence is disconcerting.”

“I’m a good friend of Sidney’s.”

“Strange that he’s never mentioned you Bill... what was your last name?”

“Buchanan.”

“Bill Buchanan.  Are you good at what you do?”

“The best sir.”

“Ever been to war Bill?”

“I served in World War Two.”

“Good because as you say, we are heading into a revolution.  I hope you are up to the task.  Have you ever killed a man?”

“I’ve killed many men.”  Will replied truthfully.

Donald smiled at the response.  “Good.”

“So who are you hypnotising?” 

Donald looked cautiously at Will.  “Why does that concern you?”

“I was making conversation.”

“There is really no need, I am perfectly happy to sit in silence.”

“I was curious.” 

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

For the remainder of the flight Will and Donald did not speak.

When they did eventually land in Havana it was the morning of Saturday 1
st
March, there was a Cuban man waiting to collect them from the airport.  They were taken to a large stone house, the small square outside was filled with young Cuban men.

Will and Donald were led up a flight of stone steps to a solid metal door.  The Cuban that had picked them up at the airport, opened the door and gestured for both men to go inside.  They were led through a large room that was also filled with Cuban men, and into a dark room, lit only by a desk lamp.  The song “It’s a small world” could be heard, although it was quite quiet.