Broken Protocols (4 page)

She had to find a way home and she needed their help. But she’d be damned if she’d let them walk all over her. Knowing what was outside the building scared her shitless, and for all she’d been trying to shake off her old life, she hadn’t meant to shake it off this far.

And who was this Levi? With each new look, she realized Levi looked so similar to Lawrence, she had to consider he’d come forward in time as well. But there were just enough visual differences, too. Then again, she hadn’t seen Lawrence in over a year. That could account for some of the differences in appearance. No, Levi was younger, much younger. Besides, how likely was it that the two of them were dragged forward in time? And if they had, were there others like her here?

“It’s not the same guy,” Charmin muttered.

She wiped the tears from her eyes as her laughing spell ended and whispered, holding Charmin so the men couldn’t see her talking to him. “Why do you say that?”

“Because you’re in the future. That means he’s not the same man.” He shot her a look of disgust, adding, “Duh!”

She pursed her lips at the sarcasm and stared up at Levi. He had the same tall, lean build, the same jet-black hair as Lawrence. The same quaky smile. But like a younger brother. Still, she had to know. “So did you come from my century as well?”

Levi shook his head in a slow movement that made his slightly long hair curl on his shirt collar. If they were two hundred years in the future, the men still wore shirts and pants. His weird looking friend could have been from any number of places in her time so he looked odd, but not that odd. Outside of the technology like the elevator, and God, how creepy had that been, the rooms she’d seen so far looked almost normal. It’s what had been outside that had shocked her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know you.” He tried for a friendly smile and added, “Yet.”

She rolled her eyes. “You would say that.”

He gave her a hand to help her stand up, moving her away from the mess. “You are mistaking me for someone from your time.”

“Yeah, right. Like you aren’t the spitting image of Lawrence Blackburn.”

Levi stiffened. “That is my last name. And Lawrence was a black-hearted ancestor of ours. I’m sorry if you were harmed by him. I can only assure you that I am not him in any way.”

She stared at him. “Doesn’t that figure? Well, at least tell me he’s dead? That would almost make this worth it.”

“That I can do.” He smiled and held out his hand as if to shake hers. “I’m Levi Blackburn, and Lawrence is definitely dust by now.”

The younger guy bobbed his head up and down. She wondered if he had an iPod or something in his ear because he seemed to move to some inner beat. He gave her a huge grin and said, “I’m Milo. Levi is my brother.”

Her gaze widened. “That is so wrong.”

The smaller guy narrowed his gaze, confusion clouding his eyes. Levi said, “Well, it’s true. Milo is a genius.”

She snorted at that. “Oh right. That whole genius thing about creating some kind of time machine that snatched me out of my own life. Well, thanks for nothing. So before we go too far down this road, how about you reverse the results and let me return to the time where I belong.”

A long strange silence filled the room. She narrowed her gaze suspiciously. “Why did you say that’s the beauty of this – that this isn’t reversible?”

And Charmin gave voice to her thoughts. Thankfully, it came out in a garbled whisper. “Uh oh.”

Milo looked down at his feet and shuffled from left to right and back again. Yeah, he was guilty as hell. She switched to Levi. And he was staring at Milo.

“You didn’t figure that you needed a way to reverse the process.” She motioned to the nonexistent glass elevator around her and said in an ominous voice, “You figured anyone – any girl – would be delighted to find herself yanked away from everything she holds dear into a foreign world where she has no way to support herself?” Her voice rose at the end to shrill tones. “Dependent on you two for my living?”

Both men winced in sync.

She lowered her voice and continued in an angry whisper. “And seeing as how I’m running up a list of questions, here is a biggie.” She paused. “Why me?”

*

Levi didn’t know
what to do. She knew his ancestor, a man who’d left a horrible legacy of infidelity and distrust. That she mistook him for that man was a huge insult. He tried to remind himself that he didn’t know her and she didn’t know him, but she’d jumped to one hell of an assumption. And she was pissed. The tears, the loud voice, and the death grip she had on her pet also said she was terrified.

And that he could understand.

She also looked familiar. Like very familiar. At least her facial features. That tiny delicate body and luminescent skin, no. But he hoped she’d become familiar. Then it hit him. He reared back to study her closer. Was she the girl in his favorite photo? There were differences, but she was close…oh so close. He wanted to pull it out of his pocket and compare it to her but didn’t dare. He turned to stare at his brother, wanting to question him on the spot. But it wasn’t the time. And left him wondering…was it her?

She looked ready to cry, and a woman’s tears broke him every time. “Please. Let’s go to our place. We can explain the facts and come up with a plan of how to fix it.”

His words appeared to make all the stuffing and ire drain from her body. Her shoulders sank and she buried her face in the animal’s fur. He reached out gently and nudged her forward. She moved as he directed. Home was right around the corner. Thankfully, it was in the same block as his office with aboveground and underground access between the two. He liked to live close to his place of business.

He walked her forward a few more steps. “Please. Let me just get you in a place where we can talk privately.”

At his wording, her compliance stalled and so did her footsteps.

He wanted to pick her up and carry her, but that damn pet of hers glared at him. He’d claw Levi’s eyes out if he gave him a chance. With another firm push, he added, “Come on, you’re safe with me.”

And then they were there. Milo entered first, the girl followed. Levi brought up the rear and re-engaged the alarms, locking them in.

“Privacy on.”

The buzzes and clicks told him that the security system had scanned the space and found it clean.

Feeling a tad better, he strode forward and poured himself a large shot of whiskey. And downed it.

“Jesus, Milo. What are we going to do?”

Milo had collapsed onto the couch. The air couch lifted and fell as he settled into his preferred space somewhere in between. The girl stood immobile in the center of the room. Ash blonde hair, fine boned, but she moved well. Maybe she was a dancer? There’d been ire in her voice and fire spit from her eyes. So there was spirit in there. In spite of the circumstances, Levi admitted he was intrigued.

“Welcome to our home,” he said gently. “Now, I introduced the two of us. Please, won’t you tell us – what’s your name?”

She spun slowly. “You brought me into your world and you don’t even know who I am?” The shocked horror in her voice hit him hard. Then he saw the hurt in her eyes. Contrarily, he wanted to enfold her in his arms and hold her close. To tell her that it was all okay. To let her know he wouldn’t desert her. That it would work out fine.

But he’d never been a liar before and he wasn’t about to start now.

“I didn’t choose you. Milo did.” He motioned to his wacky brother, floating suspended in the middle of the room, his Mohawk hanging over the edge of the deep purple airbed. His eyes were closed as if he’d dropped off to sleep.

“Milo did? And what the hell is he lying on? Whatever it is, I want one, too.” Her body swayed in protest to being vertical. “It wasn’t purple and it wasn’t floating when we walked in.”

“No, it wasn’t.” He sighed. Life had changed a lot since her era. “That’s only a few of the things you’re going to have to get used to now.”

She shook her head and said in a forlorn voice, “That’s just it. I don’t think I can.”

“N
ever mind. Let’s
just shelve this for the moment.” Dani tried to straighten up, but her legs had taken on a rubbery sensation and refused to hold her properly. “I don’t know if this is a delayed reaction, different oxygen in the air, or…” and her brain shut down. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t feel so good.”

The room swayed and circled around her.

“Easy.” Levi grabbed her and led her toward the side of the room. “You can stay in here. You need rest. I don’t think travelling through time was easy on your system.”

“You think?” She laughed brokenly, but even her voice sounded odd. “Did your genius brother consider the damage to my DNA? That the reconstituted cells of my body didn’t pull together the same way that it was taken apart?”

“There wasn’t supposed to be anything like that happening.” He motioned to the doorway on the side. “The bedroom is through there. And chances are your body is fine. It just needs time to adjust.”

She didn’t have the energy to argue. And with every step, her body was getting heavier. The effort of lifting one foot after another almost beyond her. Before she understood what was happening, Levi was dragging her to a long white surface. She desperately wanted a bed to sleep in, but being horizontal on any surface would do. The sleep would follow regardless.

“I think I need a doctor,” she whispered.

“We don’t have doctors anymore,” Levi said. “At least not like you mean.”

“Great. In the future, there are no doctors. Now really make my day and tell me there are no lawyers, too.” After all, Lawrence had been a lawyer. Suddenly they’d reached the white object, and damn if he didn’t push her on top of it.

“A hero you’re not.”

She felt more than saw his surprised look, then her own shock took over as the white surface softened and stretched, supporting the contours of her body like she’d never felt before. “What is this thing?” she whispered.

“A bed.”

How that could be she didn’t know, and she no longer cared as her eyes drifted closed and she let go.

Into a deep sleep.

*

Levi stared down
at the impossible woman, proof of this impossible situation, brought on by his impossible brother. Dani didn’t look well. But he didn’t have an exclusive medical unit here. If he had, she’d be lying in it right now. There was one in the building. His friend Johan Strand owned it. If he was away, Levi would have taken her there instead of here. But Johan was home and he’d be entertaining – like he always did.

Walking to the door, he cast a last look at the sleeping beauty. Compared to today’s enhanced and cosmetically perfect women, she had character. She wasn’t stunning. But she was pretty. Huge eyes that showed every emotion, a nose that turned up at the end ever so slightly, and a mobile mouth that caught his attention and held it whenever he was with her.

What was he going to do with her? “Damn it, Milo. What are we going to do?”

No answer. He walked over to find his brother either deep in contemplation or…asleep.

“Milo?”

No answer. He walked closer to find that his brother had his headset strapped to his head with his virtual reality goggles on. Damn. He was in the zone. Now was it the game zone or the creative zone? Except with Milo, there was often no difference. Only this was no time to duck out. He reached across his brother’s body and pulled the goggles off.