No Future Christmas (8 page)

* * * * *

“Just tell me where we’re going?” Mike said a while later.
They’d been flying for fifteen minutes.
“What harm will that do?”

Shauna pointed to the interior of the rented purple skycar
and held her finger to her lip.
“Autopilot.
Heading, 6750, course 1145.” When
the vehicle settled into its course Shauna fiddled with some instruments and
the skycar turned toward another course and heading.
Then she pulled out her
electronic device.
She touched a button on its side and a virtual keyboard
popped out.
She typed a few sentences and showed Mike the device’s personal
hologram screen.

He read, “Some of these skycars are bugged.
The rental
companies have contracts with the Guardians that included bugging.
It was a
take it or leave it deal, so they took it.
We never know if we’ve gotten a
bugged car, so we have to be careful what we say.”

Mike nodded his understanding.
“Well, I could use a vacation
right about now.”

Shauna laughed.
“Me too.”

“What do you do for Christmas around here?
I haven’t noticed
any decorations.” Mike stretched his long legs in front of him.
He plumped up
the soft pillow behind his head, part of the seatback.
The dog stood on the
backseat, turned in a right circle and plopped down with a sigh.

“It’s against the law to put up decorations.” Shauna twisted
a knob, flipped a switch and a light jazz song played over the interior
speakers.

“What?
No celebrations?
That’s awful.”

“Oh, we celebrate.
Within our homes, in our churches.
Freedom of religion is lawful, we’re just not allowed to show or display it
outside our homes.
Because of that, you’ll see homes decorated beautifully on
the inside.” Shauna shook her head.
“It’s alarming at first.
The city looks
boring and drab all year round.
But you walk into a private home, church,
synagogue or other religious dwelling and you’ll see stunning displays that
honor their religious beliefs.”

“So, department stores, shops and restaurants don’t
decorate?” Mike asked.

“Not if they value their business.”

“Sad,” Mike murmured.
A thought occurred to him.
“Why wasn’t
your apartment decorated?”

“Oh, I don’t have time for that.
I’m rarely home right now,
what with the testing phase of the time travel device being in full swing.
Why
decorate if all I’m going to do is sleep, eat and change clothes?”

Mike sat up in his seat and turned toward Shauna.
“So, what
religion do you practice?”

“I’m more spiritual than religious.
I love Christmas for its
goodwill toward man theme but it bothers me that people ignore it.” Shauna
turned toward Mike and laid a hand on his arm.
He felt a bolt of electricity
shoot through his system.
“While I was in your time I saw Christmas displays
everywhere.
They were beautiful.
Songs played on outdoor speakers, decorations
adorned trees and buildings.
I wish we could have that.
I guess the CEOs
decided to do away with any display that could cause a rift between groups of
people.”

“But why would they do that?” Mike followed the progress of
two skycars, one above them and one next to them.
One looked like a fat
bumblebee, black with yellow stripes on it and the other looked like a ripe,
luscious peach.

“The twenty-first century war in the Middle East lasted
longer than anyone thought.
People were weary of fighting.
They realized it was
really a religious war so they decided to eliminate all signs of religion.
The
hope was that if people could worship in privacy there’d be peace in the
world.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes.
For over one hundred years there have been no wars.
If
it weren’t for the Fearsome Foursome we’d be living in paradise.”

Mike thought about that.
No wars.
He never thought he’d live
to see that.
A chance jump into the year 2110 had shown him what life would be
like but there were too many things he didn’t like.
“What about crime?
Has it
been eliminated?”

Shauna smiled at Mike.
“You would be out of a job as a cop.
There’s still plenty of crime, on the streets and in business.
Corporate crime
is rampant, identity thieves are still finding new ways around security but
thankfully don’t make much progress.
Robberies still exist.
It’s not paradise
but it’s closer.”

“I could still make a living fighting corporate crime.”

“You can’t.”

The blunt statement startled Mike.
He turned to Shauna.
“But
you just said—”

“You’d have to be a Global Guardian to either patrol the
streets or fight any kind of white collar crime.”

“Oh, well, then I’m out of work here,” Mike said.
He didn’t
understand why he’d even asked these questions.
He wasn’t planning on staying
in this century anyway.
“How long until we reach our destination?
I’m pooped.”

“Fifteen minutes.
Autopilot, descend.
Landing destination at
1600.” The skycar slowed and dipped.
The stick automatically went forward and
they began a gentle descent.

As the ground rushed up to meet them Mike saw more of the
surrounding area come into view.
He gasped when he saw palm trees and tropical
foliage.

“Well, I guess we packed wrong for this trip.”

* * * * *

Humid, fragrant air surrounded them the minute they climbed
out of the skycar.
The dog jumped out and stretched.
He gave Mike a quick nudge
of his hand and Mike bent down to rub his head.
“I think we’ll like it here,
fella.” Mike said.
He inhaled a deep breath.
“Wonderful.
I feel myself relaxing
already.” He glanced around the rental carport and saw lush foliage everywhere.
He might not be a flower kind of guy but he sure could appreciate the sweet
scent and bright red, yellow, orange and green colors of the plants.
“Where are
we?”

After unpacking their meager belongings Shauna said, “Skycar
lock, 1406.” She hefted one of the duffle bags and handed it to Mike.
“We’re on
a small island in the Caribbean called Isla Atlantica.
It’s privately owned and
not patrolled by the Global Guardians.
They have private security here.” Shauna
led the way and they crossed the tarmac toward a row of hover scooters.

“Oh, good, then I could get a job in this time.” Mike didn’t
know why he kept commenting about the job issue.

“You want to stay here?” Shauna found a large scooter with
saddlebags on each side for storage.
She stuffed the duffles inside them and
hopped on.
“Come on, we’re off to have some true relaxation.”

Mike climbed on behind Shauna and wrapped his arms around
her waist.
He felt the connection between them hum.
“I don’t know if I want to
stay here but I sure want to explore this time.” He laid his head on her back
and tightened his grip.

Shauna’s back stiffened and she turned her head.
“What are
you doing?” She leaned forward to break the contact but Mike moved with her,
keeping his head firmly planted between her shoulder blades.

“I’m getting comfortable.
Don’t mind me, I’m just here to
enjoy the ride.” He heard her snort and the hover scooter rose off the ground
and started forward.

They floated down a narrow, winding road past small
outbuildings or huts.
No one traveled on the road.
Mike felt Shauna’s body
shift and sway as she maneuvered the hover scooter forward.
He closed his eyes
and felt the warm wind as it rushed by his face and arms.
I could stay like
this forever
, he thought.
He snuggled closer and drifted into a state of
semi-sleep secure in the knowledge that Shauna would keep them safe.

* * * * *

They’d been at the stunning estate of a friend of hers for
three days.
Three glorious days of swimming, sunning, eating and sleeping.

Mike felt safe, refreshed and antsy.

A maid brought them a breakfast of mango, pineapple and
papaya layered with yogurt, granola and dried tropical fruits.
Mike dug in.
The
coffee was Starbucks, the only kind that could be purchased anywhere in the
world.
He loved it.
Today he drank an Ethiopian Sidamo, a bold coffee with a
floral aroma that had a distinctive lemon flavor as advertised by the
packaging.

“What do you want to do today, Mike?” Shauna asked.

“More research, I figure.
We need to find out how to find
your parents.” He scraped the bottom of the clear bowl.
“Breakfast was
delicious.” Mike got up and went to a sideboard that had a silver coffee
service on it.
He poured a second cup and returned to the table.

“I’ll tell Camille.” Shauna gathered the dishes and took
them to the kitchen.

Mike heard Shauna return but didn’t take his eyes off the
virtual newspaper in front of him.
He scanned it for any mention of them.
“I
don’t see anything about us in the news.”

“Doesn’t mean anything,” Shauna said.
“The Global Guardians
are probably tearing the world apart looking for us.”

“If it weren’t for this protected island and your friend,
we’d still be on the run.
I like the friends you keep, Shauna.
I haven’t felt
so relaxed in years.”

“I’m glad you feel better, Mike.
I do too.
Although I’m sure
my boss is frantic.
He knows about my parents, agrees with their views.”

“Good.
Now about today… I’ve been thinking…” Shauna laughed.
The light, happy sound wove around Mike, filling him with warmth and lightness.
He sighed.
What would it take to have a woman like this beside him for life?
If
only he knew.
But with their time separation he figured it couldn’t happen.
For
a brief moment he wondered what cruel twist of fate had him meet the woman of
his dreams at the crossroads of two centuries.
Shaking his head he continued,
“I want to learn to fly a skycar.”

Shauna’s head snapped up.
“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I told you it takes years to learn that.
And there’s no way
you can take the world test.
If you have a criminal record, or are wanted by
the Global Guardians, you won’t get permission.
Not that it stops the criminals
from flying.”

“Well, there you go.
Teach me to fly.”

“No.”

“Look, Shauna.
If anything happens to you I need to know how
to control that machine.
You can’t be the only one to know how to fly it.
What
if we needed a quick getaway and you couldn’t fly?” Her forehead wrinkled and
two vertical lines showed just above her nose between her perfectly arched
eyebrows.
Mike pulled her hand to him and stroked it.
He lifted up her arm and
rose from the table.
Like a man taking a woman out onto a dance floor, he
placed one hand at the small of her back and they walked to the ivory-colored
couch in the great room and sat down together.

“You’re distracting me,” Shauna said.

“Yes I am.” She tried to pull her hand away but Mike
tightened his grip.
When she relented, he ran a finger over her knuckles and
across her palm.
He saw her eyes dilate and watched in delight as her tongue
wet her lips.
He stifled a groan.
“I’m glad it’s that easy for you to be distracted.”
He leaned forward and tasted her wet, tempting lips.
In another time, another
place, he’d make tender, passionate love to Shauna.
Digging up all the resolve
he could find he broke the kiss and murmured, “Soon, sweetheart.
Soon.” He
slowly wiped the dew from her lips with the tip of his tongue and watched her
eyes widen with desire.
“Teach me.”

Confusion marred her features for a moment then cleared.
She
leaned away from him with narrowed eyes.
“You are a sneaky, devious, tricky
man.
I’m sorry to admit I can be confounded by you so easily.” Shauna sighed.
Mike watched her struggle not to smile.
He knew he’d won before she gave her
answer.
“Only with strict conditions.”