Send Simon Savage #1 (26 page)
Danice was still staring intently at the airship. Damien stared back down at her.
‘Bye, Damien!’ she cried.
‘See you!’
Alli waved from one of the cabin windows.
‘Your turn, Danice,’ Ivan said.
Danice lifted her arm and waved to the airship. Then she turned and dived into the wormhole.
‘Now you,’ Ivan said to Simon.
‘It’s my mission,’ Simon replied. ‘You go first!’
Ivan nodded and jumped.
Simon glanced in the direction of Old City. He took a deep breath. ‘Bye, Dad,’ he said, and stepped into the time tunnel.
‘H
ey, Simon, I’ve got a new mission for you,’ Nick said, sliding a magazine across the table in the dining room at Mayfield Manor. ‘Hawaii.’
Simon looked up from his baked beans. ‘Why would I go there?’
‘Hawaii!’ Nick rolled his eyes. ‘Surfing, of course! They reckon it started there hundreds of years ago. Take a look at those waves!’
‘Looks good,’ Simon said tonelessly. Normally he would have loved to chat with Nick about surfing, but right then, he couldn’t seem to get excited.
Ivan stood up. ‘Officer present!’ he said.
‘Relax, take it easy, you’re on Down Time!’ Captain Cutler said as he strode into the room.
‘Thanks, sir,’ Danice replied. She picked up a jug of orange juice and a glass. ‘Want a drink, sir?’
Cutler pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘No, thank you. But I wouldn’t mind an answer.’
‘Taylor’s the smart one,’ Nick replied. ‘She knows everything, sir.’
‘Yeah, I know you need a better deodorant,’ Taylor muttered.
Nick sniffed his armpit and pretended to collapse headfirst into his empty soup bowl.
‘Ladies, gentlemen, please,’ Cutler continued, tossing a report onto the table. ‘I’ve had a memo from the History Unit. It seems that the word
saucepan
is starting to appear, in England, in the early to mid-seventeenth century. Years before it was supposed to. We’ve had several missions to that time. Can anyone give me an explanation?’
Cutler looked from one face to the next, awaiting a response. ‘Spenser?’
‘No, sir. Not me, sir!’
‘Anyone else?’ His eyes fixed on Simon, who was pushing a bean around the plate with his fork. ‘Savage?’
Simon thought about his answer and of his father’s words—‘
We are always changing things when we time travel
’. The thoughts of his father reminded him of everything that had happened in the twenty-fourth century, and suddenly, the Bureau’s concern about the historical name for a cooking pot seemed petty and irrelevant.
‘No, sir, no idea at all,’ he answered.
Danice stared at him and poured herself another glass of juice.
‘A bit of a mystery, then,’ Cutler said.
‘Time’s a mystery to us all,’ Nick said helpfully.
‘Thank you, Spenser, very illuminating,’ Cutler said, getting up from his chair. ‘Enjoy your evening. By the way, a stack of new movies have come into the library.’
Nick and Danice immediately rose from their seats. Simon stayed where he was.
‘Savage, a word with you?’ Cutler added. ‘In my office, please.’
Simon looked at the others, raised his eyebrows, and followed the captain.
‘They’ve got a new job for you!’ Nick called out. ‘Eel-keeper!’
Simon left the room with their laughter ringing behind him. He barely heard it.
‘Take a seat,’ Captain Cutler said as they entered his office.
‘I’ve had my debriefing, sir, two days ago,’ Simon said. ‘When I got back from the mission.’
‘This isn’t a debrief,’ Cutler replied. ‘Sit down.’
Simon wondered if he was in trouble. ‘Can I ask something first?’ he said.
‘Go ahead,’ Cutler replied, leaning back in his swivel chair.
‘You knew my father was there, didn’t you?’ Simon said. ‘In the twenty-fourth century.’
‘We suspected it, yes,’ Cutler said. ‘The chances it was anyone else were very slim.’
‘And you knew how he left the beach at Kiama on that day?’
Cutler nodded. ‘Yes.’
Simon hesitated. ‘I have to know. Are you the one who tipped him off, sir? Rang him in Sydney, early in the morning, Australian time? From here?’
Cutler’s expression gave nothing away. ‘That’s not for me to say. But it would have been a disaster if those military personnel had got hold of him.’
‘That means
yes
.’
‘That means whatever you want to believe, Simon,’ Cutler replied.
‘Okay, sir. Thank you. Can I ask you one more thing?’ When Cutler nodded, Simon went on. ‘What was my real mission?’
Cutler smiled. ‘To establish the source of power and the location of the Time Accelerator. To discover the true identity of the Chieftain. You did all that we asked. And that Zone Relocator you brought back was a major bonus.’ He paused. ‘Of course, it also gave you the opportunity to find your father.’
‘Sir … what’s the Bureau going to do about him?’
Cutler considered his reply. ‘There’s a lot at stake here, Simon. Powerful time technology that the world has never seen before. And power that should stay in the control of a single organisation.’
‘You mean the Time Bureau, sir?’
‘Yes. I do.’
‘And Dad?’
‘We’ll do whatever we have to, to keep this power in
our
hands.’
‘So you’ll keep looking for him,’ Simon said. ‘You’ll … you’ll …’
‘We’ll do whatever we have to,’ Cutler said. ‘That’s all I can say.’
They’re going to search for Dad across time, Simon thought. And they won’t stop till they find him. And then what?
Would they kill him?
‘Now can I ask you something?’ Cutler said.
Simon focused back on the captain. ‘Sure, sir.’
‘Have you heard from your mother and sister lately?’
‘No. Not since before my mission.’
‘What I have to tell you concerns them.’
‘What is it—
an accident
?’
‘No,’ Cutler said, ‘but you reported in the debriefing that your father has disappeared to another time and set himself up there. And that, allegedly, he wouldn’t tell you where.’
Simon began to feel uncomfortable. What was Cutler getting at? ‘Yeah, that’s right, sir,’ he said.
Cutler took a disk in a paper sleeve from his desk. ‘We received a message today. From your father.’
Simon blinked. ‘How?’
‘It came right up in front of us on the Operations Screen. Another one of his smart tricks!’
‘Wh-what does it say?’
‘Well, there were two messages really. There was one for us. And this one is for you.’ Cutler tapped the disk. ‘Your father informed us that, after he disappeared from the twenty-fourth century, he made one trip to the twenty-first century. To our time. In the last forty-eight hours.’
‘Here? Why?’
‘To see your mother and sister. But what I have to tell you, Simon,’ said Cutler, leaning against the desk, ‘is that your mother and sister have disappeared.’
‘What do you mean, sir? Where?’
Cutler shrugged. ‘I only wish we knew. Your father simply tells us that they’re with him. Wherever he’s gone.’
‘He’s, like … taken them!’
‘Yes. You could say that. Although they went willingly, we presume.’
‘Didn’t we pick up the timeline, sir, before or during his arrival?’ Simon asked.
‘No. It seems that your father’s developed a cloaking device for timelines. We can’t find the one to the house in Bristol where your mother and sister lived. We can’t uncover the one to wherever he’s gone now. Not yet.’
The news sunk in slowly.
I have to think like they think in the Bureau, Simon told himself. Think strategically. Don’t panic. Don’t fly off the handle.
How could he best help his father, his mother and Lil? They were more important to him than anyone in the Time Bureau. It was because of them that he’d come to the Bureau in the first place.
It was a full minute before Simon spoke again. ‘Sir, what are my options?’ he asked.
‘Spoken like a true Bureau man,’ Cutler replied. ‘Well, you can return to Bristol, and live with your grandparents. It’s not Australia, I know, but it would be something like a normal life.’
Suddenly the unfairness of the whole situation hit Simon. This was more than anyone should have to cope with at thirteen. He should be worrying about schoolwork, surfing and girls, not about a fugitive father who was battling to stay free of people who wanted to control his ideas. Or about the Time Bureau people who pretended to care about Simon, but who really wanted to use him against his own father. But if he walked away from it all, he might never see his family again. He decided to hear what Cutler had to say.
‘Yes, sir. I could go to Bristol. Or …?’
‘Or … you can help us find your mother and sister. And help us find your father. Stay in the Bureau. Become one of
us
.’
Simon thought it over. He already knew too much. How safe would he be back in civilian life? Would the Bureau simply let him walk away? Or would he be found dead one day? From some sort of accident? It didn’t matter. His priority was Lil and Mum … and Dad. He had to stay in the Bureau in order to find them.
‘Sir, I want to stay,’ Simon said.
‘I was hoping you’d say that,’ Cutler replied, ‘but the search could be long and difficult. Can we count on you?’
‘One hundred per cent,’ Simon said.
‘Then I’m authorised to give you this.’ Cutler handed him the disk. ‘It’s the message from your father.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Normal duties resume tomorrow morning. Six a.m. Sharp!’
‘Sir! Yes, sir!’
I
n Simon’s room, Hale’s face appeared on the screen of his laptop. Simon zipped up the volume and clicked
PLAY
.
His father smiled.
‘Simon, I hope the reception is okay. I know that if you are watching this, then the Time Bureau has seen it, too. However, I had to get a message to you.’ He paused. ‘I didn’t mean to surprise you like this. By now you’ll know about Mum and Lil. Sorry, I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t let anyone know of my intentions. All I can tell you is this: we’re in another place and we’re safe and we’re well.’ His gaze flickered away momentarily to something beyond the camera, and then back again.
‘Well, we’re okay for now. As I told you, I have uncovered some of the great secrets of time and how it works. But I have to protect these secrets. Simon … find me if you can. There are clues if you look closely enough. And if you choose to follow them.’ Then he smiled again. ‘Find me, and maybe some of my secrets will be yours, one day. Farewell, son. I’m proud of you. Live well!’
The image faded.
Simon slumped onto his bed. He was still dog-tired from the mission and he needed another long night of deep sleep. He had never felt so hollow or lost. But he knew he had to get over it or he might as well give up now.
He glanced up to the wrinkled photo on the noticeboard … the smiling faces of a once-happy family. Simon picked up his clock, set the alarm for five-thirty and listened to its rhythmic tick.
‘I’ll find you,’ he said to the photo. ‘I’ll get there first. I promise.’