The Temporal (21 page)

Marcus
had amassed great wealth over the centuries. Keeping a low profile with meager living conditions allowed him to quietly survive over the years. But if needed, he had the resources to hire a private jet and a pilot. And that was exactly what he did.

To Sam, Marcus was full of surprises. An old man with the agility and strength of a bodybuilder; adverse to technology in general and yet drives red-hot convertibles. And, by overheard conversations with the pilot, he seemed to also have an in-depth knowledge of aviation and the latest in jet technology.

During the flight, Suteko slept her usual ten minutes. Sam followed suit. While he no longer needed massive amounts of sleep, he still required more sleep than Suteko. When Sam awoke, his first image was that of the old man hovering over him, inches from his face.

“
Ah, he awakes!”

“
What?” Sam said, rubbing his eyes. He felt like he had a full night’s sleep and yet they were still in the air when he awoke. This meant no more than a few hours could have passed. “Did I sleep long?”

“
Years! At least, that is how it seemed,” said the old man. “Suteko insisted that we wait for you to wake without disturbance.”

“
No, Sam,” said Suteko, giving Marcus a disapproving look. “You slept only a few minutes more than I did. Marcus is just anxious about my dream.”

“
You had a dream?” Sam searched his memory for any remnant of a dream. He remembered none.

“
Yes. Sam, you must be on your guard. I saw Kaileen searching for you.”

“
Kaileen?” Sam asked, still in the process of waking.

“
The woman we met at the library in San Francisco.”

“
Ah, lovely,” Sam said while rolling his eyes as if the sarcasm in his voice wasn’t enough.

Suteko looked upon Marcus with compassion in her eyes before continuing to Sam,
“You must be careful. But, providing the dream is a true echo—and I believe it is, we know where she will be at some point.”

“
But you yourself said the future can change.”

“
That is correct and the dream may not even be an echo. It could just be my overactive subconscious getting jealous over other women wanting you.”

For a moment
, it seemed no one else was on the plane. Sam wondered if Suteko had managed to stop time, but he continued to hear the roar of the engines.

Then with a clearing of his throat, Marcus said,
“Before you two love birds get to a point where I cease to exist, we need to resolve this minor issue of someone wanting you—indeed all of us—dead.”

Sam was utterly embarrassed, but Suteko just sat there smiling.

“Now, Suteko, please describe the location. If we can find the place you saw, we might have the upper hand.”

“
I can do better than that, Marcus. I know the address. My dream began on the street. I followed her past a sign that said Constitution Avenue and into an apartment building that I would instantly recognize. The room number is 306.”

“
Good,” the old man said while standing. “We have an advantage then. Not much, but I pray it will be enough.”

As the old man began to walk toward the front of the plane, Suteko said,
“Where are you going?”

“
Three’s a crowd,” he said, smiling. “Enjoy your time together. You will have precious little of it until that demon Kaileen is stopped.”

Washington DC

Standing in front of a full-length mirror, McGregor was making a final adjustment to his bow tie when he simultaneously heard a voice and saw a shadowy figure appear behind his reflection in the mirror.

“
You’ve grown arrogant.” The voice growled impatiently.

McGregor spun around so fast, he almost lost his balance. It was Kaileen
—the woman who had pulled him from the site of the bomb in New Orleans and had groomed him to be the man he had become. He had no idea how she did it, but as long as she gave him the drug he needed—her eyes—he didn’t care when or where she appeared.

The woman continued.
“The election is still weeks away, and yet you act as if you are already the president.”

“
Did you not see the latest Rasmussen poll? Seventy-two percent support me in my bid for the presidency. Seventy-two!” McGregor turned back to the mirror, smiling as he began to fidget with his bow tie again. “I have the sympathy vote, the national security vote, and of course the countless number who are just fed up with the Washington inbreeds.”

His smile widened. Even seeing her angry reflection next to his in the mirror couldn
’t keep him from feeling good.

“
Do not let your guard down. I sense much weakness in you still. It will not be an easy task to keep you from saying or doing something stupid.”

He shot a glance behind him half-stung by her words
, but then his attention returned to his beautiful image in the mirror.

“
You worry too much,” he said, patting his already perfectly groomed hair. His full head of hair, however gray, was a source of pride for him.

Before he could blink, the woman was between him and the mirror, and her right hand held his throat tightly.

“Never underestimate the enemy. And never take my words lightly. Never!”

“
Yes. Yes, of course,” he said, managing to voice his thoughts only after she loosened her grip.

Satisfied, she removed her hand, letting him drop to his knees coughing.

“Two of the Temporal know our plan. They will come for you.”

“
For me?” Suddenly, McGregor was afraid. “Is it that Williams and his Japanese girlfriend? The ones at the first press conference?”

She nodded.
“I saw them in San Francisco at your apartment digging up dirt from your sloppy past.”

“
I... I will make it a matter of national security. They... they are already wanted by the authorities. Tell me where they are—I’ll have the CIA on them before you...”

“
Don’t be stupid. I will take care of the problem.” She began pacing slowly as if in deep thought. Her next words were personal thoughts accidentally voiced. “It is unlikely they will attempt to assassinate you. But they will try to get you to say or do something incriminating. That would be too easy...” She moved closer to him and focused on his eyes. “Stay low. Limit interviews to friendly media sources. Do not go out in broad daylight.”

McGregor was hypnotized by her eyes, but he didn
’t see the stars. It was only after she peeled her eyes from his line of sight that he heard what she had just said.

“
Huh? Why avoid daylight?”

“
Have you not noticed that you are wearing sunglasses constantly now? Does not your skin sting like a mild sunburn when exposed to the sun’s light?”

He hadn
’t thought about it, but it was true. He had never worn sunglasses much before, but lately his eyes stung and the discomfort was only relieved with dark eyewear. His hands, face, and neck did feel strange at times, but he hadn’t thought about it enough to discover the source of the irritant.

“
What’s happening to me? Am I... sick?”

“
Don’t be pathetic.” She moved closer. “And do not be ungrateful. You have received everything you have ever wanted: fame, power, love, respect. Did you not expect certain trade-offs? Your outside is simply manifesting what is inside.”

“
What else should I expect?”

“
You should expect that I will kill you slowly and painfully if you do not keep your mouth shut. We have come too far for you to screw it up now. Keep a low profile and only take on what you must as a candidate.”

He nodded, knowing her threats were not empty.

“Think before you speak and act. I will not be here to clean up your mess. I must go hunt your hunters. I hear them even now. I will stop them before they come near, but you must watch what you say. The election is yours to win or lose. And losing will involve more than just your hurt pride.”

“
I…” McGregor began to speak to an empty room. Kaileen had vanished and left him feeling weak and vulnerable. He hated her, and yet he wanted her. He needed her eyes, and she had not given them to him this time.

Then, he realized that it was a lie.
The weakness that she had seen began to change into something else.

He realized he didn
’t need her. All he needed was himself. He was McGregor! The savior! His emotions and thoughts turned darker. With eyes full of anger, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was strong—stronger than that damn woman would admit. He would be a smashing success at the midnight gala. As the star of the show, he would present himself as the man equal to the task. And should the Temporal come for him, he would take care of them without her.

Three knocks on the hotel door turned his head.

Through the peephole, McGregor saw a porter in traditional red bellboy garb. He opened the door a crack but kept the chain on.

“
Yes?”

“
Sir, I have a letter for you. I apologize for the late disturbance, but it was marked urgent,” the bellboy said, holding up the letter and sticking it partially through the two-inch door opening.

“
Uh,” he said, taking it and closing the door.

The envelope was addressed to
“Prof. Todd McGregor.” Under his name simply read, “URGENT.”

Within seconds, the torn envelope was on the floor and the unfolded letter was inches away from his
nearsighted eyes. The letter had two names, a location, and an invitation:

Becky Sanders

Michelle McIntyre
lobby

come
alone for a chat

McGregor’s hands began to shake as images of the two girls he had murdered formed and then floated among the words on the page. The faces and words jumped at him.

No.

He steeled himself, remembering the woman, Kaileen. She had called him weak, pathetic. He was not weak. If there were threats to his presidency, he would find them and then destroy them. He would handle this, and the public will love him even more for stopping these additional threats to America.

Kaileen

Kaileen’s appearance changed dramatically as the elevator descended eleven floors. She was no longer wearing a flowing black dress, but a police uniform. Her face, while still recognizably feminine, had a tougher look. Her hair was now up and hidden beneath a blue United States Capital Police cap. She stepped out and took a moment to revel in her impending success, the culmination of all she had planned and worked for. She would gain the list from Sam’s head and then kill him with the rest of them.

She could strongly feel Sam and Suteko
’s presence as her hunt began.

Samuel Williams was irritatingly loud. He was new to the Temporal and had not yet learned to control his thoughts. The woman, Suteko, was harder to hear, but she was with the man. When they talked, thanks to Sam
’s inexperience, at times Kaileen could actually hear their conversation.

They mostly seemed to speak of insignificant things
—the weather, past travels, what to eat, and other daily concerns. This seemed strange to Kaileen. She would have thought they would be discussing how to stop McGregor or, more importantly, how to stop her—the assassin who was coming for them.

Surely, they know.
And yet, the more she listened in, the more she became convinced they did not know.

More than their words, she was interested in their location. They were near. She could feel them; she heard Sam
’s words grow in intensity as she left the hotel.

The policewoman walked two blocks toward Sam
’s voice, stopped, and then turned around. The direction of Sam’s voice had changed. He was so loud the echoes let out false readings, making it hard to pin down an accurate direction.

She spent several minutes concentrating until she was cer
tain of the origin of the voice. Every block she walked, she had to stop and adjust her ears.

Soon, the voice was unmistakably near. Turning a corner, she spotted an old apartment building that she knew housed her enemies.

Sam had information she needed. She would kill the woman, gain the information from Sam, and then finish him off as well. Or else, she would keep him as a pet—it wouldn’t matter. There would remain no serious threat to both her immediate plan with McGregor and her ultimate plan for control of her order.

She entered
the building and climbed three flights of stairs. Turning the corner, she stopped in front of room 306. She knew her prey was behind the door. Sam’s thoughts were beyond loud. It was as if he wanted to be found.

The fool.

Even better: it sounded like Suteko had left him alone—gone on some errand, no doubt. She knew the Japanese woman was the more powerful of the two. Without her experience, the man wouldn’t stand a chance.

She almost felt regret. He simply had not had sufficient time and training to control his thoughts better. Had this kill not been so terribly important, she would have given him more time to mature
—for the sport of it.

She pulled out a small razor-like object that began to glow red. She inserted it in the slit just above the deadbolt. Within seconds, its temperature reached 1600
degrees Fahrenheit, and the metal softened and then spilt from the door. A breath of air from her mouth cooled the surrounding area before the door could catch fire. She had been quiet enough. Sam’s thoughts continued unabated—he was thinking of going to Japan with Suteko.

The fool. The careless fool.

She silently twisted the knob and prepared herself. A flick of her wrist and the door flew open.

“
Hello, Kaileen.”

Instead of a surprised younger man, however, she saw an old
acquaintance.

“
Marcus—I should have known.”

The old man was standing at the ready and in
a standard fighting stance: his body turned, knees bent, and hands up. It was a facade; he had spent most of his energy emulating Sam and Suteko’s unique patterns. It was all he could do to appear strong and battle worthy.

The momentary surprised look was quickly replaced by pure hatred.

“Very clever. But where are your children...” The words spewed out like molten lava, heavy and burning.

Marcus saw a flash of recognition dash across her face.

“McGregor,” she said, understanding that she had fallen for their diversion and that her plan was in danger of collapsing. With a pointed finger directed at Marcus, she said, “I will come back to kill you, lover.”

She disappeared. Flying out the room, she turned down the hall toward an east window. Her speed didn
’t give the glass and metal enough time to slice into her morphic clothes as she leapt from the building and onto the hood of a parked car three stories below, setting off the car alarm. She made a perfect landing and neatly rolled into the street. A car was approaching, honking. Her outstretched hand pushed fiberglass, metal, and plastic three feet into the engine block, causing the airbags to deploy.

Heading down the stairs, Marcus took care to not destroy the doors as he approached them.
As worn-out as he was, he knew Kaileen would be gone by the time he hit the street. He knew, however, that there was only one place she could be heading, and he had to get there before she did.