The Time Hunters and the Box of Eternity (12 page)

‘
What
’
s going on?
’
Joe asked,
disorientated.

‘
Idiot!
’
Uncle Percy berated
himself.

‘
I
–
I don
’
t understand.
’
Becky replied.
‘
Uncle Percy, please
tell me what
’
s happening.
’

Uncle Percy
’
s gaze slowly locked on Becky.
 
‘
You
reminded Maria of her late-grandaughter,
’
he said.
‘
Your dress, your hat, your shoes, would have
been quite fashionable in Maria
’
s time. And Maria
’
s grandaughter was only a few years older than you. It
’
s the kind of outfit
she may have worn. I just never thought.
’

‘
I didn
’
t know,
’
Becky said softly.
‘
I should go and
apologise.
’

‘
Of course you didn
’
t,
’
Uncle Percy replied.
‘
But this is my fault. And
it is I who will make the apologies.
’

‘
What happened to her?
’
Joe asked.
‘
Maria
’
s grandaughter, I
mean.
’

Uncle Percy
’
s brow creased.
‘
It
’
s a very painful story, Joe … one that involves humanity at its very
best, and at its very worst. You see, as you know, Maria and Jacob lived in
Germany in the nineteen thirties.
 
And
for all decent German people it was a hugely difficult time. You see, as I
’
m certain you are
aware, there were some Germans who were as bad as can be, as bad as mankind has
ever seen. Unfortunately, some of these men
were in positions of great
authority. Anyway, Maria and her family did something in their eyes that was
unforgiveable, and Maria
’
s son, his wife and their daughter paid for it with their lives.
’

Becky shivered.
‘
What did they do?
’

‘
They offered
protection to those who needed it most. I don
’
t think now is the time to go into specifics,
but I will say that Maria
’
s family did a noble, courageous, merciful thing … something few
others would have done, particularly at that time and in that political
climate.
’
Uncle Percy hesitated before continuing.
‘
And I will say one more thing, just so you
understand Maria
’
s reasons for acting the way she does from time to time ...
’

Becky and Joe swapped anxious glances.

Uncle Percy struggled to find the words.
‘
It was Otto Kruger
that did it. It was Otto Kruger that murdered her family…
’

Chapter
12

A
Hackneyed Approach

Becky couldn
’
t eat after that. Dazed and shell-shocked, she stared at her empty
plate, unable to find any words that could begin to make sense of the
situation. Even Joe had lost his appetite, and together they sat in silence,
while Uncle Percy left to talk to Maria. He returned ten minutes later, wearing
a somber but satisfied expression.
‘
She
’
s fine,
’
he said.
‘
I think it was as much the shock as anything else.
’

‘
Should I get changed
and go and see her?
’
Becky asked.

Uncle Percy shook his head.
‘
She
’
s all right, really she is. In fact, she
’
s asked me to
apologise to you, Becky, for scaring you …
’

‘
That
’
s daft,
’
Becky replied.
‘
She didn
’
t scare me. I was just
…well, shocked.
’

‘
I told her that. You
see, I know she hasn
’
t known you long, but she really does care for you both dearly, and
perhaps now you have some context as to why she worries so much. In her life, Maria
has suffered more than her fair share of loss; I doubt she could function if
she endured anymore.
’

‘
We understand,
’
Becky said.
‘
Don
’
t we, Joe?
’

‘
Course,
’
Joe replied.
‘
But no one
’
s gonna lose anyone.
’

‘
How right you are,
young man,
’
Uncle Percy agreed.
‘
However, as we know Maria is feeling better, perhaps we should
concentrate on the other matter at hand: Chicago. I genuinely don
’
t expect any trouble
at the auction, but I do feel we must have our wits about us.
’

‘
Agreed,
’
Joe said.
‘
Is Will coming? If
there is trouble, we
’
ll need him.
’

‘
He certainly is,
’
Uncle Percy said.
‘
He
’
s suited and booted
and waiting for us in the Time Room. He
’
s been helping Barbie make a few adjustments to
Beryl.
’

Joe cast Uncle Percy a look of surprise.
‘
Beryl?
’

‘
Indeed. I
’
ve not had the
opportunity to do a full service on Bertha, so I thought we
’
d use another one of
my time machines. Her name
’
s Beryl. Besides, if we do find ourselves in the Caribbean at any
point, I think she could be quite useful given the right circumstances.
’

‘
What do you mean?
’
Joe enquired.

Uncle Percy smiled mysteriously.
‘
Let
’
s just say I
’
ve made some
major
modifications to Beryl.
’

*

By mid-morning, the sky had turned bruise-black with thick clouds
that hung ominously like burnt marshmallows. Becky trailed Joe and Uncle Percy
into the Time Room, feeling both excited about the trip, but somewhat
embarrassed by her outfit. Once inside, she was surprised to see Barbie
hovering high above them, her fingers buried in a small, silver circuit box in
the ceiling.

‘
How are we doing up
there, Barbie?
’
Uncle Percy shouted up.

Barbie soared gracefully to the ground, landing with a soft
clink
.
‘
All done,
sir,
’
she
replied.
‘
The
Resceptor Forax has been recombobulated.
’

‘
Thank you, my dear,
’
Uncle Percy replied.

At that moment, a low hissing sound could be heard from their left.
Becky spun round to see Will emerge from the Ectolift, wearing a stylish,
sheer-black dinner suit, his long brown hair looped in a pony-tail. He was
carrying two objects
–
one that looked like a bicycle pump, and the other, a tanned
leather pencil case.

‘
Check out James Bond,
’
Joe grinned.

‘
James Who?
’
Will replied.

‘
James Bond,
’
Joe repeated.
‘
Surely you
’
ve heard of James
Bond?
’

Will shook his head.
‘
I have not. Is that a compliment?
’

‘
I should imagine so,
William,
’
Uncle Percy said.

‘
Then I shall take it
as one,
’
Will said to Joe.
‘
I thank you.
’

‘
No sweat,
’
Joe said, staring at
the objects in Will
’
s hands.
‘
What are they?
’

‘
They, young man, are a
couple of my creations,
’
Uncle Percy said cagily as Will slipped them into his jacket
pocket.
‘
And
let
’
s hope
we don
’
t
have need for them.
’

Joe was about to press the matter further when Uncle Percy said,
‘
Anyway, would you like
to meet Beryl?
’

‘
Deffo,
’
Joe said excitedly, as
Becky nodded.

‘
Follow me then.
’
Uncle Percy strode
over to the staircase which led to the raised platform above. He approached a
workstation and spoke into a tiny microphone.
‘
Percy Mathias Halifax, TT98…
’

A computerised voice responded,
‘
Embarkation Procedure activated. Today
’
s password …
’

‘
Cumbersome Cucumbers.
’

Immediately, the familiar face of a middle-aged woman with long,
rust-coloured hair and rather gaudy make-up appeared on the monitor. When she glimpsed
Becky and Joe, she gave an earsplitting screech.
‘
Becky!
 
Joe! Oh, what a lovely surprise. Get out of the way, Halifax. I don
’
t want to stare at
your ugly mug.
’

Uncle Percy stood aside, smiling.
‘
Charming.
’

‘
Hi, Annabel,
’
Becky and Joe said at
the same time.

‘
Look at the two of you
… I can
’
t
believe how much you
’
ve grown. Joe, you
’
re as tall as a tower. And Becky … Becky -
’
Her eyes misted over.
‘
- I could
cry, really I could. You look stunning.
’

‘
I look like a stick of
Blackpool Rock,
’
Becky replied flatly.

‘
Nonsense,
’
Annabel said
sincerely.
‘
You
’
re quite the young lady now.
’

‘
Whoopee,
’
Becky muttered,
making sure Annabel didn
’
t hear.

‘
Now, let me guess from
your beautiful outfits when your destination is...
 
Mmm, the nineteen thirties?
’

‘
Nineteen twenty nine,
’
Uncle Percy corrected
her.

‘
Very nice,
’
Annabel replied,
turning again to Becky and Joe.
‘
I can
’
t begin to tell you how pleased I was to hear about your father. We
will find him, you know. It
’
s all the TT
’
s talk about. I
’
ve never seen them so determined. They
’
re searching everywhere for him.
’

‘
We know,
’
Becky replied.
‘
And we
’
re really grateful.
’

‘
Oh, don
’
t be silly,
’
Annabel replied.
‘
We all love John. In
fact, if I remember correctly, one or two of the girls in the office used to
have a crush on him. He really was quite charming. And very handsome.
’

Becky arched her eyebrows.
‘
You think?
’

‘
Oh, yes,
’
Annabel replied. She
winked at Uncle Percy.
‘
Mind you, I
’
ve only ever had eyes for your uncle.
’

‘
Stop it, you
’
ll make me blush,
’
Uncle Percy said.

‘
You know it
’
s true,
’
Annabel pressed.
‘
And you just wait
until the Christmas party, Percy Halifax. I
’
m bringing the mistletoe and I
’
ll be showing you that
old feelings never die.
’
Her mouth formed a circle and she blew him a kiss.

‘
I think your husband
may have something to say about that.
’
 

‘
Knowing him, I doubt
it.
 
Anyway, where and when are we going
today?
’

‘
Timeline 3. Sector 9.
Coordinates:
 
9
–
7
–
09
’

‘
Chicago, eh?
’
Annabel typed
something on her keyboard.

A second later, a buzzer sounded and a cube of Gerathnium fell into
the slot below the computer.
‘
Indeed.
’
Uncle Percy said, picking it up.
‘
We
’
re off to an auction.
’

‘
An auction, eh? It
’
s not a livestock
auction, is it?
’
Annabel asked
 
suspiciously.
‘
I mean, we don
’
t want any, er, I don
’
t know,
winged
horses
bringing back, do we? Or dodo
’
s for that matter …
’

Becky recalled Uncle Percy mentioning it was Annabel
’
s responsibility to
complete the mountain of paperwork necessary to register any animal brought
from the past to the present. She could also tell from Uncle Percy
’
s reddening face that
he hadn
’
t
been the one to mention Pegasus or Deirdre.
’

‘
I-I don
’
t know what you mean,
’
Uncle Percy said,
staring fixedly at his feet.

‘
You never do, Halifax,
’
Annabel smirked.
‘
Anyway, on a serious
note, please be careful. All of you.
’
She scanned each of them in turn; her tone turned serious.
‘
Time travel has
changed. Emerson Drake has seen to that. And we must all change along with it.
Please, watch your backs.
’
She forced a smile.
‘
After all, I
’
d like to see you all safe and sound at the
Enchantment beneath
the sea dance
at Christmas. Remember, I
’
m bringing mistletoe …
’
And before Uncle
Percy could offer a response, she
’
d gone. The workstation fell still.