The Watchtower Read online

  ***

  “I assure you, ma’am, this is no joke.”

  Barb stumbled back a few steps, and brought her hand to her forehead. “Wow, what a rush.”

  The security guard grabbed a hold of her as Daniel jumped to her side.

  “That’s all right,” Daniel said, as he embraced her around the waist. “I’ve got you.”

  She smiled and leaned on him for support. “Thanks. Maybe we should go now?”

  Martin looked at the couple, then back at the ticket agent. What was she talking about? Why didn’t she do that…that…thing she was supposed to do? He watched as his co-workers walked away toward the front entrance, then turned and smiled at the guard and agent.

  “Sorry to have bothered you,” Martin nodded, feeling awkward at being left behind. “You’re both doing an excellent job. Carry on!”

  Something was wrong. Barb didn’t look well. Her eyes were partially closed and she was having difficulty walking. Daniel helped her to a row of seats near a newspaper kiosk. She slumped forward, resting her head in her hands as Daniel sat next to her, rubbing her back.

  “What the hell?” Martin said, walking up to them. “I thought we had a plan?”

  Barb looked up at him and frowned. “We did, and I think it went pretty good considering you choked.”

  Martin stood rigid. “I didn’t choke. You didn’t give me enough time to think of anything.”

  “Enough time? This was your idea!” She leaned back in the seat. “And you were right. We do need to look at the Russian Embassy a little harder.”

  Martin sat on the bench next to her. “How do you know? You weren’t there long enough to find out anything.”

  Barb shook her head and stood up. There were several flat screen televisions broadcasting different channels at the kiosk. She stood in front of a news channel and folded her arms across her chest.

  Martin glanced over at Daniel, who only shrugged.

  “If you weren’t up to this,” Martin said, as he followed her over. “We could have found another way.”

  Barb gave him a dirty look. “What are you talking about? I think I got the information we’ll need.”

  “Really?” Martin said. His eyes scanned her face. She looked worried, almost fearful. “That was fast. I figured we’d need more time, like back at the office.”

  She let out an exhausted sigh. “I was overwhelmed by the presence of the creature when I touched the box.” She tilted her head to one side and frowned. “This was more a matter of traveling back.”

  “Back? Back where?”

  Daniel came up on the other side of her and rubbed her back. “Back in time.”

  “If I focus hard enough,” Barb said, keeping her eyes on the monitor. “I can travel back through the timeline of an object.”

  Martin smiled. “Well, that’s impressive. So what did you see?”

  She looked at him, then back at the screen. “It’s more like who did I see.”

  “Okay, who did you see?”

  She didn’t answer. Just kept her attention on the news broadcast. Martin rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of these games. He looked to the monitor as video of a funeral played before them. There were hundreds of people attending the ceremony, but the volume was too low and Martin couldn’t hear the commentary. Then a picture of the deceased flashed across the broadcast.

  “I saw him.”