Time Riders

to terminate yourself,Bob. I just — ’

‘That is an illogical assessment.’

‘Surely something can be done to boost the energy their end, or lighten the load ourend? Something, surely?’

‘There is something that needs to be done,’ said Bob. ‘The data on thistimeline is stored in my hard drive and must be transported back with you.’

‘Uh… I’m not sure I like the sound of that.’ Liam swallowednervously. ‘Does that mean what I think it means?’

‘You will have to break open my cranium and remove the soft tissue inside, including myorganic brain, to access the computer. Disconnecting the computer and removing it will requireme to provide detailed instructions before you do this in order to prevent you from triggeringthe self-termination firmware as you extract the computer.’

‘Ugh… no… I’m not sure I can do that, Bob. Really… I’m-’

‘You have no choice. It is a mission requirement.’

Liam shook his head, already feeling sick at the thought of hacking open Bob’s head.‘So… so when would I have to perform this operation?’

‘The extraction window is set for twenty-five hours’ time.’

‘And where is it?’

Bob blinked, retrieving data. ‘The co-ordinates are for a street called JeffersonPlace, in the city of Washington DC. It is approximately one mile from the location of ouroriginal arrival window.’

Liam’s eyes widened further. ‘A mile from the White House? But that’s justcrazy! That whole area is going to be thick with soldiers and those buzzing air-jetthingies.’

‘We must make for this location within the time left. Once there youmust extract the computer from my cranium, or alternatively remove my head and take that withyou.’

‘Cut your head off?’ Liam blanched, his face turning sickly pale. ‘Ican’t do that, Bob. I’m… I’ve never been good with blood and ickystuff. I’ll faint… I’m telling you, I’ll keel over and faint, so Iwill. And then I’ll miss this window and we’ll both bein a fix.’

He looked down at the tepid remains of lumpy soup in his bowl and put it to one side, nolonger feeling hungry. ‘Is there really no other way?’

‘If you were smaller. If I was smaller. If the extraction window was opened geographically closer to the field office. If the extraction windowwas not so far back in time. These factors all affect the total energy required.’

Bob looked at him with his calm grey eyes. For some reason Bob tried out one of those pitifulsmiles he’d picked up from Sal. As far as Liam was concerned, that didn’t helpmatters. Didn’t help at all. It made him look strangely vulnerable, like an oversizedtoddler.

‘You will need to acquire a bone saw or blade with a serrated edge to remove myhead,’ Bob continued. ‘Also, you may need to acquire a power drill with-’

‘Jay-zus Christ!’ Liam blurted suddenly. ‘Enough! I need some air — think I’m going to puke!’

CHAPTER 65

1957, woods outside Baltimore

Liam stood outside breathing deeply, sucking in the cold air until the sensation ofnausea began to ease. He took a few steps through the undergrowth away from Bob’sshelter, trying to clear his mind of what needed to be done.

Past the slender sapling trunks and low fir tree branches he could see the flickering lightof the campfire in the middle of the clearing. Around it huddled most of Bob’s littlearmy, nearly a hundred after that last raid. He wondered how betrayed and angry all those menwere going to be when he had to announce that Bob was leaving with him; that they had othermore important matters to attend to.

Men don’t give up their gods or leaders lightly.

He imagined the scene was going to be nasty. Their eyes would be upon him, suspicious andaccusing, wondering what poison he must have dripped into their leader’s ear. But therewas no time to delay if Bob’s decoding of that message was right. Washingtonwasn’t so far away from here. Just over an hour of driving. But there’dundoubtedly be roadblocks and guarded perimeters to figure their way through, once theyreached the city.

Why’d they have to pick a place so close to the WhiteHouse?

He wondered how on earth they came to the conclusion that that was such a good idea. But thenit occurred to him that Foster, Maddy and Sal could have no idea where theymight be. So they were making a simple logical assumption — that they’d remainedin the vicinity.

That’s one hell of a big assumption.

A lot could have happened in six months; they could have ended up on the other side of thecountry in that time. Or even the other side of the world.

He shook his head. It was crazy and stupid that he and Bob couldn’t communicate back.Not for the first time he cursed this insane time-travel technology. Just when you thoughtyou’d managed to get your head round it, it just seemed to get even morecomplicated.

So, they had a time and a place now. At least that was something. Heading for the middle ofenemy-occupied Washington DC sounded like suicidal foolishness… but it wasn’t asif they had a choice.

‘Oh well,’ he muttered to himself. He was sure Bob would enjoy himself cutting aswathe through the bad guys. It’s what he did best.

The sooner they got a move on the better, left these woods behind… and Bob’s loyal band of worshippers.

Liam decided they’d be best setting off at first light. With a nationwide curfew inplace, they’d look far more suspicious if they were stopped at a checkpoint travellingaround at night than they would during the day.

Meantime, Liam decided, he’d better figure out a way for Bob to extract himselfpolitely from his devoted followers. He had visions of those men lynching him for luring theirmessiah away from them.

CHAPTER 66

2001, New York

Day 5? (since the power went)

So now we’re waiting. Waiting for the time machine to store up enough of acharge for us to try opening a window.

There’s no way we’ll know if they got the message we sent. No way of knowinguntil we open the window in Washington. If they got it, then they should step through andappear right in front of us. If they didn’t… then we’ll be wasting ourenergy for nothing.

Everything’s off in here. All the lights, everything.

Maddy suggested we should put the ‘field bubble’ back on so that we’dflip back in forty-eight hours’ time. If those creatures outside haven’t managedto find us by then… we’d be safe from them. Because whatever progress they madein finding out where we’re hiding would be lost when we ‘reset’. ButFoster said it would drain too much power from charging up the displacement machine. He saidthat’s the only thing that matters right now — getting that thing chargedup.

Jahulla… I’d rather have the bubble on, and have to wait a little longer. Everylittle noise outside makes me jump out of my skin.

‘How much longer, do you reckon?’ asked Maddy.

Foster studied the row of winking lights on the machinery’s chargedisplay. ‘I’d guess, four or five more