The Children Who Time Lost (49 page)

Michael dismissed the comment with a smile. Was there anyone he didn’t know? “Even without the president,” he said, “Carrie would need a pretty big reason to stop me from getting in there. I’m one of her biggest contributors, after all.”

“You sure this is a good idea?” Doug said.

I wasn’t sure myself, but maybe Michael wasn’t far off. Maybe we needed to confront them during a public function. I stared at the ceiling, thinking of what it would be like, meeting Carrie face-to-face after everything that had happened.

“I have no doubt,” Michael said. “I know Carrie. She’ll love it. She’s always enjoyed a challenge. She’ll know that a cover-up will be pretty difficult with the president, the secret service and all the other important people around.” He paused for a moment. “But at the same time; us being there will be like a dream come true. It would be like all her prayers answered, having us so close within her grasp.”

Doug stood up, worry on his face. “Then why would we just walk into that kind of trap?”

“I said she’d welcome the surprise, not that she’d expect it,” Michael said.

From what I remembered of Carrie, Michael had a point. She loved prevailing over awkward situations.

“Once inside,” he continued, “we can find the journal and take it.”

“How?” Manuel said. “We don’t even know where she keeps it.”

“Michael does,” Mandy said. We all stared at him. “He’s been there many times.”

Michael nodded and smiled. “I know every inch of that house. Her safe is in her bedroom. But being as paranoid as she is, you need a thumbprint and a retina scan to get in there.”

Doug raised his hands in the air. “Is this a joke? What do you suggest? We march her in there by the neck and make her open the door? In front of all that security?”

Michael laughed. “You’re forgetting we have their prized asset here. We have someone they’d do anything to get.” He glanced at me, and everyone followed his gaze. “Plus, the look on her face when she first sees you will be priceless. I’d just love to see her explain what she’s doing in 2013 to you with everyone watching.”

I swallowed with a dry throat and frowned. Would I be able to keep my composure, knowing that she probably knew where Dylan was being held? “But what am I going to do? What do I even say to her?”

Mandy walked up to me and squeezed my wrists. “First we need to get you a dress, one that will keep all eyes in the room on you.” She walked toward the door, dragging me with her.

I hurried up the curved wooden stairs to the third floor. Mandy entered her room and turned on a laptop on the table. Then she opened a Web browser and did her really-fast-typing thing. Seconds later, a number of dresses appeared on the screen. They ranged from backless to some with plunging necklines. They were all so gorgeous. Then I looked at the prices.

“Wow” I said.

She looked at me as if she’d seen a ghost. “What? What is it?”

“Those prices? For a dress?”

She laughed my comments away. “Oh, is that it?” She continued flipping through. “Trust me, there’ll be some serious competition in there. Your dress has to be the only one anyone sees. I bet you didn’t know—”

“Stop. Stop,” I yelled.

She gave me another confused look.

I pointed at the screen. “I like that one.”

She followed my eyes and smiled. “I like it, too.”

We spent the next few days recuperating. The incident at the Sacramento facility had knocked the stuffing out of all of us, but we were slowly getting our strength back. Chip pretty much left us to it. We saw him only in the mornings at the breakfast table. It sometimes felt as if we’d taken over his house altogether. But Michael convinced us that he didn’t mind in the slightest. He knew the monumental task facing us and wanted to help in any way he could.

We went over the plan for Carrie’s big party again and again. Everyone reassured me that everything would be all right and I would get Dylan back unharmed. Mandy had even helped me get my parents’ phone number even though it was unlisted. Her skills at finding things amazed me. I shuddered to think what someone with her ability would be able to do in 2043.

I’d called my parents from a blocked number four times in the past two days. My mom answered the first two times, and then my dad and then my younger version. It gave me so much comfort knowing they were all safe. Hearing their voices gave me even more motivation. Regardless of what happened to me now, I had to give them the opportunity to live happy lives. I knew the time line had probably changed many times since I came to 2013, and I wondered what that meant for the younger me. I might have ended up living a completely different life, one where my daughter didn’t fall more than two hundred feet to her death and my husband wasn’t killed by savage aliens.
I might even be able to give Madeline a brother or sister. I just hope I still get to meet Kevin. And Dylan. Will I still get to win Dylan?

I pondered the consequences of time travel and Curtis’ warning of betrayal from within. So much depended on the choices I was about to make. And with the different possibilities flowing through my head, some personal demons also lingered. My headaches and shaking grew worse, especially at night. I was still surviving on a teaspoon of my medication per day, but I now needed perhaps four. I found that an ice-cold shower helped to calm me every time my body got the shakes. I’d probably taken ten trips to the shower in the last two days. The guys tried their utmost to pretend they weren’t concerned for me.

My dress arrived on the morning of the fourth day, the day of the party. We had already sent two back that didn’t fit perfectly. Mandy woke me up the second it arrived. I opened it for a quick peek. It looked just as gorgeous as the others had. The others who had parts to play had already picked out their attire from Chip’s unlimited wardrobe. We spent the rest of the day going over our plans. By four o’clock, we were all confident except for Doug.

“I just think they’ll see us coming,” he said with a sigh.

The sun was shining through the blinds of Chip’s living room. Michael and Curtis stretched, frowns on their faces. I could see they were getting impatient with Doug and his constant doubts.

“You got a better idea?” Michael snapped. “We all agreed it would work.”

Doug looked at me. “And you’re sure you’re okay with all this?”

I shrugged. “I have to be. This could be our only shot before they take the journal back to 2086. And the Orchestrator might be the only real lead to stopping the rogue travellers and finding where they’re keeping Dylan and the rest of the children.”

Doug stood and nodded. “Okay then, let’s do it.”

Manuel walked in with an urgent expression. “The cars are here.”

Michael rose and interlocked his fingers. “It’s time, people.”

Everyone sat up. I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Then I walked out of the room with Mandy.

Mandy dropped the mascara onto the table and knelt in front of me. She leaned forward, tilted my head to the left and applied more powder to my cheeks. She did the same with the other cheek and then stood back with a satisfied look.

“All done.” She walked toward the room’s full-length mirror and gestured for me to follow.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then rose. I stood in front of the mirror and almost screamed.
Who’s this beautiful woman in this gorgeous red dress? And what’s she done with me?
The bags under my eyes had disappeared. My makeup was flawless, as were my nails. But it all ended with the sleeveless red-silk Valentino dress I had on. The wide boat neck ran horizontally, front and back, up to my shoulder points, with the left side shaped like a rose. Its fitted bodice and long skirt actually revealed curves. Me with curves? It didn’t seem real in the slightest. Even my C-cup breasts looked bigger than normal. I didn’t know whether to smile at myself or just stand there, entranced by this amazing dress.

I felt like I had at my senior prom: excited, proud, sexy, confident and nervous, all at the same time. I wished I could wear the dress forever, even if just so I could pretend to be alluring to men. Mandy had said no one would be able to take their eyes off me, but I still had to see it to believe it, regardless of how fantastic my dress made me feel.

“You could be a picture,” Mandy said.

I looked at her with gratitude. Then I embraced her tightly. She pulled back and held her hands out.

“Careful, Rachel,” she said with a laugh. “You’ll crease the dress.”

I put my hand over my mouth and giggled. Then I faced the mirror again. “Thank you.” I faced Mandy. “You’re amazing.”

She held both my hands. “I’ll tell the others you’re ready.”

I nodded and she walked out of the room. I stared at myself a little while longer. My hair had grown by maybe a quarter of an inch since Suzanna cut it. I felt a lump in my throat as I thought about her. But I stopped myself from crying. I’d have time to mourn them later. I sniffled and wiped my nose. Then I spun around, smiling. I’d never felt more like a woman. I stood still for a few more minutes and then stepped out of the room, the bottom of my dress touching the floor. I lifted it and walked down the stairs. I heard talk and laughter coming from the living room, making me even more nervous.
Please, let them not stare.

I stopped by the door and peeked in through the gap. Manuel wore a dark suit, a white shirt and a tie. He looked like Michael’s driver again. Curtis paced around the room, his face hard and his shoulders hunched. His dark suit and black shirt made him look every bit the security guard he was trying to impersonate. Doug stood a few yards away, in the corner of the room, behind a minibar. His dark blue trousers, vest and suspenders looked convincing enough. No one at the party would suspect he wasn’t a bartender. One of the maids stood beside him, showing him how to pour drinks in as stylish a manner as possible without dropping the mixers. Her mixing technique left no doubt in my mind as to what her second job was.

I looked around the room until I saw Michael and Mandy enter from the door leading outside. Mandy wore the same jeans and white shirt she’d had on earlier. But she was only doing operations, which didn’t require her to dress up. Michael, however, looked every bit the dashing man I’d seen the first time we met. His hair was coiffed to the side. His eyebrows had been plucked to perfection. His face was so smooth that it looked like he had applied powder.
Damn, you clean up well.
They stood in the middle of the room looking around. I knew it was me they were waiting for. Michael whispered into Mandy’s ear and she approached the door. I coughed and pushed it open before she got there. Then I stepped into the room. Manuel saw me first and his eyes widened. Michael was next to see me. He squinted in my direction, as if not believing what he was seeing. Moments later, everyone was staring at me, even the three maids in the room.

“My God,” Doug said.

“I told you,” Mandy said with pride. “She’s gorgeous.”

Michael walked toward me. I swallowed and took a step back. He stopped a few inches away and studied me, checking out every crevice of the dress, his eyes speaking to me in a sensual way. I saw a scowl appear on Doug’s face at the same time. Michael had looked jealous back at his place in San Benito, and now Doug seemed to be. As charming as they both were in their own unique ways, I couldn’t even consider the possibility of getting close to another man. Kevin was still so much in my heart and mind. It didn’t mean I wasn’t grateful for what they’d done for me since we met, but that was as far as it went.

“You look perfect,” Michael said.

I giggled. Michael held his right arm out. “May I?”

I nodded and took it. He turned and faced the others. “You all know what to do.”

Everyone nodded without saying a word, their eyes still on me. I heard a beep from a car’s horn outside. I swallowed again. Michael leaned toward my ear. “You’ll be all right.”

I smiled thinly and walked out of the house with him. A black limo was parked out front. Manuel ran past us and held the back door open. A Lincoln SUV was parked behind it, the engine already running.

Michael gestured toward the open door. “After you.”