The Time Rip (16 page)

“It will soon alter. Cars are now becoming more common and it will be a relief to all when the horses leave the streets. How have you been keeping, are you well?”

“Nothing to complain about. Oh boy, do I have some hot news for you though. Remember Adam’s feisty kid sister?”

“Vividly, what of her?”

“She’s joined Marsden’s team; been working with Kitter for the last six months. Word is she’s gonna be based here in 2008.”

“I would wager that raised a few smiles.”

“No kidding, the girl has the face of an angel. All us guys here are gonna be drooling from afar.”

“What is her role likely to be?”

“Field Operative. Kitter reckons she’s going to be a huge asset to the team. She’s one hot babe that no one in their right mind is gonna cross. We have a pool going here over who’s going to get their eye blacked first. So far Brannigan and Flyboy are neck and neck. You want in?”

Matt laughed softly, “Very well, put me down ten to one on Flyboy.”

“It’s where the smart money is, but you never know. Apparently, Brannigan has a secret weapon,” Greg winked, “He’s got connections to a chocolaterie and has some of the country’s finest stashed away somewhere. The office girls have been searching for weeks but so far, nada.”

“When will she begin her role here?”

“Nothing concrete yet. Supposedly in a month or two, and Kitter has been real close over where she’s going to be set up.”

“Hmm. Well, keep me updated if you get a chance, it is always useful to know who is around.”

The door opened and a comfortable middle-aged woman came in with coffees and a box full of doughnuts. Greg dished out the coffees while Matt made pleasantries.

Once the woman had left, Greg asked, “So what gives?”

“We have a situation. A possible Jumper.”

“Oooh, Sanders lost someone? Wait till I tell Daniel.”

Matt shook his head and quickly explained what had occurred.

Greg leaned back in his chair, laughter lurking at the back of his eyes, “Let me get this straight. Jeremy thinks Freya may have been running from someone who she possibly stole a time device from, who may or may not still have said device.”

“I am afraid that is the case.”

“Jesus, Matt, give me a break. He has no other information whatsoever on this, and he’s lost this girl, Freya, in a time when she’d have caused a riot going around in a short skirt and her underwear.”

“He’s fallen, Jones, I mean completely fallen for this girl. It has never made the slightest difference when I have brought even the prettiest girls to be transported. He’s never shown an ounce of compassion for any of them.” Matt smiled and shook his head, “I wish you could have seen him last night, acting like the world would come to an end if he couldn’t find her and look after her.”

“Think she could have jumped back here?”

“I believe it is possible. Jeremy reasons she would have no need to pick the lock if she had a device, and he is adamant, of course, that she had no such thing with her.” He shrugged, “Perhaps she did not know that the device would render handcuffs useless. Whatever way it happened, he has lost control of the situation.”

Greg grinned. “He’s always been a player. Lot of girls go for that caveman attitude though, and you said she came to see him twice. Perhaps she’ll go back to him anyway. It always amazes me the effect those Sanders boys have on the women.”

“Hmm, I am not so sure. Even if we do find her I would wager she never speaks to him again after being used in that way.”

Greg began to laugh, but Matt simply watched him, hands on hips, and shook his head, “It is no laughing matter, Gregory.”

“To think I’d see the day when Sanders messed up so spectacularly. The boys are gonna have a field day with this one.”

“Yes. Well. They have never had much sense.”

“Did he stick her with a sharp?”

“No. However…” Matt pulled the bag containing the blood soaked lint from his pocket. He tossed it across the desk to Greg, who grabbed it and hissed out a breath.

“What the hell is this? Christ, tell me this isn’t the girl’s.”

“From her wrist, she had torn it open when he found her and he patched her up. I am assuming it was serious from the amount of blood.”

“Okay, I’ll run her, but from everything you’ve told me I doubt we’ll find anything.”

“What is your opinion Greg, do you think she could have jumped here?”

“Can’t see how else she would have avoided him. Sanders might have his faults but he is an excellent tracker. If he hasn’t found her then I’m guessing it’s because she jumped.”

“I would have to agree.”

“Okay. Now we’ll show him how the pros get the job done. You got an address for her, anything like that?”

“She works on Portobello Road, selling flowers. You might find her there.” He passed across a scrap of paper to Greg, “Her address.”

“I’ll get onto it today. Jeremy is going to owe me big time. Especially if he doesn’t want me to mention any of this to Daniel.”

Chapter 5

It was after twelve when Greg finally reached Portobello. The rain had eased up leaving it cold and overcast. He drove around looking for a parking space, finally getting lucky on a side street nearby. The market was quiet, stallholders looking like they had had enough.

He found Freya with surprising ease. He guessed her identity from the description Matt had given, plus the bulky bandage around her wrist. She was talking to a tough-looking skinny man and Greg followed her through the crowd; casually eavesdropping on her conversation while trying to confirm his guess.

“Look, Martin, I’m sorry I lost you yesterday. I stopped to look at something, turned around and you were gone, but you need to stop coming to see me like this.”

“I spent all afternoon looking for you, and you never answer your phone. I had to cancel the booking I made for us at the Red bar too.”

Freya gritted her teeth and tried to remember how to be assertive. “I’m sorry you were inconvenienced, but I never agreed to have dinner with you and, in fact, already had plans. I don’t know how else I can make you understand, I’m not interested in going out with you.” She wondered how many times she would have to say it before he finally believed her.

“I would understand if it was true, but we both know you have feelings for me, so why don’t we stop with all the pretence?”

Freya came to a halt, hands on hips, and blew out a breath. “I don’t have feelings for you, Martin, you’re mistaken.” She threw her hands up in sudden exasperation. “When are you going to get it through your thick head that I don’t fancy you, I don’t want to date you, and I’m not even sure I want to see you as a friend anymore.”

Greg narrowed his eyes as he watched the couple. Freya was slight. Her sneakers gave her no extra height as she squared up to the other man. He watched as the man stepped closer and grabbed her shoulders, aggression in his stance. “Okay, maybe you
do
need me to demonstrate how things stand,” he said, and leaned in close.

Greg decided he had seen enough. He stepped forwards, tucked his fingers in the back of the man’s shirt collar and twisted sharply, pulling the man backwards and sending him flying. He looked down at Freya. “I was right. You need some self defence moves.”

Freya stared up at the strange man who had come unexpectedly to her rescue. “What—”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” shouted Martin, fists clenched in front of him.

Greg stared at Martin, and looked his contempt. “Someone who is going to make life difficult for you if you don’t leave now.”

Martin paused. All around them was silence, everyone nearby watching to see what would happen next. He shrugged and said tightly, “We’re not done here. I’ll speak to you later, Freya.” Then stalked off, anger clear in every step.

Freya shook her head in annoyance. “Huh. Next time I’m not gonna bother with assertive, I’m just gonna get straight in there with a heavy-based frying pan.”

The noise level around them returned to normal as people realised the show was over. Greg grinned. It was easy to see why Jeremy had fallen for this girl. She was not only pretty but was ready to laugh at a situation that might have daunted another girl.

“Gregory Jones,” he said and held out a hand.

“Freya Keele,” she replied.

He took her hand and instead of shaking it, brought it up to look at the grubby bandage. “You should change the dressing on this. Jeremy said it might need stitches. We’ve got a medic back at the office if you want a second opinion.”

Freya gasped and stepped back, colour draining from her face. She was surprised that he let go.

“Don’t run away from me, Freya. Jeremy’s not here and we need to talk.”

“H-how do you know him?”

“He’s a work colleague. He’s been beating himself up over what happened. I don’t think he meant to scare you. He’s never had much in the way of finesse. If you want to scare the bejeebers out of someone, he’s your guy, but a skilled negotiator he ain’t.”

“What do you want with me? I haven’t got a time thingy, I never did have. I don’t even know what one is.”

“That’s okay. I just want to talk to you.”

“Okay, so talk, I’m listening.”

“Not here. Come with me, we can talk back at the office.”

“No way. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Freya, if I wanted to trick you I wouldn’t have told you that I know Jeremy. Believe me, I could have talked you into coming with me. I’m not going to lie, I need to talk with you, but these are sensitive matters and the market isn’t the place for them.”

His words made sense but Freya was still uncertain. “How do I know you won’t take me back to Jeremy, or to that court thing he said about?”

“I promise I won’t take you back to him today, Freya, you have my word. Hell, I’ll even teach you some Karate moves so you can deck him the next time you run into him. What court thing did he say about?”

“He said if I lied to him he’d take me to the courts in 21 something and let them deal with me.”

Greg rolled his eyes and shook his head, “No finesse. I take it you lied to him then.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Freya almost winced at the whine in her voice, “He was so mean and I just got mad. Now if he finds me he’s gonna drag me off to jail. He’s a cop isn’t he?” she said with a glum look at her sneakers.

“Jeremy’s not a cop and none of us could just drag you off to court or jail. The courts give us specific people to chase; bail jumpers or known felons. We have to prove that we have the right guy before any dragging off is done. I already ran your DNA and you’re not on the list,” said Greg, raising his eyebrows in the direction of Freya’s bandaged wrist. “Jeremy knows this only too well. As I mentioned before, he’s not big on negotiation. In fact, he’s a bit of caveman, to be honest with you.”

His words made sense and Freya began to relax. “Why are you guys suddenly chasing after me?”

“I can’t speak for Jeremy, but I just want to talk to you for a while.”

Freya sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. She could see the reason in what he was saying, and she did want to know more about the situation. She would need her accounts and ledger book back at some point too, and Jeremy still had her phone and house keys.