Timesurfers (2 page)

“What is your name?” Austin asked.

“Cate,” she squeaked, and swallowed the bile
rising up her throat.
Please don’t throw
up
. She was handling this like a total wimp.
Show no fear
, she chanted silently and angled her chin
upward. “Don’t come any closer. I’m a black belt, and I will hurt
you.”

“Black belt, hey?” Austin took a long,
deliberate step toward her. “Do I know you?” His grey eyes narrowed
as he examined her face.

Not the response Cate expected. A hysterical
giggle escaped her mouth. “Nope. I’m excellent with faces.”

“Whoa!
Rain Man
flashback. I’m sure you’re also an excellent driver. Does she look
familiar to you, Rose?” Austin asked.

Rose circled Cate. “Hmm. A five foot ten, big
boned, flat-chested teenage girl, whose dirty, scraggly blonde hair
has cheap rainbow hair extensions.”

“Rose,” Austin cut in.

Rose held up a finger. “I’m not finished.
Freaky green eyes, freckles, and dressed...well...badly. Don’t know
her.” Rose smiled a tight smile and returned to study her list.

Bitch
. Cate had been
so right; she could never be friends with Rose.

“Ignore Rose. Normally she reserves that type
of venom for someone she’s had at
least
one previous encounter with. Clearly you’re special. What
intriguing little secrets are you hiding?” His eyes sparkled with
mischief as he contemplated her.

A sonic boom and fireworks exploding at the
end of the street saved Cate from responding. A ribbon of red
streaked toward them. A monster silver and black motorbike
slithered to a halt at her feet. The glare from the rider’s
shimmering red jumpsuit made her eyes water. His mullet would have
made Billie Ray Cyrus jealous.

“
Centimetre
perfect! I’m so good I scare myself,” he
proclaimed, adjusting his headband.

“Rafe,
how
lovely of
you to join us. Nice low-key entry there. And you’ve gone for an
understated look today,” Rose said.

“We’re in a time stop. How often does that
happen? I’m going for bold.” Rafe flicked his red, sequined cape
over his shoulder. “I would have worn fluffy earmuffs if I’d known
it would be this cold. I have some that match this, you know.”

Okay! Enough!
“What
the hell is going on?” For once, Cate was glad her angry young teen
lurked so close to the surface.

“O-M-G! She’s talking.” Rafe flapped his
hands toward her.

“And somebody better start answering me.”

“Feisty.” Rafe grinned and proceeded to
ignore her. “What’s her deal?”

Austin shrugged.

“And before you ask, she’s not on the list,”
Rose said.

“Outrageous! Let me have a go at her.” Rafe
scrambled from the motorbike.

Cate tensed and put up a guarding block. She
manoeuvred
so the three
of them were in her line of sight.

“Careful, she’s a black belt.” Austin
returned Cate’s glare with a cheery grin.

Rafe smiled big at her.

“Stay away from me,” she growled. How spooky;
she could hear—well, more like
sense
—Rafe
speaking, but his mouth wasn’t moving. A dead calm settled over
her, which was far from normal, considering the situation. Her
brain became sluggish, and her head clouded with dense fog.

Colours, shapes, and sounds dissolved in her
head, replaced by a blank, transparent canvas. She flinched as
Rafe’s face burst into view. The sharp focus of his face contrasted
with the muted
colours
and shapes now swirling behind him.

Ignore us. You won’t
remember anything about us. Sit at the bus stop while we get this
done.

Cate shifted her weight backward, working
against the fact that her feet wanted to walk toward the bus stop
seat like Rafe said. Her conscious mind told her feet to stay
still, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. She pressed her
knuckles to her closed eyelids, trying to relieve the pressure
inside her brain. As quickly as it arrived, the fog vanished.

As Rafe reached for her, she blocked his arm,
as her other fist connected with his jawbone. There was a loud
crack, and pain speared up her arm and exploded in her shoulder.
Rafe stood his ground and shook his head.

A normal person would be sprawled at her
feet, but he barely swayed. Her arm hung limp by her side, refusing
to move no matter how much her brain demanded. “I told you—stay
away.” Close to tears, she brushed her eyes with the back of her
other hand.

“Ouch!” Rafe rubbed his jaw.

“That right hook must mean she’s immune to
your talents too,” Rose said. “Ignore her and get the bus.”

“I’m on it.” Rafe traipsed past Cate. Using
one hand, he hoisted the front of the bus off the road. He rested
the bumper across his chest and used both arms to test its
weight.

Cate’s jaw fell open. The bus wheels now hung
in the air. The few people who had made it onboard toppled down the
aisle like bowling pins. The bus creaked and groaned as Rafe pushed
it further above his head. “That is so not normal.” Too bewildered
to resist when Rose shoved her toward Rafe, Cate complied. Her
shoulder was on fire. It had to be dislocated.

“Watch her,” Rose snapped, and ducked under
the bus with Austin.

“The intel was good. There’s a bomb with
Jonah’s name written all over it,” Austin called from
underneath.

Alarm prickled along Cate’s spine. There
was
a bomb on the bus. She wheeled around
to run. Rafe’s fingers encircled her bicep in a
vicelike
grip before she could take a
step.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Rafe smiled, relaxed as
he stood, one hand holding her while the other balanced the
bus.

A wave of pain rolled along her arm and
shoulder as small silver stars exploded behind her eyes. She
clutched her shoulder, pleading in her mind for it to pop back in.
“Let me go!” She clawed with her good arm and smacked at Rafe’s
wrist and fingers.

“You have the cutest accent,” Rafe said.
“Where are you from, England?”

Cate glared and kept trying to pry his
fingers from her arm. She turned and stepped into him, scraping her
heel down his shin before grinding it into his foot.

He grunted with pain but didn’t let go.
“Spirited little thing, aren’t you?” He shook her so hard she bit
her tongue. “Stop it.”

Cate spat blood and deliberated her next
move. She gave her shoulder a tentative roll. Huh. It seemed
better, so it must have been a dead arm or something.

“Don’t insult
me
like that. Her accent’s Australian, you drip,” Rose called from
under the bus. “Cut this wire, Austin.”

“There’s something hardcore sexy about a
woman disarming a bomb. It doesn’t top the time Rose hotwired a
helicopter. Ah, good times,” Rafe sighed.

“This is insane. You’re all
insane
,” Cate murmured.

“Secure the target, Rose,” Austin said.

Cate tensed. They
were
here for her.

Rose emerged. “With me,” she ordered and
yanked Cate’s arm.

Waves of nausea rolled through Cate. They’d
found her. What were they going to do with her?

Rafe grinned one of those lovesick puppy
grins. “Nice work, Rose.”

The look Rose gave him would have made Medusa
proud. “Okay. Let’s find this budding nuclear physicist
extraordinaire.” Rose tapped her wrist, and a globe of light
flickered, crackled, and disappeared with a hiss. She groaned.
“Those holographs never work.”

Rose walked down the bus queue. She glanced
from a faded photograph to a thin man with straggly brown hair.
“Well, hello there.
Got
him!”

“He’s their target?” Cate mumbled. After
another sonic boom a black sports car flickered like a holograph
and then solidified at the end of the street. It hurtled their
way.

“We’ve got company.” Rose squared her
shoulders and stretched her neck from side to side. She shrugged
off her tartan jacket to reveal a fitted black singlet. The silver
handles protruding from the knife sheaths strapped to her outer
thighs glinted as she moved. She jabbed her index finger at Cate.
“Stay back and immobile. I’m sworn to protect innocents, but in
your case I might make an exception.”

Cate’s eyes flicked around, searching for an
escape path.

“Run...and I’ll let him catch you, kill you,
whatever he wants,” Rose warned. “Innocent be damned.”

Cate stood dead still. Her cover seemed to be
intact. They didn’t appear to be here for her.

The car spun 180 degrees, screeching to rest
inches from the bus shelter. The word
“Maserati
” gleamed in silver along the back. The
smell of burning rubber and smoke stung Cate’s nostrils and throat,
making her cough and splutter. Rose remained impervious, her jaw
set as she clenched and unclenched her fists.

As the car door opened, Cate rocked forward,
wary, but still curious. An ultratall guy stepped out. It was the
Ralph Lauren model from earlier. Now “dangerous” flashed like a
neon sign through her mind. A piece of his perfectly tousled hair
fell over his forehead as he stalked toward Rose. An attack of
uncontrollable shivers hit Cate.

“Jonah,” Rose said. “You’re just in time to
thank us for disarming your bomb.”

“If I want a bomb to explode, it does.” Jonah
shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
“Hey, Rafe.
Showing off that super
strength again, I see. It won’t impress Rose. Take it from someone
who knows: she’s not worth it.”

Rafe growled through his teeth, but Jonah
continued, undaunted. “I’m getting a strong Little Red Riding Hood
vibe from your outfit. You might want to rethink it.”

Cate tensed when Jonah turned her way. She
hugged her body in an attempt to control her shivers.

“And what do we have here?” Jonah looked from
Rafe to Rose and raised his eyebrows.
“One of yours?”

“
Some
random innocent.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “But, maybe she’s
important to you?”

Jonah’s grey eyes glittered with menace.

Cate gulped. Had Jonah come for her? With two
quick strides, he was close enough for her to feel his warm breath
on her hair.

Jonah trailed a thumb along her jaw and
wrapped his fingers around her throat. The leather from his shirt’s
cuff was cool against her skin. “We’ll laugh about this in a few
years, I promise,” he breathed in her ear.

Her knees buckled and the ground lurched as
he applied pressure to her throat. She gagged as black spots
exploded behind her eyelids. Her fingers raked at Jonah’s hand and
her boot made a resounding thud against his shin.

“Feisty.” He tightened his grip.

Cate thrashed, her eyes pleading with Rose
for help. Rose’s eyes remained fixed on Jonah. Cate could have
sworn she actually smiled.

Austin came into view from under the bus
looking perplexed. Cate gurgled an indecipherable “Help me.”

His eyes widened as he surveyed the scene. He
bolted towards Cate. “Let her go!”

Jonah released her seconds before Austin
reached them. She staggered as her legs crumpled. The rough surface
of the road stung her knees like a shower of tiny, hot needles. She
coughed and rasped some quick breaths.

“
You...you...dick!”
Cate sputtered. It was lame, but
all she could come up with.

“Ouch, that cuts me up.” A predatory smile
tilted the corners of Jonah’s mouth.

“What’s your deal?” Austin glared at Rose and
hoisted Cate to her feet. His grip stopped her from collapsing
again.

“Settle. She’s fine,” Rose said.

“No thanks to you.” He pointed to Jonah.
“Does taking an innocent’s life mean so little to you now?”

“Watch yourself.” Jonah moved toward
Austin.

Rose stepped between the two boys and
separated them with her arms. “Put your hackles down, or I’ll knock
you both on your butts. Austin’s disarmed the bomb, and we have
secured your intended target, so let’s all return to our separate
corners. This round is ours, Jonah.”

“Actually, I didn’t have to disarm the bomb,”
Austin said. “
Someone
disarmed it remotely
before I cut the wire. My money’s on you, Jonah. There’s no doubt
you put it there. Now you turn up and hey presto, it’s disarmed.
The timing’s too coincidental.”

Cate
realised
that when she saw Jonah earlier, he must
have been planting the bomb.

Jonah shrugged and turned to Rose. They spoke
too quietly for Cate to make out their conversation. Rafe leaned
against the bonnet of the bus and glowered at Jonah. No one was
interested in her anymore. If they weren’t here for her, what had
she stumbled into?

Austin’s eyes swept back and forth across the
sea of frozen faces like a giant searchlight. They narrowed as he
contemplated someone for a moment before recommencing his scrutiny.
The thick red scars down the side of his face and neck glistened as
he moved.

“You know it’s rude to stare?” Austin smiled
a superior little smile.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” She met his eyes
for a few seconds with the most defiant stare she could muster and
then looked everywhere but at him.

“Okay. Killer punch by the way, Cate, was
it?” Austin’s eyes continued to rove the sea of frozen faces.

“What?” Cate asked.

“With Rafe before, that was an impressive
punch. Someone’s teaching you well.”

“Umm...thanks.” What else could she say?

The air shimmered, and some of the frozen
people twitched and became still again. “There’s your two-minute
warning.” Jonah stepped back and leaned against the
Maserati
. He shouted something, and
he and the car both melted from view.

“Where’d he go?” Cate asked, mouth
gaping.