Back and forth in Time...
Schmitt woke up to a peaceful calm and checked his watch, surprised to find that he had slept for nearly 11 hours. After stretching, he glanced at his sleeping companion. Their shared time travel journey seemed to have exhausted the man, who had not moved for a while. It was almost 1 am and he felt hungry. He wondered if room service was still available at this late hour and called. Thirty minutes later, someone knocked on the door, bringing the ordered meal. Schmitt served himself generously and set some aside for his still-sleeping friend.
An hour passed, then two, but the man showed no signs of waking up. Schmitt decided to go for a nighttime stroll. At three in the morning, the streets were deserted. Dressed in the fashion of their time, he headed to Central Park and then to Times Square before returning to the hotel around six in the morning. The receptionist greeted him upon his return.
"Mr. Schmitt!"
Schmitt walked over to him.
"Your friend called, asking if you had thought about reading the newspaper when you got back," the receptionist said, a little perplexed about the importance of this information.
"Thank you for the heads up," Schmitt replied with a smile.
In the room, he found his friend having breakfast. He joined him at the table.
"Thanks for thinking of me."
"It was the least I could do," Schmitt replied with a smile. "How are you?"
"Great, and you?"
"Good."
"How long did I sleep?"
"I'd say 17 hours."
"Well... Did the receptionist pass on my message to you?"
"Yes, but why is it important?" Schmitt asked.
"History has changed again," he said, handing him the newspaper of the day.
On the front page, the headline read "China Racing for the Moon." This news was exceptional because, in the known history, the race to the Moon was limited to Russia and the United States.
"Is this a joke?"
"I told you that history had changed again. We need to hurry to find out why this girl is important. What did you discover during your trip to the future?"
"Nothing has changed there yet, at least not for now," Schmitt replied. "But it won't be long. It's like ripples in water, it will eventually change if we don't solve the problem."
"And then?"
"The Traveler who helped me the first time searched for the name and surname you gave me. He had trouble finding information about her, except for the date of February 16th when you already went."
"Darn."
"April 13, 2018. I said he had trouble, not that he didn't succeed. That's the only date I can offer you for now."
"Enough for now. Do you know what this represents?"
"No, there's no more information about her, which is strange given the importance of the converging timelines towards her."
"It's always difficult to get information on the Travelers. We only know her century of existence, but that's not enough. If she has traveled through time, it's normal to find nothing. Do you have a location?"
"No, just a time. 8:30 AM, April 13, 2018."
"Seriously? Not even a location?"
"I'm sorry, but those are the only information we have," Schmitt replied.
"Darn," he repeated. "I guess we'll have to make do with that."
"We?"
"Yes, you're coming with me this time."
"Why?" Schmitt asked, surprised.
"Because London is vast, and finding this girl will require more than one person."
Schmitt grumbled lightly, thinking that the field agent was more of a friend to him than to himself. He wasn't used to this kind of investigation.
"Alright, in that case, you really need to get ready, because honestly, when was the last time you washed up?" Schmitt teased gently.
"Oh, shut up!" he laughed, tossing a piece of toast at him.
"Excuse me, but even in the 17th century, I bathed more often than you."
"Oh, shut up!"
This time, Schmitt managed to dodge the second piece of toast. Saving history was one thing, but avoiding flying toasts from his friend was another.
"Seriously though, you really need to change your clothes."
"You know it's all good in 2017."
"If you really want me to participate in this mission, you're going to have to change."
"Ugh, fine, fine. But I don't have anything else to wear."
Schmitt thought for a moment and decided to get contemporary clothing for his friend. When he returned with a complete suit, including a tie and shoes (similar to what he was currently wearing), his friend reluctantly agreed to clean up. After freshening up, they began to devise their plan for the mission. They had a rough date and time, but no specific location, and they needed to locate the future Voyager. The man only knew the address of the target's grandparents. They concluded that they had to go back to 2017, on her birthday, and follow her to her apartment. They couldn't search alone, as it would take too long. They gathered their belongings, left the room, set their watches for February 26, 2017, around 1:30 PM, and headed out.
"Wait! I don't know where to go. I'm not familiar with the place," Schmitt informed before activating their watches.
"Oh, I forgot. Well, give me your hand then."
Schmitt extended his hand and the man activated his watch, transporting them to another alley, near the future Voyager's grandparents' apartment.
"We're here," he announced, releasing Schmitt's hand.
"And now?"
"Now, we wait for her to come out."
"And what if she only comes out tonight?"
"Well, then we'll have waited all day."
Schmitt grumbled again. He was better at investigations, but being in the field was not his cup of tea. His friend was much better at tracking. So, they settled in a nearby café and waited for almost two hours before the future Traveler finally came out with her brother, carrying bags and laughing. As soon as they were far enough to follow without being noticed, they got up and discreetly followed them for about thirty minutes. Finally, the brother and sister stopped at the roadside to talk.
"Darn, I can't hear anything they're saying. Schmitt, you stay here, okay? I'm going to pass by them slowly. Wait a minute, then follow me."
"Why?" Schmitt asked.
"It's the only way to hear their conversation."
"Hmm. Good point."
Schmitt waited patiently as his friend slipped discreetly next to them, avoiding drawing attention. The two individuals were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice their presence.
The man was disappointed as the conversation was not as captivating as he had hoped. He moved away a bit and waited for Schmitt to join him. When Schmitt finally caught up with him, he seemed to have picked up on something interesting.
"We need to follow the girl. She's going to her apartment to drop off her packages, then she's heading back to her brother's place."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I overheard them."
"At least one of us got lucky," he muttered.
They waited for the two to separate before discreetly following the young woman at a distance. The goal was not to arouse suspicion. Once they knew her address, they would have to find a way to enter her apartment, leaving this task to Schmitt's friend. The young Traveler lived only a few blocks away from her brother's place, so they waited again for a few minutes until she left.
"And now?" Schmitt asked.
"I will go, you stay here," replied the other person.
"Wait, wait! A motionless man, dressed like that, in the middle of the street, is suspicious."
"Yes, you're right. Find a map, pretend to be a tourist looking for his way."
"Okay. What if the girl comes back while you're still in there?"
"Keep her occupied. I won't be long, I just need a few minutes to find the clues we need."
Schmitt agreed, and while his friend headed towards the girl's apartment, he went to get a map. This kind of mission was always risky, as the person they were spying on often tended to return unexpectedly. As expected, about ten minutes later, while pretending to be a lost tourist, Schmitt saw the young woman coming back. It was inevitable...
"Miss! Excuse me!" said Schmitt as he approached her.
He had to buy time, otherwise his friend might be discovered. While waiting for his friend to come out of the apartment, Schmitt had to improvise. He held the map in his hands, it was time to fully play the tourist card.
"Wow, stylish! It really has a retro vibe, like something from the 60s," the girl replied, a bit Men in Black.
"Men in Black?" repeated Schmitt, perplexed.
"The movie? Men in Black? You don't know it?"
"No, sorry."
"Ah, I see. How can I help you?"
"I'm a bit lost, you see. I'd like to go here," he said, pointing to the place on the map, "but I don't know how to get there."
"Let me see."
While the young woman tried to explain to Schmitt how to get to the indicated place, his friend barely left the building. Schmitt spotted him in the distance. After concluding his conversation with the young woman and thanking her, he headed in the opposite direction to Schmitt. Shortly after, the man caught up with him.
"That was close," Schmitt informed.
"I saw that. I didn't think she would come back so quickly."
"She must have forgotten something. What did you find?"
"She's a student in anthropology, I believe. There are quite a few books on human anatomy and genetics."
"Wow."
"As you say. We're dealing with a smart one. I think she'll receive her watch on the way to her university. When we're in 2018, we just need to follow her and observe what happens."
"Good. Shall we go?"
The two men agreed on the meeting time: 7:00 AM on April 13, 2018, in an alley near his apartment. At that time, the streets should not be very crowded. At the last moment, the man realized that his watch was not fully charged yet. So, it was up to Schmitt to take his friend on this journey. Schmitt took his friend's hand and activated his watch. When they landed at the designated location, they checked to make sure they were in the right place and then waited until the young Traveler came out of her house. They were right, few people were around at that time, luckily. Hidden, they waited for a good hour until the young woman finally decided to come out.
Schmitt really disliked field missions; they spent more time waiting than acting. It would have been easier to follow her without being noticed if the streets were a bit busier, but luckily, Schmitt could rely on his friend to discreetly follow her. As they walked on the sidewalk across from hers, around 8:30, the young woman stopped to help an elderly man find his way. It was then that the two men realized that this elderly man was another Traveler, when he handed her his watch.
"Look, it's a Time Traveler," the man whispered to Schmitt as they tried not to attract attention. "That's where she gets her watch. We were right."
"You were right," Schmitt whispered back.
They had a good view of the scene, not too far and not too close, but hidden enough from others. For a city of this size, at this time, and in this era, it was quite strange to see so few passersby. But on the other hand, it was reassuring; in case of an emergency, one of them could leave with her watch. Schmitt's watch wouldn't be recharged for another two hours. The problematic aspect of Time Travel was that they were dependent on their watches.
The man looked at his watch; it was 8:35 when the two friends parted ways on the sidewalk. The young Traveler seemed very interested in the watch when suddenly, she vanished in a white flash! Schmitt and the man stood there in shock for a moment. It was surely an accident, and they had no way of finding her. She could be anywhere in Space-Time!
"Damn!" exclaimed the man.
"Where did she go?!" Schmitt began to panic.
"I have no idea!"
Without waiting any longer, they both ran across the road and made their way to the old Traveler. He was not moving very quickly.
"Sir! Wait!" said the man, blocking his path.
Schmitt then stood by his side.
"What can I do for you?" asked the old man.
"The girl, she's gone," the man informed.
The old man glanced behind him and smiled.
"The young people today are fast. She vanished in a white flash, we saw it! We know, there's no need to play."
The man rolled up his sleeve, revealing his own watch. The old man touched it with a sad smile.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Where... at what time did she leave?"
"How could I possibly know, young man? What she does with her watch is now her concern alone."
"It's important, everything changes after her Journey!"
"I can do nothing, I'm sorry."
"Damn it..."
"Come," Schmitt intervened, pulling the man by the arm, "thank you, sir."
The two men walked away from the old man and the rest of the bystanders. There was clearly no way of knowing where she had ended up. Both had just witnessed history change before their eyes, and they were unable to stop it. Now, they were unsure of what to do...
"Shit, shit, shit..." the man continued to curse.
"What do we do now?" Schmitt asked.
But his friend wasn't listening, seeming lost in thought, pacing back and forth. Schmitt grabbed him by the arm to calm him down.
"What do we do?" he repeated.
"I don't know..."
"Are we finished? Have we failed?"
A pause.
"SHIT! Oh, I'm probably going to regret this..." he said, exhaling. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes, of course," Schmitt replied.
"You really shouldn't... I know a way to find her."
"Okay, no problem, I'm with you."
"You really shouldn't trust me, you know?"
"Shut up. We have a mission to finish, no matter the risks."
Logan smiled at Schmitt, pleased to have his friend by his side for what he was about to do. He had sworn never to go back, but it was the only way they had to find her. He swore once again and set his watch to the perfect date and time. Taking Schmitt's hand, he took a deep breath. They would soon feel the effects of Time Travel, having already made too many trips in a short amount of time. He activated his watch, and both of them disappeared in the usual white flash.
As they landed, Logan's head began to spin. Schmitt still held his friend's hand, which he seemed unwilling to let go of. Looking around, Logan lingered longer on his friend, pale and staring straight ahead as if he had seen a ghost.
"Logan Whittaker," said the voice of the ghost with a slight Russian accent, "what a surprise."
"Pleasant, I hope," Logan replied.
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