you.”
I’ll kill you. Jack’s threat throbbed through my entire body. I could hear his insane rage, see the hate on his face. Oh. My. God.
“You can’t prove any of this,” protested Chris. “If TIC couldn’t pick up any changes, how do you know- this theory has no foundation!” He pushed away from the counter, sloshing half his coffee over the floor. “If Callum Jade went back, why didn’t he just pull a gun on me or something? Why all the cloak and dagger theatrics?”
Drustan stepped back from the mess, but no one attempted to clean up it up. “It isn’t possible to take a life out of natural time. The universal chaos is too great when you disturb the balance of souls. We’re not even sure what would happen to Callum if he’d tried to influence another to do his bidding. But Jack was born into your time naturally, and he would not be acting on Callum’s command. With genetic stamping, Jack would inherit Callum’s objectives as his own in every way.”
Chris opened his mouth, but he must have run out of arguments. His jaw went slack as he closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay, so you go back to the same time frame that Callum Jade leaped to and protect Mrs Townsend from him.”
“A leap blurs the time coordinates for a few months either side,” said Drustan. “My team is working out the nearest coordinates possible for us to leap back to.” His voice lowered considerably as he added, “We’ll need to hide Jack’s mother until after he is born.”
My heart cheered at Drustan’s solution. I mean, it was totally non-violent, no blood, no one gets dead. What was not to like?
So why did Chris look like he was choking on an entire shark carcass?
“Chris,” I said brightly, “this sounds like a good plan.”
Chris’s blazing eyes turned on me. Burned right through me, actually. “No, Willow, it’s not a good plan. What about Jack’s heart?”
I hadn’t forgotten about Jack’s heart. “I assume,” I said, turning to Drustan, “that Mrs. Townsend will be admitted to another hospital for the genetic engineering?”
Drustan stared intensely into his mug. “That might prove difficult, initially.”
“Because,” snorted Chris, “they plan to kidnap her. It’s slightly illegal, Willow.”
“There’ll be opportunities later in Jack’s life for the corrective surgery,” said Drustan.
Chris grunted his disbelief.
“Christian,” started Drustan. “I honestly wish—”
“No! You don’t even know for certain. You’re gambling with Jack’s life on some far-stretched hunch.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. Callum Jade has always been devoted to his work at the Institute... by which I mean the Institute of Advanced Genetic Exploration. An unnatural business. I never did approve.” Drustan gave a long, exhausted sigh. “Callum Jade leaps back to the period nearing Jack’s birth and suddenly your best friend turns enemy and kills you? Christian, the only thing we’re not certain about right now is TIC. For some reason, we’re unable to find a reasonable time coordinate in the required time frame.”
“There’s a problem with TIC?” Chris sounded almost happy.
I was still on, “Huh? Jack and Chris? As in best friends?”
“Ex friends,” said Chris. He gave Drustan a dark look and said quickly, “That’s not proof.”
“Then you can explain your sudden falling out?” Drustan demanded. “Did something happen? Or did Jack just turn on you one day? Maybe somewhere around his twelfth or thirteenth birthday?”
I watched Chris carefully.
He clamped his lips tight and shook his head.
Chris knew something. Or should I say, Chris knew nothing had happened. Jack had turned with the onset of puberty. Call me genius, but that smacked of genetically matured stamping.
And Chris knew, but he was refusing to admit it.
“We grew up,” said Chris at last. “Things change. That doesn’t make Jack a killing machine. You’ve got this all wrong.”
Drustan rubbed at
I’ll kill you. Jack’s threat throbbed through my entire body. I could hear his insane rage, see the hate on his face. Oh. My. God.
“You can’t prove any of this,” protested Chris. “If TIC couldn’t pick up any changes, how do you know- this theory has no foundation!” He pushed away from the counter, sloshing half his coffee over the floor. “If Callum Jade went back, why didn’t he just pull a gun on me or something? Why all the cloak and dagger theatrics?”
Drustan stepped back from the mess, but no one attempted to clean up it up. “It isn’t possible to take a life out of natural time. The universal chaos is too great when you disturb the balance of souls. We’re not even sure what would happen to Callum if he’d tried to influence another to do his bidding. But Jack was born into your time naturally, and he would not be acting on Callum’s command. With genetic stamping, Jack would inherit Callum’s objectives as his own in every way.”
Chris opened his mouth, but he must have run out of arguments. His jaw went slack as he closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay, so you go back to the same time frame that Callum Jade leaped to and protect Mrs Townsend from him.”
“A leap blurs the time coordinates for a few months either side,” said Drustan. “My team is working out the nearest coordinates possible for us to leap back to.” His voice lowered considerably as he added, “We’ll need to hide Jack’s mother until after he is born.”
My heart cheered at Drustan’s solution. I mean, it was totally non-violent, no blood, no one gets dead. What was not to like?
So why did Chris look like he was choking on an entire shark carcass?
“Chris,” I said brightly, “this sounds like a good plan.”
Chris’s blazing eyes turned on me. Burned right through me, actually. “No, Willow, it’s not a good plan. What about Jack’s heart?”
I hadn’t forgotten about Jack’s heart. “I assume,” I said, turning to Drustan, “that Mrs. Townsend will be admitted to another hospital for the genetic engineering?”
Drustan stared intensely into his mug. “That might prove difficult, initially.”
“Because,” snorted Chris, “they plan to kidnap her. It’s slightly illegal, Willow.”
“There’ll be opportunities later in Jack’s life for the corrective surgery,” said Drustan.
Chris grunted his disbelief.
“Christian,” started Drustan. “I honestly wish—”
“No! You don’t even know for certain. You’re gambling with Jack’s life on some far-stretched hunch.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. Callum Jade has always been devoted to his work at the Institute... by which I mean the Institute of Advanced Genetic Exploration. An unnatural business. I never did approve.” Drustan gave a long, exhausted sigh. “Callum Jade leaps back to the period nearing Jack’s birth and suddenly your best friend turns enemy and kills you? Christian, the only thing we’re not certain about right now is TIC. For some reason, we’re unable to find a reasonable time coordinate in the required time frame.”
“There’s a problem with TIC?” Chris sounded almost happy.
I was still on, “Huh? Jack and Chris? As in best friends?”
“Ex friends,” said Chris. He gave Drustan a dark look and said quickly, “That’s not proof.”
“Then you can explain your sudden falling out?” Drustan demanded. “Did something happen? Or did Jack just turn on you one day? Maybe somewhere around his twelfth or thirteenth birthday?”
I watched Chris carefully.
He clamped his lips tight and shook his head.
Chris knew something. Or should I say, Chris knew nothing had happened. Jack had turned with the onset of puberty. Call me genius, but that smacked of genetically matured stamping.
And Chris knew, but he was refusing to admit it.
“We grew up,” said Chris at last. “Things change. That doesn’t make Jack a killing machine. You’ve got this all wrong.”
Drustan rubbed at
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