Tama of Tomeowrrow

The Getaway

As I sat on the center console, my tail swaying back and forth, the team watched in stunned silence as the man on the screen continued to incriminate himself.

"Let me just say this, and I want to say this for the television news. The people have a right to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am a crook," he declared, causing the crowd in the video to gasp in shock.

He continued, "Oh, actually felt good to get that off my chest. What other secrets have I been holding back? Ah, yes, despite the constant reassurances of my wife, I know that I'm certainly only an adequate lover—"

"That is more about Tricky Dick than I ever needed to know," Sara sighed, pausing the clip.

"And it's more than the public needed to know. In the days following the news conference, Nixon found himself unable to tell a lie resulting in global chaos," Gideon explained, outlining the extent of the damage caused by Nixon's newfound honesty.

"Nixon's blathering fouled up ongoing peace talks and trade agreements," Charlie added, shaking her head.

"Without the release of All the President's Men, Robert Redford's career floundered," Ray noted, reading the newspaper clipping displayed on the screen.

"What? No Redford? No Sundance, no indie film, no artful nudity. We have to fix this!" Mick exclaimed.

"The only thing nastier than a politician lying is when he says how he really feels. Now, there's no way he'd tell the truth without a magical assist." Charlie reasoned.

"We need to make sure that Nixon still cheats the press," Sara said, walking away from the console. But before she could get too far, Ray spoke up.

"Uh, Captain's orders and all, but do you think it's really the best time to be back on mission?" Ray asked, concern evident in his voice. I couldn't help but agree with him—Ray had a point.

"Yeah, I mean, it might do well to take a beat," Charlie added, shrugging casually.

Sara stopped and looked back at the team, wrapping an arm around Nyssa. "I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. Just because Nyssa and I had a disagreement with Ava doesn't mean that I can't do my job."

"I was actually talking about the fact that we're on the outs with the Time Bureau," Ray clarified slowly.

Charlie chimed in, "Yeah, and I was talking about Mona. I mean, Hank's gonna be after us since her boyfriend offed that agent, and, well, we can't just stash her here forever."

Nyssa spoke up with a firm tone, "While this has been an eventful week, the situation with The Bureau will settle with time. We'll find a safe place for Mona. In the meantime, we should focus on what we do best, no?"

"Right. Save Redford and independent film." Mick huffed.

"That's the spirit!" Sara clapped.

I hopped down from the console, my paws lightly hitting the floor as I followed the humans out of the bridge.

_______

Nyssa held me close as we walked with Sara toward the cargo bay, her presence calm and steady. As we passed by the bathroom, we heard Mona call out, "Oh, uh, Captain, I wanted to talk to you."

Sara turned, her tone all business. "Good. I need to talk to you, too. As far as The Bureau's concerned, you're a fugitive. I need you to stay on the ship and not draw any attention."

Mona hesitated, her voice nervous, "It's not just that. Um, when we were in Mexico—"

Sara cut her off sharply, "When we were in Mexico, a man got murdered by Konane because you said we could trust him."