Twisted Time

26 - Lent

The office, 02:28

Ric's broad grin is wiped away when Hall slaps him across the face. The time agent reels and staggers back towards the sofa. Dan is tempted to jump up, but the three weapons turned in her direction tell her it would be an unwise move to try to help her partner. She lets herself fall back into the soft upholstery. With a quick gesture, she pushes the Metec into the gap between two cushions.

Hall strides over, grabs her left wrist, and yanks on it. Dan staggers to her feet and suppresses a whine, but lets him push up her sleeve without resistance.

"No mark, just like Steff said. Who is this woman?"

The last question is directed at Ric, who answers with an unreadable stare. His right cheek shows the bruise of Hall's knuckles and a bloody imprint where the ring of the security officer cracked the skin. A thin fathom of blood runs down his chin.

Hall still holds Dan's injured wrist and shoves her into the centre of the room. This time, her moan is audible, and she feels blood shoot to her face in a mixture of embarrassment about her weakness and burning anger.

"Search her for weapons, Tiana."

The young woman with short-cropped, blond hair steps up to Dan, the gaze of her unfitting, soft brown eyes is locked with hers. She runs her hands over her body in a professional manner and pulls the torch, the mobile phone and the bag of cough drops out of her pockets. In a burst of panic, Dan wonders where her keys are before she remembers she left them in the car.

Her hurting wrist still caught in Hall's unmovable grip, she watches as Tiana aligns her belongings on the wooden desk. The boss steps nearer to examine the items, her attention fixed on the crumpled paper bag. She picks it up to study the list of ingredients printed on the backside of the package in tiny letters, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Thirteen alpine herbs?" She snorts. "Stevia? Where did you get this stuff? In a shop for retro-drugs? "

Dan ignores the question and tries to keep a neutral face while she stares at the spotless cream carpet. It must be hell to keep it clean, and she wonders if there are still cleaners in the future. The random thought helps her to accommodate the pain in her arm. She longs for the reassuring presence of Ric, but he stands behind her, and she can't establish eye contact. At least no one found his gadget yet. I hope I pushed it deep enough between the cushions.

A flurry of movement interrupts her worries. The boss stands directly in front of Dan, and cold fingers with sharp, pointed nails grab her chin to turn her face towards the light. "Well, these pretty features are not easy to forget."

She turns away from Dan, who rubs the scratches the fingernails left on her cheek. Back at her desk, the boss lady taps on her built-in screen. A projection appears on the right-hand wall of the room.

The giant portrait shows the smiling face of a woman in her forties. Auburn hair falls in loose waves over her shoulders, and rimless reading glasses give her appearance an intellectual touch. Dan gasps, convinced for a moment to see a favourable picture of her mother.

But mum is far too vain to wear glasses on a professional picture. It takes a while until Dan is convinced this is how she might look in a decade or thereabouts. Despite the dangerous situation, she is fascinated. At least, no scars of fingernails disfigure my left cheek. We might get out of here after all, more or less unscathed. Or...

The thought the picture might show an alternate self of her,  taken in an alternate timeline, flashes through her mind. An imaginary army of icy ants swarms down her back at the mental image. But before Dan can analyse her time travel knowledge gained through the lecture of science fiction novels, the voice of her captor calls her back to the harsh reality.

"Doctor D. Lent." The boss' voice has a mocking undertone. "Exactly the person we were looking for. I am honoured you found a gap in your undoubtedly busy schedule to pay our humble office a visit in person. I would love to have a chat with you, but it is getting late, and these are not the premises we prepared for your esteemed presence." She turns to Hall, snipping her fingers. "Bring her down to the lab and wake this moron Ken. Tell him to start the extraction procedure. I need the information in this pretty, clever head."

Somehow, the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees, at least where Dan stands. Since she learned this organisation targets her, she feared their plans for her were not agreeable. But the blunt confirmation makes her wish she would have asked Ric to send her home. Now, I will pay for my curiosity and spirit of adventure.

Hall stares at her as he would at a two-headed cow, ignoring the order of his superior. Ric's voice interrupts the moment of silence. "What do you intend to do with her?"

"None of your business, Chronos. But there are important things you and I should discuss in private." The boss steps around the desk and snaps her fingers in front of Hall's face. "Hall, I told you to bring Lent downstairs. Move! And Milo, your job is to watch our mister Chronos. Shoot his leg if he tries to play the hero. But just to prevent him from causing trouble, I want him conscious and able to answer questions. Hall, what is the matter? Why are you still here?"

"Sorry, boss, it's just that I thought she'd be more impressive. I mean—" He interrupts himself and nods at the woman in charge. With a hand-sign, he sends Tiana to open the door. She sniggers one last time at the projected face of the older Dan. Then she motions the younger version with a drawn weapon towards the door.

Dan has no choice but to follow her two appointed guards. A quick glance over her shoulder at Ric fails to spend her hope. Her partner stares at the floor, face unreadable.

Hall shifts his grip to her upper arm and shoves her through the door. The automatic slide panel whooshes closed behind them, and he guides her down the hallway to the elevator at a fast pace. There, the woman points her weapon at her head while Hall calls the elevator with an electronic key.

In silence, they wait for the cabin to arrive. A soft hum announces the imminent opening of the metal doors. Dan shivers, aware every step brings her nearer to an uncertain destiny. But instead of the doors opening, the humming falters. Dan risks a hopeful peak in the direction of a ceiling light. Its flickering starts as if triggered by her wish.