A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2) (11 page)

“Of course.”

“I believe that Robert Kennedy is perhaps the worst President our country has ever seen.”

“What?”  David could not believe the words he was hearing.

“He has completely failed to tackle the communist threat that we face the world over.  Just like his brother before him, he does not have the leadership ability to take us in to a war and win it, even when that war is essential.”

“But war isn’t essential Abaddon, he is working for peace.”

Abaddon laughed.  “It’s a lovely idea don’t get me wrong, but how can you achieve world peace when the Soviet Union are stock piling nuclear warheads.  The East have built the Berlin Wall, that is not peace.  The communists have taken Cuba, Vietnam, China, North Korea and we have stood by and done next to nothing.  If America fought the communists they would not be spreading so rapidly, it is the enemy of democracy.  I tried to get President Kennedy to do the right thing earlier on today, we had an ideal opportunity to strike the Russians.”

“Did you cause the explosion?”  David asked stunned.

“I did.  It was in the best interests of our great nation.”

“You can’t be serious.  You think I’ll keep this quiet, are you out of your mind?”

“I have not finished speaking yet David, you will see things my way in a moment.”

“I highly doubt that.”  He snapped.

“We shall see.”  Abaddon smiled broadly at David.  “Now as you are very much aware, Bobby Kennedy has not only allowed the spread of communism, he has disbanded the CIA, and both his brother and he have undermined the armed forces throughout their reigns.  I am aware that you are in agreement with Bobby about the CIA, but answer me this, how can we leave national security in the hands of J Edgar Hoover and your department made up of seven people?  I am aware of why your department was created, President Kennedy doesn’t trust Hoover, but he cannot get rid of him after the help he provided in the aftermath of Dallas, on the other hand he trusts you all completely due to your help, but the only advantage you all have is that you are from the future.  None of you are qualified to be in the positions you are in, and whilst you may have proven yourselves on a couple of occasions the department is not worth the office space it takes up.”

“We broke the JFK assassination, we stopped Bobby being assassinated and we stopped Martin Luther King being assassinated.”  David fired back.

“But only because you knew those events were going to happen.  Since you have evidently changed history, how will you remain useful when you are no longer aware of what is going to happen?”

“We will work with the FBI.”

“But you bring nothing to the table.  I like all of you, but there is absolutely nothing that you can do better than the FBI or the CIA.  I understand you are a trained forensic pathologist so I suppose you could be useful.  Will Carter is a former soldier, so perhaps he could be useful.  That is all your department has to offer.”

David was unsure as to how to respond, when he considered it he realized that Abaddon had a point.  “So what is it that you’re getting at?”

“What I’m getting at David is that whilst you and your friends may have some power just now, by the time Kennedy leaves office in 1972 you will be completely redundant.  Not only that, the head of the FBI only aims to look out for himself, he doesn’t care about the American people.  You know that as well as I do.”

“Okay I agree with what you are saying but I don’t get your point.”

“Well that is because I haven’t made it yet David.  As I mentioned earlier, I am responsible for the OSS and one of the fields we have been exploring is time travel.  Edward Teller has made some excellent progress in generating and harnessing the power of wormholes.”

David’s jaw dropped.  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Abaddon smiled and nodded.  “I can send you home David.”

“I can’t believe it.  Thank you Abaddon.”

“But one good turn deserves another, so I need something from you.”

“Anything.”

“I want you to assassinate Martin Luther King.”

“What?”

“You heard me David, that’s the deal.”

David’s mind was whirring with hundreds of questions, but he could only manage one.  “Why?”

“We need him to die David.  It will be the final nail in Bobby Kennedy’s coffin.”

“But if you want rid of Kennedy, why not assassinate him?”

“Because I don’t want to turn him into a martyr, I want the world to remember his reign for all of the negative reasons, not just the positives as they do with Jack Kennedy.” 

“Why would King’s death mean the end of Kenndey’s reign?”

“It does not concern you.  All you need to know is that is your task, I’ll tell you where and when.  Do we have a deal?”

“You will send me back to Sharon?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well then I guess we have a deal.”  Abaddon stood up from his chair, as did David.  The two men shook hands with a smile.

Chapter 21

Most press conferences under President Robert F Kennedy were held in the State Department Auditorium.  On this occasion he chose to hold the conference in the smaller, Indian Treaty Room.  He didn’t want the two hundred and fifty reporters he normally met, the Indian Treaty Room was big enough for the purpose.  Bobby Stinson watched from the back of the room as President Kennedy appeared in front of the crowd. 

The Indian Treaty Room was beautiful, it was decorated in a nautical theme, with dolphins and sea horses made from the cast iron railings.  The Italian and French marble wall panels were decorated with shells.  The ceiling was decorated with stars and in the middle of the English Minton tile floor there was a large compass, this feature was hidden by the hoards of journalists that now filled the room.

“Good evening everybody and thank you for being here despite the late hour.  I would like to make a short statement regarding the events of the last forty eight hours, and then I will take any questions at the end. 

Firstly I would like to reiterate what I said in this morning’s statement.  I know I speak on behalf of all the American people when I say that our hearts go out to the families of the Apollo 8 astronauts.  They served their country with pride and their achievement was historic.  We will never forget what those brave men did for our country and indeed the world. May God be with you during these most difficult of times.

It is with deep regret that I am able to confirm that there was a technical fault with Apollo 8.  It was sudden and unexpected.  We will learn from our mistakes in this mission, in all future missions and I would like to confirm that despite this tragedy we will land a man on the Moon within the next year.

With regards to the reappearance of Lee Harvey Oswald, what I can confirm is that the statement he made was untrue.  It is an absolute disgrace that a man would choose to degrade the memory of my brother, President John F. Kennedy and the beloved actress Marilyn Munroe.  I never spent any time alone with Miss Munroe, nor did my brother.  To suggest otherwise is completely disrespectful and I would suggest that people consider the source that this story came from. 

Regarding the accusations Mr Oswald made about both J.Edgar Hoover and Bobby Stinson, I would like to state that this also was fabricated.  I would not stand idly by and allow my brothers killers to escape justice.  Indeed my brother’s killers have received a punishment that is just and fair.  In response to Mr Oswald’s statement, the former President Lyndon Johnson was not framed for his role in the assassination and there is no way that I, nor would any future President of the United States issue a Presidential Pardon for an act of treason.

Lastly regarding the death of Mr Oswald, I can only issue my deepest condolences to his wife and children.  As President of the United States, I was surprised to find out that Mr Oswald had escaped Dallas and it is believed that he has been living in Cuba for the last five years.

I will now take any questions.”

The first question came from a man in the front row.  “Mr President how do you explain both the recordings of yourself and your brother discussing Miss Munroe’s demise?”

“They are fabricated.  There is no truth in the story.”

The next came from a beautiful woman in the front row.  “Mr President, this is Sarah Salmond reporting for CBS.  I was the journalist that interviewed Mr Oswald and I assure you that the handwriting in the diary is Miss Munroe’s.  I am also certain that the recording we have is indeed real and I will allow any testing to be carried out in order to ensure its validity.  Do you really expect the American people to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald escaped from the country without your knowledge and after returning to tell the truth about this administration, jumped from a window?”

As Bobby watched this from the back of the room he covered his eyes with his hand, he hadn’t realised how many lies Kennedy had planned to tell.

“Well I can assure you that the statement I have just made is the truth Miss Salmond.  I have no knowledge of Mr Oswald’s death and furthermore a thorough autopsy was carried out on Miss Munroe, which found her death to be suicide.  I will not be drawn into an argument regarding the so called evidence you possess.    The American people know that I have always acted in their best interests and Mr Oswald is not exactly a credible source.  He was never an agent in the FBI and he was involved in the plot to kill my brother, and the former President.”

The next came from the middle of the crowd.  “Mr President, how do you respond to the claim that the Soviet Union carried out an attack on Apollo 8?”

“As I have said, the explosion was caused by a technical fault, there is no truth in those claims.”

“Mr President will you be re-establishing the CIA?”

“No I will not.  I’ll take one more.”

“Mr President how has Mrs Kennedy responded Mr Oswald’s statement?”

Bobby watched as the President seemed stumped for the first time.

“She was upset by what Mr Oswald claimed, as was I.  Thank you all for coming.”  The President stepped from the podium and disappeared from view.

Chapter 22

The two months following the Apollo 8 disaster were primarily focussed on damage limitation for the Kennedy camp.  Both the Kennedy’s and Bobby’s entire department had returned to their homes in Washington.

Bobby, David, Nancy, Clint, Faraday and Jane all lived in a luxury mansion named Handy Point Estate, in Chestertown.  The house boasted seven well sized bedrooms, five bathrooms and a beautiful twenty one acres of land.  The mansion had been built in 1785, and had beautiful wooden floors throughout.  When they had originally moved in to the mansion it had been quite traditional, they had updated the colour scheme to cream throughout the house, and the furniture would be very suitable for a house in 2014.

They had not really been able to enjoy their time in the house since Christmas, Bobby Kennedy was pushing them hard to track down Jacob Cohen.  As of yet they had no leads.  Kennedy’s approval rating had fallen from 87% to 39%, and there didn’t seem to be anything on the horizon that would lead to an improvement of these figures.

The time was 09:00 on Friday 21
st
February 1969 as Faraday and Jane drank their morning coffee in one of the two dining rooms.

“So have you thought any more about what I said?”  Jane asked.

“I really don’t think it’s the right time to move back.”

“When will it be the right time?”

“I don’t know, thirty years?”

Jane’s face screwed up.  “You are kidding?”

“Yes I’m kidding, but we have friends here.”

“We will make friends back home.”  Jane looked annoyed.

“Why is this so important to you?”

“I told you, I want to raise our children in Scotland.”

“It’s not like your pregnant!” 

Jane looked suddenly serious.

Faraday was terrified.  “Is it?”

She nodded.

“Really?”

She nodded again.

The magnitude of this information hit Faraday like a baseball bat.  “You’re pregnant?”

Jane had tears in her pale blue eyes.  “Yes.”

He got to his feet and kissed her.  “Wow!”

“Are you pleased?”  She asked.

Am I pleased?  He had absolutely no idea.  “Um, yeah!”

“Um, yeah?”

“No of course I am.  I’m just a little surprised.”

“In a good way?”

“Yeah of course in a good way.”

“I was thinking of going into town to look at baby clothes.”

“Isn’t that a bit too soon?”

“I’m excited.”

“Yeah me too.”  Faraday lied.

“I was thinking of asking Nancy, we still don’t really spend any time with her.”  

“There is a reason for that.”  Faraday joked.

“Don’t be mean.  It will get her and Clint out of the house.”

“Do you mind if I stay here?  You know I hate shopping.”

“I didn’t expect you to come, its fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”  Jane rose to her feet and walked into the hallway, she could see Clint playing in the living room.

“Hey, little man.”

“Hello.”  He mumbled.

“Where’s your mum?”

“Kitchen.” 

Jane headed towards the kitchen, secretly hoping that her child wouldn’t be like Clint, he was an odd child.  She found Nancy sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a coffee.

“Morning Nancy.”

She looked up grumpily, not much of a change there.  She was only ever nice to Bobby.  “I was just wondering if you fancied going shopping?”

“Just the two of us?”  She replied, looking confused.

“Well I could use your advice, I’m looking for baby clothes.”

Nancy’s face lit up.  “You’re pregnant?”

Jane nodded.

Nancy let out a short scream.  “That’s amazing news, let’s go!”

“You’re ready?”

“Yeah are you?”

“I just need to grab my bag, are we taking Clint?”

“Yes he’s dressed.”

Jane left the kitchen and headed back towards Faraday, when she entered the room he was smoking a cigarette with his head in his hands.

“You’re not happy about this are you?”  Jane snapped.

He looked up startled.  “I am Jane, I promise.  I’m just a little shocked.”

“You know I want children.”

“I do and I’m happy for you!” 

“For me?  What about us?”

“I meant us.”  Faraday had to bight his lip to stay calm.

“No you didn’t.”  She snapped.

That was it.  “You know I’m not ready for this Jane.  I think you just did this so I’d go back to Scotland.”  As soon as he’d uttered the words he knew it was a mistake.

Jane grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the room.  She met Nancy and Clint in the hallway.

“Shall we just take Bobby’s car, it has the child seat in it?”

“Yes that’s fine.”  Jane replied, trying to suppress her anger.

The three of them left the house and entered the beautiful grounds.  Nancy strapped Clint into the child seat in the back of Bobby’s red 1968 Rambler station wagon.  She was struggling with the harness. 

“Do you need a hand?”  Jane asked.

“No you will have plenty time to learn, I won’t be a second.”

Jane got into the passenger seat and waited for Nancy.  It was a couple of minutes before Nancy got into the driver’s seat.

“I presume Faraday didn’t take it too well?”

Jane nodded as Nancy turned the ignition.

Faraday jumped at the sound of the explosion. 

“What the fuck was that?”  He yelled.

He ran towards the door, he knew instantly they were dead.  As he opened the door his fear was realised, Bobby’s car had exploded.  He ran over to the car, it was still on fire.  He could barely make out bodies through the flames.  He ran back to the house and dialled 911, once he had spoken to the operator he heard footsteps.

“Faraday what the hell was that?”  David asked, as he walked down the stairs.

“They, Jane, she, they...”

David could see true fear in Faraday’s eyes, he looked ghostly white.  “What happened?”

“Come on.”  Faraday shouted, they both ran into the kitchen where Faraday filled up the only basin they had with water.  “Bobby’s car exploded.”  Faraday eventually managed.

“Oh my God, who?”

“Jane, Nancy and Clint.”

David was suddenly almost as pale Faraday. 

Once the basin was full Faraday lifted it from the sink, he had to put it down as he began to vomit.  David lifted the basin and went as quickly as he could towards the door, he had to press the basin between his stomach and the wall as he prised the door open.  Once he saw the car he knew that the basin was utterly futile.  The smoke was thick and black, the car was entrenched in flames.

“Oh God.”  David’s first thought was that this had been organized by Abaddon.  He walked closer to the car and saw that there was absolutely no hope of anyone surviving the explosion.

“What are you doing?”  Faraday yelled.  He picked up the basin of water and rushed to the car.

“It won’t work Faraday.”  David advised.

Faraday threw the water from the basin onto the huge flames that had ensconced the car.  When he saw what little impact it made, the tears finally started.

“Jane!”  He screamed.  “I’m sorry!”

David walked over to him and put an arm on his shoulder.  Faraday pushed him away.  “Jane!”

“What the hell is going on?”  Bobby had appeared at the front door in his red dressing gown.  “Oh my God.”  He hobbled towards David and Faraday.  “What happened?  Who was in there?”

David had no idea how to explain to Bobby that his grandmother and his father were dead.  It occurred to him in that moment, that Bobby was still alive despite his father dying as a child.

“Jane!”  Faraday screamed, the tears now covered his face and wet spots were now appearing on his shirt.  How could they have ended things while fighting?

Bobby was now next to David.  He whispered to David.  “Jane?”

David nodded.  “Bobby...”

“Jane!”  Faraday screamed. 

Bobby stared at David, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“Nancy and Clint.”  David managed.

Bobby’s eyes widened as he took in David’s words.  Everything around him seemed to slow to a snail’s pace.  He watched the heat ripple from his flaming car, the bodies were not visible.  He didn’t cry, which surprised him, he just felt detached from everything around him.  He watched as Faraday screamed at the car and as David uttered his apologies.  But he did not cry.  He looked to the end of the driveway, as he saw the fire engine with its flashing lights approaching.  He still did not cry.  He watched as David pulled Faraday away from the car, as the firemen began to blanket it with lashings of water.

“Jane!”  Faraday screamed again.

“She’s gone Faraday.”  David tried.

Faraday seemed to hear his words and the screaming stopped.  The tears continued and Faraday bent down, before sitting on the ground.  He watched as the blaze was fought.  What the fuck had happened to the car?  The last time we spoke, we argued.  I should have been with her.  I should have taken her home.

David was unsure as to who he should comfort, Bobby looked paralyzed and Faraday looked completely blown apart.  He walked towards where Faraday sat and joined him on the ground.  He did not speak, he just sat beside him.

He heard as Bobby spoke out loud for the first time.  “Who would do this?”

David prayed silently that it hadn’t been Abaddon.  He wouldn’t be able to live with that guilt, not if he knew he could have saved them.  Two women and a child.  One of them a great friend, the others a good friends family.

“Who would do this?”  Bobby screamed.

“Well we know why they did it.”  Faraday muttered.

Bobby stared at Faraday accusingly.  “What?”

Faraday rose to his feet.  “Because they wanted you!”

Bobby’s expression was unflinching.  “Are you saying this is my fault?”

“Well it’s your fucking car!  You’ve obviously pissed someone off!”

David was silent, he could not say what he knew, they would kill him.

“You really want to do this?”  Bobby shouted.

Faraday’s eye gave away a second of doubt.  “Because of you my wife is dead!”

“I didn’t do this!  They did this!”  Bobby shouted, pointing to the road.

“Who?”  Faraday screamed.

“I don’t know but your fight is not with me!”

Faraday charged towards Bobby and punched him in the mouth.  “You selfish son of a bitch!  You killed them!”

Bobby stumbled backwards from the force of the punch but he managed to stay on his feet, thanks to the cane.  “You don’t want to fight me James.”

“Yes I do!”  Faraday threw another punch, again Bobby managed to stay on his feet.

“If you hit me again, I will start hitting back.”

David was the one who felt paralyzed now, he was more concerned about Abaddon, than about the deaths.  He watched as his only two friends in the world screamed at each other in front of him.

Faraday stared hard at Bobby, he wanted nothing more than to hit him again.  They stood face to face, neither man allowing themselves to flinch.

“I am not the enemy.”  Bobby spoke calmly.

Faraday stared at Bobby for a moment. 

“Because of you the only person I love on this earth is dead.  We are done!”

“I didn’t do this Faraday.”

“No but you caused this.”  Faraday finally turned away from Bobby and sat down beside David. 

The fire fighters were still struggling to put out the blaze.

As Faraday surveyed the scene he realised that the ground surrounding the car, had bits of bone and flesh scattered around.  He had lost her this time, there was no changing this.

Chapter 23

David had to get away from the house in the aftermath of the bombing.  There were no bodies left to bury and no funerals to arrange, all three victims were scattered around the grounds of the estate, in thousands of locations.  Bobby had decided to drink the day away and despite their differences, and Faraday’s abstinence from drinking, he had decided to join him.

David had driven to Abaddon’s house and he was sat outside trying to psyche himself up to go to the door.  The trouble he was experiencing was that he didn’t want to know if his suspicion was right.  If it was right, he had allowed the deaths to happen.  He stared at the door wishing he had never tried to kill himself.  That after all was the reason he was in this position. 

It took all his might to step from the car.  His legs barely managed to support him as he walked towards the door.  When he reached it he pounded it hard.  He could hear Abaddon moving inside, when the door opened David was almost overcome with emotion.  He stormed into the house as Abaddon closed the door behind him.

“What can I do for you David?”  He asked casually.

“You know why I’m here!”  David yelled.

Abaddon looked baffled by David’s claim.  “Are you having second thoughts?”

“Did you do it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you plant the car bomb?”

“David I don’t have a clue what you are talking about.”  The way Abaddon spoke made David doubt himself.

“Tell me the truth.” 

“What are you talking about David?”

“Someone planted a bomb in Bobby’s car this morning.”

“Stinson?”

“Yes.”

“That was nothing to do with me David.”  Abaddon stated.

“I have your word?”

“If I wanted him dead I would have done that a long time ago.  Is he dead?”

David watched Abaddon closely as he spoke, he seemed genuine, but who else could it be? 

“You know nothing about this?”

“I swear to you David.  Is he okay?”