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

Everyone in the room sat in stunned silence as the historical moment was broadcast, it was Faraday that was first to break the silence.

“Unbelievable!”

Bobby Kennedy allowed himself a smile.  “This is the day that we take the lead in the Space Race.”

“Congratulations sir.”  Abaddon added.

Bobby rose from his chair and grasped Abaddon’s hand.  “You too Abaddon, you’ve done as much as anyone.”

Abaddon smiled back at the President almost blushing, as the men shook hands their attention suddenly turned towards the television as the sound of an explosion echoed into the room.

“What the....”  Kennedy said.

“Oh my God....”  Ethel managed.

Apollo 8 had exploded on live television in front of the entire world.  Nobody in the room seemed to have any idea as to what they should do.  Ethel rose from the couch and rushed to Kennedy’s side.  She did not manage any words, she simply put her arm around his waist.  Kennedy had tears in his eyes.

“This is entirely my fault.”

“What could you have done?”  Teddy asked.

“I could have ended this damned Space Race.  I should have stopped after the fire on Apollo 1.”

“We couldn’t do that sir.”  Abaddon stated.

They were interrupted by the piercing ring of the telephone.  Kennedy sighed and looked deep into Ethel’s eyes, he managed to tear himself away to answer the phone.

Chapter 2

After the events of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day was a subdued affair at Hyannis Port, for the adults at least.  The children still had lots of presents to open.  Clint Stinson having recently turned four was in his element tearing off wrapping paper and eating his weight in chocolate.  Bobby Kennedy’s children had to spend Christmas without their father, he had flown to Washington with Bobby Stinson and Abaddon Wolf.

By 23:00, everyone was in bed with the exception of Faraday, Jane, David and Teddy.  Faraday no longer drank after the damage that a bullet had caused to his liver.  David, Teddy and Jane however had spent the majority of the day drinking and it was beginning to take its toll.  Once again David had been quiet throughout the day, his thoughts continually drifting back to the shooting.  The four of them sat around the table talking well into the night.

“So has anyone heard from Jackie today?”  Jane asked.

“Yeah Ethel called her in the morning.  They are spending Christmas at his private island, Skorpios.”  Teddy replied.

“That will be nice for her.”  Jane commented.

Teddy scowled.  “She should be spending Christmas here with her family.  That Onassis is a son of a bitch.”

“She was scared Teddy, she needed someone that could look after her and the children.”

“We could have looked after them here.”  Teddy barked.

Jane decided not to pursue the matter.  David was staring at the wall, as Faraday watched him.

“David what is wrong with you?”  Faraday asked.

Like the previous night David was miles away, once Faraday had repeated his name he finally took notice.

“What?”

“I said what is wrong with you?  You’re not yourself.”

“Nothing I’m fine.”  He lied.

“You can tell us anything mate.”

“Thanks but really I’m fine.”  David pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, he took a long draw and began staring at the burning tip.  Faraday could not take his eyes away from David, he had noticed David drifting away for months, but it seemed that his mental health was growing worse with each passing day.  His thoughts turned to the time he had spent in a psychiatric ward and he wondered if that is what the future would hold for David.  He hoped that would not be the case, especially after Jim Garrison had died during his Electric Shock Therapy back in 1963.  The hospital had been bad enough in 2014, he could not begin to imagine how awful it would be in 1968.  Teddy downed the remainder of his whisky and poured himself a refill.

“Anyone else want some?” 

Jane and David both nodded and Teddy filled up their glasses.  Faraday decided that he would have a cigarette, it would take his mind off of not being able to drink.  He lit it and took a long pull, he noticed that Jane was frowning at him.  This had become a regular occurrence whenever he lit a cigarette.

“So are you two really thinking about moving home then?”  Teddy asked.

Faraday was silent, he was in no rush to move home.  Their families hadn’t even been born yet and in his opinion there was no need to go back, not yet anyway.

“I think we will be leaving sometime next year.”  Jane replied.

Faraday raised his eyebrows and took another pull on his cigarette.  Teddy noticed Faraday’s reaction and managed a laugh.  David did not seem to be aware of anything around him.

“What’s with the face?”  Jane asked, almost angrily.

“Nothing, we can discuss it later.”  Faraday replied.

“No tell me.”  She slurred.

Faraday knew he would have to choose his words carefully, Jane had had a lot to drink.

“It’s just that I don’t see the need to rush home.  We have a pretty good life here.”

“I want my children to be born in Scotland.”

Faraday blushed.  “You’re pregnant?”

Jane snorted with laughter.  “Of course not, I wouldn’t be drinking would I?”

Teddy laughed again and so did Faraday.  “So you guys are planning on having kids then?”

Jane smiled and nodded eagerly, Faraday didn’t know how to respond.  He still felt like a child, he couldn’t imagine raising one.

“Best thing that could ever happen to you.  I think that’s the only reason Virginia and I are still together.”  Teddy downed his whisky and once again refilled his glass.

“Are things still rough with you two?”  Faraday asked.

“Yeah, it’s like all women want to do is argue.”     

Jane looked furious at this comment.  “Are you kidding me?” 

“I’m sorry?”

“Maybe you should try keeping your dick in your pants.”  Faraday couldn’t help but laugh at this comment.

“You think she’s perfect?  She spends half the day drinking.”

“So do you!”

Teddy looked towards Faraday for support, none was forthcoming.

“What do you think David?”  Teddy asked.

To everyone’s surprise David had been listening.  “I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to comment on someone else’s marriage.  Everyone is different, everyone makes mistakes.”

“Thank you David.”  Teddy said before finishing his drink.  Jane looked annoyed by David’s response, Faraday decided to stay out of it and changed the subject.

“So what do you think happened to Apollo 8?”

“It must have been a mechanical fault.”  Jane guessed.

“It seems a bit strange that it got all the way to inside the Moons orbit and then exploded, whilst on live television.”  Faraday commented.

“What are you saying?”  Teddy asked.

Faraday paused for a moment.  “I’m not saying anything, I just find it strange.”

“You think it was blown up intentionally?”  Jane asked.

“I don’t know.  What do I know about space travel?  I’m just saying that I would have thought it would have been more likely to explode after liftoff, or when it was leaving the Earth’s atmosphere.  Don’t you think it’s a little odd that it was launched on the 21
st
and everything went according to plan and then three days later, it explodes during a live broadcast in front of the whole world?”

The room was silent for a moment as Faraday’s words sunk in.  “How could anyone plant a bomb on space rocket?”  Teddy asked.

“I don’t know, I’m not even saying anyone did but I think it’s a possibility.  It could have been the Soviets.”

“How could the Soviet’s plant a bomb on a NASA spacecraft?”  Teddy asked.

“Well look at what the CIA did a few years back.  I’m sure the KGB probably has moles in the US, someone posing as a defector, maybe a scientist, he gets a position in the space program and has access to the rocket.”

“You can’t be serious?”  Jane asked.

“I’m just saying it’s a possibility, we will have to wait and see what the others find out.”

Chapter 3

As Christmas Day turned into Christmas Night, Lee Harvey Oswald stared up at his attacker.  Who was this man?  Lee had been living in Cuba with his wife and two children since the JFK assassination, he had never intended to return to America.  It was a cold night, Oswald was only wearing a pair of white y fronts and a white vest.  His hands were bound and his ribs were in agonising pain, they had been beaten badly.

The man had appeared as if from nowhere and had thrown a hood over Oswald’s head, he had been bundled into the back of a van and had been brought back to America.  His captor was around 5ft 10in, he had slicked back brown hair and heavy stubble on his face.  His eyes looked akin to a sharks, it was as if he was the walking dead.  He hadn’t even asked Oswald any questions, he had just beaten him.  Oswald looked at the man and the man looked at Oswald.  What did he want?  Lee tried to shift himself into a more comfortable position.  He was sat just below the window in a large apartment, he was leaning against a radiator, which felt like it was piercing into his spine.  The man was sat at a table just staring, as if waiting for Oswald to do something.

Not much really scared Lee Harvey Oswald.  He had been through so much in his life that he felt like he could handle himself pretty well.  Lee may not have been the biggest of men but he had been trained in combat, he had managed to win fights against much stronger men in the past.  But this man was like no one Lee had ever met.  He punched with such force that each time a shot connected, he felt like part of his ribs were going to break, oddly the man hadn’t punched him in the face, not even once.  When the man had first grabbed Oswald, he had known where to apply pressure and put him effortlessly into the van.  There was no way this man was a mobster, he fought like a professional.  But why wasn’t he asking Lee anything?  Oswald wondered whether he should begin the conversation, but what if he turned violent again? 

The man suddenly opened a newspaper that was sat on the table and began to look through it.  The room was quite dark, Oswald had no idea how the man could see the words.  The man began to laugh whilst looking at the paper.  Oswald didn’t know how to react, the laughter was almost manic.  He still wasn’t sure if he should speak, he didn’t want to anger the man.  The man almost doubled over as he continued laughing.  He then folded the paper and put it down on the table, he seemed to be holding back more laughter.  The man stared at Oswald once again.

“Curious.”  He muttered, before rising to his feet and walking across the wooden floor out of the room. 

Oswald knew this was his chance.  He managed to rise to his feet and walked over to the table, hoping to find a weapon of some kind, or at least something he could use to remove the rope from around his wrists.  He could hear the man padding in the hallway, what was he doing?  Lee looked down at the Washington Post on the table and saw that it was dated 26
th
December 1968.  It was tomorrows newspaper, below the date was a picture of Oswald’s mug shot from his arrest in Dallas.  The headline read “Oswald Escaped Dallas.”  He could feel his heart pounding against his chest.  He began to read the article.

“Lee Harvey Oswald, one of the possible conspirators in the Assassination of JFK faked his own death and escaped Dallas with the help of so called American Patriots, J.Edgar Hoover and Bobby Stinson.  Lee Harvey Oswald’s body was found in a New York apartment last night.  It is believed that Oswald committed suicide and a note was found beside the body.  It read “I cannot stand by any longer and watch as this county is run behind the scenes by the real killers of JFK.  J. Edgar Hoover and Bobby Stinson were the real men behind the Kennedy assassination.”

Lee was interrupted by the man returning to the room.  He hurried back to his corner and sat down, which seemed to make the man laugh once more.

“Did you see anything that might be of interest?”  He said with a smile.  The man’s voice was one of condescension.

“You brought me here to kill me?”  Lee asked, he felt resigned to his fate already.

The man laughed again before responding.  “Perhaps.”

“So what are you waiting for?”

“Mr Oswald this is ultimately your decision.  Your fate is in your hands.”  The man picked up the newspaper.  “At which point did I interrupt you?”

“What?”  Oswald replied.

“How much of the article were you able to read before I interrupted you?”

“I wrote a suicide note blaming Bobby Stinson and J. Edgar Hoover for the death of JFK.”

“Wonderful.  So it is your choice to make Mr Oswald, do you want to die?”

“No, of course not.”

“That is excellent Mr Oswald.  I’m afraid that in order to stay alive you must do something for me.  Actually I misspoke, you must do something for your country.”