A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2) (5 page)

“We are on the eve of a nuclear war?”

“That is correct.  The Apollo 8 explosion was the work of the Soviet Union, it would never have been allowed to happen if Kennedy had not disbanded the CIA.  Blaming the CIA was part of the plan carried out by Hoover and Stinson, Kennedy was working under their orders.  He was only too happy to do so may I add.  As we all know the Kennedy’s have hated the CIA ever since the Bay of Pigs fiasco.”  He glanced down at his closing statement.  “I would like to put a challenge to the President on behalf of the American people.  Firstly I would like you to explain why you have allowed the men that murdered your own flesh and blood to move into higher positions of power.  I would then like him to explain why, as a God fearing man he thought it was acceptable to cheat on the mother of his children with the most famous actress in the world.  I would ask him next to tell us all why he covered up the murder of Marilyn Munroe.  Why Mr President did you think it was acceptable to condemn the former President, Lyndon Johnson to life imprisonment?  Will he now receive a Presidential Pardon?  Why did you think it was okay to get rid of the CIA because of a personal grudge?  Mr President you serve the people of the United States, not just the Kennedy family.  Lastly, following the Soviet attack on Apollo 8 will you do the right thing and stand down as the President of the United States?  If you will not stand down, will you give the American people assurances that you are not afraid to take military action?”

Sarah was stunned by the speech.  “Well thank you very much for your time Mr Oswald.  Once again this is Sarah Salmond reporting for CBS.”

Once the cameras had stopped filming Sarah stood up and didn’t seem to know what to do with herself.

“I think this may be the beginning of a wonderful career Miss Salmond.”  Jacob pointed out.

“Well I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”

“I’m sure the American people will be thinking the same thing.  Will you be writing a piece for the Washington Post?”

“I will.  It should be the biggest story since the JFK assassination.”

“Excellent.  I will call you to update you of any developments Miss Salmond.”  He outstretched a hand which Sarah accepted.  She turned towards Oswald and they too shook hands.  Once she and her colleagues had left the apartment Oswald was again left alone with his captor.

Chapter 8

Faraday couldn’t sit still, he paced back and forth outside treatment room four at Cape Cod hospital.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have foreseen what had happened to David.  He had been there and done it.  He should have seen the signs.  But what the hell had gotten into him?  How could he just give up when he still had a chance of saving his wife and unborn child?  He watched as Will and Jane sat on the seats beside each other, he noticed that look in Will’s eyes again.

Jane was staring dead ahead.  The more she thought about everything, the more she thought that this wasn’t home.  It’s just so much quieter in Scotland, ever since we arrived here there has been danger and problems around every corner.  Why couldn’t Faraday see that?  She planned on having a long talk with him after this was over.  Out of the whole group, the only person that seemed like he could handle everything that had been thrown at them was Bobby.  But then he had had a lot of practice, she reasoned.  But this country was changing her husband and she didn’t like it.  Ever since he had shot those men on the way to Washington, he seemed almost stronger.  Not that it was a bad thing, she just didn’t want him to change.  She loved him the way he had always been.  She knew he still couldn’t win a fight but he was braver, he didn’t turn his back on danger anymore.  Will had certainly affected them all with his stories of Auschwitz, but Faraday seemed to see it as his duty to hunt down Nazis.  Yes they were evil, she wasn’t disputing that, it was just that this isn’t the way their lives were supposed to be.  They hadn’t been born yet and here they were solving political problems in another country, thirty years previously.  It wasn’t just that but the idea of helping a man like Will was not something she was particularly fond of.

The doctor emerged from the treatment room, almost knocking into Faraday.

“It is good news, don’t worry.  We managed to stop the bleeding and he is currently receiving a blood transfusion.”

“That’s great, can we see him?”  Faraday asked.

“Not yet, as I say he is currently receiving a blood transfusion and a Psychiatrist will be along as soon as he becomes available.  He won’t be getting out tonight anyway, so you may be best heading home.”

“We can’t see him before a Psychiatrist does?”  Faraday asked again.

The doctor sighed.  “To be honest I don’t think you would want to see him the way he is, it can be quite upsetting.”

“I don’t care how upsetting it is, I want to see him.”  Faraday barked.

Jane averted her eyes, it was this kind of thing that the Faraday she had met would never have done. 

“Faraday we can come back in the morning.”  Will tried.

“You can come back in the morning if you want, but I need to see him now!”  There was something about the Scottish accent that made people seem even more aggressive, Will thought.

“Faraday!  Leave it!”  Jane yelled. 

“No I won’t fucking leave it!  I need to see him now!”

The doctor sighed.  “I can let you see him for five minutes, only you.”

“Thank you.”  Faraday replied.

“Unbelievable.”  Jane muttered under her breath.

The doctor opened the door to the treatment room and led Faraday inside.

Jane sat back down in her seat, as did Will.  “You alright?”  Will asked.

“Fine, I just wish he wouldn’t get like that.  It’s Bobby’s influence.”

“It’s good to stand up for what you believe in.  If people had stood up against Hitler sooner, look how many lives that would have saved.”

“This isn’t like Hitler!  He was yelling at a doctor for saying we couldn’t see David until morning.”

“He’s a good man Jane.”  Will replied, reassuringly.

“Fuck yourself!”  Jane barked.

Inside the treatment room Faraday was horrified by how ill David looked.  He had no colour in his face whatsoever.  He walked to the right of David, up to his head, his eyes were open but his expression vacant.

“David, it’s me pal, are you alright?”

David’s eyes gave a sign of life, but they looked drained.  He looked as if he would never be happy again.  In short, he looked exactly how Faraday had once felt.  His voice was soft when he spoke, almost as if every passing syllable was breaking his heart.

“Why are you here?”

“What do you mean?  Of course I’m here!”

“Go home James.”

“James?  Since when do you call me James?”

“Leave.” 

“It might be better if you go home Mr Faraday, he has lost a lot of blood, he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”  The doctor interjected.

“I’m not leaving you here David, you need to come home.”

“Mr Faraday I’ve told you, he will not be released until a Psychiatric Evaluation has been performed.”

“I don’t give a shit what you told me, he’s not staying here!”

“You need to leave Mr Faraday.”  The doctor replied calmly.

“Or what?  You’re not performing any bloody experiments on him.  I know what these places are like, he’s coming with me.”

“Mr Faraday if you do not leave I will call security and they in turn will call the police.”

“Go!”  David demanded.

Faraday could tell when he was beaten.  He turned to David to offer some advice.

“Just tell them you made a mistake.  Say you regret it and you won’t do anything like this again, or they’ll keep you in here.  Trust me you don’t want that, even if it seems like the best option just now.  Please David I don’t want you to go through this.”

David did not reply.  Faraday turned and went back into the corridor.

“How was he?”  Jane asked.

“Shite.”  Faraday barked.

“So what do we do now?”  Will asked.

“I’m going back to bed.”  Faraday announced.

“What about Mengele?”

“He can wait.”

“He can’t wait!  He could be out of the country by tomorrow, we have to go now!  Jane will you come with me?”

“She’s not going anywhere!”

“Faraday what has gotten in to you?”  She replied, mortified by her husband’s behaviour.

“Nothing!  I just don’t want this snake anywhere near you!”

“What did you call me?”

Faraday stepped towards Will, they were nose to nose.  “I called you a snake!”

“Faraday calm down.”

“This guy thinks I don’t know what he’s up to?”

“What am I up to?  Is me trying to catch war criminals a problem for you?”

“Always with the fucking Nazis, change the record!”

Will had punched Faraday as soon as the last letter had left his mouth.  Faraday crumbled to the ground, holding his cheek as he landed.

“You’re sacked!”  Faraday yelled, as he spat blood onto the floor.

“You can’t sack me you complete moron.  Only Bobby can.  And just so we’re clear, if you ever undermine what I’m doing or what I’ve been through again, I will kill you.”

The doctor had come out of the treatment room and was perplexed at the image that confronted him.

“What is going on out here?  You all need to leave.”

“Sorry doctor, we are just about to.”  Jane was utterly humiliated by both men’s actions.  She followed Will along the corridor as Faraday stayed crumpled on the ground.

“Are you okay Will?”

Am I okay, he thought, what kind of question was that?  He bit his lip.  “I’m fine.”

“He’s been through this kind of thing before, it just brings up bad memories.”

“It’s seriously fine, I know he was upset.  He just needs to watch what he says.”

“I know, he will apologise to you.”

“Let’s just forget about it.”  They reached the car park and saw that Will’s car was now covered in snow.  “What are we doing about Mengele?” 

“I’m not going anywhere with you, David is like family and Faraday needs me.”

“Do you realise this is your job?”

“Yes Will, I do.  But it is also your job and we are your superiors.  We almost lost a very dear friend tonight and I’m not travelling to New York until I’ve seen him.  Especially not with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means!  I’m not going until we’ve seen David.”

“By then he’ll be gone!”

“I don’t care!  You go!”

“Alone?  I don’t know who he’s with.”

“Take Chase?”

“Chase?  He’s a fucking kid.”

“He’s quite capable.”

“You’re serious?”

“Quite.”

“Fine!  You can make your own way home!”  Will hurried over to his car and got in.  As soon as the headlights were on, the car screeched out of the car park.

Jane turned and saw that Faraday had caught up to her.  “I’m sorry about that, I was just upset.”

“It’s okay I understand.  Just don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t.  Why did Will leave?”

Jane laughed.  “Are you serious?”

Faraday blushed.  “Because of me?”

“Well I think that had something to do with it and then he said he wanted to go for Mengele, so I told him to take Chase.”

“Chase?  He’s only been with us a month.”

“He’s good.”

“He’s okay but its Josef Mengele, those two can’t go after him alone.”

“Faraday, he just decked you.”

“Who hasn’t?  I’m just saying he needs proper backup.”

“Who else is there?  David’s in the hospital, we need to stay here and Bobby’s away.  Should I have sent Nancy?”

Faraday managed a laugh at that.  “No but we could have talked to Hoover.”

“True, we can call him and let him know.”

Chapter 9

The room seemed to be a little more in focus now, the blood transfusion had certainly helped.  He was left alone in the treatment room.  He didn’t feel like he had just slit his wrist, he felt full of energy.  He was aware that this could happen following a blood transfusion but he had never experienced it before.