David was relieved the subject had changed. “I’ve been better, but I’m glad to be alive.”
“What happened?” Sally asked.
David sat on the edge of the bed and cringed in pain as his ribs flexed slightly. He stared straight ahead, as he relayed it to Sally, “I saw her,” he said. “I saw Tom’s wife.”
David thought for a moment, staring out the window. “The only adverse effect of time travel is temporary, but extreme: nausea. After I arrived, already disoriented, I was confronted by four men. The ones who put me in this sorry state,” David said, as he waved his hand over his injuries.
“I would have died had it not been for Megan. She was running toward the field, no doubt to warn Tom when she saw me being beaten. She stopped… I recognized her. She was so beautiful, so afraid. I told her to run, and she did. The rest, as you know, is history,” David said with a frown.
“I was lucky this time,” David said, “My presence could have changed the entire event. If they had let her go and killed me, if she hadn’t stopped on the path, if that one man hadn’t spotted her, we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.”
“But it works? They work? The watches?” Sally said.
“Without a hitch,” David managed a slight smirk.
“That’s good news. That’s great news. Think of all the things we can learn. All the things we can do. We’re going to-”
“Sally,” David’s voice was stern. “Don’t forget, Tom is still out there and if we don’t get him back, you and I and our entire world might cease to exist as it does right now.”
“Worst case scenario, how much of our world could Tom alter by visiting ancient Israel two thousand years ago? That’s where you think he is, right?” Sally asked very seriously.
“He’s there. Trust me,” David said. “Worst case scenario? Imagine a world without Jesus Christ.”
Sally got a sickly look on her face, which then changed to amused. “You mean a world without Christianity? No more TV evangelists? No more Jehovah’s witnesses banging on my door? Tell me how I can help.”
David was not amused, “This isn’t a joke. While you might not hold my particular beliefs about Jesus, you can’t deny the influence his life had on the entire world for the past two thousand years.”
Leaning back in her chair Sally began to wrap her mind around the endless possibilities.
“The Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, the Crusades, countless lives, deaths, marriages, births-all shaped by that single life,” David said.
David took Sally’s purse and opened it. She began to protest, “Hey!” but David quickly found what he was looking for. He pulled out a dollar bill and thrust it in Sally’s face.
“What does this say?” David asked.
Sally glanced over the bill. She knew what David was showing her and she read the words aloud, realizing the ultimate meaning of, “In God We Trust.”
“Exactly,” David said, “In God we trust. The God this currency refers to is Jesus. This country, like many others, was founded on a belief system created by the man Tom now seeks to debunk.”
Sally’s eyes began to widen.
“If Tom proves to the world that Jesus was a fraud, he will destroy everything we know and everyone we hold dear. This isn’t just Christianity that is being threatened; it’s millions of human beings for the past two thousand years.”
Sally looked at David, her face pale, “When can you leave?”
David stood to his feet, “Is everything ready?”
“Yes.”
“Today.”
“You can’t. You’re-”
“In no mood,” David said with authority, “Tom has to be stopped and I’m the only one who can do it… Now, give me my pants and turn around.”
Sally smirked, picked up David’s pants and tossed them at him. “I’ll be outside.”
As David watched Sally leave, a feeling snuck into his consciousness. Amid the tumultuous scenarios playing out in his mind, something unfamiliar and equally as frightening dug in deep. Affection.
Looking at himself in the wall-sized mirror, David didn’t recognize the man he saw. Not only did he look authentic, he looked downright ancient. It took only two days for LightTech to get all the necessary supplies. He didn’t like waiting to leave, but his wounds needed time to heal and with time travel, David could leave in ten years and still get there on time.
He was dressed in a red-tinged, brown robe and sandals, and his watch had been cleverly disguised as a twine bracelet-not exactly standard issue for ancient Israel, but it shouldn’t attract any attention. David knew that retrieving Tom could be as risky as Tom’s own jaunt back in time and he wasn’t taking any chances.
Sally laughed at David when she entered the small orientation room, designed for times like this when people would be preparing to travel through time. “Not bad,” she said as she handed him a small pouch.
David opened the pouch and looked inside. It was full of ancient gold coins, gems and jewels. David’s eyes lit up. “You don’t think this is a bit overboard?”
“I want to be prepared for every contingency. Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you have to spend it,” Sally explained.
“What contingency needs me to be filthy rich?” asked David.
“Do you know how to tend sheep, work the fields or grow olive trees?” Sally asked.
“No, but I’m only going to be there for a few days at most, probably less. Once I find Tom, we’ll both be back. I couldn’t spend this much in a lifetime,” David said, as his own comment began to sink in. “Oh.”
“If you get stuck back there, if your watch breaks or malfunctions or…”
David tied the pouch to his twine belt. “I get the idea.”
“Just find a hole in the wall little town and try not to interact with anyone…for the rest of your life.”
David hadn’t considered getting stuck in the past as an option. He cursed himself for not thinking of it after his last adventure through time. He had come close to losing the watch even then, and he had only been in the past for a few minutes! David would make sure he and the watch would never be separated.
“I’ll come back,” he said with confidence. He looked into Sally’s eyes and smiled, “I promise.”
Sally smiled and said, “You better get to the prep station. The boys are getting antsy.”
“Will you be coming to watch?” David asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
As David turned to leave, Sally suddenly said, “David, wait.”
He froze in his tracks. What was this? David turned toward Sally as she walked over to him. Her face looked softer and her eyes were locked on the floor.
“I wanted to apologize,” she said.
David nearly passed out but managed to stay standing.
“I know I’ve been a real ass over the years,” Sally said slowly and deliberately, “but try to understand that it’s not who I really am. My job is…complicated, and I have to sometimes say and do things I don’t like, to make sure things get done. I just wanted you to know…in case something happens.”
Through his smile David said, “I understand. Thank you for apologizing.”
He thought he should leave before anything more was said-or done-that might cause him to change his mind about risking his life to retrieve Tom. “See you down there,” David finished and started for the door.
“David, let’s keep this between you and me. I can’t have anyone else knowing I’m not a complete bitch.”
David stopped at the door, “Your secret is safe with me.” He closed the door behind him on the way out.
Sally stood alone, looking at the door and a wave of sadness swept over her. She closed her eyes, but quickly composed herself as the door behind her opened. Three men entered and she turned to greet them with the cold gaze she had perfected over the years.
The man in the blue suit was George Dwight, CEO of LightTech and one of only three people with more clout then her. He was like a politician stuck forever on the campaign trail. His hair was slicked back and his nails were impeccably manicured. George had more power than Sally, but she knew she still intimidated him.