“There’s still a bunch of problems, though,” Quinn said.
“Like what?”
“I still don’t know how or why I traveled through time. And what about being able to return back to the same future? If I’m on a different fork in the multiverse, my future will be different in this universe’s timeline. I see how I can trace back my steps, but what about switching lanes in the future?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I go back to save Logan, maybe the future will be different. I might not even work for him anymore. What if I just screwed things up by letting myself move another day forward instead of looping yesterday like I looped August 7th, 2021. Maybe I just switched forks in the multiverse, and I won’t get back to my original location.”
“If you’re traveling through time at all. You could just be nuts,” Jeremy said.
“I’m not crazy.”
“Does a crazy person know if they’re crazy?”
“That’s not the problem, and this isn’t a dream.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I know what a dream is like, even a realistic one. You’re talking to me right now. You’re not dreaming, are you?” Quinn asked.
“No, but….”
“The real issue is why I looped and traveled through time in the first place. Will it stop? What if I get stuck and can’t go back? What happens if I screw things up, and it just so happens the days don’t repeat anymore? I’ll be stuck in a messed-up timeline. What if your plans to become rich, famous, and get lots of hot girls puts us in hot water? And what happens if I die?”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out. Let’s shoot for the moon and see what happens.”
“You sure that’s smart?”
“Let us assume for a moment,” Jeremy said, in his best version of a British accent, “That what you are saying is indeed true.”
Quinn shook his head.
“Then the only course of action is to move forward with the best course of action.” Jeremy nodded as if to himself, placing the end of his pencil in his mouth as if it were a pipe.
“Which means exactly what?”
“Do I have to spell everything out for you? Make the best choice like each day is your last and you don’t get to repeat it. Live it like you would any normal day, but with the knowledge of what you know.”
“That’s not completely bad advice.”
“It’s brilliant advice,” Jeremy replied.
“What should I do about the future?”
“Here are my seven little rules: one, don’t get arrested. Two, don’t end up in the hospital. Three, use what you know to benefit you. Four, help other people if you can. Five, don’t tell people you can travel through time. Six, have an excuse for every reason you do something. And seven, memorize your excuses before you need them so you don’t screw up under pressure.”
“What if I still can’t save my boss, Logan?”
“You can’t save everyone.”
Logan wasn’t the only person Quinn wanted to save. “Maybe not, but I’m going to find a way to save him.”
“You already tried half a dozen times. Maybe saving Logan isn’t going to happen. Or maybe the only way you can save him is by living your life in this timeline.”
Was that the answer? Was reliving the last twenty-two years the only way to save Logan? Would that be true for each person he wanted to save?
It felt like too much effort. Still, there was something inviting about Quinn’s current time and place, not to mention the chance to put things right.
August 7th, 2021.
Day 5.
7:32 AM.
The soft patter woke Quinn from his dream.
Chapter 6
Quinn jumped to attention, threw on his clothes, connected his phone to the charger, then hopped onto his laptop to do a quick search of any possible timeline changes. It was time to see if the changes held from the past and if he could finally save Logan.
He lived in the same wrecked apartment with the same computer password. After a few minutes of reading through his emails and web surfing, he saw no recognizable differences in the timeline.
Still, he’d seen too many time travel shows when characters thought everything remained the same after returning from the past, only to have unknown relatives or newly discovered enemies ambush them a few scenes later.
Quinn dialed the cops while he visited a few historical sites and looked up key events in the last two decades.
“I know this might sound crazy, but I want to report a possible attack. I overheard a couple of suspicious-looking men with foreign accents. I didn’t catch everything, but I heard something about crashing a large truck into an intersection.”
Quinn waited in silence.
“Go on.”
“I heard them say the words ‘truck bomb’ and the names of a few major streets,” Quinn said as he filled them in on the details.
“Anything else?”
“I think you better hurry. I got the sense that whatever they’re doing, it’s happening now.”
“You got all that from a conversation you barely overheard?”
“Yeah. You know, body language and whatnot. Are you going to be able to do something right away?” Quinn asked.
“I’ll relay the information to my captain.”
“How long will it take?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this, one way or another.”
Quinn hung up the phone and made another call.
“Meredith, this is Quinn. I need to speak to Logan. It’s about his mother.”
“He’s in a meeting, but I can take a message.”
“Fine, Meredith. Do you want to tell him his mother died, or should I?”
The line went silent. Quinn wiped the sweat from his brow. There was some commotion, followed by a series of clanks on the other end.
“This is Logan. What’s going on, Quinn?”
“I’m sorry I had to do it this way, Logan, but your life depends on it. No one died—not yet, anyway. Just make sure you don’t leave the building for the next half-hour,” Quinn said.
“You’re not making any sense. What are you trying to say exactly?”
“I’m saying that if you walk out of the building, you’re going to die. I don’t want you to get hurt, I really don’t.”
“It almost sounds like you’re threatening me. Does this have to do with the important meeting I have across the street? Did someone get to you?” Logan asked.
“What meeting across the street? No. Of course not, nothing like that. I can’t explain how I know. I just do. You’re going to have to trust me. Something’s going to happen any second now, and the only way to stay safe is if you don’t go outside. Just wait a few more minutes. That’s all I’m asking, just a few minutes. Make an excuse or reschedule if you have to. The meeting’s not worth your life.”
“You’re still not making any sense. If this is some kind of joke, it isn’t funny. You’re not hungover, are you? Valentino didn’t finally convince you to go out and get drunk with him last night, did he? If you need to take a personal day, this is a bad time to do it.”