He had been reading too much sci-fi.
“It is a problem” she admitted, “especially with those two hanging around.”
“And the desert location,” he reminded her.
She gave a rueful glance down at her dress.Con included the shoes, even though he couldn’t see them.Where was she going with this line?
Okay, if he assumed she knew who he was, was she hoping he’d give her a ride through time?Surely the opposition—or at least Rita—were smarter than that?
“We need to lose them,” Rita said, with a decision that surprised him.
“There might be a back way out of here,” Con said, though doubtfully.He didn’t think a drug store made their rear entrance that accessible.
“Not from here,” she said.She looked down at her dress again.“Do you suppose there is a place to buy clothes?”
Con nodded and rose, tossing money onto the counter to pay for their drinks.He could totally get behind a change, and a clothing store with dressing rooms?That was much more promising venue for a discreet exit.
Of course, once they lost their tail, then what?
He was pretty sure he shouldn’t be feeling anticipation.
So far Red didn’t seem suspicious.If she had to judge by his expression, she’d have had to say he looked interested, possibly a little excited.
Well, he was a guy.From what she’d read and observed, guys—past and future—were all too quick to launch themselves into risky ventures without thinking through the consequences.What she hadn’t expected—at least in this instance—was to like it about him.
As they strolled down the street, heading for a promising store front, she tried to figure out her next step.
Her sense of something wrong built, raising the hair on the back of her neck and putting an itch between her shoulder blades.
It made no sense.There shouldn’t be problems on such a routine mission.And there shouldn’t be any sinister men in black tailing her.
But there they were, pretending to window shop two blocks back.
Her gut twitched again, reminding her it was never wrong.I’m getting the message, she told it, but was she?
There was no way for her to know why they were here without talking to them.She didn’t want to talk to them.Right now she in reaction mode, which she didn’t like either.
For a moment, she felt a qualm about Red, not because she’d involved him her problem—though she did feel guilty about that.No, the qualm was more worrying.
Could he be part of this—whatever it was?
It was true he’d smiled at her, but even the agency couldn’t know how she’d react, not this fast.
Time travel was strange.It took time for changes particularly small ones, to ripple into the future, and it wasn’t always possible to know everything someone did.You had to have eyes on them through more than one mission to get a profile, a pattern.
The men in black were eyes, but their very presence introduced uncertainty into the situation.It would be fluid until it could reconnect with the known.
She had a window of opportunity to act, if she could just figure out what to do.
So, did she trust Red or didn’t she?She could get rid of him, ask him to cover for her.If he did, then she’d know he wasn’t part of it.
Her gut gave a twitch, a different kind of twitch, the one that told her that was the wrong move.
On some level she hadn’t been aware of, she trusted him.And his responses so far told her he wasn’t easily dismayed.
He’d taken her claim that there was a space ship pretty well.But, she reminded herself, the people in this time did believe in aliens.
It was a strange and interesting time to study and to observe.They were a curious mix of tough and credulous.
