Skyline Page 25

  “Oh?” She threw Monroe the most hateful look she could muster. “Is scuba gear gonna help us here? Or, what, a crane? We have to save him, ’Roe.”

  “And then?”

  “We’re going.” Charlotte accepted the astrolabe from Felix and felt his hand inside her elbow. She turned on the astrolabe and, focused now, spun it to the correct time. Five minutes out from noon on April 8, 2016. “Come if you like.”

  She felt Bill’s hand on her shoulder. “Of course we’re coming.”

  Monroe gritted his teeth. “Fine. But once he’s safe, we focus on Ana. On the bomb. And if we need time?” He tilted his head down, stared into her with his dark brown eyes. “You take us anywhere else so we can plan.”

  Charlotte didn’t reply. As soon as she felt Monroe’s hand, she released her grip on the astrolabe, and it pulled them through time. The interior of Fort Wood was first illuminated with the torches of the Union Army, then the flickering electric lights of an early construction crew, until at last it glowed with life as it became the museum underneath the Statue of Liberty.

  Now laid with tile, lit with electricity, the marble stones pristine, the room was cool with air-conditioning. A line of chattering tourists wrapped around and up the stairs. In the center of what was now a lobby stood the original torch they’d seen at the unveiling, all metal and yellow glass plates, like a warped stained-glass window.

  The walls had been removed, the interior widened. Now Charlie would appear right behind them. “Five minutes till,” Charlotte said, crouching to where that little boy had been. He may’ve been wiser, but he still needed his mom.

  “Then we have time to talk,” Monroe said. But they didn’t.

  Her black-haired boy appeared before them for a split second, then was gone.

  “What the … ?” Charlotte asked. How could he disappear? This was where the bomb would explode. Above, no one seemed to notice. A few guards spoke at the open metal doors, unaware.

  “Oh shit,” Monroe said. Beyond where Charlie had disappeared, Ana stood.

  “Time for round two, bitch,” Ana sneered, bracing herself.

  “Bitch?” Charlotte said, glancing down to where Charlie had flickered for a moment. He still wasn’t there. Felix would have to take care of him; she needed to stop Ana from ever hurting Charlie again. “You stole my child!” She raced forward, but as soon as she reached Ana, Monroe yelled something behind her.

  She skidded, turning with wide eyes to see that Charlie had reappeared. And then Ana grabbed the longer half of Charlotte’s hair and yanked her to the ground. “Fuck!” Charlotte yelled, her head slamming against the floor. Her vision blurred as she saw the guards split up, one on his walkie-talkie, the other stepping forward, pulling a baton from his belt.

  “Take him!” Bill said in the distance. Hopefully he meant Charlie. “I’ve got the—” His voice cut off.

  Ana guffawed. “Idiot.” She raised a leg above Charlotte’s head, then let it fall.

  Charlotte rolled to the side, then raised an arm to block Ana’s blow. Her block turned into a tight grip, and she wrenched Ana to the floor with her. “We’re going to save them,” she hissed, clambering on top of Ana. “Every fucking one.”

  “That’s enough!” a man shouted, and Charlotte twisted to see the guard, white hair coming from underneath his cap. “Get off her.”

  But while Charlotte was distracted, Ana shoved. They tumbled over each other, each trying to gain the upper hand, until at last they ran into the old metal torch. Charlotte took control again. The security guard raced to follow, but she wouldn’t be distracted this time.

  Across from her, Monroe knelt to where the bomb had been. Above him, Felix clutched Charlie safely in his hands. Neither Bill nor the bomb was in sight. Even after all he’d said about being something else. About not needing to sacrifice himself.

  It was more important to stop Ana than to worry. “How dare you?” She raised an arm. “He’s just a little boy!” She slung a punch directly at Ana’s nose. The impact made Ana’s eyes glaze over. How could she ever have tried to talk this woman into becoming Leanor? She wasn’t going to stop until Charlotte stopped her. “You’re the bitch!” She swung again, but Ana twisted her head away. Charlotte’s knuckles hit the marble.

  She recoiled, massaging her bleeding fist. A second hand closed around her arm and tugged her back from Ana. Above her, an aging guard set his mouth into a line. “That’s enough,” he said. But Ana didn’t care. She jumped to her feet, slung a kick into Charlotte’s already bloody stomach. Charlotte crumpled to the floor, dangling by the wrist the guard clutched.

  Two visions of the floor floated around, slowly coming together. Ana raced away from Charlotte—punching the younger guard as she ran—to where Charlotte had dropped her bag. Going for her astrolabe. The guard above yelled something, but it didn’t slow Ana.

  Beyond her, Felix was kneeling to Charlie. Whispering something in the boy’s ear, then saying a quick word to Monroe. Once Monroe nodded from his position on the floor—he must’ve been waiting for Bill to reappear—Felix was away.

  He ran to where Charlotte and Ana had first fought. Where Charlotte’s purse was just now being picked up by Ana. Felix jumped as she lifted a strap. He grabbed the other strap midair, clutched it to his chest, and tugged the bag as he fell under Ana’s legs. The tug and the force of Felix’s fall sent Ana into a spin, cracking her head loudly on the marble floor.

  Her eyes fluttered shut. Just like that, Felix had knocked her out.

  Charlotte struggled to her feet, blinking to regain her surroundings. The aging guard was still next to her, but at some point he had let her free. The other guard was on the ground, fingers squeezing his bloody nose. “Don’t go anywhere,” the nearby guard instructed her.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m fighting for my child.” And she strode away, not caring if he followed. Felix joined her on her walk, giving back her bag—and the astrolabe inside. She knelt beside Ana and lifted her hand. It fell with a slap. Her breathing was even. With Charlie so close and the guards watching, Charlotte didn’t kick Ana in the side like she wanted to do. As Ana deserved.

  Then Bill flickered into sight, clutching the brick that had taken Charlie. Monroe yanked him back, but this time the bomb remained in place. It must’ve been done jumping through time. “Holy shit,” he said, shaking his head back and forth. Charlotte crouched at his side. Bill put his fingers to a wire, but then paused. “Any ideas?”

  Charlotte had barely seen it inside Fort Wood, but now that she got a better view, her hand shook. The bomb had been broken down into its simplest parts—a few cables, a small black computer board, and several orbs. All submerged in the explosive purple goo. Any spark would make the whole thing explode in their hands.

  “I’ve called backup,” the aging guard said. Behind him, the younger guard nodded as he clutched his nose in bloody hands.

  “Good,” Charlotte said. “Maybe they can help.” She glanced at Monroe, and he guided the guard away, murmuring softly. Whatever lies he was spinning didn’t matter. There had to be some way of defusing this bomb without setting off the explosive.

  Bill shucked his shirt, balling it up in his fist. “For the goop,” he told Charlotte, his face reddening. He pulled out a long wire, cleaning off the purple explosive as he did. An orb soon followed, then another, and another—all the little time devices that had bounced Charlie then Bill through time. After each orb was cleaned, Bill would pull out the next and wipe off the purple goo. There wasn’t time for all this.

  The guard was pushing Monroe away, striding back over. “What are you doing there?” he demanded before he could see.

  The orbs kept coming, and still too many components rested within the explosive. There was no way they’d defuse it before the bomb went off. The Blast would happen any second now.

  At least Charlie was safe in Felix’s arms. And Monroe was safe, too. In time, even Ana would be okay, maybe one day becoming the Leanor Charlotte knew. The
Council surely wouldn’t kill her if the Blast had never happened.

  Charlotte had done it. She’d saved them all. Maybe that would be enough—to save not only a half million New Yorkers, but save them, too. If her family had one another, maybe it’d be okay if she wasn’t there anymore. With the bomb primed to explode, she’d have to give her family up to truly save them.

  “Thirty seconds to the Blast. We have to get rid of the bomb.” She pulled her bag over and lifted the astrolabe out.

  “Char, what?” Monroe asked, pushing past the guard. “You can’t. That’d be …”

  This wasn’t Pier Fifty-four. This was the final bomb. “I know,” she said and illuminated the astrolabe. Not much time left on the date below. “Twenty-five, twenty-four.” She gazed into Felix’s dark eyes, saw his worried eyebrows, his lips squeezed to one side. Worried, but understanding. “I love you Felix.”

  Charlie stepped forward, his arms wide. “I get it, Mom.”

  She squeezed him, hating herself for leaving him this last time. He deserved so much more than her. Monroe came closer. “’Roe, help Felix take care of Charlie. And Bill? Take care of ’Roe.”

  Bill kept his hand on the brick. “I’m coming with you,” he said. Turning to Monroe, he added, “And we’re coming back.”

  Charlotte continued spinning time backward, not arguing. From the fierce look in Bill’s eyes, it was clear he wasn’t going to stay behind. Nothing she could say would change that.

  Charlotte finally arrived at a time a thousand years ago. No one would be around to be caught in the Blast then. But right as Charlotte let go, someone crashed into her. The astrolabe activated, time rewound, but there was a new passenger.

  Ana was coming through time with them.

  • • • • • • • • • • • •

  Ana’s momentum sent Charlotte tumbling away from Bill once time restarted, hundreds of years in the past. No longer were they on marble floor, but on a marshy oyster bed, long before the island was built up to hold Fort Wood or showcase the Statue of Liberty. She and Ana rolled together, split apart, then popped to their feet.

  “Time for round three,” Charlotte spat as she tucked the astrolabe and bag under her right arm. She should’ve kicked Ana in the gut. Should’ve made sure the woman was down for the count, even if Charlie was watching. Even if the guards held her afterward. This bitch was going to ruin everything.

  “You fucking idiots!” Ana said with a sneer, but didn’t throw any punches.

  Why wasn’t she fighting now? She’d been content to fight in the fort, in the lobby of the Statue of Liberty, but now …

  Ana breathed in, out, furious. But her hands were empty. There was no bag at her side. No astrolabe in sight. Maybe she’d hoped to knock Charlotte’s astrolabe away instead of traveling with them. Instead she’d gotten herself stranded in time.

  “Charlotte,” Bill called, snapping her attention back to the bomb. “I need your help.” Not looking over, he added, “And you, Leanor, might as well make yourself useful for once.”

  “If you think—”

  “Oh, shut up.” Shoving past Ana, Charlotte knelt to help Bill. The long group of miniature orbs lay on the marshy ground beside the bomb. Only a few wires remained in the purple goo.

  “I’ve gotten almost all of the orbs. No way this’ll head back to the Blast day.” He clipped the wires. “So now …”

  One last orb remained inside—the one that would take the entire island through time. “Where does it go?” Charlotte demanded. “Where did you send the Council with your bomb?”

  Ana laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? I sent them to our ruined era. Where they’d never be able to get out. I figured trapped in a ruin of their own making was pretty poetic.” She circled closer, closer.

  “How do we disarm it?” Charlotte asked. There were only a few seconds remaining, surely.

  Ana didn’t reply. Instead, Charlotte felt her bag yank away. Ana scrambled to get her hands on it as Charlotte turned with wide eyes. If Ana took the astrolabe, Charlotte and Bill would be the ones stranded.

  “No!” Charlotte yelled, a hand snagging the strap of her bag before Ana could fully pull it away.

  With her free hand Ana slapped at Charlotte’s fingers, her arm, her face. But Charlotte closed her eyes and simply placed her other hand on the strap, pulling harder. Ana matched her strength, the bag dangling between them.

  The pressure was too much for Charlotte’s purse. It ripped along the seams, sending her wallet, dozens of toys, and the orb sky-high.

  “Charlotte!” Bill called, still working on the bomb.

  “She’s going to …” Charlotte said, leaping toward the astrolabe. It tipped off her hands, away from both of them, then rolled along the wet oyster bed and toward the bay.

  “The bomb!” Bill reminded her.

  Ana jumped for Charlotte’s astrolabe.

  Charlotte jumped, too, but too late. Ana crashed onto the orb and twisted it on. “And the winner, once again is—” She vanished.

  Charlotte landed hard in the muck, oyster shells pressing into her already wounded side. Leaning up, she twisted to look at the bomb.

  “I couldn’t,” Bill said, his eyes wide. Goop trailed out, dumped on the earth, but the main computer board still blinked with all wires detached. Ana’d made the Blast unstoppable.

  “It’s okay,” Charlotte said. “It’s okay.” She pushed herself up and joined Bill, watching the bomb without wincing. Any moment now it would erupt with light, sweeping them through time to Ana’s wasteland age.

  It was okay. Because Charlie was alive. Felix loved her, and Charlie had him. For the first time in her life, Charlotte reconsidered her biological parents. Had they known, somehow, that she and Monroe would be okay on their own? Perhaps they’d had to leave them alone, just like she was leaving Charlie now. What if they’d had reasons of their own, knowing that a better parent would come along?

  Because Charlie would be okay. In Felix’s hands. With Monroe. Hell, maybe even with Gilbert. The boy was safe, and now all her men had each other.

  All this time she’d been clinging hard or pushing them away. How much better to just let them go?

  The island lit up in a blinding blast of light, and Charlotte felt calm.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

  APRIL 8, 2016

  Charlotte and Bill never returned. Monroe stared at the place where they’d been when Ana crashed into them. Trying to will them back. Trying to erase the look that Charlotte had on her face when she took the astrolabe from him.

  “Where did they go?” the aging guard asked, eyes darting around. Had he missed their disappearance entirely? But in a world without time travel, without sudden appearances, the man must’ve blinked and assumed something else had happened. He looked to his partner, but the younger guard shook his head, still squeezing his nose. “Tell me”—the man gripped Monroe’s shoulder tightly—“where they are.”

  Monroe shrugged. “No idea.” And goddamn it. That was the truth.

  But this wouldn’t be Charlotte’s last act. Her “I love you’s” wouldn’t be her last words. That wouldn’t be the last image of her that Monroe would be forced to remember. And Monroe still needed time with Bill. If he was right, if Bill was leaving, they didn’t have much time anyway. Monroe was going to get back as much as he could.

  “Then I think it’s time for us to talk.” He yanked Monroe up by the armpit. “Your friends are coming, too.” With his other hand, he grabbed Felix’s wrist.

  “You think a five-year-old is worth charging?”

  The guard shrugged. “I think his guardian might be.”

  Monroe tried to think of something else to say. Charlotte and Bill would be back at any moment, and then they’d go. If the guards took them away, Charlotte would be too late. If these guards called the police, then Felix, Charlie, and Monroe would be truly trapped. Their names logged in the system.

  Then Monroe saw a bag lying o
n the ground, only a few feet away. Ana’s bag, bulging with her astrolabe. “I’m coming with!” Monroe said as he twisted his arm from the guard’s grip. “I just have to get what was stolen from us. I’ll explain everything!” He jogged across, grabbed the bag, then came back to the guard, lifting his free hand. “See? Cooperating.”

  The guard narrowed his eyes, his lips pursing. “What is that?”

  “My sister’s in technology; her prototype was stolen.” Amazing how easily the lies came. “We tracked the thief here.”

  “Right,” the guard said. “In your very professional tiger shirt.”

  Monroe glanced down at his favorite embroidered shirt. He hadn’t even thought twice about changing into it yesterday. “Er, I didn’t have time to change?”

  Damn, that was true, too.

  The guard squeezed Monroe’s shoulder and pushed him out of the lobby, into a hallway with yellowing paint. The man led from behind, pushing Monroe and Felix—who still clung to Charlie’s hand—down a stairwell, then down a dank underground corridor.

  “They’re coming back, right?” Felix asked through the side of his mouth.

  “Yeah,” Monroe said, trying to glance up the stairs. Bill had promised they’d return. He never lied. But no one—not even Ana—ran down after them. “They have to.”

  Charlie shook his head. “That’s not how it works, Uncle ’Roe. Whenever Mom vanishes, she reappears seconds later. Always.” God, Monroe had forgotten how much the boy had traveled. Far more than Monroe had.

  “Always?” Felix repeated, his pleading eyes staring Monroe down as they walked.

  Monroe’s mouth was too dry for him to respond. He trusted that Charlie was right. Monroe hadn’t traveled through time enough to know himself.

  “Quiet now,” the guard said, pushing open a door in the hallway and shoving Monroe, Felix, and Charlie inside.

  The elder guard sniffed, carefully closing and locking all of them in. “Sit there,” he said, pointing to the seats arranged along the wall. To the right of the chairs, a small window showed back into the hallway.