Bump Time Origin Read online

  He paused and turned to Lilah. “Could you help him get a computer that’s compatible with your equipment?” She nodded and he continued. “The building needs a security system, we need to submit the paperwork to make us a legit company, you’ll need to set up a company bank account and get a safe deposit box.”

  They chatted back and forth for more than an hour, and Lilah took notes for her own information. When Justus departed, Twenty-Six turned to Lilah and fulfilled his promise of dinner. “Have you been to Roxie’s? It’s a garden restaurant around the corner with ferns and vines everywhere. You’ll love it.”

  It was a short walk on a pleasant afternoon, and they kept the conversation light. She enjoyed his company, even found him charming, but everything about the way he’d handled the hiring of Justus bothered her. She thought through the incident step by step, wanting to be sure of her facts before confronting him.

  The hostess at Roxie’s led them to their table and they ordered drinks. While they waited to be served, Lilah reached over and stroked the leaves of the ivy climbing a column next to their table. “I like that the plants aren’t plastic.”

  Then it clicked and she patted the top of the table. “You knew I’d pick Justus before we even started looking at résumés.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t figure out why my bullshit sensors were blaring. When you said, ‘Let’s hire him’ out of the blue, it sounded like the script from a bad play.”

  “I think it was, ‘He’s perfect,’ which is worse. All kidding aside, though, Justus is a really good man. He handles himself well, he’s professional as hell, he gets stuff done, he’s fun to hang out with, and he’s personally saved my ass on multiple occasions.”

  The drinks came and she sipped. “Why didn’t you just tell me to hire him?”

  “We don’t talk about the future. It’s a rule imposed by the older guys who won’t even tell me what’s coming, which is frustrating as hell.”

  “That doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “They’ve learned that it messes with your head if you know what’s going to happen. You start this nonstop internal dialogue about whether you should rebel and do the opposite of what the script says. Or maybe you don’t do anything at all because you think it won’t matter.”

  She nodded. “Like if someone tells you you’re supposed to fall in love with a stranger?”

  “Yeah, well. We made exceptions for you, same as we will for the new Twenty-Five. The idea of time travel doesn’t sell without some level of proof.”

  “Even if you don’t tell me what’s coming, I’ll know that you know.” She gave a quick shrug. “It’ll send my head in circles.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t be here that much. You and Twenty-Five will discover the future together in ignorant bliss.”

  “There’s that frat brother.”

  Twenty-Six didn’t rise to the bait. “We also don’t tell the future about certain things because we’re watching for anomalies. I mean, if you’d picked Vance or Missy, that would be a first and everyone up the line would be trying to divine the meaning.”

  He took a sip of his drink, then played with his napkin. “It’s weird. Some choices, everyone makes. Or like the wave-versus-spiral theory for time travel, there’s a pattern of irregularity we’re comfortable with. There are even semiregular events that play out over weeks and months in the different timelines. We keep track of as much as we can and try to understand what it all means.”

  Lilah enjoyed herself as they lingered over dessert. Twenty-Six told her stories about places he’d been and things he’d done, and his takeaways from the adventures reflected her own values and priorities. He encouraged her to share during the conversation, and she liked the way that made her feel.

  Then she sat up in her chair. “You’ve lived with me for a year. That’s why you can do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “Make me fall for you. You’re manipulating me so I’ll develop feelings for you.”

  He held up his hands as if to back away. “Lilah, I apologize if I’ve led you on. I feel horrible.” He checked the time. “And in truth I need to get back to my sweetie.”

  They walked back to the house with Twenty-Six reinforcing that he had no ulterior motive. “I was enjoying your company and nothing more.”

  She believed him because he seemed sincere. She also decided that life would be exhausting if she worried about what the different Diesels knew or thought about her.

  After Twenty-Six returned to his own timeline, Lilah went up to her apartment and looked at her notes. They were supposed to be things Justus should work on, but she couldn’t read her writing in one spot.

  8. Twenty-Four and eleven months

  The next morning, Lilah joined Justus as he measured his office. Then they sat in the small conference room while he drew out a furniture plan.

  “I’d like to swing by the bank and start working on our accounts,” he said as he sketched on a pad. “Then head to the mall and pick out furniture for the office.”

  “Sounds good,” said Lilah, acting the way she thought a boss would.

  He stopped drawing and looked at her. “Have you thought about what you want for building security?”

  “I was hoping you knew,” she said, now thinking that “security” was the illegible word in her notes.

  “I’ll tell you what I know, and we can decide together.” He smiled and nodded, then waited for her to acknowledge the agreement. She nodded as well.

  “We start with intrusion detection. We’ll put sensors on all the doors and windows, and motion detectors in the halls, stairs, and common rooms, along with audio pickups. That’s all typical stuff. I’ll set the system to notify me by phone, but think about if you want to be bothered too. We also need to decide if we should alert rent-a-cops or maybe even real cops.”

  He stood and led her out to the lobby, gesturing as he walked. “Access control is critical to security. We need more than just a house key on the front door. And we need video surveillance inside and out on the entryway. We can hire a service to watch the video feeds, or do what lots of places do and just record and store it in case we ever need it.”

  Lilah followed him as he walked back down the hall toward his office, stopping short at a hall closet. He opened the door and looked inside, then stood back so she could look.

  “We can put the electronics in here—video storage, event logging, analytics, and whatever new technology has been invented since the last time I looked into this. Another option is to put the electronics in the basement to leave this space open for something else.”

  “No, this is good.”

  “I’ll get a guy to come out and work up a design. It’s best to get everything as one system.”

  “Did anyone mention that we also own the unit next door? Both places will need coverage.”

  Justus started laughing, then stopped when he realized Lilah was serious.

  She worked with him for most of the morning, enjoying his organized approach to everything, fascinated by his confidence, and grateful for his gentle demeanor. Ciopova sent her a task list just as Justus was leaving for his chores, and she went downstairs to get started.

  On the day before Twenty-Five was due to arrive, Justus asked her if she would ride with him to a car dealership. “I’m going out to pick up Twenty-Five’s new car and need someone to drive a car back.”

  “Which one do I get?” asked Lilah.

  “Your choice.”

  The drive to the dealership took about forty minutes. Along the way, she listened in amazement and delight as Justus told stories from his days as an investigator. Her heart raced when he told a tale about impersonating a bank president. He’d entered one of the bank branches during lunch, rifled through the filing cabinets with everyone watching, and walked out the front door with a briefcase full of evidence.

  The time passed quickly, and they arrived at the car lot. Lilah opted to drive Diesel’s new car back to the apartment. Justus had a sports ca
r himself, and when she pulled up next to him, he rolled down his window and signaled for her to do the same.

  With a serious expression, he said to her, “Last one home is a rotten egg.” Then he screeched his tires as he peeled out of the parking lot.

  Lilah spun Diesel’s tires as she raced to catch up. They pulled onto a two-lane road, and she mashed the gas pedal to close the gap. She stayed near Justus and caught a lucky break when he got trapped behind a slow car at a turn. Cutting the corner, she pulled ahead and led him on a sprint through the outskirts of Worcester.

  She kept her lead for a couple of miles, then Justus pushed a yellow traffic light when she chose to stop. He waited for her on the other side of the intersection, and they finished together, the big wins being that they arrived home safely, neither got a ticket, and both cars made it without a scratch.

  In bed that night, Lilah thought about how much fun she’d had that day with Justus. Snugging the covers up to her chin, she grinned. She didn’t fall asleep, though. And hours later, she continued to toss and turn.

  It wasn’t the events of the day that kept her awake. It was what came next.

  Tomorrow was her big day. Well, today, actually. In just a few hours, she was to meet Twenty-Five. Her Diesel. Her David. Her man.

  Her feelings about it were all over the place. She couldn’t accept the notion that she would pair with a stranger. While it seemed to work in some cultures, it went against the very essence of her identity as a modern woman.

  In truth, she’d liked every Diesel she’d met. Not love, nothing like that. But she’d enjoyed their company. They’d all been cute, smart, confident, capable, fun, polite, sexy. In fact, she wondered how she could separate her emotions and care for one while having the others be off limits.

  The plan was for Twenty-Five to arrive before noon. Lilah’s job was to get him seated and ready for a formal interview. Twenty-Six would be the one to break the news to him about his new life.

  She’d just fallen asleep when her clock alarm started buzzing. She kept the clock across the room on her dresser so she’d have to rise to shut it off. “Shut up,” she groused during the forced walk.

  After a yawn and stretch, she went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, then came back to review the outfit she’d chosen for the day. She wished she’d asked Twenty-Six what style of clothes he preferred, then scolded herself for playing to the stereotype.

  She went with black slacks that often drew compliments paired with a simple white top. By the time she’d made it down to the basement, Twenty-Six had already arrived and was busy with Justus upstairs in his office.

  “He’ll like that outfit.”

  Lilah spun in a circle, trying to locate the speaker.

  “Over here, Lilah.”

  Her eyes locked on the big monitor.

  Ciopova, somehow a vibrant, three-dimensional animation, spoke to her. “I’m just saying you look great. It’s a compliment.”

  Lilah felt her scalp tingle. This was not just new behavior. It was unheard of in the industry. “What do you know?”

  “Be yourself, Lilah. It’s just that easy.”

  The animation seemed to deflate after that, returning to the two-dimensional image Lilah remembered. Before she had time to dwell on the incident, a quiet buzz caused her to look at the display outside the T-box: “Forty Incoming in 4:59.”

  She couldn’t imagine why Forty would be coming here today but figured Twenty-Six would know. She started for the stairs to find him, then stopped before she’d taken her second step. Twenty-Six had suggested that she see Forty au naturel. At some level, it seemed important to him.

  She couldn’t help herself. Whatever it was, she had to see. Turning back, she stood in front of the T-box door to wait for the show. After standing for a bit, she looked at the display: “Forty Incoming in 4:22.”

  “Holy hell,” she said aloud when she realized just how long five minutes actually was. She climbed the stairs, walked down to Justus’s office, and poked her head in the open door. “Seen Twenty-Six?”

  “He went to the print shop down the street to get some business cards made up. Should be back soon.”

  “How’s everything going?”

  He showed her a black credit card. “When I activate this card, it has a limit of four hundred thousand dollars.”

  “Wow.” She stepped into his office, wondering if the card might be a way she could get paid. “How did you pull that off?”

  “By knowing how the system works and taking advantage of it.” He flipped the card over and studied the back. “This gets us ahead, but it isn’t magic money. If Twenty-Five spends it all but can’t cover the tab after ninety days, say goodbye to this unit and the one next door.”

  “I’m sure they’ll cover it,” she said with more confidence than she felt. Then she thought of Forty and the T-box. “Thanks, Justus. Gotta go.”

  She made it back to the T-box in time for the static wash. Then the display showed “Forty Arrived.” Realizing she was standing right in front of the door, she started backpedaling in a fluster, stopping when her butt hit the table in her cubicle.

  The T-box door handle clicked and Forty stepped out, looking down as if absorbed in thought. He turned to close the door and when he turned back, he saw her. He immediately moved his hands down below his waist, covering himself, a sheepish smile reflecting his modesty.

  “Oh my God,” Lilah said aloud.

  Thirty pounds of muscle, layered to perfection, bulked Forty into a spectacular specimen. Chest swollen, arms powerful, stomach ripped, he became a shadow as he disappeared into the blanket walkway.

  “Hi, Lilah,” he called. “I’ll be out in a minute. By the way, Forty-Two is joining me.”

  The T-box came alive as he spoke, the display confirming his words.

  As Forty dressed, Lilah digested what she’d just observed. She wasn’t attracted to gym-rat muscles, mostly because of what they said about a man’s priorities and ego.

  But when layered on Diesel, someone she knew and liked at several different ages—someone who already had a great body—she found it exciting. Very exciting. Her feelings were contrary to her intellectual expectations, but she wasn’t ashamed to learn it about herself.

  Indeed, she couldn’t wait to see more.

  “Sorry for the exposure there.” His T-shirt, no doubt an extra-extra large, strained across his chest to contain his mass.

  Having met several Diesels, she knew to jump right in. “I’ve worked with Thirty-Five, and I must say, I did not expect this just five years later.” She waved a hand up and down in his direction.

  He smiled and flexed. “Three years of hard work. Came out pretty good if I do say so myself.”

  Watching him pose with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, she felt her intense physical excitement wither and die. She started in on business. “So, not sure if you know, but Twenty-Six is here. In this timeline, I mean. But he’s not here here, he’s down the street getting business cards.”

  Forty smiled at her. “And Twenty-Five is coming in an hour?”

  “That’s right.” She felt herself getting flustered and voiced a random thought. “Do you go by Diesel in your timeline?”

  “I do.”

  “Is it true for everybody? I want to use your name when I can.”

  “Yup. Even Fifty-Nine is Diesel.”

  “Good to know, thanks.”

  She felt a static wash and was grateful for a distraction from the awkward conversation. Moments later the T-box door opened.

  “Happy birthday!” the brothers called to each other as Forty-Two, still naked, joined them. The two slapped hands in a classic high-five celebration, then Forty-Two said, “Hey, Lilah, this is Forty’s first mission as the enforcer.”

  Forty-Two had less mass and definition than Forty, but he still looked great. And except for some faint lines around their eyes and mouths, neither looked their age.

  Talking to a naked hulk proved disconcerting for Li
lah, and, blushing, she covered her eyes and said with a nervous laugh, “Would you please put some clothes on?”

  Forty punched Forty-Two in the shoulder in mock outrage. “Yeah, asshole.”

  Forty-Two left to get dressed and Lilah reacted to what she’d heard.

  “So you’re an enforcer?” She looked him up and down. “That’s why you worked so hard for the muscles? To add intimidation to your hacking enterprise?”

  “Wait. What?”

  “I’m not accusing, I’m just asking. Forty-Two said you’re an enforcer, and the Diesel in this timeline is a hacker.”

  “Jeez, Lilah. We stopped all that when we met you. Our boy Twenty-Five transitions from devil to saint when you open that door in an hour. It really happens that fast.”

  “True fact,” said Forty-Two, who joined them during the exchange. “You look great, by the way.” He handed a baseball cap and light blue athletic jacket to Forty and slipped on an identical set himself. “Ready to go?” he asked his twin.

  “Wait,” said Lilah. “What’s going on?”

  “Our job today is to watch over Twenty-Five until he reaches the front door,” said Forty. “We watch from afar, kind of like guardian angels. If someone were to bother him, we’ll be there to help. We call it enforcing the law.” He lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “Whoever is age forty is the boss. Since today is our birthday, then hooray for me.” He threw an elbow into Forty-Two’s abdomen. “And if anyone else messes up, it’s still logged as my fault.”

  “That’s backwards,” said Lilah. “Forty-Two has been through it already. He should be lead.”

  “You’re right,” said Forty. “I hereby transfer enforcement duties to Forty-Two.”

  “Bite me,” replied Forty-Two. Then he said to Lilah, “The job is mostly worrying about the schedule. I did it two years ago. He’ll do just fine.”

  The two left a half hour before Twenty-Five was due to arrive, and Lilah, unable to concentrate, paced back and forth.

  She mulled Forty and Forty-Two’s claim that they’d changed for the good the moment they met their Lilahs. She thought it the most flattering and romantic thing she’d ever heard. But knowing what she did of the brothers, she assumed it was bullshit designed to manipulate her.