New Arizona – June 12, 2510
“Sir, we are getting some strange reports coming through from the White House,” a male voice said over the intercom.
Tom slowly got to his feet. He stretched his back out. His age was starting to catch up with him a little and sitting at an office desk for hours did not help with his stiff muscles. He picked up his security card from the desk before walking to the office door. The moment he got close enough, the door automatically opened. Tom strolled out into the main room. The room was a hive of activity. There were a number of monitoring stations in the room. The far wall was filled with large video screens that gave a constant feed of New Arizona. Tom went straight over to the officer that had contacted him.
“What have you got?” he asked quickly as he looked down at the monitoring station screen.
“It seems that an unidentified person has attacked the building,” the officer said as he entered several commands into the monitoring station keypad.
Tom turned around to look at the monitoring screens behind him. The officer transferred the video feed from the White House on to one of those screens. Smoke was coming from the front of the building. People were running around with terrified looks on their faces.
“What have the cameras recorded?” Tom asked quickly.
“Nothing sir,” the young man replied apologetically. “There was massive interference that disrupted the signal,” he explained instantly. “The secret service officers on the scene reported that there were several explosions and the President has been taken hostage,” the officer finished as a small amount of panic started to come to his voice.
“Have we got a description of the attacker?” Tom inquired as he turned back to face the young officer.
“Only a vague one sir,” the young man replied then brought up the details on to the screen. “It’s a woman. She’s dressed in all black. She was not wearing standard combat attire though. They said that it was more like a Halloween costume,” he continued promptly.
Tom did not like the sound of this. He was starting to get a cold chill down his spine as the young man continued to describe the attacker.
“Secret service operatives have reported that they fired maximum stun lasers at her and they had absolutely no effect. Full strength kills lasers were the same,” the young man exclaimed in astonishment. “Sir, how is that possible? How can someone be so invincible?” he asked with fear behind his voice.
Tom continued to get that deep sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He just hoped that his thoughts were not correct. If it was who he suspected it was then they were facing a problem that they would not be able to solve.
“I want you to get me as much back up as you can,” Tom commanded firmly. “I’m going to go and investigate this,” he said in a firm voice that was doing its best to hide the fear and apprehension that was running through him.
The young officer went straight to the panel in front of him and started to enter several commands. Tom rushed back to his office. He went straight to his desk drawer and pulled out his laser gun. He checked the charge left on the gun. That was more in comfort than actually expecting that it would help in anyway. He slowly pushed it into his shoulder holster. He looked out the windows of his office to the men rushing about in the main office. Please do not let it be her — he said to himself as he watched his men. He rushed out across to the office to the transportation platform.
“This is Commander Tom Aspel,” he stated as he stepped onto the platform pads. “Priority One clearance for transportation to the White House,” he finished firmly.
* Voice acknowledged,* a synthesised computer voice responded.
Tom instantly disappeared from the platform.
He reappeared on the platform in the White House. He instantly whipped out his laser gun from its holster. He found it hard to believe the destruction around him. The whole reception room were the transportation platform was had been blown to bits. Parts of the building were scattered around. Flames were everywhere. He had just landed in the middle of what looked like a war zone. He carefully stepped off the platform. His eyes flashed in all directions nervously. The smoke was quite thick. The fire alarm was ringing out. Emergency lighting was flashing. It cast a very strange amber light to the burning scene. Tom could feel the smoke stinging his eyes. He felt it choking him at the back of his throat. There were no people in this area. Tom assumed that they had been evacuated. He slowly made his way down what was left of the corridor to a conference room. Plaster from the walls was strewn all across the floor. Flames were everywhere. The décor had been completely destroyed. Tom had been down this corridor a lot of times before. He was quite upset to see it lying in ruins. The President liked to be kept informed of the events taking place in the city so Tom was a frequent visitor to this room. Tom stopped at the doorway and pushed his back against the wall. Suddenly the wall collapsed and Tom fell backwards into the conference room. Before he got the chance to get to his feet, something kicked the gun from his hand then kicked him in the side. Tom looked around to see what had hit him. There was nothing there. Suddenly he was kicked in the face. He had been looking in that direction but had not seen a thing. Tom rolled on to his back and slowly sat up. Before he could get up he felt hands around his neck. He was lifted up into the air. His feet left the floor as the invisible force continued to choke him. He tried to struggle but the grip got tighter. Tom could feel himself passing out. In that instant, the grip broke off. Tom dropped down to the floor on his knees. He coughed and spluttered in his attempt to get his breathe back. The smoke did not help. He slowly rose to his feet and glanced around for his gun.
“It’s no good looking for that weapon of yours. It’s long gone,” a female voice said from out of the fresh air.
“Who said that?” Tom demanded glancing around in all directions to try to work out where it had come from. “Show yourself,” he commanded sharply.
“Don’t you recognise my voice?” the female voice asked coldly. “We’ve met before. Does that give you a clue?” it finished bluntly.
Tom continued to look around wildly in all directions. He could not work out where the voice was coming from at all. It sounded like it was all around him. His fears about who had attacked the White House were starting to play out.
“Ok, I’m getting bored now,” the voice then said in frustration. “If you’re not going to play then I think I’ll just show myself and get this over with,” it finished as a whoosh of air rushed past Tom in all directions.
Tom watched as the smoke swirled around in a mini-tornado in the middle of the room. The air was pulled into the centre from every part of the room. The smoke joined together to started to form a shape. Tom again looked around frantically in the hope of finding his weapon. He knew that he could not face this danger without being armed. He also realised deep-down that being armed would not make the slightest bit of difference in this instance. The smoke started to form a solid person. Within moments, the tornado dropped away and a beautiful woman stood before him. Tom gulped deeply. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
The young woman in front of him had long flowing black hair that reached right down her back. She was wearing what looked like a bikini, except that it was made from black leather. Joining the bra section to the bottom section was a length of fish net stocking. Her legs were covered with the same material. On her feet were black leather boots that came right up to just below the knee. Over her eyes she was wearing what looked like a mask, but in fact, it was very black makeup. A line went down from the outside of each eye down to about the middle of the cheek. A line came down from the inside of the eye to join it in the middle of the cheek. The inside was then blacked in. Her lips were covered with black lipstick. Around her neck went the clasp of a black cape, which hung down her back to drag along the floor.
“I thought you were dead,” Tom exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief and horror.
“Well technically, I already am,” Shadow pointed out as she moved her hands on to her hips. “But, I managed to escape the little trap that you and that bitch Fox laid for me and returned to my own time. I needed to get stronger. I needed to prepare my revenge. So, I slept. I slept for one hundred and fifteen years. But now I’m back and this is the first part of my revenge,” she explained in her deep-throated growling voice that was still extremely sexy and provocative. “How do you like it so far?” Shadow asked finally.
“What do you want, Shadow?” Tom checked sternly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Shadow replied playfully. “A fox in a box would be nice,” she continued wickedly with an evil smile on her face. “But I want to torment that bitch a little first, so I’ve come to kidnap the President of New Arizona,” Shadow continued sternly. “As an unexpected bonus, I also get to kidnap you now as well,” she finished menacingly.
“I’m afraid both of those things won’t do you any good,” Tom expressed calmly despite facing the nightmare in front of him. “Larna isn’t here. She disappeared ten years ago and we’ve not heard from her since,” he finished confidently.
“I’m not an idiot,” Shadow snarled back sternly. “I come from the future you insignificant moron,” she barked sharply. “Don’t you think I know what happens already. Your officers will find a way to bring her back, if they survive that long,” she finished confidently.
There was then a loud bang. Tom glanced towards the corridor that led back to the reception room. He tried to hide the smile off his face. Shadow snapped her head around in the same direction. She waved her right-hand around in the air. A black mist cloud appeared in the doorway to the corridor. Tom watched as the black mist brought up an image of the reception room. A number of men all dressed in combat assault uniforms were slowly moving into the area.
“Fools,” Shadow tutted as she shook her head. “You stay right there,” she then snapped as she pointed her hand in Tom’s direction. “I won’t be long,” she finished as she twirled her cape and disappeared.
Tom was slammed back against the wall and held firmly against it. He felt a choking band of force around his throat that held him firmly against the wall. Tom looked around frantically trying to find something that he could use.
Shadow reappeared in the reception area. She appeared floating in mid-air with her hands on her hips. The men inside the reception area all stopped dead in their tracks. They all looked up with astonishment at the figure floating above them.
Shadow looked down at them with contempt. “I thought you would have all learnt your lesson by now,” she snarled bitterly. “If you bow down to me now then I may let you live,” she finished sharply.
The men just gave each other a brief glance before they started to open fire. The laser beams hit her body and just bounced off. The officers stopped firing after a few minutes. They looked at each other with looks of disbelief on their faces.
“Really?” Shadow asked with fake astonishment in her voice. “The same old tired little game,” she added as she lifted her hands up in an upward waving motion.
The men all gasped in horror as their guns were forcefully yanked from their hands and lifted high up into the air. They watched as Shadow clenched her fists and the guns were crushed into tiny pieces instantly. They did not know what to do. Shadow twirled her hands around in front of her then flicked them out towards the men. They were suddenly surrounded by a wall of black mist. The men huddled together as the mist hung around them. They did not know what to make of it. The mist then started to work its way in towards them. It then touched one of the men. He was instantly sucked into it. He let out a short scream that was quickly cut short. He disappeared in the blink of an eye. The rest of the men started to panic. There was no escape. The mist touched a second man and the same happened. He let out a short scream before being absorbed into the mist. The rest of the men started shouting and screaming for help and mercy. Shadow started laughing. Tom struggled against the force holding him in place. There was nothing he could do. The noise quickly got quieter as the men were taken out one-by-one. Within a matter of seconds, all of the fifty officers that had been Tom’s backup had been killed. Shadow just smiled as she drew the mist back into her form. She twirled her cape around and disappeared.
Tom continued to struggle against the hold around his neck. He twisted his body in every direction as much as he could in a vain attempt to get free. When the screams and shouts had stopped completely, Tom knew that it would only be a matter of moments before Shadow would return for him. Shadow swirled into view in the blink of an eye. Tom stopped struggling instantly.
“People never learn from experience do they,” Shadow expressed menacingly. “Now, where were we?” she asked playfully.
“Why are you doing this?” Tom asked firmly.
Shadow moved forward sexily. She came to stand right in front of Tom. Tom could not help look down at Shadow’s impressive chest. Shadow’s solid black eyes looked up and down Tom with no emotion. Her whole look gave no emotion away. It was just pure darkness. She stroked one of her long black finger nails down his cheek. Tom tried to move his face away from the touch but found that he could not move. Shadow moved her other hand down over his body.
“I did not realise how attractive an older man could be,” Shadow said as she continued to run her hand over Tom’s chest.
Tom spat into her face to show his disgust. Shadow took a small step back.
“You don’t get it do you. You can try to fight me Commander, but it will not work. I’m unstoppable now,” Shadow explained confidently. “During my one hundred and fifteen years sleep my body changed. It’s now invincible. No lasers, bullets, spears or any weapon can penetrate it. I have also learnt the art of invisibility. I can now become what my name suggests I am,” she finished strongly.
“What do you want with us then?” Tom growled in defiance.
“You are all my slaves,” Shadow replied coldly.
Shadow lifted her hand and fired a black beam at Tom. Tom closed his eyes and held his hands up to his face. The beam did not kill him. Instead it wrapped around his throat several times. The force holding him against the wall disappeared. Tom sank to his knees. When the beam had finished wrapping itself around his throat it changed shape and turned into a C.O.C. (Collar of Control). Shadow now had him totally under her control. Shadow twirled her cape and disappeared. Tom disappeared in the same instant.
Shadow reappeared on a street. She turned and looked towards a large building right in front of her. It was the largest building in New Arizona and it was smack bang in the middle of the city. New Arizona was a replica of the old United States of America. Whole cities had been recreated, replicated to the exact detail, apart from roads. The whole city was built under an invisible protection force field, which kept out the chilling cold covering the rest of the planet. When the nuclear explosion in the year 2000 took place, the ozone layer had been completely destroyed. However, due to the large amount of atomic fallout and smog, the sun’s rays were blocked from the surface of the planet. The plant cooled drastically, returning it to an ice age again. The surface of the planet was change forever. This central building was the police headquarters. There was only one police force in New Arizona. They could control the whole city. Shadow folded her arms across her large chest and smiled. She stood with her legs shoulder width apart.
“It’s a pity I’m going to have to destroy this,” Shadow stated as she admired the building.
She started to shake her head as she lifted her arms up. She fired a black beam at the building. The beam surrounded the building and covered it with a black casing. Shadow twirled her cape around and vanished.
In another street, a police officer was walking back towards the police building. The officer was a tall, well-built man. He was wearing the standard police uniform, which was an all leather uniform. His laser gun was fastened to his right thigh. He had a flat cap, similar to the ones worn by Captain Scarlet. This was also leather. It had a little visor on the front to protect the officer’s eyes. As further protection, the officer was wearing a pair of mirrored shades. The cap covered his short brown hair. He turned the corner around a building and stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked and lowered his glasses.
“What is that?” he asked himself as he shook his head.
He was trying to work out what to do when there was a large explosion. The top five floors of the police building exploded in a large ball of black flames. The officer was thrown backwards by the blast. He quickly covered his head with his arms as the rest of the building exploded in a mass of black flame. The explosions went on for a good few minutes. When the final explosion had died down, the officer got to his feet slowly and looked at where the building should have been. Instead of a concrete structure there was now a pile of rubble and some black flames. The officer shook his head and started to walk towards the building. He then saw a woman standing on top of the rubble. He also noticed that she had two people with her. He immediately recognised one as Tom Aspel. He started to run towards her.
“Hey, hey you, what are you doing with the Commander?” he shouted firmly.
Shadow turned and saw the officer running towards her. She smiled and threw a message machine down to him. It landed just in front of the officer’s feet. The officer slid to a halt and looked down at the machine. When he looked up, Shadow and her two prisoners had gone. The officer reached down and lifted the tiny machine. He pushed the top up and started the message. A figure cloaked in darkness came up on to the screen. The officer could not make out who the figure was or what she looked like.
“Now that I’ve destroyed your headquarters, you’ll be glad to hear that you are the last remaining police officer in New Arizona. Congratulations on your promotion,” Shadow said wickedly. “So listen to me carefully, Captain Maloney. I’ve kidnapped your President and beloved Commander of Police. They are now safely with me in the year 3010 as my guests. If you want them returned safely then you have just one option. A simple exchange. I want Larna Fox. I don’t care how you do it but send her to me,” she finished firmly as the message ended.
The officer closed the lid and quickly looked around. There was only one thing he could think of doing. He ran into a disused warehouse and found a transportation platform.
“Priority three clearance. Captain Richard Maloney to transport to the SAT Laboratory,” he stated as he stepped on to the pad.
* Clearance granted,* the computer synthesised voice said instantly.
Richard disappeared from the transportation platform immediately.
He reappeared instantly in the SAT (Space and Time) Laboratory. This was the place that was investigating all avenues of travel just in case the planet did not survive long enough for a new ozone layer to be created. They were researching into space travel and of course time travel. They were concentrating more on space travel. Time travel had been a one off experiment. They did a few more experiments and one was in progress when Richard appeared. Inside the lab, a laser beam was fired at a box. The box disappeared. It reappeared a second later a ball of burning mess. Richard did not know what to make of it all. He was looking around him with a state of awe as he stepped off the platform. Two security men stopped him instantly. Richard’s senses quickly came back to him.
“My name’s Captain Richard Maloney,” he expressed urgently. “I need to speak to someone in charge urgently. I have priority three clearance,” Richard pointed out to the security men blocking his path.
The security men both looked over their shoulders. Professor Steinbeck was the head of the laboratory. He looked towards the platform the moment he heard someone speaking. They were not expecting any visitors. Steinbeck moved away from the control panel of the experiment that they had just been running. Steinbeck was an old man, with greying balding hair. He had an average build to go with his just less than average height. To signify his leadership status, he wore a blue overall whereas the rest were white. The uniforms were similar to doctor’s uniforms in the 1990’s. The security guards backed away when they saw the Professor coming across to them.
“I am in charge of this facility, Captain. What can I do for you?” Steinbeck asked as he took off his rubber gloves and dropped them into a waste disposal unit.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” Richard expressed with a — I am a little lost — tone to his voice. “This woman has just destroyed the police headquarters,” he explained as he handed the message machine over to Steinbeck. “She says that she has kidnapped the President and Commander Aspel. She wants to exchange them for someone called Larna Fox. I have never heard of her. I was wondering if you knew who this Larna was and who this stranger was,” he finished hurriedly.
Steinbeck took the machine and flipped the lid up as Richard finished speaking. As soon as the message started, Steinbeck shook his head. Richard was watching him closely and was beginning to wonder if he was all right. Steinbeck dropped the machine on to the table beside him.
“Yes I know her,” Steinbeck said solemnly. “Her name is Shadow. She first showed up about ten years ago. If I remember correctly, she kidnapped Commander Aspel back then as well,” he reported softly. “I’m not surprised that she wants Larna,” he finished firmly.
“Why’s that?” Richard asked quickly. “Who’s Larna Fox?” he pushed while shaking his head.
“Larna was the one who stopped her. She rescued Aspel and we believed back then that she had also destroyed Shadow,” Steinbeck pointed out fondly.
“One lady did that,” Richard said expressing surprise. “This Shadow character has just destroyed the White House and wiped out the whole police force. This must be one very special lady. You were right. It is no wonder that this Shadow person wants to find her. I need to speak to her first. Where is she?” he asked urgently.
“I’m sorry, but Larna hasn’t been seen for ten years. She disappeared in 2500,” Steinbeck replied in a matter of fact tone. “She went through time after a machine called Liam. I don’t know where she ended up,” he added with regret.
“What do you mean you don’t know where she ended up?” Richard questioned in astonishment. “Don’t we have history records or something that we can scan to find out where she had been in the past?” he pushed in frustration. “We need to find her. Is there any way that we can?” he pleaded desperately.
Steinbeck looked at Richard and walked away without saying a word.
Richard stood wondering what was going on. He looked around him in confusion. He did not know what to do. Steinbeck had only gone a few steps when he stopped. He realised that the captain was not following him.
“Do you want to find her or not?” Steinbeck asked as he turned back to glance at Richard briefly.
Richard smiled and ran after the Professor. The two men walked down a series of corridors and then entered a lift. Richard watched the doors close and looked on as Steinbeck pushed the button for the last floor.
“Where are we going?” Richard asked as the lift started to move.
“There is a lot of history to go through, Captain. It will be a little like looking for a needle in a haystack. We’re going to a computer that stores all of the history records that we could save,” Steinbeck explained positively.
The turbo lift stopped suddenly and the doors opened. Immediately a small room was lit up. Richard stared at the huge machine in front of him with wonder. Steinbeck walked straight across to the computer interface. Richard wandered after him looking around him all of the time with wonder on his face. Steinbeck placed his hand on to the palm reader interface to activate the computer. The screen flashed on immediately with a — identity clearance accepted — message displayed. Different options quickly came up. Steinbeck pushed a couple of icons quickly. Richard moved to stand beside Steinbeck after several minutes. He glanced at the screen to see a — searching — message displayed.
“What did this Larna Fox look like anyway?” Richard asked casually.
Steinbeck quickly turned to another keyboard and typed in the name Larna Fox. Her file came up on to a second screen. Richard walked to the screen and looked at the information displayed. The first screen was full of information about her including name, address, nicknames, family, age, marital status, occupation and personal statistics. Richard whistled when he read that she was an assassin.
“Why did they send a Zarr through time?” Richard asked with surprise.
“Time travel at that point was still an experiment. There was no guarantee that it would work. Part of me thinks that they did not want to sacrifice one of their best men to go back. However, Larna was good. She was very good,” Steinbeck replied calmly. “She was the best that I’ve seen. She may have started as a Zarr, but they quickly worked out that she could be more valuable to them as an asset. They’d send her out on missions to sensitive for the cops to handle,” he finished firmly.
Richard continued to read the file. He was now on to Larna’s background. He read all about her family being killed, how she had killed her foster father, how she was raised by a Chinese man who trained her in six different martial arts, when she had joined the street gangs, how many hits she had done, and what jobs she had completed for the police. In the next section, was her criminal record. The screen told Richard that the information had been sealed and could only be opened with a Priority One Clearance. He shook his head and went to the next screen. This screen had a picture of Larna. Richard whistled in amazement.
“There is no way that someone who looks like that could do everything that is in this file. She’s a babe,” Richard expressed falling to the same conclusion that most of Larna’s opponents did to their peril.
“Everyone that thought that is now dead,” Steinbeck commented instantly. “She uses that to her own advantage,” he finished without turning his attention away from the history computer screen.
Richard looked back to the screen with Larna’s picture on it. He still struggled with the idea that the woman he was looking at could be the one that would save them.
Richard spun around in the office chair. They had been searching for what had felt like ages. He had started out with enthusiasm. That had quickly faded away as the search continued to drag on. Steinbeck looked at the captain with a — what did you expect — expression on his face. Suddenly the computer screen started flashing a different message.
“I think we’ve found something,” Steinbeck said as he moved to the screen immediately.
Richard jumped to his feet instantly. He rushed to stand next to Steinbeck at the terminal. The screen displayed a newspaper advert. Richard scanned through the detail quickly.
* Message for Commander Tom Aspel of the New Arizona Police Department. Larna Fox was killed by Liam in Washington DC on May 3, 2000 while trying to save the life of the then president. *
“Damn,” Richard exclaimed in frustration then turned away from the terminal.
“What’s the problem?” Steinbeck asked quickly.
“It’s over. She’s dead,” Richard expressed regretfully.
“What are you talking about?” Steinbeck questioned with much more positivity in his tone than Richard had in his.
“If she’s dead then there’s nothing we can do,” Richard replied sadly.
Steinbeck had forgotten that the captain was probably not too versed in the mechanics of time travel. He quickly went to the second screen that had Larna’s information on it.
“Look,” he said pointing to the screen with the time line of events. “Look at the date that she disappeared. It’s changed. She now disappears in 2505,” Steinbeck expressed with delight.
“That’s no good. We need her in 2510,” Richard exclaimed in frustration.
“No, you don’t understand,” Steinbeck said with exasperation. “Before you came here, Larna disappeared in 2500. Liam had killed her. Now, she disappears in 2505, which means she must have survived whatever Liam had tried to do. We have changed things by finding this advert,” he explained briefly. “Someone must go back through time and save her,” he finished confidently.
The moment he said it, the screen showing the message disappeared. A — no information available — message was displayed instead.
“What happened?” Richard asked with concern when he saw the change in screen.
“Now that we have seen that message and are in the process of changing history, that event never happens so the message will never have been placed,” Steinbeck explained with a broad smile on his face.
“I think I am getting a headache,” Richard said as he rubbed his temples. “If the advert never happened, how come we were able to find it in the first place and can also remember it now, even when it didn’t happen,” he stammered twisting himself around in circles with trying to work it out.
“I have found that time can be a very strange thing to try to work out and understand. Let’s have a look at the history file,” Steinbeck said as he went straight into the history file for the major events in Washington DC on May 3, 2000.
The computer flashed up a news file on to the screen immediately.
* Shots were fired today in the Lincoln Memorial Park, at a speech being held by President Morgan. The gunman hit a man three times in the chest after the man had somehow replaced the President on the stand. The gunman disappeared mysteriously. The man was found to have a bullet proof vest on, but no one could find out who he was or who he was working for. A young woman was also involved in the incident, but she disappeared without trace shortly afterwards,* the computer displayed.
“I still don’t understand,” Richard exclaimed in confusion after reading through the report. “What does this tell you that it doesn’t tell me?” he checked curiously.
“I’ve got a plan and you’re a key part of it,” Steinbeck said with a broad smile. “Let me explain,” he said as he placed his arm on Richard’s shoulder.
Richard was still not one hundred percent sure that he knew what was happening or what had been going on, but he was sure about Professor Steinbeck. The man was clearly very intelligent and Richard put his trust in the man. Steinbeck had spent the last few hours talking Richard through his plan. Richard got the basics of it. He moved into the large room while pulling on the coat that he had been given. Steinbeck went straight across to a control panel in the middle of the room. Richard looked at the metal trellis framework that dominated the space. There was a metal walkway ramp leading up through the archway.
“Are you sure this thing works?” Richard asked with trepidation as he scanned the archway nervously.
“Of course I am,” Steinbeck replied trying not to be insulted by that question. “I built this in 2500 as a backup to the device that we gave Larna. The gateway is just an out and back device, though, so it does not allow for a lot of flexibility,” he commented then moved away from the control panel with a wrist strap in his hand. “Put this on,” he stated handing the wrist strap to Richard. “Make sure you do not lose it. The button on that strap is your only way home,” Steinbeck insisted strongly. “When you’ve succeeded in getting Larna to go through to the future, push the button to return yourself to this time,” he explained calmly. “You cannot time travel to any other destination or time. Only journey’s from this end can be made, so don’t even think about going with Larna. This device…” Steinbeck paused as he handed Richard a silver cigarette lighter, “…is a time freeze device. Underneath the flint is a button. Push the button and time will freeze for ten seconds. It can only be used once so pick the right moment. You know when that will be,” he finished eventually then moved back to the control panel.
Richard pushed the lighter down into a side jacket pocket. He then strapped the wrist band around his right wrist then pulled the jacket down over the top of it. He took in several deep breaths as Steinbeck worked at the control panel. Steinbeck entered his code clearance number and keyed in the destination STC number. An STC number was a Space and Time coordinate. Every place had a different STC number for every single second that passed. It was worked out on the exact longitude and latitude numbers of the spot and the year, month, day, hour, minute and second that was needed. Richard heard the gateway spark into life then a blue mist started to appear inside of the framework arch. The air was filled with electricity and a weird buzzing sensation. Richard moved slowly up the ramp. He looked into the mist and could just about see a long corridor that disappeared into the distance. He closed his eyes and stepped into the mist. Steinbeck watched as Richard’s huge shape disappeared into the mist. The mist then disappeared. Steinbeck looked into the space in the archway briefly then moved to the exit. There was nothing more he could do. It was now up to Richard.
Shadow comes back from the year 3010 and kidnaps the President and Commander of Police in New Arizona. There is only one person who can help, but can she be brought back from the dead?