1
While Jose was sleeping off the effects of the backroom operation since the shooting at the time machine, Cole punched in the postcode which he found scratched into the edge of the table, into the GPS of Cassie's car. He had committed that postcode to his memory before scratching it out of the table. He didn't want to leave a trace to fall into the wrong hands. But he left those three little words. Those three beautiful little words - See You Soon - though seemingly innocuous, were so filled with significance, that they had sent Cole's heart racing right out of his chest.
He had poured all his love and sorrow into these three little words once, when he cradled Cassie's fragile dying form at the Centre for Disease Control in 2017, and he said it to her again as when he sent her broken body into the time machine and into the unknown. He had to hold on to the belief that this message was somehow left by Cassie for his eyes only. By now, he knew better than anyone how time travel worked. He had no idea how long she might have spent in 2043, but she could be back here right now and knew where to leave him a clue.
As the GPS slowly searched for possible results, Cole could hear himself muttering out loud in impatient tones: C'mon c'mon c'mon! To his bitter disappointment, the postcode threw up a net around a large area in Queens, New York, twenty-eight by thirteen streets wide. There must be hundreds of properties there. He smashed his hand on the wheel in frustration and accidentally hit the horn. The sound blast startled a group of feral cats that were rummaging through the Chinese restaurant's scrap food pile, and sent them scurrying down the alleyway like bats out of hell.
Finding Cassie was not going to be straightforward, and Cole already knew that he was likely to be driven mad by this search if he does not find her quickly. He knows what it's like to feel haunted by ghosts. Cole wondered angrily to himself why Cassie did not wait for him at the room, if it was indeed she who had left the message for him to find.
Then the frustration he felt quickly turned to concern. Did something happen to her in 2043? He had to find her to make sure she was ok - to make sure that they were ok. But he also can't leave Jose on his own here, because Queens is far away, and this search could take more than a few days. Cole knew that once he was there, he would not stop until every single house was searched.
2
Back up in the room, Jose started to stir but was going in and out of consciousness. He was in no state to talk. Although clearly weak, he did seem to be healing unusually fast. It was still early in the morning. Every now and then, Cole would bring his brother a glass of water and help him drink. With every hour that passed, the recovery he made was seemingly equalled to that of a day for a normal human being. Cole decided that he had to keep himself distracted as he had no choice but to wait. He had grabbed Cassie's laptop from the car and set that up at the desk.
Cassie had shown him how to use the internet. Even though he wasn't very good at it, he was determined to get the hang of it. Five year olds in 2015 knew how to use the internet, and he sure as hell wasn't going to be beaten by a kid. He kept his head down learning as much as he could about the Markridge group, now that he knew that Jennifer Goines was the new CEO.
He found some information on their corporate news section about conferences that were to be held in twelve different cities around the world starting from next month. Twelve. Twelve's not primary - he remembered Jennifer saying once. He could still hear her deranged manic husky voice ringing in his head. Could this be significant? He had to find Cassie before then. She always knew what to do. She was the smart one when it came to corporate espionage.
By the afternoon, Jose was sitting up on the bed and able to talk. "Hey brother. Thanks for coming back for me." At the sound of his voice, Cole turned around and looked at Jose with a weary look in his eyes. Cole hadn't slept at all, and his eyes were shot. He was running on adrenaline now, making him twitchy and on edge. Now that Jose seemed to have regained some of his strength, Cole was hit with a sense of unease, unsure whether he did the right thing and if he could trust this man whom he thought he once knew. His anxiety and heightened state of alert must have been written right across his face.
"Cole, we need to talk." Jose's voice was weary with age. He sounded like an old man. Cole had half expected Jose to try to say something funny, but that was the Jose from a generation ago. He was a more sombre person now.
Cole grunted, not taking his eyes off Jose's face, trying to detect any hint of a double-cross.
"I understand if right now you're not sure whether to trust me. I would feel the same." There was a sadness and a look of humanity in Jose's dark marble round eyes, which left Cole inclined to hear him out. But he was still cautious. A moment of silence passed between them, before Cole finally said: "Ok, talk."
"Cole, it's been twenty-eight years since I last saw you. I thought you were dead."
"Well, 1987 was less than a week ago for me." His eyes hardened and his eyebrows shot up when he spat those words out, to let Ramse know that the experience of being stabbed at the club was still raw for him.
Ramse's eyes dropped at the distant hazy memory, and he sighed. "I'm so sorry Cole. I'm not sure how to make you believe it, but I am. How did you…?"
"I'm not telling you anything until you tell me what you have been doing all these years." Cole's lips hardened into a flat line. His face trembled as he held a hard gaze, putting a dangerous flash in his otherwise gentle eyes.
Ramse knew that look, and understood that he had to show his hand first. "I was arrested after what happened at the club, Cole. You see, I didn't exist as far as the authorities were concerned. I could not even prove that I was an American. I was in prison for many years, a refugee of time. It really felt like my life had ended, but Olivia..." Cole flinched at the mention of that name, and Ramse gave him the look that said I know, before continuing, "...was there to give me a new identity and promised me that I could see my son again one day. The thought of being able to return to my son as if just a week had passed for him, kept me going, no matter how many years it would have taken me. I just wanted to protect him. But I tried to protect you too."
"And how exactly did you do that, hmm?" Cole challenged his brother. "Why would you do that if you thought I was already dead?"
"Part of me had always harboured the hope that you somehow managed to survive the incident of the club, because I did not see you die. The lawyer that came to see me at the prison said that they never did find a body."
Cole considered this information, and decided that was plausible, because it was true. He didn't say anything in response though, to allow Ramse to carry on.
"There were a number of times over the years when Olivia and the Whistler felt they had the chance to kill you or Cassie, but I tried to convince them that you two had to be kept alive. Olivia was more inclined to follow my advice. That tall man though, I don't think he really trusted me. But it was all I could do, brother. I wish I could have done more."
"You could have killed yourself in prison and never have helped these people. They want to release the virus Jose! How could you side with them?"
"Tell me brother, if you thought you were powerless to stop the virus, but that there was a chance that you would see Cassie again, wouldn't you play along too?" Cole remembered the feeling he had the other night, when Cassie was in his arms, about how he thought he would die with no regrets if he could just be allowed to spend his days by her side until 2017. He hated to admit that on some level, he understood Ramse's sentiment.
"They were the only ones who could help me get back to 2043, much as I hated the idea. I still want to be with my son again. I love my son. And I loved Elena more than anything in the world. He was all that was left of us."
Cole snorted, not sure if he should feel sorry for this man who has just basically admitted that he had chosen to risk the future of all of humanity for just one boy. He never knew his brother was capable of being so selfish. Jose could guess what Cole must have been thinking, as he saw his brother's jaw harden.
"I know what you must be thinking, but believe me when I say that this has always been bigger than me Cole. Whether I 'helped' them or not, there were other travellers amongst them. My help alone did not cause the virus. I was just a puzzle piece, not the linchpin. They would have released the virus sooner if it weren't for me trying to convince them that they had to play the long game. This world would already be over if I hadn't have gotten involved. If it wasn't for me, there wouldn't even be a working time machine in 2015. Maybe this way, there's still a way for all of us to salvage what's left."
"What do you mean that they would have released the virus sooner? How do I know you're not lying to me?"
Ramse sighed, and nodded at the bright screen behind Cole's shoulder, which still had the page on Jennifer Goines' world tour listed to start next month. "Looks like they are already trying to make it happen sooner. That's not how I told them it was supposed to happen. Looks like they don't agree that it's important to stick to the timeline as we know it."
"Jennifer? She releases the virus? But it's only 2015!"
"I want to stop her too, brother. If she releases the virus now, we might have never survived. We were too young in 2015. We were too weak and unprepared."
Cole let the significance of those words sink into him. Much as he hated to admit it, but Ramse was right. They wouldn't have stood a chance against scavs in 2015. This isn't his work.
"Do you believe me now, brother?"
Cole's head was spinning with this new information. He still regarded Ramse with some suspicion.
"I've lost Sam already now. I get that now. Can't you see that Cole? You're talking to a man who has nothing to lose. The only thing I have left now, is you. We've been through too much already. You're still my brother. Believe it or not, I'd rather it worked out for you than for everything to go to hell for all of us. If the virus gets out now, we're already ghosts."
"But we're not dead. We're here. How do I know that you aren't still going to try to release the virus in 2017?"
Ramse had to admit that this was a good question, so he had to think carefully about what he could possibly say in answer to that.
"I don't have the virus Cole. The people who have the virus clearly have decided that they don't need me anymore. They want me dead and gone as much as they want you dead and gone. How am I supposed to release the virus when I don't have it and the people who have it, have no use for me? What possible influence do I have now?"
Cole stayed silent, not knowing what to believe.
"Besides, Jones was wrong. Time doesn't really work that way. She always did go on about Gödel. But there are no straight lines or clean circles for that matter. We, as we are now, won't get erased if they succeed in getting us killed. Our pasts will simply be relegated to a future that no longer exists for us, a future with a decaying fabric of time - a future that we can't travel to anymore even with a time machine. Our past - the future as we know it - is already over if we don't do anything now. The only thing that matters now is what we do from here."
Getting his head around complicated time theories was a little beyond Cole right now, but he decided to risk putting his faith back in Ramse for the moment, even though part of him still doesn't think he deserves it. Slowly, Cole's face softened and his shoulders relaxed. Finally, he let out a sigh and found himself conceding out loud. "Yeah, ok. I believe you. But if I find out that you are lying to me, I might have to finish what Cassie started and kill you myself."
Jose let out a weak smile, and a sense of resigned gratitude filled his eyes. "So we're good?"
Cole nodded, resigning himself to this uneasy alliance. "So what happens now?" He asked.
"Looks like it's you and me against the world again for now, brother." Responded Jose hopefully.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be just you and me. I need to find someone who might be able to help." A wild hopeful look flashed across Cole's face at that moment, and it didn't pass Jose by.
"Do you mean... Cassie? But how?"
Cole nodded hesitantly, not daring to hope, but also not daring to give up. He remembered his father's last words to him: The only failure is giving up. "Well, maybe that little stunt you pulled back at the time machine worked. Maybe she's back already. And I need to find her."
Ramse nodded. "I hope so too, brother, for you. Hey… you never told me… what happened after the club."
"You almost killed me there Ramse. Almost. Jones managed to slingshot me to Cassie, who tracked me - my younger self - down at my father's garage. Jones told her that if she injected me with my own blood, that it could repair the damage done to me through all the time travel and save my life. Looks like it took a paradox to bring my dying ass back. But that means I can't time travel anymore. This is my life now. Like you, I live here now."
"She must really love you, to go to those lengths for you." Cole couldn't help but smile. After all this time, it still made it feel more real when his brother said it out loud. "Wait… how did Jones tell Cassie?"
"She must have known the whole time because I can tell you, Jones never did change much in twenty-eight years." Both of them laughed at the memory of the bossy, confident lady with the mission to save the world.
"Well, maybe she didn't know all along. Her past may not be the same thing as your past, Cole. The fact that Jennifer is trying to release the virus now means that things are different. We can't trust what we know about the future, our past, anymore."
After another moment, Ramse continued: "Cole, I hate to say it but you're going to need my help. You can't just run around in 2015 with no ID and no money. It's a different world here, a different jungle. One wrong move, and you could get arrested like I did and never see the light of day again. And if what you're telling me is true, you aren't going to get pulled back to 2043 to get you out of trouble this time. If she's back, you're no use to her in jail."
3
Ramse had twenty-eight years of experience living in the shadows of society, so he learned a thing or two about how to move undetected. He knew a guy known only as the Shadow Walker who could forge new identities for the both of them. This man was a hacker extraordinaire. He worked fast, and was able to get new identities for Ramse and Cole by the next day. He got a new licence plate for them to fit onto Cassie's car. He even managed to seamlessly move the money anonymously from the shadow account that Ramse owned under a false name, into a new bank account made to look like it had been set up many years ago. Even the transaction had a false date on the system.
Unfortunately for the Shadow Walker, he couldn't be allowed to live after he handed over the new documents and account details for Cole and Ramse. Much as he hated the idea, Ramse knew that word could not get back to Olivia and her lot. It had to be clean. He used an unregistered gun with a silencer, made it quick and painless, and left no trace except for some evidence of a government hack he was recently responsible for. This was so that if the authorities found him, they'd hush it up to cover up potential embarrassment. The man had many potential enemies, given the business he was in, so there was no risk that suspicion would fall back on him. Still, it was an actual shame that such a brilliant mind had to go.
Cole had to admit that the cold efficiency with which Ramse finished off this ingenious nerd was a little frightening. This was not something that they had learnt how to do through their time together in 2043. It was moments like this that left Cole wondering whether he really knew the man who was sat next to him, and what he was capable of.
They sat in awkward silence for a moment at the dingy little diner, eating their cheeseburgers without exchanging any words.
"I'm sorry Cole, I know how this must look. I feel bad about what happened to him too. But we only" - and then he mouthed the word kill soundlessly - then continued in a low voice, "if we have to. It was him or us. 2015 is a different kind of brutal compared to 2043, but some things stay the same. Here you can't afford to leave a trace. Nothing can link back to us. We have to be survivors."
Cole never did mention to Ramse about the postcode he found at the room, and at this moment he was mulling through his mind about whether he should share this precious bit of information with him or not. Would Ramse be a risk to Cassie? He can't put her in danger again, if she is to be found there.
"We don't have much time to stop Jennifer, brother. She thinks I'm dead, so I cannot risk showing my face. You're going to need help. You have to find Cassie, and maybe even Jones too."
Cole stiffened for a moment, feeling conflicted about whether it was a good idea to involve Ramse in the search for Cassie and Jones. On the one hand, Ramse did seem to know how to handle a crisis in 2015. On the other hand, the calculated ruthlessness with which he manages to achieve that is a little difficult for Cole to square with.
After a time, Cole said hesitantly: "Don't take this the wrong way, Ramse. I really appreciate everything you've done to help me. No, I'm serious. But I think this is something I need to do on my own."
Ramse had to admit that he felt a little disappointed that after all this, his brother still had doubts about him. But he was also old enough and world weary enough to appreciate that his brother was just trying to be smart about it for once. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of him, even though it hurt.
"I understand, Cole. You're just trying to protect her. You must really love her. Now that's something. But maybe there's still a way for me to help?"
"I'm not sure how you can help now Ramse."
"Well… you don't have to tell me any specifics, but, tell me, how do you plan on finding her?"
"I don't know. I haven't worked that out yet."
"Ok. Let's think about this for a moment. I will admit, I don't know how to help you find Cassie, but maybe with Jones… or should I say, perhaps Ms Werner… I have a feeling that you will find her in New York."
"How do you know that?" Shot Cole defensively.
"Whoa… easy brother. I know you're still wondering whose side am I really on. I'm not playing any games here. I know I'm in no position to convince you of that right now. So I'm just going to say this. You know that serum that I had? The one I gave Cassie? I got that from Dr Elliot Jones. Are you following me brother? He lives in New York, so it would make sense that Jones - our Jones - might be in the same city. That's all I can think of. I recommend that you check the land registry. These are public records. You might find a clue there."
Cole regarded Ramse cooly, but had to admit that his idea was clever, and might save him the time and the risk of being arrested by trying to bust down every door in the postcode he had. "Thanks for that. Maybe that helps."
"I understand why you feel like you have to do this on your own, so I will leave you alone. Here," and he passed Cole a slip of paper with an address and a phone number, "so you know where to find me if you need me. I hope you will call me Cole. And if you ever figure out a way to send me back to 2043… well… you know where I am. You can send me away so you don't have to worry about me being around in 2017." And with that, he slipped some dollar bills on the table, got up and walked towards the door of the diner.
"Wait Ramse! How do I get to these records?"
Ramse let out a small chuckle and looked at Cole with a gentle smile. "Just google it." Then he turned and walked out of the door, leaving the ball entirely in Cole's court.
4
Cole didn't find any name matches with the postcode he found. He actually felt relieved to know that Ramse wouldn't be able to track Jones down using public records. But he did remember the address he carried in his pocket since Cassie died in 2017 - the address of the very same apartment which Cassie performed the plastic gun stick up. There was no one there, except for a few removal men carrying the last remaining boxes out of the apartment to load it into a van. Dammit! She's not here.
The momentary flash of panic and the urge to hit something subsided quickly though. Cole must have been adapting to 2015 better than he thought, as he started to use his brain a little bit more. He made a quick decision to follow the van to see where it would lead him.
Cole trailed the van carefully through a network of busy streets, his breath hitching with anticipation as with each turn, the path seemed to be leading to Queens. He had to steady himself a few times, because he hadn't had any sleep since he was last with Cassie. Sure, in the apocalypse, his record for staying up was four days straight. But here, there were many more eyes on him so he can't afford to drive badly and get called in. He never did learn how to drive properly, but he is observant if anything, and had carefully watched Cassie driving many times. He thinks he can manage this if he just concentrates.
Slowly, he noticed the van slow down in front of a red house with a statue of a horse in front of it. Cole didn't want to be obvious, so he drove past and turned a corner, before finding a space to park. He was so tired, but the blood in his veins pumped wildly as he was now so close to where he might find Cassie. Quietly, he got out of the car and walked the few blocks back to the corner of the road where the house stood. He waited patiently until the removal men cleared the last box and finally closed the doors on the back of the van to leave. He watched as the van pulled away back down the direction from which it came.
Every step he took now felt heavy and foreboding. He clutched at his chest where his heart was pumping furiously. What if she's not here? What if it's only Jones? The thought of not being able to see Cassie again right now drove him to the edge of madness. He had to hold on to the wall of the porch to steady himself and his breathing. With all his hopes and dreams held on a knife edge in this heady moment, Cole positioned himself in front of the peephole and brought his finger up to the buzzer, and held it down firmly for two seconds.
It could have been ten or twenty seconds, but it felt like an eternity before anyone came to the door. Cole heard some light footsteps pad towards the doorway from the other side and saw a flash of darkness pass over the peephole before he heard the door handle click.
A head of beautiful blond hair, a smooth angelic face, blue eyes overfilled with a wild mix of emotions, and a neck covered with finger bruise marks appeared before his eyes. They stood gazing transfixed into each other's face for a moment, then Cole's eyes dropped down upon the marks on her neck. The joy he felt from seeing Cassie standing in front of him immediately mixed with inexplicable sorrow as he wondered who laid their hands on her in 2043. Cassie was still wearing Cole's shirt from 2043, but it was tinged with a smell that Cole recognised from somewhere else which he couldn't place right away.
Without saying a word, Cassie balled her hand into Cole's shirt and yanked him into the doorway, slamming it shut behind them. She pushed him against the wall hard and smashed her lips against his before letting out deep sobs of relief. The kiss she gave went salty with tears. A moment later her head was buried into Cole's neck, her fists still held fast in a bunch on Cole's chest as she continued to sob. It's been weeks for Cassie, and only a day since she was attacked by Deacon. Cole just held her close, stroking her hair with one hand, his other arm encircled tightly around her shoulders protectively as he kissed her forehead. "It's ok Cass. Shh… I'm here now. I found you." Slowly, the sound of Cassie's sobs subsided. She still hadn't said a word.
"Welcome back, Mr Cole." Said a reassuringly familiar and unsentimental German voice from down the hallway. "It appears that the three of us have a lot to discuss."