Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or this world. I just like to be a part of it sometimes.
Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for welcoming me into the Timeless fandom, and for all the wonderful reviews of the first chapter! I really appreciate the time all of you have invested into this already.
This has not been beta'd, so all mistakes found are my own.
S.O.S. – Chapter Two
"I can't believe we're stalking a serial killer. In every horror movie ever, people who did that quickly became the killer's targets. If people were watching us right now, they'd be yelling at the screen, probably throwing popcorn, telling us that we're idiots."
Lucy didn't even spare Rufus a glance as she stared down the street at the building in which David Berkowitz called home. Instead, she just kept fanning herself with a postcard she had stolen from the hotel they had stayed at the night before, praying that at some point, the moving air would feel like something other than a blast furnace. Today was hotter than yesterday, and according to the news reports, it was only going to get hotter. As she had been watching the news, and trying to tune out the groans from the boys about the heat, she vaguely recalled that it was around this time that New York City had one of the most record heatwaves ever. She knew it was this summer, and apparently they had landed right at the beginning of it.
At least she had decent clothes now though.
After exiting the Lifeboat the day before, and making their trek into the city, they had stopped to switch clothes, and gather a few extras as well, because they all knew they would be sweating through anything and everything they had. As such, Lucy now had a small bag of supplies sitting in their hotel room, which could tide her over for a few days should they be trapped there that long. Today however, like yesterday, she opted for a short, loose sundress. She was sweating so much though, that it kept sticking to her, and she'd given up trying to peel it away from her skin. Her hair was clipped up as best as she could get it, but the humidity was causing unruly waves and curls that kept escaping the clip, and tumbling down here and there.
Overall, she was miserable.
It didn't help that not only could they still not figure out what Emma was doing here now, but they didn't even know where to look, or how long it would take to find her. It'd barely been 24 hours since they landed, and Lucy was already ready to give up, but knew that she needed to at least put a semi-valiant effort into doing something. So after calling it a night hours after they had arrived the previous day, the group started the day anew and decided to trek up to Yonkers, where the notorious killer lived. Since he was their only semi-lead, it made sense to stake out his building, and maybe they would get lucky and run into Emma there.
However, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, doubts of doing anything productive on this mission were rising in all three of them. Wyatt had taken to walking around the block every half hour, while Rufus was throwing a ball around with some kids. Lucy meanwhile, found herself watching a small group of boys dance around a fire hydrant that was spraying water, and she wondered how ridiculous it would be to just run over and join them. She certainly wouldn't mind getting drenched right about now. However, looking down at the very white dress that was adorned with various colorful flowers, she knew she shouldn't. Regardless of how tempting it was.
But since she needed to at least pretend she was an adult, she let out another sigh, and offered to go on a run to the convenience store down the street for some more sodas and ice cream. At least she could get a brief reprieve from the heat when she opened the tiny fridge. Wyatt offered to go with her, and when they were out of sight of Rufus, Lucy could feel Wyatt's fingers entangle with hers. This was the first time she had been alone with him since they had left the bunker, and she found herself constantly taking a deep breath to just spill out the information she was keeping from him. But each time the words threatened to tumble out, she told herself that it would only distract him right now. And the last thing they needed was for any of them to be distracted.
"Lucy. You ok?"
"Hmmm?" Wyatt's voice pulled Lucy from her thoughts as if he knew what she was thinking. Typical. She turned to look at him and forced a smile to her face while shaking her head. "Nope! Just hot." Wyatt narrowed his eyes as if he didn't believe her, but chose not to press the issue. "Ok." As he moved past her, making his way through the small room to pick out some things to munch on, Lucy blew out a breath. This conversation was going to suck when they finally had it. But for now, she reached into the freezer to pull out a popsicle for herself and sidled up to Wyatt's side as he paid, leaning into him, and loving the feel of his arm wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her close as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. Yeah, the conversation was definitely going to suck.
As they made their way back to where they'd been sitting all day, Wyatt once again weaved his fingers through Lucy's, and she couldn't help but think how nice this was. How normal. They were just two people at the beginning of a relationship, walking through the streets of New York City on a (very) warm summer day. Too bad their lives were anything but normal.
Once back with Rufus, Wyatt tossed him the Bomb Pop he had picked out for him.
"A Bomb Pop? No Klondike bar?" Rufus seemed less than thrilled with the non-ice cream treat.
Lucy peeled the wrapper off her raspberry Buried Treasure, and frowned as she could already see it melting. "Klondike bars weren't introduced until the 1980s."
Wyatt was already half done with his own Bomb Pop. "What's wrong with Bomb Pops? I used to get these as a kid all the time off ice cream trucks."
"Really? I was more of the Ghostbusters kind."
Wyatt snorted. "Of course you were."
"Come on! The one with the gumball eyes? How could you not love that?"
As the boys bickered, Lucy worked through her popsicle as fast as she could so the sticky mess didn't run down her hand, and for a brief, brief moment, she felt a slight chill run through her body.
And then it was gone.
"Hey, cool! You got a plastic sword? How come mine didn't come with one?"
Lucy looked down at the little sword she now held that had once been the stick of her Buried Treasure and handed it to Rufus. "All Buried Treasures come with them. That was one of the main appeals of them during this time. They're probably pretty collectible by now for us."
"Gimmie!" Rufus took the sword from Lucy, and started inspecting it. "I wonder what I could get on eBay for this thing."
Lucy rolled her eyes, but couldn't get upset at Rufus for profiting off their trips. Besides, she was way too hot to care at this point.
She was getting ready to just tell the boys they should pack it in for another day, or at least take a late afternoon siesta when all of a sudden, they got lucky – which is what always seemed to happen on missions. A flicker of movement near the building they were watching had Wyatt on high alert, and Lucy watched as a small group of people emerged from the building and stopped to talk for a bit. She could feel her adrenaline start to pump, and she knew in her heart of hearts, this was going to be their break.
Her eyes quickly scanned the small group, and they naturally jumped back to one of the men in particular. He was staring right at their makeshift stake out area, or more aptly, he was staring right at her. Like she was prey. And in that moment, everything suddenly became crystal clear to her. She knew exactly what Emma was doing here, and she knew exactly why Emma had brought the team here to chase her. There was no history she was here to change for her cause, there was no Rittenhouse member she was here to save. No, she was here to lead the team into a trap. More specifically, she was here to lead Lucy into a trap.
The story of Son of Sam had always stuck with Lucy, not because of the brutality of it, or because of the human fascination of it, resulting in numerous pop culture references, like the movie Jiya had referenced when they first discovered where they were going. No, the thing that stood out to her – the thing that caused her overactive brain to create one too many nightmares, was that David Berkowitz had a particular type of female he sought after. A type of female who Lucy could relate much too closely to. The targets of David Berkowitz were young, white females, with long, dark, wavy hair. And more than that, they were always killed with their companion – in other words, Wyatt. Lucy's heart started slamming against her chest, and deep within her, she knew she was in danger, for the man staring at her, who was now heading back into the building, had been none other than the Son of Sam himself – David Berkowitz, and his sights were now set on her as his new target.
But before she could warn the others, Wyatt was pulling her up from her seat on the stoop, and pointing down the street. "There's Emma! You and Rufus follow her, and I'll follow those two."
Lucy glanced over her shoulder, and saw the glint of red hair that she knew could only belong to Emma before turning back to see two men heading in the opposite direction. Her gut was screaming at her not to leave Wyatt's side – that splitting up the group was not smart – but he was already on the move. "Wyatt! Wait! How are we going to find you?"
Wyatt didn't even stop, only shouting over his shoulder, "We'll meet back at the hotel!" And then he was off, and Lucy was left feeling uncertain and uneasy. She hated not being in control of the situation, and this was a situation she was definitely not in control of. She looked once again at where the group had been standing, and David Berkowitz was no longer there, but she knew without a doubt that this wouldn't be the last time she would see him, and that absolutely terrified her.
However, she couldn't spend too much time debating whether she should just abandon Emma and go with Wyatt, because Rufus was pulling on her arm, urging her to follow. So, with one last look at Wyatt before he ducked around a corner, Lucy turned to run after Rufus, and for the time being at least, away from David Berkowitz.