Ann watched the screen as Tony and Doug entered the alley alongside the Flamingo Hotel. "Ray, I can get a fix on them, but not on all four."

"Okay, re-calibrate just on Tony and Doug, but keep their location the same, and we'll try and bring them back to this time, since they're less than a hundred miles from here."

"Right...here goes." She energized the Tunnel and a series of sparks and small explosions erupted in the Tunnel.

"What's happening?"

"I'm trying to retrieve them, but something is interfering again!"

They watched as Tony and Doug tumbled onto the front lawn of a house.

Thomas ran as fast as he could, he just ran and ran...he had never been shot at before, the bullet that shattered the door was aimed at him! He was terrified that another bullet was about to strike him, shattering his bones that same way. Even though he was 48 now, with a baseball career that never was, he had kept himself in shape, so he kept running. He knew he could outrun that pasty sheriff. But where to? He had spotted Newman and Phillips, so they were here. Hodges was right about that too. After spotting them, he had cut to his right into an alley with a row of fences on both sides. He knew he would be visible. He could hear shouting behind him, but no shots. When he came to another street, he darted left, still running...good thing I wore these Nikes, he thought.

Tony and Doug had been exploring the town, looking for the sheriff's office. They were in a residential neighborhood, with tree lined streets. "Nice town."

"Yeah, right out of a Norman Rockwell painting."

"Doug, if that ship is what you think it is, maybe we should go back."

"We could, but I'd like to see this 'prisoner' of theirs first. Who knows, maybe it is one of these, Voltones."

They both froze as they heard gunfire. Several shots were being fired. "I guess they didn't listen to that kid."

Cautiously they trotted in a general direction towards the shots, along a side street that led to the main part of town. They heard another shot that was closer, around the next corner. A few seconds later, a man came sprinting around the corner running towards them at full speed. Tony and Doug were startled to see it was the man from Las Vegas, who they had seen with Hodges. At the same instant the man saw them too, and recognized them, and quickly cut into an alleyway.

"Halt!...Halt!" A middle aged sheriff rounded the corner a few seconds later. He was holding a service revolver and was already out of breath, running with great exertion. He saw Tony and Doug. In his confusion, he pointed the gun at them. "Hold your fire! We're the FBI!" Doug shouted in a commanding voice.

The sheriff stopped running and lowered his gun. "Huh?"

"Holster that weapon, NOW!"

The sheriff lowered the gun as Tony and Doug trotted up to him.

"That there was a Voltone! And he's gettin' away!...you...you fellas are G-men?"

"That's right"

"Well then why're you lettin' him get away?" They looked down an alley as the man rounded a corner at full speed, already a block away.

"Never mind about him, he's... What was all that shooting about?"

"I dunno, maybe they spotted one of them Voltones. I was having breakfast over there at Molly's, when that stranger came in, wearin' wacky clothes...when he tried to pass off some funny money, that's when I knew he was a Voltone!"

"So you just shot at him?" Tony asked indignantly.

"He attacked me!"

"Attacked you? How?"

"Well he uh...he threw a plate at me."

"You shot at him for throwing a plate? He was unarmed! What kind of a sheriff are you?"

"Tony"

The sheriff became suspicious, "Say...why are you stickin' up for these Voltones?"

Doug saw the need to take control of the situation. "Sheriff, we know all about these...Voltones. We know they landed here last night, we've been tracking them over at headquarters. I'm Agent Phillips, this is Agent Newman." He looked over at Tony who was giving him a look, as if to say, 'what the hell are you talking about?'

The sheriff was still suspicious. "yeahhh...so you're G-men, huh? Rick's boy said he saw G-men last night, but we didn't believe him. Reads too many comic books." He squinted, "Say, you fellas got badges? Identification?"

Doug had already determined that the sheriff was not an especially bright man. He leaned in and spoke softly, as if to speak in confidentiality. "No...we're uh...we're undercover. You see, our mission...our mission is to infiltrate these Voltones...make them think we're one of them."

"ohhhhh..."

"I understand you have one of them in custody."

"uh...yeah, yeah, Wilson caught one! It was a youngin'...along with their mechanical man! The fire chief over from Chickasaw Falls, well, he knew how to unplug the mechanical man. See, these Voltons are dangerous! The leader, he told Craig they were gonna blow up the town with them ray guns of theirs."

"The boy and that mechanical man, are they at the station now?"

"Uh...no, I think Zeb's got 'em in his barn."

"Can you take us there?"

The sheriff shrugged, "I guess so."

"Let's go...no, better yet, just tell us where it is. We should question him without you being there, he'll just get scared. Besides, I know you're a busy man."

The sheriff seemed flattered to be recognized as a figure of some authority. "Uh, yeah I guess you're right. It's three blocks up that way and turn left, ya can't miss it."

"Right, let's go Tony."

Thomas had run at least six blocks. He turned to see that no one was chasing him. Slowing down, he looked for a place to hide. He saw a large hedge along a fence and ducked behind it. Breathing heavily, his heart was racing, "What now?" He was trying to think of what to do. He took the time device out of his pocket and was ready to press the blue button...just go back. But then he thought again, the enormity of the fact that he was in another time, and the reason again why he was here. This was always a fantasy of his, to go back in time, but he never imagined it would be a nightmare, like getting shot at. Then he thought of Newman and Phillips, they were here too. He realized they weren't necessarily enemies. Sure, they were after Hodges and they wanted this device, but they were time travelers too. He should go seek them out....Then he thought of something else, the Robinsons! He could go back to the barn where Will was, explain to him who he was, tell him about the cannon, set him free.

He stayed hidden for almost an hour. He knew he couldn't wander around the town without being spotted, he needed a disguise. Slowly, he emerged from behind the hedge and walked along the sidewalk. Turning a corner, he saw a man sliding open a large door to "Len's Garage." The man seemed to be opening for business as he walked around the side of the building. Thomas ducked in to the garage and hid behind a Model A Ford. He saw a pair of mechanic's overalls, so he quietly started to slip them on over his regular clothes. "Whatcha doin' mister?" Startled, he saw a boy standing at the garage door.

"Are you Len's new mechanic?"

"Uh, no...no I'm just helping out today."

The boy was staring at Thomas' shoes.

"What kinda shoes are those!"

"They're uh, they're just running shoes."

"I never seen shoes like those before!"

"Yeah, well...they're a new kind. I got them in uh, California." Thomas finished buttoning the overalls.

"You're from California? Gosh! I guess they got lots of fancy stuff out there in California, with all them movie stars and all. You know any movie stars?"

"No, I don't know any." Thomas was glancing outside nervously. "Look, kid..."

"My name's Mitch!" The boy held out his hand.

Thomas shook it. "Well, pleased to meet you Mitch, My name's Tom."

"Glad to know ya Tom!"

Thomas had an idea. "Say Mitch, do you have a telephone?"

"Well, my granny has one."

"Do you think I can use it?"

"I guess so..." He looked perplexed. "Don't you gotta work here?"

"Well, not just yet." He looked at his watch. Mitch's eyes grew wide as he saw the watch. "Wowee! You sure got some swell stuff!"

"Ha! thanks...where does your granny live?"

"We live right over there." He pointed to a house down the street.

"Let's go!...oh wait, one more thing." Thomas went back in to the garage and grabbed a cowboy hat. He put it on, it was slightly large, so it hung low on his head. That was a good thing.

"Hey that's Len's hat!"

"Yeah...he said I could wear it."

Mitch laughed. "Boy, you sure look goofy."

"Haha! Well, I'm a goofy guy." They both started walking. Thomas watched for the sheriff or any other armed men. He was impressed that the boy was so trusting, willing to invite a stranger into his home. That would never happen in his own time.

"I'm not supposed to be out here," Mitch said. "Sheriff Grover said all us kids have to stay inside. On account of all those Voltones."

"Voltones huh? How do you know they're Voltones?"

"Well, that's what the sheriff says."

"They're not Voltones, Mitch. They're humans, just like you and me. They're from the future."

"Huh? The future?" The boy looked at him in amazement. "How do you know?"

"Because...I'm from the future too Mitch." There, he had said it.

His jaw dropped. "Aww go on!"

"No, it's true!...Those people are the Robinson family, they come from the year 1997. And me, I came from the year 2009."

"You said you were from California!"

"I AM from California...in 2009! Here, I can prove it." He digged through the overalls into his regular pocket and took out a quarter. He handed it to Mitch. "Look at the date." The boy examined the quarter and gasped as he saw the date on it...2006. He turned it over and over and looked at the other side. He saw the imprint of a peach. "Georgia..."

"In 2001, they started making new quarters with all 50 states on the back."

"50 states? There's only 48!"

"In about 12 years, Alaska and Hawaii will become states."

Mitch just stared in the distance in wonder. "Goshhh..."

Thomas looked at the boy and smiled. He reminded him of himself at that age, full of wonder and curiosity.

"So, what's it like in 2009?"

Thomas thought for a moment. "Well, it's not really too different from today. People do the same things, they live in houses just like these, go to work or school in the morning, come home, watch tv..."

"TV? You mean television? Mr. Maddox has a television, he lets us watch it sometimes...we just have a radio."

"Well, in the next few years, more and more people will have them."

"They say by the year 2000, there'll be flying cars and robots doing people's chores and stuff!"

Thomas laughed. "Well there's no flying cars. Oh they could be built, but it's too expensive. Actually the cars are pretty much the same, they just look different, and there's more of them."

"What about robots?"

"There are robots, but not the kind that walk around and do chores. The Robinsons have a robot, but it was especially designed just for their mission. Mostly, robots are in factories, doing repetitive tasks on assembly lines, that kind of thing. And there's animatronic robots. "

"Anima-whatsit?"

"Ha! oh you know, like store mannequins, only they can move around. But they're just machines, they don't think or anything. They were a big hit at Disneyland."

"Disneyland...you mean Walt Disney? The guy who makes cartoon movies?"

"Yeah! That's him...in a few years, he's gonna build a huge amusement park in California. Everyone will go there. It'll be an amusement park like you've never seen!"

"Wowww! I wanna go to California someday!"

"Well, maybe someday you will!"

"Do they have rocket ships going into outer space? Have you been to outer space?"

"No...I haven't been to space. But yeah, there will be rocket ships! And in 1969, we'll land on the moon! And in 1997, the Robinson family will lift off...that's who these people are, Mitch. They must have got caught in a time warp or something and came back here to 1947. See, I'm here to make sure they can take off again."

They had almost reached the house when Thomas stopped in his tracks. The sheriff had rounded the corner, about 50 feet away, walking towards them. At first the sheriff didn't recognize him. "Mitch! What are you doin' outside? I told all you kids to stay indoors!"

"Sorry sheriff."

Thomas was frozen with fear as the sheriff approached. "Thanks for bringin' him home, Len....hey....you're not Len..." The sheriff had a startled look, drawing his gun, "Mitch! Get in the house! Right now! Get your hands up you Voltone!"

"Sheriff! He's not a Voltone! He's from the future!"

"I said get in the house! NOW!"

Mitch backed away, then started to run to the house, looking back at Thomas.

"Mitch is right, I'm not a Voltone...there ARE no Voltones! Those people are the Robinsons!"

"Turn around!" Thomas turned with his hands raised. The sheriff grabbed his hands and cuffed them behind his back. "From the future...hah! Alright, start walkin', any tricks and I shoot, got it?"

"Yeah...got it." They headed towards the sheriffs office.

"Look, my name is Thomas Matson, and Mitch is right, I AM from the future. Have you seen two other men? One with a gray suit, the other a green sweater?"

The sheriff stopped. "How do you know about them?"

"They're time travelers as well, Tony Newman and Doug Phillips. I arrived with them."

"Newman and Phillips...the G-men." The sheriff raised his eyebrows. "I knew it! That's why they let you get away, they're Voltones too!"

"No! Voltones are from a comic book for Christ sakes! How dumb can you people be?"

"That's enough outta you! Get goin'!"

As they walked back to the sheriff's office, Thomas realized he had blown Tony and Doug's cover. They had helped him get away, and now he had put them in jeopardy, he felt sick. They entered the precinct where there were a row of cells. He was reminded of the Andy Griffith Show, only this time, Barney Fife was in charge. The sheriff uncuffed him, still pointing the gun, "Alright get out of Len's overalls." He took them off. "Turn around." What now? Thomas thought. The sheriff went through his pockets, took his wallet, his keys, some change, and the time device. Thomas panicked.

"What's this thing?"

"Be careful with that!...please."

"ohhh, some kinda Voltone gadget huh?" He turned it around in his hand and examined it, shrugged and put all the items in a wooden box. He opened the cell door, "Alright, get in there. As soon as we get all you Voltones rounded up, the Army will know what to do with you." Thomas remembered Hodges' story about the army coming. "oh no..." He sat down on a bench in the cell, and buried his head in his hands.