"I don´t t..t..think that I can help you, Mr. Puppy." Dudley sat on a lab stool and was exhausted.
Keswick has tortured him with all kind of questions and tests since two hours. And because of any reason Dudley had to swallow
a radioactive trigger for special medical examinations. But Keswick hadn´t exanimated him. He just grinned evilly as Dudley drank out of the little cup.
That really scared him.
"There is no FBI file about the B..B..Bomber case. But I maybe know s..s..someone who can help you with your time travel problem." Keswick added.
"Okay, what do you want?" The phrase from Keswick seemed like the usual 'Do ut des' thing. I´ll help you if you help me.
"You want to know something about your future?" asked Dudley annoyed.
"NO! And don´t d..d..dare telling me anything!"
"Why?"
"Never heard of the g..g..grandfather paradox?"
"Para.. what?" Dudley seemed really to have never heard of that so he began to explain it.
"Well you would violate the C..C..Causality. Here is an example. You travel back in time and k..k..kill your own grandfather…"
"Why should I do that?!" interjected Dudley shocked.
"I don´t know, maybe you hated him because he never gave you C..c..christmas presents? Let´s just say you have a reason.
Okay? So you kill him and that of course never gave your g..g..grandfather the chance to father your father and he can´t of course f..f..father you.
So, you were never born. But if you were never b..b..born, who could travel through time and kill your grandfather?
So if nobody have killed your grandfather you were b..b..born and able to travel…"
"Yeah, I think I understood."
"And the p..p..problem is that some scientist speculate that if somebody v..v..violent this Causality ,
if that´s even possible what most scientist doubt, that the universe would a..a..annihilate itself!" Explained Keswick.
"And what are we going to do against it?"
"I will d..d..delete my memories after that and you, well that´s also the t..t..thing I want from you,
don´t run around and tell e..e..everybody who you are until your back in your time and don´t change anything!" said Keswick pulled
his glasses down and looked grinning at Dudley.
"I expected that you want something… I don´t know… real."
"Let´s say that I l..l..like the world like it is right now. Existing!" Keswick stepped towards Dudley and offered him his hand to shake it.
"It was a p..p..pleasure to meet you, Mr. Puppy." Dudley grabbed his hand and shook it.
"Also for me Keswick… By the way who´s your contact?"
"Doctor Johann Wilhelm Möbius! The a..a..address is on this note. Good luck."
Dudley left the building and thought about the thing with the grandfather paradox.
"Great, more things I have to watch out for!" And as if this wasn't enough it started to rain. "Oh, good. A nice little shower. I love my live!"
It was almost one o´clock and no bus drove now. Dudley had to walk… again. But this time he didn´t run he just strolled
through the empty streets and enjoyed the loneliness. He watched how the rain beat down on the street.
Little puddles began to form in the gutter channels beside the street. It was February but even if it was really cold the snow was already melted away.
The rain created a really relaxing sound and Dudley began to think about a phrase he knew out of a book he once read.
Actually it was the only book he read and that also just to impress Kitty.
"It was a rain." He quoted with a slow, dark and rough voice. "A heavy rain. A rain which washed all the scum into the gutter of oblivion.
My name is Clancy Jones. Private investigator. This one day, as the rain not seemed to stop, I was sitting behind my desk and…" Dudley stopped.
He looked into the distance. Was there somebody lying in the front yard over there?
Or was that just a stone or a bush. Carefully got closer to whatever it was. And it was a person!
He began to run and as he stood above it he saw who it was. Kerry Katswell. Dudley kneed down to her and felt her pulse.
It was weak but still there. "What´s going on here? She is almost two blocks away from her home." Dudley lifted her up. She was light.
"Was she running away? I better bring her to my house." He started to walk as fast as he could and tried in the meantime to speak to her.
"Kerry, wake up! It´s me Jason! What happened?!"
"Save… you have to… save" she breathed exhausted. "Save? Whom?"
"Kitty…" Dudley suddenly realized what she meant. "Damn!" he began to run.
As he finally reached the door of his house he kicked against it because he had no free hand. After a short while Frank opened the door.
He not seemed like somebody who was just woken up so he maybe was still working on his project.
Dudley handed Frank, who looked at him nonplussed, Kerry.
"What?" he asked.
"No time to explain! Take care of her, I have to take care of someone else."
Dudley turned around and ran as fast as it was possible for his feet towards the Katswell´s house.
"When it´s the night which Kitty told me about I have to hurry…" He stood in the front yard and peeped through the windows.
He searched for a special room, Kitty´s room. "Oh damn. Not the first floor!" He looked up and saw how a light was turned on up there.
"Shit!" Dudley searched for a way up. There was a tree which grew next to the window. "Seems like the only way!"
he climbed up the tree and balanced over branch to the window.
And as he saw Katswell opening his pants in front of his little daughter he didn´t hesitate.
Dudley jumped through the closed window and broke the glass. With a roll-over he slowed down and jumped back on his feet again.
Before Mr. Katswell knew what happened Dudley already kicked his feet away. He hit the ground hard.
Dudley pounced on him and began to ram his fist into Katswell´s face. "YOU BASTARD!" he shouted.
Katswell tried to defend himself but he had no chance against Dudley. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER?!" Dudley punched himself into rage.
"TELL ME HOW?!" Before Katswell passed out he stopped, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up.
Dudley breathed heavily and looked at his work. The face of Kitty´s and Kerry´s Dad was just a bloody mush.
It would be easy for Dudley to knock him out right now but he didn´t want him to faint, he wanted him to suffer.
Dudley pressed him against the wall and spoke slowly and clear.
"Listen to these words because I won´t repeat them!" Dudley shook him to gain his complete attention.
"You have one minute to get out of here! Understood? One minute! You leave the city and the state!
It doesn´t matter for me where you will go, just go! I don´t want to see your gross visage again in this city or near this family!"
Dudley pulled him close to him and whispered in his ear.
"If you won´t do that… I´m going to kill you! You can try to run away but I will get you and kill you!
I will kill you in the most painful way that you could imagine! Understood?!" Katswell nodded weakly. Dudley threw him to the ground.
He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and flung it at him.
"Wash yourself! You´re disgusting me!" Dudley never saw somebody who was beaten up so hard crawling so fast.
Katswell definitely was scared to death and Dudley enjoyed it. As Katswell crawled out of the room he heard a quiet snivel from behind him.
It was Kitty who stood terrified in the corner of her room.
Dudley came closer to the little girl and clasped her to him. "Everything okay, sweety. He´s gone!" He stroked her head softly.
"Who… who are you?" she asked intimidated. Dudley couldn´t resist to say the next words. It was like they were somehow put in his mouth.
"Just a friendly T.U.F.F. agent." He smiled at her as she wiped the tears out of her eyes with her sleeve of her pajama and smiled back.
"Look, I have to go now but I´ll watch after you."
"Promised?"
"Promised." Replied Dudley and left the room on the same way he entered it. He jumped from the tree and saw Katswell crawling over the sidewalk.
Dudley called behind him. "Tic tac, tic tac. Your minute is soon over!" Katswell didn´t look back but began to crawl faster.
"Yeah crawl you little maggot!" he thought angry and walked back home. There was Frank standing next to Kerry who lay on the couch.
"Dudley, what was that? Have you done this?!"
"No" answered Dudley tired. He sat down on the arm chair beside the couch. "Her father did that to her!"
"Damn." Frank shook his head unbelieving. "I always knew that this Katswell was a bastard but I would have never thought that…"
He turned around and walked to the door.
"Where do you think you going?"
"I´ll go and take care of this Katswell. I will…"
"Already happened." Interrupted him Dudley and showed him his blood-smeared hands.
"He´ll never harm someone, I think."
"Have you…?"
"No. But I advised him to leave the city… How is she?" Dudley pointed at Kerry.
"She has a big bump on her head. But I think she´s just sleeping. And that´s good." said Frank.
"That bump is just the damage we see." It was depressing to see Kerry and it was again Frank who tried to change the subject.
"What have you found out at T.U.F.F.?"
"I have a contact that can help me and I found out that there exists no FBI file about the Petropolis-Bomber."
"But there was this FBI agent every time… Something is foul here, definitely" said Frank confidently.
"Could we discuss this tomorrow? I´m tired"
"Yeah. You should go to sleep. I´ll keep an eye on here."
"No, it´s better if she sees someone she knows when she wakes up. And we know each other." Explained Dudley
"Well…Okay. Good night, Dudley."
"Good night, Dad." Returned Dudley. Frank walked up stairs and Dudley leaned back in the arm chair with his eyes pinned on Kerry.
"If I just were faster…" he thought.
Hours passed by until Kerry moved herself. She sat up on the couch and looked disorientated around.
The last thing she remembered was that she was running away from home and then. She must have stumbled and fallen on her head exactly
on the spot where this Swan hit her with this stone.
And speaking of the devil she saw him dozing on the arm chair next to her.
"Good morning!" he yawned at her.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"You´re safe."
"Okay…" she pulled her knees under her chin, laid her forehead on them and began to cry.
"I know what happened…" Dudley said as sympathetically as he could even he was still angry on
Mr. Katswell and himself.
"I was able to prevent this. I mean I knew it. Kitty told me!" he always thought.
"What´s with Kitty?" asked Kerry sobbing. "Is she save? Has he…"
"No" replied Dudley fast. "I was able to prevent this."
"Thank you. I at least she can…" Kerry began to cry again.
"Shhh…" Dudley hugged her and felt how in his arms Kerry let it all out. "You´re save. He´s gone…"
"Thank you." These words hit Dudley really hard.
"If she knew it she wouldn´t thank me! I´m responsible! I knew it and I wasn´t there!"
he thought and then said.
"I´ll bring you home. Don´t worry. He´s gone and won´t come back."
Kerry nodded and they walked together through the door.