Angela let herself fall back to the ground she'd just been standing on. She hardly noticed the impact when she landed. She had failed her mission. All those months of living in 1932, staying hidden, being mistreated, watching Tete get worse and worse—it had all been for nothing. Gary and Hodge had gotten Jonah after all.
"Where is he then?" Angela asked in panic. "He was just right here. Where are they taking him?"
JONAH ASKED HIS ELUCIDATOR TO SEND HIM TO LISTON, OHIO, USA, ON NOVEMBER 21, 2012, AT 6:57AM.
"Jonah already had an Elucidator?" Nothing was making sense. "Why did he need me to come here with one, then?" As she stared at the time Jonah was heading toward, she realized something else. "And why would he ask to be sent to that time? He already lived through that time! Won't that cause problems?" JB had acted like it was the end of the world when he realized he'd duplicated himself in 1918.
ORDINARILY, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO TRAVEL TO A TIME HE OR SHE HAS ALREADY LIVED THROUGH. HOWEVER, FORMER TIME AGENCY PROJECTIONIST SAM CHASE, AKA "SECOND CHANCE" DISCOVERED THAT WHEN TIME IS EXTREMELY UNSTABLE AND ON THE VERGE OF CATASTROPHE, FISSURES ARE CREATED IN THE TIME-SPACE CONTINUUM, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO—
Angela's attention was diverted suddenly by all the reporters shouting yet more questions. She looked up to see that Gary and Hodge were going back into the office.
So my part's done here, she realized. Jonah got himself out of the situation. He didn't need me after all. He must have just thought he wouldn't have an Elucidator of his own when he came here. But he did.
Angela started walking back over toward Tete, ready to grab him and finally get out of 1932. But as she looked down at her Elucidator—the Elucidator Jonah's note had insisted was "very important" for her to bring along—some nagging questions started forming in her mind.
How had Jonah gotten that note to her in the first place? When exactly had he traveled to the night of the time crash? And how had he known that he was going to run out of the airfield office like that? From Angela's viewpoint, it hadn't looked like something he had planned. It had just looked like he was trying to get away from Gary and Hodge.
What if, from Jonah's perspective, he hadn't actually written the note yet? What if, at some point later in the day, he was going to come back to this airfield to meet up with her?
It was a long shot, but it was definitely a possibility. The afternoon of August 15 wasn't over yet. Angela decided she would stay here until it was, just in case.
She went back to waiting, keeping her eyes on the airfield office. Is what I just saw going to repeat? she wondered. Is Jonah going to appear in the office again, after coming back from the scene of the time crash and wherever else he's been, and then start running away from Gary and Hodge again?
Wait—the part of the note that had said "until you see me run out of the airfield office" had to have been referring to what Angela had already seen. What if he wasn't able to run out of the office the second time around? What if Angela was actually going to have to go in the office to get him away from Gary and Hodge?
If that was the case, she was much too far away to be of any use right now.
Angela grimaced at the prospect of walking across the airfield in plain view of everyone, most likely supporting or carrying Tete. Would the sight of them elicit enough shouts and questions from the reporters that Gary and Hodge would come out to see what was going on?
Maybe being invisible would be safer, at least until they got closer to the office. Hopefully Gary and Hodge were so involved in their conversation with Lindbergh, or whatever they were doing, that they wouldn't look out the windows and see her.
Tete was completely nonresponsive when Angela tried to pull him to his feet, his body a dead weight on the ground. Angela had the feeling that if he wasn't propped up against the fence he wouldn't be able to hold himself up at all. How on earth am I supposed to get him over the gate?
Angela looked down at her trusty Elucidator. It had gotten them through a bunch of other hurdles so far, maybe it could help with this final one as well. "Elucidator, turn us invisible," she whispered. "And… can you lift Tete over the gate?"
The Elucidator immediately followed through with both of her requests, and Angela, relieved, climbed over the gate to join Tete. She continued to employ the Elucidator's help in moving him until they reached the space between the office and the hangar, where Jonah had run to escape from Gary and Hodge. "Turn us visible," Angela whispered. If Gary or Hodge happened to look out the window, it would be much better for them to see two visible kids than two transparent time travelers.
Tete was lying on the ground where the Elucidator had placed him, looking extremely uncomfortable. Angela hurried over and tried to prop him up against the side of the building, but he sank down into a position that looked even worse than his original position. It's okay, Angela told herself. This is only going to last for a few more hours at most. As soon as Jonah gets back, the three of us will be out of here.
Angela cast a glance up toward the windows of the airfield office, not daring to actually stand up and peer inside. "Are Gary and Hodge still in there with Lindbergh?" she whispered to the Elucidator.
YES, it responded.
Angela pressed herself as close as she could to the outer wall of the building, desperately hoping neither of them would look outside. "Is Jonah back yet?"
NO.
"Can you let me know as soon as Jonah gets here? Oh, and can you also let me know as soon as anyone leaves the office?" She wasn't sure how much good the notification would do, with how difficult it would be to move Tete out of the way, but receiving a warning that Gary or Hodge had stepped outside would at least give her a chance of hiding.
Several tense minutes later, a message appeared on the Elucidator: LINDBERGH HAS LEFT THE OFFICE.
Angela froze with indecision. Most likely, Lindbergh wouldn't turn around the corner and see her. But if he did—what could she do? Turning invisible wouldn't help; Lindbergh had time-traveled to kidnap Katherine that long-ago morning in the twenty-first century.
"Show me where he's going," Angela whispered as quietly as she could.
A small image appeared, depicting Lindbergh spinning through the blackness of Outer Time. "He's left the time period?" Angela just barely remembered to keep her voice down. "But—"
She didn't have time to finish her next question before the words GARY AND HODGE HAVE LEFT THE OFFICE flashed across the Elucidator.
"Did they leave the time period too?" Angela asked urgently.
YES.
Angela felt her whole body relax. She opened her mouth again to ask the Elucidator where Lindbergh, Gary, and Hodge were going, but her eyes fell on Tete, who was still slumped uncomfortably against the side of the building.
"Can you help me move Tete into the office?" she asked instead. The office was empty now, and it was bound to be at least a little more comfortable for him than being out here.
The office was a small room dominated by a table and several chairs. Angela had barely finished getting Tete situated in the chair nearest to the door when the Elucidator gave her another notification: JONAH IS HERE.
"Where?" Angela whipped her head back and forth, excitement pumping through her. She'd made the right choice in deciding to stay! And she was finally about to be reunited with Jonah after all these months of waiting and worrying!
OUTSIDE.
Angela hurried out of the office and back around the corner. And there, lying in almost the exact same spot Tete had been occupying just a minute before, was Jonah.
