FOURTEEN

July 18, 1986

2:13 p.m. EDT

"I certainly hope you're not keeping something from me here," Faraday said, glaring over Carolyn for what had to be the fifteenth time over the last hour or so.

"I've told you, all I told Dr. Brown was that you'd be keeping David for the next two weeks," Carolyn said, exasperated, "I specifically told him not to try anything; he broke David out on his own accord."

"Still, you broke classified information to someone who did not need to know," Faraday said sternly, "And I hope you realize that this carries a severe jail sentence for you."

"Look, I…" Carolyn sputtered for words, "This is not…not what you're trying to make this out as. I am not some type of treacherous person. I just thought David could use a friend. And Dr. Brown clearly just wanted to help"

"So you be his friend by letting him fall into the hands of a crackpot?" Faraday sneered, not believing her at all, "That makes perfect sense. Listen to me; I'm just trying to get him back. Now if…"

"Faraday, they're coming back into U.S. airspace," Marner called over.

"Where are they now?" Faraday ran over to the radar.

"They're coming down the Oregon coast," Marner told him, "They'll be in northern California very soon. I thought they'd never leave the North Pole."

"I thought we'd never leave the North Pole," Wayne said out loud at that very moment as they zipped along the Pacific Coast.

"Well, all that time came in handy," Doc said, looking over his completed time circuitry, "We are now in theory ready to go when needed."

"Well then, let's get going," David said.

"Not quite yet," Doc told him, "Firstly, we still aren't quite at the power threshold of temporal displacement, and secondly, we need to have that displacement occur over Fort Lauderdale in order for the continuum to be seamlessly repaired. Sending you through time now would land you in northern California, far away from where you should be in 1978."

"Oh," David looked disappointed.

"It's pretty impressive what you've done here, Dr. Brown," Nick said, looking over the senior scientist's work, "Have you seen that new show MacGyver on ABC? This is kind of what he does in every episode, making something out of nothing."

"Yes, I first saw it four years from now," Doc told him, "That's one of the added benefits of time travel; I can see what shows are really worth watching. At any rate, let's see if the circuitry's up to par."

He threw the familiar time circuit switch on. The multi-colored time displays sputtered on, went out for a moment, then sputtered on again and flickered. "Almost there," Doc mused, "Once we establish a few more kilowatts, we'll be ready."

"Sounds good, Doc," Marty gave him the thumbs-up.

"Hey, here's San Francisco," David pointed out the window as the Golden Gate Bridge came upon them.

"Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat!" Max buzzed, imitating the rice company's trolley bell, "Watch out for those cables!"

"Gatorade is thirst aid for that deep down body thirst!" Johnny-5 hummed at the extraterrestrial, apparently hoping to start something interesting between them.

"I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, they're a Pepper, we're all Peppers, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" Max took the bait.

"We're Bartles and Jaymes, and we thank you for your support," Johnny-5 added on.

"OK, we didn't come on this spaceship to sing advertising jingles," Stephanie said, laughing.

"I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony," both metallic beings crooned together, "I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company."

Marty couldn't control his own laughter. "You know, I think you two should open your own Broadway act once we get this over and done with," he told them, "You'd kill everyone in New York with laughter."

"Just as long as I get my own dressing room!" Max chortled, buzzing by Marty's face.

"Boy, when we transferred those star charts into your mind, we sure made you a different person," Marty commented to him.

"I feel different, so different I'd say I ain't Max no more," the alien said, whipping around in place a few times wildly.

"I like you better this way, Max," David told him, smiling. "Well, if we're supposed to go to Fort Lauderdale, what do you say we start heading back that way?" he asked everyone.

"By all means, but I'd advise we stay low so that we don't attract any Air Force personnel," Doc told him, "We're still wanted people."

"Gotcha," David swerved toward the east, and within moments the Sierra Nevada was looming just below them. "You're still doing good," Marty encouraged him.

"Thanks," David smiled at him, "I feel like I'm doing good for once in my life. I wish that creep Joey could see me now; it would wipe his big ugly smile right off his face."

"Joey?"

"He's the snotty rich kid in my neighborhood from back in 1978," David explained, "He's always showing off and taunting everyone who isn't in his clique about how he can do things no one else can. Just one of these days I'm going to show him off once and for all and prove that I'm not a dork."

This statement triggered Marty's memory. He thought over Wayne's words about David's fate from back in Hill Valley: "HE TRIED TO ANSWER A DARE FROM ANOTHER KID…HIS BOAT TIPPED OVER AND HE DROWNED." What David had just proposed doing would fit that described death just perfectly. "Well, it's good and nice to get the better of someone who deserves it," he told the boy, "But if there's one thing I've learned from traveling through time, it's that you don't lash out every time someone calls you a chicken."

"It's not just me, Marty, he takes it to everyone," David told him, "I'd be getting him for everybody in Fort Lauderdale. Now I think it's right to stand up for what you believe in, especially if someone else has been wronged."

Marty looked over his shoulder to make sure Doc's attention was diverted elsewhere. "Listen," he said softly, "There's something I need to tell you about after you go…"

"Scotty to bridge, they're on our tail again!" Max buzzed, cutting Marty off in mid-stream. The alien made the back of the ship transparent again, showing a half dozen F-16s in hot pursuit. "Already?" Newton groaned, "It's almost as if they've just been waiting for us."

"And they probably have," Doc added. Thinking quickly, the senior scientist pointed to a low bluff ahead of them to their right. "Down and behind there," he directed David, "I saw a map of this bluff in 2213; right now there's a large cave on the other side. Get over there as fast as you can and go inside. We'll lose them that way."

David poured on speed, zipping over the bluff and down into the cave in question. "Now what?" he asked.

"Now we wait until we can be sure they've gone," Doc said, examining one of his many watches. A long tedious wait began, as everyone held still, half-expecting their pursuers to come roaring in through the cave entrance after them. Finally, after about ten minutes, Doc nodded and said, "OK, we're probably clear now. Protocol forbids them pursuing longer."

David took the ship back up into the Southwestern skies. "It looks like we're over Texas," he mused, looking down at the landscape below.

"Well partner, let's mosey on down and see if we can get a clear view of where we are," Max said in a Texan accent.

"I can't make heads or tails of this place," Wayne admitted, staring out the window, "This doesn't look like anything we saw from the plane on the way to Florida."

"And it's too bad we can't stop and ask for directions in this thing," Amy admitted.

"Who says we can't?" Johnny-5 pointed down to a convertible driving on the road below them, "Directions there, just stop and ask, inquire, pose, question."

"Well, it's worth a try," David shrugged, bringing the ship toward the intersection the car was now stopping at. As they got closer, the sound of the car's radio could be heard in the confines of the spaceship. "What's that strange sound?" Max inquired.

"It's music," David told him, "Songs. I've never heard this one before. Maybe it's that Twisted Sister stuff Carolyn told me about."

"No, that's not Twisted Sister," Amy told him, "I'd know it when I hear it."

"Well, let's see what they can do for us," David walked over to the rear of the spacecraft, which opened up. "Excuse me," he called to the people in the car, "Could you tell us how to get to Fort Lauderdale?"

"Try to make your directions clear and concise," Max added, popping up over David's shoulder. Predictably, the people screamed at the sight of an alien and sped off as fast as they could. "Were those geeks?" Max asked.

"Yes Max, those were geeks," David told him.

"I've got it," Doc ran over holding his star compass, which was lighting up red again. "Go in that direction," he told David, pointing to what Marty guessed was the east, "We'll be in a direct line with Florida that way."

"Gotcha Dr. Brown," David jumped back into the pilot seat and zoomed off in the specified direction. "Could you show me more music, David?" Max asked him.

"Uh, sure," David said, but he looked puzzled as to how to do this. He looked around for assistance. Wayne stepped in. "Music here on earth is sent as radio waves through the air," he told Max, "If you find the right frequency, you'll get music."

"Hmm," Max mulled this over. He zipped over to the wall near the front of the ship and made strange static sounds, as if he was adjusting the dial of a radio. He went through several stations of irritating and unorthodox music before settling on "I Get Around" on one of them. "Now that's music," David smiled, glad to hear a song he actually knew. "You've got to move like this, Max," he told the alien, scooting around in the chair to the Beach Boys' beat. Max did the equivalent of this. "No, no, like this!" Johnny-5 told him, zooming around. "My buddies and me are getting real well known," the robot sang along, "The bad guys know us and they leave us alone. I get around…"

"Come on Doc, get in the groove," Marty told his friend, joining in the fun. Doc shrugged and broke into an admittedly square dance routine. Soon everyone was singing and dancing to the tune as they zoomed over Texas canyons. "I like music!" Max was chuckling, clearly enjoying himself.

"This is WHOU in Houston with the Beach Boys here on this hot summer afternoon," the DJ announced once the song was over, "Currently we're looking at clear skies and highs in the upper 80s. Continuing with our nonstop hour of hits, here's a current chart topper from Huey Lewis and the News."

"All right!" Marty exclaimed as a very familiar song came over the airwaves now.

"You know this one?" David asked him.

"Yeah, I love this one, it's the theme to one of my favorite movies, about a…" Marty noticed the look Doc was giving him. "Well, you'll find out soon," he said quickly, "I hope." Then he started reeling all over the cabin, singing away with the lyrics: "The power of love is a curious thing; make one man weep, make another man sing…"

"What the hell is going on in there?" Marner asked, puzzled by the sounds of Lewis and his band coming through on the sound monitor.

"I have no idea," Faraday told him, "It almost sounds like they're having a backyard barbeque in…"

Suddenly emergency sirens sounded throughout the complex again. "Now what!? "Faraday groaned, "We can't afford another breach!" He rushed over to the tracking room door and opened it to see people running around in radiation suits, looking panicked. "Hey, what's going on now?" he asked a scientist running by.

"Dr. Faraday, the radiation testing machine just had a minor malfunction," the scientist told him, "It's leaking radiation. The entire research area's going to have to be quarantined."

"I see," Faraday said slowly, "Then why are you just standing there with that stupid look on your face?"

"Dr. Faraday, if we had put David in that machine as you'd proposed, he'd be dead now!" the scientist told him emphatically, "We need to restructure the way we do the research on him from now on!"

For a few seconds a look of shock crossed Faraday's face. Then it disappeared just as quickly as it came. "Well the important thing is he WASN'T in there," he told his associate, "so I want it back up and running again as soon as humanly possible."

"Don't you get it!?" the scientist was exasperated, "We CAN'T fix it! It'll keep leaking no matter what we'd do with it!"

"Then buy another one," Faraday said, frustrated, "This test is vital to national security."

"Dr. Far--!!" the scientist tried to protest, but Faraday slammed the tracking room door on him. "Dr. Marner, where are they now?" he asked him.

"They're just starting to cross the Gulf of Mexico," Marner told him.

"He's coming home," Faraday realized. He turned to everyone else in the room. "Okay, I want escort and an armed guard," he instructed them, "Get the tasers and other stun equipment ready; I think this one might get a little nasty."

He started toward the tracking room door again. Carolyn jumped in his path. "I can't let you do this," she told him firmly.

"Miss MacAdams, get out of my way," Faraday ordered her, "This is bigger than you can comprehend."

"Oh I can comprehend just fine!" Carolyn shouted, "And it's clear to me that you just want to get rich off David1 The poor kid's been through something terrible, and you could care less! So I'm telling you now, just let him go. He clearly doesn't want to come back here."

"This is of vital importance to national security!" Faraday shouted angrily, "Now I'm giving you one last warning; get out of my way or I'll lay even more charges on you than you're already facing!"

"No," Carolyn folded her hands across her chest. Faraday shoved her roughly aside. "Place her under arrest and make sure she stays out of our way," he told the nearest security personnel.

"Actually, Faraday, I would appreciate it if you sent Miss MacAdams up her for a minute," Catledge said over the intercom, "I'd like to have a word in private with her."