Disclaimer:  Please see Chapter 1 for the usual precautionary statements.

Time to Consider
Chapter 14
By Callisto

Dorado Iron Works - Present
Warehouse District
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Some consider what he was doing as stalking. Ethan however, viewed it as surveillance, a necessary evil in light of his quarry. He was worried about his sister. It seemed the more time passed, the less the voices had to say about her plight. The confusing messages left him worried and deeply concerned. He watched the minimal activity going on at the dilapidated warehouse with shrinking hope. Once the skinny kid returned with the tall burly sweeper and his two equally muscular guards, Ethan knew the voices had indeed led him to the right spot. Somehow this kid had some connection to what had happened to his siblings.

With admirable stealth that would make Norwood hang his inept head in shame, Ethan made his way to a partially open side window. Peering in however was futile because there were multiple layers of grime obscuring his view. Taking a deep breath, Ethan decided to execute his hastily formed plan, and systematically took out the guarding sweepers with the business end of a weighted lead pipe in exactly the manner Jarod had showed him. Once they were securely tied up and shoved discreetly into a darkened corner of the adjacent alley, Ethan returned to the window and gained entry.

Norwood climbed the ladder and placed the last component into place. It was a terribly basic patch up job but it would suffice for making contact with the big guy's friends. Noisily climbing down the ladder and removing it from the containment area, Norwood missed any sounds of Ethan's entrance.

At his computer, Norwood busily entered his encrypted password and started typing in the sequence code eagerly. The corporate guy had been able to get everything on the wish list. His hopes were high that with some tangible success, further financial backing could become available and his machine would be working as it should.

Norwood's concentration was so focused and absorbed that all else around him faded into the unnecessary background. Sam watched the nerdy kid as he typed out the code for this weird contraption. Mr. Broots had obtained the components and advised him that some of the items were state-of-the-art technology. After Broots informed Sam of the market price the contents of the box commanded, the sweeper decided a couple additional guards would be called for. He carefully watched where the kid placed each and every piece because if this turned out to be another boondoggle, Sam was not only going to kill the kid but retrieve every part Broots had sent him.

Ethan watched the tableau as the voices started their sing-song chant in his mind. Once he decided on a course of action, one voice usually separated from the others and whispered what was needed to achieve his goal. It wasn't always his dead mother's voice but today she was there in his head, coaxing him to wait until the right moment to overtake Sam.

Finally, the modified sequence was complete. The machine had been programmed to pick up the carrier signal from the frog. With any luck the little guy was still alive and transmitting. Glancing at Sam, who nodded curt encouragement, Norwood hit the enter key and the machine began to hum encouragingly.

Wyman Cabins – Past
Lake Catherine, VT

Early the next morning, the major drew his eldest son outside for a brief chat. Calmly and succinctly, he reminded Jarod of his obligations to himself, his future and his family as well. Without interruption, he went on to explain what he suspected of Jarod's relationship with Parker—the depth and likely physical intimacy.

"The last thing I want for you Son, is to become another statistic. Teenage pregnancy is the last thing that comes to mind and I know at your age I thought I was invincible to the weaknesses that plagued others. All I'm asking is for the both of you to be careful and to take precautions."

Jarod nodded thoughtfully as he considered his father's advise. Here again was another example of how they both forgot the gravity of their physical ages. "I have no intention of becoming another statistic. We'll both be careful."

The major looked at his son gravely, noting that Jarod didn't bother trying to deny having sex with his girlfriend. This brand of blunt honesty was something new. It was then the major continued by explaining with quiet empathy that they would be leaving this summer retreat at the end of the week. He watched the expressions play across his son's face with deep interest. Without many external cues, it seemed that Jarod had experienced some character changing events. His relationship with this new girl was of a piece of it. Before coming to Vermont, shallow Asia was the usual type that drew Jarod. Now, the beautiful, talented girl from the nearby Inn had monopolized his son's heart. Here he had to concede to Margaret's assessment, this girl was different. Not wanting to push his son away, the major clapped Jarod lightly on the back and asked if he was coming inside. At Jarod's expected decline, the major slowly returned to the cabin—his thoughts occupied with Jarod, his reactions and his deeply felt emotions for a girl he barely knew.

Jarod watched his father walk slowly away. He had wanted to spend more quality time with his entire family but though it took some time, reality had forced its way on him. His entire family, while close knit was comprised of extremely busy people. Once they were back home, both his parents would return to work, Kyle would be going back to his fun-filled college days and Emily would be preoccupied by extra-curricular sports, clubs and friends. Being a part of this active family, Jarod was expected to report to OTS in Alabama for the better part of year. Staying at home was out of the question and the corporation that his father wanted him to join sounded stifling at best. Not exactly Jarod's idea of fun family, getting-to-know-you times.

Nervously pacing the length of the copse where he had set up his radio and transponder, Jarod waited for Parker. Getting her pregnant wasn't a corner he wanted to paint her into and he resolved not to let his hormones control his actions when they were together. Readjusting to the physical differences of youth was more challenging than he could've imagined. Not being in their own time was the thing that preoccupied both their minds. He also didn't intend on losing her. This level of passion was new for him. The fact that it was inspired by his former huntress added a refreshing bit of insanity to their romantic predicament. He considered several methods of explaining to her his completed plan, a plan which had formed in his mind while he wrapped his arms around her wet shoulders. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that she almost walked up to him unnoticed. She was dressed in a white eyelet blouse and faded blue jeans. With the long, hair and dance-enhanced gait, she was a pleasure for him to watch.

"Nice seeing you again, too," she said with a gentle smile. The expression on Jarod's face was something she was quickly becoming used to but determined not to take for granted.

"Thanks for coming," he answered, returning her smile. With an abrupt change in mood he asked with focused seriousness, "Are you still getting the feeling of being watched?"

"Yes. This time he's keeping his distance. You sure we should do this out here?"

"Daytime should make him more shy, besides we don't have much time left. It's best if do this right now."

"Why, what's going on?"

"This is the last week of vacation for my family. We're heading back to Indiana on Sunday." Watching her reaction with interest, Jarod continued, "The radio is over here. I don't think our friend will be bold enough to want to join us again." With that, he lead the way into the copse. Concealed by the leafy branches of a low growing bush, Jarod pulled out a neatly wrapped package the size of a suitcase. He worked quickly and efficiently, no motion was wasted as he set up the unit for use.

Parker watched him work with silent admiration, though it was tempered by what he had said just moments ago. She knew this would happen eventually but it still caused a flutter of dread in the pit of her stomach. The memory of what he had said and done in the bathtub after their argument did little to calm those unhappy butterflies.

Before she had a chance to pick a fight with him and reassert the wall around her heart, the sound of static drew her notice. Still wasting no motion, Jarod reached for another, larger gadget that had been set up in a nearby tree. He flicked the contraption on and tiny LED lights flickered to life. Immediately crouching down again, he began to fiddle with the knobs on the radio. Parker dropped into a crouch beside him and watched his long, thin fingers work the controls. In a few minutes, after synchronizing both the transponder and radio frequencies, Jarod had them within the bandwidth he wanted and listened carefully for any signs of reception.

Dorado Iron Works - Present
Warehouse District
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Oblivious to Sam's increasing impatience, Norwood spun the receiver knobs with practiced care. Within another few seconds, the beeping sound of the frog's implanted transponder echoed throughout the warehouse. Synchronizing his radio to match the harmonics, Norwood lifted a tiny microphone to his lips and began speaking.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Nothing but silence greeted him. "Hello, anyone out there to receive, over." Again all was quiet. After another half-dozen tries, Norwood shrugged indifferently and turned to look at the expressionless sweeper. "Doesn't look like your friends were able to get their hands on the correct frequency. Either my police contact was unable to get the message to them or they don't know how to adjust the radio's frequency band."

"I seriously doubt that. Neither one is an idiot and at least one of them knows that I would do my best to make contact. Try again and if that doesn't work, think of something new and try that."

"Hey, now wait a minute. I'm not going to be ordered around like a flunky waiter hoping for a tip. If you want to take you're pretty little toys away with you, that's fine. What's going on here is technologically complex and mathematically intricate. Definitely not something your average boy scout would be able to accomplish."

As Norwood was reestablishing his mental superiority and prowess, a faint scratching came over the radio. With excited interest, Norwood looked over to find that his fingers had slipped and twirled the knob completely out of position. Slumping his shoulders, Norwood was about to return to his search when another thought came to him.

Wyman Cabins – Past
Lake Catherine, VT

Jarod adjusted the bandwidth on the transponder and tried again, synchronizing the radio to match the harmonics with little results. Without the frog, all he was doing was guessing and with the amount of frequencies to choose from, this could take a lifetime. He calculated the odds of the scientist even listening at a corresponding time and the chances were infinitesimal. With dimming hope, Jarod was about to shut everything down in frustration. His mind wasn't fully on this anyway. Reaching up, he tried to spin the knob to shut off the transponder but it slipped in his fingers. He was about to try again when Parker stopped him.

"Wait, I think I heard something."

"I doubt it. The odds are too high that we would be able to reach anyone without the frog as a beacon. We'll have to wait for a chance when we're together along with the frog." As he was saying this, a scratching noise came over the radio. Parker looked up at him and at his nod, picked up the microphone.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Crackling silence was her only answer. She was about to try again when the sound of distant voices greeted her.

With delicate movements, Jarod adjusted the transponder, and then excitedly adjusted the radio when the voices came over stronger and more intelligible.