Chapter 11
Caitlin stepped out of the hangar with Sinjin and looked about. The sky was partly cloudy and air felt warm. She noticed the airfield was empty of any craft and the tarmac was riddled with weeds and cracks. The hangar needed a new coat of paint and a tall chain link fence surrounded the compound. She winced, "This has seen better days."
"We closed Santini Air down a few years ago." he nodded in agreement. A developer wants to buy us out and build a condo here. We thought Sam could use it to develop her engine in the meantime. But now…I'm not sure we should sell it." he confessed.
She asked, "Why did you close it down?"
"Movies have changed since the 80's, Cait. They use computers for special effects now and well…stunt pilots are expensive so they went with the cheaper option. Air travel isn't like it used to be. TSA requirements, overhead cost and the lock downs kind of put an end to it. We closed for good in 2020."
"Hate to see it like this." she told him. She figured the large pickup truck was her ride. She climbed into the cab and found the interior was different than expected. The console had a large screen in the middle and the dashboard was all digital. She noticed the steering wheel had controls as well.
Sinjin got behind the wheel and turned the key. He put on his seatbelt and motioned, "Better put on your seatbelt, Cait."
"Why?" she wondered why it was so important as she grasped the belt and buckled it.
"The newer vehicles will ding louder and louder until you put it on." he informed. "Annoying as hell."
"Ah," she figured the must be some kind of alarm on the vehicle. She noticed the dashboard lit up and the large screen displayed a picture of what was behind the vehicle. She pointed, "That's neat. Did you install a camera?"
"Came standard." he informed. "It's a 2019." he informed.
She sat beside herself, "One minute I'm driving my jeep and next minute I'm sitting in a truck that won't be made until 2019. This is incredible. String has seen you? Seen all this?"
"He hasn't been outside the hangar. He comes, talks to me about the project or mission and goes back. He avoids leaving the site." he explained. "Maybe he doesn't want to see it. Dom spent three days outside. He's seen it."
Caitlin stated, "No wonder he has Sam pretending to be his daughter. He can keep an eye on her when she is with him in our time."
"I came up with the cover." he informed. "I thought it would be best to pass her off as his daughter than his great niece since String knows Joe and who Dom's relatives are. I was hoping to slip one by him. Didn't work! He saw right through that! Sam is a Santini. Looks just like her mother. Got my mom's nose through."
Caitlin added, "She has String's nose."
"He got mom's nose too." he grinned. He began to drive down the road.
Caitlin noted, "Things look different. I don't recognize some of these stores and some of these buildings weren't there before."
"Been some development over the years. You have jumped nearly 40 years into the future, Cait. Things will look different."
She took in the surroundings. As they passed a strip mall she noted the names of the businesses, "Target?"
"Kind of like a Kmart." he informed.
As Sinjin got on the highway Caitlin could see further out around them. She squinted, "Is that huge store Wal-Mart?"
"It's a super center." he nodded.
"Yikes!" she winced. "That's scary."
She noticed he took an exit and started down a road away from the business sector. She then saw the cemetery up ahead. She knew Dom had relatives in that cemetery. She gulped. "Where are we going?"
"I'll show ya." he stated. He pulled into the cemetery and drove to a newer section. He parked before two headstones.
Caitlin looked at the headstones and stated, "Dom and String."
"Nothing has changed yet." he told her. "They are still not with us and the dates remain the same. I don't know how time travel and timeline theories work. All I know is Sam is back in the past and nothing has changed yet and I don't know why. I thought it would instantaneous. But it's not and I can't explain why."
"Have you asked Sam?" she pondered.
He shook his head, "She's got enough to worry about already."
"How about String?" she wondered.
He chuckled, "How do I ask him why he still died three years ago?"
Caitlin stated determined, "We will figure it out. I knew something was up but I wasn't sure what. I'm glad you showed me this and told me what is going on. I can help."
Sinjin warned, "Do not tell the FIRM. They cannot know about Sam's discovery. They will weaponize it. Then there will be leaks and others will get it and then we end up with time wars and well…I fear what that will look like."
She agreed, "No one can know about this. Especially the FIRM."
Over the speakers of the truck a ringing sound occurred. Caitlin looked about for it sounded much like the ringing of a phone. She watched as Sinjin pressed a button on the steering wheel, "Yeah, Jo." he answered the call.
"Sam just called me and said you are coming home and have younger Caitlin with you." she stated.
"I have to get my coin collection." he told her. "We found one of the quarters that Sam spent in 84."
"Caitlin is here with me." she countered. "Our Cait! 22 Cait!"
"And?" he asked.
"Should they meet?" she asked concerned.
He stated, "Sam said it was okay. No canceling each other out or anything like that. Not sure what they will say to each other."
Older Caitlin's voice could be heard in the background. "I can tell young and dumb me a few things."
"See what I mean!" Jo huffed.
He suggested, "If you don't think it's a good idea then you two go out for a minute or two while I get my coins."
"Fine!" Jo agreed. "Cait and I will go get ice cream while you and…84 Cait get the coins." she disconnected the call fearing what could happen if Caitlin met herself.
Caitlin asked, "What do you think I was going to tell me?" She then listened to her words. "What did I just say?"
Sinjin chuckled, "When Sam writes her 'Explorer's Guide to Time Travel' you can help her."
She added, "I think we will all help her with that."
Soon they pulled into the driveway. Caitlin only saw the back of her own head as Jo pulled out of the driveway in her car to go get ice cream. She felt strange knowing she missed seeing an older version of herself by mere seconds.
"Come on!" he offered. "I'll show you around." he climbed out of the truck.
Caitlin followed and noticed the lovely home. "This is nice."
"Thanks!" he grinned. "Sammy and I build a lot of it. She's pretty good with tools." he bragged. "She milled the parts for her engine right there in the hangar."
"I can use power tools too." she bragged herself. "And a mill!"
"I know." he agreed. "But even today most contractors are guys."
She miffed, "Are women still in the kitchen?"
"There are more women doctors and lawyers now and more women pilots." He then grinned, "And I have got to introduce you to Youtube. There are all these women and men who have cooking shows they do themselves." He walked up to the front door with Caitlin in tow, "Today's kids are all a bunch of foodies. Maybe they should have kept Home Ec on the schools." he laughed.
Caitlin asked, "They removed Home Ec?" She walked inside and looked around the nicely decorated home. She noticed the big black screen on the wall in the living room. "What is that thing?"
Sinjin turned the TV on. "It's a television." he informed.
She gasped, "Dom outta love that!"
"Oh' he does!" he assured. "He sat here watched a movie with us. You were there too."
"Wow." she gasped amazed. "It's like a movie theater screen right on your wall."
"Yup." he agreed. "String never watched TV. He never bothered with it." He then pondered, "Neither does Sam. She doesn't watch TV either."
Caitlin stated, "I did notice that Sam and String are a lot alike at times." She then blushed, "Of course I also thought she was a disgruntle 16 year old too."
He joked, "Nah, just a miserable millennial." He went to the nearby bookshelf and retrieved the large folder of coins. He opened it up and showed Caitlin, "This is what she needs."
Her eyes grew wide, "How is she going to pass that off as a collection from my time? That folder is huge."
"Don't know." he agreed. He removed the coin for New Hampshire and placed it back on the shelf. "Hope I get my coins back." he confessed. "Come on, they will be back soon and we still need to make a McDonald's run." He led her back out the front door and back to the truck.
Caitlin settled back into the passengers seat and buckled the seatbelt. There was so much for her to take in. As they started back down the road she wondered, "How do kids pay for things in the future? Sam said she didn't have pay app. What is that?"
Sinjin reached around his middle, retrieved his cell phone and handed it to her. He informed, "Just about everyone has a cell phone nowadays. It's a mini computer with a radio all in one. They can connected bank accounts. The apps are applications or programs. She normally pays for stuff using a computer program on her phone. She can't do that in 84. So, she got some cash out of her account not realizing the dates were all off and the bills had changed. Most kids use pay apps. Hardly anyone use cash like we use to use." He recalled, "We hardly ever used a credit cards. Now, heck…they even got virtual currency…coin."
"What's that?" she asked.
He winced, "Well…many think it's the answer to the inflation. I think it's a trap. Those who don't know how things actually work will fall for the traps."
Caitlin wondered, "What does older me think of this…coin thing?"
"You never bring it up." he shrugged. "String hated it! Said it sounded too much like something the FIRM would come up with."
"What does Sam think of it?" she wondered curiously.
He shrugged, "Don't know. She's an adult and can do her own finances."
She agreed, "I will have to keep telling myself that she is not sixteen." She noticed a familiar golden arches up ahead. Finally, something familiar. One thing she did enjoy as a cop was her cup of coffee from McDonald's on a late shift. She blinked as they pulled into the drive-thru. The white building with red top and gold trim was gray and brown. It didn't look anything like McDonald's to her. "This is McDonald's?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yup."
"But it looks so different." she countered. "Where is the clown?"
"Haven't seen him in years." he agreed. "They re-branded themselves to compete with Starbucks."
"You mean that dinky coffee house on the corner?" she asked.
He nodded, "They are huge now."
"Really!" she soured. "The coffee is terrible."
They pulled up to the order window and Caitlin could see the whole menu on a digital screen.
"Welcome to McDonald's. Will you be using your app today?" the young voice asked.
"No!" Sinjin huffed.
"Can I take your order?" the voice asked.
"I need a Mocha and a cinnamon roll." he started. He looked to Caitlin, "What you want again?"
"Coffee…two creams and two sugars." she stated looking over the menu.
"Coffee, two creams and two sugars." he repeated.
The voice asked, "What size?"
Annoyed Sinjin huffed, "Regular!"
Caitlin added, "I'll try a baked apple pie and a blueberry muffin."
He added, "Apple pie and a blueberry muffin. I'll have a number 1," he looked at his watch, "Make that two number ones and a number three…" he grinned as he ordered his brother a meal he would surely complain about.
"What to drink with the meals?" the voice asked.
"Coke." he replied still grinning.
"Your total is $48.56. Please drive around." the voice replied.
Caitlin gulped, "Fifty dollars! Holy!"
"Well worth it to see the look on String's face when I hand him a quarter ponder with cheese." he laughed.