A/N: I decided to keep this chapter as it is right now and not divide it half. I am so nervous about my trip (I have to leave home in five hours) that I can't even concentrate on this. Gah!

I hope you enjoy still ^^

Chapter 7

The Lifeboat appeared to the present time.
"Thank God!" agent Christopher exclaimed and rushed down the stairs. Jiya was still holding her breath, she wanted to see both of the men alive before she could relax.

Wyatt stumbled out the capsule.
"Where have you been?" the agent asked worried.
"In 1830?" Wyatt replied baffled. Rufus crawled out right after him.
"I thought something had happened to you. What took you so long?"
"We searched the whole area for them but there were no signs of either," Wyatt reported. "We couldn't find them."

"Of course you couldn't. Flynn came back less than two hours after he had left there," agent Christopher explained. "When you didn't show up we got a bit worried."
"What? You got to be kidding me," Wyatt commented.
"And he is already in another time."

"You were right," Wyatt said to Rufus. "We wasted time back there. Damnit!"
"It's not a sure thing yet," Rufus stated. "Maybe he found whatever he was looking for a little faster than usually."
"I wouldn't bet on that."

"Uhmm, boss?" Jiya asked from her computer.
"Yes?" agent Christopher turned.
"Flynn is back."
"Well he is certainly jumping back and forth," Denise said and walked up the stairs. "Can you trace him this time?"
"I don't think so," Jiya said typing quickly. "The last two times it didn't work."
"We are too much behind him. Who knows what he's doing to our history."

"At least he's staying in US," Jiya added.
"How soon can we leave?" Wyatt asked, heart beating faster.
"Not soon enough," agent Christopher answered. "It will take time. And that's what we don't have."
"What can we do?" Rufus wanted to know.

Agent Christopher looked at the men. Both had been on their feet longer that would have been recommended, they looked worn out.
"Sleep," she said. "Get some rest. For the sake of Lucy, you have to be fit and thinking clearly when you finally come across Flynn and his men."
When Wyatt was about to protest she raised her hand to stop him. "That's an order, sergeant."

And so he obeyed.

During next 12 hours Wyatt and Rufus travelled, slept a while and travelled again. Flynn were jumping in and out of history timelines more often that the duo was able to follow. They even had to pass couple trips. Everyone were on edge when they couldn't accomplish anything. Once Rufus and Wyatt managed to spot Flynn on the scene in 1798 but couldn't catch him. Other times they didn't find anything about him.

Then in 1789 they finally met face to face.
"Where is Lucy?" Wyatt asked pointing a gun to Flynn who was also pointing his gun at Wyatt.
"What, did you skipped a trip or two? Didn't you find her yet?" Flynn smirked and licked his lower lip.
"You are bluffing."
"Am I?"

Wyatt hesitated. This is what he had feared, that they didn't follow Flynn's every move and therefore they would miss signs of her presence. Flynn took advantage of the other man's hesitation and shot first. Wyatt barely got out of the way by throwing himself sideways to the ground. He fired back and it looked like he hit Flynn but couldn't be sure.

The shooting caused panic among the crowd there and people were screaming and running. Wyatt lost the sight of Flynn in that chaos and cursed at himself. He had just lost his only opportunity to find Lucy.

* l * l * l *

"Doesn't he ever sleep?" Wyatt snapped and slumped to the chair in one of the meeting rooms in Mason Industries. He was exhausted, Rufus was too. And desperate.
"Apparently not," Rufus yawned and sunk deeper on his chair. "And neither do us, it seems."
"I can sleep when Lucy's back."
"It might take some time."
"I don't care."
"Maybe you should. The first thing she does when she gets here is lecture us about not getting enough sleep to function."
Wyatt sneered. "Probably."

Half an hour later they heard that Lucy's mother had appeared to the company's gates, worried about her daughter. No one had thought about what would happen in Lucy's life when she was missing. Agent Christopher had assured Mrs. Preston that Lucy had been assigned on a longer job.

An hour later the duo was called in. The Lifeboat was ready and Flynn was on the move. This time it was different.

"Why?" Wyatt asked Jiya who stared at the screen.
"He didn't stay on the continent," she replied. "He travelled to German. And the time doesn't match his earlier trips. Aaaand he's back."
"But didn't he just left? Like… 15 minutes ago?" Rufus asked puzzled.
"Yeah, he did."

"Something is up with this one," Wyatt deduced.
"But we can't catch him, he's not there anymore," Rufus stated.
"There has to be something special with this journey."
"Are you certain of that?" agent Christopher popped into the discussion. "You have to be absolutely sure because the next trip you are going to make will have to wait an eternity."
"Yeah, I am," Wyatt said determined.

"Well, what are you waiting for then? Go!" the agent commanded and the two men sprinted towards the Lifeboat, not bothering to change any clothes.
"Oh by the way," Rufus came to a halt while Wyatt climbed inside. "What's the date?"
"August 18th, 1810," Jiya answered and smiled at him. "Be careful, would you."
"Always," Rufus nodded and went in.