Chapter 7
"I still don't like it. With that much water around it the effect would be totally unpredictable!"
"Only as far as the electricity's concerned. It's the magnetic field we're interested in."
"And how are we making that field, Einstein?"
Connor sighed and rolled his eyes. He found himself wishing he were somewhere else yet again, anomaly or no anomaly. The suggestion to insulate the imploder against water damage so that they could put it in place around the anomaly had sparked an argument between Peta and Nigel that had been raging for the past half hour. Unfortunately Peta was arguing against the plan and, right now, she was winning.
"Okay, okay," Connor held up his hands to silence the two. When he had their full attention, he turned to Peta. "How about you get some diving stuff on and go down and have a look at it. If you think there's a better way to do it after you've seen what we're dealing with, then we'll talk about that. If not, we give Nigel's idea a go."
Peta opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She nodded.
"You're the boss," she said.
Connor and Nigel watched as she walked off in the direction of one of the huts.
"Do you think she'll find anything?" Nigel asked, peering through his spectacles.
Connor ran a hand over his face.
"I don't know," he sighed, "but at least it stops the bickering between you two!"
XXXX
Helen grinned across at the man gazing rapturously at the shimmering doorway they had just walked through.
"I almost forgot," she said, reaching up to pluck an apple from a nearby tree. "This was your first time through an anomaly, wasn't it? Well, first time through awake, anyway."
"It's amazing!" He replied, ignoring her rhetorical question. "Are they always like this?"
"Always," Helen nodded, walking over to him. She held out the apple and tipped her head to one side. "Hungry?"
He looked round and smiled, taking the fruit that was offered. He bit into it and chewed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"A deserted walled garden in North London. We're far enough out of the city that we can be fairly certain we won't be spotted arriving, or leaving, but close enough to find easy transport to wherever we need to be."
"Okay," the man paused, looking around him at the abandoned house and garden. He turned back to Helen. "Maybe this should have been my first question, but when are we?"
"Two thousand and seven. Sixth of July. Around about ten in the morning."
"That thing can't be that accurate!"
"There's about a twelve hour margin of error, but, judging from the clock I can see through that window behind you, I'd say we've arrived just a couple of hours early."
The man spun round to see that the anomaly had now vanished to give a perfect view through a downstairs window of the house. There was a large, old fashioned clock on the mantelpiece directly opposite the window. The time was indeed shortly before ten and, as he watched, he saw the minute hand move to the hour and heard the faint sound of ten chimes. He looked back towards Helen.
"So what now?"
"Now?" Helen replied, smiling and stepping forward towards the house. "Now, I think we should make ourselves at home."
XXXX
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Becker replied glumly as Abby walked up beside him.
"Did she sign it?"
Becker sighed and unfolded his arms, leaning back on them against the wall instead.
"She signed it," he answered.
"So we have a new expert on the team: a scientist, marine biologist and diver! Just what we need!"
"Hmm..." Becker's grunted reply was noncommittal at best.
"And yet the cheery side of your nature has yet to burst forth."
Becker glared at her.
"Go on then," Abby prompted.
"Go on what?"
"Explain to me," Abby said slowly, "what is so bad about having her on the team."
"She's arrogant."
"She knows her stuff and she won't be patronised. It's not the same."
"She won't follow orders."
"Neither will any of the rest of us."
"She'd obviously mad."
"Have you looked at the rest of your team lately?"
"She hates my guts."
"Ahhh..."
"What do you mean 'ahhhh'?"
"You like her."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I should have known."
"There's nothing to know."
"It's obvious now, of course."
"It's as clear as mud to me!"
"Obviously."
"You're being childish."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Oh dear. What a shame. I shall stop it immediately."
"Thank you."
"But I am right though."
XXXX
Connor was staring blankly at the computer screen when Abby joined him. Numbers flickered past and lines moved up and down on the screen, communicating their information in that secret language understood only by programmers. It took him a moment to register her presence, leaning over the chair next to him. When he did, he noticed that she looked serious.
"Where've you been?" Connor asked, pushing himself upright in his computer chair.
"Just winding Becker up," Abby murmured, watching Connor's face intently. She swivelled her chair round and sat down in it, dragging Connor's chair round to face hers.
"What have I done?" Connor's expression became suddenly worried.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked, watching his features for any hint of an answer.
"I'm fine," he shrugged.
Abby's eyes narrowed.
"You're lying," she said. "You're not fine. You're too quiet. You're... Different."
"I'm fine," Connor leaned forward and took Abby's hands in his. "It's just... Everything's different just now. I'm in charge of... Of a team. I've got people coming to me, ME, for orders and decisions and... I just... I hate it. It's no fun anymore. It's not me. I'm not the responsible one. I'm not the brave one. I'm scared of everything, me. Scared of flying, scared of heights, claustrophobic... The list goes on."
"You're also the guy who, in one day, took two trips in a jet aircraft, had a gun fired at him and shut himself in cupboard for hours."
"The other option was drowning and I did spend most of that time trying not to freak out."
"You still did it. And the rest. Connor, you are the bravest person I know. I mean: which shows more courage? To do something you're not afraid of? Or to be afraid and do it anyway?"
"But all this..."
"We'll get through it."
"Will we?"
"What d'you mean?"
"I heard you talking to Cutter, back in the ARC."
"Oh?" Abby tried to swallow but found her mouth was dry. "What did you hear?"
Connor shrugged.
"It just sounded like you weren't happy," he said.
Abby nodded and let her eyes fall to her hands, still encased in Connor's.
"I'm not happy," she admitted. "And neither are you. But that's nothing to do with us. It's just work. That's all. Sometimes," she looked up at him, "it just seems too much to cope with on my own."
Connor met her gaze, a frown creasing his face.
"You're not on you're own," he said quietly.
"Aren't I? Because from where I'm sitting, it feels like I'm losing you, Conn."
XXXX
"Happy now?" Becker enquired as Kate walked over to him in her dry suit, Peta by her side.
"More or less," Kate shrugged, pulling a face.
"Great! After all that and she's still not entirely happy!"
"I'll be happier once I've seen that fish you found from the other one and compared it with one I caught while I was down there."
Becker's head snapped round.
"You caught stuff?"
"Oh yeah," Kate grinned and walked on past him to the huts.
James Becker stood and watched her go, wondering what on earth he had let himself in for. She was an asset to the team, that was definitely true, but would she be more trouble than she was worth? His mind flashed back to the conversation with Abby earlier that day. It was true: he did feel drawn to her. That didn't necessarily mean he had feelings for her though: he barely knew her. She was maddening, infuriating and frustrating, but she was a part of the team now and he was stuck with her. He turned at the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from behind him.
"It's closing!" Nigel cried excitedly, waving his arms around like a mad semaphore operative. "The anomaly's closing!"