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  "I love you too, Dad."

  A jolt of electricity streaks through Dad's body, my consciousness ripping away from him.

  Play Ball

  Addison looked up from the desk, struggling to re-enter present-side, his limbs convulsing, then relaxing, as the fiery bolt of pain from the stun gun dissipated. A woman faced the door, gun raised, ready to fire. A large man in a silk polo shirt and slacks, black hair slicked down, filled the entryway, a baseball bat in his hand.

  The woman's hands shook as she took a step back. "Get away from me. I'll shoot. I will!"

  "You won't shoot me, girl. I've come to give your Inker boyfriend a present." He nodded in Addison's direction.

  Addison spoke in a haze. "Jules?"

  Keeping her gun pointed at the large thug at the door, she turned her head to acknowledge his return, a tremor in her voice. "Addison." The man used the distraction, stepping toward her, bat raised to strike. She must have sensed his approach, turning to face her attacker. "Stop!"

  She closed her eyes, pulling the revolver's trigger, its blast deafening everyone in the small room. The man jerked back a step, a bullet slamming through his chest, embedding itself in the wall behind him.

  "Damn bitch." With one hand he swung Addison's Louisville Slugger. A second blast caught him in the left leg, but his momentum carried the bat through, knocking the gun out of Jules' hand. He stumbled against a bookcase, using the shelves to pull himself up.

  Addison, now fully back from his inking, stood, a baseball-sized paperweight in his hand. The man, his eyes bulging in rage, blood spreading across his chest and leg, reached to his waistband, flipping open a switchblade. "Goddamn Inkers!" He waved his knife at Jules, who stood paralyzed in fear six feet away from her attacker.

  Instinct led Addison to grasp the paperweight, two fingers across invisible 'seams', holding the object loosely like an egg. As if standing on a pitcher's mound, Addison went right to home plate, the paperweight catapulting from his arm with ferocious velocity and dead-on accuracy. Hitting the man in the face, the fastball crushed his eye socket, bone splintering with a loud CRACK, as shards drove into his brain. He dropped, as if a puppet master had loosed the strings, his blade bouncing across the rug.

  Jules stood in place, her whole body shaking. The paperweight containing a tiny model of the old Space Needle sat embedded in the man's skull. He lay crumpled on the floor, blood pooling around his head.

  "Jules?"

  Addison picked up the knife and his revolver, setting them both on the desk. He turned back to Jules, who stared at the dead man's grotesque face.

  Addison stepped in front of her, blocking her view. "Don't look."

  Her face shifted from shock to panic to rage. Her arms flailed at Addison. "What have you done? What have you gotten me into? He could have…he almost…Addison?"

  He let her hit him. "I'm sorry, Jules. I didn't know."

  "What do you mean you didn't know?" She pounded on his chest. "You handed me your fucking gun. Of course you knew."

  "I didn't expect," he nodded to the corpse, "him."

  He drew her close, her body tense, pulling away, only to melt into him, her sobs soaking him with tears.

  She kept her face pressed to his chest. "Who is he?"

  "I don't know. But I think it’s the same Inker I ripped from Charlie Taylor. Dad was right. Cameron must have sent him."

  "Your uncle?"

  "Yeah. I guess I know my enemy now."

  Addison walked Jules into the kitchen to get some distance from the dead man. He opened a couple of beers, handing her one. They sat on opposite sides of the island counter. He sipped his beer, leaning toward her. "You okay?"

  She gulped half the bottle, then with shaking hands, pulled it away from her lips, her eyes swollen with tears. "Yeah, I guess."

  "You were awesome in there. Really."

  "I was so scared. I…I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did."

  "Well, you did fine. Anyone would have been scared. Hell, I was scared."

  Jules examined her bottle's label, absentmindedly pulling a corner away. "So, what now?"

  "Now I go see Maya and you go home."

  She stopped picking at the label, took another swallow of beer, then placed her bottle back on the island, turning it slowly with one hand. "No, that's not going to happen."

  "Jules, you can't come with me."

  "I thought you were losing it, the PTSD coming back. I was wrong. I can't say I understand what's going on, but whatever it is, it's real."

  "Very real and very dangerous. Which is why you've done enough."

  "You think I'm going to let my fiancé stand up against a bunch of goons all by himself? We took that guy out together and together we'll handle whatever comes at us."

  Addison stepped around the counter to her. "I can't let you do this."

  She rose, her eyes fixed on his. "You and who else is going to stop me?"

  Addison sighed. She almost sounded like the Jules he had known. "I'm not going to get rid of you, am I?"

  "Better get used to it."

  He took her hand, a part of him wanting to get used to having her around, the other part knowing for the sake of the world and his friends, their relationship couldn't survive. He made a point of keeping the love he felt for her in this continuum at a distance, but he didn't know how long he could keep those feelings away.

  Jules leaned over, looking back toward the study. "So, what do we do with, you know, the body?"

  Under normal circumstances having a dead guy in your study with a paperweight in his head covered in your fingerprints would be a serious problem. However, these circumstances were well beyond normal. Going to prison for murder paled in comparison to losing reality to a monumental time continuum shift.

  "The body? Trust me, Jules. The dead guy is the least of our worries."

  He ushered her out of the kitchen through the foyer. Reaching for the front door he hesitated. If this guy got in the house, what's outside the door?

  "Something wrong, Addison?"

  They could stay in the house, lock the doors and windows, hole up in the study, gun at the ready. I can't hold my consciousness from this continuum at bay forever. If I'm going to fix this mess, I've got to risk it. He glanced at Jules. We've got to risk it.

  "Addison?"

  "No. Nothing at all." He opened the door, stepping outside. No gunshots. No thugs with baseball bats. No knife wielding assassins. "Looks like a beautiful day, Jules."

  In the driveway a black tarp had been draped over his father's old car, the red AutoPod parked behind it. Jules stepped over to the car.

  "You ever drive this?"

  "I doubt it runs, but Dad sure loved that car." His father could never part with his faithful Citroën, apparently in multiple time continuums. Instead of scrapping the outmoded gas-fueled car, he threw a tarp over it with visions of doing a restoration one day. The rusting heap still sat awaiting a miraculous resurrection. Addison wondered if he'd live to see the day.

  “Remember your Mustang, the Silver Bullet? I should have listened to my mom about getting in cars with boys.” She smiled, he thought she might have blushed a little.

  He didn’t remember ever calling his car ‘Silver Bullet’, but he did have a clear memory of its demise. “It got totaled. You know, with Beth.” He could still hear screaming, metal scraping and tearing on jagged rock as they rolled down the embankment.

  "Beth Gallagher? The redhead who’s always writing in her journal at da Vinci's?"

  Beth is alive? "You've met?"

  Jules, hands on hips, scowled playfully. "Oh, my God! You're still on about a threesome."

  "What? No. I was just…never mind. I thought you meant something else."

  "Like what? You telling me you don't remember our first time in the Silver Bullet?"

  First time? Oh, first time. "Yeah. Sure I do. It's just that we need to get going."

  He took her hand, an almost unconsciou
s action, guiding her to the passenger door of the egg-shaped, red AutoPod, balanced on two wheels. Getting in, momentary confusion washed over him, his consciousness weakening. How easy it would be to simply let go of the old continuum, the new rushing in like the tide. He took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts, walling off his mind from the inevitable. Remember Beth. Remember Jules in Peru. Remember.

  "You okay, Addison?"

  "What? It's nothing. Just…remembering."

  Speaking aloud the coordinates on Maya's business card she had left in the file, he commanded the AutoPod to engage, leaving it in automatic mode. If the card was accurate, Maya lived in a condo near the Astro Spire. The small, silent vehicle auto-piloted them away from his house, pausing when the Ballard drawbridge rose up, stopping traffic while a fifty-foot sailboat glided past below. From the bridge, they could see crisscrossing lines and rigging of the fishing fleet enjoying safe harbor in the fresh water side of the Ballard Locks. Moving swiftly toward downtown, he had the feeling of being on a conveyor belt, the AutoPods doing an orchestrated dance which kept traffic flowing at a constant rate. The vehicle slowed, and a woman's voice announced their arrival.

  "Arriving at destination. AutoPark in ten seconds."

  Ten seconds later their AutoPod piloted into a condominium's underground garage, and into a space. A click below their feet signaled that the charge connection had been established.

  He reached for a console compartment where he had placed his revolver, but thought better of it. Jules would probably freak out. Plus, guns had a bad habit of turning arguments into life-or-death struggles. He wanted to be sure he understood who was on what base before he started pulling a trigger.

  Maya lived in a new building, all steel and glass and modern furnishings. Taking the elevator to the foyer, a hip-looking twenty-something building manager dressed in black, greeted them as the door opened.

  "Hello, Mr. Shaw."

  Addison paused. "You know me?"

  The manager wore a metallic, semi-translucent sweater which shifted patterns and color to coordinate with her surroundings. Underneath, a skin-tight lycra body suit communicated every bump, dimple, and curve of her body. "Know you? The garage ID'd you, silly." She smiled, winking as if in on his joke. "I love your AutoPod. Did you get the full entertainment package?"

  "Entertainment?" He searched his mind to make some connection to AutoPod entertainment packages.

  "My girlfriend got hers all sexed up. Incense, vibra-massage seats, transonic sound system, the satnav with a gorgeous English guy telling her where to go. Oh. My. God. It's amazing."

  Addison struggled to keep his attention on her eyes while she spoke about her friend's sexed up AutoPod. He had lost himself, meandering the supple undulations of her body, when Jules' elbow brought him back. "Well, I, uh, I'm looking for, uh, Maya. Yes, Maya Sepulveda."

  "I'll check-in with her for you." She tapped her ear. "Maya, Addison and," she turned to Jules, "who are you, dear?"

  Jules responded in a flat tone through her frown. "Jules."

  "Yes, Addison and Jules are here to see you." She looked over at Addison, smiling again. "Yes, I'll send them on up."

  She stepped toward Addison, placing a small black ball the size of large pea in his hand. "Here's a sphere, Mr. Shaw. Have a great day."

  Addison walked to the elevator, the black object in his hand. The sphere he got at Grimes' activated as soon as he touched it. This one sat inert in his hand.

  The girl laughed. "You're a hoot. Throw it up in the air, silly." She made a tossing gesture with her arm.

  Addison looked at his sphere, and with nothing to lose, tossed it into the air. The small ball hovered in front of him, turning blue, then green. An upbeat tenor voice filled the space.

  Thank you for visiting the Puget Sound Condo Habitat, where the sky is the limit for your life and your life style. Ms. Maya Sepulveda awaits your visit, Mr. Addison Shaw and Ms. Julia McCullough.

  Jules frowned. "It's Jules."

  Please forgive me…Jules. Did you know that life is better when you protect your AutoPod glass with Hyper Clear? Get your AutoPod coated today. And if you mention the Puget Sound Condo Habitat you'll get 10% off your Hyper Clear coating and a free latte from our exclusive espresso bar.

  The elevator doors opened to a stone path through a fragrant garden of antique roses, the blossoms unfolded in shades of white, yellow, orange, and red. Among the roses, water cascaded down a rock wall into a pond so clear, Addison could spot trout lurking under lily pads. A man in pink and black spandex smiled as he strode past, his Labrador retriever following closely behind.

  Please exit the elevator to your right. Ms. Sepulveda's door is number four-zero-seven.

  Addison and Jules followed the small green sphere through the garden until it hovered at Condo #407.

  We have arrived at Ms. Maya Sepulveda's habitat. Would you like me to announce your arrival?

  "What? Uh, no thanks."

  Remember, Ugi Sushi, the best nigirizushi in the Northwest. Mention Puget Sound Condo Habitat and get two for one unagi and ika. Thanks again for visiting the Puget Sound Condo Habitat.

  Addison knocked on the door, standing with Jules, waiting. A lock released and the door opened to Maya's quizzical face.

  "Addison. Please, come in."

  She sashayed casually away from them wearing a short silk robe and Addison imagined, nothing else.

  "I knew you'd change your mind once you spoke to your father. I remember when you inked Thomas a few years ago."

  Leaving the sphere hovering by the entry, they stepped into her condo, the door closing behind them with a click. Addison picked up a small sculpture of a female nude on the entryway table. "You mean Tommy?" He couldn't hide his conspiratorial smile.

  Maya flushed. "You certainly spent long enough with me naked in the doorway before deciding to let me know you were there."

  Heat rose in his own face with the memory of Maya's curving form at the bedroom door. "Well, yeah. Look, I just didn't expect to see…you. Not exactly what I meant. I mean I …" He nervously fondled the statue.

  Jules reached over, releasing the figure from his grasp. "We don't want to wear it down to a nub now, do we?"

  "What?" He hadn't realized what he was doing.

  Jules set the figure back on the table. "And did you say 'naked in the doorway'?"

  Maya looked past him to Jules. "It's okay. It happened years ago now." She smoothed the fold of her robe across her breasts. "So, I'm not the enemy?"

  Addison focused his eyes on her face. "You're not the enemy. But why didn't you just tell me everything from the start?"

  "You needed to hear it from your father. It wasn't my place." She looked at Jules, and back to Addison, speaking as if Jules wasn't in the room. "Is she…?"

  "An Inker? No. But I've told her everything."

  "Everything?" Her tone hardened. "And why would you do that?"

  "I trust her, Maya. I need someone I can trust."

  "Well, you have me for that now, Addison." She turned to Jules. "Dear, I know you want to help, but this is way outside your limited life experience and very dangerous. If you really care about Addison, you'll run along."

  "And just who are you to tell me to get lost?" The two women stood inches apart, antipathy seeping from Jules.

  He stepped between them. "She's staying, Maya."

  "No. Not possible."

  Jules pushed him aside. "Excuse me. For your information, neither of you can tell me what I can or cannot do. Am I clear?"

  Maya glared at her.

  Addison's lips curved into a veiled grin. "Loud and clear."

  She poked a finger toward Maya. "And for your information, I stand guard with loaded weapons ready to kill," she glanced over to Addison, "to protect those I love. So, no Maya, I'm not going anywhere and you don't get to decide one way or the other."

  Jules and Maya stood face-to-face, both tensed and ready for a fight. Addison changed the subject, hoping to focus
them on something other than each other. "Maya, maybe we should be thinking about how to stop Cameron."

  Maya broke her stare with Jules, walking past them toward the kitchen. "I know you think of him as Uncle Cameron, but trust me, he will destroy us all to protect his power. If we don't stop him, we can kiss reality as we know it, goodbye."

  "No, I believe you. He sent one of his enforcers to kill me earlier today."

  She gave Addison an assessing glance. "I see you survived."

  Jules chimed in. "I shot the bastard and Addison finished him off." Addison could, in her voice, hear adrenaline still coursing through her.

  Maya raised an eyebrow to her. "Did you, now? Well, it's good you were there." She turned back toward the kitchen. "What did you do with the body?"

  Addison followed her. "Nothing yet. I wasn't sure what to do."

  "I've got someone who can take care of it for you. We don't need the police getting involved while we're trying to deal with Cameron. Which reminds me. You spoke with him last and, as you know, I'm not exactly on his list of favorite people. Any thoughts about how we could approach him?"

  Addison stepped into the kitchen, arms crossed. Jules stood behind him. "The last time I spoke to Cameron, he assumed you'd contact me in order to steal Renascentia. I'm supposed to let him know when you call. He's probably planning on showing up with some of his security people."

  "That's good." She stood in the middle of a glass and steel kitchen, tapping her nails in thought on the side of the refrigerator. "Yes, we can use that. But first we need to protect the other pens."

  "But if we stop Cameron first, we won't have to protect the other pens."

  She touched an opaque turquoise door of her refrigerator, which went clear, allowing her to view its contents. Maya leaned over, studying each shelf, her robe rising up smooth, firm legs. Addison glanced back, meeting Jules's glare with a nervous smile.

  "Dear, Cameron's more than one man. He has an organization. We might cut off the head, but the beast will continue to flail around, taking out Inkers in the process." Finding what she was looking for, Maya tapped the door, which slid open, and reached in for a small bottle of orange juice. "No, we go after the remaining Inkers first."