"Do you have steel toed boots?"
"Destination?" the coin said in the background.
Greg shaking all over, his mind reeling at what just happened. For a second time that day, the use of the time coin had shocked his mind. He turned to the newcomer and took a step back. The old man was about his same height, and was wearing a dark green cloak like something out of a Lord of The Rings movie. Beneath was a three-piece grey tweed suit. The man noticed Greg's stare and looked down at his over garment.
"It's good camouflage, especially for someone in one of those fruit trees waiting for you," he said. The man spoke English well enough, but a very slight accent could be heard. He unclipped the clasp at his throat and removed the dark green article of clothing. He had a smart leather satchel under one arm and began to fold up the cloak.
"What just happened back there?" Greg said.
"Well, since we are standing here talking, I guess it means we pulled off the second greatest crime in history."
Greg stood still, not understanding. "What was that thing? Why did it grab me?"
"That was what they call an Enforcer. It grabbed you because you were about to do something you shouldn't have, and it was sent to stop you," the man answered, placing the cloak in his bag.
"Who are you? How did you know that I'd be there? I don't understand what's going on. What crime are we committing?"
"You are going to have questions pouring out of your ears, I know," The man said, taking the reigns from him. Greg felt as if he had a slight case of psychological shock. "Things will come together as we go along, you will see. Right now, the thing to remember is that I am here to help you; to save you from a pitiful existence. My name is Vega."
"Vega..." Greg repeated back. "I'm Greg."
"Hello Greg. Now, I already know my plan was a success, but it's a long way from done. So, let us get on with it. Do you own steel toed boots?"
Greg glanced at his feet. "No. Why? What does this have to do with saving me? Who sent that thing after me?"
"How about money? The Snow King had lots of money hidden away with that coin, right?" Vega said.
"Snow King?"
"Oh, that is just a nick name the Keepers have for him. He is considered the greatest thief in all of history. He is the only other person to do what I am doing now. At least that I know about...
"This coin," Vega said pointing upward, "was stolen by him without being caught. No small achievement, mind you. The Keepers thought he might have been from the snowy north, and hence his moniker."
"Yeah, I have a pack full in my closet," Greg whispered, picturing the stuffed rucksack.
"Good, let's go and grab some so we can buy you a pair like mine," he said pointing to his own shoes.
Greg's head was swimming, his numb feeling not yet gone.
Was this really happening? Was the man he saw lose his life on the side of the road really this Snow King?
Greg gazed at Vega and saw the aged man's confidence. It's strange, Greg's mind derailed from the present situation, how this guy looks so youthful, despite the obvious signs of aging. Greg noticed half an ear was gone on the old mans left side...
"Tell the coin where a safe place to insert us would be," Vega coaxed.
"Oh," Greg said and pulled the Snow King's journal from his back pocket. He flipped to the back. "July 28th, 2015. 4:18 PM. 1418 Finnie Street, Grass Valley, California," Greg recited, and then mockingly added "United States, North America." He was starting to feel better.
The coin spoke back. "And the exact placement?"
"Put us in the backyard. We have a high fence..."
"Placing you in five seconds."
"Let me see that," Vega said, taking the book from Greg's hands after he caught the coin. Greg relinquished it easily and started for the back door. Vega followed.
"So, he kept a notebook..." Vega said flipping pages. "This is very dangerous. If the Mistress got her hands on this... And you wrote your spot in the back! That is a poor idea. You must remember each time, young man. It may be hard, but it is the most important thing to remember. If someone got a hold of something like this, it could ruin everything."
"But no one has, so I must be doing okay," Greg said, following the same logic Vega had a moment before. He led the way into his bedroom and opened up the rucksack. He stopped for a second and threw a bundle of Canadian bills to his new partner. Something clicked in Greg's mind.
"You said you rescued me," Greg said to Vega, "from a poor existence, or something. Is that what happened to my brother? He used a coin and never came back."
Vega was peaking into the burlap covered painting and smiling. "Beautiful. You will not want to lose that. Hide the journal anyway, just to be safe. Go ahead, use the coin, I'm ready." He put his hand on Greg's shoulder.
Greg complied and the female voice gave her greeting.
"You are dodging my question," the younger of the pair said. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"North America, Canada, Toronto, at least five blocks from a boot store. Keep the current time," Vega instructed the device.
"Insertion point will be in an alley 3 blocks northwest from the requested establishment. You will be placed in five seconds."
The pair appeared and began to walk. Vega looked up at the sun to determine which way was southeast. The pair continued to converse as if they had not just jumped over two thousand miles in the blink of an eye.
"I want an answer," Greg demanded.
"I'm just a traveler searching for a time coin of my own," Vega said. "If I happen to do a few good deeds along the way, that would be a windfall. And I'm giving you a huge bonus. I'm saving you from something akin to life in prison."
"So that's what happened to my brother!? He committed a time crime, or something, and the time police arrested him?"
Vega laughed. "It's not as official as all that. They are not police. More like a corporation or university that has a monopoly on time travel. So crime is a very subjective way of saying that he went against them."
"And what do you want a coin for? Can't you just use mine?" Greg asked as they walked down the windy street.
"Oh, the debt must be paid. They must recover that stolen coin you have in your pocket. Once this mess is cleaned up, and they have no idea it was a patchwork job, I will be in the clear. Then, I will go on with my business," Vega explained. "That book you had, it has the location of the third coin in it?"
"There were three X's on the map," Greg said. "I would assume that there might be a third coin since there were coins in the other two treasure stashes."
"Well, three were stolen and two were recovered." Vega said. "Ah, here we are," he said locating the shop.
"How do you know all this?"
"I had some first hand information from the present."
Before Greg could continue his line of questioning, they were in the stillness of the boot shop. The Asian man behind the counter greeted them as they came in.
"We need some steel toed boots." Vega announced. The shop owner led the way to the back of the store, then into the racks, where example footwear sat displayed atop stacks of boxes containing various sizes.
Greg whispered to Vega, who marched on with a pleasant smile on his face, "What's with the boots?"
"We are going to have to bring along some heavy equipment to pull this off," Vega said in a full voice and smiled to the shop assistant. "Well, go ahead. Try some on!"