"You must think of things in terms of motivation," Fenton Osorio said, as he brainstormed ideas with Andrea in the parlor of his home. "Every man has something that motivates him to do the things he does. Others have used classic motivators throughout time to get their agents to do their bidding: money, religious principals, sex, pride, morality, and personal gain... Think of your own situation. You are trying to prevent an event that will occur in the present because of a survival instinct. We must put ourselves in the shoes of this man and see what he will move them for."
"You said, he and his friend disappeared four years ago and only he returned. We should find out what happened to his partner, the enigma." Andrea said.
"Now I see why you made it through school so quickly. You have strong reasoning skills," Osorio said. "That seems to be a good place to start. When I talk to him, I will have to enquire about his friend. Another more obvious motivation might be transport. Last time, it seemed as if accepting our Supervisors offer was an easy way for the pair to travel to the past, but they could have accomplished the journey themselves eventually, if they wanted. We were just a shortcut; one they were willing to take because they thought they were leaving for good."
"Yes, there has got to be somewhere he wants to go. We tell him to do our task and in return I will take him anywhere he chooses with my coin!"
Wasting no time, Andrea and Osorio used the coin to jump to the ally behind a pub where their long shot hope was last seen. It had not taken the pair long to find the transient. Andrea stood in the doorway of the pub while Osorio approached and spoke with Vega.
From her vantage point, the pair appeared to be about the same age. Yet, there was something different about the transient's face. There are miles there, Andrea thought. Vega's hadn't shaved and grey hair was left uncombed, but his three-piece suit was impeccable. A satchel hung over one shoulder, remaining in place even though the man had been drinking all morning in booth. The contradiction in looks between the man and his clothing was like a homeless man driving a Jaguar.
At the arrival of a visitor from the present, Vega switched to water and paid close attention. From across the room, Andrea could see that the proposal they had devised was on the right track. A break in the conversation had both men turn and look across the room at Andrea. Vega nodded and the two men continued their intense discussion.
As Fenton finished his pitch, Andrea, the true genesis of the proposition, noticed how correct they had been in their construction of the plan. Vega looked susceptible. He was obviously not as stable, at least at present, as the stories Andrea had been told of his friend, the enigma. The careful guarding of the bag he wore also seemed significant, but Andrea was not sure why. And finally, his change in demeanor, from the look of a drifting soul to renewed sharp concentration in a matter of a single conversation, spoke volumes. She knew before Fenton Osorio handed over his pocket watch, which tracked the passing of time in the present, that Vega was their man.
The pair got up from the booth and walked out of the dimly lit pub. Andrea followed, taking the role of Fenton's assistant.
"Now you understand, we need you back here to confirm that you have instructed the boy on exactly what is expected of him. He must comply if he ever wants to free himself and his brother from the place they will be held," Fenton pressed. "If you are successful, we will take you to use the flash cloner."
"I understand," the transient said. "I will meet you in the park, at Speakers Corner, in half an hour. I will be ready to go then."
The two men exchanged nods and the group split up going in two directions.
"That's what he wanted? To use the flash cloner in the present?" Andrea whispered once they were a block away.
"You were right to ask about his friend. It seems that is who he wants to clone. I suspect he has a piece of him in that bag he carries."
"He was guarding it closely," Andrea agreed. "Are we going to actually take him there?"
"I haven't decided yet. I told him to find the fourth coin. If the brothers knew where at least two of them were, he should have the boy help him find last one and use that to come back to us here in 1904."
"What if the boy doesn't know where it is?" Andrea asked.
"Then he should continue on with the plan of telling the boy to convince his brother to say nothing at all costs. And if they keep their secret we promise to release them in time. Vega seemed motivated enough by the information on the last coin and the Snow King that he would take the job for us."
"What if this doesn't work? What do we do then?" Andrea said.
"If Vega does not come back to us with the last coin? That would mean the boy did not know where it was. We can still hope that he can convince the boy to say nothing when they interrogate them further. But you must be prepared to face this head on. If you can bring the last two coins to the Mistress, she may consider keeping you around."
"I have considered that," Andrea said. "She did save the Enforcers. Perhaps she will have a soft spot for another paradox..."
"You said the Enforcer was stunned," Osorio said, changing the subject.
"Yes. He did not return from the grab immediately. A stunner was dropped when the Enforcer marched back with the boy."
"Like this one?" Osorio asked, half exposing the anachronism she had seen.
"I will never get used to loops like that..." Andrea said, confirming Osorio's question. "Why do you have that here, in the past?"
"Well, I would never be able to use a firearm from this age, and I felt the need to carry protection. It is only from a hundred years in the future, so it hopefully wouldn't cause that much of a stir if it was found in my home when I die."
Andrea laughed at the old man's childish reasoning. He passed the device over and Andrea stuffed it in her dress pocket.
"Go to the park and bring him to 2002. Return to my home and we will wait to see how this game plays out," Osorio said.
Andrea nodded and split away from her co-conspirator, hoping in her heart she would not have to face the woman who's likeness adorned the coin around her neck.
The transient, now wearing a green cloak and appearing much more put together, stood beside her without warning. Andrea jumped, placing her hand on her chest. She took a moment to calm herself as she stood in the middle of the open grassy area on the corner of Hyde Park. Vega remained still, regarding the girl, and she returned his stare. There were so many things she wanted to ask this seemingly average looking man, but for the success of her quest, it was best to not say a word. And there was no time left to waste on her whims. Andrea pointed to a bank of hedges and the pair walked over.
She stopped once she was satisfied with the amount of concealment they had from the general foot traffic passing the Marble Arch area.
Vega placed a light hand on Andrea's upper arm, again startling the girl.
It took Andrea a moment to realize why he had prompted the contact, but she maintained control over displaying the trepidation she felt.
This was only her third time using the coin, and her first transporting someone with her. She knew that when using a coin travel device, as opposed to the other Keeper variants, there were parameters placed on the mass to be pulled into the temporal mid-point vortex upon device activation. But the cerebral fact and the physical action had not yet been connected for her. Andrea nodded, and drew the coin from its hidden place and prepared to spin it to the high revolutions required for the coin to be activated.
Vega's eyes were on her the whole time, studying the event intently. This was not his first time being transported by a Keeper, but was still a novel event for Vega.
Andrea snapped her fingers and the coin leapt into a furious spin.
"You have activated this travel device. Please state where in time or space you would like to go," the coin spoke, suspended in mid air, still on the end of the chain around Andrea's neck.
"Just a moment," Andrea said, and turned to her passenger.
"Take this," she said,
handing the device over to her senior. "I will place you ten seconds before the boy arrives in the exact same spot. A shock from this should incapacitate the Enforcer for five seconds or so. You must remember that the Enforcer should have no reason to report anything that went wrong. The smallest disruption will avoid the need for it to call for preemptive support. The Enforcer must maintain control of the boy and think it was an accidental shock."
"I understand," Vega said, looking over the device. "Are all the travel coins on chains like that one? They must be spun to activate?"
"Not all are on chains," Andrea answered. She was surprised by Vega's voice; soft and with a slight accent, rather than gruff and British. He spoke more like the people from her adopted time than the old version of English from their current time. "The travel devices you will encounter will be free coins, similar in look to mine. Flip them with a thumb to activate."
Vega nodded. "Is there anything else?"
"No. Just watch the passage of time in the present. If you want to use the clone creator, you need to bring the third coin back to us in time. So, try not to tarry in finding it, then return as soon as possible."
"Oh, yes."
"Final tip, you could come right back to this time and the watch would tell us how many hours had passed in the present, even though it would be a moment for us here. It helps preserve the continuity in everyone’s mind, that when you return to us here in London, you come back the same amount of time that it takes to complete your task."
Vega nodded as Andrea spoke their destination.
He steadied himself, prepared to be inserted back into the Arrow of Time, to a field of orange trees in Southern California, in the summer of 2002.
CHAPTER 27