His datapad buzzed. Colonel Taylor jumped out of his chair and grabbed it. The message read: “Mission failure. JFK assassinated.”
A bold move by an enemy that grew more intrepid with each strike. A decade ago, “time travel” was still science fiction. Now, the past was considered the most critical covert battleground since the moon. Time, or “phase,” travel was building its own list of unknown heroes. Timeslingers. Agents who fought their way through history to protect the present.
And today, the wrong guys had won.
The datapad buzzed again. Incoming call from Brigadier General Ethan Falko.
“Sir.”
“Is this a mistake?”
“No, sir.”
Falko swore. A long silence followed. And then, “This has far-reaching implications. What happened?”
“We’re not sure yet.”
“What were they after?” asked Falko. “This just for show or is there something more?”
“I don’t have the details yet. My gut tells me this is only a preliminary strike.”
“For goodness sake, Bill. A president! If they can pull this off, what else can they do?”
Taylor ground his teeth. “They’ve never attempted anything this bold before–”
“So they caught us with our pants down, is that it? Clean this mess up. The XLS is gaining ground politically. They bank on chaos. This is going to give them another foothold. We can’t let this get out. Don’t let something like this happen again. When can we go back?”
“We’re still running scenarios-”
“The security risk is off the charts. Get it under control. I don’t have time to hold your hand. I’ve got…other things that need my full attention. Send me a report. And tie up your loose ends.”
“Yes, sir.”
Falko ended the call. Taylor fumed. Not more than three seconds later, the colonel’s datapad buzzed a third time.
He grabbed it and growled, “What is it?”
“We just picked up another XLS transfer signal, sir. They’re moving again!”
I’m all up to date now and I’m really enjoying what I’m reading and seeing! Keep it up!