Chapter 1
Thomas's Further Adventures; Time Jumpers.
The two men at the front stoop were dressed in formal suit and black tie. The Jersey midsummer humidity did not seem to bother the visitors.
“ Mr Anderson, We are from the State department, on official business. This concerns you and your Wife and son” Harry Anderson in his seventies, eyed the two visitors suspiciously, The heavy set one pulled out his wallet showing his official badge and Identification in an aged leather holder . The second agent did the same. Harry looked at the documents, scratched his chin, He addressed the taller of the two.
“What can I do for you?”
“We have important information we have to discuss with you, You could start by inviting us in.” Harry glanced at their black minivan parked across the street. Heisted a moment, wiped his hands on his trowsers, he had been planning on doing the lawn.
“Ok, sure, one minute while I tell my wife” Harry turned and called into the kitchen,
“June, we have company, they say its official business, won’t you join us. ”
They heard the response from inside,
“What do they want, if they are selling anything, we don’t need any”
They don’t look like bible thumpers, their credentials look legit, Harry reasoned. OK let’s see what they’ve got.
Agent Malone as the heavy set one, Agent Dyson his partner.
“Come on in” Harry invited, “But ignore the mess, our cleaning lady comes Thursdays, He laughed as his wife walked in, June, this is Agent Malone and Grayson”
“Dyson” Came the correction. Both men were offered coffee both declined. The place was cozy enough, a small townhouse in a suburban setting, Harry was successful in real estate dealings, and set aside enough for a modest but pleasant home. It was big enough for his wife and whoever might be using the guestroom. At the moment it was his son’s kids.
“So now you gentlemen have met my wife. We are minding the grandkids, but that should not concern you”
Almost on cue, the back screen door slamned shut. A young boy ran in, dressed in shorts t shirt and sneakers, he hardly gave a hello, as he ran up the steps to the guest room.
“That’s Mike my older grand son, he’s good at shooting hoops. I’m sitting for him while his dads out of town, business.” The Agents who had traveled a long way, from DC up to Jersey,
wanted to get down to their case at hand. First some background, It was Agent Richard Dyson who spoke.
“Mr and Mrs Anderson,”
“Harry and June”
“Harry and June, What we are about to tell you will sound fantastic but believe us, it is true.” Not a good start, thought Harry who glanced at his wife.
“Everything we are going to reveal to you, is at the moment classified information” Harry could see by Junes slight frown, that these guests were treading thin ice.
“It would be better if we were all sitting” Said Agent Malone,
“Why don’t you start at the beginning” Suggested Henry,
“Why are you here, and what do you want from us?”
“Just a few questions. Really “ Said Malone.
“We are gathering information to finalize a report” He glanced at Harry then at June.
Knowing what he was going to say would sound ridiculous.
He looked squarely at Harry an proceeded.
“On September eleventh two thousand and one, you were in New York?” Harry looked at June, and then back at the two men. It was something that he use to talk about a lot, the miracle of G-Day, as it had come to be called. The day of the great revelation. Harry was right there, with June that September Morning. But this was not news, He had already been interviewed by dozens of News sources. Maybe it was some time, a few years later, that he stopped talking about his experience. His friends had heard it a dozen times. Time took it’s toll on the memory of the day, now it was just a yearly celebration, to add to the September listings. Yes June and Harry had been transformed on that morning, but they were sharing the experience with about a hundred and fifty others on the observation deck. There were videos of the day, saved now on the internet. But they could only hint at the feeling of awe, of actualey being there to witness the huge figure forming in the headwaters of the Hudson. Harry and June had front row seats atop the Towers.
“You know, you died that day” Said Agent Malone.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Yeah, you and your wife, and about three thousand others were killed on that day The Towers were destroyed” June shot Harry a worried look. The Twilght Zone theme from the old TV show ran through his mind.
“Yeah well, it’s been nice, Thanks for dropping by, let me show you gentlemen back to the door.. now, did you say, Agent Muldar ?” He started to raise from his seat.
“So right now you are figuring us for crazies. I can’t say that I blame you, but we have the proof to back up every word we tell you. Please be seated, Reluctantly Harry sat.
“ You saw this Giant…”
“Angel” June filled in. A thousand feet tall and bathed in golden shimmering light.
“This giant angel, tell me, did it look in any way familiar to you?” Harry though a second.
“Nope” Why do you think it would?”
“Because that was your son Thomas” Came the staggering reply. Harry was getting angry and was not going to hide it.
“I’ll give you five minutes to start making sense, before I kick you both out ” It was Dyson who spoke.
“On September 11th 2001, the World Trade Towers were destroyed with three thousand people. Two commercial airlines were hijacked by trained terrorists, and they flew them into the buildings. That is a history that occurred and then was erased by the events you witnessed.
“Do you recall the Day of the”Occurance,” there was reported an explosion in Virginia. Nineteen scientists and workers were killed. The reason I bring this up, is that the doctor who ran the facility left extensive notes, before his passing. His words are his testiment. He had a covert project, called Project 9/11. He documents meeting your son, Thomas, at a presidential function given for those who experienced loss in the horrible attack. Apparently we speculate it was your sons artwork that spurred on the Scientist his drawing was found in the document“
“An attack that never happened” Interjected Harry.
“Exactly” Agreed Agent Malone. “According to the doctor, it was your son who foiled it.
“Doctor, Menachem Mendle” Malone mispronoucnced his name.
“Discovered a way to change the course of history, with his fabulous invention. It was he who orchestrated your son, to save the buildings” The sprinklers could be heard going off in the back yard, somewhere a dog barked in the distance.
Agent Dyson who had been carrying a yellow manilla envelope opend the end and pulled out a glossy black and white 8x12 It showed the front of the Institute with the staff lined up for a group picture. In the center was Dr Mendel and his daughter Leah. And next to them stood Nan, June’s sister, and in the front a very young looking Thomas. The color drained from Harrys face, looking at the picture, he handed it to June who stared at it blankly. “Nan?” She said. Her sister looked like that twenty years ago.
“What is this?”
“It’s a picture from an alternate time line” Malone explained. “It was your son and Dr Mendel from the start. Apparently the Doctor lost his family at the World Trade Center attack. They were up there with you. The Doctor came up with a formula that allowed him to build a time machine. He sent your son back to save you and his family”
“But we saw a giant angel” June protested
“And you expect us to believe this?”Harry spoke up. June did not know how they got Nan involved, or how the child looked very much like Thomas, but their story was ridiculous June thought to herself. Seeing her sisters picture in a strangers possession was startling, she missed her sister.
“For all we know, the picture may be a fake, and we don’t have any reason to believe your story. What proof do you have?
“Project 9/11 was a top secret operation, Only those involved with it knew of it.” Sliding a newspaper clipping from the envelope Malone handed it to Harry. It was the Doctors obituary. 9/11/01 it mentioned the explosion at the facility.
“The Doctor died at the explosion at the facility, at the time they were conducting the One chance they had to save the World Trade Center. What you remember attests to the success of their experiment.”
Harry’s face grew dark, It was not making sense. How could Thomas watch himself on Television and not know? No this was too much.
“Lets get to the point, what do you want with us?” Here it was Dyson who spoke.
“We are here to recruit your son.to serve the Government again. According to the Doctor, he was perfect for the position” Harry stood up.
“I have no say in what my son does or doesn’t do. He’s a grown man. And has never mentioned anything at all about any of this. I really don’t know why you want to speak with us. You’re barking up the wrong tree” Harry reached for his wallet in his back pocket. The agents involuntarily checked their reaction.
“I have my sons card. Why not just contact him yourself. He should be back by Friday. He’s living over in Springfield, just a few communities over”
June watched as Harry, with great reserve, escorted the Agents toward the door.
“Mr Anderson. We thank you for your time, we will indeed be in contact with Thomas, we actually have an interesting proposition for him, one with significant financial reward. ” With that the agents stepped back out into the muggy mid summer heat. June’s interest was peaked but she remained quite.
What do you Think?, Asked Agent Malone, Dyson shrugged his shoulder. Dr Mendels formula set definite age peramiters He knew what he was doing .Thomas would be needed to mentor his son.
“It is Mike we should be recruiting.” Malone nodded as they walked back to their car wading through the deep humid air.
