The Shadows of London by Nick Jones

Author:Nick Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2022-01-18T23:21:56+00:00

Part 4

19

My stomach lurches at the sudden shift in location. We’ve landed outside. The day is painfully bright, and the shrill sunlight doesn’t do anything for my hangover. I shield my eyes against the sudden onslaught of light. In front of us is a dark-bronze statue of a winged man holding a bow. Traffic streams by: taxi cabs, flatbed trucks, buses, and cool-looking classic cars that I recognize. Acrid exhaust fumes mix with cigarette smoke and the odd whiff of food and perfume. There are people everywhere—men in sober suits, women wearing smart coats and short dresses. London is buzzing, vibrant, and instantly familiar.

“Piccadilly Circus,” I murmur. I hold up the silver watch. Vinny and I wait as the three dials rotate independently and eventually settle.

Calibrating

4:33 p.m.

September 1, 1962

“Whoa,” Vinny gasps, “I can’t believe this is 1962! This is . . . this is . . . unreal.” He spins like an excited puppy. “Look at that man in the bowler hat! Those taxi cabs are familiar, but those cars . . . Look at what everyone’s wearing . . . And the shops! Ooh, do you think that’s a snack bar?” He settles his attention back on me. “You actually are a time traveler.” Incredulity dawns across his face. “And so am I.”

“Breathe, Vin,” I tell him, “nice and deep.”

He leans his hands on his knees, inhaling and exhaling aggressively, as though he’s trying to hyperventilate. “Gotcha. So what happens next?”

“According to Brown, my watch is like a GPS. It’s going to guide us to something he called a waypoint.”

“What’s that?”

I try to remember what my blackmailer said. “I think it’s either something we need to see, or something we need to change, to help solve the mission.”

“So which way do we go?”

I check the watch. “I don’t know yet. It just says calibrating. I guess we have to wait.”

I let our new reality soak in. There is an undeniable wonder in standing smack bang in the middle of 1962, especially now that I know I can get home again. But then I remember what happened to Lucy Romano, and the risk to Amy and my family if I don’t fix it.

“What’s the date again?” asks Vinny, interrupting my thoughts.

“September 1, 1962.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “You know what? The Beatles are about to record ‘Love Me Do’ at Abbey Road.” He screws up his face. “It’s unbelievable, flipping unbelievable.”

“And it’s nine months before my first jump, when Lucy got shot.”

“It’s a bit like vinyl, isn’t it?” Vinny says. “You’ve got the whole album, and you can skip around on the tracks. It’s like you landed on track three last time, and now we’re on track one. Does that make sense?”

I think about it. “Actually, it makes total sense.”

“It means she’s alive now,” Vinny says. “And we’ve got plenty of time—we’re almost a whole year early!”

The watch beeps. Its face updates to Jump Time Remaining and begins counting down immediately.

“It’s nine months before she was shot,” I clarify, “but we’re only here for two hours, seventeen minutes.

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