Rebel in Time

Rebel in Time Harry Harrison

First published 1983, reprinted 1988. ISBN 0-586-05579-7

For Josephine Spencer in fond memory of Kenneth Spencer and Bill.

Chapter 1

The Capital Beltway wraps Washington, DC, in a concrete noose. Its six lanes of traffic swing wide through the forest land of Virginia, brush the outskirts of the dormitory town of Alexandria, then cross the Potomac into Maryland. Land is cheaper than in the District so that office buildings and pollution-free factories have been located here, appearing suddenly in forest clearings. Exit 42 branches off in this area and leads to a divided highway. But just before the stop sign there is an unmarked country lane that disappears away among the trees.

The old Pontiac rumbled out of this Beltway exit and turned down the lane. Just around the first bend there was a large, white and windowless building. The driver took no notice of this nor of the sign above the entrance that welcomed him to Weeks Electronics Laboratory 2. He drove past it and continued along the lane until he was out of sight of the building. Only then did he pull off into a roadside clearing and kill the engine.

After emerging from the car he carefully pushed the door shut behind him, instead of slamming it, so that it made no sound. Then he stood with his back to the fender, looking at his wristwatch, oblivious to the first glorious russets and golds of the autumn foliage around him. He was single-minded and intense, with all of his attention concentrated on the watch. A casual observer would have seen a man who was a bit over six feet tall with a not unhandsome face, although his nose was perhaps a little too sharp for his features. However, his smoothly tanned skin, his brown hair just touched with grey at the temples, gave him a most distinguished air. His forehead puckered as he stared intently at the watch; a familiar expression that had left a permanent cleft between his eyes. He was dressed in a nondescript trenchcoat, dark blue trousers and black shoes.

He nodded with sudden satisfaction, pressed a button on the watch, then turned and walked off among the trees. He moved quietly, but swiftly, until he reached an oak tree that had been blown down by a storm — quite recently because the leaves were just beginning to droop. Then he eased himself down on to the ground and crawled for at least fifteen feet in the shelter of the tree before climbing to his feet again and hurrying forward.

Less than twenty yards further on, the grove ended in a grassy ditch that ran along the base of a chain-link fence. Beyond the fence was green parkland interspersed with occasional clumps of trees; a corner of the Weeks Electronics building was just visible through the foliage. The man started down into the ditch — then drew back quickly to the cover of the trees. A moment later a uniformed guard holding a German Shepherd on a short leash walked by on the other side of the fence. As soon as they were out of sight the man hurried forward again, down into the ditch, pulling on a pair of leather gloves as he went. Without stopping he swarmed up the fence until he stood, balancing on the top, just below the double strand of barbed wire. He flexed his knees, extended his arms to keep his balance, then jumped smoothly over the wire to land on the other side.

Then he ran, head down, fast, aiming for the nearest clump of trees. But before he could reach it a jeep raced into sight, cutting sharply across the grass, braking to a skidding stop before him. The guard seated beside the driver had his carbine raised and aimed at the intruder who stopped, then turned slowly to face him. The guard looked on in silence as the tall man lifted his arm slowly, glanced at his watch, then pressed the button in its side.

'Exactly six minutes, nine and three-tenths seconds, Lopez,' he said. The guard nodded expressionlessly and lowered the gun.

'Yes, colonel,' the guard said.

'That's not good, not very goddamned good at all.' He climbed into the back of the jeep. 'Let's get to the guardhouse.'

They drove around the laboratory to a low building that was concealed from the road by the larger building. A group of uniformed men stood beside it, watching in silence as the jeep arrived. A grey-haired guard with sergeant's stripes on his sleeves stepped forward when the vehicle ground to a stop. The colonel stepped down then pointed to his watch. 'What do you think of six minutes, nine and three-tenths seconds from the time I went into the woods from the road until the time I was intercepted?'

'I don't think very much of that at all, Colonel McCulloch,' the sergeant said.

'Neither do I, Greenbaum, neither do I. I was halfway to the lab before the guard turned up. If I had been an intruder I could have done a lot of interesting things in that time. Do you have anything to say?'

'No, sir.'

'Do you have any questions?'

'No, sir.'

'None? Aren't you interested in how I got as far as the fence without being detected?'