Manny's Mix-up

Part One

Manny was an idiot.  Everyone knew it, but Jake figured he’d tell Clarence the kid had done the jump without permission, that way he could plead innocence and the kid would be terminated – literally.

Jake was a fan of Mike McGee, a superstar in the late nineties.  Ordinarily, Jake wouldn’t take chances with the time jump system since Clarence was such a stickler for conformity, but he had been listening to Mike on his MP3 player for the past two weeks and was hit with a wave of nostalgia so strong that he just had to meet his idol. 

He also had a crush on the guy, something he’d never admit to anyone in the program because if they talked, Clarence would terminate him.  Clarence was a bigoted, old school guy who owned the system and didn’t give a damn about political correctness.  You would think in the middle of the twenty-first century intolerance would be a thing of the past, but you’d be wrong.

One day Jake grabbed Manny by the neck, hauled him into a room at the safe house and told him he had a job for him.  Manny had never jumped because, well, you know, so he was all excited.  By letting the kid go alone Jake was taking a big chance, but his lust for Mike McGee has grown to massive proportions and the pressure was unbelievable, so he was willing to take the chance and he knew Manny was willing to do anything to jump. 

Jake showed the kid a picture of Mike and Manny stuffed it into his pocket, then Jake briefed him on the do’s and don’ts of jumping through time.  He also gave him a small plastic baggie containing two roofies and told Manny how to use them.

“We’re only keeping him here for half an hour or so after he wakes up,” Jake told Manny.  “Don’t say anything to him, just slip these into his water bottle before he gets to the dressing room and wait.  It shouldn’t take long after he drinks the water and when he’s out, hold his wrist and snap your fingers.”

“But how do I get close enough to him?  I mean, doesn’t he have guards or something?”

“You’re gonna be in his dressing room when he gets off stage.”

“But what if he doesn’t drink any water when he gets there?”

Jake grabbed Manny’s shoulders and shook him.  “He always takes a hit when the show is over.”

“How do you know that?”

“I read Rolling Stone!  What do you care?  Hide behind something so he doesn’t see you and….”

“Yeah, I know, hold his wrist and snap.”

Jake let go of Manny and looked at the kid.  For a split second he thought of calling it off, but then the thought of Mike in the room with him overruled his better judgment.

“You remember how to set the time so you go to the right place?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I set the time in my mind.”

“Right.”  Jake handed him another picture.  “This is the room you have to land in.  Memorize it.  The date is June 7, 2003, twelve-thirty A.M. at Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York.  Got that?”

“Did you write it down?”

“Dammit, Manny, no.  We can’t leave a trail.”

Jake repeated the date, time and place again and had Manny say it back to him three times before letting the kid snap his fingers.  Jake hated trusting the little turd, but he was jonesing for this so badly that he didn’t care.  .

Mike McGee had been dead for years before Jake was born, but that hadn’t stopped the obsession from developing.  He’d grown up listening to the pop star and always thought he was attractive until adolescence, when sexual feelings for the dead rocker began to fill his head with fantasies.  Jake’s mom had been a big fan, as had his grandmother before her, so he’d convinced himself that the meeting was a tribute to his family rather than what it was – kidnapping for the sake of possessing his idol, if only for half an hour.

After Manny left, Jake was overcome with regret.  “Why did I send that moron?  He’s gonna fuck it up, I just know it.”

He thought of following the kid but that might make things worse, so he just stayed put.  He went to the living room of the safe house and sat on the sofa, trying to keep his mind on other things.  His thoughts kept jumping around in anticipation of seeing Mike McGee in the flesh and decided a beer would calm him down.

He got up and walked into the kitchen where he grabbed a beer, then smacked Maddie, the house maid, on the butt for good measure.  She looked at him with distain, but Jake never noticed.  He just took it for granted that women like that sort of thing, and besides, it maintained the illusion of heterosexuality he needed to keep his position on the jumper team.  He didn’t see Maddie pick up the knife and point it at his back as he walked away.