Ten Minutes Ago

16. Another Attempt for Home and Preparation to Rescue One in Danger

"Oh!" Herb cried. "Please don't hurt me." He panted.

"Who the hell are you?" Diego asked.

"I'm Herb. I'm an analyst."

"I'm Diego. I have a knife. This is Guinevere. My wife."

Herb's breath trembled. "Yes, I can see." He gulped loudly. "It's very shiny." Diego removed the knife. "Oh." Herb inhaled sharply.

"Breathe."

Herb panted softly and smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Hargreeves, Mrs. Hargreeves."

"You know us?"

"Everybody knows you two. I mean, you're Number Two. You're a legend. She's a legend too."

"Really?"

"Mr. Hargreeves, Mrs. Hargreeves you can't be in here."

"Herb, is that any way to talk to a legend? Gwen chose not to take my last name." Herb shook his head. "You know how to work this puppy?"

"I'm certified to operate the ISB, yes."

"Good. I need you to look up a date: November 22, 1963, the assassination of John F. Kennedy."

"Unauthorized use of the Infinite Switchboard is a clear violation of company protocol 67D..."

"Don't be such a tight-ass."

"You don't understand. There's been a coup d'état."

"What's that? Cadillac?"

Guinevere chuckled softly. "No, dear."

"No." Herb huffed softly. "The Handler has taken over the Commission. This whole place has gone to heck in a handbasket, and people are disappearing. They would kill us all if they caught us in here."

"Well, you better get started before they come get us," Diego told him.

"One quick look, and then you gotta go."

"My man." He scooted back.

"Okay..." Herb walked closer to the switchboard and started pulling out woes. "Oh, no. Why would you... No, no. Bad." The switchboard powered down. "Don't hurt the timeline." He inserted various wires. "That's a rule... that I intend to follow." The switchboard powered up and machines whirred. "This one connects to that one..." Herb muttered indistinctly. "Okay." He turned a couple knobs. "Here we go. Dallas. November 22, 1963."

"This is it," Diego said, standing next to Herb. They watched JFK and Jackie Kennedy exit the plane and get into a car. "This is right before the assassination."

"Assassination?"

"Pay attention. The president is about to turn into Dealey Plaza. One more turn into Elm and they're gonna start shooting." A blue light shone from a building and it exploded. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell is that?"

"That's the FBI building."

"Yeah, but why the hell did it just blow up?"

"That's not supposed to happen?"

"No, that's not sup... He's driving away. They didn't kill him? Holy shit."

"Oh... Oy, that's no bueno."

"It wasn't a gunshot, it was an explosion we heard on the Frankel footage," Guinevere realized.

A reporter spoke. "...the attack on Dealey Plaza, as the Soviets deny all responsibility."

A second reporter said, "Moscow promises a fierce response in retaliation to American attacks."

A third reporter spoke. "Anchorage, Alaska, has just been decimated by the Red Menace!"