The Scientist's Cultist

vii - prey.

- - - - - - AUGUST 31, 2023 - - - - -

St. Petersburg, Florida 11:00 p.m.

"THEIR FLIGHT JUST took off," said Liam, his voice crackling through the phone. "We should hear something from our field operatives in a couple of days, assuming they successfully received Ivan's message."

Paul picked at his beard. His doubt wasn't about Ivan's success at sending the message but about the field operatives' ability to perform. June was book smart, yes, but was she street smart? And Theo, well... Paul had forgotten Theo existed until he was informed the boy would be taking Rowan's place.

"I'm starting to wonder if Martin was the right choice to replace Ryan," said Paul. "You can't send just anybody on a mission this important."

"The kids had a connection to Ryan that Martin has been unable to emulate yet," said Liam. "It's possible they are doing anything they can to maintain control over what they see as their experiment.

Liam's words gave Paul pause. Liam had brought up quite a fascinating point that Paul should have thought about before. The directors had decided as a group to keep certain aspects of the mission a secret from the students, but maybe this had inadvertently inspired conspiracy amongst them. "Do you truly think they would go against authority this way?"

"Ryan's departure was a sticky situation," explained Liam. "I would not be surprised if not everyone agreed with the change. The initial report from the inside operatives indicated that there have been no notable changes made to the timeline. There was only one discrepancy reported and it seems almost trivial."

Paul did his best to remain calm, though he was already imagining the worst. "What was the discrepancy?"

"The victim was not mutilated. It sounds like Jack must have been interrupted."

"Huh," Paul thought aloud. The team wouldn't lie about a detail that specific, would they? Perhaps he was reading into this too much. Or maybe that was exactly what they were hoping he would think. "Keep an eye on them and let me know as soon as we've made contact with June and Theo. I want to be the first to know of any information they've learned."

"Yes, sir," said Liam. The line went dead.

Paul sank back onto the couch and let out a long sigh. It was growing more difficult for him to hide how much he had put at risk to push this mission through. This experiment was different from the others, and it needed to go off without a hitch. The students didn't understand that quite yet, but they would. And if they insisted on causing a scheme behind their backs, then Paul would just have to handle the situation himself.

- - - - - - AUGUST 31, 1888 - - - - -

Westminster, London 4:30 p.m.

IF JUNE BELIEVED that there was a heaven on earth, the London Library was hers. It may have been over 100 years old in their timeline, but it was only about 40 years old in this one and equally as stunning. A domed ceiling stood at least a hundred feet above them, held aloft by dozens of pillars engraved with meticulous arced designs. Work desks and chairs were scattered around the main room, many of them occupied. Light shone into the space from massive windows. And, of course, there were the books. They stretched as far as the eye could see on bookshelves so tall you needed a ladder to reach them.

"Ho-ly shit," Theo said, beside her, enunciating every syllable. "This place is—"

"Incredible?" June finished. "Yes, I know."

"Can I help you find something?" An older woman with snow-white hair asked from behind a monstrous front desk. June didn't blame her for asking, since she and Theo likely looked ridiculous standing in the middle of the lobby with their jaws on the floor.