Meet the old boss

I am walking down a street. Rows of three story terraced buildings line the road on both sides, some are offices, some are homes, as I pass a bank I look down through black painted metal railings into what is a basement apartment, I can see a young woman dressed in only a shirt making breakfast in her kitchen, my shadow passes over her and she looks up smiles and then steps back out of view. It is early morning and the sun is breaking above the roof tops sneaking through the gaps peering out from behind chimney pots and warming me. I stop a man who walks toward me dressed in a business suit and bowler hat, "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Drunks," he spits at me. "National bloody service would sort you out."

"Well - please could you tell me the time?"

"After seven," he shouts back as he continues on his way. "Time for normal people to go to work, bloody layabouts."

"Thanks - thanks a million," I continue down the way. A little further on and I can see a sign on a street that joins from the left, it reads 'South Audley Street' and in smaller red lettering below 'City of Westminster'.

"Ok so i am in London on a chilly morning." I say to myself and anyone else who is passing by and cares to listen. Adding. "Why?"

"Why, indeed." Says a man who is now stood beside.

"Oh hi," I say a little startled.

"Hi," says the stranger. He has a warm face with a large smile that beams out at me, he rubs his heavily stubbled chin and pops a cigarette in his mouth. "You got a light man?" he asks me.

"Errr sorry no - I don't smoke."

"Ok," His thick eyebrows tighten down a little from below his mop of unkempt black hair. "No sweat, I know there is a shop around here somewhere."

"Yes I think I passed one back there," I offer pointing back towards the bank.

"Cool, thanks man." The stranger turns to walk away but then stop and looks back at me, "you ok kid?"

"Funny I was just thinking the same about you," I offer a smile looking at his grubby T-shirt and faded jeans. "Do you always walk about without shoes and socks?" I ask.

The stranger laughs looking down at his bare feet, "not always, I just forget sometimes."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."He says and then draws deeply on the unlit cigarette.

"It may seem like an odd question."

"That's cool, I am used to weird stuff. But can we do this as we walk I am desperate for this ciggy."

"Addicted eh?" I laugh.

"Like you wouldn't believe, come on kid I think I remembered that the shop is down at the bottom or Curzon Street"

We begin to walk, "My name is Tavis," I say.

"Hello Tavis, I am Keith. So what was the weird thing you wanted ask me?"

"What is the date?"

"That's not a weird question my friend, in fact it is one I ask myself every time I wake up." He slaps his arm across my shoulder and chuckles. "Looks like we both had a heavy night last night eh?"

"Something like that," I say - great I have to pick the one person in London who is even more clueless than myself so I broaden my question. "Ok do you know what month it is?"

"Wow, you have been on a big one. You must know Harry?"

"Harry?"

"Yes chief - Harry. Hes a serious boozer, he looses months when he is on a bender. I am staying at his place just back down there."


"No sorry I don't know him. Just the year will do then, do you remember what year it is?" I offer in desperation.


"Give me minute mate, well I went to this do last night with Paul, so it must be September 5th 6th I think or something close, but defo 1978 is that any goood?." Keith for the first time since we met stops smiling and looks at me with a worried look. "Listen kid, its fun to have fun - booze, drugs, but just take care this shit grabs hold of you and before you know it it can really screw you over."

"Oooh thanks Keith but its not that, I have been traveling and I am just a little disorientated."


"That's cool, jet lag eh."

"Something like that." We cross a narrow lane that disappears down behind a terrace and I glance at the strange squat metal bins that sit beside the back gates to these properties some are gathered together in groups like pods of alien robots deep in discussion.

The streets are beginning to get busier as people scurry about running for buses, hailing taxis. Most ignore us, but some stare at us or say hello to Keith, sometimes passing comment as they hurry along. Keith smiles pleasantly nodding and avoiding eye contact wherever possible.

Two pretty young things sidle up to us, they stop and block our way, "Hi Keith," they giggle.

"Ladies," Keith replies, "Listen would either of you have a light?"

"Yes Keith," the blonde one replies taking a box of swan vesta from her handbag and handing it to him. He lights his cigarette and offers to return the box "Would you sign it for me?" She asks.

"Sure," Keith inhales deeply and I watch the red tip glow and burn quickly down through the white paper. "You got a pen?"

It is the turn of the non blonde to giggle and hand him a pen, she blushes as Keith smiles, his eyes twinkle with devilment as he notices her reddening cheeks. "So what are you two doing today?" He hands back the signed match box and the pen.

"Working," the girls say in unison.

"Pity," Laughs Keith. "You two have a great day."

"We will," They chuckle as they totter away on wedges, occasionally looking back at him over their shoulders.

"Onwards and upwards," He laughs adding. "But unfortunately not with those two."

"Are you famous or something?" I ask him.

"Yeah something like something. Now lets find that shop." He takes one final puff from his cigarette removes another from the pack within his jeans and lights it before discarding the spent butt. " Lets keep our heads down Tavis or we will never get there."

"Ok."

"Quick march," Keith bellows loudly, instantly alerting everyone on the block to our presence. I tilt my head down towards the ground in embarrassment, pretending I am not really with him as he links arms with me and begins to goosestep along the pavement.

Predictably less than ten paces on and we are blocked again. "Ok buddy you got a pen and paper and I will sign it." Says Keith curtly

"It is not your autograph I want. - It is his soul" The man points to me.

I look up to see the familiar hooked beak and sinister smirk. "Drufus."

"Good morning Tavis." Drufus is dressed smartly in a business suit accesorized with a leather brief case and a 9mm that he pulls from his jacket pocket and points at my head.

Keith spots the gun and turns, running away he shouts. "Leg it Tavis."

Drufus lines up the gun on Keith and as he does I kick him squarly between the legs, the gun drops from his hand and I turn and charge after Keith expecting at any moment to be hit in the back by a bullet. Keith ducks down an alleyway and I am hot on his heels less than a single pace behind him, we run down to the bottom taking a right and then we dive behind a row of bins and sit on the floor panting. Keith whispers to me,"I dropped my ciggy can you see it?"

"No." I say attempting to keep my breathing and voice as low as possible.

"A friend of yours?" Once again Keith smiles that broad beam of a smile.

"Are you not scared?" I ask. "That guy is a psycho. He would kill us in the blink of an eye."

"Like I said man, life is weird. I just take it as it comes, but believe me I like to give it back and then some."

"Ok - OK, Can you see him?" I ask.

Keith lifts head above the line of bins, " Naaa nothing, hey but I can see my ciggy." He stands and walks across the alley to pick up the smouldering shaft of tobacco he dusts it down and pops it back into his mouth. "It's cool kid, we have shaken him off.

"It's never that easy with Drufus." I stand and as I do a gate on the opposite wall of the alley opens and a small Chinese guy sticks his head out and beckons us in. "This way Tavis - quickly before the monkeys return."

"Hi," says Keith as we pass through the entrance into the back garden of a house and head towards the rear of the building.

"This way," Whispers the Chinese guy. "You will be safe down here Tavis."

Keith looks at me, "so are you famous of something?"

"Or something," I reply smiling at him.

"Could you ask your friend if he has a spare box of matches and a drink would be good," Keith whispers to me as we enter a small basement flat.

"He is not my friend - I have no idea who he is."

The Chinese guy closes the door and bolts it, he turns to us, bows slightly and introduces himself, "I am Benjamin Constance and I have been sent to help you Tavis."

"Hi," I say, adding."This is Keith and before he asks, do you have a light and possibly a drink?"

Benjamin leads us through to a sitting room that is lit entirely by candles. "Help yourself." He indicates to a multitude of burning candles and the many boxes of matches scattered about on shelves and on a coffee table positioned in the centre of the room.

"Thanks man," says Keith picking up a book of matches from the table and trousering it. He then reaches for a bottle of Bowmore single malt from a shelf, removes the cork and takes a long swig. He offers the bottle to me. I decline."Listen guys, I must be getting back, my old lady Annette will be wondering where I am."

"Ok," I say and shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you to Tavis. - Very trippy - you take care. Hey look," Keith points to todays newspaper on the sofa. "Look at the date it is the 7th of September, I was very close Tavis."

"Yes, you were, thanks Keith. You have a good day."

"Oh I will Tavis. Today will be the best. Everyday is the best they always are." He takes another swig of whisky, removes a role of twenty pound notes from his pocket and throws it onto the table, "For the whisky, something to keep me company on my way home." He gives me that big smile again and then turns to Benjamin."Now then Ben my old mate can you point me in the direction of Curzon Place?"

Benjamin Constance shows Keith to the front door and the steps that lead up and onto the busy street, giving him brief directions home he bids him farewell and returns to me in the sitting room and asks. "Do you know who that was?"

"Yes sure I do, it was Keith." I slump down into the soft cushions of the sofa. "Now tell me,who sent you to look after me?"

Boys Toys

8.6 light years from Earth hidden in the enormous glow of its larger and brighter sister hangs a white dwarf know as Sirius B, 20 miles above this stellar sibling and its boiling gasses hover 5 globes arranged in a perfect circle creating a crystal crown for this once majestic star.

The five members of The Assemblage of Eternal Travelers are deep in conversation, they have been to this place many times choosing to use it knowing that the incredible forces of nature that are taking place below work as an ideal mask, camouflaging them and their discussions from unwanted attention.

"So what of Tavis and his sister?" Asks Professor Stemme the owner and occupant of globe number one.

Mr Hartdegen answers. "They are safe for now hidden within the void."

"Good, and McFizzer?"

"He is keeping a watchful eye on the pair."

"From a suitable distance I hope." Chuckles Professor Stemme from within globe one.

"Oh yes, Professor, he has orders to be discreet and to only observe from as you say a suitable distance."

DoubleDay the dweller of globe three speaks. "How much do they know Mr Hartdegen?"

"The brother and sister only know what we had all agreed I would tell them and that appears to have been just enough to make them comfortable with the situation - most importantly they still have no idea of how critical they are to our plans, and McFizzer as ever thinks he knows everything when in reality he knows absolutely nothing."

Professor Stemme rotates his globe slightly to face directly towards DoubleDay. "How is the other girl progressing? I forget her name.."

"Lucie Bentley, she is fine. It is astounding how quickly some species adapt to extreme situations. I find that if I allow her certain privileges she responds very well. A gentle nudge here and gentle nudge there and soon see will be ready to play her part."

"Excellent," Professor Stemme rubs his hands together and smiles at his associates. "Well gentlemen I propose we adjourn, Mr Hartdegen and I will return to the void and point Tavis and Lilly toward their destiny, you all have your tasks to complete, good luck and happy hunting. Come Mr Hartdegen lets go wind up our toys and let them go."

The liquid in the five globes turns ink black and they scatter into infinity.

What a Wuss

"So what about Lilly, did you have a hand in her death?" I demanded.

"No I didn't, I......."

"Well ok did you manipulate the situation so that McFizzer of someone like him could do the deed?"

"No Tavis and please just allow me to speak so that I may explain. As you are now aware the car crash that killed your parents was no accident, I cannot be certain of the exact details because as I have already stated I had no part to play in the tragedy but I can tell you three things that I know to be irrefutable true.

One - the accident was instigated by Drufus who somehow cajoled or coned McFizzer into doing his dirty work.

Two - You only survived because of your natural ability to time travel, at the very moment of impact your god given instincts kicked in and flipped you through time, not very far just a matter of seconds but critically this was enough to deposit you outside of the vehicle and so safe from the flames. It is not uncommon in our kind for a traumatic experience to trigger the ability to travel and this is precisely what you experienced.

Three - Lily did survive - she is alive and in hiding."

The nine words Hartdegen spoke left me speechless and breathless, I stood looking down at him sitting cross-legged within his glass orb, eventually through torrents of tears I manage to string a sentence together. "Hiding - where? I must go to her she will be frightened and she is alone."

Hartdegen stood and smiled at me, "Yes - quite right you should be with your sister. Turn around Tavis."

My vision was blurred with tears but as I wiped then from my eyes and turned I could see someone running towards me, it was my sister.

"Lilly." I shouted. Laughing and crying.

"My god Tavis - look at the state of you." she said as she hugged me.

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, "I thought you had gone I thought I had lost you forever."

"No such luck bro," she laughed, adding. "Have you got a tissue you are getting snot in my hair?"

The Assemblage of Eternal Travellers

Hartdegen fixed me with his deep brown eyes and began his tale. "First off I would like to make one thing clear to you, the death of your parents was never intended and we played no part it in."

I made to refute this comment but Hartdegen continued, "Please just listen Tavis and when I have finished if you wish to end all of this I will transport you back to your own time and have no further part in your destiny."

"Sounds like Hobsons choice to me - I will still have to deal with Drufus."


"And others but it will be your choice."

"I Guess - but I still do not understand any of this - who are you - and why choose me?

"Well you now understand the nature of the void and I believe you can appreciate how it must always remain intact magically separating past, present and future.

"Yes."

"Left to its own devices this is how it would have remained but unfortunately just as on your planet greed is often a driving force and it can become all consuming shooting logic out of the equation. I am sorry to say this was no different for us?"

"Us," I ask

"Yes Tavis us. - The travelers. The nomads of time, beings who can flip through millenia with no more effort than it takes to breath. You are now a fellow of the most exclusive club ever to exist a fraternity with members from the four corners or the universe and from every era."

"How many travelers."

"As a percentage of the entire life force we are minuscule but in round figures two million souls."

"That is a big club - the Christmas party must be outstanding."

"Compared to the area we cover in time and space we have no more presence than a handful of sugar scattered about a continent. At one time you could journey for an entire life and never meet another traveller but in more recent times communities of travellers have started to form pockets of like minded people, some working on projects of discovery, others just telling the tale and exchanging news and gossip"

"So what's the deal with you manipulating my life, couldn't you have just left me to discover time travel for myself?"

"For the majority of travellers that is how we prefer it to be left alone to develop their talent, some fall by the wayside never reaching full potential but most progress to gain a complete understanding of what they can achieve and so lead a full and enjoyable life possibly ending up as part of one of the groups. Unfortunately we could not wait for you to mature we had to intervene."

"Why?"

"As I said greed became a factor and a theory began to emerge that if the void could be pierced and the resulting energy contained and then harvested this would result in great power and wealth, much as oil has done for certain nations upon Earth. So for several decades our scientists worked on the principles of how to achieve this - tirelessly fine tuning and modifying their calculations. Engineers designed vast machines that would drill down through time and tap off the enormous energy and after many years of hypothesis it was agreed to put all of this knowledge into practice. A Planet was chosen for the experiment and the equipment was readied it was agreed that because of the potential hazards only a limited number of people would attend the site of the drilling, ten in total, myself and nine others. The scientists had calculated that the immediate area surrounding the drilling would become unstable so these globes were designed to emulate the void and so afford us some protection, the fluid that i am suspended within is essentially the atmosphere or the void distilled and concentrated. Once we had been placed within these vessels the drilling began."

"Who were the nine others?"

"Mostly scientists, a couple of our senor travelers, myself and the project director."

"So what happened, am i now talking to the wealthiest man in the universe?" I laughed.

"Far from it Tavis, the drilling was a success and we achieved our aim of tunnelling through to the void, however we had greatly miscalculated the forces that would be unleashed and the mechanism designed to cap the flow and tap off the power failed instantly allowing past and future to mingle and spew out into the present the result of this unnatural brew was pure evil. Chaos."

"But you survived."

"Yes thanks to good fortune and the integrity of this globe I survived however the blast has somehow sealed me in here."

"You cannot get out?"

"I cannot. Myself and five of the others became prisoners of their globes."

"And the other five?"

"Two were atomised - killed instantly - the remaining three survived - two injured horrendously exposed to the full force of evil they mutated into beings the likes of which I had never seen before."

"What of the third survivor?"

" He was physically unharmed, but I cannot vouch for his sanity, maybe you could give me your considered opinion of Project Director Drufus."

"Drufus.."

"Yes Drufus. It was he who first proposed the experiment he was always around prompting and pushing dispelling doubts and encouraging more and faster development, he was the obvious choice for the position of project director."

Hartdegen continued to tell me of the ungodly visions he witnessed on that day - of how they struggled to cap the flow and how they eventually succeeded. He told me of how the capping mechanisms had been sabotaged and how it was determined that Drufus was to blame, of how they disabled the drill for ever by removing key components and scattering them randomly through out time. Not unsurprisingly Drufus did one and disappeared along with the two mutants. He told me how the remaining five survivors agreed to make a pact to track down Drufus and how a mandate was agreed between all contactable travellers that the five would become guardians, policing time to ensure that such a catastrophe never reoccurred. The five became know as The Assemblage of Eternal Travellers.

All throughout this discussion I was troubled by something - a nagging feeling - something Hartdegen had said and then I realised what it was, "You said my parents."

"Sorry?" Queried Hartdegen.

"You said that you had nothing to do with the death of my parents.....What about Lilly?"

"Yes I believe that is what I said."

Puppet On A String

"So this is the void?" McFizzer confirms. "It is not how I imagined it would look."

"It is what it is," Says Hartdegen. "It appears differently to almost everyone and can also change with the visitors mood, some find it a serene environment others a foreboding and menacing place, the void feeds on the soul of the visitor taking its cue from your very core.

"What is the purpose of the void? Asks McFizzer.

"It is a buffer."

"A buffer between what?"

"Between the now and the past and the future - it sits as a barrier never allowing the past - present and future to come into direct contact."

"Why?" I ask, wondering if my question was stupid or very profound.

"Because it is how nature protects the very survival of the universe, imagine the void as a simple cooking pot, you place the pot upon a fire and heat it, you then add oil, you allow the oil to simmer so that you can cook a basic process that occurs time after time without mishap. But what happens if the pot fractures if the buffer is broken and falls away? Chaos - The oil leaks onto the flames and becomes an uncontrollable fireball."

It turns out that my question was kinda intelligent after all and McFizzer is silent so I ask another. "Why are we here?"

"As travelers you have been here on many occasions - whenever you pass from one time to another you must traverse the void, sometimes this may happen in a blink of an eye and you may not be aware of it - on others you may catch a fleeting glimpse or feel the void within your bones put pass through it you must, this is what makes us special, we are able to navigate a path from past to present to future."

"But I have never navigated anywhere - it just happens and I have no idea why."

"You are young Tavis, eventually you will learn to control your abilities and become your own master but for now you must rely on us and others to direct you, that is why we have provided you with the services of McFizzer and you will meet others on your travels that we have positioned to help you fulfil your destiny."


"What! You mean you are manipulating me like some character in a video game?"

"No no," Hartdegen shakes his head and smiles. "No Tavis it is much subtler than that and you must understand that we had to react to the developing situation."

"What developing situation - and why should I worry about your developing situation".

I become angry - very angry. Was all this somebodies doing? The deaths and the torture - and then a thought struck me square between the eyes harder than any punch I had received at the hands of Drufus. "Did you kill my family?" I asked leaning close in my face pressed upon the glass.

"No Tavis." Hartdegen held his stare on me, "I did not kill your family."

"How do I know this? - How can i trust you? - you may be just like Drufus and intent on getting your own way," I stand and turn away. "How do I know who I can trust?"

McFizzer stands and places his hands upon my shoulders. "You can trust Mr Hartdegen."

"But how do I know this? He may be responsible for murdering the only people I could trust, how do I know McFizzer? He admits to using me for his own ends - he is just like Drufus a cold and calculating killer. You are always telling me to open my heart and trust my instincts, well my instinct tell me that he killed my family."

"It wasn't him Tavis."

"How can you know that? You are just like me - a pawn - something for him and his cronies to play with."

"I know he didn't do it," McFizzer tightens his grip on my shoulder. "I know he didn't do it Tavis because it was me."

I spin around and push my face toward McFizzer. "You." I spit the word at him.

"Yes Tavis - I am soldier and assassin. I am so sorry but I had no choice, I caused your car to crash on that day killing your family. I am as guilty as an executioner with a bloody axe.

"What? Why? I scream at him and clench my hand aiming a blow at his chin, my fist passes straight through McFizzers face and I stumble to the ground.

"Calm yourself Tavis." Hartdegen commands me from within his cocoon.

"Make me if you are so powerful." I role over looking for McFizzer. "Where is he? Where is the murderer hiding?"

Hartdegen repeats, "Calm yourself Tavis - he is no longer here I have removed McFizzer from the void. He is back in his own time."

I look at Hartdegen, "Why don't you come out of that over sized Christmas decoration and face me like a man, you may not have directly killed my family but you must have put McFizzer in the position to enable him to do what he did."

"Tavis sit and listen to what I have to tell you and then make your judgement, be decent enough and allow me the chance to explain the circumstances that led to the demise of your family."

"Decency - what would you know about decency? - Give me one good reason why I should waste my time listening to you?"

Hartdegens tone becomes threatening. "How about this for a good reason? We are both here within the void - you are trapped and I am free to go as I please, so how about if I disappear for a decade or so and see how cooperative you are when I return."

"I would be dead before then, there is no food or water that I have seen."I throw back almost childishly.

"Tavis the normal rules of existence do not prevail within the void, the fact is you will be just as you are now unchanged except that you will have experienced the passing of ten long years, and I don't have to stop at ten years how does fifty sound, all alone in silence without even the passing of a sun to mark time. You see Tavis I have been doing this for so long now that time has become irrelevant to me. So make your choice we can do this now or we can do this sometime in the future."

I sit sheepishly, taking up the position McFizzer had previously - cross-legged hands out stretched touching the glass and then I remove my hands from the globe and laugh at Hartdegen. "But you need me, that is obvious now, you need me for something and I doubt you are able to wait ten years."

Hartdegen softens his voice and smiles at me, "Bravo Tavis - bravo, you are a bright boy. Yes you are quite correct I and my associates do need you, but trust me if I have to I will abandon you to the void leaving you to drift in flux for an eternity or even worse if by your inaction the void is compromised then you will understand the true meaning of evil and do you wish to be alone when you face that?"

If for no other reason than that I was tired of all the banter and worn down by the revelation from McFizzer I agreed with Hartdegen, so I replaced my hands upon the glass dome and listened.

That's Familiar

The face at first appears to be floating detached from torso and limbs but then as the liquid clears a man steps forward, and sits cross-legged placing his hands upon the inside of the globes surface so as to mirror McFizzers position exactly. The man is in is mid 40s, dressed in a dark brown tweed suit white shirt with green tie and brown brogues upon his feet. He is of a dark complexion his hair jet black and slick he is clean shaven except for long sideburns that extend down to the side of his chin.

McFizzer speaks first, "Who are you?"

The man answers, "My name is Hartdegen."

"Hello Mr Hartdegen I am McFizzer and this is my companion Tavis Parks."

Hartdegen looks toward me and nods and then returns his attention to McFizzer," How may I assist you?" He asks.

"Where are we?" I ask as I sit besides McFizzer and place my malformed hand upon the globe.

"You are in the void."