The Devil's Due Read Online Free Page B

a place here. Eventually. It was all he'd ever imagined and more. Buck Rogers had nothing on NASA. Man walked on the moon, talked to each other on phones without wires and waged war in ways he would have rather not known.
    “I don't think it's wise,” Simon said as he leaned back against his kitchen counter and crossed his arms over his chest.
    “I can help,” Jack said, hoping he could get through to him. “If this darkness or whatever you call it is real, don't you think having back up is a good idea?”
    Simon frowned and spoke as though he were addressing a small, backwards child. “Need I remind you that there is already a you there?”
    Jack frowned and chewed his lip. “Ah-ha!” he said, waving his finger in the air triumphantly. “You said April.”
    Simon's eyes narrowed. “I did.”
    Jack grinned. “I'm not there. I mean, I'm there, just not right there then, at that moment. In April 1933 I was getting the hell beat out of me in Arizona filming The Dirtiest Trail and Si Si Senorita .” He opened his mouth as wide as it would go and pointed inside it. “I even lost a tooth.”
    “As compelling an argument as your missing tooth is,” Simon said, “It's still too much of a risk. If you should alter the course of your own life…”
    “What?” Jack said, worried for the first time.
    “The repercussions could be disastrous. You could cease to be or worse.”
    “What's worse that?” Jack said.
    Before Simon could give him a list of things that were more important than he was, Elizabeth stepped in. “If he's careful to avoid places he used to go and keeps a low profile, it could be pretty helpful to have someone there who knows what is what.”
    Jack gave Elizabeth a thankful smile. She was a good kid and, he knew, she understood him. She knew he needed more than being a sightseer in the future or a relic in the past. He needed to matter again.
    “I could be helpful,” Jack offered. “I want to be helpful. I'm not the kind of man who can sit still, you know, especially if there's something out there that needs doing. If there is a darkness like you said, I want to do something about it as much as you do.”
    Simon might be a pain in the posterior sometimes, but he was an honorable guy and he respected that in others. Jack could see from Simon's expression that he had a chance. “I don't know…”
    “Simon, if Jack promised to avoid his usual haunts and women,” she said with a pointed glare at Jack, “he could be a huge asset. He is a trained spy, after all. He knows the town; he knows the studio. We might need help just getting close to Alan Grant. Think of him like a time Sherpa.”
    “If things go sideways,” Jack said, playing his trump card. “And let's face it, the odds are pretty good they will with her along.”
    “Hey!”
    Simon nodded, conceding the point.
    “She's got a gift for finding trouble.”
    “Yes, she does,” Simon said.
    Elizabeth waved her hand. “Standing right here.”
    Jack smiled apologetically. He loved her like a little sister and more than needing something to do, needing to feel useful again; he wanted to make sure she made it back in one piece. “Having a little backup might be—”
    “Prudent.” Simon agreed and pursed his lips in thought.
    “Still here,” Elizabeth muttered.
    Simon frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that as a commentary on your abilities. It’s just that we…worry.”
    Her indignation fizzled in the face of Simon's obvious and genuine concern. “Yeah, I know,” she said.
    “Good. And you understand about the timeline,” Simon said to Jack.
    “Not really,” Jack said.
    Simon sighed and Jack grinned.
    “So,” he said, feeling good to be back in the saddle. “When do we leave?”

Chapter Four
    For the next week they researched, planned and acquired. Thanks to their previous journeys, Simon had an extensive network of paper money collectors, and easily amassed more than enough money to last them for the