Chapter 4

"What watch?"

"A poker face you're not, sweetums," she said. "That one. The one on your wrist."

"What do you know about my watch?"

"I know it's a time travel watch."

"What makes you think so?"

"Because my mom had one just like it," she said. "It was broke and the jeweler who fixed it left her stranded here."

"Well, if you knew, why didn't you get it while I was working on it?"

"The Powers that Be told me not to," she said. "So I didn't."

"You know the Powers?"

"Hel yas. Gimmie it and hold my hand."

What the hel, Jack didn't know how this one worked so he unstrapped it.

She put it on and whispered to it. Then she pulled the stem out and we were in South Texas and Jack knew it because they were in the office of the pipeline company.

Seven showed up and she fixed the paperwork for the aircraft. The Notary seal and stamp was right where the secretary had left it ... in her unlocked desk drawer. A person could get in a ton of trouble leaving things like just laying around, Jack thought.

You betcha, Sultry said ... except she didn't ... Jack heard the words but didn't see her lips move.

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, "You know what I'm thinking."

"Yup," Sultry said. "I think it's cute and all that ... but there's honorable and there's just plain stupid."

Seven said, "We noticed that about him, too. If two of us weren't male ... and one of us a sorta male ... we wouldn't know what it was. Six and Four hold the record for dumb stunts. So don't rub it in too badly."

Sultry didn't. She reset the watch and they were in the bathroom ... a split second from when they left.

"I can see all sorts of devilment we can get into with this thing," Jack told Sultry.

Seven said, "You let her keep it, Jack. This one won't kill you but women just naturally keep time better than men,"

"Wait ... umh ... uh..." Jack was recalling all the trouble he used to get in when he was late. "Ah ... yeah."

They did their business ... washed up and went back to the hangar.

"When did you see the bomber?"

"When it was setting in the lake."

"What?"

"Yes, sir ... but it's not in Kentucky ... it's in Virginia," she explained. Just west of Breaks ... the John W. Flannagan Dam and Reservoir."

"Sultry," said Jack. "Why didn't you say something?"

"You were busy."

"I'm never too busy..."

"You shushed me and complained ... ok ... instructed, me how to keep altitude in a turn," she pouted. "I just now remembered seeing it."