Prologue

Wendy was sitting in her Brokers waiting room when Timothy Leary appeared in the chair next to her.

"Wendy? Take my hand," Tim said. "Understand though, if you go, you can never go home."

"Tim? What's the matter? The building's safe, just on fire."

Tim looked at his watch, it was 9:58am. "In exactly 30 minutes, in less time than it's going to take me to tell you, this building is going to collapse ... from the top down. Just like that one is going to fall ... now."

The South Tower began it's rapid fall when Tim said, 'now.' Wendy was horrified.

The few people who were waiting for the Fire Department to evacuate the building were watching out the narrow windows as South Tower went down. The panic began.

Wendy and Timothy are a little island of slow motion in an hysterical mini-world.

"All those people ... this one is going too?"

"In 28 minutes."

"Never go home?" Wendy was rapidly going into shock.

"Never go home. There are police and firefighters stationed in the lobby to keep people inside." Tim explained.

"Never go home? What will David do?" Wendy started trembling. "He's such a klutz."

"Never go home. David will survive. He has Seven."

"What about Kim, and Rache? He has them. doesn't he?"

"They will blame him for letting you come to New York."

"He'll blame himself for letting me come."

"25 minutes, Wendy,"

"Why can't I just push past the lobby guards and get away?"

"Wendy? The stairwells are jammed with people who don't know the other building fell. They think they have plenty of time. That's where most people die."

"I don't know, Tim ... I'm 59 ... Where would I go?"

"With me."

"Where is that?"

"To the future, for Rejuvenation, and then anywhen you would like to go ... as long as it's not the Twentieth century."

"20 minutes, Wendy." Tim said, "In 20 minutes, you're dead, and no one who counts knows you're here."

"I had to sign in ... the Visitor's Log."

"Wendy, the logs are destroyed in the fire."

"Fire?"

"Yes ... fire. The rubble burns for 99 days. it's still on fire during rescue attempts and at the beginning of cleanup."

"What happens to the people in the visitors log?"

"Big scandal, some human remains are hauled out to sea and dumped in the Atlantic ocean."

"No attempt to identify them?"

"Wendy. We're talking about insurance companies and money here ... closed door meetings and no notes."

"That's awful."

"15..."

"Quit that."

"It doesn't really matter, it's just human jelly and ashes. There's a huge push to get rid of the trash so the rebuilding can begin. Not that it matters, for ten years all people do is argue about the site.

"Wendy, it's prime Manhattan real estate ... far to valuable to leave empty. People have been trying to build on Central Park almost from it's beginning. The city fathers won't let all those bribes and kickbacks go."

"So, if I stay and die, no one will be able to identify me?"

"Wendy? No Official will ever admit you were ever here. If you're one of the official victims, they'll have to make a payout. Even your family will come to believe you might not have made the meeting and abandoned them."

"You're kidding?"

"The only person who KNOWS is David, and he will feel you die. You two have been matched before you were born."

"If I go with you, will he know I'm not dead?"

"No ... it's important that he thinks you're dead. He has some stories to write about the CIA."

"Never come back?"

"Never come back."

The building gave a little shudder.

"Where? To the future and ... re ... re... ?"

"Rejuvenation, you pick an age and they fix you. Not much time left, Wendy. Decide."

"I can't ... I love him so. But I'm going to lose him in... ?"

"3 minutes, Wendy ... we have to go. At least, I do."

"I'll go."

"Take my hand. Wendy! Take my hand!"

A severe shake.

"WENDY!!" David shouted.

Chapter 1 »