(For notes and disclaimer see Chapter One)

Time Shock

Chapter Three: Safe House

"You don’t look so hot." Street said to the man sitting next to her in her seldom used car. He was sweating heavily and his eyes seemed glazed over. "Should I try to find a hospital?" She saw him turn to look at her and gasped. "There’s something wrong with your face."

Liam looked in the mirror under the passenger side visor and blinked in shock. Small crystalline flakes were on his skin. "So that’s what it’s trying to do?" He said with a less than grounded tone to his voice. "It’s okay I’ve just been pushing my body to hard I think it’s trying to force me into some sort of recovery state."

"You think?" Street stared at him then remembered she was driving and turned back to watching the road. "It’s never happened before?" She saw him out of the side of her eye staring out the passenger side window at all the trees going buy. "I mean how do you know your not shedding your skin or something."

"I’m not a lizard." Liam said distractedly. "I’ve never been injured and pushed my body so hard to keep moving before." He paused and got a strange look on his face. "And until recently my Kimera side has been mainly dormant." He turned to watch her face. "And the Taelons have a similar state they enter in times of crisis to their body or mind to preserve themself."

"I thought you were part Kimera not Taelon." She said remembering the story Augur had told her. She frowned. "There are allot more on your neck now we should be there soon can you keep from going all crystally till we get there?"

"I’ll manage." Liam said rather irritated. "Those flakes are really sensitive." He said scratching his chest threw the shirt. "And the Kimera and Taelons were physically similar in allot of ways but at the same time fundamentally different and being a hybrid I don’t know exactly what I can and can’t do."

"So what exactly do you want me to do while your going threw whatever your going threw whatever this is?" She said taking a peek at him and wondering what the flakes would feel like and if they were everywhere.

"I want you to set up an id for me and if you can get me some more clothes." He looked at her pointedly. "And if you do make sure they are all black." He saw her look like the idea wasn’t tasteful. "I’m not out to look fashionable I’m out to have clothes I can use for what I have to do." He smiled slightly. "And your fashion style doesn’t lend itself to covert operations."

Street didn’t’ know rather to be offended or amused so she kept silent. "Any particular name you want for the id?" She looked over at him. "I mean it will be what your known by publicly at least unless you get someone else to create another one."

"If I need another one I’ll do it." Liam said seeing her surprise. "Augur showed me how I just don’t have the equipment or the time to do it myself." He saw her staring at him in shock. "Augur felt I needed to know in case I ever had to disappear but it’d take me a few days while you or Augur can do it in a few hours."

Street understood that Augur in his world must have treated Liam allot like he treated her. "Oh by the way since you want me clothes shopping for you I have two questions." She saw him glance at her. "First what are you sizes and second How do you feel about leather?" For a response she just got a bewildered look.

Boone glanced at Lili as they arrived at the warehouse. Augur had asked to see them as soon as possible. "This better be important Augur Da’an has a meeting in three hours and I have to be there." Boone said pointedly.

"Well I’ve been examining our visitor from the future’s global and it proves everything he said." Augur said pointing at the disassembled global. "I had a hard time breaking the encryption until I realized it’s a later generation of what I use currently." He glanced at Boone. "It’s got Da’an’s schedule so he was telling the truth about being Da’an’s protector."

Augur saw that Boone wasn’t that shocked by the revelation." It also has a schedule of meetings under encryption that refer to something called the ANA don’t have a clue what that is yet." He paused. "Anyway the really interesting thing is there’s a chip that’s been added to the global." He glanced at them. "It’s apparently a security chip that allows for hardware encryption/decryption of a very complicated code you’d need another global like this to decrypt it." He smiled proudly. "It’s really advanced I even signed my name to it so apparently I was just as impressed with myself in that reality." Augur showed them an enlargement of the case that featured a printed on version of his signature. "If I can duplicate this chip we can increase the security of Resistance Communications far beyond anything the Taelons can currently crack."

"Exactly how did you get his global Augur I don’t think Doors would allow it out of his sight." Boone saw Augur look away. "You stole it when we brought him in didn’t you?" He saw Augur smirk. "So any luck figuring out where he’d go?"

"I haven’t a clue consider that he apparently spent allot of time around me he could be anywhere." Augur glanced at them specifically. "All the people I help out in the situation where they could be wanted by people in authority usually learn from me at least enough to be able to set up their own ID if I’m not around to help."

Lili spoke up. "So he’ll be trying to find somewhere he can access computer equipment." She glanced at Boone. "Until he’s got an id he can’t do anything without risking drawing the attention of Doors or the Taelons."

"I have to be at Da’an’s meeting but while I’m there why don’t the two of you search area’s where he could access a computer." Boone said with a thoughtful expression. "Just make sure your not followed I wouldn’t put it past Doors to have us tailed." As soon as Augur and Lili had acknowledged him with a nod he left.

Lili glanced at Augur. "So where should we start looking?" She saw that he was deep in thought and she wondered what was bothering him. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing I hope." Augur said quickly. "You take the libraries and the public net terminals in cafes and such." He quickly entered his security code as he led Lili out of his warehouse. "I’ll check a few of the more underground sources that your presence would prevent us from accessing we’ll meet back here in two hours okay?"

"Sounds good." Lili said wondering what Augur was hiding. "Listen Augur if you find him don’t confront him wait until Boone or I get there." Augur nodded as he headed off like he knew exactly where he was heading. Lili paused and instead of doing like Augur asked followed him.

Street disarmed the security system and then stepped aside as her companion shot inside pulling his shirt off and scratching at his flake covered chest. She noticed that none fell off as if they were actually part of his skin. "Damn that itches." Liam said irritated. "Look I’m going into the bedroom to allow whatever this is to happen." He glanced at her. "Try to have the things I asked you for done by the time it’s over if you can?"

"Sure I’ll give it a shot." Street said watching as he closed the bedroom door. She wondered rather shameless if he’d be taking the pants off too. "Wait I forgot to ask you something." She said pushing open the door not really surprised to see his pants on the floor. "Are you a boxers or briefs man?"

She never got a response as a bright light flashed out blinding her and when the flash blind faded a few seconds later she was staring at crystalline imitation of the man she’d seen. She watched as pale blue energy ran under the crystalline skin passing in sweeps over the entire body. "Wow." She reached out to touch him then thought better of it. "I should go get the things he asked for."

Lili was glad she’d followed Augur he was obviously very upset he hadn’t even noticed her tailing him. ‘Wonder where he’s going?’ She thought giving a brief check to make sure neither she nor Augur were being followed. ‘One of us should at least be alert.’ She hung back as he pulled up to a trailer and watched his face get frantic as the door fell off the hinges as he pulled on it. ‘That doesn’t look good.’

Augur pulled out his global and entered Street’s global number. ‘Come on Juliet be all right.’ He was worried he should have known the hybrid would go to her if he needed the kind of equipment to set up an id. Once her face appeared. "Are you all right?"

Street looked around to see if anyone in the store had heard Augur’s louder than normal question. "I’m fine Augur why do you ask?" She had a sinking suspicious she did know but figured playing innocent would be best.

"I am at your Trailer where is he?" He saw from her face. "He’s there with you isn’t he?" Street only nodded. "I’ll be there shortly." She was about to object but Augur closed the line. Street looked around the clothing store then headed toward the checkout. He’d have to make do with the few sweaters and jeans she’d already found she had to get there and get to work on his id. ‘With luck maybe we’ll get him out of there before Augur makes it.’ She knew Augur meant well but she knew how he got when he was worried.

Augur finally arrived at the safe house. He was about to go in when a car pulled in behind him. He turned and froze. "You followed me?" He hoped he really didn’t sound that accusing. He watched Lili nod. "Why?"

"I could tell you were really upset." She looked at him. "And it’s a good thing I did if I could follow you so easily someone else could too." She saw him look alarmed. "Don’t worry Augur I kept a check but what got you so worried."

Street emerged. "What’s she doing here?" She recognized her of course the woman Augur had modeled his Holographic Secretary after. She saw Augur look down.

Lili walked up and held out her hand. "My name is Lili you must be Street." She saw the young girl shoot an accusing look at Augur. "He didn’t tell me but I remember Liam saying your name." She glanced at Augur. "He was so upset he forgot to check if he was being followed."

Street glared at Augur again. "You two may as well come in unless anyone else followed you." She snapped at Augur. Once they were inside she gestured toward the bedroom. "He’s in there but I doubt he’ll be much good for conversation."

She heard Augur and Lili gasp. "Yeah he’s been like that since we got here." She looked at them. "He said he thought it was some kind of healing state or something." She paused. "Want to see something weird." She threw Augur a video camera. "Try recording an image of him." She looked at Augur rather sheepishly. "I was nervous and needed something to do so I figured I’d record and image."

Augur walked over to the crystalline form and hit the power button to turn on the camera. Which promptly began to short out. "What the..." He said as he quickly turned it off. "Do you have any idea why that happened?"

"Yep I ran a scan from back here." Street said bringing up the results. "His body is putting out a EM field that’s dampening anything in the immediate area." She brought up a comparison. "It’s also increasing in intensity." She paused briefly before saying. "I hope that means he’s going to come out of it soon."

Lili who so far had been silent while Street explained what was going on. "We need to bring Boone in on this." She saw both Augur and street look at her in alarm. "We will need Boone to help keep Doors away." She glanced at Augur. "Boone is to important for Doors to risk killing in any type of raid even if he found us." She saw Augur’s skeptical glance. "Do you really think Doors would put up with Boone challenging him if he could replace him easily?"

Augur looked thoughtful. "No I think your right but it’s Street’s call." He said calmly. "It’s her security we’d be putting at risk." Augur turned to see Street staring into the room where the hybrid stood immobile in his crystalline form.

Street thought about it to herself and then looked at them. "Okay call him but no one else." She knew Augur trusted Boone and this Lili woman. She wondered if it was odd that she trusted an alien human hybrid from an alternate future that she’d just met more than two people Augur counted as friends. ‘Well you have met some of Augur’s other friends before.’ She reminded herself internally.

To Be continued..

This chapter was Shorter than the other two for a reason it was originally going to include Liam’s awakening but I decided it’d be better done in the next chapter. Anyway the next chapter should be finished sometime soon. Maybe even before I upload this one to Fanfition.net.