Page 51 of Erase Me
The construction worker gestured to his coworkers to carry on.He wasn’t about to lose any sleep over a cell phone.I stood there for a moment, keeping a close eye as he smoothed out the surface of my phone’s concrete grave.
Giving him a thumbs up, I walked back to the corner.
I couldn’t trust Payam to help me.At least, not until I could tap into his programming and reset whatever damage had been done.Until then, I needed to curtail the constant monitoring of my movements.
In my pocket, I had other devices connected to my biometrics, but they weren’t location-traceable like a phone.And I wasn’t getting rid of any of them.Considering my current situation, I wasn’t about to lose any advantage by parting with my tech toys and weapons.
I went into the cell phone sales and repair shop.Even in the future, classic flip phones remained the stylish choice for people wanting privacy.I wasn’t too familiar with specific models, but I found the young man behind the counter to be very helpful.He suggested a phone that suited my needs perfectly.
Last night, before going into the Surf Ghetto, I’d also made a quick stop at an ATM to get some cash.Using a credit card was practically an open invitation for someone to track me.Cash was the way to go if I wanted to operate off the grid.With no digital footprints to trace, I was glad I had paper money in my pocket.
I purchased the phone with cash and exited the store, walking up El Camino until I reached Avenida Victoria.Staying in the same rental apartment didn’t sit well with me.Whoever was near that storage container last night must have discovered my location through Payam.There was no sense in making it easy for them.
Even so, I needed to lay low until tomorrow.The family I was waiting for—the people who lived in the house where I’d stopped the break-in—would be returning to San Clemente.I needed to be ready for that.
I knew there were other apartments and hotels in San Clemente where I could crash for the night.But getting a room meant snagging another credit card and checking in under a fake name.Cash alone probably wouldn’t cut it.And I couldn’t trust Payam.
Another option occurred to me.Maybe I’d just break into the big house and wait for the family to roll in.The security codes would not have changed.If Payam had done the job right, there was no reason for anyone to suspect an attempted break-in at the house.Of course, there was the closed-circuit monitoring, but I had to take my chances.
As I walked down Avenida Victoria, I had to pass by my rental place.Knowing they’d gone so far as hacking Payam, I suspected a thug lurking in every parked car, and every person on the sidewalk looked like a potential threat.I stuck to the opposite side of the street as I passed the building and didn’t even glance in that direction.
There was nothing of value inside the apartment that I’d left.I had arrived in San Clemente with only the clothes on my back and what was in my pocket.The laptop, arranged by Payam, had been delivered to the door the same night I arrived.My guess was that by now it had to be compromised, as well.The good thing was that aside from search histories—most of them random—it held no useful information.
Checking my pockets and mentally reviewing the stuff I brought to San Clemente, I realized I was missing one major item, the travel instrument I’d used to move Reed during our jump.Losing equipment like that was basically a one-way ticket out of the quantum commuter program.
I knew that was nearly a forgone conclusion now, anyway.Reed had it, and he knew I was a traveler.If he got back to our time, he’d have very little trouble tracking me down.
Actually, with Payam gone and Reed aware of my presence here, the chances of my half-baked plan succeeding were starting to look pretty slim right now.And if I failed, I wouldn’t have a future to return to.It was as simple as that.So stressing over the loss of a piece of equipment was pointless.
I wasn’t a huge believer in miracles, but I found myself desperately wishing for one.One way or the other, though, I wasn’t about to give up.I couldn’t.
As I approached the house, a strange feeling of nostalgia washed over me.Stories I’d heard about this place over the years came back to me.This family had been happy here, and there had been lingering regret about leaving San Clemente.In the prevailing timeline, they’d never returned here because of the burglary.But I stopped that event from happening.I only hoped that my intervention this past Sunday night would have a lasting impact, extending well beyond this week and far into the future.
I turned into the driveway that ran down the side of the house.I planned to go in through the garage door, the same way I went in the other night.
I realized too late that the garage doors were open and a car was parked inside.The trunk was open.
“Can I help you?”
I stopped dead.
The voice came from the darkness of the garage, but it was as familiar to me as my own.The man came out onto the driveway, and I held my breath.
It was surreal, but I had to physically anchor my feet to the pavement and stop myself from rushing into his arms.He would have been a little shocked if I had.And I couldn’t blame him.
Instead, I just absorbed the sight of the man before me.He was far different from the older version I’d last seen in the year 2079.
Young or old, though, he was still ruggedly handsome.His eyes bore the same intensity.The eyebrows were dark and his jawline square.In time, those eyebrows would be white, his face covered with a white beard.His hair was thick now, but there would be very little left in the future.He would cut it short and often wear a cap to protect his skin from the harmful elements of our time.
This younger version was fit and athletic.The toned body spoke volumes about his commitment to a healthy lifestyle.My version had slowed considerably, and his resistance to joint replacements necessitated the use of a cane.
But he was still the same man.
“Can I help you?”he repeated.“This is private property.”
“Yes.Yes,” I managed to stammer.I could hear the quaver in my voice.Beyond those words, I struggled to articulate the purpose of my unexpected arrival on his driveway.I didn’t expect to see him.
“Do I know you?”Something passed across his face as he stared at me.It was a somewhat perplexed look of recognition.
