Fate (Wilton's Gold #3) Read Online Free Page A

and took him by the arm, leading him past the security gates and into the larger part of the building. A spacious atrium landscaped with every indoor plant imaginable was surrounded by level after level of windowed offices. People shuffled in every direction, the majority not noticing their presence. Though one middle-aged man in khakis nodded to him. He nodded back.
    “This was my idea?” he asked.
    Dexter laughed – the first time he’d shown even the slightest break from whatever hard exterior he’d developed in the past three years. “No, the building was the government’s idea. You would’ve been more frugal.”
    Fisher and Dexter led Jeff to the far side of the atrium, past a series of non-descript doors, a small cafe, and a room labeled “Time Travel Museum,” where they disappeared through a set of black doors that required a swipe of Fisher’s identification badge. They were in a bright narrow hallway that led them to another set of doors. These required retinal scans, which they swiftly performed. Fisher looked at Jeff, waiting for him to participate. “Regardless of who you think you are, your eyes don’t change,” he said.
    Jeff shrugged and put his face up to the machine. It welcomed him through the doors. “What is this place?” he asked.
    “This is the last place anyone saw you.”
    “Look,” Jeff said, holding up his hands. “Let’s just assume that all of this time travel has really screwed things up and that we’re both telling the truth. Alright? I’ll stop with the comments about not knowing what the hell you’re talking about, and you stop treating me like a criminal.”
    “This is the laboratory that houses the time travel technology that you developed,” Dexter said, jumping in.
    “The United States Time Program, right?”
    “Yes.” Dexter led him to a large cabinet with a series of drawers and doors, opening one of the doors. He pulled out a time device that was very similar to Jeff’s original design, only this one was much more advanced. The casing was made of white and blue hard plastic, and the design was contoured to his hand. It had the feel of a smart phone with a handle.
    “Nice upgrade,” he said, examining it. “How many did you make?”
    “You’ve never seen this before?”
    “Never.”
    “We have a fleet of them – about two dozen. They’re held in a secure room, unless they’re specifically being used.”
    He handed the device back to Dexter, who replaced it. “What possible reason could there be to make so many?”
    “Not sure,” Dexter said. “It was your recommendation.”
    He laughed. “I find that hard to believe. Maybe I was getting a kickback from the manufacturer.”
    Dexter nodded, then motioned to Jeff to take a seat in one of the swivel chairs, which he did. Fisher sat in another chair and Dexter remained standing. “The USTP was set up for the purpose of scientific evaluation of time travel, based upon an understanding that if we can figure it out, so can someone else. We need to be the first, we need to be on top of it, and we need to own it. Unfortunately, due to insufficient federal funding, there wasn’t the cash to implement the program – so we had to make it self-sustaining.” He stopped for a moment and held up his hands. “I don’t want to make assumptions here. You did invent time travel, right?”
    Jeff nodded.
    “Okay, good,” Dexter said. “I can skip some of this.”
    “Well, no,” Jeff said, motioning with his finger. “I’d rather you didn’t. There’s some history here that I’m missing.”
    Fisher leaned forward, jumping in. “Why don’t we start with you telling us where you’ve been.”
    Dexter held up a hand to stop him, but Jeff nodded. “Sure,” he said. “We’ll see how closely it matches your recollection. I’ve been in Russia on a mission that you put me up to.” He pointed to Fisher. “When you learned that I’d invented time travel, you connected me with the Russian