"Crystal?" John knew exactly what girl Matt was referring to. John had sent her home out of pure frustration after she'd refused to do a series of menial chores that were all in dire need of attention. It had been literally faster for John to send her home and do her work as well as his, rather than fight with her.

John found it to be an effective management tool, one the general manager approved of for his own reasons. People who wouldn't work, weren't going to get paid to stand around. In John's opinion, they either quit or learned to work once they started suffering from the lack of hours. Either choice was more than acceptable toward his goal, as shift manager, of making sure the work got done.

"You could have had her fired," Matt pointed out. "She deserved it after the stunt she pulled, and she knows it."

John considered it. If Matt was right and the girl did show improvement, then John would start teaching her the 'why' behind the stuff she hated doing most. Every small detail at the restaurant was important in a small way; it was annoying for the staff but improved customer experience, overall.

Matt cleared his throat. "The point is, someone you inspire, or show kindness, or help in some small way in your lifetime, will go on to inspire . . ."

"Someone else, and so on?" John's tone was dry, probably a little harsh.

Matt grinned. "The man who saves the world from annihilation," he corrected. "Trust me, you're a key figure in all of this."

John nodded. "So he put me out of my timeline . . ."

"He tried to KILL you! Every time he jumps you, I . . . Augh!" Clearly frustrated, Matt took a deep, calming breath.

"His first plan was to kill you in jail and frame Reggie, but Reggie woke up and scared him off. He had dosed your toothbrush again as a precaution, so the second time, he almost succeeded, except that Officer Burke found you in time to get help and administer first aid.

"In the hospital, he spiked your gene therapy so you'd make the jump from the high-rise hospital building and fall to your death, but you were only five floors up at the Burke residence. I was able to catch your jump and get you down safely. Then yesterday, he dosed you when you got in the van . . ."

"Stupid, I know," groaned John. "I knew as soon as the door was shut."

"Not your fault," Matt denied generously. "You didn't know. All he had to do was add weights after you fell asleep."

"So that was you, in the water."

"Yeah, and I was almost too late. Where you fell asleep became a pond, just a few years later." He grinned and pointed. "It's a tree, right now."

"Wait, Art said it's triggered by stage one sleep."

"It's however they're programmed, but the nanites are destroyed on the jump, I promise."

"Art said . . . never mind." John shook his head, feeling foolish. "You saved my life, a lot. Thank you." Matt nodded in return. "How do you know where he's going to send me?"

Matt grinned and held up something that looked like John's phone. "We cloned his handheld. Archie- Art-uses locals for his dirty work. Those guys in the van thought they were pulling a prank on a paranoid delusional. The owner of the car that Cathleen saw dumps bodies all the time. Archie's always a step ahead of us, except this time."

"Why this time?"

"He still thinks you're at the bottom of the pond."

"So now we go back and nail his hide to a wall?" John suggested, using a hunting term that referred to stretching out a hide for tanning.

Matt laughed at the euphemism once it was explained. "Nah, he'd just jump if we tried to grab him. We have to come up with a way to keep him from jumping before we get him secure."

"How do we do that?" John asked. After all, how would one keep custody of a prisoner who was capable of slipping through time?

Matt thought about it. "We need Cathleen and Daniel. She's the best at this kind of strategy."

"Wait!" John exclaimed. "I thought . . ."

"Art's shenanigans have been messing with minor history, everywhere he takes you. So far, no major events in time have been affected, but there are always ramifications to time travel. Before he met you, for example, Reggie was a likable ne'er-do-well who never amounted to anything. Now, after meeting you, he has a happy family and one of his children went through college on an academic scholarship."

"But, I didn't . . ."

"The library was your idea and you helped him choose a book he'd like. He did like it, so when he was done, he chose another. One book led to a lifetime love of books that improved his quality of life, introduced him to the girl of his dreams- in a bookstore- and was passed on to his children, one of whom goes on to curate a small museum that, under her care, becomes a nationally-known learning center with fully interactive displays."

"All of that was his doing then," John argued. "It was his choice to read . . ."

"A book you recommended; in a place he'd never would have gone without your influence." Matt fell silent, engrossed in his handheld for a moment as he tracked changes in history. John let him, needing a moment to process what was being said.

"Mrs. Murphy sparks a religion-wide revival by her testimony. Christians all over the United States rethink their faith because her memoir goes viral as an e-book. 'Mistakes of a Nominal Christian' is a scathing look at lukewarm faith in general. She spends years of her retirement as a popular speaker at retreats, churches and conventions, earnestly urging fellow believers to love their neighbors, even when their neighbor is a stranger on the street.

"A generation later, the nation experiences revival not seen since the World War Two era. You are the little stream that carves the Grand Canyon, John; just by being you. Did Cathleen and Daniel ever tell you how they met?"

Overwhelmed, John shook his head. What was he supposed to say to any of that? Deep down, John wasn't even sure he really believed it, wasn't sure he wanted to. What if it were true and John messed up? If he ended up upsetting someone, would they end up a serial killer or something? It was all just too much for him to process, just then.

"They met at a support group for grieving parents who'd lost their children. Daniel's daughter was killed by the same bomb that took Cathleen's family. Both children were about the same age and would have been about your age at the time they met you. Seeing you disappear right from his apartment was so hard on Daniel that he joined the department two days later, and recruited Cathleen from there."

"So this whole escapade, is it fixed history?" John asked. "I mean, are Cathleen and Daniel . . . did I mess up their timeline?"

"Not at all. Before you arrived, what made him join was when someone 'jumped' a murder victim into his office at work. The guy would have died in Daniel's arms, if you hadn't come to dinner that night. Daniel is actively campaigning to go back in time and put a stop to all of it."

"Wouldn't that put a halt to time travel entirely?" asked John, thinking about his friend. "It would put you out of a job."

Matt nodded. "Ideally? Yes; time travel has done no good to the world. Crime is rampant because criminals face no consequences for their crimes. I'm not going to lie; you were blessed to get out of my time alive. If it had been anyone but Cathleen to find you, I don't think you would have left the hospital."

That amused John. He was acutely aware that his life was in God's hands from day to day, and deeply appreciative of the blessing he'd been given, just in meeting the Burkes. "Believe me, I know," John agreed, studying Matt's expression.

There was a deep-seated air of hopeless determination about Matt, a hidden sorrow that made John's heart ache for the man. How could someone only a few years older than him have the look of an old combat veteran? Matt looked for all the world like a soldier, fighting a war he knew he'd never come back from.

Seeking to lighten the moment, John offeredhim a random, silly joke. His ploy seemed to work. The two of them chattedabout everything and nothing for a long while, simply getting to know eachother. Finally, John grinned, "I'm hungry, let's say we go sometime there's food?"

Matt's ginger beard moved with his answering grin. "Sounds like a plan." He tapped on his handheld and reached it closer to John. "Care to do the honors?" he asked of a green square on the touchscreen. "You already have nanites in your system. I put them there while you were still out."

Grinning back, John touched the square. Immediately, the world except for Matt blurred around the two of them, until they found themselves sitting inside a greenhouse, atop a grow bed full of seedlings.

By the time John caught up with Matt, the other man was near the entrance, calling for a ride. He closed out his call and shut the door. "We'll wait in here," Matt told John. "Archie thinks you're dead, so he's come back here to finish his task. I don't want him to know you're alive until we can't avoid it."

He shrugged his jacket off and handed it to John. "Hey, put this on? You've been in those clothes for so long, I'm guessing he'll look for those clothes, first. If you're wearing my uniform jacket, hopefully, he'll think you're one of us."

John obeyed quietly. The jacket was uncomfortably tight, but John did his best not to complain. After being made to understand that his adventure wasn't just mindlessly bouncing around in time, but that his life was actively being sought, John felt unsure of who he should trust. Belatedly, he offered a prayer in that regard. What do I do?

Obviously, don't trust the one trying to kill you. The answer made John feel foolish. The Lord continued in more reassuring tones. What I have ordained, I will accomplish. Get in the car that comes. Only trust Me.

Reassured, John relaxed. "So, other than heavily topped burgers, what else do you like?" he asked Matt, making himself sound more awkward than he meant it for the sake of comedy.

Matt kept his focus on the road outside, but answered thoughtfully, in the same way the question had been asked. He liked history, chess, and old movies, owned a blog about drinks popular in history, that was closely followed by soft drink companies, and even had a share in creating a popular, all-natural post-workout recovery drink that was based off a colonial/Antebellum drink called 'haymaker's switchel'.

Matt shrugged off his summary quickly. "Other than that, I just work, man. Every once in a while, I get to take time off to go visit my family, but ever since Arch betrayed the department, time to see my family is a rare species. I haven't been home in months."

"At least you get to go back and catch up on birthdays and holidays," John offered awkwardly.

"Nah, there's rules about that, because of how I age. Thanks to Archie trying to kill you, I have officially missed Dad's birthday." There was a crunch of tires on gravel. "Hey, the car's here. Wait for my signal, and then get in. I'll be right behind you."

Matt didn't leave an opening for John to try apologizing for the missed family time, but walked out to stand in the frigid, late-autumn air, hand on the butt of a gun John hadn't realized was holstered at Matt's side, as the agent scanned for danger. Matt waved a hand.

John left the greenhouse and got into the back seat of the sedan, as Matt had ordered. Once he was in, Matt grabbed the door handle of the front seat, but the car sped off, leaving Matt standing alone, in the middle of the drive. John twisted around in the seat to see Matt pull his gun and aim. John ducked down out of sight. The driver swerved from side to side, trying not to allow Matt a shot.

The gun went off and the car veered sideways to land in a ditch. Slammed against the partition between the front and rear of the car, John couldn't move, could barely breathe as the driver twisted around in his seat, and blinked blood out of his eyes with a determined expression. He reached a single finger through a ventilation hole and pressed a black square against the side of John's neck.

A sharp pain, as if he'd had a burr pressed into his skin, warned John that he'd been infected with nanorobotics once again. "No!" John yelled in frustration as the man hit a green square on the screen of his device.

The world blurred. John found himself in the back seat of another car. This time, the car was parked alongside the road, leaving John to lay sideways across the back seat. From the driver's seat, Art smiled at him.

"Hello, John," Art greeted with a distinct lack of warmth. "So good to see you again." He turned back around and set his car in motion. "If you live to see dear Matt-Matt again, tell him he's not the only one who knows how to clone a device."