Prompt #3: Through Space and Time

“Erica, I’m not sure how I feel about this job this time.”

Erica stared, dumbfounded at the man who called himself her boss. The man who had given her all sorts of immoral jobs, all sorts of strange jobs, all sorts of messed up jobs was now telling her not to take this one. Erica continued to stare down Dr. Anderson, her eyes angry and unwilling to let go. Dr. Anderson just stared right back. They continued down this route for what felt like hours until Erica finally broke.

“But I don’t understand why not? I mean you’ve sent me back to ensure that Pearl Harbor was never stopped--”

“And now I’m telling you that I don’t want you taking it. And that’s the end of it.” Dr. Anderson looked at her pointedly for a half a second, and then turned his back to leave.

Erica, defeated, glared daggers at Dr. Anderson’s back as he left the room. She knew she had a weird job...it involved time travel. Sort of. Erica’s job was a top secret government job that sent her back in time to make sure key events in history still happened. Erica knew, of course, that there were time periods that were accessible to her that she shouldn’t access; that one time with the dinosaurs had proved that enough. But this...this one was the opportunity of a lifetime. This would allow her to meet with one of the most influential legends in history. This would be the historical opportunity she had been waiting for.

Erica knew she had an interesting job. It was only to make money to finish her doctorate in History, but at some point, not only had she become attached, she’d become good at it. Her job involved her making money by going back through history and witnessing certain events, making sure that they still occurred, and writing about them later in a journal for Dr. Anderson, who was still testing his time travel theory. Erica wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about this job. The cover was that she was writing historical studies and journal’s for Oxford’s university science magazine. The real answer was that she was a full fledged M16 agent and worked under an extremely secret department that wasn’t allowed to be talked about by anyone including herself in case people who would want to also take part in this wouldn’t take part in it. Erica knew at some point that she would need to convince Dr. Anderson of her brilliant plan. This time era, she knew, would be the opportunity she had been waiting for.

As soon as Dr. Anderson exited the room, Erica found herself wandering his spacious office, looking for any way to propel herself back in time without her boss’s help. She knew she would need an assistant, and that she would need to find clothing, and that she would need to be very, very prepared. If Dr. Anderson wouldn’t let her do this, Erica would do it herself. Despite all this, the nagging feeling in Erica’s head wouldn’t go away. She wanted to know, but if Dr. Anderson was saying this was a bad idea, then maybe it truly was a bad idea. She plopped into his desk chair, head in hands. She sat there a few moments, before picking her head back up with  fresh determination. She would do this, so help her God (and maybe an assistant).

Erica strode confidently out of Dr. Anderson’s office and started down the hallway with a new spring in her step. Her feet slammed the concrete as she walked toward the lab, knowing exactly who she needed to find. When the door slammed behind her, her assistant (well, he would be her assistant in a second) gulped loudly, eyes widening like mad.

“Bruce, I need your help,” Erica grinned wildly. “I need you to send me back to the Middle Ages.”