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need to know.”
    “Beth.” Kane pushed himself up, surprised when she retreated
from his reaching hand. He couldn’t figure out how the conversation had spiraled
out of his control. “We never set out to do anything more than observe. To
learn from past mistakes, make our future better for it. The people here have
been carefully screened and selected for this project.”
    “That didn’t work so well with Guy, did it?” She kept
backing away from him, her voice sharper, harder with every word. “So what now,
Kane? Pat me on the head, threaten my life if I dare to say anything about this
and send me home?”
    “Elizabeth.” She halted next to the door, lifted her chin,
her eyes furious. “I would hardly treat the woman who saved my life so
carelessly.” Her chin lowered, surprise flaring through the anger. “Regardless
of what you think, there are many protocols in place to prevent the dire
predictions you’re lining up in your mind.”
    “Such as?”
    He bit back a smile. She was a spitfire, this one. “Such as,
no agent can return to the same time twice.”
    “So Guy won’t be able to come back to my time and—find me?”
    “Not unless he can build his own transport and bypass the
portal.”
    “How did he appear, the night we met?”
    Kane sighed. “It was for effect. We can travel short
distances using the transport, on the day we arrive. After that first day, all
we can do is return here, or move to another time.”
    “How are you going to send me home?” He heard the fear
edging her voice.
    “You are not—attached to the portal.” He was not going to
try to explain that purely alien aspect of the project, especially since he didn’t
like to think about it himself. “We will be able to send you straight back,
almost like a boomerang. So you will land right where you started.”
    Her hands unclenched. “So, if you can’t go back to the same
time, you won’t be able to take me home.”
    “And I am sorry for that.” He lowered himself to the bed,
his shoulder throbbing again. “Please stop hovering near the window. The staff
will think you’re afraid of me.”
    She moved to the chair and sat on the arm, as if she wanted
to keep distance, and have an easy escape. It shouldn’t have bothered him, but
it did. More than he expected.
    “Is this good enough?”
    “Beth—”
    “What?” She sounded petulant, and she must have realized it.
With a sigh, she slid into the chair, fingers picking at the notebook. “I’m
sorry. I have a temper, and feeling out of control tends to spark it.”
    “Feeling out of control would apply in this situation.” He
rubbed his forehead, exhaustion weighting him again. “I know you want to return
home, but I would like to be able to stand upright long enough to walk you to
the lab.”
    “If that’s your way of saying you want me to stay until
you’re recovered, I will.” She leaned back against the chair, the smudges under
her eyes darker. “I think I might need some recovery time.”
    “You did not need to stay with me all night.”
    “I lost track of time.” A smile touched her lips. “Honestly.
I tend to do that when I’m draw—scribbling.”
    Since she obviously wanted to keep what she did to herself,
Kane didn’t pursue it. Instead he reached for the intercom on the nightstand.
“I’m going to have them prepare an empty room for you. Now that Dr. Kinimoto
knows you’re not a notorious international assassin, you can stay as long as
you need to—”
    A screeching alarm cut him off.
    He was on his feet and grabbing Elizabeth before he thought
about it.
    They ran down the med wing corridor, both of them barefoot.
Kane swung her around the corner, and nearly ran straight into Mac.
    “I was just coming to get you.” Mac gripped his good
shoulder. “We found Guy.”
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    The lab was crowded when they arrived. Kane
took long enough to duck into the costume room and change into a fresh, blood
free BEF uniform. He found his spare