After wandering campus attempting to find Charles, Julie stopped in the Powell Library across from the destroyed physics building to think. She pulled her notebook and pen out of her purse and sat staring through the windows towards the area outside. Unbeknownst to her, she started to tap her notebook with her pen, lost in thought about what to do next.
“Shh!” and angry sound came at her from behind. She sat up straight and stopped tapping her pen.
“Sorry,” she whispered to the angered person, not bothering to turn around. She avoided staring out the windows again, she started to think about what her next step could be. She needed to figure out the next step, she needed information. She sighed, she needed Kevin back to explain what he meant.
Julie started to look around the library. A bank of computers used for the card catalog were close by, all the computers seemed filled with students going about their school careers despite the rubble of building across the way. She grabbed her notebook and approached the desk with the librarians behind it.
She must have used this library when she was a student but she couldn't remember anything about it. “Do you have computers with internet access here?” She asked the lady who approached to her to help.
“They are located one floor down.” She replied. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
'Not unless you know how to reach Kevin Richardson in the year 2030,' She thought to herself. “No,” She replied. She thanked the woman and made her way to the basement where rows of desks, each with a computer, lined the walls and snaked their way through the room. Julie found an unoccupied desk and took a seat.
She opened an internet browser and sat, fingers frozen over the keys. She had no idea what she was going to look up. How do you research someone from the future. 'He wasn't always that age, he had to grow up.' Julie perked at this train of thought. Maybe she could find young Kevin and somehow use him to get a message to him as an adult? It was a long shot, but she would give it a try.
Several hours passed and Julie was exhausted from staring at the computer screen. There were several Kevin Richardsons in the Los Angeles area alone and what if he wasn't even from California? She sighed and sat back in her chair, tossing her pen on the notebook now heavily scribbled on.
She looked at her watch and jumped from the desk grabbing her things. Julie had promised she and Jeff would meet her mother for an early dinner. It was already after one o'clock. She wondered how she'd sat for that long researching without breaking for food. She was not very aware of her stomach wanting food; she stopped by a vending machine on the way out and managed to dig through her purse to find enough change to get a Snickers bar.
She sighed as she reached the parking lot and scanned for her car, she couldn't remember where she parked. Thankfully, she had a vehicle with an automatic door lock/unlock feature on its key. She continued to hit the lock button looking for the flashing lights and listening for the beep to sound where her vehicle was. She smiled when she saw the lights flashing and started towards her car. As she neared she saw a guy wandering the parking lot. She would have thought he was looking for his car but his head was turned in her direction. She couldn't make out the man's face since the sun was directly behind him, blinding her to his features.
The man started to move towards her. Unnerved, Julie unlocked her car, threw open the door, climbed in, locked the car and quickly turned the key in the ignition. As she pulled out she could see the man's face clearly, she did not know how he was but she could also see him opening the door to the car that was two away from hers.
“Damn,” she muttered. “I'm jumpy.”
“With good reason,” a male voice behind her spoke.
Julie screamed and slammed on her brakes, hard. She could feel the man slam forward and hit his head on the back of her seat. She unlocked the door and turned to run.
“Damn Julie!” the man yelled as he got out of the car. “It's me,” The man said as he moved his hands away from his face. She stood facing Nick.
“Nick!” she shouted. “What the hell were you doing in my car? That was stupid!” She hit his arm, relieved that it was someone she somewhat knew.
“Yah, not one of my brightest ideas.” He chuckled smirking at her.
“What the hell are you doing here? This is my time you know, I'm home. I don't need a volunteer checking in on me,” Julie said it and knew it was not true. She wanted to be checked in on, but she wanted Kevin to be there.
“I still can't get over that Dr. Dorough let you return with your time travel memories,” he said shaking his head. “But since you have them, I'm hoping you can help me with something.”
A car horn blared behind them and they turned to wave apologizes to the man shouting at them through his car windows. “Can we go to you place?” Nick asked as he started to get back into the car. “To talk,” he added.
Julie nodded and got back in her car and turned it south back to Culver City. “I wasn't under the impression that anyone would be contacting me again. Howie, Dr. Dorough, didn't want me speaking about my experiences with anyone.” As she spoke, Kevin's words came back. Maybe it was Nick she was supposed to help.
“Well I'm sure it was explained how it typically works. Your case must have been special that he didn't insist on a volunteer getting you at your first jump date, especially after...” She caught his eyes in the rear view mirror and he looked away, leaving his statement unfinished.
The car remained silent until they reached Julie's apartment. Once inside, she motioned for him to take a seat. “I need to get changed really quick, please stay here.” She ran into her room and changed into clothes appropriate to meet her mother for dinner. She glanced in the mirror and ran a brush through her light brown hair. She returned to the living room to find Nick lying down on the couch flipping through the television channels.
“Aren't these all reruns for you?” She asked in jest.
“Nick flipped off the T.V. And sat up, “I haven't watched much TV lately, been busy.”
Julie sat in the chair next to the couch, crossing one foot under her as she sat. “You said something about helping you?” she asked him.
He leaned closer to Julie and spoke in a soft tone. It made Julie feel that she was being told something she wasn't supposed to know. “We've recently discovered a rogue volunteer within the Project itself,” He stopped as if expecting her to look shocked, when she didn't react he continue. “We think he's come back to your time, this time, to try to manipulate the focus of the Project before it is up and running.”
“I still don't see how I can help.” Julie un-tucked her leg as it was starting to go numb under her. “I'm not a volunteer; wouldn't it be up to you, Dr. Dorough and Kevin to figure this out?” Her heart jumped around in her chest, 'Please let Kevin come,' her heart seemed to scream to her head.
“Dr. Dorough is attempting to fix the mess the guy left the lab when he left and Kevin is off searching for a displaced person.” Nick shrugged and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and helping himself to a soft drink.
'He's looking for me,' Julie thought to herself. The second note in her notebook suddenly made sense to her. She wanted to find a way to tell Kevin she was found so he could stop searching. A quick memory of him answering her when she asked if he ever stopped looking for her. “Never,” he'd said. She could ask Nick to tell him, maybe when they were finished she would ask. “And AJ?” she shot out remembering the name from the future.
Nick looked at her confused. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything, maybe he's not part of the project yet, maybe he's the rogue volunteer. Nick only shook his head and sat back down.
“I need your help to find the brains behind the project.” Nick moved closer to her chair and placed his hand gently on her knee.
“Charles?” she questioned.
“Yes, Charles! Great, you know him?” Nick squeezed her knee shooting a jolt of tingles through her lower body.
“I know what Kevin told me about him,” Julie started to speak, disappointment evident on Nick's face. “And I sort of ran into him and a friend of his today.”
“Friend? He's not supposed to meet Jessica for another two years; she's the co-founder of the project.” Nick looked worried. “Shit, do you know who this friend is?”
“I spoke with him; he said his name is Brian. Mary said he transferred from USC this year.”
“Fuck,” Nick paced the room running his hands through his hair.
“Is he the rogue volunteer?” Julie questioned. “I might know where we can run into them again.” She offered up.
A huge grin broke out on the blond hair, blue-eyed man's face. “You're the best!” He exclaimed as he pulled Julie out of the chair and wrapped both of his arms tightly around her she found herself wrapping her own arms around him, bringing him closer to her.
