I Am Jessamine

Jess had tossed and turned and struggled to fall asleep after discussing their plans to get themselves ready for the upcoming time travel trip. It still boggled her mind thinking over all she had been told, but she put it aside because she believed her dad and Willy. They had all gone off to different rooms to get some shut-eye and Jess had fallen into bed in only her panties and one of her brothers’ shirts that she had found in the dresser drawer in his room. It still had the faint spicy smell of his cologne. She held her breath and fought down the tears she wanted to shed. Crying was not an option right now, she reminded herself. Little did she know that those tears had rolled down her cheeks as she had fallen into a broken sleep.

Feeling the sun on her back Jess came awake. She rolled out of bed and sauntered into the bathroom and turned the shower on while she brushed her teeth. Jumping under the shower Jess scrubbed and the fogginess in her brain started to clear and the previous night’s events returned to fill her with more questions.

After getting dressed she walked out of the bedroom into the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Walking into the kitchen Jess saw Willy over the stove cracking eggs into a pan and tossing strips of bacon into another pan.

“Good morning time traveler.” Willy turned around with a grim look on his face and then smiled when he saw the look on her face. He could see she was trying really hard to remain upbeat considering the bomb that had been dropped on her the previous evening. It could not have been an easy thing to hear.

“We will need to get some supplies and a few items of clothing before we take our trip. Are you ready for a wee bit of walking this morning?” He asked as he placed the bread in the toaster.

“I guess that would be a sensible thing to do. What do you reckon we will need?” Jess sat down at the breakfast counter with her chin resting in her hands.

“You know you can be mad at us, Jess. We will understand because this is not an easy situation that you have been thrown in.” Willy stood opposite her with his hands braced on the counter.

“I know, but what would be the point in that? It is what it is and clearly, Nick has gone back and if I know Nick, as well as I think I do, then he will probably have some sort of plan, but his plans are rushed and he always ends up getting into shit and someone has to bail him out. I just want to know why he went back. It’s not just to find our mother. There is more to it than that and I am super curious now to know what it is.” She poured herself some coffee and sat back. Looking at Willy she asked the one question she had been holding back all night. “How the hell did you manage to fit into your new life? Surely your mind must have been blown and you were scared shitless. I know that I would have been scared!” She hugged her coffee mug and rested her feet on the opposite stool while she watched different emotions play across Willy’s face.

Willy stood looking at her until the toast popped up and he turned away thinking that Jess was a tough lass with a good head on her shoulders, but he found it odd that she never asked about her mother or even mentioned wanting to see her if they did go back. “I was petrified, Jessie. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I was going mad and then almost had my heart stop when I saw a bus, or a plane. Then having to learn how the laws had changed and people seemed a lot freer to voice their opinions and say what was on their mind.” He shook his head smiling. Then his eyes grew big as though he just remembered something. “The clothing was scandalous to me until Ben explained what was considered elegant, practical, and casual and what was considered to be stretching the limits. He did make it clear that people believed in expressing themselves however they saw fit.” He huffed at this, “Strange haircuts and the colors! That was a bit of a pill to swallow, I can tell you. Then there were the tattoos, and remember for us tattoos were usually seen on seamen and we knew that they had images inked into their skin, but here in the time we arrived back, it was considered art and self-expression for men and women alike and they had images inked everywhere and their piercings on their bodies were an unholy thing to see.” Grumbling something or other Jess remembered his anger when she’d got a tattoo of a tiny dove on her index finger. He had tried to convince her to get it removed, but even Ben had stepped in to defend her. It was a very small image of a dove that could be hidden by a ring.

Willy’s laugh then interrupted her thoughts, “Electricity blew my mind and I was always being chastised for standing and turning lights on and off. I was just in awe that things could glow so brightly without fire.” Jessie laughed and Willy smiled and shook his head. “It took a while for me to settle down, but I did and I stayed because I made a promise and took an oath.”

Looking up at him with a frown creasing her brow Jessie cocked her head to one side, “A promise and an oath? To whom, exactly?”

“My promise was to be god father to you and your brother and teach you all I knew. To show you how to survive, fight, and exist without all of the spoils of the century you were born in, but not conceived in, and my oath was to give my life for you should the need ever arise. I gave my solemn oath to your father, Lord Rourke Deaglan O’Cleirigh, and of course to your mother.”

Turning away trying to avoid the thought of her biological father Jessie went to look out of the kitchen window at a building of similar proportions and also probably had people making their breakfast and having their first cup of coffee. Lovers disentangling from one another, sneaking in that last kiss and cuddle for the day. Mothers rushing to get breakfast made, lunches done and kids dressed. Fathers rushing around finding a missing sock or getting his wife to knot his tie, looking for keys. Single men and women, some lonely and some quite comfortable with their lives, standing at their windows gazing at the world drinking their tea or coffee.

Ignoring what Willy had just said and pushing her thoughts and feelings aside, Jess turned back and said, “So, what exactly will we be needing then?”

Instead of voicing the thoughts floating around his head, he said, “Well firstly we will need the right kind of clothing and shoes. A leather satchel for each of us to carry our bits in and water bottles. We will need hessian ropes because nylon ropes will draw too much attention and we will need a broad spectrum antibiotic that we can hide somewhere on our person. Believe me, that will come in handy. There are a lot of home comforts we will have to go without and we will definitely not be able to take anything electronic. We want nothing to bring attention to ourselves. We will also have to scour antique stores for any old coins that may be of value then, but not now.”

Just then Ben walked into the kitchen and kissed Jess on her head. After the good mornings were said he looked at Jess and said, “Jess, I think it may be a good idea for you to pass yourself off as a young lad.”

Before Jess had time to respond the apartment door opened and Valeria came drifting into the kitchen on a cloud of that now familiar perfume.

“Excuse me! Ever hear of knocking?” Jessie stood up with an angry look on her face and banged her coffee cup down on the counter.

“Oh, please ma petit, do not bang the cup so. They were gifts to Nicholas from me.” She flicked her wrist and breezed past Willy to pour herself a cup of coffee as he grumbled, “Please, help yourself, your highness!”

Ben remained silent, as usual, and Jess looked at him. She could see he was angry, but he would never give someone else the satisfaction of knowing their actions had caused a reaction in him. God, how I wish I could be more like that, Jess thought grumpily. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reminded herself to put her game face on.

“What brings you back here then, Valeria?” asked Ben politely.

“I am going to help you and then we are all going to go and find Nicholas.” She said pulling a face at the coffee and then tossing the rest down the drain.

Jessie opened her mouth to give Valeria a piece of her mind, but Ben stepped forward and asked, “Why would you want to do that? What’s in it for you?”

“As I told you last night, Nicholas has done something that the syndicate forbids and he has to answer for his betrayal. I have been tasked with finding him and meting out his punishment and then reporting back to the syndicate.” She lifted her chin and gazed at Ben with that raised eyebrow and a look of importance on her face.

“Meting out punishment? Such as?” But Valeria ignored the questions growled through gritted teeth from Willy.

“If that is the case, why do you think we, as his family, would allow you to harm Nick in any way? You may be a part of the syndicate, but we are not. We signed nothing and we owe allegiance to no one.” Ben’s voice sounded strained and Jess knew he was holding in his anger and rage.

“That may be so, but I know where the jump sites are and I know who watches these sights and I also know how to return,” and she glanced at Jess, “should I wish to do so. If you wish to impede my accompanying you then all it will take is one call and you will all be forbidden from traveling.”

“But we don’t owe allegiance to the syndicate and they have no right in trying to stop us traveling to find my brother. I know my father and Willy would never have drawn attention to time traveling or the fact they had traveled, so why the restrictive attitude?” Jessie was so angry her hands grew cold and she had them balled into fists at her side.

Flicking her wrist as though shooing away a fly Valeria sniffed haughtily and answered without looking at Jess, “Be that as it may, the syndicate is powerful and you will be hard-pressed to try a jump without their knowledge. You’re all already being watched so your movements are no secret.” Opening her purse and removing a card Valeria walked to the front door and dropped the card beside the answering machine. “Call me when you come to your senses and realize you need our help.”

The door banged closed and Jess let out the breath she had been holding.

“Bloody stuck-up bitch! Who the fuck does she think she is?” Willy’s vocabulary turned the air blue, but voiced exactly what Jess had wanted to say.

Ben looked at them both and narrowed his eyes. They knew that look and waited for Ben to speak and say what was on his mind. Sitting down at the breakfast bar and pulling a plate towards himself he said, “Pass the eggs and bacon there please Will, oh and don’t forget the toast and butter. I’m famished.”

After chewing a mouthful of his breakfast, Ben looked up and asked no one in particular in a very quiet voice, “Are we not thieves? How many times have we had to work while being under surveillance and we managed it? Come now, this is no different is it?” He scraped his plate with his knife and banged the butter dish around and then gestured up and pointed at his ear.

Jessie and Willy started to look around and then continued their conversation, “You know maybe she does have a point, dad, though I would never admit it to her.” Jess said loudly while climbing up onto the counter and checking in the light fitting and seeing the little black device which was a microphone and then nodding at Willy and her dad.

“She may have a point but she is still a stuck-up French cow.” Said Willy while he continued to look around and pointed behind the mirror above the fireplace.

“Let’s finish up with breakfast and go take a walk to clear our heads and then we will decide who gets to call the frog,” Ben suggested.

As Ben and Willy ate breakfast and generally spoke nonsense Jessie went and packed her bag quickly and then when she was done she sat with Willy and ate a little breakfast while Ben packed his things. As Jess and Ben did the dishes loudly Willy then packed his bag and within an hour they were out the front door where Jess then showed them where the maintenance passage was and they exited the building into the alley, leaving the card, with the tracking device, on the table next to the answering machine and their mobile phones in the washing machine that was now washing a few dust covers.

Walking in the back alleys past the homeless they made their way uptown toward the motels they knew were there. While they walked they started to discuss how they would get around this syndicate that obviously held the monopoly on time traveling. There were not many time travelers obviously and there had to be a reason as to why this syndicate wanted to keep tabs on everyone and their movements. These reasons were many, but without any real information, they could only assume.

“They will very clearly realize we are no longer in the flat in a couple of hours and then start looking for us in all the obvious places like pawn shops, vintage and antique shops so that will make things a little tricky for us. We are going to have to come up with another plan and quickly.” Ben told them.

Jess thought about this for a while and then grudgingly voiced her thoughts. “We could pull a job on the museum.”

The men stayed quiet for a while as they mulled this over and then Willy exclaimed, “That’s bloody brilliant! It will be a one-stop shop for everything we need. Think about it Ben, the clothing, coins, weapons… It’s all there. We just need to move fast now. We did something similar with those jewels that we replaced with costume jewelry when we did that job against that famous design house. Remember? They claimed their jewels were stolen when in fact they hid them among other jewels and claimed the insurance money.” Turning to Jess he said with a huge grin, “We pulled in and took the real goods and left the paste and gave the genuine stuff back to the insurers. That was one of our legit heists, remember? We made good money on that one.” He said with a grin.

Ben grinned and glanced at Willy. “I think we have a plan forming here. Let’s get settled and then Will you go out and find us transport and Jess you will have to be the curious school kid. Are we agreed then and we all know what to do?”

After saying they agreed and smiling at each other they got to it.

Ben booked them into a motel using cash, Jess changed clothes and Willy went off to find their transport.

Twenty minutes later they were in a smaller, but independent annex to the museum and Willy made his way towards the men’s room, Jess walked towards the information center and Ben slipped through the door labeled ‘private’.

Stepping up to the desk Jess cleared her throat and the elderly lady looked up from the book she had been reading and peered over her reading glasses with a small smile that made it clear that this old lady would take no guff. “Hello ma’am,” Jess began respectfully, “I wonder if you would help me? I am doing a project in history class this semester on the clothing worn by the pioneers who came over to the ‘New World’ around the end of the 1700s to the mid-1800s. Do you have any examples of these on display anywhere in the museum? I would just like to make a few sketches if I am allowed.” Jess smiled her best smile and looked as innocent as a cuddly kitten.

“Oh my goodness, my dearie, of course we do and you may certainly sketch what we have. We have an entire section on what you need. Would you like me to show it to you?” The lady crumbled and gave in to Jess’s charms.

“That would be so kind of you, ma’am.” Jessie smiled shyly at the kind lady as they moved down the passage and past an array of books and parchments in glass cases.

Walking through large double doors Jess looked around her and thought she had been transported back and into someone’s closet. There were rows upon rows of shoes, shirts, waistcoats, trousers, jackets with brass buttons and different colored piping, and a variety of dresses of different colors, corsets, petticoats, stockings, and garters. There were knitted shawls and lacy scarves and gloves of varying lengths, and colors made from a variety of materials. Some had fingers and others had the fingers cut off. It was a smorgasbord of clothing that they could choose from. There were mannequins and dress forms draped and dressed in various styles for the different classes, headdresses, and wigs of the age. Various flags were hanging from small flag poles indicating the country from which items had come. It was well organized and very easy to maneuver around.

“I am certain you will find what you need right here, my dear. As you can see above the different shelves are the years that these garments were worn and which styles were appropriate for the different classes and which functions. For example, the higher class ladies had their dresses and undergarments made from the most expensive materials, whereas the lower classes were of coarser materials. The gentlemen wore similar styles, but here also, they differed in the way as to which materials were used. Is this what you were looking for?” She asked sweetly.

“Yes, oh absolutely yes! I had no idea there was so much to choose from. Thank you so much.” Jess said breathlessly.

Pointing up towards the corner from the big all the lady said, “That will be the section you will be looking to sketch from then. I just have to ask you to please not climb over the ropes and touch any of the items on display. We have worked very hard to keep what we have in the good condition that they are in.”

“Oh no, of course not. I will sketch from what I can see, thank you very much.” Jess smiled at her as the lady turned around and headed for the door and back to the book she had been reading.

Jessie looked around her and then headed towards the section that had been pointed out and was amazed at the variety and felt grateful that Willy would know what to choose from because she had no clue whatsoever. Taking a book and pencil out of her bag she made to sketch a few items while looking around and seeing how many cameras were in this room and whether they were independent cameras or whether they were linked to the main consul.

Through her earpiece, she heard Ben ask about the cameras and Jess replied with the information needed from what she had seen, and then she had to go silent as a couple came in and were talking quietly between themselves and walked past Jess and looked at her sketch and smiled and moved on. Jessie looked them over carefully and decided this couple was just in for a stroll and to spend time alone together. Nothing to worry about here.

Getting up she walked around the room slowly looking for the tell-tale signs of laser beams and found none and relayed this information back to her dad. She supposed that there were no extra beams because the clothing was not exactly something that would get stolen. Well, not unless you had to time travel, she thought sourly.

After an hour and about fifteen minutes before the museum closed, Jess got up and walked back to the entrance to where the lady sat in inquiries and made sure the old lady saw her on her way out she muttered a very quiet thank you and gave a wave and held up her book and smiled. The elderly lady gave her a thumbs-up and smiled back while she was packing her book and reading glasses in her bag. Jess stepped through the revolving door, waited for a minute or two, and then returned to find that the lady from the inquiries desk had gone. She looked around for the security guard for this wing, but he was obviously on his rounds quickly closing and locking doors. Jessie moved behind the desk and pulled the chair out which was still warm. Climbing under the desk Jess pulled the chair back again and sat hiding quietly.

Not long after she heard footsteps and a male’s voice calling out a greeting to have a great weekend and the reply was from the inquiries lady wishing him back. Jess heard the guard’s shoes squeaking on the polished wooden floors and the jingle of keys and click of the front door locks. He must have his own set for the exit to outside, thought Jess. That was a bonus. Just then the footsteps came closer and from where Jess was hidden she could just make out a pair of shoes standing on the threshold of the cubicle. Jess held her breath as the guard stood for a while before turning away and walking off towards what she assumed was the guards’ room behind the door that read ‘private’. Jess quietly let out a long breath and waited for another ten minutes.

“Jessie lass, are you here?” Willy called quietly.

Pushing the chair away and crawling out from under the desk Jess stood up and saw Willy standing a few paces down the hallway. Jessie looked around and quietly headed in his direction. He walked to the door that read ‘private’ and pushed it open for her and they went in search of Ben.

Just as they got a few feet down the internal passage Ben poked his head around a door labeled ‘control room’ and motioned for them to follow him. Walking in Jess saw the small bank of camera screens covering the annex they were in and the guard lying on the floor with his jacket folded under his head she looked at her dad and raised an eyebrow. “What? The floor is cold and I don’t want the poor guy getting a head cold. He will have enough explaining to do without being sick on top of it all.” He shrugged his shoulders as he removed the recording discs from the machines and pushed them into his jacket pocket.

“Thoughtful of you Ben,” said Willy with a grin on his face that made them all laugh.

“Right then, where do we go Jess?’ Ben asked as they all pulled on black baseball caps just as a precaution.

“We have to go back up to the inquiries area and down the first passage to the right. All the way at the end of the passage are large double doors and behind those doors, beautifully labeled, are the items we will need.” They headed off to the area and were almost at the doors when Ben asked, “Are those doors locked?”

They all stopped and Willy and Jess looked at Ben. Willy asked if there had not been a bunch of keys with the guard he had put to sleep and Ben said no and that he had checked his pockets for any keys. By now they were at the doors and Jess tried them, but they were locked. “Shit! It’s locked.”

“Where would he have left the keys then?” asked Ben to no one in particular.

They looked at one another and then Jess remembered how he had stopped for some time near the inquiries counter. “He stopped for a while at the inquiries counter before moving on to his office. He may have put them somewhere in that area, but I didn’t hear the sound of any keys when he was there. I will go back and have a look.”

As she moved off Ben said, “Be quick Jess. We don’t want to spend too much time here because I don’t know how hard that guard’s head is.”

Jess retraced her steps as Willy and Ben stood to one side and waited for her. She walked quietly back into the reception area and to the inquiries counter and looked around. The light outside had started to fade and the lights left on inside the museum were very dull and hidden behind the displays. She waited a short while for her eyes to adjust and then started looking for the keys. She could not immediately see anything hanging in any obvious place and then she wondered why she had not heard the jingle of keys when he had stood there so she moved back to where she had seen his feet while she had been under the table. Looking around her there was nothing that could explain the lack of noise until she looked up at the brochures and pamphlets that were stored on a shelf behind the inquiries sign. Right there, on the shelf, was a thick black velvet pouch and Jess had to use the chair to stand on to be able to reach it. Grabbing the pouch she felt the distinct hardness and length of the keys within. Sighing and wiping the sweat off her face with her shirt she dusted her footprints off the seat and pushed the chair back into its position. As she turned to go back to Willy and Ben she heard muffled voices and then saw a beam of light flash past the display near the front door. Dropping to the floor Jess lay as still as could be while she watched the beam of light flash through the door and over other displays and the ever-popular inquiries counter. Jessie wriggled further back on her belly and accidentally bumped the chair with her foot. With the pouch held in her one gloved hand, the other hand groped to keep the chair still. The muffled voices and the beam of light eventually moved on and Jess sighed a sigh of relief, but was grinning like a Cheshire cat and felt that old familiar rush like an old friend comforting her nerve endings. It was akin to a drug. She could quite easily see how this would become addictive and how Ben had struggled to break free. She knew it would sound crazy to others but she knew her family would understand. This was the end for Jess though. She knew that enough was enough.

Getting back up she moved back towards the passage and to where her dad and Willy waited for her. Willy quietly took the pouch from her and selected a key while Ben gave her shoulder a knowing squeeze as he studied her flushed face. She realized they must have heard the voices and seen flashes of the torchlight down the passage and known she would have had to take cover until the outside security had moved on.

Willy turned the key in the lock and gently pushed down on the handle even though Jess had not seen any evidence of an alarm attached to the inner door. The door opened easily and they slipped through in single file and Jess pointed to the section clearly labeled for their purpose.

Ben and Willy both stepped forward and stood for a little while gaping at the array of clothing on the hangers, shelves, and mannequins. “You guys will know better than me what we need, so go to it.” Looking at her watch Jess added, “We have ten minutes left so we better get moving.” That was another one of Ben’s rules. Never change your time when you’re on a job. Give an allotted amount of time and stick to it no matter what. So, that’s what Jess did.

“You’re okay with being a lad, Jessie?” asked Willie quietly and Jess looked over at him and nodded even though she knew there would be obstacles to overcome she knew it would be better in the long run so that they could move about easily. “Without wanting to sound disrespectful to you, my sweet girl, I do think we could get away with it if you were bound up around the chest area and wore a vest of some sort. What do you say?” Willy’s cheeks grew pink and he avoided her gaze and she couldn’t help but smile. No one had to tell her she had really small breasts, she knew this, but Willy’s discomfort at mentioning her anatomy made it seem so insignificant at this moment. “I understand perfectly Willy and I had already thought of that, but thank you for your concern. I appreciate it very much.” And Jess leaned over and laid a hand on his cheek.

She watched Willy and Ben carefully select items and pack them in the tog bag Ben had brought with him. Shirts, vests, jackets, breeches, stockings, socks, short ankle shoes, and knee-high boots. She noticed they never even looked at the fancier clothing but went straight for the middle to lower-class attire. Once they had finished with their choices and packed them they moved towards the wall where the leather belts, satchels, message bags, water or rum flasks, knives in leather sheaths, and then the swords in their scabbards were displayed in an enclosed glass case. Looking through the keys again Willy selected a smaller key and fit it into the lock and gently turned the key. The case opened with a creaking noise, but no alarm sounded. Ben and Willy went to it and selected items and shoved them in the second tog bag. Jessie’s eye caught the dull gleam of a smaller and very thin needle like sword and Willy noticed her looking closely at it and he reached in and removed the sword and placed the sheath over the blade and packed it in the bag as well. Glancing at her he smiled and winked and closed the display case and locked it quietly as Jess checked her watch and called quietly, “Time.”

Willy and Ben hefted the bags without a single word, turned around, and followed Jess out into the hall, through the doors, which she closed and locked behind them, and retraced their steps back to the guards’ room where they found the guard snoring on the floor. Walking past the lockers and down a short passage past the employees’ private bathroom they found an ‘exit’ sign and followed the stairs down to a single door at the bottom of the stairs.

Checking the bunch of keys Jess found one that looked like it would fit that door and gently inserted the key and turned the lock. The lock clicked and Jess pressed the handle down gently and pulled the door open about an inch. She looked down a very narrow, dark alley with dumpsters that smelled like rotten potatoes along one wall and fire escape ladders on the other side. Pulling the door open further Jess stepped out into a wall of stink. Human urine and rotten potatoes were enough to make her stomach roil and she put her hand over her mouth. Willy and Ben followed and Willy whispered, “The smell of home, hey Ben?” And the two men laughed quietly through their noses.

Moving silently up the alley Willy held up his fist to show they needed to stand still and he gently put his bag on the ground and stepped forward, turned his cap around, and took off his gloves. Ben and Jess waited in the smelly alley.

After a few moments, Willy pulled up to the alley entrance with their borrowed van and Ben walked forward, pulled the side door open as Jess hefted the bag that Willy had left and then loaded it after Ben, climbed in, and just as she was about to close the door the museum fire alarm started blaring and the exterior lights started flashing in front of the museum. Jessie slammed the door shut as Willy eased gently into the traffic ahead of them.

“What the hell?” asked Jess angrily, “Who started a bloody fire in the museum?”

“We don’t know if it is a fire or if the dazed guard woke up and just pulled on any alarm.” Said Ben glancing over at Willy.

“We will have to get moving now because we won’t know how long it will take for them to figure out that the museum has been robbed and then the query as to who breaks into this sort of museum and steals garments, weaponry and such?” said Willy as he sped towards their motel and kept his eyes averted from Jess.

Willy pulled over beside the motel and Jess and Ben removed the bags before he then drove off to leave their borrowed transport in a car park two blocks away.