"This is a safe tie up. Nobody will take much notice of us, especially this time of year. Most of these are summer homes," explained Angelica. Just to be safe, Danielle had stayed inside the cabin of the Dove, until darkness had descended over San Juan island. Fredrick was curled up into his cat bed, fast asleep. Danielle and Angelica left him there and stepped off the stern of the sailboat, lowering themselves into the dinghy. Angelica had a package in one hand, and a small headlamp strapped to her forehead. "I'm bringing my friends some Canadian presents. Maple syrup and smoked sockeye salmon. It's their favourite."

  After a short row, the pair was nearing the gravel beach in front of the only home in the bay with their lights on. Seals barked in the distance. Another person wearing a headlamp made their way down the beach to greet them.

  "Angelica!" welcomed the woman. "You made it! And your friend too!"

  "Danielle, this is Erin," introduced Danielle, "Erin, Danielle."

  "Pleased to meet you!" responded Erin, her face obscured by the light from the headlamp. "Come on up, and you can meet my husband."

  "A tall man with a carefully trimmed beard met them at the door of the beach house. It was a lovely timber framed structure with a large front window. "This is Harold, Danielle," explained Erin.

  The four had a lovely dinner and made pleasant small talk. Danielle once again felt like this region was a wonderful place to make a home for herself. The conversation began to divert towards some more sensitive issues.

  "Danielle, Erin and Harold are both ex-Time Agents. Arachnid, level 3," explained Angelica. "They became agents 20 years after you did, and were the last two Arachnid agents I ever ran into. We've known each other for 10 years, and they are part of the Resistance."

  "Really!" replied Danielle.

  "Yes, we were agents for two years and became pretty disillusioned with the scheme," added Harold.

  "Erin and Harold spent some time in Europe, Danielle. Monitoring activities in Geneva, Switzerland," added Angelica.

  "Oh, wow! That's where I am headed. You probably know that."

  Both Erin and Harold nodded their heads affirmatively.

  "What's it like?" asked Danielle.

  "Well it's a beautiful region, and you will be there at an excellent time of year. What is your plan for getting around, in Europe?" asked Erin.

  "I haven't really thought that far ahead. what do you two think?"

  "Europe is not as bad as most countries, when it comes to officials checking your paperwork," explained Erin. "If you stop in Morocco, the police will spot you a mile away and want to see your passport. They'll follow you around their country in a police car, just to make sure you are safe. But Europe isn't like that. You will blend right in, and there are no borders to cross, once you arrive. European politics have shifted pretty far to the left, lately." Harold agreed. "They are pretty tolerant of foreigners, even irregular ones. Even more so, than when we were in Europe. Local buses and trains don't usually require passport checks, and you can piece a long journey together, with public transit. Hotels and hostels can be a problem though. Have you thought about using campgrounds?"

  "I used to camp with my dad," replied Danielle.

  "Campgrounds take cash, they don't need to see your passport, and they rarely have surveillance cameras. Full of locals, and nobody is looking to turn you in to the authorities. There are still quite a few young Americans, your age, backpacking around Europe. You'd fit right in!"

  This was quite a shock to Danielle's system. What she had been imagining was pretty muddled, but it wasn't camping. Still, there were some pretty obvious merits to their idea. "Camping around Europe. It sounds doable. I guess that I could carry some gear in my backpack."

  "There is another possibility," added Harold, somewhat mischievously. "It's the way Erin and I met. Bicycle touring. You could ride a touring bicycle and carry your gear in panniers, bicycle bags. Everyone would welcome a young woman like yourself, arriving on a bicycle. Are you a cyclist?"

  "Not since I was a teenager."

  "Well, you could train yourself along the way to Europe! Go for a ride in every port, or something like that," suggested Erin. "We have bicycles here. The same bikes we rode in Europe. Why don't you take them for a ride tomorrow, around the island. See if it suits you."

  "Why not?" answered Danielle.

  __________________________________________________________________________

  The next morning Danielle and Angelica made their way back to shore, and took up the offer of the bicycle ride. Erin wasn't much taller than Danielle, and so her small framed Surly branded touring bicycle fit her well, with the seat lowered a bit. Angelica rode Harold's bike, which really was oversized for her, even with the seat set to the lowest possible position.

  Danielle was once again blown away by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. It was the third week of April, and everything was green and lush, with a perfect temperature for riding. She felt like a kid again, coasting down the hills and whizzing past the pleasant island homes. Up hills weren't too bad, since the gearing could go very low. It just took a while, and wasn't much faster than walking. She and Angelica completed the loop and the island ride in about 4 hours.

  "You did it!" remarked Erin, as the pair returned to the beach house driveway. "What did you think?"

  "My butt is sore," replied Danielle. "But you sure live in a beautiful place."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  A little later the four Resistance members were sharing dinner together again. Harold had barbequed salmon and potatoes on his outdoor grill.

  "What caused you two to lose faith in Arachnid?" asked Danielle.

  "Well, we started to have the usual concerns of the effects of time alterations, but then I took it to another level," explained Erin. "One night, after I returned from a particularly obnoxious mission in Europe, I had a dream. I dreamt that I stepped out of the time machine and there was nobody in the dispatch room. That seemed odd, so I walked out of the building. I was in New York City, and all the cars on the street were empty. Some had crashed. There were no pedestrians. I looked into some of the shops. Nobody anywhere! I was sure that I was the only person left on Earth and even Harold was gone. I panicked and ran back into the office, adjusted the inputs on the time computers, pushed activate, and jumped into the portal. That is when I woke up."

  "What?! asked Danielle. "That is crazy!"

  "Yes," she continued, "but it seemed so incredibly real. I woke Harold up and checked my laptop to see that everyone I knew was okay. That dream helped focus my attention on what I was doing with my life. I never agreed to another mission."

  "I have heard so many of these stories." Danielle was determined. "I just have to get this job done."

  "What do you think of the bicycle touring idea?" asked Harold.

  "I will need to get in shape. That's for sure. Do you two really think that I can defeat the most powerful AIs in world history by riding into battle on a bicycle? It wouldn't even be an E-bike. The strategy seems absurdly low tech." Danielle was sceptical.

  "AIs are really intelligent, but can sometimes be fooled by doing something unexpected," observed Harold. "Arachnid would never expect somebody to come after him on a bicycle, or a sailboat, for that matter. And I don't believe that any of the AIs could conceive of someone wanting to sabotage the entire science of time travel. It just might work." Harold had clearly put some thought into this subject. "Besides, it is a bit of a trend these days, for young people to take part in retro activities. What could be more retro than pedalling around the countryside?"

  ""I see your point. I must admit that I can't think of a better strategy. I could be convinced to try this." Danielle was coming around to the idea.

  "You can have my bike, Danielle. It will be my contribution to the cause. It's a good bike. I can give you all my panniers too. You will be all set once you get into Europe," added Erin.

  "Why not?" replied Danielle.

  _______________________________________________________________________________

  "We are going to have to trim the mainsail, Danielle! Hold the tiller for me, while I pull it back!" asked Angelica. They were rounding Cape Flattery and the wind was howling from the northwest. Twenty five knots and eight foot waves, and Angelica claimed that this was an unusually good day to round the cape. This was real sailing, and Danielle was not sure if she was up to the challenge. The Dove started to slap against every breaker, and Danielle began to feel nauseous.

  "I'll do my best, Angelica!" replied Danielle.

  "Just steer into the troughs of the waves, like we practised, Danny! I'm going to clip in my harness, while I work. Make sure that Fredrick doesn't try to follow me."

  Angelica clipped her harness into the windward jackline, as they crested a particularly large wave crested with white foam. She glanced at the windex, eased the mainsail another foot, and pulled the traveller down to leeward until the top batten lined up with the boom. The staysheet came in hard and the barber holder was taut, locking the clew low. Danielle could feel the Baba 30 settle into a series of slow steady rolls, which settled Danielle's stomach a little. Angelica unclipped, and deftly scooted back into the pilot's position and took the tiller from Danielle.

  "There! That should do it! I will keep the helm light, and we should be fine! The Dove's full keel really helps on these rough seas. We will make good time today, with this wind!" Angelica really looked happy. She was an extremely enthusiastic sailor. Danielle wondered if she could ever attain that level of enjoyment in a boat like this.

  The rest of the day was fairly straightforward and Danielle was getting more used to the high seas. Angelica was right about one thing. They were covering distance quickly. It wasn't even all that late in the evening when they arrived at their destination for the night, the Westport marina. The wind was easing and entry into the protected waters of the Chehalis river estuary felt awfully good.

  "You should take that Surly out for a spin, Danielle," suggested Angelica. "I'll make dinner. There are a couple of nice towns beside the Chehalis, and a nice long bridge to ride over."

  That was about the last thing Danielle would have thought of, but it did make sense. The day of sailing had been exhausting, but if Danielle was really going to pedal her way across Europe, she would need to start training now. "I suppose you are right," replied Danielle.

  The moment she unloaded the bicycle and pushed it up the gangway ramp into the parking lot, there were approving looks and comments.

  "Nice evening for a ride!" said a friendly woman out walking her small dog.

  Danielle pedalled south and up and over the bridge. There was no traffic and the bike really was a great tool to do a bit of exploring. She didn't ride far, but it did feel good. Back at the boat, Angelica's dinner was great. The food tasted so good outdoors, especially after the two of them had worked so hard during the day. Danielle slept very soundly that night.

  __________________________________________________________________________________

  The next two weeks were spent sailing south, and spending nights in the many protected marinas dotting the coastline, all the way to California. Weather constantly improved, so there weren't too many more dodgy sailing experiences to worry about. Angelica had her routine nailed down securely from ten years of sailing the coast, and they were constantly running into sailors that she knew from previous trips. Danielle even started to consider the boating lifestyle for herself. The vagabond nature of making a life on a boat was appealing in a way, but so transient. There weren't many children on the boats either. Occasionally, they would run into a couple sailing around North America with their children, but it was always a sabbatical type experience, one year or maybe two, with the plan being to return to their home life once the journey was finished. On the other hand, there were plenty of single guys living full time on their boats. They all had long term strategies, but the youngest ones were in their forties. Not many twenty somethings at all, and even the ones who might be considerations for Angelica, were, well, awfully rough around the edges.

  The journey was going pretty well as they passed by San Francisco Bay and carried on down the coast of California. Marinas became more and more controlled and expensive, but pleasant enough. Under the tutelage of Hope, Danielle learned how to apply some of the special make up regimens suggested for camouflaging herself from spying cameras. Asymmetrical application of the special glitters and colours were supposed to help fool facial identification programs. The rather strange effects produced fit right in with the California coastal vibe. Nobody seemed to find the bold looks unusual at all. Most every night they spent in the marinas, Danielle went out for a bike ride. She could feel herself getting stronger, and in some ways felt more comfortable on the bicycle than on the sailboat. Maybe there was something to the idea of touring around on a bicycle. Time would tell.

  By now, it was approaching the end of May, and Santa Barbara would be their next stop. Angelica felt that it was safe enough to have a visit with her parents, and she was getting pretty excited about seeing her family. On the evening of May 27th, the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend, Angelica steered the Dove into Santa Barbara harbour, and motored over to the overnight tie ups. Two people were waiting on the dock for their arrival. Kenji and Malaika. For the second time in, what felt like months to Danielle, she was shocked to see her friends had dramatically aged. The effect was remarkable.