Free The Doomsday Box by Herbie Brennan Page A

weapons training. He had time to make his preparations and the resources of the CIA behind him. We have neither. Just about everybody at Montauk is dead or dying now, and there’s nobody on the outside riding to the rescue.”
    Danny shrugged. “So if it’s not the Middle Ages, then when?”
    Carradine placed both palms on the tabletop and leaned forward. “In theory, any time before he collects the samples. In practice, it has to be a time period where you can survive and move freely, where we know Cobra’s whereabouts, and ideally it should be a period where you can find a little help when you need it. And believe me, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
    â€œYou obviously have a time period in mind, Mr. Carradine,” Michael said.
    â€œThe one year that checks all the boxes is 1962,” Carradine told them. “Or at least most of them.”
    Opal echoed, “Nineteen sixty-two? Wouldn’t it make more sense to send us back to 1988 or whenever it was, just before Cobra made his trip to the Middle Ages? We know where to find him—here at Montauk, obviously—and the whole plan would be fresh in his mind.”
    Carradine shook his head. “I’m afraid your chances of success here in the eighties would be as slim as your survival in the Middle Ages. What do you think would happen if the four of you turned up unannounced in a super-secret underground government project in the middle of the Cold War?”
    â€œThey’d cut our hands off?” Danny asked, deadpan.
    â€œMaybe not, but it might take you a few years to get out of jail. Besides, even if you managed to reach Cobra, you have to remember he was in the middle of a black op, one he thought was vital for the future of the free world. He’d want to protect himself, and things could easily turn rough. At best, he wouldn’t be very likely to believe you.”
    â€œIsn’t that a problem whenever we meet up with him?” Opal asked. “Not believing us, I mean?”
    â€œYes, it is. Frankly, I’d be far happier if we could pick a year closer to the time he got involved with the germ warfare thing, but I don’t have access to CIA records at the moment, so I don’t know where he was stationed at any given time. Except I happen to know he was at Langley in 1962 because his son was born that year. But sixty-two could be good, even though it isn’t perfect. He was more open-minded in the sixties,” Carradine said. “With the proper backup in sixty-two, he’s likely to believe you.” He hesitated. “I think.”
    Fuchsia hadn’t spoken much. Now she did. “What do you mean by backup, Mr. Carradine?”
    â€œWe have a man in 1962.” Carradine sighed. He’d already revealed so many official secrets, the big one hardly seemed to matter. “All right, here’s the situation as I see it. You four may be working for the Shadow Project, but we’re now in the world’s greatest all-time god-awful mess, so I think I’m justified in officially co-opting you into the CIA. Project Rainbow was CIA, Cobra was CIA even though he was acting illegally, and it’s up to the CIA to clean things up now, so I can justify that decision. As members of the CIA, you’re bound by American secrecy laws just as tightly as you’re already bound by the British Official Secrets Act. Pass on anything I’ve told you, anything I’m about to tell you, and you’ll come out of jail about in time to draw your old-age pensions. Clear?”
    â€œClear,” Michael said calmly. After a moment, the others murmured their assent.
    â€œWhen we finally got a reliable time gate working at Montauk,” Carradine went on, “senior management decided it would be a good idea to establish CIA stations at critical points of history. To keep an eye on things, so to speak, nudge events in the right direction. Obviously