Free Induction Day: Book Two in the Butterman Travel Series by PK Hrezo Page A

commercial passenger booking. Merely, a personal challenge, so to speak.”
    Garth is quiet a moment, chewing her food, a thoughtful look about her. Her hair hasn’t budged an inch from its drape down her left shoulder. It must be loaded with Spray-Stay. That stuff works like invisible glue.
    “And there’s a usable time-port for the North Atlantic?” Garth asks Dad, as if I’m not in the room.
    “In a sense,” Dad says, then nods at me with the faintest of proud smiles. “Bianca managed to find an accessible vortex.” He pauses, focusing on Garth again. “She’d be opening it for the first time. All part of the initiation. Bianca will do all her own work, using only the Butterman time travel science and technology.”
    “A time trip to the heart of a renowned tragedy with entry into a virginal time-port over the ocean and not land.” Garth dabs the corners of her ultra-red lips with her napkin and sets it down beside her bowl, pointing at Dad. “This is the kind of high profile time trip the press will eat up. Exactly what we need.”
    “How so?” he asks.
    “This level of command requires proficiency and skill beyond what the public would expect from an eighteen-year-old pilot. It’d prove Bianca’s expertise and reliability, as well as the DOT’s credibility for accrediting your operation and allowing you to stay in business all these years.” Garth glances at me. “When do you think you could be ready?”
    I don’t even know what to say. I stare at her, waiting for the punch line.
    “You mean, as soon as possible?” Dad takes a big gulp of water from his glass.
    Garth nods, gets to her feet. “Yes, as in, once I get approval to exceed the 100 year travel limit and can contact WNN to schedule a live stream, you can set your course and begin prepping your time-craft.” She projects her device’s holo-screen and keys, begins punching in data.
    “Wait a minute.” My fist slams to the table, making the silverware jangle. “This is my Induction Day. I don’t want it publicized. At all.”
    Garth nods at my parents, as if to insinuate I’m their problem right now and not hers. “I need to run this by HQ and get the ball rolling, but this kind of event will have Bianca winning the hearts of the public. Live media coverage of a time traveler family induction is genius. The world can watch departure and arrival with real time correspondence on time string activity. WNN’s going to love this idea.”
    Dad rises from the table with an utter look of confusion. “Agent Garth, the DOT’s never allowed that kind of publicity on a time trip before. Are you sure you know—”
    “Leave it to me,” she says. “I’ll take care of everything.” And with that, she disappears down the hall.
    I’m staring at my parents, my jaw stiff. They’re both blank-faced as if their brains have been hijacked.
    ‘Tell me this is all a joke, Dad.”
    He opens his palms to the air. “Let’s talk about this, okay?”
    “Lola may be right, honey,” Mom says to Dad. “This could be Bianca’s way in, and way out.”
    “Mom, on live broadcast?” My tone is laced with accusation, but I don’t care right now.
    “Bee, think about it,” Dad says, moving in to sit beside me. “If the DOT approves the trip, then we don’t have to worry about any pop-audits claiming we broke regulation.”
    “It’s a leisure trip, Dad. They can’t enforce regulation on it.”
    “You know good and well they can if they want to.” His voice lowers. “We’ve been tip-toeing around a time bomb ever since you took it upon yourself to rewrite the timeline. If the DOT finds out about that, there’s no telling what’ll happen to us. It’s in our best interest to cooperate in every way.”
    “How do we know the DOT doesn’t already know about the Rewrite?” I ask. “The DOT from the future could be orchestrating all of this.”
    Dad shakes his head. “You’re getting a tad carried away with this now, don’t you