Green. Right across the board. Every light showed green.
A huge cheer rang out.
She waited for the noise to subside.
‘Has anyone, to your knowledge, ever removed a contemporary from their timeline?’
Shit. She’d asked the wrong question. Because in my world, yes, Leon had done that very thing. Was I, at this late stage, going to blow everything?
I took a deep breath and held up the cuff again. My head was pounding. ‘To my sure and certain knowledge, no one present today has ever witnessed me removing a contemporary from their timeline.’
This wasn’t quite what she had asked, but no one seemed to notice.
The cuff showed green and another cheer rang out.
‘Have Major Guthrie or Dr Peterson ever assisted with, or connived at, or been involved in any way with the removal of a contemporary from their own timeline?’
Shit! Shit, shit, shit! How to put this?
‘Neither Major Guthrie nor Dr Peterson have ever assisted me in the removal of a contemporary from their own timeline.’
Green. Eventually. No one seemed to notice the delay. Don’t ask about Leon. Don’t ask about Leon. Don’t ask about Leon.
‘To your knowledge, has Chief Farrell ever assisted, or connived at, or been involved in any way with the removal of a contemporary from their own timeline?’
And the answer to that, of course, was yes.
Think, Maxwell.
‘To save time, Madam President, I state here and now – not only have I have never removed anyone from their own timeline, but no one from this unit has ever assisted me, or connived with me, or been involved in any way with me doing so.’
A bit convoluted, but the cuff got the gist.
Green.
The noise was immense.
Colonel Albay stood amongst the chaos, head bent in thought.
She stood up and silence fell.
‘This hearing is concluded. The witness is released.’
He was bewildered. ‘Madam President? No. There are charges to answer.’
‘Colonel, there are no charges to answer. You clearly stated you believed this witness to be Dr Madeleine Maxwell. And she has admitted she is. You believed this witness to have committed a capital offense, and sought to bring her to justice. You charged three colleagues and the current Director with complicity. She has clearly established her innocence. And if she is innocent then so are her colleagues. The cuff does not lie, Colonel Albay. You said so yourself. Clearly, a mistake has been made. I proffer my apologies to those involved. This hearing is concluded.’
‘No,’ he said furiously. ‘I know that this crime did take place. I don’t know how they’ve done it, Madam President, but we have been deceived. I insist this matter be pursued.’
‘Colonel, you can’t keep charging people with the same crime until they give up and plead guilty. It’s not lawful.’
‘Nevertheless, ma’am, I insist.’
He turned to me. ‘If you are so innocent, why did you run?’
‘We ran from whatever you were going to do to us. You didn’t identify yourselves. You could have been anyone. We just saw men with guns, firing wildly in all directions and causing chaos wherever they went.’
‘You could have spoken. In Sick Bay – you could have explained.’
‘Too sick to speak,’ said Dr Foster, shouldering her way through the crowd. ‘I did tell you. On several occasions. You wouldn’t listen.’
He kept looking around. He’d been had. He knew he’d been had. He just didn’t know how.
I sat heavily. I was crashing … ‘Give it up, Colonel. Someone here …’ and I did not look at Barclay, ‘has used you for their own ends. You’ve been deceived. You should concentrate your efforts on finding the person responsible for wasting your time.’
I paused, in case he wanted to take this opportunity to shoot Barclay, but sadly, no.
Albay wasn’t going down without a fight. ‘We are the Time Police and you are subject to …’
Dr Bairstow intervened.
‘The Time Police have shown themselves to be easily manipulated, reckless in their actions, and careless of the consequences. They have destroyed any credibility they had within this organisation. The consequences are about to be serious. Madam President, if you would, please …’
She stood in front of the hearing. Every eye was on her.
‘Seven Directors of St Mary’s established the Time Police and according to the charter it will take seven Directors to disestablish them. Since the death of Dr Maxwell, St Mary’s has not been able to assemble seven Directors, but now that you have stated – clearly and before witnesses – that this is, beyond doubt, Madeleine Maxwell, the problem is solved.’
Wheels within wheels. This wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even about Helios. It was all about the dissolution of the Time Police. Mrs Partridge wasn’t the only person using me for her own ends.
‘Are you Madeleine Maxwell?’
‘Yes,’ I said, wearily. ‘I am.’