when Polly’s scheduled to come back. “I’ll try the lab,” Colin said, debating whether to ask him to tell Mr. Dunworthy he was looking for him if he returned. No, better not. Forewarned was forearmed. He’d have a better chance if he sprang it on him suddenly. “Thanks,” he said and ran down to the High and over to the lab.
Mr. Dunworthy wasn’t there. The only two people who were were Badri and a pretty tech who didn’t look any older than the girls at school. They were both bent over the console. “I need the coordinates for October fourth, 1950,” Badri said. “And—what are you doing here, Colin? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
Why was everyone acting like a truant officer?
“You haven’t been sent down, have you?”
“No.” Not if they don’t catch me. “School holiday.”
“If you’re here to talk me into letting you go to the Crusades, the answer is no.”
“The Crusades?” Colin said. “That was years ago—”
“Does Mr. Dunworthy know you’re here?” Badri asked.
“Actually, I’m looking for him. The porter at Balliol told me he might be here.”
“He was,” the tech said. “You only just missed him.”
“Do you know where he was going?”
“No. You might try Wardrobe.”
“Wardrobe?” First Research and now Wardrobe. Mr. Dunworthy was obviously going somewhere. “Where is he going? St. Paul’s?”
“Yes,” the tech said. “He’s researching—”
“Linna, I need those coordinates,” Badri said, glaring at her. The tech nodded and went over to the other side of the lab.
“He’s going to St. Paul’s to rescue the treasures, isn’t he?” Colin asked Badri.
“Mr. Dunworthy’s secretary should know where he is,” Badri said and walked back to the console. “Why don’t you go over to Balliol and ask him?”
“I did. He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
And Badri clearly didn’t want to either. “Colin,” he said, “we’re very busy here.”
The tech, Linna, who’d come back with the coordinates, nodded. “We have three retrievals and two drops to do this afternoon.”
“Is that what you’re doing now?” Colin asked, walking over to look at the draped folds of the net. “A drop?”
Badri immediately came over and blocked his way. “Colin, if you’re here to attempt to—”
“Attempt to what? You act as if I’m planning to sneak into the net or something.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“And if I hadn’t, Mr. Dunworthy would have died, and so would Kivrin Engle.”
“That may be the case, but it doesn’t mean you can make a habit of it.”
“I wasn’t. All I wanted—”
“Was to know if Mr. Dunworthy was here. He’s not, and Linna and I are extremely busy,” Badri said. “So if there’s nothing else—”
“There is. I need to know when Polly Churchill’s retrieval is scheduled for.”
“Polly Churchill?” Badri said, immediately suspicious. “Why are you interested in Polly Churchill?”
“I’ve been helping her with her prep research. For the Blitz. I need to be here when she comes through to—” He began to say, “to give it to her,” but Badri was likely to tell him to leave it instead and they’d give it to her. “—to tell her what I’ve found,” he amended.
“We haven’t scheduled her retrieval yet,” Badri said.
“Oh. Is she going straight to her Blitz assignment when she gets back?”
Linna shook her head. “We still haven’t found her a drop site—” she began, but Badri cut her off with another glare.
“I know, I know. I’m going. If you see Mr. Dunworthy, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Linna, see Colin out,” Badri said, “and then bring me the spatial-temporal coordinates for Pearl Harbor on December sixth, 1941.”
Linna nodded and escorted Colin to the door. “Sorry. Badri’s been in a foul mood this past fortnight,” she whispered. “Polly Churchill’s retrieval is scheduled for two o’clock Wednesday next.”
“Thanks,” Colin whispered back, grinned crookedly at her, and ducked out the door. Wednesday. He’d hoped it would be on the weekend so he wouldn’t have to sneak away from school again, but at least it wasn’t this Wednesday. He had over a week to talk Mr. Dunworthy into letting him go somewhere. If Mr. Dunworthy was going to rescue the treasures, Colin might be able to talk him into doing research in the past for him. If he was still at Wardrobe. He loped over to the Broad, down to Holywell, along the narrow street to Wardrobe, and up the stairs, hoping he hadn’t missed him again.
He hadn’t. Mr. Dunworthy was standing in front of the mirror in a tweed blazer at least