"I don't care what time you're from. I don't care which professors I have to look up. You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Get out of here before I report every last one of you!"

By the end of the shouted diatribe, every last one of the forty-seven people in the small, overcrowded Starbucks was staring at the door. Or, more precisely, at the man who'd just burst through the door. A black jumpsuit clung to his thin body underneath several strategically placed pieces of what looked like fiberglass armor, festooned with tiny blinking lights. A heavy-looking helmet covered the top half of his face, several small lights scattered around its otherwise black surface as well.

The manager behind the counter raised his hand, presumably to point the man back out into the parking lot. His words died on his lips, drowned out by nearly everyone in the building simultaneously offering up dozens of varied arguments, running the gamut from "Aw, man", through "No, please don't!", all the way out to "You wouldn't dare!"

Despite the tidal wave of disagreement, the man stood firm, looking more and more like a cross between a grumpy Judge Dredd and a technologically oriented Christmas tree with every passing second. "You can see I brought my locator and removal tools. Get out or, so help me Machina, I will get you out."

One of the men closest to him, a particularly burly fellow in a suit ill-fitted both to him and to the crowd at large, shook his head. "Machina can't save you here, chipslave." He rushed Judge Tannenbaum, only to suddenly... disappear, there was no other word for it. One second a freight train of meat and cheap cotton, and the next barely a wrinkle in the air.

A woman who had been standing nearby, this one wearing a black cocktail dress before 8 AM, spoke up. "But it's today that everything changes! Can't you see? You know wh- " She disappeared as well.

The stunned silence that replaced the end of her word was followed, in turn, by a rush resembling nothing so much as pests fleeing a sudden light. Some people fled toward the back, while others tried to rush the implacable, grimacing bipedal doorstop. None were successful. Before any could leave the common room, a full forty-one of the crowd's members disappeared into thin, if wrinkly, air.

Less than a minute after the initial interruption, the population of the Starbucks had been reduced to seven - Judge Tannenbaum, myself, and the five employees behind the counter. He sighed at us. "Forty-one violators. Ridiculous. Machina be praised and proc mercy. If I could have your attention, citizens?" He raised a hand to his helmet, covering three of the lights. A brilliant flash burst from where his eyes would be; by the time any of us cleared our vision, he was gone.

The employees seemed more affected than me; it was several minutes before any of them came back. I took the time to clear away the half-dozen or so cups from the to-go counter - their owners didn't seem to be coming back any time soon, and I presumed the baristas didn't need that extra confusion in their lives.

The barista nearest me was the first to shake off the light's effects, catching me in the act of picking up the last couple of full coffees. "Hey, you can't take those. They aren't yours."

"Ex-cuse me?" I put as much indignation into my voice as I could muster. It wasn't much, to be fair, but it did cover the quiver.

She raised her hand to point, anger starting to contort her features, but I interrupted her with a very annoyed gesture. "No, thank you. I'd like to speak to your manager, please." She blinked at me, confusion and depression beginning to overtake her features.

The manager who had failed to evict Judge Tannenbaum sighed at her. "Just... just go to my office, please. Now." She blinked once more, tears just starting to form at the corners of her eyes, and then dashed into the back. He turned to me. "Listen, I'm sorry. She's been... erratic lately. Let me make you something fresh."

I held up my hands, cups returned to the to-go space. "Actually, she's why I'm here. Thank you for sending her to the back." I leaned in, drawing him to mirror the gesture. "She's been a patient at my practice for a while, but I'm worried that she might be spiraling faster than I can help her. I'd like to refer her to a specialist - I have his card here." He took the business card from me, comprehension dawning on his face. "Please don't hold it against her. She needs help, not condemnation. Losing her insurance now would be... terrible."

He nodded. "Right. You're right. I'll make sure she talks to this new doctor. And I'll set up a medical leave so she can get herself sorted out."

"Thank you so, so much. We'll get her through this. Could I speak to her again? Let's face it - she probably needs to take the rest of the day off, anyway."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll send her out. Thanks again, Doctor." As he headed to the back, I pulled a laminated piece of paper from my pocket, tucking it carefully underneath one of the coffee cups, leaving just a tiny bit showing on the far side.

She came out, wiping her eyes. "Bob says my doctor wants to talk to me... but you're not my doctor. What's going on here?"

I had to be quick. The increased suggestibility from Machina's mind-wipes only lasted about ten minutes, and I'd already wasted most of that. "Listen. I don't have much time left. Take the leave of absence. Go see the new doctor. When he gives you the new medicine, take it."

Judge Tannenbaum reappeared in the doorway. "How did you hide from me?"

I gave him the finger without turning around, holding her gaze. "Take the pills. Do the work. You have to be strong. You have to be strong for us." Her eyes widened as I whipped my free hand up, knocking over the cup hiding my note. Time wrinkled unpleasantly around me, and I disappeared, too.

~

I can't believe that jerk knocked over the - he knocked -

Wait. What? Who? I... guess it doesn't matter. I need to clean this up and remake it. He might come back for it.

Wait, what's this? Some kind of note? A date, about six months in the future, with a time listed down to the second. An address... I think it's in that nice neighborhood down the street? All trees and running paths. And an arrow, telling me to flip it over.

> She leaves in the blue car. You won't have much time, so be ready.
> The back door will be unlocked. Go down to the basement.
> It's only six months. You can make it. Be strong for him.
> He loves you more than you know.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

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