SAVANNAH PULLED AWAY from Kenneth red-eyed and sniffling. She had the sense that some time had passed while she cried, though she couldn't say for certain how long.
While the sanitation facility had been a moderate-sized building, the nutrition center appeared little more than a two-room store on the corner of a street by comparison. The parking lot outside only had room for four vehicles, one which was already occupied by an older-model vehicle similar to the Rayston company car.
Stepping inside the nutrition center, Savannah saw an area designated for children. A young child slightly smaller than her played with blocks. To Savannah, the child appeared to be building a spaceship.
A tall man came forward from behind a counter to greet Savannah. He wore a robe on his body and a turban on his head. Both his eyebrows met together over the bridge of his nose.
He squinted his eyes at her. "Hello. Yes? May I help you today?"
At that moment, Savannah's stomach growled. She said to the man, "I'm hungry. Can I have something to eat?"
The man's expression brightened. "Ah, such a command of language at so young an age! Surely this is a good sign for generations of the future, yes? May I have your name please?"
"Savannah Proehl."
"Young citizen Proehl, I regret to inform you that we are unable to access the database containing all our records at present. I believe you are new here, yes? Do you have anyone who would be able to speak for you?"
Muhammed put a hand on Savannah's shoulder. His touch felt like a block of ice.
"I am Muhammed North of Rayston Mining International. I have brought citizen Proehl here from Madagascar. We are in transit to an undeclared location. This is a child of the small people. She became an orphan as a result of the conflict on the island. The same can be said of this citizen, Kenneth Yardrow." Muhammad glanced to his side where Kenneth stood.
The man motioned to his desk made of opaque glass. He sat behind it, then asked Muhammed to sit down as well. He produced a form from a desk drawer. "As you are the vouching party, citizen North, I only require that you fill out this form. I am authorized to issue three nutritional suppplements for each child, provided that neither of them have passed the age of sixteen. By signing this form, you declare that that is so. Are you aware of the region's laws against fraudulence?"
Muhammed had already begun filling out the form. He didn't even look up. "I am."
Once Muhammed completed the form, the man left and returned with a red plastic bag with six unmarked cans of food in it. He handed it over to Muhammed, who in turn handed it to Savannah. The bag felt heavier than Savannah had expected that she he wondered if the bag would burst along the bottom.
The man looked at Muhammed. "That completes today's donation. Are there any more requests you wish to register?"
Muhammed gave a short bow. He said, "Thank you for your kindness. However, I believe I have no further requests."
The man returned Muhammed's bow with one of his own. "Very well. Have a good day, citizen."
"And you as well."
BEFORE THEY ENTERED the car, Savannah grabbed Muhammed's robe with her free hand. Muhammed turned to her, an anguished expression on his face.
"Why didn't you stop them? That woman-she didn't have to die."
Muhammed looked away into the distance.
"That man in the street you saw, he is a very powerful man. He is Imam Felor. He commands much respect in the city, perhaps even the region. To oppose him is suicide. His followers are legion. Even if we had stopped him from killing that woman at that particular woman, he would have found her again and done it a second time."
Savannah stared intently into his face. "Why? What did she do that deserved all of that?"
Muhammed closed his eyes.
For a time, Savannah thought he would not answer. She did not press him.
At last, he said, "That woman was raped. Imam Felor said the honor of the city had to be reclaimed. The woman had to die."
Savannah had heard the word rape before, but only once or twice in passing. Her parents never said it directly to her, which had given her the impression that it was a swear word. She knew it involved taking off clothes and doing something awful. Exactly what happened when one person raped another, she didn't know.
Moreover, it occurred to her that the person who had done the act-whatever the act involved-wasn't actually punished. Instead, the person who had been on the receiving end had been killed.
Savannah pulled at her braid. "That doesn't make sense."
Muhammed opened his eyes and looked straight at her. So arresting was his gaze that Savannah stepped back.
"That is how the imams of the city think. That is why I asked you to wear a veil. The woman is always at fault, even if she is not."
Savannah remembered Hensen Var proclaiming that she was the Zeta Disruption, a person who could alter future history. She let go of Muhammed's robe then clenched her free hand into a fist.
"This will stop. Today. It will stop at once."
Muhammed gaped at her.
Alaham and Abdelziz, who had been listening, did the same. But they did not respond.
She added, "I will stop the imams from killing any more women. I will not allow it."
Muhammed whispered to her, "I believe you can do it. Allah save me, I believe it."
Kenneth grunted. "Savannah, I know that was all tragic, but come on, we need to reach the Temporal Constabulary so we can go home."
Savannah turned on him, her eyes full of fire and rage. "No. I won't ignore this. Not this time. Not again. I won't ignore the suffering of people in front of me, not when I can change anything I want to change. We are Zetas. We stole that tank. Let's stop this, together."
Kenneth scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Well, okay, I guess. If you wanna do it, then I'm with you."
Unquill had been listening to the conversation. "Just how do you propose to stop them all in one day?"
Savannah's face hardened as she spoke to Unquill. "What that imam did is illegal in your time, isn't it?"
Unquill bit the inside of his cheek. "Well, yes, but, as citizen North said-"
Savannah interrupted him. "I don't care how much influence he has. We have more. We influence time. No one can stop us. No one will dare. We will go back to the place where that woman was killed. We will find the imam who stabbed her and arrest him."
Kenneth clapped his hands together.
"All right! Now that sounds like a plan. Hey, Uncle, do you still have the weapons the army gave us?"
Unquill pointed a finger at his own chest. "You mean me? Yes, I still have them in my possession. They will need recharging before long, though."
Kenneth put a hand out. "Then let's just see if they have enough charge to knock this bastard out."