La Rose rest area, 02:33

Giddy, Dan leans back in the driver's seat and massages her hurting arms. Never before did a time shift make her so happy. She still doesn't know how to influence the timing, but there is at least a chance she might find the hallway empty when she returns into the underground building. If nothing else, I will have the element of surprise playing for me.

For a moment, she imagines herself popping up in the middle of heavily armed troops. They wouldn't hesitate to shoot or at least arrest her and deliver her straight to Hall and the experimental lab. But she is determined to make the best of her short break from the overwhelming excitement.

She studies the bruises on her hurting wrist, wriggling her fingers and closing her fist. Nothing seems broken, and the dark spots are hard to see in the dim interior of the car. For a moment, she presses her arm against the side window. But the position is uncomfortable and the cooling effect moderate. There is not much she can do about the bruises, and she pulls the sleeve of her pullover over them. Better make myself ready for the next transfer. I should find another weapon.

Dan gets out of the car to search the boot again when the black-and-white dog peeks around the bonnet. Startled, she gasps and steps back. "Hey, buddy, you scared me. What's up?"

The animal approaches to sniff her hand as if to make sure she is real. "Yeah, that's me. A bit stressed and shaken, but you would be too if you'd been through the same serious sh— um, the same trouble as I."

The dog nuzzles her hand, and she tousles the soft fur between the ears. "You're too cute. I wonder why someone leaves a sweetie like you on a rest area. Some people should be locked up. Still, I'm in some deep sh— murk right now and need something to defend me."

Can she do anything to prepare for the next shift? Unfortunately, it won't help to search the car for weapons again. Her wheel brace sits in a row with her cellphone, torch and the yellow bag of cough drops on the desktop of the boss woman in an unreachable future.

Her idle thoughts drift to Ric, wondering how he fares. He looked awful with all the blood running down his face. Dan still can't understand why he carries no weapon. "I met this man from the future, you know? He is nice, but I don't understand half of his behaviour. Shouldn't he own a superior gun or blaster? Or is he a pacifist? It didn't seem likely when he swung that wheel brace in the cellar. At least, he should have known whom he's engaging in penetrating a criminal nest."

A sudden suspicion floods her mind. Is it possible Ric counted on switching back into his own century as soon as trouble arose? She remembers his remark about sending her back to her proper time. Probably it would be far easier for him to go home to his. So why didn't he do it?

Dan is half convinced he needs his multi-purpose gadget for it, or at least won't leave it behind in the hands of the enemy. The body search brought forth no other possessions, but maybe he carries an implant. Surely he could have time-jumped with the Metec instead of shoving the precious thing at me again.

Tired and weary of her fruitless musings, Dan rubs her eyes. "Perhaps Ric let himself be captured voluntarily because of me—because he didn't want to leave me alone in the den of the lioness."

During the last few hours, they grew closer than she did for a while with a stranger. This surprises her, especially after the awkward start down in the lab. A smile steals unto her lips when she thinks about the scene in the cooler. Does mutual attraction justify to get himself captured by these villains?

However, Ric made it clear he thinks she is about to play a leading role in the history of his own organisation. And he knows about the Cashew-effect...

"Know what, buddy? This harmless joke might prove to be the true key to my discovery. Tomorrow, or whenever I find my way back into my lab, I'll reevaluate my results. And on my way to the university, I plan to stop at the shop by the station. They sell salted cashews in tins."

The dog's attention never wavers. Dan smiles, feeling better in the knowledge she will not abandon her string of scientific experiments, now she has an actual lead. "But first, I must succeed to break this time travel loop I'm caught in."

There is no need to get excited yet. Dan leans back, determined to concentrate on the primary problem first. The next shift can occur at any moment. Contains her car another possible weapon she hasn't considered yet? Mentally she sorts through her possessions. She doesn't intend to bring her precious laptop into the year 2103. "A ball pen isn't frightening enough to wave in anyone's face, do you agree? Neither will it help to swat the baddies with my handbag in a naïve act of desperation."

She sifts one more time through the contents of the boot but finds nothing that might help in the situation the next time shift will inevitably bring her to. "I need an idea buddy. Anything that allows me to fight them, or..." Dan trails off, remembering the drawer beneath the passenger seat. Driven by hope, she walks around the car and sits down into the passenger seat to pull it forward.

This is the one place she didn't search yet. The box contains a second warning triangle—although it remains a mystery why she owns two. And the flimsy plastic thing won't keep a thug at bay. However, behind it nestles something else. Dan reaches towards the switch for the interior light, fumbling in anticipation. Her gaze rests on a bright red cylinder. "That's it, buddy. How could I forget about this gem?"

It's been only half a year since she bought the fire extinguisher, the day after spending two hours in a traffic jam caused by a burning car. The column of black smoke coiling into the evening sky, the smell of burnt rubber, and the blackened wreck beside the road when she finally reached the point of the accident left a lasting impression. "That was a bad night. I bought an extinguisher the next day. It may be small, but in an emergency, it can make all the difference, you know?"

The dog barks as if understanding each word. Dan grins. "You're amazing. If I ever want a dog, it must be exactly like you. Now let's see, how does this thing work?"

She pushes the drawer back under the seat and switches on the interior light to study the operating instructions. The extinguisher is still wrapped into clear plastic, and the price label covers the operating instructions. She punches a hole into the transparent wrapping, breaking a fingernail in the process. "Ouch. As if I didn't get already bruised tonight."

The dog steps up to the open car door to lay its head on her thigh, looking at her with sad eyes. Dan scratches the animal between the ears. "You know, those gangsters will probably die in a fit of laughter when they see me with the extinguisher. I doubt I can inflict real damage with it, but I have to try. Wish I could stay here with you, though, this seems like a much safer place."

But what will happen to Ric? Can he get out of there without his Metec? The worry about her accidental partners lingers while she tears off the plastic and studies the operating instructions, nibbling at her torn fingernail. They are thankfully printed in legible white script onto the red cylinder. If she gets to use it, she'll at least know how to activate the thing. "The principle is simple, just pull the ring, point the nozzle towards the fire—or, in my case, the enemy—and press the handle. Shouldn't pose a problem even while I'm stressed."

The dog wuffs in agreement. Dan extinguishes the interior light and pats its head while the illumination of the parking lot flickers into oblivion.