Paul Charm stood in front of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, finally ready to move into what he had decided was the second phase of what he had decided to call his mission. The idea of riding the tram to the top of the arch didn’t seem very exciting to Paul.
Then again, few things did—not compared to sitting behind the stick of a WWII British Spitfire sending 7.7 mm machine gun rounds and 20 mm cannon shells at attacking enemy targets. Paul pinned on the RAF wings in 1940 and wore them proudly until the war ended.
He’d lost a lot in the first years of the London bombings… Parents and sister. And Natalie.
He’d really botched saying goodbye to her, thinking good old Irish luck would take care of things until he returned. Shamrocks, though, didn’t stop bombs.
After the war, he decided to start over. With no family or friends, he set off to Chicago and began hosting at a club featuring Chicago jazz and blues.
The owner said, “Paul, your personality really matches that surname! You could charm your way into Fort Knox and walk out with as much gold as you could carry.”
Paul laughed. “I’ll give it some thought.”
He never got around to Fort Knox. In June of 1945, a creepy looking chap approached him with a proposal. It was unbelievable, but Paul thought he’d play along; the envelope of cash was real.
Paul was to be the Rep for The Agency. They wanted him to—he could hardly fathom the idea—lead what they called a “moment” of time-travelers. Paul put their claims to the test.
If an envelope of money didn’t convince him, a second chance to say goodbye to Natailie did. The Agency couldn’t stop the bombs, but they could give Paul a few days back in 1939 to make his final days with her… better.
Since June, Paul had been putting the pieces together. There were a few things left to do, but he was ready to make his way to NYC. He’d connect with what The Agency called “The Brooklyn Moment.”
Then the real work would begin.
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