Alice dared to glance at them and realized that the professor and Helena got up and were walking towards the exit, after disposing their dishes. “Damn…”

Alice left her coffee mug on the table and followed them to the lab, trying to look as casual as possible. She couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation but she was afraid to get closer and be spotted. There were a few people mulling around the area but not enough to blend in. So Alice stayed behind, hoping to learn more about Helena’s contribution or what exact information she provided some other ways.

After an hour Alice gave up her search, assuming the professor took Helena to one of the restricted areas. Time was coming closer to the start of the conference and Alice hurried to the auditorium to take her place with other reporters. The place slowly filled up with people, mostly lab workers, scientists and reporters. Helena was seated on the stage along with professor Kroll, his lead scientist on the project and a younger man Alice hadn’t seen around before.

The conference started with the usual introduction by a woman in her early forties with coiffed hair, wearing a pristine white lab coat. To Alice she looked like someone who never set her foot in a lab before but Alice had seen her around and knew that she was some prominent mathematician who was working with professor Kroll on his project, assisting him with formulas and trajectories. She announced that they recently had a major break through in their research of the time travel and then introduced everyone on the stage. Helena was mentioned as a primary donor and a government contact, which was a bit frightening to hear. Alice shivered at the announcement and hoped that it meant nothing more but Helena’s ability to pull some strings to get resources help from some branches of government.

The unknown man turned out to be professor’s assistant and filed research Benjamin Sandler. Alice frowned when his name was announced and then her eyes went wide. This was the same guy she overheard talking to the professor on her previous visit to the lab, right before she learned about the time portal’s existence. “Shit,” she mumbled to herself. “He definitely knows where the portal is.” She quickly looked around to make sure nobody heard her but everyone’s attention was on the stage.