The Auctioneer

Chapter VI: The TimeKeepers

   Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Reed threw his long overcoat on the long table as agents scrambled to find a place inside the meeting room in Washington DC. The special team, consisting of highly trained agents known as 'TimeKeepers' from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Division, were summoned for a late-night meeting stamped as "urgent."

   With his index knuckle, he knocked three times on the plexiglass on his right and got the attention of his secretary. The lady in glasses looked at the sound and saw him with his index finger raising. She immediately knew his boss wanted a black coffee to energize him for the next couple of hours. Reed has been energetic, and he doesn't realize it's already past 7 p.m.

   When he received his overtime coffee, Reed went on to the conference room's steel podium, drew some papers, and passed it on to the agents seated across the room. He gazed left and right, and when he's sure everyone has a copy, he clicked on his laptop and played his presentation.

   Reed, at the age of 57, is one of the aspiring candidates for FBI Directors. Despite his generation, his muscular physique is still comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger. His white mustache matches his already snowflaked hair. Standing at 6'3, his appearance and built can even turn on women in the department to take notice of him.

   "Agents, I know I have put a lot of stress on you all lately, but believe me, the particular case that this team has been following for years now must come to an end," Reed firmly said. Agents looked at him straight and puzzled, waiting for him to continue.

   "For the benefits of those who were not here yesterday, Agent John Mclemore and I jumped into the timeline as stated in those papers you're holding right now."

   Agents looked at the papers and read them in silence. After a minute, Reed asked Agent Mclemore to play his presentation as he moved towards the center and near the listening agents.

   Mclemore clicked on the first slide, and a famous logo appeared on the screen. Without even looking, Reed continued his discussion.

   "With our latest jumped, we cemented the necessary evidence that Gemini Auction Company is behind the glitches in the timeline. Their latest, as you already read, was robbing the RMS Titanic."

   Impressed agents nod, and created low murmurs with themselves. Reed waved his hand at Mclemore, and the latter clicked again for the continuation of the presentation.

   "We are a hundred percent sure that Gemini will be auctioning tomorrow the Titanic's portable compass owned and named after its captain, Edward Smith. The report we have received from our reconnaissance agents, this compass will be the auction's star as they celebrate their 35th anniversary."

   Reed sauntered at the other end of the long table. The presentation continuously displayed other historical artifacts that are supposedly salvaged from the past and auctioned by Gemini.

   Agents fell in awe as the figures shouted whooping billions of dollars' worth of auctioned artifacts. For only three decades operating, the Gemini's growth in net worth was a staggering 4000% up.

"We checked on every timeline we suspected they went, " Reed continued. "And each of that has time residue left." The monitor now displayed a photograph of a passed-out Captain Edward Smith, with a green chemical-like orb hovering on his chest.

   The low murmurs turned into loud gasps—Mclemore secretly jubilant since he was the one who took the photo when they visited Titanic's timeline.

   "You mean, they are touching and dealing with people from the past?" one agent at the left side of the conference table could not help but ask.