Time Travel Agency

Chapter 10

December 5, 2020 - Dairy King in Downtown LJC, Alabama

     DAVID LOEL woke up to about twenty to thirty people surrounding him. Even the clerk who served him and Jessica was there too. "Are you ok?" the clerk said. David stood up but stumbled from the concussion. He then passed out from standing up too fast. The clerk caught David, kept him from falling, and helped him inside. The clerk went to the back to get some ice. By the time the clerk came back, David was awake.

     "Where's Jessica?" David asked, concerned. "That girlfriend of yours? Well, we looked for her, but we couldn't find her. It was like they disappeared without a trace," the clerk replied. "We?" David asked. The clerk laughed, "People from the Christmas 365 program had come for a meeting when they saw the incident. What really motivated them was when I went out there and shouted, 'That was the lady who started our program,' and we all made chase. However, we came back empty handed because they were nowhere to be found. We all apologize."

     David got up slowly and walked to the window by the entrance. "Did the masked man say anything to you?" he asked, looking at the people in the parking lot chatting about what had just happened. They seemed like they were working on something, but he wasn't sure. "He did say something. He said, 'This is Vengeance,' then hopped in a car and the car just disappeared," the clerk said.

     David compiled all he knew inside his head, thinking of any clues he could figure out. He drew a blank. When he looked outside, the people had finished what they were working on. It was a banner that said, "Gotta love time travel." David had an idea. He had to go back to 2032 and tell Nigel about what happened.

December 6, 2020 - Suburbs of LJC, Alabama

     Before he left for the TTA that morning, he grabbed the wedding photo to keep in his pocket while he went on the trip. He speculated how the photo could have been acquired by Eddie. Perhaps it's a clue as to who Eddie is, he thought.

45 minutes later - TTA HQ outside London, England

     He went inside the building and to Ryan at his desk, but before he could say anything, Ryan excitedly said, "You are needed in conference room 615." David confusedly replied, "okay," and walked to the elevator. When he arrived at room 615, he opened the door to his co-worker friends throwing him a party. "SURPRISE!" they all said. This group included Agents Lambert, Drake, Pride, Haroldton, Jarodson, and last but not least, CEO Winston Churchill II himself. "Congratulations on taking down the time terrorists," said Churchill, raising a glass. Everyone applauded. There were balloons and streamers and a cake, and it was the whole shebang. Sodas were on a table against the wall with plastic cups stacked beside them.

    David knew it was too good to be true. However, he enjoyed the celebration. In his mind, however, he thought the man who kidnapped Jessica was actually a terrorist, and therefore the celebration was too good to be true. Nonetheless he enjoyed the party and hanging out with co-worker friends. "And don't worry about any missions next week," Churchill said, "You've earned it." After the party, David walked to the catwalk edge outside the room and looked at the immense view of the whole building interior. The center was open, and every floor was visible.

     Agent Pride walked out and saw him standing there, gazing up and down at the view. "Hey, David. You seem like you got something troubling you. What is it?" Agent Pride asked. "Well, Thomas, guilty as charged. How'd you find out?" David replied. "I have to live with the fact that I have two years left in the modern era," Pride said, "Takes a troubled man to know a troubled man." David sighed, "I thought we had taken them down, but my girlfriend got kidnapped by one of them, so I think there are still some out there at least. "Well, David," Pride paused, "the best thing I can tell you is to go and find her. Who knows, maybe it's somewhen you've been before."

     "Thomas, you're a genius," David said after a moment to think. "You know it," Pride laughed. David ran toward the elevator and hit the button for the twelfth floor. When he reached the floor, he ran down the catwalk to his room of 1209 and swiped his ID on the reader by the door. He then logged in the date, time, and location of where he wanted to go. He hopped on the warp pad and warped out.

October 1, 2032 - Downtown Canterbury, UK

     David warped onto the scene just after Nigel interrogated Anthony. Anthony was bound to a chair with rope, and the chair was sat at a table. "Did you get any info, Nigel?" David asked. "Yes... but why're you here?" "I'll tell you after you tell me what you found because my answer may change depending on what ya got," David replied. "Ok," Nigel said, confused, "So, Anthony has revealed to us some good info. The first being that the group's name is actually called Regnare Tempore. They also want to take over the world (big surprise), and to top it off, they have an outside associate." "What did the associate look like?" David asked as soon as Nigel finished. "Black suit, black hat and a voice changer in a mask all to hide his identity," Anthony said, still bound to the chair. "That's who kidnapped Jessica," David said, making the connection.

     "So, how'll we stop him?" Nigel asked. Josiah's interest was piqued, and he stepped away from the wall he was leaning on to get closer. David thought about it and said, "I talked to Agent Pride about it and―" "Who's Agent Pride?" Josiah asked. "Oh, Agent Thomas Pride was before your time," David replied, then he continued, "Agent Pride told me it'd likely be somewhere I went, but I've been on so many missions I can hardly remember which one would be the right one." "Well, let's start with recent ones," Nigel reasoned, "All this started for you in December 2020, so what missions have you been on for those four days?" David thought for a moment before speaking, "I've been to 1921 to prevent the President's pre-emptive assassination and 2013 to prevent my own death. There were also, in that 2013 trip, visits to 2000, 1998, 2032, and 2023." "So, we comb through the dates to find their hideout." Nigel decided, "We'll start in order. When was your mission in 1921?" "If my memory serves me right, it's March 15th," David replied. Nigel opened a portal to that date and David, Nigel, and Josiah went through.

     Unbeknownst to them, the masked associate of Anthony Charles had snuck in. He had heard their talk and broke Anthony's bonds. "C'mon," the associate said, "We have to stop them and move Jessica. Fanta will join us too, so we'll pick him up first."

March 15, 1921 - Washington D.C, U.S.A.

    The trio warped onto the scene in the parking lot. They looked around until they found that same silver van that David saw before. They opened up the back door and Anthony, Fanta, and the associate were there. Jessica was there too. Everyone who had a weapon drew it. Anthony, the associate, David, and Josiah drew their guns, while Fanta drew a fire axe and Nigel drew a futuristic sword. It was similar to that of a normal sword, but its edges were a glowing green color, designed to cut and zap any enemy. It even had a built-in feature to seek out a flying bullet and put itself in front of the bullet to block it.

      "Alright," David said, "We don't have to have a shootout right here right now. Past me is about to come in and stop an assassination. If he saw this, then the timeline would be all kinds of messed up." When they thought about it, everyone lowered their weapons. And just in the nick of time. Past David warped in where he did before, and that mission played out beat by beat. David, Nigel, and Josiah all hid to avoid being seen.

     After that brief intermission, the associate snuck a shot through the now slightly opened doors, impacting Josiah in the chest. "The next place you're going, is a place only I have gone to," the associate said, closing the doors and warping out of there. David and Nigel kneeled down over Josiah to tend to his wound. Nigel opened a green portal to 2032 and the two carried Josiah through.

October 1, 2032 - Hospital in Canterbury, UK

     They carried Josiah through the front entrance. Nigel had him by the feet and David the hands. "He's been wounded! Someone, get help!" David shouted. Doctors eventually were able to get Josiah on a stretcher and into a hospital room. David and Nigel took a seat and anxiously waited for them to be updated on the situation. While they waited, Nigel had a thought. If this associate is who I think it is, then perhaps they're hiding Jessica in the 17th century. Nigel then got up and told David he had to use the bathroom. When he walked into the restroom, he opened a green portal and walked through.