Albert Wood

Ten minutes later. TMF Laboratory.

Caleb opened the lab's door and walked towards the centre table. There, he saw Lucy, Henry and a man around his thirties, who was presumably Hawking, his partner.

"Let's get this over with. Caleb, Hawking. Hawking Caleb. You will partner with him on this mission. When it's complete, you report back to my office. Do you understand?" She commanded.

"Yes commander", the duo replied in unison. "Henry?" Lucy said and sat on the stool. Henry immediately came over and handed them their wristwatches.

However, Hawking cleared his hand and spoke. "Ehm, commander?" Hawking called. "And what is it, agent Hawking?" She asked. "You told me earlier that the partner I would be newly paired with has tons of experience on this job, yet what I'm seeing is a hormonal-prone teenage kid. What about it?" Hawking asked with a flat tone.

"He's not just any hormonal-prone teenager. You try him out on your mission", Lucy said and stood from the seat. "Good luck both of you", Lucy said and signalled Henry to begin.

Hawking glanced at Caleb, flashing him a look of scepticism before nodding back. "Thank you commander", he said.

Then they walked to the pod and sat. Hawking sat on the seat facing the screen, and he pressed something on it. "I'm done Henry", he said. Soon the static electricity formed a globe around them, and seconds later, they disappeared from their seats.

* * * * * * * * * *

Lagos State, 2010.

Two figures appeared at a church, and they materialized to form Hawking and Caleb. It didn't take long before Caleb figured out where he was. However, Hawking was already walking out of the church.

"Hello", he greeted, but Hawking didn't reply. Caleb frowned his face a little, before assuming he didn't hear him. He looked around and rounded his mouth in awe.

Unlike the scenery in 1967, this timeline had roadways and buildings. This area was called Meiran, his birth community. Although the roads were still not fully developed at this time, the area was very lively with cars and people going to and fro.

It didn't take long for him to recognize the neighbours he knew from his apartment. He recalled that in 2007, he lived in a closed-tight apartment, or as the people in his area would call it, a "face-me-I-slap-you" house.

Of course, his mother being the active type of person soon walked out of the gate of his former house. "Mother", Caleb's heart flustered a bit, and he became emotional. He watched as his mum spoke to a customer that bought her wares for her. Her shop was placed on the wall of the house as she sold cosmetics.

Hawking assumed that the newbie was following him from behind, but when he turned back and saw Caleb looking pained in the face as he stared at a woman opposite the road, he frowned deeply.

So he approached him with a frown and said. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm on a mission here, so there's no stopping by and admiring a random woman", he said.

"She's not a random person, she's my mother", Caleb turned to look at Hawking with an estranged expression. "Hold on, that's your mother? Is that where you lived?" Hawking thought his ears were playing with him.

"Let's just go", Caleb mumbled and walked past Hawking, leaving him baffled. Why in heaven's name would Lucy allow him to start a mission in a place that was familiar to him? Wasn't that a bit harsh?

* * * * * * * * * *

According to the information given by Lucy, he was tasked to extract confidential information from a person named Albert Wood.

He was a retired neurologist and professor who taught at an International school on Victoria Island. In 2009, he made a shocking discovery about the part of the brain called the hippocampus. According to his research, he claimed that the hippocampus, which was responsible for the formation of memories and emotion-driven motivations; also has another disabled function.

The ability to transmit and receive electric-based signals from one brain to another. His work, however, was ridiculed and rejected by the board of the university he taught at. He soon retired early and took all of his research with him.

It was later in 2015 that one female neurologist at Harvard University verified Albert's claims to be true. But it was too late. By the time they reached out to him, they found him lying on the rug in his home, dead from an unknown cause.

All of his research papers were missing. Witnesses said that there was a black shadow exiting his apartment minutes after his death. After multiple investigations, his case became cold.

* * * * * * * * *

First Person POV.

Hawking and I boarded a public bus and drove out of my town to Victoria Island. It was an hour's trip give or take, considering the traffic that might hold us. I didn't remember anything from this timeline, but I sure didn't remember traffic being this congested.

Just as things could not get any worse, a car collided with another, causing yet another traffic. It was a miracle that no one was injured, but the fight that went on between the two drivers frustrated me a lot.

The thought of my family surfaced in my mind again. His mother used to pass this road to buy stuff for her shop, and sometimes, I tag along. I began feeling sad again. What if they were already looking for me?

It was 10:12 am, and we finally arrived at our destination. This was the moment Hawking spoke to me for the first time since we left. "Alright, the school is inside of an estate, which meant that for us to gain entrance, we need to act as if we live there", Hawking said robotically.

"Although Lucy lied about the experience aspect, I hope she was truthful about your ability to impersonation?" He asked me. "Yes, I do", I replied. Hawking nodded lightly and took something from his bag.

I forgot to mention that we had backpacks all along, containing the essential resources we'll need in our missions. Food and protection was important factor here, so what filled up the majority of my bag was glucose, water and a firearm, including a box of makeup.

We alighted from the bus and rented a car, which was priced at five thousand nairas per hour, which meant that we have to pay a sum of one hundred and twenty thousand naira since it was a 24 hour job. Jeez.

We were wearing casual clothes, which was inappropriate for the mission we were supposed to execute. Hawking had already thought about this and drove us to a boutique store.

We purchased suits as ordered by his partner. And then, we left the store and drove towards the estate.

We were ready. Hawking drove and stopped twenty meters away from the gate that led to the estate. There were two uniformed men stationed in the post, which was probably the security protecting the estate.

"What's your plan?" I asked Hawking. "That", Hawking pointed at car convoy coming from behind us. "They are the inspection committee. It's a tradition for them to come here once every three months to inspect the entire school for quality rating.

"'They're heading to the school, we'll join 'em", Hawking said and took out a suit and a trouser. "You probably should dress up", he said, snapping me out of my thought.

I was really respecting this guy. I have no idea of how he knew about the inspection, but what I'm sure of was that he always plans ahead. He really knew his stuff.

I looked at myself in the mirror right after I was dressed and could not help but admire my reflection. Low self-esteem was my major struggle since I hit puberty, and this was what I wasn't proud of at all.

But the person that stared back at me on the mirror was a totally different person. Lucy might be right; There was nothing wrong with him. He was just being pathetic to himself.

The convoy drove past us, and Hawking slowly drove and joined the chain of passing cars. Then they stopped. From the first car, the uniformed man was conversing with the driver.

Nervousness got the better of me. First off, I didn't have a thing for people. He hated talking to people. If it wasn't for his schooling, the only person he would know might be his immediate family. It's sad I know, but that was just who I was since like forever.