Chapter IV: Lapses
The library's high walls in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devoured Edward into a deep solitude. The dusty old book's five long lines serve as a maze to anyone who wants to hide from the outside world. Some of them are already covered with linen. Others showing signs of dilapidation are slid into garbage sacks and set aside in the corner.
The low lighted section of the library is rarely visited. Only a man like Edward would care of the rotting piles of old copies with torn paperbacks that mostly contain science fiction. College students refer to this area as the N-section --- which stands for the nerd.
The desperation brought Edward to temporarily abandon any logical explanation about General Lee's pistol's resurgence. His hand strode on the spines of old books as he reads each title with his tired eyes.
War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells.
Journey to the Center of the Earth. Julius Verne.
Foundation. Asimov.
"Really, Edward?"
Richard Banc's low baritone voice interrupted his commune with literature. Upon seeing who was behind him, Edward pulled out his hand and shrugged his shoulder to his friend. At the same time, he was embarrassed, as if he was caught red-handed at a crime scene.
The professor, though of the same age as Edward, is instead the total opposite of him. He has no sign of the typical professor per se. Many first-year students would take him mistakenly as their own with his rugged look, paired with blue jeans and rolled-up long straight red long sleeves. He always slips with his Lebron James shoes and barely wears the much appropriate black leather.
He and Richard are childhood friends and now both professors in the MIT – School of Humanities, Arts and Social Science. If there is someone who knows how Edward hates fiction, it was him.
He tried to search for an excuse but found none, so Edward finally gave up the ghost. "I know, I know. It's just baffling. I can't find the end zone to it."
Richard smiled as he pulled out a pack of unopened Marlboro Lights cigarettes. Both men find their way to the nearest exit of the deserted library. As Edward opened the airtight door, the light gust of wind blows in them. The wind gives them chills as they walk a little more and are sheltered in the back alley of the library. They puff smoke in a minute of silence. Then Edward once more dragged Richard to his misery.
"Did you search thoroughly? What are the chances that the pistol wasn't burned?" Richard asked him in between smokes.
Edward looked at him, dead straight to the eyes. "I saw it with my two eyes. The one they sold at the auction does not have any burnt marks. Federal government authenticated it."
"Maybe a reproduction?" Richard counter-proposed.
Edward shook his head. "Collectors are smart-ass. If it was, the pistol will be sent back. And Gemini is too big to soil their reputation."
Richard scratched his long blonde hair. He can't think of anything to elucidate the matter further. But an idea crossed his mind.
"Then maybe there is one solution left," he replied, as he puffed for the last time and extinguished the cigarette on the metal bin. "Ask the lady."
Of course, Edward already did that. Well, almost, he said to himself. If only he can pass the bodyguards, get near her, and have a decent, civil conversation.
"After what happened, for sure, I am blacklisted in the auction."
Once more, Richard glanced at his disquiet friend's eye. His voice started to infuse hope. He reached for his pocket and brought a brochure. He read it aloud. "On December 15, Gemini will be celebrating its 35th anniversary. It says here they will be doing a grand auction in the Le Meridien."
Edward turns to him, his face asking for more connection to his problem. "I think you haven't heard of me. I can't pass the ---"
"I have access to the hotel staff," Richard cuts him abruptly. "I can get you in. Incognito."
For a moment, Edward saw a glimpse of hope to answer all his questions. He patted Richard at the back. "You are a genius!"
Richard smiled too and was relieved to see his friend lighten up for a bit. He has been drawn to this case, and stress was already manifesting to him. He never saw Edward with a beard and eyes squinting due to eyebags.
"Well, you think she'll be accommodating?" he then asked.
Edward does not want to spoil his friend's effort. "That's my problem to think. All you have to do is secure me a room near the auctioneers. I have four days to think of a plan."
"Then let's start it with beers then," Richard replied.
Two men in laboratory suits carefully sunk in Captain Smith's portable compass into the visible squared container. The robotic arms above it then poured a formulated liquid that quickly mixed into the water. In an instant, the mixture turned reddish and affected the flawless appearance of the compass.
One of the men clicked a button on the container's side, and immoderately, the liquid drained out of the box, leaving the compass alone. It has turned into rustic and aged from the smooth gold-plated looks – but still retaining its exquisiteness.
The men turned their faces to the large window in the lab, where Lindsay calmly looked at the aging process. She gave the men a nodding approval and instructed them to retrieve their new looted item from the past.
Another million-dollar worth of auction, Lindsay thought.
Gemini has been doing these for an extended period. The formula is straightforward: Travel, retrieve, and restore. No other auction companies in the world have outdone them in this game. This is thanks to the invention of the imaginative minds of their founders, including Maya's father.
Lindsay stepped out of the laboratory. As she walked into the hallway, she glanced for a while at the founders' hanging portraits. She felt how lucky she is to witness and command the greatest invention ever behind these walls of the Gemini. Who would have thought that they live Albert Einstein's life, who once said that time travel by creating a wormhole in the timeline is possible?
She then gazed on the company's busy lobby, where people are currently taking bids from small items that their auctioneers salvaged from the past. These items went through the same process as the Titanic's compass.
People can't let go of the past, as the line of one of The Board reverberated in Lindsay's mind.
After feeding her satisfaction, Lindsay turned left, crossed different rooms on the first floor. Employees greeted her, especially the auctioneers she passed by. But she never greeted back. Lindsay, being the second in command behind The Board, never cared about leadership motivation. She feels that she is entitled to everyone's greetings.
She turned left once again towards the infirmary's big white door, where Maya and Croeger are waiting. The two were staring blankly into the white walls as the doors opened. The company doctor appeared with his gloved hands bloodied.
"He's safe," he said and quickly went back in.
The two exchanged deep exhales as Lindsay walked towards them. Maya lifted her head and saw the poker face woman.
"You two, good job. I expect you to be on Cambridge for – "
Lindsay hadn't finished her lines when Maya jumped on her. Maya grabbed her by the hand and was about to hit her. Kroeger emphatically held Maya by the waist and put himself between the two women.
"You bastard! You almost killed Akira!" the furious Maya shouted. Lindsay shoved her hand and was able to let go. She tried to grab her, but Kroeger won't let him.
"Easy now, calm down," Kroeger pleaded.
Everyone in the hallway stopped and watched the commotion. Lindsay felt all the eyes but still casually responded to Maya. "You two are his teammates. Did you not tell him to check himself before going into the assignment routinely?" she countered.
The remarks even made Maya furious. She pointed at Lindsay with her right index finger fiercely as she looks to find a way to pass Kroeger and put a hand again to her. "It's your fucking job to orient the man!"
Lindsay sarcastically smiled and shouted back, ensuring everyone heard it. "You missed the SOP, Maya. As his senior teammates, both of you should have checked him so you can identify any lapses.
Maya looked at Kroeger, who involuntarily nod, agreeing with what he heard. She then turned to Lindsay, who was about to leave.
"But I will let you off the hook this time for Akira's sake." Lindsay then turned her voice to Croeger without lifting her eyes that are locked with Maya's. "Be sure you two will be at Le Meridien tomorrow." She turned her back and walked away while holding her right arm. Her teeth gritted in anger but still managed to compose.
Maya calmed down and found herself weak. She looked at Kroeger, who is now starting to worry for her.
"You know you'll be penalized for what you've done, right?" Kroeger asked as she squinted her eyes in disbelief. "Sometimes, you need to be rational, Maya. You don't wanna mess with Lindsay."
Maya did not reply, but she realized her friend was right.
It has been an hour and a half since the Titanic hit a giant iceberg. Sailors started to evacuate people with the lifeboat, and chaos shattered the once festive evening on board.
A dark figure is standing on a chunk of ice, looking at the sinking ship. Despite the cold weather in the timeline, the man wears a black leather jacket matched with black pants and combat boots. At his height of 6'3, he sees how the harrowing scene from his position. Just 500 meters away, the ship's lights continue to darken, one by one.
In a snap, another man teleported beside him, with an exact suit, and get-up. He handed him a handkerchief that is glowing in green substance.
"They were here," he said. "This time-lapse residue is from Captain Smith. They touched him."
The man just smiled. Both of them turned their back from the now half sunken cruise line. The first man clicked a button on his chest, and a bright circling portal opened in the thin dark air.
In a matter of seconds, they both vanished.