CHAPTER FOUR

“You best sit your little blond bottom back down where it belongs there Ms. California.”

“The file I am working on requires a clearance that I believe you can provide.”

She moved two steps more before Ms. Coats came out quickly and blocked her way.

“Whatever minor file you are working on can wait! Now turn around and go sit back down.”

“My dear Ms. Coats, what are you hiding over there?”

By now the whole office staff was watching.

“None of your concern, now this is my last warning, go sit or you will be California dreaming…literally.”

“You are a tuff old bird, aren’t you?”

Ms. Wilcox tried to sidestep her. Suddenly Ms. Wilcox found herself two desks away on her backsides. Many of the staff rushed to her side in shock. Shock that she recovered so quick, but even more shock that Ms. Coats did that to her.

“Well, Ms. Coats, you must have taken your tonic this morning! It is now time for this to end. I now have you proof that you are stealing information for the agency.”

“You stupid blond, do you think this is what this is all about? I am warning you again, what I just gave you is only a small sample of what I am capable of.

“Why Ms. Coats, maybe your jesters would like to join in on the fun.”

Ms. Coats let out a long deep laugh.

“Maybe you are not such a dumb blond after all…but you are too late!”

Ms. Coats rushed back to her desk, opened a drawer, and pushed something inside and vanished just as the elevator doors opened. The Professor, Agents Turnbuckle and Smith rushed in.

“Where is Morrison?” Ms. Wilcox asked.

“Records room.” Agent Smith answered.

“Get him and hold him in the interrogation room.” Ms. Wilcox said to Agent Turnbuckle.

Agent looked at the Professor. He nodded his head in agreement, so the agent left immediately.

“This has been a busy day. If all of you staff members would please take an early lunch, just don’t leave the building and wait till the system tells you that you are clear to return to this floor.” The Professor announced.

“Oh, um Ms. Wilcox, I will need some information from you before you go,” The Professor added.

After all, had left, the Professor looked sternly at Ms. Wilcox.

“Director, why didn’t you signal me?”

“First things first. Let us take a few scans, I can’t believe that Ms. Coats or whoever that was, could keep a transfer devise shielded from our security scans.”

The two of them worked in and around the area of Ms. Coats desk for an hour.

“Okay, it will take the computers a bit to process all this. Go see what information they have gotten out of Morrison and meet me back up here in my office. I got to get changed, these heels are killing my feet!”

The Professor watched as the Director grabbed a bag from his office and limped to the changing rooms.

An hour later the Professor and the Director (now as himself) sat in his office.

“Do I get told the truth now?” The Professor asked.

“What I set up, and involved you in, was what I believed was the truth. It had all the markings of another attempt to undermine the Agency by stealing current information however, evidence now points to a different motive.” The Director sat back in his chair.

“Twenty plus years ago the Director at that time reported that the last of the group known as “The Jesters of Time”, had been rounded up and were all being held in a stasis chamber.”

“Director, every agent knows that report.”

“Yes Professor, however there is a lot more to the story you don’t know.”

The Director pulled up a few screens on his computer, before he continued,

Two years after that report was made, the board launched a secret investigation involving charges of misconduct on the part of the Director. During that investigation, it was discovered that the director himself was a member of that group, and before he could be apprehended, he and three top agents vanished.”

The Director swung his screen around to show the Professor a picture of four young Agents.

“The Board appointed a new Director, and she appointed the four of us to go after them. Every bit of this case was then classified under Y1M. security, highest code at the time.”

The Director paused and walked over to a window. While looking down at the city, he continued.

“For months we pursued them, we seemed to always be one step behind them. The longer the chase continued the more frustrated we became. The only good thing about it was if they were on the run, they could not cause any mischief.

The Director was getting pressure to get some more pressing cases cared for. It was decided that my fellow agents would return for reassignment. I used Hallow Emitters to give the illusion that there was still four of us in pursuit of them. I chased them for another whole year. The transfer system they were using was never designed to be used as often as they were having to use it, and it was slowly poisoning them.

One by one, I would catch up with what was left of them. Each having suffering horribly from what would come to be known as time jump fever. The former Director was the only one I never saw direct evidence of his death.”

The Director came back and sat down at his desk.

“The Board and the Director had concluded from all the reports I had been sending in that he could not have survived. They ordered me back, and the case closed and sealed. The case of Jesters of Time was never to be mentioned by anyone ever again.”

The Professor raised his eyebrows.

“So, what changed?”

The Director swung his screen back towards himself,

“About five years ago, I started seeing evidence of top-secret files being tampered with. The strange thing was these were old files, incredibly old files.”

“All dealing with the Jesters of Time? The Professor asked.

“You guessed it.” The Director replied with a sigh,

The Information that the Professor had asked for from agents Turnbuckle and Smith now flashed on the Director's screen that they were ready to be viewed. The Director and the Professor studied them carefully. The Professor, with the Directors permission, had given Smith and Turnbuckle apportion of the old Jesters of Time file to run through the Scepter program. This was a recently developed hypothesis program,

"Hang on a moment." The Director mumbled as he quickly pulled up another file the was heavily pass coded. He made a split screen so they could see the reports side by side.

"Those look like old J.O.T. transfer signals." The Professor said point to the old file the Director had pulled up.

"Very good, the question is how did they fix them so they would not suffer from Time Jump Fever? The signals from Turnbuckle's report looks the same." The Director mumbled.

"Director, given the time period, did the Agency order a full medical scan on the bodies of the dead ones you found?"

The Director opened another screen and did a search. It took him some digging, but he finally was able to get to the end report.

"No, only a visual scan conformation was done. That was all that was required in those days."

"You were getting too close, so they need to do something to give them breathing space. It would not be hard to locate and payoff some body doubles. They had to figure the agency would need to move on to other cases and might just buy a logical outcome for them. It appears to have worked." The Professor paused a moment.

"I would have thought they would have gone back to their same methods."

"Professor, that would have blown their cover that they were all dead. It makes sense now why they have been so intent on getting whatever records that the agency had on them, they wanted to know for sure what we knew about them, and if we had truly closed the case." The Director said.

The Director now pulled up another screen.

"Wow look at this. Three days after the case was closed, the allies Ms. Coats was hired." The Professor said in awe.

"So, they figure out a way to get into secured files, gather data on the last twenty some odd years of cases, and it would not surprise me that some of our equipment is missing as well. We can be in a serious predicament."

"No doubt! They certainly wanted to make sure they were up to speed with us."

The Directors facial expression changed from a serious stare to a bright smile.

"Professor, the Jesters of Time are the same as they were Twenty years ago. Everything they do is meant to annoy. They are like little kids that are always pulling pranks. They feel that they have now pulled off their biggest prank. The reason they allowed those transfer signals to match, was because they wanted to be sure we figured out who it was that just made us look like fools."

The Director pulled up the last entry on Ms. Coats computer.

"That does not make since." The Professor stated,

"It would if you ever made Director."

The Director decoded the message.

'The last laugh is on you! Signed, The Clown Prince of Time, and all his Jesters.'

"What an arrogant..."

"Calm down Professor, they are not as smart as they think they are. Remember, a lot of the current information they got away with is false, I also falsified a bunch of reports in their files, once I notice it was mostly their files that were being targeted."

"So, they have conflicting reports, how will that help us?" The Professor asked.

"We beat them at their own game. We send out Agents to follow up on the false reports that the Jesters have. They will figure we don't have the manpower to play this elaborate of a game."

"Well, do we?"

"Professor, as tight as the Board is with their funds, they will pay any price to wipe mud of their faces." The Director said with a smile.

The Director then put a call into the Chairperson of the Board. As the Director anticipated, he got all the "emergency funding" he needed to hire a new office staff and put together a special task force of agents. As important as it was to be hot on the trail of the "Jesters", the office staff needed to keep the agency running. As soon as that task was completed, the Director, and the Professor went about the task of selecting their team. New Agents were hired, and others promoted to have as many top agents available as possible. The group was finalized, and a meeting was called.

"As you look over the files in front of you, keep in mind that these criminals, have come a long way from what we have on record." The Director started out.

"Director, how are just the handful of us going to cover all that will be necessary to put a stop to all this?" Agent Turnbuckle asked pointing to his screen.

"I am getting to that. We need to expedite this case; however, we do not have the enough agents to do it in a normal fashion. Besides, these guys would like nothing more than to know we pulled a cavalry of agents to go after them."

The Director now put up the team assignments on the agent's screen.

"As you can see, you will be divided into three groups, with each having a small support team back here. We will carry out our objective in three phases. The details of each phase, will be explained to you by the one leading your group."

The Director pause and drew in a big breath, letting it out slowly.

"Agents let me make something clear to all of you. The Jesters of Time are led by the Crown Prince of Time. This former Director of the agency is a Master of Psychology. Your greatest challenge is not to over think any decision you need to make. Remember also that yes, they do not want to be caught, but their goal is to make you and thus the Agency to look as foolish as they can. Professor, do you have anything to add?"

"This is for those leading the groups specifically but is something all of you should keep in mind. Once again, we are dealing with a group that not only knows our normal methods, but also has information on both old and new cases. Thus, it is imperative that you stay focused. They will pull out all their tricks to do their best to distract and frustrate,"

The Professor and the Director went into a separate small office while the agents continued to study their assignments.

"Concerns?" The Director asked.

"Only with one."

"Smith?" The Director asked.

"I know I was the one who insisted she was able to lead a team, but now that I have reviewed again the kind of head games these guys play..."

"I suggest you follow your own advice."

The Professor gave him a confused look then smiled.

"The head games have already started. Good point, stay focused and stick to the plan." The Professor said softly.

The Director left to go back to his office and the Professor called the three leads into that office.

"We will use the standard report in times unless you receive instructions to the contrary. Once you and your teams have collected the needed equipment, and you have given your final instructions to your support teams, report to the transport room. Wait till I arrive before any of you transport."

The Professor dismissed them and left to gather up what he needed. When he was on his way to the transport room, he was doing his best to put his concerns about Agent Candy Smith out of his mind. He had become sort a surrogate father to her after bringing her back with him after the time Bandit case. As he entered the room, Agent Turnbuckle and Smith had just finished an embrace.

"It appears that I am not the only one that has more of a vested interest in Ms. Smith," the Professor mumbled to himself.

He cleared his throat as he approached the groups of agents.

"Any last minute questions?"

Silence filled the room.

"Alright then agents, let's put an end to the Jester's fun."