Morning came early. But it had for years. Janette poured herself a cup of coffee, and glanced towards the couch as she stepped to the door. There lay the man she used to love.

I don’t know why you insist on staying here… She found herself silently asking of him. Probably just to rub me the wrong way. Then, taking a sip from the steaming mug, Janette grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

“Good morning Time Keepers!” Her voiced boomed into the lounge room where the Keepers awaited their first mission of the day. A few of them looked half asleep still, but after a cup of coffee they’d be ready to go. Or at least…that’s what keeps her going.

Her voice continued to boom in a commanding manner as she continued. “The mission today is a small bank job in the 1930’s era. Don’t get trigger happy and think you’re going to get to take out John Dillinger or Baby-Face Nelson either. We’ve got a small time crook, in his first attempt. Though in doing so him and his comrades manage to take out about a dozen innocent civilians. We’re not looking to shoot down this perp as he walks into the bank either. I’m sending you back with enough time to make the guy rethink himself, which may prove a little more challenging for those trigger happy ones among you.” Janette looked around the group and raised the cup she still held, to her lips once again. As she turned it up, but felt no warm liquid rushing between her lips, her eyes glanced down suddenly to reveal the cup’s empty state. The woman cleared her throat and continued.

“Krise, Roehder, Koboto, and Frost--Damien, you’re all assigned to this mission…Harris, you as well, and I’ll be looking to you to give a briefing to all of the Keepers assigned on the time period they will be going into.” Janette looked from person to person a moment. “Koboto, you’ll need to get to work on a new batch of watches for the group, something that will blend in.” She nodded, and tapped the side of her cup a moment. "Bennett though you're not assigned out on this one, I will need you working on Clockwork to set up and get things ready. Everyone who is assigned will now receive their written guidelines and an overview of information. After reading this, report to the meeting room for your briefing in the preparation for this mission. You’ve been allotted three hours to do so.”

An assistant stepped in with the papers for the crew, but the coordinator didn’t turn her gaze towards this person. With a nod but before turning away, Janette’s eyes fell upon the odd looking man among the keepers, he listened…though his attention was buried in the screen of a small palm held device. “Koboto!” Her voice stuck him with sudden surprise. “Fetch me another cup.” With that, she tossed the mug towards him, and turned to exit the room. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

Jeremy looked up with sudden surprise as an empty mug came tumbling though the air, falling straight towards him. Dropping the small device he’d been holding to his lap, he then caught the cup, and watched their boss walk from the room. His eyes shifted towards the assistant that had began passing out large tan envelopes, containing each one their mission. She couldn’t make you do it..? He wondered, as his free hand accepted the envelope from the assistant. For a moment Jeremy thought to pass the mug on to the other, freeing himself of the duty. But then again, if Janette Reagan didn’t see him personally deliver her fresh cup of coffee…she wouldn’t be too pleased. So, with a sigh he tucked the envelope under his arm, shoved the small electronic device in his pocket, and walked towards the local coffee pot.

After returning to the lounge room, Jeremy crossed his legs, and repositioned himself in the corner of one of the two couches placed there. He faced the other Keepers and pondered the mission a moment. “So…” He let his voice come into the quiet of the room a bit awkwardly, but he could find no other way to begin. “How exactly are we supposed to make this guy ‘rethink’ himself?” He posed the question that had cropped up in the back of his mind immediately as the coordinator had mentioned it. As he waited for a reply, Jeremy Koboto adjusted his dark rimmed glasses, and turned up his own cup off coffee, one he’d decided to get since he was up any way.

Gabriel Cross looked out the window, a wry smile playing on his lips as he unloaded his Glock 20, placing it in the glove department of the car. His driver and bodyguard, Mr Hunter, looked at him with an emotionless face while he worked. After removing the gun from his shoulder holster, Gabriel proceeded to check his cellphone, pressing a button, and saying in the hidden microphone in his clothes:

"I take it your little gadget is working, Mr Normal?"

"Uh, yes...yes, sir, it's w-working fine." The shaky, constantly nervous voice of Normal replied in his right ear. Normal was the resident "mad scientist" of the Medici Group's Research and Development section, and as such, one of the people that Gabriel Cross relied on most when indulging in his little side-projects surrounding the Wells Project and the marvelous machine known as the Clockwork. He was also a man that, despite his eccentricity, Gabriel Cross trusted explicitly.

"Good." He replied shortly.

"You sure you want to do this, sir?" Mr Hunter asked Gabriel, who gave him a wry smile in return.

"Oh, yes, most definitely." He patted his friend and bodyguard on the shoulder, and left the car with a cocky laughter.

He approached the headquarters of the Wells Project. The guards didn't stop him any longer than it took to verify his false ID card, which didn't take long with the help of the remote manipulations of Mr Normal, via his modified cellphone. It remotely accessed the guards' computer systems, planting the fake name on Cross' ID-cards in them, and allowing him to pass through security without problems.

****

A lot of things had changed since Gabriel Cross left the Wells Project. But some things never changed, even when entering the office of a secret government agency like the Project - phones ringing, people talking out loud to each other, fingers tapping against computer keyboards. And, of course, the Clockwork. Even though it was hidden from sight by countless walls, Gabriel Cross knew exactly where the machinery was located. He had once worked on the Project - heck, he had been one of its founding fathers.

But, that was a long time ago. Things had changed.

Even so, it was with his hands tucked in the pockets of his dark suit, and a casual demeanor that he walked into the lounge of the Wells Project headquarters. There were some people relaxing there, though Gabriel recognized none of them. Even so, a quick glance told him they were most likely Time Keepers, rather than administrative staff. Some were sipping coffee, others were talking. As he entered, one man in particular caught his attention by his oddball appearance - and the Project somehow managed to attract a lot of those to its employment roster, Gabriel had noticed - as the man spoke:

“How exactly are we supposed to make this guy ‘rethink’ himself?"

Gabriel cleared his throat, catching their attention and interrupting their conversation in its cradle.
"Sorry there, mate." He said, his British accent sounding out of place, but his voice friendly, though it was an act. "I didn't mean to interrupt." He looked around for a moment, playfully confused, as if unsure of what to do, though it too was of course an act. "I'm looking for Mrs Reagan. It's been a few years since I was last here. Do you know where I can find her office? I'm an old friend of hers." He gave a broad smile, hiding the cynical laughter wanting to leave his lips.

In his ear, Mr Normal's voice spoke so that only he heard it:
"The cellphone's doing its thing, sir. But there are too many computers close to where you are. If I try and boot up the copy protocol right now, it'll overload the cellphone and short circuit it. I'll have to wait until you get inside the head honcho's office. That'll save on the battery as well and make sure we can copy the entire harddrive."

Gabriel's face revealed nothing of what he had been secretly told in his earpiece. Of course, he knew it was only a matter of time before somebody recognized him as the first person that had ever betrayed the Wells Project - and if nobody else would, then Miss Reagan most definitely would, as she had been involved with the Wells Project even back in the days when Cross had worked there. But he was counting on that, and more-so, counting on the confusion that would come when she realized that he had wandered right into their midst, even as a traitor to the organization.

Damien ran his fingers through his hair and thumbed his goatee. He frowned. The 1930s... He tried to recall some faces from that decade... Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walt Disney, Amelia Earhart, Al Capone, HITLER... Holy hell...

His eyes widened and he groaned. God, Hitler was going to be alive. He didn't know why that bothered him so bad. His ancestors weren't involved in WWII at all and Hitler had absolutely nothing to do with his mission.

But he was going to be alive. That was a little bothersome.

And even worse, he was going to have to shave his goatee. But, I guess if it's for the common good, he could sacrifice it. Hell, it would grow back in about a week or two anyway.

Damien headed to the locker room... Well, closet room was more accurate. Damien opened up his locker, stocked with all sorts of different clothes to suit different decades. He grabbed some khaki pants, a button up shirt, a brown trenchcoat, and a brown Fedora. He threw these over his right arm and slammed the locker to reveal Ryno leaning smugly against the next locker.
Ryno smirked. "So you get to go to the 1930s, eh? You lucky dog you."
Damien smiled. "Why am I lucky? Did you enjoy the Great Depression or something?"
Ryno rolled his eyes. "No dude, I totally dig Bing Crosby."
Damien laughed. "Are you serious? I can't stand that guy. He's all I hear come Christmas time. I kinda wanna go back in time and have him take up basket weaving or tennis or anything instead."
Ryno smiled. "To each their own."
"Weirdo." he said with a chuckle as he walked back to the lounge.
"You know it." Ryno retorted. "Be careful, bro."
Damien twirled around and walked out of the room backwards. "Aren't I always?" And he went to catch up with the rest of his group.

Ryno frowned after his brother left and kicked at the floor. I wanted this one... He thought to himself with a sigh. Oh well. There'll be other missions. I guess I just push some paper today. He walked out of the room, and with another sigh, he headed towards whatever awaited him.

"I suppose we're not allowed to take a fistful of our now-devalued dollars and shove them in the guy's face so he doesn't need to rob a bank to get money anymore?" Despite the fact that English wasn't her native language, Teresia Roehder could speak it nearly as fluently as any native. "Well, I suppose even if we could, that would fall into the camp of 'giving a man a fish,' wouldn't it? Not much help there...

"Well, at least he's small-time. Those kind are usually caused by something simple, like relationship trouble or the lack of a job. Know what? Probably the last one; it is the middle of the Depression, after all."

Not like what happened in America was anything like other countries. Teri remembered the family stories, the devaluing of the Mark, the way the people of Germany had thought they'd needed something radical in order to save them... "They got a Roosevelt. We got a Hiter. It was the luck of he draw, nothing more." Isn't that right, Oma?

Teri shook her head, unsettling some of her blond locks. "Just don't tell me we have to go all Freud on the man, or something."

Double post

*double post.... i dont know why... sorry!*

Kat took another sip of her coffee, it was still early in the morning and she was still waking up. She gathered her notes and stood up, "Hitler, Nazi's, Roosevelt, Great Depression, lots happened during that time of history," she said before she finished her coffee. She looked over at Teresia and smiled, "Freud? God I hope not," she laughed, turning to leave she almost ran into a man who just entered the room. "Jennette's office? I'll show you where it is, I'm going right past it," she walked to the door, then turned around, "I'll have some basic information on the era for y'all in a few minutes, just a few things," Kat nodded to the man, signaling for him to follow her, she made her way down the hall and then turned down another one. "If you can just wait one minute I'll see if she is free," she told the guy as she stopped at a door, knocking Kat didn't wait for a answer, she poked her head inside the office. "Hey, you have a visitor, he says he is an old friend... you free?"

The best laid plans of mice and men so often go awry. Kendra eagerly grabbed her manila envelope and flipped it open. The 1930's. Home to the book Of Mice and Men. Why she knew that she didn't exactly know. Perhaps from 11th grade English. She tried to remember as much as she could about the book, trying to capture the mannerisms of the rich and poor. Enough of that. In the thirties Television was invented, as well as Nylon, ball point pens, and helicopters. Hitler also assumed power during this time.

Changing subjects rapidly she sat down at a computer and googled "hairstyles of the 1930s" Google must be god. Its been around forever and has only gotten better. Ah here we go.... Her eyes scanned the page of pictures. Damn. We're going to need some serious bobby pins to pull this off. She tried to pick the easiest one possible but it seemed that all of them were heavily bobby-pinned or caked in gel. She finally perked her head up to join the conversation on how to make the man re-think himself. "I'm pretty sure that if we gave him our money he'd notice the year wasn't right." she said with a laugh, yet somehow a seriousness was still about her. Doing something as small as that could have drastic results. Everyone knows that I don't have to remind them.

A strange man walked in. Something about him caught some sort of familiarness in the back of her mind. She couldn't quite stick it though. I'm probably imagining things. she thought as she went back to the computer, looking up anything and everything she could to be sure she could fit in, all the while thinking of how to stop the man

"Aww, no fair Janette!" Paul Bennett whined, throwing his hands up in mock despair after Janette, once again, refused to let him in on the mission.

Oh well, at least it had it's benefits. That meant he had more time to work on the anti-aging serum he and his team had been formulating to reverse the side-effects of time-travel on him. Heh, to be honest, he sorta missed his beard. That damn side-effect just had to rework his cells into preventing it from growing back and he hated it. He always thought that beard made him look smarter, and he wanted to get it back as soon as possible.

"Okay, back to work!" Hoisting himself off the couch, Paul chucked his empty cup of coffee towards the trash bin and looked around. "Right." he muttered, "You, you, you, aaaand you, yes you, definitely you, over there, with the red shirt." He called, pointing towards different lab assistants. "All of you, come with me." Paul ordered sternly, his hands on his hips, but the goofy grin on his face completely ruined the entire 'I'm-the-boss' look.

As soon as the lab assistants arrived, Paul immediately started making his way towards Clockwork. It took some time to get the machine ready and he didn't want to hang around any longer. Any delays and Janette would literally have his head.

"Did any of you catch the mission's time frame?" Paul asked. He always had this memory problem. Sure, he could remember all those big, important things but most of the time, all the little things get left out, like dates and such. One of the assistants raised her hand, "1930's, sir." she replied, to which Paul nodded, "Ah, the rise of Nazism...great decade! Also the rise of Disney! I love Disney!" he declared with much enthusiasm.

All the lab assistants rolled their eyes at this. Despite being a great scientist, Paul could be sooo immature that it sometimes leads others to speculate just how that goofy, child-like man ever joined the ranks of Well's head scientists with the likes of Kendra Krise and so on.

With a slight frown, Jannett looked up at the question. An old friend? She pushed aside the paperwork she’d been going over, and took a quick sip from her fresh cup of coffee.

“Sure, send them in, thanks Kat.” As questions buzzed through her mind she waited for the other to enter. She reached a bit anxiously to adjust the papers yet again, but when the ‘old friend’ let himself in, her hand fell short.

There before her stood Gabriel Cross, the man who’d managed to single handedly put their entire project in jeopardy, and use it to bend time to his own will. It was an event Jannett had worked so hard to cover up; she had almost allowed herself to forget.

Call security! Her mind screamed in a first impulse, but Jannett forced her hand from reaching to the phone. Instead she watched the man carefully a moment, and reached towards the top drawer of her desk. “Well, good morning Gabe…I was of course expecting a familiar face but…” Her fingertips felt the pack of cigarettes tucked away in the drawer. “I’d almost wish for one not so familiar now.” Jannett pulled out on of the cigarettes and lit it before taking a quick drag. She really wasn’t supposed to smoke in the office, but who was going to complain? With a slight smile she offered the pack towards Cross, and then spoke up again. “Now…what the hell brings you here?”

She needn’t really ask. It was more a question of how he was planning to get what he’d come for. Though as well as Gabriel Cross knew her, he had probably already discerned her real underlying question. So with a bit of curiosity, Jannett waited for him to respond.

Adjusting his glasses slightly, Jeremy watched Kat and the friendly stranger walk from the room. Something seemed a bit odd about the guy, but who was he to judge? Koboto knew about as much about people, as a plumber knows about brain surgery.

He turned back towards any of the others remaining in the lounge which was, by now, very few of them. With a sigh Jeremy recalled that he had a stack of papers to read and several watches to assemble in a bit less than three hours. So, without further hesitation he dismissed himself from the room—knowing no one would take much notice—and retreated to his workspace.

Leaving the lounge he took an immediate right, and up a ways to the left set a black office door, labeled simply Communications: Jeremy Koboto. Inside lay a room that, at the base of it was wonderfully simple, with grey walls and a charcoal colored floor. But then as ‘décor’ scattered throughout the room were several work benches and desks, adorned with all manner of gizmos and gadgets. Wires and chords draped over corners of the desks and across parts of the floor, and on one wall was a large screen, with—at the moment—a scenic view of ‘the matrix’. It was one of Jeremy’s favorite oldies, a movie he had brought back as a souvenir from his first mission. He’d of course had to convert it from its original disk format, and sure the effects were lacking, but he liked it for those very reasons.

Grabbing the nearest set of large wireless headphones (some he had designed out of a classic pair), Jeremy pressed the ‘resume’ button on the side, and fell into his chair. The only chair in the room in fact…a black office chair, with wheeled legs of course. Bobbing his head slightly to the sweet sound of ‘oldies rock’, Jeremy rolled to the appropriate desk, and set to work preparing the watches.

Ryno walked into the office room and approached his cubicle to see a massive stack of paperwork waiting for him. He plopped into his chair and buried his face in his hands. GOD he hated paperwork. He would rather be as hated as Hussein than fill out another annoying time mission report or ensure another meaningless update to historical literature. There were so many other things he could be doing! He could be saving the world, killing or stopping bad guys in different times to better millions of lives. Perhaps one day he could trade wits with Freud, or jam with Jimi Hendrix, maybe even take a lesson in finding peace with Ghandi or John Lennon. Maybe one day he could even go back and save his father..

He stopped himself. It wasn't the first time these thoughts had crossed his mind. But he knew that those things aren't what the Wells Project is for. This whole organization was made to better the lives of every citizen, every man, woman and child they could.

BUT...

Isn't the life of one great man worth the life of another? Isn't it possible that his father could have saved the world? Is it not possible that his father could have been the answer to a major issue that plagued the earth today?

He shook himself out of it. He was daydreaming again. He was already off track, and Janette was already on his case for that and as it seemed, everything else.

So he swallowed his emotions, got out a pen, his stamps and his staplers, slid the first sheet of the top of the stack, and got to work.

As Gabriel stepped inside Janette's office, he smiled wryly at the surprise she showed. Of course, he had expected her to make a face similar to the one she was now making. Surprise and shock, but also disdain, played on her beautiful features. It wasn't really strange, considering his history with the Wells Project, and the fact she had been the one to cover up his last mission after his going rogue.

"Starting the remote cloning now, Mr Cross." Normal spoke in his ear. The cellphone in his suit pocket vibrated for a second, but quickly died down again. "The process should take about fifteen minutes."

"Janette! It's a pleasure to meet you again." Gabriel said with a broad smile. "You look as beautiful as ever."

“Well, good morning Gabe…I was of course expecting a familiar face but…” Janette's voice trailed off as she reached for a pack of cigarettes in one of her drawers, and lit one up. Gabriel, closing the door behind him, walked inside, and sat down comfortably in the armchair opposite her desk while the female boss of the Wells Project added: “I’d almost wish for one not so familiar now.” She offered him a cigarette, but he shook his head. “Now…what the hell brings you here?” Janette asked suddenly. Gabriel looked mock wounded by her harsh words.

"Now, now, that's no way to greet an old friend, Janette. And here I went through the trouble of coming to visit my old co-worker. You know how difficult it is to escape your accountants for a day off when you're at the head of an international business empire?" He shook his head, as if depressed by the mere thought. "You should appreciate the trouble I went through to get this date with you." He let out a laugh. "But I'm glad to see your cold attitude haven't changed since I left. I always liked that about you." Gabriel leaned forward, and added in a lower, flirting voice: "It's kind of...sexy."

The humorous glimmer in his disappeared, and was replaced by an eerie coldness.

"You know what I want, Janette. The Clockwork..." He let the words sink in for a few moments, before adding: "I want the blueprints. And you're going to give them to me."

"Twelve minutes, Mr Cross." Normal's voice echoed in his ear.

A smile returned to Jannett's lips, shortly after it fell from Gabriel's. She had figured it would only be a matter of time before his charming display finally dissolved. But she wasn't afraid to meet his new steely gaze, she had known what he came for. "It's good to see the real you again Gabriel." She said, dropping the shortened version of his name she had substituted before. Cocking her brow slightly, Jannett picked up the phone from her desk, and calmly dialed a few numbers. After watching Cross carefully a moment, her gaze then shifted towards the call. She posed him no threat, in fact, the woman seemed to be going about her business as though he was no longer there.

"Yes..." She spoke into the phone. "This is Jannett Reaves, I need everything shut down until further notice." Her eyes flicked back towards Cross. "Yes I am aware of that. Yes, shut everything down. Thank you." She returned the phone to it's base, and rested her elbows on the desk, clasping her hands in front of her. It was odd, but she let a bit of grieved sympathy for him find her. "Gabriel it pains me that our relationship has come to this, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You've now delayed my mission by at least an hour, as i will have to restart all of my systems. But know that I would sooner die than give up the blueprints to you." Her brows lowered a bit. "Please leave now, so I don't have to call security."

With that Jannett took a last drag from her cigarette, before tossing it to an empty ashtray on the edge of her desk. She couldn't allow herself to feel sympathy for this man...he lived only for himself...he had betrayed her and every one of the other members who had ever trusted him. And he had come back to claim something he had no right to attain. Her eyes narrowed a bit, "I wouldn't care to ever see you again Gabriel Cross. Now get out of my office."

Gabriel didn't stop her as she reached for the phone. He had expected something along those lines from her. Fortunately for him, Normal had assured him that the cellphone-cloning machine would work, even with everything shut down. Besides, their only target today was her computer. The Clockwork would have to wait. That was the case for the Time Keepers and their mission as well, though - after shutting down the machine, it would take more than an hour to boot it up again, especially punching in the many passwords for the machine. It was true, he had unintentionally delayed the mission. Not that he really cared.

But Gabriel didn't move. Instead he heaved a disappointed sigh.
"Oh, Janette... I didn't ask you to give me the blueprints. I'm telling you." Then he shrugged. "But, I can wait. I didn't come here for the blueprints today anyway." He gave her one of his patented smiles, and added: "As difficult as it may be for you to believe, I just came here to see you. I was going to ask you out on a real date, now that you're free from that husband of yours. You were always too good for him, anyway." He leaned closer, and looked her in the eyes. "What do you say? Let's put aside our differences for the evening. I know of an excellent restaurant. I, heh, own it. You and I may be competition, but..." His hand reached out and stroked hers. "...that's no reason for us not to get along, right? Besides..." He leaned close enough to whisper sensually in her ear: "I think we're destined to be together."

Gabriel stood up and walked to the door, leaving behind a visitors' card on her desk, together with a small rose that he had somehow conjured up from out of nowhere.

"Even Time Keepers can't change destiny, baby. You might as well accept it." He winked at her. Then, he added with a returning serious face: "One day, I will have the blueprints to the Clockwork. And I will fulfill the ambitions that my ancestors entrusted me with. But don't worry. I'm not so crude as to try anything over-the-top or by gunpoint to get my hands on them." He smiled again: "I'll look forward to your call, Janette." With a haphazard salute to her, he turned around and walked out of her office.

His smile and charm back, he saluted the Time Keepers in the lobby as well, and noticing some of their disguises and clothes, said:
"Good luck on the mission. The 1930's were a good decade. If you get the time, take a stop by at the Green Mill. They had excellent food and wine back then." With that, he laughed as he walked out of the Wells Project headquarters. As soon as he was outside, he asked in the microphone of his suit jacket:

"How did it go?"

"N-not too g-good, Mr Cross." Normal replied, stuttering as always. "W-we only clo-o-oned 73 percent of her h-harddrive. Y-you walked out t-too early."

"It's good enough. Salvage what you can." Gabriel said, pulling the mike away and dropping it to the ground. He entered the car next to his bodyguard, who remained silent and waited for his order to drive. Gabriel stared up into the sky outside the car's window, and muttered to himself, with a dry chuckle: "Man, she really hates my guts..."

"That's understandable, sir." Mr Hunter replied quietly. "They could never understand your ambitions. The Time Keepers are too pretentious for that."

"You're right." Gabriel patted him on the shoulder, heaving a slight sigh. "Let's go back to the Medici Tower. We've got work to do."

"Yes."

Staring down at the rose a moment Jannett scoffed. Sure...Gabriel claimed he wouldn't take any extreme measures to gain the blueprints. But he hadn't come for no reason. This was no more than another ploy. With a sigh she finished her coffee and stood to reorganize the mission. It wouldn't do them any good to delay the mission any longer.

* * *

Standing in the ready room, Jannett glanced around to the Tim Keepers assigned to the current mission. Everyone was fully aware of what they were to be doing, and ready to file into the Clockwork. She nodded, pleased by their preparation...though they did have an extra hour to do so. Nevertheless they were here now, and they would do a good job. Everything will be just fine. It seemed though, that Jannett was trying to convince herself of that fact as well.

Perhaps it was the unexpected visit from Cross, that had her so shaken up. After all, it had been a day no different from the others...a mission all had expected to go well...every calculation and diagram had shown that things would turn out fine. But when people don't follow the rules...

"Alright everyone...I expect you all to do well, and to do as you're assigned. Now, I want to hear the Time Keeper's Code. All together now..." Perhaps they were a bit surprised by her sudden request for them to recite the code aloud as, she only did so with new Time Keepers, still in the training stages. But if nothing else a visit from Gabriel Cross had reminded her just how important that code was. With a half-smile and a nod after the Keepers had completed reciting the four rules, Jannett turned and began to exit the room. She would watch from behind the observatory glass. "Good job, and good luck!" Her words boomed into the room, hoping to offer any last encouragement she could to the Keepers. Unfortunately, Jannett wasn't really good at such things. It had probably just confused them all.

Well, confused or not, if they stick to the mission and follow the code...

...everything will be just fine

Jannett's behavior was odd, first the spontaneous shutdown and then the behavior, 'What is in her coffee' she wondered as she watched her boss leave the room. Everyone was dressed appropriately, it was amazing what you could "dress up" as when the government funded your wardrobe; she herself was wearing a dress, simple, functional and it applied to the era. She had pulled her hair back and stuck some bobby pins in it to make it look like the fashionable style of the time, with some gel she had it down no problem. Except for the fact that hr head now itched. Walking up to the clockwork she glanced back at the group, "Let's hope this goes like eggs in coffee... that means smoothly for those of you who skipped that part of my report I sent out," she adjusted the small hand bag she had on her shoulder before entering the machine.

When Teri was told to reherse the code, she felt a twinge of uneasiness. She unconciously fingered the Luger that she'd hidden in her jacket; she knew that if she ever used it on someone, it would probably count as "unnecessary contact," but when she was dressing up earlier (that's almost what it was, yes? A dress-up game...) she couldn't bring herself to leave it behind. Having it made her feel like Great-Grandfather was protecting her, in a way, even if the gun was never drawn.

As for the clothing itself, it had taken Teri much less time to figure it out. She didn't want to go as a woman of the time. Sure it was supposedly enlightened "modern times," by then, but Rosie the Riveter hadn't quite been back in vogue yet. So a cap to hide her hair, some business slacks, and her favorite jacket. It would be a while before it would be recognized for what it was. In the 30s, (in America at least,) it was a greatcoat, and nothing more.

Damien sighed heavily with satisfaction. He was so relieved he had memorized the code offhand, word for word, as did the rest of his team. He figured it was a good idea to, seeing as it's the basic honor code of the whole project.

He shuddered. That Janette really rattles his cage sometimes. She pisses him off. She makes him want to pull his hair out. And above everything else, she scares the living hell out of him. But he had a feeling that deep down, under the rough exterior and gruff "motivational" prerequisites, she really did care about each and every one of the time keepers.

Yeah, and maybe I'm a Chinese Jet Pilot.

Well in any case, he and his fellow time Keepers had a job to do, so he pulled his fedora low, slid a hand into his pocket, smiled confidently and stepped into the clockwork, ready to be whisked away into the past.

A slight expression of confusion crossed Kendra's face. Surely with all the years she had spent on this project Jannett knew she knew the code. "Always stick to the mission plan. Avoid unnecessary contact with residents of past times. Never miss the curfew date. Never reveal any details to anyone about The Wells Project." Kendra easily recited the words. No they were more than words. They were a lifestyle.

She adjusted her dress so as hopefully she could breathe. At least this is a diplomatic mission. Hopefully we wont have to shoot anyone in this getup. I've got to say being able to breathe really helps my aim. Her hair was pressed with gel, and held with bobby pins. If I had to do this every day I don't know what I would do. She thought as she touched her hair only to find it firm as a rock. She glanced down at her wristwatch Koboto had made. It had an oval shaped face that narrowed and met the band, very elegant for the time period. Still admiring the watch and walking toward the time machine she patted Jeremy on the back "Nice job Koboto." She nonchalantly stepped inside Clockwork.

Slightly adjusting his glasses Jeremy felt himself reciting clearly the words of the Time Keeper’s Code. He knew it like second nature, and though it wasn’t protocol for them to do such before missions, he didn’t particuarly mind it. He adjusted the glases again. They felt a bit odd on his face…probably just because they weren’t his glasses. He’d traded them out for some that were rimmed with a worn silver looking finish, and more rounded lenses.

After everyone had finished, the room fell a bit oddly silent and Jannett left. The next thing he noticed was someone’s hand on his back. He startled slightly and his shoulder flexed a bit, but Jeremy kept himself from pulling away. Instead he tuned. As he did he heard Kendra as she patted his back and then continued to walk by. “Good job Koboto.” It was odd, for a moment he hadn’t recognized her—everyone looked so different. But a half-smile crept onto his face at the commendation. It was always good to be taken note of, and for him, it didn’t happen all too offten.

Reaching towards the brim of his appropriatly aged motorists cap, Jeremy nodded as she passed, and then stepped up to follow the other Keepers into Clockwork. He’d chosen more casual clothes than some of the others, wearing a pair of slightly worn slacks, with scuffed shoes and suspenders over a simple dress shirt. Then a knitted scar wrapped around his neck and tucked just under the collar of a medium long jacket. He’d probably fit in with the lower class more than he had intended, but if need be, he could buy some clothes somewhere. It would be kinda cool to have something actually made in the 1930’s.

Jeremy thumped the face of his wristwatch. This piece of junk better work… He had gotten distracted after completing the other watches and had to rush on the last one, which he’d of course saved for himself in the case that it did fail. He wouldn’t want one of the other Keepers getting stranded on his account. If they happened to finish the mission early he would fiddle with it while they waited on the curfew. He didn’t really have any other plans any way. Let’s not get ahead of ourself Koboto… He reminded himself, and then Jeremy forced himself to stop fidgeting and focus. It was time to take things seriously.

A small frown appeared on Paul's face as Jannett entered, but was quickly replaced by a small grin. Yeah, he was confused; Of his seven years of working in the Project, he's never encountered a spontaneous system shutdown before, but he didn't let his confusion show. Of course, he'd have to ask Jannett about it later.

"Right..." Paul muttered and looked over the checklist of Time Keepers on his clipboard. Only five were listed, and sure enough, only five were inside the clockwork. Paul immediately turned towards them as soon as he assured himself they were complete, and grinned. "Now that you're ready, let's get this thing started!"

He hurriedly rushed towards clockwork's main controls and pushed a small red button under one of the viewing screens. As he did so, a loud, mechanical noise filled the room as the time machine closed it's doors and brought said viewing screen to life. The screen showed several angles of the inside of the time machine, and the Time Keepers inside.

Paul reached towards the lever; He and the team had already set the time frame a few minutes back, while the Time Keepers recited the code, so all he had to do now was pull it, and everyone would be transported to their mission's time frame. But before he did so, Paul quickly looked over the time and date, and matched them with the ones listed on his clipboard. "Thank God..." he breathed, heaving a relieved sigh. He'd already messed up once...or twice, before and he didn't want it to happen again.

"Everyone ready?" He called out. "In three, two, one..." He murmured, gripping the lever, and pulled.

The first thing Teri noticed was the smell. It was a smell of age, and mold, and decay which, curiously, grew less as the room finally snapped into focus. Still, though. Abandoned flats may be good for staying inconspicuous, but not so much for suppressing the gag reflex. She made a mental note to tell someone this.

She made her way to the window and looked out cautiously. A city street moved below her, a little less than busy. It might have been a bit more crowded with vehicles had there been enough wealth around for more people to own them right now.

Your time will come, Teri thought, smiling. A little suffering can be dealt with, if you end up with a victory by the end of it.

She turned back around to face the other Time Keepers. "Shall we go, then?"

Tom was in a bad mood. That in its self was not unusual as being angry was something he did very well and regularly got practice in. What made this worst than usual was that in the last six months he had not found a single German or Soviet spy, not since that business in Miami. So after hearing some vague rumors about Nazi sympathizers and maybe a German agent in the area he pulled his operation into this city in the hopes of getting a bad guy or two. He had acquired an old warehouse that had been abandoned since the start of the Depression. After setting up shop and sending out undercover personal to monitor the situation in the city and hopefully find some leads to the supposed Nazi spy. “What the hell is happening in here” Tom yelled! The various military personal in the room suddenly snapped to attention as Tom entered.

“I leave for couple of hours to make a few calls and when I get back I find you all slacking” he roared! The personal of course were not slacking in the least but he needed to blow off steam. He turned toward Major Luke Hearth, who was in charge of all the deployed filed agents in the city. “Any leads yet” asked Tom while pulling out a cigar and bringing it to his mouth, only to place it back in the cigar case he carried in his back pocket. “Damn doctors” he muttered. “We haven’t gotten anything solid yet, but we have several groups out searching so if anything odd comes up will know” said Luke while studiously ignoring the cigar that the Colonel was fiddling with. “Let me know if we get anything” said the Colonel. “Now everyone back to work” he yelled as he stormed out of the main room into his office.