Edward Graves: Temporal Detective
Chapter 25: The Temporal Council

The chambers of the Temporal Council were located on the uppermost level of The Watch, meaning that they had to ascend twenty levels from their starting point on level twelve. When they exited the elevator they entered a reception area with a young Asian woman in her twenties sitting behind a desk.

“Hello Mr. Graves,” she said, excitedly and without an accent.

“Hello Rosie,” he replied with a smile that would dazzle a middle-aged drill sergeant. “My, you do look lovely today, have you done something with your hair?”

“It’s a new style that I’m trying out,” she said enthusiastically.

“Well it is working marvellously; it really accentuates your features.”

Jessica thought that, if anything, it made her face look a little chubby, which really didn’t suit her slim figure.

“Oh Edward,” she said, “I’ll never get tired of your old world charm.” It was only now that her eyes shifted to Jessica, as if she had only just noticed her. “Oh, I don’t think I’ve met your, um...” She left the end of the sentence hanging, obviously fishing for a relationship status.

“I’m Edward’s partner, Jessica.” She extended her hand, but Rosie just looked at her with fire in her eyes.

“Partner?”

“Investigative partner,” corrected Edward. “More of a student really.”

“Hey!”

“I’ve taken Jessica under my wing to show her the ropes of time travel and detective work.”

Rosie gave Edward a disapproving look, “The Council aren’t going to be happy about that.”

“That’s good. It’d feel strange if they actually approved of me for once.”

She looked down her nose at him, but then broke and smiled, before shaking her head. “They’re in session now and they’re expecting you. I don’t know what’s going on, but they told me to ask you to wait until they summon you.”

“It’s OK, I’ll just go in now - it’ll save them the trouble of saying my name three times.” Edward made for the large wooden doorway that led to the council chambers, “Come along, Jess.”

Rosie suddenly slid between Edward and the door and stood spread-eagled. Jessica could now see that she was wearing a traditional looking pink dress with a flower design on it. She wondered at what point in China’s history she came from.

“I’m sorry Edward, but you’re going to have to wait until they’re ready for you.”

“Come on Rosie,” he said with the charm levels turned up to eleven, “You and I both know that they could be in there for hours before they call me in, probably just to spite me. This is important.”

Rosie’s face twitched with uncertainty and slumped a little, but then she pushed her chest out and reasserted her stance. “I’m sorry, Mr. Graves.”

“OK Rosie, listen to me,” said Jessica, “I know that you’re doing your job and that’s admirable, but we’re trying to do our job. We have very important information which needs to be shared with the council or else people could die.”

“People are going to die?” asked Rosie.

“Possibly,” said Jessica. “Some very bad people are going to attack the Watch, we need you to help us Rosie. Help us to save The Watch, the people working here and possibly all of time and space.”

Rosie considered this for a few moments before stepping aside. “OK, I’ll let them know that you’re coming in.”

“No need,” said Edward, “I prefer to make a grand entrance and it just doesn’t work if I’m announced.” He grabbed Rosie’s hand and placed gentle a kiss on it, “Thank you my dear.” He leaned in to Jessica and whispered, “Good job. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’re a bit of a manipulator.”

“What makes you think you’d know if I was?” asked Jessica.

“Touché.”

With an almighty heave, Edward pushed open the giant wooden doors to the council chambers. Jessica found it strange that there were wooden doors in a place where everything seemed so shiny, sterile and futuristic. She thought that it seemed so, well archaic. In a weird way she guessed that actually made sense.

What was beyond the doors felt like a completely different world to what else she had seen of The Watch. A corridor lined with wood panelling and old fashioned torches in brackets led to a large open chamber. Inside the chamber was a large, round wooden table with thirteen chairs seated around it, twelve which were occupied by people in robes and one of which was empty. One of the occupied chairs was more elevated and ornately decorated than the others, and the robes of the man sitting in it were equally elaborate.

Clashing with the old fashioned aesthetic, were bright, elliptical, electric lights which were impressed into the ceiling, as well as a blue holographic display which sat suspended over the table.

Edward cleared his throats to make their presence known and then threw his arms out wide, nearly striking Jessica with his cane. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it’s good to be back here on...” he pretended to look at a note in his hand, “The Watch!.”

The hologram above the table immediately disappeared and the councillors began to chatter, as if trying to find out whom, if anybody had arranged this interruption.

“You were told to wait until you were summoned,” growled an old, grey haired man wearing a red robe with a grey three-piece suit underneath. “You can’t just barge in here while the council is in session Graves.”

“But Padameer, if I didn’t, then you lot would still be arguing and voting a ratifying while the whole place blew up around you. You’re like ’The People’s Front of Judea from The Life of Brian. Never mind, you probably don’t get the reference.”

“And who is that girl?” yelled an olive skinned woman in rich, blue robes.

There was a clamour of agitation as the other councillors became aware of Jessica’s presence.

“This is my new partner in training,” said Edward. He turned to her and beckoned for her to come forward.

Nervously, she took a few tentative steps, then a few more, until she was by Edward’s side.

“Uh, hi,” she said with a little wave of her fingers.

“This is Jessica Lazarus,” said Edward.

“Has she been through the Academy?” asked a young man with pitch black hair and robes to match. He spoke in an Italian accent.

“No, nor shall she.”

Some of the other Councillors began to grumble angrily, but they were quietened by the man in the elaborate robes and chair, the man whom Jessica was willing to guess to be the Grand Epoch. He had a kind but wrinkled face, like a loving grandfather who never raised his voice and always had time to play with his grandchildren. His hair was covered in a skull cap, but thick, white sideburns ran down to his jaw line and big, bushy, white eyebrows sat above his eyes. His eyes were in a permanent squint and it was as if his eyebrow were so heavy, that they were in the process of collapsing over his eyes completely. His nose was his dominate feature though, taking up a good third of his face, with their own little tufts sprouting out, eager to join their friends in his sideburns.

The Grand Epoch banged a gavel to bring the Council to silence and then spoke with a deep, raspy voice. “Let us hear what Mr. Graves and his partner have to say. It is, after all, the purpose of this meeting and so, I dare say, it matters little how coarse his intrusion was.” He peered at Edward from underneath his voluminous brows, giving a glimpse of his dark blue eyes.

He made a gesture with his hand and suddenly the table sank into the floor, with an almost soundless motion. The chairs moved away, with their occupants still seated in them, then realigned, so that they were all in a row, facing the door. Finally, they all rose several meters, so that they had to look up at them, like a judge’s bench.

“Please approach the bench,” said The Grand Epoch.

Edward nodded silently and stepped forth, walking up a small set of stairs to a raised section of the floor. Jessica felt even more reserved than before, but she still followed Edward’s lead.

“Thank you Grand Epoch,” said Edward with a surprising amount of respect – something which Jessica hadn’t really heard from him before. “No doubt, my friend Archibald Wright has spoken to you, seeing as you’re all here. So that means that you already know what I have to say.”

“We know about your fairy stories and ridiculous theories,” snorted an overweight man in magenta robes.

The Grand Epoch tapped his gavel gently and the heavyset man was silent.

“I know that most of you don’t like me – heh, now that’s an understatement – and that’s OK, because I really don’t like the majority of you. But I have dedicated the last century of my life, saving the world and the Timestream from threats and you should know by now that I am never wrong. That’s my best trait, that and modesty.”

Edward left a pause as the councillors shuffled in their seats, murmuring and exchanging glances.

“Mark my words,” he continued, “The Watch is going to be attacked. Soon. Are you all going to sit there and debate about whom thoroughly dislikes me more, or are you actually going to do something about it?”

“What do you propose we do?” asked a blonde woman, who looked to be in her thirties and spoke with a thick Eastern European accent. “You have told us that we are going to be attacked, but that is very vague. I, for what it’s worth, believe you Mr. Graves, but you have to give us details.”

Edward nodded, “Fair enough. It is my belief that The Black Glove have placed a mole inside The Watch; somebody to shut down our defences from the inside.” He held out a palm in a pacifying gesture. “Now before you start getting indignant and whatnot, I’m not saying that it’s anybody on The Council, nor that it is anybody who works or lives on The Watch.”

“Then who?” growled the man whom Edward had called Padameer.

“A prisoner,” said Edward. “Specifically, a man named Geoff Proton.”

“The cat-burglar?” asked a middle aged Chinese woman in Emerald robes.

“Yes, he was responsible for stealing the Eternity Stone. Jessica and I apprehended him and I brought him here.”

Edward then proceeded to outline their investigation and how it had led them to that point. Some of them actually looked a little bit sympathetic when he mentioned the torture part, which Jessica thought was nice of them.

“Surely you don’t believe in this Beast?” said a man with skin the colour of dark chocolate which nearly blended in with his deep violet roves. He had flecks of grey in his hair and a strong baritone voice, which gave him a commanding presence. “After all, you yourself have been to the Alpha Point.”

“Yes and I wasn’t the only one, if you remember correctly. Xander is still there.”

“You think that they know about him?” asked a squat Korean man in golden robes.

“I think that it’s a possibility. It’s also a possibility that the guy who’s calling the shots for The Black Glove now, is nuts. Either way, we shouldn’t take any chances.”

“But haven’t you solved the problem?” asked the olive skinned woman. “You said that your colleagues are seeing to Mr. Proton; ensuring that he is detained.”

“If they have one plant, they could have another. Or a backup plan. The point remains that you are under threat and you need to take precautions.”

“Are you really willing to risk this place, or the lives of everybody here, yourselves included?” At first, Jessica wasn’t even aware that it was her who had just spoken. She didn’t let that show though and did her best to keep a facade of confidence.

“Do excuse us young lady,” said the Eastern European Councillor, “but I’m curious. What century are you from?”

“Well, the twenty-first, or at least that’s where I’m from now. But I was born in the 1990s.”

“I see,” she said. “How old are you, relatively speaking?”

“I’m eighteen. Ma’am,” she added as an afterthought.

“So, you are a child,” responded the Councillor. “You do not have the necessary experience to weigh in on these matters.”

“Excuse me? I may be a child, but I have a better understanding of reality than you do. A few weeks ago I was selling books and complaining about my mother. Now? Now I’m travelling to other countries and other times! I’ve been shot at and on the run; I’ve mounted a rescue mission into the stronghold of a crime lord’s criminal empire. Don’t you dare tell me that I don’t have the necessary experience to weigh in on this!”

The Council actually fell into stunned silence, like none of them had a clue what to say to that.

“So,” said Edward, “are you going to listen to a rogue and a child? Or are you going to wait for doomsday to befall us all? Because I can wait, I’ve brought some knitting with me.”

The council took a few minutes to deliberate before announcing a decision.

The Grand Epoch banged his gavel to and then cleared his throat. “Alright Mr. Graves, extra security forces will be deployed to guard the Furnace as well as the temporal pathways to The Watch. We’ll also increase the security detail for The Watch itself, raising the security level to blue alert. That’s as much as we can possibly...”

Suddenly the room shook and bits of debris fell from the ceiling. Edward grabbed Jessica and pushed her to the floor as a chunk of masonry smashed to pieces on the spot where she had just been standing. The councillors scrambled for cover beneath their bench but some fell and others were struck. Sparks flew from computer banks which had previously been unseen by Jessica.

The shaking settled and Jessica became aware of Edward’s weight on her back. “I think you can let me up now,” she said, muffled by the floor.

“Sorry,” he said as he helped her to her feet. She collected her satchel off the floor and dusted it off.

Almost immediately, guards entered the room with weapons raised, demanding to know if the councillors were alright.

Turning to Jessica, Edward looked gravely serious. “We’re too late,” he said, “It’s begun.”

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