Hopelessly Incompetent Productions

Here it is... Time Zone. Enjoy.

Time Zone

The man on the corner of Wall Street and 42nd was growing impatient. He had good reason to be anxious; the object he was waiting for was something of great power, something many people would die for... or kill for.{ep:0}

Gazing out over the New York City landscape, the man finally saw his associate pull up in a 2007 Jeep Escalade, just as they had agreed. The man that emerged from the Jeep was wearing sunglasses to hide his identity. He put the token into his master's waiting hands. The man receiving the object looked at it in total shock.

"This isn't quite what I expected."

His servant laughed cynically. "That makes two of us."

Meanwhile, miles away, Forensic Detective Tim Milton was asleep in his high-rise apartment overlooking the Manhattan skyline. He never expected the call he was about to get or to be plunged into the adventure he was about to undergo. But it was coming all the same.

The phone in Milton's apartment rang, awakening him almost immediately.  He stumbled groggily to the sink to wash his face and hopefully wake himself up. As he washed, he caught his reflection in the water. His own brown eyes were staring back up at him, and his black hair fell in a short mushroom cut around his head. He was not outstandingly tall, yet not remarkably short. He would often admit that he needed to lose a few pounds, but never did much about it. He got the phone and was stunned to hear the voice on the other end: "Tim Milton? This is Capt. Matthew Woodard of the NYPD." 

"NYPD? Is something wrong?" 

"Yes, sir. Something is very wrong."

"What is it?" {ep:5}

"I can't tell you. Not on an insecure line."  {ep:6}

"It's one in the morning! Who could be listening?" {ep:7}

"Please, just get down to NYPD Headquarters as soon as possible."{ep:8}

"But how did you find me?" {ep:9}

"I'm the Captain of the NYPD. I have my ways."  Before Milton could say another word, the line was dead.{ep:10}

This is insane!, Milton thought as he drove in his car. He was getting up in the middle of the night to find someone he'd never met so he could solve a case he knew nothing about. Still, some higher power seemed to be driving him towards what he knew had to happen. Milton was a strong believer in Destiny and he had a feeling this was his, whether he liked it or not.

Milton pulled his car into the parking lot of NYPD Headquarters, wondering what was going on and trying to wake up. Before Milton even got out of his car, Captain Woodard was standing before him. He was a tall and bearish man that Milton was 

trying not to be intimidated by and failing. "

Good Evening, Mr. Milton." His voice was like thunder.

Depends on your idea of good. 

"Good evening. What, if I may ask, is going on?"

The Captain seemed to be avoiding the question. "Why don't you come inside?" Milton ignored the fact that the man appeared to be changing the subject and went inside, wanting to know what was happening.

The inside of the building was a warmer than the cool October night and had walls made of red brick. The floors, Milton observed, were polished wood. He repeated his question.

"What's happening?"

The Captain gave a huge sigh. "Mr. Milton, what I'm about to tell you is something that threatens the entire Human race."

"Are you familiar with an artifact known as the Jade Tiger?"

Milton was; he'd read that it gave its user the ability to travel through and alter time.

"Many people are.” The Captain went on to say the Jade Tiger had been reported stolen tonight. "It is of utmost importance that we get it back."

"Do you have any leads?" Milton asked, hoping the answer was yes. "Only this." The Captain showed him a yellow post-it with messy writing scrawled on it that said:

I have the Jade Tiger

    Signed,

     XXX

 "Any ideas who XXX might be?" 

"None."

"Do you by any chance happen to know if the NYPD has any enemies?"

The Captain seemed to be thinking for a long moment. "Not that I know of."

Everywhere they turned seemed to be a dead end.

The young woman tried to fight her captors, but it was no use. They threw her into the trunk of their Jeep Escalade and took off. "Where are we going?" she tried to yell, but the men had put tape over her mouth.  She would have taken the tape off had her hands and body not been bound by rope as well. She could only await her fate as the van arrived at a dark building with no name on it.

The woman's name was Jade Gerti. She was not more then twenty, with beautiful blue eyes and long blonde hair. That was how she'd gotten her name; when she was young, her parents always used to call her their "Little Jade".  The sound of the van's trunk opening jarred her from her memories. "We're here," the taller of her captors announced. Jade was brought out, leaving her to wonder exactly where "here" was.

Before Milton could say another word, Captain Woodard's radio crackled to life. A man's voice was reporting to the Captain. "We just caught word of a kidnapping on the corner of Wall Street and 42nd. Witnesses identified a green Jeep Escalade,

license plate 10145, headed south on 42nd Street." Woodard stared at Milton in disbelief. "What's wrong?"

"That's the same Jeep that we suspected of stealing the Jade Tiger. The exact same one." Milton had a feeling they were onto something. Something very big.

Without another word, Milton jumped in his car and followed the Captain's Police Cruiser to Wall Street. By the time they had arrived, though, the kidnappers were gone.

"Is there anything you can do?" Woodard hoped.

"It'll take a few hours, but I can analyze these tire tracks. See where they came from and where they're going."  Woodard nodded. "I'll stay here and patrol the area. Many of our criminals come back to the crime scene."  Milton dashed off, with no idea of the trouble he was leaving Captain Woodard with.

The building that Jade had been brought to had no signs inside or out suggesting what it was. She was brought to the front desk of the place, and she assumed that it was some kind of office.

"Where's Brother Superior?" One of the men asked.

"He's upstairs in his office. But he's not taking calls right now."

The man smiled. With the information he possessed, he was pretty sure Brother Superior would be eager to see him.

"I have a funny feeling Brother Superior will want to see me." Here, the kidnapper lowered his voice to a whisper. "I have information pertaining to the Jade Tiger."

"Ah." The Secretary nodded knowingly. She pressed a button on an intercom on her desk. "Brother Superior, you have someone here says you'll want to see him."

"I told you not to disturb me! What I'm doing is very important." The secretary gulped, not knowing how the man would respond to what she was about to say.

"It's about the Jade Tiger, sir."

"That's a different story. Send him up."

"Yes, sir." She hung up and turned back to the kidnapper. "You're cleared."

Without another word, the man advanced up the steps, bringing a terrified Jade with him.

Woodard was exploring the area where Jade had been taken by the men in the Escalade.  The tire tracks seemed to him to indicate a northern direction, so he followed them that way. He came across things like manhole covers and garbage cans, nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. Woodard continued on, with no idea that he was being watched.

"He's coming too close," Brother Superior said. He pushed the intercom button on his desk that went downstairs to his secretary. "Yes?" The woman sounded cheerful.

"Hello. This is Brother Superior. I'm going to need an assassination team on 42nd and Wall Street. Target: Matthew Woodard." 

"Right away, sir."

The door to Brother Superior's office opened suddenly. He turned to see his associates holding the girl he'd requested. "So, I see you've brought what I asked of you. Very good." Jade's eyes were wide in fear as to what was about to happen to her.

Brother Superior crossed the room to poor Jade, who was shuddering now. Her captor had a reputation of ruthlessness and was possibly one of the most accomplished criminals in history.  "Well, well, well, what have we here?" The man

was wearing a sadistic smile. One of her captors untaped Jade's mouth.

"What do you want from me?" 

"A very reliable source told me that you have information on the Jade Tiger's whereabouts." 

"Who told you that?!"

"Not important. Is my source as trustworthy as I hope he is?"

Jade knew it wouldn't do any good to lie to them.

"Yes," she said as if the words caused her pain.

 "Good. Co-operation will make this easier on both of us."

Woodard hadn't examined much of Forty Second Street when a group of men surrounded him. "Who are you?" Woodard asked, though he was sure he knew the answer. A red circle with an "x" through it that was marked on one of their jackets confirmed his worst fears: they were members of the Brotherhood, and that was their symbol. They drew weapons and surrounded him. "Leave me alone," Woodard said, drawing his gun. As he gazed around, he knew he didn't stand a chance; he was outnumbered.

"So, where is the Jade Tiger?" Brother Superior asked.

"I can't tell you that."

"Aww, you can tell me anything,"

"No, I mean I really can't tell you that."

"But you told me you knew, so where is it?"

Jade sighed. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him, but that she'd been sworn to secrecy about the Tiger's deceptive positioning.

Brother Superior crossed the room to get an old piece of yellowed parchment from his desk drawer. "Maybe this will refresh your memory." Jade stared at it, knowing all too well what it was. Brother Superior unfolded the parchment and read the title.

" 'The Prophecy of the Jade Tiger'. Author Unknown. The Blessed People had been told, over many generations, that the object they sought was a beautiful token, a gem of sorts, whose name stemmed from it's beauty.'" Jade closed her eyes and prayed that Brother Superior wouldn't see what was hidden just under his nose.

As Milton was driving back down Wall Street, the lab sample in a bag next to him, Woodard was battling his attackers. The Captain planned to fire, but one of the brothers fired first. The bullet dug into his leg, but he surged on. "Ready to give up yet?" One of them sneered. "Never," Woodard said. He knew far too much was at stake.

"Did my reading give you any sudden ideas?" Brother Superior asked. Jade was sweating now; if she gave up the secret, she'd be giving it to a ruthless criminal. Still, if she didn't, she wasn't sure she'd ever see her friends and family again.  "Well?" Jade gave a small sigh and realized there was a third option.

"The Jade Tiger is hidden in New Orleans. Inside the French Quarter." Since the French Quarter was so well guarded, she thought the lie would seem logical to Brother Superior.  "Well, then.. I don't know why we're still here." She tried not to smile.

He bought it! The secret and its keeper were safe.. at least until Brother Superior found out he'd been tricked.

Before either of them could say another word, the intercom chimed in.

"Brother Superior? We've captured the quarry. Shall we bring him in?"

"Well done. Bring him to my office."

"Yes, sir."

The sound of footsteps could be heard as two of the brothers came upstairs.

They opened the door and Jade saw their "quarry": It was Capt. Woodard.

Jade had known Woodard for years, ever since her father quit his job as a grocery store clerk to enroll in the NYPD's Police Academy. Now, it almost seemed like a cruel irony that they had ended up in the same situation together.  God works in strange ways, Jade mused.  The pained look on Woodard's face snapped her back to reality. "What do you want with him?!" she asked, suddenly feeling brave.

"That's classified," Brother Superior shot back. Jade had a bad feeling as Brother Superior turned back to the petrified prisoner. He whispered something in one of the men's ears and the man nodded. Then they took Capt. Woodard away to await whatever fate lie ahead.

"Come back!" Jade tried to stop the men from leaving, but she was far too late; the door closed and the men took Capt. Woodard to the dungeons below the main complex where they could be sure he wouldn't tell the location of their hideout. Brother Superior used the intercom to require that Jade be watched by some of his associates and then he left for the French Quarter. Jade realized that she had to escape before Brother Superior realized he'd been misled.

Milton stared at the lab sample. According to his calculations, the car that left them was indeed a Jeep Escalade, the same car that had been seen leaving the scene of the Jade Tiger's robbery. They headed North, but Milton knew better than to follow them, at least unarmed. He jumped in his car and headed back to NYPD Headquarters to get a gun. He decided he would use a stealth approach. They'd never see him coming.. at least, that was the way he planned it. But things don't always go as planned.

About ten minutes later, gun in hand, Milton was following the tracks north when a man suddenly jumped at him from out of nowhere. The man began attacking Milton, bare fisted at first. Then, from under his black fleece coat, he drew a pistol. Milton reached for his gun instinctively, knowing it was now a matter of who fired first.

Milton shot first, but the man swiftly dodged the shot. He returned fire, drilling painfully into Milton’s shin. Milton surged on, trying to pretend he was fine, but it was no use; his legs gave in, sending him spiraling downward. His vision grew blurry as he hit pavement.

The next thing he felt was the smash of the gun’s barrel against his head, and then everything went black.

When Milton woke up, he was inside an office with soft blue carpet and red brick walls. There was a beautiful young girl in front of him, and two figures stood guard outside the closed door.  The girl took the initiative and introduced herself.

“I’m Jade Gerti.”

“Timothy Milton. Any idea why we’re here?”

“Well, someone told Brother Superior I had information on the Jade Tiger’s hiding place. You, on the other hand, I’m not sure.”

“Who’s Brother Superior?”

Jade shrugged.  “Whoever he is, he seems to run things around here. But that’s not important right now...” Jade lowered her voice to a whisper so the guards couldn’t hear.

“I need your help.”

“With what?” Milton wondered. Jade explained the predicament she was in and how she needed to get back before Brother Superior did. “Ok, I’ll help,” said Milton, having no idea who he was dealing with.

                                                                                                                   French Quarter

New Orleans, LA

02:30 a.m. Local Time

Brother Superior breathed the scent of saltwater as he stepped off the plane that had brought him to the French Quarter, one of the most famous neighborhoods in Louisiana.

He was standing on Decatur Street, looking at the French Market on his left. The French Market is America’s oldest public market, Brother Superior had remembered reading.

The article he’d read said that the Market was a group of restaurants, stores, and more.  Directly in front of him was Chatres St. And then, something registered in Brother Superior’s head; something that would make the search much harder.

                                                                                                      Brother Superior’s office

                                                                                                     New York, NY

                                                                                                    03:30 a. m. Local Time

Jade and Milton were sitting in silence, contemplating a plan of escape, when the silence was shattered by the ringing of Brother Superior’s phone. Jade went up to answer it.

“Hello?” 

“Jade, this is Brother Superior. I just realized you never told me where in the French Quarter the artifact is.”

Jade stopped dead; she hadn’t thought ahead that far. Not to mention, neither she nor Milton knew the first thing about the neighborhood.  Was Brother Superior testing her, or was he really that naive? 

“Well?”
“Um, I forget the name of the place. Do you think you could get me a map? That might help.”  She waited to see if her opponent had fallen for it.  Brother Superior gave a big sigh. “Use my computer. Username: BSuperior. Password: JADE, all capitals.”

“Thanks,” Jade said, grateful that she’d bought a little more time. She plugged French Quarter into Google and found an interactive map on frenchquarter.com. She saw colored blocks represented buildings. 

“OK, where are you?”

“On Decatur. I can see the French Market immediately to my right.”

“Ok.  Go to the left a little bit. Do you see St. Ann Street?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, now go up it. Jackson Square should be to your left.”

“I see it.”

“That’s where the Tiger is. It’s inside St. Louis Cathedral, which is in the square. Well, actually, it’s hidden in the window behind the cathedral, the Fleur de Paris,” Jade said, finding the Fleur de Paris as she explored the map further.

Brother Superior thanked her and hung up. And Jade knew they had to get out... fast.

Once she hung up, Jade turned urgently to Milton. “We have to get out before he realizes I lied to him.”

“You lied?!”

“I’m sworn to secrecy; what else was I supposed to do?”

“Well, when he finds out, we’re both dead.”

“This is wasting time.” Here, Jade lowered her voice. “Any ideas?” Milton shook his head. “You?” He whispered. “One. Just follow my lead.” Jade clutched at her stomach, groaning and moaning in false pain. “Ow!” She yelled. The door opened and the two guards came inside. Jade fought off a smile and pretended to still be in pain.  Her “stomachache”, though, was about to become the least of her problems.

Brother Superior was in a half jog up St. Ann Street when his cell phone rang. He stopped short, assuming it was one of his accomplices with news on Jade and Milton. He glanced at the number: 055-789-5673. He didn’t recognize it, but some higher power told him to answer. He wouldn’t regret it. 

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was concealed with a voice changer, distorted like that of a criminal being interviewed on TV.

“Brother Superior?”
“Yes. Who is this?”

“That’s of no importance compared to what I’m about to tell you.”

“Ok...”
“I believe you have someone whose has been directing you on how to find the Jade Tiger, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You have been deceived.”

“What?”
“Jade Gerti lied and mislead you. Your mission in the French Quarter is nothing more than a red herring, meant to throw you off the trail.”
“Are you sure?” Brother Superior felt stupid.

“Positive. But if she asks you, this call never happened. Good day.”

The mystery phone caller hung up before Brother Superior could ask their name or how they found him.  Brother Superior knew he could have the call traced, but didn’t care where it came from; all that mattered was that his visit to the French Quarter was no longer necessary. He was going home.

“What’s wrong with her?” one of the guards asked Milton.

“Stomachache.  She’s had it for a few hours now,” he said, hoping to lend credibility to the charade. 

“We’ll see what we can do,” the other guard said. They both turned to leave and Jade’s “stomachache” suddenly got better. She grabbed a paperweight form Brother Superior’s desk and knocked out one of the guards. “Hey!” the other guard whirled around. “Freeze!” He drew a gun on Jade and Milton. Not that it mattered; when Brother Superior returned, they were as good as dead anyway.

Jade lied? She had to have known that she’d get caught! Brother Superior mused as he stepped back into the plane that he’d scheduled to wait for him. “Going back early, sir?” the pilot asked. Brother Superior nodded. “Seems the whole thing was a scam. And someone is going to pay for it when I get back.” The pilot shrugged, hoped Brother Superior wasn’t referring to him, and took off.  As the plane lifted off the ground, Brother Superior took one last look at the French Quarter.

“Strike two,” Milton murmured to Jade. 

“Give me a minute,” she shot back.

“We don’t have a minute.” Jade swallowed hard as the guard pressed his gun in their faces.  Out of instinct, Milton kicked the guard’s gun from his hands. It slammed into the wall and let out a blast that echoed through the office and shattered a window opposite it.

Milton and Jade were about to climb through and escape when Brother Superior walked through the door. “Leaving so soon? But we’d love to have you here.” There was a demonic smile on his face.

“Sorry, we should be going,” Jade replied. “No, really. I insist.” Brother Superior moved to cover their escape route. Jade searched for another way out, but saw only the door, which the guards had moved to cover.  There seemed to be no way out. And Jade had been counting on keeping her secret for at least a while longer. Now, it looked like the secret wasn’t the only thing she had to worry about.

“Great idea,” Milton murmured.

“Unless you have something helpful to say, I suggest you don’t say anything at all.”

Milton began to think; the only real advantage they had was access to Brother Superior’s computer, but he didn’t think that would help. Besides that, they were outnumbered and overpowered.  He felt like a chess player that had just been checkmated by his opponent.  And the next move was his. It would have to be something that would upset the board.

He made a sudden dash for Brother Superior’s desk in an attempt to grab the paperweight Jade had used as a weapon before. He didn’t make it in time; a guard lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. “Tim!”  Milton tried waving her off, yelling “Save yourself!”
He decided if Jade knew where the artifact was hidden, she might be more valuable to the investigation than he was. Jade ignored Milton’s plea to save her own skin and jumped in to defend the detective.  She shoved the guard off of Milton and tried to brace herself for an attack she knew was coming.

The second guard rushed at her, firing from behind. She saw the door was now unguarded, but it didn’t matter unless they survived their battle with the guards.  The bullets tore past Jade, missing by inches. She knew she couldn’t let the guard get another shot in. She went at him, taking his legs out from under him. As he went down, his gun came up, and Jade tried to grab for it. She was seconds too late, and the other guard got a hold of it first. “Oh, crap.” Jade knew this wouldn’t end well.

The guard released a stream of bullets and one of them hit Jade in the knee. The pain was excruciating, but she forged on anyway.  Milton, from out of nowhere, lunged at Jade’s attacker. “Uf!” the guard fell to the floor with a loud thud! Brother Superior apparently decided to intervene, drawing a small pistol. He held it up at Jade and Milton. “Ok. Nobody move.”

Brother Superior’s eyes were glowering with rage. “I want to know where the Jade Tiger is, and I want to know the truth.” Jade’s eyes shifted nervously. The truth could quite possibly be too much for him to handle. But another lie, and Brother Superior would be going through the roof when he got back from his search. Jade decided to play dumb.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t give me that. Someone called me in Louisiana and told me you lied.”

“And you believe them?”
“No, I just hold people up with pistols for my own enjoyment! Yes, I believe them.”

Jade took a deep breath.   And then, for one of the first times ever, she divulged her secret.

“So? What do you have to say for yourself?” Brother Superior asked. 

“Ok, I did lie. The reason you can’t find the Jade Tiger is because you already have it.”

“What are you talking about?! I don’t see it anywhere.”

Jade sighed again, flipping over the gravity of what she was about to reveal in her mind.

“I’m the Jade Tiger.”

“That’s impossible! The tiger is an artifact, not a person!”
“That’s the whole point. The ones who guarded the tiger-me- wanted you to think it was an artifact. Get me a pad and paper; I can prove it to you.”

“Ok, but no funny stuff.”
Jade held her hands up as if she were surrendering. “I promise.”

Brother Superior got her the materials from his desk and watched as she scribbled something down. Jade Gerti. He watched as Jade rearranged the letters in her first and last names, so that they spelt out something else. Brother Superior could only gape in awe.

The pad where Jade had written her name had another line underneath it: Jade Tiger.

“I can’t believe this! The letters in your name spell ‘Jade Tiger’ when they’re rearranged.” Brother Superior couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. “But the prophecy said the tiger was a priceless gem...” he sounded almost disappointed.

“Actually, I believe its exact words were: ‘… A beautiful token, a gem of sorts, whose name stemmed from its beauty.’  When I was little, my parents used to call me their ‘Little Jade.’ And that’s how I got my name.”  It all made sense to Brother Superior now:

The girl before him was indeed beautiful, and Jade was not only her name, but the name of a gem as well. Whoever had written the prophecy was obviously clever. Brother Superior trained his gun on Jade. Then, he yelled orders to the guards: “Neither of them leaves under any conditions.”

“What?!” Milton hoped he’d heard wrong. Desperate, he turned to Jade. “If you have the power to travel through time, now would be a really good time to use it,” he whispered.

Jade nodded. She closed her eyes and the walls of Brother Superior’s office vanished from around them, taking with them the security of their time and catapulting them into an unknown era.

When Jade and Milton landed, they heard cheering all around them. From somewhere up above them, blinding bright lights were shining down in their eyes. Before either of them could adjust to the light, a booming voice announced: “Now pitching for the New York Yankees, number twenty-seven, “Catfish” Hunter.” The cheering reached a fever pitch as the man stepped out onto the mound. Above him, a ticker tape said: “The year in review:

1975.”

So that’s where we are, Milton mused.  He looked over at Jade and tried not to gasp at what he saw.

“What?” Jade asked, apparently reading the shock on Milton’s face.

“You look younger. A lot younger. And I’m not just saying that.”

Jade gasped suddenly.

“What is it?”
“This isn’t good.”

“Jade, what’s wrong?”
“I went too far.”
“In time?”
She nodded. “I’m only twenty. I went back to 1975. That’s thirty two years ago, before I was born.” She turned to Milton, her eyes wide.

“If we don’t get back soon, we’ll be living before I was born.”

“Does that mean...” Milton had read theories like this before where a person, if they could time travel, could go past the day they were born and stop existing altogether.

“Yes. If we don’t get back soon, I will cease to exist.”

Milton was trying to ponder what to do when he saw men in black uniforms rushing at them. “Hey, off the field!” One of them yelled.  Jade noticed the badges on their shirts.

Security, she knew.  “C’mon!” Jade yelled. They ran towards first base and hopped the fence into the first row of seats they could find. There was more cheering from the crowd as security left and the game resumed. Panting, Milton was more worried about Jade than his heart, which felt like it too might cease to exist soon. “How much time do you think we have left?” He asked. Jade shrugged. “There’s not really a set time.” They had two choices: stay in 1975 and wait for Jade’s inevitable doom… or go back and face the wrath of Brother Superior. Whatever they chose, it would have to be fast.

“What do you suggest we do?” Milton asked. Jade offered no answer because she didn’t have one ready. “It’s your decision; you have to live with it,” Milton said, wishing silently he hadn’t phrased it like that. Jade glanced nervously at the roaring crowd, oblivious to their predicament. Then, with a heavy heart, she made her decision.

Brother Superior’s men were trying their hardest to track down Milton and Jade, but to no avail. They were checking phone records, browsing computer histories, perusing files, and more, but nothing seemed to offer any help. Suddenly, one of Brother Superior’s men brought him a printout of a phone record. “Did you find them?!” Brother Superior hoped.

The man shook his head. He sighed, exasperated. “I need to call an associate of mine.”

“We stay here,” Jade decided finally.

Milton couldn’t believe what she’d just said. “Are you positive?”

She nodded. “I can’t allow your life to be put in danger just to save mine.”
For one of the first times to date, tears streamed down Milton’s face.

But then a thought occurred to him: He would never be able to get back home without Jade’s ability. He turned back to the girl, but her body was lying on the ground, not breathing, not moving. Slowly, Milton whispered “Thank you.” He left the stadium to go on a walk. He needed to clear his head, to sort things out. Perhaps it was better he was stuck there, seeing as what was happening in the present.

Brother Superior’s mind was racing as he dialed the digits for his accomplice.
“Hello?” The man’s voice wasn’t disguised this time.
“Hello, this is Brother Superior. I believe you’re the one who gave me information about Jade Gerti.”

“That’s correct.”
Brother Superior smiled and said: “Well done. We’ve lost them. Do you think you could come down and help us find them?”
“No problem.”
“Excellent. You know where to meet us.”
Then, Brother Superior hung up.

A jeep escalade with the license plate 10145 pulled into the parking lot of Brother Superior’s office.  The doors slammed close and a single man emerged, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The man made his way up to Brother Superior’s office, which he had visited many times before during their deal-making in the past few years. The associate recalled the call he’d received from Brother Superior many months ago. 

“Bring me the Jade Tiger, and I will reward you greatly,” Brother Superior had raved.

“How greatly?” The man had wondered.

“Let’s not get anxious; your reward will come when it is due. Do we have a deal?”
“Done. I know just where to find it.”

Brother Superior had told the man the address of where to drop it off. And then the call ended.

The man made his way up to Brother Superior’s office.  He didn’t have the tiger, and he was afraid of how his master might react. He tried to keep a positive attitude as the elevator delivered him to the office. He opened the door slowly and entered into a place he knew well. Brother Superior looked up when the door opened. He greeted his accomplice. “Good evening, Captain.” Brother Superior smiled and looked into the face of Matthew Woodard, Captain of the NYPD.

“This is your accomplice?” One of Brother Superior’s guards asked him.

He nodded. “Yes, it was quite easy getting him to change sides.”

“Your reward wasn’t the only reason I did it,” Woodard shot back.

Brother Superior looked confused. “When I was younger, Jade’s father entrusted me to keep the secret of the Jade Tiger...” Woodard began. He went on to say that one day, while working with Jade’s father in the police force, they had encountered a dangerous scenario: men shooting at them from all angles, a robbery in progress. Jade’s father moved to cover himself without worrying about Captain Woodard. “The selfish fool,”

Woodard muttered. 

“So that’s the reason?”

“That, and I believed the world needed to know where the Jade Tiger was really hiding.”
It was all clear to Brother Superior now: Woodard, in an attempt to get revenge on Jade and her father, had devised the scheme to reveal Jade’s secret.

“But how did you learn Jade’s secret?”

Here, Woodard paused to smile: “Who do you think wrote the prophecy?”

                                                      After-Note:
Thanks to Jade’s sacrifice, Milton was kept safely in 1975 forever. Jade learned in the afterlife that she would get a second chance of life because of her selflessness. She eventually was able to reveal Brother Superior’s scheme and have both him and Captain Woodard arrested. It became popular knowledge that Capt. Woodard was in league with Brother Superior’s criminal ring, the Sui-Ka Brotherhood. Thanks to Jade and Milton, the Sui-ka Brotherhood was dissolved. One day, in 1975, Milton woke up to see he had a message on his cell phone.  The message was from a police officer, and he wanted to see Milton at Yankee Stadium as soon as possible...

...