Chapter One

Transeo

The smell of disinfectant stung his nose as Grissom made his way down the lengthy hallway. He could only begin to wonder if he would ever reach his destination. Workers ran down corridors holding metal tubing and plastic structures which resembled tools that may be used on a spacecraft. Not one individual was dressed in a uniform which may reveal the company they worked for; suits and sumptuous articles of business attire were permitted only. Uniforms were a risky item to wear when you worked for a branch of the federal government. Grissom knew very well who he was looking for, he just didn't know where to begin his search.

"Can I help you with something Sir? You seem lost." The middle aged federal worker displayed with pride his perfectly tied Windsor knot as he pushed his chest out even further. He resembled a peacock who was trying to display its attributes to a possible mate. His auburn hair, mixed with a hint of silver, strode across his face as he continued to wear a flawless white smile. Grissom was eventually hit with the familiar feeling of deja vu as he continued to stare at the gentleman before him.

"Tom?" Grissom inquired.

"It took you that long to realize? I thought you were supposed to be some 'big-shot' criminal investigator huh?"

"Yeah well it's been a long time." Grissom looked the man over with a grin. Tom had been one of his only friends in high school- make that his only friend. Over the years they had lost contact as their careers both skyrocketed. Coincidentally, both men had acquired a job which related to science. Grissom put away the bad guys while Tom invented a way to stop the common criminal.

"Yeah well I figured if I haven't seen you since college we must have something exciting to talk about. Remember what I said the last time I saw you?" Tom questioned while guiding Grissom threw two gargantuan sized doors.

"Yeah you said by your fiftieth birthday you would have the invention that would blow the world away. Tom, I hope you didn't mean literally." Grissom arched an eyebrow as they continued to head through a series of doors with security locks and codes.

"Aw, come on Gil! You know I only invent for the benefit for the planet. Before you see this I want your honest opinion on this project-- as often as possible. I'm giving you these keycards to access this space as often as you like. Of course this is permitting if I am in the building. Our funding guy doesn't want anyone but me playing around with this thing." Tom smiled as they finally entered a warehouse which currently housed over fifty assiduous employees. Grissom had known Tom since he was five years old, they had been neighbors in California up until they both moved out of their childhood homes.

Tom worked for the CIA in a Top Secret branch titled "Transeo"; not even Grissom knew the meaning behind the name. He could only hope his friend would explain his objective before his patience began to wear thin.

A couple of days ago, Grissom had received a phone call from Tom's secretary requesting his presence at a demonstration. His curiosity got the better of him as he took the night off and met up with his old colleague.

"So what exactly are you going to show me Tom?" Grissom watched in fascination as his friend stopped in front of a glass case and pulled out a simple looking digital watch.

"This is what I wanted to show you!" Tom laughed.

"All this intrigue and mystery for a watch? Come on Tom, what does it do?" Grissom raised another eyebrow as he watched Tom take a cat out of a cage and strap the watch around its neck.

"Would you believe me if I said that I could send this cat back in time to 1905?"

"I would say that you have high hopes. In order for one to travel through time it is said that one would have to travel faster then the speed of light. From my meager amount of knowledge in this method of time travel, we have no ability to interact with what has occurred. We can only observe. The most notable example of this type of time travel is stars. We see the light waves they sent off years ago, but have no way of interacting with the occurrences. And so far in our day and age, it is not possible to travel faster then the speed of light…" Grissom stated while taking off his glasses and removing several specks of dirt on a lens with the end of his dress shirt.

"I'm impressed Gil! You remember all my talks and babblings in high school." Tom laughed.

"No, I remember several physics classes I took as a minor to obtain my doctorate. It's not possible to travel through time." Grissom stated once more to try to get his concrete opinion across.

"You know that I wouldn't bring you all the way down here so I could tell you it's impossible. And apparently, you can interact-- despite what your physics teacher told you." Tom mused as he clicked several buttons on the cat's collar. Within a matter of seconds, the young feline disappeared leaving behind the smell of ozone as several electrical sparks fell to the ground. The action left Grissom feeling speechless as his logic tried to comprehend what had just occurred.

"And what did I tell ya'? Time travel is possible." Tom let out a hardy laugh as he began to explain the technical aspects of his product.

"So you're telling me that this cat has gone back to the year 1905 and will come back with video tape proof?" Grissom was still in shock while Tom relished in his friend's confusion.

"Yes. The watch is a time travel device…I won't dive into too much detail but all I can tell you is that it works. Every cat we have sent through various time periods has been able to interact with the populous from the past. Of course we're only permitted to send animals through time, and even then it's risky."

"I'm assuming the risk you're talking about refers to when someone or something goes back through time it risks contaminating the timeline." Grissom announced as his head still ached from the irrational information his brain was trying to process.

Forget the risks.

Grissom didn't even think time travel was possible let alone risky.

"Correct. And our funding only allows us to send animals due to the fact that they will not talk with the public. We want to be as discreet as possible Gil. God knows what would happen if the wrong person got their hands on this machine." Tom brushed back his hair as he forced any negative thoughts out of his head. Nothing was going to go wrong and no one was going to sabotage his invention. It was under more then enough high security.

"So if this thing works, can that cat go back in time and stop me from tripping during that science speech in middle school? That event had catastrophic effects on my psyche." Grissom let out a chuckle as Tom shook a finger at him.

"No way! I got better than you on that speech because I didn't fall!" The two colleagues continued to talk into the night on the subject of time and the universe. Grissom promised never to repeat his newly acquired information to anyone, an obvious decision. He was impeccable at keeping secrets; it was easy when he had no friends to confide in.