William happens to be the fifth generation of the Clifford family in the police force and the generations before him were known to be reputable officers who served in the force diligently.
His father passed away while he was a teenager but little William understood the legacy his forefathers laid and chose to continue from where his father stopped. Every morning, William would stare at his father's medal and award while having breakfast, he always dreamt of surpassing whatever achievement his older generation made in the police force.
Agatha, his mother tried talking him out of plan to join the police but William's heart was as hard as a rock. He knew what he wanted and went for it. Getting into the force wasn't difficult, he had the connection aside from being a smart and strong kid.
"Officer William, please respond to the emergency at block 113 off College Avenue. An aged woman called in that she had been attacked," A female voice said over the radio.
"College Avenue is just around the corner here. I am heading there right away," William replied and turned on the car engine immediately.
He turned on the siren as well and moved as fast as he could to make sure the aged woman who called for help was okay.
Upon arriving there, William met the woman crying outside of her apartment and there was nobody there with her.
"Mrs Margret, are you alright? Did they hurt you?" William asked.
Mrs Margret refused to utter a word so William requested medical attention probably the woman was in shock due to whatever happened.
While waiting for the ambulance, William heard a chattering sound from Mrs Margret's apartment.
"It looks like there is still an intruder in the house, I am going in to check right away. All units nearby should head here in case things get ugly," William said into the walkie-talkie and carefully approached the apartment.
William checked around the apartment but found nobody so he decided to enter the building. He expected other police officers to be there but none showed up, he thought about it briefly and entered the apartment.
Immediately he stepped in, a cat rushed out of the building through a broken window. Williams rushed to check the window and guessed the culprit must have escaped through there.
He returned outside to check on Mrs Margret and William met his colleagues attending to her already.
"I think whoever attacked her got away through the window," William said to the police officer who joined him there.
They checked the neighbourhood for an eyewitness and couldn't get any information. Mrs Margret was attended to by the medical team and she felt better.
"My diamonds are missing," Mrs Margret screamed immediately after she returned to her apartment.
The police asked for a description of what the diamond looked like and she gave them a picture. The search went on in the neighbourhood and the police checked every available camera footage around Mrs Margret's apartment but found nothing.
Weeks passed and the police were stuck on the case.
"Did someone break into the house," William asked another officer while patrolling the neighbourhood.
"Mrs Margret was the only witness and there is nothing we can do about that. Her children had testified that her diamond went missing after whatever happened that day so it's not old age messing up with her head," the officer replied.
They arrived at a coffee shop and William stepped out the get coffee. While waiting for his order to be served, he got a call from Lieutenant Maverick.
"Officer William return to the station immediately," Lieutenant Maverick ordered and William couldn't wait to pick up the coffee.
"We are heading back to the station," William told his colleague and zoomed off in the direction they came from.
Upon arriving at the station, William was disarmed by a senior officer and accompanied to the lieutenant's office.
"Leave us," the lieutenant requested for privacy with William and the other officer left.
"You are like a son to me, William. Your father was my superior then and he trained me like his son. I find this act of yours disappointing and hope you confess to me before things get bigger than this," The Lieutenant said to William who didn't understand what was happening.
"Sir, I don't understand what's happening here. You called me to the station and I was disarmed when I arrived, it seems I am the only person who doesn't know what's going on here," William replied.
"The janitor found a piece of the diamond similar to what was stolen at Mrs Margaret's apartment in your uniform," Lieutenant Maverick said to William and he didn't believe his ears.
"That can't be possible," William replied.
"We need to check your locker and probably your house as well. You are now a suspect until proven innocent," the Lieutenant said to William.
At that point, William knew something wasn't right but he couldn't figure it out. He led Lieutenant Maverick to his locker and surprisingly, a few pieces of the tiny diamond were found there as well.
"Lock him up," Lieutenant Maverick ordered.
"Something is not adding up sir. I can't steal this and keep it where someone else will see it," William tried explaining but it fell on the Lieutenant's deaf ear.
He was locked up in the cell and charged to court the next morning without any investigation.
"You deserve a bigger punishment but the state won't forget the hard work of the Cliffords that were here before you. Henceforth, you are hereby relieved of your duty as a police officer," The military judge passed his judgment and the sitting was dismissed.
Everything happened fast and William was left in the darkness. He left the station with a few things and Agatha was surprised to see him looking dejected when he got home.
"I didn't even see the diamonds" William said to Agatha after narrating everything that happened.
"My William won't take what doesn't belong to him and if the world doesn't believe in you, I will always do. We will get to the bottom of this," Agatha promised and patted William on the back.
William's eyes were filled with tears as he stared at his father's picture frame, he felt so helpless and sad.
Later that night, Agatha went to William's room with an ancient safe box and he slowly got out of bed.
"You should be sleeping mama," William said immediately after he turned on the light.
"It would be impossible for me to sleep after everything that happened to you today," Agatha replied and sat on the Sofa in William's bedroom.
She unlocked the safe and stretched it to William.
"It belongs to your forefathers and was passed down from generations but you were young when your father died so he thought you weren't mature enough to handle such a thing," Agatha said to William who held the box and kept wondering what it was.
"It's a time travel machine. It only grants your wish when your intention of travelling back and forth in time is pure. It won't work for personal or selfish reasons. Just place your hands on it and think of the time you want to travel to," Agatha explained how to use the machine and bid William goodnight.
"I can expose the culprit with this," William stuttered immediately after his mother left the room.
He paced about his bedroom and thought about different things before returning to bed that night.
Very early the next morning, William carried the box and did as Agatha instructed. He felt himself falling into a hole for some seconds and finally found himself outside Mrs Margaret's apartment before he was called to respond to her call for help.
William looked around the apartment and waited for the burglar to show up so he could expose the person in real time but no one showed up till he got the call.
Williams was confused so he explained everything to his mother and she advised that he travel back in time to days before the incident.
William followed Agatha's advice and was surprised to discover that Lieutenant Maverick had been showing up at Mrs Margaret's residence days before.
He went into the apartment to listen to their discussion and it turned out that the Lieutenant planned it all. His son was William's colleague in the police and William was the only person standing between his son and a promotion.
William deserved the promotion and he needed to take him out to help his son. William was shocked and wouldn't let it slide. He gathered information from the time travel to expose Lieutenant Maverick and it still baffled everyone involved how William found out the truth because they left no traces of their evil prints.
Williams was called back to work and he couldn't thank his mother enough for handing over the family secret tool to him.