It's officially frowned upon and absolutely goes against the Handbook, but it's a longstanding tradition in the Synchrony Protection Force for agents to insert themselves into a historical record (without changing the course of history) and then retrieve that record at the latest possible juncture.

It's almost a rite of passage for new agents, and definitely a more challenging way of obtaining a keepsake from a successful mission. Naturally everybody brings back their little knickknacks, but "dipping into the stream" is far more interesting.

Of course, like any "boys will be boys" ritual some individuals take it too far. There was one agent who got his face carved into the side of a mountain around the time of the Qin Dynasty and his big schnoz was still legible in Global Civilization Three circa 300,000 A.D. He got a firm reprimand for that and narrowly avoided having to turn in his body and communicator. ("You can't bring back a mountain, you idiot!")

Being one of the boys himself at heart, Inigo is an old pro at this. But unlike that other guy he understands that it's not about pulling big stunts. It's about style, finesse, and subtlety.

Take this photograph. At first glance it seems perfectly ordinary. Just a candid shot of a fellow relaxing in a bar and telling jokes.

But now think about the historical context. "Slice of life" photographs were rather rare in the 19th century. People dressed up and posed when they got their pictures taken, and their faces were usually quite solemn given how difficult it was to hold a non-neutral expression for the exposure length.

Now add to that the indoor lighting forcing an even longer exposure time. The light from the window threatening to flood the scene. And the fact that in spite of this the smoke from the cigar was still captured perfectly.

All of that and you're left to speculate how it was even accomplished. Did Inigo happen to be there when he noticed a photographer was drinking in the bar and put him up to a challenge? Was this pre-arranged? Keep in mind that he pulled it off without drawing undue attention to himself. He didn't make a scene—but here's the scene.

Like I said, Inigo is a magician. If this mission had gone the way it was supposed to, this photograph would definitely be pinned up in his office, along with all the others.

Alternate lockscreen version by  SkiaSkai