Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D
Hardest of Hearts
He'd been there since the beginning, appointed by the Minister to make sure everything went well.
Dealing with such an unexpected phenomenon, like the anomalies would forever be an unexpected surprise.
There was no perfect job where things would always run smoothly everyday. The was no day when the anomalies would only let out cute little creatures like Sid, Nancy, Rex, and the other creatures in the menagerie.
There would be days when not everyone would get out alive.
Days when people like Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart, and Sarah Page, as well as those, who knew nothing about the anomalies, would lose their lives for their ignorance.
Today was a day when Captain Becker, the man who had been appointed to prevent another death like Stephen Hart, nearly became another Stephen Hart. That was, had it not been for Matt Anderson and Connor Temple.
Whoever said ignorance is bliss was an idiot.
James Lester shut his laptop and pulled on his coat before gathering his things and heading to tell Jess Parker that he was off to carry out the harder part of his job.
"Jess, I'm on my way to go and finish my last job for the day before I return home for the night. Alert me immediately if another anomaly opens."
Jess nodded. "Yes, sir."
Lester turned and left, carrying his head high, façade not faltering.
However, Jess had seen it in Lester's eyes. He was as shaken by the deaths that took place at the school as she was, despite him not having seen the girl killed like she had.
"What's wrong with Lester?" Abby asked as she wandered over to Jess's terminal.
"Lester's other charges aside from the ARC include informing the families of anomaly casualties." Jess explained.
Abby didn't like the way that Jess referred to people killed during anomaly missions as 'anomaly casualties.'
"You mean the people killed." Abby stated.
"Yes, but if you ask me, I think one day, it's really going to take its toll on the poor man." Jess replied before turning back to the terminal and continuing her work.
Lester had taken care of informing the teacher's next of kin earlier, because the man's next of kin was only his mother. He had put off telling the young girl's family, because, for once in his life, James Lester was unsure of what to say.
He couldn't very well go up to her parents and say "Hi, James Lester, I'm here to inform you that your daughter was killed by a dinosaur during detention earlier today. My condolences, goodbye."
That was the worst thing he could say.
During the earlier days of this project, Lester had had other people, underlings, as Cutter liked to call them, to do this job.
Then, Oliver Leek was hired to inform the next of kin, followed by Jenny Lewis.
However, following Leek's betrayal and death and Jenny's resignation, Lester found that there was no one else to take on the burden and it was down to him.
Lester had dealt with the job fairly well since Jenny's resignation, only because he did not have to inform parents that a prehistoric creature had mauled their 14-year-old daughter.
As he pulled up to the house where the girl's family lived, Lester realized that he still had not come up with some cover story to tell the family.
It was already late afternoon and the family was more than likely frantic about why their daughter had not come home from detention.
Lester took a deep breath. "You can do this, James."
Then he sighed. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I'd rather be fighting a future predator."
Lester stepped out of the car and quietly closed the car door, as he approached the front door of the home with lead weights for legs.
He forced his arm to reach up and knock on the front door and held his breath, waiting, what felt like an eternity, for someone to open the front door.
"Hello?" a woman, around his age with long dark brown hair, asked with a faint smile, worry marking up her face.
"Mrs. Gibson," Lester greeted, throwing up his façade, tucking away his emotions.
"Yes, are you here about Beth?" She asked, anxiously toying with the gold chain locket around her neck.
Lester tried to smile reassuringly, knowing full well that the news he was there to deliver was anything but.
"I'm afraid that there was an incident that occurred at McKinnion High School earlier today."
"What sort of incident? Is Beth alright?" She asked, her grip on the locket tightening.
Suddenly, Mr. Gibson came to his wife's side at the front door. He was slightly taller than Lester and had dark hair as well.
"What's happened? Why hasn't our daughter come home from the school yet?"
"Mr. Gibson, as I was about to say, there has been an incident at the high school where your daughter and three others were serving a Saturday detention earlier today."
"What sort of incident?"
"It appears that some exotic creature from a private petting zoo escaped and managed to break into the school and proceed to maul and kill both the teacher supervising the detention and unfortunately, your daughter, Beth Gibson." Lester said as he watched the parents break down as he completed his explanation.
The mother, who had been toying with the locket had tore it from around her neck and fell to the ground sobbing, as her husband cradled her.
"I told you we shouldn't have let her go to detention today! It should've been someone else! It should've been someone else."
The father cried as well, but turned to James and asked, "Did you find who was responsible for this?"
"It is still under investigation, but the creature has been put to sleep."
"That's supposed to make us feel better?" The father asked angrily, still cradling his wife.
"How is putting the animal to sleep going to bring our beloved daughter back?" Mr. Gibson shouted at Lester.
"I am truly sorry for your loss." Lester spoke solemnly.
"Elizabeth!" Mrs. Gibson cried.
"Just leave us, will you?" Mr. Gibson shouted.
"I'm sorry." Was all Lester could say as he turned as walked back to his car as he heard the front door to the Gibson household slam shut.
Lester sat in the driver seat. This was the only part of the job that he didn't favor.
He debated whether to go to a pub and drown his sorrows, return to his flat in town, or—his mind was made up as he turned the car on and drove to his destination.
James Lester was at yet another door knocking, however, this was not a door that was foreign to him.
He could hear someone shout on the other side of the door.
"Charlotte Evangeline Lester! I am telling you for the last time to go to bed and leave your brother alone!"
Lester half-smiled to himself, but got rid of it once the door opened.
"James. What—what are you doing here?"
"Hello Evelyn, I won't be long." Lester informed her.
"You can't be here, you know that it confuses the children." Evelyn spoke, eyes darting back and forth between the stairs and Lester.
Charlotte was only ten, Lester's son, Vincent, was nine.
"I just came to see—I had to see them."
Evelyn, looked at the torn expression on Lester's face.
"James, what's happened?" She asked worriedly.
"The details of my contract prohibit me from telling you. You know that." Lester replied quietly.
Evelyn crossed her arms. "This is the precise reason why I filed for divorce. You and your secrets at that government facility."
"All I can tell you was that something horrible happened today and I just want to see my children." Lester explained.
Before Evelyn could say anything, they heard Charlotte on the stairs.
"Daddy! Vincent! Daddy's here!" Charlotte shouted as she ran down the stairs and into Lester's arms, hugging him tightly.
"Daddy!" Vincent called as he too ran down the stairs and joined in on the group hug.
Lester hugged the pair of them tightly, relishing the love his two children held for him.
There may never be a time at the ARC, where everything runs smoothly. There are days when things can and will go completely awry and people die.
But there are also days when people live.
Today was one of those days, where only some could be saved, and Lester needed the reassurance that what he was doing at the ARC would help keep his family safe.
Right now was not about today.
Right now was about letting his guard down and letting his children in.
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