Orphans Beloved…VI "We'll Meet Again…"
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later. I do plan at least one longer tale, "Nessun Dorma" but that's just getting sketched now.
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.
A cunning little inn…In the cunning little town of Allison's choosing…
Strategy conference with Paul…
Allison rather pleased with her pun…"Cunning" not to do this at the place we're staying.
Sarah eyeing Cosima…Ok…I will keep my word not to spoil her fun by pointin' out a trained military type like Paul probably staked the place out and knew where we're stayin' before we did…But only so long as she doesn't call dear ole Donnie "lambchop" again for applauding his girl's brilliance…
Though considering you and I did shift duty last night in case Paul turned up, undeserving of our non-existent trust, while our happily reunited couple made make-up whoopee…Seems a bit unfair.
"You see your attempt to claim Donnie guilty was unfounded. He's innocent…Something…" Allison paused.
"…That can't be said for me…Right, I believe I get you don't trust me, Allison." Paul nodded. "And you're right to be cautious."
"Lets play this the other way…" Donnie suggested. "Why should we trust you?"
Ok…Yes…Good…Sarah frowned at Allison's arch look.
"Trust being too strong a word…" Allison noted.
"Fair enough. My life is probably on the line with yours." Paul eyed her, then the others, finally, Sarah. "While I could be funneling stuff to them, trying to win your confidence to learn what you know and what you're planning…It would be a lot easier to tell them the jig is up, you girls know, and that it's time to start cleaning house before you all vanish."
"You're not their only source on the girls…" Donnie noted. "They're pretty sure each one has one of these guys…Or girls…"
"Monitors, honey…" Allison corrected.
"Monitors…Watchin' them. So you could still be just trying to get closer."
"As could you, Donny-boy." Paul, coolly.
"Ally…" Donnie, taking her hand as she tensed… "He has a point…At least as far as the others go…After all I wouldn't put your life on the line to trust any friends of theirs."
"Well…Given crazy killer girl, we obviously can't even trust some of us…"Allison noted firmly.
"Now's there's an unnerving thought…" Cosima blinked.
"Look…" Sarah put up a hand. "Since we can't be 100% on anyone…Maybe not even some of our sisters if others show…Why don't we just accept for now that our boys here…And Felix…Are ok till proven, ok? Now we came to this tourist trap hell to figure out what to do next? So…?"
"Do we really think there are more of you?" Donnie asked.
"Oh, Lord…" Allison sighed. "We know a few were killed in Europe, thanks to poor Katja."
"People…Ladies…" Paul cut in. "Why don't we review what we do know, for sure? There were at least you three, this crazy Helena…Katja…Beth…How many were killed in Europe?"
"Three that Katja and Beth identified." Cosima, carefully.
"Three…?" Sarah stared.
"Yes, three…I seem a little better grounded in my so-called paranoia now, don't I?" Allison, grimly.
"One could have been an accident…Car thing…But Beth was suspicious." Cosima noted. "The other two, there's no doubt of murder. Pretty gruesome, at least the way the corpses were left."
"Sounds like Helena…" Sarah, matter-of-factly…
"Likely." Cosima nodded.
"And you don't know of any others…Living or dead?" Paul, eyeing Cosima.
"Beth was checking into possibilities…She thought she had a line on a couple of murder victims…"
"Helena's a busy girl…" Sarah noted.
"And must have some money to travel from Europe to America in search of her victims…" Paul pointed out.
"Maggie Chen…And whoever is behind her group, likely…" Sarah frowned. "But what's the deal there…This woman didn't seem from the police records to be any kind of religious nut…"
"Helena's the religious nut…" Cosima shook her head. "From what you've seen of her, I'd guess Maggie Chen was just using that to encourage her."
"To kill us…" Allison, tensely.
"Then she'd have to be, what…Part of the group? A scientist, maybe…" Donnie asked.
Sarah, Allison, Cosima staring at him…
"Has anyone checked her out as to science?" Sarah asked.
"Until we found out Helena was tied to her, she just seemed to be someone in the wrong place at the wrong time…But Beth must have had something to have gone after her…" Cosima pondered… "
"Beth what?" Paul stared.
"She killed Chen deliberately…" Sarah calmly. "To protect us, we think now."
"Was she ever at any of your meetings with the boss?" Allison, trying for innocent tone, to Paul.
"I'd've mentioned it, sweetheart." Paul eyed her calmly. "Don, hows about you? Ever meet a Maggie for noddle soup and orders?" sardonic glance at Donnie who frowned.
"Guys…" Sarah put up a hand.
"He started it." Allison, glaring.
"No…You did." Sarah eyed her. "And I'm stoppin', ok? We haven't got time for it."
"If Maggie Chen is…Was…A scientist…There must be records…Publications…" Donnie suggested.
"She could be low-level, like me…" Paul noted. "There's no guarantee…"
"Can't hurt to check…" Sarah mused. "But if she is…And if the path goes back to this Neolution guy, Leekie…"
"Dyad Institute, cutting edge…" Cosima nodded. "If I were starting a major, secret, and illegal cloning project, it wouldn't be the worst place to do it."
"Then we'd have to assume they want us dead and for some reason crazy clone girl is the best tool for the job." Allison stared. "Ok…" she clenched hands…Relaxed…Glancing at Paul… "And how did you come into this? You're a military guy…You left with some clouds…You went back to Afghanistan as a civilian and went all SS/Gestapo…"
"Thanks." Paul, brightly. "Yeah, that's just the way it was…"
"…Pardon…You accidentally killed a village full of people…Children…Bad day, eh?...And then someone came to poor you, facing a lot of trouble…With an offer…"
"It had to be military or very, very well connected with the government…Not some fringe outfit…" Donnie eyed Paul.
"Yeah…" Sarah nodded, reflecting… "So who was it, Paul?"
"People who made things vanish…" Paul noted, quietly. "Donnie-boy's right, they must be very well connected but I don't know whom or with whom. All I know is, they delivered. And expected me to…"
"Charming…" Allison beamed. "You grabbed at the chance to save your miserable neck and asked no questions, even when ordered to seduce Beth and what else? Be ready to kill any of us who made trouble? A true Nazi, only following orders, right?"
"Yep, that's me in a nutshell." Paul, again brightly.
"You could have walked away…I mean now, with your record clear…Why didn't you?" Sarah, carefully.
"You don't walk away from these people…I'm fairly certain of that and you oughta be too, by now."
"And of course they pay pretty well…" Allison, coyly.
"Very well…I can't fault them there."
"Did they know?..." Cosima cut in… "I mean, about Beth finding out…?"
"If they did, I wasn't let in on it."
"And they never told you about any others…?" Sarah.
"You were surprises to me…" he pointed out… "No, none of you…Or any others."
"Which raises the question…" Cosima eyed him, leaning forward… "What the heck did you think this was all about? You knew Beth was being medically examined at night…You helped to prep her for it and you were there when they took her."
"Lucky, lucky Beth to have such a devoted…" Allison began…
Paul rising suddenly…Tense, white-faced…Fists clenched.
"I see where that bad day in Afghanistan came from…" Allison noted, coldly.
"I've had enough of this! I tried to help Beth, when I saw was all of it was doing to her. I thought it must be a medical experiment. They told me she had unique qualities and that was obvious. It seemed like they'd chosen her because she was a first-rate police officer, with no or few family. I didn't kill her! Whatever you think, I was falling in love with her and I want to help find out why she killed herself, if she did. Or who killed her."
"What? I was there…" Sarah began…
"She could have been driven to it, somehow…By them." He eyed the group… "They seem to be able to do things…I'm no expert on psych warfare, but…"
"You could be right…" Cosima nodded calmly. "We don't know…They could have drugged her, programmed her somehow…We don't know."
"Or she could have just not been able to handle the truth…About the lies in her life…"Allison noted. "She suffered from depression, just like I have anxiety issues."
"Who'd guess that…" Sarah, grinning…
"Hmmn…I've been thinking about that." Cosima, slowly. "Katja had a blood disease, a kind of correlate to sickle cell anemia…Which, so far, none of us has shown signs of…Beth had depression…Ally is a bit…Tightly wound and is…Ummn."
"Sterile…" Allison, tensely…Seeing the path…
"I have myopia, which I'm guessing none of you have. Sarah, any problems with you? Medical issues…?"
"Nothing I know of…Pneumonia when I was a kid…Ms. S always did say I got sick as a kid like clockwork."
"Possible susceptibility to childhood infections…Suggesting a slow to develop immune system or some other cause…"
"We're sick…" Allison blinked. "All of us are sick, in different ways. But we're all the same…?"
"Not in some ways…And probably not just to make us sick…" Cosima pondered. "We're not just a cloning experiment…We're a study in genetic manipulation."
"Neolution…" Sarah eyed her. "That bastard set us up, all of us, to be guinea pigs for genetic tests."
"It would be a perfect way to compare the effects…Identical clones, single or a series of easily followed gene manipulations…Or in some cases just the environmental effect. It's really quite a brilliant idea…An incredible opportunity to apply the human genome project to public health and disease problems." Cosima beamed.
"Great…We're not human beings, not even human clones…We're lab rats…And when they're done with us?" Allison stared…"Helena?"
"And who knows who else…But Helena seems a crude way to do it." Cosima noted. "Unless…Sarah? She was very good at…What she was doing, right?…"
"Killin'? Yeah, first-rate, from what I could judge."
"It could be…Mercy killing…" Cosima looked at the group.
"Mercy…?"
"If we're all…Or many of us…" Cosima hesitated… "Programmed to die, generally of not very nice diseases…It could be part survival test…Part mercy-killing."
"Allison is not going to die." Donnie, grimly. "You aren't going to die…" he took her hand.
"Maybe not…" Cosima, gently. "But some of us probably are meant to…Katja, certainly…Beth, maybe."
"Mercy-killing." Allison shook her head. "They think of everything don't they, the bastards…"
"Survival test sounds more likely to me…" Paul noted. "If Helena really is that good, she might be set on you to find the ones who can deal with her."
"Without any training…Any skills?…And in my case, not even allowing guns in my home?" Allison eyed him. "How are we supposed to pass a 'survival test'."
"You're not…Obviously." Paul eyed her steadily.
"Ally. You are not going to die." Donnie repeated.
"No. I'm not." She nodded. Squeezing hand held firmly. "Not before I kick our Creator in his private parts, at least." Set face.
"I can help you…All of you…There…" Paul noted. "Apart from just trying to keep a watch, I can train you…" smile at Allison… "In my war criminal Nazi skills."
"Though you…" he grinned at Sarah who repressed an instinct to grin back… "I think you could teach me…"
"So…" Allison eyed Sarah as she, Cosima, and Allison quickly entered Donnie's newly procured rental for the return. "It was nice, admit it…Though we'll have to meet here again when we can really see it."
Cosima wryly smiling at Sarah…Gotta appreciate the kid's spirit.
"I liked it, Ally…" Cosima, kindly.
"Yeah, I could stand it…We'll meet here again…But I choose the place here to stay next time." Sarah, firmly.
Allison, slight sideways glance…Seriously doubt any such dive exists in this lovely place… "Uh, sure…"
That evening, back in the city…A small bistro/club…
"And now, in from her tour of London, Paris, and Berlin…The celebrated songstress…Frederika…"
Piano delicately played…At it…
Orphan in black gown…High piled hair…Beauty mark on cheek…Cool stare…
"We'll meet again…" seductively smooth, light Germanic accent… "Don't know where…Don't know when…But I know we'll meet again…One sunny day…"
A figure in overcoat…Small stature, blonde hair, rather scarred and pitted face…Watching from chair, listening.
She eyeing him a moment as he nods…
"But I know we'll meet again…One sunny day…" she finishes…Eyeing a photo on the disregarded music book on the piano headboard. A picture of Katja with the singer, both smiling.