Disclaimer: I still don't own any part of Warehouse 13 and honestly, I really don't want to. It's much more fun to play with the toys and put them back to play with later.
A/N: Thanks to all comments and reviews. Always appreciated and considered. Keep crying, keep laughing. Without one, you can't have the other.
Oddly, it was the sweet smell of freshly cut wood and pine trees that was so incongruous to the situation. Panic had set in following the cold sweat of fear waking in total darkness. Memories flew threw her head of the previous darkness she was kept in, the fear of the unknown of where or when even she was, surrounded by strange voices. At times it seemed so far in the past, that initial period following the debronzing; the confusion, the panic, the dark. All of her senses had been bombarded at once. Trying to comprehend what was spoken in such a foreign speech pattern. That was but one of her nightmares. The cold, suffocating fear of waking up into a confused darkness.
She could feel the dampness on her skin, her body's reaction to the panic. A chill set in causing her to shiver. Her arms shrieked in pain from being kept lashed together by the plastic cable ties for so long. So much for traditional handcuffs; that would have been easy enough. The plastic cut into her skin, periodically draining blood down her grimy hands. She was covered in mud from that last roll down the ditch, now dry and dropping off spontaneously in clumps. Thankfully the floor was dry and a blanket lay nearby. Small comfort.
She rolled over towards the blanket gasping as a searing pain ran up her arm. Dr. Calder's sutures had failed in the struggle, reopening the laceration on her forearm. Blood pooled around the plastic before joining the trail to her hands. Steeling herself to the pain, she scooted over to the blanket and lay down on her stomach hoping exhaustion would soon overcome pain.
Four solemn faces sat around the office in the warehouse. Claudia had been fighting the tears all day. Artie stared blindly at the computer for hours at a time, taking off and replacing his glasses, periodically sighing audibly. Vanessa had called earlier after receiving the news with even less information than Mrs. Frederic had to share. He assumed she was holding back what little information she may have had, if indeed she actually had any. Steve remained passive with a blank face. Pete returned from the garden despondent, leaving his partner behind in solitude, to join the others in their vigil.
Swiveling around in his chair, Artie looked at Pete, confused by what he was hearing. With conscious deliberation he reiterated what he understood of the situation. "I don't understand, Pete. Myka thinks HG is still alive because she 'feels' it? That's preposterous. That makes absolutely no sense at all. She's in complete denial. Mrs. Frederic admitted herself it had been a risky mission."
"Oh, and the Regents have never lied to us before either." Pete rubbed his face before looking at the old frump. "It's the freaky thing, Artie. Don't tell me you've never noticed."
"What is a freaky thing? I don't understand. What are you all talking about?"
Claudia looked up from the floor, eyes still rimmed with red. Stepping forward she looked down at him, gesturing with both palms up. "Seriously? For one million dollars will Mr. Oblivious please stand up. It's that weird extra sense thing they have. Like they know when the other is standing there before they really are. Like when they know something is wrong when the other isn't there. It happens in their sleep, too. It's freaky."
Pete's eyes bulged at that last bit of information. "What do you mean they do it in their sleep? And how do you even know that?"
"Well, you know…like Myka always knows HG is going to have a nightmare before she actually screams or something. Or they wake up when the other sneaks in from a mission. Even you know that one, Pete. Then there's…uh…well…just take my word for it. They freak in their sleep. Never mind, you get the point." Claudia thought back to the number of times she spent a night protected between them when she had her own nightmares and the first night she'd spent with them at the guest house...they freaked in their sleep.
"What other things, Claudia?" Pete was genuinely intrigued now.
"Never mind, Pete." She glared at him, ending the conversation quickly before turning to Artie again. "Come on, Artie, think about it. How did we know Pete and Myka were in trouble in Albuquerque? HG came running up from the warehouse arguing with you that something went wrong, but you wouldn't listen. You actually laughed. I thought she was going to go all kempo on you. It wasn't until I started following her ranting that we found out the car had rolled down the ditch. And that whole surgery thing? Pete never had a vibe, but Myka just about ran back to surgery before Pete stopped her."
"Artimous, my man, they have something they don't even understand. They always have. They tried to ignore it at first...a lot. They just don't dwell on it anymore. I see it all the time. If Myka says HG is still out there, than I believe her."
"You know, Artie," Steve jumped in still seeing the doubt on the man's face, "It's not all that uncommon. People claim to have similar connections with people all the time. Who is to say that there isn't another plane of consciousness that exists? You have to admit, their entire relationship is based on a whole lot of impossible."
Pete threw his hands in the air exasperated. "Look, it doesn't matter whether the freaky thing exists or it doesn't. Myka is convinced she is out there. She's going to go looking for her no matter what and we are not going to be able to stop her. You know that. The question is what are we going to do about it?" Pete dared to stare down the plump, ruffled man.
Artie looked around at his team. He realized they were not just a family of their own, but also his. He'd never been prouder of a group of people seeing the determination in the faces surrounding him.
"I don't know. Mrs. Frederic said they'd already called off the search. If, and I stress IF, HG is still out there, she's either dropped off the grid and is on the run, or she is in serious trouble. The Regents decided, due to the sensitivity of whatever she was doing, that extraction was not an option. I don't know what we can do from here. If they find out we are getting involved…We don't even know where she was or what she was doing. Where do we even start?"
Claudia sat down at the table. "Myka's argument all along. Guess her thoughts were more grounded than we all gave her credit for. They've made HG expendable. What exactly are the Regents up to? Since when do we just abandon someone like this?"
Pete stood up straight. "I for one want to know what the Regents have that has HG doing something to put herself in this much danger alone."
"You know," Steve added, "When we moved them into the guest house, we promised HG that she was family and we would be there when she needed us most. If this doesn't count, then I don't know what does."
Artie looked around at his team again, three sets of laser eyes daring him back.
"OK," he conceded. "You're right. So what do we do now?"
"Claudia." A frantic hand shook her shoulder.
"What…" she whined, pulling the pillow over her head.
"I need your help." Myka shook her again in desperation.
Claudia dragged her head out from underneath the pillow looking at the clock.
"Myka is there a reason you needed to wake me up at…oh, look at that, 2 am again. What the Hell is it with you two and two o'clock…aww, shit…I mean…sorry." Claudia sat up and rubbed her face, trying to comprehend the events of the past few days.
"Sorry, Mykes, I'm really sor…"
"Forget that. I need your help at the house." Her eyes were deer in head lights wide. No reflection just dark circles.
"Fine, but can't it wait until tomorrow?" Claudia saw the desperation in the woman's face. She brought her knees up to her chest, shaking her head clear. Another look prompted her to get out of bed and throw on a pair of ratty sweats and a sweatshirt. "Okay, you better not be going off the ledge, 'cause I don't think I can handle anymore right now. What do you need?"
"You of anyone would know where Helena's secret hiding places would be. I need you to help me find them. There's got to be something hidden somewhere. I've started going through her journals too, to see if she's hidden something in those. I could really use your perspective, but not the red ones."
"What is it about the red ones?" Claudia tilted her head pleading.
"Let's just say they're sort of, uh, well, um, they make the blue ones look like nursery rhymes and that's the last place she would put anything she'd want hidden anyway. It's the first thing someone would go for if they knew about them."
Claudia's jaw dropped. "So much for the color blue," she mumbled, wide-eyed. "What about her secret notebook?"
"Too obvious and it's not really that secret…she leaves it in the top drawer all the time. If it were that secret she'd have it shoved away in a secret compartment only she knew about. Besides, I've already been through it. Twice."
"Myka, all I know is she complained a lot about modern construction getting in the way of her designs. Do you know where the key is?"
"No." Claudia quickly looked away, biting her lip. "Do not tell me you know where that key is."
"I was just asking. What makes you think she'd leave any clues if everything was so hush-hush to begin with?"
"I don't, Claud. I'm just looking for something…anything!" She sat on the edge of the bed, fighting the constant threat of tears. "I just can't sit around doing nothing."
"Myka, how long have you been at this?" The team had seen little of her over the past two days, respecting her request for solitude. "You look like crap. I mean, well, of course you look like crap. But seriously, when did you last sleep?"
Claudia placed a hand on the shoulder starting to shake. She sat back down on her bed. "Myka, crawl in. You're not alone, and I think you've wandered around alone too long." She tugged on the cloth of the shirt under her hand. With little resistance Myka slowly lay down on her side, succumbing to the sobs once again and curling into a fetal position next to the young woman.
"We can start tomorrow with the journals." As Myka had many times herself provided a cocoon of comfort, Claudia wrapped the woman in her arms letting her cry to sleep for the first time.
"No, I'm really worried, guys." Claudia whispered around the table keeping a close eye on the staircase. Her coffee was already cold and her cereal was mush. "She's going to start taking that place apart to find any of HG's secrets. She's convinced she'll find something. I don't think HG would leave anything anywhere remotely near Myka if she thought it would bring her, or any of us for that matter, harm. HG's too meticulous for that. And she wants to know where the key is." Hearing movement upstairs, her eyes darted to the top of the staircase.
Steve and Pete both snapped their heads up at the mention of the key.
"Yes, I know where the key is and I know what it goes to…don't give me that look. HG was very specific when she told me. VERY specific. She said I'd know when the right time was and I know in my bones it's not the right time."
"If Myka finds out, you know what…Hey, when did she tell you?" Pete looked at her narrowing his eyes.
"She was working on it after her surgery when she got the all clear to do stuff. She finished it during that last mission you and Myka were on before she left this last time. She had a Hell of a time cleaning up the paint and needed help. She's kind of a sloppy painter," Claudia ended lamely. Pete was giving her his so called evil eye. He was never able to really pull it off, but no one wanted to tell him, as long as they all knew what it meant. "I know, Pete, but it's not the right time. And no, I don't know what it holds. I just know it's not the right time." Claudia shook her head. "Man, I'm getting HG freaks now."
"My mom told me the Regents want to claim all of her stuff for the dead agents vault. Anything we need to get out of there we need to do now."
"But she's not dead!" Myka stood in the doorway, face panicked. "Even if she was, it's not theirs to take. Her belongings are my belongings. They are our belongings. How obvious can that be? What are they going to do, take the whole house?"
"Sorry, Myka, I didn't know you were there," he mumbled lamely. "I'm just trying to get ahead of their plans. If she has something that can help us, we need to get it now. I know we are all going to fight them. I'll barricade the damn door if I need to, but we need to look at this rationally, something you haven't been able to do much of recently, for good reason. Let us help with that."
"When did your mom say they were coming?" Myka asked.
"Maybe a week if she can keep fighting them. Same argument as yours." He smiled at her. "So, let's go look for secret places and start with any papers and stuff she may have. You direct us. Inventory is cancelled per Pete Lattimer."
Myka poured a huge cup of coffee. Looking at her friends faces she gave in. Leading the way out the back door she turned to them. "Are you coming or not? I'll hand out appropriate journals and papers. No one touches the red ones! And no comments on my housekeeping. It hasn't exactly been a priority."
"There's nothing here." Steve finally gave up. "We've been through everything on this table. What about the books in the office?"
"I've been through them…twice." Myka didn't look up from the papers she was looking through.
Claudia had already dropped her forehead on the table in frustration. She'd gone through the house looking for more secret projects. She found nothing beyond what she knew. She knew she'd never find any, even being taught some of the trade secrets and helping with some of them. HG was just that good.
Pete was on the sofa looking around the room from a different perspective. "I hate to agree, but we aren't finding a thing."
"If we don't even have a clue, then where do we start? It's been two weeks since they lost track of her." Myka was getting worked up again. The work had occupied her, but even she was resigning herself to there being nothing of use to them. She knew Helena would not bring anything into the house that would risk her family.
Claudia picked up her head. "I think that was kind of the whole idea, Myka."
"What about your mom, Pete?" she begged.
"She didn't let me get beyond 'Hi'. She just said 'I know Pete and I don't know anything. I'm doing what I can. I'm sorry.' If she knows, she's not saying." Pete had been hurt. He'd always thought she was on their side. He was wrong. He knew she knew something.
"Now what?" Myka deplored of him.
"I don't know, Mykes. Look for activity. Claudia's still got some tricks up her sleeves, right?"
"I'm trying. And so is Artie. He's scanning constantly and even pushed Mrs. F. Something will come up."
