Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13!
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Capitol Museum of Natural History, Washington DC
The President's reception was in full swing. Wealthy guests and politicians gulped down the champagne, like it was the last thing they would ever drink. The Secret Service kept a close eye on everything, making sure nothing happened to the guests.
Helena waited for her turn at the reception table. Once the man in front of her left, she walked forward to the desk with a charming smile.
The woman behind the table pleasantly smiled at Helena. "Can I have name please, Miss?"
"Emily Lake." Helena lied smoothly with her faux American accent. Her partner taught her to fake an American accent to go with her 'Emily Lake' persona.
The woman skimmed through the names until she found the name she was looking for. "Here it is." She handed Helena a badge. "Have a nice night, Miss Lake."
Helena nodded. "Thank you. You as well." She walked up the stairs to the main area. "I'm in." She whispered into her hidden earpiece.
Helena was a tall woman with lithe curves. She had a pale complexion with long black hair and dark eyes. She wore an elegant black dress to blend with the guests.
With a quick look around the room, Helena discovered the sight of these 'Fat Cats', as Claudia called them, engorging themselves on food and drinks disgusted her to end. She attempted to put a smile back on her face but couldn't, the sight was too disturbing to her. Instead, she decided to focus on the art and exhibits, so she made her way around the room, studying every display.
"You like some champagne, Miss?"
Helena turned around to face the server behind her. She smiled when she saw it was her partner, Mason. "Why yes. I would."
Mason was a handsome young man, who was barely in his twenties. He had a lean muscular frame, amber eyes and shoulder length sandy blonde hair, which was pulled out of his way into a small ponytail. He wore a waiter's uniform of white buttoned shirt, a black tie, black vest and black pants.
He offered the last glass on his tray to Helena. "Are you enjoying the reception?"
"I actually seem to enjoy exhibits more then the people." Helena confessed, taking the glass.
"Not a people person, Miss?" Mason asked.
Helena shook her head. "Not these people. I much prefer the company of my colleagues. Hopelessly in love those two are. It's actually very sweet."
Mason smiled. "I never knew you felt that way, Helena."
"Just being honest, darling. But I think we should cut our game short." Helena said. "What have you learned?"
"The Bloodstone is currently being displayed on the other side of the room. Getting to it now would be impossible, even for me." The young man explained. "I'm going to move down stairs soon and wait until the party is over to swap it out."
Helena took a sip of her champagne. "I will keep look out up here."
"Try not to work too hard." Mason joked before turning to walk away. He walked back over the refreshment table, allowing his tray to be refilled. As the other members of the staff placed new glasses on the tray, he took a deep breath as much as he knew Helena hated this plan, but at least she got to be guest. He didn't like being a waiter but it was the best way to get inside. He lifted his tray and turned back to the guests. "Next time, she gets to be the waiter." He murmured to himself.
"Excuse me, sir?"
That voice calling out to him prompted Mason to stop. He watched as a woman walked up to him, taking in her features.
The woman was blessed with a tall athletic body with generous curves. She wore her long curly dark brown hair in a tight bun and her green eyes kept a cool gaze. She was wearing a black dress like every other woman here.
Mason smiled. "Yes, Miss. May I help you?"
"Myka Bering, Secret Service." The woman pulled out her badge, flashed it at him, before slipping back into its hiding spot. "I'm in charge of security for this evening."
For a moment, Mason thought she knew he was a fraud but he quickly realized she wouldn't be talking to him like this if she did. "Have I done something wrong?" He asked innocently.
"I met the entire wait staff who were working tonight." Myka explained. "But I don't recognize you, Mister..."
"Nolan Gold."
"Can why I don't recognize you?" Myka asked.
"I most certainly can." Mason nodded. "One of the waiters you did meet, Carlos, had little too much fun with some girl he met last night. Asked me to fill in for him while he slept it off."
Myka frowned as she listened to the explanation. The story sounded real but something felt off about the young man.
"If it makes you feel better, Ms. Bering, I can leave and take the rest of the night off." Mason suggested with a disarming smile. Offering this was a win-win for Mason. Either she would have him leave and he could slip down stairs or she would let him stay and he would wait to make his move.
Myka thought his suggestion for a moment. "No, I don't think that will be necessary but I will be keeping an eye on you."
Mason smiled. "I understand." He walked off, back to work. He spent the next fifteen or so minutes working until he discreetly looked behind him using a champagne glass as a mirror.
"Well, at least she's honest." Mason mused as he saw Agent Bering, keeping her word, watching his movements like a hawk.
"Who is, darling?"
"My new shadow, Agent Myka Bering." Mason answered.
"What?" Helena asked.
Mason chuckled quietly at his partner's confusion. "I'll explain later." He looked at the glass again, checking on Agent Bering. He saw she was talking to another woman, probably another agent. He quickly decided to make his move while Bering was distracted. "I'm going to the basement now, Hel."
"Good luck."
Mason placed the tray down and slipped into the crowd and out of Agent Bering's sight.
Once Mason started his way to the basement, Helena forced her attention away from the art and to people that filled the room. She scanned the room, seeing if anyone stood out to her. Nobody did at first glance so she began wandering around the room again.
She walked the room for a while, stopping her and there to get a better look if something seemed curious. Her eyes stopped when she saw a young girl, who reminded her of her lost daughter. The whole world around her seemed to fade away as she reached for the locket around her neck.
"Helena, how does it look up there?"
Helena said nothing, just kept watching the girl. She didn't hear even her Mason's voice over her earpiece.
"Helena?"
Still Helena didn't respond; she was so focused on thinking about her Christina.
"Hel? Are you still with us?"
Down in the museum basement, Mason stood in shadows, waiting for the party to end. By this time, Mason had changed clothes. Instead of the waiter outfit he wore up stairs, he was clad in his normal attire, a black hoodie over green V-neck and blue jeans.
"Damn it. She had to space out now." He sighed. "Donnie, Helena has gone to her happy place again. We need a Plan B."
He paused, waiting for a response. "Donnie, you there?"
He growled when no answer came back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a smartphone-like device, pressed a button at the bottom. The image of an older bearded man appeared on the screen and did not look well. "What?" The older man asked.
"Artie, how are you feeling?"
"How do you think I feel? Between your girlfriend and Leena, I'm barely allowed to do anything." Artie groaned. "But I doubt you called to shoot the breeze."
"I've hit a bit of a snafu." Mason confessed.
"What kind of snafu?"
"Nobody is answering comms. Helena is having her 'Me Time'."
"What about Claudia?" Artie asked.
"I don't know. Can you walk downstairs and kick her butt in gear?" The man asked.
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Artie."
"Mason, watch your back. Anyone effected by the Bloodstone, they will stop at nothing to sacrifice a virgin." Artie explained.
Mason smirked at Artie's concern. "Sometimes I forget you actually care about us." He joked.
The older man chuckled. "Don't tell the girls." After that,the screen went dark.
After waiting a minute or two, the voice of a young woman came from his comm. "Mace, I'm so sorry. I got bored and started listening to music."
"Its fine, Claudia." Mason said. "Look, I need eyes upstairs, Helena's out of play."
"Just give me a moment to hack the cameras." Claudia said.
Mason nodded. "Take your time."
"Did you really have to call Artie? Claudia demanded. "He's sick. He shouldn't be walking around."
"He's not dying, Donnie. It's a cold." Mason said. "You and Leena need to realize that and stop treating him like he's infant."
"I'm in." Claudia said then groaned. Oh, god."
"What?"
"Some creeper is trying to hurt a girl." Claudia explained.
"He must have been effected by the artifact. If I go up there, we would have to come back later for the Bloodstone." Mason said.
"No. Looks like the Secret Service got it handled." Claudia said. "You've got your own problems."
"If you're talking about calling Artie..."
"No. One of the Agents took the Artifact and is running to you."
Mason arched his eyebrow. "How is that a problem?"
"You've also got a Security guard on his way to the basement. Must be patrolling or something." Claudia informed him.
"Who will get here first?" Mason asked.
"The guard."
Mason pulled his hood up, far enough to shadow his most of his face. "Then I'll deal with the guard."
"Just be careful, Baby."
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A few minutes earlier...
"Does anyone have eyes on the waiter?" Myka demanded. She frowned when all she heard was no from the other groups. She berated herself for losing him, but he had to be somewhere didn't he? Her frown deepened when she spotted another agent walking the room. An agent who shouldn't be there, an agent who wasn't at the briefing that afternoon.
The agent made his way to her. "Hey."
"Pete, what are you doing?" Myka demanded. "You're supposed to be at Emerald."
Pete was a tall muscular man with short dark hair and brown eyes. He wore a tuxedo for the event.
Pete nodded. "I know. I have Morris covering Emerald. I just wanted to check up on you."
Myka blinked. "Check up on me?"
"This is your first time running a Presidential Security Op. The first one is always the most stressful and I figured with you being a perfectionist and all, it was probably more stressful then normal." Pete explained. "I just make sure you were alright."
Myka smiled. "I'm fine but thank you for your concern."
"Anytime."
"Why weren't you at my briefing?" Myka asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. A buddy from my old unit needed my help."
"Pete, you shouldn't go running to their rescue every time they call you." Myka said. "Having you solve all of their problems for them is not healthy."
"I know. I know." Pete's voice trailed off when a man passed him.
"Pete, what's wrong? You just got a vibe didn't you?" Myka had known Pete since they were teenagers. Whenever he got a bad vibe, it usually meant something bad was going to happen.
"Yeah." Pete nodded.
"Can you tell where it came from?"
"That sweaty guy who just passed us now." Pete looked around the room but stopped at a round stone head being displayed on other side of the room. "Mykes, should that be bleeding?"
"What?" Myka asked.
"That head?" He pointed at the stone head. "Should be it bleeding like that?"
Myka's gaze went to the stone head. "No. It shouldn't."
"You follow the freaky guy. I'll deal with the bleeding head." Pete suggested.
"Good idea." With that, the two went opposite ways.
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Mason stood over the guard's unconscious form. He looked towards his left bicep where a bullet from the guard's gun had grazed him.
He frowned at the hole that bullet left in his clothes. "My girlfriend got me this hoodie."
"Ok. What do you do when a rock head starts bleeding?"
Mason slipped back into the shadows when he heard a voice coming up behind him. He watched a man ran into the room with the Bloodstone, which had blood flowing from the top.
Mason's eye narrowed for the second. "Claudia." He whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Get me Artie."
"Oh, no. He's..." Claudia began.
Mason frowned for a second at her attempt to protest. "Claudia. Artie now."
The comm was silent for a moment. "What's wrong now?" The older man's voice came through the earpiece.
"What does it mean if the Bloodstone is bleeding?" Mason asked.
"Someone has activated it. You need to neutralize right away." Artie instructed.
"That's going to be kind of hard. A Secret Service Agent has it." Mason said.
"Tesla them."
"Can't. I used it on another guard. Needs to recharge." Mason explained.
"If you had one of mine and HG's upgraded Teslas, that wouldn't be a problem." Claudia chimed in.
"Claudia!" Mason whispered harshly. "Not now."
"Use one of the dozens of gadgets Claudia has made you." Artie suggested.
Mason shook his head. "I left those at home. Someone said it was going to be an easy switch."
"Just do something." Artie ordered.
Mason moved towards the man, who had placed the Bloodstone down. He snuck up behind the Agent. He leg swept the larger man, causing the man to lose his balance then quickly grabbed the back of the man's head and slammed against a large crate, knocking him out.
"Well, I just knocked a Secret Service Agent on his ass." Mason said dryly. "I hope you're proud of me, Pa."
"Yes. Very. Now neutralize the stone already!"
"Ok. Ok. Calm down." Mason said.
"Freeze! Put your hands up." A familiar female voice barked at him.
"You'll have to be more specific with your orders. I can't do both." Mason quipped.
"Turn around slowly."
Mason did as he was told, turning to face the woman with a pistol pointed at him. "Was that so hard?" He asked.
Myka recognized Mason instantly. "I knew you were up to something, Gold."
He smiled at her after a moment. "Looks like you caught me, Agent Bering. Too bad you won't remember these last couple minutes."
"What the hell are you...?" Myka started before her body arched with electricity and she fell to the ground unconscious.
Behind the fallen woman stood Helena with a steampunk-looking pistol in her hand. "Shall we be off?"
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Pete groaned as woke up on a gurney outside. He didn't know how got onto it or what had hit him in the first place. He started to sit up but stopped when he heard Myka's voice.
"Easy, Pete. Easy." She said.
"What happened?"
"Can you tell me the last thing you remember?" Myka asked.
Pete thought for moment. "Uh... I was thinking up a plan to deal with the stone. Then someone jumped me from behind and knocked me out. What about you? What happened with the sweaty guy?"
"Professor Gordon Letanik. He works here at the museum. It looks like he was trying to kill the Mexican ambassador's daughter." Myka explained.
"Did he say why?" Pete asked.
Myka shook her head. "He's in a coma."
"Great." Pete groaned. "Anything else?" He asked, praying their only lead was in a coma.
"Yeah, something strange. The museum was in the middle of installing security cameras in basement." Myka started.
"Are they working?"
"Sort of." Myka sighed. "According to Museum Security, they're a tad on the buggy side so they go in and out. We have an image of your attacker but a hood covers his face."
"Damn." Pete cursed then remembered what Myka said. "Wait. What's the strange part?"
Myka was silent for a moment before she told him. "I had him Pete. On the video, my gun was pointed straight at him; he even turned to face me. But I don't even remember going to the basement."
That statement really got Pete's attention. "That is strange. You remember everything."
"I know." Myka said somberly. For the first time ever, Myka couldn't remember something.
She remembered what she had for breakfast the day her parents told her; she was going to have a younger sibling. That was over twenty years ago but she couldn't remember what happened less than an hour ago.
Seeing how upset his partner was, Pete stood up with a groan and placed his hands on her shoulders. "We'll figure this out, Mykes."
Myka smiled weakly. "Yeah."
"But let's do that tomorrow." Pete yawned. "Because I'm beat."
"Let me drive you home." Myka offered. "Giselle must be worried sick."
"She would be if we were still together."
"Oh, Pete, I am so sorry. Come on. You're staying with me and Alex tonight." Myka said.
"Sounds like a plan."
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Univille, South Dakota
It had been a few days since Helena and Mason had retrieved the Bloodstone. They had gotten a few days off since their return. Artie was glad to let them have some downtime, as they would keep Leena and Claudia off his back.
Helena made her way up to the house after her run from the Warehouse. It took her little more than an hour to run the seven miles.
She was clad in a workout outfit, consisting of a grey sports bra and matching sweatpants. She walked through the front door into the foyer, just as Mason came down the stairs.
"Morning."
"Good morning, Jonah." Helena nodded.
"You know you're the only person who calls me, 'Jonah'. Everyone calls me 'Mason' but you." Mason said.
"Because your name is Jonah, Darling." Helena explained.
"Doesn't mean I want you to call me that. Could you at least call me John like Mrs. Frederic does?" Mason asked.
Helena smiled at her partner's request. "Of course." She walked past him to the stairs. "John." She went up the stair to take a shower.
Mason walked into the living room on his way to the kitchen. He saw a young woman sitting on one of the couches, sowing the bullet hole in the Mason's hoodie close.
The woman had elegant frame with tan skin, long thick black curly hair and dark eyes. She wore a yellow sundress with white flowers.
"Leena, why did it take you three days to do that?" Mason asked.
Leena didn't look up from her work. "Because the health of the agents comes before sowing up their clothes. Although it seems I only have to fix your clothing." She finally looked up at him. "How's your arm?"
"It's good."
"Have you talked to HG and Claudia?" Leena asked.
Mason nodded. "All the time."
Leena glared at him for a moment and in that moment reminded him of the Warehouse Caretaker, Mrs. Frederic. "I mean about what happened at the Museum. Claudia was pretty mad at HG when you two got back."
Mason shrugged. "Because I was shot and Donnie blames Helena for having a flashback about Christina."
"And you need to talk to them about that." Leena said.
"Why do I have to do it?" Mason demanded. "You're the Mom of this family, you do it."
Leena frowned as she stood up. Once again, she glared at Mason, however unlike her great-grandmother's glare that could kill the weak hearted; Leena's glare didn't affect Mason in the slightest. "It's about you. You need to do it." She said, firmly.
Mason sighed. "Fine." He nodded. "I will talk to them."
Leena smiled. "Thank you."
"Now, I believe we have a breakfast to make, my dear." Mason said. He gestured to the kitchen door.
Leena nodded. They walked towards the door. Leena turned around to Mason. "And what should we make today?"
"I was thinking Apple Pancakes." Mason suggested as the duo walked into the kitchen.
"Sound delicious."
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Myka restarted the security camera again. She had watched it at least a hundred times by now, but she watched it again. It had been a week since the museum robbery. She and Pete had been investigating the robbery and the hooded man, since that night.
Myka looked down at the notepad in her lap; random notes were scribble on the page. She jotted down anything she noticed about the hooded man that she thought could be useful.
While she was looking away, the television had turned off. "I was watching that, Pete."
"Were you?"
Realizing that voice was not Pete's, Myka looked up to see her boss, Agent Dickinson, standing over her.
Myka immediately stood up at the sight of her boss. "Sir? I didn't know it was you."
"Clearly." Dickinson looked at the notepad. "What have you learned about our mystery man?"
Myka sighed. "Not much. More questions than answers."
"Look I know how much this means to both you and Pete but I need you two to get back to your regular jobs. At the business today, the FBI is coming to take over the case." Dickinson said.
"Sir. We can handle this. If you just give us a few more day, I'm sure we can find a solid lead." Myka protested.
Dickinson sighed. He liked Pete and Myka. They were his best agents, that made him give them a chance. "Maybe if you can come up with something by the end of the day."
"What if we get something in the next few minutes?" Pete asked as he walked into the room. "I called a buddy of mine who works for the FBI. I asked her to send me anything she could find on our hooded friend. On a hunch, I also suggested she cross reference that with anything strange."
"And?" Myka asked.
"Three weeks ago, in Seattle, a bunch people lost the ability to talk with no scientific cause." Pete explained. "And look who shows up on a hospital security camera." He handed Myka a picture.
Myka looked at the picture. "It's the man in the hood."
"Yeah." Pete nodded. "I have dozens of weirdo things that happened all over the country where our hood shows up."
"Do we know what stole from these places?" Dickinson asked.
"Nothing that anyone will admit to. According to witnesses, he actually stopped whatever it was." Pete said. "But the way I see it, we know what this guy likes, so we can figure out where he's going to show up."
Dickinson nodded. "Alright. Keep working on this."
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"We're not having this conversation."
"I don't see what the issue is."
Helena, Claudia and Mason walked into the kitchen from the back door. This conversation had started back at the Warehouse, nearly twenty minutes ago.
"We're done talking about this." Mason said.
Leena didn't stop preparing lunch while she asked. "Talking about what?"
Mason sighed. "Helena wants to know what sexting is."
Leena covered her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from laughing.
"I'm with HG. I don't see what the big deal is. Just tell her." Claudia said with a smirk. She was the one who mention sexting to Helena in the first place then told her to ask Mason what it meant. She knew her boyfriend would never explain it to her and that Helena's thirst for knowledge would cause keep her from letting it go.
Claudia was slim teenager with young curves. She had brown eyes and dark red hair that went down her shoulder blades. She wore a dark blue long sleeve shirt under a black leather vest and tight black pants.
Leena stopped for a moment. "Why does Mason have to explain what that is? I'm sure Claudia knows the answer."
"She is who told me about it." Helena confessed. The British woman was clad a white long sleeve blouse with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows under a grey business vest and dark jeans.
Mason frowned. "She is?" He turned a glare at Claudia.
Claudia's smirk had turned into a full-blown crap-eating grin on her face as she sat down at the table. "That was so much fun."
Helena looked at her partner, easily noticed his frustration towards the young redhead and quickly thought of a plan for payback. "You shouldn't pick on him today, Claudia. He hurt himself during inventory earlier."
Claudia looked up at Mason. "You did?"
Before Mason could say anything, Helena intervened. "Indeed, he did. He wasn't going to mention it until he got his chores done."
Leena placed a plate in front of Claudia. "You shouldn't be pushing yourself while you're hurt, Mason."
Claudia nodded in agreement. "I can do the rest of your chores."
Mason glanced at Helena, who had a knowing smile on her face. He quickly realized what his partner had planned. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Babe. Take the rest of the day." Claudia insisted. "I'll do whatever else you were supposed to do today."
"All I had left to do was fix the FISH."
Claudia nodded. "Done. What else?"
Mason smirked. "And clean out the Gooery." He watched as Claudia's face paled when she heard him say that.
"Oh no. I am not doing that." Claudia protested.
"Too late. You already volunteered." Mason shot her down.
"That's what you get for using me to toy with your boyfriend." Helena smirked. She look at Mason once more. "Are you really not going explain sexting to me?"
"No but I will teach you how to use the internet so you can look it up yourself."
"Aces." Helena grinned. She had been meaning to learn how to use the internet.
Artie threw the swing door to the kitchen open. He walked through the doorway with two files, one purple and one green, in one hand and his bag in the other. "That will have to wait." He handed the purple file to Helena and the green file to Mason. "We have a Ping." He stay down on the opposite side of the table
"And who are we saving today?" Mason smirked.
Artie adjusted his glasses. "For the last week, the wealthy people of Seattle have been robbed."
Helena started flipping through her file. "What is the curiosity about these thefts?"
"All of the victims say the robber was a dragon man."
Upon hearing that, Claudia swallowed her food too hard causing her to choke and cough until she finally got the food down. "What did you say?" She wheezed out.
"Yes. I said, a dragon man." Artie sighed.
"Anything different happening in the city during the last week?" Mason asked.
The older man frowned at the question. "That's something you should find out when you get there."
"I was talking to her." Mason gestured to Claudia.
The redhead dug her tablet out from her bag. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking." She quickly scanned the net for any info about events. "I got something. A Renaissance Fair is being held just outside Seattle. The first robbery was the day after it opened."
"A dragon person and a Ren Fair?" Mason questioned. He glanced at Claudia, who just nodded. "You can say it."
"Holy coinkydink, Batman."
Finally, Helena looked up from her file with a question. "What is a Renaissance Fair?"
"Do you remember that Carnival we took you to?" Mason asked.
Helena nodded. "I do. It was rather dirty but I will admit it was an enjoyable experience." She went back to reading the file in her hands.
"It's like that but with a medieval theme." Mason explained.
"And they don't have any rides." Claudia spoke quickly, adding to her boyfriend's explanation.
"Let's go find us a dragon then." Closing her file, Helena got out of her chair and walked away. She stopped before she got to the door.
"Oh, and, Jonah." She glanced over her shoulder to meet Mason's gaze. "Don't forget your toys this time."
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My attempt at a Warehouse 13 story. Let me know what you guys think. Feel free to send me questions or ideas for Artifacts, missions, anything of the sort.