Henry's Lab
Henry's lab was the most difficult room in the Old City Sanctuary to pack, so Helen left it for last. Pieces of circuit boards and tools covered every exposed surface, filled every drawer and cupboard. With a resigned sigh, Magnus resorted to the shove everything into a cardboard box method of packing. Even clearing Kate's room had been less effort than this and Kate was messy.
Magnus could feel the clock ticking in the back of her mind. Had been able to feel it since she set foot into her home after 113 years away, really. All things outlive their usefulness, she'd told Will tonight. It was her way of tipping him off to her plan, but she knew he was still to angry with her to catch her warning.
When the ashes settled, she would dead; her existence erased from all databases worldwide as if she'd never lived. There would only been two Sanctuaries left standing, London and New York. Their work still required some contact with the outside world, after all. Her remaining Heads of House were chosen for steadfast commitment to the principles of the charter she'd created and their ability to handle anything from a minor outbreak to a full fledged abnormal uprising. Edward Morgan and Declan Macrae would be the public faces of the Sanctuary network. As would Will, if he chose to rejoin them after his job with SCIU.
The Sanctuary she'd loved for so long was no longer hers, hadn't been for so long that the attachment to her personal belongings was completely wiped away. It was all just so much stuff now, but she'd taken great care to move every residents' personal items to their rooms in the new underground Sanctuary. There would be a shock and a heartbreak, but Helen was certain they would come to love their new home as much as she did. And they would be safe here.
"From now on we make our own rules" was every bit as much a mantra to her now as "Sanctuary For All" had been the first time around. This was their chance to have a homeland of their own, a place where abnormals would be free from harassment and persecution. When Magnus visited each Head of House personally and told them about the new Sanctuary and arranged to transport them and their people to their new home, she likened the move to the first settlers coming to America to find the space to practice their religions and cultural traditions in peace.
It took five boxes to get everything Magnus deemed important out of Henry's lab. The monitors and computers had already been replaced with state of the art models. Henry would be delighted. She couldn't wait to see the kid at Christmas look on his face.
Her people spent months equipping the tech labs with only the best of everything. She'd even made a decent sized space for Nikola, though she doubted he'd stick around long. He was the eternal wanderer and it wouldn't do to try to cage him. He needed his space; they all did. And now they had it.
The ticking seemed louder and more urgent, now, with the final task complete. Whatever happened to her in the next few hours, her people would be safe and well cared for. That was her life's work, after all.