WAREHOUSE 13
Deadmen's Deeds
By J. B. Tilton (a.k.a. NoAzMale) and Teri Thibeault (a.k.a. Tessalynne)
Emails:
noazmale evilgidget_2000
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: "Warehouse 13" and all related characters and events are the property of the SyFy television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.
(Authors' note: This story takes place between season 1 episodes "Pilot" and "Resonance".)
Pete and Myka go to check on a case where 4 people have mysteriously died with no apparent cause of death.
ONE
Pete hit the ground with a resounding "thud" and was momentarily stunned at he had the wind knocked out of him. He had underestimated his opponent. A small man with a slight build Pete had figured he would be easy to take down. He had been wrong. As he tried to clear his head the man suddenly reached inside Pete's coat and pulled out his 9 mm service revolver.
"More than you bargained for, huh?" scoffed the man as he brandished the weapon at Pete.
Pete could do little but lie there. At that range, no one could possibly miss. All the man had to do was pull the trigger and Pete would be dead. Pete tried to gauge his advantage. If he were quick enough, he might be able to avoid the shot and disarm his opponent. As he tensed to spring at the man several tendrils of electricity suddenly struck the man. He stood over Pete spasming for several moments, then suddenly collapsed on the ground next to Pete, unconscious. Pete looked over and saw Myka standing several feet away with the Tesla still raised.
"Thanks," said Pete, getting to his feet, "but I had him right where I wanted him."
"Sure you did. He was about to blow your head off."
"Oh, it only looked that way," replied Pete with his usually cockiness. "I was about to take him down."
"Just get the ring," said Myka, as she pulled out the neutralizer bag.
Pete reached down and pulled a small gold band off the unconscious man's hand. By all accounts it didn't look very imposing. No different from a thousand other rings that most married men wore. But as Pete and Myka had learned since becoming agents for the Warehouse, looks could be very deceiving.
"Artie," said Myka, activating her Farnsworth, "we got it."
"Great," said Artie. "Has it been neutralized?"
"Of course," replied Pete sarcastically.
"Okay, get back here as quickly as you can," said Artie. Without further comment Artie terminated the link and the Farnsworth went dead.
"Wonder what that was all about?" questioned Myka.
"Oh, you know how he is," said Pete. "He thinks that every artifact means the end of the world or something. Come on. Let's get back to the car. After the last four days I think we can afford to take our time getting back to the Warehouse."
"Artie said to get back as quickly as we could," protested Myka.
"And you always do everything you're told?"
"Well, yeah."
Pete just shot her a raspberry as they headed for their car. It was nearly a 5 hour trip back to the Warehouse. He decided 8 hours was a better time frame.
"What took you so long?" asked Artie as they entered the Warehouse. "You should have been back hours ago."
"Oh, uh, there was a big pile up on the highway," Pete lied, shooting a warning glance at Myka. "We had to wait until it was cleared."
"Really?" questioned Artie in his puzzled look. "I didn't hear anything about it."
"Here," said Myka, handing the neutralizer bag to Artie, trying to change the subject. "Here's the ring."
"Great," said Artie, gingerly taking the ring out of the bag. He looked it over carefully, and then placed it in a wooden ring box sitting on his desk.
"What's so dangerous about a simple gold wedding band?" Pete asked. "It didn't seem to do the guy who had it much good."
"It allowed him to rob nearly half a dozen banks before we were on to him," said Artie. "Originally, it belonged to Reginald Crumpet."
"Crumpet?" questioned Myka. "I never heard of him."
"No one has," said Artie. "He was a government employee in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century. He made a lot of suggestions that helped improve the city government but each time he did someone higher up took the credit for it. Over time he began to feel less and less important, like no one was paying attention to him. That was transferred to his wedding ring. Now, whoever wears the ring can walk around completely unnoticed."
"You mean, like, invisible?" questioned Pete.
"No, not invisible. Just unnoticeable. That's how the guy who had the ring was able to rob all those banks. He simply walked in and took the money and no one even noticed he was there."
"Well, we have it back now," said Myka. "Guess we should get it put away."
"As soon as I have it catalogued," said Artie. "Right now, I have another assignment for you."
"What, all ready?" whined Pete. "We just got back. It took us 4 days to track down that guy and get the ring back. I figured we'd get a couple of days R&R before you sent us out again."
"This one can't wait," said Artie. "I came across this while you were out." He handed Myka a sheet of paper. She looked it over and then looked up at Artie.
"Four deaths?" she questioned. "What makes you think an artifact is involved?"
"Four deaths with absolutely no cause," responded Artie. "The coroner can't find any cause of death for any of them. And they're all very high level criminals."
"Well, that's certainly suspicious," said Pete, looking over the paper Myka was holding. "That doesn't mean an artifact is involved."
"That's why you're going to check it out," said Artie. "Find out if an artifact is involved and if it is, bring it back here."
"And if it's not an artifact?" questioned Myka.
"Then take a couple of days and get some rest," said Artie. "I think you've earned it."
"Well, okay," said Pete, smiling from ear to ear. "Just where are we going, anyway?"
"St. Louis", replied Artie as he turned to begin cataloguing the ring.