Claudia stood over her computer, squinting as she tried to read the words on the monitor at such an odd angle. She was troubleshooting yet another short in the electrical system and grumbling about how the Warehouse only shorted out circuits in hard-to-reach places when she heard the tell-tale hiss of the umbilicus door opening and closing. Claudia was so engrossed in her work that she didn't bother to see who was there; everyone was so used to how absorbed she got when she was working on something (Claudia grimaced, thinking of how the similarity to Artie had not gone unnoticed) that she didn't even bother with social niceties anymore. If someone needed her, they would say something. Otherwise, they would leave her alone when she was working, but apparently not today. Claudia could feel the person's eyes still on her. Sighing in irritation, she slammed down her tools and whirled around to snap at whomever was unlucky enough to bug her on a bad day.

Claudia's spiteful words died in her mouth. A complete stranger, a tall woman in her thirties with white hair and violet eyes, was standing ten feet from her. In the second it took Claudia to pull out her Tesla, the tall woman closed the gap between them, moving and yet not moving. Claudia's Tesla fell to the floor as the woman slammed her against the wall, her left hand at Claudia's throat and her right hand over Claudia's heart. When Claudia struggled to get free, the woman leaned in closer, her breath smelling strongly of a lit fireplace and snickerdoodles. Claudia looked up into the tall woman's lavender eyes, her panicked struggles degenerating into uncontrollable shaking. "Who are you?"

The woman relaxed her grip on Claudia but didn't break eye contact. "My name is Evelyn Turner, and I must speak with your caretaker."

Evelyn's voice echoed over and over in Claudia's head, each repetition a calming caress of velveted softness against Claudia's fear and apprehension. Evelyn smiled when she felt Claudia completely lower her defenses. She softly trailed a finger down Claudia's right cheek and jawline. "There, that's much better, isn't it?" Evelyn's voice echoed in Claudia's mind again, and she slumped against the wall, Evelyn the only thing keeping her up. She moved them over to a nearby chair and said down with Claudia on her lap. Softly, Evelyn murmured, "Claudia, I must speak with your caretaker."

Claudia had been lost in a reverie about Joshua baking snickerdoodles for her when she was a very small child. She stirred and raised her head, looking up with adoration into Evelyn's lavender eyes. "Do you mean Mrs. Frederic?"

Claudia breathed out softly when Evelyn began stroking her hair, sending electric tingles of happiness and contentment coursing throughout her whole body. "No, Claudia, not the Warehouse's caretaker. I need to speak with the caretaker of the people within its walls."

Claudia slowly nodded in understanding. "That would be Artie. You can call him on my Farnsworth..." She slipped back into a happy stupor.

Evelyn immediately disregarded using Claudia's Farnsworth. She needed to speak with the caretaker in person; transmitted communication wasn't safe or reliable. "Claudia." Evelyn gently brushed her fingers against Claudia's face again to make her focus. "Where is Artie right now?"

Dreamily, Claudia replied, "He's upstairs in his office, relaxing in his hammock." She frowned slightly, her words becoming sharper and less slurred. "I wish he was down here with me instead."

Evelyn leaned closer, softly blowing in Claudia's face, surrounding her with the scent of lit fireplaces and snickerdoodles. Claudia immediately relaxed, melting against Evelyn. "Why do you want him here?"

Claudia blushed. Evelyn put her lips to Claudia's ear and softly whispered, "It's okay, you can tell me." Evelyn's words echoed in Claudia's mind, pulling her back down into contented bliss.

Slurring her words, Claudia said, "I'm having a bad day, and I want Artie to make me come so I will feel better."

Evelyn smiled. She licked her index finger and brushed a clear substance on Claudia's lips. When Claudia's tongue darted out to lick it off, her head suddenly cleared. She was on Artie's lap, and he has unbuckling her belt.

"Um, what are you doing?" she asked, unsure of how she had gotten there.

Artie stopped unfastening her belt and rubbed his warm hand gently on her stomach. "I heard that you've been having a hard day, and that a little Artie-time would be just the thing to make you feel better."

Claudia nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah, that would be really good right now." She unfastened her belt and began pulling down her jeans when Artie stopped her by snaking his hand down her stomach and into her panties. He covered her soft muff with his hand, gently massaging her whole area. Claudia thrust her hips up to his hand as he slid a finger between her lips, gently caressing her folds. Artie dipped a finger into her wetness and brought it up to her clit, her juices lubricating his finger as he slowly rubbed her stiffening flesh. Claudia groaned and pushed her pelvis up, craving more of Artie's masterful touch.

Artie reached down with his middle finger into the area between her clit and her wet heat, rubbing up and down, dragging his finger the entire length of Claudia's flesh. It only took a few moments until Claudia exploded, keening loudly as she came, dribbling honey onto Artie's hand. Claudia looked up at Artie in adoration as his image faded and the Warehouse office came into view.

Evelyn had hated to drug the girl, but it was the best way to neutralize her, and it had been interesting to watch Claudia's trip. It was obviously a good one by the sounds. When Evelyn moved to get up, she was stopped by the sensation of a real gun touching the back of her head.

"Hello, Evelyn," Artie said, coming around to face her, the gun still aimed at her head. "It's been a long time."

She looked up at him, a rueful grin on her face. "Yes, Arthur, it has." She cocked her head to one side and narrowed her eyes. "And you're the agent caretaker now, eh?"

Artie nodded, his face hard. "That's right."

Evelyn glanced down at Claudia and chuckled. "You've been giving this one some extra attention."

"She is very important to me, Evelyn," Artie said, pulling back the gun's hammer. Claudia smiled widely at his protective nature. "You hurt Claudia, and I'll see to it that your soul spends eternity in the Muses' reflecting pool."

Evelyn blanched. "No need to be that extreme, Arthur." She glanced down at Claudia and then back up to Artie. "I've Raptured her slightly, but I've not taken any of her life energy."

Puzzled, Artie released the hammer and lowered his gun. "Then why are you here?"

Evelyn sighed heavily. "Two Warehouse agents, Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer, were recently dispatched to Romania to retrieve an artifact. They were caught while investigating a Rapture den."

Artie sat down heavily. Rubbing a hand slowly over his face, he asked, "So, um, did you bring their bodies back with you?" Claudia began to whimper with fear.

Evelyn shook her head. "It's even worse than that, Arthur. They were both taken for The Rounds."

Claudia stirred and sleepily raised her head. "What are The Rounds?"

"It's a betting game," Evelyn explained, pulling Claudia off her lap and handing her to Artie who promptly scooped her into his arms. "You have eight players to a round. Each player is given a dose of Rapture, which opens the mind, and connected to a central crystal. They all then play the round, which is a generated scenario. Whoever wins the scenario wins the round."

"That actually sounds kind of fun," Claudia said, imagining playing a solidly-programmed computer game as if she were in it. "What's the catch?"

"The catch," Artie explained, "is that Rapture is addictive in large doses. The Rounds aren't supposed to be that bad because most people are responsible with it, but when an owner has a player that is doing well, the player is often given extremely high doses of Rapture in order to keep playing, and the referees look the other way if paid enough."

Claudia felt slightly sick. "So, it's like dog fighting, but with people's minds instead." She looked at Evelyn and asked the question she feared most. "Do people always come back from the simulation?"

Evelyn looked at Claudia for a moment and then slowly shook her head. "That's why I came to find you. Mrs. Frederic said I was to take the both of you with me to Romania and locate Pete and Myka. My orders are to either rescue them from The Rounds or kill them if their minds are pliant enough to reveal anything regarding the Warehouse."

Claudia gulped.