Apologizes for the delay.
The good news is that a major logistical block for this story had been cleared up, so it can progress.
Thanks for the reviews. Once again, I owe Kendrynora for the edit.
Myka led Pete into Artie's office, but she wished that she let him lead when he sneezed again, this time, all over the back of her sleeve. She glanced back at him and noticed that he looked more tired than just a few moments ago.
"Ah good. You're here," The old man spun around in his chair in greeting at his most experienced agents.
"You got a ping for us, Artie?" Pete asked.
Their boss waved off the comment and pointed to the Warehouse floor. "Help first. Claudia's outside. Now!" He barked a millisecond later, prompting the pair to hurry out the door. Artie followed closely behind them, but he did a double take at his computer when passing by and slowed his pace. His bushy eyebrows went up and he nearly leapt back to his computer as Pete and Myka went out the door.
Claudia stopped the forklift when Steve indicated that she was close to the stairs. The slim red head was hopping down from the machine when Myka and Pete walked up to Steve.
"Hey guys," Steve greeted the duo.
Myka nodded her greeting, and took in the large box that was loaded on the forklift. Pete, as usual, didn't try to figure things out on his own. "What's this? Artie's hidden cookie jar, finally revealed?" Pete smiled, but neither Myka nor Jinks did so much as smirk towards his joke.
Steve answered his first question, disregarding the juvenile cookie jar joke, "Containment for the suit of armor in Artie's office. It's been acting up since Zeus hit it with a lightning bolt." Claudia bounded up to the group during the explanation.
Pete turned to Myka, "When did who hit it with lightning?"
Claudia piped up, "Zeus, or his statue, around the time that Jinksy first got here. Ever since, it's been twitching and frying the drives on Artie's computers."
Steve added, "And Leena said that sixteen swords in the blades section have moved towards the office. She thinks that the armour is somehow attracting them." He added, "But the winch is broken, so we're counting on your extra manly muscles here Pete." This time Steve did smirk a little when he patted Pete on his bulky shoulder.
Pete, as Steve predicted, was amply impressed with himself. He puffed his chest up. "Yup. Yup. Good thing that I'm here, well, we- that we're here." He pulled his ego up at the last minute and acknowledged Myka who was tilting her head at him, "Meaning, me and Myka here, Artie… well was here, but-" He hiked up his pants again in a very manly fashion, "I guess he knew that he had all the muscles that he needed down here already." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, eyeing up the large box.
Steve's tactic worked. Soon, Pete and Steve were lifting the coffin sized box with Myka and Claudia directing and pulling from the top. By the time the group wrestled the box to the top of the stairs, all four of the agents were sweaty and out of breath. Together, Steve and Pete set the box on edge. Myka steadied the crate as the guys caught their breaths.
Pete huffed and wiped his face on his t-shirt, "Remind me to grab Teddy Atlas' briefs before doing this again."
"Pete!" Myka reprimanded.
"Hey, I'm not saying I would use an artifact!"
Steve, equally out of breath, added, "I can see the draw." Claudia and Myka shot him such dirty looks that he flinched, "Well, I can."
Pete opened up the door leading to the office, "See? That's what I mean. Just a little help every so often. Nothing 'going to destroy the world' or anything. Geesh."
"STOP!" Artie's voice boomed out, freezing everyone in place.
Claudia scampered up to Pete, who was in front, "What's up gramps?"
"Artifact disturbance," Leena filled them in as Artie, already wearing purple gloves, started patting the Pete down. Leena stood close beside Artie with a static bag ready to bag the artifact.
"Hey! Easy! Artie, take me out to dinner first man!" Pete jokingly teased at their rough handling.
"Shut up," Artie tersely respond to his slightly sexual teasing. The pair quickly moved to find the artifact in their semi frantic search.
"Artie, what is it?" Myka asked, "What's missing?"
Artie ignored the question, so Leena answered, "The Russian Assassin Spider."
That was enough to make Artie fill in the gaps, "It's a small, well- about-" He holds up his thumb and a short finger to show roughly four inches long.
"That's small!?" Steve bursts out.
Artie scowled at Steve, but kept searching; checking the inside of Pete's collar for the stowaway. "I think it's responsible for at least four, or, or probably five deaths in Russia around-"
"Artie!" Leena levelled her eyes at him, cutting off the ramble and refocusing the old man.
"Okay! It seeks out body heat. I- I think that it uses the electric charge of the person wearing it. It must have sensed an electrical source or- or heat, and gone after it- one of you," He eyed the four of them suspiciously.
Artie and Leena eliminated Pete as the stowaway vehicle and rushed up to Claudia to start patting her down quickly and thoroughly. Pete tried to smooth his hair out after the pair roughed it up.
"Why the frantic search?" Claudia asked, flinching at the rough handling.
Artie didn't stop beating her on the back while peeking inside her pockets as he answered, "Made before electricity was in use, so it's very sensitive to any kind of electrical source. If it gets into here..." Artie waved his hand at all the electronics in his office and huffs out a non-humorous laugh of dread.
"What will it do?" Myka asked.
"I-" Artie looked around a bit self-consciously, "It has lethal poison, kills in minutes… in here, I- Idon't want to find out! Myka! Next!"
Myka held up her hands like they were pointing guns at her; subjecting herself to the search.
Steve, Pete, and Claudia grin, but don't laugh, seeing as how grave Artie and Leena looked. They all knew that when Artie was serious, he expected the same in return, even if he was asking about fudge. Artie squinted his eyes to suppress his amusement, and then started patting her down while Leena went through her suit jacket.
Still unsuccessful, everyone suddenly looked to the last person left. Steve, innocent looking as always, stared back at the gang.
"What? Me? Okay, okay! Search me!" Steve smirked and moved to put his hands on his head when suddenly his eyes bulged.
Artie, alerted, stepped forward, protectively in front of Claudia. He gaped but no one said a word as Steve slowly rolled his eyes upwards.
"Uh… guys…?" Jinks hunched his shoulders like he was trying to suck his neck down. Then, everyone saw what he was reacting to.
A black, gold and red spider, the size of a peach, crawled to the top of Steve's brush-cut head.
Artie held his arms out sideways, as if to protect everybody. He hit Claudia and Leena who were standing just behind him, "Stop! Just—keep it there!" He grabbed Claudia's shoulder briefly then bolted off to the back of the office.
"What? Artie!" Claudia called after him, but she just saw the tails of his brown shirt flying as he ran from the room, "Uh…" Claudia looked around and saw Pete slowly walking up beside her with a neutralizer bag, "Pete? What cha going to do with that?" Claudia said quietly out of the side of her mouth, not willing to let her eyes stray from the spider cleaning its legs on top of Steve's head.
"Tag 'em and bag 'em, Claudster…" Pete replied quietly. Myka looked from her suddenly serious partner to the younger Steve, who was desperately trying to remain calm with a moving artifact bug atop his head. Myka had no doubt that Pete was going to pounce if that spider made one wrong move.
"Down on your knees Steve," Pete said quietly.
"What? Why?" He replied in a hoarse whisper, betraying his alarm.
Pete kept his eyes on the spider, along with everyone else in the room, "So that I can bag it!"
"Something tells me…" Steve said as he gently lowered himself down to his knees, moving very slowly, "…that this is a bad idea…"
Myka and Leena watched as Claudia and Pete stalked the spider on top of Steve's head. Pete held the bag out as if he was ready to bag Steve's head along with, if necessary. Myka was worried that that was exactly what was going to happen, so she took a step forward to be that much closer to rip the bag off Steve's head if need be. Pete caught his partner's eye like he had the same thought. Myka felt fairly confident that either he or she could prevent Steve from suffocating, if it came to that.
Claudia and Pete crept in closer, moving slowly, when the spider suddenly alerted and reared up. Everyone gasped as it waved its front legs threateningly, revealing golden, dangerous looking fangs that glistened with poison. Pete and Claudia froze. Steve closed his eyes tight and held his breath.
Claudia said through clenched teeth, "Get ready…"
"I am…" Pete replied back, clenching his jaw; not moving his lips.
"On three. One…"
"WAIT!" Artie suddenly burst into the room, lugging a heavy contraption. He glanced up and yelled, "Myka!"
Myka ran to her boss and quickly spread the legs out on a tripod supporting a space age-y, very old - thing. It was the size of a small suitcase, but from the constant whirring sound that was coming from it, Myka predicted that something was rotating inside.
"Step back!" Artie ordered. Grudgingly, Pete and Claudia slowly crept a step back from Steve who was still on his knees and sporting a ticked off jewelled spider charm on the crown of his head.
"What? Artie- what is that?" Steve's eyes nervously went from trying to look at his own head, to his boss, to a barrel that Artie folded down and aimed at Steve's head.
Artie's eyes dance up and down as he lined up the gun. "Steve… just … don't move," Artie said far too calmly to help the young man's nerves.
With a jerk, Artie grabbed a lever and pulled it downwards on the device. The whirring sound increased until it culminated with a high pitched type of beep. The narrowed end of the device glowed for a moment before there was a sound like a big puff of air that was let out. Then, it went quiet.
Steve, who had clamped his eyes closed when Artie pointed the large suitcase gun at him, timidly cracked one eye open, then the other. He directed both of his blue eyes up. "Is it, still there?"
Pete and Claudia looked at each other, then at the spider. It was still sitting atop Steve's noggin, but the spider was frozen in an attack rear, just prior to sinking its fangs into Steve.
"Now!" Artie encouraged.
The gang didn't wait. Claudia let out a groan of disgust at toughing the arachnid as she quickly grabbed the spider and threw it at Pete who also leapt forward, bag open and ready. Sparks flew from the bag, making everyone flinch and shield their eyes.
Steve felt the top of his head, then the back, and the sides, holding on to his ears for a moment before composing himself. Myka stepped up to help the shaken agent up from his knees until he was standing on his slightly unsteady legs.
"Artie! What was that?!" Steve exclaimed.
"The Russian Assas-"
"Not that!" Steve nodded to the closed bag in Pete's hands. He pointed at the tripod suitcase gun, "THAT!"
"Uh- oh," Artie looked to his side, like he forgot the gun was still there, "Uh… it's an early concept device commissioned by the Medevichi family in 1209. Produces localized magnetic disturbances. Actually, it was based on the designs of Leonardo Da Vincci, who- few people know- was actually NOT involved –"
Steve just stared at the contraption that was, until a moment ago, firing at his head while his boss babbled on until Claudia interrupted him with a hand on his arm.
"Oh my geesh- Artie, what does it do?"
The old man looked confused and repeated, "Puts out a localized magnetic disturbance."
"EMP," Myka offered.
A look of realization came over everyone in the room, including Steve. "Am I going to- like- forget my name now?" He asked quietly.
Everyone waited for Artie to respond, but the old man just stared at Steve who was still gawking at the gun.
"Artie!" Steve uncharacteristically insisted, clearly showing his alarm at his new boss's indifference to the danger that he put him in.
"No! Uh—mmm… probably not," Artie said dismissively. He turned back to Steve after a thought, "But if you do, let me know. Pete!" Artie moved quickly around a stunned Steve, to Pete who was still holding the bagged spider. He took the bag from him, then just as quickly handed it off to Leena, who left the room to stow the dangerous artifact.
Pete slapped Steve hard on the back, making the poor guy fall forward a bit, "Keep this up Steve-o and you'll have more close calls than Claudia!" The thin red head scowled a teasing face at Pete who pointed at her, teasing her back, but then coughed and hacked; clearing his throat.
"Keep that up Pete-o and you'll be missing a lung!" Claudia replied. Pete tried to answer but was interrupted by another cough.