A/N: Sorry for the epic wait, and for the shortness of this chapter. I just wanted to give you BBs something. We're about to get into some actiony action (of the nonsexy action type, but not to worry, that will come soon enough!) But hopefully some MamaBear!Myka will be enough to tide you over! 3
"Must remember to thank my mother for this accent," Charlotte mumbled as she climbed into the back of the rented SUV.
"That was way too close," Pete said from the passenger seat. "We woulda been boned if you hadn't worked that British charm," He finished with a wink.
"Well," she began in a casual tone, looking down at her nails. "It is customary to come to the door when someone knocksā¦"
"Okay, Myka 2.0," Pete half mumbled.
"What!? No," Charlotte answered all too quickly.
Up until now, Myka had just been a silent listener, but this extremely adamant and vocal denial caught her off guard enough to join in. "Is that so bad?"
"Uhm, no," Charlotte said, obviously fumbling. "It's just that, you know, there's really only need for one Myka, and I don't want to seem like, maybe I'm trying to be better than you, or take your place or something."
Myka's only response was a small smile, and a gentle squeeze to Charlotte's knee. Charlotte kept her reactions and emotions in check this time, offering up a small smile, and then turning her face to the window. She tried to play off like she was enjoying the scenery, in hopes to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Her Myka, her momma, would also squeeze her knee when she was teasing her. Whether it be her height, her mane of curly hair which misbehaved more than Myka's, or her unnatural love of green beans; it was always a knee pinch.
They were on their way back to the hotel in Moscow to meet up with the others. HG had the files she retrieved from the auction house, and though they didn't find any incriminating evidence, grabbed a few suspicious looking files, and two flash drives worth of information from his computer's hard drive. They knew it would be at least four hours before Claudia and Steven would be able to join them, so they decided to convene over dinner and discuss their next move.
Over subpar room service, the group, save for Claudia and Steve, went over all the information they gather. This mainly consist of Koychev's research on the lyre, similar to theirs, though lacking the thoroughness, generally showing the duration of its stay at auction house, the possible worth and auction date. However, the mass of information they found once they plugged the flash drives into Claudia and Charlotte's computers, respectively, was alarming. The information contained on the small devices described not just the powers of the lyre, down to the tiniest detail, but the bulk of his plan as well.
Suddenly, Charlotte found herself pacing, and just then realized how cocky she'd been. Now that this solid inventory of his plans was present, she fully grasped just how important it was that they stop him. And they had to stop him; at any cost. The seriousness of the situation hadn't hit her entirely until now, and she was starting to panic.
"Hey," Claudia whisper, gently grabbing her elbow. "We'll find him, and we'll stop him. I'm sure if we getting our hackin' on together, we'll find him before he even knows where he is," she added reassuringly. Charlotte offered up a less than confidant smile, and rejoined Claudia at the desk and their joint effort to decipher Koychev's next move.
The next hour proved to be filled with fruitless searches and uneventful credit card alerts. By the fifth time the entire group gathered around Claudia's computer for another room service charge; Myka decided it was time for a break.
"Alright," Myka said over the rambunctious groans. "We're going to drive ourselves crazy if we continue to sit here and watch Koychev order more pizza. Let's get some sleep and start again with fresh minds in the morning."
Myka's eyes slowly opened against her will at the steady sound of typing and mouse clicking. Her sight first catching the too bright glow of the hotel standard alarm clock, reading 3:24am, then continued on their journey toward the origins of the offending sounds. Her initial feeling of irritation left her as she noticed the tired, yet tense, back of Charlotte, still seemingly hard at work.
She threw back the covers, pausing to kiss the palm of Helena's hand, halting its attempt to bring her back into bed. She gently placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder, lightly squeezing it as the young girl jumped.
"Hey missy," Myka whispered, in a light tone. "Did you think you were exempt from my bedtime pronouncements?"
"I have to stop him, Myka," Charlotte whispered back, her tone almost sounding defeated.
Myka bent at the knees, and moved Charlotte's chair so the girl was facing her. "We will find him, Charlotte. And we will stop him," She whispered softly, moving unruly curls from the girl's eyes. "But we can't do that if you burn yourself out."
At Charlotte's slight nod, Myka stood up, and pulled her up by her hands, leading her to the second bed. Pulling back the covers, she gently smacked Claudia's flannel covered but, causing her to instinctively roll over, giving Charlotte her side of the bed. She obediently lay down, allowing Myka to cover her up with the blanket before climbing back into her own bed. Myka settled back into HG's body, only allowing herself to full relax when she saw Charlotte's eyes close and her body relax. Unsure of why she felt to utterly protective of this girl, she sent the thoughts to the back of her mind, and felt herself drift back into sleep.
