Author's Note: My apologies, readers! In my jet-lagged state, I forgot to include the final scene of this chapter.
Surprisingly, the pair makes it into the building without apparently tripping any kind of alarm. Then again, Helena reminds herself, Warehouses have always had more than one layer of security. With that in mind, she keeps her custom Tesla drawn and ready in one hand. In the other, she carries a handheld scanner that tracks the signal strength of the homing beacons.
Down two flights of stairs, and the signal is getting stronger. Pausing for a moment, Helena turns to Inara. "You wouldn't happen to know where the meeting is taking place, would you?"
The Companion shakes her head, holding her own gun at her side. "Mal and Zoe typically conduct the meetings with clients."
"Right then," Helena states, poking her head into the hallway. "We'll do this the old-fashioned way." Slowly, quietly, she begins walking down the hall, keeping an eye on the scanner and an ear open for voices. Midway down the hall, she hears something and freezes, signaling Inara to do the same.
"…so you see, the guys that ambushed us made off with the goods," Mal's voice explains. Taking a moment to focus, Helena pinpoints the sound as coming from the door not ten feet away. Moving even more carefully now, Helena creeps forward along the wall until she's right next to the door, pocketing the scanner. It's open just enough that she can see a slice of the room beyond: Dark walls, and a small table pushed in one corner.
"I am sorry to hear that, my boy," an unfamiliar voice says. "Do you have any idea where these gentlemen are now?"
It's a perfect cue, one that Helena isn't about to let go to waste. "I don't know where your henchmen are," she states, pushing the door fully open and stepping into the room, aiming her gun at the man seated across from Mal and Zoe, "but I do know that the magnets are here in this building." Movement beside her announces Inara's presence, and a moment later the Companion's gun slides into her field of view, pointed in the same direction. If she had thought this through, Helena would have told Inara to cover the door behind them, but it is too late now.
For someone with two guns pointed at him, the man who must be Jefferson Greco is remarkably calm. In fact, there is a gleam of recognition in his eyes as he studies Helena. "It's you, isn't it?" he asks, a smile spreading across his face. "It really is you." A delighted laugh escapes him. "Michael did it, then! He actually did it! Jing tsai!"
Confusion plain on his face, Mal is looking back and forth from Greco to Helena. "What the ruttin' hell is going on?"
"Exactly what I would like to know." The voice, emanating from behind Helena, is older than she remembers.
Actually, Helena shouldn't be hearing that voice at all. Given my history, do I really doubt this? Taking a deep breath, the time-traveler looks over her shoulder. The two men from the museum stand in the doorway, Teslas drawn, but it is not them that Helena focuses on. The third person, the owner of the voice, is a little taller than Helena remembers, a little curvier. There are no colored streaks in the auburn hair, and the clothes are a more mature, but there is no mistaking that face. "Claudia," Helena sighs.
Some things have changed, but the smile is the same. "Hi HG. Long time no see."
Ever since Greco hired the crew for this job, Zoe's been feeling uneasy. Truth be told, she hasn't felt easy since Wash died, but something about this particular job smelled from the moment she learned about it. Of all of their new clients, Greco has always felt "off", like he ain't telling more than is absolutely necessary. Kinda like Niska, actually, but without the sadistic edge. Zoe is already edgy when the meeting begins, and when Helena barges in Zoe's entire body tenses, ready for anything.
Inwardly, Zoe is shocked when Helena announces that the magnets are in the building, a feeling that quickly gives way to anger at the way Greco has played them. The fact that Greco appears to know who Helena is only adds to Zoe's unease. When the Blue Hands appear, it is all she can do to remain seated and not draw her gun. Then she realizes that their guns (since when did they use guns?) are trained on Greco, and relaxes just enough to focus on the woman who accompanies the pair.
Shorter than the men flanking her, she is dressed in tailored dark slacks, white shirt, vest, and tie. The outfit matches the air of authority she projects. Her auburn hair is twisted up at the back of her head and held in place with a pair of chopsticks. Sparkling green eyes peer out of an ageless face. Zoe's first guess is that the woman is somewhere between 35 and 50 years old, but then Helena breathes, "Claudia." The woman smiles and replies, "Hi HG. Long time no see," and suddenly Zoe has to revise her estimate.
The question of how the two women know one another will have to wait, however. Claudia enters the room, looking away from Helena and focusing on the man on the opposite side of the desk. "How about it, Jeff? Care to explain what's going on?"
Zoe turns back around in time to see the delighted smile slide off of Greco's face, leaving stone behind. "Explain what, Ms. Donovan? You may be the Caretaker, but I am a Regent. I do not need to explain myself to you."
"True," Claudia agrees, drawing level with the quartet on this side of the desk. "But I wonder what your fellow Regents will say when you tell them how you've been selling artifacts to the highest bidder since before the U-War."
Greco makes a grab for something under the desk. Instinctively, Zoe reaches for her gun. Just as her hand touches wood, a double bolt of blue and green lightning erupts from behind her, striking Greco in the chest. With a groan, the man folds in half, landing face-first on his desk.
Training keeps Zoe's body moving, drawing her gun as she stands and spins to face the group. Helena and one Blue Hand are aiming their peculiar weapons at Greco. The other Blue Hand has been covering Inara; as Zoe rises his aim shifts to her. Zoe brings her own gun up to aim at the man's face. Total elapsed time since Claudia's accusation: maybe five seconds.
Silence reigns in the office. Almost predictably, it is Mal who speaks first. "Huh," he grunts. Out of the corner of her eye, Zoe can see him twisting in his seat, looking back and forth from Greco, to Helena and the first Blue Hand, to Zoe and her opponent.
"What just happened?" Inara asks. To a stranger, her voice would sound calm, but Zoe can hear the edge of uncertainty.
"Just a bit of housekeeping," Claudia answers. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Dennis, Jeff."
For a moment, Zoe thinks that she is addressing Greco again, but then the Blue Hand she has been facing off with lowers his gun, and she realizes that his name is also Jeff. With a slight nod, Zoe also lowers her piece. Making a note to keep an eye on the man, Zoe turns back to face the group. All guns have been lowered. As Zoe watches, Inara moves a step closer to Mal, so that her leg just touches his. At a nod from Claudia, the Blue Hands, Dennis and Jeff, move to deal with Greco. For a brief moment, Zoe thinks that the man is dead, but he emits a soft groan as he is lifted from his chair. "What will happen to him?" she asks, turning to Claudia.
"He will be dealt with," Claudia replies. Helena makes a soft noise, and Claudia turns to her. "What?"
"I'm sorry," the other woman says. "For a moment there you sounded like Mrs. Frederic."
Claudia's response to this apparent compliment is to smile widely, lighting up her entire face. "Why thank you, HG." As Dennis and Jeff remove Greco from the room, she looks around at the others. "I'm sure you all have questions-"
"Um, yeah," Mal replies.
"—so why don't you follow me," Claudia continues smoothly, ignoring the interruption. She turns on her heel and, without waiting to see if they follow, exits the room. Helena follows, and after exchanging quick glances, so to Mal, Inara, and Zoe.
Zoe is too busy memorizing the route they follow to listen to Mal's fruitless attempts at questioning Claudia. Finally, they exit an elevator into a long hallway, completely empty but for a door at the far end and pairs of slender pillars spaced along its length. Mal has finally given up on questioning, but being Mal he cannot help but reach toward the first pillar they pass. "Don't touch the bombs," Claudia admonishes without looking, and Mal hastily retracts his hand.
The door opens at Claudia's approach with a faint hiss, like an airlock. The woman reaches out to pull it the rest of the way and leads them inside. For the first time in a long time, Zoe feels her chest tighten in amazement. The group is standing on a raised walkway, looking out over a space so massive it disappears over the horizon.
"Welcome," Claudia says, "to Warehouse 16."
Seven months ago
Brightness pierces Helena's eyelids, and she flinches. Her agile mind immediately realizes the significance of these facts: She has been de-Bronzed. Slowly, carefully, she opens her eyes, squinting in the light.
Two shapes stand before her, resolving into two men as her eyes focus. "The great HG Wells," the shorter man states. "It is truly an honor." He motions, and the taller, thoroughly non-descript man steps forward and offers a hand.
Helena accepts, allowing herself to be led to a chair that stands just off to the side of the Bronzer. Questions buzz through her mind like a swarm of bees. Fortunately, she has some experience in this regard. "What year is it?"
"It is 2517," he replies. The buzzing in Helena's mind comes to an abrupt halt. Five centuries have passed? She realizes the man is still speaking. "…Jenkins," he says. "I'm sure you have many questions, Miss Wells. If you'll join me in my office, I will do my best to answer them. That is," his focus shifts to the other man, who has knelt down next to Helena and is taking her pulse, "if that is alright with you, Doctor?" With a nod, the man stands and backs away. Jenkins turns his attention back to Helena, motioning for her to stand. "If you'll follow me." He leads Helena through a door into a typical Warehouse aisle. "And," he continues, "let me be the first to welcome you to Warehouse 15."
Author's Note: Again, my apologies. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed!