Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers. I hope that you continue to do so.
I don't own Warehouse 13, the Warehouse, or Artie Nielsen, but I would like to!
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Dinah took a step closer to her father. She could tell he was upset, but blocked the thought that he would try to kill her now. She had betrayed him in the worse way possible, but she didn't care. She loved Artie and wasn't going to let him go. MacPherson stood frozen, staring at Dinah. Dinah swallowed hard. She knew that she needed to separate the two men, or someone would die.
"Dad, I think you need to go."
That broke the spell, but not in a good way. MacPherson's head turned in her direction, with a malevolent look on his face. He took a step closer. Dinah didn't move. She didn't know what to do. That was when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away from MacPherson. Dinah turned and saw that it had been Artie who pulled her away. Artie then shoved MacPherson back into the umbilical and hit a button on a panel next to the door. The door closed in MacPherson's face. Artie grabbed Dinah's hand and pulled her into the Warehouse proper.
They ran down the aisles almost all the way to the back. Artie sat down on the floor and Dinah sat next to him. When they could breathe, Dinah looked at Artie.
"Now what do we do?"
Artie smiled at Dinah and kissed her on the nose. "We wait for the cavalry."
Dinah frowned at Artie. "What are you talking about?"
Artie sat on the floor and leaned back against the shelf. At first he didn't say anything but after a few minutes of Dinah prodding him, he answered. "Mrs. Frederic is coming. She wants to speak to you."
Dinah felt the color drain from her face. That was the last person she wanted to see. Artie noticed the look on Dinah's face and pulled her close.
"I will talk to her. I am hoping that the worst thing she will do is ban you from coming back out her until she knows you can be trusted."
Dinah sat down next to Artie and leaned against him. She hoped that wouldn't happen.
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Outside the Warehouse
A car pulled and a man jumped out of the driver's seat. He hurried to the back and opened the door. Mrs. Frederic stepped out. The South Dakota wind blew her hair around. She opened the outer door and stepped in. Something felt different; she didn't know what, so she prepared herself.
As Mrs. Frederic walked down the steps, she could feel someone waiting. She hurried her bodyguard close at hand. She neared the door leading into Artie's off, she saw MacPherson standing there. When he heard her, he started running up the stairs, slamming Mrs. Frederic into the wall. Her bodyguard was right behind her to help her, but before he could get to her, MacPherson grabbed her and held a knife to her throat.
The bodyguard let them go past as he looked for a way to rescue Mrs. Frederic. He pulled her up the stairs and pushed the door open, the bodyguard was close behind. As they walked out the door, someone tripped, captive and kidnapper fell over. The bodyguard took that moment to grab Mrs. Frederic and pull her out of harm's way. MacPherson jumped to his feet and charged at her. He ripped the door open and was about to go through the door, when he realized that he was missing the necklace. Without that necklace, he would die a horrible death just by going in the door. MacPherson spun around to see if he could find the necklace and go after Mrs. Frederic. As he turned, he saw the necklace in the hands of Claudia Donovan.
He lunged at her, she screamed and ran for her car, but MacPherson blocked her. She threw the necklace to the bodyguard. He tossed it to Mrs. Frederic, who threw it into the Warehouse. He glared at Mrs. Frederic.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
MacPherson stared at her for a few tense moments, as if trying to decide what to say. Finally, he spoke.
"I came to collect my daughter, but she has betrayed me in the worst way possible."
Mrs. Frederic stared at him for a moment. She wondered if he really sent Dinah and, if so, what for. That line of thought didn't stay with her for long. She figured she knew what he had sent Dinah for and it wouldn't have been good if Dinah had gone through with what she would have been sent for. Although she didn't know what Dinah could have done to set MacPherson off like this, she knew that to lose her would be difficult for Artie to handle. The man didn't take losing people he carried about very well, and from what she had seen of the two of them together, they had become very, very close, maybe a little too close. All of this moved through Mrs. Frederic's mind at the speed of light. Finally, she turned to face the man.
"What do you plan to do with her?" She thought she knew what he would do, but wanted to give him a chance to walk away.
He sneered at her. "Why do you want to know?"
Mrs. Frederic smiled. "If you want her, you will tell me." Her voice dropped into a whisper. She took a step closer. MacPherson took a step away. She knew she had him at that moment.
"Why do you care? She is just a whore." He seemed disgusted.
Mrs. Frederic's smile broadened. "I care because she is a valued member of my team." She knew that would annoy him. She wanted to make him mad, to catch him off guard.
It worked.
"If you want the little whore, then you can have her!" MacPherson turned on his heel and started walking away. He didn't walk very far before he turned around. "If I find that little trollop outside the Warehouse, I will make her life a living hell!" He turned around quickly, climbed into his car and left.
Mrs. Frederic waited until he was out of sight. She wasn't sure if he would really leave her alone or if he was lying to her. She sighed and headed in with Claudia.
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Dinah was asleep on the floor with Artie's jacket over her. Artie was beginning to wonder what was going on, if they were going to be rescued when the panels that covered the walls came up. Artie gently shook Dinah's shoulder and she rubbed her eyes as she sat up, the jacket slid off as she did so. Artie picked it up before he stood, then held a hand out to help her stand. Dinah took it gratefully. She didn't know what was going to happen to her, but she knew that Artie would stand by her no matter what.
After a few minutes, Mrs. Frederic appeared. Her face was blank, like a crisp sheet of new paper. She stood and considered the two people for a moment before speaking.
"Arthur, I need to speak with you."
She then turned and walked away. Artie looked at Dinah for a second, smiled and followed Mrs. Frederic. The bodyguard remained behind. Dinah figured that he was there to keep an eye on her. She smiled at him, but he either did see her or was choosing to ignore her. After what felt like an eternity (but in reality was only a few minutes), Mrs. Frederic came back. Dinah had hoped that Artie would return if for no other reason than to reassure her that it would all be all right.
She followed Mrs. Frederic through the Warehouse to a part that she had never been in. She was about to ask if they were still in the USA when they came to a door. Mrs. Frederic pulled a key out and opened the door. She held it open for Dinah and followed her through. It was an office, a very nice office. It was well-furnished and a large antique desk stood against the wall opposite the door. As Dinah looked around, Mrs. Frederic took a seat behind the desk.
"Please take a seat."
Dinah almost asked if she had to return it afterwards, but thought better of it. As much as a little laughter would help her relax, it didn't seem like an appropriate thing to do, considering the circumstances. Dinah sat down. She was nervous and Mrs. Frederic's reputation didn't help Dinah in the least.
Mrs. Frederic smiled. It was warm and inviting. "What were you sent here to do?"
Dinah looked Mrs. Frederic in the eye. "I was sent to steal what I could." She pulled a list out of her pocket and handed it to Mrs. Frederic, who took the paper and looked at it for a moment before dropping it into a drawer.
Mrs. Frederic looked at her sternly. "Did you do that?"
Dinah swallowed. "No Ma'am."
"Why not?" Mrs. Frederic seemed genuinely interested in the answer.
"I wanted to wait until I knew where everything was first."
"Did you find where it all was?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Mrs. Frederic looked at her. Her head tilted to the side as she studied the other woman.
"So, why didn't you take any of it?"
Dinah was close to tears. She took a deep breath and spoke. "I couldn't bring myself to do it." The tears came out now. Dinah had tried to stop them, but they came any way. Mrs. Frederic pushed a box of Kleenex at her. Dinah took one and blew her nose. Mrs. Frederic smiled at her.
"What do you think I should do with you?"
Dinah was miserable. She didn't feel good and she didn't want to be there. "Shoot me. I deserve it." When Mrs. Frederic didn't answer, she looked at the woman. Mrs. Frederic had a concerned look on her face. Dinah felt like throwing up. The nausea was really bad. Mrs. Frederic stood and moved around the desk, garbage pail in hand. She handed it to Dinah and just in time to. Dinah's stomach quickly emptied of its contents. Mrs. Frederic moved to the door. She opened the door and spoke to someone outside, and then she shut the door and sat back down.
After a few minutes, a knock came at the door and then it opened. The bodyguard entered with a covered tray. He set it on the desk and took the pail from Dinah, who gave it up happily. She felt bad that he would have to deal with it, but the smell was getting to her. Mrs. Frederic took the cover off the try and a wonderful smell filled the room, well, normally it would have been wonderful, but the smell made Dinah nauseous. It must have been obvious because Mrs. Frederic put the cover back on the tray and took it to the door. She handed it off and spoke for a moment to someone that Dinah assumed to be the bodyguard.
This time, Mrs. Frederic stood by the door. After a few minutes, the door opened. A pitcher of orange juice and several glasses were passed in. Dinah sighed and gratefully accepted the glass she was handed. Mrs. Frederic gave her a knowing look and Dinah's heart sank. She hoped that Artie wasn't in trouble for what happened. It hadn't been completely his fault. Mrs. Frederic took the seat next to Dinah.
"Are you pregnant?" she asked Dinah seriously.
The tears started again. Dinah didn't know what to say. She thought she was, but didn't know for sure. After a few minutes, she was able to say as much to Mrs. Frederic, who patted her on the shoulder.
"I have someone that I can call so we can find out for certain."
Dinah nodded. She was falling asleep, but tried to fight it. All of the intense emotion and excitement had worn her out, but she realized that she didn't know what they were going to do with her. She thought she should find out.
"What," she began hesitantly, "is going to happen to me?" She yawned and waited for an answer.
"Your father has said that he will not fight you staying here, but if you leave, he will not be happy."
Dinah stopped to think about it for a moment before the words that Mrs. Frederic was trying not to say came to her.
"You mean if I leave the Warehouse, he will kill me?"
Mrs. Frederic nodded. "Until we know more, you will be living here in the Warehouse."
Dinah yawned again. It was getting hard to stay away and for a moment, Dinah thought that Mrs. Frederic had drugged her. Mrs. Frederic pulled Dinah to her feet and walked her over to the door. She opened the door and she led Dinah through the door. An anxious Artie was waiting for her. Artie spoke to Mrs. Frederic for a moment before leading Dinah away.
It took a few minutes longer than it normally did before they reached the office. Dinah was asleep on her feet. They went into his room and he put her in his hammock and covered her with a blanket. He took her shoes off as she fell asleep.
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I hope that this chapter is worth the wait. Is MacPherson going to let go so easily, or is he going to get revenge? Find out soon!
