So the problem I face with Myka in this situation is that she's being tested - on one hand, she wants revenge. On the other - she's still a grade A agent. So you have to strike a balance when writing about her and her choices.
I hope you'll let me know if you think these actions are befitting her.
Many thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments. They're very helpful.
Chapter Ten Flight of the Bumblebee
"If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear." —Unknown
This was an usual situation for Helena. Usually, it was she who was being calmed down, talked out of inflicting bodily harm on someone because it was beyond regulations. Now the boot was on the other foot, and she was quite concerned about where Myka wanted to put it. She was trying to gage just where Myka was emotionally. She wasn't barking orders at them as much as she was very clear how things were going to go down.
"I think we can assume they leveraged Alex to get Pete to cooperate. What we also can assume is that they used the truth serum on him, and God knows what he told them," Myka said.
"Well, it's obvious Professor White thinks he's holding all the cards," HG said.
"Maybe we should have some back up," Claudia piped in with.
Myka sat deep in thought as the cab drove through the early morning light to their destination. She knew that what she wanted to do - and that the safer, more effective approach - were two different things. She did not want to endanger anyone, especially Alex who was a civilian. Backup was exactly what they needed, and yet it could cost her time alone with Damien. Myka dug her emotional heels in as she tried to rationalize that the professor's actions against Helena were cause enough for her to throw protocol and caution to the wind.
"Dammit!" she yelled out loud when she couldn't find one valid argument to justify this other than her desires to pay him back.
"Myka, I'm okay," HG said pointing out what she knew was at the heart of Myka's angst. "Let's just get him," she added.
"Did you bring Claudia?" Myka asked.
"Yes," HG said, producing the spider.
"What does it stand for?" Claudia asked.
"Clandestine land, air uniform descending imperceptibly apparatus," HG explained.
"Cool," Claudia said of her namesake.
"I do think we need something with a little more speed though," HG said taking out a little box. Her fellow agents watched as she opened up a box that contained a bee.
"Won't it buzz?" Myka asked.
"Stealth mode," HG said pressing the program in her phone.
"Myka?" Claudia asked thinking she would surely name one of her creations after her.
"Indigenous reconnaissance entering neutrally, effectively," HG said.
It took her young protege a minute to say: "You named the bee Irene? Dude, that is so going to take points off your review!"
"It's a queen bee," HG said as if that made it any better.
Myka had the driver stop a few blocks away and formulated her plan. "If you can get her inside, we can watch on Claudia's laptop to size up the situation before we go in," Myka said.
Helena knew better than to utter the 'if?' that was on the tip of her tongue.
"And then we'll call for help?" Claudia asked.
"Maybe," Myka said resisting what she knew was the better plan.
When the house was within their sights, HG went to work on launching the insect into the house through a small opening. In the meantime, Claudia had found the floor plans for the residence and now they superimposed the bee's flight onto the schematics so they could tell where they were. Within minutes, Irene showed them what they wanted to see. From high above a perch on the doorway, the nanobot relayed the scene. Pete was in a chair next to Alex, both still secured, but awake.
"I'm really happy that we met up again," Pete was saying. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my friends. I love them like sisters. Well, I had a thing for Myka, but that was really early on. We woke in bed together once. Then I kissed HG and that was great, but she liked someone else. Sometimes it's just hard being surrounded by all of them, although I love them. I really do," Pete was sharing and Alex was hoping he would stop.
"Now what?" Ted asked Damien.
"We wait for his fellow agents to come. We grab the British one and hand her over to Jacques at ten," Damien said.
"And collect our money," Ted added.
"Did you give Jacques the wiring instructions for the account?" Damien asked.
"All set. He said as soon as he sees the agent who can build him the bots, he'll wire half. Then when she actually builds him one, we get the other half," Ted relayed.
"Perhaps we'll just take the one in my office, Ted," Damien said pointing out again how it had invaded his office undetected. It made him think – if one got in his office, there could be one in there now.
"Get your gun out, Ted and shoot anything that moves in this room," Damien ordered. "I'll prepare some truth serum for our friends," he said and placed the filled syringes on the desk.
"Pete, I will admit I got jealous when I saw your friend in your bed," Alex said while her captors talked. "Are you sure your friends will come?"
"Oh yeah, I sent a signal from my phone," Pete said and yelped.
"Agent Lattimer, of all the people I've used that drug on, you are by far the most entertaining," Damien said.
Just then the room reverberated with the sound of Ted's gun exploding. A large hole above the door indicated where he missed his target.
"I saw something," he said. "A bee or something!"
Just then the lights in the house went out. Within seconds they were back, and Ted was frantically searching to see if anyone was there.
"Hi Helena," Pete called out to the doorway and Ted swung around with his gun aimed. He was surprised when no one was there. The drug had worn off a while ago, but Pete kept talking as if it were – to keep up the facade. It was enough of a distraction to allow Helena to grab the large man, pulls his legs out from under him, and Kenpo him into a deep sleep. Damien grabbed his dart gun and aimed it at HG.
"We meet again, Agent Wells. Or should I say HG Wells," Damien laughed believing he was in control of the situation.
"Hey Myka, hey Claudia," Pete yelled out and Damien smiled to think he had all the help he needed in his captive.
"The one who is really upset with me I hear," Damien chuckled when he saw the agent come in with her hands up. The younger agent was alongside her.
"Don't hurt them you bastard," the dark haired agent yelled.
He kept the gun aimed at them. "Funny, I was expecting somebody larger," Damien shared surprised by the stature of the woman next to HG.
"Funny, so was I," Myka said from behind him.
Damien was surprised by the presence of someone behind him and turned quickly, only to be met by the agent who was about to exact her revenge.
"Who the hell are you?" Damien said, looking down at the funny looking gun.
"I am Agent Myka Bering," Myka said slowly, locking her eyes on him.
As soon as he flinched, Myka grabbed him and threw him down on the desk. He tried to aim the gun at her, but Myka pushed his arm up over his head as he lay there. She tried to grab it, but he shot over his head, aiming at the group of agents in the doorway. In slow motion Myka watched as the dart sped across the room aimed at HG. Claudia's voice rang out as she jumped in front of the target, knocking HG out of the way. The dart hit the young agent in the back and she fell to the floor. As the neuromuscular block seeped into her bloodstream, Claudia convulsed and then became motionless.
Helena got up and went to her, removing the dart and holding onto her.
"You sonovabitch," Pete yelled out. The policewoman who had posed as Myka came over to him and Alex and started to release them.
Myka grabbed the gun from Damien and pinned him on the desk. She glared down at him and aimed the tesla at him. Helena peered across the room to see Myka's expression – of fury. She saw the battle waging inside Myka's head as she wrestled with what she was supposed to do and what she wanted to do. Myka's frustration mounted as seconds passed and she knew her opportunity would be lost.
She picked Damien up off the desk by the lapels of his jacket and brought his face into hers.
"I could kill you, you bastard for hurting her," Myka growled at him.
"Oh, but you can't, Agent Bering. You're a federal agent and you can't touch me," Damien said. "I'll get my lawyer before you can get me to jail," he sneered.
If Damien thought stoking Myka's anger was a good thing, he was wrong. Myka smashed him onto the desk, trying to decide which gun to use on him. From across the room she heard the only sound that would give her pause.
"Myka?" Helena said and in that one word came the only thing that made Myka stop. She let go of his jacket and stood up.
"I am a tenured professor at Harvard, Agent Bering. You cannot touch me," Damien said dusting her touch off his lapels. "I believe all you can do is read me my rights."
And that's when Myka snapped.
The officer who had posed as Myka took out her handcuffs and cuffed him, reading him his Miranda rights.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" the officer said.
Pete watched Myka's eye dart back and forth. "Officer?" he called and the woman turned to him. "Could you help me with this?" Pete asked as he tried to get the tap off his leg.
The woman looked at Myka who assured her she would watch Damien. Other officers were coming in the front door now. Myka acted swiftly. She went over to Damien and pulled his jacket wide open. She grabbed the two syringes on the desk. Damien's eyes widened with fear as he realized Myka knew what she was doing.
"Anything you say…. can….. and will….. be used against you in a court of law…." Myka said softly as she brought both arms down swiftly into Damien's chest and pushed the needles into him, releasing the sodium pentothal. Damien could see his own expression of terror in the pools of green staring back at him.
Pete thanked the officer and apologized for the interruption. She returned to the suspect unaware of what had transpired.
"Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?" she asked the professor - who suddenly became very talkative.
"I do, I do want to tell you everything. We planned to sell these nanobot to Jacques Kenne for millions of dollars…..," Damien told the officer. The officer took him out of the room.
"And that one? She's HG Wells, the Father of Science Fiction," Damien said.
"We got a psych case here," the arresting officer said to the others. "We better take him for a psych evaluation."
"Are you okay?" HG said to Claudia who slowly started to regain her mobility.
"Yes, although I could use those other six legs right about now," Claudia said.
"Thank you, Claudia," HG said knowing she had literally taken the bullet for her.
"Sure, no problem," Claudia responded, dismissing any notion of her bravery.
"Mykes, you okay?" Pete asked of his partner.
Myka stood there, nerves of steel on the outside, rattled inside for thinking of what she could have done.
"Yeah, we're not done here," she said. She leaned down and lifted Ted's semiconscious body up to a kneeling position.
"Ted? You're about to shave a couple of years off your sentence," Myka said.
Then she purposely let go of his body allowing it to crash to the floor.
As always, thanks for reading along. Appreciate your time and postings.