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Chapter 10: Fault Line

Connor hesitated and shook his head. "No thanks, I'm on a roll with the research and I'd hate to lose the great pace that I've got going."

"Right, 72 hours of straight researching without sleep."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead, Jenny." Connor snapped.

"Careful what you wish for, Connor."

"Jenny! Jenny! Snap out of it!" Danny called as he shook Jenny.

"Oh my God!" Jenny cried. "She's got him! Helen's taken Connor!"

Danny put his hands on either side of Jenny's face to try and focus her attention on him and not the events that had just taken place.

"Jenn, listen to me. We need to help this guy out, first; and then, we're gonna go and find Connor, okay?"

"You don't understand, Danny!" Jenny cried, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Tell me, so I understand, Jenn." Danny begged as he tried to comfort her in his arms.

"He's supposed to be dead. Helen's killed him. Nick saw it happen." Jenny muttered into Danny's shoulder.

Danny looked over at Stephen, who lay unconscious on the bathroom floor.

"Jenny, come sit down on the couch and try to calm down. I need to make a phone call." Danny said as he led Jenny toward the couch.

Connor half expected to be thrown to the ground; but instead, he was restrained by the cleaners and reluctantly escorted down a corridor and through another anomaly.

Once they were through the second anomaly, they ended up in what Connor could only guess was an abandoned building.

"Hello, Connor." Helen greeted as she stepped out from the shadows.

"Let go of me, cos I'm gonna kill her!" Connor shouted at the Cleaners as he struggled against them.

"I thought we've been through this already, Connor, they only listen to me." Helen laughed.

"You've ruined my life, isn't that enough for you?" Connor asked angrily.

"I made you an offer, Connor. You refused. Surely, you've learned by now that I make offers that should never be refused." Helen replied smiling.

Connor started laughing.

"I didn't realize that I was being funny." Helen stated.

"That's just it. The joke's on you, because I didn't build anything for you to steal, so therefore, your little…doo-dad there will start fading away pretty soon since your kidnapping me prevented any discovery!" Connor explained.

"Come now, Connor, this isn't some science-fiction film off your shelf. There are alternate realities and no way of you to stop me. However, we need to be getting off to the future, so you can help me solve the problem of how to fix it." Helen countered.

"Tell me something, Helen. How did you know where I'd be?" Connor asked.

"Oh, I didn't; but given my resources, I was willing to kidnap anyone if it meant that you would come looking and eventually have to give into my request for the future." Helen answered turning around to face Connor.

"And Jenny?"

"My calling card, just some trick I picked up in the future. It only happens if someone's past is being tampered with; but can be stopped, if I choose. All in all, I think it was a fair trade. You for Stephen." Helen replied as she walked down the hall.

"Stephen?" Connor muttered.

Abby ran through the corridors of the ARC and up the ramp that led to Lester's office where everyone was waiting for her.

"What's happened?" She asked alarmed.

Everyone was silent. Abby looked around and noticed that Connor wasn't present.

"Where's Connor?" She asked confused.

"Abby, I think you should be prepared for what's happened and what may come." Sarah said stepping forward.

"An anomaly opened in my flat and Connor was kidnapped." Danny explained flatly, staring at the floor.

"What? How could this happen?" Abby asked in disbelief.

"It doesn't stop there." Jenny added, now completely composed.

"What do you mean?"

"It appears that we have an unexpected guest, compliments of our mutual friend." Lester elaborated as he stepped into his office.

"Who?" Abby asked racking her brain trying to figure out who Lester could be talking about.

"Well go see for yourself, they're in the medical bay." Lester replied gesturing to the door.

Abby rushed toward the medical bay with the rest of the team close behind her.

"Abby, I really think that this isn't a good idea, considering what has just happened." Sarah said as she caught up to Abby, whose hand was already on the door to the medical bay.

Abby opened the door and walked in looking for someone, who was out of place.

She noticed him lying unconscious on one of the beds.

"Stephen." Abby mumbled as she fainted.

"What did you mean when you said that you traded Stephen for me? Stephen's dead. I watched them bury him. I was at that funeral two years ago." Connor noted as the Cleaners continued to restrain him as they followed Helen.

"The body that was buried where Stephen's name resides was merely one of my Cleaners." Helen replied.

"Come Again?" Connor asked confused.

"Stephen did die; and I went to visit the grave. I made him a promise." Helen began.

"What sort of promise could you possibly make to a dead man?" Connor asked angrily.

"Things can change, in more ways than you'll know." Helen answered smiling.

"Shortly after our escapade in the tunnels, after I killed Christine Johnson and her men, I noticed that the future still wasn't completely changed. So,—"

"So you decided to go and ruin it a little more, right?"

"I happened to overhear your little spat with Abby and how she compared you to Stephen. So, I decided to do some community service. I opened an anomaly right at the moment where Stephen was to be devoured by the creatures and ordered one of my men to pull him out and take his place.

After he was safely out of the room, I had the anomaly closed. Then, I sent out my calling card to get your attention. You came to help Jenny, and as you were pulled through the anomaly, a recovering Stephen was thrown through and the anomaly closed. And well, here you are." Helen laughed.

"Ya know Helen, after all of the creatures we've faced, you're still the biggest monster of all." Connor chuckled.

One of the Cleaners punched Connor in the stomach. Connor grunted in pain as he fell forward gasping for air.

"You see Connor, one day, when you're once again the leader of the ARC team; you're going to make a brilliant discovery that will forever change man's destiny. Now, I have a proposition for you. You can either stay there, bleeding to death on the ground as the creatures get closer to devour you, or you can come with me."

"There's also one more gigantic flaw with your plan for kidnapping me." Connor laughed.

"And what's that?" Helen asked crossing her arms.

"I'm not leader of the ARC team." Connor smirked.

"A minor detail. This is more of a side trip really." Helen explained as she opened an anomaly.

"What?" Connor asked, completely baffled by this point.

"I'm going to show you what it is that you're going to build and then return you to your precious ARC team to finish the job." Helen smirked as she led them through the anomaly to the future.

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