Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
A/N Story picks up right after Transitions Too (AU)
4.3 AU Willful Wickedness
"…waiting…"
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Lester watched carefully as the youth gazed back at the red haired team leader. Danny was sitting in a padded black office chair in front of Lester's desk. Stephen sat beside him in a similar chair. The teenager tilted his head and stepped forward to get a closer look.
"You haven't aged a day," Danny continued "it's been over fifteen years."
Patrick looked at Danny curiously as if he didn't quite recognize the man. He stepped closer, looking into the man's eyes. Something Patrick saw there reassured him. His shoulders lowered, his tense posture relaxed. Danny rose to stand in front of the teenager.
"Danny… is it really you?" asked the dark haired youth. "What happened to you… you're old!"
"Forty is not old!"
Lester shook his head, and swallowed a chuckle, but Stephen had no such self-control. The muscular young man burst out laughing. Danny glared at Stephen, before turning his gaze back to Patrick. Danny grabbed Patrick in a great big hug.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
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Connor and Abby had retrieved the mini from the car park at the safe house for their errands this morning. After leaving the finance office, they stopped by the bank. Abby's new bank card was finally issued. The two stopped for lunch on their way in to work. Abby pulled the mini into the ARC's car park, just as Sarah and Percy were getting out of Sarah's battered car. Abby and Connor hurried to join their friends.
"Percy," exclaimed Connor in surprise "I thought you were going to the British Museum with Jamal to see about that job."
"Later," replied Percy.
Percy walked quickly towards the security check in, leaving Connor, Abby and Sarah standing behind.
"Last night's anomaly had more people than creatures," explained Sarah "I met Jamal and Percy for lunch… and mentioned some of their names, Percy thinks he might know one of the time travelers."
Abby, Connor and Sarah followed Percy to the security entrance. The former ARC public relations manager tapped his foot impatiently as the security guard reviewed his identification. The new security guard kept looking from Percy to the identification card and back again. Finally the guard spoke.
"Sir, there appears to be a problem with your papers."
"There's no problem with my papers," huffed Percy.
The young soldier smiled politely. He was trying his best with the impatient man standing before him.
"This ID is for a twenty-seven year old man named Percival Haversham-Smythe III," explained the security officer.
"That's my name," replied Percy.
"You don't really look like the person in the picture," replied the guard.
Although the guard didn't say anything about age, Abby, Connor and Sarah realized the issue immediately. The previous guard had known Percy from his time as an ARC employee. Today's guard had never seen Percy before. Percy was now in his forties. His hair was starting to gray at his temples, and his weathered face no longer matched the image on the identification card. That smooth faced young man had disappeared in time.
"We'll vouch for him," said Abby. "He really is Percival Haversham-Smythe III . The job, it's stressful… wears on a person."
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Jess gave a small frown. Inwardly, she berated herself for not catching this problem sooner. Caffeine really wasn't a substitute for a good night's sleep.
The error message on her computer shouldn't be there. Something was wrong.
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Abby led the way down the corridor to the break room. She pushed the door open and entered the room followed by Connor, Sarah and Percy. The people from the theater anomaly were settled in small groups. Becker's security staff were interspersed throughout the room, keeping order.
Percy walked past Abby and approached the small round table at the rear of the break room. A dark haired woman dressed in a purple coat stood near the table, with her back to the room, staring out the window.
"Emily," said Percy.
The woman turned to face him. Her smile bright and her gaze direct.
"Yes," she replied "but I'm afraid you have the advantage. I don't know your name. Who are you?"
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Lester listened as Danny and Stephen took turns asking Patrick about his travels through the anomalies. The boy told the same story he'd told Becker and Lester last night. The anomaly in the house had opened, he and his friend had been attacked by some sort of creature, they'd run… into another world. When the talk finally slowed, Lester spoke.
"Last night," said Lester "you told Becker you'd seen a woman named Helen."
Danny glanced at the tall soldier. Becker was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes half closed. Danny knew the ARCs chief of security had been up all night. He wondered for a moment if the man was sleeping while standing, but at the mention of Helen's name, Becker's eyes snapped open.
"Her majesties government considers her a threat," continued Lester "and we're interested in knowing her whereabouts. Anything you might tell us would be appreciated."
"She's crazy," replied Patrick.
"Yes, I think we all agree on that point," replied Lester. "And she's dangerous. Helen tried murdering her former husband. She blew up a government building..."
"Helen broke through my security system," said Becker in a low tone that sounded as if he took the woman's action as a personal affront, "using clones."
"Clones?" exclaimed Patrick in a surprised tone. "Well maybe that explains it. Maybe they were clones."
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Connor looked at his friend Percy in dismay. Percy had found Emily, but she wasn't Percy's Emily. Sarah and Abby exchanged a glance. Abby laid her hand on Percy's arm.
"Percy," suggested Abby "maybe we should go now."
"No, you go on," said Percy "I want to talk with Emily. I mean, that is if she'll allow me."
Percy looked at the dark haired Victorian lady questioningly. Emily nodded.
"I'll catch up with you later," said Percy.
Connor, Abby and Sarah left Percy talking with Emily. As they went through the break room door, Connor started talking to Sarah about his time travel theory again.
"I want to go over the details once more with Cutter," said Connor.
"Hmmm," replied Sarah "I haven't seen Cutter today."
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Jess traced the error message to its source. A sharp in drawn breath was the only sign of her dismay. Connor, Abby and Sarah were walking up the corridor from the break room.
"Connor," Jess called "would you give me a hand here? There's a bit of a problem…"
"What kind of problem?"
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Abby watched as Connor knelt beneath Jess's desk and started taking apart the equipment. He'd returned quickly from his lab with a small leather case containing a variety of tools. The pert field coordinator stood next to Connor in her short blue dress and impossibly high heels.
"Don't step on his ankle," reminded Abby.
Jess nodded and backed up a step. Meanwhile, Connor took the faceplate off of the central processing unit. Connor stared at the circuitry and wires as if he'd never seen them before. Jess looked worried.
"What's wrong Jess?" asked Abby.
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Lester tapped his pen on the notepad in front of him as Patrick tried to explain. The youth was standing with Danny directly in front of Lester's desk.
"That Helen," said Patrick "I saw her talking to herself…"
"Doesn't surprise me," interrupted Stephen as he leaned back in the black office chair. "She always did like her own words best."
Patrick shook his head. Danny reached a hand out and placed it on Stephen's shoulder, stilling the man. Becker continued to stand impassively by the door.
"No, you don't understand," said Patrick.
"Go on," urged Lester, "in your own words. There will be no more interruptions."
Lester's last words were said with a glare in Stephen's direction. Patrick swallowed and wiped his hands nervously on his trousers before continuing.
"There were three of them," said Patrick, "maybe they were clones."
As Lester, Danny, Stephen and Becker exchanged incredulous glances, Patrick continued with his story.
"The young Helen, pretty, long dark hair, green scarf, low cut blouse," Patrick grinned as he described her, "she rescued me from that horrible place, took me away from those… things."
The boy shuddered at the memory.
"I probably would have done anything," continued Patrick "that Helen asked me to do."
Lester nodded, encouraging the youth to continue.
"But the other two Helen's," said Patrick "they're scary."
"What do you mean?" asked Becker. "How were they scary?"
"The two older ones with short hair,"replied Patrick "one always dressed in a khaki coverall outfit, the other dressed in black and frowned. They argued... a lot."
"Could you hear what they were arguing about?" asked Lester.
"Mostly they argued about a guy named Nick," answered Patrick shaking his head, "but other times… they talked about death, destruction, the end of the world… you name it."
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Connor reached a long handled narrow tool into the depths of the machine. The monitor on Jess's workstation blinked, darkening the entire screen for a moment, then came back on.
"It shouldn't do that," mumbled Connor. He reached for another tool.
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Jess glanced at the monitor again. Text was now scrolling down the screen, repeating the message for row upon row.
"System Warning 3.01.24," said Jess. "Should we be getting an error message like that Connor?"
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Abby watched Connor. He seemed oblivious to Jess and her question. He grunted a little bit as he twisted something inside the ADD.
"Connor," Abby said "whatcha doing?"
"Built this machine meself," grumbled Connor as he reached further into the casing, "but I didn't put this here."
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Lester felt the vibration of his cell phone in his suit pocket, but didn't answer it. He continued to listen to Patrick's debriefing.
"The clones we've seen," said Becker "were all exact physical replicates of a person... at one moment in time. What you're describing sounds more like you've seen Helen at three different stages of her life."
"Is that even possible?" asked Patrick.
Danny, Lester and Becker glanced at the young Stephen, but no one answered Patrick's question just then. Instead, Becker asked for more information.
"How did you get away from Helen?" asked Becker.
The soldier was gazing at the youth a little suspiciously. Patrick sighed.
"I didn't," Patrick replied "the three Helen's just left me… I don't think I'd have lasted a day on my own if Emily and Charlotte hadn't found me."
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Connor grunted again.
"And this thing," said Connor indignantly, "doesn't… belong… here."
He pulled the offending piece of tech off. Small sparks flew. Connor scrambled quickly back, hitting his head hard on leg of the workstation.
"Ow!"
The clanging sound of the anomaly detector rang through the building. Connor held up a shiny metallic object.
"This silenced the alarm," said Connor. "Who put it on the anomaly detector?"
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Jess was at her keyboard in an instant. She quickly typed in commands, pulling up CCTV scans on her monitors.
"It had to have been Philip," Jess muttered beneath her breath "everything was working when I left last night."
Connor rose to stand beside her and peer over her shoulder. Abby and Sarah approached the workstation looking at the monitor in concern. The door to Lester's office opened. Becker, followed by Lester, Danny, Stephen and Patrick joined them at Jess's workstation.
"Another anomaly alert," asked Becker "where is it at?"
"The system has been offline all morning," said Connor. "The anomaly opened hours ago!"
"What?" exclaimed Lester. "Where is it?"
"I'm bringing up the coordinates now," replied Jess.
Lester cell phone vibrated again. He pulled the device from his pocket and answered.
"Vivian," he said. Lester listened, his eyes opened wide. "No! You can't go in there!"
"The anomaly is at 235 Georges Avenue," said Jess.
Everyone turned from looking at the monitors to stare at Lester. He closed the silent cell phone and gazed at the group before him. Lester's caught Becker's eyes.
"That other security situation I mentioned," said Lester "I thought we had some time to prepare, but it appears I was mistaken. The address, 235 Georges Avenue, is the Cutter's home."
The alarm continued to blare. Everyone seemed frozen in place, staring at Lester.
"What are we waiting for?" asked Lester.
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Abby and Sarah followed Becker and Stephen up the sidewalk towards the Cutter's home. Lester was the last one out of the vehicle. The ARC's director had come when he insisted that Danny and Connor stay behind.
"People with injuries," said Lester "are not going out on field expeditions while I'm in charge."
Danny had been ordered to remain with Patrick and sit with the translators debriefing the persons from the theater anomaly. Connor and Jess were going over every piece of the ARC's equipment. The second SUV with Becker's security men pulled up and parked right behind the first as the little group approached the wide open front door of the Cutter's cozy home. As Becker entered, he heard a raised voice coming from the living room. The brogue was unmistakable.
"I've got to go through," Cutter shouted "don't you understand? I've got to go find Claudia and Stephanie."
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Lester strode quickly past Abby, Sarah, Stephen and Becker to the living room. Cutter was struggling, trying to free himself from Vivian's grip. The glowing anomaly was pulsing erratically on the other side of the room. Lester knelt down beside his wife and the Professor. Cutter's frantic gaze shifted from Vivian to James Lester.
"I've got to go," Cutter repeated, his voice a hoarse pleading whisper now, "don't you understand? I've got to go find Claudia and Stephanie."
"He was unconscious when I got here," said Vivian "and the anomaly is getting ready to close…"
As if it heard her, the shimmering light pulsed once more. Lester reached his hand out and clasped the Scot on his shoulder. Lester shook Cutter. The professor turned his eyes from the anomaly and looked at Lester.
"Cutter," asked Lester "can you tell us what happened here?"
"I was getting ready for work," began Cutter. "Helen…"
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The air had splintered, shimmered and shattered. Helen came through the anomaly. She shouted and pointed an unusual weapon. She shot, as she had done… so many times before. A bright blue light erupted from the weapon. The streak of blue crossed the room and struck the thick paleontology book Nick was carrying. The light passed through the book, emerging a paler shade of blue. The pale blue light hit Nick on his chest. Nick fell stunned, unable to move, but still conscious. Before Helen could shoot her weapon again, the nasty woman in khaki met unexpected resistance. The umbrella from the hall tree became a weapon.
Claudia wielded the umbrella to defend herself… her husband… her daughter… her world. For a moment, it looked as if Claudia would defeat Helen, but the hate filled woman was tricky.
Helen dodged, crossing the room. She grabbed a heavy ornate vase and bashed Claudia's head. The impact dropped Claudia on the floor near her husband. Helen smirked. She sauntered back towards the open anomaly at the far end of the living room. Helen stopped before she reached it and looked down into the bassinet at the sleeping baby.
"Awww," said Helen.
She looked at Claudia, groaning and struggling to get up from the floor.
"Tell you what," said Helen "we'll trade. You can keep my husband, and I'll keep your baby."
Helen reached into the bassinet and picked up the little girl.
"Of course I never said you could keep Nick… alive," continued Helen with a nasty twist of her lips that might have been meant to be a smile.
Helen raised her weapon at Nick once more. Claudia dove towards her husband. The umbrella opened. Metal stretcher rods deflected most of the blue light, splintering it into narrower shafts of light striking objects in the room. A blast mark appeared on the ceiling, the glass on a picture shattered, a lamp broke. The remainder of the blue light was reduced to tiny shafts of light blue, striking pain into Cutter as the weapon found its target.
The nasty woman in khaki stepped through the anomaly without a second glance. If she had taken a second glance… maybe Helen would have put little Stephanie back in her bassinet and started running as fast as she could... or maybe not.
Nick's eyes fluttered. He felt Claudia's fingers checking his pulse, a quick kiss on his lips. He heard a whispered promise.
"I'm going to get Stephanie back Nick!"
Nick opened his eyes in time to see Claudia run through the anomaly. He tried to push himself up off the floor, but the room went spinning… and everything went black.
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Cutter rose to stand, followed by Lester and his wife. Behind them, the air crackled, the anomaly shimmered, pulsing frantically. Cutter shoved past Lester and Vivian.
"I've got to find Claudia and Stephanie," cried Cutter.
The Scot dove through the anomaly as it flickered once more and closed, leaving his friends in London behind.
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