My shortest one yet - but just wanted to get a couple of things out of the way.
Next one longer -

Love how you tolerate my conspicuous pandering for feedback. You guys are the best.


Knock- Knock

"What is his name?" Eileen asked again.

"Who?" Jack asked holding the ice on his lump.

"What did you say the doorman's name was?" she asked this time closer to him.

"Tommy Lopez," Jack answered. This was one weird group of people, he thought.

Eileen seethed to think that the same guy who she had many sleepless nights over was the one who gave up information about Myka's comings and goings. She might just have a talk with him.

"Look, with all due respect to …whoever the hell you are, you are interfering with a government situation and you don't know what you're up against. You don't know the type of people you're dealing with, OK? " Jack said one more time.

"Nor do they, Agent Gore," Mrs. Frederic said politely. "Now, who exactly is in charge of this group?"

"Ha! You think I can give up names? You're holding a taser on me. If you don't start cooperating, I'm going to have to take care of things …..," he started to say and heard Pete firing up the Tesla. In the hands of an inexperienced shooter, it could cause a lot of bodily damage.

Jack didn't realize it yet, but his biggest threat was across the hallway. And she was going to sting a lot more than the Tesla could.


"So I'm going to have to process this," Myka said smiling at Helena. She put her hands out and ran them down Helena's arms. "Do you …. feel okay?" Myka started to process Helena's health first. She was still staring at Helena.

Helena had to smile at her question. "Do you mean do I feel my age?" she laughed.

"Sorry," Myka said sorry she called attention to that.

"Myka, the process was called 'bronzing' and it stopped any aging, so I feel the age I look," Helena explained.

"I'm sorry about Christina, Helena. I can't imagine…," Myka said and her voice cracked. Helena put her finger on Myka's quivering lip.

"Myka, there will be time for me to tell you everything. For now, let's figure out what we are dealing with in your neighbor and my former employer," Helena said.

"God- Jack! He seemed so nice and all those times he was just checking to see if you were going to tell me?" Myka said and it reminded Helena they were not alone in the house.

"Ah yes, Agent Gore. Nice shot, by the way," Helena said moving into Myka. Myka breathed in the smell of Helena's perfume. God she was intoxicating even when she wasn't trying to be.

"Oh Helena, you don't think he'll arrest me, do you? I was just being protective," Myka worried.

"Protective indeed," Helena smiled. She liked that quality in Myka "Let me go make sure Agent Gore takes the correct message back to his superiors." She leaned up and kissed Myka's pouting lip. "Do not worry, Myka. I will take care of this."

Helena moved so quickly out of the room, that it took Myka a minute to recover from the gently peck and follow.


"I think it would prove very beneficial, Agent Gore, if I could meet with your superior," Mrs. Frederic was saying.

"Let me see if I got this straight. Our boss, who suddenly believes she's HG Wells, was working with the Secret Service before starting up this company …..and no one's bells are going off? I mean, what are we supposed to do – drink the Kool Aid?" Claudia was asking.

"I don't know – I'm the new guy, remember?" Steve was saying.

"Uh oh," Claudia said catching the moving dot on her screen indicating her boss was approaching at rapid speed.

The door to the library flew open and Helena stood there, looking for her target. She marched past her staff to Jack who stood up, in spite of the Tesla being aimed at him.

"You can put that down, Mr. Lattimer, we won't be needing it," Helena said wishing Jack would make a move.

"Ms. Wells, I think we need to clean this up before …..." Jack said but Helena had pulled him by his lapels down to her size and kneed him.

"Oh man, ouch!" Pete cried out in sympathy as the agent feel down and grimaced.

"That, Agent Gore, was for following, speaking to. and trying to extract information from Ms. Bering," Helena said standing over him. She was not done.

Mrs. Frederic understood that her designer clad boss was also a trained agent, but her display of martial arts wasn't the best given the audience.

"I believe Ms. Wells would like a moment alone with Agent Gore," Irene said as she gathered Eileen and Claudia in her outstretched arms and ushered them out.

"Don't let her hurt him," the older woman said to Steve.


Even Pete was worried now. "Boss, let me …," he started and Helena turned to stare at him.

"Whatever that expression is, Pete, she really means it," Steve whispered to his friend.

Helena was like a woman possessed and what possessed her at the moment was the thought that this man at her feet had toyed with Myka.

"Agent Wells," Jack warned as he got up slowly. "You don't understand. I came…cough….cough ….. to help."

Helena reached out for him and he was surprised at her strength. She grabbed his arm behind him and slipped her leg around his to pull him to a kneeling position.

"Do I look like I need your help?" she growled at him.

Pete decided then and there he was never asking for a raise.


"Mrs. Frederic, where is Helena?" Myka asked running into the women in the front hall.

"Beating the crap out of Agent Blue Eyes in there," Claudia said and Myka pushed past them.


"Helena?" Myka asked from the doorway wide-eyed at the sight of Helena holding the man in place.

"Agent Gore would like to apologize to you for using you in his agency's harebrained scheme," Helena said and pushed Jack to do so.

"I'm sorry, Myka. I was just doing my job," Jack said. "Please Myka, talk some sense into her. I am here to help," he pleaded.

Myka moved closer to where Helena had the man on his knees. He was several inches taller than Helena, and yet, there he was apparently under her control. Was Myka getting turned on by that?

Reason prevailed, as it often did with Myka, and she considered all the facts. Right now, she knew if Jack was a federal agent as he claimed, holding him could be an issue.

"Helena, let's let Agent Gore sit back down while we decide on the best course of action," Myka said in a calm tone.

Jack felt Helena loosen her grip on him as soon as Myka spoke. He looked at the woman who had garnered his affections. Oh how he wished she understood he was doing this for her. He didn't really know nor cared for Helena. She was an assignment, but Myka had captured his interest from the start. He had hoped that she would have stayed in Colorado Springs when she left. When she returned, his bosses turned up the heat to find out anything he could from her. He was a good agent and always got his man, so to speak. In this case, he was hoping to get the woman – but it appeared to him as he watched her talk to Helena, that his suspicions from the start were true - she was already taken.

"Helena," came Mrs. Frederic's voice from the doorway and this one came with a more warning tone.

"Now you're in trouble," Pete let out because it sounded so parental.

The sound of several car doors slamming outside could be heard.

"They said you'd rather do things the hard way, Agent Wells," Jack said hearing the arrival of his superiors. "Myka, I tried to help her," he added – in case they took Helena away and Myka needed consoling. In fact, he was counting on it. His bosses said he could have one shot at this and if they didn't hear back from here within hours, they would take matters into their own hands.

Now they were doing just that.


This is all in an attempt to parse out Helena's past.