Chapter 12

Disclaimer: unless noted otherwise, all characters belong to Impossible Pictures™.

Outside, Lester noticed absent-mindedly, it was beginning to rain. It was more discomfiting to Rex than to him, since he actually was warm-blooded and could endure this sort of low temperature better than Rex.

(Incidentally, it should have snowed at this time of the year. But whether the global warming was at fault or some other cause, there was little to no snow this year, and when it fell, it was usually freezing rain or something similar instead.)

"So," Lester said as Caroline started her van, "how's work at the ARC? More importantly, how are you able to stay out of everyone's way?"

"Me and Ms. Wickers quickly came to an understanding," Caroline shrugged. "We had just enough in common to decide that I didn't need too much attention from the others, and things went on from there. Anything else?"

"Why am I going to your place?" Lester said calmly, "and why are you taking Rex with us?"

"Now those, sir, are the right sort of questions," Caroline said with much more respect than before. "However, trust me, they will be answered at my place."

Lester thought about it. "Very well, I agree – not only because the two of us never been really at odds before, but also because I need something like this – simply to convince myself that I'm not a figurehead that I could be."

"Pardon?" Caroline raised her eyebrow. "Are you having a midlife crisis?"

"I've been talking to a flying lizard when you came," Lester confessed. "I just may be. I know you probably liked Maitland the least out of all of us, but she's dead, can you believe it?"

"No," Caroline replied, "I honestly cannot."

"Oh," Lester replied and fell silent for the rest of the ride.

\\\

The rain did not abate for the rest of the ride, but Caroline's van, though not very fashionable nor sportive nor expansive-looking, was very resilient, enduring and weatherproof: despite the bad weather, they arrived at her place very quickly.

"So, what or who is I supposed to meet?" Lester started to inquire again, as the young woman and he came upstairs with Rex. "Not Oliver Leek, hopefully?"

"No!" Caroline said passionately. "Oliver Leek, I and mine were told, is dead and is probably in Hell. He's done and gone, Hallelujah!"

"Good!" Lester said as he opened the door – and came almost face to face with Abby Maitland and Helen Cutter. "Oh dear."

\\\

A tense, uncomfortable silence would have fallowed, if Caroline did not release Rex at that moment. Immediately, the winged reptile flew across the room, landed upon Abby and began to almost kiss her, or to do something similar anyways.

"Rex!" Abby half-laughed half-wept from joy. "You're alive! April didn't hurt you!"

Rex cocked his head askance, took a better look at Abby's new facial decoration and began to chirp something reassuring and encouraging to her.

"Helen," Lester switched his attention to the older woman. "Quinn, before he left, swore that you were dead."

"I was," Helen nodded matter-of-factly. "But when Temple and Burton launched the good ship 'New Dawn' that particular moment in time got erased, permanently. Believe me when I say that you do not want to return to life that way at all. But on the plus side, my sanity got restored for good."

"Glad to hear that," Lester nodded evenly before he crossed the room, grabbed Helen by the collar and yelled into her face. "Why did you have to kill Johnson, Cutter? Why couldn't you just give her a beating? After you helped me get back the control of ARC I could've gotten you acquitted!"

"I wasn't interesting in anything like that back then," Helen shook her head ignoring the fact that the civil servant was almost pulling her off her feet into midair. "And still don't. What I am interested at the moment is fixing the mess that April Leonard had done."

"Speaking of messes," Caroline spoke up suddenly, "how are you feeling, Abigail? No nausea or anything?"

"Well, actually, yes. Some, regarding him," Abby pointed to the civil servant. "And no, Mr. Lester, that is April's fault: when we were fighting and before she flung me away, she zapped me with something, and now whenever I – usually – think of the ARC or the rest of the guys, I get sick, seriously though."

"Tell us," Caroline spoke, before Lester could. "Did you see April possess a medallion seemingly made out of obsidian glass or something similar?"

"Yes, yes she does," Lester said thoughtfully. "It was among the things that she had on her, when she was brought to our medical wing. She claimed that you were dead, and that she killed you. She was not happy about it, though, not at all."

"Good!" Abby exclaimed. "What of the others?"

"They're trying to bond with her," Lester confessed. "I admit that we have to – without her, Prospero™ is gone, and with Prospero™, the ARC is in trouble – the minister is on the warpath... unless you can find some way to blame Johnson for it?" he turned to Helen, partially sarcastic.

"Johnson had stolen that device alongside the Artefact and a number of others in the future, from its rightful owner. Once I took care of her, Burton and Leonard appropriated them instead and used some of them, at least, to jumpstart Burton's company," Helen replied evenly. "Unfortunately, their rightful owner is a – character that made me look social and humane on my worst days, and if we don't contact Leonard soon, she and whoever she's with, will be in a lot of trouble, trouble that makes her face look like nothing too terrible," she pointed to Abby.

Lester's face narrowed in thought. "Even if you are telling the truth, this is still near impossible," he confessed. "Parker took them out to see some Christmas-time movie, and I have no idea where they went."

"I think I know which one," Abby said quietly. "I can give directions and maybe we can catch them there. I may have to sit this one out, though, at least until we get April's half of the pair." She showed Lester her own obsidian circle. "Then, maybe, things will start to get resolved."

"Sounds like a plan," Lester said thoughtfully. "Let's go." As the others looked at him, he shrugged. "Well, I just don't want to sit this one out, you know?"

"Fair enough," Abby replied, and they left, Abby still holding Rex.

End chapter 12