...And the Possibilities
Episode 04: ...And the Staff of Merlin
by angellwings
Act 03: The Heist
"You distract," Ezekiel reminded Eve as they stepped through the Door. "I grab."
She nodded just before Ezekiel disappeared from view. He hid way too well for her comfort. There weren't even that many shadows around for him to hide in. Her instinct was to keep an eye on him at all times, and this situation made her realize Ezekiel Jones let her keep an eye on him. He had the ability to slip out of her sight at any moment and yet more often than not he chose to stay visible. The question was: did he do it out of respect for her or for his own entertainment? That was a mystery she would most likely never solve.
Eve marched up to the Curator's desk, which appeared to be more of a counter peering out of the special collections room. There was no way for her to get passed the Curator and into the room or for the Curator to leave the room without using the door on the wall to her right. It prevented someone from breezing through the room and snatching priceless items which worked to keep casual pickpockets at bay but would do nothing to deter a professional like Jones. The Curator looked up at her expectantly and she flashed her NATO badge at him with the confidence she'd earned over years of searching for dangerous people and weapons.
"Colonel Eve Baird, NATO Counter Terrorism Unit," she said briskly. "I need to ask you a few questions."
The older balding man lifted his chin and settled a critical gaze on her. "Bernard Thatch, White House Curator." His voice sounded monotone and he looked very bored by her presence. Okay, so he was unflappable. That could work for her or against her. "How may I help you, Colonel?"
"Have you had any suspicious visitors recently?" Eve asked with a stern expression. Stern typically worked on unflappable people in her experience. It was intimidating yet disinterested. It implied she knew something he didn't yet didn't reveal what it could be.
"You mean like a freakishly tall NATO Colonel?" He asked with a ghost of a grin.
She made a mental note never to introduce Mr. Thatch to Jenkins. She had a feeling she'd end up punching one of them if they were ever in the same room together. "No, and you haven't answered my question."
The door to the room barely moved but Eve spotted a brief shadow behind Mr. Thatch just moments after. Ezekiel was in.
"Well," Mr. Thatch said with a snobbish sniff. "That depends on your definition of suspicious, I suppose."
"Out of the ordinary," she clarified with an exasperated sigh.
"No," he said with a huff. "No visitors out of the ordinary. Are we quite through?"
Over his shoulder Ezekiel appeared. She tried not to pay him obvious attention. He gave her a confused shrug of the shoulders and motioned to the room that surrounded him. There were too many artifacts. He didn't know what to look for or where to find it.
"No," Eve answered Mr. Thatch gruffly. "Fine, no out of the ordinary visitors. What about items? Did you receive anything odd in the last couple of days?"
He chuckled dryly. "Aside from an old ugly stick in a protective titanium case that was a rather horrifying gift from the French? No, nothing."
Ezekiel nodded once he heard the description and disappeared again. The man huffed again and suddenly dropped a thick plastic binder onto the counter in front of her. It made a loud thud and she jumped in surprise as her attention was pulled back to the curator.
"There," he said archly. "Look for yourself. That is the log of every item I have received in the past year. I have no time to assist you. I have the spoils of last months China Summit to catalogue."
Just as he started to turn away from her the door to the room swayed slightly and Eve let out a tense breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Ezekiel was out.
"You do realize," The Curator said as he walked toward a shelf in the back of the room and inspected a few items. "That every person and item in this building has been thoroughly searched by the Secret Service, don't you? I believe they would catch anything dangerous before it came this far."
He turned with a conceited grin to gloat over the Colonel. However, she was nowhere to be found. He sighed tiredly and shook his head.
"Why do I even bother speaking to Americans?" He asked the empty room.
"You sure that's it?" Eve asked as Ezekiel carefully carried the long titanium case.
He nodded. "I opened it before I snatched it. It's the same staff from the picture in Cassandra's book."
Eve gave him a small grin as they neared the Door. "Well, that went better than expected then."
Ezekiel froze and then sighed in defeat. He motioned to the Door ahead of her. "You jinxed us."
She followed his gaze and nearly groaned in frustration at the sight of a tall muscular dark skinned man standing in front of the door. Her eyes immediately traveled to his forearm and, as predicted, spotted the tell-tale snake tattoo. The man's body language and stance told her he was well trained. Probably ex-military from some country or another. She could tell he wasn't American. American Military had a completely different stance. Bottom line, though, he was Serpent Brotherhood and he was blocking their path to the Door.
"Do not let go of that staff," Eve told Ezekiel with a resigned sigh. "Same as before. I distract, you get the Staff out of here. Clear?"
"I can't leave you to fight this guy alone—"
"Jones," she said through her teeth. "Do as your told. For once." Eve turned to glared at the man in front of her and rested her hand on her gun. "You're new," she told him with a quirked brow.
"And you must be The Guardian," the man said with a grin.
"What gave me away?" She asked with a smirk. "The gun or the Thief?"
He ignored her question and aimed his own gun at Ezekiel. Eve chuckled in response which earned her a startled look from Ezekiel. It's not often the sight of a gun caused a chuckle.
"Lamia never needed a gun," Eve said as she removed her hand from her gun and crossed her arms over her chest. "Blades were more her style. Should that tell me something about your hand-to-hand combat skills?"
"The lack of a gun didn't turn out so well for her in the end, did it?" the man asked with a roll of his eyes.
"I think her end had less to do with the lack of a gun and more to do with Dulaque stabbing her," Ezekiel said dryly. "But what do I know? It's not like I was there or anything."
"Hand over the staff," he said with a sneer. "Do that and maybe I'll let you live."
"Highly unlikely," Eve said with a scoff.
"Yes, I agree. It's highly unlikely that I'll let you live," the man responded with a dark smirk.
Eve chuckled at him again and motioned to the gun in his hand. "No silencer on the gun," she told him. "One shot and the Secret Service will come barreling down on us. Sort of bad form for a mercenary to get caught, isn't it?"
The man didn't move or speak. His lack of a retort was telling enough. He hadn't thought of that.
"Since we both know you can't risk that, why don't you put away the gun and fight me for it," Eve told him.
"What?" He asked with a furrowed brow.
She gave him a challenging look and smiled as she rolled up her sleeves. "I said, fight me. Do I need to say it again?"
As the man stared at her and considered his options, Eve back her and Ezekiel up several feet. She took a fighting stance in front of the young thief and motioned the mercenary forward. She gave Ezekiel a brief meaningful look. If she lured the henchman away from the door then Ezekiel would immediately make a break for it. Ezekiel huffed at her but gave her a subtle nod in response. He didn't like it, but he'd do it.
As predicted the man took several steps forward and Ezekiel ran to the door. He pulled the door open and burst through as the henchman attempted to reach for him. Out of the corner of his eye Ezekiel saw Eve land a kick to the man's face and winced. Ouch.
He skidded to a stop inside the door and then blinked at the sight that greeted him. "You've got to be kidding me."
Standing on the other end of the room, with a sword pointed at Jenkins's throat, was Dulaque. Both Cassandra and Jake stood several feet away with their hands held out in front of them to indicate that weren't planning on making any sudden moves.
"When this is over I need to have a serious look at the security for this place," Ezekiel said as he glared at Dulaque. "How do you keep getting in here?"
"I knew I could count on The Librarians to do all the hard work for me. Hand it over," Dulaque said as he held out one hand for the Staff. "The Grail may lengthen his life, thief, but Galeas does still bleed." As if to prove his statement Dulaque added more pressure to the blade. Cassandra gasped and shut her eyes tightly.
Dulaque gave her an apologetic look. "Do forgive me, Lady Vivien."
Cassandra opened her eyes and glared at him. "Okay, for the fifth time. I am not Vivien."
Dulaque chuckled at her. "We'll see. Mr. Jones, the staff?"
"Do not hand that over to him," Jenkins said angrily. "Under no circumstances should the Serpent Brotherhood be allowed to have that staff." Jenkins gave Ezekiel an impatient look as the blade pressed closer into his throat. "No circumstances."
"So heroic," Dulaque said with a chuckle. "It's all glory and martyrdom with you, isn't it? What is the point of glory without power, Jenkins? I couldn't use the Loom to bring back the Camelot we knew but with that staff I can create my own Camelot. A greater and more powerful Camelot with the magic of the world in my control. It's nearly perfect."
Jake took a step forward and Dulaque made a shallow cut across Jenkins's throat. It wasn't serious but it was a warning. A precursor to something much worse.
"Mr. Stone, I would stay put if I were you. You wouldn't want my hand to slip, would you?" Dulaque asked with a grin. "Now," he said with a tired sigh as he focused his glare on Ezekiel. "The Staff, please. I am getting impatient."
Ezekiel glanced over to Stone and Cassandra for an answer on what to do.
"If he gets that staff, Mr. Jones, we're all dead anyway," Jenkins pleaded once more with a huff.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Dulaque asked him with a sigh.
Jake shook his head and gave Ezekiel a resigned look. They had no choice. It was Jenkins or the Staff and none of them could make the decision to kill Jenkins. Suddenly, Cassandra went rigid and then collapsed. Jake looked alarmed but caught her easily.
"Cassie?" He asked as he tried to shake her gently. "Cassie?" She didn't answer or stir and Jake's brow furrowed with worry. "Cassandra? Sweetheart?"
Ezekiel's eyebrows flew upward at the endearment. Sweetheart?
In a flash of white Cassandra was up on her feet again. Everyone in the room jumped in surprise. A glow of white blinding light filled her eyes and surrounded her like a backlight. Jake and Ezekiel gave each other knowing looks. They'd seen this before. In Lima. Just like the last time Cassandra's body began to levitate off the ground until she hung in the air in the center of the room with her red waves billowing around her.
Dulaque looked frightened by the sight but not surprised. He threw the sword aside and bowed immediately. "My Lady."
Jenkins picked up the sword Dulaque dropped and swiftly moved away from him. Jake and Jenkins crossed the room to Ezekiel and the Staff. Once they were grouped together Jake glared at Jenkins.
"I thought you said this couldn't happen," He said through a tense jaw.
"I said I thought it couldn't happen. Vivien is raw magic. With raw magic anything is possible," Jenkins said as he watched Cassandra's floating figure in concern.
"Leave this place," Vivien said as she glared sternly at Dulaque through Cassandra's eyes. "Leave this place or I will send you away. And when I send people away they do not end up somewhere pleasant. I am sure you remember, Lancelot."
"But I could bring back the Shining City. I could bring about a great revival of—"
"Have you not caused enough trouble for one lifetime?" Vivien asked. "Was it not enough that you aided the fall of Camelot in the first place? Do not waste your life attempting to relive days that can never be again. Camelot was destroyed and can never be as it was again. What you want is not Camelot. You want to rule with the weight and might of magic behind you. You have all the makings of a tyrant and I cannot allow this to happen. You had so much potential to do good deeds but you squandered that. You may be able to live forever but you cannot turn back the hands of Fate. I believe you learned that the hard way. Did you not?"
The Back Door burst open and Eve came stumbling through with her hair wild and her body bruised but not beaten. She immediately spotted Cassandra floating in the middle of the room and squinted at the light. "What the hell?"
"If you leave now I will be merciful," Vivien said in a commanding tone as she motioned to the door. "You will not be allowed to return here."
Dulaque stood, frozen, staring up at Vivien.
"I raised you," Vivien said with a sad sigh. "Do not force me to end you as well."
When he still did not move Vivien began to float toward him. As soon as she headed toward him, Dulaque fled without a single look back.
"Who knew he could run like that?" Ezekiel asked with a smirk. "Actually, who knew he could run at all?"
"This may be an obvious question, but…is that Cassandra floating like a ghost in the middle of the room?" Eve asked as her eyes stayed glued to the red head floating in midair.
"Technically, it's Vivien," Jenkins said with a sigh.
"Last time this happened she ran away with Cassandra's body," Jake said urgently. "I won't let-" he stopped and took a deep breath. "We won't let that happen again."
Vivien slowly floated down to the floor and as her feet touched the ground Jenkins bowed briefly.
"My lady," he said with a blank expression.
"Galeas," she said with a polite nod. "I cannot maintain this for very long." She turned to Jake and smiled warmly at him. "Do not worry, I will return her to you. I merely thought you could use my assistance. If it comforts you at all I did ask her permission."
Stone said nothing but gave her an impassive look.
Vivien chuckled at him. "She was right. She told me that wouldn't help."
"So, you done?" Jake asked with a glare. "Last time you did this, Cassandra was passed out for a full day."
"Almost, Mr. Stone," Vivien said as she gave him an amused smile. "My aren't you the protective one." She turned back to Jenkins. "This place needs better protection."
"We do have security measures in place—" Jenkins began to say.
"Not enough of them. Cassandra tells me this is not the first time Dulaque has simply walked into The Annex. Your measures do not appear to work on him, do they?" Vivien asked knowingly. "I will cast a protection spell. It should keep the likes of Morgan and Dulaque from barging in as they please. Once I have done that, I will return the girl to you."
"How do we know you'll keep your word?" Ezekiel asked with a small glare of his own. "That's my friend you're wearing, you know."
Vivien chuckled at him and patted Ezekiel's cheek. Ezekiel tensed and concentrated on staying completely still. Supposedly, Vivien was one of the good guys but she was too powerful to be trusted. He learned at an early age that power corrupted everyone eventually.
"You try not to care, Thief, but it is a losing battle," Vivien said with a kind smile. "You already care deeply for these people."
"You didn't answer his question," Eve said with a stern glare.
"Faith and trust, Colonel," Vivien said simply.
With that Vivian turned and headed for the entrance to the Annex. She didn't carry herself like Cassandra. There was no bounce in her step and no warmth to her expressions. Vivien moved smoothly, effortlessly. Her expressions were all knowing and clearly held secrets none of them would ever be privileged to know. Someone else's presence with a familiar face made all of them uncomfortable. No one talked while Vivien wandered around the Annex mumbling latin and waving her arms. They all exchanged tense glances. Jacob and Jenkins took turns pacing the length of the room worriedly. Twenty minutes later the spell appeared to be complete and Vivien came to stand in front of Jacob.
"She will need lots of rest," Vivien told him. "I have no doubt you will take good care of her."
There was another flash of white and the glow that had been surrounding Cassandra for the last half hour vanished. She gasped loudly as the blue returned to her eyes and then she immediately slumped into Jacob. Her heavy lidded eyes met his and he breathed a sigh of relief. Cassandra was back. His Cassandra was back.
"Hi," she said softly with a weak smile.
He smiled warmly at her in return and held her tighter against him. "Hi. You okay?"
She nodded slowly but said nothing. He noticed she was gripping his shoulders tightly as if she couldn't quite stand on her own.
"Tired," she said finally. "Very tired."
She went completely slack in his arms as she passed out and he adjusted his hold to lift her.
Jenkins pointed to the hallway that extended past the kitchen. "The crash room is right where we left it last time she-"
"I remember," Jacob muttered as he walked off with Cassandra in his arms.