Chapter 21 Sticky Situation
Myka walked Helena to the music section of the Warehouse. There were rows and rows of vinyls and CD recordings that needed to be labeled and put into the computer – again.
"And on that note, you've got your work cut out for yourself," Pete told Helena much to her chagrin.
"Think of it was a learning adventure," Myka told her putting the positive spin on it. "You're about to embark on the history of mankind's soul as expressed through music," she said and HG liked that.
"Hey, HG – wait until you get to the early 1960's and the British Invasion," Claudia said hoping that would interest her.
"I rather like the sound of British Invasion indeed," the Brit said smiling and pushed closer to Myka on purpose to make sure she got the true meaning of HG's interpretation.
"She means the Beatles, Helena," Myka said trying not to blush.
"Sounds more like an infestation that invasion," HG noted.
Now Myka stood there as Helena looked at the massive collection. "Oh bloody hell," was what she said when she realized how long this might take.
"Helena, I think Mrs. Frederic is trying to be ….. creative ….in helping you to …," and Myka smiled uncomfortably. No matter what spin she put on it, she knew and HG knew that Mrs. Frederic thought HG could be too strong headed for her own good.
"I think she really cares," Myka summed it up. Helena loved how Myka always wanted to make lemonade out of lemons.
"I dare say she's practically in love with me after giving me this assignment," HG said putting her own spin on it.
Myka laughed as she left her partner to start on her task at hand and heard HG say to herself; "Right- e-o- then," as she began.
By the end of the day, Helena had labeled only a fraction of what she had hoped to. She started to read the notes on the album covers and was entranced by the development of the compilations. Mrs. Frederic could not have been more pleased that Helena was learning and not just completing a task. She understood the depth of Helena's talents and had a great many plans for the Inventor, but she had much to learn before that could happen.
She was tempted not to follow through on her second assignment for Helena but cautioned herself not to fall into the trap that she witnessed Myka often falling into.
If anyone could get through to Helena and teach her the finer arts of being an agent, it was Myka Bering. Myka was the crème de la crème when it came to agents; methodical, logical, intelligent, dedicated with wonderful people skills. She had been handpicked by Mrs. Frederic and destined to experience her own greatness. In fact, Mrs. Frederic often thought she had only one concern about Myka Bering and that was Helena Wells. Though they worked well together, Mrs. Frederic often saw the effect Helena had on Myka. She never worried that Myka wouldn't learn to compensate for it on the job at least. Off the job was another story and Mrs. Frederic knew it was a delicate line with just how far her jurisdiction went into the agents' personal lives. Helena had already proven that she would take matters into her own hands if she deemed it necessary to take care of something for Myka. That worried the Sage.
Myka finished up her inventory and returned to the music aisle at the end of the day. "How did your immersion into music go, Helena?" she asked.
"It was interesting. I knew a great deal of the old ones, of course and I haven't yet arrived at the era of moving stones," HG informed Myka. That took Myka a minute.
"You mean 'rock and roll'? Myka deciphered.
"Oh, yes I suppose that's what Claudia called it," HG said unfazed.
The agents walked back to the office where their fellow agents were. Pete was in a hurry to leave because tonight was Leena's pot roast night and he was starving. It was only then that Artie reminded HG that she was still on the job and had to report to the neutralizer room to commence cleanup.
"I thought that was after she finished the music aisle?" Myka spoke on her behalf.
"Well, Mrs. Frederic says tonight so tonight it shall be," Artie said matter of factly.
"OK HG, we'll save you some but we gotta go," Pete said because nothing stood between him and Leena's pot roast.
"Maybe I could help you?" Myka offered but Artie answered that question.
"Myka, I wish we could all stay and help Agent Wells, really," he said - boldly lying, "But Mrs. F wants HG to go solo. She told me," he added.
Helena sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps if she shows up, I could charm my way to getting home early," HG said and Myka smiled and then stopped. HG misunderstood her expression. "You don't think Mrs. Frederic can be charmed?" HG said.
"HG, no!" Claudia tried to help her friend.
"Oh, come on now ladies. Surely, something must get through that tough exterior of a shell she dons. I have been known to be quite convincing when I set my mind to it," HG teased back but was speaking truthfully.
"Agent Wells, I think you should …," Artie attempted to caution her.
"Artie, I did the assignment as she asked and I will continue to do so until it is complete. But truly even you know that having me clean up the neutralizer machines is a tad over board. I hope I have the opportunity to persuade Her Ladyship that she's been a bit fervent in doubling up on my tasks," HG said as her well thought out plan. She heard Myka whimper and turned to see what that expression was on her face.
"Oh, I think you're about to have it, Agent Wells," Artie said with his head bent down.
Helena sensed it. She pushed the confusion aside and took in the mood of the room. She frowned when she put it all together. She turned quickly to see….… no one.
Her fellow agents broke out in a collective laughter that filled the room.
"Oh, HG we so got you. No really, dude the expression on your face. You're afraid of the old keeper," Claudia said and then immediately got straight faced. "I mean old as in wise and learned. Yeah, experienced. That's what I meant. Let's go Pete," she said afraid her boss would appear for real.
"That was a good one," Artie said and practically cracked an entire smile.
"Now that was almost worth getting home a little late," Pete said.
Myka was laughing but now felt just the slightest bit of guilt for playing the trick on Helena. No one planned it, it was just a group thing that they all picked up on and each one did their part to pull it off.
Helena did not completely understand pranks or jokes and often dismissed it as part of the American sense of humor she found lacking in originality, depth and most importantly, humor. The one thing she did get was that Myka had partaken in it.
"Oh, I get it. I am the recipient of the communal jest in an effort to what end I don't quite understand," HG said explaining how she didn't really get it.
"It's all in fun, Helena. Team building camaraderie stuff," Myka said sheepishly.
"Well, I am happy I could provide you with the substance for such an exercise," HG said smiling but looking directly at Myka. Only Myka got that HG was not really speaking her true feelings.
"You know, Helena it's all in fun. Teasing is a sign of affection," Myka practically squeaked hoping Helena would see this for what it was and not feel like they had ganged up on her.
"Oh, so now teasing is a sign of affection, is it?" HG said mockingly. And as the others made their way to the umbilicus, Helena moved in close to Myka.
"I hope you remember that trumped up definition later, Agent Bering when I bring my teasing to a new height," HG smiled devilishly.
"Now what is that expression that Claudia uses to explain what retribution is like? Payback is a …?" the Brit asked confident she had made Myka just the slightest bit nervous.
Myka tried to act all cool about it but she knew Helena was not someone you toyed with and sensed that maybe she would bear the brunt of the group's joke later in a matter to be determined by HG.
"Be careful down there, " is what Myka said as she left to join the others on the trip home. "Don't forget to check all the valves before you leave. I'll come back for you later, OK? "
"I look forward to it," HG said as she stayed behind.
She felt Myka's absence immediately but smiled to think that could happen in so vast a space as the Warehouse. She went down to the neutralizer room and put on her protective gloves and set out to do her job.
Neutralizer goo had to be kept at a certain temperature otherwise it would lose its viscosity. When it collected outside the tubes through small leaks or spills, it became hard and had to be chipped away. Helena was familiar with the process because everyone had to know what to do in an emergency. This purple stuff was the first line of defense in the Warehouse.
Helena hummed as she checked the computer in the room which registered the multiple neutralizer hoses located throughout the Warehouse. All systems checked out fine; all the pipes were loaded to capacity. Then HG started to chip away at the dried up neutralizer that could possible cause jams. This was a room that HG was usually quite comfortable in as she loved being surrounded by machinery. One of the first things she did when she got here was to review all of the mechanicals for this operation to see if she could improve upon it. Artie appreciated her enthusiasm but found it annoying that she took it upon herself to give out assignments – to herself.
Helena kept Myka's optimistic words in mind and tried to think of this as a learning experience but it wore thin the longer Helena chipped away. She heard the familiar beep of a text coming in and stopped to get her phone.
'How is it going?' Myka asked. Helena thought about a lot of adjectives that would have described her feelings but she settled for – 'Well, and you?' and sent it back. 'I miss you,' came back Myka's response and that made HG smile. It also distracted her. This is why HG never noticed that she was leaning on the lever which sent more goo down to one of the hoses already at capacity. She did hear the alarm go off and jumped. She sized up the situation – excess neutralizer in the pipes had to be extracted.
'Simple enough,' she thought. She ran down to the aisle where the hose was over capacity. She put large containers on a dolly and wheeled them over to the tube. Opening the nozzle, Helena released the surplus into the containers. It filled four of them until the meter indicated it was at the right level.
"Disaster avoided!" HG said to herself proudly. "I dare say she would not be happy if I spilled this all over," she said out loud.
Then she took out her phone to text Myka that she was almost done. Except her hands were slippery and the phone shot out of them and into the container. "Oh bloody hell, no!" HG yelled out but it was too late. The phone slowly started to sink into the vat of goo. HG had no choice but to stick her arm into it to retrieve it. Which meant pushing her left arm down into the container and allow the gunk to coat it. She slowly opened her fingers as her arm traveled into the vat and finally grabbed the phone. Pulling it up quickly, she spilled some of the neutralizer out onto the floor and the outside of the container. She pulled her shirt out of her pants and grabbed the end of it and wiped off her phone hoping the goop did not short it out. She was happy to see the light still on signaling a text from Myka. She wiped the phone on her pants so she could see the screen better and tried to wipe her glove off so she could respond to the text. But she moved just the slightest bit and her foot slipped in the purple stuff on the floor and sent her sailing into the containers. She reached out to break her fall but that was against one of the receptacles and the fall pushed it forward. "Oh bloody…" was all HG got out from her vantage point atop the fallen over container. Like dominos, the container she hit knocked over the other three and the contents spilled onto the floor. HG scrambled to get up and pull the vats back into place but the more she hurried, the faster she slipped. She knelt down into the puddle that was expanding and tried to pull it back toward her. She was on her knees, desperately trying to stop the goop from going any further down the aisle when she noticed what looked like a pair of shoes at the edge of the pool. Apparently, the spill had reached them and was covering the toes of the shoes.
'How could a pair of shoes….?' HG started to think until she realized someone was actually standing in them. Ever so slowly she raised her head to see Mrs. Frederic standing there.
"Everything OK here, Agent Wells?" the woman asked as if she weren't standing in the neutralizer.
Helena tried to stand up. "Mrs. Frederic," she said as she slipped back down. But the woman's arm reached out and held Helena under her arm. Her grip was gentle and yet Helena had the feeling her feet weren't quite touching the floor anymore. She pulled HG out of the muck onto the bare floor.
"Yes, everything is fine. Thank you," HG said unaware that she was now covered in the purple neutralizer. Mrs. Frederic raised her eyebrows at her.
"I mean, there was some excess in the hose up here so I came down to flush it out," Helena said looking at the mess behind her.
"You didn't ingest any of it, did you Agent Wells?" the Keeper asked slowly.
"No, I don't believe so," Helena said.
"Good, I don't need you hallucinating," she explained. "There is a reason we discourage cell phone use down here, Agent Wells," Mrs. Frederic said and HG knew she was caught.
"Yes," was all she could say as she stood there wet and guilty looking.
"I'll bring you the goo-vac and you can clean this up," Mrs. Frederic said walking away and then added, "And now you owe me a new pair of shoes, Agent Wells. Get something that will match this tough exterior of a shell I'm wearing," she added and you could hear HG gulp.
The Sage retrieved the vacuum for Helena who then cleaned up the mess. She was not surprised to find herself alone again as her boss rarely announced her arrivals or departures. Helena put everything back and checked the utility room before heading to the shower to wash off the neutralizer from herself. She had managed to get it everywhere. Twenty minutes later, she was all set to go home. Myka picked her up in the front of the Warehouse.
"Are you in different clothes?" the eidetic memory agent asked.
"Yes," HG answered.
"Everything OK in the Warehouse?" Myka asked just to be sure.
"Now it is," HG answered truthfully and wasn't going to say any more about it but decided she could use it in her favor.
"Actually, I had an accident with the neutralizer overloading into one of the hoses and I went down to the floor to expel the excess into some containers. But I went to text you and my phone slipped in and I retrieved it but spilled some of the goo. It got on the floor and I slipped," HG said.
"Are you OK? Did you get hurt?" Myka asked concerned.
"No, I'm fine, thank you darling. I can't say the same for Mrs. Frederic's shoes though," the Brit said.
"What? Her shoes? How..?" Myka asked all in one breath.
"I was busy trying to clean up the spillage and all of a sudden, there she was standing there at the edge of it. It had spilled out to the tip of her shoes. Although one wonders why she didn't simply move out of the way?" HG reflected.
"What did she say?" Myka asked worried that her boss had witnessed HG's accident.
"She said I owe her a pair of shoes," HG said thinking back to the last thing she heard and Myka burst out laughing.
"I simply do not understand what makes you laugh sometimes, Myka," the Brit said curiously.
"You don't think it's funny that you have to shop for a pair of shoes for the Keeper of the Warehouse? I mean, Helena, it's not like you can just go to Zappos and order them. I mean where will you begin to look?" Myka continued to laugh at her own joke but HG just stared at her.
"I shall look under 'sensible pumps', " HG said in all sincerity and Myka started to laugh even harder. There were many endearing qualities to Myka Bering Helena thought but her sense of humor lagged behind all the others.
By the time the agents arrived back at the B&B, Artie was on his way out.
"Nice job with the neutralizer, Agent Wells. Now someone has to babysit you tonight just in case you've ingested any of it," he said making sure she was up to speed on what he knew. Mrs. Frederic did not share that Helena did not think she ingested any.
'How does she do that?' Helena thought.
"Mrs. Frederic was on the Farnsworth, " he answered as if he could read her expression.
"There is no need for anyone….," HG stated but her quick brain halted her speech. "Well, I cannot say with certitude that I did not ingest any of the matter."
"Just great! Now we have to worry about you hallucinating all night?" Artie said but Myka was quick to volunteer for the job.
"I'll stay with her, Artie," Myka assured him and delighted Helena.
"Great then I'll have one agent out on sick leave and another out due to exhaustion," Artie said about the worst case scenario but knew he had no choice. Ingesting neutralizer could have some nasty side effects.
"I want to hear from both of you first thing in the morning," he said as he left for the night.
"Well, maybe not the first thing…..," Helena said under her breath thinking other things would come up first, "….….but eventually."
And as she closed the door behind him, Helena put her plan to work.