I just needed Helena to kicka$$.

Righteous Wrath (by Henry Van Dyke)

"Well, you know how to clear a room," Ted said, pushing back in his chair.

"I know how to wipe one with a body, too," Helena said, and chastised herself … a little. She had decided to take a slower pace.

"Did you come all the way across town to threaten me?" her archrival asked, smiling too much for Helena's liking.

She took a deep breath, stood up straight, and started to walk slowly around the end of the table, dragging her index finger along the top of it. "I know what you've done, Ted. At first, I thought this was simply another feeble attempt on your part to provoke me. But then I thought about the many times you've embarrassed yourself before, why try again? Adelaide Nathenson wasn't pathetic enough? Then…," Helena said and stopped walking, looking up at the ceiling. "I remembered you actually did me a favor, just as you had done before that."

"I did you favors?" Ted said. "Remind me how?"

"Well, I needed to verify what Wells labs already knew; that I had a blood relative. So we gave your labs the same DNA sample and they verified it. Then you thought Adelaide would get you inside information, but all that fiasco did was rid Wells Corp of a very bad employee," Helena explained smiling.

"So you owe me," Ted said mockingly.

"And I came personally…. to pay you back," Helena said, walking closer. Ted sat up and pushed his chair back more.

"I thought maybe my digging upset you. I am allowed to know who my competition is. Why is it Helena, that when I try to access information on your background, I can't? Irene Frederic tells me you worked for the IRS," Ted said, thinking he was setting the bait.

Helena smiled and shook her head. "Seriously, Ted," she said, waving her hand in front of her up and down, "….. do I look like the kind of person who would work for the….IRS?"

"So Irene… lied?" Ted asked and drew Helena's ire. In that split second, he thought he saw her Achilles' heel. Helena's eyes flashed, her jaw tightened as her brain reminded her that she was not to use force of any kind.

"I would like you to choose your words carefully when speaking about Mrs. Frederic," Helena warned.

"You're a little overly protective …of someone that I had…first," Ted said and watched Helena flinch as she tried not to react. It was getting harder.

"Irene had faith that if she spoke to you, you would be rational. Ted, I have no such faith. If it weren't for the fact that Irene would be disappointed, I would thrash you for not showing her anything but the utmost respect," Helena said.

This told Ted that he had nothing to fear now. Or so he thought.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

Helena sighed. "Your obsession with finding out more information on me is getting a lot of people in trouble. You're in over your head and Mr. Martino will soon regret his part. It's time to put this to rest, Ted. My staff has better things to do than to try to talk sense into the village idiots. Let's start with this - I worked for a small group of special agents for the government that worked on sensitive information. Of course you couldn't find out anything. That's why they call it top secret. Now I could tell you more," Helena smiled slowly, "…..but then I'd have to kill you. And quite frankly, I'm not sanctioned to do that anymore."

If it weren't for the fact that his uninvited guest seemed so sincere, he would have thought she was making it up.

"And how are you and your heir related?" Ted asked.

"Ted, my Heir will be my child. Miss Sullivan is my relative, from another branch of the family," Helena explained tiredly. "If you had been listening to our press release, you would know this."

"I tried to find the connection between you two. If you're from two different branches of the Wells family, how can you be descendants of HG Wells?" Ted asked.

"Ted, I'd be happy to take you through my family genealogy if it would help you with this obsession you have with me," Helena said walking closer. "But I fear it wouldn't stop there. The bigger issue here, Ted, is that you are suffering from delusions of grandeur if you think you can beat me. But this time, you outdid yourself. Your latest attempt involved the people I love, and that, Ted, is a no-no."

"Irene called me," Ted tried, noticing Helena was walking towards him again. "She was trying to protect me," Helena quickly added.

"Is this because Irene considered coming back to me?" he said, checking the distance between them, "…..You took our leftovers with that one." Ted knew he had one shot to stop Helena and he was going for her weak spot.

Helena had given some thought to her options once she was inside. Physically harming the man seemed out of the question. Then she remembered she was a genius whose very being thrived on thinking outside the box.

"I'm going to make you pay for that," Helena said, smiling, her eyes locked on him.

"You are?" Ted laughed nervously. There was something menacing in her body language now.

"Oh yes," Helena promised. "But how?" she said, sitting down in a chair near Ted. "I can't harm you because my lawyer says that will undo what I learned in anger management and I simply can't fit any more community service in my calendar," Helena lamented.

"Oh good," Ted said sarcastically.

"I could raid your company until there was no one left…," Helena said, tapping her finger to her chin.

"Like they… might leave," Ted spat back.

"I walked into the room and they left you. Do you really think it would be hard for me to suggest they come work for me? As soon as their non compete clauses are filled, of course," Helena threatened.

"You want to absorb my company?" he asked, incredulously.

"I see your point," Helena said, nodding. "Why dilute my talent by taking in yours. Good point."

"Are you finished…?" he asked angrily because he knew Helena was toying with him.

"I could humiliate you in the press, but you're doing such a good job of doing it yourself that I don't think I could do better," she drove in the final nail.

"We're done here," he said.

"I guess we are," Helena said, getting up from the chair. "But first, I want to tell you that you should have left me as your competitor. You should have realized that by being in the game with me, you had your best opportunity to learn. Now, that you're going to be out of the competition, you have everything to lose," Helena said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ted asked, standing up and puffing out his chest.

"I would have been happy having you try and catch up to Wells Corp all the time. Who knows? Maybe you would have beaten us …what am I saying?" Helena laughed and then went straight-faced. "You made me an enemy, Ted, instead of keeping me as a competitor. Tsk tsk," Helena said. "That was really very foolish."

"Why is that?" he asked, and his voice wasn't as steady as it had been.

"Ted, I beat my competitors fairly," Helena said, grinning, "…but I crush my enemies," her expression cold and troubling.

Ted realized that Helena was perhaps even more powerful than he anticipated and that his actions may in fact have evoked his worst nightmare.

"Maybe….," he said hesitantly, "…I made this more personal than I should have."

"You think?" Helena quipped, sounding more like Myka than Helena.

"We'll keep things between us about business and go forward," he said, sticking his hand out to shake hers.

Helena was inches away from him now. She smirked and took his hand and shook it, pulling him in closer. "Don't forget what I said, Ted. I won't repeat it."

He let go of her hand and retreated a little.

"One more thing," she said as she started to walk toward the office door, Ted walking behind her. She stopped and turned to look at him. "I can forgive your personal transgressions against me because you're an insignificant nuisance. But, Ted – you spoke about Irene Frederic disparagingly. You reached out to the man who does nothing but annoy my wife. I won't forgive that."

"She came…," he tried to say, but Helena put her hand up.

"Ah, ah…Ted. Now, I want you to open this door and say goodbye," Helena said, smiling. "And then, Ted, I'm going to pay you back."

The only thing that made Ted open the door was that he believed his surveillance cameras that were hidden in his office and his waiting area were recording the entire visit.

He opened the door quickly and Helena walked through, stopped, and turned around, practically yelling her gratitude to Ted for seeing her. It was so loud in fact that both Pete, who stood there holding her coat and bag, and Ted's secretary, looked at them. Helena reached out and shook his hand again – to make sure that when the receptionist retold the story, this is what she would see. Only Pete saw Helena's other hand whip up and jab the man in the throat.

"Oh my God," Helena yelled as he slumped over and fell onto the floor. "Call 911," Helena shouted as she knelt down and ripped open his expensive shirt. She knew the secretary would be on the phone and out of sight. "He's not breathing!" Helena lied and proceeded to slap his face …..hard. "Let me try his chest," she yelled and proceeded to pound on his chest with her fist. Within seconds, his eyes flew open and he yelled.

"Oh thank God!" Helena said convincingly to the untrained ear. Only Pete knew that tone was one of British sarcasm. Helena picked him up by the opened shirt now. "You're okay!" she said, and let go of his shirt allowing his head to hit the floor.

Helena bent down and whispered in Ted's ear as he lay there stunned and semiconscious.

"Don't go near the ones I love," she said, patting his cheek hard.

Pete looked around, hoping no one would witness this. "Oh look, the EMT's Ms. Wells," he said, warning Helena her time was up.

"Just dropped on the floor," the receptionist said, when they asked what happened.

Helena put on the performance of her life, acting nervous as she told the EMT's how he fell to the floor, seemed unresponsive until she shook him… a little…and then she pressed down on his chest.

Pete helped Helena on with her coat, and they took the elevator down. "Boss?" he said, wondering what the official story was going to be.

"Not a word, Mr. Lattimer. I'll handle this," Helena assured him, and he let out a sigh of relief.

The press was already downstairs. Helena explained that Ted collapsed but that he was doing better now.

"Your quick acting saved him?" someone asked.

"For now," Helena responded, getting back in the car and heading back to work.

The headlines would read – "Wells Saves Grayson" that afternoon.

Pete watched in the rear view mirror as Helena called Sui and told him that she needed to see Myka and Irene in her office in ten minutes.

Pete had a feeling Helena hadn't just faced the more difficult part of her day. "Boss? I'll back up anything you say," Pete offered, hoping to keep Helena out of any trouble.

Helena smiled, knowing how difficult it was for Pete to lie about anything. "Good, Mr. Lattimer. I might just need you to do that."