-/-
Agatha didn't move when Zoe stepped into the cell.
Her aunt was still bound, her arms behind her back, as she lay on her side staring blankly at the far wall.
"Agatha..." Zoe prompted her, unexpectedly nervous as she approached the catatonic nun.
Agatha was covered in blood, Dracula's blood had stained her and the floor of the cell, not from Agatha's feeding, but from when the security guards had roughly dragged her off him.
Sighing Zoe signalled for the two guards to come in, between them they lifted Agatha, and she made no move to protest, or even speak. This was going to make things more difficult. Zoe needed Agatha to cooperate, but if she couldn't even communicate…
"Follow me." Zoe commanded, knowing that she had scant few hours in which to do something.
The board might have already voted to hand the vampires over, their new "caretakers" might be already on their way, and even if they weren't it wouldn't be long before Zoe's own access to the Foundation was revoked. No, she had to act now, whilst everyone still thought she was in charge. Afterall Zoe had dragged Agatha into this mess, and it had been Zoe who had supported bringing in the new funding stream, it wasn't fair that Agatha paid for her mistakes. Family looked after family and Agatha Van Helsing was family, practically all the family Zoe had left, and she was not going to fail her again.
"Take her into the showers…You can wait outside and guard the door, there is only one entrance and she's not in any position to cause trouble." Zoe added when the guards looked like they were going to protest.
Finally, they obeyed, dropping Agatha on to the floor of the shower area, and finally leaving them alone.
"Agatha…Agatha listen to me…You have to snap out of this." Zoe hissed, kneeling next to her aunt, who hung her head and avoided her gaze. "None of this your fault."
"I'm a monster…"
"No, you're not." Zoe snapped, fumbling in her pocket for the key to the handcuffs. "Listen…Listen to me!" She added, when Agatha continued to mumble about losing her mind.
"I am going to unlock those cuffs, and you are going to get out of those dirty clothes, and I am going to clean you up and…"
"What is the point Zoe, I'm a monster. You should let me wallow in my own filth, it is nothing more than I deserve. I should have stopped…why couldn't I stop?"
"Because you were starving, and inexperienced, and probably a hundred different reasons." Zoe speculated. "None of that matters now."
"How can it not matter? I killed him. I can hear him, so loud now in my head, I can't shut it out, him and all the people he killed…I'm going insane…I can't make it stop."
The sharp echo of a slap resounded off the tiled walls, and Zoe lurched backwards as Agatha snarled in retaliation for the strike, her normally blue eyes flooded red.
"Do you think it is wise to provoke such a monster Zoe?"
"No, but I finally have your attention." Zoe snapped, for a moment pondering whether to tell her Aunt, that she hadn't killed Dracula, before dismissing it. Zoe couldn't be sure that Agatha wouldn't insist on freeing Dracula as well, and that just wouldn't work. Zoe couldn't live with, unleashing that monster, on her conscience.
No Zoe could only safely save one, and she was choosing Agatha. Dracula could save himself. Zoe doubted those mercenaries would be able to hold him long.
"Look either you pull it together, or you are going to regret it. There are people coming to take you away, people who won't hesitate to hurt and use you, or force you to hurt others."
That finally did catch Agatha's attention, the monstrous aspect of the vampire fading, returning to a far more familiar visage.
"And you want to help me?"
"I intend to help you." Zoe corrected. "But I need you to cooperate first, you need to get cleaned up and changed."
Nodding Agatha stood shakily, the trauma and the rush of such a rich feed, had left her full of excess energy. She held still as Zoe uncuffed her, pulling off her stained clothing, and moved automatically to turn on the showers.
"No, you can't shower…well not properly…trust me. Just do what you want, to clean the blood off you, but don't get your hair wet."
Agatha was confused but Zoe seemed to have a plan. She managed as best she could, scrubbing at her face and arms without standing under the water. Yet it was when a suddenly nude Zoe, got under the spray herself, that Agatha was really perplexed.
Forcing a smile, Zoe suddenly felt the older one between them, as she reached up, and cleaned up the patches that Agatha had missed.
"We are going to swap places." Zoe explained, it was such a simple solution, elegant even by its simplicity.
Sunset was in an hour, she had time to take Agatha's place in the cell.
"I will pretend to be you, and you will use my pass to get out of the building. You tell everyone that you aren't feeling well, and that you are going home early. With everything that has happened today, and with the fact that they are firing me tomorrow…well Veronica won't question it, she'll just think I am accepting the situation."
"But I don't sound like you, and I don't know my way around…"
"That is why you are going to drink a little of my blood…"
"No Zoe…There must be some other way, I can't…I don't trust myself, what if I hurt you too?"
"There is no other way. You only need a little and I will be fine, my blood is toxic to Vampires, you won't want to drink it all." Zoe insisted, pulling her wet hair away from her neck as she stepped out of the shower spray. "I trust you Agatha, just a few drops and I'll concentrate on the things you need to know."
"I think this is a terrible idea."
Shrugging Zoe mustered up a half smile in response. "I know, but it's the best idea I can come up with."
-/-
It was strange, Agatha had been wearing Zoe's clothes since she had woken up in this strange future, but it was only now as she stood there in the white lab coat, the scent of Zoe's perfume still lingering on the fabric, that it really felt like stepping into the other woman's shoes. Shoes that thanks to the lingering bitter tang of her niece's memories, Agatha almost thought she could fill.
"Is all of this really necessary?" Agatha asked, as Zoe dabbed cream onto her face. This use of make up was still a foreign vanity to her, and although Agatha had gleaned how to apply it, it was best Zoe did it…she knew their face best.
"The point is not to look like a walking corpse." Zoe huffed, knowing after her shower, with her make up mask washed away, that wasn't far off how she really looked.
She had been dependent upon some top shelf concealer for a while now; the dark bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep and bust blood vessels from bouts of nausea, took some covering. A little concealer and blusher gave Agatha the appearance of a more human like complexion. With her longer hair tied up in a bun, and with the white coat and official lanyard Agatha could easily pass for Dr Helsing. So, unless she was stopped by someone, who wanted to have an in-depth conversation about their work, which Zoe suggested Agatha put off by walking quickly and looking cross; well they should pull this off.
"This will be the last time we can talk." Agatha spoke up, startling Zoe, who was applying the last of the blush. "I am grateful for this Zoe, for your help, though I don't know why you are doing this. Won't you be in a lot of trouble?"
"Probably, but I'm dying, how much worse can it get?" Zoe quipped, trying to keep the conversation light.
"Why are you helping me Zoe, shouldn't you be trying to stop me escaping? I might hurt people."
"Do you mean to go out there and hurt people?"
"No of course not, but there might be accidents, you know that as well as I do!" Agatha snapped.
"You should avoid getting cross with anyone, you slip into your old accent when you're angry." Zoe commented neutrally, doing her best to avoid Agatha's gaze.
"You are avoiding answering my questions, and this is a last time I will be able to ask them." Agatha replied. "I think I am allowed to be angry."
"When you finish putting me back in my cell, remember go straight to my office and get my things. You remember how to call for a cab on the app? It has my home address stored. My apartment keys…"
"Are in your coat pocket in your office, yes I know, you went over it twice already, and I even know from your memories that is a long green coat. I will manage." Agatha huffed as her niece seemed determined to avoid any personal conversation. "I am going to miss you Zoe Van Helsing."
Nodding Zoe picked up the cuffs and offered them to Agatha, it was time they put on their little charade.
"What no hug?" Agatha huffed.
"I'm not much of a hugger." Zoe replied pressing the handcuffs into Agatha's hand.
"Neither am I but tell that to Captain Sokolov." Agatha snorted, and ignoring Zoe's protest, she pulled her niece into a tight embrace; relieved when after a moment's tenseness Zoe relaxed into it.
"I'm going to miss you too." Zoe confessed into Agatha's shoulder, feeling from the way her aunt's hold tightened that she had heard her.
Separating just as quickly, Agatha now clipped the cuffs onto Zoe's wrists and she watched as her niece sank down onto the bathroom floor, her head hanging down, playing the catatonic patient.
Taking a deep breath, she didn't need, Agatha placed her most annoyed expression on her face, and moved to the door, opening it, she waved the two security guards inside. She didn't even need to instruct them to pick up Zoe, they did it automatically, and not particularly gently, and Agatha had to bite down on the urge to chastise them for it. Zoe wouldn't thank her for it, and her niece was risking enough on her behalf.
Agatha followed them back to the cage. It was strange seeing it from the outside. She stayed outside as they placed Zoe back inside it; watched them lock the door, and resume their position guarding it.
Glancing at Zoe's watch, Agatha calculated she had half an hour before sundown, and her chance to escape arose. Nodding at the security staff Agatha turned and headed towards the door. Hiding her nerves under a cross expression, Agatha wasn't surprised when most of the staff literally jumped into any open door rather than get in her way. Following Zoe's memories, Agatha used her pass to exit the vault, barely fumbling with the unnatural action. She took the stairs up a floor, intending on heading straight for Zoe's office, and hiding in there until the last possible moment. Yet of course all plans were doomed to failure, as Agatha had barely made it up half a flight of stairs, before she was accosted by a young woman in a white coat.
"Oh, Dr Helsing I just went up to your office…they told me you were…"
"Is this important, can I wait till tomorrow? I'm not feeling well and am just heading home." Agatha parroted the lines Zoe had given her.
"It's just an update about Count Dracula…he's responding to treatment…we think he might regain consciousness in the next few hours. Did you want to have him moved back into the cell before then, or should we keep him in the lab, until we are certain he doesn't need further drip feeding?"
Stunned Agatha took a moment to process what she was hearing…Dracula was alive…well not dead dead, she hadn't killed him. A fact Zoe must have known, but chose not to tell her.
"Dr Helsing…I'm sorry I can see if Dr Bloxham is still here and ask her?"
Pushing her irritation at her interfering niece to one side, Agatha had to face the young scientist in front of her, her mind scrambling for an answer. In the end she just let the echo of Zoe take over, and prayed to god it made sense. "Keep him in the lab for now and on the feed, when he looks like he is about to wake up send someone up for me. I will want to be there to assess him when he wakes up properly."
"Very good Dr Helsing." The young scientist didn't question why Dr Helsing might change her mind about leaving. It seemed Zoe's condition was an open secret amongst her staff, as was her workaholic tendencies. So, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibilities that Zoe would insist on staying in these circumstances.
The moment the girl was out of sight, Agatha bolted the rest of the stairs, only pausing to return to a more human pace when she turned out into the corridor and walked to Zoe's office. Shutting the door firmly behind her Agatha sank to the floor, her head dropping to her knees.
She could walk out of here free in less than half an hour. Zoe's plan would work, Agatha was certain that no one would notice the swap in that time. She could make it to Zoe's apartment, take the documentation Zoe had mentioned, and the cards she would need for her bank accounts, and be off to London on the train in less than an hour.
Yet Agatha couldn't do it…she couldn't walk out of here and leave him behind.
It was ridiculous to think of it. 123 years ago, Agatha Van Helsing would have happily staked Count Dracula herself and barely blinked. Now she was prepared to risk her own survival just to try and rescue him. The reason why was not something Agatha wanted to dissect, not something she wanted to consider let alone admit; all that she knew was that when she thought he was dead she had fallen apart. It had taken Zoe, and the threat of something worse than death, to snap her out of it, and Agatha couldn't live with herself, if she knowingly left Dracula to that fate.
She was not a monster…but if she left him to be used like that, then vampire or not, she would be.
-/-