"Copier…"
Summary: Paracelsus is leaving a little gift for Arthur and the gang…
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.
Part XIV…
Original Warehouseverse…
"So…?" Pete's puzzled face on Farnsworth… "You say Paracelsus appeared but he looked…Different."
"And felt different, too." Jinks noted. "It's hard to explain but he wasn't the same…Almost a different person."
"Different hologram, you mean…"
"Not even quite a hologram…More like a film…And a bad one, I could only get a few words…But I got the sense…Pete…I couldn't feel much, but it wasn't the same man we've been dealing with. He was trying to reach me…Tell me something."
"Or maybe he was taking a new tack with us?" Pete suggested.
"You didn't hear a word?"
"Nope…Sorry Jinksey. Oh, hang on…Another call coming through."
"Pete!" Myka's eager face. "You're ok?! Everythng's good?"
"Oh, sure, Mykes…" Nod.
"I'm on my way!" she noted, breathlessly.
"Great…But how about Claudia and Mrs. Fredericks?"
"They're fine…Well, Claudia's fine. Mrs. Fredericks is in a coma…"
"Ergo…Not fine." Pete's image eyed her.
"Right but Vanessa's here, taking care of her…So Artie said I could come and join you guys…Help you out."
"Ok, great…But Mykes? Be careful… We just had another visit from our zaney friend…Maybe trying a new tactic…"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, he popped up to Jinks and gave him a lot of the creepy stuff…Broken words and flickering lights and Jinks kinda thought…Well…"
Hmmn…Have to tell Claudia Pete admired her last one…
"Yeah?..." she stared at his image…
God…He's so beautiful when he's smiling all the time…
Was that me? Do I make him so happy? Oh…
Well, it is still me…Sorta…
"Jinks actually thought…He…This last one…Might not be the same guy…He seemed to be trying to tell him something…But I was listening in and I didn't hear it…"
"Maybe Jinks imagined it? You think?" she eyed him. "He did get knocked down by that booby-trap…"
"I was thinkin' that." Nod… "But he seems pretty sure…"
"Lets check it out when I reach you…Together…" she smiled.
"Ok…Are you monitoring the hologram frequency?" he asked.
"Yep…All tuned…" she nodded.
"Ok…Be careful, Mykes…See you soon."
"Yeah…You too…" she breathed…
Can't wait…
Really…
…
Section 1…
"Ok…" Vanessa had re-entered from the office area… "The equipment's on its way…" Hmmn? She looked round at the sound… Eyed Artie's finger on lips…He pointing to where Claudia in chair was now fast asleep…Snoring for all she was worth…
He grinned… "Long day for Sleeping Beauty…"
"I'd guess so…" smile…Pause…
"Anything wrong?"
"Hmmn?" Vanessa blinked at him… "Uhh…No…No…I just…About Mrs. Fredericks…"
"Is there some change?"
"No…I just…About having her here…"
"Not a good idea, after all? But you said…"
"Hmmn?" Vanessa stared. "Uh…No, no…It's ok…I guess…I mean if you want it that way…It's just not usually the way…"
"Vanessa?..." he eyed her…
"It's fine…" she smiled. "I think I'm just a bit confused as to what's to be done for her…I should get a neurologist in asap…And we'd better have a full-time nurse…"
"Sure…Anything you think can help…"
"Right…Yeah…Ok…Sorry…" she shrugged, smiling. "It's just one of those days. It's fine. We'll take care of her here, it'll be fine. I'm sure she'll do better in familiar surroundings…That's why I decided it this way…"
"Oh…Good…" he nodded. "Any idea how long Claudia may be out?"
She looked over… Wry grin at the loud snores. "Well, it's normal sleep…Not a coma…And she must be zonked…A few hours, maybe…"
"Good…As to both normal sleep and few hours…" he nodded.
"You could probably do with a few hours yourself…" she noted.
"It couldn't hurt…" he agreed. "But I've got to stay awake for now…Paracelsus is still on the loose…"
"Ok…" she eyed him… "But I want you to get some sleep as soon as possible…"
"I will…But for now…Hows about some coffee?"
"Artie?..."
"I'll make it…" he grinned.
"You know I mean…As in…'Coffee'?"
"I have to keep alert, Vanessa…Things are still critical here…"
"Fine…But I'll make it…Mild…" she smiled.
"Then I can tell you all about my new boyfriend…" she beamed… "His name's Chet and he's this really prominent neurosurgeon…From New York…"
"Really…" he stared. Blinking…As Vanessa happily headed off to make coffee…
Well…Not really…Claudia, grinning inwardly…Maintaining her divided state of wakefulness and sleep…Another facet of Caretaker ability she'd researched…
But there's gotta be one currently unattached NYC neurosurgeon named Chet…And heck, she's one great catch for any guy…
Hey, I'm the big person type…And it could be fun double dating…
I could put my hair up and pretend I'm forty…Hanging with my gal pal Vanny and her gang…Learning how old folks hang so as to make Artie more comfy…Cool…
Lets see…He's six-four and ripped…Used to be an actor on soap operas to put his pretty but muscular and brainy self through neurology school…
Well…Lets not get mean about it…Artie and other me weren't an official couple any more than I and mine were…And she didn't hang with him practically 24/7, hopin' to make him see there was a woman pulsating with love before him in that cute little streetwalker waif he'd taken in…
Five-ten…Much better…And good build but not…Insane…
….
Alternate Warehouseverse…
Myka in cell…Eyeing the guard on duty by the outer door…
Ok, one guard…Changes every four hours by my guesstimate…
Nice to see we finally have a budget of sorts to afford a little more security for the most valuable and dangerous site on Earth.
Now to defeat that security…
Ok, outer and inner doors use a simple padlock key…On guard and visitors appear to have their own…
….
"Sutton…?" Lattimer stared at Bennett Sutton and son…aka the Count of St. Germain and son…Both in modern clothes...Sutton returned to professorial garb, down to the patched elbows jacket...
"In the mortal flesh, Mr. Lattimer." Sutton nodded. "Now as to that offer of a drink?"
"Get out of my office before I have you and that spy of a son arrested…!"
"Agent Lattimer…" Mrs. Fredericks eyed him. "Professor Sutton…And he still is a full-fledged professor of History…Is here at mine and the Regents' invite and request."
Sutton, slyly grinning…Rising on toes…Nicholas frowning at Peter…Hey…We came in good faith, dork…
"And I think I have something a little more to his taste at hand…" she opened her purse to reveal a bottle of fine Scotch…"
"Madam…You have won my heart…" Sutton beamed, bowing…
"Ice, Agent?" she eyed Peter…
"None for the boys, of course…They'll stick to soda water…" She noted.
"Listen to the lady, Nick…" Sutton frowning at Nicholas' aggrieved look…
Five hundred years and I still haven't had a drink outside some snatched third rate wine and a stolen beer or two with various schoolkids?
…
"Guard…" Myka called…Groaning… "I'm having some pain here…! Guard!"
OH…She went to her knees…
"I need…!...OHHH!..." groan…
The guard unlocked the outer door and came to her cell door…
"Please!... I have cancer…I'm in pain…Please!...Just get a doctor?!...Please…OHHHH!..." she moaned…
"You are good…" the guard eyed her coolly. "But I'm the guard you clubbed that night with Donovan…You groaned very well that night too."
"Please!...I'm not askin' you to come in…Just call someone…I'm not that Myka Bering! Oh…!"
"I'll call the nurse…If you try anything I will shoot you." He eyed her coldly, turning and heading to the outer door.
Ok…Opportunity knocking in a few…She thought…
Just hope the nurse isn't six-five and 300 pounds…
Geesh…Doesn't anyone here have good memories of me?
…..
"So you have your brother's notebooks and journals…Records of his experiments?" Peter eyed Sutton who was gratefully sipping his glass of Scotch…
Best stuff he'd tried since 1768…In Belgium, of all places…
"I'm a historian, Agent Lattimer…I revere such valuable documents…"
"And thought they'd fetch a terrific price one day?"
"I have a son to think of, you know…And even Immortals have to eat…"
"I thought he'd lived with your wife…" Peter eyed him.
"Trust fund…For college…If he ever aged again. As is now proving invaluable, now that he is aging…And he's living with me now."
"The key factor is…" Mrs. Fredericks noted… "We have Paracelsus' records. We can reconstruct his efforts to combine various artifacts and what he might have used them for…"
"I see…All to prove poor Myka Bering is innocent…"
"If she is not our Myka, then she is innocent…" Mrs. Fredericks noted, calmly.
"We're not going to have face Myka Bering again, are we?" Sutton asked, a hair nervous. "'Cause you know we are mortal again and I do not want to indulge in the tragic irony of seeing my son die after all before he reaches manhood after all this effort. I think I'll have to insist on protection here, if we're to cooperate."
"I won't die, Father…Not for some considerable time." Nicholas smiled. "Is this really true, Agent Lattimer? Is this a different Myka from the one who helped my uncle?"
"I don't believe so…But she claims to be…"
"Really…Is she a nice girl?" Sutton asked…
"What?"
"Well…Nick here…" Sutton grinned as Nicholas blushed…
"I thought he liked Claudia…" Peter frowned…
"Lattimer…The boy is five hundred years ago and has never gotten beyond…Shall we say…A certain level?"
"Father?!" Nicholas, turning scarlet…
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, son…" Sutton shook his head… "Any way…If this is another Ms. Bering…And she's a worthy young lady of good family…Nicholas…Would like me to inquire…"
"Inquire…?" Peter stared…
"It's the old way of doing things, I know…" shrug… "But…"
"Father…" Nicholas…Frowning… "I asked you to be discreet…And to speak to her parents…"
"Well, son…Seeing as the lady is in a high security prison of sorts…And might yet be a vicious murderess…And Agent Lattimer is in authority over her as a sort of father-figure…"
"Are you two going to have me lugging these damned things in here by myself all night?" a voice called…
Charlotte Dupree-Sutton entering, lugging a box of old…Very old…Journals…
"And I'll take a glass of that if you don't mind?" she eyed the bottle of Scotch on Peter's desk. As Peter stared at the "walking dead"…Mrs. Fredericks taking it in stride…
"What was that about Miss Bering, that sweeter version of treacherous bitch of your murdering vixens, and my boy…?" she asked.
