Orphans Beloved: "Beth Rhymes With Death…"
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved and Sheldon Swifties bits in my Buffyverse and Sheldonverse, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.
(Note-We'll see how this goes. Art gets an unexpected visit, creating unexpected complications.)
Disclaimer: No copy write infringement intended…
Part V…
"Ok…So what do we think?" Felix, expectantly.
"Seriously? You're askin' me?" Sarah, cock of head stare to him…As she regarded the painting on easel he'd moved into the middle of the loft.
"Right, you're a philistine…Arthur." Fee beamed turning to him where he sat. "You're a fellow of the world, gritty streets and all that. What's your opinion?"
"On art?" Art dodged.
"You can be more specific…Come on, how do you like it?"
Art took careful look. "I suppose it's a very colorful picture of…Sarah?"
"I do not look like that." Sarah frowned.
"It's of all of you…All aspects, taken from life and compressed…" Fee frowned. "Based on your little dance party the other night. I call it 'Spirit Sisters'."
"Nice." Art nodded.
"Buggar…" Sarah hissed.
"Hey…" Cosima's voice from the upper loft bed. "I like it. And so did Kira."
"Now you see…I had a positive opinion." Fee noted. "But I'm an artist and a big enough person to let smaller souls experience…Ooof!" he groaned as the pillow Sarah had thrown struck him in the chest.
"Save it for the audience…" she grinned to Fee's glare. "Cos!" she called. "Any luck?"
"Loads…" the reply. "Some good, some bad…Dr. Duncan didn't make it easy. I should have Delphine help me."
"Cos…" grim reply as Cosima came down the stairs...Art hurrying over to help her with her O2 tank, she giving grateful smile.
"I know, we agreed. No Delphy, for now. But sooner or later…" Cosima took a seat on the sofa, Sarah swinging her legs to clear most of the sofa for her, Art setting tank down, then resuming his seat.
"We have you. We have Scott. We get you and a copy back into Dyad. You fix yourself. Though I'd rather we did it outside Dyad." Sarah noted.
"I can't just 'fix myself' with revolutionary gene therapy in some lab we put together in a garage, Sarah." Cosima pointed out. "Great title, Felix, by the way."
"Thank you, sister." He nodded, beaming. "Tea?"
"Please…Green." Cosima.
"I'll take…" Sarah began.
"You can get your own…" sniff. "Arthur? Coffee, I suppose?"
"No, green tea's fine for me, too."
"What time is it?" Cosima asked. "Is Kira late?"
"Only one…Kira's not due for her pick-up for an hour." Sarah replied.
"I still don't love the idea of Kira going back to school, just like that." Fee noted.
"I can't keep her out of school forever." Sarah shrugged. "Marion's insisted Dyad wants no more trouble publicitywise so until we have an airtight locale to spirit her to, there's no point in locking her up here. I've told them no one but Cal is to have access to her…And he stays with her." Fond note creeping in.
"I loved the crazy twin sister story…" Fee smiled.
"Shut up…What was I supposed to say?" Sarah frowned.
"Be fun if Ally didn't know and tried to do a check…" he grinned.
"I'd appreciate knowing they'd jump on her." Sarah shrugged. "Sorry as I'd be for Ally. Though Cal might shoot her, so best not."
"He's not carrying in the school?" Art stared.
"No…" Sarah, cautiously. "Of course not…" innocent look. "I mean he has a gun locked up in his car, just in case. Permit and all that, all in order." She eyed Art's stern look.
"Be nice if you told us the name of the school…" Fee quickly.
"Need to know basis…You don't know, you can't tell." Sarah shrugged.
"Your confidence in us is underwhelming." Felix frowned. "Are we suddenly workin' for Dyad?"
"No one can stand up to what that psycho and her doctor Mengele are capable of, Fee." Sarah sighed. "I like to think I'd never give Kira away…But after that bathtub session with Daniel…" she shuddered. "I don't expect or want you to have to stand up to that…"
"The late and unlamented Mr. Rosen…" Fee shook head. "If you think that's still a possibility…"
"Kira has to have a life, Fee." Sarah shrugged. "What? Do I lock her up in the house and never take her out? Marion's kept her word so far…They've got an interest in keeping me happy, for the moment."
"They surely know where you and Cal are going in the mornings…" Cosima, carefully.
"They can guess…But with two of us going out and picking up, they can't be sure. Look, I know they could try and grab her again, at any time, or me, but what can I do till we find some place or take the nuclear option…" Sarah sighed. "And some place, safe from Dyad's pryin' eyes? Tall order."
"And as to the use of nukes?" Fee eyed her.
"If we go public…It will have to be maximum…Some thing top drawer, big time…A name…And a media company with some power." Sarah sighed. "And we'll have to have every scrap of proof we can offer. Four quads ain't likely to cut it. This is the land of the Dionne quints, you know."
"Which offers some interesting food for speculation…" Fee noted. "But we do have Delphine?"
"Disgruntled or ambitious or just crazy scientist makin' crazy claims with a bunch of con artists, namely me in the lead." Sarah, hard stare. "Not quite enough…Admittedly, thanks to me and me brilliant career." she shrugged.
"Plus…" she eyed Cosima.
"I understand you want to be careful, Sarah." Cosima cut in. "But if you mean we can't trust Delphine…I get it, completely. It's ok. You're Kira's mom and Delphine and I understand. But when push comes to shove and Oprah beakons, she'll come through for us, I know she will."
"If we have you and your science, that should be enough…Once you reconstruct the whole process with Duncan's code book." Sarah noted.
"Not the whole process…" Cosima replied. "I'll say enough to convince any reputable scientist but nothing that'll allow anyone to resume production."
"Natch…" Sarah nodded. "And Art will provide what he can from Beth's records and files."
"Is that legal?" Felix turned to Arthur.
"In this case…I'll take my chances." Art noted. "It'll be done through the proper channels as best I can at the same time. If they come after my badge, well…They'd come eventually anyway."
"And we drop this gift from Dr. Cosima Strangelove when?" Fee looked at Sarah.
"When Cos feels she's got it all together…And we have all four of us…And maybe more…Together…"
"Twenty of you on a stage might do it at that." Fee nodded. "So we'll call in Antoinette…?"
"Maybe…If we think it's safe and we need her...Him." Sarah, calmly.
"And our guardian Marion will take this how?" he eyed Sarah.
"I don't bloody well care…I don't own Marion Bowles a thing." Sarah frowned. "Dyad kidnapped my daughter, threatened to mutilate me, after holding me, Kira, and Dr. Duncan as prisoners in their own private jail…Not even considerin' attempted murder and torture and illegal human experimentation. I'm willing to make use of her, let her stay in contact, but that's it. I'm under no obligation to her. And if she ever…Ever…Pulls a fast one on me…So help me I will sell her and her clone girl down the river to Dyad or Topside or the Proleithians or the military or whoever the bloody hell would be interested."
"Scott and a couple of the guys were thinkin' of setting up their own biotech startup…" Cosima, grinning. "I'd be on the board as executive something or other…"
Chuckles round, Sarah, calming.
"I'll listen to her advice, but I will not let her run the show. So long as she keeps away, hands off…We stay in truce mode. But when we've got enough to go to the public and the feds…We go." She eyed the others. "I won't live like this, trusting in the good faith or one or two decent people, even if they really are decent. There's no safe place to hide and I, for one, am tired of hiding. The only way to be safe is to turn on all the lights…And we will." She paused. "That is, if you are all with me…"
"You know we are." Art nodded.
"Even Ally is go for public. Though she is quakin' in her sensible shoes." Cosima grinned.
"So am I." Sarah sighed.
"At least Donnie is raring to go…" Felix noted, smiling. "At least, so long as we promise not to do any interviews or videos from their garage…I guess he and Ally have issues over his workspace or something?"
"I think Alison sees a chance to push her designer towels…" Sarah smiled. "Well, maybe we'll all be on the cover of Time or Scientific Whatever…"
"American…And I doubt they'd put us on the cover." Cosima…
"You know if we did it here…" Fee, perking up.
"Felix! This won't be turned into an art show for you." Sarah frowned.
"Nothing of the kind…I just think the space lends itself to a major news event. And if one or two of my paintings dealing with the subject matter happen to make it on to the national news media…"
Arggh… "Fee!"
"Fine…" he lay back in his seat, sulking. "I try to be a good unc and secure me niece's…Well, nieces and nephew, now…Future and…Ooof…" he groaned at the impact of the pillow Art had thrown.
"Arthur…That could qualify as police brutality, you know."
"Speaking of the four of us…" Cosima eyed Sarah.
"Not a peep…And Art's found no leads." Sarah shook her head.
"Well…Our sestra the former Sister is a survivor…" Cosima noted, taking and patting Sarah's hand. "She's ok, I'm sure she is."
"Lets just hope whoever she runs into is too." Art noted, glancing at Sarah's anxious face.
…..
Helena's stark theme…
Snow field in Northern Canada, far off the rather remote road she and the sergeant clone had been on previous to their turning off…
His jeep long abandoned in the snow…
"Are you sure you're following that compass correctly…Ma'am?" the sergeant asked her.
Helena giving him a frowning stare, then eyeing the compass she'd grabbed out of his jeep. Keeping pistol handy.
"We're going southeast…Toward sestras. We're ok." she noted. "But, if you wish to turn back, we're far enough, you can go."
"My orders are to stay with you…" he replied.
"…And deliver me to your masters…You shouldn't edit too freely." she smiled.
"If I can't do that, at least I can report you got safely out of here." he looked round. "Let me do that much…Ma'am."
"So you can go and contact someone when you get me safely out of here." she noted. "Well, is fair enough. I don't want to leave you tied up here or knocked on the head. You might be real snowman by night. Or iceman."
"Thanks…Ma'am."
"Thank…My babies…My sestras…My twin…My angel niece…And Mama…" she eyed him. "They have cleansed me and I can sin no more, within reason. Meaning I wills bop your noggins and leave you if you try to stop me from going from here. Hok, soldier guy?"
"Ma'am." Nod.