AN: Thanks for the incredible response to this Snowing story! See previous chapter for important authors notes on characters and story notes.
Important note: Milah is not Neal's father in this universe. Cora is I've taken some liberties again with characters and back stories. :)
Special Note: The character of TJ Morrison is a Manifest character. The characters of Nick and Greta Branson are based on Hansel(also known as Jack and Nick Branson) and Gretel from Once season 7.
This one will update bi-weekly on Sunday nights now. Please consider leaving a review, it is much appreciated. Here are individual responses to reviews:
Ghostwriter: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer Baratta: Yep, Emma and Neal will need some luck. Glad you're enjoying!
Grace5231973: I think Olive has made a big mistake too. Baron Samdi cannot be trusted. I guess we'll soon find out what TJ's calling is all about too. Yep, you probably know along the lines of how this will go. Glad you're enjoying it!
Sexystarwarslover: Yes, it's getting interesting. Yeah, Olive remembers meeting TJ at the airport. Yeah, she had a huge crush on TJ and it would have been wild if Olive had stayed with her Dad. Yep, Olive is definitely making a mistake and Samdi cannot be trusted. You're right, he's a con-artist. Yeah, MM is not letting him give up. Lol, Emma's eating habits. Yeah, Olive probably made a mistake in telling Samdi about the death date. Yep, Nick and Greta are probably X'ers. Yes, David is an adorable nerd. Yeah, Emma and Neal are in a bind. Glad you're enjoying it!
AnonSnowing: Yeah, little Olive has a crush on TJ, it was so cute. Yeah, that could definitely be some foreshadowing. Samdi is a con-artist and not to be trusted at all. I think Olive is probably making a mistake here. Yeah, David is going to survive and MM will help him keep the faith. I know, Regina might be in a bit over her head. Yeah, it's hard to say if telling Samdi is a good idea. He is a passenger, so in a way, he might have a right to know. But he's manipulative so there's that to consider too. Unfortunately, Olive is trusting someone she shouldn't. Yes...Professor Nolan. I liked that scene too, thanks. Yep, he's a passenger and Emma and Neal have their work cut out for them. Glad you're enjoying!
Lightning in a Bottle
Chapter 58: Black Box, Pt 2
Regina sat with Vance, who was pretending to be Fiona, the Major, who was subsequently posing as her therapist.
"My research has stalled. There's a geneticist in Sweden that might be able to help, but if he can't, I think I might have to give up working on the anomaly," Regina said, as she fidgeted. Vance raised his hand and pointed his finger like a gun.
"Bang. You're dead," he scolded.
"Come on. That was a good one," Regina protested.
"Stop fidgeting with your necklace. It's a dead giveaway. The Major is a seasoned intelligence officer. Busy up your hands. Eat an apple or something," he suggested. She rolled her eyes.
"I don't understand how lying about needing help from some made-up Swedish geneticist gets us anywhere," Regina said skeptically.
"When the Major hears a foreign scientist might prove useful to her, I'm betting it'll activate her to reach out to her superiors," he explained.
"Why? Isn't exposing her enough?" Regina questioned.
"She's a shadow. We expose her, she disappears, another black op opens up in her place," he answered.
"But if we can identify someone who'll be hurt by this scandal, then we can go to the press and break this wide open," he added.
"And David is on board with this? Because he's been doing everything possibly to keep the press spotlight off his family," she said. He nodded.
"We'll keep you and your family out of it as much as possible, but the press isn't going away," he said.
"I know…they're going to go nuts when they find out about Margaret's pregnancy. They're going to salivate at the chance to break the story of the first 828 baby," she lamented.
"I know and I'll do what I can from this end, but we're not ready for the world to know I'm alive again," Vance said.
"Besides, David isn't going to anyone near his family and he has a cop sister to help him," he added. Regina nodded.
"Now, are you still holding up appearances at the hospital?" he asked.
"Yes, leaving placebo samples at my lab, which so-called Dr. Whale is still siphoning. She must have the goods on him," Regina mentioned.
"Good. I know you're anxious to get back to your real 828 research, but I need you to hold off completely until we shut down the Major. We're close. And we can't risk anything," he implored. Regina nodded.
"I know…let's bring this bitch down," she said.
Johanna sipped at her tea and set it down, as she had a visit with Margaret.
"So…how is everything?" she asked.
"Good…the morning sickness is starting to pass for the most part and it's a normal pregnancy so far," Margaret answered.
"That's wonderful…do you know the sex yet?" she asked.
"Not yet…but the doctor says we should be able to find out at the next appointment. We can't wait…David is so happy. He can't wait for another baby," Margaret replied.
"It's so wonderful that you have a husband like that," Johanna said sadly. Margaret reached over and squeezed her hand.
"It's still not too late…maybe you'll find someone else and this will be the one," she said.
"Oh, I don't know about that, dear…I'm quite a bit older than you and no one is jumping at the chance to date an 828 passenger, especially one my age," she said.
"I know it seems like that, but this is going to fade. People will get bored with it," Margaret insisted.
"I hope so…but strange things seem to happen around the passengers," Johanna said. Margaret swallowed and was reluctant to talk to anyone, except those that were very
close to her about the Callings.
"Oh?" she asked, playing dumb.
"Didn't your sister find those girls that had been missing?" Johanna prodded.
"Oh…yes, but Emma's a detective, so it's her job," Margaret said.
"Yes, but I read that she wasn't even on the case and just happened upon them with no leads. That's quite the coincidence," Johanna mentioned. Margaret wondered if she should prod Johanna to see if she was having Callings, but Henry came home with Robert at that moment.
"Hi sweetie," she said, as she greeted him with a hug.
"Did you have fun?" she asked.
"Yeah…gramps took me to the arcade and then we got pizza," Henry replied, as Robert smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry…it was a while ago, so we didn't spoil his appetite for dinner," Robert assured her.
"Good…go up and wash up. Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked her father-in-law.
"Can't think of anything I'd rather do," Robert agreed.
"Johanna…would you like to join us?" Margaret asked.
"Oh thank you for the offer, dear…but I should be getting home," Johanna replied, as Margaret saw her off. Once she was in her car, the phone rang.
"What do you have?" Cora asked.
"Nothing much…other than the pregnancy. No one seems to know about it yet, but she won't be able to hide it much longer. She's still keeping me at arms length though," Johanna reported.
"Then gain her trust and get her to talk more," Cora insisted.
"I've done all I can…she's too guarded. She is going to know something is up if I push any harder," Johanna argued. There was a pause on the other end.
"Then I guess the murderer of Eva Blanchard is about to come to light…and you'll be implicated in the crime," Cora said. Johanna panicked and her hands shook, as she reached into her purse, pulling out a photo. She didn't want to do it…but she had no choice.
"Wait…I swiped a photo from the fridge. A sonogram…you can give it to your report friend," Johanna said. She could almost hear Cora smirking on the other end.
"Meet me at my house in thirty minutes," she said, before hanging up. Johanna almost burst into tears and her hands shook, as she put the car in gear and drove off.
"These are the images I saw, along with "2012", which I assume is the year," TJ explained, as he showed David the four symbols that he saw in his Calling.
"It's an odd combination for sure," David agreed.
"I don't even know what we're looking for," TJ said, with a bit of frustration, as Olive poked her head into her dad's office.
"Olive," David said, with a smile, as he hugged his little girl.
"Hey, I was on my way to SAT prep. Just wanted to stop by and say hi," she said. He raised an eyebrow.
"And to borrow twenty bucks," he said slyly.
"Well, I was gonna ask for ten, but twenty is good," she replied, as he fished a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to her. He could see Margaret playfully rolling her eyes at him in his head. He denied her nothing, though his counter to that was always that he denied both of them nothing and his wife had to agree there. He was firmly wrapped around both their respective pinkie fingers.
"I'm TJ," he said, introducing himself.
"TJ was on Flight 828. You might remember him. He was at the airport in Jamaica," David said.
"You look... familiar," TJ mentioned, as he recalled a memory.
Flashback
"Next," the gate agent said, as TJ approached the desk.
"Hey, any seats left on that later flight? I was hoping to get one of those vouchers. Then maybe I can take my mom to San Francisco next summer," he explained. She smiled.
"One seat left," she said.
"Nice. I'll take it," he said, as he noticed the little girl from the bookstore behind him.
"Unless, of course, Ten-and-a-Half here wants it," he offered.
"It's okay. You can have it," Olive replied, slightly disappointed.
"Keep reading, Ten-and-a-Half," he said, as he accepted the voucher.
"Sorry, you don't ring a bell," she fibbed.
"So what are you guys working on?" she asked, changing the subject.
"TJ had a Calling, and I'm trying to help him figure it out," David said, as he looked at TJ.
"Even though she wasn't with us, she has an uncanny knack for this stuff," he added.
"So why are you guys researching the Gramercy Club?" Olive asked, receiving two blank stares.
"The animals. That's the logo for the Gramercy Club," she added, but still received blank stares. She smirked.
"Oh, I mean, where have you guys been the past five years?" she joked and they chuckled.
"Alright, it's this cool, members-only athletic club in the city. Some of the rich kids at my school belong to it. Fancy restaurants, bars, a bunch of courts and pools. I never scored an invite myself, but supposedly it's a pretty posh place," Olive explained.
"Let's go. Maybe there's something big there," TJ suggested, as David grabbed his coat.
"You're welcome," Olive called. David smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Thanks Princess…love you," he said.
"Love you too," she called, as her eyes met with TJ's.
"See ya," he said.
"Yeah, see ya," she replied.
Emma put her hands up and kept talking to him.
"I was on the plane, too. My name's Emma," she said.
"I'm Logan," he replied.
"Logan, look, I understand, okay? Coming back was hard for all of us," she said.
"I felt confused and isolated," she added. She had done much better than he seemed to though, because she had family.
"Nobody understood what I was feeling…I can't believe you were on 828," he said.
"Why the hell are we at the same bank together?" he asked in confusion.
"We're trying to figure that out," Neal chimed in.
"You're another one of us?" Logan asked.
"It's complicated," Neal answered vaguely, as Emma was hoping that he would calm down now.
"Logan…do you, do you see visions or hear voices?" she asked.
"Because I do, too," she added, as he looked at her in confusion.
"That's how I wound up here today," she explained. Logan fell into panic though, as the alarm went off. He hadn't been paying attention and the bank manager was able to press the panic button.
"Damn it!" he cried, as he pointed his gun at the man.
"You hit the alarm!" he accused, as Emma got in his line of sight again and put her hands up.
"Look, I'm NYPD, okay? I can help you…" she revealed.
"You're a cop?!" he cried in alarm.
"Take it easy. Put the gun down, and you may be able to get out of this with little jail time," she offered.
"I don't care about jail time. I'm trying to save my life!" he cried. Her brow furrowed.
"How's robbing a bank gonna save your life?" she questioned. He growled, as he kept holding a hand to his head, like he was plagued with visions. Emma knew the feeling.
"I saw a vision of my future. My tombstone," he revealed and her eyes widened.
"And not just once. I see it over and over again. It's...It's real. If I don't get what I need from that box, I'm gonna die. I need to get into that vault!" he cried. Emma looked at Neal with wide eyes and he was thinking the same thing.
"He had the Death Date Calling," Neal said.
"No other passenger has any clue about the Death Date. That has to be why we're here," Emma realized, as she thought for a moment.
"Maybe we don't try to stop we help him," she whispered.
"What are you talking about?" Neal asked. He may have had the Death Date Calling, but he seemed too unhinged to help.
"I mean, he seems to think that whatever's in that vault is gonna save him. So maybe it'll save us, too," she suggested.
"You really think he has some miracle answer for the Death Date?" Neal asked. She shrugged.
"Maybe…don't we have to try?" she asked.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because, Neal, you only have eight months left to live," she replied and he sobered at that.
"If there's even a slim chance of saving you, I'm gonna take it," she promised.
"Go back. Get on your knees!" Logan cried, as he continued to devolve.
"Emma…you barely know me and you could be risking everything and everyone in this bank for me. Why?" he questioned. She huffed and rolled her eyes.
"Emma…" he pressed.
"Am I just another person to save and check off your list?" he questioned.
"No, of course not," she answered, as the phone started ringing again and didn't let up this time.
"Answer the phone!" one hostage called.
"No. No! No phones!" Logan protested.
"Logan, it's just the cops outside, okay? They're worried about these hostages. They just want to talk to you," Emma said.
"I don't want to talk to them," he retorted.
"Then let me," Emma offered. But he was still reluctant.
"Logan, you're not the only one who's had the Death Date Calling. You've got to start trusting me," she pleaded.
"Wait. Calling?" he asked.
"You mean the vision of my tombstone?" he questioned.
"My nephew had a vision just like it," she said. He held his head again and pointed the gun at her.
"Ah, you st... you stop that. You are trying to manipulate me! Get back on the ground now!" he ordered.
"Hey, man, believe her or not, but someone needs to calm those cops down outside" Neal warned.
"If you ever want to get in that box, this is the way," Neal added. He pointed the gun at them, but then motioned her to the phone.
"If... If you try anything…" he warned.
"No, look, we'll make a deal. We release the hostages, and they'll open the vault for you," she said.
"We can do that, can't we?" she asked and he looked leery.
"If you're worried about losing bodies and losing leverage, I'll stay, too," Emma offered.
"Neal, no…" Emma protested.
"No chance I'm leaving you behind," Neal replied.
"Fine…you two stay. Now answer it!" Logan snapped, as Emma slowly went to the phone and lifted it off the cradle.
"This is Detective Emma Nolan," she answered.
Johanna parked her car and slowly got out of the car, before going up to the door of the large house in the gated community. Her hand shook, as she knocked on the door and it was answered by the butler, who let her in and led her to the sitting room where Cora awaited her, along with a man she assumed was the reporter she had hired.
"Do you have it?" Cora asked.
"Y…yes, but we shouldn't do this. It's wrong…" Johanna replied.
"No…it's right. When Margaret lost most of her family and was destroyed, I finally had my revenge and if she hadn't completely turned Regina against me, then maybe I wouldn't need this," Cora said.
"But I do," she added.
"The plane returned and with it, my precious Regina…but she wants nothing to do with me and instead has made a family with Margaret and her family," Cora said.
"And even after she has rejected her own father, time and again, he still talks about her and is starting to lament his actions toward her when she was a teenager," she added.
"Age will do that…we realize sometimes too late about the mistakes we made in the past. I should have never kept quiet about what you did to Eva…and I don't think I can anymore," Johanna said.
"I must tell her," she added.
"No…you won't do that. Give me the photo and then you'll keep helping me destroy her or you'll be the one going to prison for murder," Cora threatened.
"I'll take my chances…the truth will prevail," Johanna said, as she turned back and attempted to exit the house. But two members of Cora's security team blocked her way.
"Please escort Ms. Mason to her car. We'll be going for a little drive," Cora said.
"I'm…I'm not going anywhere with you!" Johanna protested, but Cora pulled a gun on her, startling Sidney, but he remained a silent bystander. Cora pulled the photo from Johanna's purse and looked at the sonogram with disdain, before handing it to Sidney.
"Run the story," she said. He nodded.
"No!" Johanna cried, as she was forced into her car at gunpoint.
"Drive home," she ordered, as did so as she sobbed.
Regina bit into the apple, as she spoke with her therapist.
"Mmm…there's nothing quite like an apple, especially honey crisp. They've always been my favorite," she said fondly.
"Anyway…I filled out the profile, even uploaded a picture. I think I am finally ready to dive into the online-dating world," Regina said.
"Good for you. I'm glad to see you so excited about the future," Fiona mentioned.
"I'd be more excited about my future if I can get some help with my work," Regina said.
"Oh? Remember the genetic research I'd been working on?" she asked.
"Vaguely," Fiona fibbed.
"Well, I've hit a roadblock. But I heard that there's a geneticist in Sweden having success with experimental studies in the same arena, so…" Regina said.
"And you think they can help?" Fiona asked.
It's the most promising lead I've had since I've started all this," Regina said, as the timer beeped.
"Time's up," Fiona said.
"That went by really fast," Regina said.
"Guess I'll have to wait till next time to hear more," Fiona replied.
"Sounds good," Regina said, as she left her office.
"Did you get all that?" she asked into the recording device in the pin she was wearing.
"I did…hopefully, she'll take the bait," Vance answered and she heard him in the small earpiece she was wearing.
"What now?" Regina asked.
"We wait," he answered. She sighed and hoped that this worked. She didn't want to be near this woman anymore. She decided she would go visit her father and then they could join their new family for dinner, so she dialed her step-sister.
"Hey…are you guys going to be home? I thought I would check my father out of the home for dinner," she said
"That sounds great…see you soon," Margaret replied. Regina smiled and hung up the phone, before going to pick up her father.