Chapter 9 – What's Happening
Nick opened the door to his house and threw his coat onto a chair, collapsing onto the sofa and rubbing his temples with one hand. Where was Claudia Brown? Why hadn't Lester got back to him yet? Where was Connor? What was happening between Stephen and Abby? Talking about Abby what had been wrong with her today? Nick groaned as the questions thundered around his brain; giving him the headache from hell. A headache which wasn't made any better by the sound of his phone ringing, the high pitched ringtone piercing through his brain.
'Cutter,' he said, closing his eyes and leaning back against the back of the sofa.
'I've found you're mysterious Claudia Brown, so sound a little more interested, Professor,' Lester drawled down the phone. Nick sat up quickly.
'Where is she?'
'That's the big question isn't it? She disappeared. She was a member of the Home Office who just vanished just before you were assigned to the anomaly project,' Lester answered, 'Now you'd better come up with some answers, professor, because we need them.'
Nick sat frozen in place as the dial tone sounded at the other end of the phone. Claudia had disappeared? Just before he'd joined the anomaly project, which meant he would never have met her had he not been through the anomaly into the Permian. How could this have happened?
Helen... was it possible his unbalanced wife had something to do with Claudia's disappearance. The sound of his doorbell ringing jerked Nick from his thoughts; he stood up and, still in a daze, went to his door and pulled it open. There on the steps was Connor, complete with two bags and a slightly guilty expression.
'Professor... we may have a bit of a problem...' Connor said; he frowned when he noticed the Professor's slightly glazed expression.
'Are you okay?'
'Connor... we may have more than a bit of a problem. Come in.'
The student walked past Nick and into the lounge. Nick followed him and sat in one of the armchairs, facing Connor as he sat on the sofa.
'Firstly what's this problem you mentioned?'
Connor sighed and looked at the floor.
'It's Duncan...'
(About two hours earlier)
Connor stood on the doorstep, fidgeting nervously as he waited for the door to be opened. He'd left his mother's earlier; telling her there was a problem with Duncan after she'd asked him why he seemed so distracted. She knew about Tom's death, though not the exact circumstances, and she'd told him to go see Duncan; she'd been feeling a lot better so Connor didn't feel as guilty about leaving her a few days early. The door opened and Duncan looked out through the small gap at Connor.
'Hey, Duncan, it's Connor,' he said; Duncan pulled the door open with a questioning look at his old friend.
'What are you doing here? You didn't call did you?' Duncan asked. Connor shook his head.
'No I stopped by on my way back from my mother's,' he explained, 'I need to talk to you Duncan.'
'What about?' the larger student asked, leaning against the doorframe.
'About that post you made on the internet about the anomaly project. You mentioned Tom! Do you really want the same thing to happen to someone else that did to Tom! It was because we were so into conspiracies that he died, because he couldn't see the truth! He died thinking I'd killed him!'
Duncan fixed Connor with an unwavering stare. 'People deserve to know the truth, Con. If you want to do the right thing see if you can find out when a group of us are meeting to discuss the anomalies. Other people who have seen them and know the truth. People who want others to know what's happening.'
With that he shut the door in Connor's face. The student stood on the pavement pounding on the door for a few minutes before he let his arms fall dejectedly to his sides. Connor knew that Duncan was right about having to tell people; he also knew that this was the worst way imaginable to go about doing it. It was just going to cause panic and make their job harder. Connor groaned when he realised just how much like Lester he sounded.
What am I going to do? He wondered, I can't tell Lester, he'll have Duncan locked up before he could blink and Duncan would never help us like he did when we were trying to find Tom... maybe I should just go to the professor...
With that thought firmly in place Connor decided to go see Cutter, tell him what had happened and ask him what they should do. He knew the older man hated Lester and so knew that, if he did suggest going to the government official, it would be the only option they had.
He picked up his bags that were currently sat on the pavement by his feet and started to make his way down the street, and towards Cutter's house. Casting one look back at the closed door and wondering just how his life had managed to get this complicated.
Abby took the note off of her locker and unlocked it, casting another curious glance over it.
'Hey Abby!' she turned at the sound of Rachel calling her name.
'Hey, how's Lily doing?' she asked, putting her stuff in her locker and slamming the door shut.
'Damn thing sticks...' she muttered as she turned to face Rachel.
'Yeah she's fine. Have you got a note about going to see the new boss?' Rachel asked, holding up a note almost identical to the one Abby had stuck on her locker.
'Just seen it, I've got to see him in ten minutes. I might just go straight over there now. When are you going?'
The two women started to make their way out of the staff room.
'Five minutes,' Rachel replied, as they changed their course towards the main office. They entered the slightly stuffy building and took a pair of seats in the waiting room. Just as they sat down one of the other keepers came out looking like he was about to hit the roof.
'Sacked me,' he told them, 'He's thinning down the work force to save money and some of us have got to go. You should both be fine,' he added, noticing their worried faces, 'Everyone knows you two are two of the best workers in this place.'
'Rachel, it's your turn,' the PA said.
'See you in a bit,' Abby told her.
'Good luck,' the other keeper replied before turning to walk out. He paused at the door, grinning at Abby.
'Don't fancy going for a drink do you, Abby?'
Abby laughed, 'Sorry, Mike, I'm taken.'
Mike raised his eyebrows, 'Who's the lucky man?'
Abby smiled, 'You wouldn't know him.'
Five minutes later and Rachel walked out looking relieved.
'My job's safe,' she told Abby, 'And I'm being assigned back to Lily.'
'That's great!' Abby said, she noticed the PA waving her over, 'I'll see you in a few minutes.'
'I'll wait for you,' Rachel told her.
'What happened?' Rachel asked her when she came out. Abby took a deep breath.
'My jobs under the loses,' she replied, 'As of today I'm taking the rest of my holiday and am no longer working here.'
Rachel looked at her in shock.
'But Abby you're one of the best workers we've ever had! We all-'
'Rachel stop,' Abby pleaded and the brunette did as she was asked. The Abby before her now reminded her of the Abby she'd taken to the clinic a few years ago.
'It's probably for the best,' she said, 'I'd probably have had to have left in a few months anyway... what with this government project I've got to help with...'
Rachel brought the blonde into a hug.
'No one will stand for it, Abby! We'll go on strike or something... you can't just leave us...'
Abby laughed as she hit her friend lightly on the shoulder.
'Stop talking like that and come help me pack up my locker. I've got so much crap in there that's built up over the years it'll take all day to clean it out!'
Rachel laughed as they entered the staff rooms. The pair stopped at the locker that said 'Abby Maitland' on it and Abby smiled slightly.
'I always said I hated this damn locker because all it ever does is stick...'
'Won't have to put up with it anymore,' Rachel pointed out.
'Thank God!' she replied, yanking open the offending piece of metal. They looked up as Phil, the main tiger keeper, walked in.
'Abby I just heard. Smith's gotten rid of you as well? He's getting rid of some of our best keepers! We'll have hardly anyone left at this rate... we only managed to keep hold of some keepers because we had you two to keep them here,' he said the last bit with a grin. Rachel rolled her eyes at him.
'Oh leave off you. Anyway Abby has a mystery man that she's not telling us about,' Rachel said, casting a sly look at Abby. The blonde responded by rolling her eyes and smiling to herself.
'Well since this will be one of the last times you're here as a keeper under me I'll have to get it out of you won't I?' Phil said, walking over to Abby and starting to tickle her.
'Phil! Get off!'
'Is this him?' Rachel asked, picking up a photo that had fallen out of Abby's locker. Abby burst out laughing when she saw who was in the picture. It was a picture of her, Nick and Connor that Stephen had managed to convince them into having done.
'That's our team leader and my flat mate,' she replied.
'Hey introduce me to this flat mate of yours at some point,' Rachel said, 'He looks quite hot.'
'Connor? Let me warn you he's a geek with a capital G,' she said, Rachel shrugged.
'No one's perfect,' she said, smirking at the blonde.
'Is this him?' Phil asked, holding up yet another photo that had found its way into her locker. Abby took it off him with a smile. It was a picture of her and Stephen talking when they'd faced the aerial predators, Connor had taken it and she'd managed to convince him to give her a copy.
'Yeah that's Stephen,' she replied. Rachel looked over her shoulder.
'How come you get all the hot guys?' she demanded; Abby shoved her playfully.
'Alright you two break it up. Have you thought of names for those tigers yet?' he asked them. Abby and Rachel looked at each other; Abby smiled sadly.
'Name one Tim, he deserves to be remembered somehow,' she told him, going back to her locker and finishing emptying it of anything important. The junk would be put in the bin when she brought it over.
'What are you calling the girl?' Rachel asked him. Phil smirked.
'Well since she saved her life we've decided to call her Abby,' he replied. Abby turned, beaming, to wrap her arms around the older keeper.
'Thanks, Phil,' she said.
'Then the other one should be called Stephen,' Rachel said, ''Cause it's been too long since I've seen Abby this happy over a guy.'
Abby laughed, 'You're a sentimental sob at times.'
A/N: OMG I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update! This chapter did prove difficult to write though... for some reason it just wouldn't come to me... Anyway enough of my excuses...
Thank you to everyone who reviewed... if you didn't get your replies I need to resend them 'cos my email was going a bit funny when I was trying to send them and I don't know which ones sent and which ones didn't.
Next chapter will be up soon with, yep you guessed it, more Stabby! Well I need to make up for the lack of it in this series sobs quietly I'm sorry but what is up with Stephen in this series? He's going slightly evil and going towards Helen... don't do it Stephen!!! Leave the stream of abuse leaves her mouth woman alone and go back to Abby! coughs ahem... anyway...
Thank you to everyone who reviewed and thank you to the readers who are staying by me.
PLEASE tell me what you think... I promise the main plot line is going to be appearing soon... possibly in the next chapter actually... if I can manage it...
Ciao for now
Starsword
