I still don't own Primeval. But I've come to terms with that fact. AUGH! HOW COULD THEY KILL CUTTER AND GET RID OF JENNY!?!?!?

Chapter 4

Becker cursed, glaring at Danny, who shook his head helplessly.

"You--" he broke off, not finding a work foul enough to suit his fury. He settled for stepping towards the leader with hateful eyes. "How could you let her get taken?"

Danny looked down unhappily. Becker knew deep down that it wasn't his fault, but he needed to blame someone. Stephen and Sarah were gone now, lost millions of years in either direction.

***

He'd aimed a gun at Danny's head. In his other hand he held an anomaly device.

"Who are you?" Becker asked. Abby and Connor looked at one another in shock.

"Stephen," Abby breathed, then repeated his name, louder. The man looked at her with the eyes they remembered so well. Warm, deep, soulful, caring--and then they grew cold so fast.

"Be quiet," he hissed. He took a few steps towards Connor, cocking his head to the side. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Well, Connor. You got a haircut. Not horrible, not great, either."

"Who are you?" Connor asked. "You're not Stephen. Are you one of Helen's--"

"I'm not a clone," he said easily. "Like Helen told Nick, a clone can never be the same man. I am Stephen James Hart."

"You're dead," Connor said, his voice breaking. "Cutter said he watched you get torn to shreds."

"He looked away too quickly to see me escape," Stephen shrugged. "Helen saved me."

"Helen saved you?" Abby asked incredulously. "How?"

"She came through an anomaly and pulled me through."

"We b--we buried you," Abby said. Her lips were shaking.

"You buried a box," Stephen shrugged. "They couldn't find my body. They supposed there wasn't enough left to salvage, but it wasn't there at all. Helen and I watched my funeral. It wasn't that bad."

"So you're Helen's boy now, are you?" Connor glared at him. "You know she murdered Cutter."

"And I know Quinn watched as Helen died."

"I know, Helen was a real saint." Connor took a step towards Stephen now, staring defiantly into his eyes. "A loss to our world."

"Don't speak like that about my wife," Stephen snarled. Abby's eyes widened and Connor stared in disbelief; Stephen smirked.

"What? Cutter was hardly a model husband for her, while I would do anything for her. When Cutter died, she and I got hitched."

"Bet you two danced on Cutter's grave," Connor scowled. "You know you practically killed Cutter yourself, when he thought you were dead."

"I was the one who kept him from stepping into Leek's menagerie," he shrugged. He inclined his head. "The way I see it, you owe me one."

They looked ready to kill one another; Stephen held the gun, but Connor had a year's worth of vengeance pulling at his heart. Sarah saw Stephen begin to cock his gun first, and she stepped in between them.

"If you want to kill Connor, you'll have to kill me first," she said quickly.

"No!" Becker shouted. Sarah ignored him. Stephen let out a short, clipped laugh.

"I hardly want to kill anyone," he said, shaking his head. "But I guess--" He grabbed Sarah's arm forcefully and pulled her around so his gun was pressing into her neck. Sarah winced at the cold metal. "You leave me no choice, Page."

"No!" Becker snarled again. He took a step forward but Danny held him back. Stephen stepped backwards into the anomaly, and it closed behind him.

***

Becker was tired of seeing pain--no, that wasn't right. Right now, he wanted to cause Danny Quinn so much pain.

Abby's eyes crossed from Becker to Danny fearfully, then closed her eyes, hearing the crack in the air as Becker's knuckles collided with Danny's chin. Danny fell backwards, not bothering to defend himself because he knew how Becker felt. He knew, in the soldier's position, he would feel much the same way. He licked a dot of blood from the corner of his mouth and got to his feet.

Connor stood, his back against a graffiti-splattered wall as he shook his head. He was trying to work out in his head where they would have gone. Where Stephen would try to steal Sarah off to.

It didn't make sense, Stephen taking Sarah. Unless he was trying to get something else out of her, pressuring the team by having one of their own.

Danny's cell phone rang; it was the imperial march from Star Wars. Connor would've been amused, but the air was too heavy to laugh.

Danny snatched up his phone to answer it. "Lester?"

"Look, Quinn. It's late, and I can't talk long, but what's this about Stephen?"

"Late? Oh, time change--well, Stephen Hart just left with Sarah."

"He--give the phone to Temple."

"He wants to talk to you," Danny said to Connor as he handed the phone over. Connor set it at his ear quietly.

"Stephen's dead, Temple."

"Lester, Helen got him out before the creatures killed him." His voice was emotionless. "And she brainwashed him."

Lester was silent a moment. "You know I have to order you to return to the ARC."

"You know I can't do it, Lester."

Lester sighed. "And I don't expect you to, not until you get Sarah back."

That gave Connor a slight, unconvinced smile. "Is that an order?"

"An unofficial order. Off the record."

Connor nodded. "All right. I'll do it."

"What's wrong, James?"

James turned to his wife sadly. "Do you want me to be honest, Jade?"

She nodded, stepping towards him. "Is it work?"

He breathed slowly, stepping across the room to where his daughters' school pictures were hung on the wall. They smiled out at him, alleviating some of his tension. "Yes."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Two of my employees, Connor Temple and Danny Quinn. They're in trouble, and it's serious. They're on a business trip and something's gone wrong."

"Where are they?"

"America, somewhere."

Jade cocked her head to the side. She took a few steps towards him. "Will you ever let me in, James? I know your job is national security and I should keep my nose out, but I want to help you."

James smiled ruefully. "Maybe someday. But not today."

They looked at one another once more, for hours or seconds, before stepping back to their bedroom.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. "Whoever is coming to call at this hour of night?" Jade asked, getting out of bed. James was barely awake but leapt up as he heard his wife scream.

He entered the living room to see at least six soldiers entering their house. One was restraining Jade, holding an arm across her shoulders, immobilizing her.

"Get off of her!" Lester shouted, but a soldier struck him with the stock of a gun across his face. He collapsed onto the floor, holding his hand over his cheek, where blood was beginning to pool between his fingers.

"James!" Jade cried.

"Daddy!"

Lester looked up weakly to see Angeline and Vanessa standing at the entrance to the room. There were tears in their eyes as a soldier picked each one up and slung them over a shoulder. Two soldiers picked Lester off the floor, each one holding him by an arm as they were carried outside. They were thrown one by one into an armored vehicle waiting outside and the door slammed behind them. There was a dim light above their heads.

Jade was watching James with terrified eyes.

"Who are these men, James?" she asked. "Why are they doing this?"

James grimaced. "I suppose I was wrong. I do have to tell you today."

"What is it, daddy?" Vanessa asked. Her eyes were like saucers.

He breathed before beginning. "I work for the government, Jade. You know that much. I work at the ARC."

"The Anglosphere Revenue Centre, yes," Jade nodded. James shook his head.

"It's not about revenue. It's called the Anomaly Research Centre. It's probably the most secret government agency in existence, and we'd like to keep it that way."