I fear I've spoken too much - ;-)

Keeping One's Word

Central Park West runs along the side of Central Park from 55th Street up through 110th St. It contains some of Manhattan's richest properties and tenants, including celebrities and the wealthy. This means black sedans with blacked out windows were not an unusual sight on the block. What was unusual were four of them pulling up, coming to a screeching halt, and having the passengers surround the townhouse. There wasn't an entrance they weren't at.

"You might want to give me that back before they come through that door," Jack said to Pete about the Tesla.

Helena didn't want Pete to get in trouble, so she nodded her head to give back the Tesla. Jack took back his weapon as he tried not to appear embarrassed that he had been subdued by the woman he was sent to talk to.

"Helena, what do we do?" Myka asked.

"I will take care of everything," Helena assured Myka, even though she had no plan yet. "Mr. Lattimer, make sure you take care of Ms. Bering."

When the agents burst through the front door, Mrs. Frederic instinctively stood in front of Eileen and Claudia, both of whom screamed at the aggressive intrusion. The men stood in the doorway and on the front steps as a dark skinned man in a dark suit walked calmly up them.

Claudia quickly closed her programs on her tablet so no one could see her tracking device. Eileen wondered if she should call her Uncle Mike, an NYPD sergeant with the 55th Precinct. Mrs. Frederic stood tall, as a protective mother as the man approached her.

"Mrs. Frederic, I think you know why we're here," the man said in a tone that wasn't threatening, but it wasn't friendly either.

"I think I do, but that doesn't mean I don't want to speak to you first," the woman said and then when she saw him hesitate added; …. "As her One, I believe I am entitled to that."

The man in charge gazed down on the woman. She was smart, very smart.

"Tell Agent Wells I am here," he said to his men.

"OK, OK enough," Claudia said because she had had it. "She's the fracking CEO of her company, she's not HG Wells, and she's not Agent Wells ok? "

It seemed almost too much for the Teckie to take in. Eileen immediately put her arm around her friend. It wasn't her fault she couldn't believe it, Eileen thought. It was a lot to believe, but Eileen was a woman of faith, especially in people. "Let's go make some tea," Eileen said and took Claudia to the kitchen after the lead agent said it was okay.

"Perhaps we could talk in here," Mrs. Frederic said.

"It would seem we are already too late," the intruder said after hearing Claudia's declaration.

"Now that will depend on what you hoped to accomplish," Mrs. Frederic said knowingly.

Inside the library, Helena was preparing herself for the entourage of intruders. Her breathing was becoming shallow and quick as she tried to come up with her plan. Believing she would never need to break the contract because there would never be another person close to her, she never bothered to come up with a plan if this happened.

"Myka, no matter what happens," Helena said turning to Myka and taking her hands, "I will be back."

"Back? You'll be back? That means … you're leaving. Why? They won't …they can't…," Myka said to Helena, Pete, and then Jack.

"They ….can do as they please," Jack said.

Myka looked at Helena. "Is that true? I mean what does that even mean, Helena?"

Helena wasn't afraid of the people in her house. Her only concern was the expression on Myka's face. She could tell she was worried, and that is what Helena was sorry about. She knew involving Myka might cause a problem; she had no idea how quickly they would act. Helena took Myka to another corner of the room where she could talk.

"Myka, I made an agreement with them. They're here to hand out the consequence for breaking that. I will handle it, I promise," Helena assured her. "I need to talk to them."

"Helena, you're a civilian now. You're not Agent Wells, whatever the hell that even means, your former Agent Wells. You don't belong to them anymore," Myka said with great feeling.

"Myka, I never belonged to them, they just didn't know it. And I am not their agent, but I was their employee and they took care of me for a while," Helena said.

"Took care of you? They kept you locked up!" Myka pointed out.

Helena reached up and pushed the fallen curls off of Myka's face. "Myka, you'll understand when I can tell you everything. They don't want to keep me, they just want to remind me what I agreed to," Helena lied because she wasn't entirely sure what they had in mind.

She pulled Myka into her and hugged her warmly. "Remember Myka, the crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow," Helena said – quoting HG Wells.

She let go of Myka without looking her in the eye, for fear she would never leave her side. She walked past Jack and looked at him. "I would not feel safe now that your team is here, Agent Gore, for I may not be done with you."

Mrs. Frederic sat down as the man heading up the home invasion stood. "I like to address people by their surnames," she said to him.

"Adwin Kosan," he said bowing his head slightly. He was already beginning to understand that Helena made a wise choice in picking her.

"Mr. Kosan, I know that at the heart of this, you are here in response to Ms. Wells' decision to share her background with someone close to her," Irene said.

"She has an agreement…," he started, but Irene was not done. She raised her hand and smiled.

"I am sure there is a great deal you can tell me about that agreement, Mr. Kosan, but there is nothing you can tell me about that woman in the other room that I do not know. You, on the other hand, only know her past. You do not know that she single handedly created one of the top companies in this country and employs a great many people. Her inventions, her insights, her visions, Mr. Kosan are helping a great many people live better lives. You know an author and inventor, Mr. Kosan. I know the visionary," Irene said.

Her guest smiled. "I wish it were that simple, Mrs. Frederic. We represent a very important agency, whose contents alone have provided more wonder …..and tragedy …than any single person. We cannot have our security at risk," he explained.

"Mr. Kosan, you know Helena. Do you really believe she would rather talk about your marvels or her own?" Irene asked pointing out her boss' ego.

"You have made some valid points, Irene. And I will take them under advisement. Now, if I may speak with Agent ….. Ms. Wells," he said and Irene knew he was not really asking her.

The door opened and Helena appeared. She didn't know Irene had asked for this impromptu meeting and as usual, jumped to the wrong conclusions.

"If you so much as touch a hair on her head," is how Helena greeter her former boss, the threat full in her tone. "How dare you invade my home and speak to my guests this way."

"It is good to see you, too, Ms. Wells," Mr. Kosan said and Helena noticed how calm Mrs. Frederic looked. "Your One asked to speak with me," he pointed out.

He had spent a great deal of time and a great deal of patience pointing out to Helena how quickly she jumped to conclusions. It was something she was always working on, and apparently, still needed to.

"I thought it might do some good to speak to him," Irene said to Helena.

"Thank you, but I will handle it from here," Helena said as Irene got up.

"That is what I'm afraid of," Irene said as she took her leave. She put her hand on Helena's arm, in a small attempt to convey that she should go slowly, but as soon as the door was shut, she heard Helena raise her voice.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are to plant an agent in the building of one of my employees, in an attempt to seize information from her? Even for the Regents, that's low," Helena started.

"And if we had come to you, to ask if you were considering breaking your contract, would you have told us the truth?" her former boss asked.

"The bloody hell I would have," Helena answered too quickly.

"Exactly. Ms. Wells, we have a mission to carry out. I know you will have trouble believing this, but it is even bigger than you," Mr. Kosan said and it wasn't nasty or sarcastic. He knew to whom he was speaking.

"I know what you do. I was an integral part of it for a very long time, need I remind you," Helena spat back.

"Then you understand, we do not make those contracts lightly. We allowed you to leave because …," he started, but was cut off.

"Because I bloody served my time and because you brought me back because you needed my machine. I earned my release," Helena interrupted him with.

"Yes, you did. What you also earned was our trust. And now you have broken it," he pointed out.

Helena's mouth opened, but nothing came out. A fact that did not get past her former boss.

"A contract is a contract, Ms. Wells," he said looking out the window. "I will give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes," he said.

"The bloody hell I will," Helena shouted, but he raised his hand to stop her tirade.

"Ms. Wells, you signed a contract. One that obligated you to leave your inventions. You broke that before you left the Warehouse. You were obligated to choose one person. Now according to Agent Gore's calculations, you have told five others. I can take them, or I can take you. Which will it be?" he asked and his tone was very serious.

"I will give you five minutes to tell your staff you will be detained until further notice. You might be surprised to know that we have not had to deal with this situation before, and we need to think about it. Do not tempt me to make a hasty decision, Ms. Wells. It will not work in your favor. My agents are all over your home. Don't try anything….. and Ms. Wells?" he said as he walked to the door, "Don't try me."

He walked outside to update his agents that they were to give Helena five minutes and then she would accompany them in the car.

He had extended her more than he had intended to. Now it was time.

I don't mean to get away from Myka and HG, but this needed to be cleared up.

Thanks.