I was so quiet in the last chapter yes? (Wait, what do you mean you didn't notice?)

And then you posted such brilliant insights and comments that I had to go back and say something
and repost it.

lol - you guys are terrific. (puts tape back on lips)

PS I circled back to the first story in this series briefly. I think it worked, but if not, let me know.

You Can't Go Home

If it weren't for the fact that she was being forced to go back to the Warehouse, Helena would have welcomed the opportunity to see it. She wanted to retrieve a few more items, and that was the only reason she was being cooperative. Once she found out they were taking her to South Dakota, Helena planned on how long she would be there. It wasn't more than a day.

"I do wish you would have allowed me to pack clothes," she complained to Mr. Kosan. "I do detest wearing the same outfit two days in a row."

"Civilian life has made you soft," he said back to her expressionless.

Helena knew the roads they took and when she saw the Warehouse in the distance, she could not help the small smile that crossed her face. For Helena, it was like going home in a way. Then the car passed the entrance and Helena was surprised by that, but wouldn't let on. If they weren't taking her to the Warehouse, where were they taking her?

Claudia assured Myka that the disc implanted in Helena's soft tissue would come back online again once they had landed. None of them had been to South Dakota and so they tried to familiarize themselves with the possible locations. None could guess the size of the facility and therefore, had little to go on. Myka guessed correctly that it might be in a mountainous area, but even that didn't narrow the possible sites by much. The pilot followed the coordinates that Claudia was able to hack from the flight plan of the first plane. Myka shuddered to think how many laws they were breaking. She decided to share that with the group before they boarded and told them if any of them had any qualms about that, they should not go with them.

Eileen didn't even answer – she simply got on the plane. "I might have to call my mom if I'm going to be really late for supper though," she said.

"I'm doing this to help Helena. It in no way means I believe half of what this is about," Claudia said before she got on.

Pete just smiled and Steve shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'what the hell'. Myka was especially pleased that Irene had no hesitations. She felt that somehow, she was connected to Helena in a way she didn't understand just yet.

Myka spent the time going over the contract. If she couldn't find a legal issue, she wasn't sure what she would do once she got there. Demand her girlfriend back? Did she just call Helena her girlfriend? OK, yes, but maybe she would demand her boss back. No, she liked girlfriend better.

There didn't seem to be anything that stood out to Myka in the contract that presented itself as a glaring error. In fact, in spite of the number of pages, it was a rather simple agreement – agents were allowed to tell one individual about their jobs and the place they worked and if they broke that rule, consequences would follow. There at the bottom of the page was the beautiful script of Helena's that she was quite familiar with. While her fellow staff members slept, Myka poured over the contract one more time.

By the time Helena's driver was seven miles past the Warehouse location, she realized they were taking her into the town of Univille. She hadn't been there long enough to visit it, but she heard the agents talking about visiting it on occasion. Once there, the cars lined up on the street outside the local diner and they all got out.

Helena followed Agent Gore to the diner, where she noticed the Open sign was turned over to indicate it was closed now. Inside, in several of the booths were ordinary people enjoying their food. As soon as she entered, they stopped eating and the food was taken away.

"Agent Wells," one of the waitresses said to her and showed her where to sit.

"I am no longer an agent," Helena said to anyone of them who would listen.

Helena took in the landscape. She figured out rather quickly that these ordinary looking patrons must be the Regents. She had met some of them before, but that was before she left. The only thought Helena had when she sat down was the worry they would offer her tea.

"Ms. Wells, Mr. Kosan thought it would be best if you came here so that we could discuss …," one of the Regents started and another finished with; "…..Your inability to keep your word."

Helena was paying less attention to them, and more to how she was going to get to the Warehouse if they concluded their business here in the diner.

"The contract you signed is very clear about the selecting of your One. You have chosen to ignore these restrictions and shared sensitive information with not only one, but ….how many did we say?" the older Regent asked Adwin. He held up one hand with his fingers spread. "Five? Agent Wells, are you going to sit here and tell me that you told five other people besides your One?"

Helena Wells spent most of her time as an agent in Warehouse with a mentor she adored. Still, her file was filled with notes that outlined her defiant behavior. Some of it was tolerable, like not wanting to use the standard issued gun; others were outlandish and got her into trouble. None of the Regents were truly surprised when they got the word that Helena had broken the contract. They were a little surprised at the recommended sentencing. They agreed they had never dealt with this issue before, and needed sage advice on the consequence. When the ensuing debates got them nowhere, they turned it over to their trusted friend who knew a thing or two about keeping the commitment.

"Exceptions cannot be made, Adwin," she said convincingly. "We must make an example out of HG Wells," she argued. She persuaded him.

Helena tuned back into their question. "Pardon? Yes, several people know. I doubt that you could say with certitude that they all believe me," Helena said.

"Is it safe to say then, Agent Wells, that you conducted no vetting process? That these others were told on a whim?" a middle aged woman asked from the back.

Helena had never seen her before. She found her tone slightly condescending, but that was because she didn't know her.

"Madam, I am not sure you know who I am, but I do nothing on a whim," Helena said back and her tone was clear. A couple of the older Regents shook their heads at the display of disrespect.

"I do know who you are, Ms. Wells, and the word impulsive does not begin to describe your character," the woman shot back. Helena had no time for this foolishness.

"Madam, if you have a point to be made, would you kindly get to it," Helena said forgetting this wasn't a Wells Corp board meeting and she didn't have the floor.

"I believe, without a doubt, you have just made it for me," the Regent said and with that glared at Mr. Kosan. "I believe we're done here."

Helena looked at the head Regent, who seemed to let out a long sigh of regret. Helena was just happy the damn meeting was over. Now they could pass out their decision. They couldn't ask her to clean up the neutralizer machines anymore. Or do the filing. Or do inventory. The three worst jobs of the Warehouse seemed implausible punishments, so what could be worse?

"Helena, do you have anything else to say in your defense?" Mr. Kosan asked and Helena felt as if he was pleading with her.

"I chose my One based on circumstances that were beyond my control at the time. I made the best choice I could. It is only recently that I have learned that the selection an agent is given should be based on something greater than circumstances. It should be based on love. And that is why I broke my contract and chose another. I chose the person I love," Helena said.

"I believe we are done here," one of the Regents said and now it was Helena who let out a sigh.

Mr. Kosan nodded his head to the woman who slowly approached Helena.

"We, the Regents,after listening to your testimony and giving your circumstances full consideration, do hereby sentence you ….," and the woman looked Helena straight in the eye and continued;

"To be bronzed immediately."

"Ms. Bering, is there anything in there that will help Ms. Wells?" Eileen asked.

"If there is, I can't seem to find it, I'm sorry to say," Myka said and feared she would see the disappointment on the twenty something's face.

"Don't worry, Ms. Bering. You'll think of something. There's a reason Ms. Wells picked you," Eileen said smiling.

"Well picking me is what seems to have caused all of this trouble for her," Myka said.

"Oh I didn't mean this time," Eileen said sincerely.

"Then what time?" Myka asked confused.

The young assistant sat quietly for a minute contemplating what she should do. "I hope Ms. Wells won't mind that I am going to tell you this now," she said. She decided it would help Myka to know. "When Mrs. Frederic was looking for a Chief Counsel, she went to her usual sources to send in resumes. There were hundreds of them in only a couple of days. A lot of them were from the top law schools in the country. Ms. Wells asked to see the best ones and Mrs. Frederic gave them to me to give to her. I counted them – there were twenty-five resumes. And when Ms. Wells gave them back, there were twenty-six! I have a pretty good memory, Ms. Bering. The one that Ms. Wells added to the pile was yours," Eileen said.

"Did she ever tell Irene she stuck mine in there?" Myka asked.

"No, she just told Mrs. Frederic to select the best from these, and that's what she did," Eileen smiled. "Don't you see, Ms. Bering? Ms. Wells wanted you from the beginning. She knew she didn't have to tell Mrs. Frederic to hire you because Mrs. Frederic would know too - you were the best person for this job," Eileen said conclusively.

Myka had to take that in. It made her feel good that Helena had taken an interest in her so early.

"It's like you're destined to be together, Ms. Bering," the wide-eyed optimist said.

Eileen's words were the boost to Myka's ego that she needed. She was feeling very discouraged that she couldn't find something in the document to help Helena. Now she felt more hopeful, if only because of Eileen's faith in her.

"Will your mother let me adopt you?" Myka laughed reaching out to hug the girl. That's when she saw the expression on Mrs. Frederic's face.

Irene had woken up moments before with a start. It was as if something had reached out and grabbed her and shook her to wake her up.

"Myka, it's worse than we thought," Irene said unable to explain exactly what she meant. She just knew Helena was in trouble – terrible trouble.

Pain gripped Myka's chest as Irene explained that she wasn't sure what it was, but that Helena was in danger. She hated to use that word in front of Eileen, but that was exactly what she felt.

"But that Mr. Kosan seemed so reasonable," Myka said. He didn't seem capable of hurting Helena. He promised Myka Helena would be safe with them.

Pete was pacing in spite of the 'fasten your seatbelts' sign. "Dude, sit down," Claudia said pulling him into his seat. "What?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I got a really bad vibe," he tried to whisper. "We got to get Ms. Wells fast."

Claudia couldn't do anything until the pilot told her it was okay to turn on her laptop and the programs came back online. She clenched her teeth until the personal GPS window opened and the tiny green dot started to blink. "There she is," Claudia said showing Pete and Steve the screen.

"She's on the move," Steve pointed out and Claudia grabbed the device back. She tapped feverishly so that they would have the directions when they got into the waiting SUV.

Within minutes, they deplaned and got into the waiting car. They turned on the GPS and headed to their destination, an area that did not seem to be listed on the map. This was Claudia's forte and she pressed keys until she could get an answer. "Univille?" she said having hacked into a private database. "What kind of a town is named Univille?" she asked out loud.

Pete drove down the straight road that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was a desolate place, with large plots of opened land on either side. Off in the distance, they could see a mountain range. Nothing out of the ordinary for this region of South Dakota. Suddenly, the instruments in the car and Claudia's laptop started to act up. Her monitor flashed on and off and Pete noticed the dials were turning in the opposite direction.

"What the frack?" Claudia said looking outside to see if there were electrical towers that might interfere. There was nothing but a barbed wire fence that seemed to run the length of the highway they were on.

"Maybe it's electrified?" Steve asked and Pete pulled over to see if that was the cause. He touched the fence – nothing. It was just an ordinary chicken wire fence.

"Got it," Claudia yelled because no one messed around with her programs.

"Where is she now?" Myka asked. She could have asked Irene who was already looking out at the place they needed to go.

"She's in there," Claudia said pointing in the direction behind the fence.

"We have to hurry," Irene said and that awful feeling came back in the pit of Myka's stomach.

Helena remembered the disinfectant smell of the umbilicus and the smell of old papers in the main office. What really surprised her was what she didn't smell; apples.

She struggled against the hold Agent Gore had on her, but he pleaded with her not to hurt herself. He suddenly had the strength of ten men and she couldn't budge his grip.

"Well, I can't say I am surprised, Agent Wells," Andy Nelson said to her. Andy was the head agent at the Warehouse and they had never gotten along. "Can't say I didn't warn you," he reminded her.

"After I am done with Agent Gore, Agent Nelson, I am coming for you," Helena spat at him.

"Let's go," he said and opened the door to the Warehouse so Jack could walk Helena down.

Helena had mixed feelings about being back there. If she wasn't the brilliant inventor, author, scientist that she was – she would have said this was the most wondrous room in the world. But for Helena, her own home held that title. This was not her home, in spite of how long a time she spent here.

"Do you think that you can just take me off the face of the earth and no one will notice? I run a Fortune 500 company for God's sake. Do you not think the New York press might be a tad suspicious about my absence?" Helena yelled at the man she deemed an idiot.

"Actually, we happen to know you already premeditated your contingency plan when you attempted to use the Time Machine," Andy said to her. How did they know that? "So your company will thrive fine without you. As for the press, well I'm sure your staff will make up something. You are known for your erratic behavior," he smiled sarcastically at her.

"I changed my mind," Helena said and drew his attention and he leaned in.

"I'm coming for you first. Agent Gore can wait," Helena said slowly.

Andy laughed, but Jack didn't. He knew she was serious. Jack placed Helena into the bronzing machine and secured her hands. Helena's mind rushed with thoughts. Did she want this man to be her messenger? How could she leave without giving Myka some message? He released her when she was secured in the shackles.

"Agent Gore," she called out to him and he looked up at her.

"Tell Myka... I love her. I have always loved her," she said because she could not bear the thought of leaving without saying goodbye - without some words.

"I will," Jack said and Helena swore that underneath, he regretted being a part of this.

The white mist started to fill the container, and just like before, HG Wells found herself saying goodbye to the life she knew.

Except this time – Helena could not bear how much there was to leave behind.

I'm posting this and even I am worried.

OK let's all join hands and chant MYKA! MYKA!
Thank you for reading along and for posting if you have time.
I appreciate both.