If I didn't understand the severity of Plagiarism - I would be tempted to use the descriptions for Eileen in QuickLookBusy's post about her. Please read it - it's priceless - as are all of her post.
I did read - 'give Helena depth' and hope this chapter does that. It's hard because face it - who doesn't like Helena when she's ...bad.
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Myka's smile grew wider as the distance between her and Helena lessened, until she saw the expression on her face. Helena leaned over the table and looked directly at Myka. It reminded Myka of how harsh Helena had greeted her the first time she met her. Myka frowned – perplexed by the look. "I am going to speak to Jane Lattimer and when I am done, I want to speak to you," Helena said in a commanding voice. Myka wanted to say 'hey don't' talk to me in that tone", but instead she heard 'ok' come out of her mouth'. Helena turned quickly and looked at the empty seat next to Pete and walked over to him.
"Everything ok here?" Pete asked.
"It will be. Where is your mother?" Helena said.
"Ladies room, I think," Pete said and Helena took off in that direction. Then she caught sight of Eileen walking out a side door with Jane. She moved through the crowd to get to them.
Myka watched as Helena moved in that direction and decided she better check on things. The music started again and Myka had trouble getting through crowd to follow Helena.
Helena glared at anyone who attempted to stop her to talk for a minute. When Nicolas Tesla wrote that he had discovered an energy that could be used as a death ray, no one understood him to mean the glare from the eyes of his friend, Helena Wells.
"Oh my God, she's going to kill someone," Claudia said.
"Oh come one, Claud, don't you think you're over reacting?" Steve asked.
"She just parted that crowd like Moses and the Red Sea, so - no I don't think so!" Claudia said. "Where's Eileen? She can't be near Helena – she'll spontaneously combust if she gets near that much anger."
By the time Helena got to the hallway, no one was there and now she had to look for Jane. 'I will bloody kill her!' ran though Helena's head …and heart. She had trusted that woman to do the right thing. She had let her guard down by forgiving her and now she was suffering the indecency of having been fooled.
. . .
There were people absent at this gathering because they had tried to pull crap on Helena in business deals …..and lost. If Irene was going to insist that Helena fight fair, then by hell, everyone was going to have to. Helena pushed at doors that were locked for security purposes and with each one that refused to open, her frustration grew. Helena had these awful visions of Eileen being hurt – and dragged off – and the more she thought about it, the less clear headed she became. That would not be good for Jane.
"Ms. Sullivan, my name is Jane Lattimer," Jane said to Eileen when she ran into her on her way to see Helena.
"Oh Pete's mom? It's so nice to meet you," Eileen said stopping to talk.
"Ms. Sullivan, I have something I would like to discuss with you. I would love to do it now, if you have a minute," Jane said and if it weren't for the fact that she was Pete's mother, she wouldn't have gone.
"This is a beautiful place, isn't it?" Eileen said of the room that housed the Faberge Egg in a glass case. Except for the high intensity spotlights on the objects encased in glass, the room was dark.
"Yes, it is," Jane agreed. She knew she had a limited amount of time. Her key to open any room in the Museum was the only tools she had in her purse.
"Ms. Sullivan, I work with the people that Ms. Wells used to work for. Do you understand what that means?" Jane asked.
Eileen thought for a minute. "Yes, I don't like them, so maybe I won't like you," Eileen said and started to get anxious over being so open to a stranger.
Jane was neither surprised nor threatened. This woman's devotion to Helena was one of the reasons she was on their radar to begin with. "I understand that," Jane smiled. "And it's okay," she assured Eileen.
"I don't like what they did to her at all," Eileen stated again. "They hurt her."
"I know this might be hard for you to understand dear, but we actually did that to help Agent ….Ms. Wells," Jane said smiling.
"To prove that her One would save her? You could have just asked me. I would have told you Ms. Bering would have moved mountains to save Ms. Wells," Eileen said with feeling. "You didn't have to hurt her."
"I know, Ms. Sullivan. It does look to you as if we hurt Helena, but I promise you, we did it to help her in the long run," Jane tried.
"I guess I don't really understand what you do, so I will take Ms. Wells' word for it," Eileen said, making sure Jane understood whom she trusted.
"Eileen, your part in helping Ms. Wells' has captured the attention of some very important people and I came here to talk to you about that," Jane said.
"Me? Who wants to talk to me?" Eileen asked cautiously. She was really wishing they weren't alone in this big room. She was pretty sure she could outrun the woman, if she took her heels off.
"The people whose job it is to protect the Warehouse and the contents of it," Jane said simply.
"The people who hurt Ms. Wells want to talk to me? Well, I would like to talk to them because I think what they did is awful," Eileen said with her hands on her hips.
Jane could see that the dedication to Helena could be an obstacle in getting Eileen to give serious consideration to the opportunity of a lifetime.
"She fired you …how many times… twice was it?" Jane asked switching gears and surprising Eileen.
"Yes, but …," the youth started, but Jane was good at interrogating.
"How long before she does it for good, Eileen? She's a wonderful, but….. unstable person, we both know that," Jane said putting it bluntly. "You yourself admitted how much it hurt when she did that."
"How do you know that?" Eileen demanded, but in doing so, gave Jane confirmation that she had guessed correctly.
"We don't consider just anyone for this job, Ms. Sullivan. We take great precautions when checking them out," Jane said.
"You mean you spy on them?" Eileen assessed correctly.
"We're just asking you to consider our offer. You can keep your job at Wells Corp for the most part. You would be trained and then only called on when business dictated it," Jane explained.
"I don't want to work with anyone who hurt Helena," Eileen put it plainly.
"I think you're being shortsighted," Jane said …..raising her voice. Had she not, perhaps they both would have heard the click of the door opening at the end of the short hallway that led into this room.
"I want to leave," Eileen said losing confidence that this woman would let her.
"Ms. Sullivan, listen to what we have to offer," Jane said impatiently. Her tone was enough to scare the young woman who took matters into her own hands and turned to run. She didn't get far when she ran right into someone who apparently was prepared to catch her. Eileen screamed until Helena stepped out of the shadows.
"It's okay, Eileen, you are safe now," Helena said and took her by her arm gently and put her behind her.
"I should bloody kill you," Helena said as she felt Eileen shaking as she held onto her waist. "How dare you threaten her."
"I didn't threaten her, Helena. She's a lot braver than you give her credit for," Jane said.
"I forgave you and this is how your repay that kindness? You try to intimidate my friend?" Helena growled.
Eileen looked up at the back of Helena's head. Did she just say 'friend'?
"Do you see this Faberge Egg, Helena?" Jane said trying to distract the Brit by turning to the case. "It's beautiful, but it is enclosed where no one can touch it. You know what it's like to be …..…. sealed off like that, don't you Helena?" Jane said stirring up some of Helena's worst memories.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Helena demanded.
"Asking you if you're keeping Ms. Sullivan …encased…..in your own way," Jane said slowly. "Look at me, Helena," she demanded. "You know what she could do for us, for the world by being part of us."
"You're bloody mad," Helena said back. She could feel Eileen pull tighter into her. And then Helena heard it – Eileen's unspoken plea for her to protect her – and memories of not protecting Christina surged through her veins and ripped at her heart.
Helena turned and took Eileen in her arms. "Go to Ms. Bering now," she said softly and gently nudged the girl to leave. "Do not tell her where I am," she added. Eileen backed away slowly, not wanting to leave Helena unprotected. "Go!" Helena said sharply and Eileen ran.
Helena waited until she heard the door close and then turned back - and her eyes locked onto Jane. "If it were not for the affection I feel for your son, I would kill you here," Helena said.
"I have a job to do, Helena. You remember what that means, yes?" Jane asked.
"I remember what it is like to refuse assignments if I thought they were wrong," Helena spat back.
"Oh yes, your file is filled with notes about you not wanting to do as you were told, Helena," Jane said. "Think of the girl, Helena, not yourself."
"I have other options besides your demise," Helena threatened.
"And how would Ms. Bering feel about that?" Jane said playing her safety card. It worked. Helena stopped her advancing and stood still.
"Ms. Bering would understand," was the next thing both women heard and then Helena felt Myka's hand slip into hers.
Helena turned quickly and smiled. "Eileen told you where I was?"
"No one needs to tell me, Helena. I just know. Oh, I and I want that thing….," Myka said looking down at Helena's rear, "…..removed."
Myka's company extinguished the intense emotions the Regent's presence had stirred up. Myka pulled Helena down to whisper in her ear. "Is there any other way to deal with her besides ….. you know…going all ninja girl on her?" Helena looked at Myka's expression. "For Pete," she mouthed.
A part of Helena did understand Jane. She had been an agent and a damn good one – who made tough choices when given tough assignments. What Jane was offering Eileen was in fact – a compliment to the girl. If she had been sent to talk to Eileen, she would not have let anything stop her.
"I will ask Ms. Sullivan if she wishes to speak to you. This is her decision to make," Helena said.
"Yes, it is," Jane said and annoyed Helena again.
Helena moved in very close to Jane. "Listen to me - Regent Lattimer. You have used up my patience, overstayed your welcome, and are now just annoying the bloody hell out of me. If Ms. Sullivan declines your offer, I want you out of New York by tomorrow. If she wishes to speak to you, I will be present to make sure you do not take advantage of her," Helena said.
"You cannot be present and you know it," Jane said. It was a Warehouse rule.
"Then I want her lawyer present," Helena said refusing to be outwitted. There was no rule about that.
"Very well," Jane conceded because she knew who she meant.
"I will have to talk to her to see if she wants to talk to you," Helena said and Jane was confident she would.
"I will listen to her," Eileen said from the shadows.
"Did I not tell you to…," Helena said sternly, but Myka pulled at her arm. "No one bloody listens to me," she complained.
Helena left only because she wanted this to be Eileen's decision even though her mind was made up the girl was not going. Unless she really wanted to go – and Myka assured her it was no coercion. Helena paced the floor madly waiting for them. A part of her missed the good old days when she would have snapped Jane like a twig and been done with her.
Now, she had to suffer the experience of feeling her emotions – like a mere mortal.
Eileen listened carefully to Jane and was very calm because Myka was there to warn Jane when she pushed a point or tried to confuse the girl. Jane Lattimer may have been a good Regent, but she was no match for Myka Bering.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lattimer, and thank the other Regents who thought I would be a good candidate. I am not sure what you saw in me, but I thank you. I will not accept your offer. My job, my place, my friends are all at Wells Corp. It holds everything I want," Eileen said calmly.
Myka looked at Jane. "I think you have Ms. Sullivan's decision."
"Yes," Jane said not satisfied with the results, but confident she had given it her best shot. She walked out of the room.
"I am amazed by your devotion to Helena," Myka said grabbing Eileen into her chest.
"She needs us, Ms. Bering," and Myka smiled until she saw the look in Eileen's eyes.
"She is going to face some difficult things, Ms. Bering and she will need us to be there for her," Eileen said sadly and it startled Myka.
She left Myka standing there to contemplate what it was she just said. She did not leave time nor space for Myka to ask her what she meant.
Jane emerged from the room first, and Helena spun around.
"She is devoted to you, Helena. I am not sure why, but she refuses to listen," Jane said.
"Leave," Helena commanded and Jane understood she had restrained herself for as long as she could. She knew Helena's history - and how she took care of people she did not like.
Jane went back to the table, apologized to Pete, but said she had gotten a call and had to return to work immediately. He was sorry to see her go and glad they had finally gotten to talk, but he also felt relieved she was going. Her presence was a strain.
Eileen came out next and immediately went to Helena. "Thank you, Ms. Wells," she said.
"For what?" Helena said and thought she meant for not spilling blood in her presence.
"For trusting me enough to make my own decision," Eileen said.
Helena pushed a strand of blond hair away from the girl's face and saw for the first time – she wasn't a child.
"Ms. Sullivan, it is my heartfelt pleasure and good fortune to have you in my life," Helena said pulling her into her. Eileen fell into that embrace and squeezed Helena back warmly. She wiped a tear away as she left to join the others.
"Helena, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jane," Myka said sure she was going to meet Helena's wrath when she came out.
"I'm sorry, too Myka. I was …curt to say the least," Helena said.
"I came down to tell you today, but then you were talking about my measurements…. and touching me and…and speaking French and I lost my train of thought and forgot to tell you," Myka said.
"Really?" Helena said pushing gently into Myka until she fell against the wall in the darkened hallway. "So are you always so easily distracted when I touch you….," Helena said softly and moved her hand to the slit in Myka's dress, "…Counselor?" Helena's hand was opened now and softly grabbing Myka's thigh making its way… due North.
"I don't think…..," Myka tried to say…. this is the place for this…but couldn't finish her thought.
"Yes, I can see that now," Helena laughed moving in and cupping Myka from behind and kissing her gently at first and then pushing in harder.
Helena's hand slipped under the waist band just pulling it enough to scare Myka.
"Helena, what are you doing?" Myka said afraid of being disrobed in the middle of the museum.
Helena stopped tugging and smiled. "Making sure you want to leave soon."
"Oh God, yes, please Helena. Let's go now," Myka said with great urgency.
So as angry as Helena was - I thought if would be good for her (depth) if she realized Eileen had to make her own decision.
Did it work? Or are you disappointed Helena didn't kick someone's a$$.