Okay. Now, things are about to get interesting.

I don't own Primeval. Shocker, right?

Chapter 6

Abby felt her stomach twist. Her stomach? God, she hoped it was just her stomach.

She and Connor were in the hub when they heard that the ARC was to be quarantined to keep a certain virus called Helen Cutter from escaping. All the exits were guarded by several soldiers, but what disturbed the team most was that Helen escaped at all. The field team, plus Jenny and Lester, was held in the hub, which made the massive room seem tiny and stuffy.

"Those cells were supposed to be impenetrable, Sir James," Jenny snapped grittily. The civil servants bickered intensely between one another often, but now Jenny was growing towards the borderline of fury. "Or am I to understand that someone who's been knighted is incapable of keeping a single woman in check?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Lester growled under his breath. "This is Helen we're talking about, there is no bloody way to keep her locked up."

Abby winced and leaned up against a table. No, no, she didn't feel right at all.

"Connor…"

"Abby, not now."

Abby could've slapped him--he was using the ADD2 to monitor security in the ARC, which was really important, but why did it have to be this moment he was ignoring her?

"Connor, peaches."

"Abby, we can't get any peaches right now. We're stuck in the hub, remember?"

"It's time."

"I'll get you peaches just as soon as we find Helen."

Abby grimaced and swore before grabbing Connor's shoulder and shouting. "CONNOR, YOU IDIOT, I'M ABOUT TO HAVE THIS FREAKIN' BABY!"

Connor finally caught on, as did everyone else in the hub--and very possibly the entire ARC. Sarah rushed to her side and Becker set down the gun he was handling, running towards her and squeezing her hand gently.

"Is there anyone qualified to deliver a baby in the ARC?" Sarah asked Lester with wide, terrified eyes. The man looked genuinely worried, as though he cared more about Abby's health than the state the floor of the ARC was going to be in.

"Well--her," he said sheepishly, and Sarah cursed. "Wait--there's a medic here today, damn near forgot." Within seconds he was on the intercom, mumbling for someone called Doctor Pulaski.

Becker, Jenny, and Lester looked at one another with grimaces.

"Well, isn't this just a lovely spot we've gotten into," Jenny said, first to break the silence. "Helen loose in the ARC and Abby's about to give birth in the botany lab."

"Thank you for closed-captioning the situation, Miss Lewis," Lester snapped.

"I'm just wondering why no one is doing anything."

The three were alone in the hub; Sarah and Connor were with Abby, the scientists had evacuated under careful supervision, and Becker's soldiers were at every entrance or else pacing the corridors.

"We can't do much more than we're doing," Becker admitted, stealing glances every few moments at the curtained window to the botany lab. He was an expert at stifling emotions--being a hardened soldier owed him that much to his credit--but he couldn't stop thinking about Sarah. How she'd just--dumped him, tossed him aside like garbage.

"There's got to be--"

Lester broke off when the security alarms went off. He cursed and Becker spoke into a radio device.

"Any sign of a breach?"

The men on the other end all assured him that no one could've broken in, or broken out. Jenny pursed her lips.

"I'm not even going to say it. Let's just wait for him to saunter in."

Sure enough, Danny appeared in a doorway, shrugging at them.

"Where's everyone?"

Jenny and Lester glared at him silently, but Lester broke it off and stepped towards him.

"We don't have time for--anything--Quinn, Miss Temple's giving birth and Helen's loose in the building."

Danny nodded. "Fine--any ideas where she might be?"

Becker shook his head, but he grabbed up two guns from the table. Then, thoughtfully he placed one in its holster on his waist and grabbed another one, passing it to Danny.

"Come on," he said, nodding towards the double doors. Danny followed him, though Becker stopped beside the botany lab and opened the door a crack, knocking on the jamb.

Connor met him after a few moments; he heard Abby cry out in pain inside and Sarah's comforting voice--that caught him off guard.

"Kinda busy, Beck," Connor said quickly, so Becker pulled his gun from the holster and set it in Connor's hand.

"If you see Helen," he said before clapping him on the arm and following Danny.

"I reckon we'd best check out her cell first?" the ex-copper offered, but Becker shook his head.

"No need. She asked for water, knocked out the soldier who got it for her and used his gun to get out further. I reckon she took the vents like you."

Danny was thoughtful a moment as a soldier stepped past them. "What if she made it to the locker rooms?"

"What if?"

Danny narrowed his eyes on the soldier. "She could be wearing a soldier's uniform. Marching along the halls with the rest of your men and no one's be the wiser."

"She'd show on the security--" Becker broke off, cursing before speaking into his radio. "Lester? Check the security camera for section 3-H, what do you see? Yeah, what I thought. Helen's cut it off."

Danny furrowed his brow. "What was that about?"

Becker looked disgusted. "You know on that American movie, National Treasure, where that bloke freezes the camera frame on an empty hallway so his mate can sneak in?"

Danny sighed with realization. "She doesn't need a soldier's uniform. She can go wherever she bloody well wants to."

"Under the radar," Becker agreed. "Damn it, I thought we had this woman figured out."

"Do you think she was the hacker?" Danny asked. "She could've hacked our security to make entry easy, and screwed up our cameras, but then waited until now to shut them off so we wouldn't notice."

"Woman after your own heart?" Becker joked dryly.

"Actually, that's Jenny," Danny replied easily.