Disclaimer: I own nothing and profit none.
A/N: Hey, sorry for being incommunicado for the week. I got the chance to hop out of town for a while and ran away last week - but look here's a brand-new chapter! I didn't forget about you lovely people!
Helen readied herself for the Wednesday morning staff meeting with trepidation. When Will had woken late in the afternoon the preceding day, he had insisted upon heading back to his own room to spend the night. As the danger zone for the head trauma had passed and he seemed more himself, although still alarmingly skittish, she had let him go despite her better judgment. She shifted her notes once more, hoping that her actions hadn't been a mistake.
Unsurprisingly, her Old Friend was the first to arrive, settling a service at the table between the seating before staking out the chair next to the one she always took. Kate and Henry arrived next, arguing loudly until they crossed the threshold, where the conflict dropped to sotto voce utterances of 'did not' and 'did too' that they clearly thought she couldn't hear. Tamping down a smile, Helen let them continue in their belief for now – it was always something she could spring on them later. Concerned, she glanced at her watch. Normally, Will showed up shortly after her Old Friend, sometimes even before if he needed to speak with her. Perhaps he had simply overslept; this would be the one time that she might let him get away with it.
As she moved to take her seat, however, Will slipped in the door and hesitated before taking the only remaining seat next to Kate on the sofa. Helen gave him a smile as she seated herself, opening her portfolio over her knees to being the meeting to order.
"First off, as you all know, Will is back from Paraguay," he responded to Henry's quip and her Old Friend's gruff greeting with a smile, but she thought her heart would stop when Kate went to punch him on the shoulder and he flinched into the arm of the sofa. A heavy silence descended.
"I haven't been gone long enough not to remember how you hit," he awkwardly joked, before Helen could break the moment.
"Jerk," Kate said, nudging him with her foot and – Helen thanked the heavens – pretending that she didn't see him jump at the touch.
Clearly, a good night's sleep, if that's even what he'd gotten, hadn't taken care of the problem.
"We've all read his reports," she moved on quickly, raising an eyebrow at Kate, who had the tendency to skip what she called 'the boring parts' of reports, which generally turned out to translate as 'all of it.' The girl blushed and she lowered her brow in a gesture she'd perfected over the years to convey: 'Fix that immediately.' It had gotten quite polished after Ashley's arrival. She accepted the wave of heat and loss that tightened her chest for a moment then cleared her throat to move the meeting forward. "I hope, but is there anything you need to add, Will?"
Henry leaned forward, riveted, and Helen didn't flatter herself that it was out of a keen interest in collating useful information. He and Kate were undoubtedly waiting for the first hints of an anomaly. Will somehow always managed to work in one story only vaguely relevant to their concerns, but incredibly entertaining nonetheless, and she pretended not to know that bets road on who could pick it out first. Yes, because you get no enjoyment out of it whatsoever. Helen suppressed a smile at the thought. She played her part, feigning annoyance at his antics, even as his eyes twinkled at her over the other's heads that she wasn't fooling him in the slightest. Admittedly, seeing how he would try to make a generally silly mishap pertain to legitimate Sanctuary business was always educational. It was also, perhaps, a bit fun.
"Um, no," Will said, gazing down at the table, "It was pretty cut and dry. That is," he looked up, suddenly anxious, "unless anyone had any questions about the reports?" Clearly seeing the confusion that Henry and Kate were telegraphing to each other, he gave out a lop-sided smile that only lasted a brief second, "Didn't even have the chance to trip over anything for once. Sorry, guys."
"Better luck next time?" Henry tried, uncertain. At a Look from her Old Friend, he winced and hurried to say, "That is, I didn't have any questions. Um, awesome work, though. The message system we set up with them is humming along great."
Will simply nodded and Helen thought it best to move on with the schedule, "We'll forward you any questions we think of later, alright? Now, Kate, I believe you had an update on the arms deal from last night?"
Worryingly, Will's attention barely deviated from memorizing the grain of the coffee table for the rest of the meeting.
Date: Monday After I Left – Whenever that is. The time zone change is still eluding me.
Location: Asuncion Sanctuary, Asuncion, Paraguay
Report:
I got caught up on Asuncion intakes and recent exploits this morning.
Note: The 'slimy' part of the blue-bellied river creature's Latin name is there for a reason. Accurate does not begin to cover it.
Note to Magnus: Given their recent influx, I'm not certain that they have the staff to cover all bases anymore. Not that you'll get Dr. Benitez to admit the fact. You might suggest she take on a few new hires for training purposes; that might get a better reception.
In the afternoon, representatives from the Rio Paraguay Haven arrived. Kay Torres and Robert Galeano, the founder and second hand respectively, came ostensibly to welcome me to Paraguay and make sure I had transportation, but really I believe they wanted to give me the once over before permitting me access to the Haven. The bios given to me by the Asuncion Sanctuary are attached.
Personally, Ms. Torres seems very eager to get our input on the various troubles they've had getting off the ground. If this endeavor goes well, she might be more receptive to acting as a Sanctuary ally. Mr. Galeano is more reticent, almost aggressively so, as of yet I'm uncertain if this is because I'm an outsider or not an abnormal. He seems equally uncomfortable around both. There's a lot of work ahead on that front, I suspect.
I got the rundown of current ops and staff. A complete list is attached. They have four other full time staff and numerous contacts willing to engage in operations and/or part-time assistance. Many of the latter are Sanctuary-affiliated, which they seem fine with, so long as there is a personal acquaintanceship and, I get the sense, it is preferable if they are local to the area and abnormal. So far, I'm striking out on all three fronts, so this may be an up-hill battle.
The conference ended with a finalization of plans (tentative schedule attached) and they retired to the Haven for the night, while I finished up at the Sanctuary.
Tomorrow, I'm to head out to the Haven. Dr. Benitez has loaned me a 4X4 and a map in lieu of an escort that I don't need and they can't spare. Future reports may be weekly, dependent upon facilities.
Report close.
"Hey, Doc?"
Helen looked up at Henry's voice, smiling when she saw him hovering in the doorway.
"Henry," she said, pushing away from her desk slightly, "This is a surprise. I thought you and Will had some type of film marathon planned." Her voice rose on the last word in question. She hadn't seen Will since he had avoided her at the end of the staff meeting that morning, pleading mountains of catching up in his office.
"Yeah," Henry ran a hand over his head, clearly nervous. "We did."
"What's wrong?" Helen rose and stepped from behind the desk, motioning for Henry to enter the room fully. "Did something happen?"
"Not exactly. It's," he paused, finally entering, and taking a seat next to her on the sofa at her gesture. "Look, Doc, I know that you have that whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing and I'm cool with that. Don't want any details, ever, it's good. But," he hesitated again.
"Henry," she leaned down slightly to catch his eye where it was concentrating on the sofa pattern with such intensity that she half-expected it to catch fire. "It's alright, whatever you need to ask. If I can't tell you, I'll simply say so. No recriminations."
"Right. Good. It's… Did something happen?" he blurted out in one quick breath. "I mean, is he alright?"
"Why do you ask?" Helen deflected, wondering if his flinching had grown even more noticeable. Will was already hiding it much more poorly than he thought.
"He was – off, tonight. Just really jittery, like he'd downed some massive amount of caffeine five seconds ago," Henry squinted up at her, worried. "You know the guy; he's got concentration that could stop a train. He couldn't even last five minutes into the movie. He was all over the place, pacing."
Helen took a breath, uncertain what she was going to say, but Henry continued over her.
"And I couldn't even get near him. I got within, like, two feet and suddenly his heart's going like a frickin' jack rabbit," Henry paused for a moment, voice quieting from his previous agitation. "He smells like fear, Doc. Lots of it. And pain."
She sighed, reaching out at the sorrow in Henry's voice to take his hand. She couldn't lie, not to Henry who sensed so much anyway and valued Will so highly as one of his few close friends.
"To be honest, Henry," she finally settled upon, "I don't know what happened."
He stiffened, trying to pull away from her, but Helen kept a firm grip on his hand.
"I promise, I am working on it, but he's playing this one close to the vest," she ducked her head to catch Henry's eyes again, "I will figure it out. I promise."
Henry shifted again, but into her this time, wrapping his other hand over hers.
"I know you will. I don't want to add any more pressure," after a beat, he continued, "What can I do? I want to help."
Helen smiled at him softly, "For now, simply be there for him. He knows that I suspect and is giving me quite a wide berth. I want him to have someone nearby to depend upon if he should need it."
"Of course," Henry nodded, "Anything else? To help you out?"
"Not at the moment," she said, considering the information she had yet to go through on the tablet, "but I expect that will change once I have a better sense of where I need to focus attention. I'll let you know."
"Good. Anything you need."
Helen nodded, smiling at him briefly before tugging him close to kiss his temple. She could hear him taking in deep draughts of her scent, calming himself, and wished for a moment that she could simply fly to Paraguay and force the answers out of someone with a few well-placed punches. She needed to know who to threaten first, however, and she leaned her cheek against Henry's hair tiredly.
Then, if she was lucky, she could break a few bones.
FROM: lbenitez
TO: hmagnus
RE: Information On Haven Staff And Residents
Dr. Magnus,
I am given to understand that you have all of our current intel on Haven, although I've attached a copy of our files in case they have been updated since your receipt. As for personal impressions of staff and residents, I can give you only my own biased opinions.
Their Head, for lack of a better term, Kay Torres, is a suspicious but relatively measured person. At our initial meeting, she demanded to know my connections to the area and how I came to be in my current position. Once reassured about the particulars of my background, she has since trusted me to some extent in situations regarding abnormals and the Sanctuary Network. Those of my staff who are outsiders (to the region) she regards warily, particularly those who are also not abnormal. This dislike is gradually diminishing, but it has taken considerable time and contact. Unsurprising, given her treatment when young at the hands of traders in abnormals. In short, she is suspicious, cagey, and prejudiced, but I regard her as generally trustworthy and totally committed to the cause of the Haven.
Her Second, Robert Galeano, I know less well. Typically, he remains at the Haven when she comes to deal with us. From his background, I know that he is a hard man, well-versed in the seedier elements of the abnormal world. I also know that he and Ms Torres, on occasion, disagree about the measures to which they should resort to protect the Haven. However, he has behaved with nothing but the utmost of courtesy to myself and my staff, with a deep concern for the abnormals under their care. Violence is occasionally a necessary evil in our work, as you know, and I do not condemn him out of hand for it.
The other members of the staff I have met once or twice. Dr. Oscar Martinez, the facility doctor, has consulted with me before; he seemed sober and serious, a fine physician in his practice. Lina Vera and Micha Duarte, who gave me the impression that they serve in all aspects as needed, were a bit rough around the edges, but efficient and kind to newly relocated abnormals. Sofia Acosta, the onsite tech, is a bit distant, but very capable. I believe that she and Dr. Zimmerman worked closely in the effort to set up the outside communication lines.
Speaking of whom, I do hope that Dr. Zimmerman has taken some rest upon his return. He visited the Sanctuary before his flight to Old City and seemed quite haggard.
As regards your suggestion that we take on a few trainees here in Asuncion; after speaking with my staff, I believe that we could accommodate the need very well and would be happy to lend a hand. Please forward me any requests that you deem fit.
I realize that the above information is not much to contribute. If there is any way I can be of greater help, please let me know.
Respectfully,
L. Benitez
Progress was frustratingly slow in winnowing out useful information from the deluge of files she was processing. By the time the weekend came around, Helen found herself still at a loss for how to proceed and the one man who could give her the hint of a lead showed all the signs of going to ground should she so much as press lightly on the subject. Assuming she could keep him in the same room as herself for more than five minutes at a stretch.
It was the middle of the night and she was going over the files one more time, willing something to pop, when Kate strode into her office, announcing herself with a casual, "Heya, Boss."
"Good evening," Helen replied, curious why Kate was seeking her out at this hour. Usually, the young woman was hitting the gym about this time in an effort to exhaust herself enough to catch a few hours of sleep while it was still dark. She was beginning to believe that no amount of time would turn a night prowler into someone who could operate on a normal, daily schedule.
"So, I'm guessing you set Will on more arms training?" she let herself fall easily into a chair across the desk from Helen. "Not that he doesn't really need it – just curious."
"No, actually," she set her work aside to focus on Kate, "I haven't. I assume he's taking the initiative?"
"Huh," Kate frowned, looking more at Helen's desk than her face, "He's not real big on that, though I can't imagine why. We have the best toys," she sent a saucy grin Helen's way and got a smile in response.
"Well, Henry does try," she admitted, "and I do ask everyone to keep their skills sharp. In our line of work, it doesn't pay to get sloppy."
"Yeah, gotcha there," Kate nodded emphatically. "Only… not to be, like, a gossip biddy or something, but he seemed really… focused."
"Focused," she repeated blankly.
"Yeah, and not in the good way. He barely hit the target at all, way too tense, and," Kate stopped, chewing on her lip. Helen didn't say anything, giving her time to think things through. Either Kate would tell her or she wouldn't, coaxing was usually of little avail.
"When he stopped shooting," Kate rewarded her silence, "it was worse."
After a beat, she couldn't help but prompt, "Worse how?"
"Worse, like… he just sort of collapsed. Not literally," Kate hurried on to say, clearly responding to the panic Helen felt leap inside of her, "of course, or you'd have gotten a page to the range. Just, I don't know, into himself. I can't," she huffed a breath in frustration. "Look, I can't explain it, it was just bad. I was gonna say, if you'd asked him to go, maybe not to, but if you didn't, then." Kate shrugged, as though she didn't know quite where to go from there.
"Has," it was Helen's turn to pause and search for the right phrasing. How to get information from Kate without violating Will's trust. "Has he seemed… himself to you, lately? Since he got back?" She finally asked, slowly, hoping that it was the right move to make.
"To be honest, Doc – No. He's," Kate scowled at her knees for a moment. "Maybe not the best comparison, but have you ever seen those adorable baby monkey looking abnormals with the disturbing habit of drinking blood?"
Helen rattled off the Latin name in response. She knew them far too well, actually. Once their diet of blood was discovered, Nikola had taken an unhealthy and all-pervasive interest in them for months. That was bad enough in itself, but he had insisted on working out of her Sanctuary. It had allowed her to keep an eye on his progress and methodologies, but months of hearing of little else aside from those blessed monkeys and her lack of tolerable wine had been simply the outside of enough. In retaliation, she had researched every possible avenue of those blasted monkeys herself and unloaded it onto Nikola all at once. It had worked, sent him away in a huff, but she still probably knew more about those creatures than was strictly healthy, even with the decades that had passed.
"Right. Those. Anyway, a guy and I were running them once. You know," she ducked her head, looking uncomfortable, "before all this. And," she rushed to continue over the understanding nod, "well, the guy was a total creep, right? I didn't know that then, until I caught him with one of the monkeys." Kate swallowed hard before admitting, "He was starving it, only he wasn't not giving it food. He'd put blood in the cage and then shock him when he tried to drink. By the time I caught him at it, the poor thing," she took a moment, frowning at a crease in her jeans, "it was just skin and bones and I couldn't even save it. It just gave up eating and he looked so… trapped. Like he didn't know what to do, so not doing anything just seemed safer." There was a long moment of silence. "He died. I, uh, I mostly worked alone after that."
Kate didn't seem to have any more words left and kept her gaze down, running her finger back and forth across the crease single-mindedly.
"And Will reminds you of that?" Helen asked gently, redirecting her off of the clearly painful subject, "Trapped?"
"Yeah," Kate all but whispered, "Like he doesn't know what's going to hurt him anymore."
Helen closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she opened them again, it was to Kate's concerned gaze now focused on her.
"Hey, I don't want to cause any trouble, I just… wanted to make sure everything was good."
"No, Kate, it's not you," she hurried to ease her mind, "It's… to be honest, it's Will." If Will was hiding these signs so poorly, she wasn't going to cover up for him, Helen decided. Certainly not from those who were trying to help. "I've noticed his behavior as well. As has Henry. I simply cannot discern exactly what happened in Paraguay that is causing it." Exasperation crept into her tone despite her best efforts.
"Hence the late nights? Or should I say, early mornings?" Kate motioned across the desk. "I know you pretty much don't sleep, but it's been a ton worse this week."
"Yes," she admitted, "Vain hope, I suspect. His reports are littered with blank spots, the backgrounds on nearly all of the Haven members are unsettling at best, and apparently not one soul at the Asuncion Sanctuary can remember any helpful details."
"Send me the info," at Helen's curious look, she expanded, "I did a few runs down there. Still have some contacts, maybe I can dig up something. Worth a shot, anyway."
"That would be wonderful, Kate, thank you," she tapped a few commands into the tablet to make them available to the other woman. "There you are. Let me know if anything turns up."
"Will do," Kate hopped out of the chair, quickly making for the door.
Helen turned back towards her cluttered desk with a sigh.
"Hey," she looked up to see Kate lingering in the doorway, "Don't worry. He's back here now and we'll figure it out, Boss."
She smiled softly and replied, "Yes, we will."
As Kate headed off down the hallway, Helen let her smile fade. She had a feeling that discovering the events of Paraguay, while a struggle, would be only half the battle. Convincing Will to let them help would be the other half.
Helen suspected it would be much more difficult.
Katie,
Now there was a shock, hearing from you after all these years. Only you would have the nerve to ask a favor after the shit you pulled down here. Still, the money's good, here's what you paid for. All the nitty-gritty's in the package, but here's the low-down. My advice? Stay the hell away from these nuts. Sure, they're playing nice with their Haven now, but these guys are no one to be messing with.
Their leader, Kay Torres? Over a dozen felony assaults, only no one's been able to keep a hand on her. That Doctor fellow isn't much better, only his generally come flavored with a scalpel or poison. A double-handful of cases that somehow just can't be pinned on him. Sofia Acosta is barred from entry into dozens of countries. Seems she has a habit of hacking into official databases. Couple of knifing incidents, too. Lina Vera and Micha Duarte have operated as a team for years, only they used to team up just about the time valuable merchandise had a habit of disappearing. Lots of solid alibis from not-so-solid folks who were none too happy to talk about things.
That last guy, though, Robert Galeano, he's the one tripping my radar. On paper, the guy's lily-white. Never done nothing to nobody. You ask around down here and nobody says word one – but they know his name. And they leave right fast when the questions get specific. I almost got my nose broken on a slamming door. Hazard pay is extra, Katie, you know that, right?
Anyway, it's all here, interviews, dossiers, and a couple of things I had to pay through the nose for. Price on those is higher.
Do what you want with it, you always have. Just try and not get yourself killed before I get the rest of my money.
Kate was better than her word. A week later, Helen was in her office once more, reading through cluttered sheaves of notes that highlighted one Haven member or another, reorganizing her list of suspects.
When her Old Friend entered with a late tea tray, she welcomed him with a delighted smile. Generally, after a certain hour of the night, she was on her own if she suddenly fancied a fresh cuppa.
"You read my mind," she teased gently as he passed over a perfectly fixed cup across the expanse of her desk.
"Not my skill," he smiled gruffly.
When he lingered, Helen blinked and gestured at the chairs before her, "I'm sorry, won't you join me?"
"No," he said and then, confusingly, took a seat. When he didn't reach for the tray, though, she translated and set her own cup aside to focus on him.
"What is it?" Helen asked, concerned.
He huffed sharply. "Will," he said simply, leaving her to infer his concern.
"Ah," she sat back, hand reaching out to fiddle with the handle of her tea cup. "You too, my friend?"
"He flinches," he stated boldly, "Today he forgot himself."
"Forgot himself?" Helen left off playing with the cup as her attention sharpened suddenly. "What do you mean?"
"Flinched longer," he tried to explain. "Took a while to get him back. Couldn't see me."
She sighed, tea forgotten, and let her head lean forward into the cradle of her hands. A large, warm hand covered her own where they rested against her forehead.
"He's getting worse," she finally whispered, grateful that she didn't have to gloss over the situation with her oldest friend. He would let her be uncertain.
"Hm," he hummed in agreement. "Not so bad."
"What?" Helen's head rose suddenly in confusion.
"Not hiding," he pointed out. "Feels safe."
"Not safe enough," she disagreed. "He's still afraid, still hiding from me. Literally."
"You've let him," clearly a question, although he disguised it as a statement.
"If I push," she sighed again, feeling as though she had been doing too much of that lately, "I don't know what will happen. Yes, he might open up. Or," she hesitated.
"Or?"
Tossing him a look – did he think she didn't know that trick? – Helen continued her thought, "Or, it might drive him further away. I haven't been willing to chance it yet. Not without knowing more of what happened than I do now."
"Can't wait much longer," he warned.
"I know," she frowned, looking over the piles of paper that stubbornly refused to coalesce. "I know."