The agents sat in the living room silently, trying to figure out what to do; they all agreed that there was no way it could actually be Walter Sykes, half of them has witness his death.
Claudia sighed, slowly getting up from the couch "Okay, here's what we're going to do." She said, adjusting her suit. "We are going to split up. Pete, Myka, you are going to take over the investigation from the police and figure out everything they know. Tell them that the case is now in Federal custody. Steve and I are going to the Warehouse and see Artie." She said gently.
Pete and Myka nodded as they got up from the couch and left the two younger agents alone; Steve stood up and took Claudias' hand in his as he placed his forehead against hers.
"Steve, if my last words to my daughter are 'so help me god, I hope one day you can feel all the pain I've felt', I don't know what I'm going to do with myself." She confessed to Steve.
Steve sighed as he shook his head "Those won't be your last words to her, I promise." He said, trying to comfort his best friend.
"Every now and then a bolt of lightning hits, or an artifact falls off…but other than that it's been quiet." Artie told the two agents.
Steve and Claudia were silent, thinking to themselves before Claudia hummed "What if it actually is Walter Sykes?" she asked out loud.
"Claudia, he's dead." Steve said.
Claudia nodded "Yeah, well, this is the Warehouse and stranger things have happened." She remarked.
"…I wonder if she could hear us." Steve remarked.
Artie and Claudia turned to him slowly, thinking he was crazy as he sighed "I mean, her energy is connecting to the Warehouse…maybe we could use an artifact or something to try and communicate with her." He suggested.
Claudia and Artie looked at each other "It's worth a shot." Claudia suggested.
Steve nodded "Okay, I'm going to start with something simple." He said before walking out into the balcony and began screaming out Harpers' name.
Claudia sighed "Oh, Jinksy." She muttered.
Artie turned to Claudia "He's taking it worse than you."
"No, I just—I can't show any more emotion, I am the Caretaker after all." Claudia remarked.
Artie wrapped an arm around Claudia "She's your daughter, and you have every right to be angry, or sad, or scared…just don't lose yourself." He told her.
Claudia nodded, smiling at Artie "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go stop Steve before he loses his voice."
She walked out into the balcony and put a hand on Steves' shoulder "Lets try something else." She suggested.
"What exactly do you have in mind? I mean, what could be strong enough to reach Harper?" Steve asked her.
Claudia smirked as she motioned for Steve to follow her "I think I know of an artifact that could help us out." She said, climbing down the stairs.
It was the biggest bull horn Steve had ever laid eyes on "…uh...I don't remember seeing this in the Warehouse." Steve remarked.
Claudia smirked "Don't ask, don't tell." She said positioning the bull horn against the railing of the balcony; she took a deep breathe "Please, work." She asked silently before putting her lips to the mic end and yelled Harpers' name through the bull horn.
The sound echoed for a moment, before the artifacts fell forward; leaving both Steve and Claudia in shock.
"You think she heard?" Steve asked.
Claudia nodded gently "Yeah." She muttered.
She was tied down to the chair, what little make-up she had on was now smeared along her face; Harper didn't want to admit that she was scared, but with the circumstances she figured she could make an exception.
"Harper!" she heard off in the distance, she turned quickly behind her to find nothing; she couldn't help but think that the voice she had heard was her mothers.
Her stomach dropped, what could possess a person to kidnap her? She was a rather mild-mannered kid, she kept to herself, and nobody knew what her parents did. How did this guy know who she was? Hell, how'd he know mom and dad?
"What do you want with me?" Harper asked the man, speaking to his henchmen.
The man turned "It's a surprise." He told her, grabbing a handkerchief from his suit pocket and walking towards Harper before kneeling.
"You shouldn't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, wiping her face down, removing her make-up and tears.
"Then why did you tell my dad you would?" she asked.
The man shrugged "To scare him." He remarked.
"Are you really Walter Sykes?" she muttered.
He folded his handkerchief and put it back in his suit pocket "Yes." He simply said before getting up and walking away, leaving Harper alone in her corner once again.
Harper sighed heavily, trying to keep herself intact; she wondered what Pete and Myka were doing, she wondered how scared Steve was now that she was missing, and she mostly wondered if Claudia gave a damn at all.
The teenager adjusted in the wood chair, it was mostly uncomfortable and she was beginning to lose sensation in her back and butt; she began to squirm, trying to find a good spot when she tilted the chair too far and hit the cold, hard ground.
The shelves fell down abruptly, it had been at least 5 minutes since they had screamed into the bull horn, Claudia and Steve looked at each other and Artie looked out into the warehouse.
"Must've been an aftershock type thing." Artie suggested.
Steve shook his head "No, it was Harper. The shelves fell towards us, not against us…" he said.
Claudia nodded "Yeah, if it was aftershock they would have fallen back, not forward." She interjected.
Artie sighed "…I hope she heard you." He muttered.
Claudia hugged herself "I hope she did too."