Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.
A/N Part of the Claudia story verse (AU) Transitions, Transitions Too, Continuum, Trimming the Tree, Missing
6.6 – Interference
…an anomaly opening device…
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Inside Abby and Connor's home, footsteps could be heard. The dark green door opened.
"Becker?" asked the young man with sandy blonde hair. "What are you doing here? It's after midnight."
Abby's baby brother hadn't changed clothes since the wedding reception, although he was bare foot now and the first three buttons on his fancy dress shirt were undone.
"What's going on here Jack?" asked the soldier.
Becker glowered at Jack. Jess pushed the tall man to one side and stepped through the doorway into the home. The dark haired woman looked at Jack and narrowed her eyes.
"I thought you were house sitting Jack," hissed Jess. "Are you taking care of their pets or something else?"
Rex soared through the air, flying from the front room to perch on the stairway railing. The green lizard chirped indignantly to Jess.
"Your guest seems to have upset Rex," continued the field coordinator. "Do Abby and Connor know you're bringing someone over?"
Becker stepped into the hallway. He stood close to Jess as the dark haired woman appeared from the front room. The slim, well dressed woman appeared flustered. She was carrying a small clutch bag and a sweater. Rex turned to face her and started chirping angrily.
"Jack, I need to leave before Abby and Connor return," said the woman, "but I can't find my cell phone."
"What?" asked Jack.
He turned to look at the woman in confusion. The woman's eyes lit up.
"There it is," continued the woman, not responding to Jack's question.
Her short dark curls bounced as she leaned forward and reached for the cell phone on the hall table.
"I never mentioned Abby and Connor…" said Jack.
"Puh-lease," said the woman. She looked at Rex. "You didn't have to, I recognized Rex."
At her words, Jess and Becker exchanged a glance.
"I thought we knew all of Abby and Connor's friends," whispered Jess.
Becker started to respond, but the woman moved forward to stand directly in front of the couple.
"Excuse me please," said the trim woman, "I need to leave."
The woman quickly stepped outside and began moving down the walkway. Jack hurriedly pushed past Becker and Jess to stand in the entryway.
"Caroline!" called Jack. "Wait, I don't have your number."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
In a grand hotel in Paris, Abby awoke early with a smile on her face. Rosy sunlight peeked through the crack between the curtains. The blonde stretched out her arms and reached for Connor. She patted the empty space on the bed beside her.
"Conn?" called Abby.
The blue eyed woman sat up in bed, pulling the covers close. Abby looked around the bedroom. The dinner cart was gone. Sometime after midnight, Connor had rolled the cart into the bedroom. Abby and Connor fed each other cold chateaubriand, vegetables and rolls as they laughed and kissed and made plans for the days, months and years to come.
"Be right there Abby," replied Connor's voice from the front room.
Abby heard the front door to the suite close and the sound of wheels spinning. The dark haired scientist soon appeared at the bedroom door. He was wearing the fluffy white bathrobe again. Connor pushed a cart, similar to the one from last night, but this one had covered dishes instead of empty plates.
"What's that?" asked Abby.
Connor removed two of the lids with a flourish. The plates below were filled with fried eggs, bacon, sausage links and potatoes. Connor removed the cover on another dish to reveal a variety of pastries.
"A full English breakfast," announced Connor with a grin. He pointed to a carafe. "Coffee too."
The food looked great, but the scent of fried bacon and sausage assaulting Abby's nose made her stomach do a flip-flop.
"Lester really outdid himself," continued Connor.
Abby clasped a hand to her mouth and jumped out of bed.
"Not hungry," answered Abby as she ran to the bathroom.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Later Thursday morning, Danny and Stephen joined Lester in his office. Jess had set up an audio video conference link with Lester's computer. The monitor's screen showed on a large video display on the wall. Shortly after nine o'clock, Cutter called in from Central Metropolitan University.
"Morning," greeted the Professor tersely. "I've got Claudia and Becker here in my office with me for this meeting."
"Good," nodded Lester. He looked around the room. "Jess, Danny and Stephen are here with me at the ARC. Are you connecting to the video presentation?"
"I'm trying," muttered the Scot in exasperation. "The bloody programme doesn't want to let me in."
Jess rolled her eyes.
"What do you see on your computer?" asked Jess politely.
The field coordinator clearly explained the log in process and walked Cutter through the set up. A few minutes later the video display showed the Professor as he joined the virtual meeting. Thirty seconds later, Sarah's name popped up on the web conference attendees list. The phone chimed almost immediately afterwards.
"Hi," greeted Sarah. "Jamal and I are calling in from the British Museum."
"Great," replied Lester, "now we're just waiting for Matt and Emily."
"What?" exclaimed Sarah. "Aren't Connor and Abby going to be calling in?"
"We don't want to interrupt the honeymooners," reminded Professor Cutter with a small chuckle. "Besides Connor's presentation on temporal science is this morning at the Paris School of Technology and Science."
A tap on Lester's office door stopped any further questions. Danny opened the door to see Matt and Emily standing there.
"You two must have got up very early to make the long drive into London this morning," exclaimed the former copper in surprise. "I didn't know you were coming in person."
Matt and Emily stepped into Lester's office. The time crossed couple rarely left their home in the ARC's Forest of Dean facility.
"Cutter was asking about how I got here," stated Matt. The man from the future held up a small beveled glass and metal device in front of him. "This didn't seem to be the sort of thing for a teleconference."
Lester stared at the device in Matt's hands. The ARC's director gaze travelled up to meet Matt's face. Lester's green eyes were icy as he stared at Matt.
"I don't recall you mentioning that gadget," said Lester, "when you told me everything."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
In Cutter's office, the Professor and Claudia exchanged a glance. Behind them, Becker raised his eyebrows.
"Will someone tell me what sort of thing Matt is talking about?" asked the Scot. Cutter's brogue became more pronounced as his voice registered impatience.
"Hmmm," replied Lester in a calm, detached tone of voice. The anger he felt was carefully controlled and only apparent to those who knew him well. "It appears that our friend Matt has an anomaly opening device."
Becker leaned forward. He spoke urgently into the speaker phone.
"What power source does the device use?" asked Becker. "Is it dangerous?"
"Relax Becker," replied the soft lilting voice of Matt. "It's not turned on."
Becker did not look at all soothed by Matt's words, and Cutter definitely felt the same way.
"Yesterday," reminded Cutter, "that crazy woman's laser weapon and the magnetic sword combined to change an anomalies direction. Connor asked if we had created an anomaly opening device."
Multiple voices all spoke at once.
"That thing has to stay off," declared Sarah. "We have a policy of non-interference with the anomalies."
"We lock dangerous anomalies," countered Becker.
"But we don't open anomalies," added Jess.
"Why would you need…," began Stephen.
"Sssh," admonished Danny.
"We need to update the anomaly map," said Claudia.
The unintelligible babble calmed. There was a brief moment of silence then Matt's voice could be heard again.
"We had to open an anomaly," said Matt, "we couldn't stay in my time."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
