Being home again was nice. Surprisingly, Artie had no issue with me moving to the house Helena had bought. Although, it did help that it was only six miles away from the B&B which meant it was nine miles away from the warehouse. Pete and Steve helped me move into the small one bedroom one bathroom house. It was cute and very H.G. like.
"Wow, this place is already furnished. I guess all you need is stuff to cook with." Steve wiped sweat from his forehead and looked around.
"Yeah," I was amazed. Helena did all of this from New York without anyone knowing. I called ahead to have the power and water turned on so it would be cool as we unloaded the boxes. "There're waters in the fridge."
"Thank God!" Pete darted towards the kitchen and threw us each a bottle.
"Are you going to be okay Myka?" Steve's voice was laced with sympathy.
"Yeah, I'm surrounded by my stuff and H.G.'s. I'm not sure why but I can't get rid of it yet. I just regret I never told her how I really felt."
"She knew Mykes." Pete plopped down on the vintage couch. "We all knew." A goofy grin appeared on his face when I punched his arm. "Ow."
Once everything was inside, the boys left me to unpack. As I shelved the books, I thought about H.G. and the long talks we had over each of them. Sighing, I took a seat on the couch and flipped through a copy of The Time Machine. "Helena, why did you die before we spoke again? If I knew I'd never see you again after the night we saved Artie, I would have told you how I felt or probably kissed you." Yeah, I would have kissed you.
After everything was settled, I was exhausted. Jet lag was killing me along with the emotional exhaustion from the past week. Collapsing in bed, I sighed when I saw the picture of H.G. and I that set on the nightstand. "I miss you." Pulling out her laptop, I turned it on. As it hummed awake, I wondered what her password could possibly be. I know it's not something clichéd. H.G. was too smart for that. With each incorrect password, I became more irritated. Giving up, I grumbled. "I'll just get Claudia to hack it."
Xxx
My Farnsworth buzzed waking me. "What?"
"Mykes? Are you there? All I can see is the wall." Amusement was clear in Pete's voice.
"Yeah, I'm here." Sitting up, I looked into the screen. "What's up?"
"We have a ping. Artie wants us to meet him at the warehouse. Want me to bring some breakfast?"
"Yeah, I've not gone grocery shopping yet. See you in thirty." Closing my Farnsworth, I stretched. Well everything is back to normal I guess.
Arriving at the warehouse, Pete threw me a biscuit. "Morning Mykes. How's the new place?"
"Good. Thanks." My heart sank as Artie filled us in. There was suspicious activity coming from the H.G. Wells section. The new grappler Helena and Claudia built had gone missing. Before I could walk away, another ping came up. Confusion hit us all when we saw the location of the artifact. "That's my house. I don't have an artifact there."
"Something could have woken up yesterday when you moved in." Everyone jumped at Claudia's voice. "Too early in the morning?"
"Yes!" We all spoke in unison.
"But, how could something have woken up and me not realize it? I've been doing this job for seven years. I know the signs."
"A ping doesn't always mean a bad thing. It just means there's activity. Mykes, you know the two of you had a strong connection. Maybe something got infused by her strong emotion and was activated when you were near it." The Caretaker smiled softly. "Just keep an eye out. Unless it starts causing trouble, we don't need to goo it."
"Thanks Claud." All she did was nod. "I'll go check the H.G. Wells section to see if there's been any activity or something. Oh, can you help me with H.G.'s laptop? I can't figure out the password and Jezebel has no clue."
"Sure. Bring it by later and I'll check it out."
"Thanks." Claudia smiled before walking away.
"You gonna be okay Mykes?" Pete followed me onto the warehouse floor.
"Yeah, I think so. All of this is just a shock to the system. I've started mourning H.G. Being around her stuff helps."
"That's good. If you need to talk, let me know. Okay?"
He's worried about me. "You're a good man Pete." As we entered the fenced in section, nothing seemed to be disturbed. A happy sadness washed over me remembering the time Helena and I snuck down here like a couple of teenagers one night.
"Oh come on, darling. Don't be so stiff. You have the H.G. Wells here and you're fascinated by my inventions. Among other things." A seductive grin tugged at the corner of the author's mouth as she looked me over slowly. "Let's have a little fun." Mischief gleamed in her dark eyes.
A light blush crept up my neck. "Fine. If I get grounded by Artie, I'm blaming you." I followed the older woman.
"It'll be worth it. Now this," she walked towards a large crate, "is my time machine. Unlike the one in my novel, this allows you to enter the body of someone from the past. Physical time travel is impossible." Satisfaction radiated from the inventor at her accomplishment. She could see I was obviously amazed.
"Mykes, you okay?" Snapping out of my daydream, I met Pete's questioning gaze. "You went somewhere. And I've not seen that smile in over two years. You were thinking about H.G. I know that much. What was it?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about her. One night we snuck down here and she told me about each invention. We talked all night." My heart ached.
"Is that the night the two of you were here before everyone else?" All I did was nod. "Neither of you slept? That's why you had a ton of coffee and her tea."
"Yeah." We continued searching the unit to no avail.
Xxx
Before Pete and I went on another mission, I dropped H.G.'s laptop off with Claudia. By the time we got back, she had finally cracked the password. "All I have to say is: damn H.G.'s good." I chuckled at Claudia's expression. "This was harder to crack than the Atlas file."
"That's H.G. for you. What did you find out?" Claudia bit her lip. "What?"
"She loved you Mykes. Truly she did." Claudia opened the laptop and slid it to me. The desktop wallpaper was a picture Leena snapped at my birthday party. Helena had wound me up in the grappler cord while Pete shoved a small cake in my face. "And she kept an eye on you. I'm not sure how she got some of the info she got but she did."
Tears started to sting my eyes as I looked at the picture. The memory of H.G.'s laughter echoed in my ears. "I loved her too." We continued going through the computer and stumbled on a word document. "She started writing another novel."
"And it's about the two of you. It's unfinished though." Claudia studied me. "What are you thinking?"
This is crazy. "What if I finish it? This is close to what I've been writing. I'm sure I could finish this and publish it under both of our names or something."
"Myka B. Wells?" I knew there was a coy grin on the younger woman's face.
"Why couldn't it be Helena G. Bering?"
"Come on Mykes. You know you'd take her last name in a heartbeat."
Glaring towards the Caretaker, I tried not to laugh. "You might be my boss, but I can still kick your ass."
She squealed. "I'm totally right!"
Xxx
The next few days were pretty uneventful. Each morning I would: get up, make coffee, go for a run, and come back to write. Joy filled my heart as I read Helena's words. She really did love me. And at least she knew I loved her. The more I read, the more curious I became. This isn't reading like a normal novel. It's more like instructions. And they're just for me.
After throwing away all logic, the young agent gave into her curiosity. She went back to the place she and her lover first met. In the house, she followed her instincts and retraced her steps. What she wanted the most was hidden in a secret room behind a bookcase.
That was where H.G.'s writing stopped. Leaning back, I ran my fingers through my hair. "I am insane." Next thing I knew, I had booked a seat on the next flight to London. It left in three hours. Quickly, I packed a carry-on bag and left a note on the door reassuring Pete I would come back.
My auto pilot kicked in as I stepped into the airport. Security was easy to get through because of my badge. It wasn't until I was in my seat that I realized how completely insane this was.
Xxx
Nine hours later, I was checking into my hotel. "Business or pleasure, Miss. Bering?" The young lady behind the counter smiled.
"Pleasure." Grabbing the room key, I made my way to the elevators. Now how am I going to get the museum closed down? Or should I just break in while it's closed? No. Breaking in could get me arrested. Besides, I'm Secret Service. As long as the same tour guide isn't there, I'm sure they won't ask many questions.
Once inside my room, I turned on my phone. There were countless texts from the whole team and at least five voicemails from Pete alone. He sounded frantic by text ten so I called him back. Two rings later, Pete answered. "Mykes, where are you?"
"I'm okay. I'm safe." I didn't want to tell him where I was.
"That's good but where are you?"
"Pete, I'm-I'm in London." I waited for him to freak out but he never did. "Pete?"
"It's about H.G., isn't it?"
"Yes. I need to…I don't know. Get closure I guess." Falling back on the bed, I continued to talk to my partner. He said he'd keep everything smooth on his end and say that I just needed to get out of town for awhile. "Thanks. I'm sure when I get back Abigail will have me locked up."
A hefty laugh met my statement. "Yeah probably. But be careful, okay? I've been getting vibes since the funeral. Something's up but I don't know what it is. The vibes are familiar."
"Like, H.G. familiar?" My heart sped a moment. Maybe there's something to this pull I'm having?
"What are you thinking?"
"Nothing. Look, I gotta go." We said our goodbyes and I went to take a shower. Tomorrow I'd go to see what I can find out about the museum. If there's nothing, then I'll go home and leave this whole thing alone.
Xxx
Arriving at the museum, I found that it had been closed for reservations. "Ah, you must be the expert? Myka Bering, correct?" An older gentleman, probably in his fifties, shook my hand.
"I wouldn't say an expert, but I know quite a bit." More than you'll ever know.
"Either way, we've been expecting you. Please, follow me and I'll let you in." Red flags were going up by the second but I followed him anyway. "If you need anything, let me know." The man tipped his hat and closed the door behind me.
Something's up. I know that for sure. Walking through the house, a smile made its way to my lips. It didn't dawn on me until I entered the library that I was wearing the same outfit as last time. Walking over to the desk, I took out the drawer and found the key. Once the panel appeared, I turned the key and it opened the secret door. Walking inside the hidden room, I found nothing but the bust that once held the vest. "Damn it."
"Are you going to handcuff me again?" The familiar silky British accent came from behind me. Spinning quickly, I drew my Tesla.
"It seems we are forever distended to meet at gunpoint."