Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from either H2O: Just Add Water or Mako Mermaids.
Review when you're done reading to let me know what you think!
Charlotte thought that she had gone crazy...mad even. There she was, standing with ear and eye protection on while holding a gun...a gun! A weapon that had power to literally kill someone. She was tense as she held it out towards her intended target; unsure if she wanted to pull the trigger.
"You need to relax," Joshua spoke up.
Oh yeah...it didn't help that he was training her. Joshua was forbidden and Charlotte knew it, despite her crush on him. Elizabeth was tasked with organizing their flight to Queensland.
"I am relaxed!" Charlotte sharply spoke.
Joshua sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You need to relax your body and keep your feet apart," He explained and with his foot, guided her feet in to their proper stance.
Charlotte felt the heat rise up her skin at his touch. She tried to not think about it and stared at the bulls eye.
"Alright, now take off the safety," He guided.
She unclipped the safety just as he taught her the first time. Then the order came and Charlotte pulled the trigger. The sound was muffled by her ear protection, but she felt the gun shudder in her dainty hands and she almost let it fly out of her grip. She pulled the trigger a few more times before Joshua gave the order to stop. Putting the safety back on and taking out the magazine, Charlotte took off her ear protection.
"How did I do?" She asked.
"Well, let's see."
The bulls eye was wheeled towards them and Joshua gave a low whistle.
"Wow...you've got quite the eye. You're almost better than me, and that's saying something."
"Beginners luck," Charlotte tried to reason.
"Maybe, but you've still got quite the eye. Here, you can journal this," Joshua said, taking the paper off of the board and handing it to Charlotte.
Taking her proof of marksmanship, Charlotte folded it and set it in her jeans pocket. The two left the gun range and headed upstairs, to where Elizabeth was waiting. She was at the front entrance with three different suitcases. Charlotte recognized one of them to be hers.
"Are you guys ready?" Elizabeth asked.
Charlotte nodded. She was ready to go back home and to help find out what happened to the three mermaids, despite how she acted towards them in the first place. But that wasn't what worried her. What worried her how Lewis was going to react when he saw her again. Taking a deep breath, Charlotte wheeled her suitcase out the door and followed the two older agents.
Once having arrived, it was night time and the moon was up. It was about a month away until the next full moon. For some odd reason, this satisfied Charlotte. She wondered...maybe if she went back to the Moon Pool, she could get her powers back. Max had said that the full moon of fifty years would take away her powers forever. But nothing lasts forever...right? It wouldn't hurt to find out.
"Beautiful night," Joshua commented.
"Yeah, it is," Elizabeth replied, looking up at the full moon.
She looked over at Charlotte, as if with wishing eyes. Hmm...there was probably still that little bit of wonder in them from when she had her mermaid green tail. In Elizabeths' mind, she was thinking about something else. She wondered if the disappearance of Cleo, Rikki and Emma were somehow connected to Mako Island. She had no idea how the other four women were connected, but she was sure that they would find one.
By shuttle, the three were taken to their hotel in the city. Elizabeth and Charlotte shared a room while Joshua had his own that was adjoined to theirs. Setting down her suitcase, Charlotte opened it up and began to unpack.
"That's going to have to wait. We have to go meet Agent Watsford," Elizabeth interrupted.
"But...it's past eleven at night," Charlotte protested.
"I know, but meeting him is top priority. If I were you, I wouldn't even bother unpacking. We won't be in the hotel that much."
Nodding, Charlotte didn't argue or complain. Instead, she followed Elizabeth back out the door where Joshua was already waiting. They left the hotel and got in to the rental car that waited for them outside. Joshua took the wheel and drove them to police station close by.
Once they arrived and went in, Joshua led them to a detectives office and he knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A mans' voice called.
Opening the door, the three were greeted by Agent Watsford. Charlotte looked at him with curiosity. She didn't see a resemblance in him. General Leblanc was off his rocker.
"Agent Striker, Agent Joshua, thank-you for meeting me. Who is this?" He asked, gesturing to Charlotte.
"This is Charlotte Watsford; our new recruit," Elizabeth introduced.
The man looked at her, not sure if he had heard her name properly.
"Watsford?"
Charlotte just nodded curtly, but the older gentleman didn't say anything. He just looked at her; as if she was a puppy abandoned in a ditch and covered in mud. That moment was over and he put his attention back to Agents Striker and Reynolds.
"Anyways, since I don't have much information about any of the missing women, I though that we could split up the list and go question the family members. I don't have any of the addresses for the last three girls..."
"Oh that's okay, I know them," Charlotte spoke up.
"Charlotte..." Elizabeth interrupted, a tone of warning in her voice.
"What?" You know the three of the victims?" Agent Watsford asked.
Charlotte lowered her head; ashamed of herself for the guilt that sat in her heart.
"Yes. We were friends before I joined the agency."
"Did either of you know this?" Agent Watsford asked, looking at the older agents.
Joshua shook his head. Elizabeth tried not to show any recognition in knowing Rikki, Cleo and Emma, even though she did. She too shook her head, but very slowly so Charlotte wouldn't take notice. Agent Watsford looked at Charlotte, harshly.
"Does your mother know that you're involved in this?" Agent Watsford asked.
"My mother...?"
"Annette. Yes Charlotte, I know your mother," Agent Watsford said.
"Are you her brother?" Charlotte asked.
"No. I'm her husband...your father."
Charlotte stood there in shock. This man was who...her father? But...her mother told Charlotte that her father died before she was born. Charlotte thought that this man was an uncle or something, but she was wrong. He was...her father? She was at a loss of words.
"Alright, we will take the McLaren girl, Rita Santos, Isabella Hartley, and Mimmi Blakely," Elizabeth spoke up.
What? They weren't going to find out about Cleo and the others? Why? Charlotte was suddenly annoyed that Elizabeth had made that decision. Rikki, Cleo and Emma were who they knew! Wouldn't it make more sense to go get information from their families and Lewis?
"Alright. Charlotte, can I have your friends addresses?" Agent Watsford asked.
"I want to go with you!" Charlotte blurted.
He was not even bothered by her outburst. He just gave her that same look.
"Charlotte, let him do his job," Elizabeth spoke gently, placing a hand on Charlottes shoulder.
Charlotte shrugged it off.
"No! I want to go with you! I'm being trained as an agent, so why can't my father help me?"
"Because you are under my supervision. He doesn't get held responsible if anything happens to you, I do! Joshua will go with him. You and I will check the others," Elizabeth explained.
Charlotte tried to fuel her anger, but it only festered. She pushed it aside, took out her phone, and gave her dad the addresses to the homes of Cleo and Emma. She didn't know where Rikki lived, so she mentioned it to the others. Nodding, the four left the station and Agent Watsford told Joshua that he would pick him up in the morning. Getting in to their rental car, Charlotte got in to the back seat and buckled up. She fumed.
"Stop it. Charlotte, don't let it get to you," Elizabeth advised.
"How can I not? That man is my father! My mother told me that he died before I was born! She lied to me! He never even reached out to me! Did he even know that he had a daughter? Why would he leave my mom? I have questions that need to be answered and I will get them," Charlotte promised.
Elizabeth and Joshua didn't say anything. They just let her rant as they drove back to the hotel to get some sleep. They had had a long flight and it was obvious that Charlotte needed the sleep. She wasn't built like the two of them. She was thinking irrationally and needed a clear head for tomorrow. Joshua finally spoke up.
"Look, Charlotte, I used to work in the CIA before I joined IDA to work with Elizabeth. You hold a lot of secrets when you work there and most of the time if you have family, they're one of those secrets so that no one finds out about them. The reason that he's stayed away from your mom and you, was to protect you both. You can't blame him for that. Plus, letting your emotions control you during a case can be very dangerous. It's a liability. You have to remember that as an agent, you can't wear your heart on your sleeve or else you become vulnerable to the enemy."
Charlotte didn't respond. She just listened to what Joshua had to say and although she wanted to continue throwing a fit about just discovering that her dad was alive, she held it in. She pushed her anger deep down and a few tears were shed.
"Right. Of course. I mean, I lived without him most of my life. Surely, I can handle it a bit longer."
Elizabeth and Joshua shared a subtle glance and Elizabeth bit her lip slightly, her brows furrowed. Her abilities could sense that anger in Charlotte and it left a sinister feeling inside. Elizabeth wanted to know what was deeply troubling her, but she let it be. Charlotte had gone through enough tonight as it was. Arriving at the hotel, Joshua parked and the three headed inside. Coming to their respective rooms, Elizabeth took a quick shower while Charlotte got ready for bed. As she buttoned up her pajama top, Charlotte looked out the window and stared at the moon.
The full moon would be next month and the case would take a while to deal with, meaning that Charlotte would be around when the magic would happen. She planned on going to Mako the night of the full moon to get her mermaid powers back. She missed it so much. She wanted it more than anything; besides getting to know her recently discovered father.
Closing the curtains, Charlotte crawled in to her bed and heard the shower continue to run in the bathroom.
In the shower, Elizabeth, having finished washing up, just stood there as she contemplated the case in her mind. Something seemed odd about the entire thing. Rikki, Emma and Cleo were missing and the only reason that she could come up with was that they were mermaids. Were the other missing women mermaids too? Did that necessarily mean anything? Cleo, Rikki and Emma had a secret that could be very beneficial to any criminal if they found out about the girls. Perhaps an accidental transformation happened? Perhaps someone saw it.
One thing was certain though. If the reason that these women were missing because they were mermaids, then Elizabeth had to keep a very careful eye on Charlotte. If for some reason she could get her mermaid powers back on Mako Island, she could very well be the next missing merperson. And Elizabeth couldn't have that hanging on her. Charlotte would not be able to go back to Mako Island.
What did you think?
Do you think that Charlotte and her father will be able to have a relationship, or no? Do you think it would help Charlotte become a better person, or make things worse?
ALSO! If you're already thinking that Doctor Denman could be behind this, it's not. That would have been way too predictable.