Disclaimer: I own nothing but the phone.

Author's Note: The chapter ends season one. Wow. The season finale had the gang discovering evidence suggesting Claudia was MacPherson's spy. This chapter shows what happened to Claudia between leaving the Warehouse and running away from Leena's. For those of you who have been wanting to see more tough Claudia, this chapter contains a bit of that. Enjoy!

The Prodigal Daughter

This couldn't be happening. It wasn't possible. But all the evidence said it was. First MacPherson had contacted her, then the display said she had stolen an artifact, and now Leena said there was something wrong with her. It was too much. The fledgling life she had slowly begun to build was suddenly going up in flames. So Claudia did what she did best: she ran.

One of the few foster brothers she had been on speaking terms with had been good with cars and Claudia had gotten him to teach her how to hotwire them. Since then she had stolen enough rides that she could have done it in her sleep. Unlocking and hotwiring Leena's small car was a slice of pie. It only took Claudia a moment to locate the wires, strip them, and get the car working. Thankfully the alarm wasn't turned on.

She drove over the speed limit all the way to the B&B. There were never any cops around to care. Originally Claudia had just meant to get away from the Warehouse for some air, but by the time she reached Leena's she was in full-on flight mode. Mrs. Frederic and Leena seemed to have already decided that she was guilty. There wasn't time to dwell on how much that hurt. If they thought she had betrayed them, they would be taking drastic action against her. That meant it was time to get out of Dodge. Fast.

Claudia parked Leena's car and jumped out, leaving the vehicle running. She couldn't risk turning it off in case it decided not to restart. She hurried through the front door and up the stairs to her room. Thankfully everyone else was out in the field, so there was no need to explain herself to anyone.

Her messenger bag was sitting near her bedroom door. Claudia quickly dumped its contents out on the bed and began to repack it. She had done this enough times to know what was needed. There was a tin hidden in her desk containing what remained of her winnings from Las Vegas. It was good start. She dumped the money into the bag, along with a small wooden box containing various mementos she had held on to over the years. She also grabbed a spare change of clothes to tide her over until she could buy more. She made a point of selecting articles that wouldn't attract attention.

Her computer and phone would have to stay behind. They would be far too easy to track. Besides, they could easily be replaced. With someone else's money, of course. All of her important files were saved to a back-up drive. That went into the bag as well.

The books took a bit longer. Claudia stood in front of her shelves for a long moment before finally deciding on two to take with her. She could rebuild her collection later. It would give her something to do while she laid low and waited for everyone to forget about her.

Satisfied that she had everything, Claudia swung the strap of the messenger bag over her shoulder. Then she caught sight of the picture on her desk. Pete and Myka had trapped her in the middle of a tight hug and somehow Leena had managed to get a picture. Claudia picked up the photo and studied it. She looked so happy. She had really thought that it was going to last this time.

She should have known better.

Part of her wanted to slip the picture into her bag and take it with her. But another part of her knew that if she did, she would always be looking back at it. Sentimentality led to mistakes. If she was going to do this, she had to burn all her bridges completely. But the ties she had built over the last few months were strong. They refused to let themselves be severed without at least some explanation as to why.

Claudia grabbed her phone from where she had tossed it on her bed and switched on the camera. Then she turned the phone around so the camera faced her. A quick press of the button set the camera recording.

"Hey," Claudia said awkwardly to the phone. "So, um, obviously if you guys are watching this, then you know that I'm gone. Well, not gone gone. Just... not here."

Claudia shook her head, trying to refocus herself.

"I don't really know what happened," she admitted. "Leena and Mrs. Frederic think that I'm helping MacPherson. But you know that I would never betray the Warehouse like that. I would never do anything to hurt any of you. Not on purpose."

She chewed her bottom lip as she tried to figure out what to say.

"Maybe they're right," she said quietly. "Maybe MacPherson brainwashed me somehow and I've been working for him in my sleep or something. Or maybe I'm just crazy. I don't know. But I can't stay here anymore. If I really am a mole, then it's too dangerous for all of you. And if I'm not... Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Everybody already thinks it's me anyway."

She paused again as emotion threatened to get the better of her.

"When you find MacPherson, kick his teeth in for me. Claudia out."

Claudia clicked the camera off and lowered the phone. A few clicks insured that the video would be the first thing displayed if someone activated the phone. At least this way Artie and Pete and Myka could hear it from her. She owed them at least that much.

She stepped out onto the landing, trying to decide where to leave the phone. Her eyes drifted to Myka's door. Was it really only last night she had gone in there to talk to the older agent? Sitting in that bed letting Myka's voice lull her to sleep, she had felt more safe and loved than she had in a long time. If anyone would believe her, it was Myka.

The door to Myka's room was unlocked like always. Claudia headed over to Myka's bed and set her phone down in the middle of the blanket. Then she balanced the picture against it so it was partially upright. As she looked down at the picture, her throat suddenly tightened. How had everything gone so terribly wrong? She looked down at the picture and her heart nearly tore in two. She couldn't do this. She couldn't.

She didn't have a choice.

She quickly sniffed back her emotions. She needed to leave before anyone else got back. If one of them tried to stop her, she knew she wouldn't be able to go through with it.

As she turned to go, she caught sight of Myka's copy of The Time Machine sitting on the desk. This time sentimentality won out. After a brief hesitation, Claudia picked up the book and stuck it inside her bag. Then she hurried out of Myka's room and down the stairs before she could change her mind.

The door opened and swung shut behind her. Claudia hesitated on the porch, staring up at the familiar glass in the door. This was the only home she had known in over a decade. These people had started to become her family. The thought of leaving it, of leaving them, was tearing her apart. But she had to. It was the only way. If she was some kind of double agent, then she needed to get as far away from the Warehouse as possible. And if she wasn't, this was the only way to protect herself.

She reached up and touched the doorknob in a silent farewell to the house and everything it had come to represent. Then she squared her shoulders and turned away. It was time to suck it up. She had to look out for herself now.

Claudia headed down the drive back to Leena's car. There was another car sitting at the end of the driveway. That wasn't surprising. They thought she was a double agent. Of course they had set someone to watch her. But it wouldn't be a problem. Claudia knew how to lose a tail. Even a professional one.

She tossed her bag into the passenger's seat of Leena's car before climbing into the driver's side. Her mind was already in logical planning mode. First she needed to see Josh. Maybe he would know what to do. Rapid City was the closest place with the most flight connections. That seemed the most logical place to go. Once there, she could head to a computer store and use one of the displays to buy a plane ticket to Geneva. Money wouldn't be a problem, not with the whole of the internet as her playground.

It wouldn't be long before some from the Warehouse noticed she was missing. And then they would be hot on her trail. She probably had a few hours at the very most. It was a small lead, but she could make it work. They would, of course, have the Warehouse system set to ping if a security camera caught sight of her. Her chances of getting through the airport unseen were practically nil. They would also be expecting her to go to CERN. She would see Josh briefly and then she would have to go undercover. Europe would be an easy place to disappear for good. Not even Artie Neilsen would be able to find her then.

She put the car in gear and started down the driveway.

Thoughts? Leave a review and let me know. Next chapter begins season two!