Being snowed in has some benefits.
Trail of Fools
Buried under the soft duvet and sheets, Myka and Helena lay in each other's arms, exhausted, yet happy. Helena's unconscious was processing her thoughts and projecting one way she saw them playing out one of her favorite scenarios. She was on stage accepting a Nobel Prize in Chemistry …..and in Physics…..and in Physiology and Medicine. The image that was making her smile was the HG Wells version of Adele and the Grammy's. When they handed her the Nobel Prize for Literature …she actually said – "No, I couldn't accept another."
Oh, to be brilliant….. and modest!
Myka's unconscious was giving her the sensation of drifting on large billowy clouds. She was lying back, encased in the cool sensation of satin as she floated without a care. But Myka had spent so many years categorizing thoughts, feelings, events – that a part of her brain was always working overtime. Myka's brain was working tirelessly at solving a puzzle – 'Who was that man that she saw in the high school auditorium'? Unlike most people who would access a couple of memory files and give up, Myka's brain had thousands of files to scan to figure it out.
And she did – just as Helena was accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. "Well, if you insist…."
The Warehouse!
Myka shot up out of bed, a feeling of fear coming over her like a cold sweat. She reached out to touch Helena so quickly that she startled her….and made her drop her trophies.
"Helena! Helena!" Myka called frantically to wake her.
Helena sat up immediately, trying to get her bearings and figure out where her awards were. "What is it, Darling?" she asked, running her hand through sleek, black hair.
"I know where I saw that man, Helena," Myka said, getting up and pacing.
Helena glanced down at her watch. Not much time had passed it seemed. "What man, love?" she asked, trying to refocus on the present.
Myka rushed back to the bed and sat beside Helena. "When you were talking at the high school….,"
"…And I didn't know you were there?" Helena added, because it reminded her how sweet that was of Myka to show. But it wasn't the point.
"Yes, but while you were talking….," Myka tried to recall.
"….and you were watching people watching me and I was watching you watching people watching me?" Helena said, pulling her knees up under her chin.
"What? Yes, no, Helena….there was a man and he looked very familiar to me," Myka said, trying to get Helena to pay attention.
"What kind of man?" Helena said, wondering what kind of man would catch Myka's attention.
Myka kept checking and rechecking her memory to make sure that she was correct. Maybe he looked like someone who looked like the guy she saw a long time ago. She shook her read. The downside to an eidetic memory was that she remembered the slightest details. It was him.
"I saw a man there Helena. He was from the Warehouse. I'm certain of it," Myka said.
"What warehouse?" Helena asked and then noticed the strange look on Myka's face. Those memories of that place were buried for the former agent.
"Do you mean…?" Helena asked slowly.
"Yes, Helena, yes," Myka said definitively. "The Warehouse!"
The raspberry sorbet had been served and the wonderfully skilled waiter, Jeffrey, spoke in a calm and slow voice to Pete because he feared he was about to keel over from the anticipation.
"Everything good, sir?" Jeffrey asked and winked.
"Yes, yes, this is delicious. Try it, Jane," Pete said to encourage her to eat it quickly. The detective, who was dressed up for the dinner, smiled at the waiter and took another mouthful. Pete quickly extended his neck to see if he could see how much more she has left. He was practically done.
"Please let me know if there's anything else," Jeffrey said and took his leave.
"This was really, really nice," Jane said, putting down her spoon on the side of the plate that the cup of sorbet rested on.
"What? Yes, this is great. Have another bite," Pete urged her.
"Oh, please," Jane laughed. "Did you see the size of the filet mignon I ate? I'm stuffed," she laughed. The syrupy iced confection was melting in the bottom of the glass.
"Oh, but it's so good," Pete said, scraping the bottom of his glass now, making the 'mmmm' sound loudly.
"Here, have mine," Jane said, her eyes darting to see if anyone was looking at them. The Oak Room was a classy place and not one where people scraped the bottom of their dessert dishes. She attempted to push the plate over towards Pete, but he protested loudly.
"No! That's yours," Pete pointed out, pushing it back towards her.
Only then, did the good detective notice the expression on the attentive waiter's face. He seemed to be indicating that she should take it back. Not one to intervene, the man was very concerned that Pete would lose it if things didn't go as planned.
"O…..kay," Jane said slowly and took it back. "It is good?" she asked more than stated and Jeffrey smiled. She dug her spoon back into the glass and took out the last scoop of sorbet and placed it into her mouth.
Pete beamed; Jeffrey smiled broadly and Jane nearly bit the ring. "Oh God!" she said, so focused on Pete that it took a second to figure it out.
Pete shot up from his chair as Jane took the ring out of her mouth. He saddled up next to her chair and went down on one knee. Nearby patrons started to stare as they anticipated the formal proposal.
"Pete?" Jane said, looking down as he took the ring and wiped it off. It was the most beautiful engagement ring she had ever seen.
"I say yes," Pete said, looking into her eyes and taking her hand. "I want to marry you."
With that, Pete slipped the ring onto her finger and held it there. "Thank you for asking me," he said.
It was not an overstatement to say that Detective Jane Tierney did not express her emotions well. Her job demanded that she compartmentalize them and keep them under wraps. But that night, as her lover finally told her that he was accepting her proposal of marriage, tears flowed down her cheeks as she reached over and grabbed Pete to kiss him.
The quiet of the upscale was broken by the soft clapping of the patrons.
Claudia was certain this was Eileen's scarf because they had gone to a class on how to make them. Long pieces of silk where covered with felt geometric shapes. Then water was added and the material was rolled and placed in bubble wrap and pressed with pressure until the material forge as one. She had purposely chosen blue and green colored felt because they reflected best in Eileen's light blue eyes.
"She's texting, boss," Henry said as he read Claudia's inquiry if Eileen was at the restaurant.
Eileen's light eyes locked on Demetri as he looked in the rearview mirror. He was driving to his appointed designation along the East River. It had been a short ride from the restaurant where he used the artifact on his abductee.
"Tell her …Miss Sullivan has been invited to be our guest at 340 Sutton Place," Damien said because he had been given very clear instructions. "Tell Ms. Donovan, if she attempts to rescue her girlfriend, she should not come alone. Tell her, Henry, there are a few of us."
"A few?" Demetri said, because he doubted Henry could fight his way out of a paper bag.
"You question authority a great deal, Demetri. It's annoying," Damien said. Then he parked the car outside the apartment that had been secured for them. It was on a quiet street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Eileen's breathing started to quicken as she realized they were baiting Claudia. Could this all be an elaborate plot to get Helena to come? Why not just meet with her? Or did they want to make good on their offer for her to join them? The preposterous suggestion came after she and Team Wells helped rescue Helena from the rebronzing.
She didn't like the Warehouse agents then, and she really didn't like them now.
The men escorted her inside and settled down in the living room. Demetri sat by the window so that he could look down from the second story. Henry was the refrigerator because he was always hungry. Damien sat in a chair next to Eileen. "Ms. Sullivan, I am going to allow you to speak, but if for some reason, you decide to scream, I will simply get you to stop," he explained, showing off the cuff links.
Eileen thought she detected exasperation in his voice – as if he didn't really want to do any of this. She narrowed her eyes on him and didn't blink. She watched as he touched the cuff links and told her she could speak. Instantly – she could.
"What do you intend to do when Claudia shows up?" she asked in as calm a voice as she could muster.
Damien protruded his lower lip. "Nothing really," he said as he read the page that contained the next set of instructions. "We won't be here."
"What?" the two men asked in unison. Eileen watched as Damien rolled his eyes.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked him and worried now that Claudia would come alone.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "Your girlfriend will find another clue when she arrives here. We're going to the final destination. Not too far north."
Eileen wondered why they were so forth coming with the details – and if they were true. Finally, she said – "You want Helena."
"Well, technically….," Damien started to explain, but was interrupted.
"You're crazy if you think Helena will come calmly. She will rip you and your two puppets to pieces!" she fumed.
"Boss?" Henry said, worried because he didn't excel at martial arts in the academy.
"Henry is our…technical genius," Damien said almost apologetically. "He's the one who got past your firewall at work."
"I did," Henry said proudly.
"Then you better worry when Claudia gets ahold of you," Eileen said and her captor had enough. He touched the cuff links and silenced her.
"Let's get ready. We have to be in the Catskills before morning," Damien said.
The Catskills were a mountain region about two and a half hours north of Manhattan. It was where Damien was told to bring Eileen.
And to wait for Helena.