The Messengers

Helena desperately wanted to dismiss Myka's declaration, but she knew better than to doubt her wife's eidetic memory. Too many times she had tested it…and lost. Helena didn't like losing. And so, questioning Myka's recollection on anything was a sore point for Helena.

She-never-won.

This still didn't stop her from asking the automatic response; "The Warehouse? Are you sure?" which drew just the slightest tilting of Myka's head. "I mean I know you are," Helena said, trying to save face. "But why would anyone from there …come…here?"

"No one's contacted you?" Myka asked to be sure.

"Of course not! They know better. I believe…you warned them never to contact me directly again or you would expose them," Helena said, getting the slightest tinge of excitement as she remembered how Myka and the Team came to save her. "You were….," Helena said, her eyes very soft now as she leaned in and played with Myka's hair, "…very convincing."

Myka smiled to think of what effect the whole incident had on Helena, when at the time Myka was scared out of her mind. She was running on fumes by the time she got to see the people who actually had taken Helena and she was beyond furious.

"I don't think they'd be foolish enough to ….," Helena was saying into Myka's ear when Myka's phone rang.

Claudia saw the address and the message: "Your girlfriend is at this location at our request. She is unharmed. Do not call the police, but do not come alone. You will need back up if you intend to stop us."

She grabbed the scarf and rushed to the only place she could get to a computer – the Apple store she had just left. "Scuze me, pardon me," she said, pushing her way to a laptop. She furiously typed the access codes to check where texts originated from to see if in fact they possessed the signature to Eileen's phone. And they did. The ping off the cell towers also confirmed that the text was being sent near the location of the address they gave her. She understood they didn't want her to call the cops, but they specifically said not to come alone.

Thoughts raced through her mind. Who would want Eileen? Ransom? Someone who wanted to hurt Helena? She had to call Helena. Frantically dialing the cell and then texting, Helena's phone rang and beeped …in her bag downstairs.

Uptown at the Oak Room, Pete and Jane were embracing when suddenly he felt it – the strangest feeling that something was wrong. Jane felt him pull back and saw the look in his eyes.

"You're not changing your mind already, are you, Lattimer?" Jane teased until she felt herself being pulled up out of the seat.

"Something's wrong," Pete said as the attentive waiter approached them, concerned something had happened. Something had – but Pete couldn't say exactly what it was. He quickly paid the bill, leaving a sizable tip for the man who helped, and then left.

"Somethings wrong? Where? How do you know?" Jane asked as they raced down the grand hallway of the hotel.

All good questions and Pete had to stop in his tracks to think about the answers. It was his vibes – but other than impending disaster, he didn't know the who, what and where. His first thought was Helena and he tried to reach her, but to no avail.

"We have to go…," was all he could say.

Myka's phone was ringing just as Helena was assuring her that whoever that man was, he hadn't done anything. Claudia screamed into the phone – telling her about the ominous text on Eileen's phone and finding her scarf and that she had to do something. She told Myka that she was told to go to the apartment on Sutton Place. Now, she was outside the Apple store, waving frantically for a cab to take her uptown.

Myka put Claudia on speaker phone so Helena could hear her. She repeated every detail to Helena.

"Claudia, I'm afraid that the men who invited Miss Sullivan to that place may indeed be with the organization I once worked for," Helena said, getting up and putting a plan together.

"That fraking hell hole in South Dakota?" Claudia yelled, not having any good feeling about them.

"Indeed," Helena said, and went into her closet to get dressed.

Myka stared at Helena as she disappeared and then back at the phone. "Claudia, we'll meet you there. I think we can talk to them. I mean, I'll call Pete, too."

Claudia agreed and jumped in the back of a cab and told the driver the address. Then she grabbed her phone. "I'm coming and if you hurt her, I will …," she started to type and the erased it. Threatening them while they still have Eileen was not a good idea. She grabbed her arms and hugged herself tightly, trying not to throw up. She had never been so scared in her life.

And Claudia Donovan had been in some scary situations.

Myka observed that Helena seemed neither surprised nor confused by the news that Eileen might be held captive by people from her former place of employment. She was, in fact, very calm. Ordinarily, calmness would be a wonderful asset in a time of crisis, but Myka knew better.

Helena was only this calm when she already had a plan of what she intended to do.

"Helena? What are we doing to do?" Myka asked as she pulled on some jeans, t shirt and her favorite University of Colorado hoodie.

"We?" Helena called from the bowels of her closet. "We are not doing anything. I am going ….," the Brit foolishly tried, but was met with her wife blocking the closest doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Don't even go there," Myka warned, confusing her literal wife.

"But I must go there….," Helena tried and now Myka crossed her arms.

"We are going. We will see what is going on with these people …," Myka explained.

"Darling, these people didn't have the forethought to try to reach me on the phone, send a post or email," Helena pointed out as she donned a black leather jacket that Myka had never seen.

Seeing her wife decked out like that had a similar effect on Myka as her own reading glasses had on Helena – it was a complete turn on. Myka's hand reached out to touch the soft, smooth material on Helena's shoulder.

"You're …in leather," Myka said feeling the texture.

"Yes," Helena said, moving closer. "It's what I wear when I'm about to kick someone's arse."

It snapped Myka back to reality. "Yes, and that's why you're not going alone."

"But Darling, I don't want you near those people," Helena tried to explain.

"Helena, we don't have time to waste, and remember – Bering and Wells – solving puzzles, saving the day?" Myka reminded Helena as she led the way down the stairs.

"Yes, dear," Helena said because time was of the essence.

The fastest way to the Sutton address was a cab, but when Helena and Myka opened their front door to hail one, Pete and Jane were just arriving. He went to the first place he thought of that could give him such a terrible feeling.

"No time to explain, let's go," Helena said and they piled back into the car. On the short ride across town, Helena and Myka told their friends what they thought might be going on. Helena explained that it seemed some people from the organization she worked for were attempting to get her attention.

"By kidnapping Eileen?" Pete asked, driving as quickly as he could.

"Unfortunately, my guess is that these are ancillary agents, perhaps not your brightest," Helena said.

"What kind of agents?" Jane asked, wondering what was going on.

"Federal agents from the …group…I worked for," Helena said, trying to recall how much she had once shared with Jane.

"Oh yeah, that elite group you said you worked for. Archieves or something?" the detective asked.

"Something like that, yes," Helena answered. She now worried that Jane's presence might hinder how she was going to handle this situation.

"And your fellow librarians kidnapped Eileen and you don't want me to call the police? Helena, that's a federal crime," Jane pointed out and Myka tightened her grip on Helena's hand in the back seat.

"Yes, we know," Helena said slowly. "Detective Tierney, if this will violate any laws that you feel would make you complicit, we can drop you off."

Jane took a deep breath. "I am not only gaining a husband, I'm gaining a family who could ruin my career," she pointed out as she smiled at Pete.

"Oh, yes, congratulations on that," Helena said as they pulled up and saw Claudia getting out of the cab.

"I will fraking kill them!" Claudia yelled, storming over to the group.

"That's my girl," Helena said under her breath and Myka suggested that maybe they shouldn't encourage her. And by 'they' she meant Helena.

"What so you know so far?" Pete asked Claudia and the closer he got to the apartment, the stronger his vibe got.

"I realize now that they hacked our phones and sent her texts that looked like they were from me and sent me texts that looked like they were from her. I should have known something was up when the text said 'yum'," Claudia rambled on as she paced back and forth. "No one says yum!"

"The people who have taken Miss Sullivan as their guest are probably using her as bait," Helena surmised as they walked to the doorway.

"Oh, this list just keeps getting longer and longer," Jane lamented.

"Do you want me to go around the back?" Pete asked.

"No, Pete, they're not going to run. That is, if they're here at all," Helena surmised.

"They said, don't call the police, but don't come alone. There are a few of us," Claudia repeated.

"Who did they think you'd bring?" Jane asked, wondering how a few NYPD sirens couldn't hurt.

"Me, Detective. They wanted Ms. Donovan to bring me," Helena said as she approached the front door of the building, took a tool kit from her jacket and picked the lock.

Jane watched and then quickly turned away. "I did not just witness a breaking and entering. The door was open," she said, rehearsing what her official report would say.

"I can still do that!" Helena said to Myka, proud she hasn't lost her skillful touch.

"What makes you think they're not here?" Myka asked, wondering how she would defend her wife in court if they were barking up the wrong tree.

"They're trying to lure us," Helena said, walking inside and looking around. "As I suspected; they're gone."

"Gone? Gone where? I will kill them if they've hurt her," Claudia exploded.

Helena realized that not everyone shared her view that the agents who did this were incompetent. "Claudia, I promise you, their intent is not to harm Eileen."

"How do you know this, Wells?" Jane said, looking around for clues.

"These people….," Helena thought out loud, "….may be incompetent, but they're not the bad guys."

"How can you say that?" Claudia asked, turning her anger at Helena. "Remember what they did to you?"

All eyes fell upon the Brit to explain how she could be so sure. "They must need something. Now, I know they're going about it the wrong way by taking Eileen, and for that they will pay, but I do believe that they're sending us on wild goose chase because they need me to give them something or do something for them."

"And reaching out via your cell phone would be too humdrum?" Jane asked, as she touched an empty soda can with a pencil. "I can get a print off of this."

"We're not dealing with thugs here, Detective. These people …and from the looks of it ..there are three of them…" Helena surmised by the chairs moved. "….are military."

Jane shook her head at what the government could possibly want with Helena, but as far as she was concerned, this was a crime scene and didn't want them touching anything. It was too late – Claudia had touched practically everything that the kidnappers had. "I'm going to find them and then I'm going to strangle each one of them. She wouldn't just go along with them. They probably have her tied up or ….," Claudia said and choked back tears at what could be happening to her girlfriend.

Helena reached out to her and grabbed her by the forearms. "Claudia, remember where I worked?"

"Yeah, that fraking fun factory in South Dakota?" Claudia said. Jane turned to look at Pete hoping he understood what they heck they were talking about.

"The contents, Claudia. They probably are using something to….aid them. Something that would not harm her," Helena said.

Myka was listening, but was looking around. There on the table was a note – 'Stop wasting time looking for clues. Your friend is at the cabin in the Enchanted Valley, Durham, New York."

"Helena?" Myka said, handing the paper to Helena, much to Jane's horror.

"You people are a crime scene nightmare," she said of the contamination.

"Oh, sorry, Jane," Myka said, but knowing that they didn't need fingerprints in this case. Whoever the perpetrators were, they wanted them to find them.

"How do you know this isn't a trap? They leave you a treasure map and you're following it, just like they want you to?" the good detective asked.

"This is why they said not to bring the police. You're only going to slow us down with your incessant questions!" Helena complained.

"Jane, Helena believes this is a cat and mouse game that they're playing…in order….to get her to see them," Myka tried to explain.

"This is insane! Even for you, Wells. Some unknowns kidnap your friend, force you to follow clues, and lead you to where their stakeout is and you don't want a S.W.A.T. Team to just go in and remove them?" Jane asked exasperated.

"NO! Please, Helena," Claudia begged, knowing only one person could handle this.

"You're upsetting her," Helena barked at Jane. "Now, should you feel it necessary to intervene, I will ask you not to accompany us. I know these people and I know how to deal with them. And I promise you, I will deal with them," Helena said in a tone that Jane had never heard.

Jane felt caught between going with these people and losing her badge, and letting them go off on their own into who knew what kind of trouble. "I must be crazy," she said after thinking it over.

"That's a conclusion we came to a long time ago," Helena smiled at her without patience.

As Pete led Jane outside, Helena turned to Claudia. "We will get her back. Of that I have no doubt," she assured her.

"What if…what if she's …hurt?" Claudia said through tear laden chokes.

"Then they will pay dearly," Helena said matter of factly and waited for Claudia to walk ahead of them to the car.

Myka pulled on Helena's sleeve – hard - until she turned around. "You –will – do – nothing – of – the – sort, Mrs. Bering-Wells. If we find ourselves faced with any kind of threat, you will let Jane call the proper authorities, do you hear me?"

In that instant, Helena was reminded that her old ways of dealing with Warehouse issues no longer applied. She didn't have just herself to think of anymore. And the tight grip Myka had on her sleeve conveyed that she meant every single word. Helena stared into deep jade pools filled with fury and concern. She knew Myka was worried about Eileen, but she was scared of something happening to her wife.

"I won't take any unnecessary chances," Helena promised before Claudia rushed back up the steps to beg them to get going.

Pete drove the troupe out of the City as Claudia sat in the back next to Helena and Myka. She typed furiously into the computer to track Eileen's phone. It was due north about forty five minutes ahead of them.

"Please tell me she is okay," Claudia finally typed into the phone when she couldn't take it anymore.

Henry saw the text as Damien drove along the highway. He looked over at Eileen, who stared at him when she heard the text come in.

"Boss? Since we want that Helena to come, shouldn't we just let, you know, her….," he said jerking his head towards Eileen, "…answer her own texts? I've heard things about that woman…."

Damien looked in the rear view mirror and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Henry. And ask them if they don't mind stopping for beer and chips while you're at it," he barked sarcastically.

"What the hell?" Claudia said, looking down at her phone.

"What?" Myka asked.

"They want us to bring beer and chips," Claudia said, showing the phone to Helena. "Is that code for something?"

"I do hope it's code for what I intend to do," Helena said and Myka could feel Helena's arm stiffen like a steel rod.

"If anything goes wrong up there, " Pete whispered to Jane in the front seat as the three women talked. "I, you know, have to protect her."

Jane patted her purse with the glock in it. If anyone came near the man she was about to marry, she was certain she'd break more laws that Helena.

And that was saying something.

An hour out of the City, Myka thought of how easily Helena seemed to understand these agents. "Helena, can't you call that guy who was in charge? Mr. Kosan?"

Helena smiled at how utterly brilliant her wife was. "That's a great idea!" Helena said and took out the phone she retrieved from the Townhouse floor before they left.

"I would like to speak to Adwin Kosan," Helena said, smiling at Myka. "I beg your pardon? How is that?"

Helena slowly closed her phone and started quizzically at Myka.

"What did they say?" Myka asked, aware that whatever it was, it surprised Helena.

"They said he no longer works there," Helena said slowly.

For the first time since they put two and two together, Myka saw the worried expression on Helena's face. She tugged at Helena's hand to prompt her to share her thoughts. Helena glanced over at Claudia who was busy loading the coordinates of Eileen's phone.

"I'm not sure who we are dealing with," Helena whispered to Myka.

Up North, in the desolate area of the little town called the Enchanted Valley, Damien parked the car in front of the house they had been told to drive to. It was a three story structure that probably had served as a seasonal resort at one time – a long time ago. Now, the new owner would have this house occupied all year long and Damien worried he would be one of its guests. He stepped inside as Henry and Demetri entered with Eileen.

Eileen was feeling calmer for a couple of reasons. She felt confident that they didn't seem to want to hurt her. She figured out that they were all new to this – and none of them seemed confident, especially their leader. She figured they had been handed this assignment with little information and were simply carrying out orders. But whose? Now that they were there, and now that they were sure Helena was following them, what would happen when she got there? Henry offered her some food and she refused. His head was in the refrigerator which someone saw to stock. Demetri was busy asking questions as Damien looked out the back window in the kitchen. Eileen looked at what appeared to be a view of the mountains in the very near distance.

"I could spit and hit the entrance," Demetri said and Henry thought a contest was in order.

Eileen noticed a soft rumbling sound in the direction of the mountain. She knew a little bit about this area because her family vacationed up here when she was a kid. There was no mining in the area, of that she was certain.

Damien offered her tea and she refused. He noticed the expression on her face. "Do sit down, Ms. Sullivan," he requested and Eileen found herself complying.

"I will share something with you," the lead agent said as he poured himself a cup of tea that Eileen was certain was subpar. "….they gave me these," he said, pointing to the cuff links. "…And told me that they once belonged to Franz Mesmer. He developed a theory about gaining control over someone's actions, as in hypnosis or suggestion. We get the word 'mesmerized' from him. Eventually, a lot of his stuff was debunked, but because he believed it so much, his cuff links became imbued with the ability to cast a spell over someone. I didn't believe it at first," Damien shared as he sipped his tea. "But it really has worked," he concluded, amazed that it did.

Eileen stared at him hard, an expression that was easy to read.

"Oh, I do apologize," he said and touched the cuff links, giving her the ability to speak and move on her own.

"They have burritos!" Henry called out from the fridge and Damien shook his head.

"I take it you're the leader of this little group of misfits," Eileen said as Damien offered her a cookie.

"You must be starving," he pointed out and Eileen was aware that her stomach was hurting. "Yes, I'm in charge," he confirmed.

"That's too bad," Eileen said, and Damien was beginning to think it might have been a mistake to take the spell off.

"Dude, give me one!" Demetri shouted and Damien rolled his eyes.

"Because I'm in charge of those two?" he asked Eileen.

"No, because Helena will come after you first," Eileen sneered.

"Why is she saying that?" Henry asked, his mouth full of beans. "I heard about her, boss."

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself," Damien said, trying to calm his underlings.

"If I were you two," Eileen said to the two younger men stuffing their faces. "I'd enjoy that last meal."

"Make her stop, boss," Henry said, because it didn't take much to make him nervous. He only got through the academy because he was number one in his class for technical operations.

"Ms. Sullivan, I should clarify that it's not we who want your boss. In fact, our paths might not even cross when she gets here," Damien explained and could see the confused expression on his captive's face.

"Who wants her then?" Eileen asked, raising her voice and Damien reached for the cuff links in case things got out of hand.

"Someone more powerful than us, I assure you. Someone, Ms. Sullivan, who won't take no for an answer."