Bellwether

Bellwether Chapter Forty Nine

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A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
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J
ProPhile: *hums patiently * Morgan: You okay? Readers/Reviewers: No update
tomorrow (I think… might be wrong) while I take care of RL stuff (work…blah)
and updating AFFN and finishing more indfics… we
shall see….  Thanks so much for following
along with the stories!

            Theresa
accepted the jostling and bouncing with ill grace, remaining silent after her
initial bout of air sickness but glaring at her uncle and his friend with a
look that could surely flay the flesh from the bones of lesser men.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

            “We’re
almost there,” Tom put in mildly.  “You
should go to the bathroom and clean up.” 
He fixed his niece with a kind smile, or as kind as he could manage
while sandwiched between the seat arm and Juggernaut.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Flying commercial had seemed clever at first,
a way to ensure Theresa’s cooperation and a minimum of involvement from outside
problems.  He had heard from Juggernaut
that there had been some issues mid-flight on the way over, while using the
private plane commissioned for the occasion. 
It seemed related, he thought, to his little
mission, these mysterious occurrences.

            “Fuck you,”
Theresa replied flatly. 

            “Is that
any way to talk to your favorite uncle? The man who raised
you as his own for fifteen years?” 
Tom tsked at her and tried not to look as
uncomfortably squished as he felt.  Theresa’s
mutinous glare was answer enough for him. 
He glanced up at the screen showing the annoying little map of their
flight path and the associated information, then
sighed.  It was another hour till w:st="on">New York but that was
more than enough time. Even with Essex’s
bumped up timeline, they would arrive in plenty of time for the purge.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He inhaled deeply, feeling the vials from the
lab pressing into his ribs, and he frowned. 
It was easy enough to get them past customs, marked as insulin and
appearing, for all intents and purposes, to be medication.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He was concerned about Moira, though.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  She had cooperated thus far,
sure her lab would remain staffed and safe in her absence now that she had been
taken by the vandals…  The scientist
slept fitfully next to Theresa, aided, no doubt, by the heavy doses of Scotch she
had taken as soon as the drink cart rolled by. 
“I’m returning you to your precious Institute, Theresa.”

            “If you
knew anything,” she replied tensely, “you’d know I don’t live in w:st="on">New York now.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  I’ve been in w:st="on">Boston for a goodly while!”style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The thought of w:st="on">Boston, of Sam’s face as Juggernaut took her,
made her breath catch in her throat.  She
had a moment of irrational anger about the fact he had not shown up like some
knight on a white charger to save her, but common sense kicked in and she
forced the girlish longings to abate.  “Why
are you doing this?”  She rubbed her
travel-begrimed hands over her hot cheeks, feeling the angry flush radiating
through her skin.  “This doesn’t make any
sense.”

            “I owe
someone a favor,” Tom said carefully over Juggernaut’s snoring.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  “And you, my dear girl, are the perfect
compliment to the return gesture.”  The
vials seemed heavier somehow.  w:st="on">Essex would be pleased with this, no doubt.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  All clean scans, all…useful…things.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  He frowned, tamping down old worries and new
concerns.  As near as he could tell, a
useful and ‘good’ mutation, according to Essex,
was anything that did not involve outward physical change, at least nothing
that could not be hidden.  That did not
seem right to him, but he was not in much of a position to argue with the
man. 

            Theresa
pressed her back against the seat and exhaled slowly.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The last three days had been a whirlwind of
confusion and emotional turmoil.  She
felt faintly nauseated as the plane began it’s final
approach; she would be back in New
York, allegedly being taken back to the
Institute.  That would be fine, she
reasoned. From there it was easy enough to go to w:st="on">Boston. 
She would be safe.  class=GramE>If she could trust Tom anymore.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>   There had been a time when that would never
have crossed her mind, when she would have crawled over burning coals and
broken glass if he told her it would not harm her.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  Now, though… now she could not think.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  She was confused, scared…sick.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 

            Moira
opened her eyes as Theresa retched into the last clean airsickness bag in their
row.  “You need some water,” she
murmured, ringing for the flight attendant. 
“You’re dehydrated.”  Theresa shot
her a glare but did not respond as she dry heaved over the bag.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  “Tom,” the scientist said loud enough to be
heard over the cabin noise, “when we reach the airport, I do hope you intend to
let her rest a bit before dragging her through whatever Hell you have set up for
her?”  Reflexively, she rubbed between
Theresa’s shoulders firmly but gently, maternal instincts kicking in without
her notice. 

            “I am
taking her back to the Institute,” Tom said sharply, startling a few people
around them.  “From there, she can find
her own way to Boston
or wherever she is ensconced now.”  He
elbowed Juggernaut roughly, to no avail. 
Cursing under his breath, he leaned forward to pin Moira with a hard
gaze.  “You will come with me,
however.  There are some things you might
be able to help with.”

            “I’m being…”
she paused, considering her words carefully. 
“I’m being forced to help you? What makes you think I’ll give you good
help? I might cock things up on purpose.”

            Tom paused
as the announcement came on indicating their imminent arrival in w:st="on">New York.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  When all was quiet again, he said in icy
tones, “Do that if you like, but know that even more people will die than
before.”