Fic: Cross-World Hunt (Multiverse!ARC) (3/8)

[goldarrow]

Title: Cross-World Hunt (Multiverse!ARC) (3/8)
Author: goldarrow
Word Count: 2,957 of 24,135
Characters/Pairing: Stephen, Ryan, Abby, Claudia, Blackwood, Burton, Captain Ross, Hemingway, Christine, Connor, Ditzy, Hartley, Helen, Becker, Lester, Jenny, Stringer, Lyle, Lorraine, Matt, Blade, Cutter, Finn, Sarah; Ditzy, Stringer, Lyle, Finn, and Blade belong to fredbassett, who kindly lends them out. Blackwood, Hemingway and Hartley are mine, along with a host of OCs.
Rating: 15
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures, not me. I will return everyone when I’m done, slightly mussed but in superb spirits nonetheless.
Synopsis: The search for Abby
Sequel to First World.
Part 1, Part 2.


Cross-World Hunt - Part 3

Location: ARC

Stephen leaned back in his chair and sighed gustily, then stood and almost stomped over to the Caff machine in the corner. "Anybody want one?" he asked as he got a mug from the cupboard above the machine.

"No, thank you," Claudia replied absently, continuing to take notes about the report on her screen.

Ryan glanced up at him. "Yes, please," he said with a slight grin.

Claudia muttered something that Stephen really didn't want to know about, and neither did the captain, if his expression was anything to go by.

"Sorry," Stephen said as he returned to the table and handed Ryan his Caff. "I just can't stand doing nothing but sit here and read reports when Abby's out there having fuck knows what done to her."

Ryan took a swallow of Caff as he and Claudia traded looks. Stephen knew what that meant – he was about to be double-teamed by the Team Lead and his Second.

Placing his mug onto the table, Ryan looked straight into Stephen's eyes. "You can stand it, and you must," he said firmly, then raised a hand when Stephen started to protest. "I know. It's fucking hard. I want to be out there beating the bushes for Abby, too. But we don't know where she is, and we don't have the faintest idea where to start." He leaned back and studied Stephen with a sharpness that made him nervous. "Do you not trust the members of the other Teams?"

Stephen's eyes widened. "Of course, I do."

"Then why do you not trust them to do their jobs, to find Abby, no matter where she might be?"

"I do trust them," Stephen repeated rebelliously. Then he admitted, "But I still want to be out there helping."

"As do we," Claudia said calmly. "There's nothing harder than what we're doing right now. Waiting. Watching. Hoping."

Stephen nodded sadly as she continued.

"We could rush into every society in the multiverse, use our combined powers to mount a search for Abby, but that would have terrible consequences in every reality. For many of them to even learn about the multiverse, to find out about powers, could destabilise so many of the realities that we wouldn't be able to keep up with the consequences."

Ryan took over. "So, we wait until we know which reality holds her; then we go in surgically, retrieve her using our powers quietly and covertly. Believe me, Stephen, the moment that we know where she is, Team 1 will be called to bring her back. They will not leave us out. I guarantee it."

Stephen drank half of his mug of Caff in one long swallow. "It still sucks," he said, knowing he sounded sullen but not caring.

Ryan and Claudia surprised him by agreeing wholeheartedly. "It really does," they both said at the same time, before Ryan sent another report to Stephen's screen.

"On the other hand, it will help if we don't just look for clues to Abby's whereabouts, Stephen. Look for anything else that seems wrong. After a few reports, you'll start to get a sense of what each world is like, and what fits and what doesn't. We're not just looking for Abby, we're searching for what else Helen might be up to that made her want to take Abby in the first place."

Stephen looked over at Ryan, his attention caught.

"The ability to notice things that don't fit will come in handy in every assignment you take. Look for what is 'wrong' in a place, and you can often find out what needs to be done to correct it without blowing the place up completely."

Nodding in true understanding, Stephen buckled down and started checking each report for clues as carefully as Ryan and Claudia had taught him.

~*~*~*~
Location: Earth 6-903 – Aztec Empire

After a frustratingly full morning of business negotiations in the Aztec Empire, every word of which had to be run through Wapasha as translator, Lyle popped through the portal to ARC, handed his latest report to Ryan for merging with the previous ones, received the hoped-for response to his query, and immediately stepped back through the portal to 6-903. He nodded at the waiting Hartley and Wapasha.

"We have the go-ahead for you to start looking using your joined powers," he said. Turning to Wapasha, he asked, "Do we have any idea when word will come regarding the Tenochtitlan Nahui Council's approval of our final contract proposal?"

Wapasha shook his head. "Not yet, no, but the wheels of business roll slowly here. Not having the proposal thrown back at us immediately is a very good sign that they have enough trust in us for them to begin debating it." He smiled slowly. "And the longer it takes them to make their decision, the better off we are. If the proposal is approved, there will be another few full days of meetings and other things – mostly rituals to bless the business contract – which will keep us busy and therefore slow our search." Turning to Hartley, he bowed slightly. "No matter how good we are, no matter how much we hurry, we will find her when we find her, if she is here. The longer they take, the longer we will have to search unencumbered."

Hartley grinned. "Then let's hope they debate for another couple of days." Her grin faded. "I just want to find her before the Turn of the Cycle thing happens. It'll be the perfect cover for us getting her away."

"I agree," the elder responded. "So, shall we move to the roof for our search? We can see much of the city from there. And in our favour is that the Aztec people often use their roofs for meditation and other ceremonies. Our work there will not stand out at all. In fact, if word gets back to the Council that we are performing meditation rituals – no matter what kind – on my roof, it will be another mark in our favour when they begin their approval deliberations."

Climbing the inside ladders one at a time, they finally came out onto the adobe roof of Wapasha's town home for the first time since they'd arrived yesterday morning. Lyle looked around, smiling and nodding his head in approval. "This is great," he said, moving over to a large plant that sat in its pot next to the parapet. He stroked the leaves, surprised that he could almost feel the happiness of the plant as its leaves shivered at his touch. He wasn't a plant-grower like Matt Anderson, he just liked these.

Wapasha followed him across the roof and suggested that they all sit on the benches close to the front. "The plants are spoiled, I'm afraid," he said shyly. "I give them touches and approval every time I come up here, so they believe they are the most beautiful of flowers in the city."

Lyle couldn't hold in a laugh. "And they're right." After one final pat, he turned to Wapasha, and leaned a hip on the front parapet with his arms crossed casually over his chest. "So, how do you want to do this?"

Wapasha dipped his head slowly in acknowledgement. "I think, perhaps, that Emma Hartley should sit facing in whichever direction she wishes to 'look'. I will sit beside her, holding her wrist for connection." He glanced at Hartley. "Does this meet with your approval? It will make the connection easier to form and hold if we are in physical contact."

Hartley nodded. "That's fine. So, from there, we join up, and I start looking?"

"And when you find a building that 'feels' right to you, then I will take point and we shall 'look' inside together."

"Sounds good." She turned to Lyle with a questioning expression.

Lyle nodded. "You two do that; Finn, I want you standing behind them ready to put up a shield if needed. Sarah, you stay by the door to the roof, be ready to send fire at anyone coming up." He glanced around, then strode over and picked up a few branches that were sitting in a pot ready to be used on the fire pit. "Hold these, they'll think you're using them as torches to hold them back, not your power."

Sarah smiled happily. "I can just as easily set fire to the branches and then actually use them. They'll never know how I set them going."

"Perfect," Lyle responded. "I'll be patrolling the edges of the roof, in case of climbers." He turned to Wapasha and gave a slight bow that still held a bit of insouciance. "Ready when you are, sir."

Wapasha laughed lightly. "I am ready. Emma Hartley?"

"Ready when you are," she repeated, sitting down and holding out her hand.

Wapasha sat beside her, placing his hand around her wrist. Together, they turned to face the city. Wapasha closed his eyes, whilst Hartley's gaze went both distant and intent.

Three hours later, the sun was starting to set.

Wapasha and Hartley still sat, gazing blankly over the city as their minds ranged from building to building, skipping none, searching all.

Lyle knew it was time for them to rest. He'd noticed the inhabitants of the neighbouring house were on their roof, and were starting to glance over at them. He stepped up in front of Hartley and slowly moved his hand to break her line of sight. They'd practiced this when he took over as Team Lead, so he would have the right speed and angle to close off her far-sight without causing her discomfort or dizziness. She could close down herself at any point without issue, but if someone else shut her down too abruptly, it could cause her pain.

"Hum?" Hartley's eyes focussed on his hand before she blinked and looked up at him.

"The neighbours are getting curious," Lyle said quietly, as the rest of the team gradually moved across the roof to gather close.

"Then it is time for us to make dinner," Wapasha said softly, looking no different than he had three hours ago when they began their search.

Hartley yawned and stretched before taking pity on the others. "Nothing yet," she said as quietly as Wapasha had. "We've managed about a third of the buildings in my line of sight, and since they're starting to light torches, it's getting too dim to see, anyway. Too much chance to miss something." She turned to Wapasha and inclined her head. "It was an honour working with you this afternoon, Ohiyesa Wapasha, and I hope to continue in the morning."

"I also will consider it an honour," Wapasha responded with a gentle smile. "You have an amazingly organised mind. It was a pleasure to join with you in our search."

"Okay, guys," Finn put in cheekily. "Enough of the mutual admiration. I'm starving."

Wapasha laughed outright. "And so you shall be fed," he said, rising from the bench. "I have ingredients prepared, and we can cook here on the roof. It will be much nicer to eat as we watch the sun set and the stars appear.

"Sounds good," Lyle said. "Lead on and we'll help where we can."

They trooped down the ladder, one by one, to gather the makings of their simple meal.

Lyle wasn't sure if he was just that hungry, but once the food had been cooked over the open fire, it turned out to be one of the best meals he'd ever tasted. The Aztec corn certainly lived up to Wapasha's claim of its quality. And their host and Lyle's team members made it even more special. He'd been slightly unsure when he first took over as Lead of Team 3, but they'd meshed nicely and seemed to have no issues with his leadership style, which he had to admit was different from most others; much more free-wheeling.

Luckily, this team appeared to be different, too. It seemed to him that they were thriving under his open-minded leadership. Which was a great source of both relief and pleasure for him in his first full Team Lead role.

~*~*~*~
Location: ARC / Earth 7-354 – Henry XXI Monarchy

Stringer finished his first report to Ryan at ARC. Ditzy, Quinn and Blackwood had managed to integrate successfully into their new roles in the palace of King Henry XXI, and were ready to start searching for clues as to whether Abby was present on this Earth 7-354.

"How is it looking?" Claudia asked quietly as Stephen brought Stringer a mug of Caff.

"Not a fucking clue, yet, really, but for what it's worth, I don't think they have Abby in 7-354. The only strange woman on anyone's mind is the King's new mistress." Stringer shrugged. "There's been no sign of Helen, but Christine Johnson is all over the rumour mill." He leaned back and took a swig of Caff. "Ditzy isn't in much of a position to ask any questions, but both Quinn and Blackwood are doing pretty well at rooting out information. Give us a couple more days, and we should have something concrete." He finished his drink and stood.

"Okay, thanks, Joel." Ryan shook his head in frustration.

"Have you heard anything from the others yet?" Stringer handed his mug to Stephen, who smiled and put it in the cleansing unit.

"Nothing of interest. Lyle's group have finished searching through about a third of Tenochtitlan Nahui with no result, and Becker's team are having a hard time finding out anything – the UTSA are even more insular than the Aztecs were in their heyday. I gave Becker the info about Team 3's search process, so Blade and Tally are going to try the joining for search that Hartley and Wapasha have been doing."

"Fuck it all." Stringer grumbled as he headed out the door. "We'll keep you updated, Tom," he tossed over his shoulder as he left.

Stringer strode through the portal to meet Yates on the local agent's ground floor. "Anything?" he asked, before Yates could even speak.

"Not a thing about Abby," Yates answered as he fell into step with Stringer. "But Dave has managed to find the hidden passage that Christine has been using for her assignations with the King."

"That helps a whole sodding lot," Stringer muttered. "But, on the other hand, it might give us a quick exit if we run into trouble in the palace at some point."

Yates agreed. "It's always useful to have a back door."

They entered Yates' main room as the other three agents trailed in one after the other. All three looked pretty knackered.

"Up to reporting?" Stringer asked, but was overridden by Yates handing everyone a glass of the local beer.

Quinn drained his glass in two long swallows. "Not a damned thing," he said gloomily. "The only thing people are willing to say is how scared they are about the King's mistress – some say she's a bitch and they'd be happy to see the back of her, others say she's going to be lucky to keep her head if the Queen manages to get any dirt on her."

"No word where she lives?"

"Not a peep." Ditzy took over. "She appears in the King's quarters, then disappears just as easily and quickly. Marcus told you about the hidden passage I found?"

Stringer nodded, turning the glass in his hands as he thought. "Is there any chance any of you can follow her to find out where the passage comes out?"

"I might be able to." Blackwood walked back across the room with more beer for all of them. "The queen has decided I'm worthy of her confidence." She grinned. "All I had to do was send three annoying people away with rather large and active fleas in their ears." At Stringer's look, she shook her head. "It's okay, she's been wanting to tell them to fuck off for a while; but being the Queen, she has to keep up a high level of deportment. I can get away with more – shall we say – indelicate phrasing? She's been very happy with me." She drained her own glass.

Stringer tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, at first not even realising he was doing so. When he noticed that all four of the others staring at his hand, he chuckled and held it still. "Sorry. It's a frustration 'tell' that I really need to weed out."

"Okay, so, here are our next steps." Stringer continued as everyone grinned. "Quinn, try to get someone, anyone, in the gardens or kitchens to confide in you. We really need to have a backup informant. Ditzy, keep doing what you're doing; we also might need someone on the palace guard to be ready to have our backs if things go tits-up. And try to make sure there aren't any more hidden passages that could bite us in the arse. Blackwood, see if you can get into that passage and follow Christine to the place where it exits the building. We don't need you to go any farther yet."

He turned to Yates. "Marcus, once Blackwood finds the exit, can you post someone there to follow Christine back to her place?"

Yates gave a sideways grin. "No worries, mate, I can do that easily. I have a group of youngsters who report anything unusual to me every day."

When the ARC team looked worried, he grimaced. "They're all safe, I assure you. If any one of them gets burned they all know where to go to ground. I have a network set up that can relocate anyone who needs it."

"Nice one," Stringer said admiringly. "Get some rest, people, I have a feeling that things are about to break loose."


Part 4.

Comments

[telperion-15.livejournal.com]

Really enjoying the slow burn of this, as information is gathered and worlds are explored. But I definitely feel for Stephen and Ryan and the others, and their frustration being stuck at ARC.

And 'free-wheeling' is a very good description of Lyle's style! *g*

[goldarrow]

Thanks!

I think this was the most complicated fic I've ever tried. I'm glad you're not finding all the info-dump style to be boring. :)

*g* I think Lyle would agree with you!

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

Great to have more 'frustration' as they search rather than just leaping into the rescue - it wouldn't be a quick process and allows us to learn more of each world. *purrs*

[goldarrow]

Thanks so much.

This was the most complicated thing I've written so far; I'm glad the buildup isn't boring!

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

Not boring at all, you've done a great job here with it.

[purplecat]

It's good that Stephen has Ryan and Claudia to keep him patient.

[goldarrow]

Yes, experience counts.

Thanks.

[fredbassett]

The general frustration is really coming over so strongly!

I'm loving this!

[goldarrow]

Thanks!

It's sometimes harder to just wait. :(

[fififolle]

Aw, Lyle is doing a great job!
The poor teams, nothing concrete yet.
But a nice rooftop meal :)

[goldarrow]

It must be frustrating for them to make no immediate headway!

I rather liked that idea for the meal, especially right now with our current weather!

Thanks!

[thelibraniniquity]

I like the pacing of this, everyone doing their due diligence and Stephen's louder frustration is very understandable.

[goldarrow]

Thanks, I had fun working out when to put the various bits; it's the most ambitious I've ever done with multiple teams working on different things.

*nods* Not having been raised to it, Stephen doesn't have the patient background of the others.