Primeval

Chapter 18 ~ Ethan's Escape

The ARC had an uneasy feel about it.

"Give me two minutes with him, Becker." Danny followed as Becker marched Ethan down the corridor in handcuffs. The journey to the ARC had been unpleasant as well. Becker and Matt along with three armed guards had transported Ethan, while Anna had driven Danny back separately. She had hoped it would calm him down, but seeing his brother for the first time since they were children was unlikely to be a relaxing situation for him.

"I'm sorry." Becker turned to them, "Matt doesn't want anyone talking to him. Look, I promise I'll let you see him later, all right?"

"Come on, Danny," Anna put her hand on his arm and turned him away from the scene, as Becker began to put Ethan in a secure room, "I know this must be difficult for you, but you have to be patient. Things have to be done according to procedure," She hated herself for refusing Danny access to his brother, but Anna had a job to do, and compromising her instructions was not a brilliant way to go about things.

As she led him into the main room of the ARC, Lester walked towards them. He was probably the last person Danny should've seen in such a tense situation; his sarcasm was not entirely comforting.

"Quinn," Lester began, "What an unexpected pleasure," There was little relief to see him after so long. "Helen Cutter? Is she dead?" Lester questioned, Anna had never though to ask.

"Dead as a Dodo," Danny said, lacking emotion.

As Lester led Danny into his office, Anna hung back a little. Helen Cutter had been a weight on Anna's shoulders since the day the anomaly had closed in her face. She'd never found Danny in the Cretaceous, nor Abby and Connor until the end, so the question of Helen had been left unanswered for over a year. Hearing Danny say it from first-hand experience was more comforting than anything else in the world. Anna composed herself, and followed them into Lester's office.

"How do we know that Patrick's done all this stuff?" Danny said, throwing Ethan's file down on the desk. He'd finally discovered what Ethan had done. "I mean, he could just be using this guy Ethan's name."

"Since Patrick's been here, he's murdered one person and tried to kill two others." Lester told him, the truth was not what Danny needed to hear, "Not to mention the bomb he left for Anna and Becker to diffuse."

Danny looked over at Anna, who was lent against the glass wall of Lester's office. She nodded at him, it was all still too clear, the fear of blowing up any second, they had almost lost their lives.

"It's not possible; he was only a boy when he went through the anomaly," Danny sat down with a sigh, staring at the table, "what could've happened to him?" he looked at Anna this time, with desperation in his eyes.

Anna sighed, "We don't know."

~

Anna walked out of the ARC canteen briskly, not wanting to be stopped and asked a question or dragged into a conversation with the staff eating their lunches. She carried two take-away coffees in her hands, and headed out the door and up the stairs.

It hadn't taken Anna long to work her way around the new ARC once she's arrived home from the Cretaceous. Though it was bigger than the old one, with more labs, more staff and numerous confusing corridors, walking through it now was second nature.

Anna unlocked her lab with the key on her wrist and carried the drinks through. Danny was sat at her desk, his head in his hands.

"Hey," she said, placing the coffee on the table, "I hope you still like it. Two sugars, right?"

Danny lifted his head and forced a smile, "Well remembered."

They sat in silence for at least ten minutes, neither felt the need to talk. Anna knew how frustrating all the questions and forced conversations were when you returned from being lost in the past.