The Long Game
The Long Game
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters; too bad, so sad.
Spoilers: Through 1.05, “Kush”
Pairings/Characters: Will Zimmerman, Helen Magnus
Word Count: 680
Summary: Will isn’t sure he’ll ever get used to this.
A/N: Written for the sanctuary_bingo prompt: “Himalayas”
“Pack something warm,” Magnus says with irrepressible cheer. “We’re going to the Himalayas.”
Will had been told that his job with the sanctuary would require “some travel,” but this isn’t quite what he’d expected. It’s not that Will hasn’t traveled before. The FBI sent him all over the country, and he’d been to a few international conferences. He’d even backpacked across Europe the summer after college.
But still-the Himalayas. Will isn’t sure he’ll ever get used to this.
“What’s in the Himalayas?” he asks, jogging to catch up to Magnus as she strides down the hallway.
“A very rare species of abnormal. We’ve had reports for a long time, but no one has ever captured one alive.” Magnus smiles brightly. “We’ll be the first.”
Will thinks she’s being a little too optimistic. If no one has ever captured one of these creatures alive, he’s not sure they have any chance of managing it. “Yeah, sure,” he says, not wanting to argue.
He’s only been on the job a few weeks, after all. Will has plenty of time to start arguing with the boss.
“What about Ashley?” Will asks.
Magnus shakes her head. “Ashley will be staying here to oversee operations with the big guy. You’re with me.”
“So, it’s just us?” Will asks.
“Sylvio is going with us,” Magnus replies. “We’re being met by Dr. Allison Grant, the head of house in New Delhi. Dr. Grant’s team will meet us there, and we’ll transport the yeti to New Delhi.”
“Great,” Will says without much enthusiasm. He suspects this mission is going to be a hell of a lot harder than Magnus is letting on.
The plane ride is as comfortable as Will has come to expect from a sanctuary jet, and they land in New Delhi without incident, where they’re to pick up the rest of the team. Sylvio talks incessantly for the first hour, mostly about his girlfriend, but he falls asleep shortly thereafter. Will is grateful for the chance to catch up on his reading.
He probably ought to catch up on his sleep, too, but Will has a hard time sleeping on planes. He’s just grateful for the chance to read the articles he’s marked in The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. He’s way behind, and it makes him twitchy. Even if Will’s job doesn’t require him to keep up on the latest developments-abnormals being just a bit different than crazy humans, after all-he still wants to review the latest advances.
“Knowledge is never wasted,” has been Will’s motto since he was a kid.
Dr. Allison Grant greets them on the ground in New Delhi, grinning enthusiastically. “Dr. Magnus. It’s wonderful to see you.”
Magnus shakes her hand. “We very much appreciate the heads-up, Allison.”
“I’m happy to have your help,” she replied. “Now, I believe that capturing the yeti will pose some problems.”
That sounds more like one of their typical missions; Will has come to expect trouble.
“We’ll get it done,” Magnus says with perfect assurance. “No fear.”
And that’s her motto, Will thinks. She has no fear, no concern for her own safety. Sometimes, Will thinks, she has no fear for those around her.
Or maybe it’s just that she’s immortal, and therefore she doesn’t think about anyone else’s mortality.
Will wonders if that’s what he’s around for-to remind Magnus that there is something other than the long game, that not everyone lives forever.
Magnus thinks in generations, whereas Will thinks in terms of his own lifetime.
“Do you think we’ll have any trouble getting close?” Magnus is asking, and Will tunes back into the conversation.
Allison shrugs. “I have no idea. So far, it’s let us get within about fifty feet and no closer. No telling what its motives are.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Magnus replies, still sounding absurdly cheerful. “What would you suggest?”
Will knows that this is where the trouble probably starts. They’re heading towards the unknown. But then, that’s par for the course for the sanctuary network. Will just has to get used to it.