Primeval fic: The ARC Files: Death Is Only The Beginning Part 1
Title: The ARC Files: Death Is Only The Beginning Part 1
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~2300 of ~5165
Characters: Jenny Lewis with Mike, Lorraine, Harry (OC), Megan (OC) and assorted other OCs.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N: Set in my The ARC Files 'verse. Prequel to The ARC Files: The Locked Room Mystery and sequel to The ARC Files: The Caged Wolf. For my Primeval Bingo Card (round 6) prompt: Loss (7/25). Thanks go to Fififolle for the beta.
Warnings: Technically Deathfic.
Part 2
Glossary:
ARC - Abnormal Regulation and Control. Organisation tasked with dealing with all matters relating to the supernatural aka Abnormals.
Abnormal - any of the various supernatural entities which share the world with humanity, including werewolves and other werecreatures, mages and vampires.
Normal - human, non-supernatural.
Turned - term used to refer to a human who becomes an abnormal due to the actions of another abnormal.
Jenny woke as the sun's warm light filled her bedroom, smiling as it caressed her skin. She rose and peered out her window, watching the sun rise and spread its light and warmth across the still sleeping city. It looked like it would be a glorious day and she'd have to find the time to walk in the park later. Maybe Mike would be able to join her and they could have lunch together?
She started to get ready for the day - knowing the ARC, something would come up to disrupt her plans. Hopefully not Taversham again, she'd had enough trouble convincing James not to take care of that problem himself the last time. Mmm, if Mike was busy, maybe she could get James out of his office and see the sunlight for once; for a mage he appeared to see it almost as infrequently as a vampire.
She opened her post as she consumed her breakfast and smiled as she read the note from her mother. It would be a pleasure to visit with them on the weekend, to spend time at the house she'd grown up in. Her smile faltered, that was, of course, assuming they hadn't had another row about her father's affair. If that was the case, her father would retreat to the garden and she'd be left looking through a seemingly endless number of wedding catalogues with her mother while ignoring the barbs her mother fired off about unfaithful men in general and her father in particular. It really wasn't how she wanted her upcoming nuptials to be remembered and she could only hope her father wouldn't think about asking to invite Ms Brown to the wedding.
***
Jenny hung up her phone with a sigh, although she supposed Mike was correct that she'd be seeing him that evening when he picked her up for their engagement party. Bloody hell, she'd forgotten about it and she wouldn't have time to go home and change... Change, she had nothing that would be suitable for the party and there went her plans for lunch. She sighed again as she rubbed her eyes and wondered if she'd even be able to fit eating into her break.
“Problem?”
A smooth voice asked and Jenny looked up to meet the warm brown eyes of one of her team. “No, Harry.” At his disbelieving look, she smiled slightly before adding, “Not really. I was hoping to have lunch with Mike but..” She shrugged, “I'd almost forgotten about our engagement party tonight.”
“Ah,” Harry murmured. “So, you can't see him for lunch cos you're seeing him later?”
Jenny did smile at that. “Apparently.”
“How about lunch with me?” Harry offered. “Well, me and Megan and Lorraine, that is.”
“I'd love to,” Jenny informed him. “However...”
Harry grinned. “Oh, you mean you really did forget about the party?”
“It's really not...” Jenny shook her head before continuing. “It's Mike's parents, his mother especially, they want everything to be perfect and...”
“Yeah, I can see why you'd want to forget about it.”
“And I've now got to go shopping,” Jenny closed her eyes and groaned at the thought of traipsing around innumerate shops when she could have been relaxing and enjoying her lunch.
Harry nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “Well, we could combine the two?” At Jenny's questioning look, he added, “If you want to, we could meet you for lunch and help you shop...”
Jenny smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
***
Jenny paused outside yet another boutique to glance at her watch, time was getting on and she was no nearer to finding something to wear for the bloody engagement party. She sighed, hoping that this shop would have something suitable and entered to find a stand off. Harry and Lorraine were both squared up to a shop assistant while Megan stood behind them, her face undergoing micro-changes as she twisted her hands together nervously. “What is going on here?” Jenny demanded.
The shop assistant turned her attention from the trio of weres, her glare turning into a welcoming smile for Jenny. “I'll be with you in a moment, ma'am, I just need to call security.”
It was obvious to Jenny that the assistant didn't realise she was with the weres and equally clear that the management hadn't moved on with the times. Even though the shop lacked the signs of her childhood that had proclaimed no abnormals would be served, it was clear it still held that mentality. “Really? What's happened?” Jenny managed to inject curiosity into her voice rather than the anger she truly felt.
“These people are not welcome here, ma'am.” The assistant's emphasis making it obvious she didn't consider the weres people
“Oh?” Jenny asked. “And why is that?” When the assistant opened her mouth to explain, Jenny added, “Because I'll have to inform you that if it is because they are abnormals that you and these premises are in violation of the abnormal equality law.”
“Is there a problem here?” a male voice asked and Jenny noticed the well-dressed man emerge from deeper within the store, his badge clearly proclaiming that he was the manager.
“Sir,” the assistant began. “I was merely explaining our policy, sir.”
“Policy?” The manager asked before his gaze fell on the weres. “Ah, I see.” He turned towards Jenny. “I apologise, ma'am, Yvonne will be with you shortly.” He turned his attention back towards the weres, a disgusted expression on his face.
“I don't think so.” Jenny's voice had everyone's attention fixed on her. “I wouldn't shop here if you paid me.”
“Ma'am, I assure you, we don't normally have this sort of problem.” The manager's eyes flickered towards the weres.
“They aren't the problem, Mr...” Jenny peered at his name badge. “Ah, Dominic. You and your antiquated and intolerant beliefs are.” She drew herself up to her full height and pinned him with a glare that had Taversham trembling in his shoes. “You are breaking the new equality law with this blatant intolerance towards my friends.”
“Ah.” The manager seemed somewhat taken aback by Jenny's defence of the weres. “I assure you, ma'am, that we are within our rights to refuse service to anyone.”
Jenny smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. “Really? I do believe that is with a valid reason, not because your customers just happen to be weres.” When the manager, Dominic, opened his mouth again, Jenny waved him to silence. “You can expect a visit from the relevant authorities.” When he began to bluster, Jenny took great pleasure in showing the now spluttering man her ARC identification.
Dominic paused before a knowing look appeared on his face. “Ah, of course, ma'am. It would be our pleasure to offer you a discount on your purchases today.” The man's gaze slid towards the weres. “If your friends could wait outside.”
Jenny could almost hear the inverted commas around the word friends and could only stare at the manager in disbelief. It was clear that he thought she'd accept a bribe and that the only reason she'd brought the weres with her was to obtain it. Jenny wasn't quite sure what angered her the most, that she'd misuse the weres just to obtain a discount or that she'd accept a bribe. Maybe she should have paid more attention when James had ranted about how deep-set the rot was within the ARC, it was clear there were people within it who would solicit and accept bribes to look the other way when it came to intolerance towards abnormals. “I think not.”
“Ma'am?” Dominic sounded confused at having his offer turned down.
“And this bribery attempt will go in my report.” Jenny strolled out of the boutique without a backwards look.
“Go, Jenny!” Harry crowed when he caught up with her.
“You didn't have to, Ms Lewis,” Megan murmured, her face still subtly shifting.
“Nonsense, Megan.” Jenny informed the weremouse gently. “This sort of behaviour is beyond the pale.” When she noticed that Megan was still trembling slightly, she smiled gentle at the weremouse. “How about we stop for a coffee and then try a different shop?”
Lorraine nodded. “Excellent idea, and if you don't mind an abnormal stall, Ms Lewis, I think I might have found the perfect dress for you.”
Jenny followed Lorraine's gaze and smiled. “That dress looks absolutely perfect, Lorraine.”
“Great,” Harry took Jenny's arm. “Lets buy it and then we can spend the rest of lunch relaxing.”
“Megan?” Jenny asked the weremouse.
“I think that's a good idea, Jenny. Then we won't have to rush lunch too much.”
Lorraine linked arms with Megan and led the way. “Excuse me?”
The stall-holder turned to face them, his eyes widening when he realised he had a normal browsing his stall. “Are you sure you want to shop here?”
“Shouldn't I?” Jenny asked, an eyebrow raising in challenge as she stared at the man.
“Calm down, Toby,” Lorraine spoke up. “Jenny is a friend.”
Toby glanced towards the wereowl before relaxing. “Any friend of Lorraine's is a friend of mine.” He smiled before nodding at the dress Jenny had been looking at. “And that would look absolutely stunning on you.”
***
At the end of the day, Jenny got ready to leave the ARC, and headed down to the lobby. She smiled when she caught sight of Mike standing waiting to take her to the party, a bouquet of fresh roses in his hands. She took a moment to check her dress in a mirrored panel before walking down to meet him and accepted his kiss on her cheek. Not that she was looking forward to this evening but, sacrifices had to be made and hers appeared to be attending ghastly parties.
Her eyebrow rose when she realised how many cars were parked outside the Young's house, just how many relatives did Mike have? Still, there was nothing for it but to take a deep breath and just get through the next few hours, probably with a glass or two of bubbly.
She sipped her champagne as she circulated through the crowd, keeping an eye open for Mike in the hope her fiancé would rescue her from his seemingly never-ending horde of relatives and their repeated questions, anyone would think they'd never met anyone who worked with abnormals.
“Ah, so you're Jenny.” A somewhat drunken voice sounded behind her and Jenny turned to find herself far too close to some hooray-henry who'd obviously had more alcohol than was good for him. “What all this about you being a working wife? Stuff and nonsense, women belong in the kitchen.”
Jenny gave the man a scathing look before replying in a voice which had had more than one bigoted idiot at the ARC wish their mother was there to protect them. “Really? I'm sure you belong in the stone age. As for being in the kitchen, I'll make sure I mention that to the Prime Minister when I next see her.” Jenny smiled when the man opened and closed his mouth like a landed fish before muttering something Jenny doubted was complementary and flounced off.
She was enjoying her solitude, admiring the well-kept garden, when she heard Mike's voice behind her. “Did you have to embarrass Henry like that?”
Jenny turned to face him, one eyebrow raised in a way she'd spent hours in front of the mirror to perfect. “Was I supposed to accept his Neanderthal attitude?”
“He just had too much to drink, that was all, Jen,” Mike said in a tone bordering on exasperation. “He's an important client.”
Ah, so this party wasn't just for her benefit, not that she should have been surprised that Mike - or his parents - had combined it with a bit of client schmoozing. “Really? I though this party was for your family, if I'd known it was open to business associates...” She left her sentence hanging, letting Mike see clearly that she didn't appreciate their upcoming wedding being used to make friends and influence people.
“I doubt your friends would be comfortable here, dear,” Mrs Young spoke from behind them, her words angering Jenny as she dismissed her friendship with abnormals as if they were less than humans. Mrs Young smiled, however it didn't reach her eyes, and linked arms with her son. “Now, Michael, I need to tear you away from Jennifer here to met Sir Nigel.” She flashed Jenny a quick smile. “Do excuse us, my dear, but he is an important client of my husband's.”
Mike just shrugged helplessly as he allowed his mother to drag him away. Sometimes she had to wonder if Mike's interest in her - or at least, that of his parents' - was more concerned with the benefit her association with the ARC and thus the PM would have for them than in her own happiness. She shook her head, she knew Mike loved her and they had begun dating before she'd been head-hunted by the ARC; it was just his ever ambitious parents seeing the opportunity for social advancement.
***
Jenny smiled and leaned in for a kiss when Mike dropped her off outside her house. She started to walk towards her front door beneath the dull flickering glow of the street light before turning quickly at the sound of him driving off. Damn it, couldn't he have at least waited until she was inside? She shook her head as she searched for her keys, peering into her bag to find her key in the dim light, and looking forward to a long, relaxing bath with a glass of wine
Her head shot up when she heard a sound, a rush of air and then she was flying, a scream torn from her lips and she knew nothing more as darkness welled up to claim her.
Part 2
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~2300 of ~5165
Characters: Jenny Lewis with Mike, Lorraine, Harry (OC), Megan (OC) and assorted other OCs.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N: Set in my The ARC Files 'verse. Prequel to The ARC Files: The Locked Room Mystery and sequel to The ARC Files: The Caged Wolf. For my Primeval Bingo Card (round 6) prompt: Loss (7/25). Thanks go to Fififolle for the beta.
Warnings: Technically Deathfic.
Part 2
Glossary:
ARC - Abnormal Regulation and Control. Organisation tasked with dealing with all matters relating to the supernatural aka Abnormals.
Abnormal - any of the various supernatural entities which share the world with humanity, including werewolves and other werecreatures, mages and vampires.
Normal - human, non-supernatural.
Turned - term used to refer to a human who becomes an abnormal due to the actions of another abnormal.
Jenny woke as the sun's warm light filled her bedroom, smiling as it caressed her skin. She rose and peered out her window, watching the sun rise and spread its light and warmth across the still sleeping city. It looked like it would be a glorious day and she'd have to find the time to walk in the park later. Maybe Mike would be able to join her and they could have lunch together?
She started to get ready for the day - knowing the ARC, something would come up to disrupt her plans. Hopefully not Taversham again, she'd had enough trouble convincing James not to take care of that problem himself the last time. Mmm, if Mike was busy, maybe she could get James out of his office and see the sunlight for once; for a mage he appeared to see it almost as infrequently as a vampire.
She opened her post as she consumed her breakfast and smiled as she read the note from her mother. It would be a pleasure to visit with them on the weekend, to spend time at the house she'd grown up in. Her smile faltered, that was, of course, assuming they hadn't had another row about her father's affair. If that was the case, her father would retreat to the garden and she'd be left looking through a seemingly endless number of wedding catalogues with her mother while ignoring the barbs her mother fired off about unfaithful men in general and her father in particular. It really wasn't how she wanted her upcoming nuptials to be remembered and she could only hope her father wouldn't think about asking to invite Ms Brown to the wedding.
***
Jenny hung up her phone with a sigh, although she supposed Mike was correct that she'd be seeing him that evening when he picked her up for their engagement party. Bloody hell, she'd forgotten about it and she wouldn't have time to go home and change... Change, she had nothing that would be suitable for the party and there went her plans for lunch. She sighed again as she rubbed her eyes and wondered if she'd even be able to fit eating into her break.
“Problem?”
A smooth voice asked and Jenny looked up to meet the warm brown eyes of one of her team. “No, Harry.” At his disbelieving look, she smiled slightly before adding, “Not really. I was hoping to have lunch with Mike but..” She shrugged, “I'd almost forgotten about our engagement party tonight.”
“Ah,” Harry murmured. “So, you can't see him for lunch cos you're seeing him later?”
Jenny did smile at that. “Apparently.”
“How about lunch with me?” Harry offered. “Well, me and Megan and Lorraine, that is.”
“I'd love to,” Jenny informed him. “However...”
Harry grinned. “Oh, you mean you really did forget about the party?”
“It's really not...” Jenny shook her head before continuing. “It's Mike's parents, his mother especially, they want everything to be perfect and...”
“Yeah, I can see why you'd want to forget about it.”
“And I've now got to go shopping,” Jenny closed her eyes and groaned at the thought of traipsing around innumerate shops when she could have been relaxing and enjoying her lunch.
Harry nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “Well, we could combine the two?” At Jenny's questioning look, he added, “If you want to, we could meet you for lunch and help you shop...”
Jenny smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
***
Jenny paused outside yet another boutique to glance at her watch, time was getting on and she was no nearer to finding something to wear for the bloody engagement party. She sighed, hoping that this shop would have something suitable and entered to find a stand off. Harry and Lorraine were both squared up to a shop assistant while Megan stood behind them, her face undergoing micro-changes as she twisted her hands together nervously. “What is going on here?” Jenny demanded.
The shop assistant turned her attention from the trio of weres, her glare turning into a welcoming smile for Jenny. “I'll be with you in a moment, ma'am, I just need to call security.”
It was obvious to Jenny that the assistant didn't realise she was with the weres and equally clear that the management hadn't moved on with the times. Even though the shop lacked the signs of her childhood that had proclaimed no abnormals would be served, it was clear it still held that mentality. “Really? What's happened?” Jenny managed to inject curiosity into her voice rather than the anger she truly felt.
“These people are not welcome here, ma'am.” The assistant's emphasis making it obvious she didn't consider the weres people
“Oh?” Jenny asked. “And why is that?” When the assistant opened her mouth to explain, Jenny added, “Because I'll have to inform you that if it is because they are abnormals that you and these premises are in violation of the abnormal equality law.”
“Is there a problem here?” a male voice asked and Jenny noticed the well-dressed man emerge from deeper within the store, his badge clearly proclaiming that he was the manager.
“Sir,” the assistant began. “I was merely explaining our policy, sir.”
“Policy?” The manager asked before his gaze fell on the weres. “Ah, I see.” He turned towards Jenny. “I apologise, ma'am, Yvonne will be with you shortly.” He turned his attention back towards the weres, a disgusted expression on his face.
“I don't think so.” Jenny's voice had everyone's attention fixed on her. “I wouldn't shop here if you paid me.”
“Ma'am, I assure you, we don't normally have this sort of problem.” The manager's eyes flickered towards the weres.
“They aren't the problem, Mr...” Jenny peered at his name badge. “Ah, Dominic. You and your antiquated and intolerant beliefs are.” She drew herself up to her full height and pinned him with a glare that had Taversham trembling in his shoes. “You are breaking the new equality law with this blatant intolerance towards my friends.”
“Ah.” The manager seemed somewhat taken aback by Jenny's defence of the weres. “I assure you, ma'am, that we are within our rights to refuse service to anyone.”
Jenny smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. “Really? I do believe that is with a valid reason, not because your customers just happen to be weres.” When the manager, Dominic, opened his mouth again, Jenny waved him to silence. “You can expect a visit from the relevant authorities.” When he began to bluster, Jenny took great pleasure in showing the now spluttering man her ARC identification.
Dominic paused before a knowing look appeared on his face. “Ah, of course, ma'am. It would be our pleasure to offer you a discount on your purchases today.” The man's gaze slid towards the weres. “If your friends could wait outside.”
Jenny could almost hear the inverted commas around the word friends and could only stare at the manager in disbelief. It was clear that he thought she'd accept a bribe and that the only reason she'd brought the weres with her was to obtain it. Jenny wasn't quite sure what angered her the most, that she'd misuse the weres just to obtain a discount or that she'd accept a bribe. Maybe she should have paid more attention when James had ranted about how deep-set the rot was within the ARC, it was clear there were people within it who would solicit and accept bribes to look the other way when it came to intolerance towards abnormals. “I think not.”
“Ma'am?” Dominic sounded confused at having his offer turned down.
“And this bribery attempt will go in my report.” Jenny strolled out of the boutique without a backwards look.
“Go, Jenny!” Harry crowed when he caught up with her.
“You didn't have to, Ms Lewis,” Megan murmured, her face still subtly shifting.
“Nonsense, Megan.” Jenny informed the weremouse gently. “This sort of behaviour is beyond the pale.” When she noticed that Megan was still trembling slightly, she smiled gentle at the weremouse. “How about we stop for a coffee and then try a different shop?”
Lorraine nodded. “Excellent idea, and if you don't mind an abnormal stall, Ms Lewis, I think I might have found the perfect dress for you.”
Jenny followed Lorraine's gaze and smiled. “That dress looks absolutely perfect, Lorraine.”
“Great,” Harry took Jenny's arm. “Lets buy it and then we can spend the rest of lunch relaxing.”
“Megan?” Jenny asked the weremouse.
“I think that's a good idea, Jenny. Then we won't have to rush lunch too much.”
Lorraine linked arms with Megan and led the way. “Excuse me?”
The stall-holder turned to face them, his eyes widening when he realised he had a normal browsing his stall. “Are you sure you want to shop here?”
“Shouldn't I?” Jenny asked, an eyebrow raising in challenge as she stared at the man.
“Calm down, Toby,” Lorraine spoke up. “Jenny is a friend.”
Toby glanced towards the wereowl before relaxing. “Any friend of Lorraine's is a friend of mine.” He smiled before nodding at the dress Jenny had been looking at. “And that would look absolutely stunning on you.”
***
At the end of the day, Jenny got ready to leave the ARC, and headed down to the lobby. She smiled when she caught sight of Mike standing waiting to take her to the party, a bouquet of fresh roses in his hands. She took a moment to check her dress in a mirrored panel before walking down to meet him and accepted his kiss on her cheek. Not that she was looking forward to this evening but, sacrifices had to be made and hers appeared to be attending ghastly parties.
Her eyebrow rose when she realised how many cars were parked outside the Young's house, just how many relatives did Mike have? Still, there was nothing for it but to take a deep breath and just get through the next few hours, probably with a glass or two of bubbly.
She sipped her champagne as she circulated through the crowd, keeping an eye open for Mike in the hope her fiancé would rescue her from his seemingly never-ending horde of relatives and their repeated questions, anyone would think they'd never met anyone who worked with abnormals.
“Ah, so you're Jenny.” A somewhat drunken voice sounded behind her and Jenny turned to find herself far too close to some hooray-henry who'd obviously had more alcohol than was good for him. “What all this about you being a working wife? Stuff and nonsense, women belong in the kitchen.”
Jenny gave the man a scathing look before replying in a voice which had had more than one bigoted idiot at the ARC wish their mother was there to protect them. “Really? I'm sure you belong in the stone age. As for being in the kitchen, I'll make sure I mention that to the Prime Minister when I next see her.” Jenny smiled when the man opened and closed his mouth like a landed fish before muttering something Jenny doubted was complementary and flounced off.
She was enjoying her solitude, admiring the well-kept garden, when she heard Mike's voice behind her. “Did you have to embarrass Henry like that?”
Jenny turned to face him, one eyebrow raised in a way she'd spent hours in front of the mirror to perfect. “Was I supposed to accept his Neanderthal attitude?”
“He just had too much to drink, that was all, Jen,” Mike said in a tone bordering on exasperation. “He's an important client.”
Ah, so this party wasn't just for her benefit, not that she should have been surprised that Mike - or his parents - had combined it with a bit of client schmoozing. “Really? I though this party was for your family, if I'd known it was open to business associates...” She left her sentence hanging, letting Mike see clearly that she didn't appreciate their upcoming wedding being used to make friends and influence people.
“I doubt your friends would be comfortable here, dear,” Mrs Young spoke from behind them, her words angering Jenny as she dismissed her friendship with abnormals as if they were less than humans. Mrs Young smiled, however it didn't reach her eyes, and linked arms with her son. “Now, Michael, I need to tear you away from Jennifer here to met Sir Nigel.” She flashed Jenny a quick smile. “Do excuse us, my dear, but he is an important client of my husband's.”
Mike just shrugged helplessly as he allowed his mother to drag him away. Sometimes she had to wonder if Mike's interest in her - or at least, that of his parents' - was more concerned with the benefit her association with the ARC and thus the PM would have for them than in her own happiness. She shook her head, she knew Mike loved her and they had begun dating before she'd been head-hunted by the ARC; it was just his ever ambitious parents seeing the opportunity for social advancement.
***
Jenny smiled and leaned in for a kiss when Mike dropped her off outside her house. She started to walk towards her front door beneath the dull flickering glow of the street light before turning quickly at the sound of him driving off. Damn it, couldn't he have at least waited until she was inside? She shook her head as she searched for her keys, peering into her bag to find her key in the dim light, and looking forward to a long, relaxing bath with a glass of wine
Her head shot up when she heard a sound, a rush of air and then she was flying, a scream torn from her lips and she knew nothing more as darkness welled up to claim her.
Part 2