Claudia, part 3
Corner of 28th and Grange
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The telephone lines in the old science building were disconnected a long time ago. Which is fine by Artie; they'd be too easy to trace, anyway. What he really needs is a public payphone, but ever since the advent of cheap cellular phones they've become all but impossible to find. After twenty minutes of driving in circles, he finally locates one at the far end of campus. He parks the car, drops two quarters in the slot, and dials Pete's cell phone number.
It rings three times before Pete picks up. "Lattimer."
"Pete! Hi! How are ya, how ya doin'?" says Artie, trying to keep his tone light and casual (and not doing a terribly good job).
"Artie! Artie, hey, man, are you alright?" Pete's not doing a much better job of hiding his concern than Artie is.
"Oh, yeah, no, I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm just here with an old friend, that's all."
"Claudia Donovan."
Artie allows himself a small but genuine smile at that. "Very good. You read my lips using the durational spectrometer, didn't you?"
"Where is he?" That'll be Myka's voice in the background. "Where--wait. He probably doesn't know."
"Right, right. Uh, Artie, do you hear anything? Like a freeway, machinery..."
"Train whistles, ask him if he hears any train whistles--"
"Guys! Hey! Hey!" Artie snaps. (Hey, it worked the last time they were bickering over the phone.) "Look, uh, the truth is that I'm helping her, alright?"
"You're... helping her?"
"He's helping her??" A faint scuffle of sound; Myka must have snatched the phone away from Pete. "You--you're helping her, Artie?!"
Artie sighs. "I figured that you'd be halfway towards finding us, but you can stop now, did you hear me? You can stop."
"No, Artie--she's been under observation at a psychiatric facility, alright?"
"Oh. I-I-I-I had no idea..." Not that it comes as a huge surprise, given what she's experienced, but... "Poor kid. I-I didn't know."
"No! No, not 'poor kid', 'poor Artie'! She's obsessed with you, she's obsessed with the Warehouse, and I'm not letting you stay with her!"
"You're what?" Artie has to fight the urge to burst out in a belly laugh. "You're not letting me?? That's really cute, Myka."
"Cute. Cute." Unsurprisingly, Myka is even more irritated than before. "Does she have a gun on you?"
"Okay, look. These kid's lives were messed up by--" He stops himself before he can finish that thought. "They're in trouble, I can help, that's all you need to know."
"...well, let us come and help you."
"No--NO!" says Artie hastily. "No! No. We have everything we need to make this work, and I'm telling you I am fine."
"But Artie, wait, wait--"
If Myka has anything more to say, Artie doesn't hear it, because he just hung up the phone. He's told them what they need to know. Any protestations they might have right now will only be a distraction.
He and Claudia have Work To Do.
[Dialogue from Warehouse 13 Episode 1x05, "Claudia."]
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The telephone lines in the old science building were disconnected a long time ago. Which is fine by Artie; they'd be too easy to trace, anyway. What he really needs is a public payphone, but ever since the advent of cheap cellular phones they've become all but impossible to find. After twenty minutes of driving in circles, he finally locates one at the far end of campus. He parks the car, drops two quarters in the slot, and dials Pete's cell phone number.
It rings three times before Pete picks up. "Lattimer."
"Pete! Hi! How are ya, how ya doin'?" says Artie, trying to keep his tone light and casual (and not doing a terribly good job).
"Artie! Artie, hey, man, are you alright?" Pete's not doing a much better job of hiding his concern than Artie is.
"Oh, yeah, no, I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm just here with an old friend, that's all."
"Claudia Donovan."
Artie allows himself a small but genuine smile at that. "Very good. You read my lips using the durational spectrometer, didn't you?"
"Where is he?" That'll be Myka's voice in the background. "Where--wait. He probably doesn't know."
"Right, right. Uh, Artie, do you hear anything? Like a freeway, machinery..."
"Train whistles, ask him if he hears any train whistles--"
"Guys! Hey! Hey!" Artie snaps. (Hey, it worked the last time they were bickering over the phone.) "Look, uh, the truth is that I'm helping her, alright?"
"You're... helping her?"
"He's helping her??" A faint scuffle of sound; Myka must have snatched the phone away from Pete. "You--you're helping her, Artie?!"
Artie sighs. "I figured that you'd be halfway towards finding us, but you can stop now, did you hear me? You can stop."
"No, Artie--she's been under observation at a psychiatric facility, alright?"
"Oh. I-I-I-I had no idea..." Not that it comes as a huge surprise, given what she's experienced, but... "Poor kid. I-I didn't know."
"No! No, not 'poor kid', 'poor Artie'! She's obsessed with you, she's obsessed with the Warehouse, and I'm not letting you stay with her!"
"You're what?" Artie has to fight the urge to burst out in a belly laugh. "You're not letting me?? That's really cute, Myka."
"Cute. Cute." Unsurprisingly, Myka is even more irritated than before. "Does she have a gun on you?"
"Okay, look. These kid's lives were messed up by--" He stops himself before he can finish that thought. "They're in trouble, I can help, that's all you need to know."
"...well, let us come and help you."
"No--NO!" says Artie hastily. "No! No. We have everything we need to make this work, and I'm telling you I am fine."
"But Artie, wait, wait--"
If Myka has anything more to say, Artie doesn't hear it, because he just hung up the phone. He's told them what they need to know. Any protestations they might have right now will only be a distraction.
He and Claudia have Work To Do.
[Dialogue from Warehouse 13 Episode 1x05, "Claudia."]