Shades of Grey Chapter 25
Title: Shades of Grey Chapter 25
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
Chapter 25
There was something disturbingly cute about the sight of Ryan working alongside Lester. Ryan was scrawling in a colouring book while Lester handled his stack of daily paperwork.
Stephen was watching them from the doorway, not sure why this peaceful picture was unsettling him so much. After a day from hell with Cutter appearing on the scene as the big hero yet again, he felt so drained that he just wanted to go home and rest.
"Tom, I'm finished here. We can go," Stephen said quietly so as not to startle Ryan and Lester.
Ryan's eyes lit up when he spied Stephen at the door but he didn't get up immediately and run towards Stephen like he usually did. Instead he looked indecisively back and forth between Stephen and the colouring book.
Ryan's behaviour didn't sit well with Stephen. Was everything turning against him today?
Lester, who sensed Ryan's dilemma and Stephen's rising apprehension, quickly said, "Take it home with you, Tom. I will leave another one in my drawer for you to paint when you are here. My kids feel too old for colouring books now and there are still a few lying around unused at home."
Ryan beamed with joy then threw his arms around Lester and whispered in his ear, "Thank you. I promise I won't tell anyone your secret."
Then he bounced off to say goodbye to Abby with such a tight hug that the air was knocked out of her.
Lester exhaled forcefully after Ryan and Stephen had left. He had noticed the dark look Stephen had given him. Trouble with the younger man was really the last thing he needed right now.
Then he leaned back into his chair and waited for the call from Whitehall, hoping his old mate could provide him with information about the person trying to discredit his work on the anomaly project.
"Are you and Uncle Nick friends again," Ryan asked as he rubbed his hair, still damp from the shower.
Stephen was about to deny that there had a problem between him and Cutter at all when he was literally saved by the bell. Thinking it might be Cutter who wanted to check on him, Stephen sauntered to the front door and yanked it open. The next moment, he wished he'd checked who wanted to gain entrance to his flat before opening the door.
Stephen eyed the woman standing on his doorstep tiredly. He should have known that she would turn up again. Helen had never reacted well to rejection.
Helen smiled at Stephen challengingly as she put her quite revealing cleavage on full display. "Don't you want to let me in?" she asked with a husky voice as if the last eight years hadn't happened.
"Why should I?" Stephen replied tersely. In the past her direct advances had driven him wild. Now they only disgusted him. He had to find a way to get rid of her as fast as possible. He was exhausted and his defenses down. Not a good time to deal with one Helen Cutter, bitch extraordinaire
"I might have important information," Helen whispered, still in that husky tone she had used to entice Stephen so many years ago. "I think Lester is deceiving you. I’ve discovered evidence that the government has their own agenda."
Stephen couldn't see the triumphant flash in Helen's eyes as he invited her in. He didn't trust Helen an inch any more but maybe she really had stumbled over something. If the Home Office wanted to exploit the anomalies it would made sense that Helen was concerned.
Helen had only got halfway into the hall when Ryan stepped in her way and blocked her path to the living room.
With shrewd eyes Ryan regarded the intruder, his stance indicating he wasn't willing to move out of the way. "Go away! He's my Stephen," he hissed menacingly but quiet enough that Stephen couldn't hear him.
Helen eyed Ryan like a interesting bug. A bug she would like to dismember slowly.
"Ah, so that's your giant baby," she said to Stephen. "I've heard you're now playing mummies and daddies with Nick. Quite an unusual envelopment, I’ say, considering recent events. So who's taking the role of the mummy in your bizarre arrangement?"
"Just tell me what you know," Stephen answered, irritated. He was tired of her mind games.
"Later. I hope you don't mind if I take a quick shower. Unfortunately hot water is a rarity in the areas I usually frequent."
"There isn't any warm water left," Ryan declared quickly. "I've used it all up."
"Really?"
Ryan nodded heftily.
Helen’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. "You know that lying is a really bad sin?"
Ryan nodded again.
"Oh well, then another time. Stephen, you don't mind if I make myself a sandwich at least, do you? We can talk a little in the meantime."
"Stephen has to put me to bed. It's already late and I need my sleep."
"Tom, be nice," Stephen chided, knowing Ryan was well on the way to making it to the top of Helen's list of enemies.
Helen glared at Ryan who stayed completely unfazed. "All right. I'm going. It's probably better that we talk without your possessive big baby present. Just in case he blabs."
Helen gathered her knapsack and turned to the door. While passing Stephen, she whispered, "Come to the car park across the street later. We can talk there undisturbed."
Tom looked entirely too smug for Stephen's liking after Helen had left.
"Tom, you weren’t in the shower that long. You can't have used up all the hot water in the boiler," he stated sternly.
"I know."
"Why were you lying?"
"She’s been nasty to Uncle Nick. I wanted her gone before she hurt us too."
Stephen couldn't fault Ryan for thinking like that. Helen had a tendency to get what she wanted at any cost to others.
Only fleetingly he registered that this must be another memory that had come to the surface out of the depth of Ryan's mind. Cutter most certainly hadn't told Ryan about Helen.
"But didn't your Granny teach you that lying is bad?"
"Yes, she did. But sometimes it's necessarily to alter the truth for the sake of the greater good," Ryan declared precociously.
"It looks like you've spent too much time with Uncle James recently," Stephen muttered, annoyed. There was no doubt about where that nonsense was coming from. "All right, off to the bed with you."
"Stephen, where are you going? You promised to tell my a bedtime story this evening," Ryan enquired as Stephen prepared to leave.
Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and returned to Ryan's bed. Boy was Tom making it difficult for him today.
"Okay, Tom, what do you want to hear tonight? Maybe Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?"
"No fairy tales. How you rescued the leopard in the Wilpatta Park."
"That's the Willpattu National Park. Nick told you about that?"
"Uncle Nick said you were a big hero and saved the life of the whole group."
"I guess I’ll have to have a word with Uncle Nick. I was just lucky, nothing else."
"I want to hear it anyway."
"That's a really long story. How about I cut it down to the important parts?"
"No, I want to hear everything. Please, Stephen. I'm not sleepy yet."
Ryan looked at him with the hopeful pleading expression that Stephen could never resist. Sighing, he sat down on the edge of the bed and thought back to his time in Willpattu.
"Andrew, my best friend, invited me to visit his godfather, who worked as a vet in the Willpattu National Park in Sri Lanka, in the holidays. Of course I jumped at the offer. My stepfather was glad to get rid of me for a while as long it didn't cost him anything. But Andrew's godfather had already volunteered to pay for my flight ticket as well. So two days later I set foot on Singhalese ground for the first time. I’d never had been outside Great Britain before and I was really impressed by the exotic surroundings. At that time there was no sign of the civil war that already raged in some parts of Sri Lanka and later covered the whole country. I hadn't even heard there was a civil war going on before Andrew's godfather mentioned it over dinner. In the National Park it was so peaceful. A huge contrast to the bustling life in the towns. I needed a few days before I got used to the sound of nature and didn't wake up at every animal cry any more."
After a while Ryan's eyelids drooped. Stephen spoke on for another two minutes and then carefully stood up, assuming Ryan had finally fallen asleep.
Just as he turned to the door, Ryan raised up with a start.
"Why did you stop? I'm still awake. You promised to tell me the whole story."
Stephen sat down again and continued with his story.
"And then Mr Herford, Andrew's godfather, had to follow the leopard through the whole national park. Although the animal was hurt it still wasn't ready to give up."
"Didn't it know Andrew's godfather only wanted to help it?"
"How could it know? Some nasty men had hurt him and killed its mate. To him we looked all alike. And the rangers carried rifles too."
"But just to stun the leopard to take care of its injuries."
"That's right. The gunshot wound it had received from the poacher would have killed it slowly. The bullet had to be removed. Andrew and me had to wait with Sudu at the landrover until the leopard had been sedated. But we didn't want to miss out on the hunt and ran after the rangers into the jungle before Sudu could stop us. They hadn't realised the leopard's way out was blocked by a herd of elephants and that they had cornered him. The animal's only option was to attack. Saman had fired instantly but he’d missed. The leopard was just heading straight for Amal, the youngest of the park rangers, when we rushed in. Andrew crashed against Saman and they both went down. Amal was fiddling with his rifle, which seemed to have jammed, and Mister Herford's field of fire was blocked by me and Sudu. And the leopard came closer and closer. Everyone yelled, "Shoot him! Shoot him." So I grasped the rifle Saman had lost when he’d falled down, aimed quickly and fired. It was pure luck that I hit the leopard in the shoulder. Still he dragged himself a few more steps before the sedative started working and he toppled down. He’d almost reached Amal by then."
Stephen felt excitement rise up in him as he remembered that moment again.
"There I was, barely 14 years old, looking down at this wonderful animal I had caught all by myself. I felt fabulous. And the leopard really was a gorgeous specimen. One of the biggest he’d ever seen, Saman said. Mr. Herford told us later this leopard was the king of that area and had fathered most of the next leopard generation in the park..."
When Ryan finally slid into sleep a while later Stephen hurried over to the car park. But Helen had already given up waiting for him.
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
Chapter 25
There was something disturbingly cute about the sight of Ryan working alongside Lester. Ryan was scrawling in a colouring book while Lester handled his stack of daily paperwork.
Stephen was watching them from the doorway, not sure why this peaceful picture was unsettling him so much. After a day from hell with Cutter appearing on the scene as the big hero yet again, he felt so drained that he just wanted to go home and rest.
"Tom, I'm finished here. We can go," Stephen said quietly so as not to startle Ryan and Lester.
Ryan's eyes lit up when he spied Stephen at the door but he didn't get up immediately and run towards Stephen like he usually did. Instead he looked indecisively back and forth between Stephen and the colouring book.
Ryan's behaviour didn't sit well with Stephen. Was everything turning against him today?
Lester, who sensed Ryan's dilemma and Stephen's rising apprehension, quickly said, "Take it home with you, Tom. I will leave another one in my drawer for you to paint when you are here. My kids feel too old for colouring books now and there are still a few lying around unused at home."
Ryan beamed with joy then threw his arms around Lester and whispered in his ear, "Thank you. I promise I won't tell anyone your secret."
Then he bounced off to say goodbye to Abby with such a tight hug that the air was knocked out of her.
Lester exhaled forcefully after Ryan and Stephen had left. He had noticed the dark look Stephen had given him. Trouble with the younger man was really the last thing he needed right now.
Then he leaned back into his chair and waited for the call from Whitehall, hoping his old mate could provide him with information about the person trying to discredit his work on the anomaly project.
"Are you and Uncle Nick friends again," Ryan asked as he rubbed his hair, still damp from the shower.
Stephen was about to deny that there had a problem between him and Cutter at all when he was literally saved by the bell. Thinking it might be Cutter who wanted to check on him, Stephen sauntered to the front door and yanked it open. The next moment, he wished he'd checked who wanted to gain entrance to his flat before opening the door.
Stephen eyed the woman standing on his doorstep tiredly. He should have known that she would turn up again. Helen had never reacted well to rejection.
Helen smiled at Stephen challengingly as she put her quite revealing cleavage on full display. "Don't you want to let me in?" she asked with a husky voice as if the last eight years hadn't happened.
"Why should I?" Stephen replied tersely. In the past her direct advances had driven him wild. Now they only disgusted him. He had to find a way to get rid of her as fast as possible. He was exhausted and his defenses down. Not a good time to deal with one Helen Cutter, bitch extraordinaire
"I might have important information," Helen whispered, still in that husky tone she had used to entice Stephen so many years ago. "I think Lester is deceiving you. I’ve discovered evidence that the government has their own agenda."
Stephen couldn't see the triumphant flash in Helen's eyes as he invited her in. He didn't trust Helen an inch any more but maybe she really had stumbled over something. If the Home Office wanted to exploit the anomalies it would made sense that Helen was concerned.
Helen had only got halfway into the hall when Ryan stepped in her way and blocked her path to the living room.
With shrewd eyes Ryan regarded the intruder, his stance indicating he wasn't willing to move out of the way. "Go away! He's my Stephen," he hissed menacingly but quiet enough that Stephen couldn't hear him.
Helen eyed Ryan like a interesting bug. A bug she would like to dismember slowly.
"Ah, so that's your giant baby," she said to Stephen. "I've heard you're now playing mummies and daddies with Nick. Quite an unusual envelopment, I’ say, considering recent events. So who's taking the role of the mummy in your bizarre arrangement?"
"Just tell me what you know," Stephen answered, irritated. He was tired of her mind games.
"Later. I hope you don't mind if I take a quick shower. Unfortunately hot water is a rarity in the areas I usually frequent."
"There isn't any warm water left," Ryan declared quickly. "I've used it all up."
"Really?"
Ryan nodded heftily.
Helen’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. "You know that lying is a really bad sin?"
Ryan nodded again.
"Oh well, then another time. Stephen, you don't mind if I make myself a sandwich at least, do you? We can talk a little in the meantime."
"Stephen has to put me to bed. It's already late and I need my sleep."
"Tom, be nice," Stephen chided, knowing Ryan was well on the way to making it to the top of Helen's list of enemies.
Helen glared at Ryan who stayed completely unfazed. "All right. I'm going. It's probably better that we talk without your possessive big baby present. Just in case he blabs."
Helen gathered her knapsack and turned to the door. While passing Stephen, she whispered, "Come to the car park across the street later. We can talk there undisturbed."
Tom looked entirely too smug for Stephen's liking after Helen had left.
"Tom, you weren’t in the shower that long. You can't have used up all the hot water in the boiler," he stated sternly.
"I know."
"Why were you lying?"
"She’s been nasty to Uncle Nick. I wanted her gone before she hurt us too."
Stephen couldn't fault Ryan for thinking like that. Helen had a tendency to get what she wanted at any cost to others.
Only fleetingly he registered that this must be another memory that had come to the surface out of the depth of Ryan's mind. Cutter most certainly hadn't told Ryan about Helen.
"But didn't your Granny teach you that lying is bad?"
"Yes, she did. But sometimes it's necessarily to alter the truth for the sake of the greater good," Ryan declared precociously.
"It looks like you've spent too much time with Uncle James recently," Stephen muttered, annoyed. There was no doubt about where that nonsense was coming from. "All right, off to the bed with you."
"Stephen, where are you going? You promised to tell my a bedtime story this evening," Ryan enquired as Stephen prepared to leave.
Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and returned to Ryan's bed. Boy was Tom making it difficult for him today.
"Okay, Tom, what do you want to hear tonight? Maybe Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?"
"No fairy tales. How you rescued the leopard in the Wilpatta Park."
"That's the Willpattu National Park. Nick told you about that?"
"Uncle Nick said you were a big hero and saved the life of the whole group."
"I guess I’ll have to have a word with Uncle Nick. I was just lucky, nothing else."
"I want to hear it anyway."
"That's a really long story. How about I cut it down to the important parts?"
"No, I want to hear everything. Please, Stephen. I'm not sleepy yet."
Ryan looked at him with the hopeful pleading expression that Stephen could never resist. Sighing, he sat down on the edge of the bed and thought back to his time in Willpattu.
"Andrew, my best friend, invited me to visit his godfather, who worked as a vet in the Willpattu National Park in Sri Lanka, in the holidays. Of course I jumped at the offer. My stepfather was glad to get rid of me for a while as long it didn't cost him anything. But Andrew's godfather had already volunteered to pay for my flight ticket as well. So two days later I set foot on Singhalese ground for the first time. I’d never had been outside Great Britain before and I was really impressed by the exotic surroundings. At that time there was no sign of the civil war that already raged in some parts of Sri Lanka and later covered the whole country. I hadn't even heard there was a civil war going on before Andrew's godfather mentioned it over dinner. In the National Park it was so peaceful. A huge contrast to the bustling life in the towns. I needed a few days before I got used to the sound of nature and didn't wake up at every animal cry any more."
After a while Ryan's eyelids drooped. Stephen spoke on for another two minutes and then carefully stood up, assuming Ryan had finally fallen asleep.
Just as he turned to the door, Ryan raised up with a start.
"Why did you stop? I'm still awake. You promised to tell me the whole story."
Stephen sat down again and continued with his story.
"And then Mr Herford, Andrew's godfather, had to follow the leopard through the whole national park. Although the animal was hurt it still wasn't ready to give up."
"Didn't it know Andrew's godfather only wanted to help it?"
"How could it know? Some nasty men had hurt him and killed its mate. To him we looked all alike. And the rangers carried rifles too."
"But just to stun the leopard to take care of its injuries."
"That's right. The gunshot wound it had received from the poacher would have killed it slowly. The bullet had to be removed. Andrew and me had to wait with Sudu at the landrover until the leopard had been sedated. But we didn't want to miss out on the hunt and ran after the rangers into the jungle before Sudu could stop us. They hadn't realised the leopard's way out was blocked by a herd of elephants and that they had cornered him. The animal's only option was to attack. Saman had fired instantly but he’d missed. The leopard was just heading straight for Amal, the youngest of the park rangers, when we rushed in. Andrew crashed against Saman and they both went down. Amal was fiddling with his rifle, which seemed to have jammed, and Mister Herford's field of fire was blocked by me and Sudu. And the leopard came closer and closer. Everyone yelled, "Shoot him! Shoot him." So I grasped the rifle Saman had lost when he’d falled down, aimed quickly and fired. It was pure luck that I hit the leopard in the shoulder. Still he dragged himself a few more steps before the sedative started working and he toppled down. He’d almost reached Amal by then."
Stephen felt excitement rise up in him as he remembered that moment again.
"There I was, barely 14 years old, looking down at this wonderful animal I had caught all by myself. I felt fabulous. And the leopard really was a gorgeous specimen. One of the biggest he’d ever seen, Saman said. Mr. Herford told us later this leopard was the king of that area and had fathered most of the next leopard generation in the park..."
When Ryan finally slid into sleep a while later Stephen hurried over to the car park. But Helen had already given up waiting for him.