Lester's Apartment - London, Thursday Evening

[itsananomaly]

Cutter barely remembered anything from the last few hours, since his interview with Christine, he had gone to the med bay with Connor to get his hand and finger checked out - luckily they weren’t broken, his hand would have some bruising and his finger was dislocated so he wouldn’t be able to use his hands much and he was going to have to wear his hand braces again for a few days to help keep them steady. He didn’t like the idea of having to wear his braces again, even for only a few days, it felt like a major step backwards. After he had been checked out by the team’s medical staff, Lester had insisted that they spend a couple of days in his apartment, away from the ARC and less chance of running into Christine again. So they were now at Lester’s apartment with Becker, who was providing security but after everything with Christine he wasn’t letting them out of his sight until they got to Fandom. Lester had decided that everyone needed a break and he had ordered Chinese takeaway since he knew how much Connor and Cutter liked it and after the day they'd had, he knew they needed something nice and comforting right then. Cutter sat numbly on Lester’s couch the Chinese food in front of him, it was the same couch he had stayed in when he and Connor had originally stayed after the hospital but he found he couldn’t eat. He just stared blankly at his wonton soup but all he could do was stare at his now braced hands. [preplayed with the amazing anomaly_research_nerd. NFB for distance but OOC welcome!]

Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor sat quietly on the couch next to Cutter. There was a range of emotions going through him just then, especially if he let his mind drift back to the last time he had been sitting on that couch with Cutter. Connor pushed all that down. They had enough to worry about right now with Christine and her push to take over the ARC and get control of the anomalies. Connor looked down at his hand, the fingers already bruising a little from where she had tried to force him to give her information. He glanced over at Cutter and he felt a mix of anger and sadness wash all over him again. Nick had gotten hurt again,because of him, and again he had no idea what to do about it. "Nick" he said softly as he reached his hand out and laid it gently over his.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter bit his lip, shaking a little as Connor's hand touched his. "Sorry," he said quietly, he wasn't sure what to say but sorry seemed like a good way to start ... Christine was after him, he was the reason they were all in this position. "I guess I'm not that hungry," he admitted softly, staring down at the soup.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"None of this is your fault Nick. This is all Christine. This is her doing, not yours" Connor said gently. He glanced over at Lester and then to Becker who was standing nearby.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"The only reason this is happening is because she's after me," Cutter said softly, his shoulders slumping as he trembled, "I ... I don't know how to keep her from going after us, she's not going to stop until we're in jail," he couldn't meet anyone's gaze right then and he stared down at his hands, he really had thought he's seen the last of those braces and he wasn't sure he could get used to seeing them again.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"She's after power, and Christine will do whatever she has to and go after whoever she has to to fet it" Becker said. "The woman doesn't take no for an answer." Connor sat quietly then sighed. "I would have confessed, taken the blame for everything and spared everyone else all this mess...but i don't think she can be trusted to keep her word " Connor rubbed his hand, the bruise aching as he did. Clearly Christine could not be trusted with anything she said or promised.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter trembled, "I was going to confess as well," he admitted, "I remembered what Becker had said about Christine needing to go to the Minister ... I knew she wouldn't be able to guarantee anything, that's when she started ... well ... " he held up one of his hands to show the brace to indicate what she'd done to him in response. "I still can't help but feel I should have tried for a deal, I ... it's going to get very messy and she knows things about me that I didn't think anyone outside this team knew," he said softly. "Captain Becker and Connor are right, Christine is not to be trusted and I have made a complaint with the Minister," Lester said softly, "I have also made it very clear that if they want to interview either of you again, they can talk to our lawyers instead, we should never have put you in that position, we thought we'd covered all our bases with Christine but clearly we underestimated her and that's a mistake I won't be making a second time,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	"And I'm going to be taking watch anytime you are here at the ARC, or anywhere in London for that matter" Becker said firmly. He wasn't going to let them out of his sight unless he knew they were back in the relative safety of Fandom. "I'm sorry I underestimated her as well."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter bit his lip, feeling slightly better at that, "it wasn't your fault," he said softly as he looked over at Becker and Lester, "I really thought it would be a straightforward interview ..." he paused, "and we won't have to be in the same room as Christine again?" he checked, he wasn't sure he could handle another interview and if he didn't have to be in the same room as Christine again then he was feeling a lot better about his chances. "No," Lester said firmly, "I'm not letting that woman anywhere near you again, not after what she did to you and Connor,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	'And if she does somehow get access to the ARC through political idiots, Me and my men will be with her ever moment.i let my guard down with her once. Not going to happen again. You both have my word!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, relaxing slightly at hearing that, that if things went to plan than he and Connor would never have to face Christine again, he hesitated, "she's not going to stop though is she? The way she was talking, it was like she has information on all of us ... " there was another pause as he debated whether to bring this up or not and he looked apologetically at Connor before back to Becker and Lester, "she knew about me and Stephen," he said quietly, "it was one of the first things she asked me,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"She knew about us too" Connor said softly as he looked over at Cutter. "She seems to know everything about us... its like... she has her own files about all of us." Connor gave a small shiver as he thought about what else might be in his file. "She... she threatened to release stories to the press" he whispered softly.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter closed his eyes at that because ... yeah the idea of those kind of stories being leaked to the press, it could get very complicated for them, he looked over at Lester, "do you think she'll do that?" Lester hesitated, "I'm not sure," he admitted, "she ... she did reveal she knew personal information about you and Connor, she'll use anything she has as ammunition and ... she knows how to work the press to get what she wants, I do have contacts in the press who'll keep me informed if she does try and leak stories but ... as Nick said, it's going to get messy, I trust Captain Becker taught you both the importance of being able to say 'No Comment?'"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded slowly, as the realization sank in. "Yeah... yeah he did. I guess we... are really going to have to start using that if... things get out to the public." "I will try and field as many inquiries as we get, keep the press off your backs" Becker said as he looked over at Lester. He knew what a job this was going to be. And he also knew he didn't exactly make it easier on his boss and he gave a somewhat apologetic nod to Lester. "And sorry for overstepping there with Christine, Sir."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter grimaced at the idea of all of his private life being made public, "I suppose I should hand in my resignation to the university now, I don't think they're going to be thrilled getting dragged into a media storm with me being the focus of it," he stared at his hands, he could just imagine the headlines involving Stephen and Connor and his insides churned at the thought. "I'll also let Jenny know and keep her informed, the two of you may be busy for a while," Lester looked at Becker then and nodded, "honestly if you hadn't done it, I would have thrown her out myself," he admitted.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor sighed and hung his head. He wasn't going to say anything, Nick and everyone had enough to worry about... but Connor realized that if stories got out into the press he would likely lose the scholarship that was helping him get back to the university. But that was his problem and wasn't something he wanted to burden anyone else about. He would deal with whatever happened. "I... I just have a bad feeling we haven't seen the last of Christine," he said in a soft whisper.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter bit his lip and nodded, he had a feeling this was only going to be the tip of the iceberg, “we’ll get through this,” he said softly, trying to feel more confident than he felt, “she’s trying to divide us, make us weaker … especially if she uses the press to do it, we have to stick together, deal with whatever comes our way ... maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to hide out in Fandom for a bit, at least the press won't know about Fandom?" He realised it probably wouldn't stop them from calling them on their phones but he would rather deal with Fandom squirrels over the UK press any day.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"We'd at least be safe from her directly. She cant get to Fandom, so its the one place we wont have to worry about her getting her hands on us at least" Connor said with a nod. "The press... that's another story. But with Jenny and Lester and everyone helping we can get through this."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took a deep breath, "I mean the press will get tired off us eventually right? Some new story will come along, we only have to weather it for a few weeks right? We can manage that," Cutter had clearly not dealt with the press before and it showed.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor wasn't so sure, but he didn't want to jinx them or anything more than they already seemed to be. So he just nodded and tried to sound confident. "We'll get through it. Gossip comes and goes quickly. They... they will probably forget about us quickly."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, wishing he wasn't feeling so nervous about it, "and she may not even leak the stories right?" he looked over Becker and Lester, "she could only be doing this to rattle us? We may not need to worry?" Lester tried to keep his expression neutral but some of the worry crept through, "she may not do anything, it could be her way of having a hold over us but ... I think we need to be prepared for the worst,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor just looked over at Cutter and put an arm around him and leaned against him slightly. He was still absolutely exhausted from everything that had happened. After a moment he took a breath and looked over at Becker and Lester. "Thanks for... everything. And sorry we're dragging you... you all into this mess with us."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter leaned against Connor, trembling softly ... everything was hurting and he was tired and he was afraid of what was to come with Christine. "You have nothing to apologise for Connor," Lester said softly, "none of us were prepared for dealing with Christine and she's going to leave a trail of destruction in her wake to get what she wants, we have to stick together as a team and weather the storm, it will be rough but well get through this,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded slowly and looked around at everyone. They could do this. They had to do this. After a minute or two he sat up and reached for the container of curried chicken and managed a small smile. "Better keep our strength up right?" he asked. He knew things were serious and they had a lot to think about and plan for. But right then Connor just wanted to they and pretend things were normal. Just for the night.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter managed a weak smile at that as he finally picked up the wonton soup he'd been staring at for the last little while, "I guess we'll definitely need it, with everything that's to come," he said softly, he wasn't sure he still felt up to eating but he knew Connor was right .. they did need to keep their strength ups
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"We'd at least be safe from her directly. She can’t get to Fandom, so its the one place we wont have to worry about her getting her hands on us at least" Connor said with a nod. "The press... that's another story. But with Jenny and Lester and everyone helping we can get through this."
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Aye there will be time for talking and planning. Right now, it is time to relax for a change," Becker said as he glanced at Lester and then walked over and took a seat and grabbed one of the containers of Mongolian beef.
Lester(thearcfamily)	"Captain Becker's right," Lester said, after a moment or two where he watched everyone grab their various Chinese containers, he took a seat of his own and grabbed a container of honey chicken before he took a seat, "we have time to plan and work on our next steps with Christine, you deserve a night to relax and take it easy," he told them before he settled in to enjoy the evening.