Meanwhile at the ARC, London

[itsananomaly]

The last few months had been pure and utter chaos. Between Christine's death and what had happened at her black site and Helen disappearing with Cutter and Connor and Becker and Danny following, it had taken every last favour that Lester owed to keep the ARC up and running so that they could try and find them. Unfortunately that had meant going into partnership with Phillip Burton, a billionaire who had more than enough funds to keep the ARC going but at the moment if Lester could get Cutter, Connor, Becker and Danny back alive he would take it. Right now the ARC was under going a full security upgrade in the wake of the attack by Helen and Christine and new people were being hired since one of the new rules that Lester was insisting on was that field operatives had to have military or policing background and that ruled out most of his previous team with Becker and Danny still being trapped wherever they were. He was meeting with one of the new hires today, a Matt Anderson who had been working closely with Phillip and Phillip's team trying to open an anomaly and see if they could find their missing men. [preplayed with the amazing anomaly_research_nerd. NFB for distance but OOC welcome!]

Matt(thearcfamily)	To say he had been surprised at the turn of events over the last few months would have been an understatement. Matt had joined the ARC team and quickly found himself working on things he may have at one point and time considered the stuff of science function or conspiracy theories. But he had seen enough to know the world was full of amazing, surprising, and terrifying things. So as he fell into place alongside Phillip and Lester and the rag-tag team they had left, he found himself working on their shared mission- rescuing members of the previous team. It had been a lot. Really a lot. And he was looking forward to the first real meeting he had been able to have with Lester since he had been hired. "Lester, Sir.... you asked me to come by?" he asked as he stood in the doorway to Lester office.
Lester(thearcfamily)	"Yes thank you Mr. Anderson, please come in," Lester nodded towards Matt and motioned to the empty seat in his office, "I wanted to see how the progress was being made with Mr. Burton’s team, are they any closer to getting an anomaly opened?"
Matt(thearcfamily)	Matt walked in a few steps letting the door close behind him before walking over and taking the offered seat. "We're getting closer. It's taken a lot to get to where we are... being able to open an anomaly or close one. I know Connor... our Connor here... had been working on something to help lock and close the anomalies. We've basically been working to make something that does the reverse."
Lester(thearcfamily)	Lester nodded, "that does make sense, if its possible to lock the anomalies than in theory it should be possible to open them too," he said, "at least we're closer than we were before," he hesitated, "we wouldn't have gotten as far as we have without Mr. Burton's funding," he admitted.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"I know its been a hard thing to accept... but he has been a decent member of the team. And we really couldn't have gotten where we are now without his help" Matt said slowly. "I know I've said it before Sir, while I have not ever met Cutter and Connor or Danny and Becker, I and determined to find them. We are going to get them back."
Lester(thearcfamily)	"I appreciate that Mr. Anderson," Lester nodded, "they're good men and they've been sorely missed, I'm not giving up on them, I know they'd be doing everything they can to get back to us," he added.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Thanks to Burton's help and tech, we've been able to pinpoint the time period they are likely in so that has helped us greatly with focusing on how to open an anomaly for that period." He looked down at his hands then back at Lester. "I... I've heard that there was always a theory here among the ARC team... that the anomalies were pretty stationary as far as where they opened up to? So there might be a chance we open the right anomaly it would be the one that they are waiting for right?"
Lester(thearcfamily)	Lester nodded, "that is the theory that we've been working with, we did have access to anomaly map but I'm afraid its been destroyed," he admitted, "from what we could tell, anomalies stayed in the same location throughout history but they haven't always been open," he paused, "I understand that Mr. Burton's team found traces that an anomaly had been at the menagerie site?" He wasn't sure what answer he wanted, he tried to avoid thinking about the menagerie but if this is what brought everyone home, then he would have to take it.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"That is correct." Matt confirmed. "We believe there was an anomaly there and that is why the others vanished so quickly and without so much of a trace. They had to have gone through an anomaly there somehow."
Lester(thearcfamily)	"That is my understanding as well, I know Helen was looking for the future anomaly, there must have been one at the black site, that's why Helen attacked it to get control," Lester considered, "she needed something from that future anomaly, we weren't able to figure out what site 333 meant and why she wanted it so badly," he admitted.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Burton has some of the research team working on that trying to figure it out" Matt noted. "Anything we can figure out about Helen and Christine's plans might help us figure out where she took them and help us get to them. We're making progress Sir, I know it has taken time, much more than we would like, but I think we are close to being able to get the anomaly at the menagerie to open up again."
Lester(thearcfamily)	"Thank you," Lester said gratefully, "I appreciate everything that you've been able to do for us Mr. Anderson, I know things have been rather ... unorthodox since you've arrived," he admitted, "I know a few months ago we wouldn't have even looked at the possibility of opening up an anomaly site instead of just waiting for it to open, I just have to hope that the others decided to stay near the anomaly site if they managed to get to one,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"From everything I have heard about them from the rest of the team, they have good heads on their shoulders... especially Becker and Danny. I am sure they stayed put and have been waiting for the anomaly to open up" Matter said with a hopefully reassuring nod. "We'll get that anomaly opened soon. I think Burton was saying he hoped to do the first test by the end of the week hopefully."
Lester(thearcfamily)	Lester nodded, "thank you, I would like to be kept informed of the progress and to be there when the first tests are ready," he said, "I would like to be there when the others come through the anomaly," he added.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Of course, Lester Sir." Matt gave an understanding nod. "I will let you know once we have a test date in place and will make sure you are there for that. And.. and I am sure will get to them soon."
Lester(thearcfamily)	"Thank you Mr. Anderson," Lester nodded, "well unless there was anything else you wished to discuss, I think we can leave this meeting here and I'll let you get back to your work?" he asked.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Thank you Sir. I am supposed to meet with Burton late so hopefully, we will have some good news and I can report with an update in the morning." Matt stood and held his hand out, giving Lester's a quick shake before heading for the door.
Lester(thearcfamily)	Lester nodded as he shook Matt's hand, "thank you Mr. Anderson, I look forward to hearing your report," he said as Matt began to walk towards the door.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Same Sir." Matt said as he hesitated at the door. "We are going to find a way to get them back. I know Burton and his team have said they are not going to rest until we have retrieved them or exhausted every single possible avenue." With that and a final nod Matt left to find Burton and get back to work.
Lester(thearcfamily)	Lester nodded back, feeling more optimistic than he had in months. Once Matt had left he returned to his never ending pile of paperwork to hopefully try and get some work done but all he could think of was how close they were now to trying something that could rescue his men.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	It had been a long few months but Phillip was pleased with the progress his team had been making and he knew it was only a matter of when and not if they would get that portal open.
Matt(thearcfamily)	After the meeting with Lester, Matt had headed off to Phillip's lab, stopping just long enough to grab a cup of coffee from the break room. He figured since it had been about 24 hours by that point since he had last slept, he would be needing to pick me up. "Mr. Burton, Sir" he called out as he walked over holding out a second cup of coffee for Phillip if he wanted. "Apologies for being a little late, had to give Lester a quick debriefing."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip nodded, “that’s alright Mr. Anderson, we haven’t started our latest experiment yet, we were just getting the rest of the equipment set
Matt(thearcfamily)	Matt nodded as he watched the workers and techs finish getting everything in place. "Do you think we are going to be able to do this time?" he asked quietly.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip was quiet as he checked over the last minute checks that were needed, "I hope so," he said quietly, "we're closer than we've ever been, I'm not giving up until we've brought everyone home," he vowed.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"I might not have ever met them personally- Danny, Becker, Connor, and Cutter... but I know how much they mean to the team and that is enough for me" Matt said with a nod.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip nodded, "and I have the resources that are needed to be able to bring them home, if I'm able to play even a small part in achieving that, I want to be able to do my part," he said as he looked up from his readings, "well everything seems to be in order, I think we're ready to start the testing," he announced.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Alright let's do this. One step closer to bringing them home!" Matt followed Phillip over to the observation area, watching attentively, barely realizing he was holding his breath as the test started, the machines revving up and whirling into action. He had seen past tests get close and fail but he hoped this time they would be successful and at least get a portal of some kind opened.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip watched nervously, even though he was confident that they were close to something happening, after so many failed tests it was hard to keep that confidence going. Then after several minutes of nothing happening, he was ready to chalk it up to another failed experiment when he began to see some familiar glows of light, "there," he said, "I think a portal's trying to open,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	Matt found himself leaning in closer, staring at the flickering light in the center of the testing arena. He had never seen an anomaly in person, but he had seen the footage, records, and clips the ARC had recorded. He knew what to look for and what they looked like and as he watched, he could not help but hold his breath in anticipation. "There... I see something. It's starting!"
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip found himself holding his breath as it started to open up inch by inch, it still wasn't big enough for someone to come through and they would likely have to try again but it was a promising start. "It's stable," he reported as he looked at his readings, "I think we've finally gotten the right input, the frequency just needs to be higher," he said as half of the anomaly was still in the air.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Best result we have gotten by far, so far," Matt said as he glanced at the readings on Phillip's equipment, then back to the anomaly. "A stable anomaly. Now we just have to get the intensity right... and then figure out if there's a way to check what time period they are connected to."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"I'll go over Professor Cutter's notes again, there may be something there that will help us," Phillip mused as the half anomaly stayed in the air for a few moments longer and then disappeared, "at least his notes may help us with the frequency, the figuring out the time period might take a bit longer than I'd like, they could be anywhere in time,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"I think some of the last reports from before they went missing mentioned Connor... both of them, I think... were working on a way to better detect what time period an anomaly was opening to," Matt said as he watched the partial anomaly before it finally faded away. "The hope seems to have been knowing where an anomaly led before sending anyone through... of course, now, going through an anomaly in any case is not part of protocol anymore."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip nodded thoughtfully, “I’ll check in on Connor and see what progress he’s made,” he said, “anything he needs to finish the device, is his, this is the closest we’ve gotten to being able to open an anomaly, I’m not giving up when we’re this close,”
Matt(thearcfamily)	"I am glad you feel that way," Matt said with a nod, finally pulling his gaze away from where the anomaly had been. "Your help and resources have made all of this possible in the first place."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	“It’s a noble cause,” Phillip nodded, “anything I can do to help and do my part,” he said, “I just wish we could have met under different circumstances,”
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Agreed. Hopefully now that we have made progress and once we get them back safely,it will put to rest some of the rumors going around. Though I have to admit, I was as leery as the next guy at the idea of a billionaire throwing his money into a project like this out of the goodness of his heart," Matt confessed as he looked at Phillip closely, trying to gauge his reaction to that confession.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"I have a number of causes that I donate my money to," Phillip said, seemingly undeterred about the question, "the science is very unique and with the right guidance and resources, we could do a lot more good for the world," he added as he made some final notes on the latest experiment.
Matt(thearcfamily)	Matt watched Phillip for a moment quietly, noting the somewhat dodge of his comment and question, but let it slide. "One of many great things the ARC and Prospero can achieve right?"
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"Exactly," Phillip said with a smile as he put down his notes, "this is just the tip of the iceberg, with all the people we have working on this, we'll be able to achieve so much together,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Then whatever you need from me and my team at the ARC, just let me know. Lester is eager to get them back and to move ahead with the anomaly research so we can prevent this sort of thing from happening again." Matt nodded.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"I'll definitely do that," Phillip nodded, "I'm particularly interested in making sure that the device that can predict what time period the anomaly leads to is fully operational and being able to close the anomalies, those will be important steps to ensure that we don't ever have a repeat of this unfortunate incident," he added.
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Our team will make that a second-level priority after anything to help us get the team back safely," Matt assured with a nod. "And I know there is still some uncertainty about how to handle the rescue once we have the anomaly opened, but I know Abby and Connor and Sarah have all said they want to be there for that."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip nodded, "I know Mr. Lester has expressed his wish for any field work to remain military or police based, so they won't be able to enter the anomaly I'm afraid," he said, "but I don't see any reason why they can't be here when the anomaly is open, I'll make sure the best available care is ready to be provided for our men as they need it,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Thank you. I know it has been hard for them waiting for so long. They all were... are... so close to the missing team." Matt sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's not right to ask them to just move on with their lives. I know they will be glad just to be here when the moment comes. I just hope we can bring them home safely."
Phillip(thearcfamily)	Phillip nodded, "and I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that happens," he promised, "today's test results have been very promising, I feel we're very close to being able to open the anomaly and bring our missing men home, I'm hopeful the team won't have to wait to long for that to happen,"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Then whatever you need from me and my team at the ARC, just let me know. Lester is eager to get them back and to move ahead with the anomaly research so we can prevent this sort of thing from happening again." Matt nodded.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"Then we will keep all hands on deck and regroup for the next test," Matt said as he held his hand out to Phillip. "Another week right for test number two?"
Matt(thearcfamily)	"Another week,' Phillip agreed, "I'm confident if we get similar results we'll be able to try and launch the rescue mission in a couple of weeks," he said hopefully.
Phillip(thearcfamily)	"It will be a good day indeed" Matt said as he shook Phillip's hand and then turned to head back into the ARC labs and check with Connor and Abby on what the latest research and tests were revealing on their end.