Caged
Sam/Jules One shot. Because I ship them. Passionately. Do I need more reason? ;) (unbetad)
Sam sighed as he pulled the string on the cover closed, frowning at the internal mail envelope stamped with 'CONFIDENTIAL' and 'URGENT' as if it was a riddle he was determined to solve. Eventually, after one last doubtful look and internal sigh he pushed the thing inside the locker and made his way to the gym.
"Given you're late I hope you at least brought us coffee?" Ed remarked as he was pushing the weights.
"Yeah, Jules was here at least 20 minutes before you. Get lost on your way out of the locker room?" Spike grinned as Jules threw him her water bottle from the treadmill.
"We're being economic." She stated for what seemed like the hundredth time since they moved in together and carpooled to work. She did send him a questioning look, which Sam answered with a smile as he started taping up his hands.
"Had to powder my nose." He joked as he turned towards the punching bag and started his own work out.
"And for that you can do an extra twenty minutes ." Greg said as he joined them too.
"How come you can be late and I have to do an extra twenty?" Sam asked as he pulled his gloves on.
"Simple." Jules said as she smiled at him from the other side of the gym.
"Simple." Ed supplied as well.
"I am the boss." Greg explained as he threw his towel to Sam's head. Sam's twenty extra minutes may or may not have consisted of sparring with his boss.
A few hours later, Jules sighed as she toweled the sweat from her forehead and opened her locker. She frowned as an internal mail envelope fell out and stared at it a little surprised before she bent to pick it up. No one of the team really used these anymore, they just said whatever they had to say. That must mean it had to come from higher up.
As soon as she opened it though, it was a familiar handwriting that greeted her. The world seemed to still in that moment until the alarm made her snap out of it.
"Team One, Hot Call." Winnie's voice called through SRU headquarters as Raf already jogged passed her.
"Good Morning Toronto." He grinned as he packed his gear and skipped to the truck.
Jules took a deep breath, the first since she had read the note it seemed, and quickly stuffed the small note and it's attachment in one of her vest pockets before she followed her team mates to the garage.
"Talk to me, Winnie." Greg said as soon as his com was fixed and they were pulling away from HQ.
"A security guard at the faculty of science reported a suspicious package in one of the hallways on the second floor, near the test labs."
"Faculty of science?" Mike questioned from another vehicle. "Who would want to kill a scientist? What did we ever do?"
Everyone snickered in their coms, Raf's a 'you're serious, right?' in the background while Greg asked "Are we sure it's not some student who forgot his bag?"
"No, Sir" Winnie answered, "but it's a keycard controlled hallway so the security guard thought it better not to take any chances. They are evacuating the building as we speak."
"Okay, let's check it out. Spike…"
"Sending the floorplans to your mobile devices now."
"Thank you. Also…"
"Inform the first responders that we'll be needing keycards and find out what the labs in that hallway are used for. Already on it boss."
"I love it when you read my mind."
Chaos was an understatement for the situation they found once they reached the scene; people in labcoats everywhere, animals being carried out and improvisational containment arias being set up. Greg sighed as he jumped out of the truck.
"Spike?"
"Yeah Boss." Spike said as he and the others gathered around him.
"What the hell is this place? I thought this was a school."
"It is." Spike answered, his eyes never leaving his iPad. "It's the more restricted research area. They specialize in…"
"Animal testing?" Sam asked as he saw what seemed to be a chimpanzee clutched around a young woman's body.
Only then Spike looked up and seemed to notice the chaos around them. "…Yeah."
"You wouldn't say." Greg sighed as he eyed the situation. "Officer, move those people back. We need to set up a perimeter." The Police Man nodded as he hurried to the nearest group of people and started moving them back.
"Who is in charge here?" Ed asked another Police Officer.
"I am." A female voice suddenly spoke up behind them. "Doctor Amelia Micheals. I am in charge of this part of the faculty."
"Dr Micheals, my name is Sergeant Greg Parker. Can you tell me how many people are still inside?"
"A dozen, maybe more." The woman answered as she turned first towards Greg and then back to the building. "As soon as mister Johnson informed us of the package, we started clearing the building. We have regular evacuation exercises, my people know what to do."
Greg nodded. "Mister Johnson is the security guard who found the package?" Dr Micheals nodded as she motioned a man in a campus security guard uniform closer.
"Ed?" Greg motioned towards the man and his Team Leader nodded.
"I'll find out how to contain it."
"Okay, Raf, I want you in the commandpost. Look into animal right activists or anything like that that have recently made threats against the faculty." Greg ordered before turning back towards Dr Micheals "Doctor, any idea why those labs in particular were targeted?"
"They are the main test labs. Apart from that, they are the farthest away from the animals shelters and stables on the other side of the building. We like to keep the animals in a secluded area, far away from city noises or other stress factors. These animals are not mistreated." She insisted.
"Well, obviously someone disagrees. Would you mind stepping into the truck with my officer? We might have more questions for you later."
"Of course." The doctor said as she turned on her high heels, her lab coat billowing behind her as she did.
"The security guards have everyone out. " Ed said as he joined the team again and took out his PDA. "Bomb is situated here, so I suggest…"
"There is movement inside." Sam suddenly announced as he was looking at the large glass walls of one of the hallways."
"The guards said they had everyone out." Greg said clearly annoyed as everyone followed Sam's look.
"Okay Team, listen up. We don't know whether this a student or our bomber so I'm going to take Jules with me while Sam en Spike check out the bomb." Ed ordered.
"I'll get babycakes out." Spike said as Sam en Jules shared a look and a small nod before going their separate ways. Greg grinned and nodded to himself as he clapped his Team Leader on the back and he made his way to the truck.
"Let's keep the peace."
"Spike, what do we have?" Greg asked as he peered at the computer screens in front of him.
"Give me a minute. Babycakes is working her magic."
"Okay. Ed?"
"Still no sign of the subject. "
"I think it's safe to say it's not a student boss." Jules cut in. "We've passed at least two emergency exits already. He should have made it out by now. "
"Copy."
"Movement on the third floor. Right above you Ed." Raf suddenly said as he scrolled through the different security images.
"On our way."
"Boss?"
"Yeah Spike?"
"They used a common home-made time trigger. Still have 10 minutes left, shouldn't be so hard to defuse."
"Okay, copy Spike, be careful." Greg sighed as he tried to look at all the different screens at once. "Raf, anything yet?"
"Yeah, the University has recently received some very colorful threats from an active animal rights group. They don't usually turn to violence, but there is a first time for everything, I guess. I'll look into it."
"Euhm, boss…"
"Talk to me Spike."
"There seems to be a transmitter near the time trigger."
"Remote detonator?"
"I don't think so, probably another device though I can't be sure."
"Another bomb?"
"I'm afraid so. It has to be close though."
"Okay, can you defuse this one?"
"Already on it, boss."
"Okay, be careful. Ed, Jules, still no sign of the subject?"
"Closing in on him now boss." Ed's voice came through their intercoms, slightly labored as they ran up some stairs.
"I see him." Jules' voice suddenly cried as they heard more boots running down linoleum floors.
"Halt, SRU, Police, stay right there."
"Nonono…" a third male voice suddenly echoed through the University halls. "We have to get out of here. They can go off any minute."
"You mean the bombs?" Jules asked
"Yeahyeah, you have to get out. You are not supposed to be here, the building was supposed to be empty…"
Suddenly a knock on the truck made Greg snap out of the conversation he could hear on the other side of his com. One of the police officers opened the door and peered his head in.
"I'm sorry to disturb you Sir, but there is a woman here who needs to see…" He was suddenly pushed out of the way as a young woman stormed inside the trailer.
"Doctor Micheals!"
"Patricia, what's wrong?"
"Melanie! She's still inside. We were running some tests and…"
"Is she anywhere near the package?" Greg cut in.
"She's in the main lab."
"Sam?"
"Got it boss." He could hear Sam's boots squeak as he ran for the lab and then his focus was back on Jules and their subject.
"Listen Sir, we can't leave you here. They are dismantling the bomb…"
"What?" The man suddenly cried out as he brought his hands to his face. "Nonono…they can't do that, they can't." And suddenly he had a detonator in his hand, his face a mask of anger.
"Spike, how far are you on that bomb 'cause we have a detonator in the game anyway."
"Shit. Seconds away boss."
"Boss?" Sam's voice came through his earpiece.
"Come in Sam."
"There's no one here." Greg turned towards the handwringing young woman behind his right shoulder.
"Are you sure you left your friend in the main lab?" He asked and she nodded feverishly.
"Yes, she should be in the cage in the back."
He was vaguely aware of Jules trying to talk their subject down, a name, but he was focused on the task at hand. "Cage?" Greg asked her, but then Sam was back in his ear.
"Boss, I found a chimp in one of the cages."
"Yeah Sam, that appears to be our missing person…"
And then Bang.
Static.
Silence.
"Spike? Sam?"
Silence. Nothing but smoke or statics on the lab security feeds.
"Winnie, get EMS on standby." Greg said as he jumped out of the truck. "Ed, Jules?"
"We're fine." Ed's voice quickly came though the line. Greg was vaguely aware of Jules' silence.
"Sam, Spike, come in!" Silence, and then
"I'm good boss." A coughing and rather silent Spike sounded through their coms. "The timers were synced. They had to be cut simultaneously. As soon as I defused the first bomb, I detonated the second. I should have seen that." He murmured as an afterthought, by the sound obviously moving through debris.
"That's okay Spike, not your fault. Have you got a visual on Sam?"
"Yeah, I'm getting there." He said, the crashing sounds of bricks moving on the background, before he let out a short hysterical laugh. "He jumped on top of the chimp." More debris moving sounded through their coms until "He's alive. Unconscious but breathing. A part of the ceiling came down on top of his legs though. I'm not sure I can move him."
"Okay Spike, I hear rocks falling, are you in danger? Is the structure of the building compromised?"
"No." Was the quick answer.
"Yes." A much softer one and Greg took a relieved breath.
"Sam, it's good to hear your voice buddy."
"Spike should get out of here, boss." The latter one said, his voice still too soft.
"No…"
"The ceiling is going to come down and there is no way I can move."
"I can…" they heard Spike protest.
"No Spike. Only one man in the line of fire, remember?"
Silence.
"Spike?" Greg asked in a soft voice.
"I'm coming." He answered, defeated.
"Here, take Melanie. I think she broke her arm." Sam's voice sounded strained as he obviously handed the animal over.
Greg closed his eyes as he hung his head and took a deep breath. The army brat sure had come a long way.
"Jules?" Raf suddenly broke through their sullen mood.
"Yeah?" Came the curt but almost broken reply.
"I got a hit on the name the subject gave us. Simon Bell." As if on cue the man suddenly decided to speak up.
"I didn't want for this to happen. It are always the innocent that die first."
"Take him down , Jules." Greg ordered, suddenly feeling sick. As soon as she and Ed put a step forward though, Bell raised the detonator again and jumped back.
"And there is more where that's coming from so please, get out."
"Spike?" Greg asked even as he heard the sounds of an ambulance stretcher and band aids being ripped open.
"If there is more than one button on the detonator, it's possible."
"And the good news keeps on coming. Winnie…"
"Bomb squad coming your way." She answered back from HQ.
"Thanks. Sam, how are you holding up?"
"I'm cool. Think you're going to lose your bet that I'm beating Raf on the tracks tomorrow though."
"Yeah, well, I have faith." Sam's labored breathing filled their coms. "Raf, you said you had some intel on our subject?" Greg finally asked as he saw Jules and Ed, weapons raised as the man in question tried to get them out.
"Yes. He is indeed one of the lead activists of that animal rights group. He originally had a shelter for chimpanzees and orang oetans in Africa up until two years ago, when the place was robbed and the apes were taken… The robbers…they killed his wife."
"Did they ever find out who was behind it?"
"No, not that they could prove anyway. Bell himself was convinced it was some big pharmaceutical company that needed them for testing."
"Jules, you got that?"
It was silent as Jules tried to take a calming breath. With this job she had learnt a long time ago there were always two sides to a story, nothing was black and white. No matter that this man right in front of her could mean the death of the man she loved more than life itself, she just had to try and remember that now too.
"Jules?"
"Got it."
"Simon, I'm going to put my weapon down, okay. So we can talk." Jules said as Ed came to stand behind her left shoulder and she carefully put her own weapon down.
"I don't want to talk, I want you out of here." He said as he enunciated his words by pointing the detonator in their direction.
"Okay, I understand, but we already told you that we can't do that." This made him start pacing again. "Now, I know you don't want to hurt anyone..."
"What does it matter what I want. I already killed one of you today, so I might as well…"
"He is not dead yet, Simon." This made the man stop pacing again, some kind of hopeful expression on his face.
"That's good." He finally managed.
"Yes, but we need your help, because he is trapped under some debris and the ceiling is giving in. We have to get him out of here, but we can't do that as long as there are still bombs ready to explode." Jules paused for a minute to let him take this in. "See, you can still do the good thing here, nothing that happened today is irreversible yet. Just, put the detonator down."
"I can't do that. They won't listen to me otherwise. They…"
"I'll listen." Jules said as she cautiously took a step closer. "Tell me, why are you doing this?" The man snorted before he answered.
"These animals…they're not supposed to live in cages. They're supposed to be out in the nature, in the jungle where they belong. I tried…I tried to make them listen, but this is the only way. I see that now. And I'm sorry, but…This is the only way."
"Simon. Simon, look at me." He slowly raised his head to meet Jules eyes. "It is not the only way. This is not who you are. Remember when you told me the innocents always die first?" He nodded. "You were talking about your wife, weren't you? I know what happened to her."
"You do, do you? Do you know how they barged in, weapons drawn right before we were supposed to start feeding? How they held a gun to my head and a knife to my throat as they brought in the cages? And how Stephanie cried and struggled when they went for the little ones, the babies? How they slit her throat…" He was crying by now, the detonator shaking in his hand.
"You know that man down there," Jules tried again after a moment of silence. "he wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposed to be near the first bomb, quite safely out of range of the second one as it detonated. You know why he was in there?" She paused, waiting for a reaction to see if he was listening. Eventually, he shook his head.
"He was in there because in their haste to evacuate the building they forget about Melanie, in her cage in the back of the lab. He is covered in debris because he jumped on top of her, to safe her." Jules took a moment to compose herself before she continued.
"I know you said that I don't know what happened to your wife, and maybe you're right. But I know that when she died you felt like nothing mattered anymore, that your life didn't have any purpose, I know that all you wanted to do is curl up in a corner and cry. And then you got angry with yourself, because you know she wouldn't have wanted that. You know, somehow she would have known how to deal with this, while you couldn't. And you want to know how I know that?" Her voice was wavering by now, tears threatening to fall any minute now.
"Because that man down there, that's my fiancé."
Suddenly her right hand went into one of her vest pockets as she took out the note Sam had left in her locker that morning. That morning, everything had made sense. That fancy dinner they had a few weeks ago but ended rather quickly as Nathalie called that she was in some trouble again. Or that evening they went to the beach and he kept on murmuring about that fact he couldn't believe he forgot it. Or that hike only this weekend when halfway up the mountain they had gotten the call to come in. It all made sense as she pulled out the note, and a ring fell into her hand.
"-Since I'm running out of time for good weather for extreme hikes on remote trails;
Julianna Callaghan, will you marry me?"
She fingered the ring that had been stuck on the note until now, as she looked through teary eyes to the man in front of her. "He asked me to marry him this morning and if you don't help me I may never have the chance to tell him yes." She took a shaky breath as she pressed on, putting the ring safely back in her vest. "Your wife wouldn't have wanted that, I know that. And I think neither do you."
A stare.
Silence.
Bang.
Before she knew what was happening he dropped the remote. She ran for it, but there was no way she could make it in time. She was too far away. As she dropped to the floor she waited for the blast to happen, the bomb to detonate and her life to crash, but all she saw as she opened her eyes was Simon, his hands raised.
"There are no more bombs." He told her as she got up. "Those two were the only ones."
She could faintly hear Greg ordering a rescue team to get Sam out of there as she pushed Simon on the ground and cuffed him. "Thank you."
By the time she was done securing the subject and ran down the stairs, they were already carrying Sam out. Her com bounced of her vest as she pulled it from her ear as she sprinted towards him. Her hand found his as they put the stretcher on one with wheels. His eyes fluttered open and he shot her a lazy smile.
"So, was that a yes?" He croaked.
"Ask me properly." Was all she answered, and when she pulled her hand out of his, he was holding the ring. He grabbed one of the paramedics arms, signaling them to stop as he looked into Jules' eyes.
"Julianne Callaghan…Jules…Will you marry me?"
"Yes."
Later, she would tell she was crying because she had a hair in her eye from the running. He would swear he had dust from the debris in his eyes. Right now though, neither of them cared as their tears mingled as they kissed, and the Team was all but cheering behind them. Right now, tears meant life. And life…well, it just meant they'd life another day to do this all over again. As long as they could be economic and carpool and in the end, just come home to each other, they would keep the peace, and save a few monkeys along the way.