Dead or Alive
( Special thanks to 1#bionicfan for the idea for this story.)
Chapter One
Steve was completely suited up and minutes from boarding the Command Module for his second journey to Skylab when NASA's radio system went crazy, temporarily suspending the countdown. The U.S. Government Alert channel superseded anything else on the airwaves, so the crew had no choice but to wait...and listen.
All units, government and domestic agencies, this is a Priority 1A. Be on the lookout for Jaime Lyn Sommers, female Caucasian, 29 years of age, five feet, ten inches, blonde hair, hazel eyes. Subject is to be immediately remanded to the custody of the National Security Bureau. While every effort must be taken to secure her alive, she is considered Extremely Dangerous and must be apprehended by whatever means become necessary.
Steve had removed all of his equipment and was down to civilian clothes by the time the transmission had ended. As his stunned colleagues stared in disbelief, he broke every NASA protocol by announcing to everyone and no one in particular "Call in the alternate; I'm outta this one."
"Can he do that?" someone whispered.
"He just did."
Indeed, Steve was already out of the building and commandeering a chopper from the hands of a junior officer who was too shocked to argue. The young man stood on the tarmac and shrugged at the approaching crowd of NASA engineers.
Immediately upon leaving the ground, Steve got on the radio, tuning it to the OSI's frequency. "Russ, it's me," he said tersely when Oscar's second-in-command answered the signal. "Get Oscar - now."
"Steve?" Oscar responded, obviously stressed beyond his limit, "aren't you mid-countdown?"
"Mission's been scrubbed – for me, anyway. Oscar, where's Jaime? What's going on?"
"You heard."
"Yeah, I heard – what the Hell?" Steve demanded.
"Jack Hansen has a custodial warrant -"
"Tell me the part I don't know! They practically said 'Wanted, Dead or Alive'!"
"That part's in the print-out, Pal," Oscar told him quietly.
"What did she do?"
"Steve...I don't think you should get involved -"
"I AM involved, dammit! This is Jaime we're talking about! Tell me what's going on!"
"Jaime came into my office this morning and handed me her resignation; she's left the OSI."
Steve knew as well as anyone that it wasn't that simple. You didn't choose to leave a life as an operative behind. Especially when it came to Jaime and himself; their bionics were considered 'government property' and they were prime targets for kidnapping, interrogation and a host of other ugly possibilities. "They wanna lock her away, don't they?" he guessed.
"For her own safety, of course," Oscar said ironically.
"Oh, of course. Where is she?"
"We...don't know, Pal."
"We have to find her before Hansen's penguins get to her! Where are you, right now?"
"My office in L.A."
"I'll be there in a couple of hours," Steve told him, kicking the chopper's speed up as high as it would go and heading for a nearby Air Force Base. "Oscar, can you get NASA to keep the fact that I'm not headed into space under wraps?"
"I can try. Probably not for long, though."
"If you can buy me even half a day's time, it'll help. I have an idea..."
"Steve, be careful."
"I'll see you soon."
- - - - - -
When Steve approached OSI-LA, he swore to himself and kept on driving. The building was already swarming with NSB penguins, both inside and out. Quickly, he found the nearest payphone and dialed Oscar's secure red line.
"Oscar Goldman speaking," came the terse answer.
"It's me. Are they in your office?" Steve asked.
"They were. They've confiscated Jaime's personnel file and are in the process of locating and questioning everyone she may have contacted in the last 24 hours."
"Including me?"
"You're on your way to Skylab, Colonel Austin," Oscar told him.
Steve sighed with relief. "Thank you; I can still pull this off, then. I need to talk to you; can you meet me in the back hangar at Edwards Air Base?"
"I'll leave right now."
- - - - - -
"Were you followed?" Steve asked anxiously when Oscar walked past the row of retired security planes to meet him.
"They were fairly pre-occupied, and besides, they think I'm helping them," Oscar said, eying the runaway astronaut carefully. "I'm guessing you know where Jaime might have gone?"
Steve nodded. "Her parents' old vacation cabin; the goons will figure it out eventually, but it would buy her some time to think and regroup. Oscar, I know she's there."
"And you're probably right. Chris is already on his way up there."
"Chris Williams? Why?"
"Pal, you know he and Jaime have been seeing each other..."
"I don't care about that right now; he'll ruin everything if he gets there first! They're probably having him tailed, and he'll lead them straight to Jaime!"
"I couldn't very well try to stop him -"
"You could've had him jailed – temporarily, anyway," Steve suggested, his mind already clicking into overdrive. "I'll just have to get there first. I need the fastest small plane you can get them to loan to you -"
"To me? I can't fly a plane!"
"Well, they aren't gonna sign one out to someone thousands of miles out in space, now, are they? Please, Oscar, just tell them whatever you can come up with and get me a plane."
Within the hour, Steve was in the air again, on his way to a tiny, deserted airstrip not far from the cabin. His instincts told him without any doubt that Jaime was there; he had to find her and convince her to leave with him before Williams (with the best of intentions) got her captured and locked away forever.
- - - - - -