Title: No Sir



Author: Kim, The Manipulative Little Monster



Rating: R for language



Archive: Sure, anywhere you want it just let me know where it is.



Feedback: The author is a feedback whore!



Summary: A challenge given to me by Norma the Unicorn Lady. It's all her fault.



Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or Sarah or Jareth. I do own the idea of the fighter pilot though. Uh, don't sue me or I might have to kick your ass.



Chapter Two

Lee Buchanon looked in the old, gilded mirror that hung above the battered dresser. A slow sigh was made as she stared at the reflection which seemed to fit right in amongst the dullness that surrounded her. And to think, she used to be one of the prettiest little girls in Sunset. But she wasn't anymore. No one would ever mistake her for the prom queen again. At twenty she looked nearly double that. The years and abuse of being alone had certainly marked her flesh. And then again, there wasn't even the mention of raising Lucas herself.

At four, he had already pulled her through more things then a normal teenager would have. But then again, Lucas was no normal child. One only had to look at the impish twinge that settled in those blue eyes. Blue eyes that so matched HIS. A little cry was made as she felt her knees give way, sending her plummeting straight onto the bed. A tear welled up in her eye and she brushed at in it angrily, not wanting that outward showing of emotion.

Long ago she had promised herself that he would never be the cause of another one of her tears.

The old worn, black cocktail dress was held against her chest as if it offered some sort of comfort against something she was feeling. Eyes trailed over nothing but the thoughts in her head, and she soon became lost in the maze that had held the emotions she kept so tightly locked up. She never heard the little footsteps that crept up to her. It was only when the soft, slightly dirty fingers of her son touched the tear then put his finger to his mouth that she came out of her state.

Earnest blue eyes peered into hers, full of concern. She looked at him and forced herself to smile at the slightly smudged, pale skin and the rumpled, brown hair that was almost always in need of a hair cut. The slightly-pointed that ears had to be specially fitted for the hearing aids that allowed some vibrations to be felt in his otherwise silent ears.

Yes, her perfect little boy was deaf. Earnest, little fingers moved, making sure she could see, speaking in the language that was so laborious and so rewarding for them all to learn. "Mommy, why are you crying?"

Lee shivered slightly, sniffling and swallowing before she trusted herself to answer. Her fingers moved back slowly then with greater speed. "I'm not crying, baby. I'm fine. I just got a little bit of dust in my eye from this old dress."


Lucas scowled before he started to sign again in earnest. "Mommy, why are you lying? You know Sister Mary says that if you lie, you go to hell. I don't want you to go to hell. I would miss you a lot and it really doesn't sound like anywhere I'd like to visit."

Taking in the earnest look on her son's face, Lee couldn't help but break out in laughter and take her son into her arms. He seemed so much older then his tiny frame allowed for; he knew so much more. It was uncanny the things he could know just by looking at you. She rubbed his hair before as he sat staring up at her and she spoke out loud, "Oh, all right." And then her fingers moved to match her words.

"Baby, it's not a lie. Not exactly, like the one that will send you to hell. It's called a little white lie, and those are okay sometimes. Sometimes if you tell the truth, it can hurt someone or make them feel bad. Like when mommies lie to their kids to make them not worry about things they needn't worry about. You understand?"

But from the look on her son's face, she knew he wasn't convinced. A little sigh was made, her son was so innocent; he really didn't need to know about this yet. She wanted to protect him so bad it hurt. But he wouldn't allow her too. And then finally, she found something to say, almost as if someone was next to her whispering in her ear. "Lucas, you know how when Grandma made that really yucky pie, she forgot to put the sugar in it?"

A nod was made as confirmation from him, and she went on. "Well, remember how we all ate it anyway and told her how good it was even though it wasn't true? Cause we didn't want to hurt her feelings? Well, that was a little white lie. It didn't hurt us to do it and it made her feel good. See? So, it's okay."

The boy nodded quickly before he signed again. "Momma, it did hurt someone. It hurt my belly something fierce to eat it."

Again Lee laughed, some of the lines and weariness draining from her face. "I gotta get ready to go out okay, baby? Alex is gonna watch you so Grandma can go to Aunt May's house to work on the quilts, alright? I'll try to get as beautiful as I can before I come and read you a story."

"Mommy, you're already beautiful."

She smiled and left him sitting on her bed, looking at old pictures while she went to the bathroom. The dress was pulled over her head quickly and she stared at the mirror, looking at her face once again through the steam. It almost appeared for a moment as if she was crying, holding something in her hands. Her mouth pulled up slightly as she leaned forward and put her hand against the mirror as if to clear it, to force the picture to come it clearer. But as soon as she did, the image was gone.

Lee took a deep breath before speaking again. "Come on, Lee my girl, you gotta calm down. This whole thing is freaking you out."

She opened the bathroom door with a plume of steam coming out from behind her and went to sit at the ancient dressing table again. Trembling fingers picked up the old, worn, silver hair brush and she started to pull it through the tangled wet mess. Lucas came over near her and stood just behind her so she could see him in the mirror. "Mommy," he signed, "my daddy's come around again, hasn't he?"

She dropped the brush and it hit the old mirror with a resounding shatter. Her pale skin almost seemed to wash out even further before she signed back, "What makes you think that, sweetheart?"

"You always get nervous and sad when he comes around. I remember how you were the last couple of times."

Blink, blink, blink. She tried to count. He had been around when Lucas was two and three. But she fought the tremor of her hands as she signed back, "Baby, how can you remember that? It was a long time ago."

"I know, Mommy. But I just remember. But it was different then, now there's something more. You're worrying more. Why are you?"

This time, she couldn't stop the tremor. "I don't know, Lucas, I really don't know." And then she looked at the clock and sighed softly. She knew that he would be here any minute. Well, his ass could wait. Her son came first and he always would.

"Come on, baby, let's go tuck you in and read you a story. It's past your bedtime." And with that, the strangeness of the feeling had past. For the moment anyway. He was still the little boy who didn't want to go to bed.

Finally, she had him cleaned up and tucked into the little twin bed in the room that was covered in trucks and trains. Lucas loved trucks and trains. Lee pulled white comforter up to his chin and turned off the over head overhead light, leaving the fire engine lamp lit, giving the room a soft, welcoming glow. She pushed a slightly damp piece of hair from his forehead as she settled down on the bed next to him. " So, baby," signed. "What story would you like me to read to you tonight?"

She knew very will what it would be. It would be same book as it always was. It was something they did every night. He would chose "Thomas the Tank Engine," and she would protest and read it anyway. It was something they both knew by heart. And yet, tonight it almost seemed to have a different feel too it. As if it was the last time things would be right again.

"Mommy, you know which book."

" But, baby, it's the same book every night."

"I know, but I like it. Please?"

And she gave in, as always, and started to read in her soft, clear voice, the hand motions almost matching the words.

When she was finished, she reached over and put the book onto the night stand, wanting to linger as long as she could. And then he gave her a reason to stay. "Mommy,", signed. "I'm not a baby anymore."

That gave her pause. He was still a baby to her. After all, he was only four. "Really? But you'll always be my baby."

"But I'm a big boy, and tomorrow night, I want to tell you a story. I've been having dreams about it. Is that okay?"

Lee let a breath out she wasn't even aware that she was holding. "Sure, of course it is, baby. What is the story about?"

"Well, it's about a king..."

She smiled, calming down and interrupting him, "and a queen?"

"No, Mommy. The king didn't need a queen. He had a big maze. And he was looking for something. And he keeps getting closer and closer to finding it."

A terrible feeling of foreboding washed over her as she asked, "What is he looking for?"

"I don't know yet. But it'll come out soon enough. Sometimes the dreams even wake me up."

"Lucas, when they wake you up, why don't you ring our bell or crawl into bed with me."

"Because sometimes I can't."

"You can't come and get me? Why not?"

"Because something won't let me..." He caught the horrified look on his mother's face and immediately thought of the conversation just a few minutes ago. A little white lie to make people not to worry. That was alright. "Because I'm so tired, I just fall back asleep."


Again Lee let out the air. A smile was caught on her face, and it seemed Lucas was a good liar after all. She leaned down and kissed his forehead again. "Well, baby, if you ever need me, all you have to do is ring our bell and I'll come running, okay?"

"Yeah, Mommy. I love you always and in dreams."

"I love you too, baby. Always and in dreams."

And with that, she rose and started to walk towards the door, but the slow melodic chime of the bell pulled her back. She was instantly at her son's side with a smile. "Yeah, baby?"

Those big, blue eyes bore holes into her own and he signed slowly, as if everything depended on this. "Mommy, if someone ever wanted to take me away, you'd stop them, right? You'd protect me."

She dropped onto the bed and smoothed his hair down. "Baby, I'll always protect you, I'd do anything too. So would Grandma and Pepa, and Alex. We'd do anything to keep you safe."

At Alex's name, something stirred deep inside Lucas's chest, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked to his mother and gave her a smile before pressing his hands into the words. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby. You want me to stay here with you for a little longer?"

As much as he wanted too, he couldn't make his hands form the words that his heart longed to. Instead, he signed, "I'm okay, Mommy, go."

And then she kissed him again and went and shut the door.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Alex was waiting for her when she walked into the kitchen. He spoke softly, in that oh so urgent tone of voice. "Lee, wait, don't do this. Don't see him tonight. Stay here, stay with me."

Lee looked to the hand he had pressed to her arm before she spoke softly, one hand reaching to lightly caress his cheek. "I have to, Alex, you know that. If I don't, god knows what he's gonna do. I'll see him for Lucas's sake so he can safely deposit any presents and broken promises then leave again for his fancy life far away from us. And he'll be gone for another year and we can be at peace."

"Just let me talk to him, take care of him. Can't you see what this is doing to you, to you both? Every single time he shows up, he blunders into the threads of your family and tears them into tiny shreds. He hasn't even taken the time to learn to communicate with his son. What the hell kind of father is that? It kills you to see the broken look in Lucas's eyes. It kills everyone else to see that look in yours."

"Damn it, why do you keep acting as though I'm gonna break? I'm fine! God damn it, I'm fine! Why can't you and my mother and everyone else get that through your thick-headed skulls? I love my life as it is. I'm happy here in Sunset. The restaurant is doing great with the base so close, and the doctors are good, the schools are good and practically the whole town can speak to my son on the street. Everyone I love and care about is here. And if I have to put up with his shit once a year or less, then that's fine with me. I don't want to have to run again."

"Lee, we aren't talking about running. I'll take care of this and he won't ever bother you and this perfect life again. He'll be gone, and he'll stay away this time."

"Alex, what are you talking about doing? You're scaring me." Lee's voice had gone deadly soft as she looked at her friend, the vicious glint in his eyes speaking of something much bigger then a simple, little, custody manner. But in that moment, a blink of an eye, the look was replaced by his normal look.

"Lee, talking to him, just talking. Telling me that you don't want to see him anymore, you want him out of your life and Lucas's life for good."

"That wouldn't work. You don't know him like I do. He'd think he'd have competition and come charging back as if he was playing a part. I'll just go with him tonight and then he'll go away when he thinks I'm still pining for him."

At those words, Alex moved his hand up her arm until he pushed her chin up to met his eyes. "And are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Pining for him?"

"Alex, for god's sake. I don't love him. He was.... he was a mistake. A stupid, childish mistake I made when I was a naive kid. The only good thing that came of us was Lucas. And that's it."

Alex seemed content with that... for the moment anyway. "Lee, are you sure that's what you want to do? Are you sure you can handle this again?" Seeing the darkness come into eyes, he quickly added, "It's just that I worry so much about, you. We all do."

Slowly, he took her hand in his. He looked down at them for a moment before he spoke again. "You take on so much for yourself, so much for everyone else. You need someone to take things on for you, to help you. Please let me..."

But we never got to hear what he wanted to help her with. At that moment, the roar of a sport's car almost seemed to shake the house and then there was the loud, inpatient sound of a car horn. For a second, Lee had an almost deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression before she gave him a smile and picked up the long coat and purse that were next to them. Slowly she pressed her lips to his cheek.

"I have to go, Alex. And trust me, I'll be fine. Don't worry. I can handle him." And then she slowly walked out the door.

He watched her go, hearing the slamming of the car door before he spoke. "Yeah, and I can handle both of you."


Chapter Three

Brian Parr sat at the battered desk, his fingers closing around the small piece of folded foil. The lighter was passed under it in a slow practiced movement. The small piece of tubing was suckled as if he was an infant in need of feeding. Well, perhaps in this sense he was. He was fuming more then the melting drugs. He never even heard the silent footfalls that entered the room behind him, not until it was too late.



The voice that spoke was soft, polite as if it was enquiring about the weather. "Well, Brian no alcohol for you, not the sweet stench of scotch even at a party. And now I come in and find you like this. My, my, my and you think you know a person. Do you know what I might have to do if I came and found this stuff in your office? It would mean a court-martial. I really don't think any of us want that..."



The figure moved towards the shelf that was stocked with the obligatory liquor and poured two rather large glasses of tequila. Slow steps were taken towards the desk and one glass was settled in front of the now rather pale General Parr. As he spoke, he almost seemed to sputter. "It isn't what you think, I only do it when I need to, when I have a rough day. Like, like today. She's still giving me shit."



The tone of the word "She" left little to the imagination about the fact that they both knew who was being referred to. "Calm down Brian. You're little stress reliving habit as you put it, is getting a little out of control. After all, a thousand dollars a day can hardly be called recreational, even if it doesn't come out of your pocket. Don't get stupid like this again. Next time it might not be me who catches you, and trust me all protection I offer will vanish when you no longer are useful to me."



"Come on, old chum surely you aren't threatening me..."



"Old chum, such a charming turn of phrase. Are we really old chums, Brian. I always thought that it was that you were my hired monkey and I held the strings. You are paid well enough to know that I do not waste time making threats. Now tell me what our little girl did today."

It almost seemed that Brian was stalling for time. What other reason could he have for having his fingers slowly moving the glass of tequila around in a hazy circle. Moist droplets were cast down the edges of the glass, falling with deary regularity onto the personal file that sat open before him: Williams, Sarah, E. One jagged nail moved slowly over the page as he read out loud.



"Graduated valedictorian from Lakewood High School in dreary old Namoth, New Hampshire. Out of a class of three hundred-twenty-five. From there she entered the fighter pilot school at Milford, once again the top of her class. Flew, with honors over Iraq and Somalia, over the no-fly zone. Asked for a transfer to NASA in 96 and then was sent here in February. And now, thanks to you, she's a fucking pain in my ass."



The other person spoke in a soft, mild mannered tone of voice. "You know, Brian, you really should calm down, what is this going to do to your blood pressure? Or what will it do to mine? Common curtsy, Brian you should perhaps learn to use it. I can bet you wouldn't have reached your currant heights of let's say glory if I hadn't padded the edges for you. Or taken care of that harmless little affair with your wife."



La la la, what was the old saying, if you push enough buttons you have to get a response?. "Leave Diana out of this! Fuck my blood pressure. You have to fix this. When the hell is she gonna get out of my hair?"



And then the voice was soft and deathly chilled. "Brian, if you ever take that tone with me I shall personally make sure that you spend the rest of your miserable little career picking up bear shit in Yellowstone. As for the unfortunate Miss Williams, that little reunion will soon be taking place at last."



Brian swallowed before he spoke again, "So I am not a total screw up then."



"Not a total one, but the road is far from over and there is a lot of rope hanging around. Make sure it doesn't loop around your scrawny little neck. After all, you know that we cannot allow him to fall into the wrong hands."



"Yes Sir, I know that. There should be something happening right now."



"I know all about it General Parr, and I hope for your sake it does, indeed work."



And with a turn of black trench coat, he was gone.



____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Four.



Lee walked slowly towards the car, pulling the dress over her body in a sort of last ditch effort to calm supercharged nerves. As she reached for the door handle and caught sight of his profile, she had to take a breath. It was scary to know that after all these years, he still had this sort of effect on her. As she settled against the warm leather that grouped her skin, she looked at him, as if trying to find some flaw, something to show that he had changed.



And she found none, not one in that perfect flawless honey tan. No sign of change in the marble worthy chin, the unruly wave of his sandy brown hair. Nothing in those firm so kissable lips... Lee had to stop herself, not allow the dawning of her mind to shift over to the times past. Because the scariest thing of all was the lack of change in those deep gaslight blue eyes. As they moved to rake over her form with almost living fingers, Lee felt frightened.



There was no warmth, no joy. There was the briefest flash of disappointment... and then lust almost seemed to rear itself up. Lee felt that familiar, and yet long wished forgotten feeling of hit running through her veins and she stared, keeping her eyes front on the dark road before her.



For a few moments there was silence before he spoke in that cold, soft tone. His chilled, long fingers locked tightly around her wrist. "You wish I had stayed away, don't you, Lee?"



"No, why ever would you think that?"



The grip tightened as if in a warning before he spoke in that same mild coldness. "Why are you lying to me, Lee? I always know when you are lying."



She swallowed slightly the burning pain riding up her wrist. 'I'm not,' she knew she should say it, and yet she couldn't. Instead, she fell upon the old practice of changing the subject. "So how long are you back for?"



He looked forward to follow the same road he was, even if he did look at it as if it was something totally different. "Well, my dearest Lee, that would depend."



"On what?" Her warm pink tongue stole over those chilled chapped lips as she waited the answer which inside she was already dreading.



And then it was the same mildness that instilled the fear in her before. "Well, on a lot of things. You, perhaps mostly."



She swallowed. "Me?"



"Why, yes, my dearest Lee, my length of stay in this arsine little town all depends on you. You and my son."



"He's not your son, he's hardly even ours. He's mostly mine. I've raised him and I've taken care of him. You have done nothing for him. I won't let you even think about taking him away from me." As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, Lee regretted them. She knew, she knew how she acted when she allowed her buttons to be pushed. And now from the look on his face, she got a tiny twinge of greater fear.



"Lee, it seems you've grown a defiant streak in the time since I've seen you last. Do you think I should be nice and allow you the time to reconsider before you speak so to me again." If you didn't know him, if you didn't know the look in his eyes, the manner in which he spoke would almost seem to be kind and generous. But Lee knew better, much better.



Her chin came forward in the manner those who knew her knew so well. "I'm not the same sixteen-year-old you met and played with before. I've grown up. I am a woman now, make no mistake. And everything, including you comes second to my son."



He clicked his tongue in a condescending manner. " You disappoint me." Dangerous words that were spoken. Almost perhaps more dangerous then the most lethal of threats. "Now, Lee, perhaps you had best calm down. I really don't wish to hunt you down again. Surely you haven't forgotten what happened last time you got such grand notations in your head."



She couldn't forget. When she was eighteen she took Lucas and ran. Ran for her life. She had enough of his possessiveness, enough of his anger, and enough of the daily threat of his moods. It seemed she could never know who she was with at the time. In one moment he was playing a joke, and the next he was serious. Deadly and painfully serious. The last time he had used her as a doll.



For four long painful months she was on the move. Finally, when she thought she and Lucas were safe, he had found her. It was almost as if some sixth sense drove him to the small island off the coast of Maine. As far as she could run from him and still be in the states. And when he found her, she didn't even know what forced her to get on the private plane with him. Didn't even know why she didn't fight.



And from then on, she stayed where she was put. Always terrified of the promise that he could always find her. No matter what.



As if he was somehow tied inside her head, he spoke. "No matter what, Lee. You belong to me. And you aren't going anywhere. Ever. And I mean that."



She spoke through thin, tight lips. "I know you do."



"Good, we understand each other then, Lee. I'd hate to have to teach you another lesson."



And with that he leaned close to her. Never before in her life had Lee known someone who used a kiss as punishment. But he did. The lips that were pressed to hers were rough and forceful. The tongue probed against her lips, demanding entrance, demanding the dance. Stabbing and engorging, the kiss was erotically painful, a pleasurable sin it itself. Those perfect ivory teeth clamped down lightly on the lower part of her lips, pulling it as his silken fingers tugged on the loose tendrils at the back of her neck.



Lee whimpered at the feel of those strong camera-ready teeth. She pulled slowly away from him, the encasement of her lip ending with a small tear and a drop of blood. She pressed her gloved fingers to her mouth and was surprised when it came away with a small crimson circle on it. She stared at him, her eyes peering like shadows from the paleness of her skin.



The blood that was caught on his lip almost seemed to make him seem feral in the snowy light and she stared at him as he touched the blood with his fingers before lapping it up like some great beast. He half closed his eyes as if savoring and Lee was again a terrible stabbing fear. She pulled away from him and moved to the other side of the car, as far as the Italian craftsmanship would allow.





He spoke softly again, his eyes glaring into her, feeling as if they were boring holes inside her soul. "Because we have been away from each other for so long, I am going to allow that. But it will never happen again, will it Lee? Do you understand me?"



The fingers that had been pulling at the back of her hair slid down over the length of the black cocktail dress before coming to rest against her right breast. Those silken fingers wrapped around her right nipple and started to squeeze slowly, twisting the nipple in a painful half circle. She almost seemed to squeak as he pulled her closer to him so his arm could wrap around her shoulders. But he still held that tender flesh tight.



"Now, Lee, I want you to say my name. And promise me you'll never act so stupidly again. Do you understand?"



"Yes, Toby. I understand. I won't do it again."



And with that said, his moist lips were upon her ear and neck, his tongue sliding as if it was a poisonous snake. She shuddered as Toby Williams crooned in her ear, "That's my girl."

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Five



Four hours later, Sarah stepped out of the SIM cockpit and slowly turned to face the door to control room. Her sore fingers moved slowly over her back in a vain effort to try to stop the pain that the manual flying always caused. Something about moving around in ten "Gs" who knew? Finally a decision was reached and she started towards the closed door, the blinking red lights on the key-card lock seeming like menacing eyes glaring at her in a predatory light from the darkness.

Each painful second was accented with an inward wince given at every step of those sore muscles. It seemed that her entire body was almost a mass of painful places. And every part of her discomfort seemed multiplied by the slow mechanical hum of the cameras as they followed her. Normally not noticed, tonight they seemed almost stalking it's prey. She shivered, wondering for a moment who's hidden eyes were making the skin on the back of her neck stand up so.

'Oh my god, Sarah. Calm down, what the hell is the matter with you tonight?' She spoke the words inside her own head. She knew, all to well, the rumors of what happened to NASA pilots who started to crack up and talk to themselves. In her head she counted down the steps. Ten, five, three, and finally she was standing outside the door to the room that Parr liked to call "Soul of the Universe." Sarah hated it. It almost made her feel like it was some kind of joke made at her expense.



Aching fingers reached into her pocket for the small plastic card, one of only seven like it. For some reason, the number seven always made her feel odd, like there was magic embedded in the very fiber of a number. A triumphant smile was made as her hand closed over it and smile was issued to the camera that took a still shot as it scanned through the slot. Once you got in there were no more cameras. The door opened and Sarah stepped slowly into it, a hateful glance cast to the ornate leather chair that she and Hecter had nicknamed "The No Touch zone."



Well, that was exactly what Sarah was intending on doing. She stormed up to the chair and slammed her combat trained fists into it. Suddenly she heard Hector's voice ring out with each blow. "Hey, that's a no touch zone... in other hand, that feels good... mmmmm..." And of course Sarah started to insanely giggle.



"God damn it, Hector! I'm trying to be mad!" And with one final kick, she sent the chair spinning across the room. "I cannot believe he talked to me like that again. I should fucking report his ass!"



Hector sighed, this was obviously something that they had gone through before. "Come on Sarah, you know better then that. Guys like him don't end up in front of Congress with tons of questions. The girls just..disappear. And we like you to much for you to merely vanish into thin air."



She flopped into her chair and cupped her chin into her hands and looked at him. "Don't you worry about what he would do if he found out you were..."



"Gay?" He finished for her, his fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard he was using to record the progress she had made on the second flight. She nodded gratefully, hating to label anyone. She had far to much of it in her career. He turned to look at her then, his perfect pearly white shining forth from his coal skin. "Well, I imagine he'd do what any other old white guy would do when he found out. Call me a fag, try to kick my ass, cop a feel to see if he liked it. You know random shit like that. I wouldn't be a bit amazed if he had a controversial little closet secret somewhere in the past. After all, there were all those rumors before he came her to this odd little corner of Alaskan airspace. Rumors like he shouldn't even be up here at all, cause he has no knowledge in the field of the Atlas X-695. None at all in fact."



Sarah looked at him like the cat who ate the canary. "Hecter, where the hell did you hear this and why on earth didn't you tell me before. And not only that but what is his field of expertise?"



He sighed, looking down, knowing what he wanted to say and knowing that to say it would be to go way to far. "Look at me, Sarah. What is my field of expertise?"



"You were a hacker, you broke into the NCIC mainframe at sixteen and you cracked the codes for the VCANPH when you were a senior at MIT at eighteen. But you shouldn't need to hack into Parr's files. You have red clearance levels."



"Well, Sarah, the thing about red clearance levels is that it only works on things that are red clearance. Last week I was here and was sent and email to check the personal files of some people. And while I had the program open, I looked up his. Only it wasn't a red code, it was a black."



"A black code? They black code personal files? Since when? And why the hell would they, he should be a matter of public record with all the metal attached to his chest."



"Should be, but isn't. It's the only one in the entire data base that was black coded. Mine isn't even and my previous exploits are illegal. Highly illegal. So I hadda get curious about why someone was trying so very hard to hide him from even red listed prying eyes. So I hacked it. It took me twenty minutes, which I think is some sort of record, even for me. Anyway, I used Parr's password. He really hates you or wants to fuck you, or both."



Sarah visibly shivered. "Oh Christ, don't say that babe. I'll have to go and sterilize my skin. Anyway, what the hell makes you say that?"



"Well, my chica, his password was and you know I love you and everything : 'That-fucking-whore-Sarah."



Sarah bounced up out of her chair with a screech. "What?! What?! That slimly fucking bastard! That pig, wait til I see him, I'll give him the ass kicking he's decedents will remember forever!" And with that she stormed over to the chair and started kicking it. Hecter let her do it for a little while before he quietly broke in.



"Uh, Sarah, sweetie?"



"What?"



"You can't tell him, because you can't know. I hacked it, remember?"



She muttered a curse and moved back into her chair, all the while keeping flaming eyes on the chair that he normally sat in. He looked at her, nodding for a moment before turning back to his screen and pulling up the file.



"Well, Sarah, look. He never was apart of the Atlas Project. He was working for a project called Keyword: Underground."



"I've never heard of it. Not even the vaguest whispers."



"No one has, not even me and the scary thing is that where it's supposda be, the space on a map. It doesn't exist, anywhere."



"How can that be? There's no records anywhere save for his black file?" She placed a small piece of hair between her lips and looked at the file that she was being shown. There it was in Times New Roman, ten point. No such location. About ten miles into the sky. Beyond the end of the world.



"And there's something else. He was the one who asked for your file, and for you to test for Atlas."



"Why the hell would he do that? He hates me, he wants me dead."



"I think it's cause someone else told him to do it. He's on someone's payroll. He has to be, all that tin? He either stole or paid for it. There's no actual awards or commadations in his file. He should, by rights have been court-marshaled in '86 when he got busted with two grand worth of stolen coke. But he didn't the file didn't even make it to his CO, he made a phone call and it got taken care of."



"Okay, Hec, this is kinda freaking me out. I wanna get the hell outta here. Are we on for Space Oddity tonight? That band you like's playing."



"The one with the cute blond guy, you bet yer ass. Okay, so we showering and changing and meeting at my car?"

"Sounds like a plan, gimme a half an hour." Sarah moved slowly towards the door, now even more wary of the machine eyes that would follow her every breath. She forced herself not to run, not to work herself up to far.



And then finally she came to the woman's showers. The room that Parr had entitled "The PMS suite." If he hated having her around so much then why the hell was she even here? She didn't like not knowing. And at that moment the meaning of what Hecter had said slammed home. "Project: Underground." Underground? There was no way in hell that could have the same meaning for her as it did for whoever had thought it up. No way at all.



Those damned cameras still followed her, even in the depths of what should be her private place. It sure seemed private didn't it? They recorded every change of her face as she thought, those still frames capturing them forever for posterity. Very slowly she pulled off the blue jumpsuit and tossed it into the dirty laundry bag and then she grabbed a towel. Still clad in her white sports bra and panties, she went to the shower stalls and looked slowly up to the camera with it's blinking red light.



A decision was made and she looked down quickly, going over to the first facet and turning the hot water on as high as it would go. She breathed in the deep billows of steam before she stood there, letting it engulf her. But she could still see the red light. Finally, not caring what she looked like, she ran to the next facet and turned that on full blast as well. And then the next and the next until finally all twenty shower heads were sprouting steaming hot water. And when the steam was so thick you could almost use it as a pillow, she stripped.



Sarah stood under the steaming jets, positioning them so that they almost embraced her on every side. She sighed softly, the water rushing over her as she poured some of the rose body wash onto a sponge. She moved the suds over her skin, savoring the sweet scent that crept into her nostrils. And then suddenly, it seemed her stomach had dropped out from underneath her.



All she could smell was the sticky sweetness of peaches.



She dropped the sponge quickly, she had always hated the smell of peaches ever since the last one she would ever eat. Even if it was only a stupid half remembered dream, it had that effect. Very softly Sarah spoke out loud. "Calm down, girl. You're cracking up here."



And as she slowly bent down to pick up the sponge, she heard a slow rolling sound, almost like stone against the worn tile of the floor. She turned towards the door, totally unaware of the nakedness of herself, or of the rapidly vanishing steam.



What Sarah saw made her gasp and hold her hand to her mouth. And all she could see was the small crystal sphere that was rolling over the floor towards her.