Bill waited for confirmation from Tory that he could go inside. She came out and nodded at him, so he entered Laura's office. She was seated at her desk her arms crossed in a very defensive manner. Bill came closer and rested his hands on her desk, but did not sit down.
"Here to yell at me some more Admiral?" Laura said icily. Bill sighed.
"I want to be mad at you. I have tried so hard to be so frakking furious with you, but I can't. Laura I love you" Bill said taking her hand. She didn't pull it away, but looked at the floor. "I had to live without you when the cylons found us on New Caprica and I never wanted to feel that way again. But I do right now and not just because I can't see you every day. While you were on New Caprica I had nightmares day and night of what the cylons were doing to you. I wasn't foolish enough to think that the former President would be left alone. And now your security jumps at every little noise and Adam doesn't even trust that you are safe in our quarters" Laura looked at him with tears glistening in her eyes.
"Our quarters?" She asked hope in her voice. Bill smiled and pulled her into a loving embrace.
"It's always been ours. Come home Laura please. And tell me what is going on"
"I have to stay on Colonial One tonight, but tomorrow I promise to come home and as to what's going on I'm handling it."
"Laura let me help you. If anything were to happen to you I don't think I could survive it." Laura smiled and kissed him gently.
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I'll see you tomorrow? Where we can properly make up" Laura grinned kissing him again this time deepening the kiss.
"I'll hold you to it Roslin. I love you" he said kissing her brow.
"I love you too" Laura said releasing him. He left and Laura sank into her chair. How the hell had she gotten so lucky?
Laura walked down the corridors of the Galactica her security team in front of her and behind her. They were headed toward the Admiral's quarters and they had to pass a secluded part of the ship to do so. Laura couldn't wait to see Bill. She had barely slept all night thinking about it. Her security team stopped suddenly very alert. Laura listened and suddenly a loud beeping started. Adam dived on top of her when the bomb exploded. She felt Adam being wrenched off of her and then a pair of hands were pulling her up. She was so disoriented and could barely see anything. A gun was shoved into her back and a harsh voice whispered in her ear.
"Walk" she looked at the mess around her. Her security was either unconscious or dead and she couldn't see Tory. The man shoved harder and she allowed him to lead her through the corridors, all empty. He stopped at an airlock and Laura tried to calm herself down. If he had wanted to kill her he could have already done it. A raptor was waiting inside with a pilot she had never seen before. The man shoved her inside and they left Galactica.
"What do you want?" Laura asked the man sitting next to her. He remained silent and she started to ask again, but the pilot motioned to quiet her. She saw him talk into his headset, but before she could say anything the man with the gun clamped a hand over her mouth. Suddenly Bill's voice crackled through the radio.
"Pilot I need you on rotation. Where are you going?" Laura almost cried hearing his voice. She longed to be in his safe arms right now and she feared she never would again.
"You asked me to make a run to the Odessa sir, remember?" Liar! Laura's mind screamed. She wished she could struggle, scream out, anything, but the man had a gun in her side and she would not die today. She had to stay alive for Bill.
"Oh that's right sorry pilot carry on. Saul what is going on over there!?" No! Bill! Laura cried. It shut off and they landed on the Astral Queen. There was only one man that could pull this off. And as the man with the gun pulled her off the raptor Tom Zarek was waiting for them a smug grin on his face.
"You did good Orion. Hello Laura. Surprised to see me?" he asked taking her arm and waving the Orion away.
"Honestly no. Whatever you are planning you won't get away with it" Tom laughed. "This is about the presidency isn't it? Getting rid of me will not get you the Admiral's support" Tom stopped walking and stared at her with a disturbing look on his face.
"No it won't, but I'm hoping hearing you scream in pain might persuade him" Tom said dragging her along. He opened a hatch and pulled away a rug. It looked a lot like one of the entrances to the underground caves of the resistance on New Caprica. A small hatch lay on the floor and Zarek opened it. He motioned for Laura to go through it. She thought about telling him to go to hell, but she knew she had to stay alive for Bill.
"We don't negotiate with terrorists and that is exactly what he is going to tell you." She said descending down the ladder, Tom not far behind. The ladder was surrounded by a type of chain link fence and had a door with a lock at the bottom. Zarek opened the door and shoved her through it.
"Than I'll just have to make you scream really loudly won't I?" Tom smiled. Laura tried to hide the shiver that ran up her spine. She surveyed her surroundings and saw she was in some type of cell. It had a cot and a toilet, nothing else. Zarek pulled out a pair of cuffs and chained her hands in front of her. "Get comfortable you're going to be here for awhile. We need the Admiral good and scared before we approach him"
"You son of a-" Laura was cut off when Zarek grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him. Way closer than she ever wanted to be. He brushed a piece of hair from her face and she jerked away. He only laughed and moved his hand lower, between her breast and then to her stomach. He slid his hand to her back and pulled her even closer so she was against him. She felt his erection and almost vomited. His eyes screamed in desire for her and she almost failed to keep her face impassive.
"I've wanted you since the day I met you" he whispered his breath hot on her ear. "I've always wanted to just bend you over your desk and frak you long and hard. And I will soon, very soon, but right now I have to go see how everything is playing out over on Galactica. I'm sure they've noticed you're gone by now. When I get back we'll pick up where we left off" he kissed her then forcing his tongue into her mouth. He finally stopped and threw her to the floor. Laura glared up at him wiping her mouth. He winked at her and climbed up the latter locking the door on the fence and the hatch behind him. Laura tried, but failed to hold back the tears. She was shaking uncontrollably and silent tears ran down her face.
Bill hung up with the pilot when Saul started screaming orders into the phone.
"Saul what the frak is going on?" Before Saul could answer him a disheveled Tory walked into the CIC. She was cradling her arm and had cuts on her face. She had a devastated look in her eyes. Bill ran over to her and helped her sit down.
"We were going to your quarters a bomb went off. When I opened my eyes Laura was walking away with a guy I have never seen. Sir he had a gun I tried to get up, but a couple of security guards were on top of me" Tory told him clearly trying to hold her tears back. Bill felt his heart constrict. Bomb, Laura, gun, those words kept repeating themselves over and over.
"Saul I want everyone on the lookout for the President!"
"Already on it!" Saul shouted back. Bill looked at Tory who was barely holding it together.
"You should go see Cottle" Bill told her. Tory shook her head.
"Not until I know she's safe" Tory replied. Bill nodded and hoped they would find Laura soon.
Zarek was walking through the corridors of the Galactica headed for CIC. Personnel were rushing past him and he tried to hide the smile at the chaos he had created. Suddenly he was slammed into the bulk head by a very angry Starbuck.
"Where the hell is she?" Kara asked him.
"Who?" Tom asked playing dumb. Kara slammed him into the bulkhead again.
"Don't play frakking games with me. Where is Laura Roslin?"
"Somewhere you'll never find her" Zarek whispered in her ear. Kara grabbed him and dragged him to CIC.
"Admiral!" She shouted. Bill turned and his eyes darkened. He had a feeling Zarek was behind this. He walked up to Zarek and grabbed his shirt.
"Where is she?" Bill asked his fury barely contained. "On the Astral Queen?"
"Do you really think I would be stupid enough to hide her on my own ship? You can have her back all you have to do is back me up when I take over the Presidency."
"Never" Bill said. Giving this man the Presidency would ruin them all. Laura would never want this man to have the Presidency.
"Then Laura stays with me. If you make any attempt to search other ships or if I don't make it back to my ship and call in Laura will be killed. I call in a couple of days. If you're a good little Admiral I might even let you see her. Have an answer for me by then" Tom said pulling away from the Admiral. Bill let him not willing to put Laura's life at risk.
Tom walked through the corridors of the Astral Queen a very smug look on his face. Everything was working out exactly as he had planned. He lifted the rug and and walked down the ladder. He entered the tiny cell and his eyes travelled the length of Laura's body. She was watching him cautiously. He approached her and she tried in vain to get away. He grabbed her and threw her on the cot. She screamed and before she could get up he was on top of her. Kissing and touching her anywhere and everywhere. She struggled violently beneath him, but he overpowered her.
"This will be so much easier for you Laura if you just stop struggling." Tom said capturing her mouth. She fought him.
"Go to hell" she spat as he moved to her breasts. He couldn't wait any longer. He held her down with one hand and unbuckled his pants with the other. He forced himself between her legs and pushed up her skirt. Her screams echoed off the walls of her cell.
Bill paced in his quarters while Kara, Lee and Saul were discussing their options.
"I say we give the the little frak what he wants" Lee mumbled. Bill stopped pacing and looked at his son.
"No I will never give that man the Presidency."
"This isn't some frakking President he kidnapped dad! It's Laura! You are not the only one who cares about her. I will not let Zarek kill her because you are too damn stubborn or too damn mad at her to care!"
"Enough! Don't you dare tell me I don't love her or care about her. I love her more than anything and you know it. This is what Laura would want. She would never give Zarek the Presidency" Bill told his son. Kara who had remained silent stood up.
"Sir no offense, but you haven't been around lately. For any of us and I've been spending a lot of time with Laura. I've seen how she and Zarek interact and Tory and I talked it over and we both think Zarek is capable of a lot more than Laura gave him credit for. Two days ago he attacked her in his office. I was sworn to secrecy and that's no excuse. It's my fault she's been kidnapped by that son of a bitch, but it will not be my fault she is dead. So I propose we start coming up with a plan"
"What do you mean he attacked her?" Saul asked before Lee or Bill could.
"I was going to visit Laura, she'd been pretty upset. Tory called and said she was like withdrawing into herself. She didn't talk to her or even Adam anymore. When I walked in Zarek had Laura pinned up against the bulkhead. I pulled my gun on him, but Laura told us to let him go. I'm sorry I didn't say anything she told me not to tell anyone, especially you Admiral"
"Why would she keep that to herself?" Bill asked to no one in particular.
"She said she didn't think you would care sir. She thought she could handle Zarek"
"She was wrong" Lee said storming out of the room before he lost control of his emotions.
"I'll go" Kara said leaving the two senior officers alone. Bill poured himself a glass of ambrosia and sat down.
"She'll be ok Bill. If she can survive the cylons then she can survive this. What we need to do is figure out when the next supply run is scheduled for the Astral Queen. We send a pilot Zarek won't notice. Like Hotdog or something have them search the ship. They come back and tell us what looks suspicious and we make our move" Saul said to a seemingly unresponsive Bill.
"It's a good plan Saul. Let's do it"
