SEED OF DOUBT
By Jules
Chapter 4 – How to find Lucas
In response to the reviews:
criminally charmed – yes the idea the Lucas thinks everything is coming crashing down around him is what I was trying to portray. I did want someone else apart from Bridger to work out the clues so Ben was the next obvious choice. Don't worry Cooper isn't getting off scott-free either.
Ihni – Yes, Ben will be discussing things with a certain Mr Cooper. As for Stark – not made up my mind entirely yet.
shudunedus – You will get your wish in the next chapter, please watch this space soon. LOL Glad you are still reading.
Dani – Thank you for leaving me some comments – and reviewing – I am honoured that I am one of the few. I am really enjoying writing my SeaQuest at the moment, so have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
firebunee – more action coming – and I have added to it a bit as well, to keep the torment going a little longer of course LOL.
SherryBird – Updating as soon as I can – thank you for reviewing and hope you keep enjoying the story.
cursedgirl – Hurrying as quickly as I can – please keep reading.
ElizabetRose – thanks for taking the time to review – very much appreciated. Next chapter up for you.
lulu – I really like the character Stark and thought she makes a good baddie. The fact that they didn't kill her off in the show helps my story ideas greatly. Thanks for reviewing.
Lastly – great thanks to skintec and boo512 who came up with the names for my two large thugs hired by Marilyn Stark and who hurt and kidnapped Lucas from Bridger's house on the island. They have now been christened Bruno Fabre and Frank Wallis and appear again in this fourth chapter.
and now, back to the story:
Ben, Bridger and Kristin scrambled as quickly as they could out of the house and down the beach towards the SeaQuest. They had to get reinforcements to begin the search for Stark and Lucas. Unfortunately they had very little information or clues to go on as to where she was holding him captive.
They had all seen her have Lucas dragged into the room and then use his life as a bargaining chip against Nathan. Stark had gone even further and had taunted them by physically having him held down and sedating the frightened teenager as they watched on, unable to help him.
Nathan decided to take the Stinger back to SeaQuest, whilst Krieg piloted the launch with Kristin. Ben had gone into a rare fit of rage after seeing Stark's callous treatment of his friend. He had hurled the two monitors across the floor, breaking them into several pieces. It was quite out of character for Krieg, but they too understood and felt his frustration.
The normally cool and calm Supply Officer had seethed with anger as much as Nathan with the thought of Lucas being held prisoner by Stark. Ben knew he would have to focus that anger on finding his friend rather than using it to destroy things.
Whilst Ben steered the vessel back to the SeaQuest, Kristin spoke to Jonathan Ford, telling him to get the crew to meet them in the Ward Room upon arrival. She hadn't gone into much detail about Lucas's kidnapping, and would let Nathan explain to them what had happened. Repeating everything more than once would only waste precious time that they didn't have.
Jonathan could tell from the tone in her voice that something was terribly wrong. When he had been told that Bridger was bringing back the Stinger and not Lucas, it confirmed some of his anxiety about the whereabouts of the missing teenager.
He still felt responsible for not being able to stop him from leaving before Bridger and Kristin had told him about the accusations made to Lucas. Then they had heard the confession Cooper had made about having some sort of involvement in framing the boy unjustly.
As Nathan headed back to the SeaQuest, a million thoughts ran though his head, all of them centered around Lucas. About everything that had happened in the last 2 days. It seemed like a whirlwind and a nightmare all mixed up together. It was almost frightening to think about how quickly their relationship had gone from one of a close bond that was now shattered.
Nathan had watched the screen as Stark had one of her henchmen administer the sedative to the boy. Instead of the anger and resentment that he had felt earlier about being lied to and accused, Bridger had only seen a plea for help and to rescue him from Stark.
It wasn't said out aloud, and Lucas had every right to feel betrayed and hurt like he had back on the island, but those bright blue eyes had looked back at the screen in confusion and fright before they drooped in sleep from the drug.
Bridger wasn't foolish enough to think that he boy would automatically forgive him once he was rescued, but he was deeply troubled by what plans Stark might have in mind for the teenager. As she herself had said, there were plenty of people driven by greed that would pay her for someone with Lucas's intelligence and abilities with computers.
Nathan ran a hand down his face, in the back of his mind wondering what concoction of drugs Stark had in the syringe and what sort of effects it might have. It had put him to sleep, but was that the only symptom that they would have to contend with once they found him?
Lucas had been hurt too much already emotionally and psychologically in the past two days let alone any physical injuries that he might sustain from his kidnappers. The two men were certainly very large, and they had already struck him with a baseball bat on his back and kicked his ribcage.
Bridger told himself that he wouldn't let that happen, banging his fist on the control panel of the Stinger in frustration that he wasn't able to maneuver it any faster. Once back aboard the SeaQuest, he would have to tell the crew about what had happened to their friend and fellow crewmate.
They would be as shocked and horrified as he had been watching it all unfold with Ben and Kristen, and the Captain was thankful that he would be able to rely on his best people to conduct such a delicate operation. Together they had to think of where Marilyn might have taken Lucas and then formulate a rescue plan that didn't endanger Lucas's life any further.
As the launch completed the short journey between Bridger's Island and the SeaQuest, Jonathan Ford was present to meet with Kristin and Ben upon their return.
"Everyone is assembled in the Ward Room, Doctor Westphalen," Ford informed her.
"Has Nathan arrived back in the Stinger yet?" she enquired. The concern about Lucas was evident on her face and her demeanour was one of worry and restlessness. She tried to hide her concern by wringing her hands together in front of her, but she couldn't be sure it was working well enough for the other crew members not to notice.
"Here I am," came a voice from behind both of them as Nathan stepped out from Docking Bay 4. "Let's not waste any time. We don't have any to spare," he said as he strode purposefully towards the Ward Room and the crew assembled there.
"Where is Lucas?" Ford asked, not knowing what had happened, but noticing his absence. For a brief moment he assumed that the efforts of the Captain, the Doctor and Krieg had not been successful in persuading the angry teenager to return to the SeaQuest.
"That is what we are here to talk about, Commander," Bridger said as he walked into the meeting room.
The other senior crew members gathered inside, greeted their superior officer, but noted the strained look on his face, and the concern showing on Doctor Westphalen and Krieg as they followed him into the Ward Room. They could sense that something wasn't right.
"I am asking for each and every one of you to help me, not as your Captain, but as your friend. I know that at the moment you are all officially on shore leave. But Lucas needs us all right now."
"Didn't he want to come back from the island, Captain?" Miguel Ortiz asked, knowing that the other people in the room had the same question.
"This has very little to do with what has already transpired between Lucas and myself earlier today or over the past few days," Bridger began to explain. "But it does exacerbate the situation we are faced with," he added, and then proceeded to tell the crew the details that he knew so far about Lucas's abduction.
"Lucas has been kidnapped," he stated plainly, pausing to see what sort of reaction was forthcoming.
"Kidnapped!" exclaimed Jonathan Ford. Bridger hadn't said anything when he arrived at the docking bay just a few moments ago.
"When the three of us arrived back on the island, someone had tampered with the security cameras that had been set up. There were two monitors were we could see what they had recorded a short time earlier," Krieg stepped in.
"They showed Lucas arriving back at the house after the argument with Nathan, and grabbing his things, and from all appearances, he was preparing to run away," Kristen informed them.
"Lucas was very upset about the fight and everything had been said to him. We know now that it was all an elaborate lie and set up against me and him, but at the moment, he still doesn't know that," Bridger continued. "He tore up the adoption papers I had drawn up between us and smashed a picture of the three of us."
The stunned silence of those in the room was evident at this statement. All present had been aware of how hard Bridger had worked towards gaining Lucas's trust to a point where they had both been comfortable accepting each other as family.
Bridger decided that the part about him crying in his room would be kept between just the three of them, without further embarrassment to the teenager. He didn't see the point in highlighting it to his friends and crewmates when what they really needed to do was find him.
"Lucas must have thought it was us coming back to the house to find him, and he tried to make a break for it, but just as he got to the door, two men stopped his escape. One at the front door and another at the back door. They were all dressed in back and one was wielding a baseball bat."
"Lucas tried to get away, but was hit with the baseball bat and kicked in the stomach by one of the men before they hauled him off to a waiting helicopter," Ben told those in the room.
"Do you know who kidnapped him, Captain?" O'Neill asked, hoping that the teenager wasn't too badly hurt by the men.
"Marilyn Stark," Bridger said simply, looking over at Ford as he utter the name.
"Stark!" Ford choked, thinking that things about Lucas being kidnapped has just gone from very bad to worse. "Why would she do that?"
"Partly to get back at me, I suppose," Bridger answered truthfully. "She knows that Lucas means a great deal to me. She was the one who paid Cooper to make it look like Lucas had stolen the launch and was drunk. She has already admitted her part in it all."
"She is pretty unpredictable, Captain," Ford pointed out, not knowing what her hostile temper, but cool and calculating mind would mean for their young teenage friend.
"She has already demonstrated that, Jonathan," Bridger remarked. "While she forced us to watch the footage, she had Lucas dragged into a room by those two big thugs. She tormented him about selling him to people like Section Seven and others, telling him that they were willing to pay a high price to gain his computer knowledge and skills."
"Captain, instead of talking about all of this, shouldn't we be out there trying to rescue Lucas now?" Ortiz asked, a little impatience creeping into his voice, but knowing that there must be a reason. Bridger wouldn't just sit by with Lucas being held by someone like Stark.
"I wish we could do just that, Miguel. But unfortunately Stark is already quite a few steps ahead of us. She drugged Lucas with a syringe and there wasn't a thing we could do about it," Bridger answered. "Marilyn wants to torment me, so she does these things to Lucas, knowing how much it tears me up inside to watch him being hurt like that."
"We could see the inside of the room where she is keeping him sedated and a prisoner, but nothing more. We didn't see the outside of the building or house. We don't know if she is holding him hundreds of miles from here, or right under our very noses," he added. "Knowing Marilyn as well as I do, I think the latter is much more plausible."
When he wakes up, Lucas is probably going to be feeling very confused and scared about everything that has happened to him," Bridger pointed out. "I just have to hope that he doesn't try to do anything foolish or rash on his own before we can find him."
"That is why I have asked you here today to help. We need to put our heads together and come up with a solution on how to find Lucas and rescue him. I am open to any and all suggestions you might have. We have to find him, and soon. There is no telling what she has planned for him."
While Bridger and his crew were trying to forge a plan:
Back to the place where Lucas was being held captive, it was approximately three hours since Lucas had been given the injection by Frank Wallis.
Outside, the day was turning into afternoon, and a thick band of cloud had begun to swirl around the isolated fortress where Lucas Wolenczak was being kept prisoner.
Marilyn Stark and her two henchmen, Frank Wallis and Bruno Fabre were in one of the larger living areas, having a meeting to discuss strategy and contingency plans for when the crew of the SeaQuest made her move. Stark wanted nothing to chance and wanted to make sure that all knew what part they were to play.
The building was constructed of dark grey coloured granite and sat in the middle of a large expanse of land. The surfaces were smooth and shiny, but the lines and the corners angular, giving the place a very foreboding presence. The interior was stylish and featured many modern pieces of furniture and bold décor.
To the rear of the property was thick scrub and bush land, with very little room between the back wall of the building and a steeply sloping concrete hillside that fell away sharply.
On the right hand side, a large protective fence line had been erected and electric wiring installed. Along this fence line at various intervals were security and surveillance cameras to monitor those coming and going from the fortress.
The left hand side was bordered by the sea.
In the front of the unwelcoming dwelling, there was a long narrow path that lead to a large stone wall that ran adjacent to the wired security fence and to the rocky shoreline. There was a large iron security gate that opened electronically and remotely when necessary.
Beyond this gate was a short expanse of lawn and then a helicopter pad. The chopper used to bring Lucas to the fortress was currently on the helipad, ready to be used again at any time Stark ordered it.
The building itself was three levels, with the living areas and kitchens downstairs, bedrooms and study on the second level and spare accommodations and a small laboratory on the top level. There was also a door way leading onto the roof, but once there the sleekness of the granite walls offered little opportunity for scaling them or climbing down.
On the second level, there were several bedroom and guest quarters. At the very rear of the property there was the room where Lucas was being kept prisoner. The furnishings within the room were rich and luxurious, in tones of the deepest red.
The bed was situated towards the middle of the room. On the far wall, there was a set of heavy glass doors, cloaked by heavy and thick curtains.
At first, Lucas found himself feeling just as he had done when waking up in the alley way back at the UEO Base. His body felt heavy and uncoordinated and he forced himself to wait a few moments until he could take stock of everything that had happened to him.
Thankfully he didn't feel sick to the stomach as he had in the alley and there was no residual or lingering nausea. His arms and legs felt weighed down and he could only assume that he had awoken too early from whatever Stark had forced on him.
He opened his eyes, slowly lifting his head and looking about the room. There was a small dull ache at the base of his head from the drug, but it was manageable. The teenager was surprised at how large the room was, noting there was quite a deal of distance between the bed and the door and then from the bed to a pair of curtains that hung against the opposite end of the room.
Lucas sat up and swung his legs off the edge of the bed, placing them on the tiled floor. His sneakers made a squeaking sound as he took a step forward. He was forced to hold onto the bedpost for a second as his body adjusted to standing up and the blood flowed to his feet.
Being cautious, he moved towards the curtains first, wanting to check what was behind them. He was surprised to see a set of darkly stained wooden doors with brass handles. He tried the handle first, assuming that it was probably locked, but it never hurt to double check. It might be an escape route.
Unfortunately his guess was right and the doors were both locked. The were several glass panels on either side, and looking through them he could see a lot of trees on one side and water on the other. There was no balcony and very little ledge that he might have been able to use if the glass panels were smashed, but he convinced himself that he had to try something to get away.
Lucas was about to try and find something to break the glass when he could hear distinct footsteps approaching the door.
He looked up and swallowed nervously, knowing it would not play out good for him if he were discovered awake or trying to work out how to escape.
The teenager moved quickly across the room, praying that he wouldn't be caught out, hearing the door unlocked. Lucas covered the distance across the room and lay back down on the bed, hoping that he was in a similar position to how he had been left after succumbing to the sedative.
The door handle turned, and Stark entered the room, followed closely her one of her two large henchmen.
Lucas forced himself to even out and slow down his breathing, feigning deep sleep. He could feel the rising of the hairs on the back of his neck as they both neared the bed.
Bruno Fabre was carrying a silver tray with a small plate of sandwiches and a glass of milk. He placed it on the bedside table, looking back at the young man who still appeared to be under the effects of the sedative that Marilyn had ordered.
The boy had been drugged almost three hours earlier, and he thought it strange that the youth hadn't moved yet.
"Should he still be asleep this long?" he asked Stark, voicing his surprise, but not wanting to cross the woman who paid him.
Marilyn ran her hand through Lucas's soft blond hair, and it took all of the teenager's will power to keep absolutely still and relaxed through the entire experience. It actually made his skin crawl, but he knew he couldn't alert her to the fact that he wasn't still sedated.
"Won't do him any harm," Stark began explaining. "It was a fairly mild sedative, but he is young, so it might tend to last longer in someone his age," she surmised in a casual tone of voice.
"Do you want him tied up when he does wake?" Fabre enquiried.
Lucas forced himself to remain still, but couldn't help but be silently alarmed at the man's suggestion. If they tied him up in any fashion, it would quickly diminish any chance of escape from this room and perhaps from Stark's clutches altogether.
"For now, no," Stark answered. "I am fairly sure two big men like yourself and Frank can handle a teenager."
"He tried to give us a hard time back on the island when we grabbed him. And he certainly fought against getting the needle when I was holding onto him," Fabre reminded her.
"If he gives any trouble this time, just dose him again and make it stronger if necessary," Stark commented casually, thinking that at the moment she could handle and take care of any situation or loose ends.
"Understood," Fabre replied with little emotion in his voice.
Lucas panicked inwardly, knowing that he didn't want to be sedated again either. He was still feeling some of the effects from the first needle that had been jabbed into him and he inwardly shuddered what a stronger dose would do to him.
His shoulder was still quite painful from where the bat had struck him and his side was darkening by the minute from the kick he had received from Frank Wallis.
"Don't worry, I intend to get full value for our young prisoner here," Marilyn remarked. "Bridger was talking about money and I fully intend to collect on this young man financially, but more importantly to be there and see the look on Nathan's face when the boy is killed right in front of him."
"All the mighty Captain Bridger is going to get is a dwindling bank account and a body for all of his troubles, and a lifetime of heartache," Stark swore cruelly.
The blond woman walked to the door, preparing to leave the room.
"Just make sure that he doesn't leave this room, even when he does wake up eventually. Bridger knows that we have him, but I want to make him sweat some more."
"Aren't you worried that Bridger is going to come looking for the kid?" Fabre asked.
"Oh, I am sure he will. In fact I am counting on it, but not just yet. As long as I have this boy, then I hold all the aces.
Bridger wouldn't dare try and attack us here, for fear of hurting this boy," Marilyn explained, a smug grin on her face.
Bruno looked down at the sleeping teenager on the bed after Stark closed the door.
"I still owe you for that kick to my face yet kid," he said out loud, not thinking that Lucas heard the comments.
When it was clear to him that the boy wasn't awake, he left the room, locking it behind him and situating himself not far away from it.
Back at the SeaQuest in the Ward Room:
Ben Krieg was getting as frustrated as the Captain with the problems they faced about knowing where Lucas was being held to make a rescue attempt. He got up from the table and paced about the room trying to get rid of some of the tension that was building up inside.
The longer they had to wait, the more unsettled he became. Bridger was sitting at the head of the table with this hand over his eyes, carefully going over everything that they had seen in the footage on the monitor's back at the island. Hoping that a missed clue would be detected and they would find the vital piece of information that they so desperately needed.
"We can't just sit here, Captain!" Krieg announced loudly, knowing it was nobody's fault, but finding it harder and harder to wait idly and do nothing.
"I know how you feel, Ben. This is hard for me too. For all of us in this room. I can't help but think what Lucas might be going through right now. But we don't have any ideas of where he is. If we go out blindly and start searching just anywhere, it might mean missing a vital clue that might lead us to the right spot."
"I say we go down to the Brig and drag Cooper out and beat the heck out of him until he spills his guts about where Lucas is," Krieg suggested, "Just go down there and beat him until he tells us what we want to know." he repeated determinedly.
The Lieutenant knew that his methods wouldn't achieve much. But they would certainly make him feel a hell of a lot better though and burn off some excess steam in the process. The waiting and lack of being able to do anything was driving him nuts.
"For once, I agree with you Ben, but you know as well as I do, that UEO policy forbids us engaging in any illegal assault of a prisoner whilst he is aboard the SeaQuest," O'Neill pointed out.
"UEO Policy, Tim!" Ben shouted back. "What the hell is that policy doing for Lucas right now, huh?"
There was a brief pause as Krieg got his temper under control, "I am sorry Tim, I should not have snapped at you like that. I know you are worried about Lucas as much as the rest of us."
It was Commander Ford who stepped forward with a proposal, "I have an idea……… but I am not sure how it is going to be perceived, especially after just hearing your outburst, Ben."
"Tell us," Bridger said anxiously, standing up from his chair as he addressed the younger officer.
"You are not going to like it …………..," he tried to forewarn.
"Just spit it out, Ford," Krieg ordered in a demanding tone of voice, but immediately gave him an apologetic look as he saw the shocked faces of the other crew members of how he had spoken to the Commander.
Ford appeared to ignore Krieg's tone for the most part, knowing that it was concern for Lucas that was driving his emotions and actions as well as his words.
"I think we need to do exactly the opposite of what Krieg just suggested," Ford commented. "Normally I wouldn't hesitate in getting the man to speak, but if we scare him and he clams up he might never tell us where Lucas is being held. At the moment he is the only clue we have to go on."
"There is the real chance of course that Cooper doesn't even really know where Lucas is being held," Ortiz remarked.
"No, but at the moment Stark is his meal ticket, and you heard yourself that he aims to collect on the money she owes him. He may or may not be aware of where she is keeping Lucas, or that he was even kidnapped in the first place. But a hunch tells me that he will know where to find her," Bridger added into the discussion.
Kristin had been listening intently to the exchanges in the room, but had yet to make a contribution. She would of course, when the moment required it, but for now, she focused her energies on working as a team to find Lucas.
She couldn't help but wonder how the teenager was and pray that he wasn't being hurt further. Having to watch Lucas being kidnapped and hurt, and trying to be there in support of Nathan was draining her emotionally and physically. She knew she would need to be strong for a while yet.
"What do you propose we do then Jonathan?" Bridger asked, taking heed of the man's opinion that they were not going to like his idea very much.
"If it's alright with you Captain, my idea begins with letting Cooper go………., " was all Jonathan managed to get out before he was barraged from others within the room.
"LET HIM GO!" they said almost in unison with disbelief in their voices from Miguel, but even more so from Ben.
"How can you even think of letting him go, Commander" O'Neill asked, his voice sounding very dubious to the whole suggestion.
"Like I was saying before I was interrupted……," he said with emphasis, "If we let him go and then follow Cooper back to the place where they are holding Lucas," he continued.
"He might lead us to the right to Stark's hideout," Bridger said as he worked out Ford's plan in his own mind. He had to admit that the idea was a pretty sharp and brash one. He just hoped that it worked out to their expectations. If anything should go wrong then he feared that Lucas would possibly be the one to feel the consequences.
"I know your anxious to get going Captain, but we have to give Cooper a little bit of a head start once he is released from here. If we don't then we might make the mistake of letting him know that he is being followed. He might not lead us to Lucas at all after that," Jonathan warned.
"Do it Commander," Bridger said, knowing they were taking a risk, but knowing that Lucas's life was at stake, they had little choice. It was the only plausible way they were going to find the missing teenager until Stark made her next move.
"Tim, keep an eye on communications at all times during this. Stark might decide to make another ransom demand," Bridger ordered.
"Miguel, I want you and Ben to organize any equipment that we might need for a rescue operation. Make it lightweight and transportable because we don't know how far we have to travel yet," he instructed Ortiz and Krieg.
"We will be ready, Captain," Ben promised. "Anything special that we should pack or bring with us?"
"No, but we will use two of the small inflatable rubber boats with motors. They will be quick and maneuverable in the water, but easy enough to hide away somewhere if we need to. We don't know whether Lucas is going to be awake or not when we find him, and we may need the extra boat to bring him back to SeaQuest."
"What makes you think that Cooper will take a water route, Captain?" O'Neill queried, worried that they might be unprepared if the man decided to take an alternative method of transport away from SeaQuest.
"I can't be one hundred percent sure, Tim, but when they took Lucas, they did so by helicopter. Which tells me that either they were planning to travel a fair way by air, or they were not able to get there by road."
"Like I said, if I was a betting man, I would put money on the fact that Marilyn is still somewhere fairly close. She is the type of person that knows how to strategically plan ahead and know where her enemy is coming from. I taught her that. She would be wanting to know in which direction her opposition was coming and be able to observe them from some distance away first."
"Which means that wherever she held up, might be surrounded by water?" Ford commented, beginning to get the gist of the Captain's assumptions based on Marilyn's ego and her abilities to evade anybody if she so chose.
"Exactly," Bridger replied.
"Kristin, can you pack some basic medical supplies and be ready to go at a moment's notice?" the Captain asked the doctor.
"I will be ready with anything you need," Kristin replied, knowing that Nathan was relying on her as much as the rest of the crew. They were all determined to make sure that this rescue operation went as smoothly as possible.
"Commander, go and do what you have to. Somehow you have to convince him that he has been given time off for good behaviour without sugar coating it too much for him to get suspicious," Bridger instructed.
Ford left for the Brig as required, trying to come up with a good enough story as he walked down the serious of corridors.
With Ford leaving the room, Bridger trying to put his mind to work on their supplies was the only way the Captain could stop thinking about all of the things that might go wrong with the Commander's plan. Everything seemed to hinge on somebody that they had little knowledge of and had only been aboard SeaQuest as lowly ranked personnel.
He may very well be putting Lucas's life in the hands of a stranger like Cooper and that didn't sit very comfortably with him at the moment.
"How are you doing in there Cooper?" Commander Ford asked in a no-nonsense tone of voice as he approached the small security window of the Brig door. Despite all of his training and military knowledge, inside his stomach was twisting and turning into huge knots about what he was about to do.
"How do you reckon I'm doing kept in this God forsaken jail cell of yours?" came the reply full of spitefulness.
"Well now, I was going to tell you about a change in events that might just see you walk out of here, but if you are going to be nothing by gnarly, maybe you don't want to hear what I've got to say," Ford said trying to bluff his way through the conversation.
There was silence from the prisoner himself but a look of doubtfulness and confusion written all over Cooper's face as he wondered what the Commander was getting at.
"Let's hear it then," Cooper asked gruffly.
"Now, now Ensign, is that how we address a superior officer in the UEO?" Ford said, a part of him still wanting the man to respect his position and talk to him like he expected any crew member aboard the SeaQuest.
Inside the cell, Cooper stood up as he rolled his eyes at the Commander's by the book stance on manners and addressing Officers. It wasn't something new, which was on Ford's side and it didn't rouse suspicion in the man as he approached the small security window in the door.
"Can you please tell me what this is all about, Sir?" Cooper asked, curling his tongue to make the title have as much sarcasm as possible.
"Captain Bridger is prepared to let you go without charge," Ford said, knowing that Cooper would probably be astute enough to sniff out a plot if he dragged the conversation out too long.
"Without charge?" Cooper asked cautiously, clearly surprised by the Captain's sudden turn around after having him thrown in the Brig only a few hours earlier.
"There are of course some conditions attached," Ford informed him.
"Of course…….," Cooper commented, knowing this would be the case. "But why the sudden change of heart?"
This is where Ford found himself having to put on his best acting skills, "Captain Bridger was under a lot of strain earlier as you probably noticed and he apologises for his outburst back in the loading bay."
Cooper was still looking a little unconvinced and Ford found himself having to add to the story quickly to keep up the rouse.
"Bridger saw Lucas back on his island and they are trying to work out things right at this moment," Ford said, his statement containing bits of the truth but made up after that. Bridger had seen the teenager back on the island, Cooper just didn't need to know that it was on a security monitor and not in person.
"You mean he found the kid?" Cooper asked, clearly surprised. Something must have went wrong on Stark's part and she messed up and failed to grab the kid like she had planned he thought to himself.
"Yes, but the situation is still a little rocky," Ford answered, "So I would appreciate it if you could give them a little space that they need right now."
"Oh don't worry, Commander, as soon as you let me out of here, you won't see me again until shore leave is finished," Cooper promised. He failed to add that he probably wasn't planning on coming back to this miserable two bit job if Stark kept her end of the bargain with the money she owed him.
"As soon as I let you out of the Brig, I want your word firstly and then you ready with your gear in less than fifteen minutes to leave SeaQuest," Ford ordered. "If you are not ready or don't agree with what I just said, or otherwise you won't have to bother about me letting you out of this cell and I will find something to hold you on. Do you understand me?"
"You got it, Sir," Cooper said, scarcely believing that he was getting the opportunity to get off SeaQuest without any trouble. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and ask any further stupid questions about why Bridger had changed his mind.
Cooper had been looking forward to dishing out a little 'payback' to the teenager though when he met up with Stark. Probably wouldn't get that chance now if she didn't have him, but that was the least of his concerns for the moment. He had to make sure that he was far enough away from the SeaQuest before the Captain had a chance to come to his senses and come looking for him again.
Ford unlocked the cell door and swung it open for the former prisoner to walk out of the Brig. He released the handcuffs from Cooper's wrists and the man rubbed at them to gain some circulation back into his hands. He didn't linger much longer though, and the Commander watched him scurry away to his quarters to gather his gear.
A few minutes later, the crew members in the Ward Room, watched through a surveillance monitor as Cooper left the docking bay off SeaQuest. The man had his standard issue UEO bag with him, similar to the one that Lucas had dropped in the hallway.
Ben was watching the man with his hands clenched in fists at his side, feeling like a ratfink after what this guy had admitted doing to Lucas. "I can't believe we are just letting this guy go!" he said in an annoyed voice.
"I know how you feel, Ben," Bridger tried to reassure him, "But we need him to lead us to Lucas. That is the only reason that I allowed him to walk off this boat. Don't worry after we find Lucas and he is back safe with us, Mr Cooper will be headed back to the Brig."
"You better be right about that, Captain. Because as of this moment, we are on shore leave, and I cease to be the Supply and Morale Officer. If I come across Cooper again before we set off on the new tour, I am going to just be plain old bare knuckles Ben Kreig," the Lieutenant commented, smacking one of his fists into the other open palm for emphasis of what he meant.
"Is everyone assembled and ready to go with the equipment, Miguel?" Bridger asked is Sensor Chief.
"Ready, Captain," Ortiz confirmed.
While Bridger spoke to the crew, Tim O'Neill kept a close vigil on the screen, watching the man's movements.
All had changed into durable uniforms and had on bullet proof vests. Each carried a hand gun and some semi-automatic rifles. They knew that Stark wasn't one to go into battle against the UEO without a strike force of her own.
"Remember this is still a rescue mission, and Lucas must come first. Hold you fire until you are absolutely sure that it is necessary. This woman is capable of anything and will stop at nothing to achieve her own goals first. She won't hesitate to hurt Lucas further or one of you if she feels that you become an immediate threat."
"Once Lucas is found safe, then our alternative objective is to round up Stark and her entourage and arrest them for the kidnapping. They are to be brought back here for UEO authorities to sort out," Bridger reminded them.
"I want to maintain a safe distance between us and Cooper so as not to alert him to our presence, but keep him in sight at all times. If he gets wise to us and tries to ditch us, then we will have no choice but to force him to tell us where he is headed to, but I will not let him get away entirely before knowing where Stark is keeping Lucas," Bridger explained.
"When we get a firmer position on Stark's hideout, then we will probably have to formulate a plan of how we are going to get into the place," Ford surmised. Bridger and the others nodded their heads in acknowledgement of that suggestion.
"We are in luck at the moment, Sir," Tim began as he kept watching Cooper on the screen. "It took him the few minutes while you were talking to reach the car park a short distance from the SeaQuest. He has back tracked some and is now headed for the mariner. Probably looking to get hold of a boat."
"Okay, that's our queue. Let's get those inflatable boats out there close to the pier and wait to see where he is leading us," the Captain said.
The crew members left the Ward Room and headed to the Docking Bay and then off SeaQuest. Miguel was to man one of the rubber boats with Kristin and Bridger with him. Commander Ford had Tim O'Neill and Ben Krieg aboard their small inflatable craft.
While they had their boats tucked behind some of the larger boats, waiting for Cooper to show himself and in which direction he was headed, Kristin looked up and noted the ominously dark clouds that had begun to form overhead.
The wind had begun to blow and a tropical storm was showing signs of beginning to form. It probably wouldn't strike for another couple of hours, but it was something to keep them on their toes while they were in such light-weight boats. It wouldn't take long for the wind to make the water choppier and hamper their efforts to reach wherever Cooper was headed to.
For the moment there was still ample light to see where they were going and they had to hope that the storm would hold off until they had found Lucas.
Looking over at Nathan, Kristin observed him as he looked around and smiled at her, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance that everything would work out as they had planned and that Lucas would soon be back safe with them.
She then saw the determined look from the Captain, together with the formidable expressions held by Ben Krieg and the other crew members and knew that all present were committed as much as possible to the task of finding and rescuing Lucas. None of them were in the mood for idle talk. They all had one thing in mind, finding their missing crew member and friend.
Approximately ten minutes later, they spotted Cooper heading out from between to larger boats berthed at the pier. Unfortunately they had to allow him to get some distance ahead before they could follow behind. They kept a sharp eye on his progress and direction the whole time.
As soon as Bridger gave the signal, the two boats headed out after Cooper, headed in a westerly direction.
back at Marilyn's fortress:
This time the world was coming back to Lucas very slowly. He couldn't tell if he was still asleep or awake, somewhere in between he guessed. On that higher plateau between consciousness and being unaware of one's surroundings.
The teenager tried to let the gray veil lift a little before trying to think any more. His head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool and everything around him felt incredibly heavy. He was still trying to figure out where he was and why and why the hell he hurt.
Then all of a sudden, he awoke with a start, realising that he had allowed himself to drift back to sleep after Bruno Fabre had relocked the door. He hadn't wanted to do that and knew that every second he delayed in trying to get out of the room counted against him. It only felt like he had lost half an hour or so, and he had to pray that he wasn't much more time than that.
His shoulder felt stiff and he winced slightly as he changed his position on the bed. Lifting his t-shirt and looking down at his side where he had been kicked, he could see the bruising to spread from the front and using his fingers, probed the skin to determine that it continued around to his back.
It was tender to the touch, but when he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, he couldn't feel any sharp discomfort or pain that might suggest one or more of his ribs were cracked as a result. He had had broken ribs before and thankfully this didn't feel quite as bad as that for the moment.
He was under no illusion though that it would hurt more if he started moving too quickly, but for the moment, he had to put all physical injuries aside as much as possible as he tried to figure out a way to escape.
There were a lot of other thoughts running through his head at the moment as well, about what had happened between him and the Captain and Kristin. He had heard Stark taunting Bridger and other comments made about the incidents being a set up, but he hadn't put all the pieces together yet.
Deep down he didn't know how he felt about it all. He certainly didn't want the relationship between him and the Captain to be over, but he couldn't deny the betrayal that he had felt back on the island or how nobody had wanted to hear his side of the story.
He had no knowledge of what happened after he had left the SeaQuest in the Stinger and what had transpired between Bridger, Ben and the crew. Nor any of Cooper's confession about his involvement and being paid to carry out Stark's orders.
Set up or not, the hurt in his heart about being unfairly accused was still very real, but for now would have to be put aside until more urgent matters were attended to.
Lucas spied the tray that had been left earlier. Carefully lifting the tea towel that covered the contents, underneath there was a sandwich and a glass of milk. His stomach growled in hunger, knowing it had been some hours since he had eaten or drank anything.
He told himself that he couldn't drink the milk because that was the most likely place Stark would put something if she wanted to drug or sedate him again without using a syringe. They would conceal it in something like the milk.
The sandwich looked harmless enough, not exactly what he would have chosen from the menu, but he picked up one half
and ate slowly. Once finished, he didn't dare spend the time eating the second half, but started asking himself what he was going to do to get out of the room.
It was while he was looking at the uneaten portion of the sandwich still sitting on the plate that he metal of the tray shimmered back at him. He removed the china plate and picked up the silver tray. It was metal and might pack enough
of a wallop to one of the guards if he got it right the first time. It might give him just the edge he needed to get away before they could stop him.
As he stood up and went to cross the floor, Lucas heard the squeaking of his sneakers that had happened earlier across the highly polished wooden floors. He paused a moment and wondered what to do about the noise. He knew that a certain amount of stealth would be needed if he was going to overpower his assailant.
Regretfully he sat back down on the bed and removed his sneakers and socks. He didn't have a backpack or bag to take them with him and they would be an unnecessary burden whilst he tried to get away and might slow him down. He had to hope that somehow he would be able to return for them at later point.
Padding across the floor in his bare feet, Lucas took up position behind the door, making sure which way it would swing open when it was unlocked and hoping that his aim was accurate. He only had one shot at this and it had to count.
Bruno Fabre had been sitting in a chair a short distance from the door where Stark was keeping the kid locked up. Nothing had been heard from the room for the last forty minutes since he had left and he assumed that the teenager was still knocked out.
So it came as a complete surprise when he heard a voice coming from inside, "I need some help in here, please mister."
Fabre listened for a moment thinking he was mistaken when Lucas repeated the sentence, "Come on, I really need some help in here," he pleaded in a meek voice.
"Hang on kid, what's the problem?" Nobody else was about, so he would have to deal with whatever was wrong.
The door was unlocked and swung back, concealing Lucas's presence. When Fabre entered the room, he was greeted by what seemed like an empty room.
"Where are you kid?" Fabre said, stunned that the room looked vacant.
He was about to panic that the kid had somehow gotten out and turned back towards the door, ready to head out and inform Stark. "Damn little bastard has gotten out." he muttered under his breath.
As he took a step forward, he was startled by something striking him on the head. Lucas had swung the tray with two hands with as much force as he could, hoping to knock the guy out. But was dismayed to see the huge man still standing.
Fabre was dazed, and put a confused hand to his head as he looked back and saw the teenager emerge from near the door.
"What………?" was all he managed to get out when he felt something strike him a second time.
"Damn little bastard says take that!" Lucas declared, noting that the centre of the serving tray was now buckled as he tossed it aside.
The second blow drove the man to his knees, but he still wasn't unconscious. Lucas couldn't believe that it still hadn't worked, but wasn't sticking around to try a third time. There was no telling where the other man was or Stark herself.
"Sorry, but got to go," Lucas said hurriedly and went out the opened door. Pausing for a brief second it was difficult to know which direction to take. It was the first time he had been here and the layout of the building confused him.
To his right there was a short step down to a much larger area which looked like a living room of a house.
To his left, there was a step up and then short distance to a set of double glass doors. Beyond these doors was a thick wall and then a staircase. This was where he headed, not knowing where the stairs would take him.
As he reached the top, he came to a narrow door way. When he opened it, he found himself outside, quite high up on a rooftop.
"What happened, Mr Fabre," Stark said as she entered the prisoner's room only a few minutes after Lucas had ascended the stairs. The man was still trying to gather his bearings as a trickle of blood smeared across his forehead.
"Kid was calling out to me Miss Stark. I thought he had gotten out, but when I turned around, he hit me on the head with something. Twice." he relayed as best he could.
"Damn it!" Stark shouted in annoyance, barely giving the injured man a thought. "Wallis get in here," she ordered.
Frank Wallis came into the room quickly surveying what had happened and able to make his own assumptions, "What do you want me to do?"
"I want that kid found and dragged back in here, NOW! But don't kill him, we need him alive," she reminded him. "That doesn't mean you have to go soft on him though," she said with a cruel grin.
"Yes, ma'am," Wallis responded as he knew what she meant, pulling out a pistol. He was also carrying a knife if he needed to use it.
"What do you want to do about him?" Wallis asked about Bruno. Fabre was now laying on the floor, close to being unconscious like Lucas had wanted. It had just taken a few more minutes for the blows to take effect.
"Forget him, he isn't of much use now," Stark said casually, barely glancing at the man laying on the floor behind her.
Both she and Wallis exited the room and stood in the corridor wondering which direction the teenager might have fled in.
Whilst Stark and Wallis were just learning of his brazen escape, Lucas was walking about on the rooftop, trying to find a way down. Unfortunately as he walked on all four sides of the building, all he was seeing was a sheer drop down to hard ground on three sides.
On the fourth side there was a large expanse of treetops, which effectively cut of any means of escape that way as well.
The wind was growing colder as the clouds overhead darkened. It was almost nightfall, and the breeze blew into his face harshly, blowing back his hair and putting a chill through him. His thin t-shirt and jeans offered little resistant to the cold. The air felt moist, as though it might rain any moment.
Being so high up, Lucas walked as close as he dared towards the edge of the building, trying to peer over the side to see if there were any ledges or other footholds that he might be able to use and climb down. The feeling of vertigo that he got was strong, and his phobia of heights began to surface.
There were no external ladders or railings or anything that might be to his advantage. He had climbed the stairs up here, and now with the time he had wasted trying to find a way down, he might have lost the opportunity of getting away.
It quickly became apparent that he would have to retrace his steps back down the staircase and find another way out of the building from the inside. And by now there was the very real chance that he would be spotted and Stark and her men could be anywhere downstairs waiting to grab him.
There was nothing for it though, he had to take the risk and go back down the stairs to find another exit.
He was about half way down the stairs when he spotted Stark and one of her men standing outside the room where he had been locked up. Unfortunately there was little he could do to mask his presence and they soon spotted him.
"There he is," Wallis shouted, as they saw the teenager. The man raised his weapon and pointed it at the kid, but Stark quickly intervened and pushed the barrel of the gun away from the direct line of fire.
"No, I said we need him alive for now," Stark shouted at him.
It was during this brief exchange between Marilyn and her sidekick that Lucas was able to scramble down the rest of the stairs and conceal himself away near the double set of glass doors. These doors separated the different levels of the corridor from each other. He was currently squashed up between the wall and where the frame of the door started.
About four or five metres away, adjacent to these doors was another narrower hallway. Lucas looked back at it in the hope that he might be able to distract Stark long enough to head down it, giving himself a better chance of getting away.
"We have to do something," Wallis said angrily to Stark, raising the weapon again in a threatening manner towards Lucas.
He understood that the kid was worth a lot of money, but they had to hold onto him first and stop him from escaping.
"Shoot the glass," Stark suddenly suggested in a whispered tone, noting something about the boy as she was him crouched behind the niche.
"Why?" Wallis demanded to know, thinking that the woman wasn't even thinking straight. Shooting at the glass to scare the kid wasn't going to achieve much if that was her only plan.
"Just do what I say," she ordered, giving him a cold hard stare that she meant business.
Lucas could see Stark talking to the man with the gun, but was not able to hear everything she was saying to him as he took a second to look out from behind his hiding place. Thankfully the wall he was leaning against was made of thick concrete and offered a little protection.
Wallis shrugged his shoulders, still thinking that the woman was nuts, but released the safety on the pistol and aimed his weapon at the glass doors like he was told and began firing.
The noise was deafening as the first bullets struck, splintering and shattering the glass panels so loudly that Lucas was forced to put his hands over his ears and bow his head towards his knees to shield his eyes.
Lucas was surprised at why the guy was shooting at the glass as well, but wasn't stopping to ask questions, and no sooner had the shooting ceased, he took the only chance he was going to get, and went to run past the doors towards down the narrow corridor.
In his haste, the teenager didn't take any notice of the floor at first and how it was littered with glass shards of all shapes and sizes. He soon found out though and yelled out in pain as he felt a number of stinging sensations to the bottom of his feet. He looked down and now saw the broken slivers and pieces of glass that the bullets had created from the panels of the door.
Managing to put his fingers near the handles of the door and flicking the lock. It wasn't much with the doors blown to hell, but it might buy him a few more seconds. Some of the glass panels in the middle of the doors were shattered only, giving meaning that Wallis and Stark would still have to smash the rest of the glass out to unlock the doors before following him.
Because the glass panels higher up and towards the bottom on the doors had been shot from the opposite side, most of the glass landed on Lucas's side of the door and that is why he found it as an obstacle now as he tried to escape into the narrower hallway.
Lucas hobbled a few more metres down the narrow hallway, clenching his teeth at the pain from his feet. His original intention had been to reach a doorway he could see down the far end. He didn't know where it lead to, but any distance he could put between himself and Stark was a bonus.
Unfortunately it became abundantly clear that he was never going to be able to go much further until he looked at his injured feet, so he choose to dive through the first available doorway, making sure that he locked it behind him. He had wanted to barricade the door further with a chair or a desk, but his feet were protesting loudly.
Stark and Wallis were still outside the locked double glass doors. Wallis was beginning to punch out the remaining panels to enable him to get to the lock.
"You keep going here and inform me when you are through," Stark said, not intending to take any further part.
"I thought you wanted to capture the kid," Frank challenged as he lost his temper when a piece of glass cut into his hand.
"I do, but that is what I pay you for Mr Wallis isn't it," Stark replied calmly, not phased by his aggressive outburst.
"Honestly, I thought I had hired the best when I paid you and Mr Fabre, but obviously I was wrong about that," she spoke down to him.
"Remember to bring him back alive. There are not too many places the boy can hide and there is no way for him to make it off this piece of rock unless he wants to take a swim in the surrounding water."
Wallis grumbled further under his breath as he watched the woman turn and walk away. He was beginning to wonder if her money was truly worth all the effort and her continual abuse. Angrily he smashed out another panel, only two more to go and he would be able to break through and reach the lock.
"You are going to regret this kid," he swore, as the cut on his hand began to bleed and sting. When he got his hands on that boy he was going to make him pay for his discomfort.
back out on the water:
For the last half an hour or so, Bridger was pleased with their progress as they followed behind Cooper, hopefully leading them to Lucas. Unfortunately the light from the sky was quickly fading and visibility was now very poor.
The wind was gusting and strong, but thankfully the storm that had been predicted earlier had failed to eventuate. The dark clouds were still overhead and threatened with rain at any moment though and that would only hamper their rescue efforts further.
"Can you still see him up ahead," Bridger shouted to Ortiz over the strong breeze that buffeted them. In the small inflatable crafts that they were in, they were beginning to be tossed about like corks.
"No, Sir, I could still see him a minute or so, but now I can't get a fix on him," Miguel replied, trying to squint through the wind and the darkening sky to see their target.
Commander Ford's boat was nearby, but not close enough for them to be able to talk. With the wind picking up by the minute, the Captain doubted they would hear him yelling anyway.
Jonathan Ford too was having trouble maneuvering the small boat with the wind, but he did still think he could see Cooper's craft, despite the deteriorating conditions. He was a few metres ahead of Bridger, the doctor and Ortiz.
"Ford seems to know where Cooper is headed to," Ortiz shouted back to Bridger over the breeze.
"Keep following him then, Miguel," Bridger told him as he put his hand on Kristin to reassure her once more that they were making progress.
The doctor's hands were cold, but her determination of finding Lucas still strong. She wouldn't give up until they had exhausted all possibilities. She wasn't about to leave the teenager in the hands of someone like Marilyn Stark.
"Hold on, Lucas, we are coming," Bridger said to himself, trying to block out the images of the boy being restrained and then drugged. "Just hold on a little longer……….. I will find you."
back in the small room Lucas had gone into:
Upon looking at the furniture in the room he had stumbled into, Lucas made the assumption that it was some kind of office.
There was a large oak table on the other side, book shelves and a long visitors couch.
It was this couch that Lucas sat on as he lifted his left foot to survey the damage from the glass. The bottom of his feet were covered in blood and he had left a trail of bloody footprints from the doorway across the room. He winced as he brushed away some of the small shards of glass that were embedded into the sole of his foot.
The stinging sensation was growing and with some of the glass removed, fresh bleeding began. By now his hands were also covered in blood, but he couldn't find anything he could use to wipe it away. He was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and couldn't afford to use his shirt given the cold conditions that he had experienced up on the rooftop.
When he was satisfied with the left foot, he placed it back down on the floor and picked up his right foot. It was clear by the stickiness underneath that the glass had penetrated the skin more. He could see a much larger shard of glass in a gash in the centre of his foot, and has to clamp down on his teeth to keep from screaming out as he withdrew it with his fingers.
The bleeding started again from this gash and was a little more substantial than the other cuts. This wound was going to need covering if not more attention at a later time. He didn't know if it was going to need stitches or not, but it hurt like hell at the moment.
Lucas looked about the room, wondering what he could use to stop the bleeding, but there wasn't any cloths or towels or anything else of use within the room. But before he could get up and start searching some of the drawers and cabinets in the room, the door knob began to turn…….
The teenager jumped in fright, knowing that there were very places in here to hide. And he didn't have much time before the door would be broken open. He wouldn't even have time now to use the desk as a barricade.
Wallis turned and twisted the door knob, cursing as he found it locked. But at least it confirmed to him where the kid had gone to and where he was now hiding.
The man had learnt from what had happened to Bruno that the kid might be waiting on the other side of the door, ready to hit him with something as soon as he got the door open.
Painfully, the teenager stood up, trying to think quickly of how to get out of this mess. His feet were still bleeding and sticking slightly to the polished wooden floor.
Lucas was startled by the noise and found himself caught with no where to go as a shot was fired at the lock on the door by his kidnapper.
There was no where to go as the broken door began to swing open and he could see the barrel of a pistol poking through……..
to be continued …………………….
Author Notes: Sorry but had to leave it there – honest LOL
I have added a fair bit more to this plot – which is why I left it here – as there is more to come in the next chapter – trust me – nothing is ever like it seems in my stories – you should all know that by now.
Thank you too to criminally-charmed who inspired the scenario with the broken glass and Lucas's bare feet. Appreciate your ideas when I needed something extra for the story. It was a bit lame how I had Lucas taking off his shoes – but had to have bare feet somehow.
Mr Cooper will be coming back in the next chapter – and the SeaQuest crew have yet to arrive – should be rather interesting once they are all together don't you think.
Another reason for cutting this chapter off – was that I am still in two minds as to what to do with Marilyn Stark – keep her for another day – or kill her off – haven't fully made up my mind yet.
Hope you are liking and reading – please let me know what you think. Next story to be updated is A PERFECT WORLD but it has taken more time because of all the new characters that need introducing.
After that – I have no idea – there is no method to my madness as you probably know by now.
JULES