Thanks for the reviews. I hope you're enjoying this. I know it's different to my others but I don't want to write lots of stories that are the same.

Chapter Four

Lucas lay back on his bunk and stared at the paper in his hand. It was covered in a smooth, looping scrawl and it was starting to tear along the crease lines as he had read it and reread it so many times over the last month. He knew Ben had written it while locked up in the brig. What he didn't know was that Ben had wondered at the time if he would ever get to see Lucas again. Was he writing a final farewell?

He couldn't believe it had been a whole thirty four days since Ben left. Even though the letter said he would contact Lucas, there hadn't been any word at all. It was as though he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Nobody else seemed to be counting but it was a part of Lucas' nature to keep track of things. He held the pages back up in the air and began to read again.

Dear Lucas,

I know it seems like a coward's way out to have Captain Bridger pass this on to you but I just don't trust myself to tell you what I want to say face to face. When you first came aboard I was one of those who thought you didn't belong on the seaQuest. You soon changed my mind for me and I was glad you had come. I never met anybody quite like you and I count myself lucky to have called you a friend. Most of my favourite memories of my time on seaQuest involve you in some way.

I can't begin to explain what went wrong but my biggest regret is that I feel I let you down. I was embarrassed by the mess I had created and I just wanted to shut everyone out. I know I hurt you and you have no idea how sorry I am for that. I appreciate that you tried to help me in spite of my behavior. I only hope you will one day be able to forgive me.

I don't know where I'm going from here but I will contact you soon and let you know what's happening. Right now I just need some space to get my head around life outside the UEO. Who knows, I might become a door to door salesman. I've got enough supply contacts!

Lucas, I know you well enough to know you may feel the need to say something to defend me. Loyalty is a great quality, just make sure the object of your loyalty deserves it. Don't go getting yourself into trouble on my account. I deserved the guilty finding so don't give Captain Bridger or Commander Ford a hard time over it. Your relationship with Bridger is too important to jeopardize because of me. And it's not worth the agro of getting on Ford's bad side! Trust me, I know.

Take care of yourself kid and whatever happens I will never forget you.

Your friend always,

Ben

Lucas carefully folded the worn paper back up and stuffed it down between his bunk and the wall. It wasn't as though he thought anyone would take it but he just wanted to keep it someplace secret, as though by doing so he could continue the secret hope that Ben was somehow coming back. He rolled back over onto his side and caught sight of the old baseball cap on his desk. A lump caught in his throat as he recalled how much Ben loved baseball. It was one of the things they had in common.

Thirty four days and it seemed as though everyone had forgotten Ben even existed. At first there had been plenty of talk in the mess but gradually life had returned to normal. Things were too busy around here to stay focussed on old news for long. After his angry outburst towards the captain and Ford, Lucas had tried to avoid them both. It was an impossible task in the confines of a submarine, even one as large as seaQuest. Lucas knew he had overstepped the mark but had no idea how to fix things.

For his part, Ford had decided that Lucas needed some space to cool off and had left him alone but Bridger wasn't prepared to let the silent treatment go on forever. He had reminded Lucas that he was a part of the crew and needed to behave accordingly. He tried to make opportunities for Lucas to talk to him but the teenager seemed to retreat into himself. It seemed that all the gains of the last eighteen months had just been wiped away.

In desperation, Bridger had called on O'Neill and Ortiz to help but they had said much the same thing. Lucas had taken the captain's words about responsibility to heart and was pulling his weight but it seemed that the spark had gone out of him. He wasn't interested in anything outside his shift and only seemed to spend time with Darwin. Bridger had even found himself on the receiving end of a dolphin telling off! Darwin didn't understand the complexities of the situation but he did know that Lucas was miserable and it was somehow Bridger's fault.

Even Doctor Westphalen had become concerned about the teenager as he seemed to be losing weight. It was hard to tell under those loose layers of clothing but his face looked thinner and she knew he wasn't eating in the mess with his friends. That usually equated to he wasn't eating at all. She had taken her concerns to the captain but he seemed at a loss as to what to do. He couldn't tell her what was going on either and hated having to keep secrets from people he cared so much about.

He longed to be able to tell Lucas the truth about Ben and found he had to watch every word he said around him. Lucas picked up on it but misread it as the captain treating him with kid gloves. The one thing he resented most was being treated as a child and he never thought that Bridger would do it to him. But then he never thought Ben would leave either. Funny how things change.

Thirty four days earlier…

When Crocker took Ben to shore it had been a very uncomfortable trip. The handcuffs had finally been removed as they boarded the shuttle and the security chief seemed embarrassed about the whole thing. Of all the things he had ever had to do in his job, this was by far the hardest.

He tried several times to strike up a conversation but it quickly fizzled out. Ben didn't seem inclined to talk so Crocker left him to his thoughts. He kept replaying the look on Lucas' face as he boarded the shuttle.

"Please God, don't let that be the last time I see him."

He tried to push the thought away and focus instead on the job ahead of him. He slowly leaned down and touched the bag at his side. All UEO identification had been stripped from his things as he no longer belonged to them. At least officially. They were only fifteen minutes out from port and he needed to make his way to the co-ordinates Bridger had given him. He had the place memorized and could find it in his sleep. Section Seven had identified it as a point of contact. Now he just needed to play the part and hope they took the bait.

After docking the shuttle and making sure Ben had his bag, Crocker held out his hand. Ben seemed taken aback by the gesture but smiled as he took hold of the chief's hand and shook it. There didn't seem to be anything to say so he just smiled and said, "See ya round, Chief."

As he picked up his bag and turned to leave he felt Crocker's hand on his shoulder.

"Ben, do you need anything?… Money … or …?" the rest of the question hung in the air.

Ben smiled and shook his head.

"No … but thanks for asking."

He turned away before his face betrayed him and walked off along the length of the dock. Chief Crocker watched him go and then climbed back into the shuttle with a heavy heart.

Ben found his way to the small tavern that was obviously in the rougher part of town. He recognised it from the advertisement the captain had shown him but it just didn't seem to have the friendly atmosphere portrayed there. The photo was a few years old at least and the paint work was looking a bit the worse for wear. It had an air of disrepair about it but that didn't seem to keep the crowd away judging by the noise coming from inside. He pulled his black woolen beanie down a little and adjusted his bag over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath he walked inside and enquired about a room.

He had to pay up front for the week but he guessed that guests in this part of town were probably inclined to leave without paying otherwise. As the owner led him to a small room on the third floor he carefully noted the layout of the place. Where the stairwells were, how many rooms ran the length of the corridor and most importantly, where the fire escape was.

He sat down on the bed and pulled out the contents of his bag. Running an inventory through his head he glanced at his watch and decided it was too early to head to the bar. Instead he decided some rest would be a good idea as it could turn out to be a long night. He stretched out on the bed and hoped he really wasn't going to have to stay here for a week. The bed was well past its use-by date but somehow he figured that guests here wouldn't complain.

"Even the bed in the brig was better than this," he thought to himself as he dozed off.

Ben slouched over the bar looking for all the world to be drunk. He had certainly drunk enough scotch to be completely smashed but thanks to the tablets he had taken earlier, the alcohol wasn't being absorbed into his system. He knew the drug was experimental but Section Seven had assured him there were no lasting side effects. He was just going to be very, very sick in the morning, which would look normal anyway after a night of hard drinking.

This was the third night in a row he had sat at the bar and seemingly drunk himself into a stupor. The bar staff had been forced to take him to his room and leave him to sleep it off. As he sat and brooded over another shot of scotch, two men were watching him from the back of the room. Eventually they stood up and casually wandered over to sit at the bar next to Ben. His head slipped down onto the bar and he seemed to be asleep.

The man next to him leaned over and prodded him.

"Ben? Ben Krieg?"

"Never heard of 'im," Ben muttered from under his arm.

The man prodded him again and eventually Ben looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"Wadda you want?" he slurred.

"You are Ben Krieg aren't you?"

"Who wansta know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Somebody who thinks you may be interested in a job."

Ben tried to sit upright but seemed as though he would overbalance and fall off the stool. The man next to him grabbed his elbow and steadied him.

"Don't wanta job. You only get screwed!" he dropped his head back on the bar and ignored them.

The two men exchanged smiles and nodded slightly. Yes, this was the man they were after all right.

"How would you like a chance to get some revenge on those who screwed you?"

Ben slowly raised his head and pretended to try and focus on the faces before him.

"Yeah, right!" he slurred. "Ya don't get revenge on the UEO!"

"What if we could offer you a way to do just that?"

Ben slowly looked from one to the other and then burst out laughing.

"We're very serious Mr Krieg. We know why you left seaQuest and we thought you may want to even the score."

Ben stopped laughing and stared at the two of them.

"If you're serious … I'm in."