THE SECRET DEVICE
By Jules
CHAPTER 7 - RANSOM DEMAND
Piperfly: So glad you enjoy what I write, even though the updating is not as often as I would like. Especially this story. The plot for this story got changed several times and got lost a long the way a little I think, but hopefully you will enjoy the new parts.
Sara: Please keep reading this story, even though the readers out there have long since believed I abandoned it.
FishFace12: I am ready to start writing this one again now. Thanks for understanding about the updating.
Heidi: Hope you like how this plot is panning out now with the changes and new scenes.
Radical Ed 85: I hope I got your penname right. No apologizes necessary, and I truly appreciate the reviews. They keep me motivated and encouraged to write more.
Mercedes Aria: Now that I think enough time has passed, the story will continue as I planned, with a few added scenes that I thought of. Please let me know what you think of this new chapter.
Wolenczak2002: What a great penname for a SeaQuest fan. Wish I had thought of it. Thanks for the support of my stories. So glad you like them.
Yingfa77: Thanks for reading. I know we were all very saddened, but I plan to write heaps more to keep his character Lucas alive and his memory strong.
Karmynah: I do understand what you mean, but I did think it a little bit strange to write him again so soon after his death. That is no excuse for the time this update took, but anyway. Please keep reading.
Diana: Six chapters in less than half an hour, looks like I need to write longer chapters or more complex plot lines LOL. Thanks so much for reviewing. He will be found, don't worry, but that may not be the end of the story. You know me, more twists and turns in my stories.
TeacherTam: Thank you muchly for adding me to your author alert list. Now I do feel kind of special, and pressured to keep writing for all you readers out there I may have let down in the past.
Frank pulled the end of the rubber dinghy up onto the shore line of their small island hideaway. The place was littered with large rock formations and caves. The perfect place to keep the kid hidden until someone came up with the microchip and a great deal of cash ransom for his return.
Riley pulled back the tarpaulin that had covered the top of the boat whilst they took the short journey from the mainland across the water. The teenager still seemed to be asleep due to the drugs in his system.
"Grab a hold of him and take him inside," Riley barked, taking a surveillance of the area, making sure that their activities were not being witnessed by anyone.
Frank did as he was told and hoisted an unconscious Lucas over his shoulder and began to walk up the steep rocky climb to the intended cave. To the untrained eye, they all looked the same. But upon closer observation, one would see that this cave has a much larger entrance. The inside of this particular cavern was larger too, spanning back several hundred metres inside.
It was here that Riley and Frank planned to keep their young hostage until the ransom demands were made and the transaction complete. Riley had planned from the beginning not to hand the kid back to his family, but just what he would do when that time, he didn't know right now.
"Quickly, get him inside," Riley said as shoved Frank from behind, trying to get him to move faster with his human burden.
Once inside the cavern, they were mildly surprised. Not only had Sykes gone to the extreme measures of outfitting the cave with electric lights and other fittings; they noted that there were boxes of supplies and equipment dumped in one corner as well.
"Looks like he planned everything, right down to the wire, don't it?" Frank commented as he looked at the amount of supplies. He could only guess that Sykes intended for him and Riley to remain with their captive until otherwise, and that could be a few days or more.
As they moved further into the cave to see what facilities Sykes had installed, they noted a small room carved out of the granite face. Inside the floor was made out of the same stone and the walls. It was obviously meant as a good storage room, to keep smuggled goods and contraband until it was deemed safe enough to bring them back onto the mainland.
The room was small, but it would also serve good as a prison cell for their young friend until the exchange arrangements could be negotiated with the SeaQuest crew and Captain Bridger.
"Put in him there," Riley instructed. "He can't go anywhere in there and if wakes up and tries to escape, we will see him before he gets too far towards the front entrance."
Frank did as he was told and laid the unconscious youth on the cold, hard floor. He noted a fine layer of sweat on the boy's forehead and wondered if Riley had noted the same yet. "He's not getting sick is he?" he voiced, not wanting to have to take care of a sick kid while they were stuck on this island.
"Nah, probably just from the pills you shoved down his throat," Riley replied, not really having any idea, but not wanting to believe that the kid was sickening either. Sykes would not be happy at all if the kid couldn't tell them where the microchip was hidden.
"All the same, we had better keep a close eye on him," Frank commented, before leaving the small room for a moment and opening up one of the large crates in the larger cavern. Inside he rumbled through the various items, hoping there would be something useful.
Frank walked back into the room, and draped a thin blanket over Lucas's unmoving form, still frowning at the pale look of the kid's face. He didn't like how the kid looked at all, but did not mention it further to Riley.
"You're not going soft on me now are you?" Riley jibed at him, with a smirk.
"No, I just want him to last long enough for us to get our hands on the ransom money and that microcrip," Frank retorted, quickly exiting the room.
"Yeah, me too, which reminds me, Sykes left us a video camera. When the kid is awake later, we have to make him say a few words into it and then send it off to Bridger and make sure he understands what will happen if he doesn't tell us where that microchip is," Riley said.
"Alright, but first, I am going to have some of this good food he's got stashed in these boxes," Frank said.
"Have you seen some of this?" he asked Riley, pulling out some of the canned goods that had fancy names on the label. Sykes never believed in half-doing things, that was for sure.
It was approaching late into the evening aboard the SeaQuest when Captain Bridger was found sitting in the mess hall at a table, all by himself. His thoughts were troubled, and focused on finding only one thing: Lucas.
He had been lost deep in his own thoughts when Kristen came to see if he was alright. Without saying anything, she put a comforting and reassuring arm around him and sat down at the table beside him.
"We will find him, Nathan. You have to believe that."
"I believe that. But does Lucas?"
"Wherever he is, I am sure he will know how much we all love him and want him back safe with us."
"Who could have done such a thing, Kristin? Where is he now? He might be hurt somewhere and we don't even know it. He already has an injured foot. I am sure whoever took him won't be concerned about that or even take any notice if Lucas is in pain or not."
Kristin could only offer what she believed to Nathan, knowing how deeply he felt about the missing teenager. By now, they were fairly sure that Lucas had been taken by force. By whom and for what purpose, had yet to be seen.
Hurried footsteps could be heard approaching them from behind, causing both of them to turn and see who it was. It was Commander Jonathan Ford, and in his hand he was waving what looked to be a video tape.
"I am sorry, Captain. This just came across Admiral Bill Noyce's desk. No one has seen it yet, knowing you would want to be the first. It might be from those who have taken Lucas."
Bridger snatched the tape out of the Commander's hand, scarcely able to take in what his senior officer was saying. Part of him wanted to open it, though part of him dreaded to think what they might see or hear on such a tape.
"Have those concerned, met me in the Ward Room in five minutes, Commander," Bridger ordered sharply and strode off with determination in his step. Up until now he had been dwelling too much on what had already happened. If they stood any chance of getting Lucas back safe and sound, he need to be alert, vigil and above all else, ready to spring into action when the time came.
Bridger had been sitting alone, turning the tape over and over again in his hands, almost hoping that the secrets inside would reveal themselves without him having to watch the entire thing. But then again, this was the only clue they had so far as to where Lucas was, that's even if they could determine that from the contents.
The senior crew members filed into the room as requested, one by one, giving the Captain a look of understanding and empathy. They too were concerned for Lucas's welfare, and this showed on Tony just as much as Bridger.
Dagwood was also allowed into the room, though he wouldn't understand the technology as much as others. He sat behind Tony, but did not offer any conversation.
Since returning to the SeaQuest, Piccolo had nearly driven himself insane with going back over the whole day and trying to work out if they had been followed, and if so by whom. He tried to remember every face he had encountered that day, some were still fresh in his mind, others barely a blur. Nothing to give him any help or Lucas. At one point, he had angrily punched his hand into Lucas's top bunk mattress, feeling so useless.
Tony now made sure that he had a close enough view of the screen they would be all watching. Like Bridger, he too wanted to take in every detail and action that played on the tape to be able to find his friend.
Once everyone was ready, Bridger inserted the tape into the video player, and stood now, waiting for it to begin. He gave a quick mumble of apology when he glanced back at the crew and saw that they were watching his nervousness.
(Author Note: this scene combines two things into one. Firstly, what Bridger and the crew would be watching on the tape. And secondly, what actually happened back in the cavern between Lucas and his kidnappers once he began to regain consciousness. Hopefully it flows okay and every can understand what is going on.)
The video started, but at first all they could see was a black screen. As the colour became better and the image focused a little more, the crew were able to see stone walls. The camera recording the message must have been elevated a little, as they could also see a hard floor.
They couldn't see who was operating the camera at first, but muffled voices could be heard talking in the background.
"Are you sure its working okay?" came one voice.
"Sure, I have used these things before, don't ask so many question. Relax. The kid ain't even awake yet."
It was this statement that alerted Bridger and the others to the fact that Lucas might be nearby. And just as they pondered this thought more, the camera moved to pan around the room more. At first, it was one quick sweep of the stone walls, which must have made up some kind of room. It was small and crammed from what they could see on the screen.
It was as the camera flashed past the far wall that Tony gasped out loud at seeing something leaning against it. "Lucas!" he shouted, not able to get a clear picture. The camera was being held in someone's hand, and because of this, its focus was taken away from that part of the room again.
"Your going too fast," came the first voice again. "We need them to be able to see him."
"Don't tell me what to do," came Riley's voice.
Commander Ford frowned a little, thinking that he had heard this voice somewhere before, but not being able to put a name with it or recall where he knew it from.
With the two of them arguing in the background, the camera was being waved back and forth about the room for a few more moments, with no real fix or position. The light was poor also.
"Set it over there and point it at the wall. They should be able to see everything that is going on," the first person now instructed. Frank decided that he wasn't going to be ordered about by his partner and took it upon himself to make up his own mind about how the ransom message should be filmed.
There was no reply to the instruction, but instead of the camera being stabilized on a table or something, Frank had secured it around his neck with the attached carry strap and now adjusted the lens so that the camera pointed at the stone wall again.
This time, the position of the camera was much closer, giving them a better and sharper view that before. With a lump lodged in each of their throats, the crew could all see that it was indeed Lucas that was lying there on the hard floor.
"He's not moving," Kristin said as she stood and tried her best to determine what was wrong with Lucas without being closer. "The flexible cast is still on his leg, but I can't tell from here if there has been any further damage or not.
"What have they done to him?" Tony asked, restless in his seat at seeing his friend like that.
"Bad men have Lucas," Dagwood now said plainly. He shrank away a little when the rest of the crew turned towards him at hearing the statement.
"Yes, Dagwood, bad men," Bridger said with a small smile to the larger man. The G.E.L.F. might not be the most adept out of the crew at speaking, but he certainly hit the nail on the head correctly.
"We have to go get him," Dagwood now said, wanting to rush out as everyone else did. He didn't quite understand why everyone was merely sitting here when Lucas needed help.
"Yes, Dag, but we don't know where Lucas is at the moment. These 'bad men' have hidden him away. That's why we are watching this tape, so with any luck we can work out where they took him and then we can go and rescue him," Tony explained, with a patience rarely displayed in the ex-con. "Shh, now, we need to listen."
Suddenly, one of the men became the spokesman for the group, delivering the message.
"Captain Bridger of the SeaQuest. By now you are watching this tape and can see that we have your young crew member here with us. He is being held captive as our hostage at the moment and will remain so until you come forth with the microchip."
The voice was drowned out for a moment on the tape by a large horn blowing. The tone was deep and consistent for a few minutes before it ended. Bridger listened intently as he tried to work out what had caused the noise.
"If you do not come up with the microchip in 48 hours, then the consequences for the young man, will be most unfortunate," the voice continued.
"Don't forget to ask about the ransom," came the whisper from a second man.
"Shh, I know, I know. Let me handle this," the first voice hissed.
Commander Ford and Bridger exchanged questioning glances, thinking that whoever these people were, they didn't sound like an organised group at all. Quite the opposite, they sounded like amateurs or as if they didn't know what they were doing.
"In addition to the microchip, the sum of one million dollars ransom must be paid also. A drop off point for both the chip and the money will be given to you, once you have confirmed that you have the merchandise and are ready to make the trade."
"Did I forget anything," the first voice asked the other man on the tape. "Oh hell, the kid is beginning to wake up," he said. The lens on the camera changed position as Frank moved about.
The two men now moved into frame on the camera. Riley being able to be seen fully, and Frank partially due to the camera being slung around his neck and resting on his mid-section. With their concentration focus on Lucas, they had forgotten momentarily about being able to be seen or recognized.
"That's the man that was here on the boat," Dagwood now said, recognizing the man that had been following Lucas and that he had thrown back up the hatch from the launch.
"Yes, Dagwood, it is," Ford said, as he too recognized the face of one of the men. Now he had confirmation of where he had heard the voice before. He, Piccolo and Bridger had tried to interrogate the man after he admitted to attacking Lucas on the boat.
"Looks like he got himself a partner in crime," Bridger said as he looked at the other man, but failed to notice anything familiar about him. All they could see of Frank was his shoes and the lower half of his body as he shifted positions.
The crew were drawn back to Lucas on the floor when they heard him begin to moan a little as he regained consciousness.
With the two kidnappers now standing in front of the barely-conscious teenager, it was difficult to see if Lucas was alright. "Still looks kinda pale," the unknown man commented.
"Yeah, but that's only because he is out of the sun and in this cave," Riley replied.
Bridger and Ford both made a mental note that they had mentioned the word 'cave'. Hopefully without realising it, they would reveal a lot more about their secret hideout and the place where Lucas was being forcibly held.
Frank now placed the back of his hand against Lucas's forehead like he had when he first brought him in and noticed no real change in the temperature. If anything, the skin was hotter to the touch. "He's still hot as a grill plate."
By now Lucas had opened his blue eyes and was attempting to sit up to take in what was going on around him. Another groan of pain came from his lips as the pain in his leg began to reignite and known.
"Still?" Kristin whispered, picking up on the word. "That means he has been 'hot' for some time, Nathan."
"I assume that would mean Lucas has a fever of some sort? What would cause that, seeing as that he doesn't appear to have any obvious injuries we can see?
Kristin paused before replying, trying to think of all the possible scenarios in her mind about Lucas and his recent medical history and what could have happened since his kidnapping.
"Could be from his leg," she admitted, knowing that was what Nathan was thinking about. "But we don't know what they did to him to subdue him either. Could be a combination of things, or something completely new. His body is run down at the moment and make him be easily susceptible. He hasn't been getting anywhere near enough sleep or food with working on that damn chip they want."
Their attention was quickly drawn back to what was happening on the screen as a startled cry of surprise came from one of the men. "What the hell, Frank get a hold on him, he's trying to make a break for it."
Somehow, even with a fever, Lucas was trying to stand on his feet and escape his kidnappers. His mind wasn't quite focused, but his brain was on high alert and he told himself that he needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.
As the two men had started talking about him and his temperature, he had given one a hard shove into the wall and tried to deliver a punch to the second. The punch went astray, but had glanced the side of the man's face enough to force him to take a step back and loose his balance and footing.
As Riley fell on his backside on the stone floor, Lucas pushed himself into a standing position, hissing at the pain in his foot, but telling his body to move and get away.
Frank had been the first of the men to scramble to his feet after the teenager. Lucas had hobbled to the doorway created by the stone walls and was attempting to make it across the larger cavern to the entrance.
"He is trying to make a break for it Riley, quick, get some more of those pills we used to knock him out," Frank said, making a diving leap for the boy. He managed to tap the back of Lucas's shoe and caused the teenager to crash heavily to the floor.
"Now I got you, kid," Frank said as he got to his own feet again and tried to get a grip on the boy's arms before he could get up again. Whether it was the fever driving him or otherwise, it was supplying him with enough adrenaline and energy to fight against his assailant. He shoved back at the man again and struggled in the man's grip before he got a good enough hold.
"Drag him back over here, Frank. I have got something better in mind. Much stronger too," Riley said as he dug around in one of the boxes. He gave a cry of triumph as he produced a syringe and a vial of sepia coloured liquid.
"No, let me go!" Lucas said, his voice being heard for the first time on the tape. It was hoarse sounding and scratchy. With the camera now much closer, the crew were able to see just how glazed his eyes appeared due to the fever.
He tried to kick his attacked in the shin, causing the man to cry out, but for all of his efforts, the man's grip did not loosen sufficiently enough for Lucas to get entirely away. The man now adjusted his hold more as he wrapped an arm around the boy's slim waist and another over his shoulder, almost in a choke hold.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Lucas shouted, still trying to wrench free from the man's strangle hold. His voice echoed a little within the cave, but was not strong enough for anyone any distance away to have heard it and come to his rescue. Nobody would be aware of what was happening to him.
"SHUT UP KID!" Frank said as he clamped a rough hand over the teenager's mouth. He didn't think anybody would be able to hear the kid from this secluded island, but it never hurt to be cautious. Lucas tried to scream a few more times through the hand, but found his energy levels quickly waning. He began to sag against the man's chest as his legs began to betray him. He was in danger of collapsing and fainting, and his skin continued to burn mercilessly with fever.
The whole scene was very difficult for the crew to watch. Obviously the kidnappers had forgotten about the video camera capturing every terrifying moment as Lucas battled to free himself or alert someone to his plight.
"Will you hurry up, Riley," Frank said as he began to feel the kid weaken in his grasp. He didn't think the kid will last too much longer, but he didn't want to take any risk of him trying to make a run for it again.
"Here we go, as Riley withdrew a small amount of the liquid from the medicine vial. He set the vial back on the top of the crate and squirted a small amount out of the syringe to get rid of any air bubbles.
"I am no doctor kid, but this should keep you quiet for a while longer than those pills," Riley said as he began to approach the vulnerable teenager.
"This that snake juice you were talking about?" Frank asked as he watched Riley grab one of Lucas's arms and roll up the sleeve on his shirt. "Ain't going to make him worse is it?" he asked, noting how hot the boy's skin was to the touch.
"Don't worry none. I don't think it will, but I don't think those people ought to be worrying about getting him back anyway. Kid is as good as dead with or without the money and the chip," Riley answered.
Lucas tried to shrink away from the needle as much as possible, but his escape route was cut off by Frank still holding onto him firmly. His eyes grew larger and afraid as he saw the needle come closer and then felt the prick to his skin.
It was fast acting, Riley a little surprised to see the kid's eyes already starting to droop almost before he had time to withdraw the needle. There was a small trickle of blood from the injection site, but nothing too bad.
"H-hel...h-hel...," were the only words Lucas managed to mumble before he coherent thoughts faded into grey. His eyes closed and his body went completely limp in Frank grip, causing the man to have to hold him up to prevent him from falling to the cave floor.
"Told you it was fast acting," Riley said to Frank. "Take him back to that room, we shouldn't have to worry about him for the rest of today anyway. Its pretty strong stuff. I have seen it bring down grown men, twice the size of this kid."
"Damn, the tape is still running, Riley," Frank cursed as he glanced down and noticed the camera again. "Its caught everything on there."
"Don't worry about it. Makes it look bad on there for those people at SeaQuest that's all. When they see it, they will know we mean business about the chip and the money," Riley said as he went to discard the syringe and put the vial away until later.
"The boss should be here tomorrow afternoon to make the final arrangements and organise the drop off point," came the last image on the tape before the picture turned into fuzz and the message was finished.
For a few minutes, the crew were too stunned by what they had seen to make any comment. Of course, they all felt anger towards the men for their abuse and mistreatment of Lucas. Watching as they had injected him with some drug or sedative, while the two men physically held him down.
Kristin had a few tears in the corners of her eyes at seeing Lucas have to suffer such harsh punishment. Inside, she was angry like the others, to think that people treated others like this, just for profit and gain. The microchip had been Lucas's dream and his obsession over these last few weeks, but right now she hated that it existed at all.
"Commander Ford, I want a full rescue party ready to go at a moments notice. Pack the essentials because we don't know who else we are up against, but we need to be prepared for anything," Bridger now said, breaking the silence in the room.
"Kristin, make sure that you have all your medical staff ready for when we bring Lucas back to the boat and have ready anything that you might need," Bridger instructed. Kristin nodded her head in agreement that everything would be as required.
"Where are we going to look for him, Captain?" Ortiz asked, knowing that Lucas's welfare was foremost on Bridger's mind at the moment.
"To be honest, Miguel, I don't know," Bridger answered with a touch of defeat in his voice. It was fine to have a rescue crew and everything on standby and have the MedBay ready for any emergency that might require their skills. But use was it all when they didn't have the slightest idea where Lucas was being held.
"On the tape, those two men mentioned something above caves, Captain," Tim O'Neill reminded them, trying to grasp at the few straws that had presented themselves as clues to Lucas's current whereabouts. "What caves could they be holding him in? The one on the tape looked particularly large."
Everyone had been thinking out loud to themselves or offering what small help they could when they were all interrupted by Tony jumping excitedly to his feet.
"I know where those caves are," he cried out. "And that horn we heard in the background, I have heard that before too. It all fits. I know where we can start searching anyway."
"Then what are we waiting for," Bridger said, not wanting to delay any further and wait until Tony had spilled the entire explanation of how he came to know. Even if it proved to be the wrong caves, at least it gave them all some small spark of hope and something positive to keep focused on.
"Commander Ford, we need a couple of rubber boats and oars for this rescue," Tony informed his superior officer. Ford raised an eyebrow at the man's outburst, but said nothing to the contrary, knowing that he was only excited about trying to find Lucas.
"Come on, I will explain what else we need when we get to the launch bay," Tony said as he began to push Ford towards the doorway.
"Don't worry, Lucas, I will give them two something to think about for you when I catch up to them," he said, gesturing with a punch into his other hand.
"We are coming, Lucas. Hold on... we are coming to get you," Bridger said out loud as he watched the other crew members file out of the Ward Room and prepare to leave.
Back at the caves, Frank and Riley had both found themselves a place to get some rest. They had folded out two portable cots and blankets and prepared to sleep for a few hours until Sykes arrived.
In the rear of the cave, in the smaller room, Lucas was deeply unconscious and oblivious at any attempts his family and friends might be trying to make to find him. Although the fever within him continued to burn, his body was also beginning to react to the chill of the stone floor.
to be continued ...
