WriterFreak001:

Less than a month away! :D


"Altruism is innate, but it's not instinctual. Everybody's wired for it, but a switch has to be flipped."– David Rakoff


Chapter Eight

~ SCORPION ~


"Walter…," Happy gulped. "The wires of the elevator… they're… they're hardwired into bomb."

Walter was as careful as ever descending back down the shaft, not wanting to do anything to trigger the bomb. There were only a few options left, and he hated every single one of them. Cabe had called the Bomb Squad to the hotel, but there's no telling when they'll show up or if they'll even make it on time.

Walter stopped descending the ladder and closed his eyes to compose himself. At a time like this, focus was absolute key. Focusing on the task at hand was the only way everyone in the elevator would survive. This was not something he could afford to fail; his favorite two people counted on him too much.

Walter exhaled deeply and forced his eyes open before finishing his descent. He carefully stepped onto the top of the elevator and slipped inside the hatch. Gently, he landed on the floor of the lift, and Ralph immediately smiled before nudging his mother awake.

Paige's eyes slowly opened as he knelt beside her, and her hands were cupping his warm cheeks in seconds before she greeted him with a quick, relieving kiss. "I'm so glad you're back," she whispered with teary eyes. "I was afraid… afraid you'd…"

Walter shushed her with his index finger, stopping her from talking further. He smiled gently and muttered, "The important thing is that I'm here, and I'm not leaving."

Walter had brought a small sack of essentials with him and pulled out a blue button-up shirt of his. "Here," he handed it to Paige as his cheeks flared deeply, "It's a little big, but it should keep you covered."

"Thank you, Walter." Blushing, Paige graciously took the shirt, and pushed herself upward to cover her breasts as Walter's bloodied jacket fell from her shoulders. She slowly turned around and worked the buttons open. Turning her head slightly towards Walter, she blushed even more. "Um… I need help. I can't move my shoulder very well."

"Right," Walter coughed as he moved towards her. He parked himself behind her with his knees lightly touching her backside. He wrapped his arms carefully around her and lifted the shirt from her hands. As he moved his arms back towards himself, he accidentally graced her left breast with his thumb. "Sorry," he whispered lowly, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck. Fumbling to open the shirt completely, he then slid one of her arms into the arm sleeve and then did the other before bringing the shirt to her shoulders to drape around her. Paige touched her fingers to Walter's, quietly letting him know she could take it from there. The genius then awkwardly withdrew himself from her as she finished buttoning the shirt.

"So," Ralph caught the older genius's attention to diffuse the awkwardness between his mom and Walter, "what are our options?"

Walter offered the boy a small grin and reached over to ruffle his hair. Always eager to help and find solutions. Yes, this amazing, brilliant child would go far and beyond any member of Team Scorpion. He was sure of it. "First thing's first," Walter patted Ralph's shoulder as Paige turned back around, "we have to get everyone out of here."

"H-How?" Ralph swallowed, unsure of Walter's intentions. He's seen that tight, smiling face before… back when Walter lied to him about the process of decoupling trains. Ralph suddenly felt sick. His friend… his father-figure… he was going to do it again… he was going to sacrifice himself all over again… and this time, there were no guarantees of survival. Ralph inhaled a deep breath and tried to stay calm as he waited for Walter's response.

"We are about twenty feet away from the ninth level. Cabe, Toby and Happy are working on a solution as we speak." Walter could tell Ralph was thinking deeply, but he dismissed it and turned to Paige. "Whatever idea they come up with, you will be the first to ascend because of your injuries."

"No," Paige shook her head and squeezed Walter's hand tightly. He frowned at her response. "I'm fine for now. Ralph should be the first to go up. He's a child and has the best chance of survival. He needs to survive."

Walter nodded, agreeing absolutely.

"No," Ralph argued, moving away from his mother. "I'm not nine anymore, Mom. I can stay and help Walter. We need to get the injured people up first. Especially Miss Emily… She's pregnant and is due in a few days. She needs to go up first. Then Kelly's father… then Ms. Snobby Lady." Ralph smirked a little when the middle-aged woman popped an eye open in response to his comment. He had no sympathy for her. None whatsoever. "After her, then you need to go, Mom. You're injured far worse than me. Walter will have to help you out of the elevator so I should go last. It makes the most sense. And, I can keep working on disarming the bomb."

"Absolutely not!" Both Walter and Paige exclaimed louder than necessary. "You're going up before me, and that's final," Paige frowned, laying down the law for her son.

"But –"

"No buts." Paige gave Ralph the Mom Glare, and the boy didn't protest after that.

"Until Toby, Happy, Sly and Cabe come up with a plan," Walter squeezed Paige's hand with his left and cupped Ralph's shoulder with his right, "Help me figure out what sort of bomb we're looking at, would you?" He then turned to Paige. "Is that all right?"

Paige signed, not liking the idea at all. But what other choice did they have? "Okay." She bit her lip as she watched her son lead Walter to the panel. Whatever was going to happen, she prayed she would live to see another day. Her son needed her, and she was eager to see what her new relationship with Walter would be like. They all needed to survive.

Every last one of them.

That was her wish.

~ SCORPION ~

"Are you sure that's the only way we're going to stop the bomb?" Toby asked with big eyes after Happy had explained the game plan with the rest of the team. "It seems too risky, and if I'm correct, there's a big fat chance 197 won't survive."

"Approximately 86% actually," Sylvester chimed in, his face laced with concern. "I don't like those odds at all."

"We all know Walter…. He would sacrifice his life willingly to save Paige and Ralph; he's almost done it before, we always knew he'd end up having to do it again." Happy crossed her arms and frowned. "I wish we had another option, guys. Really, I do, but if we want to prevent the most casualties, then Walter has to stay after everyone leaves. Unless I'm mistaken, the whole elevator floor is a pressure plate. As long as there's at least one person's weight on the ground, there's a chance the bomb won't go off. Walter stays behind and works on the bomb to deactivate it. Otherwise, it'll blow up the moment he hops off of the floor through the hatch. He's dead either way. At least with this way, we have a chance."

Cabe stopped pacing the floor and pursed his lips. "What about a good ole switcheroo? As long as there's weight on the floor of the elevator, then we shouldn't have any problem switching Walter's weight out with a bag that roughly weighs the same… It should work, right?"

Happy pursed her lips. "That's too much of a risk. Even if we did that, it would only give Walter enough time to climb and maybe shoot the lift loose. But if he did that, then the bomb would detonate as it free falls; we'd risk blowing up the entire building."

Cabe, Happy, Sylvester and Toby all sighed at once. All of them are at a loss of what to do until the paramedics return.

"Walter knows what he has to do," Happy was the first to speak. "He knows what he's sacrificing if this plan doesn't work. All we can do is hope it doesn't blow up in our faces in the process." Happy paused as the others looked at her like her ass was on fire. She was definitely not herself today. "Oh, shut up. You know what I mean."

~ SCORPION ~

It had been an hour, at least, since Walter's return, and both he and Ralph were getting restless. They did all they could do at the current moment with the bomb (which was not much), but they weren't any closer to figuring out how to disarm it. Had it been on a timer, then it would have blown up by now. Walter and Ralph are both in agreement with Happy's theory of the floor being the bomb's pressure plate.

After they had decided to take a little break, Ralph went over to the corner near where his mom was resting and decided to analyze the photos of the bomb he had taken with Walter's Surface Pro. Perhaps without the added stress, he might be able to figure something out on his own.

Walter, on the other hand, returned to Paige's side to keep her company and give her as much comfort as he could offer. She was resting with her head on his lap, and he was quietly watching her sleep as he waited to hear from the team. He really hoped they had an alternative plan because the one in motion wasn't one he liked at all. Paige would hate him, and Ralph would probably never look up to him again if he ended up surviving this, but it needed to be done. He was the only one – no – he had to be the only one capable of diffusing the bomb.

Ralph staying behind was not an option – even if he could – with time – figure out how to save everybody. Ralph had to survive and ensure the safety of his mother as well of the survival of Scorpion. Ralph was more than likely the smartest child in the world, and he needed to live. He had to live. For everyone.

Walter popped an eye open to a light shining down into the elevator. Before he knew it, two men in black suits dropped down stealthily. "Mr. O'Brien?" One of them spoke, looking at Walter. "Mr. O'Brien. We are aware of the situation at hand. We can bring up two people at a time. Let us know who you'd like us to lift first."

Walter glanced at Paige, and she nodded slowly as she did her best to sit up again. Walter first pointed to Emily. "Her. She's pregnant, and her child is due at any day. She needs to go up first. The second one," he then pointed to the unconscious man on the floor, "should be him."

"Copy that," the black-suited man nodded before he and his partner went to work, strapping the two people into their harnesses.

As Emily was carefully lifted upward along with the second man, she gave Paige a weak thumb's up. "We might not see each other again, but thanks for all you did, lady. You're one badass woman. Don't let that ever go to waste."

Paige gave Emily a small smile and returned her thumb's up as she was lifted out of the elevator. Seconds later, the man who had spoken to Walter, was being lifted upward with Kelly's unconscious father. "Another team will be down momentarily to carry to more people. Be sure to know who's going next by then."

"Okay," was Walter's reply before he, Paige and Ralph were left alone with the older woman. He turned towards her. "You'll be next so get ready."

"Thank heavens," she rolled her eyes dramatically and pushed herself to her feet before walking towards the center of the elevator. Just as the man had said, two more dropped down, ready to lift the next two. One of them harnessed themselves to the lady, and as they ascended, Walter looked to Ralph.

"You're turn buddy."

"No."

Paige frowned immediately. "Ralph, we already talked about this."

Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms defiantly. He refused to move. "I'm not going until you," he pointed to Walter, "tell Mom what's really happening here."

"Ralph," Walter muttered the boy's name under his breath harshly and glared at the small kid to button his lid, but the young genius did exactly the opposite.

"Mom," he continued, "Walter neglected to tell you that the elevator floor is a pressure plate. He was going to have us leave him and get to safety while he stayed to try and defuse the bomb. Just like the stupid train, someone has to stay behind." Ralph didn't know why, but he was angry. He didn't want Walter to always call the shots. If the fifth smartest person ever recorded chose to stay behind, then he should too! He had every right to save everyone just as Walter did.

"What is he talking about?!" Paige whipped her head around to Walter, her flaring, teary eyes demanding Walter to answer.

"It's as he says," Walter replied, defeated. "The floor of the elevator serves as a pressure plate for the bomb. At least one person has to stay on top of the plate to keep it from triggering the blast. The plan… the one I didn't mention… involves me staying behind… to keep the bomb from exploding… at least until the Bomb Squad arrives… or until I disable the bomb."

Paige's eyes watered, and Walter hated seeing her so distressed. "I told you," she bit her lip, "I told you never to lie to me like that again."

"I know." Walter felt ashamed, but there was no turning back now. The plan was in motion.

Paige exhaled a shaky breath and visibly calmed herself. She turned to her son. "Ralph. You need to go. The nice man is waiting to take you up to safety. I'm going to stay here until they send someone back down."

Ralph shook his head, but just as he spoke, the man from earlier, the one who had spoken to Walter, dropped down into the elevator. "What's taking so long?! We need to get a move on."

Ralph turned towards the man. "Before you carry me up, I need you to go back up there and bring down 5 suitcases, approximately 30 pounds each." He looked at Walter for confirmation. "If we had 6 suitcases stacked in the middle of the lift, that would compensate for the approximate weight of an average man. We keep those suitcases there and climb up together. The weight of those suitcases should be enough to hold down the plate until the Bomb Squad arrive, yes?"

Walter sighed. "In theory, yes. But there's no guarant—"

Ralph ignored Walter's response and turned towards the other man. "Bring those quickly please. No one will die today." The man simply blinked at him. "It's a hotel," Ralph replied simply, "it shouldn't be too hard to find suitcases..."

"Ralph!" Paige reprimanded her son, but he shrugged as the man sighed heavily. Without another word, the man turned towards his partner and nodded before making the command over his walkie talkie. When his instructions were confirmed, he pursed his lips. "This weird plan of yours better work. We're going topside for now so we can deliver what you've asked."

Walter, Paige and Ralph were then alone.

Paige turned her whole body towards Walter and poked his shoulder. Hard. "I mean it this time, Walter. If you somehow double cross us like you did the last time, I slap you into next month. Got that?!"

Walter gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

She then turned towards Ralph and frowned. "And you. Since when are you rude to adults? I didn't teach you to be snippy with people. I know you're tired, hungry and exhausted, believe me. We all are, but you know better than that. If you're rude to another person today, you won't like me very much. Comprende?!"

Ralph exhaled a quiet breath and nodded. "Okay."

For many minutes, the three sat in silence as they waited for the suitcases to arrive. One by one, they were delivered among the team in black, and after Ralph and Walter stacked them dead center in the elevator in two columns of three bags, three of the men in black stayed behind to lift Walter, Paige and Ralph out of the elevator.

Paige was harnessed first and was holding Walter's hand until the last moment before she was carried out of the lift on the suspension cable. Ralph was next, and as Walter was lifted off of the ground, everyone cringed, waiting for an explosion.

Nothing happened.

Everybody down the shaft relaxed visibly.

Ralph glanced up at his mom and then to Walter before exhaling deeply. He hated what he was about to do because he knew it would distress his mother and Walter deeply, but he knew exactly how to diffuse the bomb. He figured it out while studying the images he had taken.

"Mom? Walter?" The boy decided not to waste any more time. "In case this doesn't work, you both are awesome and great," he unbuckled something, "and I'm glad you're both in my life."

Walter was the first to notice. "Ralph! Stop!"

"And if it does," the genius finished unhooking himself from the harness and looked past Walter towards the elevator. It wasn't too far down… yet.

"Ralph, what're you doing!?" Paige was screaming along with Walter, their loud, panicked voices echoing around them. "Put that back on! Put that back on right now, Ralph! RIGHT NOW!"

The fear in Paige's eyes… her screaming his name… it wasn't enough to convince Ralph not to do what he was about to do. Still, hearing her fearful screams didn't make it any easier.

"Don't do this, Ralph! Don't be a hero today!" Walter exclaimed, reaching out towards him, prepared to catch him if needed.

But it was too late. The boy was already falling down and fast into the elevator. Walter couldn't reach him in time. "I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO BEING GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" was the last thing he enthusiastically shouted before he disappeared into the elevator, closing the shaft door behind him.


WriterFreak001:

One more chapter to go!

I hope to have it done before the premiere. :P