"I'm sorry sir, he wouldn't let me come with him. I tried to keep an eye on Krieg, but that woman started asking me about Dag... And… and he was gone." Tim flushed guilty, staring at the floor.

Nathan waved the apology away impatiently. "It's not your fault, Tim. Lucas can find trouble in a kiddy pool full of foam balls." He paused, wrinkling his forehead, "he has, in fact."

"How long has he been gone?" Kristin asked anxiously.

Tim glanced at a clock on the wall. "Nearly an hour, Ben disappeared about five minutes after he left.

"Ben and him usta be friends, right? He wouldn't hurt Luke... Right?" Tony sounded uncharacteristically worried.

Nathan sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "A year ago, I would have said no way. Ben's saved his life. But now... I just don't know."

Martin came into the main living area, "I called Saffron and asked her to deliver our meal. That should stop any questions about where he is, for a time."

"Where is Lucas?" Dagwood asked, looking at their worried faces in confusion.

"I wish I knew," Nathan answered, frustration evident in his every syllable. "He could be inspecting the internal workings of the main frame in some heating duct, or he could be in serious trouble and needing our help."

There were two voices talking about him as Lucas struggled back into consciousness. His muddled and aching brain tried to make sense of them, but couldn't come to grips with much of what was being said around him.

"What happened to his hands and knees?"

"I don't know for sure, they were like that when I found him. He's still wearing trunks from the beach, he probably hit the floor at a skid, these cement floors will tear anyone up."

Why didn't you call the doctor?!"

"Do you know what it would look like? They already think I'm the bad guy, he was alone with me for a whole minute and got knocked out. They'd be out for my blood."

"I think you're underestimating yourself, Ben. They know you're a good man."

"You didn't see their faces when we were taking with Eric." The voice Lucas was able to finally recognize as his former friend's, sounded bitter and discouraged.

"Besides," he continued, "the kid has a hard head, he'll be fine. Now get out of here. I think he's waking up, I still need you as my ace in the hole."

"This is stupid," the other voice said, although in a whisper. "I'm getting sick of this cloak and dagger bullshit."

A door slammed and a gentle hand bushed at Lucas' bangs. "Come on kid, wake up. I don't need Kristin any more pissed than she already is."

"Geroffme," Lucas muttered, pushing the hand away. He opened his eyes, then closed them tightly. "Ow... What did you do?"

Ben chuckled, "nothing, actually. I surprised you when you were hiding, and you hit your head. Can you sit up?"

With a sigh and a grunt, Lucas squinted open his eyes and pushed himself upright. He felt Ben guiding him by the upper arm and furiously shook him off. "Stop it! Stop acting like my friend."

"Let's get one thing straight." Ben snapped, still holding him and forcing the young man to look at him. "I am still your friend. I know I messed up, but I didn't have a choice. I probably could have handled it better, but I didn't. I'm trying to fix it now."

"So now what?" Lucas grimaced as Ben's angry voice made his head pound worse.

"So now you're going to here and listen to what I have to say."

Lucas glared at him, "what, that am I your hostage? I learned some dirty little secret I'm not supposed to know, and now you'll keep me locked in a cupboard until I behave?"

Ben jerked away from him, looking horrified. "Is that really what you think of me?" His shoulders slumped and his head dropped. "In that case, just go, it doesn't matter what I say."

"Well... um..." Lucas felt a surge of guilt and pity at his defeated tone. "No, not really. I'll... I'll listen."

"Thank you," Ben replied quietly. "Um… do you want to get off the floor?"

Lucas looked around himself for the first time and realized he was sitting on the floor, leaning on a desk front. Ben was crouched in front of him, still looking downtrodden. "How did I get here?"

"When you blacked out, I couldn't get you back on the chair. You put some weight on since I saw you last, kid." Ben explained, standing and sliding an office chair towards him.

"It's muscle." Lucas grumbled without any real irritation.

"Yeah, right." Ben waited until Lucas looked comfortable, and not about to topple again. "So, um, remember when the ship exploded?"

"Vividly."

"Right, stupid question." Ben sighed, "ok, I tired working at a few different places. Turns out, customer service isn't the best place for a smart ass."

Lucas grinned, "that I knew. There's no way you could be keeping the same job with all the different address you were at."

"Yeah…" Ben rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "So after about ten different places, I got wind of a job offer for a supply officer in mining colony. I thought it was perfect. I didn't want to say anything to you until I had it. I got here, and was practically hired on the spot. I didn't even have time to call you before I was moving in down here. After I was in, they told me about not being allowed to call out. Saffron may be a sweet heart, but she caught me trying a few times… you think Kristin is bad when she's pissed…" He winced in an exaggerated way, causing Lucas to chuckle. Spurred on by the reaction, Ben plowed ahead.

"Eric didn't fully trust me right away, and kept me in the dark for a while. But after I looked over some of the orders he gave me, I realized he was trying to build something. I kept asking him about it, and he finally admitted what he was doing. I finally understood all the secrecy, I knew why he can't let any of this out."

"But why didn't you tell me after he trusted you?" Lucas asked, wounded by the memory. "You just vanished, I thought you were dead."

Ben chewed his lip. "I know, I am sorry. I made the mistake of telling Eric about you one day. He was convinced that if you knew where I was you'd hack the system." He chuckled, "he didn't believe me when I said you'd do worse if I didn't contact you."

"Oh… and I did." Lucas looked at him sheepishly, "sorry about that letter."

"I wasn't surprised. Hacking into my bank records was one way to make sure I was alive." His eyes twinkled with amusement before he spoke again. "The letter you sent with the copy of the records was very… revealing. I'd like to know where you learned to swear like that, it takes a lot to shock a Navy man. And I don't think I've ever even seen those words in print before."

Lucas laughed out loud, "will that stop you from calling me kid?"

"Never." Ben shot back easily. "So," he continued, "after I got the last letter, I knew I had to get… a little harsh. Um… maybe too harsh. And since you didn't answer me, I knew it worked. I just wanted to keep you, and I from getting in trouble. If Eric knew you went as far as you did, he would have flipped out. He's a good guy, he's just twitchy about what we've done here."

"What are they doing here?" Lucas interrupted him.

"Honestly? Just mining, but with the most advanced drills and refining techniques ever used. If any of this was leaked," he waved to the machines behind him, "the entire company would be ruined. They've invested billions in it, so far it's been working at a sustainable level, but barely, we need more time to work on it."

Lucas shook his head, "I still can't believe you'd have anything to do with this kind of thing. I know you'll go after a quick buck, but they're killing the oceans."

"Says who?" Ben smirked at him.

"The monitor, it said something about contamination levels." Lucas pointed, knowing he was missing something purely from Ben's expression.

"Did you get to read it before I busted in on you?"

"Well… not really," Lucas admitted with a grimace.

Ben nodded to the machine in question, "go ahead."

Lucas let out a groan as he stood, glancing down at his abraded palms and knees. "That's why I always wear jeans."

"In case you have to dive behind a desk?"

"Something like that."

Walking stiffly to the monitor, Lucas blinked in disbelief and shook his head. "I know I got knocked silly, but how is this possible?"

"What do you see?" Ben asked, smiling widely, watching his shocked face.

"These levels are lower than any I've seen, like, ever. This is impossible." Lucas tapped a few buttons, "this is right next to the mine?" Ben nodded, but wasn't even seen. "And farther away from here… it's higher? This is impossible."

"So much doubt for such a young man." Ben said in a fake mournful voice.

"But… how?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you… or at least lock you in a cupboard."