Port Everglades

Nathan swore loudly as he paced in the office of the Port Everglades police department. He didn't have time for this. In his rush to find Lucas, he hadn't given much thought to his attire. He was dressed in tan shorts and a shirt and didn't look anymore military than his grandmother. He silently rebuked himself for forgetting his identification. Jonathan had all but dropped him off in the middle of a road way after illegally landing and stopping traffic. There hadn't been many places to land the chopper near the Port. Nathan had been trying to reach Bill Noyce at the UEO to no avail. The officer who had detained him was checking out his story about being Captain of the SeaQuest. The man had looked skeptical of his story. Nathan sighed in frustration. Life was so much simpler at sea. Nathan just wished they hadn't taken his phone from him. He could make his own calls much quicker than they would be able to. He was growing more and more agitated as time moved on. A white haired man entered the room and reached out his hand to greet Nathan. Nathan accepted the man's hand with a cautious smile.

"Nathan Bridger?" commented the man. He was tall in stature with a stocky build. The man obviously hadn't been to a gym in many a year. Nathan nodded briskly, letting the other man know he was not in the mood to be detained much longer.

"Captain Nathan Hale Bridger of SeaQuest, as I reiterated several times already," retorted Nathan feeling impatient. The man set his file down looking apologetic.

"Yes, of course. Forgive me, Captain Bridger. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Calvin. I'm in charge of security while SeaQuest is in dry dock. I'm sorry you've been detained, Captain. I hope you understand."

"I understand, Colonel. Am I free to go?" queried Nathan.

"Yes, yes, of course. Would you like me to arrange transport to where SeaQuest is docked?" asked the man kindly. Nathan smiled gratefully.

"I would like that very much, Colonel, thank-you," answered Nathan, relief flooding him. Finally, he would be able to find Lucas. The Colonel smiled and escorted Nathan from the room

Conference Room on A-deck

Nick sat quietly staring at the Cuban man in front of him. The dark-haired man had put his finger to his lips indicating that he wanted Nick to remain quiet. The man listened out the door silently trying to hear the conversation in the next room. Nick tried to hear as well but to no avail. The room they were in was extremely sound proof. Likely the Wardroom was as well.

"Who are you?" Nick whispered, finally getting enough courage to speak to the other man. The man glanced at him and again put his finger to his lips hushing him. Nick stood up and went to the door. "Listen, man. I have no clue who you are. How do I know you really are a friend of Lucas'?" demanded Nick, feeling unsure and irritated at the same time. The man sighed, obviously equally annoyed. He silently shut the door but before he did, Nick noticed the sign of the door which read Conference Room 4. At least now Nick had some kind of idea where he was even if it wasn't all that helpful.

"The name's Miguel Ortiz. I'm the Sensor Chief on SeaQuest. The captain sent me here to check up on Lucas. Who is that guy?" asked Miguel, carefully searching the room for anything that might be useful to him.

"Mycroft, er, Martin Clemens. He's a hacker," explained Nick hesitantly, still unsure of the other man. "He used to oversee the Node." Ortiz turned and looked closely at Nick, remembering vaguely the black man who had been aboard SeaQuest a little over a week ago. Ortiz frowned and felt his temper flare.

"That's Clemens? Damn," he hissed, running his hands through his hair thinking about how traumatized Lucas has been been since returning from the Node. Nick startled at Ortiz's sudden anger. Ortiz noticed the teen's apparent fear and put his temper in check. "Look, kid," began Ortiz, softening his voice to calm the teen.

"Nick," stammered the anxious teen, offering his name quickly. Ortiz offered a comforting smile to the frightened kid, patting him on the shoulder.

"Ok, Nick, what does he want with Lucas?" Ortiz sat on the edge of the table. Nick shrugged his shoulders diffidently.

"He thinks Lucas ratted him out to the UEO."

"Ratted him out how?" urged Miguel. "About hurting Lucas?" He raised an eyebrow scrutinizing the kid and trying to understand.

"More than that. Hacking into the World Bank and shifting money around, I guess. Mycroft is a professional hacker." Miguel ran his hand over his face, deep in thought. He stood up, heading towards the computer and sat down. His fingers flew across the keyboard accessing files until he brought up Clemens' file. He sat reading it and massaging his temples. He turned to Nick abruptly.

"Just how dangerous do you think he is, Nick?"

"He's a lose wire. There is no telling what he will do. I was shocked as hell when he attacked Lucas at the Node. Before that he was sort of, I dunno, he was cool. I liked him. We all did." Ortiz nodded managing a small smile to reassure the lad and closed the file. He needed to get a message to someone on the outside. He couldn't be sure that Clemens wouldn't have blocked communications. Obviously the guy was smart. The advantage Ortiz had was Clemens didn't know he was onboard. Miguel felt his blood run cold when heard a high pitched screaming and a flurry of action coming from the Wardroom. He raised his hand to silent Nick, running to the door and opening it to listen. Nick held his breath, willing himself not to panic. He recognized the voice screaming as Julianna's.

Wardroom

Lucas pitched the glass as hard as he could, aiming at Clemens. He held his breath as he watched the glass fly in slow motiotowards the man's head. Clemens appeared shocked as he noticed the item flying at him. Just as the glass was about to hit him, he ducked narrowly avoiding it. He turned to Lucas with fury in his eyes. He rushed over and grabbed his arm, yanking it harshly behind his back and jabbed him ruthlessly in the side with his knee. Lucas cried out in pain and bent over trying to catch his breath. Julianna began screaming hysterically.

"Shut up," fumed Clemens at the frightened girl, pulling Lucas closer to him. Julianna closed her mouth and nodded, hiccupping. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Lucas tried to give her a calm look to reassure her from afar.

"As for you, that was stupid. STUPID," emphasized Clemens, tightening his grip on Lucas' arm and twisting it hard.

"Oww," gasped Lucas, struggling to free himself. The harder he struggled the tighter Clemens pulled on his arm.

"Don't make me hurt you, Lucas. I never meant for any of this to happen. I just want to get back to helping. I need a launch,"

"SeaQuest is dry docked," reminded Lucas, groaning at the pain radiating through his arm.

"How difficult is it to launch?" demanded the angry man. Lucas' mouth gaped. Was Clemens asking what he thought he was asking?

"Launch what?"

"This sub, for crying outloud."

"Are you nuts? You can't hack SeaQuest like some computer. You saw the security."

"I can't, but you can, can't you?" demanded Clemens, shaking the teenager hard and yanking on his arm.

"Please stop, Mycroft," came a soft pleading voice. Clemens whipped around to see Julianna standing and holding a chair over her head. "Let him go!" she ordered, trembling all over. She took a step and brought the chair down hard on Clemens, causing him to stumble and release of Lucas. Lucas saw the gun fall to the floor, and he dove for it. Clemens flung himself to the floor, wrestling Lucas for the gun. Lucas was no match for Clemens. The man grabbed Lucas and pulled him up, kicking him hard in the gut. Lucas lost his footing and fell backwards. When he looked up, Clemens had retrieved the gun again. He grabbed Lucas roughly, spinning him around again, pulling his arm tight behind him. He looked vehemently at Julianna and back handed her in the face angrily. The small framed girl reeled backwards smacking her head on a chair. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Lucas shouted out her name in horror.

"Shut up!" Clemens hissed spitefully. Lucas struggled and loosened his arm enough to elbow Clemens in the side, hard. The man's footing faltered, allowing Lucas a moment to get free, and he ran to Julianna's side. Clemens grabbed him before Lucas had time to think and pulled him to his feet viciously. He smacked Lucas harshly in the face with the back of his hand. The force of the blow sent Lucas flying to the floor, landing on his backside. Lucas glared at him.

"That was a stupid move, Lucas!"

"Says you," retorted Lucas, wiping blood off the side of his lip and glaring at Clemens bitterly. His face stung like hell. He glanced at Julianna again, but her still form didn't move. Clemens breathed hard as he towered over Lucas glowering at him.

"Stop making me hurt you." Clemens arm trembled. Lucas continued glaring at him breathing fast. Both of them seemed at a standstill, both catching their breath. Lucas knew that Clemens had the upper hand as long as he had that gun. Hell even if he didn't have the gun, he still was physically stronger than Lucas by a long shot.

"Answer me. You can launch this submarine, cant you?" Lucas glared at him trying to think of the best answer. If he said yes, he would be able to get on the bridge. Once on the bridge, he had access to a tiny arsenal, not to mention the entire mainframe of the ship. But would Captain Bridger want a hacker of Clemens background on his bridge? Somehow he highly doubted it. No, he needed to keep Clemens off the bridge at all costs.

"No, I don't have that power," lied Lucas, maintaining his eye contact trying to look confident. Clemens stared at him skeptically.

"You're lying!" he accused fervently. He pulled Lucas to his feet and wrapped his hands around his throat menacingly. Lucas felt his heart race in horror and shut his eyes. He blinked back tears as all his fears from before raced to his mind at once. He could feel his stomach lurch, and he desperately clawed at Clemens hands.

"Please, don't" begged Lucas desperately. Clemens smirked and pushed the kid away. Lucas stumbled and regained his footing. He stared at Clemens in disbelief. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears, and nausea overwhelmed him. He leaned over and vomited on the carpet. He heaved and heaved until he fell to his knees weakly. He was trembling all over and could hardly see through the tears in his eyes. Clemens grimaced in disgust.

"Stand up," ordered Clemens. "Take me to the bridge, and get this sub in the water NOW!" Lucas looked up at him and attempted to stand, stumbling and landing in his own vomit. Clemens grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him to his feet roughly. He shoved him towards the door. Lucas glanced at Julianna's still form hesitantly. Clemens shoved him again. "She's not going anywhere, now GO!" Lucas stumbled again and fell against the door whacking his head. Lucas tried to catch his breath, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Don't you get it? I'm trying to achieve peace, Lucas. For everyone."

"You're a hypocrite," quivered Lucas.

"Shut up and move!" Clemens threw open the door and shoved Lucas out into the corridor. Lucas stumbled and worked hard to correct his footing. He didn't know what to do.

Launch bay

Nathan entered SeaQuest and hurried down the steps. He resisted the urge to call out Lucas' name, not knowing what he would find. He didn't know if he would find a wild teen party or a simple card game. He didn't know if he should be angry or sympathetic towards the boy. Nathan walked briskly, heading towards Lucas' room. He figured it would be the best place to start looking for him. A feeling in the pit of his stomach urged him to walk quicker. He jogged down the stairs and entered B-deck and found his way to Lucas room. He glanced at the door that read Mammal Engineering and entered without knocking. Under the circumstances, he figured he had the right to barge in unannounced. The room was vacant. Nathan looked around the unkempt room. It was unusual to see the room in disarray. Lucas was a typical teenager. Sloppy and messy was his usual style. Nathan noticed a red shirt on the floor and stooped to pick it up. It was still damp which meant Lucas had been here recently. It also vaguely smelled of sweat. Another night terror maybe? Nathan furrowed his brow in concern. He dropped the shirt on the bed and began to comb the ship.

Conference Room

Miguel watched as Lucas was shoved down the corridor fiercely by Clemens. The man kept prodding him with the pistol in his hand. Ortiz ducked behind the door so he wouldn't be seen. He glanced back at the frightened teen behind him. The kid looked paralysed with fear. Ortiz grabbed the boy and shook him firmly.

"Listen to me, Nick," began Ortiz looking intently at the scared kid. Nick appeared to be staring into space. "Hey, are you listening?" Nick nodded quickly, trembling. "Look, Clemens has Lucas at gunpoint. I need you to stay here and lock the door, Nick. Don't open it for anyone until I come back. Understand?"

"What about Julianna?" he stammered. Ortiz frowned in puzzlement.

"Who's Julianna?"

"Well, kinda Lucas' girlfriend, I suppose. Mycroft brought her as bait I think so that Lucas would come." Ortiz groaned and shook his head. He vaguely remembered Lucas mentioning a girl. He hadn't remembered her until now.

"Dammit," he muttered more to himself than to Nick. "Okay, new plan, go to the Ward room and lock yourself in there with the girl. I haven't heard her, so I'm not sure what you'll find. Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself! Got it?" Nick nodded solemnly. He swallowed hard and prayed that Julianna was okay. He wasn't sure he could handle finding her injured or even dead.

"What if she's hurt?"

"You're a clever kid, Nick. I have faith you can handle it. I'm counting on you to handle it." Nick nodded, managing a brave smile at the words.

"Okay when I give you the signal, get your butt to the Wardroom and lock it." Ortiz moved to the door and squatted down low, opening the door. The hallway was deserted, so he motioned Nick to run across the corridor and into the wardroom. The teenager obeyed, closing the door silently behind him. Ortiz heard the door click as it locked securely. He breathed a sigh of relief. One kid safe. Now to find Lucas.

Nathan leaned against the wall in frustration. He had checked most of the places he thought Lucas would be to no avail. He was growing more anxious as time went on. He proceeded to walk to up the stairs to A-deck. He couldn't take the Mag-lev because most of SeaQuest's operating systems were locked down. It wasn't necessary to have them in operation when the boat was in dry dock. Nathan attempted to catch his breath as he reached the upper deck on the ship. He was hoping Lucas wasn't using any of the commanding areas to host friends. He would need to be very severe with the teen if he had chosen to have such frivolous disregard for the security of SeaQuest. Nathan strode to the Wardroom first and tried the door. It was locked securely. Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and entered the code to open the door. He walked in and gasped when he saw Nick and Julianna staring at him.

"What the hell?" Nathan stared sternly at the two teens gaping at him, placing his hands on his hips. "Nick, what are you doing on my boat?" demanded Nathan brusquely. Nathan softened when he saw Julianna's split lip and bruised cheek. The frightened girl's lip trembled as she attempted to speak.

"Mycroft," was all she said before hiding her face in her hands and sobbing. Nathan felt his anger dissipate as he walked over to the weeping girl, embracing her kindly. She melted into his embrace, clinging to him for safety.

"Talk to me, Nick!" commanded Nathan, glancing at the boy sternly. Nick swallowed pitifully.

"Clemens has Lucas. Your sensor chief went after them," Nick stammered, his voice wavering.

"Mr. Ortiz?" Nick nodded. Nathan held Julianna, comforting her as best he could as her sobs quieted. He formed a plan in his mind as he stood still. Nick stared at the older man in admiration. Lucas had said Captain Bridger was an amazing man. Nick believed that with all his heart. Somehow everything would be okay now. It had to be.