Chapter 10
"I assume by now you've all heard that Lucas Taylor has been found and brought back to Terra Nova. Up until today, he was under careful observation in the Infirmary, and has recently been moved to the brig, where he will continue to take up residence until fully recovered."
Jim looked around the little circle. He had thought it was time to bring the unofficial colony council up to date on recent events.
"News travels fast around here, mate. It's-" Whatever Tom Boylan was about to say next was cut short by an incredulous cry on his left.
"What?! Lucas Taylor .. is back?! Here?! I don't believ- Are you SERIOUS?!" Malcolm Wallace gaped at Jim and then around at the group. They all stared back at him in silence.
"Why am I ALWAYS the last to know anything around here?!"
Jim patted Malcolm's shoulder sympathetically in an attempt to stop the researcher from pulling his own hair out.
"But Lucas?! The killer?!" Malcolm evidently wasn't about to calm down any time soon. "How did we catch him?!"
All eyes turned to Jim and he was forced to relay the whole story again for their benefit. When he finished, Reilly spoke up.
"May I have your permission to speak, sir?"
Jim glanced laughingly at his wife before turning back to Reilly.
"Yes, Sergeant. And I've told you before, if you have something to say, say it. You don't need permission!"
Reilly nodded.
"Thank you, sir. I was just wondering if you had any long term plans on what to do with Lucas. He can't stay in the brig forever, and seeing as it would be unwise to release him, either to the colony or the wilderness .."
Jim frowned.
"What's your reasoning behind his having to leave the brig?"
Reilly opened her mouth to answer, but Malcolm interrupted.
"As much as I would love to just dump him in a hole and forget he ever existed, Sergeant Reilly has a point. The brig simply isn't set up for long term inhabitants. There's no water, no bathroom services - he'd have to have his meals brought to him day in and day out. It's .." Malcolm put his hands together for a moment, trying to find the right words. ".. It's a waste of time and resources."
Reilly nodded her agreement. The creases in Jim's forehead deepened as he began to see the range of the problem.
"Not to mention on Friday nights, the brig is very often full of .." Elisabeth gave Boylan a meaningful look. ".. intoxicated brawlers."
Boylan shifted uncomfortably, and altered the conversation a little to take the focus off himself.
"Look, the point - which I think we can all agree on - is that he can't .. stay .. in the Brig."
Jim sighed and sat down in the Commander's chair, leaning on the desk. After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, he leaned back.
"Does ANYONE have any bright ideas?"
His council looked around blankly at each other. Boylan raised an eyebrow.
"House arrest?"
Malcolm immediately squashed this well-meant suggestion.
"Are you mad?! He's a genius! He's BRILLIANT - evil, but brilliant nonetheless. You put him under ordinary house arrest, you can say goodbye to him in less than a week. It would take INCREDIBLY sophisticated technology to contain him!"
Every member of the small group paused and stared at Malcolm. Jim smiled a little and bounced his eyebrows.
"Oh no .." Malcolm had his occasional flaky moments, but he was surprisingly quick. "No WAY. Not if you paid me a million pounds!"
Jim jumped up and gripped his shoulder in support.
"Come on, Malcolmus! You're the only person in this colony with the skills and resources to get this done. There isn't another soul in Terra Nova that can do what you can. It'd solve a big problem for everyone. We'd all .." gesturing to everyone ".. be grateful to you."
Malcolm smiled over-enthusiastically and pushed Jim's hand away.
"No."
Elisabeth laughed.
"Oh, come on, Malcolm. We're asking for your help. If anyone can do this .."
"And you can make the punishments if he breaks out of containment as petty - as ingenious!" after a gentle backhand slap from his wife ".. as you like."
Malcolm smiled begrudgingly at Elisabeth. He was fully aware of being shamelessly manipulated, but he secretly liked the idea of being responsible for the imprisonment of Terra Nova's number one enemy.
"I suppose .. I'll see what I can do. JUST .. give me a few weeks."
Jim slapped Malcolm's back a little too hard.
"You're alright, Malcolmus."
When Dunham brought Lucas' supper that night, the jailbird found he was starving. He hadn't eaten real food in about a week, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a decent meal. He reached out his cuffed hands and accepted his tray meekly.
".. thanks."
"Sure." Dunham folded his arms and waited for Lucas to finish and hand him the tray back. He stared around at the dimly lit walls. "Nice place you've got here."
Lucas snorted and smiled cynically.
"Isn't it? I helped design this brig, you know .. just my luck to be landed here." He returned to his food.
"I dunno, your luck doesn't seem so bad to me. If Skye hadn't, uh-" Dunham faltered mid-sentence and suddenly looked like he wanted to pull his own tongue out. Maybe Lucas hadn't .. But Lucas was already staring at him intently, completely alert. He finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed it slowly.
"If Skye hadn't .. what .. ?"
"N-Nothing." Dunham reddened and headed rapidly toward the door. Lucas leaned on his knees, his tray cast aside and forgotten. He barely noticed as Dunham's distressed face vanished behind the solid door. Skye had found him .. had saved him .. Skye, of all people .. Lucas stared into space for a long time before eventually placing his abandoned tray on the ground, lying back and attempting to sleep, but even then, the disturbed dreams made him restless. He was running .. no, he was lying on the grass, bleeding .. he heard a soft voice and felt the cold, hard stone against his back. He tossed in his cot. The pain, the betrayal, the healing and safety, the imprisonment .. and at the centre of it all .. Skye. She had been woven into his fate since the beginning.
Lucas opened his eyes on the morning after his first night in the brig with one unwavering conclusion in his mind.
He had to see Skye.