FYI I went back and made some tweaks to the Chapter 2 to introduce a new character, Commissioner Graves, who heads up a new intelligence division in the Federation. It's called the Department of Extreme Threats (DET). They are sort of like secret military police (think Dept. of Homeland Security meets the Gestapo) who target extreme threats to the Federation. They are hunting down Khan like we were hunting Bin Laden. They are the ones who seized Dyret. You don't need to go back and re-read unless you want to :) this is all you need to know to move forward with the story. BIG thanks to TheJewellersHand for her generous contributions to those changes - xo
Chapter 11
Spock sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to quiet his mind. He was in the communal sleeping quarters on the Augment ship, next to the bunk bed he shared with Lucy. There was a containment cell onboard, but Arma had not tried to put him inside after the disastrous mind meld with Beth. He had promised Arma he would not leave the ship and he intended to keep that promise.
As he meditated, Spock found his thoughts repeatedly drifting back to Khan. He still believed that the Augment should somehow be held responsible for his crimes, but he was also forced to view him through the filter of Beth's love and contentment.
Khan was devoted and gentle with his new family, and had proved he was no threat as long as those he loved were safe. If he and Beth could be left alone, Spock believed Khan would most likely live out his life in this Alaskan sanctuary he had created, making love to his wife and raising his children in peace. But Spock also knew that that was never going to happen.
Even if he and Lucy weren't helping to arrest Khan, the Federation and its Department of Extreme Threats would find a way to hurt or threaten him. If Khan was willing to tear Starfleet apart to be reunited with his Augment crew, Spock couldn't imagine the carnage that would follow a separation from his flesh and blood family. It would be almost logical to warn him...
It was at this point in Spock's thinking that Beth would come into his mind, followed, inevitably, by his own mother. Spock had once felt an uncontrollable sexual attraction to Beth, and in the time he'd spent with her during the past two days, he had felt that itch beginning to return... but even at his most sexually volatile, their emotional connection had always been maternal, and Beth and his mother would forever be linked in Spock's mind. Upon meditation, he was realizing that at the root of his desire to protect Beth was his failure to protect his mother on the planet Vulcan.
There was a sudden, loud bang and shouts of frustration as Lucy exploded into the cramped sleeping quarters. She kicked the door as it slid shut behind her.
"Spock, wake up, they're gone! Khan, Beth, the kids, the grandmother, they're all gone!"
He did not react, but felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Beth and the children were safe. He found he barely cared that Khan had escaped with them.
"Damn it, Spock, will you quit praying and actually do something?" Lucy tried to shake him out of his meditation but he just took a deep breath and slowly released it. He had not talked to her or anyone else since his confinement.
"Commissioner Graves keeps calling me, and your Admiral Caine has been trying to reach you. Please Spock, I don't know what to tell them."
He was surprised to hear the electrical hum of a phaser being charged close to his ear.
"I swear to God if you don't say something I'll stun you."
Without opening his eyes, Spock reached his hand out and closed it around her phaser. He pointed it away from his face. "That will not be necessary."
"I knew you could hear me."
"I am surprised the others can not hear you as well."
"What are we going to do, Spock?"
He looked up at Lucy and saw not just frustration, but also fear in her eyes. "There is nothing we can do" he said. "If Khan does not want to be found, he will not be found. He may have intercepted your communications and realized he was in danger."
"Shit, do you think so?" Lucy dropped to the floor beside Spock and put both hands on his arm. "You can't tell the Commissioner that. Please, promise me you won't tell him it's my fault."
"I don't report to Commissioner Graves, Lucy. I don't have to tell him anything, and neither do you. It may mean forfeiting the bounty on Khan, but..."
"You think I'm doing this for money?" She looked offended. "You think that's all I care about?"
"You are a bounty hunter and a mercenary," he reminded her. "By definition you put money above all other beliefs and convictions."
She shook her head. "The DET doesn't pay people to work for them, Spock. Why would they need to pay me when they already have something of mine that money can't buy?"
"What is that?" he asked her.
She lowered her head, looking at her hands still on his arm. "I wish I could tell you."
Spock frowned. "Is Commissioner Graves blackmailing you? Is he extorting your services somehow?"
She looked up at him and her eyes told him it was true. Spock was finally beginning to understand Lucy's motivation for betraying the Augments and her colony on Wellhaven. "If so, his actions are illegal. You can report Commissioner Graves to the Security Council."
"The Federation Security Council?" she asked, laughing dryly. "Who do you think they would believe?"
She was right. A citizen of a non-Federation planet would be lucky to get an audience with the Security Council, let alone convince them one of their high ranking officers was corrupt. "I could petition them with you," he offered.
She looked surprised, and touched. "You would do that for me?"
Spock did not know why he'd made the offer. He did not know Lucy, not really. The more he learned about her, the more he realized he did not know her at all. Yet, he wanted to help her if he could. "They would be forced to launch an investigation, but you have to tell me what the Commissioner is holding over you."
She looked tempted, but stopped short as the door suddenly slid open. It was Matthew. Lucy released Spock's arm and backed away from him to sit on his bed.
Matthew seemed flustered to see them. "You two should get out of here," he said, crossing the room to his own bed and starting to undress. He put on a clean pair of trousers and his best shirt. "I need to take the ship for a while."
"Aren't we all leaving in a few hours?" Lucy asked, sounding skeptical.
"I should be back by then."
"I am confined to quarters," Spock reminded him.
"Arma will understand."
"I will stay where I am," Spock said, not wanting to set foot on Khan's property again, even if Lucy was right and Khan was not in residence. "If you're returning with the ship..."
"Haven't you done enough damage?" Matthew snapped.
"I assume by your defensiveness that you are going to see Beth?" Spock surmised, arching an eyebrow.
Matthew narrowed his eyes resentfully, but didn't deny it.
"And Khan as well?" Lucy asked, sitting up straight.
"I'm not sure."
"But you know where they are?"
Matthew nodded. "Yes."
"Then we're coming with you," Lucy said, standing and heading for the door.
"No," Matthew started to protest.
"What if Khan isn't with her?" she asked. "Do you really want to risk being alone with her after everything that happened last time?"
Matthew scowled as Lucy left the room and Spock knew that was exactly what he wanted.
Beth shivered as she crouched in the cold bathtub, wrapped in a white towel and grasping a towel rod she'd ripped off the wall. She had used it to beat on the door and the walls while she screamed herself hoarse. Finally she turned the tap on in the sink and let it flood onto the floor, hoping it would leak into the room below and someone in maintenance would find her.
Not that she knew what she would do if she got free. If she ever wanted to see her children again, she would have to face Khan at some point... which had probably been his intention when he sent them away. She viciously thought of breaking the mirror to have something sharp to use against him, but in the back of her mind she knew that trying to cut him would be useless and probably just give him ideas.
Would he really hurt her? She knew he loved her, but after killing Matthew or beating him to a pulp would he be able to stop himself? She thought of what Matthew had told her about Khan being aroused by blood. He'd held her prisoner once and made Dr. Neel threaten her with a knife as he undressed her... Beth was too frightened by the memory to be surprised it had returned to her.
Finally, after what felt like hours, she heard a loud sound in the next room, like somebody knocking something over.
"Help!" she screamed, too afraid to get out of the bathtub in case it was Khan returning.
There was banging on the bathroom door and she jumped, gripping the towel rod even harder.
"Beth!" a deep voice called. "Beth, are you alright?"
It could have been Khan's voice except for the undertone of kindness.
"Open the door," Matthew said.
"It's stuck," she shouted back, "Khan..."
But before she could finish, the door flew across the bathroom in a shower of splinters and plaster. Matthew followed closely, turning off the tap and looking around the room. He took a deep, relieved breath when he saw her cowering in the tub. She knew it was just Matthew, but still brandished the towel rod as he strode towards her.
He knocked it out of her hand and bent over to pick her up. Beth didn't know why she struggled, but he held her calmly, standing in the puddle of tapwater as she wore herself out.
"You're alright," he said gently, carrying her through to the bedroom as she began to cry. He sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her close. Beth hid her face in his shoulder, sobbing with relief, holding him tight as she balled his leather jacket in her fists.
"Shh, you're alright," he repeated. "You're safe with me."
She nodded, wanting to believe him, but knowing safety was a transient thing. "We have to get out of here," she told him, looking up and wiping her eyes. "We can't be here when Khan comes back."
"What happened?" Matthew asked, looking around at the bedroom. His eyes lingered on the bed, which was still fully made. "Did he hurt you?" He lowered his voice, turning her face up to look at him. "Did he rape you?"
"No," Beth said, remembering the expression on Khan's face as he'd pushed his fingers inside her. He had been so close to losing control, anger and hunger burning through the cracks in his veneer. He could have raped her in that moment. "But he knows."
Matthew looked confused. "Knows what?"
"About us," she said. "He wants... I'm sorry, Matthew," she said, starting to cry again. "He wants to kill you. He knows that we slept together."
"That we..." Matthew's voice trailed off. "Why does he think that?"
Beth wasn't sure. Her memories were incomplete, but she remembered fighting with Matthew about it afterwards. "That's why Spock was doing the mind meld," she realized. She saw Matthew watching her strangely. "We did sleep together, didn't we?"
He gazed into her eyes for a long time, his hand moving slowly down her bare back where the towel had dropped a little. "Yes," he finally said, pushing a strand of hair back from her face. He leaned forward to kiss her, a gentle, tentative kiss, so unlike the way Khan had kissed her.
She let him do it, but felt an overwhelming disappointment in herself. She really had cheated on her husband and the father of her children. She had lied about it... no, not just lied, she'd tried to erase it and caused everyone involved even more confusion and pain. No wonder Khan was so enraged.
"We should leave," she said abruptly, pushing herself off Matthew's lap. He stood, following her closely, keeping his hand on her back like he didn't want to lose that small amount of contact. She shrugged him off, feeling annoyed, not wanting anyone to touch her ever again. "I need something to wear."
She looked through the closets and drawers, hoping Arma had left some clothes behind. There wasn't even a bathrobe. In the next room, Beth's gold dress was still pooled on the floor. She picked it up, folding the torn material in half. It was either this or the towel.
"My shoes are in the bathroom," she told Matthew. "Could you get them for me?"
"Of course," he said, starting to turn away.
Beth untucked her towel and it fell to the floor. Matthew stopped, mid-turn, and stared.
"What?" she asked. He must have seen her naked, at least once before, but his eyes were moving all over her like they were trying to take everything in at the same time. She could practically feel them on her skin. He took a halting step towards her and Beth covered herself with the remnants of her dress. "My shoes," she said, pointing behind him.
She waited for him to leave the room. She could not understand why she had sacrificed her marriage for him. He was fun and easy going and Khan was often neither, but she could never love Matthew the way she'd once loved Khan... the way she'd been starting to love him again...
She wrapped the folded material of her dress around her body, trying to turn it into something she could wear in public.
"May I?" Matthew asked when he returned.
Beth let him adjust the material, knotting it at the top, tearing a long strip from the bottom. It made the dress even shorter - a strapless minidress which she would never normally wear, but when he tied the strip around her waist it cinched and secured everything together so at least it wouldn't fly open.
Matthew ran his hands over her curves, smoothing the material. "Beautiful," he said, smiling as he tugged loose threads from the hem, the backs of his fingers brushing against her thighs. Beth felt her stomach tighten as he grew still, standing unnecessarily close to her. His hand lingered at the bottom of her skirt and slowly started to slide underneath.
His fingertips stroked the soft, sensitive skin under her buttocks. She could hear his breathing change, becoming uneven as he lowered his mouth to her shoulder. He kissed her skin, and his lips felt the same as Khan's, but also not the same. It did feel nice. He was gentle and loving, and her body warmed to his touch, but he was not the one it really wanted. He was not the one who could set it on fire.
"Not here," she said, pushing him away. "Not now."
Not for a long time, she swore to herself. She would not go from one man to the next, falling in and out of bed in exchange for their protection. Not that anyone could protect her as well as Khan. Not that anyone one could protect her from him.
Spock sat at the controls of the Augment ship, which was hovering above the tall hotel skyscraper in St. Petersburg. Matthew had gone to find Beth, and Lucy had gone to update Commissioner Graves. He wondered what power the man held over her, and if he really would release her if she led him to Khan.
Spock was alone on the ship, which was how he preferred to be. He put his hands on the controls and imagined just flying off into the night. The ship was fitted with a cloaking device, the Augments would never find him. Not that they would look; they would have their hands full when the Federation came for Khan. If any of them escaped, they had the Klingons to deal with as well. Spock could just disappear...
His communicator chirped and he took it off his belt to look at it. It was Matthew. This was Spock's last chance to leave without facing what he'd done to his Augment crew-mates.
Spock switched on the view screen and saw Matthew with Beth on the roof of the hotel. He'd given her his jacket, which she wore over a short, shiny dress. There was something wrong with the way she was standing. Spock zoomed in on her face. She looked shattered, like all hope had been drained out of her. Matthew would not have hurt her, nor would Khan... unless... Spock felt another wave of guilt wash over him and he started to lower the ship so they could board. There was no point in trying to escape; he would never be able to escape what he had done.
The ship was too big to land on the rooftop so Matthew had to give Beth a boost so she could climb onboard. She knew he could see all the way up her short skirt as she struggled to pull herself into the ship, but she pretended not to care. Once she was safely onboard he jumped in easily beside her.
"You okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet and keeping a supportive arm around her waist. She nodded, trying to turn away from him, but he held her firmly. "Let's get you secured," he said, guiding her through a corridor and onto the bridge of the small ship. She saw Spock sitting at the controls and experienced the first glimmer of happiness she'd felt since Khan had locked her in the bathroom.
She stepped forward to go to him, but Matthew held her back. "We need to leave," he said to Spock. "Is everything ready?"
Spock turned, his eyes shrewdly observing Matthew's hand on her waist, his other hand on her arm. "Lucy stepped out," he said, standing up.
"We can't wait for her," Matthew told him, his grip tightening on Beth as Spock came closer. "Khan could be back at any moment. Turn the cloak on."
Spock flicked it on but didn't sit back down. "Beth, tell me what happened."
"We don't have time," Matthew said, turning Beth towards a chair and putting her in it.
"I can do it myself," she snapped as he tried to fasten her seat belt.
He looked at her face, surprised by her tone. He looked at Spock as well. "Go and find Lucy if you don't want to leave her behind."
"No," Beth almost shouted. As soon as Spock was off the ship Matthew would leave, and he could take her anywhere. How similar was he to Khan, deep deep down when he really wanted something? Did he want her badly enough to force her to stay with him against her will? She might never see her children again, she might never see Khan again. "Matthew's right, Spock. We don't have any time. We have to get away so Khan can cool down."
If that was even possible, she thought as she let Matthew fasten her seatbelt. She watched him practically drag Spock back to the controls. They took off, shooting out of the Earth's atmosphere in a matter of seconds.
"Where are you going, Matthew?" Spock asked after a few minutes, turning to the Augment.
Matthew was staring forward, the muscles working hard in his jaw as he clenched and unclenched it. "I told you not to come," he finally said, and Beth wasn't sure who he was talking to.
"Matthew?" she prompted, trying to sound unconcerned.
Spock turned to face her and Matthew lashed out, punching him hard in the mouth. "Don't look at her!" He threw a second punch, which Spock dodged and the two men wrestled to the ground.
"No!" Beth shouted, unfastening her seat belt. It was happening again - she had been through this once before and she wouldn't do it again - floating through space with two men until one of them eventually broke the other. She ran for the cloaking switch, lunging for it, hoping Khan was already looking for her, scanning for the Augment ship. Before she could reach the switch the whole bridge launched sideways, throwing her on top of Matthew and Spock.
The two men barely noticed, except to roughly shove her off them as they continued to fight. She went for the switch again and there was another jolt. It was not torpedo fire; something was colliding with their ship.
"Spock!" yelled Beth. "Matthew! Something is on top of us."
It took a long time for the two men to realize what she'd said. They slowly stood and took their seats, glaring at each other in a reluctant truce.
"I don't see anything," Spock said, looking at the scanners.
"It's another cloaked ship," Matthew said, switching the view screen to comm. mode. "It's hailing..."
Beth gasped as Khan's face filled the screen. If she'd imagined she would be relieved to see him, she was mistaken.
His eyes were cold, his smile was cruel, his voice was softer than velvet. "The three people I would most like to kill, all together on one ship. You really have made this very easy."
"Khan," Beth said, and his eyes narrowed at her, staring through the cameras and the wires and the space between them, and finding the very center of her soul. "Don't," was all she could muster.
He pretended to laugh and shook his head pityingly. "Come, now, Beth, you can do better than that," he said. "You won't be able to save your lover or your Vulcan, but you might be able to save yourself."
"Please," she said, tears filling her eyes. "I love you." She did. She felt it even in this moment when she was so afraid. She did love him.
He couldn't pretend to laugh at that. "Is that why you're leaving me?"
She knew that was how it looked. "I swear..."
"You swore that you would never leave!" he shouted, losing his calm for a moment, banging his fist so hard the whole screen shook. A lock of hair fell in front of his face and Beth reached out instinctively, wanting to brush it back.
"Khan, you need to listen to me," Spock said.
Khan looked down at him, seeming to remember that he had an audience. "I think it is you who needs to listen, Mr. Spock." He took a few steps back and leaned to the side to grab something. Suddenly Lucy was standing in front of him and he had his hand around her neck. She looked terrified.
Beth could remember once being where she stood and how frightened she had been. "Stop it, Khan," she said. "You don't have to do this."
"Jealous?" he taunted, and he forced Lucy to face him and kissed her on the mouth. She struggled, scratching at his neck, tearing his shirt.
"Khan!" Spock shouted, standing up.
Matthew killed the comm. and turned to him. "How is Khan doing this? We designed the cloak on this ship. Nothing can penetrate it."
"Khan can," Beth said, feeling a bitter anger settling over her fear. Khan had made her jealous and she felt sickened by herself. What kind of victim was she that she could be jealous of that kiss?
"Matthew is right," Spock said. "There must be something else onboard, a tracking beacon too strong to be concealed by the cloak."
"It's me," Beth whispered. "He's here for me." He would never let her go. It was a promise he had made a long time ago when she was his prisoner, and everything since then had reinforced those words. It eventually became something she loved about him, something that made her feel safe and protected, but now it had put them all in danger.
"We'd already know about it," Matthew argued, ignoring her. "It would need a massive amplifier to boost the signal."
The comm. light blinked angrily on the console, but it was probably not as angry as Khan, who had been cut off in the middle of his moment of retribution.
"It's me," Beth repeated. She didn't know how, but she knew it was her. She looked down at her wedding ring, glowing softly in the dim cabin lights. "It is me!" she suddenly shouted, holding her left hand out between Matthew and Spock. "My ring is an amplifier. I remember. Khan told me it was cut from the same crystal as the amplification orb from Centula!"
Matthew grabbed her hand. "You knew you had a tracking device and you didn't tell us?"
"No," Beth said, shaking her head. "I didn't know he was tracking me, I don't think I ever knew."
"Give it to me," Matthew said, twisting the ring off her finger.
"Be careful," Beth said. "Don't break it."
Matthew laughed. "Don't break it? I either break it or he breaks our necks." He turned the ring over in his hands, examining the back. "I see the tracking chip." He looked up at Beth, his expression almost triumphant. "Wow, a secret tracking device in your wedding ring. If that's not a metaphor for your so-called marriage..."
He dropped the ring on the floor and stomped down hard with his foot.
"No!" Beth yelled, diving for it, her fingers almost getting crushed under his heel. She was a fraction of a second too late and when Matthew raised his foot again the golden crystals had been completely crushed. "No," Beth cried, wanting to scream, wanting to break Matthew's neck herself.
She knew it was stupid to be so upset over a piece of jewelry, especially one that had just put all their lives in danger, but Beth felt distraught as she picked up the silver band and swept the grains of crystal into her hand. Khan had made it for her, he had given it to her in their cave, given her his heart and pledged his life to her. She loved him so much it hurt, and part of her didn't care what he'd done, or what he planned to do. She clenched her fingers around the ring, willing it to reconstitute itself from the sheer force of her love.
"It worked," Matthew said, turning his back on her and taking his seat again.
Beth looked up. The comm. light had stopped blinking. Khan had lost track of her. He was probably less than a hundred feet away but it could have been a thousand miles.
"Oh shit." Matthew began punching buttons furiously on the console. "Brace for impact!" he yelled, and a second later Spock threw himself on top of Beth.
The bridge shook violently, the whole ship vibrating as it was hit with an array of photon torpedoes. Beth screamed, but it was drowned out by the wail of the ship's alarm and the hissing of the shields as they tried to deflect Khan's weapons.
It was relentless. Why wasn't Matthew retreating? Beth tried to look out from under Spock's arm as he hugged himself around her. Sparks were shooting out of the dashboards on the console, panels were dropping from the ceiling, wires uncoiling and sending out more sparks. Matthew was shouting as he hit more buttons, but whatever he was saying, whatever he was doing, it was not enough to stop Khan. Nothing would ever be enough.
Beth closed her eyes and squeezed the remnants of her ring inside her fist. Maybe it had been a symbol of her marriage, and now it was a symbol of the end of her marriage... maybe a symbol of the end of her life. As she tried to accept her fate, she thought about her children and her mother, and especially Khan, and the pure moments of happiness they had shared. She was surprised to find comfort in one undeniable fact:
He had never let her go.
Okay, I promise this is not the end of the story (how much would you hate me!), but it might be close to rock bottom for Beth and Khan. Strange that Beth realizes her love for him when he is putting her in the most danger. They have always had an intense, somewhat disturbed relationship and that will probably never change. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Another pretty long one with lots going on but I hope you enjoyed it.
As always, thanks for reading, and I was excited to see new follows and favs, and lots of comments as things heat up. Thanks to these folks who reviewed since last time - really appreciate all the support and encouragement :)
Benedict'sZombieGirl, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, rem, WhitneyG, Destiny Rain Evans, NerdyChicksHaveMoreFun, TheJewellersHand, CLTex, Just Pam, Sinister Bunny, AniMags and the Guests. Had to giggle at all the hate for Matthew - he sure earned it this time!
Stay tuned for more consequences :)
xo