I'm so sorry for the long delay in finishing this last chapter. I'm not even going to try to explain what happened cos it seems like I've moved over into Days of Our Lives territory! Anyhow to those of you who have bothered to finish reading this, thank you for hanging around.
My medical knowledge is limited to internet research so if the following scenario sounds ridiculous then just go with it anyway. This is fiction after all! Just be thankful I'm not your doctor.
Chapter Twelve
As Bridger came through the door to the lab he saw Levin lean back in his seat and rub a tired hand through his hair. He saw nothing to give him any hope but he had to ask anyway. The doctor glanced up as he entered.
"Anything new?"
Levin shook his head as he stood up to stretch. "Sorry, Captain but this is one nasty little toxin. I've gotta give it to him, Perez really knows his stuff."
Bridger leaned on the bench and waved a hand across the paperwork scattered there. Scribbled notes showed hours of unrelenting searching and theorizing but it seemed there was nothing to show for it.
"Is there anything here we can use? I mean maybe we can't get an exact antidote but something has got to be better than nothing?" Levin could hear the hint of desperation in the captain's voice and he wished he could do something to alleviate it.
"So far everything we've tried has proven useless. Even worse, some of the things we tried have actually caused more cellular damage."
"Damage? How?"
"Well actually we aren't entirely sure what it is, so we are working on the assumption it's a toxin with the usual expectations that go with that." Levin glanced over at Roche and saw his own fatigue echoed on her face. "The truth is that this thing just defies description and doesn't respond as expected. I mean it acts like a toxin but nothing is working so far. I just wish we could get a sample of Perez's antidote to work from. Maybe there'd be enough time to synthesize some more for Doctor Wolenczak."
Bridger shook his head in frustration. "That's why I came down to see you. We just got word that Lawrence is dead." As Levin looked at him with confusion the captain continued on. "Lucas is on his way back to us. It seems Perez lied about the antidote. There never was one."
He held up a hand to halt the inevitable questions and hurried on. "It's a long story but he was testing Lawrence to see if he'd save himself or save Lucas. Bottom line Joshua … it's up to you to find an answer. Fast!"
Levin sagged back into his chair and sighed loudly. "Our only other possible idea we've been thinking about is since the toxin was DNA-specific maybe we can override it somehow. Find a way to use Lucas' DNA to fight it."
Before Bridger could answer, his PAL began to beep.
"Bridger here."
"Captain, we've just got word from Longman's Security Chief that they've detained Redeck. They are still looking for the other one O'Neill identified but they assured me he hasn't yet left the station."
Bridger nodded and began to move towards the door. "I'm on my way, Commander. Prep me a shuttle. I want to hear what he has to say for myself!"
"It's waiting in shuttle bay 6, Sir." He had already anticipated the captain would want to be in on the questioning of the man suspected of causing so much death.
As Bridger turned to walk out the door he paused to look back at the exhausted medical team. He knew they had all been working long hours and he silently wondered if any of them had actually had any sleep.
"Keep me posted."
"So what now?"
Morton looked back at the man sitting at the table and shook his head. "How do we reason with someone who's beyond reason?"
Perez stared at the wall directly across from him. The agents had so far witnessed him change from manic to stone cold in the space of minutes and now he seemed to be oblivious to their presence. Morton walked over to the table and leaned down in front of Perez.
"What did you mean before when you said that Lucas wasn't going to die?"
Perez didn't respond so Morton waved a hand across in front of his face. "I said, what did you mean that Lucas wasn't going to die?"
Time was running out and Morton was losing patience with the game. He reached out and grabbed Perez by the collar. "Listen to me, you sick sonofabitch!" The eyes he looked down into seemed devoid of life. "There's a kid who is dying because of you! What do you think your precious Marta would have to say about that?"
The mention of Marta seemed to snap Perez back to the present and he glanced around the room. Confusion crossed his face as he took in the agents staring back at him. He reached up a hand to pry Morton's grip loose but the agent just squeezed tighter.
"Do you think she'd be impressed that you killed an innocent kid to avenge her death? How do you think she'd feel to have a child's blood on her hands?"
Perez seemed to shrink back as the weight of the questions sunk in. His eyes darted around the room and Morton could see he was beginning to panic. As the agent continued his barrage of questions aimed at breaking the man's resolve he was unaware of the exact moment when he slipped past that point.
You can save him if you want.
The look on her face was one of reproach and he cringed back from it. Marta had never looked at him like that before.
You can save him if you want.
She whispered the words that he had thrown so callously at Lawrence.
You can save him if you want.
He reached out a hand to her but she seemed to retreat from him. He couldn't bear the thought that she was angry with him.
Morton stopped his tirade and looked down at the man who had crumpled against the table. Just as he was ready to declare the interrogation a lost cause he was surprised to hear the words coming out of Perez's mouth. At first it was just a whisper but the words kept tumbling out and they grew louder.
"I'll save him …don't leave me … I'll save him … please … don't leave me …"
Katie paced impatiently across the small lab, as if her steps could somehow hurry the process. The scientist seated behind her tried to ignore the continuous sound but finally it got the better of him.
"Do you think you could go and do that somewhere else?"
Katie paused mid-step and looked up. "Sorry, I'm just … well I …"
"Listen this is my home so I'm more than anxious to get answers too. But please, can you go and do that somewhere else and let me work? I'll let you know the minute I have something."
She nodded silently and headed for the door. As she walked out into the corridor she pulled out her PAL and put in a call to the seaQuest. Maybe they had some more news.
Bridger tried to sit back in his seat but was finding it increasingly difficult to stay put. He knew the man on the other side of the plexiglas couldn't see or hear him but it didn't stop him from standing up and calling out. Each time he heard a response that was intended to stall them he wanted to slam a fist against the glass.
Redeck, or whatever his name was, sat calmly in the chair and stared at his interrogators. So far they hadn't gotten anything useful and he seemed intent on going around in circles by giving them a litany of complaints against the so-called "environmental marauders".
"How would you feel to see your home strip-mined? Or your backyard ravaged by loggers?"
The Security Chief turned and walked across the room towards the plexiglas window. As he paused in front of it Redeck called out to him.
"So who's in there? Somebody scaaary? Somebody higher up the food chain than you are Mr Braun?" He sneered at the guard beside him. "Should I be shaaaking?"
Bridger stood at the glass and glared at Redeck. "If they'd let me in there you'd be doing more than shaking!" he growled.
Redeck seemed encouraged by his own bravado and continued on with his sarcastic rant. Finally Braun turned back towards him.
"You wanna know who's in there? The man whose design you hijacked and used to kill innocent people. Maybe I should let him in here because right now I'd say he's ready to rip your arms off!"
Redeck paused and glanced over at the glass. "Nathan Bridger is in there? How deliciously ironic. The man who brought such pain to the oceans will be here to witness his ultimate failure. You know you think you are sooo clever having built so many underwater facilities but you fail to take into account whose realm you are in. One day Gaia will just shrug her shoulders and you will all be gone."
Bridger pulled his PAL out of his pocket and called through to the seaQuest.
"O'Neill, look into any group that specifically mentions Gaia in their manifest. This is more than just an environmental protection group."
"Yes, Sir."
Kristin leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. It seemed like days since she had had any rest. She could hear the engines powering down as they approached the seaQuest and the radio chatter between Ben and the bridge was just a buzz in the background of her thoughts. She forced her eyes open and looked down at her young patient. His hand was limp in hers and it had been hours since he had stirred at all. His body seemed to be shutting down and she knew it was just a matter of time before his organs began to fail. She couldn't shake the thought that she had just brought him home to die.
As the shuttle came to a stop she stood up and waited for Ben to open the docking hatch. Time seemed to slow as she watched a med team enter the shuttle. She heard herself issue instructions but she felt detached from the words as she felt as though she were moving in reverse. They had left with hopes of getting Lucas to the antidote he needed and yet they had come full circle with nothing to show for it.
Ben squeezed her hand as he passed to help with the gurney and she smiled gratefully at him.
While ever there is life there is hope.
Something her grandmother used to say. She straightened up and headed out of the shuttle behind the gurney. Yes, there was still hope.
Having been notified the shuttle was back, Levin made his way quickly to medbay. He dreaded having to give Kristin the news they had made so little progress. Since deciding that DNA was the key to the puzzle he had set his team to working that angle. If the toxin had such a specific target then maybe a specific weapon was required. He was lost in thought as he headed into medbay and nearly collided with Ben as he came around the corner.
"Sorry, Lieutenant, didn't see you."
Before Ben could reply he hurried over to where Kristin was still settling her patient. Under different circumstances he would have smiled at the image of Kristin tucking Lucas into bed like a mother hen. He suddenly stopped short and stared at her. Kristin looked up and frowned at him.
"What is it?"
"Just had an idea. We've been working on Lucas' DNA and not having any luck but what about family DNA?"
Kristin just looked at him, waiting for him to continue the train of thought.
"We know the toxin was DNA-specific to Lucas so maybe we combat it with similar but different DNA. Something that is compatible for him but different enough to fool the toxin."
For the first time in hours Kristin felt a spark of hope. "You may just be onto something! Show me what you've got so far."
Ben waited until the two of them moved over to a console to begin pulling up notes before heading over to sit down beside Lucas. He reached out to pick up Lucas' lifeless hand in his and he squeezed it firmly. "They aren't letting you go down like this. I told Bridger I'd bring you back so now you just have to wait for them to figure this out."
He smiled across at the nurse with more confidence than he felt before looking back down at his friend.
Bridger had long since given up trying to sit down and he paced the length of the glass with increasing fury. He understood environmental causes and had even once resigned in protest when his orders seriously conflicted with his personal convictions but this was insane. The man in the other room genuinely believed that he was some kind of warrior, charged with a sacred duty to protect his Sovereign, Gaia. The idea of Mother Nature was nothing new but to seriously believe she was a living, breathing entity that had to be defended at all costs?
Bridger shook his head in frustration. When would they learn the true value of environmentalism was about living in harmony with the environment? People were here to stay and no amount of rhetoric was going to change that. So their next step was terrorism?
He spun around as the door behind him opened and Hitchcock walked into the tiny observation room. A man he didn't recognize followed in behind her and he held out a sheaf of papers.
"We've identified the cause of the tube failures, Captain. It's a corrosive that only begins its work when it comes into contact with a specific cleaning chemical. Until then it's totally inert and undetectable. Our guess is that these guys have been visiting underwater facilities and placing it anywhere they could get access and then when the maintenance crews came through and cleaned the tubes they inadvertently began a chemical process that was unstoppable. By then they were long gone and safe."
Bridger looked over the information in front of him, silently shaking his head. "Commander, get this out to UEO headquarters. Now that we know the cause we can stop it from happening again."
"Yes, Sir." She paused briefly before continuing on. "Captain, Lucas' shuttle docked about twenty minutes ago."
"Thank you, Commander. I'm on my way there shortly." He turned back towards the glass and Hitchcock realized she had been dismissed.
Kristin stared at Levin as the information scrolled out across the screen before her.
"So, does it help?"
She looked back up at the vidscreen to see Admiral Noyce's anxious face.
"Ah, maybe. We need to work through what we have but this should definitely help. Did you say he just handed this over?" She looked back up as Noyce nodded at her.
"It seems he never planned to actually kill Lucas but his plan went astray when Lawrence didn't act as he expected. Perez has been in custody and under interrogation but it wasn't until about half an hour ago that he decided to give us this file. The agent in charge still isn't sure why but hopefully it's enough."
'Well at this stage we're desperate so this might be the key. We'll keep you posted Bill."
Noyce nodded as he signed off and the two doctors went back to poring over the new data.
Bridger strode into medbay and pulled up short as he saw Ben leaning over Lucas. The younger man was talking softly but animatedly and the captain felt as though he was intruding. He slowly approached the bed but Ben seemed oblivious to him.
" … and that particular game was nothing compared to …" He stopped as he realized somebody was behind him and sat upright.
The captain placed a hand on his shoulder. "How's he doing?"
"Well for all his smarts Lucas has often made incorrect assessments of baseball so I'm just taking the opportunity to correct him." Ben smiled slightly as he spoke.
"I'm assuming that's because he currently can't argue back?" Bridger smiled.
"Yeah," Ben's voice began to waiver. "But I'd give anything to have him sitting here and arguing with me right now. Hell, I'd even let him win!"
"I know." Ben began to stand up but Bridger motioned for him to sit down. "You don't need to leave Ben. I think right now he can use all the support he can get."
The two men looked at each other, each knowing the depth of the other's fear. As Ben settled back on the chair Bridger moved around to the far side of the bed and reached out to take hold of Lucas' hand.
"When exactly did such a scruffy, mouthy kid become so important to so many people?"
Ben smiled at the assessment of his friend. "I dunno, Sir. I guess once I got past wanting to slap him upside the head I began to realise who he is."
The captain laughed at the comment. "Slap him? Hell he's lucky this is a sub because there were some days I would have dropped him overboard!"
"Torpedo tubes?"
"I did think about those but couldn't figure a way to make it look accidental."
The two men continued on discussing their experiences of their early days with Lucas and both were laughing softly when Kristin and Joshua hurried back into the room. She looked back and forth between the two and quickly sized up the laughter as nothing more than a mask of their common fear.
"We have something we want to try. It's really just an educated guess but I think we are running out of time. His vitals are getting weaker and we don't really have anything else to try."
Bridger listened as she spoke before leaning over to touch her arm. "Kristin at this point whatever you have is worth a shot." She smiled weakly and nodded before checking over the monitor readouts again. Levin was already on the other side of the bed hooking up something to the IV.
"So, ahh, what is it?"
Levin looked up at Ben and stepped back from the IV. "Well we hope it's a magic bullet."
"So how long before we know if it worked?"
Kristin shook her head slowly. "Assuming Lucas' organs don't fail first … it's really anybody's guess. You have to understand this isn't an antidote as such. We've used Lawrence's blood sample to try and override the DNA trigger in the toxin. The best we can hope for is that it will be neutralized and Lucas' own immune system will take over."
Bridger stepped up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"You know the one piece of good news to come out of all this? In doing all the tests on Lucas' bloodwork we've managed to rule out him having Byrnes disease."
"What's that?"
Kristin looked up and suddenly realised she had dropped a piece of confidential information that Ben obviously didn't know about. Seeing it was too late to retract and being way past caring about protocols, she responded.
"A debilitating illness that can be passed on genetically."
"Which I'm guessing Lawrence had."
"Commander you'll be pleased to know we've apprehended Redeck's accomplice. With no way to get out he got desperate. He figured Redeck had already done his work and it was just a matter of time before the rest of the aquatubes failed. It seems he was happy to murder others for his ideals but they got wobbly when it came to his own death."
"Funny that!" Ford glared back at the Security Chief on the screen. "So have the UEO personnel arrived to begin their work?"
"All under control, Commander. Thanks to seaQuest getting here so quickly we'll manage to get to the bottom of this. We've got enough evidence to track this back to the source. Thanks again for all your help."
"Any time."
As Ford closed the vidlink he headed over to Hitchcock. "Good job out there. You picked up the evidence they needed to catch these morons. At least I can tell the captain one piece of good news today."
"You look like hell."
The captain scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to stifle another yawn. "Thanks."
"So I heard the good news from Ford. Lucas is going to be OK."
"Well he woke up Bill. He's still very weak and Kristin is still worried about him."
Noyce nodded. "Have you told him about Lawrence yet?"
Bridger turned away from the vidscreen. "Not yet. It's only been a few hours since he woke up and he's still pretty groggy. I didn't think I needed to hit him straight up with the news his father is dead."
"Well I have the autopsy report here and you might be surprised to know there is no sign of any toxin in his system."
The captain spun back to the screen. "What?"
Noyce tapped the folder in front of him. "It says here that he died from a brain haemorrhage. It's directly attributable to something called Byrnes disease. He had weakened blood vessels in the brain and it was just a matter of time really. The huge stress of the situation was enough to cause the bleed."
"So Perez spun the whole web of lies hoping to trap Lawrence into killing himself!"
"I guess he really believed Lawrence would choose to save himself."
"So how ironic is it that it was his blood sample which ultimately gave Levin the idea that saved Lucas."
'I guess that's what you need to share with Lucas. That, and his father was trying to get to him when he died."
Bridger nodded slowly. "Thanks, Bill. I'll talk to you soon."
"Hey, Kiddo, you're looking better."
Lucas tried to smile but he just couldn't summon the energy. Even though he was propped up in the bed he couldn't find the strength to lift his head off the pillow. Just keeping his eyes open was taking its toll. Bridger sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to brush the hair from Lucas' eyes.
"What happened to me? The last thing I remember is incredible pain. I thought I was going to die!"
Bridger winced at his words before putting on a calm face again. "So did we!"
"Well … actually … you were poisoned."
"With what?"
"Remember the letter you got from Perez saying he wanted your father to pay? Well the letter was impregnated with a DNA specific toxin that was designed to activate when you touched it."
Lucas stared at him in confusion. "If Perez wanted to hurt my father he picked a lousy way to go about it. Doesn't he know my father isn't particularly interested in me?"
Kristin tried to keep quiet as Bridger rubbed a hand over his face.
"What? … Captain? … What?" Lucas looked back and forth between the two adults. Something wasn't adding up. "Captain?"
"I'm sorry Lucas, there's no easy way to tell you all this." He sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Perez sent your father a package claiming to have poisoned him as well and in that package was enough antidote for only one of you. He wanted Lawrence to choose between you or himself."
Lucas stared at him, his mind racing with questions.
"Lucas, you need to know that your father chose to bring the antidote to you."
"But you can make more for him right?" He looked up at Kristin, desperation written across his face. "Right?"
"There was no antidote. Perez lied to us all. But Doctor Levin and Kristin came up with a treatment for you."
"And my father?" The words came out in a hesitant whisper.
"Your father wasn't poisoned by Perez but while he was on the way to you he had a brain haemorrhage. I'm so sorry, Lucas. There was nothing anybody could do for him. The only consolation I have for you is that it was quick. He didn't suffer."
Lucas stared at him without reaction. Kristin reached out a hand to stroke his arm but he never noticed it. Not knowing what else to do the captain leaned over and pulled Lucas into a hug. The teenager still didn't react and seemed like a ragdoll in his arms. As he looked down he could see that Lucas had closed his eyes. After being forced to leave him once, Bridger held onto Lucas with the resolve to never let him go.
"So what will happen to Perez now?" Lucas' voice wavered slightly, belying his stony face.
Noyce hesitated a moment before answering. "He's been transferred to a secure medical facility where he will receive treatment. If he's ever considered mentally fit he'll stand trial. If not, he'll stay locked up."
"I can't imagine holding onto that sort of pain for so long."
"Well grief does strange things to people sometimes, Lucas."
Bridger watched the teenager sitting across from him. He briefly closed his eyes as he recalled the countless days Lucas was stuck in medbay. He had drifted in and out for days after first waking up. Ongoing weakness from the toxin and shock over his father's death had combined to keep him there and he had missed the funeral.
"Have you come up with anything further on my father's project?"
Noyce looked away before turning back to face Lucas. "I'm sorry, Lucas but I haven't come up with anything that either proves or disproves Perez's claims. All I can tell you is Project 214 was shut down following what was officially deemed an accident.
"Well thankyou, Admiral, for the update," Lucas glanced down at his watch, "but I'm late for my checkup with Doctor Westphalen."
Without waiting to be dismissed he rose from his seat and headed for the door. Noyce frowned as he watched him go.
"Is he all right, Nathan?"
"I don't know. He's healing physically but like you just said, grief does strange things to people. I think he's still coming to grips with losing a father that he both loved and hated. The cloud hanging over 214 has just added to it."
The admiral just nodded as he reflected on the complexity of their relationship.
"I know Lawrence made mistakes and he didn't always know how to show it, but Lucas has to know that his father loved him. His final choices all involved Lucas' welfare over his own and he was trying to reach him when he died."
"I know that Bill, and I'm sure Lucas does too. I think it's just going to take time. Hopefully he will eventually realise that sometimes the past should just be left in the past."
A/N Thankyou to everyone who has stuck around to the end. I know it's not popular to write Lawrence as even vaguely human but I think it's more fun to explore realistic relationships with all that entails. After all most families have more than enough dramas. Or maybe that's just mine! Anyhow thankyou to all those who took time to review and comment. I hope you've enjoyed reading it.
