CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Admiral Nelson stared irritably at the stacks of reports piled on his desk. He was way behind on his paperwork and this whole situation with Lee hadn't helped. So, far there had been no change in Crane's condition. Nelson, in addition to Chip, Chief Sharkey and few of the long term crewmen like Kowalski and Patterson had spent hours at Crane's side trying to evoke some sort of response, but so far their efforts had all been in vain. If only he would wake up, thought Nelson impatiently, then they could tell him everything was all right and that they knew he was innocent.

With a long suffering sigh, Nelson picked up a folder and no sooner had he begun to read the first of many reports, when the phone rang. Almost grateful for the interruption, he picked up the receiver. "Nelson here." He listened silently for several long moments, his face growing more and more grim. "Yes, I understand. Yes. Thank you." Slowly he replaced the receiver as his mind struggled to understand the implications of what he had just learned.

It was the security center where Babrof was being held. A guard had found the defector dead in his cell less than an hour ago. There were no signs of any violence, but foul play was still suspected. They would be testing for poison. Nelson tapped his pencil pensively on his desk surface thinking hard. He had little doubt it was the work of an agent of the People's Republic to prevent Babrof from talking. He frowned. If they had taken out Babrof then it stood to reason Lee would also be on the list. Obviously if he had been commanding the Viper, he would know her secrets as well as Babrof, and although at the moment he was of no threat, if Lee should wake up, he could tell them probably everything they wanted to know about her. Damn! He immediately picked up the phone and dialed.

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Chip was sitting quietly by Lee's side reading aloud. The book was Moby Dick, one of Lee's favorites. Chip hoped that if Lee could even just hear his voice it might eventually help bring his friend back. He paused a moment to take a drink of water. Lee continued to stare blankly ahead giving no indication he knew anyone was near. Chip sighed sadly. As long as Seaview was still being repaired, spending time here was no problem, but in a few more weeks they would undoubtedly be putting back out to sea. Lee's mother was unwell and hadn't been able to make the long trip out from Rhode Island to California. The admiral had been keeping her up to date, and they were hoping that by the time the Seaview had to leave that she might be well enough to come out and be with her son. Perhaps she could succeed where they had failed.

Chip was about to resume when the door to Lee's room opened. A young intern looked in. "Commander Morton?"

"Yes," replied Chip turning to look at the young man.

"Sir, there's a phone call for you from Admiral Nelson. He says he needs to speak with you right away."

Morton nodded as he got to his feet. Marking his place in his book, he set it on Lee's bedside table. "Don't go anywhere, Lee," he said with a small smile. "I'll be right back."

The intern held the door open and stepped out of Chip's way. "It's the phone at the nurses' station at the end of the hall." Morton nodded and hurried away as the intern watched. Then, with a quick glance up and down the hallway, the young man slipped into the room and silently closed the door behind him.

Chip wondered what the admiral needed. He hoped there wasn't some new problem with the Seaview's repairs. He'd been called back over there numerous times in the past week and usually for stupid things that could have been handled by any competent technician.

"Commander Morton?"

Chip stopped by the large desk where a nurse stood holding a phone receiver staring at him. "Yes. I understand there's a phone call for me?" She blinked in surprise and handed him the phone.

"This is Morton."

"Chip! Thank God!" replied Admiral Nelson in relief. "Listen, I just got word that Babrof is dead. They suspect murder but are still investigating. This means Lee could be next. I've got some security guards on the way, and they should be there within the ten minutes. But keep your eyes open and don't ever leave Lee alone. Do you understand? Someone must be with him at all times."

Chip was about to reply when he suddenly went very cold. He turned to the nurse. "Who was the intern you sent down to give me the message?"

She frowned. "Intern? I didn't send an intern. The phone rang just before you got here. I was about to come get you myself."

Chip stared at her in confusion then dropping the phone, sprinted down the hallway back to Lee's room. Flinging open the door, he saw the intern bent over a Lee, a syringe in his hand. The man turned in surprise, but in one smooth motion grabbed the IV stand by Lee's bedside and hurled it at Chip. Chip ducked but immediately threw himself at the man as he tried to make it to the door, dragging him to the floor.

The man grunted rolling to one side freeing himself from Chip's grasp. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a small gun and fired it. Chip cried out in pain as the bullet caught him just below the collar bone, blood quickly soaking his shirt. The intern scrambled to his feet. He turned to head out the door but pulled up short in surprise to find Lee Crane standing there, his eyes dark with fury. Before the intern could bring up his gun a second time, Lee launched himself at the man and sent him careening across the room and into the far wall, the gun flying. The man again scrambled to his feet preparing to attack Lee when two burly MP's hurried in, guns drawn. The intern froze, staring at them in resignation then back at Lee who stood unsteadily nearby, trying to catch his breath and watching the man warily.

The intern laughed softly. "Well, this wasn't exactly how I planned for this to end but at least I completed my mission." Suddenly, his body began to shudder, his eyes rolled dramatically up into his head, and he collapsed heavily to the ground. One of the doctors who had been watching from outside the room was quickly called in, but it was too late. The man was dead.

Panting, Lee stood silently off to one side all but forgotten as the doctors attended to Chip and the assassin. He felt detached from the situation. He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten here, wherever here was. All Lee remembered was hearing Chip's cry of pain and reacting. He felt so dazed. He became vaguely aware of Chip trying to say something to the doctor.

"Lee!" Chip moaned fighting to stay conscious for just a few moments longer, "He did something to Lee! Had a hypo…check Lee…" Lee looked down into his friend's pallid face and frowned. There was so much blood. Had the bullet hit an artery? And what was he saying? It didn't seem to make any sense to Lee. The image before him blurred. He closed his eyes for a moment. He suddenly felt so very tired and he could feel the world spinning around him.

One of the doctors looked up and seemed to notice Lee for the first time. His eyes widened in shock. "Commander Crane! Are you all right?" Lee's eyes fluttered open. The world spun around and he could feel his knees buckle. He heard a distant voice yelling, "Catch him!" and everything went black.

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A/N: Thanks Nans for pointing out the errors in the last chapter. I'm usually pretty good at catching most of them but it seems like one or two always manage to sneak by!

Another short chapter I'm afraid, but the end is near. Thanks again to all of you for following this tale of woe!