Let the Games Begin
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Chapter 52 - NEVER GOING TO BE THE SAME AGAIN
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Jess was extremely relieved that Becker was back to his old self again. Not completely, of course - he still had a tube attached to his arm and had spent most of the day dozing in medical. But the Becker that liked her, that found her attractive, that couldn't get enough of her touch - THAT Becker was back, and Jess couldn't have been happier.
Of course, she was still feeling guilty about losing the camera feeds, but knowing that Lester had gotten the APW out to the Games staff took some of the pressure off. Connor was right - it had been mostly luck that she'd managed to spot the other Matt in the crowd. But now, with hundreds of eyes on the look-out for him, it was likely he'd be caught...if he did, in fact, return to the Stadium.
So Jess set about her normal routine, finally getting some real work done for the first time in days, yet there was a lingering feeling of melancholy that she couldn't quite shake...or even identify. It wasn't till mid-afternoon, when Connor joined her and Abby at the hub for the Taekwondo semifinals, that she realised why.
"Just think," Connor commented as the three flatmates watched the competitors kicking and punching each other on the mat, "this is one of the last times we'll ever do this."
"Shirk your duties?" Lester asked drily as he walked by. "I somehow doubt that."
But Connor ignored their sarcastic guv'nor, instead continuing, "No, I mean just the three of us, watching telly together. Come Monday, me and Abby'll be getting the keys to our new place. It's never gonna be the same again."
Abby nodded. "And the Olympics are over tomorrow night, yeah? That seems weird, too - they've become such a part of our lives."
"But there's still the Paralympics," Jess said, trying to cheer herself up. "They'll be fun, too, yeah?"
And while she was certain they would be, she was still feeling down, knowing Connor had been spot-on with his observation - everything was about to change, and nothing would ever be the same again.
So the melancholy lingered, and Becker noticed it the moment she arrived in medical to eat their evening meal together. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.
Jess shrugged. "The Olympics are almost over."
Becker nodded, his eyebrow raised. "As are our ridiculous extra shifts, working every weekend, sleeping on the floor, and sharing a toilet with six other people. So I ask again - what's wrong?"
"Okay, okay, you have a point," Jess conceded, laughing. "But it hasn't been ALL bad. It's been fun having something that we can all watch together. And I like having people to come home to ... and people to share a bed with," she added shyly.
"Well," Becker began, "the medics might want someone to stay with me for a bit. You wouldn't know anyone who might be interested in taking on such a hardship, would you?"
Jess grinned and leant over to give him a kiss, realising time alone with Becker was definitely a change to look forward to. But their lips had barely touched when the klaxons started blaring.
"Dammit," Jess grumbled under her breath as she hurried out of medical and down the long corridors to Ops.
When she arrived, Lester was already sat in her seat, clearly feeling overwhelmed at the questions he was being bombarded with. "I think it's...no, wait...yes, it seems to be...at the Stadium?" From his tone of voice, it was unclear whether he doubted the ADD itself or merely his ability to decipher its readings.
Jess leant across him to tap out the necessary commands on the keyboard before confirming, "I'm afraid he's right - the anomaly's at Olympic Stadium."
Matt heaved a sigh as Connor cheerily pointed out, "Well, at least we know how to get there."
Jess's heart sank as she realised the implications. "But we won't have any access to the camera feeds."
"Then we'll just have to make do," Matt replied. "C'mon. Let's assemble the team."
Yet everyone continued to simply stand there, as if waiting for something. Suddenly it occurred to Jess - Becker always passed out the blackboxes, and without him there, no one was stepping up. As Jess was stood right beside them, she quickly picked up the tracking devices and started tossing them to the others. As she grabbed up the last one, she held it for a moment, staring at it, before blurting out, "Matt, I've an idea. I can't access the cameras from here, but if I were to get into the security viewing room at the Stadium itself, I'd be able to guide you."
Matt frowned. "But what about the hub?"
"As Connor said, we know how to get there, and Lester should be able to handle our communication needs. And really, without the cameras, there's not much else I could do from here anyway."
"If there's an incursion," Abby began, "having the cameras would be useful."
"Especially as we are a man down," Emily pointed out.
Matt nodded. "As long as Lester's okay with it."
"Yes, yes, I'm perfectly capable of handling things here," Lester said. "Now GO, before some T-Rex decides to eat the entire Swiss track team - Lord knows how we'd explain THAT to the LOC!"
Jess automatically reached for her handbag and ran out with the others, her heart pounding in her chest, wondering what exactly she'd just let herself in for.
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Becker knew he wasn't up for going out with the team - that was a no-brainer - but that didn't mean he wasn't anxious to know what was going on. The moment Jess had run out, Becker had picked up the earpiece he'd used during the morning staff meeting, hoping that Jess would think to set up the comms so he could hear. After several minutes of silence, though, he realised it simply mustn't have occurred to her. Now, as far as Becker was concerned, sitting here alone, without knowing what was going on with the team, was not an option, so there was only one thing for it - he'd have to make the long trip down to Ops.
Instead of asking for permission, which might have been denied, he merely called into the office where the on-duty medic was working, announcing, "I'm off to Ops." The girl raised a doubtful eyebrow but said nothing, not even a "Need a hand?" Becker gave a frustrated sigh as he grabbed hold of the wheeled pole suspending his infusion pump and headed out of medical.
He went slowly, not wanting to risk tripping and yanking the drip from his forearm, though that wasn't the only reason. Other than short trips to the toilet in medical bay, Becker had been flat on his back for almost three days. As such, he'd thought he was doing much better. And, of course, he was - his head had stopped throbbing, his fevre was gone, and the bacteria in his circulation were mostly driven off. But now that he was upright, he realised he was nowhere near back to normal, as even the simple walk down the corridors was winding him. He kept hoping that Jess would set up his comms so he could simply stop where he was and follow the team's actions via the radio traffic, but no such luck. So he plodded on, knowing that Jess would take care of him once he made it to Ops.
Yet as he finally reached Lester's office and headed for the stairs, the sight at the hub made him stop. He stared, wondering if his fevre had returned, for surely he was now seeing things.
"Jess?" he called out doubtfully.
"Do I LOOK like bloody Jess?" Lester snapped back at him before adding, "And what are you doing out of bed?"
"I...uh...," Becker stammered, glancing about, wondering where Jess had rushed off to...and why.
But clearly someone was talking to Lester for he replied into his earpiece, "Yes, Becker just showed up here in Ops. ...Well, how should *I* know? ... Why don't you simply tell him yourself? ... Oh, right. Now how do I do that?"
Lester turned his back to Becker, frantically searching the keyboards for the right buttons to press, as the soldier asked, "Where's Jess?"
But before his boss could answer, Becker suddenly heard Jess's voice in his earpiece.
"Becker, what the hell are you doing out of bed? You're sick, remember? Did Mel simply let you go? And PLEASE don't tell me you yanked the drip out of your arm - don't you know you need that to-?"
"Jess, where are you?" Becker managed to get out, thoroughly confused.
"I'm...with the team, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is you getting back to medical and-"
"The team?" Becker repeated back blankly, feeling severely disorientated - since when did the ARC have a team of coordinators?
"The anomaly's at the Stadium, you see," Jess explained, "and the Games cameras are no longer accessible from the ARC, so if there's an incursion, we'll need to be able to-"
"You went out with the TEAM?!" Becker finally understood and was furious. "Jessica, what the hell were you thinking? You have no business out in the field."
"What is THAT supposed to mean?" she asked, sounding a bit peeved herself.
"Guys," Matt's calm voice sounded over the comms, making Becker realise their entire conversation had been overheard. "Let's all calm down, yeah? Everything's under control. We're almost to the car park. Now Becker, you need to get back to bed-"
"I'm not leaving Ops while Je-the team is out in the field!" Becker insisted, even though he wasn't technically in Ops yet as he hadn't the strength to carry his infusion pump down the stairs.
"Fine," Matt said. "Then have a seat and let us get down to business, yeah? Lester, do we know what time period this anomaly leads to yet?"
"Time period?" Lester repeated back blankly, staring with confusion at the keyboards at the hub. "Um ... well ... Jess?"
"I'm afraid it's too complicated to explain over the comms," Jess replied. "We'll simply have to wait and get a reading with the handheld calculator when we arrive."
Becker felt another surge of anger. If Jess were here, where she was MEANT to be, she'd be able to tell them in an instant. How could she have been so reckless?
Lester, however, was clearly wondering the same thing about Becker for he rushed over, saying, "If you're going to insist on staying, I suppose we'd best get you safely in a chair - I don't need you collapsing again when I'm meant to be watching the hub."
The flustered bureaucrat hurried up the stairs, taking hold of the infusion pump pole and carefully helping Becker down the few steps to Ops. Once they reached the bottom and the rolling stand was securely back down on the ground, Lester rushed back to the hub to try to upload a map to answer Matt's latest question.
But Temple answered instead, "Matt, it's a right on Rick Roberts Way - I remember Jess's tongue-twister."
"And then it's a right at the roundabout into the car park," Jess added as Becker finally reached the hub and stared at the blackbox locations on the map as the three vehicles approached the roundabout.
This was going to be unlike any anomaly Becker had ever before experienced.
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to be continued
