I do not own SeaQuest or any of it's characters. I am not profitting form this story. It is for
entertainment purposes only. I use 2004 as the year of birth for Lucas.
Cobb drove his boat up onto the beach of Bridger's island. 'Let's see the UEO find me here,' he
thought to himself. What better place to hide than the home of the greatest Captain in the UEO. Also, the
man he hated most in the world. If that meddling s-o-b had stayed away from his mine, he would be a
millionaire by now. He would be living on his own island living the high life. Instead, he had just spent
the last six months in jail.
But he was out now. Stupid guards never stood a chance. His men had followed the van
transporting him and then proceeded to crash into it. In a matter of minutes he was free and on his way.
He knew he'd be able to count on Larry and Jackson.
"Okay, boys, let's make ourselves comfortable," Cobb said. "I'm sure that the mighty Captain
won't mind.
"Sure, Frank," Jackson said.
"Are you sure about this?" Larry asked. "I mean, just what in the hell do we do if he decides to
show up?"
"He's not going to show up. Their next scheduled leave isn't for six weeks," Jackson said. It had
been easy enough for him to hack into the UEO computers and get a schedule and duty roster.
"Good," Cobb said. "I want time to prepare and plan. Bridger is going to regret messing with me.
He took my mine, my gold, my future. Now I'm going to take away all the things that he loves."
"That's easy," Larry said. "Blow up his damn sub."
"No, that's too easy," Cobb said. "Besides, seaQuest is the best. Do you really think we'd even
get a torpedo anywhere near that ship without being blown out of the water first? No, we have to think of
something smarter than that."
The three men went into Nathan's house after forcing the door open. Larry plopped down into the
sofa to relax. Cobb and Jackson began to explore the house to see what they could find.
"Larry, if your going to be useless, why don't you at least go down to the boat and carry the food
into the house."
"Yeah, sure," he grumbled. Part of him really wished they had left Frank in jail. He didn't like
this one bit. It was one thing to rough up a miner or two, or rob a store, but Frank wanted to take on the
UEO! He wondered just what in the heck he had gotten himself into.
Frank went upstairs to the bedrooms. He went into the big one first. On the night stand he found
several pictures sitting on it. He held them up to look at them. He saw Bridger standing with some kid. In
one they looked to be at Disney World, and the other was on a beach near the ocean. In both pictures the
Captain had his arm wrapped around the boy's shoulders. A third picture looked to be a family portrait.
This one had Bridger standing next to the boy once again, his hand on his shoulder, but also there was a
woman in this picture. She was standing on the other side of the kid, her hand on his other shoulder. He
walked away form the pictures to the closets. He only found men's clothing. Who ever the woman was,
she wasn't his wife.
He went into the other bedroom and opened the dresser drawers. He found jeans and t-shirts. So
the kid lived here with the Captain. This could be useful. Maybe he could find the kid and use him against
Bridger.
He went back downstairs. Larry was back in his spot on the sofa. Jackson was in a room off the
living room.
"What are you looking for?" Cobb asked him.
"Just seeing what I can learn about the Captain. So far I've found his financial records, past taxes,
and the mortgage. Just your average stuff. You wouldn't believe what this guy is worth," Jackson said.
"He must like working, because he has enough money to live like a king for the rest of his life."
"That's good to know," Cobb said. "Maybe I can ask the Captain to reimburse me for my lost
profits on the mine."
"What are you thinking?" Jackson asked.
"Upstairs there are pictures of a teenage kid. I'm guessing he's the Captain's son. He's got to be
in some boarding school or something since Bridger is on seaQuest. Maybe he is with his mother. There is
a family portrait upstairs. If we get the kid, we can ransom him. That's one way to make my money back."
"Not a chance," Larry said. "Breaking you out of jail was one thing. You want to rob a bank, I'm
with you all the way, but you want to kidnap a kid and then threaten the Captain of the UEO's flagship.
Frank, the only thing you are going to do is get us all in jail, or dead. I never signed on for kidnapping a
kid."
"Larry, you idiot, you will do what you are told. Besides, it's not like we're going to kill him or
anything. Once we get our money the kid will be free to go. This can make us all rich as hell. Once we
get the money we head off to a little out of the way country and then we relax and take it easy."
"Sounds good to me," Jackson said.
"You swear you won't hurt the kid," Larry said.
"I promise I won't hurt the kid," Cobb told him.
Larry still didn't look happy but he nodded his head anyway and walked out of the room.
"You really going to let the kid go?" Jackson asked.
"Hell no," Cobb said. "I want the money, but trust me, Captain Bridger is going to regret the day
he ever messed with Frank Cobb. I think killing his son would be a perfect revenge. Start looking through
this stuff. Somewhere in here has to be an address for the mother's house or the boarding school."
"Okay," Jackson replied.
Cobb walked over to a small filing cabinet and pulled open the top drawer. He saw several folders
marked 'Lucas'. "I think I just found out the kid's name. Lucas," Cobb said.
"Wait a minute," Jackson said, "there was a kid named Lucas on the seaQuest duty roster, but the
name was Lucas Wolenczak."
"Damn, the kid's not his son," Cobb said. He opened the folder and started looking through the
papers. Inside were newspaper clippings about the trial of Dr. Wolenczak, and pictures of the kid standing
next to the Captain again.
"This just doesn't make sense," Cobb said. "If the kid isn't his son, then why does he have
pictures everywhere and all this stuff about him."
"Maybe the kid is his nephew or something," Jackson said.
Cobb opened the next folder and smiled. "Jack pot!" He held up the paper so Jackson could look
at it. "It's an adoption certificate. It appears the good Captain adopted the kid after he put his father in jail.
Your roster must not have reflected the name change yet."
"Great, except that creates a problem. How do we get the kid if he's living on the damn sub?"
Jackson said. "It was one thing to grab him from school or something, but there's no way we can get him
off the sub."
"Well, we'll just have to grab him when he comes off the sub. You've got their schedule. If we
think I'm sure we can come up with something."
____________________________
Lucas crouched down next to the bulkhead. He should be coming any second. There he was! Lt.
Krieg was heading his way, moving slowly, looking around for signs of trouble. 'Just a few more steps,'
Lucas thought to himself. He moved a bit closer and Lucas popped up out his hiding place and shot Ben
right in the face.
"Direct hit!" Lucas shouted and took off running.
"Oh you little pipsqueak! Just wait till I get my hands on you," Ben said, wiping the water off his
face. He took off running after Lucas. Lucas ducked into the moonpool and positioned himself against the
wall. He heard Ben coming. He was having a blast with these stupid water pistols Ben had got for them
during the last supply drop off. He quickly pumped his pistol, getting it up to full power. He heard Ben's
footsteps nearing the door. He was almost there, just another second… Lucas turned and fired, sufficiently
soaking Commander Ford and Katie.
"Lucas!" Katie gasped.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucas said laughing. "I thought you were Ben." He tried to stop giggling, but he couldn't.
"So, you think this is funny?" Ford demanded.
"Uh, well, maybe just a little," Lucas said. He stopped giggling, realizing that he was probably in
trouble now. Commander Ford wasn't exactly known for his sense of humor. "I'm sorry," he said again.
"Well, you should be," Katie said.
"I think your punishment should be tickling," Ford said, elbowing Katie.
"Huh," Lucas said, not sure if he had just heard right.
Ford grabbed Lucas and Katie started tickling his sides. "Cut the out," Lucas laughed. Katie just
kept on tickling until Lucas was laughing so hard he was crying. Ben stood in the doorway watching,
hiding his water pistol behind his back. He jumped at attention when Captain Bridger appeared.
"Captain," Ben said.
"At ease." He looked at Katie and Jonathon in total disbelief. "Commanders," he greeted.
Ford let go of Lucas so fast that the boy fell to the floor with a thump.
"Ou," he said, rubbing his rear end.
"Captain," both commanders greeted.
"I trust that everything is okay here," Nathan asked.
"Yes, sir," Ford replied. "We uh…" he stopped when Nathan started laughing.
"Never mind," Nathan said, holding his hands up. "I think your shifts are due to start, aren't they?"
"Yes, sir," Katie said. She grabbed Jonathon arm and hurried out of the moonpool.
"So what are you up too?" he asked Lucas.
"Nothing, dad," Lucas said, still sitting on the floor.
"Uh huh," Nathan replied. "Lieutenant, I trust you two will clean up any water on the floor. I
don't need someone slipping and breaking a leg."
"Aye, sir," Ben said.
"Very well," Nathan said and walked away. As soon as he entered Kristin's office he busted out laughing.
"That was hysterical," Kristin said, she had been watching through her blinds. Nathan joined her
and watched as Ben and Lucas continued to squirt their water pistols at each other. Lucas got close to the
pool and he suddenly gasped as Darwin decided to join in the fun. Darwin slapped his tail fin down and
splashed Lucas, completely soaking him.
"Darwin!" Lucas yelled. The dolphin chattered at him happily. Ben also broke out laughing.
Darwin repeated his actions, practically drowning Ben in water.
"That's what you get for laughing!" Lucas joked.
"Oh those three," Kristin exclaimed. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with them."
"You have to admit, Lucas is a real asset to the crew. I mean, when else would you ever see
Jonathon tickling somebody."
"Tell me about it," Kristin agreed. "The only time I really see the commander lighten up is when
he's with Lucas. So, tell me Captain, what can I do for you?"
"Do I have to have a reason to come see you?" he asked, closing the blinds and locking the door.
"Oh, I suspect you may have a reason or two floating around in that head of yours," she grinned.
"Tell me, how strong is your desk?"
"Oh, I think it's strong enough," she said, slowly unbuttoning her blouse.
"That's good to know," he replied as he slipped her blouse off her shoulders.
___________________________
Lucas walked to the mess. It had taken him a while to mop up the floor and change clothes. Sure,
water guns got water on the floor, but they didn't even come close to the water a playful dolphin could
splash. In the mess he saw that Kristin wasn't there. Good, he could eat in peace. He went through the
line and grabbed an apple, an orange, a juice box, and a brownie. He decided to take his tray to his room so
he could work on his program.
He had been getting discouraged lately with his artificial intelligence program. He had been
working on it for months now, and he was at a road block. He had succeeded in making the professor more
sociable. He had programmed it to play games, like music similar to his dad's, tell jokes, and make him
capable of a more pleasant conversation. But that could hardly be called artificial intelligence. Plus, he
still hadn't accomplished his greatest goal, a program that could teach itself. The professor was still just
spitting out the information that had been put into him. His dad had liked the improvements a lot, but
Lucas was disappointed with himself.
He entered his room and sat on his bed. He picked up his apple and looked at his computers.
They were on. They were always on. He almost never turned them off. A soft tapping behind him made
him look back and see Darwin. Darwin nodded at Lucas.
"Not now Darwin. I think we played enough for one day," Lucas said. He sat down in the floor
and started working on his program.
______________________________
Kristin buttoned her blouse back up. She looked at Nathan who was still getting dressed.
"You know, I think that might be the first time we weren't interrupted one way or another," she said.
"Tell me about it. Living on a sub doesn't make for the easiest love life," he laughed.
"Especially when you're dating the Captain."
"I'm sorry things aren't a little more romantic. Between the job and Lucas it's difficult to find
time for us."
"It's okay. I understand, really I do. I remember trying to do my research and raise Cynthia.
There were times when I swear I didn't see my husband for a week at a time."
"It'll get easier when Lucas stops having nightmares. Then you can spend the night once in a
while." He had had a cot moved into his room for Lucas. After Lawrence's last beating, combined with
the trial that followed three weeks later, Lucas had practically had a nervous breakdown. For a couple of
weeks he had moved in with Nathan until the nightmares started to get better, but even after Lucas had
returned to his own room the cot had stayed, so that way if Lucas had a nightmare he could still come and
sleep in Nathan's room.
"How often does he have them now?" Kristin asked. She had actually had to sedate Lucas a
couple of times after the dreams.
"He's down to about two a week, sometimes just one."
"That's good," she said. "With a little more time I'm sure they'll go away all together, or at least
he'll be able to deal with them on his own as he gets older and truly realizes that Lawrence can't hurt him
ever again."
"I hope so. For the most part Lucas is a happy kid, and he knows we love him, but every now and
then I'll catch him staring off into space…and…and he looks scared. As soon as he notices me looking at
him he'll put on that big smile of his, but I know the pain and the fear is still there. He hides it well, but it
hasn't completely left him yet."
"He just needs time."
"I know," Nathan said.
"So have you told him about the dinner tomorrow night?" Kristin asked.
"Not yet. I figured I'd wait till the last minute so I'd only have to listen to his complaining for a
few minutes."
"Nathan, you've known about this for at least a month. How would you feel if that were done to you?"
"Are you kidding! The UEO does that kind of thing to me almost everyday! Honestly, he's going
to flip when he finds out that he has to have dinner with what he calls, 'a bunch of old farts' tomorrow
night. I made sure to have his suit laundered and it's hanging in my closet. I'll tell him a few hours before
hand."
"Well I'm just glad that I don't have to go for once. With all do respect, I have to agree with
Lucas on this one. An evening with Secretary Noyce and a bunch of foreign diplomats sounds as
interesting as having your teeth drilled. Are you taking anyone else?"
"I'd like to take you, but since you just stated your feelings on the subject so clearly I won't bother
to ask."
"Thank you," Kristin said.
"Commander Ford and Chief Crocker are coming, too," Nathan said.
"Oh, Lucas is just going to love that!" Kristin replied.
"I know! Tell me about it!"
________________________________
The next morning when Nathan awoke he was surprised to see Lucas sleeping in his cot. He must
have been in a deep sleep last night cause he never even heard Lucas come in his room. He wished he
could take the nightmares away from Lucas forever, but like Kristin said, he just needed time.
He grabbed some clean clothes and went to his bathroom. One of the benefits of being Captain
was a private bathroom. He took his ion shower and quickly dressed. He stepped into his room and saw
Lucas still sleeping.
"Lucas," he said gently. Lucas rolled over and looked at him
"Good morning," he said sleepily.
"Same to you. I need to tell you something," Nathan said, already dreading the argument that was
sure to follow. "We have to attend a dinner tonight."
"A dinner with who?" Lucas asked.
"A bunch of old farts," Nathan replied.
"You know, you're starting to sound like me more every day," Lucas laughed. Nathan was
surprised, this wasn't the reaction he had been expecting.
"What can I say, you're a bad influence. Really, though, we have to go to this dinner. Trust me, I
don't want to anymore than you do, but Bill asked me if I would bring you. I think he's hoping you can
liven things up a little."
"Yeah, right!" Lucas said. "The minute I open my mouth tonight I'm going to have at least ten
people telling me to shut it!"
"You're probably right, but regardless, I told Bill you'd come."
"Is Ben at least going?"
"Nope. Just Ford and Crocker."
"Oh great. Those two will probably put tape over my mouth before the night is through! You
owe me big time for this one!" Lucas said.
"So does that mean you'll be pleasant tonight?"
"As pleasant as a 14 year old being held hostage with a bunch of old farts can be!" Lucas smiled wickedly.
"Lucas!"
"I'll be pleasant," Lucas replied.
"Good, your suit is in my closet. The launch leaves at 5:30."
"SUIT! Why do I have to wear a suit?"
"Because I said so," Nathan replied and walked out of the room. He closed the door just in time to
avoid being hit by a flying pillow.
Lucas fell back into his bed. He didn't really mind going with his dad to the dinner, even if it was
going to be totally boring. It was the least he could do for him. After all, look at all that he had done for
him. But still, he had to at least protest a little bit. He was a teenager after all.
Nathan sat in his chair on the bridge. It was going to be another boring day. They had been
mapping the seafloor for the past six days so they could compare the maps to those from five years ago to
see how much the floor had changed. Truth be told he didn't even need to be here. The crew could more
than handle this on their own, but he had a duty to do, so here he sat. Suddenly 5:30 couldn't come soon
enough.
_____________________________
Lucas looked at his reflection in the mirror. Shirt was tucked, hair was combed, shoes were
shined. He looked at his jacket. He hated wearing those things. They were totally uncomfortable. Maybe
he could get away with just his dress shirt and his tie. After all, he wasn't a grown up yet. Now he just had
to find someone to tie his tie for him. He didn't have occasion to wear them very often and he had yet to
learn how to tie them. When he was smaller his parents used to get him the clip on kinds.
He left his room, leaving the jacket behind, and went to find Kristin. She would probably know
how. He could ask dad, but then he would probably get stuck wearing the jacket. If he showed up at the
launch without it, chances were better that he wouldn't be forced to go back and get it.
When he arrived at the lab he saw that she wasn't there. Maybe she was at her quarters. He
walked down the hallway to her room and knocked on the door. After a second she opened it. She looked
beautiful. She was wearing a cream colored dress and she had her hair up with little curls coming around
her face.
"Wow," Lucas said.
"Thank you," she replied.
"Where are you going?"
"With you. I figured since you had to go to this thing I would at least go and keep you company,
and maybe out of trouble."
"Does dad know?"
"No. It's a surprise."
"Well he's definitely going to be surprised. I don't think he'll be paying very much attention to
what the old farts have to say."
"Lucas, I appreciate the compliment, but really, you shouldn't call the foreign heads of state old farts."
"Dad did," he defended. She just shook her head. "Can you tie my tie?"
"I'll do better than that, I'll teach you how to do it yourself."
"Thanks," Lucas said.
Lucas walked with Kristin to the launch bay and just as he suspected, his dad's jaw dropped the
minute he saw her. She smiled at Nathan as she and Lucas walked down the steps.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"If I'm not welcome I can leave," she teased.
"I didn't say that. It's just that you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to come to this."
"Well, I figured I'd come so Lucas could have someone to talk to."
"Just Lucas? What about me?"
"If your nice I might talk to you," Kristin grinned.
Lucas just rolled his eyes. At least dad was so busy looking at Kristin that he hadn't noticed that
he didn't have his jacket. Heck, dad hadn't noticed him at all! Those two definitely needed to get married.
Nathan took Kristin's arm in his and they entered the launch with Lucas, Ford, and Crocker
following behind. Lucas sat down across from them and buckled in. Nathan finally got a good look at him.
Lucas looked like a perfect gentleman, but it didn't escape his attention that he wasn't wearing his jacket.
He decided not to push the issue. At least he wore his tie and dress shoes. He should be grateful for small
miracles.
Ford and Crocker went through the pre launch check list and then they were off. It would only
take about fifteen minutes to reach the dock. A car would then drive them to the reception. They were all a
bit surprised when they stepped off the dock to see a stretch limo waiting for them.
"Wow, this must be one heck of a shindig," Crocker said.
"Hello, I'm your driver. If you'll please get into the car, we should arrive at the reception center
in about twenty minutes." The driver held the door open for them and waited as they each got into the
limo. He closed the car door and then walked around to the drivers seat.
Lucas noticed that the window was up that separated the driver from the rest of them, not that this
was strange or anything. He had been in lots of limos growing up and most kept the window up. It seemed
to be their way of not having to deal with the rich snobs in the back seat. Lucas listened somewhat to the
conversation going on between the four adults in the car, but he more or less just stared out the window.
This was going to be a long night. Maybe he'd at least be able to sneak a drink. He played with the bottom
of his tie and tapped his leg up and down.
"Stop fidgeting," Kristin told him. He dropped his tie and folded his hands in his lap. God this
was really going to be a long night. He watched as the limo exited the highway and headed into a
warehouse district. Something didn't seem right. The UEO wasn't going to put on a party where formal
dress was required, along with limo's, only to have the party in a dirty industrial site. He looked at his dad
and saw that he must be thinking the same thing.
"Jonathon, tap on the window and tell him that he must have gotten off at the wrong exit," Nathan said.
Ford knocked on the glass but the driver didn't answer. "Oh come on," Ford said as he hit the
glass again, a bit harder this time. Suddenly, a popping sound was heard above them. A white cloud
started to form inside the car, coming from the dome light.
"Gas," Crocker said. He tried to open his door but it wouldn't open. Everyone tried their
windows, but they too wouldn't open.
"Cover your nose and mouth," Nathan order, but his words were already starting to slur. In a
matter of seconds everyone in the limo was unconscious.
Jackson pulled the limo over to the side of the road next to an abandoned factory, where a blue van
was waiting for them. He got out of the limo.
"How did it go?" Cobb asked.
"Perfectly," Jackson replied, pulling off his mustache and tossing the chauffeurs hat in the front
seat. "They're all out cold."
"Excellent. Let's grab the kid and get out of here."
"The woman is in there too," Jackson said. "We can take them both and double the amount of the
ransom we were planning to ask for."
"I like the way you think," Cobb said.
_______________________________
"Captain, wake up," Jonathon said. He shook the Captain. "Captain."
Nathan finally started to come around. "What the hell happened?" he asked groggily.
"We were gassed, Cap," Crocker said.
Nathan sat up quickly and looked around. "Where's Kristin and Lucas?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Ford said. "They're gone. I think who ever gassed us took them."
"We need to contact seaQuest," Nathan ordered.
"Our PALs have been taken," Crocker told him.
"We have to get back to the boat. We…we have to find them damn it," Nathan said. He couldn't
lose another family. He couldn't.
"Cap, we'll find them," Crocker said. He put a hand on Nathan's arm, offering the man his
support. Nathan looked up at him and slowly nodded his head.
"Commander, can you drive this thing?" Nathan asked.
"I can try," Ford replied. He got out of the back and headed to the drivers seat. "We've got a
problem, no keys."
"I can take care of that," Crocker said. He pulled out his pocket knife and slid in behind the
steering wheel. In a matter of seconds he had the lock popped and the engine running.
"How did you learn to do that?" Ford asked.
"Some things a man keeps to himself," Crocker replied. He slid over and let Ford get behind the
wheel. "I hope someone knows how to get back to the dock," Ford said.
"Let's try to back track as best we can," Nathan said.
It took them a long time to find their way back. None of them were familiar with the area and they
spent quite a bit of time driving in circles before they finally found the highway. Nathan forced himself to
keep it together, but the fear threatened to overwhelm him at any moment. How could he have lost both of
them. They were his strength. He had no one to turn to. He was alone in the world once again. He prayed
that it wasn't too late.
_______________________________________
Lucas woke up slowly. He opened his eyes and looked around. He didn't know where he was.
He raised his hands to his head only to see that they were handcuffed together. This wasn't good. He sat
up and saw Kristin was also lying on the floor. He made his way over to her and was relieved to see she
was okay. Her hands were also cuffed.
"Kristin," Lucas said. He lightly tapped her face. "Kristin." Her eyes opened and she
immediately sat up.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just woke up a minute ago?"
"The last thing I remember was Crocker yelling about gas," she said.
"Same here. I…I think we've been kidnapped," Lucas said. "Do you think they hurt the others?"
"No," she replied quickly, too quickly for Lucas' comfort. "Think about it. Someone took us.
Who would be affected the most by that?"
"Dad," Lucas whispered.
"Right. It would stand to reason that they wouldn't hurt him if they were going to use us to get
something from him."
"I guess that makes sense," Lucas replied. "I hope he's really okay."
"He's not okay," Kristin said. She clarified when she saw the look of horror on Lucas' face. "I
mean, he's going to be worried sick about us."
"Oh."
They both looked up when the door to their room opened. Kristin instinctively clutched at Lucas' arm.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're both awake," the man said.
"Who are you?" Kristin demanded. "Why did you bring us here?"
"Simple. My name is Frank Cobb."
"But your supposed to be in jail," Lucas said, recognizing the name.
"That's right. Thanks to your father, that's where I've spent the last six months. But I managed to
arrange a little jail break, and now I'm here with you. Ain't life a bitch."
"What do you want with us?" Kristin asked again.
"Oh, well, you two are going to be my new gold mine. Bridger took away my first one. My guess
is he'll want you two back real bad. So, I'm going to make him give me $10 million for your release."
"What?" Lucas said. "Dad doesn't have that kind of money!"
"Oh, but he does. I have his financial records to prove it. He's actually worth even more than
that, but I'll settle for the 10 that he has solvent. It would be too much trouble for me to try and unload
stocks and bonds."
"And once you get the money you plan to release us?" Kristin asked.
"Unfortunately, I want Bridger to suffer more than a financial loss. I'm afraid that only one of you
will be going home. You see, I have to let one of you live so you can go back to him and tell him how
horribly the other one suffered before they died." He looked Lucas directly in the eyes when he said 'died.'
"Leave him alone," Kristin said. "He's just a boy."
"No," Lucas told her. "It's…it's okay." If one of them was going to die he wanted it to be him.
He couldn't stand back and watch her die slowly. He didn't want to see that.
"Brave kid. We'll see how brave you are," Cobb said. Then he left and locked the door behind him.
When Cobb turned around he saw Larry standing there. "Damn it, Frank, you said no one would
die. You promised you wouldn't kill the kid."
"Shut up, Larry. You weren't the one sitting in a jail cell. Bridger's going to pay, and the price is
ten million and the life of his son. Now either you co-operate, or you can die too!"
"Fine, Frank. But after this, I never want to see you ever again," Larry said.
"That won't be a problem," Cobb told him.
Kristin and Lucas listened to the two men's entire conversation. Kristin didn't know what to do.
They had to get out of there, but they were in a windowless room, and handcuffed. 'Nathan, please hurry
and find us,' she thought. She looked at Lucas to see he had drawn his knees up to his chest and held them
to him with his arms. His eyes were closed and he rocked himself slightly. She could tell he was terrified,
but he tried not to let it show. She raised her arms up over his head and brought them down around him
and pulled him near. He relaxed into her, letting go of his knees.
"Promise you won't try to make them hurt you instead," he said.
"Lucas, I can't promise that. I won't."
"You have to," Lucas said. "Please, promise me that you'll be alright. Promise you won't make
them angry. PROMISE!" He was becoming desperate.
"Okay, okay, calm down. I promise. I promise," she held him even tighter. "I love you, Lucas."
"I love you too. If…if something happens, tell dad that I love him."
"You can tell him yourself. I'm sure he's already looking for us. He probably has half the
country out looking for us."
"I'm sure he does, but, just in case, don't forget to tell him." Kristin began to rock hIm, more in
an attempt to comfort herself than Lucas. He was being so brave, and she couldn't stop her tears from
falling.
"Don't cry," he said. "It'll be okay."
"I know," she told him.
__________________________
Nathan was back on the bridge of seaQuest. The limo had been searched and dusted for prints, but
they had nothing. The driver had worn gloves and there was no evidence to follow. Two teams were
searching the area where the limo had been abandoned, but so far, they hadn't found anything. Nathan
wanted to be out looking, too, but Jonathon had pointed out that he needed to stay in case a ransom demand
came. The waiting was killing him.
______________________________
They had been left alone for the past hour, but that changed when Cobb and another man walked
into their room. Kristin still had her arms around Lucas.
"I need the boy, now. Come here kid," Cobb ordered.
Kristin refused to let go of him.
The other man bent down and said, "Let go of him now, or I can put a bullet in his head and we
can still ransom you off by yourself." Kristin looked at him, and then she raised her arms so Lucas could
leave with them.
"Please," she cried. "Please don't hurt him."
"Don't worry, we won't hurt him too much. We still need him alive for the moment," Cobb said.
He grabbed Lucas and dragged him out of the room. Lucas didn't look back. He was trying to be brave,
but if he saw Kristin's tear streaked face he knew he'd fall apart.
Cobb led him to a room with a vid-phone. A chair was placed in the middle of the room, facing
the phone. Cobb motioned for him to sit in the chair. When he didn't move the other man grabbed his
shoulders and forced him into it.
"It's time to call your dad," Cobb said. "I want the number and I want it right now, or I'll give my
friend here permission to have his way with your mom."
Lucas gave them the number without a moment's hesitation. He watched as Cobb dialed up
seaQuest. To prevent Lucas from yelling out any information the man holding him in the chair quickly
covered his mouth with duct tape. In a moment Lucas saw his dad's face pop onto the view screen. The
Captain paled visably when he saw the face before him.
"Cobb, how?"
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," he interrupted. "I bet the UEO didn't even bother to tell you I
escaped a month ago. Well, as you may have guessed, I've got your wife and child. I'm guessing you
would like to have them back."
"If you hurt them in anyway, I swear…"
"Now, now Captain. I can assure you that making threats against me will not help your situation.
I know you're tracing the call, so I must be brief. By the way, we won't be here by the time you arrive. I
want $10 million. Don't tell me you don't have it, cause we know you do. I want it by tomorrow at 6:00
pm. If I don't get it they both die. It's that simple. Give me the money, I give you your family back. Then
I'll be off on my merry way and you'll never see me again. Just to make sure your properly motivated, I
have a little show for you."
Cobb turned the view screen so Nathan could see Lucas sitting in the chair.
"Lucas," Nathan whispered. Lucas' eyes were wide with fear. Duct tape covered his mouth.
"Cobb, don't…"
Cobb walked over to the boy and punched him in the face. Lucas flew back in the chair but didn't
fallout. Cobb punched him again. In the background Bridger could be heard yelling for the beating to stop.
Cobb ignored him as he delivered his third punch. Lucas finally fell to the floor this time. Cobb drew his
leg back and kicked him in the side. Like Lucas used to do with his father, he curled himself up into a little
ball to protect his face. Cobb kicked him I the knee. If it weren't for the tape blocking his screams he
would have cried out for all he was worth with the last kick. His knee felt like it was on fire.
Cobb finally turned back to the view screen. "6:00 tomorrow. I will contact you with a drop off."
He ended the transmission.
"Grab the kid, we have to get out of here. My guess is this place will be swarming in about three
minutes."
Cobb ran to the room and ordered Kristin out. She followed him and cried out Lucas' name when
she saw the boy. Jackson was dragging Lucas across the floor by the back of his shirt collar. The boy's
face was black and blue and he looked to be in a lot of pain.
"Shut up and get in the van," Cobb told her.
She did, and she tried to help Lucas in as gently as possible, but Jackson preferred just tossing him
in. She quickly pulled the tape off his mouth.
"Where is Larry?" Cobb said angrily.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him for the past hour," Jackson said. "LARRY!! COME ON!
WE"RE LEAVING!!"
"Shit," Cobb said when Larry didn't appear. "The idiot bugged out on us. I should have seen it coming."
"Lucas, are you alright? Is anything broken?" Kristin asked
Lucas didn't answer right away. He focused on breathing through his mouth for a moment. With
his mouth taped and his nose stuffed from crying, he hadn't been able to breath very well for the past
couple of minutes. They felt the van lurch forward and drive away.
"I'm…okay," he said. "My knee hurts pretty bad, but I don't think it's broke." Kristin carefully
lifted his pant leg to look at it. His knee was swollen terribly and a large bruise was circling the entire leg.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Cobb kicked it. He did it to hurt Dad. Dad had to watch while Cobb did this." Lucas replied,
flinching in pain when Kristin touched it.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I wish I had ice or a bandage."
"It's okay," he said, but he couldn't stop the few tears that rolled down his face. He didn't even
think about what he was doing. He sat up and snuggled into Kristin's arms and rested his head on her
shoulder. She held him, wishing like hell that she didn't have on the blasted handcuffs so she could really
circle her arms around him and comfort him.
_________________________________
"Mr. O'Neill, trace that call. As soon as it's pinpointed I want our course changed immediately."
He turned to leave, he had to call his banker. Suddenly he felt someone grab his arm.
"Captain," Ford said. "What are you doing?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm about to go withdraw $10 million."
"Captain," Ford said again, he hated this, "we don't negotiate…"
"Don't you dare quote the rule book to me, Jonathon. I know full damn well what UEO
regulations say. I helped write those regulations! This isn't about the UEO. This is personal and we both
know it. That psycho is holding the only thing that means anything to me. Cobb is holding my son
hostage, along with Kristin."
Ford let go of the Captain. "Yes, sir," he said glumly. He understood what the Captain was
doing. He would do no less if it were his family.
Nathan left and went to his room. He called his accountant and told him to pull the money from
the bank. With that done he paced his room like a caged tiger. He kept clinching and unclinching his fists
as he paced. Rage coursed through his body. That bastard had hurt Lucas. Cobb had used his gagged and
bound son for a punching bag. The boy was still recovering from the mental scars his father had put there,
and now this. He wanted to kill Frank Cobb. He wanted to beat the man to death with his own bare hands.
Not to mention he didn't know if anything had happened to Kristin.
Suddenly his rage came unleashed and he kicked over the small table that held his and Lucas'
chess game. The next thing to be sent flying were the two chairs that went with the table. He picked up
one of the chairs and hurled it across the room with his hands. He felt a small amount of satisfaction when
he heard the chair smash into pieces. He was about to pick up the second chair and do the same when
suddenly his door opened.
"Lieutenant, get out of here," Nathan yelled at Krieg.
"No, sir," Ben said.
"What did you say?" Nathan demanded.
"Sir, please, you can kick me off the boat if you want to, but sir, we need you. It's a good crew,
but their scared and worried, and they're waiting for you to lead them. You're not the only one who loves
them. If you act like they're already dead, then that's exactly what they're going to be," Ben said.
Nathan stood there looking at the man who had just defied him. He still held the chair in his hands
and the thought had crossed his mind to throw it at Krieg, but Krieg's words had hit their mark. Nathan
dropped the chair with a thud, and then he just stood there. He closed his eyes and tried to get his anger in
check. Ben was right. He had to be strong now. Everyone was waiting for him to tell them what to do.
"Captain, are you okay?" Ben asked nervously. He had just crossed the line, he knew, but he only
said what needed to be said. He just hoped he hadn't flushed his career down the drain in the process.
"Yes, Lieutenant. I'm okay, now. Thank you," Nathan said quietly. "How long till we dock?"
"Only a few more minutes," Ben said. He quietly turned and walked out of the room, not waiting
to be dismissed.
Nathan exited the launch and hurried into the car that would drive them to the warehouse. It
didn't take long. He didn't even wait for the car to fully stop moving before he was already jumping out of
it.
"What did you find?" Nathan asked the police officer.
"Sorry, Captain Bridger, but no one's home. They were gone before we got here," the officer said.
"Damn. What about any evidence? Clues about where they might have gone?"
"Nothing yet but we're still searching."
"I want my people in there. We've dealt with Cobb before. We know him a bit better than you,"
Nathan said.
"Sir, I can't allow that. This is a police investigation."
"Wrong! This is a UEO investigation and if you don't like it you can call the Secretary General
and complain to him!"
The officer looked confused but then nodded his head. "Fine, but if you find anything will you at
least share with us."
"Yes," Bridger said. "Crocker, get our people in there. I want it searched top to bottom."
"Aye, Cap."
Twenty minutes later Katie and Ford came running out of the building to Nathan.
"Sir, we found something," Katie called.
"What?" Nathan said.
"You're not going to believe it," Ford said. He handed Nathan a map along with a note.
Captain Bridger,
I am leaving you the map to where Cobb is taking your family. I got pulled in this
against my better judgment. I'm sorry for what I did, but hopefully I can make it right. Cobb is gonna kill
the boy even if he gets the money. I told Cobb I ain't a killer, but he didn't listen to me none. I hope you
get them back
"Where did you find this?" Nathan asked.
"It was in the bathroom laying on top the tank," Ford said. "It could be a trap?"
"Or it could be the answer to our prayers," Nathan said. "Where is this exactly?"
The officer looked at the map and called over a different man, "Charlie, I think you know this.
Where is this at?"
Charlie looked at the map for a moment and said, "This is The Dark Hallow Falls area in
Shenandoah National Park. It's about a good seven hour drive from here."
"We need to get there first," Nathan said.
"Well, since the kidnappers have a hour head start, the only way you can beat them would be by
air. Chopper would get you there in probably an hour and a half. It's not that far away, but when you drive
all the roads are going around mountains so they don't exactly go in a straight line."
"Perfect!" Nathan said, feeling hopeful for the first time since this whole mess started.
"But the problem is, where are they going?" Katie said. "It's a big forest."
"Yeah, it is, but there are a few obvious places they would go. There are camp grounds, some out
buildings."
"No, they wouldn't go there," Nathan said. "Too public. The whole reason they would go there
in the first place is so they could get lost."
"Well, we know the general area they are going. You can fly in the choppers until you identify
likely locations where they would hold up. There are some abandoned cabins in that area."
"Abandoned? Why?" Nathan asked.
"Well, it used to be a vacation spot, but it was closed down."
"We'll start there," Nathan said to Crocker. "We need two choppers and I want them here in ten
minutes."
"Yes, sir," Crocker said. He turned away and headed over to their car and started talking into the
radio, shouting orders.
_______________________________
They had been driving now for hours. Kristin's arm was falling asleep for the position it was in,
but to move it meant she would wake up Lucas, so she just left it where it was. He had fallen asleep about
an hour ago. She was tired, but try as she might she couldn't fall asleep. She was just too afraid.
She looked down as Lucas started to stir in her arms. He let out a soft moan and slowly opened
his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." He slowly pulled away from her.
"It's okay, I don't mind," she smiled at him.
"Do you know where we are?" he asked.
"I don't have a clue."
"I wonder…I wonder if they'll stop for a bathroom break," he said. He really had to go.
"Excuse me," Kristin said to Cobb and Jackson. "Would it be possible to have a bathroom break?
Otherwise it's going to not smell so good in here."
"We'll pull over at the next rest stop. You'll go one at a time. If one of you tries to run away, the
one still in the van will be shot," Cobb said.
Ten minutes later they pulled over and parked the van. Cobb entered the back of the van and
unlocked Kristin's handcuffs. "I'm going to walk you to the bathroom. Like I said, you do anything that in
anyway tips people off about us, the boy will be killed on the spot. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Kristin said. "You behave," she told Lucas, and then she walked to the rest area with
Cobb. He stood right outside of the door as she did her business. When she stepped back out Cobb
escorted her to the van. As soon as she was inside the handcuffs went back on.
"Your turn, kid." Cobb took off the cuffs and he had to help Lucas stand up. His knee was still
very sore. Lucas limped with Cobb to the bathroom. This time Cobb actually went inside the bathroom
with Lucas. Walking back Lucas had to stop several times to let the pain in his knee subside before he
could continue.
Cobb slid open the van door to reveal Kristin being held down and kissed by Jackson. Jackson
was laying on top of her. Kristin was struggling to push him off.
"GET OFF HER!!" Lucas screamed. Forgetting about his bad knee he lunged into the van and
began to pound his fists into Jackson's back. "I'LL KILL YOU!!" Lucas screamed again.
"Lucas, no!" Kristin cried, backing up away form Jackson and Lucas. Lucas continued to swing
his arms wildly at Jackson, but the big man was able to over power him quickly enough. Jackson caught
Lucas' hand in mid air and twisted it behind his back, pinning him face down into the floor of the van.
"You little shit! I'll teach you to hit me!" Jackson used his free arm to punch Lucas in the side
repeatedly. Cobb just stood there and watch the scene unfold with amused eyes.
"Stop!" Kristin begged. "Please, leave him alone."
After delivering about twenty blows to Lucas' side he finally stopped. He forcibly pushed himself
away from the boy. Lucas just laid there, not even attempting to move. Kristin quickly crawled to his side
and rolled him onto his back. Lucas looked at her with exhausted and pained eyes.
"Are…you…okay?" he whispered.
"I'm okay," Kristin sobbed. "You foolish boy, why did you do that?"
"Had…to stop…him," Lucas replied.
"Let's get going," Cobb said to Jackson. "We've got a couple of more hours before we reach the cabin."
Kristin lifted Lucas' shirt. Large massive bruises were already forming. She felt his side and he
cried out in pain. She was almost certain that Lucas had internal injuries from the beating. His right
kidney would have received the brunt of the beating. She only hoped that he wasn't bleeding internally.
Lucas tried to sit up but she pushed him back down.
'Stay down," she ordered. "I need you to stay still. I don't know how bad your hurt."
Lucas nodded. Truth be told he didn't have the strength to sit up. He felt so afraid and so
helpless. He wouldn't be able to help Kristin if Jackson tried to force himself on her again. He couldn't
stand the thought of her being raped. Suddenly he started to cry, tears of pain and frustration shedding
from his eyes.
"Shh, it's okay," Kristin whispered to him. "Everything's going to be okay." She lightly brushed
the hair from his face and caressed his cheek.
"I'm sorry," Lucas said.
"Don't be, it's okay to cry," she told him.
"I don't want them to hurt you," Lucas said.
"I'm fine," she said. "The only person we need to worry about right now is you. I want you to
rest, okay. Just close your eyes, breathe easy, and let the pain float away. That's it, just rest." Kristin held
his hand and quietly hummed him a lullaby. When she was sure that Lucas had drifted off she looked once
more at his side. A large area was swelling up. The bruises were hideous to look at. She knew that Lucas
couldn't take another beating. Another beating like the last one would kill him, but then that's what Cobb
wanted, wasn't it.
___________________________
Nathan looked out the window towards the ground as the two helicopters circled the area of Dark
Hallow Falls, looking for just where Cobb might be taking Kristin and Lucas. He saw the abandoned
cabins and that their helicopter was lowering itself into a clearing that wasn't too far from them. They
touched down and Nathan, Ortiz, Krieg, and Crocker jumped out, along with two park rangers named
Brackston and Mack.
Nathan knew that the other chopper carrying Ford, Hitchcock, O'Neill, and Shan was going to
keep circling in case this wasn't the spot.
"We need to search these cabins to see if it looks like they are coming here," Crocker said, "but be
careful not to disturb the area to noticeably. If they are coming here we don't want any evidence of our
presence here. If they know we're here they'll take off, or hurt someone. Split up and everyone take a
cabin. Keep your PALs on so we can communicate."
Nathan watched them all spread out. He picked a cabin and went inside. The cabin he was inn
looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Holes in the walls and roof allowed sunlight to filter
in, reflecting on the dust that was kicked up by his walking on the dirty floor. It was obvious that Cobb
wouldn't use this cabin. Lucas could put his foot through the wall with on kick.
He walked outside and headed to the next building not being searched. He stepped up to the porch
and was about to enter when he heard Ortiz shout.
"I've found something!" Ortiz yelled.
Nathan flew down the steps and hurried to Ortiz, as did everybody else. "What do you have?"
Nathan asked.
"Inside there is canned food and rations, along with bottled water and sleeping bags." Ortiz said.
"It could be a tourists, but the stuff is too new to belong to a homeless person."
Everyone went into the cabin and began to carefully look around. The cabin wasn't too big, it had
two small bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. Old moldy furniture was left in the cabin.
"Sir," Krieg said. "I think you'll want to see this." He led them to the back bedroom where a
trapdoor in the floor stood up, revealing a root cellar below. Nathan followed Krieg into the cellar. When
his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was shocked to see that chains had been attached to the wall, two pairs.
In the middle of the small cellar was a stretcher, with restraints. Also was a table holding several knives
and a leather crop.
"I always knew Cobb was a sick man, but this, this is twisted," Ben said.
"This is how he was going to get his revenge on me," Nathan said. "He was going to bring Lucas
and Kristin here and torture them. Then he was going to kill Lucas, just to make me suffer!"
"That may have been what he was going to do, but he's not going to get the chance now," Ben
told him. "We're going to get this twisted nutcase, and get Lucas and Kristin back."
"I know," Nathan said, and he actually believed it. "We best get out of here. They should be here
in an hour or two. I want to be ready for when they arrive. I want no mistakes made."
They went up stairs and began to work out their plan of attack.
_____________________________
Kristin was becoming more and more worried about Lucas. He was in a lot of pain, and she was
almost positive that he was bleeding internally. She could see the blood spreading under his skin. Lucas
needed to get to a hospital. The boy had also been fading in and out of consciousness. As much as she
preferred for him to be alert and responsive, she was also grateful for the times when he was unconscious.
At least during that time he got a break from the pain he was in. Unfortunately right now he was awake.
"Kristin," he whispered. "I think something is wrong."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I think Jackson did more than just give me a few new bruises," he said quietly. "I think he hurt
something, something inside."
"You're going to be okay," she reassured him. "We just have to hang on until Nathan gets here.
He'll find us, I promise."
"I hope so," Lucas whispered. "It's not fair."
"What's not fair?"
"I finally have people who love me, and now I think I'm going to have to leave." His words were
slurring together as he was becoming weaker with every passing hour.
"Don't you talk like that," Kristin said. "Don't you dare. You are going anywhere you hear me."
Lucas coughed and when he did a small trickle of blood came out of his mouth. Kristin tried not
to let the fear show on her face. She smile at Lucas and held his hand in hers and lightly caressed his face
with the other.
"I'm glad you're here," Lucas said. "I mean, I'm not glad that you got kidnapped, but I'm glad
I'm not alone."
"I understand," she said, grinning slightly. Lucas' eyes closed and his head slowly rolled to the
side. She quickly checked his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his heart still beating, but
she knew that Lucas was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Finally, we're here," Cobb said. The van came to a stop. Since Kristin couldn't see outside, she
had no idea where here was. Cobb got out of his chair and walked toward her and Lucas.
"What's wrong with him?" Cobb asked.
"What's wrong is he beat him. I think his kidney is injured and he's bleeding internally. He needs
to go to a hospital."
"That's too bad," Cobb said emotionlessly. He opened the sliding door and motioned for Kristin
to get out. She cautiously stepped out of the van, never taking her eyes off him. Jackson walked around to
stand next to her.
"Get her in the house," Cobb ordered. "I'm going to have to bring him in." He gave Lucas a slap
on the face trying to wake him up. "Wake up, kid." He slapped him again. "Shit," Cobb said.
"Do you have a clear shot?" Crocker asked Shan.
"No. The van is at an angle and obstructing my view," Shan spoke into his headset from his place
behind the tree.
"What ever you do, don't fire unless the shot is clear," Bridger ordered through the comm link. "I
don't want Lucas or Kristin hit in the cross fire."
"Cap," Shan said, "Kristin is about to enter the cabin with an armed man."
"We're ready on our end," Bridger replied.
Cobb hoisted Lucas up into a fireman's carry and stepped out of the van. He began to walk to the
cabin.
"I can't take the shot," Shan said. "Cobb is carrying Lucas, heading for cabin. Lucas is
unconscious."
"Roger," Cocker replied. "We'll get them when they enter the cabin."
Kristin stepped into the cabin first, followed by Jackson. He held her arm and led her to the back
bedroom. As soon as he opened the door Kristin was jerked away form him. He was startled but only for a
second. He started to shout to Cobb but didn't get the chance. Crocker shot him with the stunner. Jackson
fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
Kristin found herself in Nathan's arms. She held him tightly and muffled her sobs into his
shoulder.
"Shh," Nathan whispered. "Where's Lucas?"
"Cobb was right behind us," she replied. Nathan let go of her and handed her to Hitchcock.
Cobb had almost stepped inside of the house when he heard the thump. He stopped on the porch
and waited a second.
"Something's wrong," Ford said into his headset. "He's stopped on the porch."
Inside the cabin Nathan and the others were absolutely silent, hoping that Cobb would enter.
"Jackson!" Cobb yelled. He pulled out his gun and started to back down the stairs. He felt Lucas wake.
"Put me down," Lucas ordered weakly, not really sure what was happening, only that the pressure
of Cobb's shoulder pressing into his gut was causing terrible pain.
Cobb let Lucas slide down the front of him and then he quickly turned him around and grabbed
him around the neck, shielding himself with him. He put the gun to Lucas' head.
"Time to leave," Cobb told the boy. He dragged Lucas back towards the van.
"Stop!" Ford ordered. He and Shan stood between Cobb and the van. Both of them had their guns
pointing at Cobb.
"Try anything and the kid is dead," Cobb said. "Get out of my way." He moved closer to the van.
"Cobb!" Bridger yelled from the porch.
"Oh, hello, Captain. You know, you really should knock before you go in someone's house," he
replied casually.
"Let him go. It's over," Nathan said.
"Oh, I think not. You see, we are going to get in that van and drive away. If you try to stop me,
I'll put a bullet in his head."
Cobb was looking at Bridger, and not able to pay to close of attention to Ford and Shan. He
would continually look over his shoulder at them, but it was hard to look in two different directions. He
turned to stand sideways so he could see the people on both sides of him.
"You two," he said, "move over by the porch." He used his hand with the gun to motion them
over. As soon as the gun was away form Lucas' head he grabbed at Cobb's arm. Lucas held on with both
arms, not letting Cobb point the gun at him again. It fired two shots into the air. In a moment of panic
Cobb shoved Lucas to the ground and then turned to aim his weapon at Bridger. Two more shots rang out
as Cobb's body jerked backwards and he flew to the ground. His dead eyes stared up into the blue sky.
Lucas turned to see that both Ford and Shan had fired their weapon at Cobb.
Lucas laid back on the ground and closed his eyes. He could hear his dad talking to him. He
wanted to say something back to him to ease the fear he heard in his father's voice, but he couldn't. That
last move with Cobb had used up the little bit of strength that Lucas had had left. Lucas slowly drifted into
blackness.
__________________________________
Nathan downed his fourth cup of coffee. He hated hospitals and he hated waiting. Lucas had been
wheeled into surgery about two hours ago. He crushed the paper cup and crumpled it up tightly. Ben
walked back into the waiting room. He had gone to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. He sat down next to
the Captain.
"Here, sir," Ben said as he handed Nathan a turkey sandwich and a coke he had bought him form
the cafeteria.
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," Nathan said.
"You should try and eat some of it. You know if Dr. Westphalen were here she'd be yelling at
you," Krieg said.
Nathan took the sandwich and the pop. He ate one bite and then closed the wrapper back up. It
wasn't that he didn't appreciate the offer, it's just that his stomach was tied in so many knots that he wasn't
sure if he would be able to keep it down. He opened the pop can and sipped at it.
"Any word?" Ben asked.
"Nothing," Nathan replied. He and Ben were the only one at the hospital at the moment. He had
ordered Kristin back to the boat to rest. She was exhausted. He was sure that Dr. Levin would have her in
bed by now. Ford and Crocker were stuck talking to the authorities trying to straighten out what had
happened. Everyone else had to return to the boat. Now that the crisis was over, he couldn't have the
entire senior staff off the seaQuest any longer. Ben, however, had insisted on staying at the hospital. Since
seaQuest wasn't in the middle of getting supplies, there was no real reason why he had to go back
immediately. Nathan was actually grateful for the man's presence, even though he and Ben weren't exactly
what you'd call friends. But he knew how Ben felt about Lucas. He was like the boy's big brother. The
memory of them shooting water guns at each other just the other day came into his mind and he smiled.
"Captain Bridger," the doctor said, entering the waiting room.
"Yes," Nathan said, standing up to shake his hand.
"I'm Dr. Hunt. I performed the surgery on your son."
"How is he?" Nathan asked.
"The surgery went fine. He had a tear in his kidney which we repaired. He had to have a pint of
blood to replace some of what he lost. We have his leg in a brace. His knees not broken but he isn't going
to be able to walk on it for a least a week. As for all the bruising, they will fade. He'll be in recovery for
another hour, and then he'll be moved to his room. You may see him then. He'll probably sleep for a
while. Also, he's got quite a bit of pain medication in him so he might be a little out of it when he first
wakes up, but that's okay.
"Thank you doctor," Nathan said, releasing a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.
"About how long do you think he will have to stay here?"
"Well, as long as he heals properly and no sign of infection sets in, he'll probably be able to be
discharged in about 48 hours, but there's going to be a long list of restrictions when he leaves."
"That won't be a problem. I'm sure that our ships Doctor will make sure he takes it easy, whether
he likes it or not." All Nathan wanted to do was get Lucas back on seaQuest where he'd be sure the boy
was safe.
"Good, well if you'll excuse me, a nurse will tell you when you can see him."
"Yes, thank you again," Nathan said. The doctor turned and left.
"I'll go call seaQuest and give them the good news," Ben said.
"Thank you, lieutenant. Ben, I also need to thank you for what you did in my quarters. I
appreciate it, even though you'll never know how close you came to getting a chair slammed into your
head," Nathan joked.
"Oh, trust me, you wouldn't have been the first," Ben replied with a laugh.
_______________________________
Five hours later Nathan was sitting beside Lucas' bed waiting for the boy to wake up. He had
woken up three hours ago for about ten minutes, but as the doctor had predicted, he was loopy. He had
asked about Darwin and the Professor, and then he apologized for not wearing his suit jacket to the dinner
before he nodded off to sleep once more.
Movement at the door caused him to look up. He saw Kristin walk into the room.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You're supposed to be resting."
"Don't worry, I slept for six hours. I'm fine. How is he?" She pulled a chair over next to his and
sat down beside him.
"The doctor says he's going to be okay. His kidney was hurt but they repaired the damage. He
has to wear the leg brace until his knee heals in a few weeks. They said he should be able to go home in
two days barring any infections or complications."
"Thank god," Kristin said.
"How are you?" Nathan asked.
"I'm fine, not a scratch," she replied.
"That's not what I mean. I want to know how you're handling this," Nathan told her. "This must
have been hard on the two of you."
She looked at him for a moment without answering. She didn't really know what to say, where to
begin. She was afraid if she started talking about it she might fall apart. He put his hand on her shoulder
and she quickly leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She allowed the feel of him to
comfort her before she finally started to talk.
"I can't remember ever being so frighten," she said. "Cobb told us that he was going to kill Lucas,
even if he got the money. He said it would be his revenge. I was so scared, I didn't know how to protect
him. Lucas was so brave, more brave than I was. He insisted that I not make them angry, that I not try and
stop them form hurting him. Here he knew they were going to kill him and all he cared about was that I
didn't get hurt. Then later, in the van…" a sob escaped her throat as the images of Lucas being beaten
flooded her mind.
"It's okay," Nathan told her. "It's over. Cobb's dead. He'll never hurt you, or Lucas, or anyone
ever again."
Kristin wiped her eyes and continued. "Cobb stopped for a bathroom break. While he took Lucas
to the bathroom, Jackson began to…he started to kiss me. He held me down and kissed me."
Nathan felt his anger rise at the thought of Kristin being assaulted.
"Cobb and Lucas arrived back at the van in time for Lucas to see what Jackson was doing. Lucas
went wild. He attacked Jackson and began to strike at him, but Jackson was just to big and too strong. He
got hold of Lucas and beat him so bad. That was how his kidney got damaged and why he had internal
bleeding. Lucas is in the hospital because he was protecting me. At that moment I didn't know who I was
more angry at, Jackson for hurting him, or Lucas for doing what he did."
Nathan pulled her close again and held her tight. "Lucas would have done what he did no matter
who he saw being hurt. That's just the way he is. The fact that he loves you only made him more
determined. He protects everyone, not even thinking of the danger to himself. I still remember when Dre
had Lucas and the other scientists trapped in that underground room. I dropped the rope down into the
room expecting to see Lucas climb up first. You would have thought that a bunch of grown adults would
have sent him up first since the room was filling with water. Nope. Lucas was the last one to climb the
rope. He let every one of them go up before him."
"I just wish I could have protected him the way he did me," she whispered. "Towards the end he
was so afraid. He knew something bad was wrong with him. He was getting weak and fading in and out.
Then he started coughing up blood. He said it wasn't fair. That he finally had people who loved him, but
that it looked like he was going to have to leave now. He knew he was going to die if he didn't get help."
"But he didn't die. He's going to be okay, and you can't blame yourself. None of this was your
fault and there really wasn't anything you could have done differently. If you had gotten yourself hurt it
only would have hurt him more." He released her and she sat back in her chair.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm blubbering all over you and you have enough to worry about with Lucas."
"Kristin, you know I'll always be here for both of you. I love you, both. When I woke up in the
limo and saw that you two were gone, for a moment my whole world came crumbling down. All I knew
was that I had to find you two. I lost one family, I won't lose another."
"No, stop," Lucas groaned. "No, don't." He began to thrash around on the bed. Nathan and
Kristin both moved to keep him still so he wouldn't injure himself.
"Lucas, wake up!" Nathan said. Lucas continued to struggle and cry out for help. "Lucas!"
Nathan said again. Lucas pale blue eyes suddenly stared at him. They were full of confusion.
"Dad," Lucas said. "Wha…"
"You're safe. Your in the hospital. It's okay now," Nathan comforted. He felt the tenseness
leave Lucas' body and he relaxed into his bed. He held his hand tight and rested his other hand on Lucas
shoulder.
"Cobb?" Lucas said.
"He's dead," Nathan told him. "He can't hurt any of us anymore."
"I'm so glad to see you," Lucas said, a tear running down his cheek.
"Me too. I was so worried while you were gone," Nathan said.
"Will you stay with me?" Lucas asked in a timid voice.
"I'm not going anywhere," Nathan said. "As long as you're here I'll be here, too." Lucas smiled at him.
"I love you," Lucas said. "Both of you."
"Same goes here, kiddo," Nathan replied.
"Am I okay?" Lucas asked, seeing the brace velcroed around his leg.
"Yeah, you're going to be fine." Nathan told him, smiling at him. He knew it would take time,
and there would be new nightmares to add to the ones he already had, but Lucas would have all the love
and support he needed to get back on his feet.
entertainment purposes only. I use 2004 as the year of birth for Lucas.
Cobb drove his boat up onto the beach of Bridger's island. 'Let's see the UEO find me here,' he
thought to himself. What better place to hide than the home of the greatest Captain in the UEO. Also, the
man he hated most in the world. If that meddling s-o-b had stayed away from his mine, he would be a
millionaire by now. He would be living on his own island living the high life. Instead, he had just spent
the last six months in jail.
But he was out now. Stupid guards never stood a chance. His men had followed the van
transporting him and then proceeded to crash into it. In a matter of minutes he was free and on his way.
He knew he'd be able to count on Larry and Jackson.
"Okay, boys, let's make ourselves comfortable," Cobb said. "I'm sure that the mighty Captain
won't mind.
"Sure, Frank," Jackson said.
"Are you sure about this?" Larry asked. "I mean, just what in the hell do we do if he decides to
show up?"
"He's not going to show up. Their next scheduled leave isn't for six weeks," Jackson said. It had
been easy enough for him to hack into the UEO computers and get a schedule and duty roster.
"Good," Cobb said. "I want time to prepare and plan. Bridger is going to regret messing with me.
He took my mine, my gold, my future. Now I'm going to take away all the things that he loves."
"That's easy," Larry said. "Blow up his damn sub."
"No, that's too easy," Cobb said. "Besides, seaQuest is the best. Do you really think we'd even
get a torpedo anywhere near that ship without being blown out of the water first? No, we have to think of
something smarter than that."
The three men went into Nathan's house after forcing the door open. Larry plopped down into the
sofa to relax. Cobb and Jackson began to explore the house to see what they could find.
"Larry, if your going to be useless, why don't you at least go down to the boat and carry the food
into the house."
"Yeah, sure," he grumbled. Part of him really wished they had left Frank in jail. He didn't like
this one bit. It was one thing to rough up a miner or two, or rob a store, but Frank wanted to take on the
UEO! He wondered just what in the heck he had gotten himself into.
Frank went upstairs to the bedrooms. He went into the big one first. On the night stand he found
several pictures sitting on it. He held them up to look at them. He saw Bridger standing with some kid. In
one they looked to be at Disney World, and the other was on a beach near the ocean. In both pictures the
Captain had his arm wrapped around the boy's shoulders. A third picture looked to be a family portrait.
This one had Bridger standing next to the boy once again, his hand on his shoulder, but also there was a
woman in this picture. She was standing on the other side of the kid, her hand on his other shoulder. He
walked away form the pictures to the closets. He only found men's clothing. Who ever the woman was,
she wasn't his wife.
He went into the other bedroom and opened the dresser drawers. He found jeans and t-shirts. So
the kid lived here with the Captain. This could be useful. Maybe he could find the kid and use him against
Bridger.
He went back downstairs. Larry was back in his spot on the sofa. Jackson was in a room off the
living room.
"What are you looking for?" Cobb asked him.
"Just seeing what I can learn about the Captain. So far I've found his financial records, past taxes,
and the mortgage. Just your average stuff. You wouldn't believe what this guy is worth," Jackson said.
"He must like working, because he has enough money to live like a king for the rest of his life."
"That's good to know," Cobb said. "Maybe I can ask the Captain to reimburse me for my lost
profits on the mine."
"What are you thinking?" Jackson asked.
"Upstairs there are pictures of a teenage kid. I'm guessing he's the Captain's son. He's got to be
in some boarding school or something since Bridger is on seaQuest. Maybe he is with his mother. There is
a family portrait upstairs. If we get the kid, we can ransom him. That's one way to make my money back."
"Not a chance," Larry said. "Breaking you out of jail was one thing. You want to rob a bank, I'm
with you all the way, but you want to kidnap a kid and then threaten the Captain of the UEO's flagship.
Frank, the only thing you are going to do is get us all in jail, or dead. I never signed on for kidnapping a
kid."
"Larry, you idiot, you will do what you are told. Besides, it's not like we're going to kill him or
anything. Once we get our money the kid will be free to go. This can make us all rich as hell. Once we
get the money we head off to a little out of the way country and then we relax and take it easy."
"Sounds good to me," Jackson said.
"You swear you won't hurt the kid," Larry said.
"I promise I won't hurt the kid," Cobb told him.
Larry still didn't look happy but he nodded his head anyway and walked out of the room.
"You really going to let the kid go?" Jackson asked.
"Hell no," Cobb said. "I want the money, but trust me, Captain Bridger is going to regret the day
he ever messed with Frank Cobb. I think killing his son would be a perfect revenge. Start looking through
this stuff. Somewhere in here has to be an address for the mother's house or the boarding school."
"Okay," Jackson replied.
Cobb walked over to a small filing cabinet and pulled open the top drawer. He saw several folders
marked 'Lucas'. "I think I just found out the kid's name. Lucas," Cobb said.
"Wait a minute," Jackson said, "there was a kid named Lucas on the seaQuest duty roster, but the
name was Lucas Wolenczak."
"Damn, the kid's not his son," Cobb said. He opened the folder and started looking through the
papers. Inside were newspaper clippings about the trial of Dr. Wolenczak, and pictures of the kid standing
next to the Captain again.
"This just doesn't make sense," Cobb said. "If the kid isn't his son, then why does he have
pictures everywhere and all this stuff about him."
"Maybe the kid is his nephew or something," Jackson said.
Cobb opened the next folder and smiled. "Jack pot!" He held up the paper so Jackson could look
at it. "It's an adoption certificate. It appears the good Captain adopted the kid after he put his father in jail.
Your roster must not have reflected the name change yet."
"Great, except that creates a problem. How do we get the kid if he's living on the damn sub?"
Jackson said. "It was one thing to grab him from school or something, but there's no way we can get him
off the sub."
"Well, we'll just have to grab him when he comes off the sub. You've got their schedule. If we
think I'm sure we can come up with something."
____________________________
Lucas crouched down next to the bulkhead. He should be coming any second. There he was! Lt.
Krieg was heading his way, moving slowly, looking around for signs of trouble. 'Just a few more steps,'
Lucas thought to himself. He moved a bit closer and Lucas popped up out his hiding place and shot Ben
right in the face.
"Direct hit!" Lucas shouted and took off running.
"Oh you little pipsqueak! Just wait till I get my hands on you," Ben said, wiping the water off his
face. He took off running after Lucas. Lucas ducked into the moonpool and positioned himself against the
wall. He heard Ben coming. He was having a blast with these stupid water pistols Ben had got for them
during the last supply drop off. He quickly pumped his pistol, getting it up to full power. He heard Ben's
footsteps nearing the door. He was almost there, just another second… Lucas turned and fired, sufficiently
soaking Commander Ford and Katie.
"Lucas!" Katie gasped.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucas said laughing. "I thought you were Ben." He tried to stop giggling, but he couldn't.
"So, you think this is funny?" Ford demanded.
"Uh, well, maybe just a little," Lucas said. He stopped giggling, realizing that he was probably in
trouble now. Commander Ford wasn't exactly known for his sense of humor. "I'm sorry," he said again.
"Well, you should be," Katie said.
"I think your punishment should be tickling," Ford said, elbowing Katie.
"Huh," Lucas said, not sure if he had just heard right.
Ford grabbed Lucas and Katie started tickling his sides. "Cut the out," Lucas laughed. Katie just
kept on tickling until Lucas was laughing so hard he was crying. Ben stood in the doorway watching,
hiding his water pistol behind his back. He jumped at attention when Captain Bridger appeared.
"Captain," Ben said.
"At ease." He looked at Katie and Jonathon in total disbelief. "Commanders," he greeted.
Ford let go of Lucas so fast that the boy fell to the floor with a thump.
"Ou," he said, rubbing his rear end.
"Captain," both commanders greeted.
"I trust that everything is okay here," Nathan asked.
"Yes, sir," Ford replied. "We uh…" he stopped when Nathan started laughing.
"Never mind," Nathan said, holding his hands up. "I think your shifts are due to start, aren't they?"
"Yes, sir," Katie said. She grabbed Jonathon arm and hurried out of the moonpool.
"So what are you up too?" he asked Lucas.
"Nothing, dad," Lucas said, still sitting on the floor.
"Uh huh," Nathan replied. "Lieutenant, I trust you two will clean up any water on the floor. I
don't need someone slipping and breaking a leg."
"Aye, sir," Ben said.
"Very well," Nathan said and walked away. As soon as he entered Kristin's office he busted out laughing.
"That was hysterical," Kristin said, she had been watching through her blinds. Nathan joined her
and watched as Ben and Lucas continued to squirt their water pistols at each other. Lucas got close to the
pool and he suddenly gasped as Darwin decided to join in the fun. Darwin slapped his tail fin down and
splashed Lucas, completely soaking him.
"Darwin!" Lucas yelled. The dolphin chattered at him happily. Ben also broke out laughing.
Darwin repeated his actions, practically drowning Ben in water.
"That's what you get for laughing!" Lucas joked.
"Oh those three," Kristin exclaimed. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with them."
"You have to admit, Lucas is a real asset to the crew. I mean, when else would you ever see
Jonathon tickling somebody."
"Tell me about it," Kristin agreed. "The only time I really see the commander lighten up is when
he's with Lucas. So, tell me Captain, what can I do for you?"
"Do I have to have a reason to come see you?" he asked, closing the blinds and locking the door.
"Oh, I suspect you may have a reason or two floating around in that head of yours," she grinned.
"Tell me, how strong is your desk?"
"Oh, I think it's strong enough," she said, slowly unbuttoning her blouse.
"That's good to know," he replied as he slipped her blouse off her shoulders.
___________________________
Lucas walked to the mess. It had taken him a while to mop up the floor and change clothes. Sure,
water guns got water on the floor, but they didn't even come close to the water a playful dolphin could
splash. In the mess he saw that Kristin wasn't there. Good, he could eat in peace. He went through the
line and grabbed an apple, an orange, a juice box, and a brownie. He decided to take his tray to his room so
he could work on his program.
He had been getting discouraged lately with his artificial intelligence program. He had been
working on it for months now, and he was at a road block. He had succeeded in making the professor more
sociable. He had programmed it to play games, like music similar to his dad's, tell jokes, and make him
capable of a more pleasant conversation. But that could hardly be called artificial intelligence. Plus, he
still hadn't accomplished his greatest goal, a program that could teach itself. The professor was still just
spitting out the information that had been put into him. His dad had liked the improvements a lot, but
Lucas was disappointed with himself.
He entered his room and sat on his bed. He picked up his apple and looked at his computers.
They were on. They were always on. He almost never turned them off. A soft tapping behind him made
him look back and see Darwin. Darwin nodded at Lucas.
"Not now Darwin. I think we played enough for one day," Lucas said. He sat down in the floor
and started working on his program.
______________________________
Kristin buttoned her blouse back up. She looked at Nathan who was still getting dressed.
"You know, I think that might be the first time we weren't interrupted one way or another," she said.
"Tell me about it. Living on a sub doesn't make for the easiest love life," he laughed.
"Especially when you're dating the Captain."
"I'm sorry things aren't a little more romantic. Between the job and Lucas it's difficult to find
time for us."
"It's okay. I understand, really I do. I remember trying to do my research and raise Cynthia.
There were times when I swear I didn't see my husband for a week at a time."
"It'll get easier when Lucas stops having nightmares. Then you can spend the night once in a
while." He had had a cot moved into his room for Lucas. After Lawrence's last beating, combined with
the trial that followed three weeks later, Lucas had practically had a nervous breakdown. For a couple of
weeks he had moved in with Nathan until the nightmares started to get better, but even after Lucas had
returned to his own room the cot had stayed, so that way if Lucas had a nightmare he could still come and
sleep in Nathan's room.
"How often does he have them now?" Kristin asked. She had actually had to sedate Lucas a
couple of times after the dreams.
"He's down to about two a week, sometimes just one."
"That's good," she said. "With a little more time I'm sure they'll go away all together, or at least
he'll be able to deal with them on his own as he gets older and truly realizes that Lawrence can't hurt him
ever again."
"I hope so. For the most part Lucas is a happy kid, and he knows we love him, but every now and
then I'll catch him staring off into space…and…and he looks scared. As soon as he notices me looking at
him he'll put on that big smile of his, but I know the pain and the fear is still there. He hides it well, but it
hasn't completely left him yet."
"He just needs time."
"I know," Nathan said.
"So have you told him about the dinner tomorrow night?" Kristin asked.
"Not yet. I figured I'd wait till the last minute so I'd only have to listen to his complaining for a
few minutes."
"Nathan, you've known about this for at least a month. How would you feel if that were done to you?"
"Are you kidding! The UEO does that kind of thing to me almost everyday! Honestly, he's going
to flip when he finds out that he has to have dinner with what he calls, 'a bunch of old farts' tomorrow
night. I made sure to have his suit laundered and it's hanging in my closet. I'll tell him a few hours before
hand."
"Well I'm just glad that I don't have to go for once. With all do respect, I have to agree with
Lucas on this one. An evening with Secretary Noyce and a bunch of foreign diplomats sounds as
interesting as having your teeth drilled. Are you taking anyone else?"
"I'd like to take you, but since you just stated your feelings on the subject so clearly I won't bother
to ask."
"Thank you," Kristin said.
"Commander Ford and Chief Crocker are coming, too," Nathan said.
"Oh, Lucas is just going to love that!" Kristin replied.
"I know! Tell me about it!"
________________________________
The next morning when Nathan awoke he was surprised to see Lucas sleeping in his cot. He must
have been in a deep sleep last night cause he never even heard Lucas come in his room. He wished he
could take the nightmares away from Lucas forever, but like Kristin said, he just needed time.
He grabbed some clean clothes and went to his bathroom. One of the benefits of being Captain
was a private bathroom. He took his ion shower and quickly dressed. He stepped into his room and saw
Lucas still sleeping.
"Lucas," he said gently. Lucas rolled over and looked at him
"Good morning," he said sleepily.
"Same to you. I need to tell you something," Nathan said, already dreading the argument that was
sure to follow. "We have to attend a dinner tonight."
"A dinner with who?" Lucas asked.
"A bunch of old farts," Nathan replied.
"You know, you're starting to sound like me more every day," Lucas laughed. Nathan was
surprised, this wasn't the reaction he had been expecting.
"What can I say, you're a bad influence. Really, though, we have to go to this dinner. Trust me, I
don't want to anymore than you do, but Bill asked me if I would bring you. I think he's hoping you can
liven things up a little."
"Yeah, right!" Lucas said. "The minute I open my mouth tonight I'm going to have at least ten
people telling me to shut it!"
"You're probably right, but regardless, I told Bill you'd come."
"Is Ben at least going?"
"Nope. Just Ford and Crocker."
"Oh great. Those two will probably put tape over my mouth before the night is through! You
owe me big time for this one!" Lucas said.
"So does that mean you'll be pleasant tonight?"
"As pleasant as a 14 year old being held hostage with a bunch of old farts can be!" Lucas smiled wickedly.
"Lucas!"
"I'll be pleasant," Lucas replied.
"Good, your suit is in my closet. The launch leaves at 5:30."
"SUIT! Why do I have to wear a suit?"
"Because I said so," Nathan replied and walked out of the room. He closed the door just in time to
avoid being hit by a flying pillow.
Lucas fell back into his bed. He didn't really mind going with his dad to the dinner, even if it was
going to be totally boring. It was the least he could do for him. After all, look at all that he had done for
him. But still, he had to at least protest a little bit. He was a teenager after all.
Nathan sat in his chair on the bridge. It was going to be another boring day. They had been
mapping the seafloor for the past six days so they could compare the maps to those from five years ago to
see how much the floor had changed. Truth be told he didn't even need to be here. The crew could more
than handle this on their own, but he had a duty to do, so here he sat. Suddenly 5:30 couldn't come soon
enough.
_____________________________
Lucas looked at his reflection in the mirror. Shirt was tucked, hair was combed, shoes were
shined. He looked at his jacket. He hated wearing those things. They were totally uncomfortable. Maybe
he could get away with just his dress shirt and his tie. After all, he wasn't a grown up yet. Now he just had
to find someone to tie his tie for him. He didn't have occasion to wear them very often and he had yet to
learn how to tie them. When he was smaller his parents used to get him the clip on kinds.
He left his room, leaving the jacket behind, and went to find Kristin. She would probably know
how. He could ask dad, but then he would probably get stuck wearing the jacket. If he showed up at the
launch without it, chances were better that he wouldn't be forced to go back and get it.
When he arrived at the lab he saw that she wasn't there. Maybe she was at her quarters. He
walked down the hallway to her room and knocked on the door. After a second she opened it. She looked
beautiful. She was wearing a cream colored dress and she had her hair up with little curls coming around
her face.
"Wow," Lucas said.
"Thank you," she replied.
"Where are you going?"
"With you. I figured since you had to go to this thing I would at least go and keep you company,
and maybe out of trouble."
"Does dad know?"
"No. It's a surprise."
"Well he's definitely going to be surprised. I don't think he'll be paying very much attention to
what the old farts have to say."
"Lucas, I appreciate the compliment, but really, you shouldn't call the foreign heads of state old farts."
"Dad did," he defended. She just shook her head. "Can you tie my tie?"
"I'll do better than that, I'll teach you how to do it yourself."
"Thanks," Lucas said.
Lucas walked with Kristin to the launch bay and just as he suspected, his dad's jaw dropped the
minute he saw her. She smiled at Nathan as she and Lucas walked down the steps.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"If I'm not welcome I can leave," she teased.
"I didn't say that. It's just that you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to come to this."
"Well, I figured I'd come so Lucas could have someone to talk to."
"Just Lucas? What about me?"
"If your nice I might talk to you," Kristin grinned.
Lucas just rolled his eyes. At least dad was so busy looking at Kristin that he hadn't noticed that
he didn't have his jacket. Heck, dad hadn't noticed him at all! Those two definitely needed to get married.
Nathan took Kristin's arm in his and they entered the launch with Lucas, Ford, and Crocker
following behind. Lucas sat down across from them and buckled in. Nathan finally got a good look at him.
Lucas looked like a perfect gentleman, but it didn't escape his attention that he wasn't wearing his jacket.
He decided not to push the issue. At least he wore his tie and dress shoes. He should be grateful for small
miracles.
Ford and Crocker went through the pre launch check list and then they were off. It would only
take about fifteen minutes to reach the dock. A car would then drive them to the reception. They were all a
bit surprised when they stepped off the dock to see a stretch limo waiting for them.
"Wow, this must be one heck of a shindig," Crocker said.
"Hello, I'm your driver. If you'll please get into the car, we should arrive at the reception center
in about twenty minutes." The driver held the door open for them and waited as they each got into the
limo. He closed the car door and then walked around to the drivers seat.
Lucas noticed that the window was up that separated the driver from the rest of them, not that this
was strange or anything. He had been in lots of limos growing up and most kept the window up. It seemed
to be their way of not having to deal with the rich snobs in the back seat. Lucas listened somewhat to the
conversation going on between the four adults in the car, but he more or less just stared out the window.
This was going to be a long night. Maybe he'd at least be able to sneak a drink. He played with the bottom
of his tie and tapped his leg up and down.
"Stop fidgeting," Kristin told him. He dropped his tie and folded his hands in his lap. God this
was really going to be a long night. He watched as the limo exited the highway and headed into a
warehouse district. Something didn't seem right. The UEO wasn't going to put on a party where formal
dress was required, along with limo's, only to have the party in a dirty industrial site. He looked at his dad
and saw that he must be thinking the same thing.
"Jonathon, tap on the window and tell him that he must have gotten off at the wrong exit," Nathan said.
Ford knocked on the glass but the driver didn't answer. "Oh come on," Ford said as he hit the
glass again, a bit harder this time. Suddenly, a popping sound was heard above them. A white cloud
started to form inside the car, coming from the dome light.
"Gas," Crocker said. He tried to open his door but it wouldn't open. Everyone tried their
windows, but they too wouldn't open.
"Cover your nose and mouth," Nathan order, but his words were already starting to slur. In a
matter of seconds everyone in the limo was unconscious.
Jackson pulled the limo over to the side of the road next to an abandoned factory, where a blue van
was waiting for them. He got out of the limo.
"How did it go?" Cobb asked.
"Perfectly," Jackson replied, pulling off his mustache and tossing the chauffeurs hat in the front
seat. "They're all out cold."
"Excellent. Let's grab the kid and get out of here."
"The woman is in there too," Jackson said. "We can take them both and double the amount of the
ransom we were planning to ask for."
"I like the way you think," Cobb said.
_______________________________
"Captain, wake up," Jonathon said. He shook the Captain. "Captain."
Nathan finally started to come around. "What the hell happened?" he asked groggily.
"We were gassed, Cap," Crocker said.
Nathan sat up quickly and looked around. "Where's Kristin and Lucas?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Ford said. "They're gone. I think who ever gassed us took them."
"We need to contact seaQuest," Nathan ordered.
"Our PALs have been taken," Crocker told him.
"We have to get back to the boat. We…we have to find them damn it," Nathan said. He couldn't
lose another family. He couldn't.
"Cap, we'll find them," Crocker said. He put a hand on Nathan's arm, offering the man his
support. Nathan looked up at him and slowly nodded his head.
"Commander, can you drive this thing?" Nathan asked.
"I can try," Ford replied. He got out of the back and headed to the drivers seat. "We've got a
problem, no keys."
"I can take care of that," Crocker said. He pulled out his pocket knife and slid in behind the
steering wheel. In a matter of seconds he had the lock popped and the engine running.
"How did you learn to do that?" Ford asked.
"Some things a man keeps to himself," Crocker replied. He slid over and let Ford get behind the
wheel. "I hope someone knows how to get back to the dock," Ford said.
"Let's try to back track as best we can," Nathan said.
It took them a long time to find their way back. None of them were familiar with the area and they
spent quite a bit of time driving in circles before they finally found the highway. Nathan forced himself to
keep it together, but the fear threatened to overwhelm him at any moment. How could he have lost both of
them. They were his strength. He had no one to turn to. He was alone in the world once again. He prayed
that it wasn't too late.
_______________________________________
Lucas woke up slowly. He opened his eyes and looked around. He didn't know where he was.
He raised his hands to his head only to see that they were handcuffed together. This wasn't good. He sat
up and saw Kristin was also lying on the floor. He made his way over to her and was relieved to see she
was okay. Her hands were also cuffed.
"Kristin," Lucas said. He lightly tapped her face. "Kristin." Her eyes opened and she
immediately sat up.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just woke up a minute ago?"
"The last thing I remember was Crocker yelling about gas," she said.
"Same here. I…I think we've been kidnapped," Lucas said. "Do you think they hurt the others?"
"No," she replied quickly, too quickly for Lucas' comfort. "Think about it. Someone took us.
Who would be affected the most by that?"
"Dad," Lucas whispered.
"Right. It would stand to reason that they wouldn't hurt him if they were going to use us to get
something from him."
"I guess that makes sense," Lucas replied. "I hope he's really okay."
"He's not okay," Kristin said. She clarified when she saw the look of horror on Lucas' face. "I
mean, he's going to be worried sick about us."
"Oh."
They both looked up when the door to their room opened. Kristin instinctively clutched at Lucas' arm.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're both awake," the man said.
"Who are you?" Kristin demanded. "Why did you bring us here?"
"Simple. My name is Frank Cobb."
"But your supposed to be in jail," Lucas said, recognizing the name.
"That's right. Thanks to your father, that's where I've spent the last six months. But I managed to
arrange a little jail break, and now I'm here with you. Ain't life a bitch."
"What do you want with us?" Kristin asked again.
"Oh, well, you two are going to be my new gold mine. Bridger took away my first one. My guess
is he'll want you two back real bad. So, I'm going to make him give me $10 million for your release."
"What?" Lucas said. "Dad doesn't have that kind of money!"
"Oh, but he does. I have his financial records to prove it. He's actually worth even more than
that, but I'll settle for the 10 that he has solvent. It would be too much trouble for me to try and unload
stocks and bonds."
"And once you get the money you plan to release us?" Kristin asked.
"Unfortunately, I want Bridger to suffer more than a financial loss. I'm afraid that only one of you
will be going home. You see, I have to let one of you live so you can go back to him and tell him how
horribly the other one suffered before they died." He looked Lucas directly in the eyes when he said 'died.'
"Leave him alone," Kristin said. "He's just a boy."
"No," Lucas told her. "It's…it's okay." If one of them was going to die he wanted it to be him.
He couldn't stand back and watch her die slowly. He didn't want to see that.
"Brave kid. We'll see how brave you are," Cobb said. Then he left and locked the door behind him.
When Cobb turned around he saw Larry standing there. "Damn it, Frank, you said no one would
die. You promised you wouldn't kill the kid."
"Shut up, Larry. You weren't the one sitting in a jail cell. Bridger's going to pay, and the price is
ten million and the life of his son. Now either you co-operate, or you can die too!"
"Fine, Frank. But after this, I never want to see you ever again," Larry said.
"That won't be a problem," Cobb told him.
Kristin and Lucas listened to the two men's entire conversation. Kristin didn't know what to do.
They had to get out of there, but they were in a windowless room, and handcuffed. 'Nathan, please hurry
and find us,' she thought. She looked at Lucas to see he had drawn his knees up to his chest and held them
to him with his arms. His eyes were closed and he rocked himself slightly. She could tell he was terrified,
but he tried not to let it show. She raised her arms up over his head and brought them down around him
and pulled him near. He relaxed into her, letting go of his knees.
"Promise you won't try to make them hurt you instead," he said.
"Lucas, I can't promise that. I won't."
"You have to," Lucas said. "Please, promise me that you'll be alright. Promise you won't make
them angry. PROMISE!" He was becoming desperate.
"Okay, okay, calm down. I promise. I promise," she held him even tighter. "I love you, Lucas."
"I love you too. If…if something happens, tell dad that I love him."
"You can tell him yourself. I'm sure he's already looking for us. He probably has half the
country out looking for us."
"I'm sure he does, but, just in case, don't forget to tell him." Kristin began to rock hIm, more in
an attempt to comfort herself than Lucas. He was being so brave, and she couldn't stop her tears from
falling.
"Don't cry," he said. "It'll be okay."
"I know," she told him.
__________________________
Nathan was back on the bridge of seaQuest. The limo had been searched and dusted for prints, but
they had nothing. The driver had worn gloves and there was no evidence to follow. Two teams were
searching the area where the limo had been abandoned, but so far, they hadn't found anything. Nathan
wanted to be out looking, too, but Jonathon had pointed out that he needed to stay in case a ransom demand
came. The waiting was killing him.
______________________________
They had been left alone for the past hour, but that changed when Cobb and another man walked
into their room. Kristin still had her arms around Lucas.
"I need the boy, now. Come here kid," Cobb ordered.
Kristin refused to let go of him.
The other man bent down and said, "Let go of him now, or I can put a bullet in his head and we
can still ransom you off by yourself." Kristin looked at him, and then she raised her arms so Lucas could
leave with them.
"Please," she cried. "Please don't hurt him."
"Don't worry, we won't hurt him too much. We still need him alive for the moment," Cobb said.
He grabbed Lucas and dragged him out of the room. Lucas didn't look back. He was trying to be brave,
but if he saw Kristin's tear streaked face he knew he'd fall apart.
Cobb led him to a room with a vid-phone. A chair was placed in the middle of the room, facing
the phone. Cobb motioned for him to sit in the chair. When he didn't move the other man grabbed his
shoulders and forced him into it.
"It's time to call your dad," Cobb said. "I want the number and I want it right now, or I'll give my
friend here permission to have his way with your mom."
Lucas gave them the number without a moment's hesitation. He watched as Cobb dialed up
seaQuest. To prevent Lucas from yelling out any information the man holding him in the chair quickly
covered his mouth with duct tape. In a moment Lucas saw his dad's face pop onto the view screen. The
Captain paled visably when he saw the face before him.
"Cobb, how?"
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," he interrupted. "I bet the UEO didn't even bother to tell you I
escaped a month ago. Well, as you may have guessed, I've got your wife and child. I'm guessing you
would like to have them back."
"If you hurt them in anyway, I swear…"
"Now, now Captain. I can assure you that making threats against me will not help your situation.
I know you're tracing the call, so I must be brief. By the way, we won't be here by the time you arrive. I
want $10 million. Don't tell me you don't have it, cause we know you do. I want it by tomorrow at 6:00
pm. If I don't get it they both die. It's that simple. Give me the money, I give you your family back. Then
I'll be off on my merry way and you'll never see me again. Just to make sure your properly motivated, I
have a little show for you."
Cobb turned the view screen so Nathan could see Lucas sitting in the chair.
"Lucas," Nathan whispered. Lucas' eyes were wide with fear. Duct tape covered his mouth.
"Cobb, don't…"
Cobb walked over to the boy and punched him in the face. Lucas flew back in the chair but didn't
fallout. Cobb punched him again. In the background Bridger could be heard yelling for the beating to stop.
Cobb ignored him as he delivered his third punch. Lucas finally fell to the floor this time. Cobb drew his
leg back and kicked him in the side. Like Lucas used to do with his father, he curled himself up into a little
ball to protect his face. Cobb kicked him I the knee. If it weren't for the tape blocking his screams he
would have cried out for all he was worth with the last kick. His knee felt like it was on fire.
Cobb finally turned back to the view screen. "6:00 tomorrow. I will contact you with a drop off."
He ended the transmission.
"Grab the kid, we have to get out of here. My guess is this place will be swarming in about three
minutes."
Cobb ran to the room and ordered Kristin out. She followed him and cried out Lucas' name when
she saw the boy. Jackson was dragging Lucas across the floor by the back of his shirt collar. The boy's
face was black and blue and he looked to be in a lot of pain.
"Shut up and get in the van," Cobb told her.
She did, and she tried to help Lucas in as gently as possible, but Jackson preferred just tossing him
in. She quickly pulled the tape off his mouth.
"Where is Larry?" Cobb said angrily.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him for the past hour," Jackson said. "LARRY!! COME ON!
WE"RE LEAVING!!"
"Shit," Cobb said when Larry didn't appear. "The idiot bugged out on us. I should have seen it coming."
"Lucas, are you alright? Is anything broken?" Kristin asked
Lucas didn't answer right away. He focused on breathing through his mouth for a moment. With
his mouth taped and his nose stuffed from crying, he hadn't been able to breath very well for the past
couple of minutes. They felt the van lurch forward and drive away.
"I'm…okay," he said. "My knee hurts pretty bad, but I don't think it's broke." Kristin carefully
lifted his pant leg to look at it. His knee was swollen terribly and a large bruise was circling the entire leg.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Cobb kicked it. He did it to hurt Dad. Dad had to watch while Cobb did this." Lucas replied,
flinching in pain when Kristin touched it.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I wish I had ice or a bandage."
"It's okay," he said, but he couldn't stop the few tears that rolled down his face. He didn't even
think about what he was doing. He sat up and snuggled into Kristin's arms and rested his head on her
shoulder. She held him, wishing like hell that she didn't have on the blasted handcuffs so she could really
circle her arms around him and comfort him.
_________________________________
"Mr. O'Neill, trace that call. As soon as it's pinpointed I want our course changed immediately."
He turned to leave, he had to call his banker. Suddenly he felt someone grab his arm.
"Captain," Ford said. "What are you doing?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm about to go withdraw $10 million."
"Captain," Ford said again, he hated this, "we don't negotiate…"
"Don't you dare quote the rule book to me, Jonathon. I know full damn well what UEO
regulations say. I helped write those regulations! This isn't about the UEO. This is personal and we both
know it. That psycho is holding the only thing that means anything to me. Cobb is holding my son
hostage, along with Kristin."
Ford let go of the Captain. "Yes, sir," he said glumly. He understood what the Captain was
doing. He would do no less if it were his family.
Nathan left and went to his room. He called his accountant and told him to pull the money from
the bank. With that done he paced his room like a caged tiger. He kept clinching and unclinching his fists
as he paced. Rage coursed through his body. That bastard had hurt Lucas. Cobb had used his gagged and
bound son for a punching bag. The boy was still recovering from the mental scars his father had put there,
and now this. He wanted to kill Frank Cobb. He wanted to beat the man to death with his own bare hands.
Not to mention he didn't know if anything had happened to Kristin.
Suddenly his rage came unleashed and he kicked over the small table that held his and Lucas'
chess game. The next thing to be sent flying were the two chairs that went with the table. He picked up
one of the chairs and hurled it across the room with his hands. He felt a small amount of satisfaction when
he heard the chair smash into pieces. He was about to pick up the second chair and do the same when
suddenly his door opened.
"Lieutenant, get out of here," Nathan yelled at Krieg.
"No, sir," Ben said.
"What did you say?" Nathan demanded.
"Sir, please, you can kick me off the boat if you want to, but sir, we need you. It's a good crew,
but their scared and worried, and they're waiting for you to lead them. You're not the only one who loves
them. If you act like they're already dead, then that's exactly what they're going to be," Ben said.
Nathan stood there looking at the man who had just defied him. He still held the chair in his hands
and the thought had crossed his mind to throw it at Krieg, but Krieg's words had hit their mark. Nathan
dropped the chair with a thud, and then he just stood there. He closed his eyes and tried to get his anger in
check. Ben was right. He had to be strong now. Everyone was waiting for him to tell them what to do.
"Captain, are you okay?" Ben asked nervously. He had just crossed the line, he knew, but he only
said what needed to be said. He just hoped he hadn't flushed his career down the drain in the process.
"Yes, Lieutenant. I'm okay, now. Thank you," Nathan said quietly. "How long till we dock?"
"Only a few more minutes," Ben said. He quietly turned and walked out of the room, not waiting
to be dismissed.
Nathan exited the launch and hurried into the car that would drive them to the warehouse. It
didn't take long. He didn't even wait for the car to fully stop moving before he was already jumping out of
it.
"What did you find?" Nathan asked the police officer.
"Sorry, Captain Bridger, but no one's home. They were gone before we got here," the officer said.
"Damn. What about any evidence? Clues about where they might have gone?"
"Nothing yet but we're still searching."
"I want my people in there. We've dealt with Cobb before. We know him a bit better than you,"
Nathan said.
"Sir, I can't allow that. This is a police investigation."
"Wrong! This is a UEO investigation and if you don't like it you can call the Secretary General
and complain to him!"
The officer looked confused but then nodded his head. "Fine, but if you find anything will you at
least share with us."
"Yes," Bridger said. "Crocker, get our people in there. I want it searched top to bottom."
"Aye, Cap."
Twenty minutes later Katie and Ford came running out of the building to Nathan.
"Sir, we found something," Katie called.
"What?" Nathan said.
"You're not going to believe it," Ford said. He handed Nathan a map along with a note.
Captain Bridger,
I am leaving you the map to where Cobb is taking your family. I got pulled in this
against my better judgment. I'm sorry for what I did, but hopefully I can make it right. Cobb is gonna kill
the boy even if he gets the money. I told Cobb I ain't a killer, but he didn't listen to me none. I hope you
get them back
"Where did you find this?" Nathan asked.
"It was in the bathroom laying on top the tank," Ford said. "It could be a trap?"
"Or it could be the answer to our prayers," Nathan said. "Where is this exactly?"
The officer looked at the map and called over a different man, "Charlie, I think you know this.
Where is this at?"
Charlie looked at the map for a moment and said, "This is The Dark Hallow Falls area in
Shenandoah National Park. It's about a good seven hour drive from here."
"We need to get there first," Nathan said.
"Well, since the kidnappers have a hour head start, the only way you can beat them would be by
air. Chopper would get you there in probably an hour and a half. It's not that far away, but when you drive
all the roads are going around mountains so they don't exactly go in a straight line."
"Perfect!" Nathan said, feeling hopeful for the first time since this whole mess started.
"But the problem is, where are they going?" Katie said. "It's a big forest."
"Yeah, it is, but there are a few obvious places they would go. There are camp grounds, some out
buildings."
"No, they wouldn't go there," Nathan said. "Too public. The whole reason they would go there
in the first place is so they could get lost."
"Well, we know the general area they are going. You can fly in the choppers until you identify
likely locations where they would hold up. There are some abandoned cabins in that area."
"Abandoned? Why?" Nathan asked.
"Well, it used to be a vacation spot, but it was closed down."
"We'll start there," Nathan said to Crocker. "We need two choppers and I want them here in ten
minutes."
"Yes, sir," Crocker said. He turned away and headed over to their car and started talking into the
radio, shouting orders.
_______________________________
They had been driving now for hours. Kristin's arm was falling asleep for the position it was in,
but to move it meant she would wake up Lucas, so she just left it where it was. He had fallen asleep about
an hour ago. She was tired, but try as she might she couldn't fall asleep. She was just too afraid.
She looked down as Lucas started to stir in her arms. He let out a soft moan and slowly opened
his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." He slowly pulled away from her.
"It's okay, I don't mind," she smiled at him.
"Do you know where we are?" he asked.
"I don't have a clue."
"I wonder…I wonder if they'll stop for a bathroom break," he said. He really had to go.
"Excuse me," Kristin said to Cobb and Jackson. "Would it be possible to have a bathroom break?
Otherwise it's going to not smell so good in here."
"We'll pull over at the next rest stop. You'll go one at a time. If one of you tries to run away, the
one still in the van will be shot," Cobb said.
Ten minutes later they pulled over and parked the van. Cobb entered the back of the van and
unlocked Kristin's handcuffs. "I'm going to walk you to the bathroom. Like I said, you do anything that in
anyway tips people off about us, the boy will be killed on the spot. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Kristin said. "You behave," she told Lucas, and then she walked to the rest area with
Cobb. He stood right outside of the door as she did her business. When she stepped back out Cobb
escorted her to the van. As soon as she was inside the handcuffs went back on.
"Your turn, kid." Cobb took off the cuffs and he had to help Lucas stand up. His knee was still
very sore. Lucas limped with Cobb to the bathroom. This time Cobb actually went inside the bathroom
with Lucas. Walking back Lucas had to stop several times to let the pain in his knee subside before he
could continue.
Cobb slid open the van door to reveal Kristin being held down and kissed by Jackson. Jackson
was laying on top of her. Kristin was struggling to push him off.
"GET OFF HER!!" Lucas screamed. Forgetting about his bad knee he lunged into the van and
began to pound his fists into Jackson's back. "I'LL KILL YOU!!" Lucas screamed again.
"Lucas, no!" Kristin cried, backing up away form Jackson and Lucas. Lucas continued to swing
his arms wildly at Jackson, but the big man was able to over power him quickly enough. Jackson caught
Lucas' hand in mid air and twisted it behind his back, pinning him face down into the floor of the van.
"You little shit! I'll teach you to hit me!" Jackson used his free arm to punch Lucas in the side
repeatedly. Cobb just stood there and watch the scene unfold with amused eyes.
"Stop!" Kristin begged. "Please, leave him alone."
After delivering about twenty blows to Lucas' side he finally stopped. He forcibly pushed himself
away from the boy. Lucas just laid there, not even attempting to move. Kristin quickly crawled to his side
and rolled him onto his back. Lucas looked at her with exhausted and pained eyes.
"Are…you…okay?" he whispered.
"I'm okay," Kristin sobbed. "You foolish boy, why did you do that?"
"Had…to stop…him," Lucas replied.
"Let's get going," Cobb said to Jackson. "We've got a couple of more hours before we reach the cabin."
Kristin lifted Lucas' shirt. Large massive bruises were already forming. She felt his side and he
cried out in pain. She was almost certain that Lucas had internal injuries from the beating. His right
kidney would have received the brunt of the beating. She only hoped that he wasn't bleeding internally.
Lucas tried to sit up but she pushed him back down.
'Stay down," she ordered. "I need you to stay still. I don't know how bad your hurt."
Lucas nodded. Truth be told he didn't have the strength to sit up. He felt so afraid and so
helpless. He wouldn't be able to help Kristin if Jackson tried to force himself on her again. He couldn't
stand the thought of her being raped. Suddenly he started to cry, tears of pain and frustration shedding
from his eyes.
"Shh, it's okay," Kristin whispered to him. "Everything's going to be okay." She lightly brushed
the hair from his face and caressed his cheek.
"I'm sorry," Lucas said.
"Don't be, it's okay to cry," she told him.
"I don't want them to hurt you," Lucas said.
"I'm fine," she said. "The only person we need to worry about right now is you. I want you to
rest, okay. Just close your eyes, breathe easy, and let the pain float away. That's it, just rest." Kristin held
his hand and quietly hummed him a lullaby. When she was sure that Lucas had drifted off she looked once
more at his side. A large area was swelling up. The bruises were hideous to look at. She knew that Lucas
couldn't take another beating. Another beating like the last one would kill him, but then that's what Cobb
wanted, wasn't it.
___________________________
Nathan looked out the window towards the ground as the two helicopters circled the area of Dark
Hallow Falls, looking for just where Cobb might be taking Kristin and Lucas. He saw the abandoned
cabins and that their helicopter was lowering itself into a clearing that wasn't too far from them. They
touched down and Nathan, Ortiz, Krieg, and Crocker jumped out, along with two park rangers named
Brackston and Mack.
Nathan knew that the other chopper carrying Ford, Hitchcock, O'Neill, and Shan was going to
keep circling in case this wasn't the spot.
"We need to search these cabins to see if it looks like they are coming here," Crocker said, "but be
careful not to disturb the area to noticeably. If they are coming here we don't want any evidence of our
presence here. If they know we're here they'll take off, or hurt someone. Split up and everyone take a
cabin. Keep your PALs on so we can communicate."
Nathan watched them all spread out. He picked a cabin and went inside. The cabin he was inn
looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Holes in the walls and roof allowed sunlight to filter
in, reflecting on the dust that was kicked up by his walking on the dirty floor. It was obvious that Cobb
wouldn't use this cabin. Lucas could put his foot through the wall with on kick.
He walked outside and headed to the next building not being searched. He stepped up to the porch
and was about to enter when he heard Ortiz shout.
"I've found something!" Ortiz yelled.
Nathan flew down the steps and hurried to Ortiz, as did everybody else. "What do you have?"
Nathan asked.
"Inside there is canned food and rations, along with bottled water and sleeping bags." Ortiz said.
"It could be a tourists, but the stuff is too new to belong to a homeless person."
Everyone went into the cabin and began to carefully look around. The cabin wasn't too big, it had
two small bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. Old moldy furniture was left in the cabin.
"Sir," Krieg said. "I think you'll want to see this." He led them to the back bedroom where a
trapdoor in the floor stood up, revealing a root cellar below. Nathan followed Krieg into the cellar. When
his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was shocked to see that chains had been attached to the wall, two pairs.
In the middle of the small cellar was a stretcher, with restraints. Also was a table holding several knives
and a leather crop.
"I always knew Cobb was a sick man, but this, this is twisted," Ben said.
"This is how he was going to get his revenge on me," Nathan said. "He was going to bring Lucas
and Kristin here and torture them. Then he was going to kill Lucas, just to make me suffer!"
"That may have been what he was going to do, but he's not going to get the chance now," Ben
told him. "We're going to get this twisted nutcase, and get Lucas and Kristin back."
"I know," Nathan said, and he actually believed it. "We best get out of here. They should be here
in an hour or two. I want to be ready for when they arrive. I want no mistakes made."
They went up stairs and began to work out their plan of attack.
_____________________________
Kristin was becoming more and more worried about Lucas. He was in a lot of pain, and she was
almost positive that he was bleeding internally. She could see the blood spreading under his skin. Lucas
needed to get to a hospital. The boy had also been fading in and out of consciousness. As much as she
preferred for him to be alert and responsive, she was also grateful for the times when he was unconscious.
At least during that time he got a break from the pain he was in. Unfortunately right now he was awake.
"Kristin," he whispered. "I think something is wrong."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I think Jackson did more than just give me a few new bruises," he said quietly. "I think he hurt
something, something inside."
"You're going to be okay," she reassured him. "We just have to hang on until Nathan gets here.
He'll find us, I promise."
"I hope so," Lucas whispered. "It's not fair."
"What's not fair?"
"I finally have people who love me, and now I think I'm going to have to leave." His words were
slurring together as he was becoming weaker with every passing hour.
"Don't you talk like that," Kristin said. "Don't you dare. You are going anywhere you hear me."
Lucas coughed and when he did a small trickle of blood came out of his mouth. Kristin tried not
to let the fear show on her face. She smile at Lucas and held his hand in hers and lightly caressed his face
with the other.
"I'm glad you're here," Lucas said. "I mean, I'm not glad that you got kidnapped, but I'm glad
I'm not alone."
"I understand," she said, grinning slightly. Lucas' eyes closed and his head slowly rolled to the
side. She quickly checked his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his heart still beating, but
she knew that Lucas was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Finally, we're here," Cobb said. The van came to a stop. Since Kristin couldn't see outside, she
had no idea where here was. Cobb got out of his chair and walked toward her and Lucas.
"What's wrong with him?" Cobb asked.
"What's wrong is he beat him. I think his kidney is injured and he's bleeding internally. He needs
to go to a hospital."
"That's too bad," Cobb said emotionlessly. He opened the sliding door and motioned for Kristin
to get out. She cautiously stepped out of the van, never taking her eyes off him. Jackson walked around to
stand next to her.
"Get her in the house," Cobb ordered. "I'm going to have to bring him in." He gave Lucas a slap
on the face trying to wake him up. "Wake up, kid." He slapped him again. "Shit," Cobb said.
"Do you have a clear shot?" Crocker asked Shan.
"No. The van is at an angle and obstructing my view," Shan spoke into his headset from his place
behind the tree.
"What ever you do, don't fire unless the shot is clear," Bridger ordered through the comm link. "I
don't want Lucas or Kristin hit in the cross fire."
"Cap," Shan said, "Kristin is about to enter the cabin with an armed man."
"We're ready on our end," Bridger replied.
Cobb hoisted Lucas up into a fireman's carry and stepped out of the van. He began to walk to the
cabin.
"I can't take the shot," Shan said. "Cobb is carrying Lucas, heading for cabin. Lucas is
unconscious."
"Roger," Cocker replied. "We'll get them when they enter the cabin."
Kristin stepped into the cabin first, followed by Jackson. He held her arm and led her to the back
bedroom. As soon as he opened the door Kristin was jerked away form him. He was startled but only for a
second. He started to shout to Cobb but didn't get the chance. Crocker shot him with the stunner. Jackson
fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
Kristin found herself in Nathan's arms. She held him tightly and muffled her sobs into his
shoulder.
"Shh," Nathan whispered. "Where's Lucas?"
"Cobb was right behind us," she replied. Nathan let go of her and handed her to Hitchcock.
Cobb had almost stepped inside of the house when he heard the thump. He stopped on the porch
and waited a second.
"Something's wrong," Ford said into his headset. "He's stopped on the porch."
Inside the cabin Nathan and the others were absolutely silent, hoping that Cobb would enter.
"Jackson!" Cobb yelled. He pulled out his gun and started to back down the stairs. He felt Lucas wake.
"Put me down," Lucas ordered weakly, not really sure what was happening, only that the pressure
of Cobb's shoulder pressing into his gut was causing terrible pain.
Cobb let Lucas slide down the front of him and then he quickly turned him around and grabbed
him around the neck, shielding himself with him. He put the gun to Lucas' head.
"Time to leave," Cobb told the boy. He dragged Lucas back towards the van.
"Stop!" Ford ordered. He and Shan stood between Cobb and the van. Both of them had their guns
pointing at Cobb.
"Try anything and the kid is dead," Cobb said. "Get out of my way." He moved closer to the van.
"Cobb!" Bridger yelled from the porch.
"Oh, hello, Captain. You know, you really should knock before you go in someone's house," he
replied casually.
"Let him go. It's over," Nathan said.
"Oh, I think not. You see, we are going to get in that van and drive away. If you try to stop me,
I'll put a bullet in his head."
Cobb was looking at Bridger, and not able to pay to close of attention to Ford and Shan. He
would continually look over his shoulder at them, but it was hard to look in two different directions. He
turned to stand sideways so he could see the people on both sides of him.
"You two," he said, "move over by the porch." He used his hand with the gun to motion them
over. As soon as the gun was away form Lucas' head he grabbed at Cobb's arm. Lucas held on with both
arms, not letting Cobb point the gun at him again. It fired two shots into the air. In a moment of panic
Cobb shoved Lucas to the ground and then turned to aim his weapon at Bridger. Two more shots rang out
as Cobb's body jerked backwards and he flew to the ground. His dead eyes stared up into the blue sky.
Lucas turned to see that both Ford and Shan had fired their weapon at Cobb.
Lucas laid back on the ground and closed his eyes. He could hear his dad talking to him. He
wanted to say something back to him to ease the fear he heard in his father's voice, but he couldn't. That
last move with Cobb had used up the little bit of strength that Lucas had had left. Lucas slowly drifted into
blackness.
__________________________________
Nathan downed his fourth cup of coffee. He hated hospitals and he hated waiting. Lucas had been
wheeled into surgery about two hours ago. He crushed the paper cup and crumpled it up tightly. Ben
walked back into the waiting room. He had gone to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. He sat down next to
the Captain.
"Here, sir," Ben said as he handed Nathan a turkey sandwich and a coke he had bought him form
the cafeteria.
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," Nathan said.
"You should try and eat some of it. You know if Dr. Westphalen were here she'd be yelling at
you," Krieg said.
Nathan took the sandwich and the pop. He ate one bite and then closed the wrapper back up. It
wasn't that he didn't appreciate the offer, it's just that his stomach was tied in so many knots that he wasn't
sure if he would be able to keep it down. He opened the pop can and sipped at it.
"Any word?" Ben asked.
"Nothing," Nathan replied. He and Ben were the only one at the hospital at the moment. He had
ordered Kristin back to the boat to rest. She was exhausted. He was sure that Dr. Levin would have her in
bed by now. Ford and Crocker were stuck talking to the authorities trying to straighten out what had
happened. Everyone else had to return to the boat. Now that the crisis was over, he couldn't have the
entire senior staff off the seaQuest any longer. Ben, however, had insisted on staying at the hospital. Since
seaQuest wasn't in the middle of getting supplies, there was no real reason why he had to go back
immediately. Nathan was actually grateful for the man's presence, even though he and Ben weren't exactly
what you'd call friends. But he knew how Ben felt about Lucas. He was like the boy's big brother. The
memory of them shooting water guns at each other just the other day came into his mind and he smiled.
"Captain Bridger," the doctor said, entering the waiting room.
"Yes," Nathan said, standing up to shake his hand.
"I'm Dr. Hunt. I performed the surgery on your son."
"How is he?" Nathan asked.
"The surgery went fine. He had a tear in his kidney which we repaired. He had to have a pint of
blood to replace some of what he lost. We have his leg in a brace. His knees not broken but he isn't going
to be able to walk on it for a least a week. As for all the bruising, they will fade. He'll be in recovery for
another hour, and then he'll be moved to his room. You may see him then. He'll probably sleep for a
while. Also, he's got quite a bit of pain medication in him so he might be a little out of it when he first
wakes up, but that's okay.
"Thank you doctor," Nathan said, releasing a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.
"About how long do you think he will have to stay here?"
"Well, as long as he heals properly and no sign of infection sets in, he'll probably be able to be
discharged in about 48 hours, but there's going to be a long list of restrictions when he leaves."
"That won't be a problem. I'm sure that our ships Doctor will make sure he takes it easy, whether
he likes it or not." All Nathan wanted to do was get Lucas back on seaQuest where he'd be sure the boy
was safe.
"Good, well if you'll excuse me, a nurse will tell you when you can see him."
"Yes, thank you again," Nathan said. The doctor turned and left.
"I'll go call seaQuest and give them the good news," Ben said.
"Thank you, lieutenant. Ben, I also need to thank you for what you did in my quarters. I
appreciate it, even though you'll never know how close you came to getting a chair slammed into your
head," Nathan joked.
"Oh, trust me, you wouldn't have been the first," Ben replied with a laugh.
_______________________________
Five hours later Nathan was sitting beside Lucas' bed waiting for the boy to wake up. He had
woken up three hours ago for about ten minutes, but as the doctor had predicted, he was loopy. He had
asked about Darwin and the Professor, and then he apologized for not wearing his suit jacket to the dinner
before he nodded off to sleep once more.
Movement at the door caused him to look up. He saw Kristin walk into the room.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You're supposed to be resting."
"Don't worry, I slept for six hours. I'm fine. How is he?" She pulled a chair over next to his and
sat down beside him.
"The doctor says he's going to be okay. His kidney was hurt but they repaired the damage. He
has to wear the leg brace until his knee heals in a few weeks. They said he should be able to go home in
two days barring any infections or complications."
"Thank god," Kristin said.
"How are you?" Nathan asked.
"I'm fine, not a scratch," she replied.
"That's not what I mean. I want to know how you're handling this," Nathan told her. "This must
have been hard on the two of you."
She looked at him for a moment without answering. She didn't really know what to say, where to
begin. She was afraid if she started talking about it she might fall apart. He put his hand on her shoulder
and she quickly leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She allowed the feel of him to
comfort her before she finally started to talk.
"I can't remember ever being so frighten," she said. "Cobb told us that he was going to kill Lucas,
even if he got the money. He said it would be his revenge. I was so scared, I didn't know how to protect
him. Lucas was so brave, more brave than I was. He insisted that I not make them angry, that I not try and
stop them form hurting him. Here he knew they were going to kill him and all he cared about was that I
didn't get hurt. Then later, in the van…" a sob escaped her throat as the images of Lucas being beaten
flooded her mind.
"It's okay," Nathan told her. "It's over. Cobb's dead. He'll never hurt you, or Lucas, or anyone
ever again."
Kristin wiped her eyes and continued. "Cobb stopped for a bathroom break. While he took Lucas
to the bathroom, Jackson began to…he started to kiss me. He held me down and kissed me."
Nathan felt his anger rise at the thought of Kristin being assaulted.
"Cobb and Lucas arrived back at the van in time for Lucas to see what Jackson was doing. Lucas
went wild. He attacked Jackson and began to strike at him, but Jackson was just to big and too strong. He
got hold of Lucas and beat him so bad. That was how his kidney got damaged and why he had internal
bleeding. Lucas is in the hospital because he was protecting me. At that moment I didn't know who I was
more angry at, Jackson for hurting him, or Lucas for doing what he did."
Nathan pulled her close again and held her tight. "Lucas would have done what he did no matter
who he saw being hurt. That's just the way he is. The fact that he loves you only made him more
determined. He protects everyone, not even thinking of the danger to himself. I still remember when Dre
had Lucas and the other scientists trapped in that underground room. I dropped the rope down into the
room expecting to see Lucas climb up first. You would have thought that a bunch of grown adults would
have sent him up first since the room was filling with water. Nope. Lucas was the last one to climb the
rope. He let every one of them go up before him."
"I just wish I could have protected him the way he did me," she whispered. "Towards the end he
was so afraid. He knew something bad was wrong with him. He was getting weak and fading in and out.
Then he started coughing up blood. He said it wasn't fair. That he finally had people who loved him, but
that it looked like he was going to have to leave now. He knew he was going to die if he didn't get help."
"But he didn't die. He's going to be okay, and you can't blame yourself. None of this was your
fault and there really wasn't anything you could have done differently. If you had gotten yourself hurt it
only would have hurt him more." He released her and she sat back in her chair.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm blubbering all over you and you have enough to worry about with Lucas."
"Kristin, you know I'll always be here for both of you. I love you, both. When I woke up in the
limo and saw that you two were gone, for a moment my whole world came crumbling down. All I knew
was that I had to find you two. I lost one family, I won't lose another."
"No, stop," Lucas groaned. "No, don't." He began to thrash around on the bed. Nathan and
Kristin both moved to keep him still so he wouldn't injure himself.
"Lucas, wake up!" Nathan said. Lucas continued to struggle and cry out for help. "Lucas!"
Nathan said again. Lucas pale blue eyes suddenly stared at him. They were full of confusion.
"Dad," Lucas said. "Wha…"
"You're safe. Your in the hospital. It's okay now," Nathan comforted. He felt the tenseness
leave Lucas' body and he relaxed into his bed. He held his hand tight and rested his other hand on Lucas
shoulder.
"Cobb?" Lucas said.
"He's dead," Nathan told him. "He can't hurt any of us anymore."
"I'm so glad to see you," Lucas said, a tear running down his cheek.
"Me too. I was so worried while you were gone," Nathan said.
"Will you stay with me?" Lucas asked in a timid voice.
"I'm not going anywhere," Nathan said. "As long as you're here I'll be here, too." Lucas smiled at him.
"I love you," Lucas said. "Both of you."
"Same goes here, kiddo," Nathan replied.
"Am I okay?" Lucas asked, seeing the brace velcroed around his leg.
"Yeah, you're going to be fine." Nathan told him, smiling at him. He knew it would take time,
and there would be new nightmares to add to the ones he already had, but Lucas would have all the love
and support he needed to get back on his feet.