part eleven
Picallo stared into the moonpool. The others were discussing tactics and strategies in the far corner, but they had made it very clear that nothing he had to say would be listened to, so he had gone off to think. He still couldn't believe that Lonnie was dead. Just this morning they had eaten breakfast together, and now she was... He couldn't bear it. He loved her; he was sure of it. He loved everything she did. Their study sessions helped more than just his mind; they kept him sane when everything else around him was careening out of his control. Just being near her made him happy to be alive. And now... He felt guilty for not following up after their kiss in the brigg that day. He was nervous; he hadn't been sure how she was going to react, so he had avoided being alone with her. And now she was gone.
Wiping away the stray tear that had found it's way onto his cheek, he steered his thoughts away from Lonnie for sake of his sanity. Looking around the dock, he wondered not for the first time why Lucas had wanted them to go here. Was it just the fact that it was a place the terrorists weren't likely to go? He didn't think so; there were other places on the ship that made more tactical sense, so why here? Was it something about the subs that were being repaired? They weren't operational, so it wasn't like they could drive one of them out of here. There was no way they could leave seaQuest anyway, not in the hands of these people. What then? Think, Tony, he thought. You can figure this out. Think like Lucas. What was the thing he was the most worried about? Contacting the UEO, right? Suddenly he sat up. That was it! The subs ran on a system that was separate from seaQuest's; if the subs were powered, then they would be able to contact the UEO!
Running over to the others, he didn't care about the annoyed looks he received because of his interruption. "Guys, I figured it out!"
"What, Tony? The answer to world hunger?" Russell said sarcastically. Tony ignored the jab.
"No, the reason why Lucas wanted us to come here. The mini-subs are on their own system. It can be attached to seaQuest's main, but not necessarily." He waited a moment to see if they would get where he was going. When all they gave him were blank looks, he went on. "We can use one of them to contact the surface!"
After a moment's shocked silence, Thomas smiled and laughed. "Of course! You're absolutely right, Tony!" The others followed suit, for the first time looking at Piccolo with a hint of respect. Thomas motioned to the other two and the group excitedly moved to the closest sub. Once inside, Thomas sat in the pilot seat and brought up the sub's communication system.
"Okay, I'm bringing up the protocalls, but I'm not sure if this is going to work. If they boys on the bridge are monitoring the ship at all, they're gonna know that we're transmitting. If we stay online for too long, they can track the signal back to us, no matter how many sattellites I bounce our transmission off of. If Lucas were here, I'm sure he would be able to get us some more connection time, but... I'm no genious."
Lieutenant Foster spoke up from behind Thomas' chair. "So how long will we have?"
"Ten minutes at the most, or else our buddies are gonna find us."
Suddenly the group went quiet and the air turned tense. The hatch to the bay outside had opened. Russell put his finger to his lips, motioning for everyone to stay quiet as he picked up the gun he had set on the sub's consul. The group exchanged charged looks as he stealthly left the mini-sub. Minutes passed, then suddenly a loud "splash!" broke the silence and moments later Russell returned with a very wet Evans in tow.
"Lookie what I found," Russell commented as he flopped back into the chair he had vacated moments earlier.
"Evans!" Tony exclaimed. "We thought-"
"I know what you thought, and you were almost right." He went on to tell the group how he had evaded capture and how he had found Lucas.
"Is Lucas okay?" Tony asked, afraid of what the answer might be.
"I'm not gonna lie, Tony. He was beat up pretty badly. I did as much as I could for him."
Just then Thomas spoke from the consul. "Okay, guys, I've got a secure line. I'm plugging in to UEO HQ now, and I'm starting the timer at twenty minutes and counting. Picallo, watch and keep us updated on how much time we have left." The vid screen lit up then, displaying the triumphant UEO logo. Moments later Admiral Noyce's face filled the screen.
"What- who are you and how did you get this number?"
"Sir, we're the surviving crew of the seaQuest DSV, Ensign Thomas speaking." He ignored the Admiral's last question. Lucas wasn't the only person on the ship with numbers he wasn't supposed to have access to...
"The seaQuest?" Noyce motioned to someone out of the view of the vid screen. "Where are you? Do you have control of the boat?"
"Sir, the ship is still under the terrorist's control. Currently we are at full stop, at coordinates 39-492."
Hudson came into view then, relief apparent on his face. "Are you missing anyone?"
After a few seconds of silence, Russell spoke up from the back of the sub. "Lucas got captured, but other than that we're all accounted for."
Hudson blanched. "Ensign Wolenczak has been taken?"
"5:00," Piccolo muttered.
Thomas picked up the conversation. "The boat isn't going anywhere, Captain, and we have a plan to rescue Lucas. If we can get some assistance, we can take this boat back."
Noyce nodded, turning to his computer. "We'll send the closest sub we have."
"Have they retrieved the code yet?"
"No," Evans spoke up, his voice low and even. "And they won't."
"Do you have any idea who these people are?"
"Well, sir," Evans went on, "from what we can gather they seem to be Macs." Hudson sighed. He was afraid of that. "Lucas seemed to know the leader, some woman named Juliana. He didn't give a rank, sir." Piccolo stared at Evans for a moment. That name sounded familiar...
"Did they give a reason for taking control of seaQuest?"
"Yes, sir. Lucas said that they were planning on using seaQuest to torpedo UEO HQ in New Cape Quest. He said that they were going to start a war, sir." Hudson couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could Bourne be that desperate that he would try and attack the headquarters of the UEO? It was insane. Yep; sounded like Bourne allright.
Noyce turned away from his computer and once again addressed the assembled crew. "The Clinton's ETA is two hours, gentlemen. You're on your own until then."
"Yes sir," Thomas looked over at Piccolo who mouthed "1:23." He turned back to the vid screen.
"Just make sure that you're ready when she gets there," Noyce continued. "We can't risk communication before she attacks. You'd better watch the clock."
"Men," Hudson started but faltered, not sure what he wanted to say. No, he knew what he wanted to say, but he was having trouble forming his emotions into words. It had never been something he was good at. He ended up simply saying, "Good luck."
"Thomas, thirty seconds!" Piccolo whispered.
"Thank you, sir," Thomas looked at his Captain and spoke. "We won't let the UEO down. SeaQuest out." The vid screen went dark. Thomas cut the connection and looked at the timer. It read "0:03."
"Ever thought about not leaving it to the last possible second, Thomas?"
"Naw. That would take all the fun out of it."
Lucas liked where he was. It was worm here, floating free in the dark. There was nothing scary about the darkness, just a fuzzy familiarity, like he'd been here before but couldn't pinpoint a date or time. But the thing he liked best about this place was that there was no pain here. Something whispered from the back of his brain about a remembered agony that would return should he ever go back to that other place, and he desperately wanted to stay away from there. There were demons waiting for him there.
Yet something was pulling him away from this peaceful place, something drawing him unwillingly out of the fog. He heard voices, faint but getting clearer, saying his name. No! Something screamed. Don't leave! There's pain there. You can stay here forever, floating free without suffering. Wouldn't you like that?
Yes, he cried. Oh God, yes. I don't want to leave...
Then say it.
His conscious mind jerked at the comment even as his lips moved to obey. Something was wrong. But how could anything be wrong in this place? Say what?
The code. That's all you have to do. Tell us the code and you can stay here forever.
What?
The code, Lucas. Just say it. No one out there will hear it, and then you can stay here, with us. You want that, don't you? Come on, just once. That's all it'll take.
Lucas' lips moved to form the numbers, but before he could make any sound, his mind rebelled against the soothing voice. His eyes narrowed. Who are you? What is this place? Something isn't right here...
Say it!
No!
Suddenly the fog surrounding him grew heavier, and the darkness seemed to press in on all sides. Faces formed in and out of the fog, accusing him and swearing at him. Monsters from his childhood nightmares and figures from his past appeared everywhere. No! he cried, cowering and crawling into a tight ball. No, this isn't real, this can't be real...
Then the pain poured through his veins, a pain like no other he had experienced before.
In the real world, an agonizing scream ripped through the air as the men in black jumpsuits injected another vial on clear liquid into Lucas' sprawled body.