BREATHE

The following morning after Lucas's hospital stay overnight, back at U.E.O. headquarters, Admiral William Noyce was just being briefed on a potentially damaging situation about one of it's maximum security prisons.

From the reports he had been given so far it seemed as though three prisoners had started a riot inside the prison amongst a large number of other inmates. The purpose of the distraction was to allow these three prisoners to move away from the rest of the group without being detected.

Without outside help they then proceeded to escape from the security compound and ultimately the prison itself.

Bill Noyce was now looking at a memo that contained the three escaped prisoner's names. One name in particular caught his attention but he didn't quite know how to approach the situation.

The names appeared as follows:

CARL JONES - In prison on robbery with actual violence, attempted murder x 2 FRANK WHITELEY - Assault with a deadly weapon, Robbery with violence and attempted murder WILLIAM MURPHY - Attempted murder, Kidnapping, Assault with a dangerous implement, Hostile approach of U.E.O. vessel.

It was the name William Murphy that caught Noyce's attention the most. He knew about the man's previous attempts to sabotage the crew of the SeaQuest and the attempted kidnapping and stabbing with a knife of Lucas Wolenczak.

The man had only served 3 months of his sentence so far. If he had escaped what was the man planning to do? Would he carrying our his further threats against Lucas and the SeaQuest crew or would he just keep running and fade into obscurity? Bill was hoping the later.

The other two men with him were known associates that were also in the attempting seizing of the SeaQuest a few months ago. The reason their criminal histories appeared similar was they had also been involved in a number of bank robberies together.

The biggest problem Bill faced at the moment was deciding whether to tell Nathan about the man's escape. The U.E.O. was trying to keep the prison escape under their hats for the time being or they would face a media backlash about the corruption of the correctional services department.

On the other hand, Nathan Bridger was his friend of almost 30 years and he was greatly fond of Lucas too and wouldn't want to see anything awful to happen to him. Bill had spoken briefly to Commander Jonathan Ford the night before about the possible delaying time for the SeaQuest's departure that afternoon.

In hind sight, Bill thought it prudent to keep the escape from Nathan and the SeaQuest crew for the time being. He had been told about Lucas's asthma attack and knew that he was still in hospital right now pending more diagnosis from the doctor's of his condition. Bridger and the rest of the crew had more important things to worry about at the moment than William Murphy and his friends. By this afternoon or tomorrow, the crew including Bridger and Lucas would be back out to sea aboard the SeaQuest, safe and secure from any threat or harm. Or so he thought.

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Bridger had spent the very early hours of the morning talking to Jonathan Ford and making sure that the loading of supplies and equipment aboard the SeaQuest was still on schedule. They still didn't have any indication from Lucas's doctors if he would be released today and if he had any chance of travelling, but they wanted to be prepared just in case.

If all went to plan, than the only loading the crew would need to worry about when they got to the harbour would be personal luggage.

Lucas had still been asleep when Bridger went out to speak to Commander Ford about the arrangements. On coming back into Lucas's room with a cup of hot coffee for himself, he was a little surprised but happy to see Lucas awake.

"Hi," Lucas greeted Bridger as he shuffled his way into a sitting position on the bed with plenty pillows behind his back for support and padding. "You up early I see," he began the conversation.

"So are you," Bridger said in return, knowing that once they were aboard the SeaQuest again they would never see Lucas up and about at this hour of the day except when he had done an all nighter. Lucas wasn't the best morning person and usually it was lunch time before any spark of life crept into him.

"Don't worry, it's not going to be a new change for me," Lucas now replied to the unspoken thoughts in Bridger's head. "I slept okay last night, but I don't think I am quite used to these different surroundings just yet," he admitted.

"And I surely hope you are not planning to get too used to a place like this," Bridger poked in fun. "I never want to see you in one of these places again unless it is to visit only."

"And this thing is driving me crazy with the itching," Lucas grumbled as he tried to dig a finger or two underneath the bandages around his I.V. drip and alleviate the irritation that had been present since it was put on.

"You just leave that on young man," came the stern words from a smiling Kristen Westphalen followed by Doctor Sarah Moorecroft. "I don't care how much it itches, leave it alone you will have no chance of it coming off today," she warned in fun.

"How are you feeling today Lucas?" Doctor Moorecroft now asked picking up Lucas's chart from the end of the bed and reading the nurse's notations from the nights monitoring.

At first Kristen was sure Lucas was going to say he felt just fine so he could persuade someone to let him out. "Lucas!!!!!!!!" she said before he could even think the words, making sure she wasn't taking any kind of watered down reply from him.

"Okay, I'll admit that I feel a little tired," he said after thinking carefully. "But that's about all. Other than that I do feel fine," he said as honestly as he could.

"You might feel fine now Lucas, but that's because you are lying down on a bed at the moment. If you try and get up and do too much before your body will allow you to, you are likely to get very dizzy and feel light-headed," Doctor Moorecroft explained to him.

"You mean I have to stay here all day?" Lucas asked with a pouted face. Thinking he was going to be bored out of his mind in that time if he was forced to stay that long in the hospital.

Kristen had already explained to Doctor Moorecroft about the excellent medical facilities aboard the SeaQuest and her availability as his private doctor to administer any treatment that might be required over the next few days to a week after being released from the hospital.

"If you promise to be a good boy and behave," Doctor Moorecroft said playfully as if she was talking to him in the children's ward. "I want to have a good look at you and listen to your chest. I also want one more dose of antibiotics to go through the I.V. drip. After that I might consider letting you go home in Kristen's care," she added with a smile.

"I have arranged for a box of a dozen inhalers for you to take with you when you leave Lucas. I will take one out of the carton before you leave and you can keep it in your pocket like before," Moorecroft now said.

"When he leaves here he is probably going to be tired for the next 24 hours or so, that's to be expected after the battering his body took. If he wants to sleep let him, it is truly the best medicine for him at the moment. I will give you a 7 day course of the antibiotics he is getting through the I.V. They will be in a medicine form this time to be taken orally with food," the doctor prescribed.

"I would also resume his normal doses of Ventolin and increase the dose when you suspect he is coming down with a cold or the flu. It can work as a preventative to stop major attacks like the one he just had from occurring." I would restrict his activities for a week or so until you think he's okay to resume normal exercise Kristen," Sarah now explained. "He should also be kept reasonably warm outside. It's been a little bit windy lately and the last thing he needs right now is to catch a chill after just having an attack."

"Looks like it lots of quiet time once we get back aboard the SeaQuest for you Lucas," Bridger jibed at the teenager.

"Can't I just do some quiet programming or something to stop from getting bored?" Lucas now asked Doctor Moorecroft.

"I don't see why now, so long as it's quiet," Sarah answered before being interrupted.

"Uh I don't think so Mr Wolenczak. If memory serves me correct, your version of quiet programming is flying into a fit of anger and throwing computer components across your room when you get frustrated," Kristen reminded him.

"Aaaawwwwwww but Kristen," Lucas pouted again giving her his best little innocent boy look.

"I'll think about it," Kristen said with a grimace, knowing that once he started using his charm and nagging persistence, she wouldn't be able to help but give in to his demands.

"Come on let's get organized here first before you make any plans for later on," Sarah now said to him and sat down on the bed beside him to start checking him over. A nurse was summonsed and injected a dose of antibiotics into I.V. drip while Lucas was being looked over.

Doctor Moorecroft declared him 70% better than yesterday and left, the rest of the crew had arrived soon after and help him pass the time while he waited for the I.V. to work. A few of them looked cautiously towards the drip attached to Lucas's arm and couldn't help but feel a little pity and sympathy for their friend and what he had to endure.

The crew went to great lengths to talk to Lucas just like they would have any other day aboard the boat. Some of them had to remind themselves occasionally to look back at Lucas when they were talking rather than the equipment around his room. But mostly they tried to be the friends he had wanted in the first place.

Bridger had left the room for about two hours to head back to the island and make sure that he had packed all of Kristen's and Lucas's bags as well as his own before they left on tour. It was back at the house that he had contacted Admiral Bill Noyce and told him of the crew's plans to stick to the late afternoon departure time.

While they were talking, Bridger had informed Bill of Lucas's improvement at the hospital. Bill never mentioned anything about William Murphy's escape from custody then either.

When Bridger returned to the hospital to check on Lucas's progress, the nurses were just beginning to detach the I.V. from his arm. Firstly they undid the bandage over the top. Ben had been the only one apart from Bridger and Kristen allowed to stay. Krieg had to discreetly turn his head away though after seeing blood in the I.V. tube after the bandage was removed.

It didn't take more than a few minutes after that to put a small gauze pad and tape over the injection area. No doubt there would be some bruising on the skin after a day or so but that was normal after having a drip in your arm.

Bridger gave Lucas a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a warmer jacket to put on and change out of his hospital attire. Lucas had placed his inhaler in the deep pocket of the jacket so it didn't show so much like in did in his jeans pocket.

"All set to go," Lucas now announced with a smile on his face about getting out of the hospital. "Whoa," though was the word that escaped his lips as he put his feet onto the ground and took the first unsteady step towards the door.

"Take it easy, remember," Bridger reminded him, giving him a strong arm to use as support. He didn't want to coddle the boy in front of others but he would be there if Lucas's step faltered again.

After a few more unsteady steps, by the time he got through the door and down the corridor, his balance and co-ordination was much more improved and he walked out almost normally on his own.

Bridger drove the vehicle with Lucas, Kristen and Ben with him. The rest of the crew were already at the SeaQuest loading on the last of their luggage. With a little luck and time on their side, once they arrived and put their own bags in their quarters, Bridger hoped to be underway in under two hours from now.

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In a dingy motel room on the outskirts of the city, William Murphy and his partners in crime were huddled around a small table, putting together the last of their plans. They knew that the project was bigger than their last and timing in the beginning would be critical to the eventual outcome they wanted to achieve.

"When is the SeaQuest due to leave?" Jones now asked Murphy. Fortunately for the trio, Murphy still had some inside contacts at U.E.O. headquarters. And it was these contacts that had all the necessary information available that he wanted.

After three months of imprisonment, his ultimate goal of gaining control of the U.E.O.'s flagship remained unchanged and he was more hungrier than ever. That was the main idea behind their successful escape attempt from the maximum security prison. For days they had carefully watched the guards and their routines until they were sure they knew were each of them would be at any given time.

And now as they sat around the table making plans, Murphy still wanted to get his hands on the SeaQuest. But this time he wasn't going to sneak in like when he had tried to give the crew food-poison. This time he planned for the mighty Captain Nathan Bridger to hand his ship over without it's crew on a silver plater.
In order to achieve this goal, Murphy knew he needed one vital piece of equipment to pull off such an outrageous exercise: bait. Bait to lure the mighty SeaQuest and her crew in the first place and then bait to use to gain control of her. That bait just happened to come in the form of one seventeen year old boy named Lucas Wolenczak.

Murphy had seen first hand how much the young man meant to most of the senior crew and especially to Bridger himself. He was under no false pretences that the boy would be his secret weapon to make the U.E.O. meet his demands.

Of course, he knew there would be a sizeable monetary reward for the boy's safe recovery as well. Both from Bridger himself and from the U.E.O. people themselves. After working with the U.E.O. and learning of her policies and public image. He knew all he had to do was flash a picture of the captured youth to the SeaQuest crew and the rest of the world and he would have no trouble in getting exactly what he wanted.

Right now he had to plan how to get his hands on the young man without to much fuss. The operation had to go down smoothly and with very little complication. There must be no errors involved and no chance of the boy's friends or family trying to intervene or prevent his kidnapping and enforced captivity.

As soon as Murphy had made contact with his insider, he learned about a internal message from Captain Nathan Bridger to Admiral Bill Noyce, telling him about Lucas being hospitalised. At first he thought all his attempts would be thwarted. But then as he thought a little bit more about how this might turn out to his advantage, he then became excited at the prospect.

Murphy had learned that Lucas was going to be released today by the copying of a second message from Bridger to Noyce telling him that the SeaQuest planned to leave late that afternoon as originally planned. All he had to do was hire a vehicle and gather the necessary equipment and then wait near where the boat would be loading it's crew.

Murphy suspected that the senior crew would be almost the last to board the vessel. He was mostly counting on this to be in his favour. If Lucas was just released from hospital, chances were that he wasn't quite feeling one hundred percent and that also worked better for Murphy's plans.

"She is due to leave at 5.00pm," Murphy answered the man. "I want us to be waiting here," he said, pointing to a place on a scale map of the U.E.O. Harbour where the SeaQuest currently lay in berth.

"When do we snatch the kid?" Frank Whiteley asked. At first he hadn't seen why they needed Lucas in the first place. He knew Murphy had a personal grudge against the SeaQuest, the Captain and the boy, but he didn't see how it helped their cause to be dragging a boy around with him. It wasn't until the dollar signs that were possible were waved in front of him that he agreed with the plan.

"Frank I want you here by the door, ready for Carl when he comes back. You will have to be quick and get him into the back seat before anybody can stop us." Murphy explained.

"Carl, I want you to exit the car and just stand there for a few minutes, not trying to draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. Once you spot him, drag him into the car and then we can take it from there. I'll have the stuff to keep him quiet in the car if we need it. If he had been sick in hospital maybe we won't need it anyway," Murphy surmised.

"What if his friends try and stop us?" Jones said now asking the obvious question.

"I'll carry a piece in the front of the car. If I pull it out and put it to the kid's head warning about what might happen, they won't get too close. Then we can be in the car and away before they even take a step towards us," Murphy replied.

"Let's get ready to go," Murphy now said looking at the clock. It was almost show time...

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Just as Murphy had rationalised, at about 4.00pm, two U.E.O. transports pulled up near where the SeaQuest lay at the harbour. The first car contained the black skinned man who had been at the hotel the night he tried to grab the kid last time. There was two other men with him he also vaguely recognized from the hotel.

The second car contained the person he was most interested in. He saw the woman doctor get out and start unpacking bags. There was a tall skinny guy helping her. Bridger got out the driver's side door and walked around the car to the opposite side passenger door. When that door opened, out stepped Lucas Wolenczak: his bait.

"Take it easy there Lucas, Ben can take most of your stuff," Bridger called out to the teenager. That left the youth with only a small back pack being carried over his shoulder. He gave the Captain a disapproving look about not being able to help carry the luggage. But when he got two more from Kristen and Krieg, he shut up and placed his sunglasses on before beginning to walk across the lawns towards the SeaQuest.

There was a large expanse of lawn from the kerb were Murphy and the others were parked in their rented vehicle. There was another cemented walk way on the other side just before the boat itself. If they were going to get this right they needed to get to him before he reached the edge of the lawn and before the cemented pathway.

Captain Nathan Bridger had paused halfway across the lawn to talk into his PAL communicator to Admiral Bill Noyce about their departure progress. Halfway through the conversation he paused to see Commander Jonathan Ford carrying some other equipment towards the boat. From where he was standing, the Captain could see Ford having a hard time of it. Ben and Kristen were already ahead of the Captain with the personal luggage, leaving Lucas to bring up the rear and be last in line.

"Here Lucas, hold onto this please," Bridger asked and handed the PAL Communicator to the teenager. Lucas hadn't been aware of the current conversation between Nathan and Bill and without really thinking about what he was doing and mostly out of habit, put the small communicating device in the pocket of his jacket beside his asthma inhaler.

With the Captain seemingly distracted momentarily helping the black guy and Lucas a few steps behind the others, Murphy spotted this as the perfect opportunity to make their move.

Carl was supposed to be waiting outside the car, but that hadn't quite worked out how they had planned. Lucas hadn't been taking particular notice of any of the other vehicles in the car park. Neither had anybody else when arriving. Most had been concerned with getting on board the SeaQuest and making sure they got away pretty much on time.

Frank now opened the door and got out of the vehicle, leaving the door open. Carl also got out of the car, but instead of pausing when he got out, he now began walking up quickly behind the unsuspecting teenager. Although he wanted to take the boy by surprise, he didn't want his presence spotted by someone else first and give away his position.

Ben Krieg had just been walking back out of the loading bay and heading back towards the vehicles they came in to get more luggage. He could see Lucas still coming across the lawn at a some what slower pace. He knew the kid was still tired and didn't need to be in a rush. But right now, the scene in front of him made his skin crawl and go cold at what was about to happen.
"LUCAS LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!!" Krieg shouted, almost on top of Bridger and Ford. All three turned around at Ben's yelling to see Carl Jones putting a strangle hold around Lucas's chest and begin attempting to drag the youth backwards. They could also see a car not too far behind with two other men near it. It didn't take much imagination to work out what was going on.

Krieg, Ford and Bridger all began running towards the captured teen to try and stop the men from getting him to the car.

Lucas had turned slightly at Ben's shouting but not quick enough before he felt the powerful arm encircle around him and begin pulling him back. He started to yell for help from his friends. He could see Ben and the Captain running towards him.

"Let me go!!" Lucas demanded, trying in vain to get the man's arm to release. The man's grip was putting pressure on his still sore chest. One of the man's arms was also wrapped around the small bandaid were the drip had been, putting pressure on the injection site that was already bruised.

"Owwwww, you're hurting me, let me go !!!" Lucas demanded a second time. This time his words were cut off by Carl putting a hand over his mouth to prevent him yelling for help.

Carl didn't know why he was putting his hand over the boy's mouth. It was plain for all to see at the moment what was in progress. At least it shut him up he told himself.

"Lucas!!!!!!," Bridger shouted, still running and trying to get to the teenager and the men. He heard the boy shouting for help before the man cut the words off by his hand.

Before they got half way back to Lucas though, Carl had managed to drag Lucas close enough to the car to begin trying to push him forcibly into the back seat. Frank was also able to help subdue the kid as he struggled to get away.

Murphy pulled out the gun he had brought and pointed it out of the front passenger window towards the pursuing crew members. He fired a wide warning shot but it had the desired effect as everyone trying to get to Lucas hit the dirt when they heard the gun fire in their direction.

Bridger looked up from his position on the grass and looked through the window, trying to get a glimpse at the man driving the vehicle. Although he noted Carl's large size against Lucas's thinner frame, he hadn't recognised either Carl or Frank. In the back of his mind, the driver looked vaguely familiar, but only that. He couldn't put a name to him for a second.

Lucas was now wedged tightly between Frank and Carl in the back seat, still trying to get free and scramble over the top of one of them towards freedom.

"Here use this," Murphy said in frustration and handed Carl a white cloth with an odour emanating from it. He was angry with himself about how mussed up the operation had gone. He had wanted the boy to shout so much or to have the other guy see Carl before he pounced on the teenager.

Carl briefly removed his hand from Lucas's mouth. Lucas took the opportunity to try calling to his friends and family for help again.

"Caaaaapppptaaaaaaaiiiiiiin," he shouted as loud as he could through a hoarse throat before the cloth was slapped over his face, once again cutting off his voice. The cloth was soaked in chloroform.

At first, Lucas tried holding his breath to prevent himself inhaling the fumes. Because of his weakened chest though, he couldn't do it for very long before the burning sensation in his chest was reignited from the lack of oxygen.

When Lucas let the breath out, the fumes invaded his senses at once. Making him feeling incredibly light-headed and woozy. He tried to use his hands to get the man's hand and the cloth away from his face, but the strength in his arms and shoulders was quickly running out.

The man was beginning to get anxious at the time it was taking to have effect and pressed it harder against the boy's face. Murphy had already started to drive away before Lucas fell unconscious against Carl's shoulder. The chloroform had sent him deep into a drugged induced sleep and from the amount on the cloth, he would probably sleep for quite a number of hours.

Murphy drove with the windows down for a few minutes to let out any excess fumes from the vehicle.

Bridger and the rest of the crew could only watch with fear in their hearts as they saw the car start to drive away. They then saw the blond head disappear from the back windscreen as the chloroform took effect and rendered him unconscious.

"Lucas," Bridger all but whispered as fear began churning within him about who might have taken him and why.

The rest of the crew were now beginning to stand on their feet as well, unable to believe what they had just witnessed happening to Lucas so close to them but being virtually helpless to stop it or help him in anyway.

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Bridger and the crew were now on the Bridge of the SeaQuest trying to put together a rescue plan for Lucas.

Bridger's mind was going at a hundred miles an hour but he knew he had to try and remain relatively calm, despite what had happened. It was easier to say than to put into practice. Bridger felt his stomach twisting and turning at thoughts of what might be happening to the teenager right as this very minute.

"Commander I want an inch by inch search of the immediate area by experienced officers. Tell them to look for anything, no matter how insignificant it might seem," Bridger ordered.

"The search teams are ready and waiting for your orders Captain," Ford said trying to let Bridger know that everything that could be possibly done to find Lucas was already being put into action.

"See if any of the security cameras in the parking lot have any footage of the minutes leading up to and through when Lucas was kidnapped too," Bridger now said, trying to think what might help identify the culprits and kidnappers. "We might be able to get a license plate number of the get away car or something."

"Captain, Admiral Noyce is on line wanting to talk to you," Tim O'Neill now informed Nathan.

"Thank you Mr O'Neill, I will take it on a secure line in my quarters," he advised, not trusting the importance of what the Admiral might say. Bridger had already informed Bill about the kidnapping and was awaiting feedback.

Now in the Captain's Quarters : the conversation going on between Bridger and Noyce
Bridger could scarcely believe what Bill had just told him about having an idea about who might have been involved in Lucas's kidnapping. Up until now there were any number of suspects Bridger could think of but none that really stuck out in his mind.

"Tell me you are kidding," Bridger said, hoping his ears were deceiving him.

"I am sorry Nathan, but I thought it better not to tell you about the prison escape..." Noyce began saying in his own defence before he was cut short.

"Why the hell not Bill, don't Lucas and I deserve to know if there is a potential threat out there against him?" Bridger said slapping his open hand down hard on the table in front of him. He was pacing back and forth out of sheer frustration and anger.

"I thought you had more important things to worry about with Lucas being in hospital Nathan," Bill said, trying to use Lucas's recent hospital stay as his scape goat. He had never really wanted to intentionally deceive his long time friend. At the time he thought it might just be a storm in a tea cup that would blow over and Murphy would be either caught or disappear before anything came of it.

"You had no God damn right and you know it Bill," Bridger said pointing an accusing finger at the man's face on the screen.

"Here you are trying to protect your own department's bureaucratic bungles over a prison escape that the public should be told about. But you are too worried about the internal damage control you might have to exercise if something like this leaked to the media," Bridger said still letting his anger vent on Noyce.

"Like I said Nathan, I am sorry, I should have told you and Lucas at least that Murphy was out there," Bill now said apologetically.

"Sorry doesn't cut it Bill. Sorry doesn't mean anything to Lucas right now who is in the hands of some crazy man trying to seek revenge on me and the SeaQuest from months ago. Sorry doesn't help me find him any sooner," Bridger said emotion creeping into his voice.

"Make sure that you have every available channel open out there in case these men try and contact us about Lucas," Bridger now ordered. The events of a few months ago were now wildly running through his mind, reminding him of what injuries and emotional scars that William Murphy had inflicted upon the teenager last time they met.

"I assure you that we are doing everything in my power to help you and supply the men you need Nathan," Bill said trying to make up for his monumental mistake in judgment.

"Tell that to Lucas ........," Bridger shot back and terminated the connection before Bill could say anything else in his defence.

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TO BE CONTINUED..........

Just to make note that the kidnapping scene may seem slightly like the one Chance wrote in one of her wonderful stories where Lucas is kidnapped coming back from leave. I contacted Chance some time ago about my idea for this story and she had no problems.

Some of you might also be thinking that this kidnapping scene is somewhat similar to the one in THE SECRET DEVICE. Please believe me that they will be totally different from now on and there's a twist in that story that you hopefully won't even see coming until it happens.

I am trying to update all my stories as fast a I can but time is a little strained sometimes.

Hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story.

Thanks for reading - please review and let me know what you think.
JULES