Prosecute
Jackie Bennett, the former director of Time Force Technical, prominent scientist and erstwhile associate of Lucas Kendall, peered through the microscope at the sample. She looked the very study of concentration, but her mind was on something far removed from what she was looking at. She was nervous.
She didn't like this plan one little bit. There was too much scope for it to go drastically wrong, and at the same time, she knew that Lucas' planning was the only way this could be done. They did need all the help they could get, and with prying eyes everywhere, that help did need to be smuggled in.
"Dr Bennett?"
Namir's voice pulled Jackie's attention back to the real world. He was back. That was stage one complete, if the containment transport he was pushing was anything to go by.
"Ah -- are those Major Kendall's samples?" she asked.
"Yes." Namir smiled a little. "Where do you want me to put them?"
"In my office -- I'd better come with you to...catalogue them." Jackie slipped off her stool and stood up. "This way."
She led Namir through the lab to the pokey little office that she'd been given on her demotion. They, whoever they were, had placed assorted listening devices, but thanks to some judicious experiments in comm. technology and EM bursts, the devices had been fried several times over. Jackie shook her head at that. Never try to bug the office of a woman who knows more electronics than you do.
She now ushered Namir in, then closed the door.
"We have ten minutes and no more before I'm missed in the lab," she said quietly.
Namir grimaced, even as he was undoing the catches on the transport to reveal a dozen foot-high, cylindrical cryo-stasis pods. "That's not enough time."
"It's the best I can do, Nam -- and Lucas knew that when he built this plan. So did you," she reminded him, lifting out the first pod. "You're just going to have to work fast -- and hope they're quick on the uptake." She looked into the pod and noted something on a convenient datapad. "You know which pod?"
Namir nodded, selecting one of the others. "This one. Lucas labelled it Bio-Sample-Beta-III. It's the 'least' important of all the pods."
"Bright boy," Jackie replied, shooting a brief smile in his direction as she pulled the next pod out. "Get moving. Eight minutes."
She worked quickly, cataloguing the samples Lucas had legitimately collected for her, while Namir swiftly set in motion the restore function. This was going to be touch and go. Cryo-stasis took barely seconds to employ but several minutes to be reversed. There were plenty of good, decent, physical and biological reasons for it, but at that moment, Jackie cursed them all. She'd reached pod Beta-I, the last but one of the authentic samples before the reversal had even got half way through.
This isn't going to work... Jackie swallowed back the burst of nerves and catalogued the contents of Beta-I. She finished, and was just lifting out Beta-II, the pod that actually contained Beta-III's real sample, along with its own contents, when the flash of light that indicated a completed reversal came. She looked up to see Rick, who she'd been expecting, and a leggy blonde (Alice? Had to be), both standing and blinking slightly owlishly.
"Where are we?" Rick asked, looking around.
"Welcome to 3013," Namir answered, putting the now empty stasis pod on the side along with the ones Jackie had already catalogued. "I'm Namir Drake -- this is Jackie Bennett."
"Rick Collins."
"Alice Myers."
"Nam -- no time for this," she urged, her fingers automatically working to transfer one of the dual samples from Beta-II to Beta-III, thereby completing the ruse (she hoped).
"I know," Namir replied, making a swift dive for where he'd hidden the spare time force uniforms that would make up the bulk of their disguise.
"What's going on?" Alice wanted to know. "Where are we?"
"Short form," said Jackie, as she completed her own tasks, "you're currently in Time Force Headquarters in Central City."
"Please, put these on," Namir cut in, holding out the uniforms. "And hurry -- how long do we have?" he added, lifting an eyebrow in Jackie's direction.
"Less than three minutes," she replied. "Namir here," she continued, even as Alice and Rick made haste to pull on the unfamiliar clothing, "is going to get you guys out of here."
"What about our things?" Alice asked as she zipped up the uniform jacket.
"Things?" Jackie echoed. "What things?"
"It's OK -- they're taken care of," Namir interrupted. "Lucas has made another arrangement about that. Don't worry -- they'll be waiting for you when we get where we're going."
"And don't ask," Jackie added. "Better I don't know." Rick and Alice exchanged looks, but said nothing. "Ready?"
She watched while Namir ran his gaze over both visitors. "Ms Myers -- you need to tie your hair back," so saying, he tossed her a hair band. She caught it and started pulling her hair back in a severe ponytail. "Other that...you'll do. Just...follow my lead and we'll soon be out of here."
"Time's up," Jackie murmured. "Good luck!"
"Good luck yourself," Namir responded. "See you soon." He turned to Alice and Rick. "This way."
Mentally crossing her fingers, Jackie could only watch as Namir led Rick and Alice out of her office. This was the most hazardous part. There had been no-one in the lab when she and Namir had entered the office, so even if there was someone else in there now, it did mean there was no-one to raise an eyebrow that four people left a room that only two had entered, but from here until Namir had got them both into whatever transport he'd arranged, it would be touch and go. As long as Alice and Rick said nothing, it would be fine. The trouble could -- would -- come if they were asked anything. There had been no time to brief them and their lack of knowledge of this century would make them stick out like a pair of sore thumbs.
Jackie allowed herself a shake of her head then headed back out into the lab and back to her microscope. There was nothing more she could do. Lucas would be down to see her shortly. Hopefully he would say that she could leave. She wasn't cut out for this double-agent business.
She heard the lab door open, even as she tried to concentrate on the sample on her microscope. Footsteps walked up to her bench, even as she noted the cellular structure of the sample. A cough to clear a throat. Jackie didn't dare look up. Just concentrate on the sample.
"Dr Bennett."
They don't know anything.
"We've been lenient with you."
They can't know anything.
"But you haven't played by our rules."
Nam will be OK.
"And now it's time to pay."
Jackie finally looked up and shot the thin man standing before her a venomous glare. "I am in the middle of an important experiment, Hordak, what are you blathering about?"
Hordak smiled, displaying his teeth in a skeletal grin. "You know very well what I'm talking about, my dear. You and your little friend, Namir Drake -- oh, we know all about him," he added as she opened her mouth to deny any knowledge. "Who do you think permitted him to falsify a persona?" He pulled out a blaster. "But you're not going to be able to tell anyone that."
~*~
"Damn."
Namir's soft exclamation made Alice freeze in her tracks. Beside her, Rick did likewise and asked, "What's wrong?"
Namir inclined his head in the direction they'd been travelling. Alice followed the gesture and saw a knot of people gathered by the exit they'd been making for. "They're checking ID cards as people leave the building."
"We don't have one," Rick realised.
"It means they're looking for someone," Namir said, grimacing. "It could be nothing."
"Or it could be us," Alice surmised. Namir nodded. She frowned for a moment. "Since I don't believe in coincidence..."
"Me either," said Rick.
"Me three," Namir put in.
Alice flashed a quick smile. "Then, can you get us access to a computer terminal?"
Namir turned a startled gaze on her. "Probably, but what have you got in mind?"
"Rick -- think you could engineer a diversion?" Alice asked.
Rick nodded. "Probably. Might take me a minute or two, though."
"Make it a short minute or two," Alice replied. "Namir -- lead the way."
~*~
Kimberly followed Nadira, Wes and Lucas through the sterile white corridors of Time Force Headquarters. Everything looked harsh and antiseptic and very unfriendly.
"It doesn't all look like this," Wes commented. "This is just the technical department -- they do a lot of clean room stuff." He grinned a little. "The rest looks like a cross between SGHQ and the Death Star control room."
Kimberly answered with a watery smile and tried to ignore the stab of anxiety the familiar phrase brought about. "Sounds like Eric's description, not yours."
Wes winced. "Jen's -- sorry, Kim I..."
She shook her head. "Don't apologise. This is just temporary. We're going to get him back. Right?" This last was aimed at Lucas, whose shoulders twitched almost as if he were shrugging. "Right, Lucas?"
Lucas looked over his shoulder. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Kim. But I'll agree with you more when I know what it is Trip's got for us." He shot Nadira a glance. "Any ideas what that is?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, sir -- it was coming in literally as I was leaving the office."
Kimberly opened her mouth to say something, but it was swallowed by the loud, high-pitched squeal of a siren of some sort.
"What the hell is that?" Wes yelled, over the deafening noise.
"Fire alarm," Lucas responded shortly. "This way."
Within moments, Kimberly found herself out of the building and standing on a crowded, grassy quadrangle without having any real, clear idea of how she'd got there.
"Must be legit," muttered one white-uniformed officer. "The alarm's still going."
"Could be another malfunction," groused another.
"Maybe someone's gotten fed up with the ID checks," suggested a third.
"ID checks?" Nadira muttered sotto voce. "What've they been looking for?"
"Not a what," Lucas retorted tersely. "A who."
Kimberly felt faint. "I'm not liking..."
And then an explosion ripped across a section of the headquarters building.
~*~
Jen sat back in her seat feeling stunned and nauseous. She had known something was wrong -- had known something had happened to Lexia the previous day. But this? This was every parent's nightmare. And it was happening to her. To her little girl. Her baby.
"Mom?" Lexia's tone, so ashamed and hurt and scared, cut through the momentary paralysis.
Her own feelings could take a backseat for now. Right now, what mattered was Lexia. Before Lexia could say anything else, Jen was around the desk and had wrapped her arms around her. "It's OK," she murmured softly.
"Mom..."
The tears started to fall. Lexia's. Hers. It wasn't OK. It was anything but. "It's OK, honey -- we'll be OK." The words were all she had. "It's going to be OK." And why is Wes never here when I need him to be?
~*~
Rick towelled his hair dry as he headed out of the bedroom of the safe house having taken a welcome shower and changed into what Namir referred to as 'standard civvies'.
Leaving Time Force Headquarters had been easy enough once he'd convinced the computer coordinated fire detection system that there was a raging inferno taking place on all floors. But even as they were leaving the building, an explosion had torn through the section they'd just left.
Namir had paled. "That sounded like Jackie's lab." Alice had put her hand on Namir's shoulder and given a gentle squeeze. "C'mon." His voice shook a little. "If they know about Jackie, we don't have much time."
Namir had then led them to a waiting transport -- something that looked like a cross between a minivan and a land speeder from Star Wars. At his direction, Rick and Alice had climbed into the back while Namir had taken the driver's seat and had piloted it to the edge of Central City. There they'd walked for a block and picked up a different transport, which Namir had piloted...somewhere -- Rick wasn't sure where they were now.
Namir's only answer on being asked had been, "Safe house. Less you know, the less you can tell." And much as Rick wanted to argue with the level of paranoia that implied, everything else that had gone on since he'd got up that morning begged difference.
Just because we're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get us. He shivered.
"Done?" Alice asked, pulling Rick's attention outwards.
He tossed the towel down on the back of the couch and sat down. "Yeah." He glanced around the room.
"Doesn't look much like we're in the future, does it?" she commented.
Rick repeated the visual tour. The room was surprisingly reminiscent of home, he realised. The couch he was sitting on and the two easy chairs -- one of which Alice had curled up on -- were wholly recognisable, as was the low, wood-and-glass coffee table, although he was willing to bet that the panels weren't glass at all. Shelving across an alcove also looked familiar, although the contents -- which resembled nothing so much as old-fashioned slides, but which the information in the back of his head identified as data cards for some sort of reader -- weren't quite so. Then, set into the wall, directly opposite the couch, was the sole concession to the future; something that looked rather akin to the view screens shown in classic episodes of Star Trek. Rick knew, from the free-floating information, that it wasn't, that it was in fact a holonet screen -- but there the information stopped and he wasn't entirely sure what it was for.
"No," he agreed. "Especially when you can identify even the bits that do look weird."
Alice smiled faintly. "Yeah."
"So what happens now?"
"Now," said Namir, entering the room, followed by a man who, to Rick's eyes, looked about the same age as his parents, "we head for base."
"And I have some things for you," added the man. "Just in case we run into any more trouble, I think I'd feel happier if the two of you were armed." Before Rick could question that statement, the man produced both morphers and tossed them over. "I've also got this," he added, and produced Alice's chain. "Although wearing it will be a giveaway that you're not from this time period."
Alice accepted it from him and fastened it back around her neck. "It was given to me by my dad," she replied. "I can't not wear it."
The man looked not unsympathetic, but still concerned. "Just make sure it's well tucked under your clothing. No-one wears that kind of jewellery in this time."
Alice nodded.
"Quick introduction," said Namir. "This is Rob Logan -- Rob, this is Alice Myers and Rick Collins." Nods and terse smiles were exchanged. "If you've finished," Namir continued, a faint smile on his face, although Rick could see shadows lurking in his expression, "we need to get moving."
"Where're we going now?" Rick asked as he fastened his morpher strap.
"You'll see when we get there," Namir promised. "Rob?"
Rob nodded. "Let's get going -- sooner we go, the sooner we're there and the sooner we can get down to work."
Rick glanced at Alice. Here we go again?
~*~
It was chaos outside the headquarters building -- and that, Wes ruefully acknowledged, was an understatement.
"What the hell was that?" Wes exclaimed.
"Tech labs going up," Lucas replied briefly. "Wait here."
Before Wes could say anything, Lucas had disappeared into the seething mass of milling officers. He shrugged and shook his head. For a professional body, the Time Force officers really didn't seem that well trained. Of course, how well would the Guardians do if their HQ had been blown up? Wes wondered, frowning. On second thoughts, I know the answer to that -- they wouldn't want to let Eric down. He grimaced. This really had better be quickly fixed -- there are too many people who'll miss Eric.
"At-ten-shun!" It took Wes a few moments to recognise Lucas' voice. He knew, at least logically, that Lucas' job involved him being able to take charge and command, but it was something else to hear such a note of command in his friend's voice. Even more surprising was to see every other Time Force officer snap to attention at his command.
Lucas started directing people into the right places and Wes slowly tuned it out. Nadira looked concerned, which was understandable. There had, as yet, been no sign of Trip. Kimberly looked frustrated and worried, which was also understandable -- this was an unwanted delay to sorting things out and getting Eric back.
Over the sound of people coming to order and regaining their senses, Wes heard his morpher bleep. He frowned. The only person likely to be contacting him was...Jen, which could mean nothing good. If it was anything unimportant, she'd have waited until they got in holoscreen contact. Stepping away from the massed crowd, he acknowledged the call.
"Wes?"
He felt his heart and stomach clench. Jen looked terrible. That could only mean there was something wrong with their family. Please, not Lexia or the baby... "What's up -- are you OK?"
"It...it's about Lexia."
~*~
Nadira chewed her lip. Something was wrong with Trip. She could feel it. There was nothing she could pin down. His absence from the Quad could be for any number of reasons, not the least of which was that he could have mustered on the other side of TFHQ. But still, she knew there was something wrong. She was barely aware of Kimberly standing beside her; barely aware of Wes suddenly moving away from them. All her thoughts were directed to the one person not there.
Where are you? she wondered. What's happened to you?
"Coming through!" yelled a voice. "Medic! Coming through!"
Automatically, Nadira took a step backwards to allow the medic and the anti-grav gurney he was pushing to come by. Then she froze.
"Oh my..." For a second, her knees threatened to give out as she recognised the green haired form lying on the gurney. "Trip!"
"Ma'am -- please step back," ordered the medic. "We need to come through."
Nadira hadn't realised she'd stepped forwards. "You... That's my husband."
"Well we need to get your husband to the medical centre," the medic replied. "You can come with us if you like, but we really need to get through here."
"I'm..." Nadira began, half turning to Kimberly even as she started to follow the medic.
Kimberly offered her a nod. "Go -- I'll tell Lucas what's happened."
"Thanks -- I...I'll be in touch." Then Nadira's attention wholly shifted to the gurney. Trip was unconscious. The bandaging around his head suggested the cause. What worried her more was the immobilisation field. Modern medicine could heal even bad spinal tears, but that didn't prevent a chilling fear from setting in. They feared the worst. Not that...Anything but that...
~*~
Lucas sighed inwardly. It really sucks being the highest ranking officer around here, he groused. And don't these people know what the drill is in an emergency? He sighed and betted that under similar circumstances, junior ranked Silver Guardians wouldn't mill like this. Eric, Wes and Jen won't let them.
Having seen to matters on the Quad -- and having dispersed the junior officers to their correct muster points -- he returned to where Wes and Kimberly were waiting and frowned. Where was Nadira? And what on earth had happened to Wes? Lucas couldn't remember Wes ever looking so angry and dazed at the same time. Must be something to do with his family, Lucas noted with a grimace. Not good.
As he got closer, Kimberly said, "Nadira's gone to the medical centre."
Lucas felt a surge of annoyance which he did his best to swallow. It wasn't Kimberly's fault. "Why?"
"Trip's been hurt," Kimberly answered, and Lucas felt a surge of guilt for his annoyance. "I didn't get a good look, but it certainly looked like a head injury at least." Lucas grimaced. "She said she'd be in touch."
"And she will," Lucas mused. He sighed. "It's just one more thing."
"Do you know what's happened?" Wes asked suddenly, startling Lucas.
"I have my suspicions," was all he said. "We need to get..."
"Major Kendall!" The voice was nasal and grating. It was not one Lucas knew. To his complete surprise, though, Wes stiffened at it. "Major Kendall!"
"Who is it?" Lucas hissed.
"Sounds like that sonovabitch lawyer who represented Merle Askot," Wes answered. "Holy fuck."
And then Lucas saw the reason for Wes' exclamation. It was Joshua Carmen. This cannot conceivably be good. "Mr Carmen."
"Did you get my message?" Carmen asked, panting slightly, presumably from the effort of hurrying across the Quad. Lucas just gave him a blank look, although inwardly he guessed this was probably what Trip had been going to tell him. "Clearly not. I..." But whatever Carmen had been about to say, he thought better of it. Instead he said, "The supreme court have appointed me as Captain Myers' advocate."
"Advocate?" said Kimberly. "Why does he need an advocate? This is all a load of..."
"Kim!" Lucas sighed. "That's not going to help," he added more gently. To Carmen, he said, "The trial hasn't been arraigned..."
"It was done this afternoon," Carmen said, interrupting. "They're moving very fast on this."
No shit, Sherlock, Lucas found himself thinking. Aloud, he simply said, "That isn't legal."
Carmen shrugged and had the grace to look at least faintly apologetic. "I'm sorry but I was given the brief; the trial starts at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow morning."
"What!?" Kimberly's exclamation was understandable. She now took a step forward. "Now you listen to me you...you...court-appointed...flunky! This whole damn mess is a set up! Now just you..."
"Kim!" Lucas intervened before the angry woman could start throwing punches. Carmen looked taken aback. "This is Captain Myers' wife."
"Oh."
"I want to see my husband," said Kimberly, visibly trying to restrain her temper.
"Carmen, are you telling me the truth about this trial?" Lucas asked.
"Yes...unfortunately I am."
"So SOP states that the accused may have visitors, yes?"
"Ye-es," Carman answered, hesitating.
"You're not sure?"
Carmen shrugged. "Everything about this case is non-standard. But I've been given no instructions to the contrary. So I presume the visiting clause applies. But I can't be sure."
Lucas was aware of Wes staring at Carmen as if he'd crawled out from under a rock -- which was a little strange, given that so far, Carmen's responses had been not unreasonable. Of course, I didn't have to watch Carmen try to roast my fiancé on cross-examination. That might make me view the guy a little differently. "OK. Then, Mr Carmen..."
"I will get on it straight away," Carmen finished. "Give me fifteen minutes to arrange it all."
Lucas nodded. "Good." The situation was anything but. Carmen nodded and departed rapidly for the court buildings on the far side of the Quad.
"What the hell has the court appointed that shyster for?" Wes muttered.
"What do you think?" Lucas answered. He could feel a migraine coming on. "Besides, like him or loathe him, he is a reasonably competent lawyer." Wes snorted. Lucas sighed. "It's not like we seem to have much choice." Wes said nothing. "Wes, I don't like it any more than you do, but my hands are tied at least until I can get into my office and nail the supreme court for going over my head and," he inclined his head in the direction of TFHQ, "that's not going to be happening any time soon."
"You think this explosion is part of everything else?" Kimberly asked.
Glancing around, Lucas dropped his voice, "I think it could well be." He sighed. "I don't know for sure, but I think it was Jackie's lab that went up, and that's too much like coincidence for me."
That news did more to tame Kimberly's temper than anything else. "That's..."
"The kids weren't there." Lucas' words were confident, but inwardly he had doubts. "That's what the ID checks were about -- and I suspect that's what the fire alarm was about." He knew he was speculating wildly, but it did fit together, and more importantly, Kimberly didn't need any more worry unless it was strictly necessary. Kimberly nodded, but she looked far from convinced. Lucas sighed. "C'mon. Carmen will have my pager details. You guys could probably use the chance to freshen up -- and Wes, at any rate, needs to get into uniform."
"Kendall, you're a sadist," Wes muttered.
Lucas shrugged and smiled faintly. "Sorry, but them's the rules." At least for now.
~*~
Alice felt tired, hungry and uncomfortable as the boxy cargo transport came in to land. The journey hadn't been long but it had been cramped and that combined with the way the unfamiliar clothing seemed to cling and the fact that she'd been perforce to sit practically in Rick's lap the whole way served to make her discomfort complete.
It wasn't that sitting close to Rick was unpleasant. In fact, that was half the problem. It was a little too pleasant. Earlier, at the safe house, when they'd both changed from the Time Force uniforms into something less conspicuous, she'd caught a brief glimpse of Rick in just a towel as he'd moved from the bathroom to the bedroom to dress after his shower and for a full minute, she'd given serious consideration to jumping him there and then. He was kind, sweet, and thoughtful -- and on top of everything else, he had a body that the still-teenage portion of her brain had instantly termed heart-stoppingly gorgeous. The portion of her mind that had grown up was perfectly willing to agree with the teenage assessment, and tossed in its own assessment: He was built. And then reason had reasserted itself: This was her brother's best friend. By the time he'd joined her in the living room, she'd regained control of herself, but these close quarters were bringing back those feelings and more. She just wanted to relax against him, into his arms...and didn't dare, because that meant giving in, and giving in would be bad.
"Ali, are you OK?" Rick asked.
"Yeah -- fine." She didn't need to look at him to know he didn't believe that. "Worried about dad," she continued, feeling slightly guilty -- Eric had been the last thing in her thoughts!
"He's going to be OK," Rick promised. "Trust me."
"I know -- I do." It's me I don't trust.
"Last stop," called Namir as the transport shut down. "Everybody out."
A moment later and the cargo hold's doors opened to enable Alice to climb out. As she did so, unfortunately, cramp chose that moment to attack her calf muscles and she'd have fallen but for Namir and Rob catching her.
"Ow," she groaned.
"OK?" Rick repeated.
"Yeah. Cramp." Alice groaned again. "Ow." She eased herself down onto the concrete and started to massage her calves, trying to persuade the feeling to return.
"C'mon -- if you come in, there's a free leg rub going begging," Rick offered. "Lemme..."
"I can manage." Alice didn't need to see the expression on Rick's face to know the words were a mistake. Too quick. Too brusque. "I..."
"OK then." Rick sounded hurt.
Damn. Alice winced and struggled to her feet, but Rick had already headed across the landing pad and into the nearby building, following Namir's path.
Rob, who'd stayed with her, offered her a sympathetic smile. "Oops?"
"Oops covers it," Alice agreed. Way to screw up, Ali.
TO BE CONTINUED...