Rescue
"In the matter of the people versus Captain Eric Myers, the court is now in session."
The austere tones dragged Wes' attention to the triad of judges. All three were gazing solemnly at the packed courtroom.
"We will hear the Prosecution's opening remarks," stated the chairman.
Slowly, Director Kerin, who was leading the case for the prosecution, got to his feet. He was a short, podgy man with a moustache so bushy and fierce it looked as if he was using it to make up for the distinct lack of hair on the rest of his head. He looked almost like a caricature, particularly given the almost cartoonish look of disgust and enmity on his face, but Wes wasn't laughing. This was the man who held all the cards at the moment.
Kerin paced towards the triad, arms behind his back. "I stand before the court, tasked with leading the case against this officer of the law who is alleged to have committed such heinous crimes against the system. It is my express intent to demonstrate this man's guilt beyond all reasonable doubt or question and so shall ensure he receives the maximum penalty for his crimes.
"The defendant stands before this court accused of flouting some of our most important legislation. He stands, no less, accused of conspiracy to commit temporal homicide and actual homicide on no fewer than four occasions..."
"Four?!" Kimberly's exclamation was soft but no less outraged for the lack of volume. All Wes could do was shrug helplessly. She knew as much as he did.
"First, and most grievously, by exhorting an untrained, untried and untested civilian to handle a weapon of incredible power that she was unquestionably incapable of handling and that had been entrusted to him."
"Chauvinistic bastard!" Kimberly muttered.
"Second, by exhorting the same untrained, untried and untested civilian to further compound that first offence by handling a second weapon of incredible power -- one that even now, she continues to handle.
"Thirdly, by permitting a civilian scientist in his employ to investigate and research material such that the timeline comes under attack from paradoxical development of technologies that should otherwise not exist."
"Huh?!" Kimberly blinked.
"He means Zaskin," Wes answered. "Wonder if he's getting paid by the syllable."
"Fourthly, this man stands accused of murder in the first degree..."
"What the hell...?!" Kimberly only just barely kept her exclamation sotto voce. "This is ridiculous!"
"Kim," Wes warned, wishing Lucas was present and vaguely wondering why the other man wasn't here.
In the meantime, Kerin had continued and they'd both missed the explanation of the murder charge. "Lastly, any other such charges as the ongoing investigation into this man's misdeeds may bring to light."
"In other words, when you've thought of some more shit, you'll pile it on," Kimberly muttered. "I know where I'd like to stick it."
"Tribunal," Kerin concluded, "I aim to demonstrate all of this over the course of this trial. This man is a dangerous criminal and should be treated as such."
"Thank you, Director." Kerin nodded and retook his seat. "The Tribunal will now hear the opening remarks for the defence."
Carmen stood up. Wes couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through him at the sight. The last time he'd seen the lawyer stand up with such deliberation it had been Jen in the witness box, and he couldn't shake the feeling that all was not right with Carmen's motives and methods now, either.
"Tribunal, I stand before this court, defence attorney for an innocent man. A decent, honourable individual who has given of himself in the pursuit of justice time and time again. A man who has, when Time Force have asked him to, put his own life in jeopardy so that those of us living in this present might continue to live in safety and security. He is not a criminal. He is certainly not a murderer. I fully intend to demonstrate that any offences that may have been committed were acts not of an evil, scheming felon, but of a man pushed into circumstances beyond his control by forces bigger and more dangerous than any that any other person in this courtroom today has faced -- or will ever face."
Despite himself, Wes was impressed. The situation last time round had prevented him seeing how good Carmen actually was when it came to legal speaking, but here and now, that talent was blindingly apparent. Where Kerin had sounded puffed up, pompous and longwinded, Carmen was clear and concise. More to the point, in one sentence, Carmen had neatly summarised that while some of the offences might actually have happened, they weren't done with malice aforethought.
Let battle commence.
~*~
Katie watched the way Alice and Rick were bantering over breakfast from the dining room doorway and wondered if she was the only person who saw it. It was nothing obvious. No traded glances, no gestures, and yet there was something about the way they were exchanging jokes; something about the words they spoke to one another as opposed to the ones they shared with everyone else.
"They remind me of a couple I used to know," said a voice in her ear, just as Al's chin came to rest on her shoulder.
"Uh-huh." Katie smiled and shifted a little so that she could still keep an eye on the diners, but also look at her husband. "They do, do they?"
"Yup. Young, in love, not caring that the time's wrong or that what they have isn't right."
"Or that the man she loves is technically dead," Katie tossed in sotto voce, smiling to take any sting from her words.
"That's them," Al agreed, smiling back. He shifted until he was in a position to drop a light kiss on her lips. "Think they can be as happy as we are?"
Katie kissed him back. "Sure hope so."
"Ewwww -- mom! Dad!" Namir groaned. "Get a room!"
"I have a better idea," said Alice. "How about we three go get on with the search?"
"Sounds like a plan, Ali," Rick answered. "C'mon Nam."
Before Katie or Al could say a word, the trio of 'kids' departed for Ops and beyond.
"Good idea," said Hawking, also heading for the door. "Need to keep an eye on the timeline and such."
"I'm all for it," Ven contributed. "C'mon Rob -- need your help finishing off the medi-centre. I can't move those bio-beds by myself."
Al blinked. "Something we said?" he asked as Rob and Ven's footsteps died away.
Katie laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "C'mon. How often has it been in the last six weeks that we've had time alone like this?"
"Hmm -- you have a point there." Al sighed. "I probably should go help."
"I think Alice and Nam can cope. At least for a couple of hours." Katie offered him a smile. "I've got a better use for you."
~*~
John eased down onto the stool. He felt horribly out of place in the bar, but it had seemed like a good place to meet.
The bartender eyed him suspiciously. "You got any ID?"
"He's with me," said a fresh voice before John could find his Guardian identity card. "And we'll both have Cokes." John looked round to see Rocky smiling at him. The bartender grumbled a bit and produced the two drinks. Rocky paid. "C'mon," he said to John.
Within a couple of moments, they were both seated in a booth well out of the way.
"So," said Rocky. "You said you wanted to talk -- what's on your mind?"
Presented with a bald opportunity to talk John found his mind going a complete blank, and there was an awkward silence.
"Well, what's it to do with?" Rocky asked presently.
"Dad. Mostly."
Rocky didn't look terribly surprised. "OK."
"And...there's this girl, too."
Rocky looked even less surprised. "OK."
John looked down, staring meditatively into his Coke. "It's all mixed up." He sighed. "Dad's pissed at me. I screwed up, big-time, yesterday."
"What did you do?"
"I...broke bounds." And haltingly, John explained about finding out that Lexia was in trouble and running off after her, only to need rescuing by her. As the story wound down, he added, "And although dad didn't say it this morning, I've been acting like a real asshole the whole of the last few weeks...and all dad's been trying to do is avoid me being compared to him... And now he's in deep shit and because of what I did yesterday, I can't help."
"Why not?" John tapped the cast around his wrist. "Oh."
"And...then there's Lexia," John continued. "She...I...thought...we..."
"You like her," said Rocky shrewdly. "I mean really like her." John nodded. "And either she doesn't like you in the same way or..."
"She's...with someone else. I think." John felt his cheeks beginning to burn. "I kinda walked in on them."
"Ouch." John looked up to see a real look of sympathy on Rocky's face. "It's never fun to find out that sort of thing."
John said nothing.
"I remember, when I was in school, there was this girl in my class. Really pretty, really smart, really funny...I had the biggest crush on her, right from the time I first set eyes on her. But she didn't feel the same way about me. She liked me, but all she saw was what everyone else saw -- the class clown. And it hurt -- that she couldn't see beyond that -- but if it let me be a part of her circle of friends, then OK...I'd take what I could get, and maybe I could change her mind."
In spite of himself, John said, "What happened?"
"Well, she moved out of the area -- her parents were vets, and they were signed up by a wildlife charity to work in Africa for three years, so away she went. And I thought that was my last shot...until I bumped into her again in college three years later."
"And?"
"And this time, away from being who I'd been in school, she saw me for me...and we got married when we graduated from college." Rocky finished, smiling. John's face fell. "John, relationships are never easy, particularly under the circumstances you're in right now. You want my advice," at that, John nodded, "so here it is: Be the best friend you can be. Be there for her. Help her when you can. She may very well never feel the same way about you. That happens. I was lucky with 'Sha."
"It's hard," John answered.
"Yes, it is," Rocky agreed, not without sympathy. "But, as cliché as it is, if you really do care for her, you'll let her pick her own path."
John sighed and said nothing.
"If you don't," Rocky continued gently, "you'll lose her altogether."
~*~
Lucas was waiting outside the courtroom as the lunch recess was called.
"How did it go?" he asked as Wes and Kimberly headed towards him.
"About as good as we were expecting," said Wes with a grimace. "Where've you been?"
Lucas smiled humourlessly. "Identifying a body and speaking to Nadira -- and I'm not sure which depressed me more."
Kimberly paled. "Body?"
Lucas started to lead them out onto the Quad. "The explosion was in Jackie Bennett's lab." He sighed. "Only one victim. As Jackie was semi-officially attached to Covert Ops, and seeing as she had no official next-of-kin, Medical had me in first thing to confirm it was her." It had been an archaic formality -- DNA testing would confirm what he'd seen -- and he couldn't help but shudder as he recalled the gruesome sight he'd been treated to first thing that morning. It wasn't helped by the sure knowledge that Jackie's death after helping to smuggle Alice and Rick into this time had to be connected to things he'd asked her to do. Guess I'm starting to know how Alex ended up in that bar.
"Lucas?"
"Are you all right?"
He blinked and realised that Wes and Kimberly were both regarding him with concern. He dredged up a faint smile. "I will be." He sighed and steered them towards the bagel stand. "Lunch?"
Kimberly shook her head. "I'm not hungry."
"And you're not fainting in court this afternoon because you haven't eaten anything all day," Wes retorted before Lucas could open his mouth. "Eric will kill me."
Kimberly shut her mouth with a snap, although she looked mutinous.
Lucas shook his head. "Wes is right. What'll you have?" Shooting Wes a dirty look, she reluctantly pointed out a plain bagel. "Wes?"
"Same, thanks."
"Guess none of us have really got an appetite today, huh?" Lucas observed as he bought a bag of plain bagels. "Thanks Zek," he added to the blue-skinned individual running the stall.
"No worries, Luca'," the man replied, cheerily. "Accla maz'ni!"
"Accla maz'ni," Lucas answered, forcing a smile.
As they moved away from the stall, Kimberly asked, "What did that mean?"
"Just means 'good health' in Duros," Lucas replied, offering the bag of bagels to her. "Zek is from Rylse IV so it's his native language."
"Cool." Kimberly wrinkled her nose at the bagel she'd selected. Wes gave her a look. She sighed and bit into it.
"How was Trip?" Wes asked, accepting his bagel.
Lucas grimaced. "In a mess," he answered, taking a seat on a nearby bench. "He was in surgery to repair a type three spinal tear when Nadira called me."
"They're not fucking around," Wes murmured, stunned.
"No. They're not," Lucas agreed. The bagel in his hand looked even less appealing than ever.
~*~
Alice could feel Namir's gaze on her as she worked, sorting through more piles of statistics in the hopes of finding something useful.
"Nam, what's the matter?" she finally asked, looking up. "You've been staring at me for the last twenty minutes."
"I was wondering...can I ask you a question?"
Alice chuckled. "Sure -- I'll even let you have another for free."
"What? Oh." Namir looked sheepish. "Sorry. Um...did you...were you...you were aged, weren't you?"
Alice put down the datapad in her hand. This was going to be a long conversation. "Yeah, I was."
"Does it...bother you?"
Alice offered a wry expression. "Some. Not so much for me -- I got of pretty lightly; I should be sixteen -- but for Rick, his sister Lexia and my brother John. They were just kids...and now they're not." She paused. "I guess that applies to you too."
"I should be ten," Namir agreed.
"It bothers you?" Alice asked gently.
"At first...not really. It was kinda cool...they gave me all sortsa stuff about how to disguise yourself and work undercover...so it was cool being able to sneak into places I wasn't supposed to be and stuff...but yesterday..."
"It stopped being a game."
"Yeah."
Alice looked at Namir and wondered what she could say to him that would make this better. Wished to high heaven at that moment that Eric was here -- he always seemed to know what to say. Well she'd been around him most of her life. Surely she could come up with something. "You're scared. It's OK to be scared. It is frightening. There's this guy out there who hates our parents so much that he's tried using us to get to them, and who has enough power to pull some serious shit with the law-makers in this time. I don't know about you, but that scares the hell out of me. But," she continued, "as scared as I am, I know that if I'm not here, doing this, then The Master has a better shot at wrecking someone else's life."
"What about Jackie?" Namir asked.
Alice picked her words carefully. "As cruel and as hard as it seems, Jackie knew what the risks were for helping us. You knew her." At that Namir nodded. "Can you imagine her willingly standing back, knowing this was going on?" Namir silently shook his head. "So what we have to do is make sure that what she did for us isn't a gesture in vain."
"Can we do that?" Namir asked.
"Yes, we can," offered a new voice from the work room doorway. Looking up, Alice saw Al standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable. She wondered how long he'd been listening, and suddenly found herself blushing. Al smiled reassuringly. "We will. Because the alternative is unthinkable."
~*~
Lucas had expected the trial to be a complete sham and show. A quick, academic exercise with Eric being instantly convicted and sentenced. Which just proved that Kerin, and whoever had orchestrated this whole mess, was one step ahead, he decided as the third day of the trial drew to a tedious close. Three solid days of legal wrangling, points of order and brinkmanship. And the worst of it was, there was nothing that Carmen could do, but go along with it and try to match play for play with Kerin.
"It's not Eric."
It was almost the first thing Kimberly had said since lunch on the first day of the trial, and it startled Lucas more than somewhat.
"What isn't?" Wes asked.
Lucas followed Kimberly's gaze and watched as the guards started to lead Eric from the courtroom. "Kim?"
"That isn't Eric," she repeated. She suddenly fixed her gaze on Lucas. "I'm positive."
"Kim...I know you don't want that to be Eric," Wes began.
"It isn't." She sighed. "I know my own husband...the way he moves...that isn't Eric."
Lucas frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Watch him," Kimberly replied. "Watch the way he moves."
Lucas looked round and watched as Eric finally left the courtroom. There did seem to be something odd to his gait but nothing Lucas could swear to. Beside him, Wes groaned softly. "You see something?"
"Lucas, what are the chances of Eric being drugged?" Wes asked.
Lucas felt his flesh pucker. "He shouldn't be. That constitutes..." he stopped. "Carmen's the best person to ask about that one, but it has huge legal implications."
"Then, either they're fouling up or Kim's right."
"I am right," said Kimberly firmly.
Lucas felt sick. "Then this just got a whole heap worse."
~*~
Rick pounded away on the keyboard. Three frustrating days and all he'd achieved was more statistics than anyone could possibly have a use for. He now knew, to the litre, how much coffee Time Force consumed, broken down by department, or how many doughnuts each precinct ate, or even how many accidental discharges of blasters per month there were.
The one thing that had looked promising, the finances of Temporal Investigations, had vanished into computer spaghetti and while he was still tracing it, it was taking forever to untangle. Meantime, he was stuck rooting out more useless data in the hopes that something might prove helpful.
An electronic ding registered that a new message had hit the comm. account the task force was using. An update from Lucas, most likely. Pausing in his keypad abuse, he switched his attention from the terminal he was using to the one that was set up as a permanent comm. terminal. Sure enough, in the inbox was a fresh message from Lucas. Judging by the return path, the message had been bounced around the system to some purpose -- which meant it had been sent from a public terminal. Rick felt a chill creep up his spine. So far Lucas had avoided public terminals, preferring to take the time to properly disguise the transmission, which meant this was a message sent in a real hurry. And that couldn't possibly mean anything good.
He opened the message, which was just a short, text memo. Lucas hadn't even bothered with recording a voice transmission, which was normally the minimum standard. It contained less than ten words:
Step up search; we are snafu. L.
For a few moments, Rick stared at the screen, absorbing the words. Snafu. Situation normal, all fucked up. It could mean anything, including "The trial's almost over, we've lost", but he was reasonably sure that wasn't the case. He'd seen Lucas' last missive, sent the day before, and that had given every indication that the trial was going to be long and complex. So this meant something else, and it definitely wasn't good.
TO BE CONTINUED...