"Lieutenant Anderson, I have a very important mission for you."
"Yes, sir," said the soldier standing at attention in front of his superior. The large general leaned forward and handed him a picture.
"You are going to retrieve this boy. Our sources say that he is currently being held at St. Teresa's with at least a hundred other children who were brought in by SeaQuest. He's a highly sought after hacker. Find him before one of our competitors does."
"Yes, sir." The lieutenant saluted then hurried out of the room on his way down to the Catholic boarding school on the south side of town. He had no idea how long it would take him to weed through all of the children and he dared not fail.
[Scene Change]
Kristin looked around Lucas's empty room growing more worried by the second. She had planned on having dinner with Lucas but he had never shown up in the mess hall. She had already checked the moonpool where Lucas spent most of his time playing with Darwin. Since he was not there, she had expected him to be in his room but he was not. She did not know where he was at and it was making her very uneasy.
"Katie," she asked flipping on her PAL. "Have you seen Lucas?"
"No, I haven't seen him."
"I don't know where he could be."
"Don't worry," she reassured Kristin. "I'll ask the guys if they know where he's at and if they don't know we'll come down and help you look."
"Thank you so much," replied Kristin with relief. She moved out of Lucas's room and sat down in a chair confident that one of the crew would know where Lucas was located. A couple minutes later there was a knock on her door. Kristin opened the door revealing Katie's worried face.
"None of us have seen him today. They're going to ask the rest of the crew. Is there anywhere in particular he likes to go?"
"I've already checked the moonpool and his room. The only other place he liked to go was to watch the children but they're all gone now. I don't know where he could be!"
"I think we need to go talk to the Captain," said Katie giving Kristin a reassuring squeeze on her arm. She drug her down the hall until they were outside the Captain's office. She knocked. The door opened instantly revealing an unhappy looking Captain.
"Lucas is no longer aboard SeaQuest," he said surprising them.
"We can't find him," admitted Katie. "We were hoping you could help. How did you know?"
"I told him," said Admiral Noyce from the vid-screen. Kristin jumped in surprise noticing him for the first time.
"So you'll be able to help us get him back?" asked Kristin looking between the two men.
"I'm sorry but it's too late," said Bridger. "He was safe as long as he was on SeaQuest but once he left he was up for grabs."
"Section Seven has him now," finished Noyce. "They aren't going to give him up. There's nothing you can do."
[Scene Change]
"So you're Lucas," said General Thomas lounging in his chair. Lucas nodded trembling, too frightened to look up. "Don't worry. I won't bite," leered the man unsympathetically. "You're going to be very useful."
"You wanted to see me?" asked a man poking his head into the room. Lucas looked up watching him. The man was tall and lanky with unkempt, dark, brown hair. He noticed that Lucas was watching him and grinned before turning his attention back to the General.
"Glad you could join us," said Thomas sourly. "This is Lucas Wolenczak. You're responsible for her. Get him settled then give him the tests."
"You're the boss," he replied bowing mockingly. "Come on, kid." Lucas glanced questioningly at the burly General before following the jovial man out the door. They marched silently through the hallways stopping in front of the laundry area.
"Hey! Look! Fresh mean!" exclaimed the worker manning the room.
"Don't frighten him, Frank," admonished the man.
"Aw, Mycroft, you're not fun!" Lucas stared at his guide open-mouthed. Mycroft was one of the most infamous hackers in the last twenty years. He could not believe that this man was the legend he had heard so much about during school.
"Yeah, I'm Mycroft," he admitted laughing at Lucas's surprise. Lucas looked at Mycroft's bare left cheek and cocked his head in confusion. "I'm self taught," he explained. "No one to brand me." He shrugged. "The govies probably want to but they can't as long as they keep sending me undercover."
"So what do you two need?" asked Frank unimpressed with Mycroft's position.
"Lucas, here" he replied clasping a hand on Lucas's shoulder," needs some clothing."
"What size do you wear?" Lucas blinked at him uncomprehendingly.
"You don't know what size you wear?" Lucas shook his head no.
"You're a quiet one," commented Mycroft checking the tag on Lucas's shirt. "Try medium. It won't matter if it's a bit big on him."
Frank went back into the storeroom and came back with a couple pair of grey sweatpants and several t-shirts. Lucas carried his new clothing following behind Mycroft as they continued through the building. The stopped again in from of a metal door. Lucas peaked through the window while Mycroft unlocked the door. The Spartan room contained only a metal cot and toiletries in the corner. It reminded Lucas of one of his former cells.
"This is where you'll be living," said Mycroft. "Change into your new clothes and I'll take you down to the labs." Lucas stepped into the room and began to strip unbothered by Mycroft's presence in the open doorway. When he was redressed, he looked at Mycroft and pointed at his shoes questioningly. "Do you ever talk?"
Lucas shook his head. "That's odd. Well, don't worry about the shoes. You won't be needing them here." Lucas shrugged and padded down the hall after Mycroft. He waited patiently as they passed through the security checks to enter the computer labs.
"I know you have experience with man to man so we'll start with that first," said Mycroft moving to stand by a pair of isolated computers. "I'll take the offensive first then you'll attack me and we'll see what you can do. Understand?"
Lucas nodded hesitantly eyeing the computer. This was the first time he had been allowed near a computer since he had been taken from SeaQuest. He wondered if any of them missed him. From some of the guard's take during the ride to this building, he had gotten the impression that his leaving SeaQuest had been unplanned. He sat down and began the coding to hack into the mainframe. Mycroft stood back watching him allowing him to familiarize himself with the system. He would not have time to get into any of the secured files with him watching but then the ones he wanted were not secured. Looking around, he saw a hole that might just let him get a message out to his friends.
"Ready?" asked Mycroft taking a seat. Lucas nodded decisively. He began typing furiously building static defenses that would help delay Mycroft's attacks long enough for him to compose the program for his message. Almost as soon as the defenses went active, Mycroft's attacks went live. Had it not been for the situation, Lucas would have found the stimulating challenge enjoyable. As it was, he was defending himself by instincts alone. He typed in the last line of his message program then focused all of his resources on defending. He barely held off the latest attack but switched immediately to the offensive. Startled, Mycroft was not able to defend against his sudden attack and he cut the power to Mycroft's computer just as the alarms began to blare. The arrival of a dozen armed guards was the first sign Lucas had that maybe sending a message had not been the best idea.
[Scene Change]
"I received this file half an hour ago. It contains the floor plans and access codes for the building where Lucas is being held," stated Katie opening a folder in front of her.
"Why haven't you taken this to the Captain? Why are we meeting in your quarters?" asked Jim bewildered.
"The Captain knows. He knows we're in here. He just can't do anything about it. His hands are tied gentlemen. If we go after Lucas, we have to do it on our own. That's why we are meeting here. I'm asking for volunteers. If we can get Lucas back here, the Captain has promised to do everything in his power to protect him. But we have to get him here first."
"I'll lead," volunteered Jim.
"I'd be a better choice," argued Miguel. Jim looked at him evenly then nodded.
"Why isn't Ford here?" questioned Ben.
"It would be too risky for Jonathan to go. He's too high up the chain of command," answered Katie.
"Will five be enough?" asked Tim.
"We can't all go. We need officers here on the boat."
"I'll call Henderson back from shore leave. That should solve the shortage of officers," offered Jim.
"What if we bring in a few of the crew? I'm sure some of them would volunteer."
"Just one," said Miguel not glancing up from the schematics. "I want to keep the team small. I'd do it with five but we may need someone to carry Lucas if he can't keep up. Hitchcock, is there one of your pilots who would volunteer that you trust to send on the mission?"
"Tony Piccolo," she answered without pause.
"Call him up and get him in here," ordered Miguel. He continued to scour the floor plans as he waited. "All right, here's what we are going to do," he said once Tony had arrived. "First of all, this is a government agency. We are not going up against the enemy. You will carry a tranquilizer gun or nothing at all. Jim and Tim, you will leave ahead of us in a cab. You will have to get into position to provide cover for us. The rest of us will arrive fifteen minutes later and park here." He pointed to the map. "We will go in together. Jim will be stationed here. Your job is to make sure the car is ready for us to leave. Tim, you will have to get up high to cover us. Once we leave, you'll have to make your way on foot to here," he said pointing, "Where we'll pick you up." He glanced up to make sure everyone was following him.
"Gotcha," answered Tim surveying the map to pick out the best lookout. Jim nodded silently.
"What about everyone else?" asked Tony trying to grasp the plan.
"You'll be with me. I'll take the lead. Tony, you'll be in the middle. You'll guard Lucas on the way out. Katie, you take the point. Ben, you can bring up the rear. I have no idea what the security is going to look like inside the building. It's probably going to be pretty tight even though this isn't their main base. We'll just have to play it by ear."
"Let's break. Go change. Make sure you aren't wearing anything from SeaQuest. We'll meet outside of ammunitions in half an hour," ordered Katie breaking up the meeting.
[Scene Change]
"What did you send?" growled the general looming over Lucas. Lucas trembled slightly trying to back away from the man. Before he could move more than a step, he was grabbed by his shirt and slammed up against the wall. "What did you send!"
Lucas whimpered squirming. When he did not answer, the general slapped him. Lucas squeaked slightly from the force of the blow but did not react to the stinging of his cheek.
"Sir?" interrupted one of the guards. "Mycroft has finished with the file."
"Watch the boy," ordered General Thomas dropping Lucas in a heap on the floor. Gasping, Lucas lay still trying to calm himself. "What did he send?" demanded Thomas as he stepped out of the interrogation room.
"It appears to be a message. Probably something to SeaQuest. They won't be able to use anything he sent."
"You don't know what was leaked?" ask Thomas struggling to keep his calm. "Why?"
"The program was designed to corrupt itself once activation was complete. I have no way of telling exactly what was accessed or sent. It really is an ingenious program especially considering the circumstance." Mycroft could not help but admire Lucas's work.
"You may not but he can," responded Thomas whirling to re-enter the room. "I will not allow secrets to be sent outside this building."
Lucas was on his feet as the general came storming into the room. He clinched his fists fighting against panic. He could withstand this. This was going to be just like when he was in school. 'Pretend it's not real,' he told himself. 'This is just another training session.'
"Tell me what you sent," said Thomas trailing a finger along Lucas's jaw. Lucas stared back at him calmly refusing to be scared. The hand slipped lower tracing his throat gently. Suddenly, the hand clamped down shutting off Lucas's airflow. "Tell me." Lucas shook his head. His head pounded and he began to feel light-headed as his lips turned blue.
"Stop it!" exclaimed Mycroft. "If you kill him, you'll never find out what he sent."
"Do not presume to tell me what to do," growled Thomas as he released his grip. Lucas sank to his knees breathing in deep gulps of the cool sweet air. "Get up," ordered Thomas kicking Lucas. He groaned but managed to get on his feet.
"Tell him what he wants to know," pleaded Mycroft.
"Smyth, get me a dose of thiopental sodium. We'll get this out of him one way or another." He smiled at Lucas humorlessly while the guard jumped to obey the command. Lucas shivered knowing that the truth serum was going to be hell. Lucas tensed but did not resist as Thomas pulled back and pounded him in the stomach. He folded onto the floor as more blows rained down on him. He floated cocooned within himself safe from the pain. Dimly, he heard yelling. Hands shook him, pulling him back to himself as they threw cold water on him.
"Get him in the chair," ordered Thomas. Mycroft bent over him lifting gently. He whimpered slightly as the movement caused sharp stabs of pain to run shooting through his body. He licked his lips tasting the salty, metallic flavor of blood. Lucas blinked trying to see past the bright glare of the lights in his eyes. Beyond the pain, the sensations from his body were frighteningly numb. He knew that Mycroft was moving him into position but it was as if his body belonged to someone else. He was not sure but he thought that he might be going into shock. A shadow crossed his face and he looked up at the worried, creased face bending over him. There was a slight prick.
"He'll be feeling the affects of the drug any time now," stated the strange man. Lucas blinked feeling light-headed again.
"Lucas, can you tell us why you wrote the program?" Lucas turned to the voice marveling at how calm it was as compared to before. The general no longer sounded like he was out for blood.
"Fa Kis'in," he murmured. For Kristin.
"Did you catch that?"
"No, I couldn't understand him."
"Lucas, could you repeat that again?" Lucas shook his head stubbornly. He was not going to answer any more questions. They always told him not to tell.
"Lucas, what was in that file."
"Canta. Canta," he said. Can't tell. Never supposed to tell. Lucas shook his head trying to dislodge the haze that was drowning him. He could not focus. He could not remember where he was. He blinked as his vision became dim.
'Being a hacker is not an easy profession,' lectured the man as he walked down the line of students. 'You have access to sensitive information. Information that could be very dangerous to your owner if it were to be divulged. This is why we have spent so much time teaching you to resist interrogation techniques. You must never tell what you have done. You must never leak information.'
"He's resisting the drugs. I don't think he's going to break." The medic checked the boy's dilated eyes before stepping out of the way to let Thomas resume.
"He'll tell. Keep questioning him. He'll tell."
'0917.' Lucas, 0916, glanced over at his roommate exchanging frightened glances. He could not look away as his friend was strapped down on the table. 0916 remained at his place in line watching helplessly as 0917 was tortured. The teachers beat the boy ordering him to tell them what file he had hacked for his last assignment. This was a test but it was also real. Failing this test could have deadly consequences.
"Lucas, what did you send to SeaQuest?"
"Canta. Canta. Canta."
'Can't tell. Can't tell,' chanted the boy writhing on the table. He began screaming and sobbing as they held glowing hot rods to his skin. 'I can't take it,' he sobbed. 'It was just a list of kitchen supplies! That's it! Just kitchen supplies!' 0916 stared in horror as his roommate broke.
'You have failed,' said the teacher sadly. The others stepped back away from the boy. Slowly, he raised his hand pointed the gun directly at 0917.
"What's going on?" demanded Thomas. Lucas was staring blankly into space. All of his muscles were tense and his back was arched up off of the chair.
"I think he's having a seizure. You have to stop this interrogation."
"I need that information!"
The teacher's index finger gently pulled back the trigger. Deafening thunder. Water dripping. Blood pooling on the floor. Grey gelatinous material decorating the table. 0917's vacant eyes.
Lucas began to scream.
[Scene Change]
"May I speak with Ensign Henderson?"
"What do you need with my daughter?" demanded Admiral Henderson rudely.
"We need her back on SeaQuest," answered Jim apologetically.
"I'm sorry but my daughter will not be returning to that boat."
"Father? Who is on the vid-screen?" asked Lonnie entering the foyer. "Jim! Why are you calling?"
"Ensign Henderson," he answered glancing at her reprovingly for using his first name. "I'm sorry to shorten your shore leave but we need you back on SeaQuest."
"I was just telling him that you wouldn't be returning."
"Father, could I have a minute alone?" She waited until he had left the room. "Sorry about that. He found out that I have been suspended from piloting. He wants to move me to another boat."
"Do you want to go?" asked Jim trying not to be hurt by the news.
"No. Not really. But I don't think I have much choice." Jim frowned a minute thinking.
"Come back to SeaQuest for now. We'll talk about this in more detain and see what we can do about keeping you here."
[Scene Change]
"We've got two channels, one for Jim and Tim and another for the whole group. Monitor the group channel but keep the comments to each other on the other channel. OK. Everyone check in." Tim and Jim were already in position but they were doing final checks before the next group arrived.
"Brody."
"O'Neill."
"Hitchcock."
"Piccolo."
"Krieg."
"Ortiz. We're all set. We've arrived at the scene," he said to the other two. He looked around at his team. "This ride is about to depart. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Do not kill our fellow soldiers. Don't get dead and remember enjoy the ride." Miguel patted each member of his team on the shoulder as they exited the car. He glanced up not spotting Tim anywhere but knowing he was there.
"The north entrance is clear," came Tim's voice over the radio. The group walked calmly down the street as though they were just out for a day in the city. They walked up a block then circled back to the entrance. Katie pulled out her printout typing in the codes Lucas sent her. Silently, the door cycled open. They slipped inside. Miguel signaled for them to keep to the right. Guns held ready, they crept down the hall. They encountered no one as Katie fed the codes into the elevator to take them down two levels.
Miguel crouched down rolling out of the elevator as the doors opened. Gun up, he scanned the hallway. He signaled behind him for the others to follow. As he turned the corner, several guards came marching from the opposite direction. He tried to duck back around the corner but they had already seen him. He got off one shot dropping the first soldier.
"We've been spotted. Four guards. Three left."
"You have to reload. We'll roll out and take the others." Miguel hurried to pull out the next dart and load it. The others flipped into the hallway firing as they stopped. The other three guards slumped beside the first one.
"Our time is limited. They could have alerted others."
"We have to get to Lucas now."
"I know where he's at," said a man stepping out from an open door. He quickly raised his hands when four pair of guns pointed in his direction. "Relax. I want to help."
"Keep your hands where we can see them," growled Miguel. He came up behind the man pushing the mouth of the gun to his back. "Lead us. Now."
They followed the man down the hall. The other three quickly reloaded their guns keeping them ready for any more guards. He led them down one more floor to a small metal cell. Without waiting for their permission, he punched in the code to open the door. Slowly, it swung open revealing Lucas lying on a cot inside the room. Katie rushed to his side.
"What happened to him?" she demanded taking in the bruises and dried blood on his face and his open empty eyes. She touched his cheek trying to get him to respond but he stayed motionless. There was no flicker of awareness in his eyes.
"They interrogated him to find out what he sent to you. He resisted even with the truth serum then he freaked out. The medic said he thought it might have been a seizure but then he began screaming. They had to sedate him. That was almost an hour ago. He's been like this ever since." The man's recital was emotionless but it held regret.
"How could you let them interrogate him?! He can't even talk!" demanded Katie.
"He spoke. We just couldn't understand him. Got some kind of speech impediment." The man shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. We have to get him out of here. Tony, pick him up," ordered Miguel. Gently, Tony scooped the battered boy into his arms. Lucas did not respond. He just kept staring into space. His arms hung limply dangling from Tony's grasp.
"I can lead you out," offered the man.
"We'd appreciate it," accepted Katie before Miguel could decline. The trip back to the ground floor was uneventful. It was almost anticlimactic. They did not see a single soul with the exception of the sleeping guards on the second level. They paused at the exit waiting for the street outside to empty.
"Who are you?" asked Ben. "Why are you helping us?"
"The name's Mycroft. I'm a hacker here."
"So why are you helping us?"
"Maybe I just don't want to see someone like Lucas trapped here like me."
"But you could leave." Mycroft shrugged.
"Go before you get caught." Miguel nodded.
"Thanks." They slipped out of the door hurrying down the street. Mycroft watched until Lucas's limp form disappeared from sight.
"Or maybe I just don't like the competition."