Chapter 6:
A/N: Promise, much more Lucas in his chapter. Gonna try wrapping up all my loose ends with this one. Hope you've liked it thus far, and I'm thinking of doing another. Should I?
Disclaimer: The only ones I own are the ones you don't recognize.
Bridger sat in his ward room, hands folded on the desk before him. His eyes stared vacantly out at the wall on the opposite side of the room. A knock on the hatch door broke him from his reverie. Tim stepped inside, hands clasped behind his back. "I hope you have some good news for me."
"Well sir, I suppose that's dependent on how you look at things." The captain raised an eyebrow in question. "Well sir, I picked up a strange resonance on all our outgoing communications signals. It seems that the children began looking for a buyer for the laser tech they stole, and earlier today they found one."
"How is that possible?"
"It was actually quite clever. They managed to piggyback our communications signal with a message of their own. You wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it, or if you already knew it was coming. Early this morning they received a return signal, an answer."
"Who?"
"A group of mercenaries working outside UEO jurisdiction. They have publicly denounced the United Earth Oceans before, and now it seems they're looking to further their insurgence by starting terrorist attacks on UEO stations. They're scheduled to come in for the buy late tonight or early tomorrow. It's all in the encrypted return message. I can put it up on your Vid Link Captain."
"By all means."
The Vid screen blinked to life, revealing a garbled, blurry image. "The resolution isn't the best," Tim said apologetically. A man stepped in front of the screen. Long, greasy black hair hung limply at the sides a sharply featured face. His nose was hooked and crooked, like it had been broken and badly set.
The message was brief, succinct. "My associates and I will arrive at the designated coordinates at 23 hundred hours. I expect a full demonstration of your weapon's capabilities, as well as specs and schematics. We aren't in the habit of doing business with children. I take these endeavors very seriously, it would be wise for you to do the same. Out." The image blanked suddenly.
"The original message makes note that they have Lucas, the laser's designer, and that he'll go along as part of the deal."
Bridger's face was grim. "The meet takes place in two hours. Can we get the SeaQuest up and running in time to intercede?"
"I spoke with Henderson before coming here sir. She doesn't think she can make the necessary repairs in the allotted window." The Captain ran a weathered hand over his face, his fingers kneading his brow. "There is some good news however sir."
"I could use some," Bridger encouraged with a roll of his hand.
"The coordinates given in the original transmission aren't too far from here. It is possible, if they leave now, that a team could take a sub and get there in time. They'll probably fry the engine doing it, but it is possible."
Bridger's eyes snapped up, glinting with determination. He hit the button for the comm. on his console. "Brody, get a team together NOW. I'll meet you in docking bay three in two minutes to fill you in."
Brody's voice squawked in the empty air. "Yes sir."
Ealier………
Metal grated on metal as the UEO sub made a hard dock on an old hatch. Lucas rocked in his chair as the sub struck the hatch and rebounded off the wall. Levi, despite his efforts at leading his own mini-rebellion, was apparently not much of a seaman. He looked uncomfortable behind the controls, but Lucas wasn't about to offer him pointers.
It took Levi and two others to pry open the hatch into the interior workings of the mine. Flakes of rust and grime fell from the seal as the door groaned. Most of the children scurried from the ship, happy to be free at last. They trusted Levi implicitly. Lucas watched the older boy darkly. Levi held a gun on Lucas while Sam undid the shackles on his wrist. They had found a set of handcuffs among the sub's supplies.
Lucas rose grudgingly, dragging his feet as he disembarked. He glared at the dark haired boy, "You can't do this. The SeaQuest will stop you."
Levi smirked. "If all has gone according to plan the SeaQuest won't be going anywhere for a while. By the time they get under way again, your ingenious little device will be halfway across the Atlantic and me and mine will be rich and free."
"That laser isn't fully tested yet! The tech involved, if it got in the wrong hands, could cause massive damage."
Levi wheeled, eyes glinting with something maniacal. "That is EXACTLY the idea. People pay good money for tech to use against their oppressors. I'd have paid with my soul to get a weapon like that back when I worked here. I would have slaughtered every last one of them."
"Chris was right, you are certifiable," Lucas growled. "And as for your soul, I think you sold that a while back."
Levi stopped dead in his tracks, a dark flush stealing up his neck. He dropped his right shoulder, driving his elbow back. The butt end of his pulse rifle hit Lucas full in the stomach, doubling the blonde over. Levi turned then, driving his knee up. Blood spilled from Lucas's lip and he dropped to his knees. Levi viciously backhanded the younger man before dragging him back onto his feet.
"If you're the bright boy everyone says you'll learn now to keep your mouth shut. Because I forgot to tell you, you're part of the package deal. My buyers wanted the tech and the inventor, and I'll tell you, they aren't as nice as I am." He shoved Lucas forward. "Take him to the 'dungeon' Sam, he can wait there."
Stryder crept silently along, hunched over in a narrow passage. Her knees ached from crouching for so long and the air was stale. There was no light, and she used her hands along the slick stone to feel her way. She'd docked the Stinger at the lower East entrance to the mine. No one had used that entrance in years. Much of the tunnels in the East had collapsed, and were largely considered unstable. In the last years before the mine had been shut down only the West and North tunnels had continued to be used.
She paused, sagging against the rock as she tried to banish images from her mind. She knew this mine, knew it backwards, forwards, even in the pitch black. She'd worked it for three years and it was home to many of her nightmares. It was at this mine that she had first met Levi. He knew the mine too, but not like she did. She'd been working seven months before he'd arrived, and she'd lost a friend in the East collapse three months in. Levi didn't know the East tunnels, didn't know the path she'd found creeping along at night, to the discarded docking bay. Levi's eyes wouldn't roam there, he wouldn't be waiting for her.
Chris drew in a settling breath and forged on. Twenty yards farther on the tunnel opened up, and ten yards beyond that it would dump her out near the heart of the complex. From there she would have to tread carefully, and from there she could find Lucas. Sam was placed at guard at the tunnel juncture, rifle slung back over his arm. Stryder stayed back, mingling with the rock and shadow, weighing her options. She knew she could disarm the younger boy, especially given the benefit of surprise, but fights were given to noise and she preferred to stay for the moment inconspicuous. She opted for stealth. She waited for his attention to turn from her and she stole into the tunnel on her left.
Lucas let his head fall back, closing his eyes. A single feeble light illuminated his room. He ran his tongue over his teeth, then out across his lower lip. He tasted blood. His right eye was swollen nearly shut, both injuries resulting from candid, snippy conversation with Levi from a couple hours before. Now he was tired, hungry, hurt and cold.
He made a half hearted pull at the shackles that bound his wrist. He'd heard little in the way of useful information since being brought into Levi's rebellion. His concern gnawed at him. Who could they be meeting? Unfortunately he had not been given the chance to find out, since as soon as they'd arrived at the abandoned mine he'd been thrown here. As best he could make out, the rooms had been used to house the workers, perhaps housing cots for each. There were five sets of shackles bound to the wall.
Metal scraping on metal immediately focused Lucas' mind. The heavy iron latch, rusted nearly shut, was being forced back open. The blonde youth scrambled to his feet, and his heart beat a little quicker in his chest. He still had small hope that Bridger and the SeaQuest would reach him before anything else went wrong.
The door creaked open, and his breath caught in his throat. "Lucas?" A soft voice called into the room.
"Stryder?" He asked, bewildered. His hands, which he had been holding in fists, relaxed. The girl came in, shutting the door behind her.
"Thank God. Figured they'd stick you down here." She trotted inside, kneeling beside him and began to work on his bonds.
"Sam has a key," he told her. "But I don't know where he is now."
"No need," she smiled grimly. "I was never a particularly good little slave girl. Liked to slip out at night and wander the passageways. Just give me a sec and you'll be….." he heard a soft click. The handcuffs slipped from his wrists. ".. .free." Lucas rose slowly, despite the insistent tugs Stryder made on his shirt. "Come on, we gotta get back to the Stinger and get out of here."
Lucas stopped at the door. "We can't just leave."
"What do you mean? You're free, they don't know I'm here, we have a sub ready and waiting. What exactly is the problem I'm not getting here?"
"Levi still has the laser. He plans on selling it to the highest black market bidder."
"And?" She pressed, peeking nervously out the cell door.
"And nothing. We can't let that tech get into the hands of terrorists. The SeaQuest is stymied, that means it's up to us."
Chris turned, arms crossed over her chest. Her right eyebrow quirked. "Do you actually hear yourself when you speak?" she asked dryly. "Completely ignoring the fact that you actually used stymied in a sentence, you did say terrorists. My guess, they're all gonna have guns, I know Levi has guns. And unless you're packing a weapon somewhere I really don't want to think about, we don't."
"How many times are you gonna run from the things you should actually fight for? You can leave right now, never look back. Or you can come with me, and maybe find some redemption." Lucas squeezed past her, striding purposefully down the corridor.
Chris sighed, pressing her eyes shut. "Shit," she whispered. "Would you wait up?" she called after him. She fell into step beside him. "I don't know about this whole, fighting for a cause thing, but I really want to kick Levi's ass. Besides, can't let you get your fool head blown off, I kinda like it where it is."
Chapter 6
Hope you like it, the last chapter should be coming shortly, if I can keep this work ethic going. Please read and review.