She needed to speak to John regarding Victor's condition, and headed toward his office; but as she neared the door, a nagging sensation in the back of her mind, warned her of danger. It was ridiculous, placed in her thoughts by suggestion, she knew, and yet she couldn't shake it off. What if Victor was right? What if John Koenig had been invaded by an alien entity? If she went to him now, and she was wrong, it could spell disaster for everyone on Alpha. She needed time to think this through, and perhaps do as Victor had asked; she could for the moment, be a silent observer. She pointed her commlock at the back door to John's office, and pressed a button, a moment later it opened.

Helena had to cover her reaction when John, Alan, and the rest of the members of the landing party looked up at her in surprise. Koenig was the first to recover, although the irritation was evident in his tone.

"Yes Helena, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, John, I didn't mean to interrupt..."

"Yes, well, now that you have, what do you need?"

The frost in his tone sent chills up her spine.

"I just wanted to speak with you a moment about Victor."

"Is he all right?"

"Physically, yes."

Koenig looked around the table, and then back at Russell, his timbre softening considerably, "Give me about five more minutes, okay?"

She smiled at him, "Okay. I'll come back."

Helena barely made it out the door before she felt all the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She didn't know what to think; John, Alan and the rest of the landing party--exactly what Victor had said. Still, they could simply be reporting to him regarding their findings. But why would that be happening in a closed-door meeting? And why wouldn't John have called other personnel such as herself, Paul and Sandra? It didn't make sense, yet she knew she couldn't base any kind of decision upon one meeting; it could be a coincidence. Helena moved down the hall a ways and watched from around a corner. About five minutes later, Alan and the landing party came out of the office, and all of them walked down the corridor together, not saying a word. She waited until they were clear from sight, then she went back to John's office. She pointed her commlock at the door, and pressed a button, but the door didn't open. She tried it again, to no avail. She rang the door chime, and a moment later, the door slid open.

She walked in to find Koenig at his desk, looking through files. She walked over to the desk, and waited for him to say something to her, but he didn't.

Helena kept her voice light, "I think my commlock's malfunctioning...."

He didn't look up, "What's wrong with it?"

"It wouldn't open your door."

He looked at her and smiled, "Yes, I thought it best to restrict everyone's access to this room and my quarters for the time being.

John looked back down at the files, as if the matter were now closed. She knew he had come to that conclusion right after she walked in on the meeting he was having with the landing party. After pushing some of the shock she felt aside, her anger burned through.

"Why did you restrict my access?"

Koenig frowned at her, as if he didn't understand the problem, "I restricted everyone's..."

"Since when am I everyone?"

Realizing his insensitivity, he smiled sweetly at her, "Helena, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it as some kind of slight. Guess I'm just a little jumpy after last night...."

Dr. Russell smiled back, but felt unnerved by him. There was something wrong about the way he was looking at her, and she found she was in no way moved by the smile that usually melted her.

All she said was, "That's understandable."

He looked back down at his files, assuming the subject was now closed, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Victor."

John's brow creased, "A very upsetting situation. I never would have suspected him of such a thing."

"Nor would I....at least not without a good reason."

He looked at her sharply, "You can think of a good reason for attempted murder?"

"Murder, no....... mercy, maybe. Sacrificing one life to save more than 300....it would be difficult to make that choice."

Koenig looked away, "How is he now?"

"Physically fine, I'm not so sure about mentally."

The blue eyes turned back to her, "Tell me."

"You know he tends to think of you quite fondly...."

There was impatience in his voice, "Yes?"

"He must have had some kind of mental lapse. That's the only possible answer."

He smiled at her, "I'm sure you're right. Well at least he didn't hurt anyone, and now with him safely confined, we can concentrate on Operation Exodus."

Helena's stomach flew into her throat: John Koenig would not show such a lack of concern for Victor's welfare, and once again, before computer had reached any kind of conclusion, he was talking about sending all Alphans to the fourth planet. But what if this was all some kind of bizarre misunderstanding? She needed more empirical evidence before she could go to Paul. And there was one way to be sure. Helena smiled at him, and pulled the files out of his hands, pushing him back into his chair. She sat in his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Helena....."

She pulled his face toward hers and kissed him; he not only didn't respond, he pulled away from her.

"Helena.... what are you doing?"

"I'd think that was fairly obvious...."

"Here, now?"

"You seem tense, I thought it might help you relax."

She watched him as he tried not to recoil from her touch. Helena pressed her body into him, waiting for his typical response, but instead, there was nothing. She kissed him again, and he still seemed tentative.

"John, what's the matter?"

He looked right through her, as though calculating the odds on something, then he stared into her eyes, and she felt his hands pull her closer. He brought her head down to him, and kissed her, hard. As he began to make love to her, Helena Russell knew for certain that the man holding her was not John Koenig.