A Question of Trust
Chapter 9
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory Of Jonathan Brandis
Disclaimer:
I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest." I also don't own the different characters like Bridger, Lucas, or Darwin. I'm not making any money with this story; I'm just writing for my own pleasure.
A spezial „Thank You" goes to Jackie for beta-reading and to Nerene, KatKnits00, dolphinology, Swasti, kokomocalifornia, wolenczak2004 and Teresa for their reviews. And thanks for not hating me because of the last cliffhanger.
Nerene: Thanks for your kind words. What can I say besides I love to wrirte cliffhangers, but I hate to reas them by others because I want to know what happens.
KatKnits00: Thanks! Interesting thoughts that you have.
dolphinology: Thanks! Yeah, a cliffhanger ;-). I hope your heart has slowed down.
Swasti:Thanks! I can't tell you if I Lucas will be killed or not. What kind of writer would I be if I do that? Yeah, the comment that Oliver made about his friends now make sence. Here is more:
kokomocalifornia: Thanks! I hope this is soon enough.
Wolenczak2004: Thanks for your kind words
Teresa: Thanks for your Review. I kind of feeled honoured that you have put so many thoughts in my storie.
Bridger exchanged a last look with Lucas, then he looked away and closed his eyes. "I can't give you the password."
Major gave a short cry of annoyance. "Then it's your fault that the boy dies now. Only your fault, Captain Bridger." Bert gave Oliver a sign.
Oliver Stevens turned off the safety on the gun, and his finger went to the trigger.
A moment before the dark-haired teenager could shoot, Major shouted. "Stop, Oliver! I've just had an even better idea. If it doesn't work, we can always shoot him later." Each member of the seaQuest crew let out a breath of relief.
Major looked questioningly at Oliver, even though he already knew the answer to his question. "The boy is supposed to be a computer genius, right?"
Bridger's nephew nodded. "Yes."
"Then he should be able to tell us what the password is. That is, if the lives of the others mean anything to him."
Lucas turned pale. Of course he knew the password, but under no condition could he tell it to them. Major grabbed the teenager's elbow and pushed him into a chair in front of the closest computer terminal. "So, give us the password."
The young genius shook his head. "I don't know what the password is!"
The leader looked darkly at Lucas. "Don't fool around with me. I'm know that you know it!"
Lucas shook his head again. "Do you really believe that someone would trust a 14-year old with that kind of password?"
Bridger and the three others from the seaQuest looked up in surprise. Had their youngest crew member just said that he was 14? The boy was 16, wasn't he?
Major grabbed Lucas' shirt threateningly. "Don't play games with me. If you don't know it, then crack it. Anyone who is good enough to hack into the World Bank is can also crack a stupid password!" Bert let go of the teen.
O'Neill, Hitchcock, and Crocker were shocked. Lucas had hacked into the World Bank? It seemed that their young friend was full of surprises.
The young man took a deep breath. "But I'm not planning to crack this 'stupid password'!"
Bert Major aimed his gun at the teen. "Either you crack the damned thing or you are sharkbait."
Lucas shook his head and looked Major straight in the eyes. "No!"
Oliver stepped directly in front of his uncle and put his weapon to Bridger's head. "Crack the password, or I swear to you I'll kill him!"
The blond teenager felt ice-cold shivers running down his back. It was one thing when it was his own life on the line, but now it was about the life of someone else, about Captain Bridger's. He couldn't let Oliver kill the older man. It would be his fault if that happend, and Lucas knew that he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. But on the other hand, he wasn't allowed to tell the password. The seaQuest was a deadly weapon, and who knew what the terrorists would do with the submarine.
What should he do? Captain Bridger had always been like a father to him, more than his real dad had ever been. To Lawrence, he had only ever been a burden or the genius that he could show off to his colleagues or other important people. But Bridger saw him for the person he really was. The captain had given him the feeling that he was liked and that he was important. And he hadn't even been able to tell the older man how sorry he was about the argument. What on earth should he do?
Lucas' eyes locked with the captain's. Bridger shook his head. He wanted the boy keep quiet about the password.
Major looked at the teen. "What is your desicion?"
The computer genius closed his eyes. "I'll try to crack the password."
"Lucas no, you can't..." shouted Nathan, but before he could finish the sentence, Oliver hit him on the head with his weapon.
"Shut up, or I'll rethink this whole thing and kill Lucas!"
Bridger closed his mouth. Blood was running down his forehead from where the gun had caught him. One last time, the youngest crew member of the seaQuest looked at Bridger, then he turned to the keyboard and started to type. After a short time, the screen in front of him came to life.
Major looked over Lucas' shoulder. "How long will everything take? Can't you make it go faster?"
The teenager's blue eyes looked up from the computer screen. "I'm not sure how long this will take. Can you please move back a little bit? You're really making me nervous, and that might make me slower. I'm also afraid that I could make a mistake."
Bert gave Lucas a dark look but stepped back anyway and turned away from the boy. The teenager let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Two minutes later, all the computer screens on the bridge came to life again. But exactly 3 seconds later, they went blank again. Everyone looked at Lucas. Major stormed over to the teenager, grabbed him by the t-shirt, and pulled him from the chair. "What have you done?"
Lucas' voice sounded calm. "I changed the password. Now I'm the only one who knows it and can tell it to you. But I did something else too. I added a second safety feature. The password is now based on voice-recognition. I have put the voice-patterns of every seaQuest crew member that is currently on board, except mine, into the computer. Even if you had the password, everyone else would need to confirm it with their voices. If one voice is missing, the whole computer system will shut down completely, and there will be no chance of activating it again. You have to understand me, Mr. Major, I'm just trying to save all of our lives!"
Captain Bridger, Lt. Cdr. Hitchcock, Chief Crocker, and Lt. O'Neill felt incredible pride at how the teenager was handling the situation. Lucas had had an outstanding idea, and he probably was saving all of their lives. But they were also afraid. How would the terrorists react now? Lucas may have saved them, but he had most certainly put himself into more danger.
Major still hadn't let go of the young man, and he now grabbed his t-shirt even harder and smashed the boy against the wall. Lucas' head hit the wall full force. The teenager had to struggle to stay conscious; everything was spinning around him, and he saw light spots whirling in front of his eyes.
But that wasn't enough for Major, and he started to let his anger out on the helpless boy. He threw a few powerful punches at the teenager. Suddenly, Lucas' legs gave out under him; he just couldn't stand any longer. The screams from the others trying to get Bert to stop sounded to Lucas like they were coming from far away. The teenager felt it as Major started to kick him. The pain became unbearable, but he didn't have the strength to defend himself. It didn't take long before everything faded to black.
To Be Continued …
Oh, I fell so evil…
Written Spring 2003 / Translated Winter 2005