Chapter 28: I Am The Fire

February 14th, 0900 (9:00 am)

Two hours later found them in a well guarded room, though thankfully not tied up. And, even more importantly, they hadn't been separated. Miller and Cruz were standing at attention, and though they didn't have weapons anymore, Tom knew that they would do everything in their power to keep their Captain and Rachel safe.

"Why do they want you?" Tom asked quietly from where he was holding Rachel tightly to his chest. He had refused to let them take her away from them when they'd been thrown into the room. He had a sinking feeling that the men were just humoring him; with guns, they could have forced the issue and taken her away regardless. "We gave them the cure, we gave them all of your research. What else do they want?"

Rachel shook her head, unsure but terrified. Her hand was pressed tightly to her belly, and she was silently apologizing to her baby for the situation that they had found themselves in. She knew that, whatever the men wanted her for, they would 100% use her baby as a bargaining chip if they found out. She was thankful that she had worn a large sweater this morning to combat the chill; it hid her belly well.

"I'm scared," she admitted, and Tom sighed sadly, holding her tighter.

"I know, sweetheart," he whispered, kissing her temple. He didn't give a single shit that Miller and Cruz were behind him, able to hear every word he said. If the crew didn't already know about him and Rachel, or about the baby, they were bound to know when they got back to the ship (because it would be when, and not if. He refused to entertain the idea of if). The rumor mill aboard the ship was insane, and while he respected and trusted both of the men imprisoned with him, he knew that the news would spread like wildfire. He whispered, trying to keep the conversation between just the two of them. "Try not to worry too much. Take a deep breath; think about the baby. We won't let anything happen to you."

Rachel nodded and tried; she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Tom hummed as he felt her follow his directions. "That was good. Keep doing that. Don't panic, hon, we're going to be fine. Tex and Danny will be gathering the cavalry and coming to rescue us soon."

Thank goodness that the thugs who had kidnapped them had simply taken them to the laboratory building. Tom assumed that the reason that Tex and Danny had turned around so quickly was because they had seen the guards at the lab and had wanted to double back and make a new plan, but before they'd arrived back at the rendezvous point, Tom, Cruz, Miller, and Rachel had been surrounded. When he'd seen Tex in the distance, it hadn't looked like they were in trouble, so Tom was hanging onto the hope that they would make it back to the ship and return with backup soon.

"Captain, why do they want Dr. Scott?" Miller asked, unknowingly causing Rachel's panic to return.

She knew there were many reasons the men may want her, including several reasons that made her stomach turn. But the men knew her name, knew who she was, so she knew that the reason they wanted her probably had more to do with the cure and her scientific training than any other reason, which was at least a little reassuring.

"I don't know," Tom said, rubbing his hand slowly up and down Rachel's back. He was trying to keep her calm, to keep the panic at bay. This would not be a repeat of the last time she was kidnapped. He wouldn't let it be. "But we don't let them take her. We do anything necessary to keep her with us."

Miller and Cruz both nodded, and Rachel felt terrible.

"I could... I could just go with them," she said, resting her head on Tom's chest. She could feel her heart beating frantically at her own suggestion, and she knew that Tom didn't like it any more than she did. "I could see what they want. If it's something I can do, maybe we can resolve this peacefully."

Tom shook his head.

"No," he said, and his tone left no room for argument.

Rachel opened her mouth to argue anyway, but he cut her off.

"No, Rachel. That isn't an option. If it was just you, you might be able to strong arm and convince me that it was for the best. Even then, I'd demand to go with you," he said, frowning as he reached out to place his hand over hers on her stomach. "But with the baby, it's simply not an option. I will not leave you alone with these men."

Miller and Cruz both turned around in shock, looking back and forth between the doctor and the Captain, their eyes darting between their clasped hands on Rachel's stomach and Captain Chandler's face.

Rachel gave in quickly, knowing that it was a terrible idea in the first place. Of course, she knew that if their captors wanted to talk to her alone, Tom would have little choice in the matter, considering that they had guns and he no longer did.

"You're right. You're right, we can't risk the baby," she said, and collapsed back on Tom's chest, exhausted and terrified.

'Baby?' Cruz mouthed to Miller, and the other man shrugged, his eyes wide. Holy shit, he couldn't wait to tell ... well, everyone.

If they made it out of this alive, that was.

"Away from the door!" came a loud voice, and Tom grimaced, separating himself from Rachel quickly and moving to stand against the wall. The other two men stood protectively in front of them, understanding the stakes a lot more now than they had even a few minutes before. It wasn't their business what was going on with their Captain, but they suddenly understood Rachel's importance in a way they hadn't before. Captain Chandler had already lost so much, and to have so much else on the line must have been terrifying.

"Against the wall!" the man ordered again, and Cruz and Miller obeyed, standing on either side of the Captain and Dr. Scott.

As soon as they were all against the wall, the door opened and three men walked in. In the middle was the one that Tom thought was the leader. He was grinning, unarmed, and eyeing Rachel in a way that made her uncomfortable.

"What do you want with me?" she asked in a voice that sounded surprisingly stronger than she felt. She felt like she was falling apart inside, terrified, but her voice was solid and unwavering.

"Why the cure, of course!" the man said, spreading his arms wide as he approached her. "But not just the cure, no. We want the creator of the cure, the one who figured it out. The one who can fix what's been done."

"We've already given the cure and the plans to thousands all over the globe," Rachel said, pressing into the wall to try and get further away from the man. "It's common knowledge at this point. You can't... you can't profit from it, or keep it just for yourself. So what do you want?"

"We want you, your expertise! Dr. Rachel Scott, the one woman on the planet who could create the cure to the Red Flu!" He paused, and scoffed, as if she was dense for not realizing what he wanted. "We want to weaponize the virus. Not the current strain, of course. That would be useless, with that damn cure. But, you're smart, right? You can change it, make it spread again. I can decide who lives. The world will be under my control."

Tom growled at the man as he reached out to touch Rachel. He was a lunatic, raving mad with visions of grandeur and a God complex.

He was dangerous.

"There is no way in hell I will be helping you with that," Rachel said with complete certainty. Tom swallowed hard, because he knew that Rachel would never, under any circumstances, undo the good she had done by weaponizing the virus. She would never do something that would harm millions of people, even if it cost her life.

Even if it cost their baby's life.

Because she was good, and she knew that her life, even the baby's life, was not worth the millions that would die.

They could stall, though, he realized. Tex and Danny were coming.

They had to be coming.

He tried to communicate this to Rachel, hoped that she could play along for now. The man in front of them was clearly unstable, and Tom didn't want to provoke him. He squeezed Rachel's arm tightly, hoping that she would defer to him in this conversation.

"If she were to work for you," he started. "One of us stays with her at all times. That's the deal. She's not to be separated from us."

The man laughed, shaking his head. "No can do. You have no power here, dude. I am in charge, and you'd do well to remember that."

"I know you are," Tom said slowly, trying to placate the man. "But if you want Rachel to work for you without having to use force or hurting her, you're going to need to compromise."

"I could always hurt one of you, instead," the man mused, eyes flickering between the three men.

"I absolutely will not help you if you hurt any of them," Rachel said icily, and Tom winced when the man's grin grew.

"A feisty one. I like that in a woman! All right, all right," he said, turning and walking a few steps away, hands in the air. "I can compromise. Dr. Scott, you can pick whichever of your guard dogs that you want to accompany you, but we're going to be taking you to the lab now."

Rachel nodded, understanding that they had to do what they could to keep these men calm until backup arrived. She turned to Tom, obviously wanting him with her, and he nodded, squeezing her hand quickly before letting her go. They followed the group of men out of the cell, casting back a final glance at Miller and Cruz, who were still standing against the wall.

Hurry up, Tex, Danny, Tom thought, trying to memorize the path they were taking as they walked through the lab. He counted seven more men in the hallways, not necessarily guarding the cell they had been held in, but aware of their surroundings and watching their boss's every move as he led them through the hall. Tom eyed them all, taking note of their weapons and weak points. One of the men was obviously tired and bored, yawning and leaning against the wall. Another was flicking his eyes between the men surrounding him, clearly not fully trusting them. He could use that to his advantage, Tom thought, and then turned his attention back to Rachel as she began to speak.

"What can I call you?" she asked the man, and he turned to face her, holding out a hand.

"My bad, I should have introduced myself," he said. "My name's Curtis. And you, Dr. Scott, are going to make me a very powerful man."

Rachel grimaced, wanting to reach out and hold Tom's hand but not wanting to give too much away. This man couldn't have any more ammunition, and revealing their relationship would give him the opportunity to use that against them. She also had to remind herself not to touch her stomach, lest she reveal the existence of her baby, which would be a bargaining chip that they couldn't afford to give Curtis.

"All right. What is it that you would like me to do?"

Curtis waved around the room, which was equipped much like the lab aboard the Nathan James. There were bio-hazard suits, which she supposed she would need if she were to work on altering the virus (which she had no intention of doing).

"I want you to fix what you fucked up!" he said, and then grabbed one of the vials of the cure that they had taken from her when they'd been stripped of their weapons and equipment. "This. You need to fix this! We were making progress, finding others like us, others that were chosen. And then you fucked up all our plans by curing those who are inferior!"

Tom swallowed, shifting closer to Rachel as subtly as he could. He had been right; this man was dangerous. But he hadn't realized exactly how dangerous he was.

"What do you mean... inferior?" Rachel asked cautiously as Curtis squeezed the vial tightly in his hand.

"Everyone who is susceptible to the Red Flu, of course," he scoffed, and Rachel tilted her head, confused.

"And you're... not susceptible?" she asked, and Curtis grinned, his eyes wise and bright.

"We are immune. We were chosen to survive this plague, to lead the new world! I realized early on that everyone else around me was dying, but I wasn't. I never got sick, even if I touched or shared food or drink with those who were infected. I realized that I was superior, so I decided to find others like me. We're the chosen ones," he said again, and Rachel felt her heart sinking. She knew, of course, that there were those who were naturally immune - Bertrise was proof of that. But the fact that those who were immune thought that they were chosen to survive by some higher power made her sick to her stomach.

"Right. So, you want me to spread a new variant of the virus? What if you're not immune to this strain?"

Curtis shrugged. "You will make sure we are. You can have whatever you need. Test subjects, materials, just let me know and it's yours. As long as you fix what you fucked up!"

Tom was standing right behind her now, and Rachel could feel his hand on her back, pressing against her sweater and grounding her. She took a deep breath. Stall them. Wait for backup. She could do this.

"All right. When would you like me to begin?"

Curtis smiled.

February 14th, 0945 (9:45 am)

"We have to go save them, now," Tex said, pacing back and forth in front of Mike, Danny, and Jeter. They were in the conference room for an emergency meeting. Tex and Danny hadn't even bothered to take off their gear. They'd run onto the ship, shouting that there was an emergency, and had explained as quickly as they could what had happened.

"What we have to do is calm down and think," Mike said, waving at the empty seats across the table. He obviously wanted Tex to calm down and take a seat, but he shook his head, continuing his pacing. "If we run into a situation where we're outnumbered and outgunned, there will be causalities. We need a plan. We did this same thing when we went to rescue you and the Captain," he told Tex. "It has to be done right, which means we need a plan."

Tex nodded, running a hand through his hair. He had been terrified when he'd seen Tom shake his head, signaling that he and Danny shouldn't come save them. He saw the logic - the four of them against all of those enemies, with Rachel unarmed in the middle, was a recipe for disaster.

"Fine. Fine. So, what are we going to do? Do I have to kiss anyone?" he asked, trying to inject some humor into the conversation.

Mike smiled, clearly remembered the last time they'd had to make a rescue plan.

"Shouldn't be necessary this time. Besides, I don't think the Captain would take to you kissing him quite as well as he did to Dr. Scott."

Tex chuckled, and finally made himself sit down.

February 14th, 1020 (10:20 am)

"Tom," Rachel sobbed as soon as they were left alone in the lab (although not unguarded). He went to her immediately, drawing her into his arms and holding her.

"It's gonna be OK," he promised, running a hand gently through her hair. "It won't be like last time, I swear. I won't let them hurt you. I'm here with you, and we're going to be fine, we just have to stall while we wait for Tex and Danny."

Rachel nodded. She believed him, she did, but she was still scared. This was now the second time she had been held prisoner by someone wanting to use the cure or the virus for something evil, and this time she wasn't just worried about herself. She was terrified for her baby, and for Tom.

"Why would they want to make people sick?" She asked brokenly, unable to understand the pure evil in some people. "To purposely infect people, children, with this terrible disease just for power. What kind of person do you have to be to do that?"

"I don't know," Tom confessed, because while he had seen all manner of bad people while in the Navy, this, to him, seemed somehow worse than warlords or murderers or crime bosses. This was purposeful, malicious intent to kill everyone you thought was inferior to you. "I don't know, but we're not going to let it happen. We will sabotage them if we have to. We wont let anything that could hurt anyone fall into their hands."

Rachel nodded, and then pulled away from Tom, drawing in a breath and standing tall.

"I love you. And I love our baby. So much, Tom, you have no idea. But if it comes down to it, if it comes down to us or millions of innocent lives, you know what we have to do."

Tom nodded; he did. He knew, and he hated it, but he would never be able to live with himself if the entire world perished because of them.

"Let's not go there yet," he said instead of dwelling. "Tex and Danny weren't caught. You know they're on the ship right now, coming up with a plan. The best way to help them is to stay alive and aware of our surroundings so we can do our part when it's time."

Rachel sniffed, and then nodded, her resolve strengthening. "All right. All right. We can do this. Let's see if there's anything in here we can use as a weapon when it's time."

Tom nodded, smiling at her as she began to search through the drawers and cabinets.

February 14th, 2014 - 1115 (11:15 am)

Less than hour later, Tom heard what he hoped was the beginning of their rescue.

Several men in the hallway began shouting and running, and Tom sent up a quick prayer that whoever had been sent to rescue them would be OK. There was the sound of gunfire, and then an explosion. It was far enough away that he was sure that his men were using it as a distraction, but he still stepped closer to Rachel just in case. Whatever was happening, protecting her and the baby was his first priority.

"What's happening?" she asked him, reaching out and putting her hand on his arm.

"I'm not sure, but I hope it's Tex and Danny here to rescue us," he said, and then turned quickly, shielding Rachel, as the door to the lab was thrown open.

"What the hell is going on?" Curtis yelled, stalking into the room. Two of his men followed, guns raised and pointed at Tom and Rachel.

"I don't know," Tom said calmly, flickering his gaze between the two armed men. If he had to, he could take them out, although two against one wasn't very fair odds, especially considering he wasn't armed. He didn't want to risk any flying bullets, so trying to placate Curtis was his best option right now. "But I'm sure your men can handle it, whatever it is."

Curtis sneered, walking closer to them and reaching out to take Rachel's arm into his hand, pulling on her roughly so that she was standing in front of him. Rachel winced at his grip on her, but stood tall as Curtis reached down to his waistband and pulled a pistol out.

"I said, what is going on? Tell me right now!"

He shoved the barrel of the gun into Rachel's chest, though he wasn't looking at her. He was staring straight at Tom as he released the safety and hovered his finger over the trigger.

"I swear to God I will shoot her if you don't tell me what you're people are up to right now!"

Tom felt his breath catch as he took in the sight before him. Rachel was cringing, though she was trying to look strong, as the barrel of the gun bit into her skin. It was right over her heart - a single shot would kill her, Tom knew, and at such close range he didn't have much hope of the bullet missing.

"It's probably a rescue," he said quickly. "From our ship. They don't take kindly to strangers kidnapping their Captain and their lead Scientist. If you... if you let her go, I can get them to stand down," he said, holding his hands in the air as he stepped closer. He wanted to be within touching range of Rachel, to try and pull her out of the path of the bullet if Curtis fired. "Please. Let her go, and give me a radio. I can make them stand down. I'm in charge - they'll listen to me."

Curtis wavered for a moment, thinking, the barrel of his gun falling from the doctor's chest. He considered the sound of gunfire in the hallways of his lab, the shouting of his men, and the echo of a second explosion from the other side of the building.

He made his decision.

"Sic semper tyrannis."

He raised his gun again, and fired.