Deep Blue Blackmail
Chapter 12
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory of Jonathan Brandis
"Don't fix a broken heart. Who really wants to forget?" (Joseph Fiennes)
"I always will remember you by real good moments." ("Real Good Moments" by Christian Wunderlich)
Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest DSV," and I am not making any money with this fanfiction. Mike Erikson is my own creation.
A big "Thank You" goes to my beta reader Jackie and everybody who reviewed.
Reviews and feedback are always welcome.
The next day, it was clear that Lucas had been really lucky and didn't have pneumonia. His headache was not as bad as before, and his fever had gone down a bit. Aside from the headache and fever, though, he felt almost the same as before.
In the afternoon Benjamin Krieg, Tim O'Neill, and Miguel Ortiz paid the youngest crew member a visit.
Lucas was sitting up in bed with the covers pulled up around him. Krieg sat on the edge of the bed while Tim made himself comfortable on the floor. Ortiz had taken the only chair and turned it around so that his arms rested on the back as he sat.
The moral officer started handing everyone a pen and piece of paper. "The game is simple. Each of us picks a famous person and writes the person's name on the paper without letting the others see."
O'Neill looked at Krieg skeptically. "What's your idea of famous?"
"You know, some kind of athlete, politician, actor, something like that. It just has to be somebody who we all know." Ben glanced quickly at the teen. "That means no scientist we've never heard of, and that includes famous hackers."
Lucas grinned. "Don't worry, I've played this game before." They could clearly hear that the boy still had a sore throat.
"Good. Anyway, we mix up the papers and then one of us has to draw one, but it's very important that the one who draws doesn't see what's written on it. Then, someone else will take the paper and stick it to the forehead of the person who drew so that person can't see what it says."
Tim's eyes got big. "Stick it to the forehead?"
Krieg held up a roll of tape. "Don't worry, it's just scotch tape. Anyway, the person with the piece of paper on their forehead has to figure out who he is. To do that, he has to ask questions, but they can only be yes or no questions. Everybody got that?"
Miguel and Lucas nodded. O'Neill, on the other hand, didn't seem to be getting it. "Not really."
The supply officer just waved his hand. "No problem, you'll understand when we start playing. So, let's try and think of somebody famous."
About a minute later, everybody had written something down and had thrown their papers in Lucas's baseball cap. They mixed them up, and Ortiz drew the first paper. Ben took the paper from him and stuck it on Miguel's forhead with the tape.
The teenager grinned when he saw what was written on it. He was positive that Krieg had written this. Tim was surprised. You could do that?
Miguel glanced at each person in turn. "Am I male?"
The others shook their heads in unison.
"Okay, that means I'm female. Am I some kind of famous sport star?"
"No."
"Musician?"
Again, they shook their heads. "No."
The Cuban thought for a moment. "Have I been on TV?"
"Yes."
"Am I regularly seen on TV?"
The others looked at each other questioningly. They couldn't really answer that with a simple yes or no. Ben decided that it was okay to say a little bit more. "No, not at the moment."
Miguel nodded. "Okay, that means that there was a time when I was regularly on TV."
"Yes," said Tim.
Ortiz smiled. "That was more of a note to self than a question, but thanks for the answer." He paused a moment to think. "Did I have my own talk show or gameshow or anything like that?"
Lucas shook his head while reaching for a tissue. "No."
"Did I have my own TV show at all?"
The blond boy nodded and decided to give him a little bit more. "Yeah, as well."
Ben looked darkly at the teen. "Hey, why don't you just tell him who he is?"
The computer genius rolled his eyes. The pain in his sinuses had lessened a bit during the night, but the pains in his ear had gotten worse. "I think we should keep this whole thing fair. He really has a hard one. A little 'as well' won't hurt."
Miguel decided to continue asking questions. "Did I also star in a movie?"
O'Neill nodded. "Yes."
"More than one movie?"
"Yes."
Ortiz was thinking very hard about this. "Was there anything else besides the TV show or the movie?"
"No."
"Anything else outside the TV?"
Ben and Tim looked at each other and shrugged. Lucas, however, was nodding. He had just seen this on an online auction. "Yes."
"Books?" Miguel could clearly remember that there were a lot of TV shows that spawned books, and vice versa.
"I have to admit that I don't know for sure, but it's very possible," said the teen thoughtfully.
Ortiz scratched his head. "That means that there still has to be something else I've done." He thought again. "Music?" After all, there where a lot of actors who also tried their hands at singing.
They all shook with their heads. "No."
"Can't you guys give me a hint of some kind? Otherwise I'll never get this." The Cuban man said pleadingingly.
Tim looked a bit befuddled. "That's okay." After all, neither he nor Ben had any idea what the teen had been talking about.
Lucas nodded. "The other place you've been seen is on paper."
"Paper, paper…" Ortiz was thinking very hard. "Comics!"
The blond boy nodded. "Yes."
Miguel nodded. "Great, I'm Spiderman!"
"No," the computer genius smiled. "Remember, you're female."
"Oh, right... Wonder Woman?"
Again the teen shook his head. "No."
"Bat-Girl?" he asked almost timidly.
"No." O'Neill wrinkled his forehead. "Did Bat-Girl have a TV show?"
Krieg nodded. "I think so, but i think it was only a cartoon show." Then he turned back to Ortiz once more. "Don't think too much about comics, the TV show and movies are more important."
"Okay," sighed Ortiz. "I feel like you're messing with me, mostly because you looked so strange when we started playing. I'm starting to believe that I don't really exist."
"What do you mean?" asked Tim.
"I could be a cartoon character, or something like that. Like Daisy Duck or Minnie Mouse."
The others shook their heads. "No."
O'Neill felt sorry for Ortiz and decided to take pity on him. He really hoped that he wouldn't get such a difficult person. "But stay on that track."
The supply officer shot the lieutenant an angry look but didn't say anything.
"Am I a puppet? You know, like on 'Sesame Street'?" asked Miguel.
"No."
For a moment Ortiz was silent. What did puppets and cartoon characters have in common… Suddenly he got an idea. "Am I an animal?"
The others smiled and nodded. "Yes!"
The dark-haired man sighed. "Great, it's not like there are that many TV shows or movies with animals in them." The others could only smile at that. "Is the show at least named after me?"
"Yes."
"Good, that means I have the leading role." Again the Cuban was silent as he tried to think about it all. He was an animal that had a TV show that was named after him, and there had also been movies. And comics - that was his clue! Comics were only associated with very old shows, not with new stuff. Now he just had to figure out what kind of show, and then he would knew who he was.
To Be Continued…
Any ideas who Miguel is?
Written 2005 / Translated Spring 2006