Author: Milady Dragon
Disclaimer: as usual, I don't own anything
Author's note: Thanks once more to all my wonderful readers!
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Cameron jaunted back to the Lab, her heart in her shoes.
What had possessed House to go to Intellex?
Even as she asked herself that question, she knew the answer: because he hadn't trusted them. Hadn't trusted her.
It was like a physical blow to the gut.
She stepped down off the jaunting pad, holding the matter transporter belt in her hands so tightly her knuckles were white. Her feet took her to the link table, and she sank down into a chair. She gently placed the belt in the center of the table, looking at it as if she could make its wearer appear in front of her. Why couldn't he have just let them handle the situation, instead of running head-first into danger?
But then, that was House: he always did what he thought was right, and damn the consequences. However, this time he wasn't facing censure from Cuddy and the hospital board; he was facing death. Had even considered that when he'd left for Intellex? Had he thought what would happen if he confronted Andrew Greer, and the CFO turned out to be involved? House was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. What had he been thinking?
Cameron buried her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but forced the tears back. House was her responsibility. She'd been the one who'd "betrayed" her fellow Tomorrow People to him, who'd told him all their secrets in the belief that, in telling him, she was helping a dear friend. If she'd only had the imagination to come up with some sort of story to explain her presence in the ICU that night! If only she'd had the courage to give up this life, to embrace her Homo Superior heritage once more and to take John out of the hospital when she'd had the chance! Yes, it might have caused more questions, but in the end everything would have calmed down. Life would have gone back to normal.
All except Allison Cameron's.
Well, it was time to stop second-guessing herself, and to do something about the trouble House had quite possibly gotten himself into. She raised her head, scrubbing her eyes of the last of the abortive tears.
To find Elizabeth looking at her.
"Oh!" In her misery, she'd completely forgotten that the older woman was even there, in the Lab.
"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked concernedly.
Cameron debated how she was going to answer that. She knew she couldn't lie, that Elizabeth would catch her in it.
She hadn't changed at all since the last time Cameron had seen her, all those years ago on Venara Prime. Well, maybe she was a little grayer, but her grace and authority hadn't diminished in the slightest. Her dark skin was unlined, her kind dark eyes filled with intelligence and empathy. And right now those eyes were aimed in Cameron's direction.
"No," Cameron confessed. She explained to Elizabeth what had occurred, and where House had gone.
"That wasn't the smartest thing he could have done," Elizabeth said dryly.
"He thought he was doing the right thing," Cameron found herself defending House, even though she, herself, had thought the exact same thing.
"I didn't mean to insult your friend, Allison."
Cameron sighed. "I know. I'm sorry." She didn't bother pointing out that House wasn't really a friend.
"Don't apologize. It does you credit that you stand up for him." Elizabeth took a seat at the link table with her. "I take it the others don't know yet?"
"Right. House is my responsibility."
"What do you intend to do?"
She considered. "Well, I want to learn all I can about Intellex, then I'll see about coming up with a plan to rescue him."
"If he needs rescuing. Have you considered that he might come out on his own, and unscathed?"
No, Cameron hadn't considered that.
"Certainly, these people won't want to draw any more attention to themselves than they already have. They could simply deny the charge and let him leave."
"Elizabeth," Tim reported, "Dr. House has been in the Intellex facility for over two hours now. And, according to what security information I have been able to access, the only record of him even entering the building was through the front gate. Everything else seems to have been purged from the mainframe. Unfortunately, it appears that my presence within the computer itself has been detected, and I can no longer gain entry into any area of the mainframe."
Cameron hadn't thought it was possible for her heart to sink any further, but she'd been wrong. She'd been counting on Tim's help in getting into the facility to rescue House.
"I have, however," the computer continued, "been able to find out quite a bit about Intellex in the time I did have access, and what there is, is very interesting."
"Go ahead, Tim." Maybe there'd be something useful, after all.
"I shall, of course, skip the information that is not pertinent to our investigation."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said dryly.
"You're most welcome," he answered, just as dryly. "Apparently, Intellex has been adapting alien technology for the last ten years. Most of its most important discoveries have come from reverse engineering various dubious acquisitions it has somehow gained in that time. Five major government contracts and eight civilian advances can be directly linked to this process."
Cameron actually whistled. "How are they getting it, Tim? Were you able to find that out?"
"In a way, Allison. I have learned that the company responsible for selling the stolen technology to Intellex is called Aranis, Incorporated, and is based in Chicago, Illinois. I did manage to uncover records of such transactions, along with the amounts paid. It totals three million, five hundred thousand and ten American dollars."
Cameron whistled again. "But they'd most likely have made that back one hundred fold."
"And more, Allison. They have become quite wealthy indeed."
"I can imagine," Elizabeth said. "I'll speak with my contacts in the Federation Security Forces, and have them investigate this Aranis, Incorporated. It's quite illegal to traffic in alien technology on closed worlds."
"That's all fine and good," Cameron snapped, "but that doesn't help me get to House!"
Elizabeth laid a hand on her shoulder, and calming waves flowed into Cameron from the contact. She sighed, slumping slightly. "I'm sorry, Tim."
"Being upset is natural, Allison. There is no need to apologize."
"Still…please, go on."
"I do have information that may, indeed, aid in our rescue of Dr. House," he went on. "I have been researching the actual buildings themselves, and have discovered some interesting inconsistencies in their construction."
Now, that did interest Cameron. She sat up a little straighter. "What do you mean?"
"Please look at the main scanner." A 3-D schematic of the Intellex complex appeared on the screen. "The grounds themselves are unremarkable. There are three buildings in total: the main building, where the offices of the important staff and board members are located; a services building, that houses the mainframe, the principle generator, and general equipment; and the research and development area, which was, of course, where the explosion took place." He illuminated each in turn. "Now, there is nothing at all remarkable about the first two buildings…at least not as I have been able to find out. However, the research building has proven most interesting." The first two areas vanished, and the aforementioned structure took up the entire screen. Tim had reconstructed it: it had had three stories, and resembled an ordinary office block on the outside. "Now, according to the original architectural plans, the ground floor was made up of offices, while the first and second floors were laboratories." He showed each floor in turn, turning the schematic in various directions to better display the layout. "I have researched the company that was contracted to build the entire facility, and these are the plans that were on file in their own computers. However, when I compared the actual structure with the materiel that was used in its construction, I find a discrepancy of nearly two times the amount in the final totals."
"Wait a minute," Cameron interrupted. "Are you saying they used twice as much supplies as they should have?"
"That is exactly what I am saying."
"How is that possible, Tim?" Elizabeth wanted to know.
"I am not finished detailing my discoveries, Elizabeth. Once I am done, perhaps you can draw the same conclusion I have done."
"I think you just like to keep us in suspense."
"I can assure you, that is not my intention." Despite the denial, Tim sounded decidedly smug.
"Just get on with it!" Cameron demanded, then added, "please," knowing the computer would always respond better to politeness.
"I shall. While I was checking on the actual construction company itself, I attempted to track other contractors involved. I found that a company called Clarke's Excavating was hired to dig for the foundation work. However, this company appears to have gone out of business six years ago. I was able to pull the work permit information from the County Recorder's Office. It appears that the permit called for four areas to be excavated: the buildings, or course; and for an underground garage."
Cameron thought back. "But it has just the usual parking lot!"
"Precisely."
"So, you're saying Intellex paid to have a whacking great hole dug in the ground?"
"I believe that is what I said."
She sat back, chewing the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. Add that with the doubling of the building material for the Research and Development wing… "There's an underground complex somewhere on the site."
"That is the conclusion I came to, as well."
"That's incredible!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
Cameron had to agree. To have built such a place – and to have gone to the trouble of covering it up like that – smacked of more paranoia than she would have thought was called for.
Then she thought back, to the night that she and House – along with Paul and Elena – had gone exploring the ruined facility…
"We heard a noise," she said aloud.
"What was that, Allison?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Tim," she looked up at the computer, "you remember the night we went to the Intellex complex?'
"Of course I do," the biotronic computer answered.
"And you remember me telling you that House and I had heard a noise in the section we were in?"
"I do indeed. I scanned the area, and found nothing."
"Well," she mused, " what if it wasn't a person? What if whatever we were hearing was coming from that underground area?"
Tim was silent as he pondered her question. "I no longer have access to the security network even in that area, so I cannot confirm your hypothesis. However, I did re-task our Watchdog Seven satellite to scan the area when the explosion first occurred, in order to discover the cause. I could not find out anything, but I can rescan the area now to search for any anomalous readings."
"Please Tim, do it."
There was a pause, while he did ask he was bid. "I have turned Watchdog Seven back toward the complex now. I shall inform you when I have received the updated information."
"Thank you, Tim." Cameron sighed. If she weren't living in this situation, she would have claimed it to be the plot of some weird B-movie.
"Allison," he replied softly, "even if there is, indeed, a hidden base under the main Intellex complex, I will not be able to jaunt you within."
"I know." Tim needed to have reliable coordinates in order to help with a jaunt, and a Tomorrow Person couldn't teleport somewhere they hadn't seen without that aid. "I'll just have to find a way in on my own."
"What are planning?" Elizabeth asked. "As if I didn't know."
Cameron sighed again. "I'm planning on going in and trying to find House. And I'm willing to bet he's in this underground area."
"You'll need help."
"No." She shook her head. "House is my responsibility. I'm the reason he's even involved. I won't put anyone else in danger."
"So you keep saying. But you're willing to rush headlong into a situation you know nothing about?"
"When haven't we done that?" Cameron laughed harshly.
The older woman rolled her eyes in a very credible – yet unconscious – imitation of John. "That's not what I meant, Allison, and you know it."
"It has to be me alone, and not just because I inadvertently put House in this situation. If the hospital board decides to take House off John's case, he's going to need the three of you to get him out of there."
"He'll only need Paul and Elena if it comes down to bringing him here that quickly," Elizabeth pointed out. "I was only here as the driver, remember? We won't need one if they have to transport him directly from his room."
Cameron looked at her. Elizabeth was so stern, standing there with her arms crossed over her chest…in that second, she was reminded of John, and his implacable stubbornness. That was only natural that some of John's mannerisms would have rubbed off on her, she supposed; John and Elizabeth had known each other for at least thirty years.
The elder TP cocked her head, looking puzzled. "Why are you smiling?"
"Honestly? For a split second you looked just like John does when he knows he's right and the rest of us are wrong."
Elizabeth laughed. "Promise me, if I ever do that again, you'll slap me?"
Cameron joined her in laughing. "I promise."
"I have some further information," Tim interrupted.
"Let's have it," Cameron requested, sobering.
"Watchdog Seven has detected a small heat source not far from where you and Dr. House heard that inexplicable noise. It had been previously hidden from sensors by the cooling remains of the original explosion."
"Heat source?" Cameron asked. "Do you know what's causing it?"
"Without further information, I can only hypothesize."
"Please do."
Tim paused. "I would have to say it is some sort of exhaust port or heat exchange vent."
"That would make sense," Elizabeth said. "Any underground complex would need to dispose of excess heat, and it can't in the same way a normal building does."
"Then I should say that's my way in," Cameron answered. "Thank you, Tim."
"You're most welcome, Allison. I would like to point out that, without any more data on the actual structure, I would not be able to help you."
She was touched by his concern. "I understand. But I think Elizabeth and I will be able to handle it."
The other woman smiled, nodding. "I think you're right, Allison."
Cameron returned the smile. She suddenly felt confident that they might actually pull this off.
They might be able to get House out of danger...and to finally get some answers.