In Too Deep – Chapter Three
Tense silence followed the menacing threat. Virgil lay on the floor pinned down; Jake practically sat on his chest, whilst the other two held his arms.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
And if it weren't for the fact that his breathing was coming in such uneven gasps, Virgil would have argued that no one breathed either. He met Jake's icy glare and held it, trying to assess his attacker as much as Jake was trying to assess him.
The silence continued before Jake leant forward, enjoying the undeniable discomfort Virgil felt. He idly played with the scalpel on his captive's skin, letting the sharp blade slide from one side of Virgil's throat to the other in a playful, almost lazy, motion. When Virgil took in an instinctive sharp breath, Jake smiled at the result his teasing was having on his prisoner.
Virgil tried to appear calm, despite the fact that panic was starting to rise deep inside. Jake jabbed the scalpel harder against his skin and it became evident he was waiting for a reply. Virgil tried to speak but, to his surprise, found his mouth too dry. He swallowed, nervous but determined not to flinch from Jake's steely gaze.
"Okay," Virgil nodded out of habit but felt the pressure of the blade against his throat again and then stopped. "Okay," he repeated as he tried to control his rapid breathing.
Jake eyed him, a smile tugging ever so slightly at the corners of his lips. "Luke," he ordered, not turning away from Virgil. "Get his gun."
"H-His gun?" Luke asked, coughing to clear his throat.
"Yes, his gun!" Jake snapped, gesturing to Virgil's belt. Luke obliged, handing his current assignment over to Billy.
Jake's weight on his chest pinned Virgil down so he couldn't see, but he felt the item being removed. A sense of fear tingled at the base of his spine as he realised that the weapon was his only real chance at overthrowing all three of his captors. He was adamant though, having seen how satisfied Jake was at his current predicament, that he wouldn't show it and tried to appear composed.
"Are you carrying any other weapons?" Jake's gravely voice snapped him back to the present and he blinked.
Virgil shook his head, "No."
"Are there any other weapons on board?" Jake asked again.
Virgil took a few minutes to respond, licking his lips and taking his time, "No."
Jake nodded, scowling at his prisoner's unruffled front. When their eyes met again, something passed between them that left Virgil in no doubt as to just how far this hijacker would go. Jake's eyes were lifeless and cold, his gaze was hard and resolute. The only time the permanent scowl on his features lifted was when he knew he was in control.
"Should we tie him up?" Billy asked from where he still held Virgil's wrists to the floor.
Jake narrowed his eyes and then looked Virgil up and down, "No, Billy," he said coming to a decision, "we don't need to." His gaze became purposeful, "He's not stupid; he knows he could never take us, not all of us." Virgil understood the clear warning and glowered back. "He'll be a good boy," Jake smiled in a patronising tone.
Virgil sighed in relief as the scalpel pressing against his throat was removed. Jake nodded for Billy to follow suit and within seconds, Virgil's arms were free too. Letting his head fall back against the floor with a thud, the muscles in his neck and chest relaxed, and began aching straight away. Making Virgil realise just how much he'd been straining against the confinement placed on him.
"Get up," Jake ordered. "Sit over there," he gestured to one of the two red, bench seats and in his own time, Virgil complied.
"Look," Virgil sighed, "Why don't you tell me what this is about?" He looked around at the three people he'd been told were scientists and tried to appear hopeful that the situation wasn't as bad as it appeared. His heart beat echoed in his ears, a dull thud that reminded him how important it was to at least try to stay calm.
"And why don't you shut up?" Jake snapped back.
"If you tell me what this is about…" Virgil tried again but was quickly cut off.
"I said shut up!" Jake thrust a scalpel in his direction and Virgil flinched away, sitting back from the weapon. He took a few moments to survey these three people. Jake, he decided, was the leader; blond, unkempt and well built. He'd taken to pacing up and down the gap between the bench seats, breathing heavily and shaking his head. Virgil didn't doubt that he meant every word of what he'd said and concluded that he was the biggest threat. Alerted to a rhythmic tapping noise, Virgil turned his attention to the man Jake had called Luke. He was smaller, much younger than Jake was and he had darker hair too. He sat on the bench seat opposite Virgil, tapping the scalpel in his hands against the wooden support.
"What are we going to do?" Virgil's attention was drawn back to Jake, who'd been obstructed in his pacing by Billy. His appearance wasn't all that different from Jake's. His hair was unkempt, blond but slightly darker than Jake's, and the stubble on his jaw animated his vicious streak. Virgil watched them exchange a short, sharp dialogue.
Suddenly Jake turned round to face Virgil again, brandishing the scalpel. Virgil held his ground and didn't flinch but in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn Luke had. "What did they tell you about us? About who we are?"
Virgil considered the three angry but expectant faces. He chose his words with great caution; "You told us that you were scientists. Dr. Hunt told us there had been an explosion and that you were trapped down here." He would have gone on but Jake interrupted him.
"Hunt? Is he up there?" he gestured to the surface with a nod of the head.
Virgil nodded, "Yes, when I came down to get you he was up there waiting." He studied their reaction to his words, trying to work out what was going on. "I haven't actually spoken to him but my colleague said he was very concerned for you, for all his scientists."
"Concerned!" Billy laughed. He scoffed and shook his head. "He's not concerned. Well, not for us anyway, only for his precious experiments." He coughed, "And we're not scientists."
Jake grinned and turned to Billy, knocking the blond man's shoulder to get his attention. "We are his precious experiments though," he said.
Virgil frowned, "I don't understand," he looked up at the three of them in turn. "If you're not scientists, what exactly are you?"
"Not what!" All eyes turned to the dark haired young man sat opposite Virgil, who, until now, had been silent. He raised a shaky hand out to the pilot, wielding his own sharp implement. "Who!" his voice quivered every bit as much as his hand did and Virgil's frown deepened, not at all threatened. "It's not what we are, it's who we are," Luke told him, pushing the scalpel closer. "Don't group us together as if we don't matter, we do matter. We have rights and we have feelings," he spat out, the venom in his voice was surprising but nonetheless angry. "We are something," he muttered as he looked at his two companions. It seemed that they were as surprised as Virgil was at the sudden outburst.
Virgil apologised, not wanting to upset them, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that if you're not scientists, what are you doing in a research lab?"
"None of your damned business!" Billy responded, the irritation clear in his voice as he pushed Virgil back against the seat with a rough hand on his shoulder.
"It is my business if you're going to hold me …" Virgil was cut off as Jake advanced again.
"You," he began menacingly, "are asking too many questions." He leaned forward, until his nose was almost touching Virgil's. Virgil didn't let the aggressive move intimidate him and held his ground again, "You just sit there and shut up!" Jake snapped.
"What are we going to do now?" Billy asked again in the silence that followed the angry outburst.
"We're going to be quiet so I can think!" Jake growled, pushing Billy into the seat next to Luke as he went back to pacing the floor.
Virgil's gaze was drawn once more to the youngest of his three captors. In a nervous, meek gesture, Luke met his gaze and attempted a smile before Jake turned round and he looked away again. Perhaps a ray of hope in an otherwise impossible situation.
XxxxX
Lady Penelope, meanwhile, sat outside an exclusive and very expensive-looking West London restaurant in her customised pink Rolls Royce. She took the occasional sip of tea, Parker having had the forethought to bring a thermos, and made hurried notes as she listened intently to the information communicated to her through a small, concealed earpiece. Glaring up at the front seat, she tutted and shook her head in a disproving manner. The snoring emanating from the drivers seat had been tiresome to begin with, but after twenty long minutes of Parker's unsystematic grunting, it had fast become infuriating.
"Parker!" she whispered, her tone fearsome. No response came, baring another burst of incomprehensible snorting. "Parker!" she tried again, but received a similar reply.
"Oh really!" she exclaimed. Placing her cup of tea on a fold down table, she shuffled forward in her seat and placed her mouth alongside where the chauffeur's hat had fallen down to his eyes. "Parker!" she shouted in his ear.
Parker jumped in his seat, "M'Lady!" he exclaimed, righting his hat and settling behind the wheel. He took a few moments to get his bearings, "You h'err strartl'd me, M'Lady." He managed to force the words through his lips, attempting some kind of explanation.
"Of course, Parker," Penelope responded in her usual dry tone. "And I suppose your eyes were closed due to the fact you were resting them," she continued. "Am I correct?" she raised an eyebrow at him as she settled back into her seat.
"H'absolutely, M'Lady." Parker responded. "H'I was just thinkin' 'ow the 'ood does it. You know, all that telep'thy and the like," he looked at her in the rear-view mirror and saw she wasn't impressed by his cover-up.
"You were snoring, Parker," Penelope informed him in a brusque tone.
"H'again?" Parker asked, feeling remorseful and beginning to regret taking Lil out the night before.
"Again," Penelope deadpanned.
"Sorry, M'Lady," Parker bowed his head at the reprimand but lifted his eyes to look at the aristocrat through the mirror.
"Don't let it happen again," Penelope chastised. Parker thought there was more of an admonishment to come and was surprised when instead of lecturing him, Penelope returned to scribbling on her pad. "How very interesting," she muttered.
"Found something, M'Lady?" Parker asked from the front seat. He was trying to make up for his earlier misdemeanour by being extra helpful, "Should h'I put h'a call in to h'err mobile control?" Penny scowled at him from the backseat and swatted her hand about in the air, gesturing at him to be quiet.
"Well, I never…" Penelope sighed, glancing up at Parker to see him staring at her expectantly. "Oh," she replied, a little off-hand. "Conferring with the good Professor, François has turned his hand to developing a type of Penylon that regulates body heat." Parker's raised eyebrow dropped and he nodded a little, failing to see the excitement. "What an excellent addition!" She paused and pressed the concealed earpiece, "He said just a few moments ago that it has all the same qualities of Penylon, but it can also be developed for astronauts, aquanauts and even explorers. Hmm, I must remember to mention it to Jeff," she sighed, her tone dreamy. "And I wonder if François would make me a skiing suit. It does get awfully cold on the Alps this time of year, wouldn't you agree, Parker?" When she didn't receive a reply, she looked up again. "Parker?"
At the mention of his name, Parker's head snapped up from where he dozed. "Yes, M'lady?"
Penelope sighed, "Well, Professor Borender doesn't seem to be telling us what we want to know. I think that perhaps a little coercion is in order. Do you have the serum?"
"Yes, Madame," Parker nodded, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the phial.
"What a shame, I really didn't want it to come to this," Penelope pondered. "Never mind, desperate times call for desperate messages. Go ahead, Parker," she nodded, "use the serum."
"Very good, M'Lady," Parker removed his hat and left it on the dashboard. He was about to reach for the door handle when Lady Penelope stopped him.
"Hold on, Parker," she paused, listening hard, "this may be what we've been waiting for..."
XxxxX
Dr Hunt still sat on the edge of a rock a few metres away, Scott watching him fidget with the empty cup in his hands.
"How's it going, John?" he asked answering his brother's call and looking up in expectation. "Found anything yet?" John's shake of the head was the only answer he needed but he waited for his brother to expand.
"Well, not really," John replied. "I've managed to track down their birth certificates and school records but that's all," he shrugged. "I'll tell you something though, with the grades theses guys were getting…" he trailed off, shaking his head at his brother's image. " Well let's just say they weren't high achievers. They don't seem like scientist material, Scott."
Scott nodded his head in contemplation, "So, we can establish they're definitely not scientists then. If they'd gone on for post-grad education, it would be in their school record, surely."
"Ah, well," John sighed. "That's the thing, you see, because none of these reports specify where these guys went after school. It's like they just dropped off the edge of the planet or something."
Scott frowned at the comment, "Are the schools close by?"
"Nope," John shook his head. "I'm sorry, I know it's not much to go on, but it's all I've got at the minute," he bowed his head, thoroughly confused at the outcome. "The search is still going but it doesn't look too hopeful."
"Okay, well, thanks anyway, John," Scott sighed. "At least we know more than we did a few hours ago." He was deep in thought.
"Say, where's Dr. Hunt?" John asked, searching for the scientist in the background behind Scott's image.
"Oh, he's keeping his distance," Scott replied. "I think he's finally got the message that he was starting to annoy me with all his questions." He paused in thought, "Do you think maybe Cook could be telling the truth? I mean, if this is some kind of secret base, then the government would try to conceal information. They might even change records to make it appear unlikely that these guys could be scientists, y'know throw people of the scent."
John thought the idea through. "Well I guess it's possible but why would they need to do that? Five has access to information the public doesn't have. Anyone reading this data should theoretically already have government clearance."
"Yeah but how high a clearance?" Scott asked frowning. It was obvious he was unhappy about the situation. "I guess it depends on just how secret they're trying to keep this place," he pondered. "Keep at it, John," he encouraged. "I don't like the idea of Virgil being alone down there when we don't know what's going on."
"I know it's not ideal," John agreed before changing his tone, "but Virgil's a big boy, Scott. He can handle himself and it's not like he's never worked the Mole alone."
"I know all that, John," Scott's frown deepened. "I just don't like it. I've got a really bad feeling about all this." John could see his older brother was troubled and just nodded. Deep down, he understood; he wasn't pleased at the current situation himself. The mystery surrounding this rescue had been unnerving from the outset. Like Scott had said earlier, he'd be relieved when they were all on their way home.
"Have you heard from him yet?" John asked, his mind wandering as to how Virgil was getting on.
"Yeah," Scott replied, a little distracted. "I managed to get through a few minutes ago. He was back at the Mole with the scientists," he paused and muttered under his breath, "or whoever they are. I warned him that they aren't what we think, so at least he'll be on his guard now. He said he was just going to get them settled and then he'd make a start towards the surface. Has he got all the co-ordinates?"
"Yeah," John nodded. "I sent it all through together. He shouldn't need any guidance."
"Okay," Scott paused looking to another screen. "Oh, hold on, John, Lady Penelope's calling in." He pressed the appropriate buttons and soon her face appeared on his screen with John's. "Go ahead, Lady Penelope, what have you found?"
"Scott," her rich tones replied. "How's John's search progressing?"
Scott frowned at her; she had that gleam in her eye. The one where she knew something and was about to make a revelation. "Actually," Scott told her. "John's on the line with me now. He's not got very much at all. It's like these guys just disappeared."
"In that case, I think he'd better hear this too," Penelope suggested.
"Hold on," Scott reconfigured his communications settings. "Okay, go ahead."
"Hi, Penelope," John greeted.
"John," Penelope nodded in acknowledgement before diving in to her report. "I've just been listening to Sir Jeremy's conversation and he's made a rather disconcerting discovery."
"Listening how Penny? Are you there now?" John frowned.
"Well, yes I am. Parker and I are sat outside. I gave Sir Jeremy a gift earlier, one of Brains' charming little St Christophers with a microphone," she informed the two brothers, who were grinning at her intuitiveness. "Now, I've been listening from outside and it seems Professor Borender had heard about this research centre. According to what he's just told Sir Jeremy, it's a secret base controlled by government agencies. Many people dismissed it as a rumour; it's never been proved that it's ever existed. Though, you were quite correct in saying that they've been testing the effects of nuclear warfare, John, and I'm afraid to say that your acquaintance, Mr Cook, may be onto something, Scott." She continued, lowering her tone and adopting a serious frown, "Professor Borender has it on good authority that the centre does exist and, not only that, but they're testing vaccines, in the event of a nuclear war. On people. And not just any old people either…" she trailed off and met both their expectant gazes in turn, "prisoners."
"Prisoners!" John exclaimed.
Scott's head snapped up to where Dr Hunt sat and then he glared back at John, ordering him to be silent without saying a word.
"Apparently so, John," Penelope went on, "Now, I don't know very much about these three individuals however I would suggest that you'll be able to discover more now that you can narrow your search."
"Yeah, thanks, Penelope." John nodded, though not at all comfortable with her finds. "I'll get on it right away."
"Lady Penelope," Scott looked at her blankly and then sighed. "How does he know all this?" he asked, shaking his head. It didn't matter what kind of fix they managed to get themselves into, Penny and Parker had always managed to help them out. And they hadn't disappointed this time.
"Well, when it comes to research, it's in Professor Borender's interests to know what other projects are ongoing." She replied, waving a hand. "He'd dismissed the horror stories as being far-fetched spin doctoring on the part of Human Right's extremists, however, there are too many coincidences for that to be the case. I believe the testing centres the good Professor had heard rumours of and the centre in Wales are one and the same. They certainly exhibit the same characteristics."
"I see," Scott nodded, her methods never ceased to amaze him. "Good work, Penny, did you have to use the serum?" he asked, remembering her uncertainty at the idea.
"No, Scott," Penny replied with a delicate smile, "Thankfully Sir Jeremy can be quite persuasive when he needs to be." Scott smiled at her, returning the gesture, "I shall let your father know our discovery and wait for Sir Jeremy. If you would find it beneficial, I could do some detective work from here. Parker may have some contacts."
"Thanks, Penny," Scott shook his head, "But Virgil's on his way up with these guys now. If this is political, which it looks like it is, I think it's best if we just pack up and head home. We have no proof that these prisoners, or whoever, aren't volunteering their services."
"I agree, Scott," Penelope nodded, "and I'm sure your father will too. Your main priority is to save lives."
"Okay, Penny, thanks for the help."
"Not at all, Scott, it's always a pleasure," she smiled her customary elegant smile. "Lady Penelope, out."
" 'Ome M'Lady?" Parker asked from the driver's seat, as the communications console slid away.
"We shall wait for Sir Jeremy first, Parker," Penelope told him, reaching to pour herself another cup of tea. "In the meantime, I must apprise Jeff Tracy of our findings."
XxxxX
Jeff frowned as Penelope's portrait flickered back into place. Though he'd welcomed her deduction skills and any information she could find about this centre in Wales, he wasn't happy with the results. He shook his head, trying to rationalise the situation and hoped that John would be able to shed more light on it. Knowing that Scott would be expecting his call after he'd spoken to Penelope, he opened a channel to his eldest son.
He was unsurprised when Scott responded quickly, "Mobile Control, go ahead Base."
"Scott, I've just spoken with Penelope and it seems this is turning into quite a complex rescue. Has John come up with anything yet?"
"No, Father," Scott shook his head. "I did think about approaching Dr. Hunt and challenging him about it all." He knew his father would conclude it was a bad idea, as he had done himself before Jeff called, but he couldn't help but raise the thought anyway.
"Don't do that, Scott, the last thing we need is the government knowing we're aware of what's going on. And if he's working with the government, as Penny seems to think, then they're sure to find out." Jeff sighed, "We're really in a fix here but it's imperative that we don't involve ourselves with the politics of all this. We're there to save lives, Son, not to make moral judgements about what they're doing. Hell, we don't know that these prisoners haven't volunteered."
"Dad," Scott sighed, "Come on, you don't really think that do you? I mean, why the hell would you volunteer for that?"
Jeff shrugged, "If you've got nothing to live for, Scott, it might be an attractive way out. Prisons aren't easy places to survive in." He frowned at the thought, the media representation of prison life had never been flattering but over the last decade or so, it had become worse. If the media was anything to go by, prison was a hell on earth.
"Okay, then," Scott conceded, "say they volunteered." He shrugged, "Why all the secrecy? How come there's no record of any of these guys?"
"Scott, if they kept them on record and then the vaccine failed, how would they explain it?" Jeff questioned. "I doubt there's a box on the paperwork for 'death by nuclear poisoning', imagine the suspicion it'd arouse." He shook his head, discounting the question.
"Hmm," Scott nodded, his reluctance clear. He studied his father carefully. Jeff Tracy was a very intelligent man who was well aware of what was or might be going on in this kind of situation. Scott struggled to explain why his father wasn't facing facts. "I know you don't believe all this," he told Jeff with a frown.
Jeff sighed, "No, you're right, I don't," he admitted. "Truth is I think exactly what you're thinking now but we can't jump to conclusions. We have to deal with this situation on the facts we have, you know that, Scott." Jeff looked directly at his son, hoping he understood.
"Yeah," another reluctant nod coming from the field commander, "and I know we're not in a position to do anything about it."
Jeff gave his own nod of satisfaction. "Maybe after all this is over, Penny could work on changing things; she can be very influential. Rest assured, Scott, we won't just leave them to it but we can't draw attention to the fact we know what's going on and approaching Dr Hunt would be doing just that." Jeff could see his eldest son wasn't happy with the situation but in truth, neither was he. Trying to focus Scott's thoughts on the rescue, Jeff asked, "Have you heard anything from Virgil?"
Scott suddenly frowned, "He was settling his passengers…" he trailed off glancing at his watch. "But that was a good twenty minutes ago, he should be moving by now."
Jeff was surprised to see Scott's eyes widen with uncharacteristic unease. Scott had always been protective of his younger brothers, but he'd discovered the hard way that they were all men now and that he couldn't protect them all the time. Especially out on a rescue, he'd learned to trust each of them in their designated field of expertise. Jeff was taken aback by the sudden concern in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Son," Jeff assured him. "Virgil's passengers might be injured, he may need to see to them first. We were aware that they might have inhaled some smoke."
"No, Father," Scott shook his head. "I spoke to Virgil earlier, he would've told me if that was the case. I'm going to call him, see what's going on." Jeff watched him turn away from the communications window and put a call in to his brother. If he was honest with himself, Jeff was beginning to feel as anxious as Scott, more so when he saw the expression on Scott's face as he returned his attention to the screen.
"He's not answering, Father," Scott replied. "I'm going to contact John, see if the Mole's moved since I last spoke to him."
"FAB, Scott, let me know," Jeff signed off. Heaving a sigh and shaking his head, he glanced up at Virgil's portrait. Then, taking a deep breath, he began the customary ritual of reminding himself that they'd been in worse situations than this before and had come out of them okay.
XxxxX
"Mole from Mobile Control," Scott's voice crackled through the speakers. "This is Mobile Control, respond."
Virgil swallowed and looked up to Jake, he noticed small beads of perspiration on the blond man's brow and awaited some kind of response from him. Jake just paced up and down, aware of Virgil's stare of anticipation but ignoring it.
"Mole from Mobile Control," Scott repeated, "Come in, Virgil."
"Virgil, huh?" Jake heaved a sigh, looking directly at his prisoner. "Well, we don't want your friends getting worried, you'd better get back to him."
"Look, what is it you want?" Virgil asked, frowning as he returned Jake's gaze. He kept his tone low and steady so as not to appear obstinate. Jake didn't reply and Virgil pushed further, hoping that his captor might explain a few things. "If you tell me what this is about, I might be able to help."
"We want our freedom back, can you help us with that?" Jake replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "We want to feel the sun on our backs and breathe fresh air again."
Virgil was thoroughly confused, "Why don't you tell me what's going on here?" he asked. He looked at the other two in turn, hopeful that he might get a response when Jake failed to deliver.
Billy leant forward, "We're not scientists," he sighed. "We're criminals." He paused only to look up at Virgil, expectant of some kind of response. Virgil sported a blank expression on purpose and waited for Billy to go on, "The government use this base to test vaccines on us. You see, we're the undesirables, no one notices if we go missing." His tone was bitter, and Virgil frowned at the anger in his voice. "They transfer us from one prison to another until we're lost in the system; it's called dispersal. That's when they take us out and bring us to this hell hole. They make their choices carefully, only take those of us with no family or regular visitors. They're not stupid and they know what they're doing." He shook his head, "As soon as you come through those doors, your life ends. You're stuck down here being prodded and poked like guinea pigs." He met Virgil's gaze and told him sincerely, "They carry out tests, and if you're lucky and you survive the tests and the vaccines. Then you get to do it all over again until you're not so lucky."
Jake stepped forward, ready to take over the tale. The anger in his eyes was almost tangible, "It's not pretty," he lifted his shirt up, revealing a diagonal scar from his breast bone right down to his waistline. "See this?" Virgil met his gaze and his eyes moved to the ugly scar before he nodded. "They did this," he shook his head again. "Show him Luke," he ordered.
The younger man's head snapped up at the mention of his name. "Jake…" he trailed off, reluctant to do as the older man was commanding. "He believes us," he turned to Virgil, "don't you?" he asked.
Virgil didn't have time to reply; he opened his mouth but Jake spoke over him. "I said show him, now show him!" he bellowed.
With obvious uncertainty, Luke took the scalpel he held and placed it in his right hand, he then held his left hand out in the space between the two bench seats. His hand shook with such vigour that it was uncontrollable and Virgil looked up at him in surprise, wondering how much of it was the stresses of the current situation.
"They were testing vaccines for nerve gas, there was an accident," Luke told him. "The shakes are one of the side effects of inhaling the gas," he shrugged. "The limbs are always the worse affected," he explained with a gentle tone. He paused and realised Virgil was staring at his trembling hand. Bringing his right hand up, he grasped his left hand and steadied it, bring it back to rest in his lap.
"It's all for the good of humanity. It'll help us to pay back the debt we owe to society," Billy growled. "That's what they keep telling us but we never got a choice, what if we don't want to pay back our debt to society? No-one asked us if we minded being used as guinea pigs," he waved a hand in anger. "And there are flaws in the system too." He nodded towards Luke again, "Luke's got a kid, it's not fair on him to be here, just because they never visited and he's not registered as the father. We might be scum to them, because we're criminals, but we don't deserve this, we have rights."
Virgil sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. He looked up at Luke and then to the other two before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You believe us, don't you?" Luke asked, apprehension in his voice. He watched Virgil, taking in his every move with caution.
Virgil sighed a second time, "I do…" he looked Luke in the eye before shaking his head and letting the sentence trail off.
"But…" Jake finished for him.
"But," Virgil repeated, "I don't understand how all this happened. If it's as bad as you say, then why hasn't the government been informed of what's going on? Maybe if you went to them, they could help you," he suggested. "It'd do you more good than all this," he waved a hand gesturing to their surroundings.
"You don't get it, do you?" Jake shook his head, and then reached out to clap Luke's shoulder. "What did I tell you? I knew he wouldn't understand," he turned back to Virgil. Kneeling in front of him so that their eyes were level, Jake scoffed, "The government is behind all this. The bureaucrats are not going to do anything to stop it. What do they care if a few criminals are killed off? In fact, it's better for them, more scum off the streets, and the taxpayers aren't funding our life in prison, they win whichever way you look at it."
"So, why didn't you tell us all this in the first place?" Virgil frowned, "Why lie to us?"
"And risk you not coming at all?" Billy scoffed and leant forward, his lank hair fell into his eyes. "No way," he smoothed the strands back. "Can you honestly say you'd have still come down here to rescue us?"
"It wouldn't have been like that," Virgil assured them. "We don't discriminate, of course we would still have come." He looked around, "Haven't you just swapped one type or prison for another?"
"No," Billy replied. "You're our ticket out of here. We're going to get our freedom and we're going to tell the whole world about Hunt and what he's been doing." He looked across to Jake, "Tell him, Jake," he nodded. "Tell him what he's got to do."
Jake looked up at Billy, coming to a decision, he sat down alongside Virgil on the bench seat. Virgil's attention was drawn to the scalpel in his hands but he held Jake's gaze, waiting for the older blond man to explain. "You're going to get on to your mate up there," he gestured to the surface. "You said Dr Hunt was up there," Jake stated. "We want him to go to the newspapers and tell them what he's been doing and we want it published. By a well-known reporter too, someone we recognise, so that everyone can read it."
Billy nodded with enthusiasm, "Yeah," he agreed, "Then the whole world will know what they've been doing to us."
Virgil nodded, that was an understandable request, he thought. He waited for Jake to continue, "And …" Jake breathed deeply and bit his lips, still formulating their demands, "and we want a plane." He nodded to himself, "Yeah, we want a plane with a full tank of fuel."
"What kind of plane?" Virgil asked. When Jake glared at him, he defended himself, "They'll ask me, I need to know."
"Billy?" Jake asked, "What'll be easiest for you to fly?"
"Me?" Billy raised his eyebrows and pushed a hand against his chest. "Me, fly?" he asked astounded.
"Yeah, you," Jake frowned at him. "You told me you'd got a pilot's licence and that you'd flown before, when you were in the Navy." He didn't go any further when Billy started shaking his head in disagreement.
"No, not me. I haven't got a pilot's licence."
"You told me you had," Jake glared at his companion. His eyes widening and his face reddening, he pointed at the younger man in anger. "You said you'd flown before!"
"Well, I didn't mean I'd actually flown…" Billy shrugged and shuffled around in an awkward fashion. "Just this once when…"
Virgil watched them bicker and risked a glance towards Luke. The younger chocolate haired man was rolling his eyes. He raised his voice above the current squabbling, "Okay! Billy, can you or can't you fly a plane?"
Billy looked round the confines of the Mole and at Jake's angry glare before nodding, though his indecision was lucid. "Yeah," he paused. "Yeah, of course I can," he said, becoming a little more sure. "I'll be fine."
"You'd better!" Jake scoffed, "I don't want to escape from here only for you to kill us in some bloody plane!" He got to his feet again and began to pace, muttering angry comments. "So?" he asked Billy, "What plane?"
"Oh, err, I want something I'm familiar with," Billy looked towards Virgil, "Tell them it has to be a K40 jet."
Virgil frowned, "A K40 jet?" he asked in surprise. Billy's aviation knowledge must have been non-existent for him to request one of them; they had limited fuel capacity.
Jake picked up on Virgil's surprise, "What's so amazing about that?" he asked. His voice was rising in anger as he spoke and Virgil shook his head in a defensive gesture. "Do you know about planes? Are you a pilot?"
Virgil swallowed, knowing that if he told the truth he would be ordered to fly the plane so he shook his head. "No, I just umm … I heard about them that's all."
"Heard what about them?" Jake asked, taking menacing steps towards Virgil.
"Oh y'know…" Virgil bluffed, shrugging at Jake's fiery gaze. "Just heard the name mentioned back at base." He watched Jake nod, relieved that his captor seemed to have accepted his lies.
"Tell them the plane's got to have a full tank of fuel," said Jake, continuing to make demands, jabbing a finger in Virgil's direction. "And the whole area should be clear. If there's any police or government organisations up there when we get to the surface, then we'll kill you." He took the time to glare at Virgil and held the scalpel up threateningly, "I mean it."
Virgil took in the menacing look and the steady hand with which he held the scalpel. He didn't doubt Jake meant it. He never had. Jake took his nod as a sign to continue.
"The plane's not to be tracked and we're not to be followed, you understand?" Jake bellowed, waiting for another confirmation nod from Virgil. "You tell him that until our demands are met, we're staying down here."
Virgil licked his lips, "How long are you planning to stay down here?"
"Well that depends on whether your friends up there hurry up and get what we ask for," Billy told him, nudging him in the ribs.
Luke frowned, "Why?" he asked, contemplative of why Virgil would ask.
Virgil was pleased to see that at least Luke seemed to understand the practicalities of what they were doing. "Because this machine is a sealed unit, there's an air recycler that works off oxygen tanks but it won't last forever." Virgil began, explaining that the idea wasn't very realistic. "And it's hardly designed for long term accommodation. The recycler only re-uses air from within this cabin. We have no access to fresh air because outside of these doors, the air is contaminated with smoke."
"So, are you saying we're going to suffocate, if we don't surface?" Billy asked, his brow pulling together as he spoke.
There were a few moments where Virgil gave a grave nod. Silence followed as the other three tried to comprehend the enormity of what their hostage had just told them. After a few moments, Jake threw his head back and gave a raucous laugh.
"I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!" he exclaimed before looking at the concerned expressions his companions sported. He snorted in disbelief, "Oh, come on! You don't believe him, surely!" He shook his head in disgust, "There are submarines that go for months without surfacing. Don't tell me International Rescue haven't thought of a way round this one! It's just a ploy to get us to surface."
"Yeah, of course it is," Billy nodded, though cast an uncertain glance at Virgil. "We're not stupid you know," he added. "Don't take us for fools," he glared.
"Wait!" Luke looked between them and then back at Virgil. "What if he's telling the truth? Why would he lie?"
"Luke!" Jake exclaimed, "Don't be naïve! If we surface, there are probably a hundred of them," he gestured to Virgil, "just waiting to ambush us!"
"Ambush us!" Luke shook his head, "Listen to yourself, you're getting paranoid!"
Jake suddenly thrust his knife in Luke's face, "Don't you dare speak to me like that!"
Surprised that his attackers would turn on each other, Virgil spoke up in an effort to prevent Jake from doing some damage. "Let me show you," he said quickly, glancing between the two. "I told you already, this machine isn't designed for long term accommodation, I can show you how much air we have left."
Jake turned and looked at him his eyes conveying his scepticism, "Okay," he said. "Get up," he gestured for Virgil to move and raised his weapon. Slowly, and trying to appear as defensive as possible, Virgil lead the way over to one of the control consoles and took a seat. "Don't try anything," Jake warned. Virgil swallowed as he felt Jake's looming presence behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, sensing the scalpel was close by.
Virgil pushed the appropriate buttons and retrieved the relevant information, "The computer calculates that with four of us in here and the air recycler working at full capacity, we have approximately…" he paused, waiting for the figures to appear. "Twenty two hours and seven minutes of air left." He finished.
Jake sighed and swiped a hand over his brow. "Well then your little friends had better hurry up, hadn't they?" he said sarcastically. "Get over there and make the call," he motioned towards the other console, which Virgil had used earlier to contact his brother. "Tell them they have twenty two hours from now to meet our demands."
Virgil frowned. He took in a deep breath and looked up at Jake, aware that the scalpel the blond man held was still close to his throat. "You don't understand. In twenty two hours, the air will be un-breathable; we'll be dead. We need to surface before then."
Jake leaned forward until his mouth was alongside Virgil's ear, "I said twenty two hours," he husked. "You see…Virgil," his grin became malicious, "if your mates up there don't deliver, or if they call in outside help, I'll kill you." He shook his head and laughed, placing the scalpel in his hand against Virgil's windpipe, he turned to look his prisoner in the eye, "You think I won't," he stated. "I can see it in your eyes, but you'll learn. You think we need you to take us back to the surface?" he enquired, his eyebrow raised. "We don't."
"We don't?" Billy asked, from the bench seats behind them, as surprised at the revelation as Virgil was.
"No, we don't." Jake stated firmly, "If this goes wrong, one of two things is going to happen to us. At best, we can look forward to life imprisonment but worse case scenario, we'll end up in another 'research centre'," he screwed his face up. "Now, I don't know about you boys but to me, suddenly suffocation sounds quite appealing." Virgil saw the other two nod out the corner of his eye, and Billy responded in the affirmative. "Right," Jake sighed. "Now put that call in to your mate."
Reluctantly Virgil leant forward and reached a hand out to the headset he'd used before, "Uh uh," Jake responded. Adding pressure to where the scalpel rested against Virgil's neck, he leant forward and grasped the headset, "You didn't use this before, not to begin with."
Virgil swallowed, finding his mouth bone dry, "Mole from Mobile Control…" he said into the radio. Half of him prayed that Scott wouldn't answer but the other half needed the reassurance that his older brother would stop at nothing to get to him. He was about to try again when Scott responded, his live image appearing on the screen in front of them.
"Virgil!" Scott exclaimed, "About time! It's been nearly half an hour, I was starting to get…" he trailed off as he saw the expression on his brother's face. "What is it?" he asked, "What's wrong?" The scalpel Jake had pressed to Virgil's throat wasn't completely visible on the screen, but Scott's attention was drawn by it glinting in the artificial light.
Virgil swallowed, meeting Scott's gaze and holding it, "We've got a problem…"