Chapter Sixteen
In his office in the main building on the sprawling G.I. Joe base, Duke sat at his desk reading over various intelligence reports that had been forwarded to him regarding current Cobra activity. Halfway through the file, the blonde man found a report from Main Frame, the computer specialist following Duke's orders to trace all of Rebecca Chambers' computer usage and outside telephone calls. Scanning the list, the hard-eyed Joe field commander noticed that the civillian doctor had been communicating with her collegues at the CDC on a regular basis, which he didn't find to be unusual under the circumstances.
As he sat looking over the list, the phone on his desk began to ring, the sound shrill in the otherwise silent room. Without looking away from the report, Duke reached for the phone on the desk next to him and put the handset to his ear. "Duke, here."
"Ah, Duke. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
The papers dropped from the blonde's hand and he sat up in his chair. "Who is this?"
"You don't recognize me? I'm hurt." There was a soft chuckle. "But no matter. Who I am is not important at the moment. What is important is that you know I work for the same organization as Doctor Chambers. I have been kept up to date on the good Lieutenant's progress, and I'm afraid I simply won't be able to allow him to remain in your care."
Duke had, in fact, recognized the voice as the mysterious caller who had contacted him not long before Lifeline had discovered that Devil Dog had been infected with an Umbrella parasite. Dial Tone had tried to trace the call, but had come back with some small bar in Tijuana. He had reported to Duke that there was more than likely a random shunt in the phoneline, making it almost impossible to trace the call back to its actual source. It had frustrated the blonde to no end, and that frustration came back full-force now.
"Is that so?" the Joe field commander replied.
"Quite." The voice became icy. "There will an agent from STRATCOM's anti-Umbrella division coming to see you soon. His name is Bruce McGivern. He is to take custody of Lieutenant Coen."
"I don't think so," Duke's tone was just as cold. "People just don't walk on to my base."
"I would rather settle this amiably, Duke," The voice went on. "A bio-weapon such as Lieutenant Coen must be treated, if possible, and liquidated if not. You know the risks as well as I do. We cannot afford another Raccoon City."
The blonde's jaw tightened. Although the Joes had not been part of the force that had destroyed the infected city, Duke had heard about it first hand from some of those who had been. The look in the eyes of those soldiers as they had talked about the horrors they had seen had been more than enough to send a shiver down the big man's spine. "Without authorization from my commanding officer, I'm not releasing Devil Dog into anyone's custody."
"I would expect a call from him shortly," the voice went on. "Good day, Duke." And with that, the line went dead.
Duke let out a frustrated growl and he slammed the phone's handset back onto it's cradle. The look in his blue eyes enough to freeze water into ice. Lifting his wrist, the blonde flicked on his wrist communicator. "Mutt?"
"Mutt here, Duke." came the response a few beats later.
"I want you to locate Doctor Chambers."
"Right away," the K9 specialist replied.
"I want her in my office, on the double."
Edwin was in his small office in the Infirmary, sitting at his desk and seemingly staring off into space. The medic was still quite conflicted after hearing from Duke that Rebecca had, in the blonde's words, sold Devil Dog down the river to a group called STRATCOM – a group that the young doctor was apparently a part of as well.
Duke had of course promptly had Rebecca hauled into his office after he had received a phone call that had all but ordered him to turn custody of Billy Coen over to a STRATCOM agent who would be arriving at The Pit in a few days. Lifeline didn't know exactly what had happened between Duke and Rebecca, only that it had been quite loud and had resulted in the young woman being virtually confined to her quarters, unable to leave without a pre-arranged escort.
Billy himself had taken the news rather calmly. Too calmly, Edwin thought. He had said nothing, only merely nodded his head at Duke, who had come down to the containment lab personally to inform the Marine. Afterwards, Billy had merely turned away and retreated to his bed, sitting down on the edge of it without saying a word.
Though Rebecca had tried to warn Lifeline that something like this might happen, Edwin still couldn't help feeling slightly betrayed by the young woman. She alone knew about the hidden relationship between the medic and Devil Dog, as well as having acted as a sympathetic ear for both men, the two expressing their feelings and fears to her individually. As he sat there in his office, Edwin couldn't quell the fear that once the Marine was delivered into the STRATCOM agent's hands, the medic might never see Billy Coen again.
Bruce McGivern was used to people not being happy to see him. He suspected sometimes that's why he got assigned to the missions he did. Because he didn't care if people were happy to see him or not. And this assignment, he knew, was one of the most unique he had been given. All he knew was that he was to take custody of one Lieutenant William Coen, and the two doctors who had been in charge of caring for him. Doctor Chambers he knew, but the other was an unknown quantity.
Walking beside Mutt and a few MPs, Bruce's posture was casual, his expression unconcerned for his escort as he was ushered into a spartan and spotless office, his eyes falling on Duke and Rebecca. The young doctor was standing, the two chairs that were normally placed in front of Duke's desk for visitors, mysteriously missing. The Joe field commander himself was seated behind his desk, his back straight, his icy blue eyes immediately falling on Bruce as he passed through the doorway. Without a word, the MPs and Mutt saluted their commanding officer before departing, the K9 specialist closing the door as he exited the room. If the situation bothered Bruce, it didn't show. "I'll assume from the pomp and circumstance, and the matching death glare, that you're probably Duke," he said.
The big man neither confirmed nor denied his identity. "You are?"
The man tossed a small envelope on Duke's desk. "Agent Bruce McGivern, STRATCOM," he replied, his accented voice lilting softly. "I was told you'd be expecting me." Duke glanced down momentarily at the envelope before turning his blue eyes back to the agent. "I'm under orders to bring back the bio-weapon, as well as Doctor Chambers, and whichever other medic was in charge of his case," Bruce went on.
The last part of the agent's statement drew a reaction from the Joe field commander. "Aboslutely not," he said. "I was only told to relinquish Devil Dog and the Doctor, not any of my men."
Bruce indicated the envelope on the desk. "All the required authorization is in there, Sir," he said. "We need all the information we can get on the bio-weapon, so we can decide just what to do with him. Your man won't be with us more than a day or two."
Duke's icy gaze narrowed a bit as he looked from McGivern to Rebecca and then back to the agent once more. After a few moments, he raised his wrist and flicked on his communicator. "Main Frame, see if you can round up Lifeline," he said without waiting for the other Joe to answer his hail. "Tell him to prepare to head out for a couple of days. He's going with Devil Dog."
"Got it, Duke," Main Frame's voice crackled over the link.
"Have him meet Doctor Chambers and her... escort down in the containment lab."
"I'm on it," the computer specialist said.
His icy gaze flicking back to the man standing in front of him once again, Duke switched off the communications device. "Lifeline is our chief field medic," he said to Bruce. "He better be back here in two days, or there better be one hell of a reason why."
"Provided the bio-weapon stays docile, there shouldn't be any delays whatsoever," Bruce said. "A day or two, just like I said."
Duke's jaw tightened a bit at the agent's continued use of the word bio-weapon when referring to Devil Dog. "He's a soldier, Agent McGivern," Duke said, almost spitting out the other man's name. "One of my men; and a damn good one."
"He's also a potential threat," McGivern countered quietly. "And one I may have to deal with if anything goes wrong. I haven't seen for myself that there's still a human being left in there. Once I have, then I'll refer to him by name."
"Enough," Rebecca said, breaking in for the first time, her tone soft but sharp. "Let's just get Devil Dog and go, alright?"
The sound of Rebecca's voice drew Duke's hard aquamarine gaze and he looked at the young woman for a few moments before turning his attention back to the agent. "I'm sure Doctor Chambers can show you the way," he said.
Rebecca flinched away from Duke's gaze as McGivern nodded. "Thank you."
Lifeline entered the containment lab, an olive green duffle bag slung over his shoulder. The medic had been surprised and puzzled by Duke's orders but had obediently done as he had been instructed. Hancock was gone, ordered out of the containment lab after being thanked for all his hard work, so it was just Lifeline when McGivern and Rebecca entered the room.
Edwin turned as the door opened, his brown eyes falling on Rebecca, the medic still feeling a bit unsure as to his feelings regarding the young women before moving his gaze to the man who had accompanied her. McGivern gave him an easy smile. "Is our other passenger ready to go?" he asked softly.
Edwin found the seemingly innoculous question to sound slightly condescending. "I only just got here," he said in reply.
"Okay," the blonde said with a nod. "Let me try that again. Will it take you long to get him ready for transport?"
"Depends on what you mean by ready."
"Preferably clothed. Sedated if it's necessary," McGivern replied.
"He's already one," Edwin replied. "Personally, I don't think he needs to be the other." Once it had appeared that Billy's condition had stabilized, and he was able to move about the containment lab, the Marine had been wearing BDU pants and a-shirts.
"Works for me. Is he prone to air sickness?"
"What he is," came an irritated voice from the other chamber, "is damned pissed off and wanting out of his box. Now quit fucking talking about me like I'm not standing here."
"Ah, so you are listening," McGivern raised an eyebrow at that, and wandered over to the observation window. "You must be Lieutenant Coen."
"Who the fuck are you?" Billy's eyes narrowed in an icy glare.
"Agent Bruce McGivern, STRATCOM. I'm here to take you on a little trip, Sir."
Edwin stepped up to the glass behind the newcomer, his brown eyed gaze fixing on Billy. The Marine wasn't being hostile, but he was clearly wary of McGivern. After a few moments, McGivern looked at Lifeline. "Well, if he's ready to go, we probably oughta get going. I don't think the Doc wants to explain to my boss why I died of spontaneous combustion after too many dirty looks."
The medic glanced at the agent, finding no humor in the attempted joke. "Just let me give him his boots," he said before turning away and heading for the automatic door that led into the inner chamber. The reinforced steel door slid open within a few seconds of Edwin pushing the automated button on the wall next to it. Carrying the duffle inside with him, he stepped towards the Marine. "I got your boots out of your locker," he said as he pulled the bag around and started to unzip it.
"Do you know what the hell's going on?" Billy murmured, keeping his tone low as McGivern moved to stand beside Rebecca and wait. "Where the hell are we going?"
Edwin pulled out Billy's boots and handed them over, followed by a pair of socks. "I don't know," the medic said. "But I think Rebecca knows."
Billy frowned at that. "She didn't tell you?" he asked as he took socks and shoes and bent to put them on.
"We, uh...we haven't really, um, talked," Lifeline said as he glanced momentarily out the glass at the young woman and the STRATCOM agent. "Not since we were ordered to turn you over."
The Marine nodded at that, tying his boots quickly. He had been expecting to hear as much. Through Hancock, he had heard of Rebecca's essential confinement to her room. As a result, she had not been back down to see him, and he couldn't help but admit he was worried about her. Sighing and standing upright, Billy winced a little as he felt something shift and slither under his skin and he repressed a shudder. "Billy?" Edwin said softly, having caught some of the Marine's wince as he turned back to look at him.
"I'm okay," Billy replied softly. "It just shifted again, that's all."
Edwin nodded slightly. "I... I don't know why," he said softly. "But I just have this feeling... it know you can't control it but... it might be better if that agent guy doesn't see that."
Billy nodded his silent agreement.
Lifeline fell silent as he stood there and looked at the other man. Billy did his best to give Lifeline a reassuring smile, but it was shaky at best. The medic mustered up an equally shaky smile in response. "Ready?" he asked quietly after a few moments.
Nodding, the Marine straightened his shoulders, held his head high, and headed out of the containment lab.
As the small group made their way from the containment lab and through the building, they encountered a number of Joes, all of whom stopped what they were doing to watch the four pass by. Marcel Hancock appeared to have been waiting for them, Lydia Sorenson at his side, with both of them saluting Billy as he passed by. Billy returned the salute with a faint smile, and was more than a little surprised to find the rest of his unit waiting outside, Nina Hutchinson in the forefront among them. The group had snapped into a salute as they passed, and Billy had returned that salute as well, feeling a hitch in his throat as he did. Hutchinson stepped forward as they approached. Billy met her eyes and she smiled faintly. "Semper Fi, Lieutenant!" She called out, to an echo of "OORAH!" from the rest of the squad. In reply, the Marine echoed the call, his tone a little shaky but strong.
Just beyond the Marine's unit, Scarlett, Gung Ho and Main Frame were waiting as well, the three Joes also saluting their comrade with the big bald Cajun giving his fellow Marine a rousing "Yo Joe!" of encouragement. And it was to that echoing chorus that Billy stepped into the small corporate jet belonging to STRATCOM and found his seat, clearly on the edge of tears and trying not to show it. Lifeline followed Billy, the medic's reaction to the action of his fellows Joes somewhat bittersweet. He too had been touched by what Scarlett, Hancock and the others had done for the Marine, yet at the same time he couldn't brush away the feeling that this could very well be the last time they saw Billy.