Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your patience. I'm hoping to get back to my normal posting schedule of every two or three days, but... I broke a finger today. Not a big deal, but it does make typing a little difficult!
To my guest reviewer (I think I know who you are, but I'm not 100%): I hope your appt went well!
Commander Ford looked over his senior crew, "ok, what do we have?"
"Their flight got in on time, no issues. No one actually remembers them leaving the airport, but it's such a huge place, that just means there weren't any problems." Ben offered, "the security has their pictures and is going over footage for us."
"Good, Katie?"
She nodded towards Tim, "we talked about a hundred different cabbies that sit around the terminal. A few of them had an older man and woman. But, only one dropped them off at a cemetery."
"Did anyone get Dr. Wolenczak on the phone? We need to know if it was the same one. He only gave the address to Captain Bridger." Ford asked expectantly.
"No, sir." Miguel answered heavily. "Chief Crocker requested UEO personal to help check his residence in case something happened to him. He's with them now."
"Do you think he's involved?" Katie asked, raising an eyebrow. "He isn't the best dad in the world, but I don't think he'd do something like this."
Ford shook his head, "Captain Bridger made a comment about him being given a sedative, he's probably just sleeping it off. I'm not worried about asking him the address, we can find it. Start with the one the cab driver told you about. At some point Dr. Wolenczak will have to be told about the DNA, but it might be better to wait until we know what going on."
"I'll search every graveyard in the city myself." Ben said grimly, "they have to be out there somewhere."
"Yes, but by now they may not be in this city." Ford reminded him quietly. "We don't have the whole story, but what we do have doesn't add up. I know you're all tired, but we need to keep searching. Someone had to have seen them somewhere. Even if they just decided to leave the UEO, we need to tell them what we know. " He closed his eyes briefly, "I can't even imagine what they'll when they find out that body wasn't Lucas."
Grabbing Lucas tightly in a hug, Kristin broke down in tears. "How? Why are you here?" She pushed him out to arm's length to examine him. "Is it really you?"
"Whoa… uh… Doc, chill." Lucas gasped as she squeezed him again. "I know it's been a couple weeks, but I'm fine."
"No, you don't understand. We thought you were dead, everyone did." She explained through her sobs.
"Dead? Why would I be dead? I mean, yeah, it's been a strange couple of days, but I'm good, really, I'm good." Lucas unsuccessfully tried to detangle himself from her arms. "What is with you?"
She finally let go, and sat on the bunk, pulling him with her. "Do you know where we are? Who's holding us here?"
"No, I haven't seen anyone until you walked in with that guy, and I barely got a look at him. What's going on?"
"Do you remember Rubin Zellar?" Kristin asked quietly.
Lucas furrowed his brow in concentration, "he killed your brother."
"Yes, and now he has this mad plan to take over the world. He's keeping us and Nathan here until we help him."
Lucas' eyes lit up, and he jumped off the bed. "The Captain is here? Can I see him?"
"No, Lucas, you don't understand. Zellar is holding us hostage. I know things are confusing right now, but we have to get out of here." Kristin patiently explained. "He's giving you medication to keep you under control."
"No one is giving me anything." Lucas retorted defensively.
"Then why are so ok with being here?"
Lucas blinked at her, and slowly sank back on the bed. "I... I don't know." He stared at the floor for moment, then finally looked up at her. "This isn't right... Something feels wrong, I just don't understand why. Every time I try to think about it, I get distracted or something."
"I know sweetheart, and I'm sorry. It's the medication. He may have started giving you injections right away, and I know he drugged my food. You've been exposed to it much longer than I have."
At the mention of food, Lucas' stomach growled, "oh, I haven't eaten for a while. I got wrapped up in the game." He grinned sheepishly, "I guess some things never change."
He tried to stand again, but Kristin firmly held him in place. "I'll get you some water. You can't eat the food."
"No, it's healthy." He smirked, "I eat better here than on the ship."
"That wouldn't take much." Kristin retorted dryly. She stood, and filled a glass at the tap. She was reasonably sure Zellar wouldn't put anything in the water since he would be using it as well. It didn't matter much if he had. They could survive for a couple of weeks without food, but not without water. If they had any hope of escaping, they had to make some allowances.
"Why can't I eat?" Lucas stared at her in annoyance as he took the glass from her.
"Because, we have to get out of here, and I need you at your best to do that. It's going to be hard, Lucas, but I need to get you off the medication first."
He chewed his lip, regarding her, then nodded. "Ok, if you say so."
Kristin watched him sip out of the glass, simply seeing him still alive, even in this hellhole, took her breath away. She knew she loved him, but felt it so much deeper after the events of just a couple days ago. "What have you been doing here?"
"Playing on the computer mostly." He shrugged, "there's some old games on there."
She raised her eyebrows, "have you tried to contact anyone?"
"Nah, it isn't connected to the 'nex, it just has an internal intranet. There isn't even a firewall there to break through." He glanced at her sulkily, "I would have sent you something, no matter what drugs I was on, if I could have."
Kristin immediately felt guilty, "of course you would have, dear, I'm sorry." She hesitated on asking another question, knowing his mental state could very well swing in any direction. "So, were you able to find anything on this intranet?"
"Not really, just some invoices and money stuff."
"Any hint as to where we are? I saw mountains outside."
He shook his head, frowning at his water, "nope, just long lists of chemicals."
"That's good, can you get to them again? I'd like to see what he has." Kristin cast an eye towards the security camera watching them. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "and try to gain control of the camera system."
Lucas stood, and took his prior position at the computer, "yeah, sure, that's not a problem. Do you want it completely down or a false image?"
"What do you mean a 'false image'?" Kristin asked, joining him and watching him go to work.
He smirked over his shoulder, and answered in a hushed voice. "If you want to break the rules and don't want anyone to see you, it helps if the security cameras think they're just watching you sleep."
"I feel like I should ask about that, but this is not the time." Kristin returned wryly.
Lucas snorted, "there is a very good chance that you're right."
Their playful and easy banter was interrupted by the sound of a key in a door. Kristin spun around, and double checked that she was blocking the computer to give Lucas extra time to close it down. Wendell entered, smiling in his vacant fashion. "Dr. Zellar wants to invite you to dine with him."
"Both of us?" Kristin asked acidly. She wasn't a fan of being separated from Lucas now that she had found him.
Wendell shook his head, "no, but you are allowed to come back here if you wish after." His insipid smile curled into something more dark. "I am lead to believe that you may not want to."
"What are you talking about?" Kristin snapped, not liking his hints or expression.
"Nothing, my apologies ma'am. I am just over excited about the possibilities now that you are here."
Kristin swallowed, she knew the importance of playing along until they could find a way out of this mess. She nodded, then plastered the best fake smile she could on her face. "No harm done. If I may have a few minutes to freshen up?"
Wendell's eyes lit up, and he backed out of the room in a half bow. "He will be very pleased."
As soon as he was gone, Kristin turned back to Lucas. "Keep working on the system, and remember what I said about the food." He was chewing his lip worriedly again, so Kristin took the time to give him another tight hug.
Entering the small bathroom, Kristin started to wash her face. She could feel several days' worth of terror and sadness go down the drain with the water. There was no time to curl up in defeat. Currently, she was the only one who could do anything about the situation. Angling her chin in rebelliousness, she furiously glared at her reflection. "Ok, Rubin, time to play."