Chapter Sixteen: Purgatory
AN: Title refers to the second part of the Divine Comedy.
Nate's feet began to cramp but he didn't move; he knew if he did, he lost his chance. He'd spent enough time in this hole and it was time to get out. His left leg began to twitch just as he heard footsteps coming down the hall.
Using his willpower, he forced his leg to stop as he clenched and unclenched his hands so he'd be ready. The small door clattered as the hands slid the plate through the door. Nathan reached out and grabbed the man's right hand and slammed him into the other side of the door. He heard the person grunt as they made contact with the door.
The jailer hit the ground and Nate waited for the count of twenty to make sure the man was unconscious before he began feeling for the keys.
Nate located them on the jailer's belt and used them to open the door. Once he was outside the cell, Nate searched the man's pockets to see if there was anything of value before grabbing the man's weapon and ID, hoping they would help him escape. Sliding along the hallway, Nate knew he didn't have much time before they discovered he was out of his cell.
Seeing no definite direction he chose the right and headed off. On both sides of the hallway were empty cells and he hoped to find a way out. He came out at a t-junction. Nate took a few steps in each direction, trying to make up his mind. He was about to choose the right when two men came from the left. Sliding back into the shadows he watched them pass and then followed.
The two men were arguing about something, but Nate wasn't close enough to hear so he moved closer, staying in the shadows.
"We have to release the last subject. I know he has yielded the best results so far but he has people asking questions about where he disappeared to. The training cover won't last much longer, we have people in place to deflect any inquiries but our shield is only so thick. Did you know how connected this boy is? His mother's the Commandant of the Cadets of the Academy and his father is the CAG of the Carl Vinson Strike Group. And don't get me started on his grandfather… the Chief of Naval Staff! This was not the cadet to pick to be a guinea pig; you might just have blown the whole operation!"
The man in the lab coat poked the other man in the chest. "I was tasked to do a job any form I chose to. You never said any of those Cadets in the ATA pool were off limits. This cadet tested higher that any of the other year one cadets. All the others would be lucky to light up a life signs detector, let alone fly a jumper or light up the Antarctic chair. You want me to awaken the ancient abilities in your soldiers, well then I need to have access to the best candidates for this program to succeed." His finger stabbed in the direction of Nate's cell. "And that cadet is the best I have seen. He's the only one whose ability is about the same as Jack O'Neill or John Shepard and I know there is no way you will let me play with them."
The General rubbed his bald spot. "I still don't like it. Anyway, we're going to have to return the boy sooner than we planned. I can stall for a few more days, but Jack O'Neill's been making calls all morning and if we wait too long he's going to poke a really big hole in our cover. Whether it's through those cadets you've returned or by following the money. All you money comes out of his budget at Homeworld Security."
He slapped the doctor on the back. "I have a flight to catch. I'll talk to you at the weekend doc."
The doctor reached out catching the general's arm. "I'll have the boy back at the Air Force Academy in three days and this place dismantled and moved in seven. I already have another location prepped." He motioned to another tunnel. "Now let me show you out General, after all this place is quite confusing."
The General looked in the direction he'd been heading and then in the one where the doctor was motioning, looking flustered. "Well then see that you do, Dr. Smithers!" He motioned for the smaller man to lead the way. "I want out of here, my plane is waiting."
Nate began to follow them immediately, but stopped and waited for what seemed like forever; but it was only to the count of sixty before he followed once more. The Glock felt heavy in his hand because for the first time in his life this was real. He'd been in danger before but this was the first taste of combat and he hoped he'd make a good accounting of himself.
Jack arrived in Haruka's office just after Haruka and Charlie and didn't waste time on niceties. "I've been on the phone all morning and I haven't found our Cadet yet but I have located three other cadets who were supposedly part of the same training session." Jack listed off their names. "From the look on your face I can see you know the significance of all these names."
Haruka scowled at the short list. The inheritance of Merlin and Morgan Le Fay and the likes was among these cadets, like herself.
Charlie looked from one General to the other. "I'm missing something here. What are you to talking about?"
Looking startled Jack turned to Charlie, he'd forgotten the cadet was in the room. "That's classified. It's…. Well anyway, Haruka it can't be a coincidence that these three and Nate were grabbed. I have Reynolds and some other men talking to them right now, but I don't think we'll get any leads from them. There is no way these people would have let them go if they could give us any clues to who might be behind this and where they are."
"So you have nothing?" Haruka sat down at her desk placing her head in her hands.
"Oh no I have something else. I just don't know if it's what we are looking for. Just after I took over Homeworld Security from General Hammond, a lovely proposal came across my desk." He pulled a very large report from his briefcase and dropped in on Haruka's desk. It landed with a soft thud. "A quack scientist wanted to do some experiments on-" He stopped and looked at Charlie wondering how he could talk about this without talking about it. "A select group of mainly Air Force and Marine officers to help fight the new emerging enemy. He thought with a new drug he'd developed he would be able to bring out special abilities in these people due to their predisposition to it given the presence of a certain gene."
Haruka opened the file and began to flip through it; only to stop due to the overwhelming amount of information. "What exactly did he want to do?"
Waving his hand at the report, Jack sighed. "A lot of stuff I didn't understand and Sam tried to explain it but it went way over my head. Needless to say I deemed it unsafe and denied the project and tossed the whole thing in a drawer to be shredded at a later date. There was no way I was going to let those people who signed up to defend this country be used as lab rats and experimental fodder for some mad scientist."
Haruka picked up the folder and scanned through sections of it and then tossed it aside. "But Jack this is happening and my boy is-"
"Hey it wasn't me or any other part of HWS that authorized this. It wasn't us so it's some other group. I *do* promise you this: when I find out who rubber stamped this and helped out this moron they are going to be swabbing floor in Leavenworth for the rest of their lives… or maybe I just bury them where no one can find them."
"If you need any help with that General O'Neill, I'd be glad to help you with that." Charlie stood straight at attention and looked deadly serious.
Jack smiled, he could see Charlie Kawalsky in his daughter. This girl was going to make one hell of a soldier and he couldn't wait to see what she was going to do (or maybe not). "You can count on it, cadet." He looked over at Haruka and then Charlie. "Now tell me what happened last night."
Nate continued to follow the two men as they navigated the hallways, grateful no one else seemed to be around. Dr. Smithers swiped his card and daylight flooded the tunnel. Nate held up his hand and squinted at the brightness.
He never would have guessed that it was daytime; he'd lost all sense of time down in this black hole. The General stepped out into the daylight and Nate knew he had a choice to make. He could retreat back down one of the shorter side tunnels and wait for the doctor to pass, hoping by the time he reached the outside world, the general would be gone or he use the gun hoping the other two men weren't armed.
A horrible noise began blaring and Nate resisted the urge to cover his ears. The general rushed back into the complex and the two men rushed right at Nate. At first neither of them saw the cadet who had nowhere to go.
Lifting the gun he wondered if he'd be able to pull the trigger. "Stop right there or I'll shoot."
The doctor stopped first and the general slammed into the scientist almost knocking him to his knees. Recovering quickly the general held out his hand. "Give me that gun cadet, you're going to hurt someone and I'm sure when you've had time to think about this you'll regret doing this."
Drawing himself up to his full height Nate tightened his hold on the gun. "I'm sorry sir, but I will have to disagree with that statement." He thought about firing a round to show these two men he knew how to use the Glock.
Drawing a breath he thought better of it, this clip was the only ones he had. "I am a soldier and although on any other occasion I would willing to obey your orders but since you've taken me captive I think I'll disobey. Now we're going for a walk."
Using his free hand Nate motioned down the hallway. "Head back toward those cells. I'm going to lock the two of you inside while I wait for the cavalry. I think my mother, the Superintendent and General O'Neill would like to know about this place sooner rather than later. Now get moving."
The two men exchanged looks but moved down the hall.
Once they reached the cells Nate motioned them to stop,. "All right, empty your pockets; I want everything dropped on the ground."
Wallets, cells phones and other things clattered to the ground. Once he was satisfied that was everything, Nate motioned with the gun. "Open one of those doors. I'll even let you choose." The doctor was the first to enter followed by the general. As he closed the door, Nate said, "Don't worry you won't be inside very long. I'm sure someone will be along soon!"
Nate closed the door behind them. Then he grabbed one of the cell phones from the floor and retraced his steps back outside.
Haruka watched Jack pace the confined space of her office. He'd been on the phone all morning, trying to track down the scientist who'd made the proposal but six months earlier the man had vanished and no one knew where he was.
After the first hour she'd sent Charlie to class because there was nothing she could do here. Besides, Haruka could see the wheels spinning in Charlie's mind, and eventually Haruka knew she'd have some questions to answer.
Haruka tried to concentrate on the stack of paperwork in front of her but she continually found herself staring off into space.
The phone in her pocket shrieked making her jump. Her hand shook as she reached for it; she could almost see her son. He was in a dark place, feeling so alone. "Jack, it's Nate. This call is from him. I don't know how I know, but I do."
Jack stopped pacing. "You recognize the number."
"No, should I answer it?"
"Yes, but give me a minute. Let me do something first." He put the phone back to his ear. "Walter, Haruka has an incoming call. Her number is 719-555-4731. I need you to begin a trace." There was a pause and then Jack nodded. "Answer the phone."
"Hello?"
"Mom, it's me. I don't know where I am. I think it's an old missile silo. On the outside there's a number 349, does that help?"
"Nate, slow down; are you still in danger?"
"No mom, there was only four men here and I've subdued them all. I locked them in the cells where I and the others were being held. I am the only one left here. Do you know what happened to the others who were here with me? They disappeared a few days ago first the four of them then Phil was taken away too, but I think the General sent him somewhere else. I'm worried he's killed Phil or the others. Do you know if they are safe?"
"All the missing Cadets have been returned to the base. I don't know who this Phil is. Do you know a last name or anything else about him? Are you sure he was in the Air Force or that he was a Cadet?"
"No, yes. He was from a small town in Georgia. No, he wasn't AF, he was a Jarhead but he was a pilot like me. We talked a lot about flying. I think they took him somewhere else. He was showing signs of oddities. I heard the jailers talking about him. They wanted to keep me as well but Jack started asking questions and the General found out who I was. He was very scared and he-"
"Nate are you all right?" A chill ran down her spine; something was wrong with her son and she had to get him home as soon as possible.
Nate lowered himself down to the ground and put his head between his knees to try and stop the world from spinning around. He could hear his mother's voice coming over the phone line and he knew he should answer her and alleviate her fears. Drawing a deep breath he spoke hoping not to throw up. "Yes mom, I just have a headache. They come and go since I've got here. I think it has to do with the drug they were giving me."
Jack' voice was heard in the background. "I got the trace, Haruka. The choppers are on their way with Sam and Mitchell. They should be there soon, he's not that far away."
"Did you hear that Nate? They are coming for you."
His mother sounded so far away as the darkness crowded in. "Yes, kaachan. I'll be here…" The phone slipped from his fingers. All he had to do was wait they were coming for him was his last thought as the blackness cover him.
There are two more chapters up on my site and if you would like to check them out Google my penname and you will find me. I love to hear from you whether you liked it or loved it. :0P
Also I have published two original pieces of work on Kindle you can find a link to them on my website as well.
if I get enough review I will be pushed to add the chapter early, like Friday, instead of later next week. I have one so far this week but I think I could handle a few more.