Chapter 22

The One That Got Away

The involvement of the military in the search for and questioning of suspected terrorists was not fully realized until the attack in which a Cylon lab run by Dr. Gaius Baltar was targeted. As the citizens of Caprica became more aware of the role of their own military in working with the Cylons, the popularity of the military and enlistments in the military declined sharply. Little regard was given to the fact that the military personnel who performed their often thankless jobs kept the Cylons from stepping in with much harsher alternatives.

-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War

.

The mobile phone on the nightstand beside Lee Adama's bed trilled. He reached for it in a fog.

"Hello," he said as he looked at the clock. It was 4:10.

"Parker here, Lieutenant Adama. Get down to the base immediately. There's been an incident. All interrogators and analysts are being assembled. Meeting at 05:00 sharp. Classroom near my office."

"Yes, sir," Lee said, but Parker had already ended the call.

He got there with ten minutes to spare. He sat down in a desk beside one of the other interrogators.

"What's up?" Lee asked him.

"Don't know. It must be big to get all of us out of bed."

Major Parker walked in with a civilian Lee didn't recognize. The man behind them was Bill Adama. He nodded at Lee but didn't speak. Everyone in the room stood and came to attention.

"As you were," Parker said. "Since we're all here, let's get started. This is Special Agent Vladimir Darren," he indicated the dark-suited civilian, a medium-height man with silver showing in the temples of his dark hair. "He's in charge of the anti-terrorism task force. He'll be briefing us tonight. And we're honored to have Commander William Adama with us. He's the President's envoy. He will be reporting our findings, if any, directly to President Adar. And before any of you ask, Lieutenant Lee Adama calls him Dad. The rest of you will address him as Commander."

There were several low chuckles from the room. Lee felt the heat rise in his face.

Agent Darren took over the meeting. "Tonight at approximately 1:10 a research lab north of Caprica City was destroyed in an act that has been established as terrorist in nature. The story released to the media is that a gas leak caused the explosion and fire. At this point we know only that there were at least two terrorists involved, one on the hill above the lab with a high-powered rifle which has been recovered, and one who planted the explosives. There may have been more. You have been divided into teams and will get your assignments in a moment. What we're going to do is go down to the lab and talk to everyone who was there tonight. All the guards, employees, anyone who might have seen or heard anything. Our agents are keeping everyone there. Facts are sketchy at this point, but I'll take a few minutes for questions before Major Parker goes over your team assignments."

"I don't suppose we have either of the suspects, do we?" One of the other interrogators asked.

"Not at this point. We know that one of them escaped on a motorcycle. The woods are being searched right now for any clues about the other or others."

"Anything on the rifle?" The same man asked.

"Not yet. Our lab boys have it."

"How did they get in?"

"Cut the fence behind the building and apparently went up a fire escape. Since that door was key card access only from the outside, we're going on the theory that they either had a card or were able to bypass the security system somehow. There's always a slim chance that someone was on the inside and let them in, but according to the gate guard's log, everyone who worked in the building was gone by then. Security guards all vouch for each other. They travel in pairs or threes."

"Cleaning crew?"

"Comes in at five a.m. Needless to say there was nothing to clean this morning."

"What was being done at that lab that would have made it a terrorist target?" Lee asked. He very carefully avoided looking at his father.

"We've been told it was some kind of Artificial Intelligence research."

"Helping the Cylons, then?" Lee continued.

"At this point we don't know enough to say with any certainty. Dr. Gaius Baltar is head of the project, and although we haven't spoken directly to him yet, we have a tape of an interview he gave to a reporter named D'Anna Biers just last week about what they were doing or attempting to do. Our analysts are looking at it right now."

"Any fatalities or injuries?" One of the woman interrogators asked.

"Two fatalities. The marksman on the hill above the lab apparently shot and killed the Cylon doctor called Simon as well as another unidentified male. Of course I'm sure it won't be long until the Cylons get another copy of Simon down here. And I say it was apparently the gunman on the hill because at this point all we can do is make an assumption. Cavil had his centurions take both bodies. I doubt we'll get a chance to do an autopsy so ballistics is probably out. One of the guards who saw them said they were both head shots. One shot apiece which means their marksman was highly-skilled. The distance hasn't been measured exactly but it's about two hundred yards from where they found the rifle to where the bodies were. Of course the guard is basing that on not much more than a glance. No one got the chance to do a more thorough examination before Cavil showed up with the centurions and kept everyone away from them."

"So should we be looking at current or former military or police snipers?"

"We can't rule out any possibilities at this point."

"What about fatalities inside the lab."

"We don't know about that yet. Last I heard the firemen were still putting out the fire. As I said, according to the gate log everyone had left the lab for the night. We're waiting on a personnel roster to start making calls. We're also waiting for our arson investigators to do their job. There's always the possibility that whoever set those explosives didn't make it out. I understand there's already been a problem with Dr. Baltar over allowing access, but since this is a government-funded lab, I don't think he'll have a choice. The Cylons want this solved as much as we do."

"If I might speak up at this point," Bill said. "The President is very concerned about what happened tonight. Our treaty with the Cylons puts the responsibility for keeping the peace squarely on us. I don't need to tell anyone in this room what might happen if incidents of this nature are allowed to go unchecked. We need to find out who is responsible for this and put a stop to it. The well-being of everyone on Caprica right now depends on it. I'm sure all of us have personal feelings about the Cylons, but we can't let that get in the way of doing our jobs."

He made a point not to look at Lee. He didn't have to.

"Thank you, sir," Major Parker said. "As the commander has reminded us, we all have jobs to do. Let's keep that in mind. I'm going to assign you in teams of three. After you get your assignment, grab a cup of coffee and meet outside. We'll be leaving for the lab in fifteen minutes."

When he got outside, Lee noticed that his father had a car and a driver. Before he left, Bill came over to him. "First big investigation, son. Try to stay awake," he smiled.

Lee smiled, too. "Are you going to the lab?"

"No, I've got to get back to the President. I'll depend on Darren to keep me apprised of how the investigation is progressing today. When you have an opportunity, you and I have some talking to do. I'll probably be making another phone call or two this morning."

Lee nodded. He knew exactly who his father meant to call…Laura first and then John.

He watched Bill get in the car and his driver close the door. Sunrise was still a promise over the horizon. Vapor rose from his cup of coffee into the freezing air as he hunched his shoulders against the cold. It penetrated his winter jacket, and he tried to imagine how it must have felt for the terrorist riding a motorcycle through the night. For the briefest moment he thought of the blond girl in the tight black jeans and motorcycle boots. Were the boots just for show or did she really ride a motorcycle? He didn't envy anyone who had to ride in the cold of this winter night, even a terrorist.

The transport bus pulled up and they all got on. At least it was already warm inside.

Lee sat with the other two people on his team, both of them seasoned interrogators.

"Your job is to pay attention to everything while Sergeant Ackerman or I ask the questions," said Captain Jill Hadrian, the lead of his team. "Watch the guards and employees closely as we question them. There's always the chance that the terrorists had inside help getting in."

"Since we're dealing with a Cylon lab, then I'd say anybody out there would be a suspect. I'm not aware of the Cylons having any real fan clubs on Caprica unless it's the one headed by Gaius Baltar."

"You sound like you know more than you're saying about that lab," Ackerman said.

"I don't know why it would it have been targeted otherwise, and the Cylons sure showed up fast enough." Lee realized he was about to get himself in trouble. "I just remember when the treaty was signed my father said the Cylons wanted to work with Dr. Baltar personally. I'm just going on the assumption he was working with them."

"We never assume," Ackerman said. "We wait for the facts."

"But don't discount your gut when it comes to questioning someone," Hadrian said. "Sometimes it's all you've got to rely on."

There were only four guards who were able to provide any more information. Each of the five teams talked to each of the guards in turn. One told them that he had been in a group of three guards that had been on their way to the back of the building when the terrorist on the hill had shot at them, forcing them to seek cover. He was also the one who told them that the gunman had shot out the five security lights along the fence.

"He was good," the guard said, "one shot per light, just popped them right out. Fast, too."

"Why do you think he did that?" Hadrian asked.

The guard shrugged.

"Could he have been covering someone's exit from the building?" Lee asked.

Ackerman shot him a look. Shut up. It was clear that Hadrian was going to ask all the questions this time. Lee knew they still regarded him as a rookie interrogator.

"I don't think so," the guard said. "The building was already on fire by then. Nobody would have been coming out at that point. We waited a minute after he shot at us, then we tried coming out and he shot at us again. We waited a couple of more minutes and that time, no shots. He was gone by then."

"Why do you think he didn't shoot you? You've said he was good."

"I guess maybe he was just trying to keep us away from the back of the building," the guard said. "As good a shot as he was, he could have killed us easy."

"Why do you think he was trying to keep you away from the back of the building?"

"Because one or more of them was still back there," the guard finally said. "That's where we found the fence had been cut."

"So after killing two men a few minutes earlier, this terrorist shot at you, not to kill you but to keep you away from the back of the building. Then shot out the security lights, and then shot at you again but without hitting any of you."

The guard nodded. "That's about it."

The other two guards confirmed what he had said.

The fourth guard they spoke with had been in a car that had passed the terrorist on the motorcycle as he had made his escape. He couldn't tell them anything except that the rider had been dressed in black on a black motorcycle. He couldn't tell them the make or model of the motorcycle, but Darren had someone assembling pictures of every kind of motorcycle that had been manufactured in the last ten years to show him.

"Why didn't you call it in as soon as you passed him?"

"I tried. I wasn't getting a signal. There's a dead spot along part of that road. You have to go higher up to get a signal. That's what I did. By then he'd had more than five minutes head start. I know he made it to the paved road before that. I don't know how long it took the guys back down at the lab to get it called in to the police."

"Too long, apparently," said Ackerman. "Your motorcycle rider got away."

It was nearly 10:00 and they had been at the questioning non-stop since 06:00 that morning with only one short break. Lee noticed a pack of cigarettes in the guard's pocket.

"Can we take a break?" Lee asked Hadrian and Ackerman. "I need to stretch my legs. Let this guy have a smoke."

"I guess we're through here for a while," Hadrian said.

Lee walked outside with the guard who offered him a cigarette. "No thanks," Lee said. "I just had to get out for a minute. Those two," he shook his head. "They're driving me nuts. I can't open my mouth."

The guard lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. Lee thought of John. John was flying nights for several weeks. He guessed John would be at home right now, but he doubted he'd be sleeping. Employees had been called and told not to come in today which meant Lissa would have gotten a call. John and Lissa were probably watching the news. There were several news vans and crews still outside the fence even though the fire was now out. Lee's mobile phone was turned off. He bet he already had a message from John.

"Thanks for getting me out of there. I needed a smoke bad. How'd you get stuck with those two?" The guard asked.

"Luck of the draw, I guess," Lee answered. "I didn't get a choice. I haven't been at this as long as they have. When was it you met the guy on the motorcycle? What time?"

"I was on the service road by 1:35. About five minutes after that."

Lee's gut told him there was something the guard hadn't yet mentioned to any of them. "Big guy, small guy?"

"On the smaller side. I told one of the other teams. Slim. Wearing black pants and a black ski jacket. Like I told the others, he was either a black guy or maybe had on a black ski mask. I just caught a glimpse. I think it was a black ski mask under his helmet. It just looked, I don't know, too black to be skin. It didn't look like skin either, maybe too featureless."

"So you can't even be absolutely certain it was a guy?"

The guard took another long drag on the cigarette. "No, I guess not. But I mean, what are the odds?"

"Something's bothering you about this motorcycle rider, isn't it?" Lee asked.

"Oh, hell," the guard finally said. "If you ever catch him it'll come out. I think I shot him."

"You think you shot him?" Lee repeated. He was stunned but quickly recovered. "With what?"

"We're issued assault rifles to guard the lab, but I knew I couldn't get it out of the window fast enough. I have a little twenty-two caliber pistol that I carry. By the time I spotted the motorcycle's headlight coming at me, I only had a couple of seconds. I grabbed the twenty-two. It's my own personal weapon. If my boss finds that out, I'll probably be fired. I've got four kids."

"And you shot the motorcycle rider with it?"

"Shot at him, a couple of shots as we were passing each other. That's the only chance I got. I hit a bump about then, so I'm not sure. It all happened so fast, just a few seconds. He kept going, so I must have missed."

"But you might not have."

"We were so close I could almost touch him. That's what makes me think I hit him. I couldn't turn around and chase him right there because the road drops off too steep. All I could think about was getting higher up so I could call it in."

"You did the right thing," Lee said. "Let's go back inside. You've got to tell them about this. I'm sorry. If it turns out you did hit him and that helps us catch him, then I doubt you'll lose your job."

Lee knew that hospitals had to report anyone coming in with a gunshot wound. If the guard had gotten lucky and had actually hit the guy, and the guy sought treatment somewhere, then it would be reported. He was sure Darren could easily get the reports from the hospitals.

He thought of the motorcycle rider again and wondered if he had ridden back to Caprica City through the freezing night with a bullet in him or if he'd gone the other way, up into the hills. Even if the wound wasn't too bad, there was little chance he would survive without some kind of medical care.

After lunch they all reconvened in the classroom and went over every bit of intelligence that had been gathered that day. They knew only a little more now than they knew early that morning. One of the new pieces of information was that one of the guards had possibly shot the motorcycle rider.

Lee doubted that he would get credit for it, but after they were told to go get something to eat that evening, Parker came up to him.

"Good work, lieutenant. I understand you got the guard to admit to shooting at the guy on the motorcycle."

"Yes, sir. I felt like he had something else to say. I didn't feel like he was going to say it in that room. He opened up after we went outside so he could get a smoke."

"I knew we'd made a good choice in picking you."

"Thank you, sir."

They knew nothing more when they were dismissed to go home that night with the exception that no emergency care centers or hospitals had treated anyone for a bullet wound in the last twenty-four hours. Parker told them all to be in at 07:00 in the morning. They would go over it all again and then split up to question the rest of the lab's employees.

He listened to his voice messages on the way home. He had two from John. The first one at 07:00. Got in at six this morning and found Lissa in hysterics. What happened at that lab? The next one at almost noon. I guess you're busy right now with whatever's going on. Call me when you can.

It was nearly 22:00 when Lee got back to his apartment. He knew he needed to grab a shower and go to bed, but he tried John's mobile phone anyway.

John picked up after the first ring. "Lee, where the hell you been?"

"I'm on one of the teams that questioned the security guards at the lab, and then we had to go back to the base and hash over everything for nine hours. I'm beat."

"Let me call you back. I'm in bed. I need to grab my pants and jacket and get out on the balcony. I can't talk about this in front of Lissa. It upsets her too much. I'll call you right back."

It was nearly five minutes before Lee's phone rang. "So what happened?" John asked.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it. The official story is that there was a gas leak and an explosion and fire at the lab."

"But that's not what really happened, is it?"

"No, John, and that's all I can say at this point."

"Resistance?"

"Terrorists. Is Lissa all right?"

"Physically she's fine. She's sort of berserk otherwise. That's mostly her whole life up in flames."

"Maybe now would be a good time for the two of you to take a vacation."

"I suggested it. She said she'd let me know."

"You're not flying tonight obviously."

"No, I was supposed to, but I called in this morning after Lissa got the news about the lab. I did something stupid last night, too. I wasn't concentrating on what I was doing. I walked into an engine cowling and hit my forehead. It looks worse than it feels, but I'm going to take a couple of days off. I don't want to leave Lissa by herself right now either. Like I said, she's having some serious problems dealing with losing a couple of years worth of research."

"John, you didn't mention anything about what was going on in that lab to anyone other than Laura, did you?"

"No, I didn't. How do you know I talked to her?"

"My dad told me. She told him."

"Holy frakking Hera." Lee could tell John was angry. "Why didn't I just put it out on the godsdamned internet? Who else knows?"

"Just us, you, me, my dad and Laura."

"Well, try to keep it that way, okay. If this gets traced back to me, then it's Lissa who will suffer for it. I know she and I aren't in it for the long haul, but I still don't want to see her go to jail over something I did."

"John, all I care about is that you didn't mention it to anyone else. The terrorists got their information from somewhere. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't you. I know my dad wouldn't say anything."

"I know it didn't come from your dad," John said. "And I know it didn't come from Laura, either. She promised me."

"She used you, John."

"I know that, Lee. I'm not stupid. I know she used me. Every time I met her for dinner, every time I started feeling like she was enjoying my company, like when we bonded over a personal experience we both shared, I told myself that she was just using me. It kept me from making a complete fool of myself. And she did go out of her way to warn me about Baltar and D'Anna Biers and that alternate lab that Baltar is setting up."

"What do you mean every time you met her for dinner? Have you got something going on with her?"

"I wish. We met for dinner a couple of times so I could pass along what I'd learned about the lab. Laura's dating Chuck Winters. He's more her caliber."

"My dad mentioned that. Just be careful, John. Now I've got to wonder if Laura said something to anyone but my dad."

"Lee, the resistance knew about that lab a couple of weeks before I told Laura."

"What?"

"Didn't you know that a lone terrorist tried to break in weeks ago and was killed? He had explosives. You mean nobody mentioned that to you today?"

"No. How do you know about it?"

"Lissa told me. It freaked her and everybody else out when it happened. The purpose of that lab got out weeks ago and somebody then decided to be a hero and take it out. He was killed trying. It never made the news, but somebody is bound to have investigated it. You maybe shouldn't mention that, though. If they haven't told anyone yet, there's a reason. You'll just call unnecessary attention to yourself…and me and Lissa."

"You're right. Listen, they're going to start questioning the lab's employees soon, maybe tomorrow. Lissa will be called in sometime during the next couple for days. I'm telling you so you'll both be prepared. Depending on what she says, they may call you in. Laura's name is on the list to be questioned, too. I don't know why, but I saw it today."

"I wish they'd leave her alone. She's put herself in enough danger going up against Baltar and his Cylon buddies. I hate to see her get dragged into this."

"We've got to question everybody. Somehow the terrorists found out what the Cylons were doing or attempting to do in that lab. Somewhere there's a connection. I'm just glad it's not you."

"I'd better go. Lissa's standing at the door giving me one of those looks. I'm sure she thinks I'm out here talking to a woman."

"She probably thinks you're talking to Laura."

"No offense, Lee, but I wish I were." John laughed, and Lee saw that he had ended the call.

...

Kara woke up the next morning to a quiet apartment. Despite being up most of the night, Jared must have gone to work. Karl, too. It wouldn't be smart to call in sick today. Maggie must be at the day care. Kara could never keep up with her schedule…not that she really tried.

She sat up and looked at the clock on the floor beside her bed. Five minutes after eleven. Her leg was still painful when she moved it, but it wasn't throbbing like it had been before she went to sleep. She got up and limped into the bathroom and swallowed two aspirin with the help of a handful of water from the spigot. Her hair looked awful, flattened to her head where she had sweated under the ski mask. She knew she couldn't get in the shower because of her leg.

She took her shampoo to the kitchen sink and washed her hair where she could use the sprayer. Maggie would have a fit if she knew, but Kara didn't plan to tell her.

She had a dizzy spell just as she finished and had to sit down at the table. Drink plenty of liquids, Fisk had told her. She got the orange juice out of the refrigerator. She was still sitting at the table in her t-shirt and underwear when Karl came in from work at noon.

"How are you feeling?" He asked right away.

"Not too bad. Not too good, either."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"Not yet. I've just been drinking like Fisk told me to." She indicated the container of orange juice. "You're going to need to bring some more home from the grocery story."

"I'm going to fix us something to eat."

He made ham and cheese sandwiches. After she ate, Kara felt a lot better. She got Karl to make her another one. He made himself another one, too.

"I want you to give up this terrorist thing," Karl said when they finished.

"Resistance. Not terrorist."

"That's just semantics. The danger to you is the same no matter what you call it."

"Wow, listen to you and the big word. Semantics."

"I've been hanging around Jared too long. I mean it Kara, please give it up."

She shook her head. "It's no use, Karl. I'd do anything in the world for you, but I'm not going to give up something I believe in. Last night…I can't even describe it, but last night I felt like I did something worthwhile for the first time in my life."

"That's not true. You saved my life when I was sick with the flu. You introduced Connelly to Laura Roslin and that helped get the school started for the little kids in the camp. You deliver medicine that saves people's lives. Don't think you haven't done anything worthwhile."

"But nothing like this."

"So saving my life isn't as important to you as taking out a Cylon lab?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"You know you'll get caught eventually, don't you? Or killed. Jared, too."

"Probably. I've been thinking about that while I was sitting here this morning. I should move out and get a place of my own. That way there's nothing to tie me to you if I should get caught…or killed. It might be a good idea for another reason, too. I think Jared is starting to get too hung up on me. I think I need to put some distance between us. I'm just going to wind up hurting him."

Karl didn't say anything.

"So you think it's a good idea, too?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter if you move out or not. Don't you see, if they get you, they've got all of us."

"Then why don't you join us?"

"I don't know, Kara. I don't know."

"You hate the Cylons, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"Maggie. If I join you and Jared, then it's not fair to her not to let her know what we're doing."

"You know she'll never go for it. You know she'll probably turn us in. You could never trust her to keep this a secret."

"What about if I wait until she goes to the Academy and starts training to be a Raptor pilot? She'll be eighteen in a couple of months. She's already got her application in for next fall. She'll have to move on campus if she gets accepted."

"That sounds like a plan."

"There's just one thing."

"What?"

"She wants me to go, too. She wants me to go to the Academy and train to be a Raptor pilot, too."

"And you told her yes."

"Sort of."

Kara was losing patience. "Either you told her you'd do it or not. Have you put in an application, too?"

"Last week. But I don't know if I'll get accepted. Maggie found out that if you'd lived in a refugee camp and hadn't graduated from high school that you have to take some kind of entrance test. I don't know if I'll pass it or not. She's smart. I'm sure she'll pass."

"So how come you didn't discuss this with me before you did it? Aren't we friends anymore?" She mocked his question from the night before.

He looked down and didn't answer her.

"Well that's settled then, isn't it? You and Maggie move out and go to the Academy. Jared and I will keep fighting the Cylons. You train in ships with no missiles and no weapons. You join the military that's hunting us. Maybe you can hunt us, too. Maybe you'll get the chance to shoot me with a rubber bullet one day or turn me over to a centurion who will shoot me with a real one."

"That's not fair, Kara."

"When is life ever fair, Karl? Was it fair that the Cylons destroyed eleven of the Twelve Colonies and now they're calling the shots on Caprica? Was it fair that all our parents died because of them? Was it fair that you and I spent three years in a frakking refugee camp living with rats and disease? Tell me what was fair about that?"

"I agree with you. Totally. None of that was fair. I'm just saying don't let this come between us. You're my best friend, Kara. I love you." He looked down. "That's one of the problems that Maggie has with you. She'll probably always have it. She's never understood what's between you and me. She thinks we…while we were at the camp…maybe even still."

"She thinks we're frakking each other?"

Karl glanced up at her. "Yeah."

"That's crazy. You're like my brother."

"But I'm really not your brother. And you don't do anything to make her think different. It's almost like you barely tolerate her. She thinks that why you won't…you know…do it with Jared. She thinks you're jealous."

"Well that's just too damned bad. What can I say if she's already got her mind made up about everything? If I was in love with Jared, I'd do it with him, but I'm not in love with him. I care about him. I'm just not in love with him. What me and Jared do or don't do is none of her business anyway. Jared needs to learn to keep his frakking mouth shut around her."

"They're cousins. He talks to her like we talk to each other. You're going to have to accept that."

"Right. That's why he told her all about what he's doing with the resistance," she said sarcastically. "Because they talk about everything and he trusts her so much."

"You know, it still hurts that you didn't say anything to me about what you're doing."

"I told you why I didn't say anything. But you know now. If you hate the Cylons like Jared and I do, then join us."

"You've got to understand that I do hate the Cylons for what they did. Part of me wants to join you and Jared, but part of me wants to go to the Academy, too. I can't do both. I don't know what to do."

Kara sighed in frustration. "Then don't do anything right now. If you join us it's a complete commitment. There's no going back. Jared made that clear when I joined. You're in it a hundred percent or not at all."

"I realize that. I just…gods, Kara…I see I'm not going to change your mind so please be careful. Please."

"I will. I guess I'd better go back to the room and put some sweatpants on. I don't guess it would do if Maggie came in and caught me in a t-shirt and underwear sitting here talking to you. I don't care what she thinks, but I don't want to make your life any worse."

Karl helped her back to her room and she got a pair of sweatpants. Then they went back into the living room and watched the news. There was a film clip of the lab on fire, of the fire trucks and firemen and the guards. …and has been attributed to a gas leak… the newscaster was saying as the picture came up. There was an aerial shot of the fire burning through the roof.

"You did that? You frakking did that?" Karl asked.

"Not me. They did. The guys. I wasn't even close when it went up."

"But you were part of it."

"Yeah," she said with pride. "I was part of it. Shhh, listen to what the news guy is saying."

There have been no reported fatalities or injuries in the six-alarm fire early this morning in the government-funded lab headed by Dr. Gaius Baltar. Coming up later excerpts from an interview conducted by D'Anna Biers during which Dr. Baltar talks about his research into Artifical Intelligence.

"What a crock. They didn't mention the two guys I shot and killed, that Cylon doctor and another one. I frakking shot two guys and they didn't even mention it."

"Maybe the news people don't know. So that's where they were making half-human, half-Cylon babies?"

"Trying to is what Jared said. We put a stop to that."

"They'll just start up again somewhere else."

"Maybe, but it will be a while. We'll find them again. Blow them up again."

Dr. Baltar denies there is any truth to the rumor that the Cylons were conducting experiments on humans and possibly attempting to combine human and Cylon DNA. The level of destruction at the lab makes any kind of confirmation of those allegations impossible.

"Do you think there were any babies in that lab?" Karl asked.

"No. Babies can't grow in labs. Babies only grow in women."

"Then what were they doing in there?"

"I don't know exactly. I'm not a scientist. Ask Jared. I'm sure he understands. I'm going to go rest now."

"I think I'll go take a nap, too. Something woke me up at 3:30 this morning and I never got back to sleep."

Kara went back to her room and on impulse took the book that Connelly had given her, the third volume of the Caprican Prince trilogy, off the shelf on her side of the closet. She briefly glanced at everything hanging in there…black, black and more black. She really did need to expand her wardrobe color choice.

She limped over to her mattress, lowered herself carefully, and tore the brown wrapping paper off the book. She could hardly believe it when she examined it. It was a red leather-bound copy. The Caprican Prince and the Golden Wings was stamped in gold lettering on the front cover and on the book's spine. It didn't look new, but it looked very well cared for.

Kara opened it. The name Laura Roslin was written on the inside of the front cover. Had the Secretary of Education sent Kara her own personal copy of the book? A folded sheet of stationery was stuck between the cover and the first page. It wasn't official letterhead, nothing to indicate her title or her responsibilities, just a half-size piece of cream-colored vellum with her name embossed on the top of the page in small script letters. The note was handwritten in black ink.

Kara, you have my deepest appreciation for introducing me to Hugh Connelly and for your extremely interesting tour of the camp. If you ever make it to Caprica City, please call me. I'd love to take you to lunch. Enjoy this wonderful book. Laura Roslin.

"Take me to lunch?" Kara laughed out loud. If she called Laura Roslin, what would the Secretary say, Kara? Sorry, I don't know any Kara. Then she read the last sentence again. Enjoy this wonderful book. Kara snickered and wondered what Laura Roslin thought about the prince and his lusty wench. Although looking back on that encounter, Kara realized it was a lot tamer than it had seemed to her at the time.

She left the note in the book. It would make a good bookmark. She hadn't gotten but one chapter into the book three years ago. She started over at the beginning.

Olliver, the Caprican prince, traveled to the Underworld to meet his father. There he would receive his three tasks, the three tasks he would need to complete in order to win his father's freedom.

She had read far enough the first time to know what those tasks were. The first was to capture and tame the Griffin of Gyron, the creature that had the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle. He then had to fly on the back of the Griffin to the island of Hesperides and find the adamantine sword of Perseus with its mythical powers. Last he had to use the sword to slay the Cyclops of Seriphos and free the people of that island.

She read again the part where Olliver found his father languishing in the Underworld, his life ebbing slowly day by day, the tear-filled joy of their meeting as his father acknowledged Olliver as his son, the emotion as Olliver knelt on one knee before his father and asked his blessing, and having received it, bravely left to perform the tasks.

She knew that as Olliver was searching for the Griffin he found his way into the secret garden and saw the golden-haired princess with the emerald eyes, and of course fell instantly in love.

Kara read all afternoon. She was almost to the garden scene when Maggie got home and shortly after she got there, Jared came in. She had to put the book aside.

Maggie believed her when Kara told her about having an accident on the bike and cutting her leg. She told Kara again what a dangerous job she had. Behind Maggie's back Jared looked at her and smiled.

"I'll take my dangerous job any day to smelling like a rug rat puked all over me."

When Maggie went to take a shower and change clothes, she and Jared went into the kitchen. "Frogman wanted to meet us at Zeno's tonight until I told him we had to take a bullet out of you early this morning."

"You didn't mention Fisk, did you?"

"No, Frogman thinks we did it."

"We?"

"Okay, me. I knew we had to protect Fisk and I knew Frogman would never believe you dug a bullet out of yourself."

"Frogman must not know how you get at the sight of blood. You couldn't even watch Jack cut me last night, could you?"

"I didn't get involved with the resistance to be a damned medic," Jared said hotly.

"Okay, okay. Calm down."

"I told Frogman we'd meet him one night next week. I think he fell in love with you when I told him you took a bullet for the cause and still got away."

"What about the other two guys?"

"He got word late today. Some minor cuts and bruises. They're fine. Nothing like a bullet wound. He'll pass the word back about you. He said one of them had specifically asked about you. He knew you had to…do your job. He wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, maybe we can all have a reunion at Zeno's one night and compare our war wounds, drink a few cold ones, discuss the finer points of blowing up labs and shooting Cylons."

Jared laughed. "I'm glad getting shot hasn't caused you to lose your sense of humor."

...

Bill sat at the small table in Laura's office.

"I hope I brought something you like," he said to her as he indicated the boxes of takeout food sitting in front of him.

"I'm sure I'll find something." She went to the door between her office and the outer office. "Billy, you can go home now. It's after eight o'clock."

"You're sure," he said.

"Positive."

"Should I make fresh coffee for you and Commander Adama?"

"Thank you, no. I don't think either of us needs coffee tonight."

She had something a little stronger in mind. She walked with Billy to the door of the outer office and locked it behind him.

Returning to her office, she found Bill eating noodles from one of the boxes. "Sorry to get started without you. This is the first meal I've had since a bagel early this morning. It's been a crazy day."

"I'm going to fix a drink. Would you like one?"

His mouth full, he nodded.

She went to a set of cabinets on the far side of the room. From one she took a bottle of whiskey and from another got two glasses. She carried the bottle and glasses to the table. Without a word she sat down and poured both glasses a third full.

She raised her glass to him. "To an extraordinary day."

"One I hope isn't repeated soon. No insult meant, Laura, but I have to ask. Do you know anything about what happened at that lab early this morning?"

"Beyond what I saw on the news? No, Bill, I don't. You have my word on that."

"I've been trying to call John all day. He's not picking up."

"He won't if he's in the cockpit."

"I called my friend who runs the air cargo business. He said John has been off for the last two days. He called in this morning and asked for a couple more days off."

"That's understandable. I'm sure Lissa is very upset."

"I need to know if he told anyone about that lab besides you."

"I seriously doubt it. But someone did know weeks ago. There was an incident where a lone terrorist died trying to blow up the lab. Apparently it was kept very quiet. Whether he was part of the resistance is something none of us can answer without a lot more information."

Bill pushed the carton of noodles aside and took his drink. "It's got to stop, Laura. They're going to ruin everything I'm working on if they keep it up."

"What are they going to ruin?"

"Something I've been working on for three years now. I need one or two more years and then we'll have a chance at being free of the Cylons forever."

"And you aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"Not yet."

"After all we've been to each other, you still don't trust me."

"Trust has nothing to do with it. I'm trying to protect you."

She sighed, finished her drink and poured another one. She knew it was probably a mistake on an empty stomach, but she needed the dulling power of the alcohol tonight. There was no use trying to get Bill to tell her. She knew his stubbornness well enough to know he would remain quiet until he was ready to reveal his plans to her.

"Does the President know about your plan?"

"Not all of it."

"Because he wouldn't approve?"

"Probably not. He'd think it's too dangerous."

"Does anyone know about your plan other than you?"

"I'm the only one right now who has all the pieces. There are others involved, but each has only a part."

"I assume there's at least one involved on every battlestar?"

Bill smiled.

She raised her glass again. "Then I wish you luck."

"You realize what the destruction of that lab means, don't you?"

"That we've only stopped this human-Cylon hybrid breeding program temporarily. They are apparently close enough to taste victory. They won't stop. They'll rebuild no matter what the cost."

"Yes, they will. The terrorists or resistance or whatever you call them has only slowed Baltar and his crew down, but they haven't stopped him. He'll start over somewhere else and this time the Cylons will spare no expense at making an impregnable fortress for his work. If they take some of your funding, Laura, let them have it."

"It doesn't look like I'll have much choice, does it?"

"Please be patient a little longer. We're not quite ready to make our move, yet. The worst thing we could do would be to go too early…like that lone terrorist did weeks ago. Whoever planned and executed the operation that took out the lab early this morning knew exactly what they were doing. That's why we've got to wait. I will tell you just one thing. We don't have enough pilots yet to make my plan work. We've got to wait until more are trained and that can't be hurried. Like I said, another year, maybe two. In the meantime we'll have to hope Baltar and crew don't succeed in what they're doing. Of course I agree with Agent Darren. The Cylons will have another copy of Simon down here soon, if not already. They'll be hard at work again somewhere, probably by early next week."

"There's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time, Bill. On the first day of the negotiations, when I told you that we wouldn't be working with the metal Cylons, that some of them looked like us now, I sensed that you weren't all that surprised. How long have you known the Cylons had skinjobs as some rather crudely call them?"

"I knew they were working on something at the end of the last war. Right before the armistice I chanced on one of the facilities where they had been experimenting with humans. It was horrific. Arms and legs and other…body parts attached to…to…the gods know what kind of apparatuses. At first I thought it was some kind of crude torture chamber, but later I started wondering if they weren't doing something else. When you told me there were Cylons that looked like humans, I realized what was happening in that place. They were dissecting those humans, studying all the workings of the human body, trying to duplicate us right down at the cellular level."

"And now they're trying to take it a step further, trying to combine their genetics with ours."

"Apparently so."

"The resistance knows who is working with the Cylons. Baltar will be their next target."

Bill finished his first drink and poured another. "The Cylons will keep him so well insulated that a flea couldn't get to him."

"I'm sure you're right."

"I need to warn you that someone on the investigating team will be coming to talk to you."

"Why?"

"They're going to investigate everyone who works at the lab. That means John's girlfriend Lissa and John, too. You and John have been seen together in the last few weeks. Agent Darren called me with that information this afternoon. To satisfy the Cylons, you'll be questioned. They would love to get something on you. Cavil would love to tie you to what happened this morning. Don't you realize that you've given him the perfect opportunity?"

"They need never know that John and I discussed anything about Cylons or a lab. All they will find out is that John and I are having an affair."

"An affair? How could you, Laura? He lives with someone. How could you fall for him knowing how he is with women? How he…"

"How is he with women, Bill? John has never been anything but kind and generous to me…and a real gentleman. He's never tried a thing. If anything he's been more on the shy side. I gave him the perfect opportunity and he didn't do a thing with it."

"You mean you're not having an affair with him?"

"Of course I'm not. But the fact that you believed me means others will, too. Rather they believe that than the truth of what John and I were discussing and know it came from Lissa. I promised him I'd protect him and his girlfriend as well. I intend to honor that promise." She smiled. "I'm not going to volunteer the information when I'm questioned, of course. Someone will have to very skillfully pick it out of me. I imagine I'll be able to blush suitably as I steer them in that direction."

Bill finished his second drink. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I just made a fool of myself, didn't I?"

She was still smiling. "Perhaps I'd better not answer that question. I've confessed my affair with John to you. You'll be able to testify to that if you're ever asked. I guess at some point soon I'd better tell John."

Bill almost laughed. "I'd be careful how and where I told him. You might find him more enthusiastic about this cover story than you are."

"Should I do it before or after I get him to explain that little trick in the shower that he allegedly does so well? That might be a good piece of information to have."

Bill Adama picked up the bottle of whiskey and poured another drink. "You're really enjoying yourself at my expense tonight, aren't you?"

"How rarely does that happen?"

"Too rarely," he said and smiled again.

"Be careful not to leave my office smiling like that or a rumor will get started about us, too."

"Now that would be the nicest thing I've ever been accused of."

"You've been spending too much time with John," Laura said. "You're starting to sound just like him."

"The gods help us, then. Between John and me the beautiful women of Caprica City are in big trouble."

It was probably the whiskey, but she and Bill Adama laughed until they were both in tears and nearly breathless.