SECOND SON
by Teresa
CHAPTER FOUR
The bridge crew had been very quite for the passed couple of hours since Robert had been captured and Bridger had been forced to make a nightmare of a decision.
Meanwhile the Seaquest wasn’t going to sit back and wait for further harm to be bestowed on their fellow crewmember. The communications team, lead by Tim O’Neill, had found that the vessel that apprehended Robert Bridger’s shuttle was unable to be tracked due to high electrical current frequencies sent out through their area of the ocean.
After hours of intense frustration, Tony came over to Tim who was staring motionless and frustrated at the readouts of the tracking equipment.
“Hey, Tim,” Tony called gently, putting his hand up against the desk Tim was working at and leaning on it. Tim looked over irritably, annoyed at being interrupted.
“Yes, Tony?” he demanded.
“Tim,” Tony begun, ignoring the irritable tone in his friend’s voice, “I think you need to take a break.” Tim looked as though he were about to protest. Then he looked back at his computer at the seemingly useless information on the screen. “Come on, you’ve been at it for hours,” Tony reasoned.
“Yeah, and I’ve managed to discover that there’s nothing I can do,” Tim stated dejectedly.
“Tim,” Tony placed his hand on his shoulder, “it’ll work out okay. At least we know where he is now.” Tony looked up quickly hoping that Bridger wasn’t there to hear what he said. He had never known Robert and, even though he was their former-Captain’s son, his emotions were overwhelmingly occupied by concern for Lucas.
“Yeah, we know he’s not okay,” Tim sounded very upset. They hadn’t talked about Lucas’ appearance since they had first seen him hours ago.
“He was alive and he didn’t look too badly hurt,” Tony told him trying to convince himself.
“He didn’t even struggle,” Tim was staring off into space, “Lucas normally fights with everything he has. What the hell did they do to him?”
“He probably didn’t see much point in it, they’d secured him pretty good, he was probably just feeling trapped,” Tony tried to reason. Tim shivered at the word ‘trapped’. It was something that he personally harboured as one of his greatest fears.
“I just hate feeling helpless. He looked so young,” Tim whispered, he was going to add ‘Why Lucas?’ But he knew that they both knew very well why Lucas had been taken. He sat back in his chair running his hands over his face, sighing, “He’s too young for this.”
Tony didn’t refute him. Instead he patted Tim’s shoulder, “Let’s go get some food.” Tim rose and followed Tony off the bridge.
“Do you think they interrogated him?” Tim’s words made it feel like sharp ice particles had just pierced Tony’s chest. He stopped short, sucking in a hot heavy breath and then letting out a loud sigh.
Tony looked at Tim who stood facing him, a few steps in front of him. He tried to think of something to say like ‘who would torture an eighteen year old kid’ or ‘they probably know everything he could tell them anyway’. But he was passed trying to convince himself, “That’s enough, Tim,” Tony said so sternly it almost sounded like anger.
“I’m sorry,” Tim, said, Tony’s anger snapping him out of his over-emotional state.
“It’s okay, man,” Tony said as he walked up to Tim. As he took his arm momentarily, they both started walking together again, “We’re all worried about him. But we need to think positively and strategically if we’re going to think about it and if we can’t do that, then we’re going to change the topic.”
Tim rolled his head back, almost looking at the roof and grinned in spite of himself, “That sounds like something I would say!”
Tony grinned too, “You’re rubbin’ off on me.”
***
Nathan sat in the wardroom with his head in his hands. A glass of water was set down on the table in front of him. Although he was surprised that he hadn’t heard anyone come into the room, his face didn’t show any amount of surprise as he lifted his head up. His eyes were puffy from tears but the former UEO captain still did not look weak, despite the pain.
“How you doing?” Jonathan Ford asked as he took a seat opposite.
“Oh, I’ve been better,” Nathan, said, “I’ve been much better.”
“Been worse?” Jonathan asked trying to be positive.
“That’s what I’m trying to think about. I guess I have but I’ve dealt with all that already. This…well, I never thought anything like this would happen,” his last few words became a whisper and it was evident to Jonathan that he was still in shock over the whole thing.
“You know neither of them will be killed. The UEO won’t let that happen.” Jonathan comforted.
“I lost faith in the UEO a long time ago, Jonathan,’ Nathan stated gently. Ford did not look too surprised, rather lost for any more words of comfort.
Nathan looked up, seeing that Jonathan was searching his mind and heart for some words of comfort. He was such an amazing man, driven, loyal, devoted, sharp-minded and strong. But he was also caring, friendly, accepting and forgiving. Nathan smiled at his former Commander, “Thanks, Jonathan. How are things on the bridge?”
“Dead end roads,” Jonathan sighed, “More of them.”
“I’ve been thinking about…what Vishnore said,” Nathan began. Jonathan was surprised. He didn’t expect Nathan to want to talk about this so soon, “At first I tried to figure out if he was serious, if I think he really would release the one I chose. I think he would,” Nathan took a deep breath, “As unfortunate as it is, this is about me and my son. Lucas should not be involved in this. I have no right, and no desire, to risk his well being when he has nothing to do with this. We need to keep this where it belongs.”
“I know this must be a tough decision,” Jonathan put his hand on Nathan’s.
“There’s no decision to make. I can’t help but feel more responsible for Lucas. I don’t if he’s younger, less experienced or if I feel an obligation to him because he’s unwanted by his family.” Jonathan took his hand away and averted his eyes. Nathan looked at him, “I know you wanted me to choose Lucas..”
“Captain, I know how much you missed your son..”
“Jonathan, let me finish. I just want to say that it’s okay. It’s completely understandable. I’m very glad that he has people that care this much for him.” Jonathan nodded.
“Well, you wait for that bastard to call back and I’ll go check on Tim, see if he’s found anything,” Jonathan got up to leave.
***
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Hudson stood in front of his vid-screen, furious and absolutely shocked.
“Unfortunately not,” McGath replied, “We can’t seem to get away from them.”
Hudson slammed his hand on the desk, “I _knew_ section seven were involved in this!”
“It isn’t as bad as it sounds, Oliver,” McGath informed him, “They say they’ve been having serious problems with these people for quite some time. They know exactly who they are.”
Hudson raised one eyebrow, “And where we can find them?” he challenged.
“Uh, no. Unfortunately not,”
“Do they know that these people are holding two UEO officers, one who is under _my_ command?”
“Oliver, this is Section Seven we’re talking about. They really weren’t interested in anything we have to say. But, yes, they are aware of Ensign Wolenczak’s abduction. That is what brought their attention this time around.”
“This time around?” Hudson was still annoyed at the likely involvement of Section Seven.
“Well, like I said, they’ve had problems with these people before.” MaGath was being very patient.
“So they know exactly who they are,” Hudson confirmed, repeating McGath.
MaGath nodded, “So they say,”
Hudson stood looking at him for a few moments, expecting him to continue, “Well?”
“They wanted to meet up with us. They profess that the information they have is strictly confidential and on a need-to-know-basis,”
Hudson rolled his eyes, “Well, according to them, do we ‘need to know’?” he asked sarcastically.
“You’ll find out soon, Oliver. They have two agents on their way right now.”
At Hudson’s unexcited look, he added, “You’d better let them on, Oliver,”
“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” It was a rhetorical question. Hudson didn’t wait for MaGath to reply before he severed the link.
***
The mess hall bustled with activity as sailors moved around with their food, eating and chatting. Tim and Tony were no exceptions. They were trying to keep positive so that they didn’t loose their cool.
“Hey, guys,” Lonnie greeted them in her usual friendly tone.
“Hey,” Tim replied, gesturing for her to sit down.
“Any luck, Tim?” she asked as she set her tray down opposite him, next to Tony.
Tim let out an exasperated sigh and Tony’s facial expressions clearly told her that she had just asked the wrong question.
“I’ve found nothing. This is Lucas’ expertise, not mine,”
“Well Lucas isn’t here, Tim,” she stated the obvious, sternly.
Tony looked up sharply to glare at her. She ignored him and continued looking at Tim instead, “What do you mean you’ve found nothing?” she pursued.
“What do you mean what do I mean?” Tim was getting pissed off, “I can’t track the vessel or the communications transmission. I don’t know where they are,” he stated slowly and deliberately.
“Guys!” Tony interjected, “Settle down. We’re not helping Lucas by getting stressed out and upset,” he looked at Tim, “We just talked about this.”
Tim put his hands up in surrender to Tony, “I’m sorry,” he said, looking at Lonnie to include her in his apology as well.
Lonnie looked upset, “Can I just find out what’s going on without getting my head bitten off? I care about him too,” she begged.
“Alright, okay,” Tim waved his hand to allow her to question, “What are you getting at?”
“Do you know why you can’t track the vessel? It picked up one of ours. Surely, if you can’t track the communication, you should be able to track the vessel. There has to be some trick.”
Tim sighed, “They sent out a high frequency electronic wave through the water as they took off. It confused any signals that we could’ve picked up.”
“Oh,” Lonnie stated dejectedly.
Tim was about to express his hopelessness again when a light bulb came on, “You’re a genius,” he said gently as he looked up at her.
“What?” she asked. Tony looked similarly confused. Tim jumped up out of his seat and raced out of the mess, leaving his forgotten food on the table. The other two jumped up and followed immediately.
The trio sprinted onto the bridge, racing over to Tim’s station. Tim fumbled with his equipment as he tried to catch his breath. He looked over at the others, “The electrical frequency,” he puffed, “It’s so obvious.” The other two hadn’t quite caught on.
Not caring whether they had or not, Tim continued to explain further, “I can track the signal! If they sent out a signal, it must have been sent out _from_ somewhere.” Tony and Lonnie appeared enlightened, and thrilled. Tony moved over to peer over his friends shoulder as he madly typed at his keyboard.
Across the other side of the bridge, Biggs stood still with his eyebrows raised, looking enquiringly at Lonnie. She gave a glance at her two excited comrades before moving over to speak to him.
“Tim might have worked out a way to track the vessel which took Bridger,” she explained, excitement subdued.
Zach Biggs looked more shocked than surprised but recovered quickly, “Wow, good on him. So you think you might be able to get your friend back sooner than you thought?”
Lonnie was a bit lost for words, “I, uh, hadn’t really thought about when we would see him again,” she paused, wanting to enlist Bigg’s sympathy for Lucas, not really sure if he understood how big the situation was, “Lucas is only eighteen, you know. He’s just a kid. He shouldn’t have to be put through this.”
Zach looked at her carefully, his attractive face revealing nothing about what he felt inside, “I know,” he said quietly.
This seemed to satisfy her, because she nodded and walked back over to her two friends.
Jonathan Ford chose this moment to walk onto the bridge. Lonnie was pleased that she would be avoiding another grilling session as to her relationship with the new Lieutenant. He immediately made his way over to where Tim was still working at his board. Looking curiously at his fellow crewmembers that surrounded the communications officer, he asked, “Found anything, Tim?”
Tim took a breath to answer but didn’t look up, “Sir, I’ve been able to track the signal which scrambled up the signal of the vessel.” Ford leaned in closer and Tony moved out of his way.
Pleased he was occupied, Lonnie turned around to see if she could find Zach. He was gone. She frowned, that was strange. She shrugged with further relief and turned back to the three men in front of her.
Commander Ford was pointing to the screen and Tony was looking on eagerly but trying not to get in the way, “That’s in American waters. Find out what’s supposed to be there, we may need to check it out.” Tim nodded and Tony smiled happily. The Commander turned his attention towards Piccilo and Henderson, “You two get back to work.”
“Yes, sir,” they saluted him, and then moved off.
“Lieutenant,” he addressed O’Neill as they left, “Good work,” he smiled. Tim nodded back.
***
“Will you do what you say?” Bridger was in the middle of a strained conversation with Vishnore. The transmission had been put through on a private line earlier and only Hudson and Ford were in the room with Bridger. They both stood back, almost out of sight from the vidlink.
“Of course, Mr. Bridger,” Vishnore purred in a sly, unbelievable tone, knowing that Bridger had no choice anyway, “One last thing. The condition of Wolenczak’s safe return is that you do not attempt to track down Robert again. He is mine, do not attempt anything or your ex-ward or whatever will not be so safe. Is that understood?”
In the background, Hudson rolled his eyes irritably at the threats. Bridger didn’t take them so seriously either.
“Okay, Vishnore. You have a deal,” he said confidently. Before he could ask anymore, however, Vishnore severed the link.
Ford lifted his eyebrows, “That’s it? No conditions on the drop off?”
Bridger stared unhappily at the screen, “I guess we’ll just have to cross out fingers.”
“We’ll be doing more than that,” Hudson cut in, “Section Seven has arrived on the scene,” he looked at Bridger.
Bridger looked confused, “No, it wasn’t related to Section Seven. The articles were anti-Section Seven.”
Hudson shrugged, “Take it up with the agents,” he fumed, “They’ll be arriving here,” he looked at his watch, “very shortly.”
The three men stood looking unhappily at each other.
***
The two agents did arrive very shortly indeed. And, as promised, Hudson did not keep them waiting at all. He invited the two men into the wardroom along with Nathan Bridger and Ford, thinking that they would be appropriate witnesses to whatever would be said. General MaGath was also on screen, virtually ‘present’ at the meeting.
The atmosphere was stiff with resentment and posed pleasantries. The two men were dressed neatly in casual looking suits with fancy looking ties and blue undershirts. They didn’t seem to possess any special devices and the give away cloak-and-dagger sunglasses-inside cliché was nowhere to be seen.
“We need to get our hands on the leaders of this group,” one of the men started.
“Who are the leaders of this group?” Hudson interjected.
The man put his hand up, “First thing’s first,” he explained. Hudson looked as though he where about to argue but he caught a look from MaGath and closed his mouth.
“Like I said,” the man continued, “They are attempting to bring down section seven. The group is a rival group within UEO bases but became independent of the UEO military alliance some time ago.”
“How long ago?” MaGath asked.
“Approximately two decades ago,” the man answered.
“A long time,” Bridger mumbled.
“They used to just be a different section of the UEO secret service,” MaGath nodded, he already knew this, “But as you know, secrets services can become corrupt,” Hudson and Nathan exchanged sarcastic ‘oh really?’ glances which were ignored, “Not only that, when two different sections are independent of each other and have complete self authority with no one to answer to, one can turn rogue.”
“Which is what happened,” the other shorter and chubbier man took over, “Due to its political affiliations the group has been named ‘Party Operation’… and is now also classified as a secret terrorist group.”
The agent allowed a few moments for this information to sink in. By now the agents had the UEO officers’ special attention, “Our main concern is that they are trying to bring down section seven,” the taller officer stated.
“Do you know for sure that they are trying to bring down Section Seven? Or is that just a hunch?” General MaGath queried.
“We know for sure. As a group that was once attached to them, we are the last pillar they have before they can go right under ground. Speaking metaphorically, of course. Once Section Seven is out of the way, they will have a lot more power. There will be a lot of governments at there mercy - including the American government.”
“Once Section Seven is out of the way?” Bridger mimicked, “You make it sound as though Section Seven is a weak organization.”
“Far from it,” was the curt reply, “The fact is, that Party Operation is a very strong organization. Remember, it is not just military. It is a political organization as well.”
“As Party Operation is a threat to us, it is also a threat to the UEO. So we are requesting your co-operation,” the chubby man added.
There was a moment of silence before General MaGath spoke, “Gentlemen, could I have a moment alone with my officers please?”
The two men looked at each other hesitantly before nodding in agreement, “We’ll be waiting outside the door,” the taller man said. The two stood up and left.
Once the door had been firmly closed. MaGath began, “I’m afraid we are going to have to place our complete trust and co-operation in Section Seven,”
Hudson was not amused, “Complete!?”
“I know, it sounds a very serious issue to be placing with these types of people but trust me this is the best option. I have already met with the board of the UEO. They fear that cutting relations with section seven to avoid any backwash that this may cause will only turn section seven themselves into another rogue group due to their complex networks and secrets.”
At the mention of section seven’s secrets the three men looked crest fallen. Obviously, they had all had very negative experiences in this area.
“Of course, due to the cold war with Macronesia we cannot afford any more complications. You may be aware that The Macronesian government is not likely to be at the mercy of such a group, which means that if anything goes wrong, this war is going to get a lot warmer,” he continued, seriously.
MaGath paused a moment to ensure that he had the attention of all three men, “The issue is officially classified. Only the people in this room are to have knowledge of this information. Dismissed.”
McGath’s face disappeared from the screen and the three men were left to dit and think about the information that they’d just received.
Nathan broke the silence, “Well, I think in order to ease any suspicions that these ‘Party Operation’ agents may have in whether or not I keep my end of the bargain, I had better return to the island.” He looked up at the Captain and Commander for approval.
Hudson nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.”
“We’ll let you know the second we hear anything about Lucas,” Ford offered gently.
Bridger shut his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath, “Thankyou,” he said. He then got up slowly and made his way out of the door. As he left the room the two Section Seven agents poked their heads through the door.
“Are you finished?” the taller man, whom Hudson had now gathered to be the higher ranking of the two, stated his question relatively politely.
“Uh yes,” Hudson waved them over, “Come in.”
The agents walked over to begin discussing what they needed from the Seaquest crew.
***
Nathan fumbled with his keys as he stumbled up onto his doorstep. Before he opened the door he took a few moments to reflect on the last few days. So much had happened. It was almost too much to handle. He thought about giving Michael a call as he shoved the key in the lock and opened the door but by the time he had entered the house, he had already changed his mind. He’d rather wait until..Or if.. No, don’t think about it, everything would be okay. No sooner had he plonked his bag down on the floor, there was a knock on the door. Nathan stopped short, wondering if he’d heard right. Noway, they would have had to be right behind him. Why didn’t they just call out to him?
Nathan heard the knock again and turned around to open the door. The young looking face of brown haired man in his twenties greeted him. Although Bridger did not recognise him, this was the same agent who had been conversing with Vishnore.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bridger,” the young man smiled. He was very attractive, but Nathan already disliked him as he had a very unpleasant presence about him.
“Can I help you?” Nathan asked, surprising himself by his politeness. He would usually say, ‘Listen, I don’t know what you’re selling, but I’ve got it. Bye.’
“I have the delivery you ordered,” the man said.
Nathan frowned, “No I haven’t ordered anything. You must have the wrong house. Thankyou very much, Goodbye.” Nathan went to close the door but the man put his foot in the way.
Nathan looked at the boot wedged between his door and the wall and then up at the man, with a bewildered look on his face, “You’re on private property. You’re going to have to leave before I call the police,” Nathan threatened.
“Alright well should I take him with me?” the man threw a battered Lucas to his knees in front of the door.
Nathan let out a gasp, feeling ill to the stomach, “Oh my God, Lucas!” he cried, dropping to his knees to tend to his friend. As he took the boys face in his hands he noticed that the gag and blindfold had been removed. Lucas face was pale and he had red marks under his eyes from exhaustion.
“Captain,” Lucas managed to rasp out weakly. Nathan looked into his eyes and could see that he had been through hell.
Vishnore’s associate chose this moment to put his gun to the back of Lucas’ head. Nathan froze and Lucas swallowed hard, averting his eyes. Bridger kept one of his hands on Lucas’ cheek but moved the other down to his shoulder to squeeze it as a sign of support and a protection. He then moved his eyes up to focus on the young man holding the gun.
“It’s time to go inside now,” the man stated calmly.
“What’s going on?” Bridger was frightened for Lucas but managed to keep it out of his voice.
“Inside, Mr. Bridger,” the man warned, pushing his gun against Lucas’ head. Nathan put both his hands on Lucas’ shoulders, patting him lightly, before getting up. Nathan stood looking at his enemy for a few moments before the agent nodded at him and Nathan moved backwards into the house. Keeping his eyes on the man who held his friend hostage.
As soon as Nathan was a safe enough distance away, the man grabbed Lucas by the arm and hauled him up roughly. Lucas gave a small cry and grimaced in pain at the assault on his aching body. Bridger stopped his retreat and almost began to advance in anger, clenching his mouth closed.
“Move further inside, Bridger,” the man prompted, still holding Lucas.
Nathan obliged and the man followed. He then approached a nicely furnished breakfast table. It was about knee height and had a vase of flowers placed on it, which were now withering. He pulled out a set of handcuffs and snapped them around Lucas’ left wrist and then to the leg of the table. He moved over to where Bridger was standing and ordered him to kneel next to a coffee table, which was next to the lounge chairs. Nathan did what he was told and was similarly cuffed to the table.
The man moved back over to Lucas and, gently pushing the teenager to his knees, removed a small black device about the size of a tennis ball but the shape of a football from his trouser pocket. He knelt down and grabbed the teenagers jaw. Nathan yanked at the cuffs, his knees turning to jelly.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, this time not able to keep the fear out of his voice.
“Just a bit of insurance, Nathan,” the man replied, distracted. He was trying to get the device into Lucas’ mouth, “Lucas, if you fight me. This will be a lot more unpleasant. I don’t think your guardian here has heard your singing voice yet has he?” Lucas glared at him in more pain and humiliation than anger before opening his mouth and allowing the device to be shoved inside. Duct tape then secured his mouth closed, effectively holding the device in place. Lucas shut his eyes in pain, he was getting sick of duct tape and restraint. The man then placed a hood over Lucas’ head.
“I’m just going to check through your house, Mr. Bridger. We would like to see that you are keeping your end of the bargain.” Nathan immediately said a prayer of thanks that Michael and his sitter were away safe and that he had destroyed all his documents.
“That is a bomb in the youngster’s mouth. I catch you making a move, and it goes off, taking his pretty young head off with it,” the man threatened, “Do you understand?” Nathan was furious.
“Hasn’t he been through enough?” Nathan pleaded. The agent was making his way out the door as Nathan spoke. At his words he turned around and swiftly moved towards Lucas, violently kicking him in the stomach. Lucas cried out loudly through his gagged up mouth as his body was tossed from his knees onto his side. Nathan cursed heavily as he shut his eyes in agony and yanked, once again, at his own restraints.
Once the man had left, he lifted his head to look at the still teenager on the floor, “Are you alright, Lucas,” he pleaded in concern. Lucas didn’t nod his head, even though Nathan could tell from the way his muscles were tightened that he wasn’t unconscious. For the next few minutes Nathan was lost in his own agony at watching one of the closest people to him lying in pain not feet from him.
The man walked quickly through the house, surveying everything in sight. He fingered the small button in his pocket as he strained his ears for any sign of movement from the other room.
After what seemed like an eternity, he returned to the room, “Thankyou for your co-operation, Mr. Bridger,” he said as he moved over to uncuff Lucas, “I hope I never hear from you again.” He then walked over and released Nathan from his restraints, “Good day,” he said casually and walked out the door.
It was then that Nathan realised the bomb was still in Lucas’ mouth. Rushing over to remove the hood, he carefully undid the duct tape over the boy’s mouth. Lucas spat the device out in disgust and relief.
There was a short moment of pause before the two men eagerly embraced each other. Lucas pushed his head into Nathan’s shoulder, while Nathan breathed in the smell of his hair and enjoyed the feeling of finally being able to hold him.
“Oh Lucas. Thank God,” Nathan whispered. They eventually pulled away. As they did so, Lucas still had his eyes averted. Nathan tried to look into them but settled for stroking Lucas’ hair out of his face.
“Come on, I’ll take you over to the lounge chair,” Nathan lifted Lucas up and helped him the short distance to the chair, “Do you want some water?” he asked, once Lucas had sat. Lucas looked up at him briefly and nodded. As Bridger moved off into the kitchen, Lucas sat down and wrung his hands for a bit before his former Captain returned with a glass and gave it to him. Lucas drank quickly.
Nathan sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulders, “Are you okay?” he asked again looking at the exhausted young man.
“Any idea who those men where?” Lucas avoided the topic, his voice a lot stronger than before.
“Uh, we have some idea,” Bridger began unsure on how much to tell Lucas.
“We?” Lucas clearly had absolutely no idea.
“Yeah, the UEO,” Nathan answered. Then he decided to start from the beginning, “Did Oliver tell you that I was close to finding my son?”
Lucas’ eyes showed a flicker of memory, “Ooh, that’s right. We were going to dock in to pick you up. You wanted our help.” Lucas’ blue eyes were fixed on Bridger in interest.
“That’s right. Well I found him.”
Lucas forgot momentarily about his ordeal as excitement flickered across his face, “You _found_ him?!”
Nathan laughed, “Yeah. I found him.”
“Well…where is he?” Lucas asked eagerly.
Nathan shut his eyes at the irony of the situation, “In the possession of the same men who were holding you hostage,” Nathan said seriously.
Lucas felt weak. He knew there had to be some connection there but he couldn’t quite piece the puzzle together. At Lucas’ fallen expression Nathan continued, “These are the same people that he has been working for, for the time that I thought he was dead.”
“Why did -,” Lucas swallowed clearly upset, “Why did they take me?”
“Well, they thought that when I found Robert they had no way of black mailing either of us so they thought that you were the next closest person to me. They were right.”
“They were?” Lucas asked quietly.
Nathan gave him a quick hug, “Yeah they were.”
Lucas looked fearful, “So how did your son get back into their hands?”
“His shuttle was apprehended as he left the Seaquest.” Nathan decided to leave the part out about Robert going back to help Lucas and the decision he had been forced to make. Nathan didn’t need to say another word because Lucas didn’t ask any more questions, realising how hard it was on former Captain Bridger.
“Do you know who these people are?” Lucas asked, “I mean, if I recall correctly I was taken from the Seaquest. That’s pretty impressive,” Nathan rolled his eyes at Lucas’ description of the kidnapping. Trust him to use a word like impressive to describe something so ingeniously evil.
“We do know, Lucas but it’s classified.”
Lucas looked angry, “Even for me?”
Nathan ignored Lucas’ arrogance, “Yes, ‘even’ for you.”
“But…I was _assaulted_ by these people… Do, do you have any idea what happened to me??” Lucas was getting angry. At some point in his argument he had stood up and was now facing Bridger who sat on the couch.
Nathan stayed calm, “No I don’t. Why don’t you tell me, Lucas?” he asked gently.
Lucas looked at him with hurt in his eyes and said nothing for a few moments.
“Come on, sit down,” Nathan patted the couch, “You need to talk about it.”
Lucas looked at the ground, “Okay,” he said quietly as he sat down. Nathan felt a ting of nausea in his stomach. He didn’t want to hear about Lucas being hurt, but he felt he owed it to him. He just hoped he could help make it better.
“Well,” Lucas began the story of how he was captured and repeatedly assaulted and restrained, “That’s pretty much it,” Lucas finished defeated. It didn’t sound as bad now he had just talked about it. He felt pathetic. Nathan didn’t feel the same way. He caressed Lucas back and pulled him into another gentle hug, which Lucas gratefully accepted.
“I’m just going to call your Captain, let him know you’re okay,” Nathan said as he patted Lucas’ shoulder and got up to go into the other room. Just before dialling up the vid link he took a few moments to lean up against the wall with his eyes closed. ‘My poor boy’ he thought ‘I’m so sorry this happened to you’.
He didn’t have to wait long before he saw Ford’s face on the screen. Ford looked at him, wondering what was the matter, “Should I patch you through to the Captain, Nathan?” he asked, guessing that it must be confidential.
“Yes, you might as well,” Nathan agreed.
“Nathan,” Hudson greeted seriously, “Is everything okay?”
“Well, not everything Oliver. But Lucas has been returned here.”
“Is he alright?” Hudson asked.
“He’s been traumatised and he was treated fairly viciously but he has no serious injuries. He can walk around and talk okay,” Nathan explained.
Hudson looked relieved, “So they returned him to your place,” he said with interest.
“Well, I’m the reason he was taken,” Nathan said bitterly.
“It’s not your fault, Nathan. Just take care of him until someone gets there,” Hudson tried to reassure him, “Their ETA is about one hour. We’re not far away.”
“Thanks, Oliver,” Nathan said, ending the conversation.
Nathan walked back into see Lucas after his short conversation. Lucas was still sitting on the couch, a little more vulnerable than usual.
“They’ll be here in about two hours,” Nathan told him as he sat down.
Lucas nodded at him gratefully, “Thanks.”
“Can I see how you’re hurt?” Nathan asked, “We have some time I might as well save you the agony of a prolonged physical.”
Lucas didn’t smile at the joke. Instead, he hesitated briefly, “Okay,” he said.
Nathan helped Lucas remove his uniform shirt. Lucas didn’t smell too bad despite not having showered for three days but Bridger could see that he had been perspiring profusely.
Nathan was extremely upset at the state of the teenager’s upper body, but tried not to show it as he examined the abrasions and bruising on his back, chest and stomach. The burn marks that the electricity had made where still very angry and red and he had a small circle of deep bruising around each one of them. Nathan wasn’t going to count them, but he already knew that there were too many. His boy hadn’t just been assaulted; he’d been tortured to an extent. No wonder it hurt to move around too much.
“I’m just going to get some ice,” Nathan breathed, trying to keep his emotions in tact. Lucas nodded with his head down.
Bridger tended to Lucas the best that he could. He tried to be as gentle and eventually he got sick of trying to cope with Lucas’ muffled whimpers of pain and went into the medicine cabinet to grab some strong pain killers.
By the time the Seaquest had arrived Lucas was asleep on Nathan’s lap. He had cuddled the battered teenager gently and rocked him off into oblivion, trying to heal the hurt the best he could.
“Lucas?” Tony’s gentle voice broke Lucas out of his foggy dreaming.
“The crew are here to take you back to Seaquest,” Nathan said as he stroked Lucas’ hair.
“Can he walk?” Tony asked.
“He should be but I gave him a pain killer so you might have to help him.”
“Okay,” Tony said as he helped Lucas off the couch.
“See you soon, kiddo,” Nathan said to Lucas.
“Okay,” Lucas said, barely awake as Tony helped him out.
***
After Bridger was sure that Lucas was back on Seaquest, he wasn’t really sure what to do. He knew that he would be contacted as soon as he was needed and he was doing his bit just by staying away to avoid suspicion. But things had happened so fast the past couple of days. Stopping so quickly was kind of like an anti-climax. His adrenalin was still rushing. He thought about getting something to eat but he couldn’t stop thinking about Robert and Lucas, which made him nauseous. He decided that there was no point in unpacking because hopefully he would have to be leaving soon anyway. There was nothing more to search for. So he resolved to just sit and plot what he would do to Vishnore for hurting his loved one’s.
***
“So the boy has returned to the Seaquest,” Vishnore mulled over the news, “If Bridger wants to stay on his island in order to make us think that he’s not up to something, he made a big mistake sending the boy back so quickly. After all, the teenager has been through a terrible ordeal.”
“You’re right,” Vishnore’s right hand man was revealed to be standing in the office again, “I would have thought that Mr. Bridger would want to stay with him for at least a few days if he knew that they weren’t going to see each other for a while.”
“Obviously he is planning on meeting up with his comrades in the near future,” Vishnore suggested, “I wonder what they’re up to.”
“Maybe you should give him a call,” the young agent suggested with a snicker.
“Maybe I should,” Vishnore agreed.
***
Nathan Bridger was so lost in thought that his beeping comlink startled him. Surprised that the Seaquest had contacted him so early, he got up quickly to go and answer the call. He froze as he saw his now archenemy’s face.
“What do you want? You’ve got a nerve calling, you son-of-a-bitch,” Bridger spat at him.
“I just wanted to check that you would still keep your end of the bargain Mr. Bridger.”
“You have a real hide asking that after one of your _goons_ hauled a teenage boy into my house and held him hostage and terrorised us in my own living room.” Bridger snarled at him through his teeth.
“Well,” Vishnore laughed, “We hope that won’t be happening again any time soon, don’t we?”
Bridger just stared at him, “Like I said, Nathan, we own Robert now. Do not track him down. Do not attempt to turn him against us. Do you understand?”
“What I understand is that my son is already against you, he doesn’t need my help and if you threaten him or Lucas again, then I won’t keep my end of the bargain,” Bridger severed the link in fury, determined to show that he still had some power. He breathed in a stressed sigh. Anna and Michael were safe, he reminded himself. Lucas was safe; surely they would not attempt another attack on Seaquest. There was no point in waiting here, he thought. He had might as well report to UEO headquarters. As the old saying went, things had gotten personal.
***
Vishnore sat at his desk. The room was light in the usual way. He was bent over his consol, concentration written over his face. He hit a button and the screen said, ‘MESSAGE SENT’.
***
The computer was already turned on inside the small room. A hand moved over and pushed some keys. The message read, ‘See that the boy has an accident’. The recipient immediately erased the message. Zach Biggs got up from his computer; ready to fill out his next order.