The same shift was on duty now that had been aboard the boat nine days ago when the murder had occurred and Ford, Hennessy and Ahn had been interviewing them in the wardroom for the last two hours.

"Only two more security guys to go," Ahn commented.

A knock was heard on the door of the wardroom and a Second Class Petty Officer entered.  "You needed to talk to me, sir?" he asked Ford.

"Have a seat, Robbins." He indicated the chair at the end of the table.  "We need to talk to you about the day that Commander Trailor was killed."

Robbins nodded.  "Sure, what can I tell you?"

Jonathan indicated the commander next to him.  "This is Commander Ahn, he's the chief investigator for this incident.  He's got a few questions he needs to ask."

"No problem, sir.  Fire away."

"Where were you when Commander Trailor was killed?"

"I was on exterior patrol, sir."

"Had you been there the whole shift?"

"No sir, we move the security personnel around every once in a while during the shifts to keep people fresh."

"So what different kind of jobs do you do?"

"Well, we've got five guys on duty at any one time.  One of us sits the front desk and makes sure that everyone checks in and out.  Two do exterior patrol and two are interior patrol."

"Do the interior and exterior guys patrol in pairs or singularly?"

"They walk alone, sir."

"Seems like a small crew for a boat this size," Hennessy commented.

"That's only because the boat is pretty much uncompleted right now. As it gets more and more complete we'll have more guards but right now it's not much more than a shell of various modules.  Hell, the only module that's habitable right now is this one."

"What kind of shifts do you work?" Ahn asked.

"It's an eight hour shift, sir.  We off-set from the construction guys though.  They work from 0700 to 1500 and 1500 to 2300 and we work three shifts from 0600 to 1400, 1400 to 2200 and 2200 to 0600 so we aren't changing shifts when the construction crew is coming aboard."

"I see.  Did anything strange or out of the ordinary happen on your shift?"

"You mean besides the Commander getting offed?"

"Yes," Ahn said cautiously.  He was getting the feeling that Petty Officer Robbins didn't exactly miss Trailor.

"Well, the Captain and the Commander had a pretty good shouting match a little before noon."

"You heard it?"

"Yeah," Robbins said with a nod.  "Most of the boat probably heard it.  I had interior watch then and if you were in this module you couldn't help but hear them.  They were shouting pretty loud."

"What about?"

Robbins shrugged.  "Well, I could hear the Commander shouting about how he thought the Captain was watching him all the time and about how he couldn't wait until this boat was done so he could get away from having to work with Bridger."

"Do you think he did?"

"What?  Did Bridger watch Trailor?"

"Yeah."

Robbins appeared to consider how to answer the question for just a moment before a small smile crossed his face.  "If I were Bridger I would have.  The Captain is smart man and Trailor was an asshole."

"You obviously didn't like him."

"Nah, he treated everyone like they were idiots and he was the only smart guy around."

"Was that since Bridger took over production?"

"Nope, he'd been like that since he started working on this boat. The guy was a class-A, number one jerk."

"Do you have any idea who killed him?"

"I don't think it was the Captain," Robbins stated flatly.

"Why?"

"Like I said, the Captain's a smart man.  If he'd wanted to kill Trailor he would have done it in such a way that we'd probably still be looking for the body.  He sure as hell wouldn't have been caught kneeling over the body with a gun in his hand."

"This is the last one, Nathan.  After this we wait about a half of an hour and then we induce coma.  I don't know exactly when you'll come out."

Nathan was taking short breaths to try to work past the pain that the last five injections had caused to course through his body so his reply came in gasps.  "You don't control," he paused, "when I come out?"

"No, it's mostly up to your body.  We'll just induce the coma.  It'll take you down far enough that you're not going to wake up unless your body is ready."

"What if I don't," another pause, "wake up on my own?"

Doctor Mankin on the other side of the vid-screen answered that one.  "Our experience is that at the right time your body either brings you back to consciousness or it just stops."

"I die," Bridger said simply.

"Yes."

"Let's pick door number one," Nathan mumbled.

"You ready?"

Nathan opened his eyes and looked at Kristin.  "As I'll ever be."

She went to hold his hand but he shook his head and grasped onto the side of the bed.  Instead Kristin put one hand on his arm and one on his right shoulder.

"Ahh," Nathan moaned in pain as the latest drug was injected. Kristin tightened her hold on him as he stretched his head back onto the pillow, his body tensing in pain.  "Oh, damn," he groaned.

"That's it, Nathan.  That's the last one."

Nathan tensed again and took a deep breath, holding it.

"Breathe, Nathan," Kristin coached.

He let out the breath he was holding in a gasp and then took in another deep breath and kept on breathing.

Kristin reached up and stroked his chin. "Don't bite your lip. You're going to bite right through it."  Nathan turned his head into her hand, his face screwed up in anguish.

"The other's got less painful," he paused for a groan, "with time. This one is getting worse."

"That's the way the last injection works, I'm afraid."

"That's why," he paused, "the coma?"

"Yeah, it gets bad enough that the body would just shut down to get away from it."

"Wonderful," Nathan muttered.  "Do you want to know," he stopped to let a wave of pain pass, "what it feels like?"

"Sure, if you want to tell us," Kelsy said.

"It'll fill the half-hour," Nathan said tightly.  He stopped for a moment with his eyes shut again and a grimace covered his face.  "The first three weren't bad," a short grunt escaped.  "Uncomfortable but not really a problem.  Then the fourth one, that one hurt but not bad and it kind of passed."  He let out a long sigh.  "The fifth one hurt a lot more.  Like a bunch of sharp needles running through my blood but that one eased up... it didn't go away but it eased up."  Through clenched teeth Bridger sucked in a couple of deep breaths as he tensed.  Kristin rubbed his arm and shoulder until he gradually relaxed some and continued.  "Then there's this sixth shot.  It's no fun at all."  Nathan visibly tried to get his body to relax.  "It seems to work in waves... ...I can get my body to calm down and not hurt too much for a short time," he grimaced just a little.  "But then I can feel the pain starting to build," he said tightly.  Nathan
stopped again and took a couple of quick breaths.  "Then it starts again, like it ripples... through my body... getting worse each time."

By now Nathan was tense, breathing sort, tight breaths and holding tight to the side of the bed as the pain increased.  Kristin rubbed his shoulder and used a cool, damp cloth to wipe the sweat from his forehead while Doctor Kelsy kept a sharp eye on the monitors recording the effects on Nathan's body.

He looked up at the monitor and the equally intense concentration of Doctor Mankin as he watched the same readings on the bottom of his screen.  "What do you think?"

Mankin looked up for just a moment and then returned his attention to the readings and shrugged.  "Actually, better than I expected."

"Does that mean you're not going to put me down?" Nathan asked painfully.

"Think about it," Mankin asked shortly.  "How long do you want to endure that?"

Nathan kept his head back, his eyes closed and breathed deeply a couple of times.  "Oh, about twenty minutes less than I've done so far."

Both Mankin and Kelsy grinned a little.  "Just about time, Nathan," Kelsy said.  "We'll let your body decide when it wants to come back."

Nathan opened his eyes and looked at Kristin.  "Within reason, babe."

"I know," Kristin said softly.

Slowly, Nathan raised his right hand and stroked Kristin's cheek, wiping off the single tear that rolled down it.  "I love you, baby."

Kristin leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips.  "I love you, Nathan," she whispered to him.  Off to the side she saw Dave Kelsy push home the plunger of the syringe that carried the drug that would induce Nathan's coma.  She saw Nathan flinch just a little before a vague look came to his eyes.  He gradually relaxed and his breathing evened out but his eyes never left Kristin's until he blinked a couple of times before a small sigh escaped his lips and his eyes closed as the coma overtook him.

"Is that it?" Kristin asked softly.

"That's it until his body decides to wake up."

"How long will that be?"

Mankin answered that one.  "We don't know, Kristin.  We're running in uncharted waters here.  No one has survived as long as Nathan has after exposure to this drug but on the positive side, I don't think I've met anyone who's been exposed who is as fit as Nathan obviously is."

"He's got one hell of a pain tolerance," Kelsy said as he checked the monitors again.

"Is he in pain now?" Kristin asked, concerned.

"No, he's pretty darned relaxed at the moment.  His brain activity and nerve synapses are in high gear but that's to be expected. That's part of the treatment."

"So now we just wait."

"I'm afraid so, Kristin."

In the corner of the room Dramont intently watched the tableau as it played out, his eyes becoming more serious as the events progressed. A slightly satisfied smile had crossed his face as he watched the pain the sixth shot caused and then a faint look of disgust as Kristin kissed Bridger.  He frowned as he listened to the doctors after Bridger had slipped into the coma.  It sounded like they were expecting him to survive.  A resolute look came to his eyes.  He was going to have to do something about that.

Commander Ahn thoughtfully thumped his fingers against the wardroom table as he stared at the far bulkhead.

"That answered a lot of questions, didn't it?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, it did," Ahn said contemplatively.  "That was probably the best description we've gotten so far about how the guards worked."  He looked over at Jonathan.  "And I don't think Petty Officer Robbins was a fan of Commander Trailor."

"No, not at all," Jonathan agreed.

Ahn straightened up in his chair and sighed.  "One more guy to interview."  He heard a knock on the wardroom door and called for the person to come in.  To his surprise, Petty Officer Robbins opened the door.

"Um, sirs, I can't find Carlton."

"What do you mean you can't find him?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, he was here earlier.  He had interior watch and he was standing just down the passageway when I came in here but it doesn't look like he's around now.  I can't find him anywhere."

"Do you know if he left the boat?" Ahn asked.

"I don't know, sir."

Both Jonathan and Ahn stood and headed for the door.  "We better find out," Jonathan said to Robbins as he passed him.  They walked quickly to the entry port and the woman who was manning the front desk.  "Did Petty Officer Carlton leave?" he asked her.

"He left about 15 minutes ago, sir.  Said he had a stomach ache."

Ford and Ahn looked at each other and Ahn reached for his communicator.

"I tell you, you've got to get me out of here," Carlton exclaimed excitedly to the man on the other side of the vid-phone.  "You said they'd never figure it out!"

"Will you relax, for Christ's sake?" Dramont said with a frown on his face.

"You can relax," Carlton said angrily.  "You're not the one they're looking for."

"They wouldn't be looking for you if you had just stayed calm and talked to them."

"You want me to go back and talk to them now?" Carlton asked facetiously.

"No, now you've drawn too much attention to yourself.  If you'd stayed there and just given them some reasonable answers you'd have been getting off work just about now and they would have been none the wiser."  Dramont shook his head and looked thoughtfully at the screen.  "Where are you now?"

"I'm still on base.  I'm at the rifle range.  They weren't using it today and I had a key for it.  There's no one here so I could use the phone without anyone around."  He looked nervously over his shoulder at the door behind him.  "They're going to be looking for me."

"They're not going to look for you there," Dramont said calmly.  "Just stay there and wait for me."

"How long?" Carlton asked fearfully.

"I'm over at Fort Gore right now at the hospital.  I should be able to get away from here in a few minutes and then I'll come over there.  Just stay there and don't turn on any of the lights."

"Alright.  I'll wait for you.  The west door is open."

Dramont cut the connection and then stared at the vid-screen with a disgusted face for a moment before placing another call.  The frown was still on his face when the call went through.  "Dramont," he said simply.

A blond woman came into view on the screen.  "What's wrong?" she asked sharply.

"Ford and Ahn decided to interview the seaQuest security guys and Carlton panicked and took off."

The woman shut her eyes for a moment and slowly shook her head.  "We're surrounded by idiots, Lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where is he now?"

"At the rifle range on the Headquarters complex."

"Can you handle this or do you want some help?"

"I can handle it, ma'am," Dramont said confidently.  "He won't be a problem."

The woman nodded.  "What about Bridger?"

Dramont grinned a little.  "I think you might have enjoyed watching the treatment.  To say that it hurt doesn't even come close."

"Good," she said with a satisfied smile.

"They've got him in a coma now and they don't know when he'll come out of it."

"Is he going to come out of it, Lieutenant?"

"No, ma'am.  That's next."

"Very good, Lieutenant.  Carry on."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Dramont said as the screen faded.

Kristin kept one hand covering Nathan's as she softly stroked her thumb over the back of his hand.  She raised her head when she heard a soft noise from the door.

"Doctor Kelsy said I could come in here for a moment," Lucas said quietly, moving up to her side and looking at Bridger who appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be sound asleep.  "How's he doing?"

"Well, all his vitals are within reason and he appears to be resting comfortably for the most part."  Her eyes flashed up to the rapid movement of the neuro-activity monitor.  "I'm told that the high brain activity is normal and part of the healing process so now we just need to wait."

Lucas rested one hand on Kristin's shoulder and one on Bridger's leg.  "How are you doing?" he asked softly.

Kristin smiled wanly and looked up at him again.  "I wish this was over, Lucas.  I wish this had never happened."  She sighed deeply and looked back at Bridger.  "I wish this had all never happened."

"I know," Lucas said rubbing her shoulder.  "We've got to believe that he's going to be alright, Doc.  Just gotta hang in there."

"I know."

"Can I get you anything?"

Kristin shook her head slightly, never moving her eyes from watching Nathan.  "No, thank you Lucas.  I'm fine."

"Okay, I'm going to be out in the waiting room if you need anything at all."  Lucas leaned down and gently kissed her cheek.  "He'll be alright, I just know it," he whispered.  Kristin nodded a little. Lucas turned to leave and smiled at the Petty Officer who sat in the corner guarding Bridger.  "Do you need anything, Kaminsky?"

Kaminsky smiled back.  "Nah, thanks, Lucas.  My relief shows up pretty soon."  Lucas nodded and headed back down the hallway to the waiting room.

Dramont checked the area carefully before pulling his car around on the side of the rifle range building that wasn't visible from the road.  He sat in his car for a moment after turning it off and then got out and moved towards the door.  The sun had almost set and the building was in darkness.  He cautiously turned the handle and stepped into the building.  There were no sounds around him and he guardedly moved down the hallway towards the offices.  "Carlton?" he called softly.  He jumped as he heard someone let a breath out loudly just to his right.

"Phew, it's you, Lieutenant."

"Jesus Christ, Carlton, you're going to get yourself shot if you keep sneaking up on people like that."

"Sorry, sir," Carlton said coming out of the shadows.  "I should never have gotten involved in this."

Dramont looked at the paleness of Carlton's face and decided to be blunt.  "And you wouldn't have if you had managed to stay clean."

"Christ, Lieutenant, one mistake, just one lousy mistake.  Hell, if I'd known that this was what you wanted to forget about the coke I would have taken the bust."

"Really?" Dramont asked in a flat voice.  "You really wanted to spend six years in a UEO medium security prison?"

"No, I didn't want that," Carlton said quietly looking at the floor.

Dramont smiled reassuringly at him.  "It's alright.  You're paid up."  Carlton looked up at him hopefully and Dramont shrugged.  "Paid in full."

"What do we do now?" Carlton asked biting his lip.

"Now, we get you away from here."

"Where to, sir?"  he asked anxiously.

Dramont put one hand over Carlton's shoulder.  "Somewhere where they'll never think of looking for you."  He patted the man on the back.  "You know, you should have stayed aboard the seaQuest and just answered their questions," he said calmly.

"Easy for you to say, sir.  They were going to think that I killed Trailor," he paused for a moment and looked at Dramont.  "And you know that I didn't, sir."

"No, you didn't," Dramont looked right back at him.

"But I know who did."

"Yes, you do.  Come on, let's get you out of here before someone notices my car."

Carlton nodded and turned towards the door.  Dramont shook his head a little as he allowed Carlton to take a couple of steps in front of him before Dramont brought his pistol up and, putting it right at the base of Carlton's skull, he pulled the trigger.

Ford looked up as Ahn stepped into the wardroom.  The security commander shook his head.  "Gone, he's just gone."

"I wish Lucas was here," Ford muttered.

"Why?"

"He could find out more about Carlton in five minutes than we can in three hours."

Ahn shrugged.  "Well, he's at the hospital so I guess we've got to settle for what I can find out."  He pulled a vid-screen close to him and started making calls.

A little while later Ahn was just finishing downloading the information he'd gotten while Ford completed another call.  "Yes, sir.  He's just disappeared.  As far as we can tell, no one has seen him leave the base and his car is still in the seaQuest parking lot but base security has looked all over for him and they can't find him."

"Alright, Jonathan," Secretary Noyce nodded.  "And at the moment, Nathan is unconscious but the doctors are saying that it's looking pretty good so far."

"Thank you, sir.  I appreciate that."

"Let me know if you get any other developments or if you find the security guard."

"We will, sir."

"And also let me know if there's anything at all that you think I can help with."

Jonathan smiled at the screen.  "We will, sir, thank you."  He turned towards Ahn as the screen faded.  "Anything?"

Ahn frowned.  "Well, for a security guard he's a little shaky."  He looked at the printouts in his hand.  "Nothing concrete but in the last few weeks he's been spending a whole lot of money.  Looks like he bought a new car and a motorcycle."

"You think he might be driving the bike?"

"Nope, it's sitting over at his apartment."

"Single?"

"Divorced... about six months ago."  Ahn looked up at Jonathan with a small smile.  "Oh, and it looks like it was your buddy, Dramont, who arranged for him to work on the seaQuest."

"He's an asshole," Jonathan muttered.

"Not going to get an argument from me," Ahn said pushing back in his chair.

"C'mon, Kris, you need to get some sleep," Dave Kelsy said kindly.

"I'm fine," Kristin said softly.

"You're not, you know."  He looked at the dark circles under her eyes and the way that her whole body drooped.  "The whole day has exhausted you completely.  I've got a bed set up for you in the alcove off the waiting room.  You'll be nice and close in case anything happens."  He could see that she was considering it.  "Besides, Lucas shouldn't be the only one catching a few z's."

Kristin smiled up at him.  "Where is Lucas sleeping?"

"The joy of being a teenager.  He's crashed out over two of the chairs in the waiting room."

Kristin looked back again at Nathan's peaceful face and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest before she nodded.  "Alright, but just for a little while."  She stood and turned towards the door.  "You'll keep an eye on him?" she smiled at the security guard in the corner.

"No problem, Doc.  He's safe on my watch," Petty Officer Wamar smiled back.

Kristin nodded and allowed Kelsy to lead her out of the cubicle.

"I don't get it," Jonathan said rubbing his eyes.  "He's got to be somewhere."

Ahn leaned back in his chair and stared at the overhead.  "We've checked all the buildings on the base, we've gone over the boat and the area around the seaQuest twice.  We've used thermal scans on the wilderness areas and all we've come up with is a bunch of deer. Damned if I know where he is."

"You don't think he managed to get off the base, do you?"

"No, I don't think so," Ahn said tiredly.  "I think he's still here."

The vid-phone next to Ahn chimed and he reached over to hit the button at the same time one of the night shift crew showed up with a fresh pot of coffee. Ford took the pot and poured a cup for himself and then for Ahn.  He pushed the cup across the table to the security officer just as he closed the connection on the vid-link.

Ahn frowned as he reached for the cup.  "Well, we found him."

"Where?" Ford asked cautiously.

"Floating right off the Admiral's gig at the pier."

"Dead."

"Oh yeah.  Someone blew the back of his head off."

"Hell.  So where do we go from here?"

Ahn leaned back and folded his arms.  "I don't know, Jon.  I just don't know."

Mike Sanchez yawned as he stepped of the elevator on the 9th floor of the hospital.  The floor where the intensive care unit resided. Lord, he hated these midnight shifts.  If it wasn't that these shifts were watching over Captain Bridger he might have taken the nights off but Sanchez figured that the Captain deserved someone keeping an eye on him.  As he turned into the main hallway, Sanchez glanced to his left and saw Wamar standing at the end of the hallway stretching as he looked out the window.  Frowning, Sanchez walked that way.

"Hey, Denny, what's up."

"Hi Mike.  Oh nothin' much.  Been a pretty boring night."

"Who's watching the Captain now?"

Wamar made a face.  "Ah, the Lieutenant decided that only he was the proper person to watch over an unconscious person I guess.  He came in and told me to take a break."

"It's Dramont's night off," Sanchez objected.

"Yeah, it is isn't it," Wamar commented, confused.

"And he doesn't even like Bridger."  Sanchez glanced up the hallway in alarm.  "What the hell is he up to?"  He asked starting to run down the hallway followed closely by Wamar.

As they rushed through the entrance to the intensive care unit one of the nurses tried to stop them but they just pushed her out of the way.  They slid to a stop outside Bridger's cubicle just as Dramont, who was standing on Bridger's left side, shoved a syringe into his pocket.

Sanchez moved cautiously into the cubicle.  "Lieutenant, stand back," he said firmly.

"This is my prisoner, Petty Officer Sanchez.  You stand back."

"Sir, what did you just give him?"

"You're imagining things... I didn't give him anything," Dramont replied with a smug grin.

Sanchez heard rushing feet behind him and quickly glanced back to see Doctors Kelsy and Westphalen standing there with several nurses.

"Lieutenant, get away from my patient," Kelsy said moving into the doorway.

"Get real, Doctor.  This is my prisoner and I call the shots."

"Not in this hospital you don't," Kelsy said angrily.

"You don't have much of a choice, Doctor," Dramont said ominously fingering the tubes that fed and monitored Bridger.

Sanchez shifted his position as Doctor Kelsy moved into the room.  "Lieutenant, I'm warning you, if you so much as lay a finger on my patient I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do."

"Don't even try threatening me, Doctor.  There's nothing you can do."

An alarmed look crossed Kelsy's face.  "What do mean nothing I can do?"

Dramont smiled slightly and then his eyes were drawn to the cardiac monitor as the steady sound of Bridger's heartbeat faltered.  It skipped once, then twice and then the smile on Dramont's face widened as a solid tone was heard from the monitor and the flat line indicated no pulse.  Kelsy immediately started to move towards Bridger only to see a gun pointed at his stomach by Dramont.

"Lieutenant, put that away. Your prisoner is dying."

"That's the idea, Doctor," Dramont said calmly.  "Seems like the only way to get rid of him is to do it yourself."

The night was getting late and the two men in the wardroom were no closer to a solution.  Ford leaned back in his chair stretching.  "Alright, so we've got one dead Commander and one dead security guard.  What's the connection?"

Commander Ahn was staring at his notebook.  "seaQuest."

"Yeah, but why?"  There was no sound in the wardroom for a little while as both men considered this point.  "Where was Carlton when Trailor was killed?" Jonathan asked.

Ahn checked his notes.  "According to Robbins, Carlton had the front desk."

Jonathan also leaned forward with a questioning look on his face.  "So if anyone came on board it would have been Carlton who let them on."

"Who do you think he would let on board?"

"Whoever killed Trailor?" Jonathan speculated.

"How do we find out?"

Jonathan pulled the wardroom computer towards him with a small smile.  "This is an important project, we record the entrance."

"Do the guards know that?"

"I don't think so.  It was Bridger's idea after we had a few incidents around here that seemed to be out of place.  He thought that there just might be someone who wanted to sabotage the boat and he wanted to keep track of who was coming and going."  Ford punched several keys while he continued talking.  "The file can only be accessed by me and Bridger," he stopped and grinned a little.  "And by Lucas 'cause he can access just about anything."  He looked down at the screen and smiled a little more.  "What time was Trailor killed?"

Ahn checked his paperwork again.  "About one o'clock in the afternoon."

"We'll start checking the records at twelve-thirty then."  Ahn moved around to stand behind Ford as the recording of the entry port desk of the seaQuest began to play.  The picture wasn't great... for that matter it was pretty lousy but Carlton was easily identifiable sitting at the desk.  Ford had expected to see him looking bored but instead he kept anxiously glancing through the door every few minutes.

"Is anyone recorded as coming aboard around the time Trailor was killed?" Ahn asked.

"Nope, not a soul."  As they watched the recording they saw Carlton stand up from the desk and come around to meet a person who had come through the entry port.  It was a man, an officer, dressed in a summer white uniform but his back was to the camera and they couldn't tell who he was.  Carlton and the man talked for a while before the man nodded and turned to head into the boat.  As he turned they saw his face.  A face they both recognized.  As one and with no words spoken they stood and ran out of the wardroom.

"Commander, you can't just let him die," Doctor Kelsy exclaimed.

"Why the hell not?" asked Dramont angrily.  The flat drone of the cardiac monitor kept sounding in the background causing a sense of urgency to those other than Dramont.

"No!" shouted Lucas from the doorway as he moved into the room.

Dramont glanced quickly at the boy and moved to point the gun his direction not noticing Sanchez' quick move from the head of the bed. Sanchez launched himself across the space between him and Dramont as Wamar slid around the foot of the bed.  Catching Dramont hard in the right arm with his shoulder, Sanchez drilled him into the wall.  The gun fell harmlessly from Dramont's suddenly numb arm and slid under the bed.  As the security guards struggled with the officer the doctors moved to Nathan's side oblivious of the thrashing combatants in the corner.  Sanchez reared back with his right hand and hit Dramont as hard as he could.  A sickening crunch was heard as Dramont's head snapped back and smashed against the wall and the man fell senseless.

"Crash cart!" Kelsy yelled.  "And I need this handcuff off, NOW!"

Wamar scrambled up from the heap in the corner and quickly unlocked the handcuff on Bridger's left arm that secured him to the bed.

"Bring it down here, Denny, I've got a use for it," Sanchez muttered.

"Draw blood and get a workup right now.  We've got to find what he gave him," Kelsy instructed the nurse to his left.  "Kris, I need you to intubate and bag him."

Kristin nodded and quickly moved to the head of the bed.  One of the nurses helped her to pull Nathan towards her so that his head leaned back on the edge of the bed and another nurse handed her an airway which she inserted in Nathan's throat.  She attached a bag and started returning desperately needed air to Nathan's lungs while one of the nurses stood on the side of the bed and started manual cardiopulmonary respiration.

"I've got the blood," one of the nurses said heading for the door.

Sanchez looked up from his position on the floor where he had Dramont cuffed.  "Wamar... here," he said holding up an empty syringe.  "Take this and go with the nurse.  That's what he gave him.  Stay with it, that's evidence."

"Aye, aye," said Wamar taking the syringe carefully and heading out the door after the nurse.

Kelsy attached cardio-shock pads to Nathan's chest and pushed the button on the faceplate of the unit.  He intently watched the readout as the machine spooled up to the needed voltage.

"Clear!" he called and waited for the nurse and Kristin to move back before pressing a second button.  The machine buzzed and crackled as the shock coursed into Nathan's body which rose and arched off the surface of the bed before falling back.  Kelsy looked up at the cardio-monitor to see the flat line continuing.  "Continue CPR," he called and the nurse and Kristin moved back in.

"Come on, Nathan.  Don't leave me," Kristin whispered to him.

Kelsy worked the controls on the cardio-machine again.  "Clear!" he called a second time.  Again everyone moved away and the button was pressed.  As the shock ran through Nathan again Kelsy looked up to the monitor and saw... one ragged heartbeat... a second ragged heartbeat... and then the flat line returned.  "Continue CPR," he shouted in frustration.

Kristin resumed her work with the bag and a second nurse took over the manual CPR.  This time the nurse was a large man and after a series of thrusts on Nathan's chest a definite crack was heard.

"Damn," muttered the nurse.

"Keep going," Kelsy said to him as he injected drugs into Nathan's arm.

Kristin looked up to see Lucas on the other side of the glass that surrounded the cubicle.  Toby Hennessy stood next to him with his arm around the boy's shoulder as tears flowed down Lucas' cheeks. Jonathan Ford and the Commander who had investigated Del Trailor's death rushed into the hallway where Ford slid to a stop at the door, his face a mask of anguish.

"Too late," he whispered.

A chime sounded in the corner of the room and the blood workup results flashed up on one of the screens.  Kelsy looked up at it anxiously and then quickly reached for the crash cart.  "Potassium... he injected him with potassium."

Dramont groaned in the corner and was pulled up to a sitting position by Sanchez.  "You try to move one millimeter, Lieutenant and I'll take personal pleasure in beating the crap out of you.  Understand?" Dramont just glared up at him a moment and then turned to look to where the medical staff was working on Bridger.  A small smile crossed Dramont's face.

"Stop CPR," Kelsy said bringing up a large syringe with a cardiac needle.  He inserted the needle into Bridger's chest and slowly pushed the plunger home.  Then he reached over and pressed the first button on the cardio-machine one more time.  When the proper voltage was reached he again yelled, "Clear!" and pressed the second button.

Nathan's body rose and jerked and then settled back on the bed.  All eyes in the room and the hallway were fixed on the cardiac monitor. The flat line bounced up into one ragged heartbeat... then a second ragged heartbeat... and then one firm heartbeat... and another... and another.  From the bed Nathan suddenly took a gasping breath and started breathing on his own.

"Gracia Dios," Sanchez muttered in the corner.  He looked at the hatred and anger in Dramont's face.  "Don't move you bastard... don't even think about moving," Sanchez said in a determined voice.  Dramont took only one glance at the resolute face of the young Petty Officer before leaning back against the wall quietly.

"Get him out of here," Kelsy said to Sanchez and Commander Ahn moved into the room to help remove the security lieutenant.  Ford took care of recovering the gun from beneath the hospital bed and followed the security guys out stopping to gently pat Lucas on the shoulder.

After Dramont was removed from the cubicle Kelsy watched the monitors with a sigh.  He turned tiredly to one of the nurses.  "Wake up Doctor Mankin."

"Dave?" Kristin asked nervously.

"I don't know, Kris," Kelsy said in a discouraged voice.  "Let's talk to Mankin."

"So why did you show up, sirs?" Sanchez asked the two Commanders.

"We had a look at the recording of the front desk of the seaQuest just before Trailor was killed.  It looks like there was an unrecorded visitor to the seaQuest at that time."

"Let me guess," Sanchez said looking over at Dramont.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the security lieutenant said stuffily.

"Yeah, right," said Ahn disgusted.  "Keep a good hold on that pulse gun, Jonathan.  We just might be able to do some interesting tests. Pulse ballistics has come a long way recently."

"Sorry about getting you up, Mike."

Doctor Mike Mankin rubbed his eyes tiredly and yawned.  "That's alright, I'm used to it."

Dave Kelsy continued his explanation where he'd stopped.  "So he was injected with potassium and his heart stopped.  It took three shocks to get him going again.  Right now he's beating and breathing on his own but I'm not sure what other damage may have been done."

"Have you had a look at the blood workup?"

"Yeah, before and after we got him beating.  It's coming across to you now."

Mankin intently watched the information run across the bottom of his screen.  After a moment he sighed.  "Well, that's pretty inconclusive."

"I know," Kelsy said sadly.  "This is what worries me," he said pushing a button that sent the readings from the brain activity monitor to Mankin.

Mankin leaned back and frowned at the display at the bottom of his screen.  He brought his hand up to rub his chin contemplatively.  "Well, on anyone else I'd say that looked pretty good but on him...." Mankin shook his head slowly.  "I don't know if that's good or not... it's way less activity than I'd expect."  He shook his head again.  "I don't know Dave... we'll just have to wait and see."  He glanced to the side of the screen and saw Kristin standing behind Kelsy.  "Are you alright, Kris?"

"I'm doing better now, Mike.  At least now there's some hope," she smiled wanly.

"Yeah, back into uncharted territory."

Two days later Kristin sat in the now, all too familiar, cubicle softly stroking the back of Nathan's hand.  She held a book in her lap that she was supposedly reading but in reality she spent far more time watching the comforting steady rise and fall of Nathan's chest. She turned her head at a small sound from the doorway.

"Hi, Doc," Lucas said gently.  "How's it going?"

Kristin shrugged a little and returned her gaze to Nathan's face.  "About the same I suppose.  He's still here."

"That's a good thing," Lucas said smiling a little.  "Why don't you let me sit with him for a while and go get something to eat?"

"Oh, I'm alright," Kristin muttered.

"Doc," Lucas said in a slightly chastising voice.  "They only want one of us sitting in here at any given time and if you stay here all the time I never get to sit with him."

Kristin turned to him.  "Lucas, I'm sorry, I hadn't thought about that."  She stood and leaned over placing a soft kiss on Nathan's lips.  "I'll be back, my love," she whispered to him.  She walked over to Lucas who put his hand up on her shoulder.

"I know that you want to stay with him all the time but you need a break occasionally," he said in a gentle voice.  "I can't have you getting sick on top of him being hurt."

A kind voice came from behind him.  "How about if I take this lady up to the cafeteria and make sure that she eats something?"

Lucas smiled back at Dave Kelsy.  "I'd appreciate that," he whispered conspiratorially.  "Don't tell her but she means a lot to me."

Kristin reached up and kissed the boy on the cheek.  "I love you too, Lucas.  Keep an eye on him."  Then she and Dave Kelsy walked down the hallway.

Lucas moved slowly into the cubicle, pulling the chair a little closer to Nathan's bed.  He also put his hand up so that it covered Nathan's and then sighed as he looked at the now unshaven face of the man on the bed.  "I don't know if the Doc's been talking to you but I'm going to," he said softly.  "I really need to talk to you."

"I don't care if you can't hear me or that you can't answer me back. I just need to get some things off my chest."  Lucas sighed a little and squeezed Nathan's hand.  "Just before this all started I know that you and I were having a little trouble... I need you to know that I'm sorry about being such a pain... I guess I'm just not used to having someone who cares about me.  That yelling at you that I did about how you were trying to run my life... well, now I understand that you were having to run my life because I wasn't doing much of a job of running it myself."  Lucas looked down at the hand he held. It seemed like only yesterday that he'd seen that hand angrily clutching the back of a chair and the memory of the argument came flooding back to him.  "I was a real jerk, Captain, and I didn't mean the things that I said," he paused and lowered his head.  "But I think you knew that.  You knew that I was just blowing off steam." He smiled softly as he brought his eyes back up until he looked at Bridger's face.  A face that was so peaceful now.  "What is it that you say sometimes?  You just managed to be in the line of fire when I was venting."  Lucas stopped and his voice lowered to a whisper.  "I didn't mean it... really I didn't mean it."

His voice was a little stronger when he continued.  "The week that you were in jail people were staying with me at the house and in the days since you've been in the hospital I've mostly been staying here too.  I sleep on the couches in the waiting room and the people here have been really nice to me."   He moved his eyes until he too was watching the steady rise and fall of Nathan's chest.  "Commander Ford was the one who told me that you'd been arrested.  I think I surprised him because I got kind of angry.... I didn't believe him... after all, who'd ever think that you'd managed to get yourself arrested for murder."  Lucas shook his head.  "As if you'd ever murder anyone... even that asshole, Trailor.  You couldn't have killed him... no way," he said positively.  "Cleaned his clock... yeah, that I could see.  Fired the guy... honestly, sir, I don't know why you didn't do that a long time ago... and that's not even taking into account how the guy treated me.  I know he didn't like me but you made it pretty clear that I was staying... and I know that he made your life miserable for it.  Hell, he made your life miserable over most things."

"But you wouldn't have killed him... I know that."  Lucas stopped again for a moment.  "Like I said, when you were in jail there were people staying with me, the Doc, Migs and Tim mostly... ...but it just wasn't the same."  He sighed and squeezed Bridger's hand again.  "I suddenly realized that this was the first time in the last two years that I didn't have you around to watch after me except for the times I visited my Dad.... ...and I really missed you."  A small smile crept across his face.  "I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but I missed you telling me to pick up my room, I missed you trying to teach me how to cook something else than pizza, I missed our talks when we were driving to and from work, I missed you keeping on me about staying to my curfew," Lucas stopped again and his voice caught a little.  "Mostly I missed just having you around... to worry about me and care."

His voice was soft and sorrowful now, "I know I told you that I hated you, sir.... but I don't."  He stopped while the lump in his throat went down a little.  "I love you, Captain.  I don't think I've ever told anyone else that before... even my parents and I do love my Dad even if I don't love my Mom."  Lucas' eyes slipped down to look at the floor.  "You've got to be alright, sir.  I can't have you dying thinking that I hate you."  His voice caught again.  "I could never hate you.  You're the only one who really cares about me and what happens to me.  Well, you and the Doc, I guess."  His voice got a little lower.  "And my Dad I suppose but sometimes it's hard to tell."

Lucas' eyes came back up to Bridger's face as he willed the man's eyes to open and look at him to no avail.  "You've got to be alright, sir.  I don't know what I'd do without you," his voice got smaller.  "I don't know what the Doc would do without you."  He paused a while and collected his thoughts before continuing.  "I know that you didn't have to do this... this being my guardian.  You joke about how it was good for the boat but I know that you did it because you like me."  He shook his head a little.  "I don't know why sometimes but for whatever reason, you like me.  I know that life would be a lot easier on you if I wasn't around.  You wouldn't have to put up with my nagging you about working too hard and coming home late, you'd only be feeding yourself and not me," he smiled a little, "and I know that I eat a hell of a lot of food, your house would be neater without me messing it up, you wouldn't have to spend your time off teaching me how to drive and stuff, and hell, you and the Doc would probably be living together by now if I wasn't around. I think the only reason you're not is because you want to be a good example to me."  He smiled again.  "As if you haven't already.  You and the Doc have been a terrific example of something I've never seen before.  I never knew what it was like to be around a couple who were in love... and it's really cool to watch.  I like it when you see her unexpectedly, the look on your face is really neat.  I like it when I see the two of you holding hands and just leaning against each other when you sit on the couch, it's almost like you're soaking up comfort from each other."  His voice became just a little defensive, "and I know that I've kinda busted up more than a few sessions of tonsil hockey but you guys do it so often.  And actually, that's kind of cool too.  Not breaking it up," he added hastily, "but that you do it."  He stared at Nathan's face for a little while before talking again.  "I need you to be okay, Cap.  I'm not done growing up yet and I need you to help."

When Kristin returned from her meal with Dave Kelsy she stood for a moment at the door of the intensive care unit cubicle where Nathan was lying.  Lucas was sitting in the chair next to him sound asleep with his head resting on Nathan's right arm and his hand covering Nathan's hand.

Kelsy came up behind her quietly and put a hand on her shoulder.  "That's the soundest I've seen him sleep all week."

"This has been awfully hard on him."  She shook her head slowly.  "He knows that there's no way that Nathan could have ever killed Trailor and then there's all of this... I think he feels rather helpless."

"I know the feeling," Kelsy said with a humorless smile.  "I think the both of you can stay with him for a while.  Let me get you a chair."  Kelsy came back with another chair which he slid next to Lucas' chair and Kristin sat down and mirrored Lucas' position as she rested her head against Nathan's leg and promptly fell asleep.

Several hours later a nurse in the cubicle woke Kristin up as she changed Nathan's IV bag.  "I'm sorry, Doctor Westphalen, I was trying to be quiet."

"That's alright," Kristin whispered trying not to wake Lucas up.

"You can talk, I'm awake," Lucas said with his head still lying on Nathan's arm.  He opened his eyes and sat up stretching his neck.  "Boy, I think that's the best I've slept in a week."

Kristin put one hand on Lucas' knee.  "Good, I think you needed it."

Lucas looked over at Nathan.  "How's he doing this morning?"

"About the same," Kristin said with a sigh as she checked the various monitors.  "He's still here."

"You understand what all those mean, huh?" Lucas said looking around at the monitors and their diverse readings.  "What are they for?"

"Well, that one keeps an eye on his heart, that one monitors his blood pressure, that one records his fluid intake and output and that one shows his brain activity."

"Which one has you upset?" Lucas asked quietly.

"Why do you think I'm upset?" Kristin hedged.

Lucas smiled softly at her.  "Because I know you, Doc."  His face became serious.  "Tell me please."

Kristin thought for a moment and then sighed.  "It's the brain activity monitor."

"Why, I thought that you said earlier that it showed normal activity?"

"It does... that's the problem."  Lucas frowned at her and Kristin tried to explain.  "With the drugs that he's been given the brain activity is usually accelerated and doesn't go down until the patient is ready to come out of the coma.  Nathan's brain activity was high to begin with but since Dramont tried to kill him the activity has gone down to normal levels."

"I don't understand why that's a problem," Lucas said confused.

"The problem is, what if this does represent his accelerated brain activity?"

"You mean that his brain activity might go down more when he gets closer to consciousness?"

"Yes."

Lucas now watched Nathan's face.  "Maybe it would just mean that he's really calm...."

Kristin smiled at him softly.  "I don't think so, Lucas."

"But he's breathing on his own," the boy objected.

"Yes, for right now.  It could be that area of the brain hasn't been damaged."

Now Lucas looked at Kristin.  "But you don't know."

"No, Lucas," Kristin admitted.  "We don't know.  No one has ever lasted as long after exposure as Nathan did and no one has ever suffered a heart attack during the coma before."

"He didn't really have a heart attack," Lucas objected.

"Effectively that's what it was, Lucas," Kristin said in a calm voice.  She also watched Nathan's face and sighed.  "Like Doctor Mankin has been saying... we're in uncharted waters here."

"So all we can do is wait?"

"I'm afraid so, Lucas."

The boy nodded, squeezed Nathan's hand again and then just sat there watching him.

Ford sat across from Mickey Ahn and thumped his fingers on the desk.  "Nothing, huh?"

"Nope," Ahn sighed.  "Not a word from him."

"What the hell is this about Mickey?"

Ahn shook his head.  "I don't know, Jonathan, I just don't know."

Sanchez stuck his head in the open door.  "Commander, that record for Dramont that you were looking for is up on your terminal."

"Thanks, Sanchez," Ahn said turning to his terminal and punching several buttons.  He frowned at the screen for a while and then turned to Jonathan.  "Why do I know this name?" he asked while pointing at the screen.

Jonathan came around the desk and looked at the record he was indicating.  A shocked look crossed his face before he answered.  "Well, that answers a lot of questions," he said in a satisfied but slightly disgusted voice.

Kristin rubbed her neck tiredly before once again resting her head down on the bed that Nathan was lying in and closing her eyes.  Toby Hennessy had taken Lucas off to get something to eat and she was going to take advantage of the quiet for a while.

Nathan Bridger felt like he was being held under water... like he was trying to swim up towards the surface, a light that was faint but calling out to him.  He struggled... struggled and fought getting closer and closer to the surface before finally he broke through.  He winced and his eyes fluttered open to see Kristin's face, peaceful in sleep lying next to his right hand.  Hesitantly he brought his hand up to run one finger down her cheek.  Her eyes opened and that smile, that beautiful, loving smile brightened her face as she raised her head.

"Nathan," she said softly with a catch in her voice and pushed a button next to the bed.

"Perfect," he said in a croaking voice.  Kristin looked at him questioningly and rested a hand on his cheek.  Nathan explained, "I went to sleep looking at you," he brought his hand up to cover hers and smiled a little, "and I wake up to your face... perfect."

Kristin looked over at Doctor Kelsy who had rushed to the door of the cubicle when Kristin pushed the button.  "He's awake, Dave... and coherent, I think."

"Welcome back, Nathan," Kelsy said coming up to the side of the bed while he checked the monitors.  They all looked refreshingly normal.  "How do you feel?"

"My chest hurts," Nathan moaned a little.

"You've got a couple of cracked ribs," Kristin explained.

"Uh huh," he said and frowned.  "Thirsty."

Kristin dipped a washcloth in the water jug to the side of the bed and held it to his lips.  "Start with this."

Nathan sucked on the cloth for a while before Kristin took it away to dip it in the water again.  This time Nathan's voice sounded a little stronger.  "How the hell did I manage to crack a couple ribs?"

"You had a heart attack," Kelsy said.

Kristin hastened to explain when she saw Nathan's deep frown.  "Not a natural one.  Lieutenant Dramont tried to kill you."

The deep frown remained.  "What the hell did I do to him?" Nathan asked in an offended voice.

"We're not quite sure why, Nathan."  She held the washcloth to his lips again.  She saw how Nathan was wearily blinking his eyes.  "You need to rest.  Why don't you take a nap?"

Nathan swallowed deeply before closing his eyes.  "Just woke up. Shouldn't have to sleep," he said tiredly.

Kristin gently stroked his cheek.  "I know, darling.  Just relax." His breathing evened out as he slipped into a restful sleep and Kristin looked over at Dave Kelsy.

"I love a happy ending," Kelsy said with a grin.

"So far," Kristin cautioned.

Nathan had slept for another eight hours.  Lucas and Kristin had moved into the waiting room of the ICU to give Nathan some quiet.

"He's really alright?" Lucas asked in a doubting voice.

"Yes, Lucas, it looks like he's just fine."

"Then why is he still unconscious?"

"He's not unconscious, he's asleep."

"He's not awake," Lucas countered.

"No, he needs some rest."

"He's been unconscious for four days and now he needs some rest?"

"Yes, Lucas," Kristin said with a smile.  "During the last four days his body has been busy healing, now it needs to rest."

"You're sure that he was really awake?"

"He was really awake, Lucas," Kristin reassured him.

"And he's okay?" he asked in a little voice.

Kristin brought her hand up to rest against the side of his face and smiled.  "It looks like he's really okay."

Lucas looked a little sad again.  "Good, now all we need to do is to get him off on the murder charge."

Jonathan Ford leaned back against the wall of the interview room.  "You know, Lieutenant, it kind of amazes me that people seem to want to follow her anywhere."  He looked right at the scowling man sitting at the table.  "Even off a cliff."

Dramont tilted his head in a condescending way.  "You don't know what she's like."

"I was her executive officer at one time, Lieutenant, I know just what she's like."

"So where is she?" Mikey Ahn asked.

Dramont only smiled.  "Who?"

"Lieutenant," Ahn said to him, "do you want to take the fall for this all on your own?"

"What fall?" Dramont asked cheekily.

"Well we've got you dead to rights on the attempted murder of Captain Bridger, although I don't know why you did it the way you did."

Dramont smiled a little again and shrugged his shoulders.  "I got interrupted.  If things had worked out right I would have been out of the room when his heart stopped and you would have assumed it was the drugs that Kelsy gave him."

"Well, you're going down on that... and then there's Trailor and Carlton."

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," Dramont said calmly.

"Ballistics has confirmed that your gun was the one used to kill Commander Trailor, Lieutenant and Carlton's blood is all over the trunk of your car.  You've failed completely," Ahn said sincerely.  "You didn't kill Bridger and they're going to drop the murder charges against him and charge you.  How do you think the good Captain is going to react to that?"

"She doesn't take failure well, I can tell you that from experience," Ford said ominously.

Dramont looked uncomfortable but still refused to say anything.

The doctors had wasted no time in moving Nathan from the intensive care unit into a room of his own.  He still had several monitors and IVs attached to his body but at least there was a little more room now.

Lucas sat to one side of the bed providing a little encouragement to Nathan as he sat up in bed and ate some rather questionable looking soup.

"Does it taste like anything?"

"I don't really know," Nathan said frowning at a spoon of soup, "but it's food, that's all I care about.  I'm really tired of this through the tube stuff."

Lucas shrugged, "Could be worse."

Nathan frowned at him.  "How?"

"They could have stuck one of those tubes down your nose and into your stomach."

"Yeah, that would have been worse," Nathan agreed swallowing the spoonful of soup.  He looked up at the boy who was watching him anxiously.  "I knew by the way," he said calmly.

"Knew what?"

"That you didn't mean it when you said you hated me."

Lucas looked at the floor with a frown.  "You heard me when I was talking to you?"

"Um hmm.  Every word."  He stopped until the boy looked up at him again.  "I love you too, Lucas."  He smiled and the boy answered with a grin.

"Oh good, you're getting him to eat," Kristin said coming into the room.

"Once they let me sit up you were getting no argument from me," Nathan said.  "I'm starving."  He frowned at the soup container.  "But they're only giving me liquids right now...."

"Nathan, you haven't really eaten in almost a week.  You can't go straight to tacos."

"I could try," he groused.

Kristin smiled softly and rubbed his leg.  "Eat your soup, dear," she said in a no-nonsense voice.

"Oh, good.  Someone finally woke him up," Toby Hennessy said from the door.

"You look disgustingly cheerful, Commander.  I've been looking for you."

"I know, sir, I got the message but I've been in court."

Nathan's face became serious and he put down the soup container.  "While I was out I remembered some more... and I know this is going to sound crazy but when Trailor was shot, Dramont was the person behind me."

Hennessy shook his head.  "It's not crazy, sir.  Dramont *was* behind you.  The guard on the front desk had let him aboard."

"Which guard?"

"Petty Officer Carlton."

"Have you talked to him?"

Hennessy shook his head.  "Not exactly, sir.  He's dead.  He was found floating in the water just off the Admiral's pier."

"There seem to be a lot of dead and almost-dead people around here," Nathan said in a disturbingly calm voice.  "Including me."

"Yes, sir, but I think we've got some answers now."  A little smile crossed his face.  "Do you want to know what happened at court today?"

Nathan sighed heavily.  "I don't know, Commander, do I want to know?"

"I think you do, sir," Hennessy smiled.  "They dropped the charges against you."

"Just like that?" Nathan asked doubtfully.

"Just like that but for several reasons, sir.  The doctors told the court that after the Locomotrol poisoning there was no way that you could have even pointed a weapon with any accuracy much less have pulled the trigger and then there was the ballistics.  The ballistics test on the gun that you were holding came back inconclusive." Nathan nodded.  "That's not what happened with Dramont's gun.  The ballistics showed positively that it was the one which was used to shoot Commander Trailor."

"I didn't know that pulse ballistics had gotten that advanced."

"Up until this year you would have been right.  It's great isn't it? We go and create a weapon that is untraceable... at least until they figured out how to match up the individual frequency of the weapon and the damaged tissue... but now they know that it was Dramont's gun."

"But why?"

Hennessy shrugged his shoulders.  "That answer I don't have, Captain.  Other than he wanted to frame you for the murder."

"Well, this looks like a convention," Jonathan Ford said coming in at the end of Hennessy's statement.  He looked right at Bridger.  "I may know the answer as to why, sir, but I don't think that you're going to like it."

"You may as well balance out the evening, Jonathan.  Toby got to give the good news," Nathan frowned a bit.  "Although I'm not sure that I believe it yet."

"You can believe it, Captain."

"Has Dramont said why?"

"Dramont isn't talking at all but at Lucas' urging we did a little research into the backgrounds of him and Trailor and we found an interesting connection.  It appears that they had the same commanding officer at one point... for that matter it was Dramont's first assignment."

"Who?" Nathan asked fearing that he knew the answer.

"Marilyn Stark."

Nathan tiredly leaned his head back against his pillow.  "How did I know that you were going to say that?"  He shook his head a little.  "You know, I'm getting really tired of that woman."

"I can understand that, sir."

"Perhaps that explains why Trailor was having such a problem building the seaQuest before we got here."

"And even more it explains why he disliked you so much."

"It's not like everyone who worked for her is part of a conspiracy. You worked for her, so did Ortiz... O'Neil... and lots of others...." Bridger closed his eyes tiredly.  "But how many more Dramonts are out there?"  Kristin moved up to gently rub his arm.  "Dammit all to hell and gone," Nathan muttered to himself.

"What do you want done with Dramont, Captain?"

Marilyn Stark stared out of the window of the large house that looked out over the water.  "Can you get him?" she asked quietly.

"Do you mean, can we spring him?"

Stark turned towards the skinny man in the corner with a determined look on her face.  "I mean can you get him out of jail and bring him here?"

"I could... but wouldn't it be easier to get rid of him?"

"Perhaps," she answered hauntingly, "but he has certain qualities that I admire.  I think it might be worth the effort to save him."

"What qualities?"

Stark stared hard at the man.  "A willingness to kill Bridger for one... and an extensive knowledge of the procedures around the building site."

"We've got loads of people that can tell us about the site."

"You're not going to argue with me are you?" Marilyn said in a barely threatening voice.  "Dramont knows about the security arrangements and no one else we have does."

"I'm not arguing," the man said calmly, "I just want you to be sure that you want to go to the trouble of getting him out."

"I'm sure," Stark answered positively.  "Get him."