SUB-ZERO, page 17
Trip nodded his approval.
Blinking out of his stupor, he smiled at Sam. “We’ll find your friend,” Trip said, “okay?” He held out his hand and was happy to see Sam quickly clutch it and squeeze. There wasn’t anything behind the act besides being a friend in a time of need. They all needed to have each other’s backs. If any of them let down their guard, it could be over for them all.
Sam smiled, let go, and patted Trip’s shoulder.
“You boys alright?”
Both Trip and Sam snapped their attention to Gianna who was looking back at them with a raised eyebrow. Right at that moment, Sam was still gripping Trip’s shoulder, and both men were smiling at one another.
Trip reached over and grabbed Sam’s shoulder, squeezing him back. “Sure are, but we’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt our bro moments.”
“Uh—yeah!” Sam added, glancing back and forth between Trip and Gianna. He gave Trip a curt nod and turned back to Gianna. “We were having a great bro moment before you said something.”
Trip and Gianna broke out in laughter. The way Sam said it was so awkward that Trip couldn’t help himself—Gianna either. The only one that wasn’t laughing was House who was deep in thought, going through the files that Gianna had gathered on her tablet.
“This isn’t good.”
Everyone’s smiles faded, and they quieted their laughter. House stepped away from Gianna and tapped the screen a few times. Then, he growled and handed the device back to her, looking very frustrated.
“What’s wrong?” Trip asked.
“The Endeavor,” Gianna replied, “we were hoping to disable it or, at the very least, turn it away from McMurdo.”
Sam shook his head and got to his feet, stretching as he spoke. “Not possible from here.” He continued. “We built in a safety protocol to keep someone from hijacking the boat from anywhere but the bridge.”
House nodded. “I know, Sam. I was hoping we unknowingly left a backdoor open.” He sighed. “The only other option besides an outright attack on Command is the engine room.”
“At the other end of the ship,” Sam said, about to flop back down on the ground.
“We need Buddy,” House said. “He’d know how to stop the engines without damaging them beyond repair.”
“Still need Becker too,” Gianna added.
After a moment of silence, House stepped toward the door. “Right… Let’s get to it then.”
“Dad?” Gianna asked, looking scared.
“Stay here, G.” He smiled softly. “Keep my grandson safe.”
“Your granddaughter, you mean. Sure.”
Trip looked back and forth between House and Gianna. He knew he needed to help his baby’s grandfather. But the man was also his captain and someone he respected.
“Go,” Gianna mouthed. And with Sam being a little under the weather mentally, Trip knew it would be the perfect opportunity for him and House to be alone together.
“Sam?” Trip asked. The XO looked at him. “Keep an eye on her for me?”
He nodded vigorously and stepped away from the door.
Gianna drew her pistol and held it out for her father, but he shook his head.
“Keep it… Just in case.”
Gianna hugged both men, tears falling. “Please, be careful.”
House winked at her. “Always.”
“We’ll see if we can come up with anything from here,” Sam said, placing a reassuring hand on Gianna’s shoulder. “Maybe there’s something we haven’t thought of yet?”
Trip and Gianna embraced next. House gave them some space and headed for the door. Gripping the lock with his left hand, he unsheathed his knife with his right. Then, Trip stepped up next to him, axe in both hands. He was nervous but was holding it together better than even he thought possible.
“We’ll be in contact,” House said, looking over his shoulder at Gianna one more time.
She grinned. “Take care of each other. You’re family now.”
The corner of House’s mouth turned upward in the smallest of smiles. Then, it disappeared, and he flipped the deadbolt and slowly opened the steel door. Being newly built, it swung open without a sound. If they were back on the Harry S. Truman, it would’ve screeched in protest. The two men stepped through and gave Gianna and Sam one last look before closing it. The lock immediately reengaged.
Trip looked left and then right down the bisecting corridor, thankfully finding no one around them. He and House were alone. If they were fortunate, they’d be by themselves the whole way to the engine room.
House activated his comms, placing a group call. “Testing…” he said softly. “You hear me, G? How ’bout you, Sam? Trip?”
“I’ve got you, Dad,” she replied. “Miss me already?”
“I hear you, sir,” Sam replied.
Trip silently nodded his confirmation, his attention still focused on the hallway.
House grinned. “Always, honey.” Then, he frowned. “But we should only use the radios if it’s an emergency.”
“Agreed,” Gianna said. “Talk to you two in a few.”
Hanging up, Trip and House heard something groan further down the corridor. Next, the lights above them winked out and cast the passage in darkness. Three seconds after the overhead lights went out, a set of foreboding, red emergency lights came to life. And standing directly beneath a set of those lights was a lone figure.
Trip didn’t think one person would be much of a challenge for him and House. Together, they stepped toward the woman, stopping mid-stride when two more of the former crewmen appeared from within the gloom behind the first. Then, two more.
The seven of them all looked up at Trip and House, their eyes pulsing furiously.
“Um…” Trip said, stepping back toward the server room.
“No,” House whispered, reaching for his arm. Grabbing his left elbow, House pulled him left. “We don’t want to lead them to Gianna and Sam.”
Trip eyed the mob before looking House in the eyes and nodded. “You’re right.” Then, he did something no one could’ve expected. “Hey, uglies,” he shouted, waving an arm high, “come and get us!”
House shoved Trip to the left, down the perpendicular hallway. “Dammit, Trip. That’s not what I meant!”
24
Feet pounded behind House and Trip. The footfalls were heard even before the monstrous horde appeared from around the corner. House watched as every single one of them bypassed the server room…and his daughter.
Even though Gianna was armed, House knew it wouldn’t matter much if the mob made it inside the bedroom-sized space. Unless she landed a killing shot directly to the parasite, they’d just keep on coming. Plus, there were six of the creatures, not one or two. And if Coalesce did, indeed, get inside the room, there’d be no way he and Trip could hack their way back inside before she and Sam were overrun and killed, or worse, turned.
House didn’t know what he’d do if Gianna became one of them. His grandchild would ultimately suffer the same fate as well. Death.
The men’s path ended at a door labeled “Records,” but it didn’t dead-end… This way headed right, following the rectangular shape of the ship, taking the duo back toward the rear section. With any luck, they’d continue unperturbed and take a direct route to the engine room. It was on the same floor they were on now and they'd be able to access the space through its usually sealed backdoor.
Truthfully, it wasn’t really a backdoor at all. It was the front door. They called it a ‘backdoor’ because it was never used unless the elevator was disabled.
House wasn’t sure whether the elevators were out of order or not, but he assumed they were. Even if they did work, he and Trip would avoid using them at all costs. Donovan was sure to have people stationed outside each one in case they, or any of the remaining human crew, showed their faces.
The lights going out worried House, mostly because their communications array required power to operate.
Telepathy? House asked himself. Is that how they communicate?
He assumed so—a variation of it anyway.
Donovan could speak to, and through, all of his people. House witnessed it several times already. It was a considerable advantage when coordinating a large team in the field, or in this case, the different levels beneath the Endeavor’s skin. All House and his remaining crewmembers possessed were their earpieces. Luckily, they still worked, even with the ship out of their control.
“Call from Gianna House.”
“Uh, Dad?”
Breathing hard, House answered. “G… I’m a little busy.”
“I know,” she replied. “Sam and I could hear them on the other side of the door.” She got to it. “Anyways, really quick—”
“Explain faster!” House yelled, looking back. The mob had grown since he last checked on them. Now, the line was nine or so deep.
“I am!” she responded, shouting back at him. “I was going to say that Donovan is trying to disable the Endeavor—the power—everything!”
“All of it, why?” he asked, glancing at Trip. He shrugged, apparently in on the conversation too.
“I think he’s trying to reset the ship’s systems back to their default settings—and if he does—he’ll have access to everything, even without the passcodes from you and Damon.”
“He can do that?” House asked, shocked. “He can take over my boat, just like that?”
She snorted. “I said he was trying to… He can’t get dick done with me on the other end.” She laughed. “I’m killing every opportunity from here, but eventually he’ll get wise to us and come have a look.”
House was proud of her, but he was, likewise, scared for her. “Fine,” he replied, knowing there wasn’t much else he could say or do. “Just hang tight and keep doing what you’re doing. Trip and I’ll be back as soon as we can.”
The call ended, and Trip yanked on House’s arm, pulling him into an opening to their right. They bounded over storage containers of all shapes and sizes. These held mostly electronic equipment for their various cameras, which were of the handheld and undersea robotic variety. Hearing someone coming up behind them, House slid to a stop, grabbed the nearest case, and heaved it back into the doorway.
The timing was perfect, and just as one of Donovan’s people entered, the twenty-or-so-pound hard-shelled case connected with the person’s face, driving them backward into the others behind him. With no time to celebrate, House scampered out of the room and slammed the door shut. Trip headed left and entered another room further down the hall, frantically waving House forward.
House dove in just as Trip closed the door, locking it and quietly stepping back. If things went as he hoped, their pursuers would have no idea where they went. Side-by-side and weapons brandished, House and Trip stood in silence and waited. Seconds went by before they heard a door back down the corridor open. It was the one House shut before following Trip into the room they found themselves in now.
Multiple sets of footsteps approached. Their door handle jiggled but was released after two attempts to get inside. House expected the door to be beaten down any minute. Luckily, it wasn’t, and he breathed a sigh of relief when their pursuers headed off. Regrettably, it was because of a scream. Apparently, they found something else to chase.
Dammit, House thought, stepping forward. He and Trip successfully evaded the wave of Coalesce minions, but it was at the expense of someone else’s life.
He stepped toward the door again but paused when Trip grabbed his arm and shook his head. With a free hand, Trip motioned to his stomach, rubbing it as if he were pregnant. He was telling him that Gianna was back there waiting for him. Unhappy about leaving anyone out there alone, House nodded and was released. He’d do as Trip asked and stay put.
For Gianna.
Despite feeling an uncomfortable twinge in his ankle, House glided across the floor and put his ear up to the door. Holding his breath, he closed his eyes and listened. For all he knew, a few of the things were still outside their hiding spot, waiting for them to give their position away. It was impossible to tell just how many of them took off in pursuit of the other person.
Regardless, he and Trip needed to stay quiet and stay hidden for a little while. Maybe if they paused their trek for long enough, Donovan would order his people to leave the floor altogether.
A squeak and a crash behind House startled him.
So much for staying quiet.
“Um, Captain?” Trip asked, thankfully keeping his voice down.
House turned around, planning on berating Trip for making so much noise. But he never got the chance… Trip was on the ground, having slipped and gone down. The younger man’s attention wasn’t even on House, it was on the pool of blood beneath him.
House gimped over. “You’re injured?” As far as he knew, neither one of them had been touched.
Trip shook his head, got to his feet, then shrugged. “Besides my brain, no. This…” he motioned to his bloodied arms and clothes, sneering hard, “this isn’t mine.”
“It’s mine…”
The voice croaked, calling out from the shadows behind Trip. Both men jumped back and, once more, brought up their weapons. House lowered his as soon as Trip moved out of the way. The voice’s owner wasn’t a threat. He was dying.
“Damon, no…”
Becker wasn’t alone either. Two others were with him. Both of them were a part of Donovan’s science team, one woman, and one man. House didn’t know their names. Then again, he didn’t know a lot of the people on that side of the fence.
“We found him like this,” the female scientist said. Her clothes, like the man’s, and now Trip’s, were stained with blood.
Becker’s blood.
The male scientist shook House’s extended hand. “He’s in bad shape, sir.”
House could see that. Becker’s side was drenched in blood, as was his left arm. The government liaison hadn’t been turned like the others. He’d been attacked.
“Sebastian…” Becker’s voice sounded far off.
His ordinarily pale complexion looked almost translucent from blood loss. It seemed that Becker had fallen down in the middle of the room, then was dragged into the corner of the space and hidden behind a desk. The room itself was one of their little-used workplaces—an office. In fact, the last time House stepped foot in the room was before they departed.
The woman flicked on a small penlight and handed it to House. He nodded his thanks and began inspecting Becker’s injuries. Something, or someone, had done a number on the man.
“Knife wounds,” Becker explained, reading House’s thoughts.
“From who?”
“One…of them,” Becker replied, coughing hard. “Came at me…with a knife…down…down in the mess hall.”
“You fought them off?” House asked, impressed. He would’ve never thought, not in a million years, that Becker could fight his way out of a conflict with an enemy like Coalesce. Very few in the world could.
Becker grinned and nodded. “I’m a lot tougher…then I look.” He hacked into his hand, and it came away coated with blood. Before Becker could get another word out, he broke into a fit of uncontrollable, agonizing coughs, each worse than the one before.
“You’ll be alright, Damon,” House assured, not believing his own words.
Becker softly laughed. “You’re a terrible liar, Sebastian. Just awful.” He grimaced in pain, shaking hard. But he kept himself from coughing again. “Stick to what you’re good at.”
House smiled. “And that is…?”
Becker looked at him hard. “Being a damned fine captain.” He held up a gunmetal-colored keycard attached to a lanyard. “Save,” his eyes rolled back in his head, “as many…as you ca…”
House dipped his head as Becker faded away. When he did, he spotted the lanyard and keycard clutched in the dead man’s hand. House had an identical one—as did Donovan. Only, unlike his and Donovan’s variations, Becker’s contained all of their private passcodes as well as Becker’s even more secretive ones. With it, House would be able to bypass everything Coalesce had done to the Endeavor and call the United States government directly.
We can call for help! His shoulders fell. If we can get a call out.
That was still an issue. Donovan still had control of the bridge, and therefore the Endeavor itself. Having Becker’s top-secret information only meant so much if you didn’t have a way to use it.
Becker’s room? It’s where he made all of his calls from. If they could find Becker’s laptop…
“Sir?” The man asked. “What are we going to do?”
House stood and faced Trip and the others, focusing on the newcomers while Trip wiped Becker’s blood off his own hands and arms with a random towel.
“What are your names?” he asked.
“Kimberly Montez.”
“Gregg Shields.”
House nodded. “Okay, Montez and Shields, got it.” He activated his comms unit. “G, Sam, you there?”
“Yes, sir,” Sam replied.
“Always,” Gianna answered. “What’s up, Dad?”
House sighed. “We found Damon.”
“You did?” she asked, sounding hopeful. “How is he?”
House glanced down at the body. “He’s dead.”
“Dammit…” Sam said, cursing softly. “Donovan’s doing?”
“Sort of,” House said, relaying everything that had occurred since they left the server room, and what Becker had told him.
“Okay, Dad,” Gianna said, sniffing, no doubt crying again, “have Montez and Shields head this way and Sam and I will take care of them until you get back.”
House beamed with pride. “Good girl.”
Ending the call, he and Trip tip-toed up to the door and listened carefully. Hearing nothing, House opened it slowly and checked both ways down the hall. The good news was that nothing leaped out at him. Satisfied that they were truly alone, House turned back to the two scientists.
“The server room, you know where it is?”
Only Shields nodded.
“Good,” House said, turning his full attention on him. “I have two people there waiting for your arrival. Do yourselves a favor and don’t dawdle.”
Blinking out of his stupor, he smiled at Sam. “We’ll find your friend,” Trip said, “okay?” He held out his hand and was happy to see Sam quickly clutch it and squeeze. There wasn’t anything behind the act besides being a friend in a time of need. They all needed to have each other’s backs. If any of them let down their guard, it could be over for them all.
Sam smiled, let go, and patted Trip’s shoulder.
“You boys alright?”
Both Trip and Sam snapped their attention to Gianna who was looking back at them with a raised eyebrow. Right at that moment, Sam was still gripping Trip’s shoulder, and both men were smiling at one another.
Trip reached over and grabbed Sam’s shoulder, squeezing him back. “Sure are, but we’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt our bro moments.”
“Uh—yeah!” Sam added, glancing back and forth between Trip and Gianna. He gave Trip a curt nod and turned back to Gianna. “We were having a great bro moment before you said something.”
Trip and Gianna broke out in laughter. The way Sam said it was so awkward that Trip couldn’t help himself—Gianna either. The only one that wasn’t laughing was House who was deep in thought, going through the files that Gianna had gathered on her tablet.
“This isn’t good.”
Everyone’s smiles faded, and they quieted their laughter. House stepped away from Gianna and tapped the screen a few times. Then, he growled and handed the device back to her, looking very frustrated.
“What’s wrong?” Trip asked.
“The Endeavor,” Gianna replied, “we were hoping to disable it or, at the very least, turn it away from McMurdo.”
Sam shook his head and got to his feet, stretching as he spoke. “Not possible from here.” He continued. “We built in a safety protocol to keep someone from hijacking the boat from anywhere but the bridge.”
House nodded. “I know, Sam. I was hoping we unknowingly left a backdoor open.” He sighed. “The only other option besides an outright attack on Command is the engine room.”
“At the other end of the ship,” Sam said, about to flop back down on the ground.
“We need Buddy,” House said. “He’d know how to stop the engines without damaging them beyond repair.”
“Still need Becker too,” Gianna added.
After a moment of silence, House stepped toward the door. “Right… Let’s get to it then.”
“Dad?” Gianna asked, looking scared.
“Stay here, G.” He smiled softly. “Keep my grandson safe.”
“Your granddaughter, you mean. Sure.”
Trip looked back and forth between House and Gianna. He knew he needed to help his baby’s grandfather. But the man was also his captain and someone he respected.
“Go,” Gianna mouthed. And with Sam being a little under the weather mentally, Trip knew it would be the perfect opportunity for him and House to be alone together.
“Sam?” Trip asked. The XO looked at him. “Keep an eye on her for me?”
He nodded vigorously and stepped away from the door.
Gianna drew her pistol and held it out for her father, but he shook his head.
“Keep it… Just in case.”
Gianna hugged both men, tears falling. “Please, be careful.”
House winked at her. “Always.”
“We’ll see if we can come up with anything from here,” Sam said, placing a reassuring hand on Gianna’s shoulder. “Maybe there’s something we haven’t thought of yet?”
Trip and Gianna embraced next. House gave them some space and headed for the door. Gripping the lock with his left hand, he unsheathed his knife with his right. Then, Trip stepped up next to him, axe in both hands. He was nervous but was holding it together better than even he thought possible.
“We’ll be in contact,” House said, looking over his shoulder at Gianna one more time.
She grinned. “Take care of each other. You’re family now.”
The corner of House’s mouth turned upward in the smallest of smiles. Then, it disappeared, and he flipped the deadbolt and slowly opened the steel door. Being newly built, it swung open without a sound. If they were back on the Harry S. Truman, it would’ve screeched in protest. The two men stepped through and gave Gianna and Sam one last look before closing it. The lock immediately reengaged.
Trip looked left and then right down the bisecting corridor, thankfully finding no one around them. He and House were alone. If they were fortunate, they’d be by themselves the whole way to the engine room.
House activated his comms, placing a group call. “Testing…” he said softly. “You hear me, G? How ’bout you, Sam? Trip?”
“I’ve got you, Dad,” she replied. “Miss me already?”
“I hear you, sir,” Sam replied.
Trip silently nodded his confirmation, his attention still focused on the hallway.
House grinned. “Always, honey.” Then, he frowned. “But we should only use the radios if it’s an emergency.”
“Agreed,” Gianna said. “Talk to you two in a few.”
Hanging up, Trip and House heard something groan further down the corridor. Next, the lights above them winked out and cast the passage in darkness. Three seconds after the overhead lights went out, a set of foreboding, red emergency lights came to life. And standing directly beneath a set of those lights was a lone figure.
Trip didn’t think one person would be much of a challenge for him and House. Together, they stepped toward the woman, stopping mid-stride when two more of the former crewmen appeared from within the gloom behind the first. Then, two more.
The seven of them all looked up at Trip and House, their eyes pulsing furiously.
“Um…” Trip said, stepping back toward the server room.
“No,” House whispered, reaching for his arm. Grabbing his left elbow, House pulled him left. “We don’t want to lead them to Gianna and Sam.”
Trip eyed the mob before looking House in the eyes and nodded. “You’re right.” Then, he did something no one could’ve expected. “Hey, uglies,” he shouted, waving an arm high, “come and get us!”
House shoved Trip to the left, down the perpendicular hallway. “Dammit, Trip. That’s not what I meant!”
24
Feet pounded behind House and Trip. The footfalls were heard even before the monstrous horde appeared from around the corner. House watched as every single one of them bypassed the server room…and his daughter.
Even though Gianna was armed, House knew it wouldn’t matter much if the mob made it inside the bedroom-sized space. Unless she landed a killing shot directly to the parasite, they’d just keep on coming. Plus, there were six of the creatures, not one or two. And if Coalesce did, indeed, get inside the room, there’d be no way he and Trip could hack their way back inside before she and Sam were overrun and killed, or worse, turned.
House didn’t know what he’d do if Gianna became one of them. His grandchild would ultimately suffer the same fate as well. Death.
The men’s path ended at a door labeled “Records,” but it didn’t dead-end… This way headed right, following the rectangular shape of the ship, taking the duo back toward the rear section. With any luck, they’d continue unperturbed and take a direct route to the engine room. It was on the same floor they were on now and they'd be able to access the space through its usually sealed backdoor.
Truthfully, it wasn’t really a backdoor at all. It was the front door. They called it a ‘backdoor’ because it was never used unless the elevator was disabled.
House wasn’t sure whether the elevators were out of order or not, but he assumed they were. Even if they did work, he and Trip would avoid using them at all costs. Donovan was sure to have people stationed outside each one in case they, or any of the remaining human crew, showed their faces.
The lights going out worried House, mostly because their communications array required power to operate.
Telepathy? House asked himself. Is that how they communicate?
He assumed so—a variation of it anyway.
Donovan could speak to, and through, all of his people. House witnessed it several times already. It was a considerable advantage when coordinating a large team in the field, or in this case, the different levels beneath the Endeavor’s skin. All House and his remaining crewmembers possessed were their earpieces. Luckily, they still worked, even with the ship out of their control.
“Call from Gianna House.”
“Uh, Dad?”
Breathing hard, House answered. “G… I’m a little busy.”
“I know,” she replied. “Sam and I could hear them on the other side of the door.” She got to it. “Anyways, really quick—”
“Explain faster!” House yelled, looking back. The mob had grown since he last checked on them. Now, the line was nine or so deep.
“I am!” she responded, shouting back at him. “I was going to say that Donovan is trying to disable the Endeavor—the power—everything!”
“All of it, why?” he asked, glancing at Trip. He shrugged, apparently in on the conversation too.
“I think he’s trying to reset the ship’s systems back to their default settings—and if he does—he’ll have access to everything, even without the passcodes from you and Damon.”
“He can do that?” House asked, shocked. “He can take over my boat, just like that?”
She snorted. “I said he was trying to… He can’t get dick done with me on the other end.” She laughed. “I’m killing every opportunity from here, but eventually he’ll get wise to us and come have a look.”
House was proud of her, but he was, likewise, scared for her. “Fine,” he replied, knowing there wasn’t much else he could say or do. “Just hang tight and keep doing what you’re doing. Trip and I’ll be back as soon as we can.”
The call ended, and Trip yanked on House’s arm, pulling him into an opening to their right. They bounded over storage containers of all shapes and sizes. These held mostly electronic equipment for their various cameras, which were of the handheld and undersea robotic variety. Hearing someone coming up behind them, House slid to a stop, grabbed the nearest case, and heaved it back into the doorway.
The timing was perfect, and just as one of Donovan’s people entered, the twenty-or-so-pound hard-shelled case connected with the person’s face, driving them backward into the others behind him. With no time to celebrate, House scampered out of the room and slammed the door shut. Trip headed left and entered another room further down the hall, frantically waving House forward.
House dove in just as Trip closed the door, locking it and quietly stepping back. If things went as he hoped, their pursuers would have no idea where they went. Side-by-side and weapons brandished, House and Trip stood in silence and waited. Seconds went by before they heard a door back down the corridor open. It was the one House shut before following Trip into the room they found themselves in now.
Multiple sets of footsteps approached. Their door handle jiggled but was released after two attempts to get inside. House expected the door to be beaten down any minute. Luckily, it wasn’t, and he breathed a sigh of relief when their pursuers headed off. Regrettably, it was because of a scream. Apparently, they found something else to chase.
Dammit, House thought, stepping forward. He and Trip successfully evaded the wave of Coalesce minions, but it was at the expense of someone else’s life.
He stepped toward the door again but paused when Trip grabbed his arm and shook his head. With a free hand, Trip motioned to his stomach, rubbing it as if he were pregnant. He was telling him that Gianna was back there waiting for him. Unhappy about leaving anyone out there alone, House nodded and was released. He’d do as Trip asked and stay put.
For Gianna.
Despite feeling an uncomfortable twinge in his ankle, House glided across the floor and put his ear up to the door. Holding his breath, he closed his eyes and listened. For all he knew, a few of the things were still outside their hiding spot, waiting for them to give their position away. It was impossible to tell just how many of them took off in pursuit of the other person.
Regardless, he and Trip needed to stay quiet and stay hidden for a little while. Maybe if they paused their trek for long enough, Donovan would order his people to leave the floor altogether.
A squeak and a crash behind House startled him.
So much for staying quiet.
“Um, Captain?” Trip asked, thankfully keeping his voice down.
House turned around, planning on berating Trip for making so much noise. But he never got the chance… Trip was on the ground, having slipped and gone down. The younger man’s attention wasn’t even on House, it was on the pool of blood beneath him.
House gimped over. “You’re injured?” As far as he knew, neither one of them had been touched.
Trip shook his head, got to his feet, then shrugged. “Besides my brain, no. This…” he motioned to his bloodied arms and clothes, sneering hard, “this isn’t mine.”
“It’s mine…”
The voice croaked, calling out from the shadows behind Trip. Both men jumped back and, once more, brought up their weapons. House lowered his as soon as Trip moved out of the way. The voice’s owner wasn’t a threat. He was dying.
“Damon, no…”
Becker wasn’t alone either. Two others were with him. Both of them were a part of Donovan’s science team, one woman, and one man. House didn’t know their names. Then again, he didn’t know a lot of the people on that side of the fence.
“We found him like this,” the female scientist said. Her clothes, like the man’s, and now Trip’s, were stained with blood.
Becker’s blood.
The male scientist shook House’s extended hand. “He’s in bad shape, sir.”
House could see that. Becker’s side was drenched in blood, as was his left arm. The government liaison hadn’t been turned like the others. He’d been attacked.
“Sebastian…” Becker’s voice sounded far off.
His ordinarily pale complexion looked almost translucent from blood loss. It seemed that Becker had fallen down in the middle of the room, then was dragged into the corner of the space and hidden behind a desk. The room itself was one of their little-used workplaces—an office. In fact, the last time House stepped foot in the room was before they departed.
The woman flicked on a small penlight and handed it to House. He nodded his thanks and began inspecting Becker’s injuries. Something, or someone, had done a number on the man.
“Knife wounds,” Becker explained, reading House’s thoughts.
“From who?”
“One…of them,” Becker replied, coughing hard. “Came at me…with a knife…down…down in the mess hall.”
“You fought them off?” House asked, impressed. He would’ve never thought, not in a million years, that Becker could fight his way out of a conflict with an enemy like Coalesce. Very few in the world could.
Becker grinned and nodded. “I’m a lot tougher…then I look.” He hacked into his hand, and it came away coated with blood. Before Becker could get another word out, he broke into a fit of uncontrollable, agonizing coughs, each worse than the one before.
“You’ll be alright, Damon,” House assured, not believing his own words.
Becker softly laughed. “You’re a terrible liar, Sebastian. Just awful.” He grimaced in pain, shaking hard. But he kept himself from coughing again. “Stick to what you’re good at.”
House smiled. “And that is…?”
Becker looked at him hard. “Being a damned fine captain.” He held up a gunmetal-colored keycard attached to a lanyard. “Save,” his eyes rolled back in his head, “as many…as you ca…”
House dipped his head as Becker faded away. When he did, he spotted the lanyard and keycard clutched in the dead man’s hand. House had an identical one—as did Donovan. Only, unlike his and Donovan’s variations, Becker’s contained all of their private passcodes as well as Becker’s even more secretive ones. With it, House would be able to bypass everything Coalesce had done to the Endeavor and call the United States government directly.
We can call for help! His shoulders fell. If we can get a call out.
That was still an issue. Donovan still had control of the bridge, and therefore the Endeavor itself. Having Becker’s top-secret information only meant so much if you didn’t have a way to use it.
Becker’s room? It’s where he made all of his calls from. If they could find Becker’s laptop…
“Sir?” The man asked. “What are we going to do?”
House stood and faced Trip and the others, focusing on the newcomers while Trip wiped Becker’s blood off his own hands and arms with a random towel.
“What are your names?” he asked.
“Kimberly Montez.”
“Gregg Shields.”
House nodded. “Okay, Montez and Shields, got it.” He activated his comms unit. “G, Sam, you there?”
“Yes, sir,” Sam replied.
“Always,” Gianna answered. “What’s up, Dad?”
House sighed. “We found Damon.”
“You did?” she asked, sounding hopeful. “How is he?”
House glanced down at the body. “He’s dead.”
“Dammit…” Sam said, cursing softly. “Donovan’s doing?”
“Sort of,” House said, relaying everything that had occurred since they left the server room, and what Becker had told him.
“Okay, Dad,” Gianna said, sniffing, no doubt crying again, “have Montez and Shields head this way and Sam and I will take care of them until you get back.”
House beamed with pride. “Good girl.”
Ending the call, he and Trip tip-toed up to the door and listened carefully. Hearing nothing, House opened it slowly and checked both ways down the hall. The good news was that nothing leaped out at him. Satisfied that they were truly alone, House turned back to the two scientists.
“The server room, you know where it is?”
Only Shields nodded.
“Good,” House said, turning his full attention on him. “I have two people there waiting for your arrival. Do yourselves a favor and don’t dawdle.”
