Date: Tue, 26 Nov 1996 14:13:03 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" X-Sender: krfreymu@brain.uccs.edu Subject: Coup D'etat - Chapter 14 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Chapter 14: Precautions Actually, Al could have used a beer but there was no way he was going to drink with Burke, especially since he had a situation in his hands and Burke was the cause of that situation. What was more, Al was afraid that, once he had a drink, he wouldn't stop and that had gotten him into more trouble than he could remember - particularly some rather nasty lectures from Beth. So, instead of a beer, Al settled for the FIRST best thing: Beth. Even when Al, at one time, was so dead drunk and depressed, Beth was always there for him. She'd help him sober up and gave him new meaning to his life, his family, his daughters. Now, he knew he needed her again - perhaps more than ever. He walked into the infirmary and looked around. Beth was standing over a patient, checking his condition. She said something to the patient, which Al couldn't hear, and smiled reassuringly. Al walked over to her, his head lowered and his arms behind his back. Stewart followed Al towards Beth. Al stood by Beth with patience, waiting for her to give him his attention. As he waited, he noticed Major Genine Taylor standing only five feet away, watching. Beth gave her patient another smile before turning around and noticing Al. The sight of him startled her a bit. "Al, what are you doing here?" "B...Liz," Al started. "Could I see you alone for a moment?" "Certainly," Beth replied. She led him into the infirmary office. Al followed, mindful of Stewart and Taylor, whom he knew were ready to listen into their conversation. Once the door was closed behind Beth and him, Al directed her to the far end of the room, putting distance between them and the door. "Al, what's wrong?" Beth asked, sitting on a chair in the corner. Al hesitated. Maybe it was a mistake to have come here. He knew he could trust her but could he be sure that the office wasn't bugged? Was he endangering her safety? He was about to tell her what was on his mind. But, if the office was bugged... He couldn't risk anything this early. Burke had a far greater advantage than him. He sighed. "How are the patients?" he asked. "You could have asked me that in the infirmary," Beth told him. "I wanted some privacy," Al told her. "Well, this is as private as you can get, Admiral," Beth told him, a wistful smile on her slightly tanned face. There was a seductiveness to her voice which he hoped only he could notice. "Is there a problem, Al?" Beth asked when Al didn't reply to her comment. "Nothing," Al lied. "I just want a report on my men." He stood up as he spoke and slowly began to search the room. Beth watched him with a little suspicion and a lot of concern as she spoke. "Davis is still in critical condition. I don't know if he'll survive. Henry, on the other hand, is almost duty ready. Just another day in bed." "And Tiernan?" Al asked just before lowering himself and looking under the couch. "Tiernan is having a few problems. He had two bullets pass completely through his left lung," she told him with a frown. "However, if they had gone in a couple of inches higher, they would have hit his heart." Al stood up and started towards the desk. "Sounds serious," he said. "What are his chances?" He soundlessly took a blue Post-It note from the desk and wrote on it, using his hand as support. "Not good," Beth sighed. "He'll probably have to be on oxygen for the rest of his life." She frowned. "Al, why...." she started just before Al showed her his note. "Did this happen?" Al filled in her silence. "I don't know." Beth read the note. "Bugged?" she mouthed in silence. Al nodded. "It's such a tragedy," she said softly to fill the silence. Al nodded in agreement. He sighed. "I'd better get back to my duties," he told her. "Could I buy you a cup of coffee sometime?" He nudged his head towarsd the ceiling, indicating the only place a person could get a cup of coffee in the complex: the cafeteria. "I'd like that, Admiral," Beth told him, getting the hidden message. "Don't make me wait too long." Al put up two fingers. *Don't make him wait. Two fingers.* It was already past seven in the evening. *Must be at two tonight.* Beth smiled. "Won't your wife object?" Al smiled, still understanding her implied message: can you get free? "She's a little touchy but I think I can handle her if you can," Al answered. Beth nodded. "Well, in that case, Admiral, I look forward to it." "So do I," Al told her. His voice, however, said an entirely different sentiment. "Be careful" was implicit in his eyes. "Good night, Admiral," Beth told him, touching his hand reassuringly. "Good night, Doctor," Al told her. "Thank you for your report." Without another word, he left the office and made a brief visit with each of the patients before leaving the infirmary, Stewart on his tail the entire time. *************************** "Well?" Burke asked impatiently. Stewart stood before Burke two hours later, assuered that Al was safely secured in his quarters. "Calavicci visited Bellasario two hours ago in the infirmary. They had a brief conversation and then he left." "And what was the conversation about?" Burke pressed. "Listen for yourself," Stewart told him. He gave him a disk which Burke immediately played on Sam Beckett's CD player. On it was Al and Beth's conversation. "The words are normal," Burke commented upon listening to the recording. "But Calavicci's hiding something from her. Perhaps for her own protection." Stewart frowned. "What do you mean?" "I've checked on Calavicci's record a little thoroughly. He has a wife and four children, you will recall. His wife's name is Elizabeth, nee Connelly. When I found out about his wife's first name earlier today with that announcement, I had a sinking suspicion. So I dug a little deeper. Do you know what Mrs. Calavicci's mother's maiden name is?" "I have a feeling it's Bellasario," Stewart answered. Burke smiled. "Bright lad," he commented, slapping down a computerized picture face up. "Dr. Elizabeth Calavicci a.k.a. Dr. Elizabeth Bellasario." Beth's face smiled on the picture, her dressed in the uniform of a captain in the United States Navy. ***************** It wasn't difficult for Beth to slip out of her quarters at one forty-five in the morning. As Assistant Chief of Medicine, if in name only, she wasn't as closely guarded as Al. So Beth slipped into her clothes, forgetting her shoes (which wouuld have made too much noise on the complex's tile floors), and quietly left her quarters. She took the stairs down to the fifth level and walked out into the hallway, careful to check for guards first. She made her way into the cafeteria and took a strategic position at which she could see the door without being seen. She waited a long while before, ten minutes after two o'clock, a figure slipped into the cafeteria. She instantly recognized him and stood up. Al hurried over to her and took her hand. "Come with me," he more ordered than requested, gently pulling her with him to enforce the order. He led her back to the stairwell and led her down to the sixth level. Entering the hallway, he led her to a small room and closed the door behind them. Beth looked around the room quickly while Al closed the door. It was small and barren, like an empty closet. But before she could ask Al where they were, Al kissed her firmly and passionately on the lips. He touched her forehead with his and closed his eyes, holding her hands gently. "Beth, I love you," he told her. "And I love you," she replied. "But what's going on, Al? Where are we?" "Ammunition Storage Room 6A," Al told her. "Burke's goons cleaned it out when they came in. This is the onnly place I'm certain isn't bugged." He took a breath. "I want you to know what Ziggy found out about Burke. This guy's very dangerous, Beth. You know the Liberation of Cuba? Well, a year later, the Army found evidence to prove that Burke went against orders to invade Cuba. The U.S. and Cuba were negotiating for Cuba's annexation. Ziggy says that Burke didn't have to invade Cuba because it was probably going to be annexed peacefully. Burke's actions caused the deaths of seventy-six men on the U.S. side alone. He was court-martialled and convicted. Legally, he's not a general anymore." He sighed in frustration. "But the government kept the whole thing quite to keep the memories of the people who died in the invasion. I know, it stinks. As if it would do those killed any justice," he muttered. "Then why is Burke here, Al?" Beth asked with concern. "And why under the pretense that Congress sent him?" "To change world history," Al said quietly. "Or so he says." He sighed. "Dear gawd, I hope it's just plain and simple greed." "What do you mean?" Beth questioned, hearing fear in Al's voice. "He wants Sam to buy 10,000 shares in America Online under Burke's name. It would make Burke an instant millionaire. But I don't think it's money in which Burke is most interested. And I don't think he'll let anyone get in his way." "Al, you're frightening me!" Beth said in a shaky voice. She hugged him fiercely. "I meant to," Al told her. Beth looked up at him in confusion. "You're not saying he'd kill...." She couldn't finish the sentence. Al sighed. "He wouldn't kill me or Gushie. He needs us to contact Sam. But anyone else...." He paused, forcing himself to look into Beth's eyes. "Yes. If they pushed him, I think he would." "Oh, gawd!" she whispered. "Which is why you hav e to disappear," Al told her softly. "What?" she replied just as quietly. "I have to do something to stop that maniac and my doing so is going to put you in great danger." "I have my alias to protect me," Beth told him. "And even if it didn't, how are you going to protect the others? Al, I won't leave you," she said firmly. "Please, don't make me leave you." She held him close to her, her head against his shoulder. Al closed his eyes and reciprocated the hold. "I have to, honey. I won't let him use you to get to me. I won't let him hurt you. You have to go." "But where?" she asked. "With all these guards around, there's no way out of this place." "Certainly this s, my dear lady. There is the door." Both Al's and Beth's eyes whirled to the door. Al sighed. "Oh, shit," he muttered. Burke smiled. "You're very clever, Admiral. But did you really think we'd fall for that old trick? Knocking out the guard and putting him in your locked quarters?" "Don't you mean 'cell', Burke?" Al glowered. Burke's eyebrows rose. "Why, Admiral! You make it sound as if you were a prisoner here!" "You gave me no reason to believe we aren't." Burke shook his head. "Oh, Albert, why won't you trust me?" Al stood deliberately in front of Beth. "Anyone who trusts a homicidal maniac is a fool." "A maniac?" Burke questioned. "You think I'm a maniac?" He laughed. It was a cold, heartless laugh that sent chills down Al's spine. A tightening of Beth's hand around Al's let him know that the sentiment wasn't strictly his own. "I'm no maniac, Admiral," Burke finally said with an evil smile. "I'm just like you: a man trying to make it in an insane world. We both know what the world should be and we're trying to change it for the better." "You only want to change _your_ world," Al seethed. "You don't give a damn about everyone else. You never have." Burke looked at Stewart, who stood to his left, with a gleam in his eye. "Well, it looks like you were right, Colonel. The Admiral did use the main computer to get information on me." He looked at Al. "For a military officer, you are very careless, Admiral." "So are you, Burke. But, then again, you haven't been in the military for a while. Have you, General?" He said the rank sarcastically, as if the man had never deserved to have had it. "A true military officer wouldn't even allow the chance for me to get that information." A thought came to him. "Unless he wanted to trip me up." Burke merely smiled in response. He looked at Beth. "Congratulations on your appointment, Dr. Calavicci." Beth swallowed slightly. Both she and Al knew that, the moment Burke walked into the room, her cover was blown but she still didn't like Burke gloating over it by announcing it so bluntly if courteously. "Thank you," she answered, having nothing else to say. "Take Dr. Calavicci to her quarters, Colonel," Burke ordered without taking his eyes off of her. "The Admiral and I have a few things to discuss." Stewart nodded, went over to Beth and gestured towards the door. Beth looked at Al with uncertainty. She didn't want to leave him alone with Burke. She was afraid of what Burke might do to him. Al gave her a quick smile and a nod, trying to reassure her. His words came back to her memory. *"He wouldn't kill me or Gushie. He needs us to contact Sam"* But that didn't mean Burke wouldn't hurt him. She squeezed Al hand before letting go of it. "I'd prefer to be taken to the Admiral's quarters," she told Burke. "Of course," Burke nodded with understanding. A moment later, Stewart led Beth out of the storage room.. Burke waited until the two were out of earshot before he slowly approached Al. Then, without warning, he quickly and skillfully slammed his right palm into Al's jaw, forcing Al to fall to the floor with a loud thud. Burke took a deep breath. "Admiral, you disappoint me," he told him, circling Al as Al slowly raised himself from the floor. "You have learned all you can about me and yet you still try my patience." He shook his head. "I call that very stupid." "Well," Al said as he stood up. "You can't really blame me for trying." Burke knocked him down again, this time with a round-house kick. "Yes, I can blame you, Admiral," he said calmly, continuing to circle Al. "You see, I do not like interferences or inconveniences and you're turning into both. I have a mission and you're getting in the way." Al didn't get up. His head was still hazy from Burke's hard kick. Instead, he waited for the right moment and quickly put his left leg out in front of Burke's way. Burke tripped over the leg, losing his balance enough to give Al time to stand and ready himself for a fight. "And what mission would that be? Yours or your fictional Congressional mission?" Burke made a high kick. Al dropped down to avoid the kick and delivered a punch to Burke's abdomen. However, before Al could deliver another one, Burke kicked him in the head, causing Al to collapse to the florr. "They are one and the same, Admiral," Burke told Al as he lai on the floor, his nose bleeding. "Change global history," Al answered the hidden question. He was panting. He could feel the blood coming from his nose on his upper lip. He touched it with the back of his hand tentatively. He was sure that, despite how much it hurt, his nose wasn't broken. He slowly raised himself. "Precisely," Burke told him. "But I can't do my mission if my subordinates insist on blocking my progress." Al glared at him. "I'm not your subordinate, Burke." Burke smiled evilly at him. "Maybe." He kicked Al in the throat, forcing Al to drop to the floor to try to regain his breath and his strength. "Myabe not," Burke finished, standing over Al. "But, as you can see, I don't play by the rules that you use. And like all disobedient subordinates, you need to be punished." Al quickly grabbed Burke's ankles and pulled them towards him. Burke fell to the floor and rolled backwards, regaining his stance in one swift move. "Nice try, Admiral," Burke told him. "But that's what you get for not learning tae-kwon-do. Maybe Dr. Beckett can teach you some moves in a couple days." He backed away towards the door. "Maybe by then you will have learned some respect." With that, he left the room. Al slowly got up from the floor, breathing heavily. He rubbed his throat gently. Burke was good, he had to admit. He knew how, where, and when to hit someone and when to back off. His message to Al was clear: don't mess with him. Al took a moment to clear his head. He needed to get back to his quarters and clean up. Then, maybe, he could go check on Sam. Maybe let him know really why he's leaped into Cheryl Dover. Maybe get a little more about Burke's plans.*Maybe take Burke's suggestion and have Sam teach me a few mu-tae moves*, Al added as he rubbed the back of his neck. He walked to the door and placed his right hand against the sensor plate by the door. Nothing happened. Suspicious, Al tried again. Again, nothing. He exhaled in frustration. "Ziggy?" he called out and waited. No answer. Al glowered. He didn't like this. "Ziggy, if you don't answer me right now, I'll...." He couldn't think of a suitable threat that he hadn't already used. *"Maybe Dr. Beckett can teach you some moves in a couple of days."* "Shit!" Al shouted, accepting reluctantly that he was stuck there in Ammunition Storage Room 6A until Burke let him out. Sighing, he sat on the floor and waited. ___________________________________________ More to come. Rob and Kat Freymuth