Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:23:23 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Vengeance - Chapter 16 Message-ID: Chapter 16 Sam sat on a chair in the guard post, exhausted though only six hours had passed as he and Dan watched the gate into the estate. Sam could easily see why Genine had warned him not to fall asleep. It was a little too quiet doing guard duty. However, as Al had said, it was the best thing for him at that moment. His shoulders were slowly beginning to feel better, though he knew it would take much more than one day's rest to heal them properly. He winced when a wave of pain went through his shoulders. Dan noticed with concern. "You okay, Harry?" Sam exhaled before nodded slightly. "Are you sure?" Dan questioned. "Actually, I'm sure I'm not okay," Sam told him. "But it's passed and there's little we can do about it now." Dan exhaled. "I guess not." He looked out onto the field at the rest of the mercenaries, who were drilling under Genine's command. His eyes widened slightly. "Harry, take a look." Sam stood up slowly and went over to Dan. "Take a look at what?" he questioned. "That," Dan answered. Sam looked to see Burke standing behind Genine. He was holding her shoulders and whispering in her ear. It was obvious, though, that Genine was greatly uncomfortable with the situation but was afraid of responding against Burke's actions. "Looks like Al's putting the moves on Taylor again," Dan commented. Sam winced slightly at Dan's words. "I wish you wouldn't call him that." "Why not?" Dan commented. "It was your idea." Before Sam could comment in return, he and Dan saw Burke forcefully turn Genine around and kiss her on the lips. Genine struggled with Burke fiercely, pushing him away. A moment later, she succeeded in her effort, slowly backing away from Burke with a pant. Sam watched the scene with anger. He hated the way Burke was treating her and the fact that he, Sam Beckett, could do nothing about it - at least, not yet. For some reason, Sam felt jealous. *My mind must be merged with Harry's. Harry's jealous.* Sam paused with realization. *Harry's in love with Taylor!* "Oh, boy," he whispered to himself. Dan looked at him with a frown. "Don't tell me you still have the hots for Taylor! Is that why you want to watch out for her? She barely acknowledges you!" As Dan was saying this, Sam could see Burke laughing at Genine as she hurriedly turned around and marched away from Burke, looking over her shoulder to make certain he wasn't following her. Her eyes, however, indicated that she wanted him to follow her anyway. Dan put his hand on Sam's shoulder, causing the scientist to wince in pain. When Dan saw the result of his actions, he immediately removed his hand. "Harry, forget her. Even if there were the possibility of her even thinking about you in that manner, your competition is still General Burke. He's already put a claim on her. Besides, you have to face the facts," Dan continued. "You were right about your fears. She's falling for him. You can't say you don't see that." Sam nodded slightly. Yes, he could see the lust in Genine's eyes. She was starting to fall for Burke. *But I'm here to prevent that*, Sam thought. *And now that Burke has kissed her, the job is probably going to be more difficult than before.* Dan exhaled. "Come on, Harry," he said gently. "Let's get back to our non-work." Sam nodded slowly. He was beginning to get an idea of how to prevent Genine from marrying Burke. He just hoped that he was right. Al was marching out of the prison gates, his Marine guard immediately behind him and in constant watchfulness. The Admiral raised his right wrist and pressed a button on a colorful wristband before dropping his arm back to his side. "Did you get all that Stark said, Ziggy?" "Affirmative, Admiral," came a response from the wristband. "So what are the chances that Sam's there to get Genine to fall in love with Harry?" Al asked. "Seventy-nine point eighty-three percent," the computer replied. "However, the chances of his success have dropped from eighty-one percent to seventy-seven percent. They are slowly continuing to drop at a rate of one percent per hour." Al frowned. "Why is that?" "General Burke has kissed Commander Strickler." Al exhaled. "The beginning of the end," he mutter. "Keep an eye on the situation. I'm on my way back to the complex now." He raised his right wrist again and disconnected the communication link before he turned his head to look behind him. "Corporal," he started. The rest of his words were caught in his throat as he saw the Marine collapse to the ground dead, blood trickling from his head. Al quickly drew his pistol and took cover behind a nearby car. He looked about the area, finding no sign of anyone other than the body of the Marine guard. He exhaled slowly. Despite what his eyes were telling him, he could sense a presence nearby - a very dangerous presence. He suddenly felt as if something was behind him. He quickly turned around, pistol ready. Before he could do anything else, however, he felt the heel of a boot hit his jaw violently, causing him to collapse to the ground in a daze, releasing his pistol. "Feel familiar, Albert?" a voice asked him before its owner delivered another kick, this time in Al's ribs. Al doubled-over in agony before gasping a breath and reaching for his pistol. A boot kicked it away from him. "Not a good idea, as you told my son," the voice told him. The statement caught Al's attention. However, he pushed his attention away from the statement as he moved his hand quickly towards the leg of his attacker. He received another hard kick in the ribs for his effort. "I had warned you, hadn't I?" the voice taunted before Al received yet another kick, this one to the head. Al could feel himself slipping out of consciousness. He forced himself to concentrate on keeping awake, on regaining his strength so that he could fight back. He couldn't, however, prevent himself from being forcefully turned over onto his back. He felt a boot being ground into his wounded shoulder and forced himself not to scream. With his right hand, he quickly and roughly shoved the foot off of the shoulder, putting his opponent temporarily off balance. The act gave Al enough time to force himself back onto his feet. He quickly put some distance between himself and his opponent, keeping his eyes on him the entire time. "Leaping hasn't been very good to you, has it, Burke?" Al panted as he noticed Burke's pale complexion, lack of hair, and burn scars. Burke slowly walked towards him. "You can't beat me, Albert. Remember? Know your enemy before you go to war with him. I know you better than you know yourself, my dear Admiral. Can you say the same about me?" Al nodded slightly. "I think I can say the same," he told the ex-General. Burke laughed. "Then you are more of a fool than I thought. A lot can happen to a person in twenty years. I'm not the same man I was when we last met." As he said this, someone wrapped an arm around Al's neck from behind and started choking Al. Al quickly forced his right elbow backwards into the attacker's ribs, causing the attacker to release him. The distraction was enough, however, for Burke to give him a hard right-cross to the jaw, causing him to collapse to the ground. Burke quickly forced his knee into Al's back, preventing him from struggling. He quickly tied Al's hands before raising him from the ground. Burke wrapped his arm around Al's neck and slowly tightened his hold around the neck. "Suffocation is a horrible way to die. Isn't it, Admiral?" Burke leered in Al's ear as Al fought against him, fighting just to breath. "Your head feeling lighter and lighter due to the lack of oxygen. Go ahead and fight it, Albert. Make your experience more miserable." Al's eyes wandered frantically, trying to find a way out of Burke's grasp. As he did so, he saw the young blond man who had shot him. It was then that he saw the resemblance he hadn't seen before. The young assassin was Burke's son. Burke noticed Al's gaze. He smiled. "Yes, I quite proud of Gene. I named him after my late wife. Quite an actor, isn't he?" Al's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He suddenly went limp in Burke's arms. Burke released his hold of Al, causing the immobile form to fall to the ground. He laughed slightly. "Guess he didn't have time for martial arts lessons," he commented to his son, who responded with a slight nod.