"Soul's Bonds", Chapter 8
I KNOW I PROMISED THIS LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO. Bah. I'm sorry. First I got sick, then my fic creativity and drive just seemed to draaain. I was stuck on chapter 25 for a long time and finally finished it tonight, so here's chapter 8 for you. I'm not going to make any promises but it looks like I'm going to be wrapping this up and starting its sequel soon, so chapter 9 may go live as soon as tomorrow or Friday. Of course, having said that it might not be a while... Anyway.
Chapter 8 (Sky)
The plan was simple enough.
The kidnapper had demanded unlimited access to SPD's computer network. Criminal records, personnel information, defense programs... the whole works... in exchange for Bridge. This was a price we normally wouldn't be willing to pay, even for a fellow officer's life, as it was a serious security compromise- do that, and we might as well abandon SPD for good, as anybody with all of our information in his hands and enough support could overrun us with little effort. Many more lives than one could be lost that way. This was why Cruger had waited so long to tell us what the ransom demands were, too, as he didn't want to take away all of our hope and make us think we were going to have to leave Bridge to die. But we weren't, as we had an idea.
We were going to give the alien what he wanted, in a sense- a computer disk with a program that would appear to allow him to remotely access our network... but which also had a nearly-undetectable virus written in that would disable any computer it was run in before it the access could even happen, and cause the disk to permanently malfunction. So many things could go wrong, of course. The whole plan operated under the assumption that the kidnapper was going to give us Bridge, take the disk, and leave. The monster could insist on checking to make sure we weren't sabotaging him before releasing his prisoner, meaning Bridge would still be his captive once he found out we were bluffing. Or he could retract the deal entirely and not even show up at the appointed meeting place, or take the disk and kill Bridge anyway, or any number of things. But without knowing still who our adversary was or where he was keeping his prisoner, it was the only chance we had.
"You all have your instructions," said Commander Cruger, clutching his morpher in one paw as he paced. The other Rangers and I were gathered in the main control room, receiving final orders from him. "Cadet Tate, you will meet the kidnapper, appearing to be alone and unarmed, as the last communication instructed. You will give the monster the infected disk, then grab Bridge and run. Cadets Herdman, Delgado, and Drew, you will be hidden on top of nearby buildings, ready to cover Sky's escape or shoot down the kidnapper if anything goes wrong. I will be ready for extra backup if needed." He stopped, staring at each of us. "I need not tell you that there's a very real chance this mission could fail," he reminded us. "This might be our only hope of seeing Bridge alive again. If any of you wants to back out now-"
"It's a risk I'm going to take, sir," I interrupted, and Z, Syd and Tessie all nodded agreement.
"I expected nothing less of you," the Commander said with pride. "Good luck, Rangers. If all goes well, I will see you back here. If not..." He trailed off, then cleared his throat. "Move out!" Z, Syd, Tessie, and myself silently walked out of the base to the parking garage and climbed into the Delta Cruiser. I felt sick to my stomach as I drove toward our destination, but was still filled with determination to make the plan go right. I was going to get Bridge back, no matter what. Several hundred feet from where I was to meet the kidnapper, I pulled the Cruiser to a stop and killed the engine, and the girls climbed out to morph and go to their respective perches.
"Let's hope this works," I told them, my mouth dry.
"It will," said Syd confidently, though she had gone pale and her legs were shaking. "See you and Bridge back at the base, Sky."
"Listen... Z. Syd. Tessie," I said, taking a deep breath. I was about to give them an order I knew they would never want to follow, but I felt it had to be done. "...Do what you need to do when this thing goes down. With any luck, the exchange will go off without a hitch, but you know our luck has been running dry lately. Rescuing Bridge is your first priority, and if I get in the way of that goal, ignore me. Even if I happen to get caught in the crossfire. I'll try my best to throw up a force field around us, but I can't guarantee I will be able to, and I won't be able to morph, either."
"Sky, NO. You can't expect us to..." Z began, but I cut her off.
"He is the most important thing right now, not me," I said firmly. "You heard what the Commander said; this might be our only chance to get him back. I hate pulling rank on you all, but we don't have time to argue about this. I'm Red Ranger, and that's an order!" They saluted me, knowing they had to obey, but all still looking very unhappy as they walked off, transforming into their Ranger forms along the way. I sat there for a few minutes to gather my nerves before getting out of the Cruiser myself. I left my morpher and pistol behind, knowing that trying to hide a weapon on my person was both dangerous and unnecessary, and walked to my destination. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the evening sun glinting off the girls' helmets as they got into position on top of the surrounding buildings, knowing they were aiming their weapons right where I would be standing. Not another soul was around, as the alien had told us to meet him in an abandoned, remote part of Newtech City so we wouldn't be interrupted. It was a wide alley, with several smaller ones branching off of it. Perfect places to hide surprise backup or escape through, I thought grimly, staring around, my ears pricked for any footsteps... or sounds of a struggle. This guy really does know what he's doing. I hope his greed to get this disk will lead to a slip-up from him. That's all we need.
I waited for half an hour, the only sound being a few strange whooshes, gusts of wind perhaps, and I was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by. The kidnapper was late, and I hadn't heard or seen any signs of the arrival of himself and his prisoner. I suddenly felt very vulnerable, standing there unarmed, waiting... waiting... my heart beating faster and faster. What if it had been a trick? What if he had lied to us, or had seen us arrive and killed Bridge, or... Another loud whooshing sound startled me as an alien appeared suddenly in the distance, and I understood what the other noises were- he must have been checking the scene out from all angles, looking to see if I was setting up a trap. I made note of the fact that he'd made one vital mistake- not checking from the air as well as below. It meant we still had the ace up our sleeve. The alien was very tall and appeared to be made of armor, with a dragon's head on his shoulders and large, shining wings. He carried a sword in his left hand... the same sword we'd seen pressed against Bridge's throat in all of the photographs he'd sent. Too, now I understood why no fingerprints or other evidence had been left behind- he was made of metal, or at least had covered his whole body in armor. However, he did not have Bridge with him. I could feel sweat dripping off my forehead and panic beginning to take hold...
"I didn't expect you to show up alone," said the alien in a harsh, gravelly voice as he approached me. "Nor be stupid enough to not try and set up a trap or attack me. I can't believe you're giving me access to your computer systems in exchange for Squirt's worthless life. I knew you'd eventually fold. It would have been a lot easier for you to just let him die and wouldn't cause a potential security crisis. You hero types are so utterly pathetic." I didn't flinch, though on the inside I was seething. "Show me that you're unarmed, and then we'll talk."
"Show me that you have Bridge," I said. "I want to know that he's safe before you get anything from me, alien."
"Prove to me that you're unarmed first, or you're getting nothing," the alien replied. "He stays hidden til I know you're keeping your end of the bargain, kid. I'm not stupid enough to just take you at your word, not when Squirt's life is at stake." I opened my mouth to argue then swallowed, remembering my training. Give the kidnapper what he wants, within reason, to ensure the safety of the hostage. I took my jacket off and laid it out on the ground to show that I was hiding nothing in it, and patted my pockets to show that they were empty. The alien nodded. "Good. And you have what I requested?" I held up the disk.
"Remote access to SPD's network," I said. "And the necessary clearances to be able to use it. I've shown you what you want- where's Bridge?" The alien turned, walked down one of the side alleyways, and re-emerged a few moments later leading Bridge, who was still bound and gagged, stumbling as he was half-dragged toward me. He looked over at me, his eyes wide with fear. "Release him, or you're not getting this," I barked. "That was our deal."
"Of course," said the monster, undoing Bridge's bonds, and he immediately fell over. I started running towards him, unthinkingly tossing the disk to the monster, who caught it before holding up a hand. "One more thing. You never said he had to be alive when I gave him back!"
"NO!" I yelled, realizing too late that I'd made a big mistake, starting to generate a force field to protect Bridge, but I was too far away... The monster roughly hauled him upright and, with one swift stroke, cut his throat open with the sword.
"Oops. How clumsy of me- AH!" the monster yelled as a laser blast struck him in the back, and he turned around, shaking with fury as Tessie, Syd and multiple copies of Z stood erect, firing their guns at him. I ran the rest of the distance to the fallen Bridge as fast as I could and threw up a force field around us to deflect stray laser fire, then lifted his body and shook him, desperate to hear a response...
"Bridge. Bridge! Hey, BRIDGE!" I cried. Blood flowed freely from the wound in his neck, and his face was frozen in an expression of horror, eyes rolling into the back of his head. "BRIDGE!" The monster swore up a storm as he extended his wings and flew right towards Syd, but was repelled by swift laser fire from all sides, with one well-placed shot burning a large hole in one wing.
"HAH! IT DOESN'T MATTER, ANYWAY!" he roared, triumphantly shaking the disk. "I GOT WHAT I WANTED, AND LITTLE SQUIRT IS DEAD!" There was another whooshing sound, and he vanished. I held Bridge to me, frozen in place, feeling tears stream down my face as the girls climbed down the sides of the buildings, running over towards me.
"Commander," I heard Z shout into her morpher, "something's gone wrong! We have a... a code gray!"
Code gray... Ranger down.
* * *
Half an hour later...
Tessie, Syd, Z, Kat, Boom, Commander Cruger, and myself all stood before a set of swinging white doors. Bridge had been taken to the hospital as fast as we could get him there, but there was little hope that he was going to survive; indeed, it was a miracle that he hadn't expired on the way there. He'd stopped breathing just before we arrived, lost a lot of blood through his neck wound, and likely being weak from captivity didn't improve his chances much. I expected someone to come out any moment and tell us that he'd died... I finally had to sit down because my trembling legs could no longer support my weight.
Bridge was gone... No, he wasn't. I refused to believe it. I couldn't. I kept holding onto that tiny hope that he'd survive as the minutes slowly, painfully ticked by. He couldn't be dead. Just over a week ago, we were out fighting crime together. We'd come so close to getting him back. It was impossible for him to be dead. Impossible. I kept telling myself that, even though I'd just watched the monster slit his throat, even though I was covered in his blood. The look of horror frozen on his face seemed to be pasted over my mind's eye, and I couldn't make it go away. I half felt like I was in a horrible dream, wishing it was, that I would wake up soon and find that the past week had never existed, but I knew better than to even dare to believe it was.
The Commander soon began pacing, and Kat excused herself to see if anybody had gotten ahold of Bridge's mother, his only family member in the area. Boom watched the doors, fidgeting nervously. Tessie, stony-faced, was trying to console Syd, who was crying brokenly into her shoulder. Z seemed to be in a trance. Kat returned several minutes later and whispered something to the Commander before they sat down next to each other. Z finally plopped down beside me, Tessie and Syd sat across from her, Boom on the floor beside them. The clock on the wall was ticking loudly.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Finally, a door opened, and an alien doctor in a white lab coat came out. We were all half-risen when he said,
"Please, sit back down; none of you are allowed to come in yet, and it's going to be a while before you can. Commander Cruger, sir, and the rest of you- you are Mr. Carson's friends and comrades at SPD, correct?" We all nodded. "As you know, Mr. Carson is in bad shape. But since he's survived thus far, his chances are up slightly. We'll give you an update when we know more; I'm sorry you can't see him, but he's being prepped for surgery, and only his immediately family will be allowed in."
"Of course. Thank you, Doctor," said the Commander politely, and the door shut again, leaving us all to sit back down with a collective THUMP. We should be allowed in, I thought, gripping the sides of the bench I was on so hard my knuckles turned white. We're more than his friends. We ARE his family, damnit. If it is his time to die, he should at least have the people who love him most with him.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
"I guess," Tessie said quietly, "this is one of those times... when all you can do is pray."
I felt like hitting something.
Chapter 8 (Sky)
The plan was simple enough.
The kidnapper had demanded unlimited access to SPD's computer network. Criminal records, personnel information, defense programs... the whole works... in exchange for Bridge. This was a price we normally wouldn't be willing to pay, even for a fellow officer's life, as it was a serious security compromise- do that, and we might as well abandon SPD for good, as anybody with all of our information in his hands and enough support could overrun us with little effort. Many more lives than one could be lost that way. This was why Cruger had waited so long to tell us what the ransom demands were, too, as he didn't want to take away all of our hope and make us think we were going to have to leave Bridge to die. But we weren't, as we had an idea.
We were going to give the alien what he wanted, in a sense- a computer disk with a program that would appear to allow him to remotely access our network... but which also had a nearly-undetectable virus written in that would disable any computer it was run in before it the access could even happen, and cause the disk to permanently malfunction. So many things could go wrong, of course. The whole plan operated under the assumption that the kidnapper was going to give us Bridge, take the disk, and leave. The monster could insist on checking to make sure we weren't sabotaging him before releasing his prisoner, meaning Bridge would still be his captive once he found out we were bluffing. Or he could retract the deal entirely and not even show up at the appointed meeting place, or take the disk and kill Bridge anyway, or any number of things. But without knowing still who our adversary was or where he was keeping his prisoner, it was the only chance we had.
"You all have your instructions," said Commander Cruger, clutching his morpher in one paw as he paced. The other Rangers and I were gathered in the main control room, receiving final orders from him. "Cadet Tate, you will meet the kidnapper, appearing to be alone and unarmed, as the last communication instructed. You will give the monster the infected disk, then grab Bridge and run. Cadets Herdman, Delgado, and Drew, you will be hidden on top of nearby buildings, ready to cover Sky's escape or shoot down the kidnapper if anything goes wrong. I will be ready for extra backup if needed." He stopped, staring at each of us. "I need not tell you that there's a very real chance this mission could fail," he reminded us. "This might be our only hope of seeing Bridge alive again. If any of you wants to back out now-"
"It's a risk I'm going to take, sir," I interrupted, and Z, Syd and Tessie all nodded agreement.
"I expected nothing less of you," the Commander said with pride. "Good luck, Rangers. If all goes well, I will see you back here. If not..." He trailed off, then cleared his throat. "Move out!" Z, Syd, Tessie, and myself silently walked out of the base to the parking garage and climbed into the Delta Cruiser. I felt sick to my stomach as I drove toward our destination, but was still filled with determination to make the plan go right. I was going to get Bridge back, no matter what. Several hundred feet from where I was to meet the kidnapper, I pulled the Cruiser to a stop and killed the engine, and the girls climbed out to morph and go to their respective perches.
"Let's hope this works," I told them, my mouth dry.
"It will," said Syd confidently, though she had gone pale and her legs were shaking. "See you and Bridge back at the base, Sky."
"Listen... Z. Syd. Tessie," I said, taking a deep breath. I was about to give them an order I knew they would never want to follow, but I felt it had to be done. "...Do what you need to do when this thing goes down. With any luck, the exchange will go off without a hitch, but you know our luck has been running dry lately. Rescuing Bridge is your first priority, and if I get in the way of that goal, ignore me. Even if I happen to get caught in the crossfire. I'll try my best to throw up a force field around us, but I can't guarantee I will be able to, and I won't be able to morph, either."
"Sky, NO. You can't expect us to..." Z began, but I cut her off.
"He is the most important thing right now, not me," I said firmly. "You heard what the Commander said; this might be our only chance to get him back. I hate pulling rank on you all, but we don't have time to argue about this. I'm Red Ranger, and that's an order!" They saluted me, knowing they had to obey, but all still looking very unhappy as they walked off, transforming into their Ranger forms along the way. I sat there for a few minutes to gather my nerves before getting out of the Cruiser myself. I left my morpher and pistol behind, knowing that trying to hide a weapon on my person was both dangerous and unnecessary, and walked to my destination. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the evening sun glinting off the girls' helmets as they got into position on top of the surrounding buildings, knowing they were aiming their weapons right where I would be standing. Not another soul was around, as the alien had told us to meet him in an abandoned, remote part of Newtech City so we wouldn't be interrupted. It was a wide alley, with several smaller ones branching off of it. Perfect places to hide surprise backup or escape through, I thought grimly, staring around, my ears pricked for any footsteps... or sounds of a struggle. This guy really does know what he's doing. I hope his greed to get this disk will lead to a slip-up from him. That's all we need.
I waited for half an hour, the only sound being a few strange whooshes, gusts of wind perhaps, and I was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by. The kidnapper was late, and I hadn't heard or seen any signs of the arrival of himself and his prisoner. I suddenly felt very vulnerable, standing there unarmed, waiting... waiting... my heart beating faster and faster. What if it had been a trick? What if he had lied to us, or had seen us arrive and killed Bridge, or... Another loud whooshing sound startled me as an alien appeared suddenly in the distance, and I understood what the other noises were- he must have been checking the scene out from all angles, looking to see if I was setting up a trap. I made note of the fact that he'd made one vital mistake- not checking from the air as well as below. It meant we still had the ace up our sleeve. The alien was very tall and appeared to be made of armor, with a dragon's head on his shoulders and large, shining wings. He carried a sword in his left hand... the same sword we'd seen pressed against Bridge's throat in all of the photographs he'd sent. Too, now I understood why no fingerprints or other evidence had been left behind- he was made of metal, or at least had covered his whole body in armor. However, he did not have Bridge with him. I could feel sweat dripping off my forehead and panic beginning to take hold...
"I didn't expect you to show up alone," said the alien in a harsh, gravelly voice as he approached me. "Nor be stupid enough to not try and set up a trap or attack me. I can't believe you're giving me access to your computer systems in exchange for Squirt's worthless life. I knew you'd eventually fold. It would have been a lot easier for you to just let him die and wouldn't cause a potential security crisis. You hero types are so utterly pathetic." I didn't flinch, though on the inside I was seething. "Show me that you're unarmed, and then we'll talk."
"Show me that you have Bridge," I said. "I want to know that he's safe before you get anything from me, alien."
"Prove to me that you're unarmed first, or you're getting nothing," the alien replied. "He stays hidden til I know you're keeping your end of the bargain, kid. I'm not stupid enough to just take you at your word, not when Squirt's life is at stake." I opened my mouth to argue then swallowed, remembering my training. Give the kidnapper what he wants, within reason, to ensure the safety of the hostage. I took my jacket off and laid it out on the ground to show that I was hiding nothing in it, and patted my pockets to show that they were empty. The alien nodded. "Good. And you have what I requested?" I held up the disk.
"Remote access to SPD's network," I said. "And the necessary clearances to be able to use it. I've shown you what you want- where's Bridge?" The alien turned, walked down one of the side alleyways, and re-emerged a few moments later leading Bridge, who was still bound and gagged, stumbling as he was half-dragged toward me. He looked over at me, his eyes wide with fear. "Release him, or you're not getting this," I barked. "That was our deal."
"Of course," said the monster, undoing Bridge's bonds, and he immediately fell over. I started running towards him, unthinkingly tossing the disk to the monster, who caught it before holding up a hand. "One more thing. You never said he had to be alive when I gave him back!"
"NO!" I yelled, realizing too late that I'd made a big mistake, starting to generate a force field to protect Bridge, but I was too far away... The monster roughly hauled him upright and, with one swift stroke, cut his throat open with the sword.
"Oops. How clumsy of me- AH!" the monster yelled as a laser blast struck him in the back, and he turned around, shaking with fury as Tessie, Syd and multiple copies of Z stood erect, firing their guns at him. I ran the rest of the distance to the fallen Bridge as fast as I could and threw up a force field around us to deflect stray laser fire, then lifted his body and shook him, desperate to hear a response...
"Bridge. Bridge! Hey, BRIDGE!" I cried. Blood flowed freely from the wound in his neck, and his face was frozen in an expression of horror, eyes rolling into the back of his head. "BRIDGE!" The monster swore up a storm as he extended his wings and flew right towards Syd, but was repelled by swift laser fire from all sides, with one well-placed shot burning a large hole in one wing.
"HAH! IT DOESN'T MATTER, ANYWAY!" he roared, triumphantly shaking the disk. "I GOT WHAT I WANTED, AND LITTLE SQUIRT IS DEAD!" There was another whooshing sound, and he vanished. I held Bridge to me, frozen in place, feeling tears stream down my face as the girls climbed down the sides of the buildings, running over towards me.
"Commander," I heard Z shout into her morpher, "something's gone wrong! We have a... a code gray!"
Code gray... Ranger down.
* * *
Half an hour later...
Tessie, Syd, Z, Kat, Boom, Commander Cruger, and myself all stood before a set of swinging white doors. Bridge had been taken to the hospital as fast as we could get him there, but there was little hope that he was going to survive; indeed, it was a miracle that he hadn't expired on the way there. He'd stopped breathing just before we arrived, lost a lot of blood through his neck wound, and likely being weak from captivity didn't improve his chances much. I expected someone to come out any moment and tell us that he'd died... I finally had to sit down because my trembling legs could no longer support my weight.
Bridge was gone... No, he wasn't. I refused to believe it. I couldn't. I kept holding onto that tiny hope that he'd survive as the minutes slowly, painfully ticked by. He couldn't be dead. Just over a week ago, we were out fighting crime together. We'd come so close to getting him back. It was impossible for him to be dead. Impossible. I kept telling myself that, even though I'd just watched the monster slit his throat, even though I was covered in his blood. The look of horror frozen on his face seemed to be pasted over my mind's eye, and I couldn't make it go away. I half felt like I was in a horrible dream, wishing it was, that I would wake up soon and find that the past week had never existed, but I knew better than to even dare to believe it was.
The Commander soon began pacing, and Kat excused herself to see if anybody had gotten ahold of Bridge's mother, his only family member in the area. Boom watched the doors, fidgeting nervously. Tessie, stony-faced, was trying to console Syd, who was crying brokenly into her shoulder. Z seemed to be in a trance. Kat returned several minutes later and whispered something to the Commander before they sat down next to each other. Z finally plopped down beside me, Tessie and Syd sat across from her, Boom on the floor beside them. The clock on the wall was ticking loudly.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Finally, a door opened, and an alien doctor in a white lab coat came out. We were all half-risen when he said,
"Please, sit back down; none of you are allowed to come in yet, and it's going to be a while before you can. Commander Cruger, sir, and the rest of you- you are Mr. Carson's friends and comrades at SPD, correct?" We all nodded. "As you know, Mr. Carson is in bad shape. But since he's survived thus far, his chances are up slightly. We'll give you an update when we know more; I'm sorry you can't see him, but he's being prepped for surgery, and only his immediately family will be allowed in."
"Of course. Thank you, Doctor," said the Commander politely, and the door shut again, leaving us all to sit back down with a collective THUMP. We should be allowed in, I thought, gripping the sides of the bench I was on so hard my knuckles turned white. We're more than his friends. We ARE his family, damnit. If it is his time to die, he should at least have the people who love him most with him.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
"I guess," Tessie said quietly, "this is one of those times... when all you can do is pray."
I felt like hitting something.