Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 40: Caught... Again

Cam moved down the corridor away from the docking bay, still dazed from his interaction with Kai. Cam turned to whistling pleasantly like Steamboat Willie. He was delighted with himself now. Ever since he linked with Kai, things felt much more positive; he was less anxious and less worried about the next 40 seconds of his life. He was just... being Cam. Regular Cam. Before he'd met Kieran, when he only had to worry about keeping up appearances with his fake medical degree, and now that he thought about it, he didn't even have to do that anymore. He was finally free.

Cam rounded the corner and then abruptly. He was grabbed by something nesting in the shadows behind an array of crates. Cam screamed in horror, but his cries were quickly muffled by someone covering his mouth. The shock of being taken into the shadows reminded him of the time that he'd been captured by Kipp and Maxion the first time they'd met— it was similar to this situation. Cam was minding his own business one minute, and someone held him against his will the next. He thrashed around and panicked. Being in the team of two, the other abductor grabbed hold of Cam's wrists as a precaution. "Just relax. We're not going to hurt you!"

Cam complied, calmed down, and eventually, his captor released him. He stood slowly and looked at who had taken him into custody despite the lighting not being that workable. A beagle, Earthen. His suit was primarily red and black, with some white. His eyes were blue— which reminded him of Tommy; they were innocently looking, and he also had the same DP logo as Tommy... yes, he could recognize this one; he was the canine intruder, and turning around— his purple and black mouse friend. Cam could only recognize them because Kai could recognize them. When merged— Cam was filled with an enormous amount of knowledge that involved Polly being the target for a search of the entire station.

"What do you want..?" Cam asked peacefully. He was outnumbered, but eyeing the vent above them in this small room, Cam contemplated forcing himself into the ventilation system and making a hasty retreat; from there, he would inform Tommy and Russell of this infraction. "Just some help. My name is Gauge, and this is Polly."

"We need your help, Doctor." Polly was less pleasant than Gauge, cutting his friend off like he was in a rush. "We understand that you're a person of some influence on the station." Polly eyed Cam, particularly the medical cross on his chest, while rubbing his hands together. Gauge continued, one-upping Polly with the cut-off, "We need you to get stuff off the Destiny for us." Gauge and Polly did not need a doctor. They needed a person to acquire some equipment; as soon as Cam realized this, he put his hands up defensively. "Wait... I don't get stuff for people anymore— the last time I did, I almost killed my entire species... and also, I don't trust people from the Patrol." Cam looked back at Polly, who wore a patrol badge on his belt. Cam felt terrible for what he did. He still did not like the Patrol, which led him to Kieran in the first place. He put up with Tommy because Tommy was his friend, at least he thought they were friends... their relationship was strange.

"You're taking it apart anyway! Look, your friend Russell told us to go. We're trying to leave but can't do that without repairing our device. Can we Gauge?" Polly did not hesitate to jab at his friend for breaking the displacer and leaving them stranded here. Cam bit the knuckle of his index finger while he listened to Polly. "But why me?"

"Because you happened to be walking by. It was just chance. But we're lucky we ran into you. Because you're the only one we've seen with a crest like that, you're a senior staff member. Chief of Medical, I presume?" Gauge pointed to Cam's signature feature. He was the only one with this appearance modification, which was very stupid because it made him a target. "I have a better idea... how about I tell my friends about you... I want to help you. But I won't steal for you because I've learned long ago that it's wrong. If you ask for help, Tommy and my other friends will help you." Cam tried to convince Gauge. He seemed to be the one in command. Even in a duo, there was always a command structure, and the dog seemed to want to talk quite a bit.

Polly looked at Gauge; he shrugged with no response, which made Polly nervous. "I guess we can try." That was not the response Polly wanted; he was still feeling guilty about having altered this timeline, and he didn't want to go any further. "Not an option. We've already screwed around with time too much. Just do what we say. We only need a few components." The purple mouse demanded, his temper and patience rapidly slipping. "Now... hold on, maybe we can make an exchange. Tommy mentioned having an engineer... if you get him to help us. We'll do something in exchange for you... maybe help you with the little ship? What do you think, Polly?" Gauge looked at his friend.

Polly smacked his lips and groaned, "You might be clever, but you're not a temporal scientist. I guess having a real engineer help with the mechanics is better—it's more strategic. But we can't, and you know it."

"Cam?" Someone called from down the hallway. Gauge and Polly jumped in horror, but Cam did not. He recognized it as Maxion. "Get rid of him," Polly ordered Cam, and then he implemented his plan of pushing the medic out of their hiding place rapidly. Cam ended up again in the hallway, regaining his footing as he brushed nonexistent dirt off his body.

"Doc, there you are! You left this behind in the aft section." Maxion handed him a tablet containing nothing more than notes and patient scheduling. With shaking hands, Cam took it back. "Thank you, Maxion. Now you should be going."

"You mean so you can talk to your buddies behind that crate?" Maxion pointed directly at Gauge and Polly, who panicked in silence at being recognized. "What are you talking about?" Cam answered awkwardly. "First of all, you're very sweaty... more so than usual... and I think you know about the whole... Truthsight thing. I'm not particularly eager to use it on my friends, but sometimes I can't help it; it's my nature. Also, whoever is back there is a mouth breather." Maxion added with a sharp-toothed grin. Right, the lie detector.

Cam felt a wave of panic wash over him as Maxion's perceptive gaze seemed to pierce through his facade; his tail twitched in irritation as he thought quickly, his mind racing with possibilities. "Maxion, please, it's not what you think," Cam began, his voice trembling slightly despite his efforts to appear composed. Maxion raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Oh? Then what is it, Doc? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're hiding something... or someone. Are you fooling around with Kieran again?" Maxion joked, poking Cam with his elbow. No one laughed, not even Maxion. Too soon, perhaps.

Cam bit his lip nervously, glancing back at Gauge and Polly, still hunched over behind the crates and concealed by the shadows. He couldn't risk Maxion getting involved in whatever mess they were in because Russell would definitely skin him alive if he involved his mate in criminal activity. "It's... it's complicated, Maxion. Just trust me, it's better if you don't get involved."

Maxion's grin faltered slightly, replaced by a furrowed brow of concern. "Cam, I've always had your back; I believe in second chances, you know that. If you're in trouble, I want to help." Cam hesitated, torn between his loyalty to his newfound acquaintances and his trust in Maxion. Finally, he sighed, realizing he had no obligation to Gauge and Polly, but he did to Maxion. He did not want his people to get hurt if these individuals were dangerous. "Okay... you know those intruders that were running loose on the station... they're behind those boxes." Maxion stared harder at the crates, his expression now serious.

"Is that true..?" He called out to the crates, and sure enough, Gauge and Polly exited the space.