Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 6 - The Escape

Lincoln looked up, his eyes wide, his mouth open. He struggled to get up onto his feet, then leaned forward over the table with his hands on the surface. "Terminate her?" he sputtered. "You can't do that!"

Dexter looked calmly at Lincoln and smiled. "Captain Graber, I sense there is a problem with the council's proposal?"

"You can't kill her," he wheezed through gritted teeth, his eyes on Dexter. Hamil moved around the table to Lincoln, a concerned expression on his face.

"Lincoln, what are you doing? Sit down immediately," he said and pressed Lincoln back into the wheelchair. Lincoln resisted for a moment, but let himself back into the chair with a sigh. He could feel a tear forming in the corner of his eye, something Hamil also noticed, at which point he turned and stepped in front of Lincoln.

"If you could, Councilman Dexter, what is the rationale behind the termination of the subject? Surely she could be useful from the perspective of intelligence? There's a lot about her timeline that is unknown to us. Many of the historical records were destroyed during and after the event."

"I'm well aware of that, Commander, but the Council is of the opinion that the risks outweigh the benefits of keeping her alive. Remember, Commander, your paramount directive is the safety of this community and ensuring its survival for generations to come. Sacrifices have to be made along the way."

Lincoln wanted to scream. What is he talking about? Sacrifices for what? With renewed energy, he pushed himself out of the wheelchair again and joined Hamil by the table.

"Respectfully, I disagree-"

A flashing blue light above them interrupted Lincoln, and a voice started repeating the phrase Condition Blue every few seconds. He looked at Hamil and saw that he was as confused as he was. The heads around the table look between each other, as if hoping their colleagues would have the answer to the unexpected situation.

"Commander, what is happening?" Dexter demanded as Hamil had moved back to his spot around the table.

"Allow me to check with the Security Director, sir," Hamil said and tapped a few keys. When his fingers went up to his one ear, Lincoln realized he was listening through an earpiece and it was unlikely they would hear the conversation.

A few moments later, Hamil looked up, his face paler. "It would appear that our guest decided to take a look around," he said to the heads as he gave Lincoln a hard stare.

"The daughter of our target has escaped?" Dexter said.

Hamil nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will need to attend to this matter immediately. Lincoln, come with me."

Could it be that Marie had escaped? Lincoln felt energized and followed Hamil without even considering sitting down in the wheelchair. Hamil gave him a look and glanced towards the wheelchair, opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. Instead, he nodded towards the door. Moments later, they were walking at a rapid clip away from the council chamber.

"Where are we going?" Lincoln said as Hamil slammed a set of double doors open and quickened his pace.

"The operations center. They will find her. We must apprehend her at all cost. I need your help with that."

"My help?"

Hamil stopped and turned towards Lincoln, their faces only inches from each other. "Because you know her and although I can't prove it, Captain, I'd bet you're closer to her than you'd like to admit."

"Commander-"

"No time, Captain, no time," Hamil said curtly and continued his march towards the Operations Center.