Chapter 207 -- LFN Storyboard 2

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, [5], 6, 7, 8, 9 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 18:00:44 02/08/12 Wed
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-60-224-186-176.vic.bigpond.net.au / 60.224.186.176
Subject: Chapter 207
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "Repost ... Chapters 206 -210" on 17:53:39 02/08/12 Wed

Chapter 207

"Okay amigo what did you find out?" Walter asked as soon as they walked away from Med-Lab.

"Not here," Birkoff replied knowing that they were not out of hear sight of the surveillance equipment yet.

The two friends quickly walked down a labyrinth of corridors and when they reached a non-surveillance area of Section One away from Med-Lab, Birkoff stopped mid-step and looked at his friend. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. He was tired � he'd been up half the night chasing up clues as to how to access Intel that supposedly didn't exist. Any information about Michael was deeply hidden in the Section One database but he'd managed to find a way into the classified data. Nine times out of ten he would not have touched anything as sensitive as this for fear of being discovered and suffering the consequences. His head would be on the chopping block if Operations or Madeline found out he'd been snooping around. Normally he didn't want to be caught up in the middle of things he'd rather not know about � but this was Michael � His life may be on the line and if he could use his canny whiles to find the impossible to help his friend then he would do it. And he had done it. He'd found a way albeit through his crafty skills of unauthorized hacking.

"I ran through a couple of programs and checked obscure channels trying to find a way into the classified Intel concerning Michael's medical records."

"And what did you come up with? Did you find anything?" Walter asked inquisitively.

Birkoff looked over his glasses at his buddy with a twinkle in his eye extremely pleased with his efforts. "I think I may have found a way to access his file."

"Good."

He was nearly salivating at what he was about to tell Walter. "I can't believe how easy it was to get into Section's encrypted mainframe."

"Do you know where they keep the data?"

"There is an unauthorised sector on the fifth floor."

"Level Five?"

"Yeah � but it may be tricky � we'll have to be careful."

"No problem � We can deal with it," Walter replied full of adrenalin at the thought of doing something so clandestine as to access unauthorised regions in Section One.

"There could be one other problem. It's on a secure channel that can only be accessed by Operations or Madeline."

"Hmmm? ... That shouldn't be a problem for you Seymour? Hey?" Walter grinned. "You can hack into anything � I'm sure this will be a piece of cake too."

"Yeah � but Operations would have me drawn and quartered if he found out � I'd be in abeyance before you could blink an eye � we both would."

"Don't worry so much Birkoff. We'll be okay. We can do this. We need to do this. Dr Johnson may need the data on Michael. It's better to be behind the eight ball rather than dragging our feet."

"What if he doesn't want it after all? Perhaps we should wait and see if we need to give the data to him."

"But what if he does?" Walter could see that they were going around in circles deciding the benefits of what they were or weren't about to do. He tried to convince Birkoff by appealing to his logic. "We won't need to give him anything unless it is absolutely necessary, but by saving precious time could mean the difference between life and death �. Remember this is Michael we're talking about."

"Yeah, I know but �"

Walter cut him off. "Not only that but, knowing this Intel may be an ace up our sleeves. We could use it as leverage with Operations. It could be to our advantage one day Birkoff."

Reluctantly he nodded in agreement. "We'll have to wait though until the coast is clear."

Pragmatically Walter set about eliminating the risk of being caught. "We know that Madeline will be in Med-Lab for a while. She'll want to speak about Michael and Nikita. That takes her out of the equation."

"Yeah, that's all well and good but what about Operations? We don't know where he is. He could very well catch us in the act."

"Why don't you go and check to see if he's in the Perch."

"Okay."

"I'll meet you at the head of the hallways bisecting the Common Area in ten minutes then. Watch your flank."

"Thanks."

The two friends each went their separate ways to ascertain Operations' whereabouts until they would meet at the rendezvous time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sun Yee Lok looked up when he heard the door to his office open. The noise was closely followed by his daughter's voice.

"Father?"

"Come in my dear."

Closing the door behind her Karen approached his desk, but her father rose and came to greet her.

"Come � sit down," he instructed, ushering her to the comfortable chairs in the alcove overlooking the balcony and garden. "I hope you are well rested after the festivities last night."

"Yes, I am � thank you father."

"Good."

"I trust your interviews went well with Andy and Wang?"

"Yes � they were very enlightening � they had only good things to say about you."

"Really?"

"Yes � there is no need to be modest my dear; I am well pleased with your actions at the monastery. Very pleased in fact."

"Thank you father � I am honoured by your comments."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sun Yee Lok's heart was bursting with pride. He looked over at his daughter ... he really looked at her and what he saw was a younger version of himself. It mattered not that she was a woman and that succession of the leadership would go to her � on the contrary Karen would be an excellent leader. Her father now saw her as his worthy successor when the time came, but for now he had one important project that would need her skills. She had more than earned his respect and he planned to give Karen the opportunity to grow and excel in the triad way.

On all accounts she had been formidable in her dealings with the two co-conspirators � Michael Samuelle and Nikita Wirth. It appeared that he'd also been her greatest foe. He was the one who had killed Steven, kidnapped and drugged her and placed her life in jeopardy. All this had been done to rescue the woman who was the thorn in the Rising Dragons� side. Had Michael Samuelle survived he would have sought retribution for what he'd done to Karen. She had acted on her suspicions of Nikita Wirth while her surveillance of her neighbour had proved fruitful. His daughter had masterminded the sting on Nikita by befriending her realising that the woman was not all she appeared to be. This woman � this Nikita Wirth � had undermined the Rising Dragons and her involvement could be traced back to the first incident of Tony Wong's murder, thus her death was a fitting end result. For that alone his daughter deserved kudos.

Karen had proved her worth on other occasions too, but this time she had surpassed all of his expectations. Sun Yee Lok saw only a bright future for the Rising Dragons under her leadership. He had big plans for his daughter and saw no reason why she couldn't begin her new role as soon as possible. He would start her accession development by giving Karen more responsibilities. He knew the exact project � the triad's expansion into Macau.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You have done your father and the Rising Dragons proud. As a daughter you have surpassed anything I could have asked of you and more. I am delighted with your endeavours."

Karen nodded in acceptance of his admiration. Raising her head she looked at him and smiled. "Is there anything you wish to ask of me father?"

"Well as a matter of fact � there is."

"Name it and it is yours."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Good afternoon, Madeline."

Dr Johnson looked at Section One's doyen with a smile of greeting but Madeline barely returned his gesture. Her manner was reserved and reticent. "Dr Johnson. How are the patients?"

Knowing that she would want to know the answer to her question with explicit details, he sighed quietly and drew in a breath to calm his nerves before answering. "Both Michael and Nikita are holding their own at the moment. They are on hourly observations for any trauma anomalies."

"I see � And Nikita's condition?"

"She'll be fine. We should see some improvement for her in the next seventy-two hours or so."

"That's good. And Michael?"

"His prognosis is similar although his injuries are more pronounced than Nikita. Michael's beating and torture appears to be far more brutal than hers. It will be at least another twenty-four hours before we'll have a clearer idea as to the success of the operation and we need to see how he reacts to the blood transfusions he's been given. For that reason Michael will be in ICU for the next day or so where he can be monitored more closely."

"What can you tell me about their injuries?"

"Perhaps it is best if I show you Madeline," he replied in a professional manner, drawing her attention to Nikita's medical chart displayed on the computer screen on his desk first.

"Nikita has multiple contusions to several parts of her body especially her ribcage, stomach and face which are symptomatic of the torture she suffered. She also has severe bruising to her upper torso, arms, legs and face. There was evidence of blood in her urinary tract so there could be some internal injuries as well but we'll know for sure once we have the results of her pathology tests."

Madeline stood and listened to all that Dr Johnson had to say. So far all his data correlated with the characteristic symptoms of torture and mistreatment. Given that it was a couple of days before the retrieval team was able to rescue her, the Dr's dissertation confirmed what they had seen on the tape as well. The triad's interrogator had certainly been thorough in his methods.

Dr Johnson glanced over at Madeline, trying to determine her reaction to his statements about Nikita's condition, but her expression was aloof as usual. "She also has tissue damage inside her mouth, a cut lip and scratches to her face and cheeks but these are superficial and should heal in time."

He switched to Michael's medical chart and his data appeared on the monitor.

Madeline moved a little closer and surveyed the chart and findings. "Can you explain what all these graphs are for?"

"Certainly � they indicate Michael's blood pressure, heart rhythms and his oxygen levels over the last 24 hours. His pain medication is graphed separately. At the moment he is on morphine to dull the pain in his shoulder."

"How long will it be until he is up and about?"

"It's hard to say but if all goes well, I would think three days. However, I need to warn you that there could be some complications."

Madeline knitted her brows in consternation. "What complications?"

It was evident that there were to be no such things as complications for Michael Samuelle according to Madeline, but Dr Johnson needed for her to know just what could go wrong. "Michael could, I repeat could � have some paralysis in his shoulder, but this is yet to be determined. If he does then we will deal with it accordingly. One thing in his favour is that Michael's fitness levels have always been excellent. He is a strong and fit young man and that's a huge plus, but he'll still need some physio for his shoulder to regain its flexibility. Rest and rehabilitation is also crucial to get him back to peak condition and that could take at least a week."

"I see. You have been more than thorough Dr Johnson. Is that all?"

He hesitated before answering, knowing that Madeline would most likely not approve of what he was about to say. "There is one other thing."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Although both Michael and Nikita's injuries are severe, I have confidence that they will recover completely if given enough time to recuperate fully. Medical facts support that a speedier recovery is obtained if patients are rehabilitated with other patients who have suffered a similar ordeal. It is a known fact that this support is crucial in the patients' overall mental and physical wellbeing. My report documents this in more detail. I have several suggestions �"

"That won't be necessary. I understand exactly what you're saying Dr Johnson," was her acerbic reply. "Now � I would like to see the patients for myself."

"Of course."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on text from �. Rescue and BTP

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies: