TKR: Force of Fear

Part 3

By: Deanna Joroan

"But why kidnap Trek?" Erica asked, slapping her hand on the arm of her chair. The team was back in the conference room with the vehicles being represented as revolving images on monitor screens around the walls.

"Simple. If anyone wanted to find out how anything works around here, Trek has all the answers. He helped design some of the systems we use." Jenny answered. "He is also the easiest to get to." she added, looking down at her hands clasped across her midsection.

"Trek's been in tight spots before Jenny." Duke reminded her.

"But not on his own. He's always had one of us with him. You yourself said we needed to get him to take more self-defense training."

"Trek has enough smarts to take of himself until we can get to him. Let's not write him off yet. He may surprise you." Kyle advised. He personally thought Trek was a lot tougher than people gave him credit for.

"Who do you think is behind this Kyle?" Jenny asked.

"A month ago, my first guess would have been our old pal Mobius. But, we've managed to cut off his sources of information and track down most of his bases. There's got to be a new player in the game." Kyle leaned forward and rested his forearms on the console. "The only thing we're sure of at this point is that Trek is in a lot of trouble."

#

Trek was coming to the same conclusion himself. He had woken up moments earlier and found himself on a narrow cot in a small, almost featureless room. The single door was made of steel and securely locked, the walls were devoid of windows, and the only light came from a recessed fixture in the ceiling.

Trek's first thought had been to contact Sky One. That was when he had discovered his comlink as well as his jacket were gone. His second act was to try to recall the chain of events. He clearly remembered reaching the bookstore and talking to a brown haired man who wanted to sell him the comic books. After that, all he could remember was a sickly-sweet smell and the sensation of falling.

With his comlink gone, Trek wasn't sure how much time had passed while he was unconscious. He was sure that it was long enough for him to have missed Kyle's briefing. That, if nothing else, would be enough to start the others looking for him. He wondered if Plato had been able to follow him. If so, help wouldn't be long in coming, otherwise he was on his own.

After what seemed like hours, Trek heard the sound of footsteps approaching. They stopped right outside his door and slowly the door was opened. Trek made no effort to escape, knowing full well he wasn't a match for any opponent. The two men who had kidnapped him came in, each taking one of Trek's arms and marching him down the hall.

"Take it easy." Trek complained as he was thrust into a darkened room. The only furnishing was a dentist-type chair fitted with restraints. Trek was shoved into the chair and belts were securely fastened around his upper torso, legs, forehead, and each arm. A visor-type hood was positioned over his eyes. The men left, closing the door firmly behind them.

Trek lay in the darkness, a cold knot of fear forming in his belly. He strained against his bonds while listening for any sounds in the silent room. He jumped at the voice speaking right beside him.

"Look at him, helpless and frightened. The two most basic and useful of the negative emotions." The man's voice was clear and sounded amused. "His fear will help us."

"Help you do what?" Trek fought to keep his voice from shaking.

"Bring down TKR and FLAG of course." the voice replied. "Now be a good boy and just relax. This will help you."

A hypodermic needle stung Trek's right forearm. "The drug will force his mind to focus on his fear. Now we show him what to be afraid of." The voice moved away from Trek's side.

At that moment, the visor came alive with images of fights, explosions, and other scenes of violence. Each scene also contained images of the other TKR members and vehicles.

Trek began to thrash from side to side, trying to get away from the nightmare. The ghoulish scene went on for almost two hours before Trek finally passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The man calling himself Dave White came in and stood beside the stranger. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He is merely tired. We will continue as soon as he wakes up. Over the next few days we will build up his fear of TKR and show him that he must obey our commands. With his knowledge of the computer systems and electronics in those cars and the plane, we can take them over. They stopped Mobius because he was trying to be too subtle. This is more direct and they will be slower to react because they will try to save their friend." He motioned towards Trek. "Let me know when he wakes up." Both men left the room.

#

Back on Sky One, the members of the team had again gathered in the conference room to compare notes. The general consensus was that they had very little to help them find Trek.

"What has FLAG said about all of this?" Duke asked.

"Not much. They are waiting on a ransom demand. We still aren't sure how this will all play out. For now, we're basically on our own. What we have to do now is find a way to block entry into Sky One's defensive systems. Whoever has Trek is sure to try and use his knowledge to get to us." Kyle got up and paced back and forth behind his chair.

"You don't think they'll ask for ransom, do you?" Erica asked softly.

"Frankly no. Or if they do, it will only be a diversion. I think whoever grabbed Trek will use him to get to us or FLAG." Kyle made a note on his computer screen.

"Jenny, you and I will try to set up some sort of scrambler grid for the computer. If we can block all unauthorized access that should buy us some time."

"Kyle," Dante's voice broke in, "I think there might be a way to set up a feedback loop to trap any incoming signals and trace them back to their point of origin. We would have to manually screen any and all incoming signals."

"Good idea. Start working on it. Get a couple of techs to start tracing all transmissions coming and going." Kyle turned to Duke. "You and Beast work with the police. I want you to double check everything they find and do. Erica, see if you can find anybody who has a grudge against Trek or maybe has made threats against him. He's done enough business with big corporations to have made an enemy or two."

"Right." Erica got up and left, not making a snide comment about the assignment as was her usual practice.

While the other three worked at the plane, Duke and Beast set out for police headquarters. His position with FLAG entitled him to full access and cooperation from the department. He was met by Lt. Wiggins. The officer reported that the van had been stolen from a car rental place at the airport. Tire tracks at the scene suggested the van had been met by a car. As they were talking, the phone rang.

"Lt. Wiggins." The officer listened for a couple of seconds before grabbing a pen and jotting down a few notes. "Good work. Keep me posted." He hung up the phone and handed a copy of what he had written on the paper to Duke.

"Forensics found a good clear fingerprint on the van's driver side door. It belongs to a guy named Joe Mullins, a local hood who hires out as extra muscle. His latest boss seems to be a guy named Bruce Corbett. Corbett's suspected of being a local contact for a couple of arms dealers. We've heard rumors that a big hit was planned for this area but nothing more. I've checked and nobody around here has anything worth taking--"

"Except us," Duke finished.

"Except you," the cop affirmed. His black eyes peered into Duke's. "TKR has a lot of toys that would sell very nicely on the black market. Kidnapping Sanders may be part of a plot to get to them." The Lieutenant thrust his hands into his pants pockets.

"You got an address for either of these guys?" Duke asked.

"What we've got is on that paper. Do you want some help checking it out?" The impish smile on his face only accented his Hispanic features.

"No thanks, we'll handle it." Duke shook hands with Wiggins and left, calling Kyle as soon as be was outside.

"You go ahead and check on Mullins. I'll have Erica see what she can dig up on Corbett. She can start with a photo of him from the police." Kyle's voice cut off as Duke and Beast headed for the address they had been given.

"What do think's happening with Trek?" Beast asked softly, a far cry from his usual crabby self. "You don't think they'd hurt him do ya?"

"I hope not, but Trek is the key to getting to you and the other cars. Wiggins was right when he said your systems would bring a lot on the black market. All we can do is hope Trek's handling it alright." Duke didn't add that Trek's death was the most likely thing he could foresee.

#

Trek's mind was filled with images of death and fire. The small room he was confined in fairly pulsed with the sounds of screams, gunfire and explosions. Subliminal messages of "Destroy TKR" pounded into his brain during what sleep he was allowed to steal. The small portions of food he was fed were heavily laced with mind-altering drugs. After three long days, Trek was reduced to huddling in a corner. He no longer had the strength to fight or even cry out for the sounds to stop. All he could do was try to hide.

Without warning, everything stopped and the lights went out. Trek huddled in the darkness whimpering in fear. He screamed in fright when the door opened and a woman slipped into the room moving quietly on the balls of her feet.

She was tall and had blonde hair hanging past her shoulders. The black jumpsuit she wore accented the athletic shape of her figure. She ran to Trek's side and put her arms around him.

"It's okay now, you're safe. I've rescued you from TKR. They can't hurt you anymore. Come with me." Gently she lifted Trek from the floor and guided him into an adjoining room that resembled a hospital room. She led Trek over to the bed and laid him down, drawing the covers up to his chin.

"Who are you?" Trek managed to ask through disorienting waves of confusion about what was happening to him.

"My name is Allyson. I rescued you from TKR. I'm going to give you a shot to help you sleep now." Deftly she eased a needle into his freshly scarred forearm then watched as he slipped into sleep. She then left the room and met two men in the hall outside.

"Good work, Mr. Corbett. In a couple of days he'll be begging to help us destroy FLAG. His fear of his former teammates will help us convince him to give us all the access codes to Sky One, and the vehicles." She studied her nails as she spoke.

"Then my buyers get the cars as payment for the mind-control formula," Corbett stated. He was the man who had stopped Trek in front of the bookstore. The man beside him had shoulder-length red hair and was definitely in need of a good razor.

He rubbed his hands together and asked, "So when do I get paid? My job was to get the van and help snatch the kid. I don't care what happens next."

"You're right, Mr. Mullins." Corbett took a fat envelope from his pocket. "Till we meet again," he said, handing it over.

Mullins checked the contents of the envelope then left, nodding his head at the woman as he did.

Corbett jerked a thumb towards the door with Trek on the other side. "What's next for him?"

"He will continue to receive small doses of the drugs to keep him receptive to me. Then I shall convince him to help me sneak aboard the plane and access the computers directly. I have to assume they've already taken steps to shut out any outside attempts to access the systems." Allyson turned to reenter the room. "Soon TKR will cease to exist and so will the Foundation."

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