Jack turned a corner, passing by room 598 and paused as he stared down the last corridor. Outside what would most likely be room 601 were two security officers either dead or knocked out upon the floor, and the room's door was slightly ajar. Sprinting forth Jack barged into the room only to be caught in mid-step as the nozzle of a phaser turned upon him and he raised his arms. "Well, I see you beat me to the punch," he mumbled.
Jack noticed the gunman's aura, so to speak -- the phaser wielding maniac was sweating and seemed to be reeking of anxiety, nervousness. Jack arched an eyebrow and looked past the man. Dee and the President were also present. "Well? Don't you have a job to do, little man?"
The gunman paused, passing Jack a questionable gaze before quickly turning to face the President. As he did so, Jack shook his head and whispered under his breath, "Idiot..." Lunging forth with his less nervous precision and speed Jack simply impacted his elbow into the back of the man's skull and watched him fall like a bag of potatoes. Jack almost smiled, then slowly looked up at the President. It was then that everything he had ever thought of since Laetitia had died came into place; the man that sent so many to their deaths.
Jack's features slowly glazed over as he knelt down and palmed the gunman's phaser. Standing slowly he adjusted its setting and whispered, "Dee, get out of here."
Dee Hunter stepped from around the President's bed and said, "Jack, you can't just kill him."
Jack frowned, "Captain Isaac Hawkes... never lived to see his child born, beautiful half Vulcan, much like her mother. Angus Khan, Flight Officer, last of his family dead. Commander Laetitita Lashmore, wife, dead. All of these people died and weren't even given a military funeral, lied about how they died... in the end it all comes down to that son of a bitch.... All of these people plus hundreds of others died."
At first, Dee had thought Jack meant to kill the gunman, but realized now with growing horror that he meant to finish the gunman's job! She stepped closer to the President. "Any killing you do today won't bring back Laetitia," she reasoned, desperate to dispel at least some of the madness she saw in Jack's eyes. "It'll just make matters a thousand times worse!"
"I don't know who you are, young man," interjected President Carlyle, still under the impression that the unconscious gunman was the target of Jack's wrath. "But good work capturing that assassin. We can't interrogate him if you kill him, however," he finished pointedly.
"Good work!?! Pat on the back and send 'im on his way? That's what I'm talking about. Sector AR-607... don't you even remember, old man?" Jack stepped forward and resisted the urge to strike the President across the head with the phaser.
Dee intervened however. She knew Jack and knew how volatile he could be, especially on this subject and knew that the President's life was hanging by a thread as long as Jack was this agitated. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Just relax Jack. I'm sure President Carlyle didn't mean anything by it. Let's just find something to tie this guy up with until Security get here."
Carlyle was watching Jack with a wary eye. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on here, but he had a growing suspicion, and suddenly realized that he might not be out of danger yet.
Jack wavered a little. "You... you don't know what it was like, Mr. President... I had to kill her with my own hands!" Jack dropped the phaser and half knelt upon the floor as tears began to flow, as much as he tried to fight them back. "Mr. President, I'm going to give... give you an order... one you will follow...."
Carlyle bristled at the suggestion at first, but the sight of the broken man on the floor before him changed his mind. He bit back any angry retort he might have had and waited for whatever came next.
Jack's breathing was more erratic as he looked towards the ceiling with bloodshot eyes and nodded to himself. Laetitia would not have wanted Jack to kill the President, not in her name. "Declassify it, everything concerning the suicide mission you sent thousands to their deaths in sector AR-607... each family to be told the full story and why their children and loved ones died... give them the closure you never granted."
Carlyle didn't know what the man was talking about, and a quick sideways glance at Captain Hunter confirmed she didn't know either, but it was clear that whatever it was meant a great deal to the man. He took a deep breath and hopped off the bed, dressed in nothing but his hospital gown. Reaching down, he offered Jack a hand up, which he took.
Looking straight into Jack's eyes, Carlyle said, "There are certain things about my predecessor's term which are so classified that not even I know about them, but it was a time of war and I know that many truly horrible things were done. By both sides. I give you my solemn promise that I will look into Sector AR-607 and set things right."
Jack nodded but he was more than confused himself, the fact that Dee did not know, even her husband was there. Turning to Dee it took him a few seconds to muster what he had to say. "You mean, your husband never told you how my wife, your friend died? He was there...."
"Classified means classified," replied Dee with a sympathetic shrug. "You of all people should know that. I know there's things that he's never been able to tell me."
Just then, six burly Starfleet Security burst into the room all wearing body armor and with phasers drawn. "About damn time!" roared the President. "Arrest that man!" he said, pointing to the unconscious assassin lying on the floor.
Jack stood and took several steps back, bowing his head slightly he tried his best to cover his emotions before looking back at the others, "I'm... I'm sorry... It's nice to see you again, Dee."
"Same here, Jack." She wished she could do something more for him, but it wasn't really her place. Jack would just have to work out his feeling about Laetitia himself; no one could do it for him.
Just then, Rick Hunter came barreling through the room's door. He was puffing hard and was red in the face. "Dee! Are you all right?" he shouted, casting about anxiously for his wife. "When I heard there had been explosions at the hospital I--"
"Yes, dear, I'm fine," said Dee. "And so is the President. Thanks to Jack here."
At the mention of the President, Rick remembered his station and tried to look a little less disheveled in front of his Commander in Chief, but then a puzzled frown creased his face. "Jack?" he said in a confused tone of voice. "What are you doing here?"
Jack did not face Rick; he had no intentions on letting the Commodore stare into his eyes and spot the current pain lingering there. He only faced the exit and said, "Demons needed to be faced. Thanks to Dee it didn't end badly." Without anymore said he made to leave.
Rick turned to his wife for an explanation, but she just motioned that she'd explain it later.
Meanwhile, the Security squad had secured their prisoner, who was slowly regaining consciousness, and were hauling him out of the room. "Put him in the maximum security hold at HQ," ordered the Commodore, "in case he's got any friends on the outside who get the funny idea to try and break him out."
"That man deserves a commendation, Commodore," said the President, pointing to the door through which Jack had gone.
"I'll offer it, Mr. President," replied Rick, "but I doubt he'll accept."
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