FicWad

"Mr Harrison," said the voice on the other end of the phone, "Sir Richard is conscious."



George thanked the orderly, and hung up. He had asked the Chief Medical Officer to keep his patient's true identity a secret. He had no idea what would happen if everybody found out that the base's commander had been replaced by a look-alike, and he was pretty damn sure that he didn't want the responsibility of making that decision.



Unfortunately, everybody in the base was also almost certain that Sir Paul had no true understanding of what was really being done on this base. Stray comments from Sir Richard (which he suspected had been deliberately made) made everybody realise that Sir Paul had only agreed to persuade the Prime Minister to give the project the go-ahead because of Sir Richard's enthusiasm for it.



He had been shocked and startled the first time his position as unofficial deputy commander had been made clear. Sir Richard had not been on the base - some cabinet meeting or some such nonsense had dragged him away (or so Sir Richard's secretary had told him unexpectedly - she had never been terribly communicative, apparently regarding her position as being to protect Sir Richard against the intrusions of the rest of the base.)



Two hours later, a crisis had arisen. He couldn't remember the details anymore, but the details of the crisis hadn't been what had surprised him. It was the fact that every department on the base (with the exception of the then-minimal medical staff, who had simply swung into action) had turned to him to wait for orders.



Later, when Sir Richard had returned and was debriefed, George had asked him to increase the number of medical staff on the base, a request that was granted instantly. Although the medical staff had handled their job well, they had had to recruit any stray personnel they could find who didn't faint at the sight of blood to act as nurses.



Why he was regarded as deputy, he wasn't quite sure. He had thought that they would have turned to Sir Paul (who had been on the base at the time.). He hadn't understood what was going on any better than Sir Paul had. He certainly didn't want the job of deputy.



However, he didn't quite trust Sir Paul's priorities in managing the facility, should he decide to take control. The man had always kept his motives hidden, and George had no idea what would happen if he suddenly decided that the base was dangerous. So far he had shown no signs of wanting to take control. Or any sign of understanding what was going on. This, however, might just be the incident that helped him to understand.



He wasn't sure if Sir Paul's understanding was a good thing or a bad thing - all he really knew was that, for better or for worse, the project was in full flight, and Sir Paul would seriously undermine the Prime Minister's confidence in him if he tried to shut it down again.



He pulled his jacket on and left his office. He had spoken to Harry and the head of security this morning, and a team of security officers, tech staff, and scientific personnel had combined their talents to build a mobile sensory apparatus to check out what exactly was on the other side of the portal. There was no sense in sending a rescue team into a situation blindly.



In the medical unit, Sir Richard's double was sitting up in bed. A good night's sleep had done him a lot of good, although he still looked somewhat haggard and careworn. The chief medical officer had shooed all his staff out, and was standing by the bed with Harry. There were a couple of security guards standing by the door, ostensibly to protect Sir Richard from intruders.



George exchanged greetings with the doctor, and gave the stranger a thoughtful look. The man looked, understandably, wary. In fact, George would have said that he was bordering on downright scared, although he was trying not to show it.



"Good morning," he said, keeping his voice as calm and non-threatening as possible.



"Good morning," the man replied hoarsely.



"You're in no danger here," George reassured him with a smile. "I take it your name is Richard Starkey?"



The man nodded. "That's right."



"I'm George Harrison."



Starkey's eyes widened in surprise, and immediately hooded again.



George sighed. Whatever the situation was in the reality he had arrived from, it was obviously one where Starkey didn't trust the authorities. His eyes had been darting around nervously ever since George had walked in, and while what he had seen and heard had not alarmed him, it had done nothing to reassure him, either. Perhaps telling him the truth would help him relax. "Mr Starkey, the situation here is not dangerous for you," he said. He turned to one of the security guards. "Would you please go and find Sir Paul and his companion and tell them Mr Starkey is awake?"



The guard saluted. "Yes, sir," he said, and left quickly.



"That's what they all say," Starkey said sullenly. "Why are you holding me?"



"Holding?" George said, surprised. "You're not under arrest."



"Then I'm free to go?" Starkey said, obviously not believing a word of it.



"Well," George said, "No. Not as such."



"Then I'm under arrest."



George sighed again. This, he decided, was going to be a long day. "Right now, you are in our medical bay, and under guard, yes. This is for..."



"My own protection," Starkey interrupted. "Yeah. Sure. Right."



Where, George wondered, do I start? At the beginning, of course. That is always the best place to start. "Okay. Several years ago, a German scientist defected to our side."



"Wait a minute," Starkey interrupted again. "A German scientist defected to us?"



"Yes, that's right," George replied. "Us against the Axis. Did it happen differently in your world?"



"My...world..."



"As I was going to say, this scientist invented a machine that could link two different realities together. When he defected, he took his invention to us so that he could develop it further."



"I see," Starkey said thoughtfully. "So in this world, Chancellor Hitler lost the war."



"Well, actually," George replied, "He pulled back at the last minute and protected what he'd won. He controls a large portion of eastern Europe. We think he's got some life-prolonging invention as well, since he should have died ages ago."



Starkey nodded. "In my world, Hitler won the war. And we think he's got some life-prolonging invention as well."



At that moment, the door opened, and Sir Paul came in with Jean Lennon in tow. She was out of breath, and he looked angry.



"Ringo!" Jean exclaimed, and ran over to the bed. "You're alive! When we heard that the SS were after you, we thought the worst." She seized his hand with relief.



"I'm alright, lass," Starkey said, patting her hand. "That portal opened up and swallowed me up just as they caught up with me. And before you ask, I caught a bullet with me shoulder, but the doc here prized it out again and patched me up."



"Ringo?" George asked, bemused.



"Yes," Starkey replied. "I've been using a stage name. I needed work, and Ringo Starr sounded a lot catchier than Richard Starkey."



"We're in no danger here," Jean told him. "I've been talking with Sir Paul. It's amazing how much like Pauline he is!"



Neither George nor Ringo missed the infatuated look she aimed at Sir Paul then, nor the way Sir Paul's angry expression softened when he glanced back at her. George and Ringo exchanged significant looks.



"So," Sir Paul said, returning his attention to George and Ringo. "Sir Richard has persuaded me to persuade the Prime Minister to authorise a project linking our reality up to a reality where the Germans won the second world war."



"That was an accident," Harry said quickly. "We got music from lots of other realities before we came across this one."



"Do you have any idea just how big a security risk that is?" Sir Paul demanded, his voice rising. Before either of them could answer, however, he went on. "I am going to have to consider the fate of this project very seriously. Before I do anything, however, I want you lot to get Sir Richard back. I also want John Lennon back here."



He turned and stalked out of the room, leaving George, Ringo, Harry, and Jean all staring at one another.



"Let's hope that Sir Richard is prepared to do some fast talking when he gets back," Harry said.