Divesting Secrets

Posted on Fri Oct 30th, 2015 @ 10:07pm by Lieutenant Commander Leto & Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Vic & Ensign Reva Madhava

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Intel

* Intel Public Conference Room *

Leto sat silent as Six and Reva left, then reached for her coffee mug. “Six seems to be adjusting well,” she commented. “Even with everything that happened with Xerena.”

Suresh hesitated, then nodded slightly. “For the most part, yes. She is back at home where she should be and understands, as well as is possible, what happened. I wasn’t so sure she would come back.”

“Neither was I, to be honest,” Leto admitted. “She arrived here in quite a state. Since she is assigned to Vic, I called him. He pulled her out of the training holodeck angry, beaten and bloody.” She saw Suresh tense and smiled. “She was fighting holographic Klingons to work off some steam, so relax.”

“I see,” was Suresh’s response. “She hasn’t really gone into what she did or where she went after she left our quarters, other than to say she was with Vic. I guess she thought it wasn’t important, and since she did come home, I suppose it isn’t.”

Leto studied him for a few seconds and shook her head. “As long as you are satisfied then no, it doesn’t.” She turned her mug slowly. “Tell me though, are things working out? This was something of a large bump in the road.”

Suresh sighed aloud. “I think they are. As for this incident, Tell me Leto...have you ever seen the person you love more than anything look at you with betrayal in their eyes? Or have them not want to look at you at all because of what they think you’ve done? In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to kill Xerena right then for being the cause of it.”

Now it was Leto’s turn to sigh and she nodded. “I know that very well and in my case, Nick did kill the one who caused it. He and I have been together off and on for a long time. Before you arrived, I didn’t look like this. But an operation went bad and my cover was blown. I had to change my appearance to save my own skin. It took him a while to adjust but then I went back undercover and that time, the op was a little too successful. I did some things….in that role….that almost destroyed him. For a time, it was as you said...he couldn’t even bear to look at me. But we got through it. You and Six will too. Besides, neither of you really betrayed the other like I did Nick.” She chose not to comment on a few scenes she had witnessed in Intel between Vic and Six. “Don’t worry.”

“Were you ever afraid that Nick wouldn’t come back? That he’d find someone else who was easier to live with? Less dangerous I guess?”

“Several times. Sometimes I wondered if maybe he would be better off with anyone besides me.” She narrowed her eyes at Suresh. “I know where that question comes from, Suresh, and I’ll tell you what I realized. Nick may have been better off elsewhere, but he didn’t want to be with anyone else. I was also selfish and refused to let him go. We are where we are supposed to be but it wasn’t an easy thing to get there. Six made her choice and she knew going in what this life would be like. She had her chances to change her mind too, and I may be saying more than I should, but she didn’t. She is where she wants to be. So don’t go second-guessing her or making her decisions for her.”

Leto’s words unsettled him a little but he knew she was right. Finally, he smiled. “I promised her I’d never do that. Besides, if I tried to, she’d kick my ass.”

Leto laughed and relaxed back in her chair. “She would.” A soft knock at the open door got her attention. “Vic is here for a meeting but I’m delaying it a bit. I know you wanted to see him so I’ll leave you gentlemen to it. Come on in Vic, and meet me upstairs when you’re done.” She turned and stepped into the turbolift that waited in the corner of the conference room. A second later, she was gone.

Entering, Vic fully expected to see Leto, since it was she who had called him here and whose voice he'd just heard. He was taken aback when he saw that Suresh was the one here. "Ah... Suresh. Hello."

"Hi Vic. Please, have a seat.” Suresh smiled briefly. “I told her I needed to see you and well..., you know Leto. She decided now was a good time.”

"Apparently. What did you need to see me about?" Vic eased into the seat near Suresh.

Suresh wondered just how to begin as he looked back at Vic. There was a lot he wanted to say, and he wondered just how much to admit he knew where Vic and Six were concerned. Even so, this man had played a big part in saving his marriage and his sanity. No smooth sentences came to mind, so he gave up and dived in. “First, I wanted to say thank you. That sounds pretty weak because you may never know how grateful to you I am.”

Realizing that Suresh was a wooden block, mentally, Vic nodded and shrugged. “I didn’t do much, Suresh. I made her stop throwing herself at Klingons in the holodeck and made sure she had a safe place where she could talk it out.”

Suresh ran his hand over his face and nodded. “I hate that she needed either one,” he admitted. “I hate the whole situation. I don’t like feeling like a victim either. I’ll admit I was angry that she jumped to the conclusion she did but if it hadn’t been for you and Darwin, it’s likely no one would have known the real story and I would’ve lost her.”

“Yeah. To be honest, that’s more Darwin than me,” Vic said. “He’s a good one for doubting the surface of a story. I’d guess that’s why Oz has him as a special investigator.”

“She did tell me that you convinced her to talk to me and I’m glad. I know it wasn’t an easy situation for you either.” Suresh fell silent as he looked back at Vic.

“No. It’s never good to see a friend in distress,” Vic blandly agreed.

“Anyway, that’s about it. I owe you big time so if there’s anything I can ever do, just call me.” Suresh smiled finally. “Anything.”

Showing surprise, Vic chuckled and thought, Drop Six..., but wasn’t about to voice that request. “Um... thanks, Suresh. I’ll remember that,” he said, laughing. “And hopefully the need won’t be anything terrible.”

“We can hope. I don’t like to think you might be in a difficult position.” Suresh rose and started for the door, then stopped. “There is one last thing. I’ve debated on whether to mention it but since I’m being honest with you, I think you should know. You should also know that I don’t take it personally either. Knowing you better as I do now, I can understand.”

Vic had also risen, though he hadn’t moved toward the door. He turned to look at Suresh, both mildly confused and slightly guilty. He had a feeling he knew what Suresh meant, but the man was being vague. “You understand?”

Suresh nodded. “I do. That thing I thought you should know is…..Six talks in her sleep.” His smile returned. “Take care Vic and call if you need me.” With that, Suresh departed.

Vic deflated and sat back down. “Fabulous,” he muttered to the room.

“Are you surprised?” The voice was Leto’s, and she stepped out of the open turbolift. “At least he doesn’t seem to mind.” She reached Vic’s chair and patted him on the shoulder.

“Why should he mind? He’s the one sleeping with the girl,” he grumbled. “And you, thanks ever so much for tricking me into a one-on-one with Suresh. Did you actually want to meet with me or just play games?” His temper, worn by recent experiences, was getting the better of him now.

“I do. He’s grateful and I’m glad. The old one would’ve made you into a lampshade. He knows how hard this is. We all do, but at least you know that he knows and is okay with it. That’s worth a lot.” She frowned slightly and perched on the edge of the table. “I know it doesn’t get her back but at least you don’t have him hanging over your head.”

“I wasn’t worried about him anyway.” He shifted and looked at her. “So? What do you need from me?”

“Two things,” Leto answered. “The first is something I want you to think about before you answer. Do you want to continue as her handler?”

“Let me think about that for a few days, talk to Six, etc., then I’ll let you know,” he wasn’t surprised by the question. “What’s the second?”

“Ensign Madhava. She apparently heard the gossip late about the Xerena situation and stormed down to give Suresh a piece of her mind. He gave in and let her read him and clued her in on who he really is, what really happened, and your place in all this.”

“Reva? She knows? As if she needed another thing to put a target on her back,” Vic said, sighing. He thought about the revelation for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “Okay, she was bound to find out at some point, with as often as she and Six hang out. At least this way, right now, it’s under control. And she’s not around Niro any more.”

“Exactly. In thinking about it, I’ve decided that maybe it’s a good thing. Six is largely on her own when she’s down there besides you, Edana and her husband. Her closest friend was in the dark. Who was she going to for any sort of friendship? Support? Advice? You, of course, and this is rough enough on you as it is. There’s also the point that you and Reva are friends as well.”

“Yeah. I’ll call her, see if she needs to talk about it,” he smiled slightly, liking the idea. “Anything else?”

“No, just let me know what you want to do after you talk to Six,” Leto replied. “If you need to vent, come find me. I know better than anyone what this is like. Long story, just trust me on that.”

“I will. Thanks, Leto,” he rose. “I’ll see you around.” He crossed to the turbolift and headed back to normal society.

*********************

Ensign Reva Madhava
Ensign Six of Ten
Suresh
Vic (Lt.)
Lt. Leto