A Gentlemen's Agreement

Posted on Wed Dec 9th, 2015 @ 12:06am by Suresh & Lazan & Robart

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Saturnalia - Back Room

* Saturnalia - Back Room *

The movie he’d seen with Marabeth had not distracted Suresh at all. In fact, he couldn’t recall more than a few snatches of it here and there, though she seemed to like it. Once it was over, he had given her the rest of the night off to relax. He stopped at home to check for an update on the missing team and, finding none, sent two messages of his own. There were two people he wanted to see and immediately. Once done, he locked up and set out for Saturnalia. He skipped the main room and slipped in a side door that would take him directly to the office he often used in the back. He poured a glass of water at the small bar, then settled on the sofa to await his cohorts.

Robart, having been in Saturnalia when he’d received Suresh’s message, arrived within a few minutes of Suresh’s arrival in the back office. “Suresh,” he greeted the man with a quiet dignity. “I find it interesting that you summon me as you might one of your minions.”

“Not as a minion but this is a central location and I wanted to skip the public area. I am in no mood tonight for anything and the last thing I need right now is to tangle with Security when I wring someone's neck on impulse just because they look at me wrong.”

“Yes. This situation with your girl is distressing to you. Surely the Fleet will get them back. There are, after all, two of their own with her.”

“That’s true. It’s the fourth I want to discuss with you and with my associate, who will be here shortly.” Suresh looked at his empty glass, then at Robart. “Can I get you a drink?”

Lazan slid in quietly, smoothing his suit jacket as he signaled the door to close. “A bourbon would be delightful,” he said, turning his dark eyes beneath greying hair to the room’s occupants. It was on Robart that his gaze lingered. “You must be Europa’s,” he said, extending his hand. “My name is Lazan.”

“Robart,” he answered. “To whom do you answer?” He didn’t recognize the man and hadn’t heard of him before this. Was that by design?

“To my employer,” the Ramuran replied, casting a glance towards Suresh as though that were answer enough.

“Robart? Bourbon for you too?” Suresh crossed to the bar and pulled out three glasses. “I appreciate you both coming so quickly.”

“I see,” Robart said, frowning. He adjusted his suit jacket, unbuttoning it to make sitting more comfortable. “Bourbon will do. Thank you.” He waited for Suresh to pour and pass around the drinks then asked, “Why are we assembled here?”

“It concerns the missing crew and Six.” Suresh sipped from his glass before he continued. “It was Niro’s doing though I’m not sure that is generally known. He’s become too much of a thorn in all our sides and this was, unfortunately for him, the last straw.”

Lazan nodded in agreement. “I obtained enough from his… boy toy,” he said, swirling the liquid and single cube of ice in his glass against the crystal as he did, “to be reasonably assured I can access the ship and deal with any electronic records he has since his arrival on 900. His personal recollections will be simpler still.” There was little point in conveying the other uses he had thought to have for Owain.

Robart stood abruptly and walked around to stand behind the chair he’d just vacated. “Niro and his fey Owain?” Contempt for the two dripped from his voice. “Both must be dealt with as they have caused Cyllene heartache. What is your plan for them?”

Lazan smirked, taking a long draw from his drink. “Owain will rot in his cell, unaware of his betraying Niro. Niro himself, well…” Lazan looked up at Suresh. “I suspect you want him to suffer.”

Now Suresh smiled. “You know, there was a time when I might have been content to have him rot in a cell somewhere or have to re-learn how to spell his own name. That was before he decided to take Six and Darwin and now Lt. Bajun and run off with them. The stakes in this game have changed significantly wouldn't you say?”

Frowning, Robart shook his head slightly; the stakes hadn’t changed for him or Cyllene. “No, they haven’t. Not for me and mine, Suresh. Cyllene has been willing to disregard Niro as insignificant. She is friends with Six, so it may be that she wishes to rethink her stance on that. For now, however, we have no interests in this matter.”

“Are you so sure?” Suresh asked. “He was the cause of her capture and defilement by Fisher. He did his best to screw up her life before that. Do you really think he has no thirst for revenge?”

“My concern is not Niro; it is Cyllene. She was raised as a Betazoid,” he said the word like an epithet, “and does not see the merit in revenge, despite my teachings to the contrary.”

“I meant Niro when he returns. I do not think Cyllene is out of the woods yet.” Suresh drained his glass and set it on the table. “I don’t think anyone he thinks has betrayed him is safe.”

Looking at Lazan as if studying him to commit his face to memory, Robart considered Suresh’s comment for a long moment. “Through which airlock shall Niro find himself leaving the Station?”

“Oh, that’s so very messy,” Lazan commented off-handedly. “The airlocks are too well monitored. Even if I disabled the electronic surveillance there are good odds that there would be eyes on us. I’d suggest we handle this in the usual way. I’ll meet with him upon his return, ensure he is of no further threat to us, and then we can arrange an accident in the Pit… provided Starfleet doesn't lock him up too tight.”

“I may be able to take care of that.” Suresh smiled. “He is with a security officer on this little jaunt after all.”

“Hmm... your Security pet,” Robart commented, frowning. He respected that Suresh had been able to turn one of the Fleet’s own. “Lazan, do you have a preferred method for disposing of inconvenient ...garbage?”

Lazan paused to consider that question a moment, leaning back against the bulkhead and regarding Robart from beneath black-grey locks. “Asking a tradesman for his secrets, tsk,” he smiled. “Generally, I make problems go away on their own.” He tapped a greying temple as though that were explanation enough. “But this is a special case. Ideally, Niro would run afoul of some particularly violent pit denizens with whom we are not affiliated. Perhaps a slaver could take him. The justice would be poetic.”

“It would but that won’t remove the possibility of his return,” Suresh observed. “Sometimes, things need a permanent solution so you don’t have to go back and redo them.”

“Well, if you want him dead, it can certainly be arranged. The harder part will be ensuring Starfleet does not become suspicious of your involvement. We’ll need a… what's that Terran term?” Lazan spun his hand in the air as if trying to recall something. “A … sacrificial lamb,” he remembered, “who won't give us up.”

A slow smile spread across Suresh’s face now. “I have the perfect lamb,” he answered, “and one with the perfect motive - Owain. We just need him out of the brig.”

For a brief moment, Robart’s look was thunderously dangerous. “Will that lamb end up as dead as Niro?”

“When you add murder to what he did to Reva? He’ll never be seen again, especially once Lazan’s played with him a little, put the fear in him. He’ll be ready for Elba II.” Suresh’s smile was razor sharp. “We just need to get him out for a few hours.”

“You can have my crew at your disposal, so long as I get proof of Owain’s death,” Robart said.

“Thank you. Once Darwin lands we will make final plans.” Suresh replied, then looked from one to the other. “We’ll talk soon.” He rose and hurried out, hoping there was some news about Six waiting at home.

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Suresh
Lazan
Robart