Setting the Trap, part 2

Posted on Sat Jan 16th, 2016 @ 6:44pm by Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & IKS Ning'Tao
Edited on on Sun Jan 24th, 2016 @ 2:01am

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Guest Quarters - Zikar

* Zikar’s Quarters *

Farak was as good as his word and stopped at the door, pointing at the number. “There. Satisfied now?”

Nodding, Isa made note of the number, even though it wouldn’t help her now. Then, at Farak’s urging, she stepped through the open doorway. “Kaeli!”, she greeted her friend with a smile, “You okay?”

Kaeli sat in a chair in the empty living room, upright and perfectly still. “Isa?” She noted her friend’s casual manner and glanced from her to Farak. “What did you do?”

“Just a little something to make her more agreeable. She was worried about you,” Farak answered.

You alright Isa? Kaeli passed the message over.

Hunky-dory, Isa answered back with a wink, making their silent conversation obvious. You?

Alive, she answered. She still hadn’t moved.

“Cut that out,” Farak ordered. “And you, go sit down. Zikar will be here soon.” He prodded Isa towards the sofa. “So watch your mouth.”

“Hard to do that without a mirror,” Isa said, but she wandered over and sat on the couch. At Kaeli, she thought, Can you move?

Kaeli shook her head slightly. Somewhat but not well. She stuck her tongue out at Farak. “They are smarter than this you know? Do you really think they will come running? That’s what he wants, Isa. We are now bait.” How’d he get you here?

Farak uttered a curse at Kaeli, then disappeared into the kitchen.

We walked here. Why can’t you move? Isa watched Farak walk away then said, “Hey, while you’re in there, Farak, could you make some snacks? I think your drug is making me hungry.”

I wasn’t exactly agreeable to being carried out….or a knife wound. The guy insisted I was drunk and told the bartender he’d get me home. And what do you mean you walked here? Willingly?

I walked here; you know, walking: putting one foot in front of the other. Yup, willingly. He had a hypospray of something. “Hey, Farak! When is Zikar showing up?”

“A hypospray?” Kaeli hissed. “What the --”

“How about now?” Zikar’s voice came from the bedroom and then the man himself appeared. “My, my, how lovely to see you two again. It’s been too long.”

“Ah, crap,” Isa muttered, sneering at Zikar. “It hasn’t been long enough, really, Zeek. Remember? We saw each other just ...yesterday? And it is not lovely to see you. Not at all. Not one bit,” she shook her head then leaned to look past Zikar and raised her voice, “Hey, Farak! Are you bringing those snacks out?”

Quietly, Farak stepped out of the kitchen and frowned at Isa. “Sounds like that drug loosens tongues just as much as it makes her pliable.”

“It wouldn’t bother me any if you yanked her tongue out and that would be the end of her comments,” Zikar commented. He crossed to Kaeli’s chair and nudged her in the side. When she hissed in pain, he smiled. “Excellent. I see the man I sent followed my instructions.”

Isa stood, glaring at Zikar. “You ordered him to stab her? Little dangerous, don’t you think? He could have killed her.” She walked towards him, intent on him.

Still by the kitchen, Farak waited, letting Isa advance on Zikar. He was rather certain that she had nothing on her that could harm the man.

“He knows his business and how to handle a knife.” A wicked smile appeared on Zikar’s face. “He was one of Jarad’s students. Delicious irony, don’t you think?” He reached out, squeezing Isa’s cheeks between his fingers. “And it amused me.”

“You have a sick sense of humor,” Isa grumbled, knocking his hands aside. “Oh, but you’re Cardassian, that’s par for the course, isn’t it?” She jabbed at his midsection with a fist.

Zikar grabbed her wrists, his grip like iron. “That’ll be enough from you. Now then, before I shut that mouth of yours permanently, go to the bathroom and get the med kit. We’ll see how good you are at patching up that little adder over there. Then maybe you’ll eat.”

He released her, pushing her slightly towards the bedroom, making her stumble. She caught herself and disappeared into the other room.

Farak asked, “Anything dangerous in there, Zikar?” It’d be just like the man to have left a disruptor on the nightstand.

Zikar chuckled. “I debated leaving something within reach. It would certainly simplify things when I told security she attacked me and I had to defend myself. But, I thought better of it. Once she’s stabilized that one,” he pointed at Kaeli, “if she can, then give them something to eat. I’m not calling Jarad or Drekkar yet. I want to give them a little time to realize their toys are missing.”

Coming back, Isa was carrying a box of supplies and a few towels. She glared at Zikar and Farak for a second before gesturing to Kaeli. “Come on,” she said. “I’m a decent medic. Not a toy,” she threw a tongue depressor at Zikar and managed to bounce it off his forehead. She giggled.

Kaeli gritted her teeth as she slowly pushed herself from the chair. Moving like an old woman, she made her way towards the bedroom, her hand pressed to her side. As she got closer to Isa, it was apparent that the black dress she wore was wet with blood. Zikar grumbled, then reached out to give Kaeli a push.

“Get moving!”

Kaeli remained silent, though her face paled noticeably. Once she and Isa were inside the bedroom, she ordered the door closed.

The seriousness of the situation pressed in on Isaura and she set to work, tearing open Kaeli’s dress as Kaeli carefully settled on the bed. She swabbed the area with a damp towel then said, “Hold on, Kae, this is going to hurt.” She probed the wound, trying to be both gentle and quick. “It’s deep, but without a tricorder, I can’t tell if there’s internal bleeding.”

Kaeli grunted aloud as Isa checked the wound. “If that guy was one of Jarad’s, then likely it’s designed to be a slow-ticking bomb. You know….you have two hours to show yourself or they’re toast...that sorta thing. It was always very effective as a means of convincing people.”

“So... in other words: there’s internal bleeding and nothing I can do about it.” She looked through her supplies: all just surface patches. Sorting through them, she pulled out a few then sat back. “What do we do? It’s like I have cotton in my brain, Kae, I can’t think of how to get us out of here.”

“Farak touched you,” Kaeli whispered. “What did you see?”


“He’s planning something. He was thinking about how Jarad and Drekkar will react to this and then about the Order... mocking Zikar for losing the two.” She worked on Kaeli’s wound while she talked.

“Yes.” Kaeli sucked in her breath when the antiseptic hit the wound. “He is not the lackey we thought. I am hoping that whatever he’s up to, he does it while there is still time. He has to make Zikar think he’s doing as ordered though, for now.”

“So he can disgrace Zikar. Won’t that still fall back on Farak as well? Everyone knows that he’s Zikar’s bitch,” Isa grimaced at something she was doing. “Did I ever tell you that I really don’t like being a medic? Boy was I sad when whatshisname - our doctor? - left us to stay with that female, the one with the disease?”

“I know.” Kaeli gave Isa a wan smile. “I suppose, for Farak, it depends on how much he’s talking behind Zikar’s back. He’s up to something also where Zikar’s wife is concerned. He has too many faces, that man.” She reached out to still Isa’s hand for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Soyer Tye, that was his name.” Isa stopped and waited till Kaeli let her hand go. “So... we either try to escape or wait till Farak’s plan gets into play. I’d like to try escape.”

“We need to corner Farak when that lizard Zikar isn’t here. He…” Kaeli paused to concentrate, “has dinner plans. Maybe then…?” She closed her eyes. “Tell him...tell him that his man screwed up and you think I might die, that Farak should stay, just in case.”

“That’s a fiction, though, right? You’re not...,” Isa shut up, her lips pursed together. Then she stood and went out the door, where she said, “Zeek, this is deeper and more deadly than you think. You sent an idiot to do a surgeon’s job and Kaeli is dying.”

“Is that so?” Zikar asked. “Well then, her dear Jarad has good reason to come running doesn’t he? Once I call him that is. I’ve seen what that Romulan can tolerate and it’s far worse than that wound. However, that was under Jarad’s more skilled hand, true.” He frowned and motioned to Farak. “You will stay, Farak. I need to get along as I have reservations. If things change, call me.” His gaze swept over Isaura, noting her bloody hands. “Perhaps my man did exactly as I ordered.”

Isa frowned then looked at Farak, who simply smiled at her. “If she dies, I’ll hunt you down, Zeek, and make you feel every minute of your death.”

“Promises, promises, dearie.” He smiled back at Isa and departed.

Once the doors closed, Farak looked at Isaura. “Is she really dying?”

“Yes,” Isa nodded and turned to go back into the bedroom.

Farak hurried after her into the bedroom. “Tell me the truth, Isaura. I have a plan but it won’t work unless I know what’s really happening here. Tell me and then I’ll give you my idea.”

Looking at Kaeli, Isa raised a brow and asked her, Leave him on tenterhooks or tell him? She also realized that the drug he’d used on her was wearing off quickly - she didn’t feel the need to tell him the truth.

Kaeli nodded slightly, an indication of how serious this situation had become.

Farak watched the silent exchange and crossed his arms. “Well?”

“Yeah, it’s not a joke, Farak: she’s not doing well and might not make it till Zeek comes back from dinner. Call Jarad now and he can fix her. Or let me call the Federation medbay.”

“No, no Sickbay. Here’s the deal.” Farak reached down, pressing his fingers to Kaeli’s wrist to check her pulse. “It is my intent to have Zikar’s ass swinging in the breeze with the Council at home. That is where you all come in. He is determined to take Jarad and Drekkar back to be dealt with so, it occurred to me that he will have a hard time explaining to them if he has them in hand and they escape. You follow?”

“Yes.” This close, Isaura could read him fairly easily. “You also had a hand in his wife’s rabbit act. Why? To drive him crazy? Push him off balance?” She blinked as his answer hit her and she waved off the need for an answer. “Nevermind. Getting to Kaeli: we need someone who can close up the internal bleeding. No Sickbay, so that means Jarad. You gonna call him?”

Farak nodded. “You are. Both of them. They will take your place here, making Zikar think his ploy was successful. He will report in that he has captured them. Then I’ll get them out and he’ll be left to face the music.” He gave Isaura a long look. “You’re going to have to trust me on this one.”

He was telling her the truth, which surprised her, though she didn’t show it. “Fine, I’ll call them.” She turned and went out to the console to call Jarad. She told him to collect his medkit, Drekkar and to hurry.

“They’ll be here shortly,” she said to Farak.

“Good. Zikar will be out for a while as he’s going to the Nexus tonight. He’s been haunting the Promenade and the Arboretum hoping to see Nyyar,” Farak answered. “If you’re still hungry, go eat. I’ll stay here with Kae.”

“That’s Kaeli to you,” Kaeli snapped. “You don’t get to be familiar.”

“I’m not hungry,” Isa said. “You might want to hide when they get here. You know they aren’t coming unarmed.”

“Then you’d better talk fast when they do arrive, which means you need to answer the door.” Farak motioned her out to the living room and then sat down by the bed to wait.

*****************
Isaura Panossian
Kaeli
Ning’Tao

Zikar
Farak