Chasing A Fireball

Posted on Tue May 17th, 2016 @ 6:57pm by Commander Dae Nalas & Lieutenant Raymond Benson & Marla & Lieutenant Commander Gilroy & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Archadia III

* Central Prison, Archadia III *

Dae’s sleep was unsettled. The same dream plagued him, even though he awoke and let his head clear. The moment he returned to sleep, the dream came again and once more he was in the alley, watching Marla. Then everything again went black and he regained consciousness in the hotel room, the dead bartender beside him. Round and round it went until a loud bellow awakened him yet again. He sat up, breathing hard and realized the yell had been his own.

Rapid footsteps approached and the night guard appeared at the force field that held him. “Dae? Are you alright?” she asked. This particular guard was one Dae knew well. They had been friends since he was transferred to 900. He ran a hand over his face and nodded. “Yeah. Just a bad dream….of waking up beside that bartender. Over and over….it won’t stop.” Despite the dim light in this wing, Dae’s new eyes could see the guard’s expression with perfect clarity.

“It was a horrible situation,” she agreed. “What the hell happened Dae? Surely you recall something that could help --”

“If he does, that information should be shared with us, not the prison guards.” The voice belonged to Ray. “No offense but until we get a better idea of what happened, Gilroy and I are the only ones he should be sharing memories with.”

The guard looked Ray up and down, then finally nodded. “I understand but if it helps, I’m on his side.” She smiled at Gilroy and Ray and departed.

Gilroy watched her go, quietly wondering whether Oz would let him change their Security uniforms to what she was wearing. He had the feeling the answer would be a resounding ‘No.’ He chuckled at himself and realized he’d just had a very Darwin-esque train of thought. “Hello, Dae,” he said. “Have you been treated okay?”

Dae nodded. “For the most part, yes. They’ve left me alone other than a few questions I didn’t answer per Ray’s orders.”

The force field dropped to allow Ray and Gil to step through, then it re-initiated. “Have you picked up on anything?”

Dae shook his head. “I think that’s why they’ve been staying away.”

“Marla is safe on the Station, Dae. We have a pair of officers watching her. I received word this morning that Edana went with her to a house here on Archadia,” Gilroy told him.

“Ed? Huh. Not a bad idea,” Dae agreed. “They won’t suspect her since anyone who knows 900 think she works for Suresh. As long as she is protected. Now we just have to get me out of here.” A guard had arrived with Dae’s lunch. She passed it through the slot and he took it with a smile. “Any chance you’d have lunch with me?”

She looked him up and down, her expression stern. “You’re not my type, Fleety,” then departed quickly.

Dae started to speak, then stopped still as stone. Her words echoed in his head and a flash of memory came. “Oh, no.”

Gilroy, who had watched her walk away, turned back to see Dae looking pale. “Dae? Is something wrong?”

“That’s her. The woman I fought with in the alley who was following Marla,” he replied. “She said that same thing to me that night. She thought I was some common drunk, at least I thought she did. I left her and took off to catch up with Marla and then…..nothing till the hotel. But I tell you Gil, that is the woman. What the hell does it mean?”

“You two, stay here,” Gilroy had the guard quickly drop the force field then hurried after the guard Dae had pointed out. After a few corners in the prison, though, he knew she was gone. Frustrated, he turned back and rejoined Dae and Ray. “Lost her.”

Ray cleared his throat. “Are you positive Dae?”

“Yes,” Dae nodded. “I’d know the voice anywhere. So what now?”

“How closely are you involved in the investigation Gilroy?” Ray asked. “Can you draw the guards in to be questioned? A few of them to keep this one from getting suspicious?”

“I’m not involved in this investigation - it’s all on the Archadian guard,” Gilroy shook his head. “If Darwin were here... as Special Investigations, he has a better relationship with some of the women here than I do.” He looked mildly discomfited by that. “Oh... you may not have heard this yet, Dae: the Kohana is off our sensors. Darwin, Li, the Admiral and El’Shar Blackhorse have gone on a joyride to find out why.”

This was not good news for Dae. “Given that area of space I don’t like it. If they are off the radar then it’s likely that group is going to find more than they really want to find. It could be dangerous. Dammit. What else can happen? I have to get out of here and get back to the station, Gil. This is bogus and we all know it! Will they allow questioning by a telepath?”

“Not one of ours, no. The Archadians have only a few, none are currently here.” Gilroy frowned. “We’ve offered as much assistance as possible, hoping that we can expedite your release. Give us a few more hours.”

Dae sighed aloud and nodded. “Alright.” He looked to Ray now. “Anything you need from me at the moment?”

Ray shook his head. “We’re doing all we can.” He tapped his head, a sign for Dae to read him. We’ll have someone go to the house to give Ed a way to pass on anything she learns. He inclined his head to Gilroy and Dae passed on the thought to him.

“Thanks,” Dae said aloud. “Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” Gilroy agreed then signaled for the guard to let them out. “We’ll see you in a bit.”

“Yeah. Ray can you request that Willa take over my watch? I’ve known her since I got to 900 and I trust her. I am suddenly not feeling all that safe in here.”

Ray nodded. “I’ll take care of it, Hang in there.” He clapped Dae on the shoulder. “See you soon.” The force field was dropped and he and Gilroy departed. “So Gil, what do you think?” he asked, once they were outside.

“It’s strange and annoying. It’s obvious he’s been set up, but by whom?” Gilroy shook his head.

“And if one of the guards here was part of it, why was she stalking Marla?” Ray asked. “Why would any of them be involved in stealing money from Seyla and Suresh? That makes no sense.”

“No it doesn’t. Suresh still has a rough reputation; the guards here should know that it’s deadly to mess with his enterprises.”

“Yeah.” Ray shrugged. “Wanna hit that house while we’re here and see if anything smells? We gotta see Edana anyhow. I have a little something for her in case of trouble.”

“Good, let’s go,” Gilroy nodded.

* Bar, The Main House - Archadia *

“Look Marla, they’re doing what they can. I am here to make sure nothing happens to you.” She was speaking softly as they sat at a table with a view of the door. “The’ll get Dae out. In the meantime, we need to figure out what’s going on and who you’ve frightened.”

“I don’t care who I’ve frightened,” Marla whispered back, “They’ve frightened me. I want to be back on the Station, waiting for Dae to come home. They can’t hold him for too much longer, can they?” She scoffed, “Why am I asking you? It’s not like you would know. Maybe Security would - Commander Zeferino? Gilroy?”

“Suresh said they’re doing their best to figure this out. You’re right to be afraid.” Edana reached over and touched Marla’s hand. “If they have the ability to do this to someone like Dae, you are definitely in danger.”

“I know that,” Marla hissed, “which is what scares me. So how do we get on the trail of the person stealing from Seyla? I have the books from every house with me. Can you help me go through them? Is that something you can do?”

“I can. Suresh’s apartment? That one’s wired isn’t it? Might be a good idea, just in case.” Edana finished off her water, since she was on duty and slipped from her chair. Already she was scanning the lobby, looking for trouble.

“Okay, Suresh’s apartment. Third floor, last door on the left.” Marla gathered her wine and tablet before standing and moving towards the stairs.

The front door opened to admit Ray and Gilroy. Edana touched Marla’s arm. “They need us. Go on up and I’ll bring them.”

Marla paused for a moment but kept going. “Don’t tarry.”

Gilroy watched her as he approached Edana. “How are things here?”

She flashed Gilroy a bright smile and ran her fingers up his chest. “Great, and you?” she said aloud, then whispered. “Sorry, but play along. They think I belong to Suresh down here, obviously. I can take you up to see Marla and we can talk there.”

“Darwin would be so much better at this,” Gilroy grumbled, but he tried for a seductive smile. “Lead on, Orion.”

“Can your friend come play too?” She winked at Ray, who smiled back at her. Her arm slipped around Gil, then she reached for Ray’s hand. “It’ll be extra though.”

“No worries there,” Gilroy said, “though he just gets to watch. He needs some lessons.”

That got a soft grumble from Ray. “Lead on my lovely.”

Edana snuggled them both in close and the three of them started up the stairs.

* Suresh’s Apartment *

The door opened and laughter could be heard as edana led the two men inside. Once the door was closed, she let go of them and was all business.

“Marla? We’re here,” she called out.

No answer came and Gilroy immediately went on alert. He looked at Edana then, drawing his phaser, moved through the apartment looking for Marla. “Marla?” He tapped on the bathroom door, which snapped open, revealing no one was in the small room. He went back to rejoin Ed and Ray. “She’s not in the bedrooms or the bathroom. You’re sure she said this apartment?”

“Yes, she came up the stairs just a minute before we did. She would barely have had time to get here. Wait, her tablet. We need to see if it’s here.” She dashed past Gilroy and Ray to the bedroom.

Gilroy shook his head at Ray, “I didn’t see a tablet.” He didn’t wait for Ed to return; he headed back out into the hallway to shoulder into the other apartments.

“Ed?” Ray called out. “It’s not out here.”

Edana came out of the bedroom at a run. “She can’t be far. She didn’t come back down the stairs so unless she was transported out she has to be in this house!” She gave way to a long string of curses. “Dae and Suresh are going to kill me. How could they have gotten to her with her in plain sight? Go with Gil, I’m checking the security feeds.” She left Ray and bolted from the apartment.

Gilroy interrupted a few couples mid-coitus but didn’t find Marla before Ray joined him. “Secret panel leading to a tunnel?”, he partly joked with him.

“That’s not a bad suggestion.” Ray returned to Suresh’s apartment and hurried to the terminal. He was back with Gilroy in just a few minutes. “End of the hall. Second panel to the right of that painting.” He checked his pocket for his phaser. “Has to be about the only way since she didn’t come back downstairs, which means someone was waiting. Who knew she was coming?”

“I was kidding about that. Who puts in false panels...? Oh, Suresh does. Right, almost forgot who we’re dealing with here.” He hurried to the indicated panel, opening it easily. He stared at the hallway beyond and grumbled something about little people: the hallway was low-ceilinged and narrow. “After you,” he said to Ray, who was marginally smaller than his Klingon frame.

Ray entered the hidden hallway and proceeded forward. He noted tiny cameras embedded in the ceiling and tapped his comm badge. “Ed, check the feeds for a concealed passage at the end of the corridor, just past Suresh’s place. We’re in it now.”

“Gotcha.” Her reply came back through his badge and echoed in the empty passage.

“Got a light Gil? It’s getting dimmer.”
“Yeah, because I’m blocking all the light from the hallway. Here,” Gilroy passed him a torch. He was squeezed into the passageway sideways, partly crouched down.

Ray took the light and stopped, shining it on down the passage. “It turns left just ahead.” He pulled out his phaser, then moved forward. Hearing nothing, he pointed the light around the corner. “I have a shoe. Woman’s shoe, blue,” he informed Gilroy.

“Hurry, Ray, we need to get to wherever this leads.” Gilroy came up close behind the prosecutor.

Ray scooped up the shoe and continued on down the dark passage. He tapped his badge once more. “Ed? We have a blue woman’s shoe. I think it’s one Marla was wearing but I only saw her from across the lobby. Anything on the feeds?”

“She got to the top of the stairs and started along the hall. Someone was coming towards her and she seemed to know them. I couldn’t see the other person’s face. I think they knew where the cameras are and deliberately kept from being in direct view. They started on down the hall and then...walked through the wall.”

“Any sign of them emerging anywhere within the security cams’ range?”, Gilroy asked.

“No.” Edana’s voice through their comm badges sounded frustrated. “It was too dark.”

“Hang tight,” Gilroy told her and urged Ray along the hallway. They followed it to a narrow set of stairs that doubled back on themselves several times as they went down. Gilroy grumbled the whole way, complaining about the cramped conditions. He stopped complaining when they reached the bottom of the stairs: the space opened up into a large chamber. Crates and boxes were stacked along the walls, leaving just one path through the room.

At the far end of the room, there was a large opening and the tunnel leading out was wide enough for a vehicle. Gilroy nodded as they walked along it, “This is much better. Less claustrophobic.”

“What the hell is this?” Ray asked. He described the space for Edana. “The walls look a little….ritzy for a storage space though. Red velvet. Weird. Anything jump out at you Gil?”

“Prostitution was never illegal on Archadia, since it’s a matriarchal society. But there was a period in their history when mind-altering substances were illegal. Anyone found with drugs or alcohol was punished heavily. This is the perfect place to hide a supply of those substances; plus, the stairway would have allowed patrons or owners to escape if there was a raid,” Gilroy gave a brief history lecture.

“Huh,” Ray played the light over the crates and then the large door at the end. “Check that.” The beam from the torch had caused something to sparkle along the edge of the door. “Ed, what was Marla wearing?”

“A blue dress with those little...sparkly things on it. You know...the round things,” she answered.

“Sequins?” Gilroy filled in the word Edana was looking for. He picked up the scrap of fabric caught on the door’s hardware. “Blue, sequined, sparkly. Yeah, she came this way.” He started down the tunnel. “I’m going to follow this to see where it comes out.” He sniffed the air and added, “My guess is the harbor.”

“Makes sense,” Ray agreed. “Ed, we’ll keep the channel open just in case. Yell if you find anything else on the feeds, okay?” When she didn’t answer, he tapped his badge and tried again. Still nothing. “Maybe this tunnel is blocking us. If they were running an illegal house down here, they might have it constructed to block scanners and such.”

“Perhaps. Let’s keep going,” the Security officer said, “It can’t be too far to the end.” He took the lead.

Ray handed over the torch and fell in step behind Gilroy. “I can’t wait to find out what the hell is going on here.”

“Smuggling? Those crates back there aren’t from the age of Archadia’s Prohibition. They’re new. I’d like to open them up if we get a chance. They might be completely innocent - bar supplies, linens, etc., but they might be something else.” The way was fairly easy, if dark and uphill; portions were wet with water running down the way they’d come.

“Which raises the question of why take Marla? If it’s Suresh and Seyla doing it, that makes no sense. But if what Dae said about that guard is true, then it’s something beyond those two and someone either doesn't want them to know or is setting them up.”

“Some drugs are still illicit; perhaps there’s a drug trade being operated out of the house, whether Suresh and Seyla know it or not,” Gilroy theorized. They walked on in silence and eventually came upon a vehicle sitting in the dark. Gilroy looked it over and said, “It’s been operated lately, probably to run Marla from the storage room to here.”

“Wanna take a ride? Make up some time and see where this goes?” Ray asked. “We can’t be that far behind.”

Gilroy went behind the vehicle and rolled open the large door. “We might not need to, Ray.” The door opened into a partly empty warehouse. “Interesting. Good way to hide the entrance.” He walked out into the warehouse. “We need to find out who owns this place or who’s leasing the space.”

“Where are we? We’ve left the house by now and…..” A sudden thought struck Ray. “This building has to back up to the house. Dae said he was in the alley watching Marla to make sure she got in the house unharmed. What if he saw someone entering here?” He tried calling Ed again, but there was still no answer from her.

“He didn’t mention seeing anyone entering a warehouse,” Gilroy pointed out. He wandered farther away from the garage door, slowly scanning the crates with a tricorder. “Old wood, furniture, doesn’t look like there’s anything illegal here.”

“Then what…?” Ray stepped around a stack of crates and there was Marla on a chair, unmoving. “Hey Marla! Gil! She’s here and…”: He stopped speaking suddenly. There was a thin wire attached to the chair that ran off behind the crate. “Uh oh.”

Gilroy came around the crates and stopped. He consulted the tricorder and frowned. “Rudimentary weight based trigger. Easy enough to circumvent.” He tapped his commbadge and ordered, “Three to beam out, emergency protocols.” Within a moment, the transporter beam sounded and the three disappeared, leaving behind a fireball that consumed the warehouse.

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

Lt. Commander Gilroy
Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
Lt. Ray Benson
Marla
SPCO Edana