Releasing the Tiger

Posted on Thu Jan 12th, 2012 @ 11:17am by Captain Li Hawke & Commander Oralia Zeferino & Tog
Edited on on Tue Sep 22nd, 2015 @ 10:28pm

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Brig

* * * The Brig * * *

Inside his cell, Suresh paced back and forth, back and forth, much like a tiger in a zoo. The only real difference was that now this particular tiger was hairless. He'd heard that time could seem to stand still but had never experienced it until now. He turned his head to glare at the guards just beyond the force field, never breaking stride. In a low voice, he began to mutter, the words in Romulan.

The two guards glanced at each other then one, Elise, leaned over to her cohort and asked, "Think he's one of those nutty ones, that thinks he can cast spells or something?"

Elise's fellow guard shrugged and answered, "Dunno, but... damn, that's annoying."

The comments got little more than a glance for now. Their presence only mildly registered. What really had him stirred was the aftermath of a great buzz that had worn off as the night had faded to morning. The guards on shift before the two current ones had refused to answer any of his questions as to where Isha had gone. She'd been hustled off to another area when he was brought here and nothing since. Out of habit, he reached up to run a hand through his hair. Its absence was just one more annoyance and he growled aloud.

"Maybe we should tell him where his girlfriend went to...," commented the male, Yu, and chuckled as he watched Suresh reach up and find a handful of baldness.

That comment got Suresh's attention and he stopped mid stride, whirling to face the guards. The force field shimmered blue as his hand struck it. "Where is she?"

As if they'd previously agreed on the action, both Yu and Elise turned blank looks on Suresh. Elise asked, "She? Huh... don't think have any she's in the Brig. Do we, Yu?"

"Nope, can't say that we do."

Suresh's eyes narrowed. "So she was released? Then why am I still here?"

Yu again gave Suresh a blank look. "Really? You arrange for the Chief of Security to be kidnapped and you're wondering why you're still here?"

"That's allegedly arranged, Crewman," a nasal-twanged voice spoke up from the doorway to the Brig area. A Ferengi. Worse, a Ferengi attorney. "Now, get out so I can speak to my client."

Yu and Elise quickly completed their security checks on the attorney then left the room.

"New look, Suresh? It doesn't really work on you."

He blinked at the Ferengi, but finally the surprise began to subside. "Tog. What the hell took you so long to get here?"

"So long? Have you forgotten that I don't get out of bed before o-seven-hundred hours? You don't pay me enough to be here any earlier than eight," Tog harrumphed. "What stupid thing did you do to end up here? The officer I briefly spoke with mentioned charges of kidnapping, battery, attempted murder. And that your target was Oralia Zeferino?" His tone made it clear he didn't doubt his client's stupidity.

"I did not do that. I have plenty of witnesses who saw me at the bar at the time she was taken. All I know is that last night, I was in Isha's quarters. She was finally going to give in and then some Starfleet Faelirh ch'susse-thrai burst in, shaved my head, and carried us out." Suresh rubbed his eyes and grumbled once more. "I've been here since and no word even on where she is either."

The attorney opened a file on his PADD then nodded, "I see." Then he shook his head, "Actually, I don't see. Who is this person you say was brought in with you?"

Suresh's brows drew together as he regarded Tog, then his expression shifted to one that is used with a slow and stupid child. "Isha? You know...redhead? Violet eyes? A figure that makes men want to do very bad things?"

"Sounds delightful, but there's no mention of such a woman here," Tog answered, returning his client's expression with one that matched.

"Oh come on Tog!" He shook his head and tried, with little success, to calm himself. "So they let her go. Great. I didn't like the idea of those goons looking at her anyway. Now get me out."

"Yeeaahhh... there's a hitch in getting you out, Su," Tog hedged. Usually, he didn't mind telling his client bad news; he actually rather enjoyed it, in that perverse attorney way of his. But this time, he was glad his client was still on the other side of a forcefield. "That's going to take a few more hours. It seems that there was some sort of glitch in the filing of the arrest record and such. The IT guys are upstairs, working to get the record properly formatted and into the database."

"So you mean to tell me that they don't even have a record of me holed up in here?" Suresh blinked in disbelief. "I'm sure the guards will be happy to tell whoever it is that I'm here, I've been driving them crazy for hours." Delay? That was not acceptable. He was in a bad enough state as it was, several more hours was only going to reduce him to climbing the walls, maybe literally.

"No, no, they know you're here. After all, they did call me. Middle of the night, too. You know there's a surcharge for that." Tog made a few notations on his PADD - he was already drafting his bill for this. His father was awfully proud that his son had figured out a way to make a very large profit without really doing anything. "I'll go talk to this... Gilroy person... he seems to be in the know here. I'll be back shortly!"

"It better be shortly, I have to get out of here. And remember, I'm the one financing that lifestyle you've grown accustomed to!" He called out as Tog hurried away. 'Shortly' to that man could mean anything from a few minutes, if money was involved, or forever, if it was his time on the clock at Suresh's expense. Turning away from the forcefield, he slammed his fist into the wall with a howl.

"Oof... maybe the wall should file a battery charge," Yu joked as he and Elise came back in and took their seats. As Elise laughed, he picked up a deck of cards and shuffled them.

The two guards had played a total of four games by the time Tog finally returned. Yu looked up, grinned and quipped, "Ah, just before we have to feed the monster lunch, his handler comes to get him out!"

Suresh only graced that comment with a glare, and a mental filing of their faces for later. "Tog? Now?"

"Now, yes," Tog nodded and turned a significant look towards the two guards. One of them keyed open the cell's forcefield, releasing Suresh. "We'll still have to discuss the charges, but, for now, you're on a version of house arrest."

"Meaning...what exactly?" Suresh stepped over the threshold of the cell.

"Meaning you can't leave the 'base. As if you were likely to," Tog explained. "As usual, you can't go to certain decks, you shouldn't associate with certain people," he paused, watching his client for a moment as the man started unfastening the jumpsuit he wore. "What are you doing?"

"Giving them their suit back, of course." Suresh shrugged his shoulders out of the top of the jumpsuit and it fell down to his waist. "And yes, no worries. I have only one place I want to go right now."

"You do have pants on, right?" Tog swallowed hard, hoping....
"No, I don't. They dragged me up here wearing what I had on the day I was born, so I figured I'd go out the same way." The jumpsuit dropped, he stepped out with one foot, then with the other kicked the jumpsuit. It flew up then draped perfectly over Elise's head.

"If you're going to your woman, you'd think it'd be a bit... bigger."

"And no comments about that, it's cold in here."

"Not that cold," quipped Tog.

"That will cost you, Counselor." Suresh turned and strolled to the turbolift.

**********
Suresh
Free At Last

Tog
Far From Free

Yu and Elise
Guards