Evil Comes Home To Roost

Posted on Fri Apr 20th, 2012 @ 3:17pm by Lieutenant Natalia Bren M.D. & Jackson Banning V

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Sickbay

Dr. William Harding looked at himself in the mirror. Leaning closer, he smoothed down an errant lock of hair, then frowned. Was that another line forming between his brows? If so, he shouldn't have been surprised. The past few years were enough to give anyone wrinkles and grey hair - the latter at least he had not been cursed with yet.

Satisfied, he turned away from the mirror, the frown replaced with a smile. His careful scans of the personnel movements, plus a friend in the right place, had finally paid off. Seven years it had been, but things were finally turning around. And it all started with Natalia. The fear he'd seen pop into her eyes as she looked back at him from her terminal was something to be savored. As was the wariness that replaced them. She was up to something and he intended to find out what. Turning, he left his quarters, starting the walk to Sickbay.

When he finally arrived, the doors opened and he swept in. Giving the crewman on duty at the main desk a stern look he spoke. "Dr. Natalia Bren. I'll see her immediately."

"Is she expecting you,sir?"

"Oh yes, you better believe that. I'm Dr. William Harding." He eyed the young woman head to toe and left her shifting nervously in her seat. "Now, please."

"Of course." She stood and hurried off to find Natalia, glad to be away from Harding's penetrating gaze.

Harding watched her go, then followed in her footsteps. Down a corridor they went, around a corner to an open office door. He could see Natalia through it and smiled.

"Dr. Bren, there' a Doctor Harding here to --"

Harding stepped forward and around the nurse, who yelped with surprise.

"Hello Natalia, so good to see you. I hope you don't mind that I didn't wait to be shown back here. I know sometimes back exits can be tempting."

Standing beside her desk, Natalia jerked her head in his direction, her eyes going wide at the sound of his voice. Immediately, her expression shifted and displayed the contempt she felt for him. "Don't flatter yourself," she said, staring hard at him.

Her barbed comment brought a chilly smile. "Why not? Someone has to." Harding turned to the nurse that was hovering nervously by him. "Run along now, let the grownups talk." With that dismissal, he stepped on into Natalia's office and closed the door in the nurse's face.

Frozen now where she stood, Natalia continued to stare at him with the need to control her breathing. "What is it you want?" she asked, fearing she already knew that answer, her voice betraying her.

"Only what's mine, Natalia." He crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. "And I am going to assume that you really did intend to send me word that you'd found them, you've just been...busy." Sarcasm laced his tone. "Busy with one of them at least."

It was after a few hard beats of her heart, she found her voice again, a little hoarser than usual, but she lifted her chin to compensate. "What are you talking about?" She had to know, without giving herself away any further, how much he actually knew.

"Do you think I didn't notice the attention he gave you back then? And when I asked at his place of business, I was told that the two of you had just left. Small matter to hire someone to watch, and I must say it was amusing to hear he'd taken off right after my call this morning. Was he worth the wait? Come to think of it, this might be valuable information - we can see how his lack of aging has affected his stamina...or not. You tell me."

"That is none of your business!", Nat replied sharply, then closing her eyes placed a hand on her desk to steady herself. "I no longer work for you, remember?" she said reopening them, "And there's no longer anything between Jackson and myself."

Harding snorted. "Considering you just left him, I find that hard to believe. But I suppose he will recover admirably and move on." His expression said he didn't believe a word of what she'd just said. "As for working for me, be that as it may, I still have a vested interest in the outcome of that project. It just took some time to find you. I got lucky with the other two. Tell me Natalia, have they been reporting in? I mean in an official capacity, not between the sheets."

She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. His words stung, but as much as she despised him with every part of her being, she knew she would have to be more careful, more cautious. More afraid. She shook her head no at his question.

"No matter, that will change. I've been looking for them for some time, to bring them back into the fold as it were. I owe you one for leading me to them, even if it was inadvertently." He paused to look her up and down. "And I must say you're looking well."

Uncomfortable with the way he looked at her, Nat looked away before moving behind her desk, her eyes returning quickly, "They've moved on with their lives. They won't be returning back into the fold as you call it..."

"Oh, we'll see about that. And what about you, Natalia? Planning on giving me a run for my money? We do work well together, as I'm sure you will recall. We get a handle on what happened to them and you and I will both be the new wonderkids of the scientific universe." Harding smiled, just thinking of it. Of course, looking at Natalia, other things made him smile as well. And her unease positively thrilled him. He still had it, apparently.

Grabbing a PADD off her desk, Nat cleared her throat, "I won't be working for you, not now, not ever. Now if you'll excuse me..", and wanting more than anything to get away from him, she came out from behind her desk heading towards him with an air of confidence she did not feel, "I have a meeting to attend..."

"And I'm sure it's very important." He moved aside, reaching out to touch her hair as she passed. "No rush, I'll be waiting."

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

Lt. Natalia Bren
Chief Surgeon

Dr. William Harding
The Monster In The Closet