Retreat: The Better Part of Valor
Posted on Thu Mar 29th, 2012 @ 8:03am by Lieutenant Commander Gilroy & Admiral Lucius Hawke
Mission:
Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Archadia III
Black hadn’t bothered to even sit down. The shuttle ride down to Archadia III was mere minutes start to finish, no point getting comfortable. It seemed a bit of overkill to take a shuttle, and pay what amounted to highway robbery, but they couldn’t risk transporter records.
“On approach.” The pilot glanced at Black, then his companion. He wasn’t the least bit curious, it didn’t pay to be curious in his line of work.
Black only nodded, then looked to his fellow passenger.
Bill caught Black’s glance and shrugged and sneered at the man as if to say, irritably, “What?” He wasn’t sure why his boss had assigned Black to him. The one thing he hoped was that Black wasn’t there as a babysitter. If that’s what Black was, then Bill just might need to include Black (and, later, his boss) in the carnage he was about to create.
Thinking of said carnage, he grinned to himself and turned his attention on the view as they landed. “This’ll be fun.”
Black glanced to the pilot a moment, who was pretending to be deaf, and nodded. “We were due a little vacation fun anyway. It will be a nice, relaxing break from the usual, huh?” In truth, the prize this time was a big one. It would require expert handling, infallible timing. And if it went well, they could retire on what they were getting for this.
“I have a mind to pick a good-looking female, long black hair, and show her just how much fun I can be,” Bill said it casually, as if he wasn’t talking about their official boss, LC Zeferino. He certainly wasn’t thinking about the end prize; he was thinking about the intermediate prize.
“Oh? Instead of the little, young Frenchy? Sometimes it’s a matter of convenience.”
“Hmm... yeah, maybe. She’d be easier, for certain. That element of danger, though, makes the dark-haired one even more enticing.” Bill fell silent as the pilot confirmed something with flight control and then, moments later, settled the shuttle onto a landing pad. “Time to get our vacation started.”
Black lifted the bag that lay at his feet and without a word to the pilot, emerged from the shuttle. Given the recent issues, security on Archadia III was tight. Which was why both men wore jackets lined with various pieces of disassembled weapons that appeared to be little more than engineering parts. His bag, which he handed over for inspection, held only a change of clothes. They were passed on through and soon boarded a tram to take them out to the city.
Like Black, Bill also traveled light. Making it through customs without any hitches, he sat next to Black on the tram and watched the scenery go by. As the tram slowed for its first stop, Bill quietly asked Black, “You’ve got the map for tonight, right? We’ll meet at the restaurant on the corner.” There was no map; Bill was speaking obtusely. By ‘map’, he meant plan. The tram stopped and he hopped off while Black continued on.
“See you tonight,” he called after Bill. Once the man was out of sight, he settled back and began to whistle.
The restaurant was right in the middle of the city, bordering a large square that was still busy with foot traffic even at this time of night. Local people moved in and out of the surrounding buildings, some hurrying, some stopping to talk to friends. All in all, the flow of traffic provided good cover, the people too busy to really notice them. Bill and Black were seated on a balcony directly across the square from the restaurant. They had a view in through the large front window of the opposite building.
Just on the other side of the window, Commodore Hawke was visible, sitting with the ‘young Frenchy’ as Black had referred to her, and a security officer who had distinct Klingon overtones. Both men wore what appeared to be thick reading glasses, but were actually long range viewers. Not for the first time, Black was appreciative of the required lip reading training, and thankful that only one person at that table was telepathic, thus forcing them to talk aloud.
“Blah, blah blah.....this evening’s special is.....eww...that sounds disgusting,” Black commented.
“And, there goes the Klingon, ordering it. Those guys must have iron stomachs, with what-all they eat. Gagh, bloodwine... ugh. Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.” Bill put a hand to his belly. “Crap... did they just say Zeferino went back to the Station?” To Bill, her absence rendered any attack tonight pointless and he said as much to Black.
“Don’t they have two or three stomachs? I know they have extras of other things, which is something I really don’t want to think about.” Black watched the group closer, then nodded. “Apparently so. But I don’t agree. With her gone, it will be easier to do what we came for and get the hell out.”
“Eh... Less fun, more likely to succeed.” Bill glanced into his carry-all, noting that its contents were ready to go. “We can knock these three out tonight; the locals’ll think it was one of their own.”
“And there will be hell to pay for the Prime MInister, who insisted that this team not be allowed weapons because, and I quote, ‘They will be in no danger here’. Surprise!”
“Yes, indeed.” Bill removed his spectacles and shoved them into a pocket before standing. “And we’re off....”
As the traffic passing the restaurant continued to stream along, no one noticed two men, dressed as locals strolling along with the rest. Also unnoticed was a nondescript bag casually dropped nest to a bench beneath the restaurant window. It was dinnertime and they all had more important things on their minds.......
Just on the other side of the window, Lucius, Kai and Gilroy finished ordering. Kai smiled when Lucius lifted his wine glass to make a toast, and they all joined in, the soft clink of the crystal a pleasant accompaniment to the quiet of the room. Moments later, a waiter approached, bowing.
“It would be my pleasure to escort you back if you wish to choose your entree, sir.” He addressed Gilroy. “I know freshness is essential to such a dish.”
Gilroy’s brow rose: he hadn’t expected to be called to choose his entree... hadn’t he already done that? “Oh, of course. Kai, Admiral Hawke, would you like to go with me?” He wasn’t comfortable leaving the two alone.
“I would,” Kai answered quickly, then blushed. “I’ve always been curious about the delicacies that attract Klingons.” She rose, completely unaware of the possible double meaning of her words.
Lucius rose as well and the three followed the waiter through the restaurant towards the doors that gave onto the kitchen. “Reminds me of San Francisco,” Lucius commented. “There’s a place there where you can pick out your own steak before they cook it. That place made me glad I never embraced vegetarianism.”
“Vegetarianism is for cows and horses,” grumbled Gilroy. He watched as a chef came around a table, holding a tray laden with live animals. The animals were native to the planet and not something Gilroy knew the name of. As he looked them over and was just about to choose what looked like the liveliest one on the tray, the building shook and the chef dropped the tray. Gilroy’s dinner scuttled away, under a table.
Screams could be heard coming from the dining room. Moving quickly, Gilroy quashed his normal response: that of going and investigating the cause of the screams. It was enough for him to know that a bomb had just gone off in the other room. He hustled Admiral Hawke towards the back door of the restaurant. “Let’s get back to our quarters,” he mildly suggested.
The vibration had knocked Kai into a worktable and left her breathless. It took only a moment for Lucius to lift her back to her feet. All around them the kitchen staff was in a panic.
“Lead the way. Now.” Taking Kai’s arm, Lucius fell in behind Gilroy as they made their way to the back entrance. He was impressed, the man was the very model of cool, calm efficiency.
“Leading,” Gilroy confirmed and shouldered through the kitchen staff. Coming into a larger alleyway behind the restaurant, he paused and gathered Kai near him before determining the direction they needed to head to get back to their guest rooms.
From the balcony across the street, Black smiled as he watched the mayhem down below. Raising a glass that held some very good whiskey, the toasted Bill. “That should make them sit up and take notice.”
“Indeed, it should,” Bill smiled, rather smugly, as he watched several female guards - the native’s version of a security force - run towards the smoldering remains of the restaurant’s dining room. Movement off to the far right caught his attention and he dropped his glass of whiskey. Three figures: one a large male in gold uniform; another male in Command red and a slight female, also in Command red, hurried away down the street. “Oh hell no,” he muttered.
“What?” Black turned to follow Bill’s line of sight and immediately dropped his whiskey too. “Oh shit.”
“What’s the phrase? ‘Luck of the Ferengi’? Or something like that....” Bill watched the three disappear around a corner. “We’re back to the drawing board.”
“And we have to inform His Highness Lynch. Or should we make Chase be the bearer of good news?” His voice dripped sarcasm.
“Chase can take this one. Perhaps we could give it another go before reporting anything though,” Bill suggested.
Black shook his head. “No, this city will be crawling with Amazons toting weapons and ready to shoot anything that looks at them cross-eyed. Now might be the time to take that vacation we’ve been talking about.”
“I really prefer Amazons who don’t carry weapons,” Bill nodded in agreement, “Think we could find some of those?”
“Play your cards right, sure. You’re a decent looking fellow.” He sighed and pulled out a small communicator. “Best get this over with.” He tapped in a message to be delivered via text, then closed it. “That should make Chase choke on his morning pancakes.”
“Let’s go find our pilot friend, then.” Bill stood and disappeared into the room behind them.
*********
Black
Victim Of Murphy’s Law
Bill
Mighty and Valorous (or... really, not so much)
Gilroy
Beating a Hasty Retreat
Hawke
Going with the Flow
Kai
Running Scared
