The Lull

Posted on Wed Jun 13th, 2012 @ 7:58am by Captain Li Hawke & Commander Sakkath

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: The Cherry Pit

* * * The Cherry Pit * * *

Suresh stood watching as his Isha left Saturnalia at the side of the tall man who said his name was Jayne Cobb. He knew he should be enraged - she was never sent out on calls, he’d absolutely forbidden it. Hell he couldn’t even touch her himself unless she allowed it, which was exceedingly rare and even those times the touch was anything but intimate. So why was she leaving with a customer?

He worked it through in his now-addled mind and couldn’t seem to grasp it with enough force for it to become clear. He recalled sending her over to meet them, remembered how unhappy he’d been with their closeness. He’d offered them hospitality and when the man had asked for Isha, she’d blithely agreed and then....she’d touched him.

“That was it.” He smiled at Lazan as they emerged from the bar, and spoke as if the man had somehow been listening to this whole internal dialogue thus far.

“It?” Lazan asked. He generally felt well-informed of Suresh’s particular brand of mood swings, but he too was confused as to just what Isha hoped to accomplish by blatantly taunting her supposed patron. “Shall I call her back?”

“Call her? Do you really think she will do it? Surely not, I mean she knows the rules. Not that she follows them but she wouldn’t....would she?” Suresh was rambling, it was getting harder to hold his thoughts together.

“No,” Lazan decided, or rather assured Suresh. “Her code is her own. She would be the last person to violate its tenets, though I pity the man who doubts her convictions. You can trust her. Perhaps I should send some of the girls to you in your quarters?” he gently suggested.

“Maybe so, call Penny. Nah scratch that.” Suresh stumbled as they rounded the corner nearest his quarters. “I don’ want Isha comin’ in and havin’ one more...thing to be mad at me for. I”m already in trouble...kissed her. Didjasee?” He leaned against his doors, waiting for Lazan to open them.

Lazan keyed the code, but not before placing a steadying hand on his employer’s shoulder. Had he fallen through the opening portal, things tomorrow morning may not have been pleasant. “I did, though my eyes are aware of more than my lips will ever be,” Lazan said diplomatically. His ability to see everything and say nothing was what made him a useful employee. He was not about to compromise that talent.

“Gonna pay for that I am...you wait.” He turned under Lazan’s hand and staggered into his quarters, getting as far as the sofa before collapsing with a sappy smile on his face. “But she’s back, s’all that matters.”

“She is indeed.” Lazan was accustomed with these quarters, taking a moment to act more as manservant and less as informant. He laid out Suresh’s sleepwear, provided him with linens for the couch and then, very quietly, excused himself. Keeping Suresh happy was paramount; keeping Suresh ignorant was critical.

Stepping into the hall, he swiftly returned to the usual meeting place, one eye forever placed over his shoulder.

* * *

Following Ricky’s departure, Li left the room and stopped to speak to one of the girls. She vanished into the bar, then returned to tell Li that Suresh had departed to his quarters. That was a good sign - it meant that Lazan would be there as well and that they might be able to enjoy some time to catch up during the lull that always followed one of Suresh’s little charges. This one had been light, enough to make him happy and bring on a decent nap but not the ecstasy he’d been waiting for. His behavior had ruled that out and she had a point to make.

She entered the bar once more and after leaving a small padd with the bartender, departed once more, her intended destination Suresh’s quarters.

Lazan rounded a corner, very nearly moving into Li as he did so. He managed to catch himself, placing his hands tentatively on her shoulders to avoid the collision. His practiced eyes looked her over, for signs that she had actually allowed herself to be handled by the man she had left with, but he found none. That was good news, both for him and for Suresh. The less Lazan had to lie, the better.

“In here,” he said, opening a set of vacant quarters after ensuring there were no eyes in the corridor to mark them slipping inside. From his tailored suit jacket, he removed a small device and, once satisfied that there were no detectable monitoring devices inside, he gave her the nod to speak freely.

“Is he out?” Once Lazan had determined the room was clean, she sat down in the seat by the portal and spoke.

“As only you can leave him,” Lazan replied, silently wondering how her own husband responded to her charms. Did all men respond to her in such a fashion?

“The man you left with... the Admiral. That was quite a chance to take in front of him,” he chided. “He will know his identity by tomorrow. But then, he may also be very pleased with the prospects of such a meeting.”

“Perhaps he will. He sent me over in the first place as you saw, I had to make it look good.” She smiled, recalling Ricky’s question about faking it. “It’s also a little insurance policy as now the Admiral knows his face. If Suresh figures it out, well then I’ll praise him and admit to his impressive powers of discovery and admit he’s much smarter than me. He’ll believe it. Assuming I don’t wring his neck in his sleep.”

Lazan’s lips curled into a cryptic smile. “Now, now, I’m mindful of your employment. I hope you’ll be considerate of mine. What does the Admiral know?”

“Only that Suresh is a means to an end and that we are looking at the bigger fish off-station. What did he say after I left? He knows he is in trouble, yes?”

“He is aware there will be retribution, yes. I suggest you give it to him,” Lazan suggested. He was in the habit of giving suggestions, more so than issuing orders. It kept him in a position of power, but not one of authority. “It will maintain your sense of control, something he needs to be reminded of after you laid hands on another man.”

“Exactly. As bad as his craving is getting, I can handle him. Though fair warning, it won’t be pretty and it likely will be loud. And I likely will call you in to hold him back when I threaten to leave if he won’t behave. It should go like clockwork.” She smiled now and leaned in close. “Say hello to Nita.”

Lazan’s eyes went momentarily wide, but he reined himself in, straightening the jacket along his chest. “You should have told me you were wired,” he said simply. “The gentlemen who fabricate my scanners will be very unhappy to know yours went undetected. Very. Unhappy,” he said, driving home the point. A man in his position could afford to take no chances.

“But of course, I will do what is required of me to remain in your employ and his. It has become quite the profitable arrangement.”

“You’re a good man, Lazan. As for this device, it’s better since I won’t set off your alarm around Suresh. You know, too, that being wired is rare. It’s too dangerous. I only did it tonight since my recent absence made tonight a little uncertain.”

Lazan, for his part, only nodded. He could ask about Sakkath, could imply a subtle threat, but that would gain him nothing and he knew it. His power here derived from his necessity, and there was absolutely no reason to compromise that. He simply cooperated, and earned the good graces of the Federation in the process. Only time could tell if he was making a good investment in the Delta Quadrant’s newest power player.

“If prior experience is any indicator, he will sleep soundly tonight. He will take breakfast, and more than likely a few of the girls, before he is willing to face you again... especially after his little ‘indiscretion,’ shall we call it?” Lazan smiled again, his sweetly saccharine lips pressed together tightly. “By lunch he will know everything there is to know about the Admiral and his guest. I believe you should be prepared to meet with him then.”

“Very well. He’s also been asking for Nine, so I’ll round him up and send him down, once Suresh is in a decent mood. They sometimes rub each other the wrong way.”

“More like always.” If Lazan were a more emotional man, he might have snorted at the understatement. “But a good idea. Nine will give him business to focus on, as opposed to the purely personal issue that is your person.”

“Yes.” She paused a moment as she looked up at Lazan. The shift in her posture was clear indication that now the was addressing him as a friend. “I’ll do as much as I can here but up there, it’s not going so well yet. He’s still not awake and I can’t reach him. I don’t know what to do.” The cool, calm, in control Li looked suddenly at a loss.

Lazan stopped for a long moment, stuck in a place that lingered in a strange limbo. He was neither friend nor foe, confidant nor informer. In the end, he simply laid a hand on her bare shoulder, the dress she wore appropriately revealing for the Cherry Pit. “You demonstrate so much faith down here that things will go well, as according to plan. Perhaps that faith can help you in a world where faith is less... necessary,” he decided. He knew life in the hundred or so decks above where he made his life was easier. And yet, he wouldn’t trade his current position for any of it.

Though, he had to admit, that feeling might change if he were ever discovered playing both sides of the fence.

“I hope so.” She smiled once more. “If anything changes, send word as usual.” She paused a moment, then continued. “The night everything went to hell, I was in my room down here, wanting some space and to be alone. Suresh found me and amazingly, he seemed to know something was wrong. I’ve never seen him so....compassionate, wanting to fix whatever it was even though I couldn’t tell him. It was...strange.”

Lazan quirked an eyebrow, unaware of how reminiscent of Sakkath that action might be. “Don’t start taking solace in his arms,” he cautioned. “It’s dangerous... for both of us.”

Li blinked up at him, positively aghast. “That is never going to happen. Even if Sakkath were not my life, rule one - never get personally involved in assignments. I just hope he isn’t getting too...personally involved.”

“You hope? You’re not aware of the situation if you don’t think Suresh is personally involved, and that concerns me.”

“I am also a means to an end for him. He’s good, Lazan, at hiding away his emotions. And denying them if they are discovered. Like you. He couldn’t make it without you either.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Lazan replied, pausing to examine some trinket that had been left behind when the quarters were vacated. “I hope I’m better than he is. No, I take that back. I am,” he ran his fingers along the curves of the ancient looking urn, appreciating the curves and the colors, if obscured by a layer of dust. “I know what he feels for you, and it is beyond obsession. He will literally die without his Isha. It won’t be from a broken heart, of course... that’s a myth invented by our ancestors. But he will go very slowly insane and I or someone else will be forced to … dispose of him.” He turned to regard her in the shadows. “That, my dear, is the sway you hold, whether you realize it or not. Does your Vulcan feel the same way?” he asked, against his better judgment... but then, she had brought up Sakkath.

“Yes. And that’s as far as I go in that part of the discussion.” The chaos left in her head after the events on the Takei loomed large once more and she shook her head to clear it.

“Wise,” Lazan concluded, though he greatly appreciated each and every slip of the tongue or indiscretion. Those were valuable to him, even if Li seemed very much in control. “Very well then. We shall be in touch.” He straightened his jacket once again before consulting the device he kept hidden inside his suit pocket. “The corridor is clear. You should depart first. I, at least, can be noticed down here without incident.”

“Thank you Lazan, and goodnight.” She crossed the room and paused to touch his arm. With an all-too-brief smile, she slipped out, leaving him in the silence of the empty room.

______________

Lt. Commander Li Hawke
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lazan
Lifeline