Chapter 2
Kirk actually had many different thoughts about his somewhat unofficial arch-nemesis. The silver-tongued devil almost had Kirk going for what he was saying. Kirk took a moment and jotted down a note…master of mass hypnosis? It was another avenue he would have to investigate. He would put nothing past the Vulcan.
Not that he seemed to be up to anything particularly evil today…criminally speaking. Ending up the ruler of the known universe simply by being the richest person in it was perfectly legal. Immoral, perhaps…but not illegal. All Kirk knew was that this warp core drive would change the face of space exploration forever.
For a moment, it almost made him reconsider his decision to become a reporter rather than a starship captain, but then he remembered his father and he remembered why he had decided against boldly going where no man has gone before.
Kirk looked over the crowd to see how everyone was receiving the news of the new invention. It was a sea of sparkling, happy faces delighted with the possibilities of new adventures in space. Sheeple.
However, there was one face in the crowd that seemed to hold a different opinion. She was hooded, but Kirk could see enough of her face to see the disgust and anger directed towards Spock. Interesting, maybe he would seek her out after the speech to find out what her story was.
He watched as she reached into her robes and pulled out a phaser…ok, so maybe waiting around wouldn't work. He might hate Spock, but that didn't mean he wanted him murdered. Kirk leapt onto the stage and knocked the Vulcan to the ground just as the phaser fired.
Spock felt himself be tackled to the ground then he heard the sound of phaser fire. It took him just a moment to find that the body that had saved him hadn't been one of his bodyguards. He looked down and met the light blue eyes of his favorite reporter. Looking around he saw his bodyguards dragging away the person he presumed was the assailant. Spock looked back down at Kirk and murmured, "My hero."
Kirk blushed and scrambled up off of Spock. Before he could think, he offered the other man his hand to help him up then he remembered that Vulcans didn't touch other people's hands. He was about to pull his arm back when Spock grabbed onto his hand anyway and pulled himself up. If he held on just a moment longer than he needed to, Kirk pretended not to notice.
Kirk saw that the security team was ushering all of the other reporters out. The press conference was obviously over, but none of the reporters were exactly dragging their feet either. Everyone wanted to race back with the story. Poor Chekov was being swept out with the tide. Kirk motioned to the exodus as he looked back to Spock, "Well, I guess I will be going then."
"I am afraid that I can't let you do that, Mr. Kirk. We have some questions about what happened."
"Oh, the cops will need a statement, won't they?" Kirk gave a nervous laugh. It wasn't often that he was on this side of a police investigation…anymore. The adrenaline was fading and he could feel small tremors in his hands.
It wasn't just from the rescue, it was also from the fact that the criminal mastermind knew that Kirk thought that he was a criminal mastermind. Kirk hadn't exactly been subtle. This was probably the most socially awkward situation Kirk had ever been in, and that was saying something.
Spock inwardly smirked. He didn't need to touch the reporter to see every little thought that went through his head. Rarely had he seen a more expressive face.
Not that he had minded touching Kirk earlier, not in the least. The Vulcan had almost purred at the touch of Kirk's mind. He had been right, this human was exactly what he needed and now that he had him in his grasp, he wasn't letting him go. It was charming to see how naïve the man still was. He actually thought that they would call the police, how quaint.
"Follow me, Mr. Kirk, I am sure that security is waiting for us before questioning the prisoner." Spock turned on his heel and walked towards the wings of the stage.
Jim shrugged and followed; on one hand there was the danger of being alone with the most diabolical man on the planet, on the other, this was the story of his life. It didn't take any guesswork to know what Kirk would choose. When they got off stage, Kirk didn't see any people and he also didn't see where they had gone. He was just turning to ask Spock about it when he heard the phrase. "Two to beam up."
Oh, shit.
Spock rather enjoyed the look of wide-eyed shock that Kirk still bore when the re-materialized aboard his ship, the Shelat. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Kirk."
"What, no, you can't just bring me up here without asking! This is kidnapping! Besides, I don't think the police are going to want to come all the way up here to arrest that woman." Kirk was livid.
Spock just raised one eyebrow, "Mr. Kirk, who said anything about involving the police?"
Kirk was incredulous, "What? That was attempted murder back there! I don't think she had that phaser on stun. Don't you want her arrested?"
"This is a Vulcan matter, and therefore it should be handled by Vulcans." Spock said as he led the way down the hall.
"What? You mean she was a Vulcan? Why on earth would she want to kill you?"
"Well, I think she tried to kill me on Earth so that if she were caught, she would not be tried and punished in the Vulcan fashion." Spock answered.
"What? No, that isn't what I meant…oh, never mind." Kirk sighed as he followed his 'host'.
Safe in the knowledge that Kirk couldn't see him, Spock grinned. He loved messing with humans by pretending to misunderstand idioms. They were so easy to confuse. The brig was on the same floor as the transporter room so they didn't have to go far. When they came to the correct door, Spock typed in a code faster than Kirk could follow and the door slid open.
Mr. Sulu was waiting in the antechamber. "So far we have gotten her name, but she refuses to explain her motive until you arrive. Her name is T'Pring."
Spock grew still and a thoughtful expression crossed his face, "I see. We will see her now. I assume she is suitably restrained?"
"Yes, of course, she is completely immobile." Sulu answered.
"Good." Spock walked to the cell door and it slid open, he noticed that Kirk was lingering behind with an uncertain look on his face. "Well, are you coming?"
Kirk shook himself and gathered his wits. "Yes." He followed Spock into the room. He saw the woman bound to a chair behind a table with two security guards standing behind her. There were two chairs on the other side and that was where Spock and Kirk took their seats.
For a while Spock just sat there and looked at the woman in silence. Kirk looked at her as well—she was gorgeous in a slightly insane sort of way. With a little effort, she could have had her pick of modeling contracts on any planet Kirk could think of…but beauty obviously wasn't what she was going for today. He hair was held back in a severe, ratty bun, and there were scrapes of dirt on her face.
"Why are you here, T'Pring?' Spock finally asked.
"Only you would ask that, ignorant half-breed." She snarled. "I have come to avenge my honor."
Spock remained unfazed by the insult, but he was more than confused by her motive. "Forgive me, but I am quite unclear on how I besmirched your honor. We only met once that I remember and that was when we were seven."
"You rejected me! A half-blood who rejected a full blooded Vulcan; no one would touch me after that. If a mongrel wouldn't have me, how could I possibly make another a good mate? I became a pariah and neither you nor your family cared."
Spock raised an eyebrow, "I never knew any of this. Not that it would have changed my mind, but there might have been something that could have been done. I would have gladly taken the blame, and to be honest, I had thought that I had.
"What I still do not understand is the irrationality of an assassination attempt. Why not sue for defamation of character, instead? I would have been willing to settle a lucrative amount as re-compensation. Now, no one will believe you if you say that you were not the one at fault. They will see today's insanity as proof of your guilt."
Jim mentally catalogued what he was hearing. Vulcans were usually tight-lipped about their personal culture and now he could see why. Arranged betrothals at seven? How medieval was that? Not to mention that the culture of 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' was prejudiced as hell. How embarrassing.
The door to the cell opened and Sulu walked in and handed Spock a padd. Spock read over it briefly and nodded at his personal assistant who then left again. "They are looking for you." He told T'Pring calmly. "Your caretakers at the asylum are very worried about you. I am afraid that after this, though, you will most likely never see the outside of those walls again. We will return you to their care as soon as possible." He stood up and walked to the door, Jim quickly followed.
When the door shut behind them, Jim looked at Spock, "So you drove that lady nuts?"
The Vulcan's face showed no emotion. "Not exactly. After our failed betrothal, she was engaged to a boy named Stonn. My actions did not reflect on her at all, but when he broke the engagement a few years ago, she built what happened with me up in her mind until it became the root of all her problems.
"Her parents had her sent to the mind healers, and she got to the point where she could fake getting better—they gave her a weekend pass to visit her family and she used the opportunity to escape."
"Wow, now that is a story." Kirk was already planning the layout.
"A story you will not be able to write, I am afraid." Spock said as they left the detention center.
"What are you talking about? This is America! The land of free speech! Once I get back home, how are you going to stop me?"
"Oh, there are lots of different ways, but whoever told you that you could go home?" Spock said mildly as he reached a turbo lift.
Kirk was incensed, "You can't kidnap me! I will be missed and people know I was last seen with you. You would never get away with it."
"Oh, but Mr. Kirk, I already have." Spock punched a few buttons on the padd he was holding and gave it to Kirk.
Jim read with growing horror the e-mail 'he' had supposedly sent to Pike. It contained all the details needed for someone else to write the story…Spock's approved version of it, and it explained that he had changed his mind on the Vulcan's character and that he had been invited to follow Spock on a voyage home for an in-depth character story. Pike had already written back about how pleased he was. Spock was not one for not talking to reporters. A story like this would put the Enterprise on the map.
Kirk scowled at the Vulcan, "When did you have time to do this?"
"I didn't, it seems that Mr. Sulu will be getting a raise, though." Spock said smugly.
"You bastard!"
"Now, now, my parents were most defiantly married when I was conceived, I assure you."
Kirk's scream of frustration could be heard for several levels.
