Character/Pairing: Spock/Uhura, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, OCs
Rating: T
Summary: The boys split up to find Spock. The young ones go to the casino, the oldsters to the jewelry store where they're led down a strange road.
Warning: Swearing!
A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this--plotting has been such a pain in the neck and this chapter got long. I've sketched out the rest, so there'll be about three more chapters in Vegas. There's alot going on here and I hope my plot holes won't become glaringly obvious in coming chapters.
They rode down together in the turbolift to the ground floor. Chekov, with a gurgling baby strapped to his chest, along with Sulu, Brian and Hasan, said their goodbyes to the others, and headed off to the casino.
Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Caio went down to the valet to ascertain just where exactly Caio's shuttle was docked. Caio handed over the claim ticket that had been found, rather miraculously, inside his shoe. They waited for several minutes by the dock, discussing where they would go after the jewelry store. Kirk stopped talking when he saw the hastily concealed astonishment on Caio's face, his eyes fixed over Kirk's shoulder onto the window.
The shuttle doors whooshed open and the valet came out, calling Caio 'Officer Grayson' when thanking him for his patience. Startled, Caio could only mutely nod his head and waited for the valet to move out of earshot.
There was an explosion of whispered 'What the fuck?!', but Kirk only shushed them all and herded them onto their 'shuttle'. The four men shuffled around silently for a moment, cramped in the tight quarters as the doors shut behind them. It was a holding cell with transparent barriers that would normally only hold three people comfortably, probably for two armed guards with a prisoner. As it was now, there were four of them crammed awkwardly inside, and desperately trying to respect each other's personal space.
'What the fuck is going on here? What is this fucking thing anyway?'
'What, you don't recognize this, Bones? It's a prisoner transport vehicle.'
Scotty laughed heartily at Kirk's snide remark before McCoy's sharp elbow caught him in his midsection.
Kirk moved back to look at the control pad, causing the other men to bunch against the shuttle door, 'Ok, just hold on a minute, I think I've got this figured out....' He tentatively pressed a button and a narrow door slipped open. 'Alright, you two. In the back.' He grabbed McCoy's arm next to him and pushed him forward.
'What?!' Squawked McCoy, before Kirk shoved him and a protesting Scot into the back.
'The perfect place for you two. So relax and enjoy the ride.' Feeling somewhat mollified, Kirk turned to Caio, 'You wanna drive?'
Chekov, Sulu, Brian and Hasan decided to eat and were seated at a table since Chekov thought it was immoral to sit at the bar. It also provided them an opportunity to let earlier events sink in. They watched the news on the viewscreen at their table and ate their 'breakfast', chatting pleasantly with their waiter and asking him if he remembered seeing a Vulcan around yesterday or last night.
But unfortunately, he hadn't since he wasn't on shift. Later on though, the same waiter came back and said he remembered Chekov now because he'd won a lot of money the other night and had been quite generous with the waitstaff.
There was some discussion and once finished with their dinner, the guys decided on their story: that the bachelor party was very involved in a scavenger hunt, one of which was finding Spock. When the waiter came back to clear their plates and present the bill, it was left to Sulu to ask him for help.
After some hedging, the waiter agreed to talk to the manager to see if the guys could look at the security feed from last night. They waited around for the head of operations to talk to them, and Sulu had been quite persuasive, namedropping both Kirk and Spock, and playing up the prestige of the captain's recent medal and Spock's upcoming 'royal' wedding.
Sulu couldn't tell if it was his spin or Chekov's money, but either way, they were all allowed access to the security control room, where they sat and waited some more, as a guard cued up last night's footage from the blackjack table.
When Caio landed the police vehicle at the jewelry store, there were a few double takes from passerby. He muttered that there were already two Officer Graysons in his family but he wasn't one of them. There'd been no consensus yet on how to deal with the misappropriated shuttle since Kirk was hell bent on re-tracing their steps, but Caio was determined to track down his missing luxury craft.
Once inside, they were immediately recognized and Kirk was surprised to learn that none of the salespeople noticed anything amiss about their group. No one had seemed drunk or under the influence at all. It had only been Kirk and McCoy who'd come into the shop along with Spock. Kirk questioned the clerk who waited on them, and she revealed that he'd paid for Spock's ring, a simple platinum band, because Spock said that he'd misplaced his wallet containing his debit token and he didn't have his identity card either, in order to charge it to his account.
That had been the only thing really unusual about the whole transaction, though the clerk admitted to being startled that this was really Spock, the Vulcan prince who would soon be wedded to a human woman. Kirk could practically feel the other men's eyes roll in their sockets behind him as the clerk gushed on about how handsome Spock was and that she didn't give a damn about his Romulan ancestry since he was marrying such a dedicated Starfleet officer.
Just as she drew in a breath, Kirk cut her off with a smooth thank you and a smile, but then McCoy interrupted to ask her how she knew so much about Spock and Nyota. It was a moment before she responded as she reached under the counter to pull up a tabloid with flashing headlines and holovid captures. McCoy's eyes grew wide as he recognized Nyota, her hand raising in front of her face as a flash of light went off, over and over again as the holo looped. The clerk winked and grinned, allowing McCoy to take it, and said that any friend of the famous couple was a friend of hers.
'Do you believe this garbage?!' McCoy waved the thin broadsheet in the air once they got outside, 'We ain't been on Earth long enough for news to travel this fast!'
'Well man, what do you expect? People are bound to be curious, what with him being on the Enterprise and bein' the sweet Vulcan prince 'n all.' Scotty stopped abruptly and walked over to a man on the sidewalk, who was distributing paper leaflets to pedestrians. 'Wait a minute, guys....' He returned with a leaflet advertising an all-you-can-eat buffet and bar, 'I think we went here afterwards...'
'Couldja stop thinking with your damned stomach for just one blasted minute?!'
'Scotty's right, Bones. That was on the my list of transactions, but it was after we went there.' Kirk pointed across the street to a comparatively nondescript building, nestled between a garishly decorated convenience store and a keno palace. 'Let's check it out for a minute.'
'Jim, I don't understand how Spock could've just misplaced his wallet like that,' said Caio, with a backwards glance at their parked transport. 'He didn't say anything about it from what I can remember.'
'So then it had to have happened somewhere after our dinner and....when? I don't understand how I can remember only up to the dinner two nights ago. What do you think, Bones?'
'I don't know, Jim. We seemed fine up to the jewelry store. The question is what place did we go where there was an opportunity to have slipped all of us a mickey? Something tells me it wouldn't be a damned museum.' McCoy eyed one of the holograms he'd stopped in front of outside the building, noting the sweat beading on an upper lip that curled into a sneer.
The four men walked through the double doors and into a lobby lit dramatically with various spotlights and dancing holos of men and women from the early days of entertainment in Las Vegas.
'You never know, Bones. It's always the innocuous shit that gets us in the end.' Kirk went over to the counter to speak with the man selling admissions as the others drifted around to look at the old-fashioned posters lining the walls.
'Hey, Leonard! Take a look at this!' Caio beckoned urgently with his hand to McCoy, who hurried over to the wall outside the museum shop. He pointed up, 'We're looking pretty lucid here!'
McCoy chuckled at the holo that was pinned to the wall amidst a hundred other captures, then squinted, 'You're right. Looks like we were having a good time too. But definitely not wasted.'
Caio was already inside chatting with the sales associate, who had indeed recognized them and confirmed their sobriety. He bought the holo and McCoy took it down, showing it to Scotty whose laugh bounced around in the hall that was emptying of patrons.
Kirk came over, 'Look, the guy doesn't remember us, but I just want to take a look around....' He stopped when Scotty held up the holo and gave a tired laugh, 'Yet another thing I would've liked to have remembered.'
They were all dressed up in sharp suits with hats set at a jaunty angle and striking a pose. Scotty and Caio must've joined them here after they'd left the jewelry store. And Spock had still been with them...
'We were here last night, same time. Just before they closed...' said Caio.
'Can someone just pay the guy so I can get in there and take a look around?' Kirk cut him off, trying to soften his impatience with a fake grin. He could feel the minutes tick down in his head and felt the prickle of sweat on his back.
McCoy paid for all of them and they spent about thirty minutes inside, looking at the holos of people long dead who had entertained on the Strip during Las Vegas' early years. Kirk was in a hurry and left the three to trail in his wake.
'Spock would want to come to a place like this.' McCoy lingered at one exhibit that detailed the early 20th century history of North American music later called 'rock 'n roll'.
Scotty stopped next to him, 'Aye, it's fascinatin'. But kinda creepy. I don't know really.'
'Why do you say that?' Caio asked.
'Well, with these holos, it's so easy to forget that they're all dead. It's kinda depressing.'
'Yeah,' McCoy laughed, 'that's one way of looking at it. But I'd love to come back here when Jim's not in a hurry.' He stared at one man with a pencil-thin mustache, his black hair slicked back and eyes wide expressively, playing an early electrified guitar as he sat back on his haunches and then 'walked' across the stage. McCoy swore to himself that he'd sell his soul to play the guitar like that man.
They caught up to Kirk in the last room, where visitors were invited to dress up as their favorite entertainer. Kirk was talking to a young woman who was taking the holos, then thanked her and joined them as they were leaving.
'Well?' McCoy asked, as he opened the doors that led to the street. They headed in the direction of Scotty's buffet restaurant.
Kirk sighed, 'Yeah, she remembers us. We were the last visitors to leave last night. Apparently....'
'Please don't tell me you've already slept with her, Jim.'
'Would you stop? No, she'd invited us to a party and gave me her number. But we never showed up...'
'Great, so we're gonna do process of elimination now? Jesus, Jim! This really has been a waste of time!'
'I'm trying to jog my memory, damnit!' He ran his fingers through his hair, deeply frustrated.
There was an awkward silence as they walked down the sidewalk for two blocks, then halted in front of the restaurant.
'Can we go over the time line? Because I'm confused,' said Scotty. 'We finished dinner around six. You,' he looked at Kirk, 'and Len went with Spock to the jewelry store. Me and Caio must've gone along for the ride and we came here. Then we met up at the museum? Right so far?'
Kirk looked up at the restaurant sign, 'Yeah. So that's about three hours accounted for. Well, let's go in and find out who waited on us.'
They were greeted cheerfully by the bartender when he saw Kirk and McCoy, but as soon as he saw Scotty he frowned and told them to get the fuck out. Stunned, Scotty could only stand there, his mouth gaping soundlessly, before he weakly protested. McCoy grabbed Scotty's arm and dragged him back outside, where they waited for Kirk and Caio.
When they came outside Kirk said, 'According to the bartender, you insulted the establishment's beer. That had been the final straw apparently.'
'That figures,' McCoy drawled as he shot a wry glance at Scotty, 'So what was the first straw?'
Caio picked up the story, 'The waitress said we had french fries with our beers and watched the news at the bar when Jim's medal ceremony came on. There were some remarks about the Vulcans by the other patrons. Naturally, we revealed ourselves to be Vulcan supporters and Scotty had said that he was the chief engineer of the Enterprise...'
'Oh god,' McCoy groaned, he could see exactly how this discussion was going to end.
'Dammit man! He cursed my ship! He don't even know me or her, the bastard!'
'How do you know? You don't even remember the fight!'
'As if that matters!' Scotty said, red-faced and indignant.
'Gentlemen, please! The important thing we learned from her is that, before they got kicked out, Caio got a call and that we were going to see Tahrella Procyon's show. They managed to get directions to the club from the hostess before they were asked to leave.'
'Does that correspond to your spending so far, Jim?'
Kirk nodded at McCoy, 'Ok, let's get back and find the boys.'
They met up on the street corner across from the hotel since Kirk wanted to be discreet about 'tooling around town' as McCoy had put it, in something inherently 'undiscreet'. Kirk didn't even bother correcting him.
Chekov sat up front with Caio in the other pilot's seat, insisting that for the good of the baby he would not be squished in the back with the others. Brian had squeezed himself between the pilots' chairs, while Sulu, Hasan and Kirk piled in the back with McCoy and Scotty.
'This is fucking interminable!' McCoy shoved futilely against Kirk's back, though it did no good. Hasan was practically on top of him too and he fought down the feeling of being smothered.
Kirk tried to shift forward, 'No Bones, your damned bitching is interminable.' But it was no use, he was wedged tightly between the wall of the shuttle and Hasan, who was right next to him.
Scotty's snickers were muffled behind Sulu's body.
'Report, gentlemen!' It had now been almost three hours since Spock had disappeared, maybe even longer for all they knew. The moon was bright and high up in the black, starless sky and Kirk was getting nervous. So far, there'd been no news reports. No wild animal attacks, no strange sightings. Nothing. Even bad news would've been welcome right now, but this.... vanishing without a trace left him unsettled.
The speaker hissed for a moment before Chekov's voice filled the holding cell. He was feeding the baby and soft gurgles and lip smacking sounds could be heard.
'Vell, we managed to sveettalk our vay into security. Money talks....'
'I think they were more impressed with who Spock was,' Sulu interrupted, 'It's not everyday you see a Vulcan at the casino.'
'What?!' said the others in disbelief.
Chekov continued, 'It's true. Mr. Spock was there at the blackjack table last night. He was there for two hours and he lost a lot of money.'
McCoy sputtered, 'They allowed a Vulcan to play? Wouldn't that set off an alarm or something?'
Sulu frowned, 'Why should it? They couldn't turn him away....'
'I know that, but Vulcans could take a casino to the bank!'
'Well, from the sounds of it, he was losing pretty bad. And besides, that would be cheating and we all know that--' said Kirk.
'Vulcans don't lie!' Chorused the rest of the men.
Kirk nodded, 'Exactly! So maybe Spock was just playing for fun--'
'No. No, I don't think that's the case. Even security vas initially suspicious of him. I...I think that either he or I or maybe both of us vere counting cards. I think the only thing that saved us vas precisely because Mr. Spock is Wulcan!'
'Odd that he'd want to play cards though. Even odder that he'd be losing so badly. Something must've been going on...' Kirk rubbed his jaw.
McCoy winced as he pushed Kirk forward again, 'Not odd if he was under the influence like everybody else. Who the hell knows! Maybe he thought he could win some money to pay you back!'
'That would've been nice. So, were you guys acting weird at all?'
The ensign shrugged, 'I was apparently having the time of my life, but no one really said anything about Spock.'
'And what time was this?'
'Around midnight.'
'Hmm. So, it was definitely after the museum...'
'Museum...?'
'Later, Chekov. We're going to the strip club next.'
McCoy stretched as he got out of the holding cell, 'I thought you said Tahrella Procyon was burlesque, Hasan?' He twisted his torso back and forth, trying to limber up.
'There's a difference, Leonard?' Hasan asked, grinning not so innocently.
'Ohhh yeah. There is.' McCoy looked up at the huge, multi-level complex that was awash in flashing colored lights. The place was in full swing with partygoers of all stripes. McCoy wished for the thousandth time that he had been sober the other night, though felt he could use a stiff drink now.
The Wild Orions Stripper Emporium was an old establishment that had seen many makeovers through the years and as people's tastes changed, so did the Wild Orion. Tahrella was indeed a burlesque dancer of the highest caliber, and they had all seen her perform in the main theater.
Afterwards though, they had migrated upstairs to the live nude dancing and had gotten a private VIP room, that much had been obvious according to Kirk's expense trail.
They were a motley looking crew and the stares from patrons and strippers didn't lessen, even after Kirk told Chekov to stop bouncing the baby around.
Kirk, Sulu and Caio ordered drinks and struck up conversations with the women on-stage. Eventually, Scotty got lucky with one who remembered them from last night. On the condition of moving the party to the VIP room and having private lap dances, she promised she would help them.
The younger guys were especially eager to participate, though coolly playing it off as if it were all part of the mission. McCoy groaned internally when Candi was soon joined by her squealing colleagues, Misty, Bambi, Destiny and Chastity. Then grinned evilly as he volunteered up Chekov to pay for the extra girls and the champagne.
Kirk nursed his drink as his eyes darted around the room, only half paying attention to Destiny's gyrating crotch as she straddled his thighs. He smiled winningly and eased her back, making excuses to go to the men's room and left. Without missing a beat, she moved on to a wide-eyed Hasan.
McCoy watched him go, hopeful that Kirk would glean some tidbit of information out in the club. In the meantime, McCoy sunk back into the deep cushions of his chair and invited Chastity to sit on his lap. He may as well relax while he could.
Candi and Scotty were getting very cozy in one corner of the room. They were taking turns sipping from the same flute of champagne. She had been making good on her promise to help jog his memory. When she asked if he wanted to procure some uppers like last time, his hands froze on her thighs, then proceeded their way up her naked back.
'Yeah, maybe later Candi. So do you remember if you saw my friend Spock last night?'
'Sure did, baby.' She grinned as she leaned closer to whisper in his ear, 'He's really hot. Too bad he's such a cold fish, even after we gave him--' She bit her lip and giggled before taking a long drink from the flute, finishing it off. Scotty obliged her by re-filling the glass quickly.
'Do you remember what we were talkin' about? Where we might've headed after we left you lovely ladies?'
Candi's laugh was high and fluttery, 'You took the party to go! Your crazy friend over there-' she looked over her shoulder at McCoy who was snuggled up with Chastity, then grinned back down at Scotty, '--he fell really hard last night!'
'What do you mean? He's fine!'
'No, silly!' Warm champagne breath waved over Scotty's face. He took the flute from Candi's hand and set it on the side table.
'What do you mean he fell?'
'Well, he was desperate to impress a girl and plucked his little toofy out! Now, baby, how about another dance?' She crooned into his ear and licked the outer shell.
Scotty shivered, then closed his eyes and thought of the Enterprise. When he opened them, Kirk was standing at the door of the VIP room.
'Sorry to break up the party, boys. But it's time we hit the road.'
Just then, a huge man in a white suit, who Scotty was sure had Klingon ancestry, loomed behind Kirk. The bouncer's presence threw a pall over the proceedings and the five girls quickly stood and then fled the room under his hard stare.
The rest of the men got up silently, amidst the loud music and glinting mirror balls, and followed Kirk out of the room.
McCoy and Scotty fell in beside Kirk who muttered, 'Wait. Just wait until we're outside.'
The bouncer followed the group right out to the sidewalk and watched them as they made their way to the parked police vehicle.
It wasn't until they were finally up in the air when McCoy barked, 'Well? What the fuck was that all about?'
'I think that's where we were drugged last night--' Kirk stopped for a moment as Scotty ayed him in confirmation. 'Talking to the bartender--the place recently changed ownership. Most of the girls are new, same for the staff.'
'Well, what the hell does that mean?'
Caio spoke up from the front, 'It could mean nothing, or it could be that the ownership is shady--'
'Damnit, we don't have time to solve a mystery, especially when Sherlock's the one that's missing!'
'Candi said that the party moved on, but she didn't say where. She did say that you took your tooth out to impress a girl.'
McCoy's mutterings were drowned out by Sulu and Scotty's laughter.
Kirk gave directions to Caio for their next visit: Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel.
It was getting to be routine, that they would enter a place and immediately be recognized. It was no different at the wedding chapel.
Well, it was a little different.
'What?! Let me see that!' McCoy grabbed the box of wedding mementos and pulled out a mug that bore a picture of him wearing a toothy grin. In his arms was a surprisingly sober looking, though very attractive and shapely young woman.
Kirk shot a glare over his shoulder at the muffled chuckles of Scotty and Sulu.
'Yeah, man! I don't know how you did it, but she was really really into you!' The proprietor smiled happily and handed Kirk a holo.
Sure enough, Kirk saw that he had been best man for McCoy. Spock was there beside him along with the others. There were several bridesmaids there, Candi being among them as well.
There was a simultaneous gasp from Kirk and McCoy as their eyes settled on one minor detail at almost the same time.
'I know right?!' Said the proprietor in response to their collective gasp. 'You bagged Tahrella Procyon! The hottest fucking dancer in Vegas!' The man reached over and slapped McCoy on the shoulder in congratulations. Behind them, Scotty and Sulu erupted in laughter as the other guys exclaimed their astonishment and disbelief to each other.
But that wasn't what Kirk and McCoy had noticed. No, they had both noticed the pointed ears that poked out of Tahrella's long flowing black tresses.
McCoy calmly handed the mug back to the proprietor, 'I want this annulled.'
'You know, not anyone can say that they bagged a hot stripper. And Vulcan to boot! Never knew that Vulcans were even allowed to dance. I've seen everything now.' The man shook his head and laughed, 'Well, you sure about this?'
'Yes goddamnit I'm sure! FUCK!' He turned on his heel and stormed out of the chapel.
The guys fell silent for a moment. Chekov coughed, then bounced the baby when it started crying.
Kirk looked over the marriage papers that the proprietor handed over, 'Can you use the refund from the marriage to pay for the annulment?' The wedding was legit. He memorized Tahrella's address as he noted that she was indeed a Vulcan citizen.
'Sure, I can apply that to the annulment fee. But annulments cost more you know.'
'Shit.' Well that sure figured didn't it? 'Chekov get over here and take care of this!' He folded up the marriage papers and tucked them into his pocket.
'Damnit Jim! It's easy for you to say it's not a big deal! Fuck you! You've never been married before, let alone be in a stable relationship.' McCoy paced outside the chapel. 'You think I have it easy being divorced? That shit almost fucking killed me!'
Kirk leaned against the wall of the building, watching as his friend vented. He felt bad for his botched attempt at comfort, but he honestly didn't know what he could say to make it better, 'Look, Bones. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying that it's a situation that's easily corrected.'
McCoy whirled around, 'Easily corrected?! Is that what life is to you? Do you think I wanted it like this? To be that guy who's divorced? Twice?! My parents were married for thirty years before---' He looked away.
Kirk looked away too, wincing for having brought up the painful reminder of McCoy's father.
McCoy heaved a deep sigh, 'It wasn't supposed to be like this.' His shoulders slumped forward and he brought a hand up to rub his eyes.
Kirk put his hands on McCoy's shoulders and squeezed, 'Hang in there, Bones. I need you right now.' He patted him on the shoulder when McCoy nodded.
Sulu came out just then, followed by the others, and gave McCoy an awkward one armed hug.
Chekov handed McCoy the annulment documents, 'Vell, you are a free man now Dr. McCoy. But if you don't mind, I'll be taking the box of wedding mementos since they've been paid for.' His wide grin did not falter, even when McCoy shot him a poisonous look.
A/N: Please be sure to visit me on wordpress homepage as I've posted some cute pics!
