Lover's Rest
Ecstasy Street
Nuvia City, Risa
T'Pol waited in the alleyway outside, while Trip and Hoshi chatted with the hostel operator within and Malcolm, Travis and Loya made use of the meager distraction to casually make their way upstairs without being paid any particular attention to.
T'Pol found the situation quite agreeable, even encouraging.
Not the plan so much. That was rather hastily thrown together and not especially clever. Rather that Trip had suddenly and quite surprisingly assumed the use of their bond to communicate in the course of it.
He'd mentioned it in passing, in fact. As if it were assumed. He was entirely that comfortable with it. The gentle 'nudge' they were able to give one another, to call attention to something. Such as where they were at the moment, for example, to call to one another. Or the relatively more advanced version of that, to share an easy, general impression about something.
She'd introduced it to him much in that manner. Projecting her appreciation for having cooked a palatable meal one evening over dinner. He almost hadn't recognized what she'd done at first, but when he did he'd been shocked.
She had of course warned him well in advance, months ago, that the bond would be a literal psychic bond. That the implication there was generally accurate. But it had shocked him nonetheless. He proved…a little uncomfortable with it after that and so she'd moved more carefully since. Even taking pains to slow the progression of their bond in order to avoid any undo emotional distress in her mate.
To find him suddenly comfortable enough with it as to even assume it…yes, very encouraging.
In fact, she'd been unable to restrain herself after that. The moment he was out of sight in the hostel and she waited patiently in the alleyway, she very unnecessarily gave him a 'nudge' to let him know she was there. Conveying the impression of where she stood in the alley, her general sense of being, approval of the plan in general…just an open, generalized impression.
Entirely unnecessary, but she really was unable to resist. And she'd not only sensed his awareness and reception…she'd received a very comfortable affirmation. Where he was, how he was feeling at the moment, a general conveying of his concerns.
Even where Hoshi was in relation to him, the fact that the rest of the crew had just moved out of sight up the stairs, an undefined overall impression of the interior of the building and of the hostel operator herself…
Surprising. His reciprocal response proved relatively detailed and clear, despite it being intended as nothing more than a mere acknowledgement.
So not only was he comfortable with the bond, at least to this degree, but the bond itself seemed to have progressed well beyond her expectations. Not only having not been restrained, as she would otherwise have been sure she had successfully restrained it, but actually progressing further than she'd have expected otherwise.
Unexpected, encouraging and…exciting.
She would have wondered what could have caused the bond to have jumped to that level in only the two weeks since she became aware of it herself…and thus had the opportunity to realize the most obvious explanation for that.
But she was too distracted by the unexpected excitement she experienced to question it.
J'Mar took a good look around the little room. It was apparent right away the sort of business Caros conducted here. He rented the room himself, the whole room. Then let out the other three bunks for free to his clients. So they could lounge around, burning out their minds with the drugs he sold them, and be right on hand to dole out more credits for another hit. Until they were finally broke, of course, and he tossed them right out in the hallway.
It was a 'space chamber'. That and group prostitution…mostly what the hostels around Nuvia City were best known for. Some combination of both as often as not.
Caros must have done well for himself fronting the British at the Iron Pit, too. Because the big mountain of pink powder stacked up on the table right there in the center of the room…that was worth a lot of creds. Enough that he'd have had his boys move that carefully out of the way, to take it with them when they were done here.
But as it happened, the boss was paying them quite well enough for this job. As well as demanding a very high price for any failure to recover those certificates. Not just their deaths, but death in a very prolonged and horribly agonizing manner. Forget the powder then, getting to the British is what mattered here. Absolutely nothing else.
So they poured alcohol on it and lit it on fire, once they had him tied to the chair right there in front of it.
He squealed about that a bit, until Benti slapped him around some. Then he shut up and whimpered, watching it burn.
J'Mar just waited. Waited for the fal-menya outside to move again and make enough noise to cover things in here. And Caros got curious quickly enough about why they were just standing around him not asking him any questions.
"What…what do you want?" He blubbered.
"What I want." J'Mar said, grinning menacingly. "I want to know where to find the British."
"I don't know!" Caros said, instantly. And he would have said more if Tamish didn't smack alongside the head again.
J'Mar held up a hand, forestalling any more of that.
"No, don't say anything now." He said, reassuringly. "Wait until we push your face into all that burning Pink a couple of times."
Caros really started blubbering then, and Tamish and Benti had to work together to smack him a few times for being too loud about it.
When he had his undivided attention again, J'Mar held up a finger. Cocking his head a little, listening intently outside. So Caros listened intently, too. Until he figured out what they were listening for.
Then the fal-menya picked up and starting moving down the street, to the next block over.
And J'Mar grinned.
"Lap dancing?" Malcolm asked, speaking low but more than a little surprised. "I would have assumed you knew all about that sort of thing."
They moved on down the hallway, to the door of the room adjoining room 24. Room 23, with its shared bathroom. Travis staying behind at the stairs to regroup with Hoshi when she arrived.
"Why?" Loya asked at first. Then, when she realized. "Because I am Orion woman?"
"Well…yes."
"I don't even know to dance much." Loya shrugged. "I never heard of dancing in someone's lap before."
"That's almost as surprising as Hoshi knowing about that sort of thing." Malcolm smirked. "Wouldn't have thought that."
Loya didn't find that very pleasing. That he even had an opinion on Hoshi's skills.
"I can do it now." She reminded him. Firmly.
"Rather looking forward to a demonstration." He smirked. And suggestively at that.
That was much better. She had to smile and brush against him a bit for that.
They arrived at the door. And waited there casually, nearby. Pretending to be patrons lounging in the hall, until Hoshi could arrive up the stairs to join with Travis again.
"Can't say I like the idea of you lap dancing some other fellow, though." He frowned. "Even if it were just…practice, or whatever you called it..."
"Why?" Loya asked, immediately. "I was good. You should have seen. He was very aroused, very peaked."
Malcolm just stared at her.
"I was very good." She insisted.
"That's even worse, Loya."
She blinked at that.
"What? Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?" He asked, surprised himself. "I don't want you dancing in some other fellow's lap."
"Why not?" Loya asked. "I think I'm very good at it now…"
"Loya! I can't believe you're asking, the way you've been carrying on since we got here."
She searched the air over his head for a moment, trying to figure out what in the world her Human man was talking about here. And Malcolm saw her confusion.
"Hold on, now." He said. "Let's be sure we understand one another. You do realize I'm not about to share you with some other bloke, don't you?"
"What is 'bloke'?"
"Another man."
"I don't have any. Only one, you."
"And I'd rather keep it that way, thank you."
"What? Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?!"
"I know Human men don't like to share." She said, frowning. Because she wasn't stupid. "But if I found another man, you would not…?"
"Certainly not!"
That set her to blinking again.
"You mean…even just…?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Not even…?"
"No."
She frowned. Deeply.
"Loya, I realize you're Orion…but the way you feel whenever you even think some other woman might be a little too cozy with me? That's how I'd feel if you were to slide up to some other fellow."
That…surprised her.
Not that she hadn't been well aware, of course. He was Human. But to actually have it said…she suddenly realized she really hadn't quite internalized that aspect of his Human nature.
And she found she wasn't as prepared to handle that as she…well, she just wasn't prepared.
Malcolm saw her staring at him, eyes narrowed. Looking him over speculatively.
"Loya…" He started.
"We will negotiate that later." She said.
"Negot-…? You mean discuss it. And I don't see anything to discuss."
"Then we won't." She shrugged. "That's up to you."
"Loya…"
"We have business here to do. That will be for later."
Caros was doing his best not to scream about it all. It hurt, sure. Burned pretty badly, in fact.
But it hurt worse when the one with the shaved head used the kitchen tools on him, so he had to make do with whimpering and whining and doing his very best not to scream out loud.
Except when the fal-menya moved again. Then he was allowed to scream all he wanted. And to beg, and cry, and make all the noise he liked.
Three times already. And they kept pouring his really good, really expensive Rose Petal Sunburn on the pile of Pink and setting it right back on fire again. And pushing his face into it until it burned out.
At least they put his head out after a few seconds, if it didn't look like it'd go out on its own. And the burning Pink he'd inhaled or flat out swallowed was probably taking the edge off a lot more than they thought it would...
Travis met her at the top of the stairs, ready to move on down to Room 23 and gain entrance there. Secure the bathroom and prepare to provide emergency backup.
Hoshi was actually starting to get into this stuff. 'Securing' places and 'conducting actions' and 'tactical…stuff'. It was more than a little scary, of course. But…kind of fun and exciting, too.
Except when people got hurt. Not so much when something like that happened. But when they did manage to pull things off without people shooting and things exploding…that was a lot of fun.
So she was getting into it. Kind of getting into the role here. Space pirates! That what she was. She was a space pirate!
Travis knocked all that right out of her head before she even got out of the stairwell.
"So you got a tattoo?" He grinned.
She stumbled, right in the doorway.
"Oh, careful." He said, offering his support.
"Uh…" She said, stuttering a bit. "Something like…sort of…"
"You weren't in there long enough for that." He said, once she'd regained her feet. "So when we were all…drugged or drunk or whatever we were?"
"Uh…yeah."
"What did you get?"
Hoshi stared at him. Suddenly trapped.
"Oh." He said, realizing. "I didn't think…forget I said anything…"
"No! It's just…well, it's…"
"No, sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you…"
"Well, it is kind of…a little..."
"Okay, no problem. Forget I asked."
They stood there uncomfortably for a moment. Instead of linking up with Malcolm and Loya like they were supposed to be doing.
"You know, I'm probably going to see it sooner or later." He said suddenly, grinning.
That made her heart skipped a couple of beats.
"And I'm going to give you a hard time about it."
A couple more beats. A hard…? Did he really have to word it like that?
"Uh…" She stuttered.
And Travis looked surprised.
"Wow." He said, seeing her reaction. "Now I can't wait to give you a hard time…"
"Okay, really. Stop."
Travis chuckled. "I'm just picking fun at you, Hoshi. Don't be embarrassed."
"Well, just…let's not talk about it."
Now he looked embarrassed all over again. And he clearly felt bad, not realizing just how uncomfortable this apparently was for her.
"Sorry." He said, quietly. "Didn't mean to…"
"Travis." She interrupted. Because she suddenly came to an abrupt decision here.
"Yeah?"
"You do realize…?" She said, hesitantly. "I mean, we've been friends ever since I came aboard the Seleya."
"Yeah, sure."
"And I thought…I mean, I guess I just assumed…"
He looked a little confused.
"Assumed what?"
She suddenly had no idea what to say here. And she was usually pretty good with words. It was kind of her thing.
Then it occurred to her that there were other forms of communication. Often enough even more reliable than mere words. And having had that thought, the impulse sprang into being. So she went right ahead and let that happen.
She tipped forward a bit and kissed him.
Right on the mouth. For about a second and a half. Just enough to share a good taste and let it be nice and warm a bit, before pulling back to look at him again.
He was shocked. Which was great, because it gave her a second to recognize, firmly grasp and safely tuck away the wonderful realization that he smelled and tasted pretty good. And how she was definitely going to do that again for a lot longer than a second and a half.
She held eye contact, albeit nervously.
Until she saw just the barest glimmer in there…
Okay, good.
So she moved on down to link up with Malcolm and Loya before any kind of discussion could happen here and ruin things.
Trip hung around in the front entrance of the place, chatting it up with the hostel operator until everyone had time to get into position. Until T'Pol gave him another little nudge to let him know she was already making her way up the wall outside the second floor balcony.
Then he gave the outrageously flirtatious old cougar behind the counter a flirtatious smile of his own, with the unspoken promise that he'd definitely be back to see her again…and made his way up the stairs.
Probably not even necessary, as the Lover's Rest seemed the sort of rundown flophouse that didn't bother keeping track of who had a room there and who didn't, who was going to visit whom or generally making any effort to provide any measure of security beyond some cheap locks on the doors.
But after a little shudder to shake that one off, he arrived on the second floor. And he immediately knew what he was looking at here was going to be a problem.
Travis was looking pretty stunned down there by the door to Room 23. And Hoshi was blushing a bit, trying not to look nervous or uncomfortable about that.
And Malcolm was stewing furiously over something having to do with Loya, glaring at her a bit. While Loya had her war face on, ready to do her job and completely ignore whatever had Malcolm so upset.
T'Pol picked up on every bit of that through their bond, surprisingly. He could feel her taking it all in, assessing it and coming to a determination regarding it. All through him.
Which…was a little weird. But he was somehow just fine with it anyway.
Then she just told him what to do and he…just did it. Because that somehow just happened and he was fine with it.
Again, weird but…okay.
"Hey!" He snapped at them. Snapped quietly, of course. With a glare and a frown on top of that, just to get the point across. "You guys want to put aside the drama for a minute? Until we deal with the armed thugs in there?"
T'Pol…didn't quite agree with the wording. Would have put it in an entirely different manner…
But…that was sufficient.
Because they did indeed put the drama aside for a moment, in order to focus on dealing with the armed thugs. So very well, then.
The door lock to Room 23 was…just painfully ridiculous. Not a bad lock, of course. Good enough to deter your average meathead. But the door had been kicked in so many times in the past that the lock bolt itself just rested up against the cheap doorframe.
So forget picking the lock. And forget bringing along a ex-Starfleet engineer to get you past the thing. All it took was borrowing a knife from Loya, popping the doorframe lose and just propping it right up against the wall behind them.
Done. Door lock bypassed. It was just sitting right there, not resting against anything at all now.
Trip walked right in, Travis right behind and Hoshi taking position in the doorway. And only one of the four guys in the room wasn't passed out so hard that he had a chance to notice people walking right into the room.
Travis just kept a plasma pistol and evil grin on that guy while Trip took his spot in the bathroom, ready to kick in the door if Malcolm and Loya ran into any trouble in there.
The fal-menya picked up again outside barely a moment later, one block further on down the street already and moving on now to the next block. So they didn't really have a lot of time to play around here. And Trip could sense that T'Pol was already up the wall and on the balcony out there anyway.
He gave Travis the signal in the other room. He relayed that to Hoshi, who passed it on to Malcolm and Loya outside. And those two prepared to be as obvious as they possibly could about moving stealthily up on the door under cover of the noisy fal-menya going on outside.