VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 13 – SECRETS AND SUSPICIONS

Mallory sat there for a time, his head in the loving arms of Rosalyn. His heart was full of grief for his friend and his mind still in a state of disbelief. Suddenly, he raised his head and sat up.

"My God, they killed him!" He yelled as tears slowly began to run down his cheek. "And it's all my fault!"

"Who killed him? Shawn! Who?" Rosalyn asked. "Why is it your fault?"

"Uh…Oh…I don't know." Mallory replied, feigning ignorance.

"Shawn Mallory, you know something about this! What's going on?" She asked pointedly.

Mallory bowed his head, feeling ashamed and full of remorse. "Nothing…Roz! It's nothing."

"Nothing? Your long time friend has just been found on the street, murdered, and you say it's nothing? C'mon…Something's not right here…I can feel it. Are you in trouble?"

Mallory leaned over and put his head in his hands. In his extreme 'bout of grief, he unknowingly had given Rosalyn just enough information about his secret endeavors to cause her to become suspicious. Now quite concerned for her new love, she reached over and put her hand under Mallory's chin and raised it.

"Shawn. Please, tell me. Whatever it is, no matter how bad, we will get through it together, ok?" She reassured. After wiping a stray tear from his eye, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Shawn attempted to smile, but in his current state could not bring himself to do so.

"Roz, it's a very long and complicated story." Mallory said.

"That's ok, just start at the beginning and tell me all about it."

Mallory sat back on the sofa, and bowed his head once again as he folded his hands in his lap.

"Roz, I…I'm so ashamed of myself…I can't believe I let this happen to me."

Rosalyn took Mallory's hand in her own and began to stroke it reassuringly.

"We're human and we all make mistakes. It's all a part of the journey. Whatever you have done, it can be fixed."

"Thank you Roz. You don't know how much I appreciate you being here."

"Now take a deep breath, relax and tell me what's going on."

Mallory raised his head, took a deep breath and began to tell his story.

"It all started several months ago, when I was contacted by Jake Evans. At that time, I was fed up with all of the corruption and politics that had permeated our government. I wanted to contribute in some way to a cause that would try to effect change. Knowing this, Evans introduced me to a new group he had just formed. The whole purpose of this group was to determine a means to affect change in the government. Or, at least that's what I was told at the time."

"Ok, so you joined a group of people who wanted to promote change in government? So far so good. Sounds like you were trying to do your civic duty." She said in a supportive way.

"Yea, civic duty, boy was I ever misled. At the time, I thought I had become a member of a group who wanted to petition the government to make change. You know, rallies, picketing, and such. However, as time went on, the focus of the group changed."

"What do you mean by changed?" She asked curiously.

"It changed. No longer was it about rallies, picketing and peaceful protesting. After a while, the members of this group began to speak of plans of taking over the government."

"Wow, Shawn, that sounds treasonous."

"I know…All too well. Ok where was I. Oh yeah. It was at that point, a new member arrived and took over the group."

"A new member?"

"Yes, and it was none other than my old instructor at Voyager Academy…Drake himself."

"Drake? I thought he was dead." She stated in disbelief.

"No, he's very much alive. He came in and told the group he had a means by which we could accomplish all that we wanted. But, to do so, we would have to make him the leader."

"So then what happened?"

"Evans decided to step down as the leader and let him take over. It was at that point, things took a turn for the worse. Once he was leader, he informed us of his plan."

Rosalyn, sat there silent and totally engrossed in Mallory's every word.

"And what was that?"

"Well, first he wanted us to break into Voyager Technical and steal the ACS100. That was the first part of his plan. In order for this heist to be pulled off, they needed me to hack into the Voyager Computer Network, disable the alarms and security cameras."

"Oh my God, Mallory, you were involved in the theft of the ACS100?"

"Yes, Roz. I was and I'm so ashamed of what I did."

"What happened next?"

"Once we acquired the ACS100, the next phase of the plan required me to get a copy of the current list of field personnel and their current location. Their next operation would involve using the ACS100 and kidnapping each and every person on that list. In order for Drake's plan to succeed, he had to undermine the foundations of the government. The first of these would be Mission Control."

"Shawn, just out of curiosity, what is the name of this group?" Rosalyn asked.

"They call themselves Paradox." Mallory replied.

"Paradox! I should have known. The Chancellor was right all along."

Mallory raised his head. "What?" He asked, rather puzzled by her response.

"Never mind about that. Have you told anyone else about this?"

"I have been giving the Director information, little by little in his status reports. That's what he called me to his office about. He wanted me to investigate and determine how the Voyager Computer Network was infiltrated."

"Now I know why you were so despondent when you came out of his office that day…You were virtually being asked to rat on yourself." Rosalyn said softly.

"Yea, Roz. After the meeting, I was in a panic. I didn't know what I was going to do." Mallory confessed. "I finally came up with the idea to fake the investigation and feed the director the information he was looking for in small, yet continuous chunks."

"That's pretty much it. You are the only person who knows the real truth, the whole story. Roz, what am I going to do? If I go and inform the powers that be of what is going on, they will kill me just as they did Evans."

Rosalyn leaned back against the sofa and sat there for a while, silent, as she pondered his current predicament. After a few moments, she exclaimed, "I've got it!"

Mallory's eyes perked up. "What?" He asked.

"I know what we need to do. Shawn, you don't need to tell the powers that be about this… There's only one person who needs to know this information. We both know who it is. And by telling him what you've told me, you'll give him the information he needs to catch this group and put them out of business."

"Who is this person, Roz?"

"At the briefing today, he along with his young partner and two other Voyagers were assigned by the Chancellor to take the lead in the investigation."

"Bogg? How can he help me?" Mallory asked.

"Shawn, at this moment, you need some way to atone for your past deeds. By telling Bogg, you will begin your journey."

"But what if he tells the Director or the Chancellor." Mallory asked with a note of fear in his voice.

"Shawn you were obviously misled by this group of thugs. They coerced you into performing these acts, by sugar coating them as being a way to bring about change. I believe once you explain it to him, he will understand." She reassured.

"I hope you are right. Otherwise, it will be the end for me." He replied grimly. "I could spend the rest of my life in a four by six room with iron doors."

"Don't worry. Once I get to work this morning, I'll contact him and set up a meeting between the three of us later today. Once we're together, you can tell him what you have told me and he should have enough to put a stop to this Paradox once and for all."

"How are you going to get in touch with him without Paradox finding out?" He asked. "Drake has contacts inside Voyager Technical. He told me so himself."

"Leave it to me. I will find a way. I didn't get the administrative assistant's job, based on my looks alone. Trust me."

"Ok, if you say so."

Rosalyn stood up and slowly walked to the door. "You're sure you are ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Really! Now go, before you are late." He said as he opened the door for her. "Thanks for the shoulder."

"You're quite welcome. See you later then."

Mallory slowly closed the door, went over and crashed on the sofa. He sat there for a while, staring at the ceiling as he tried to come to grips with the murder of his long-time friend. Suddenly, he began to speak. "Jake Evans, when all is said and done, the person who did this to you will pay…in the same way you paid…with their life. You can bet on it." With this said, he quickly jumped to his feet, put on his coat and ran out the door.