Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Enterprise characters, and I'm not making any money from this story.

Warning: This is another dark story. Contains implications of sexual assault.

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Chapter 7: And Justice for All (finally!)

First Administer Giro Rodrigo settled himself comfortably on the parlor sofa and sighed with satisfaction. Everything was just about perfect. Their little plan had gone off without a hitch. Rodrigo was feeling quite proud of Kamina. She had been quite competent about the whole thing, bringing those two men home so quickly, adding the drugs to their drinks (just enough, they didn't want two unconscious off-worlders on their hands), and even slipping the scarf into the blond one's pocket. She hadn't even flinched when Rodrigo had handed her the scarf and said it was over.

Kamina was a vast improvement over Aliana, of course. No more nagging about coming straight home from work, no more complaining that he didn't spend enough evenings with her. He was so relieved to be rid of that woman! She had brought it on herself, really, with all of her whining and carrying on. He shuddered slightly and tried to push those unpleasant thoughts from his mind.

Kamina entered the room from the kitchen, smiling, carrying a glass of wine in each hand. She handed one glass to Rodrigo as she sank down beside him. He took a sip thoughtfully. Everything was just about perfect, except for one small detail. The two off-worlders they had gotten convicted of the crime had been stolen away by their wretched captain. Rodrigo had managed to use that fact to his advantage, however. The very next day he had been before the council, arguing successfully that their space defenses needed vast improvements. The council had allocated several million credits for that project, and Rodrigo estimated he could easily skim off at least a third for himself without anyone being the wiser.

A knock at the door broke Rodrigo's musings. He frowned. Who would be calling so late in the evening? Didn't they know this was his leisure time? He practiced his lecture as he crossed to the door.

Rodrigo opened the door to find Investigator Dimoc and his flunky Gordo standing outside. His frown deepened. Why couldn't the police handle routine matters during business hours? Better yet, they could contact someone in his office. He was much too busy for this.

"I hope you have good news for me, Dimoc," he said crossly.

"Not exactly, sir. May we come in?"

"I'm busy at the moment. You can come by my office in the morning." He started to close the door, but it was blocked by Dimoc's foot.

"I think we'll handle this now."

Rodrigo suddenly found a handcuff attached to his wrist. Dimoc pulled him the rest of the way out of the door and attached the cuff to the other wrist.

"What is going on here?!" Rodrigo demanded angrily.

"Administer Giro Rodrigo, you are under arrest for the murder of Aliana Rodrigo."

"Release me this instant!" Rodrigo cried as Dimoc began towing him toward the waiting police vehicle. "I'll have your badge for this!"

Gordo entered the house and returned after a moment with a handcuffed, struggling Kamina.

"This is all your fault!!" she screamed at Rodrigo.

"Kamina, darling, don't say anything!"

"He did it!! It was all his idea!!" Kamina continued as Gordo put her in the car. By this time neighbors up and down the block were standing in their doorways and front yards watching the spectacle.

Dimoc grinned to himself as he closed the door to his car. Some days he found his job very rewarding.

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At 0200, Malcolm was sitting at his desk trying unsuccessfully to read his book. He had just realized that he had read the same sentence four times and still didn't know what it said, when the doorchime rang.

"Come," he said without looking up. He heard the door open and when he finally lifted his head Commander Tucker was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Commander!" he exclaimed, dropping his book on the desk and springing to his feet.

"Hey, Malcolm," Trip said quietly. His eyes flicked nervously around the room, but he made no attempt to enter. Malcolm noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with red.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Uh, yeah, ok." Trip finally stepped into the room and stopped inside the door. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking uncomfortable.

"Commander? Is there something you wanted?"

"Yeah, Malcolm. I think we-uh-we need to talk."

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That's the end! So what did you think? Please review!

I promise I'll make my next story a little less dark and a little more fun, ok?