Chapter Fourteen

The stools proved to be only a temporary safe haven once the fight spread from Lee and the 'bear' to almost every man in the bar. Those who weren't fighting were running for the exit with their dates.

When a man was thrown over a table and crashed into the stools, Jessica cried out in surprise more than pain, though having your knee pushed against the metal bar that propped up the leather cushion was not without its considerable discomfort.

She crawled past the stools towards the edge of the counter, spotting the bartender on the phone, frantically calling security. She decided where he was seemed the safest place to be.

He stared down at her with an accusatory glare.

"What? I tried to stop it!" She insisted defensively. Jessica risked a peek over the counter, ducking when a glass came hurtling towards her.

The 'bear' had Lee in what looked to be a very painful hold from behind. She grabbed the glass that had been thrown her way and put all her weight into sending it at the large man's head. It hit his ear, surprising him for the second Lee needed to break free.

Then Jessica spotted the blond man with the black suitcase again and she suddenly knew why he was there.

Roslin.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. He was here to assassinate the President. At Zarek's order.

Two men crashed into his table, sending the suitcase flying. It landed with a thud, its contents spilling out.

"He's got a gun!" She screamed when she saw the unmistakable black barrel sticking out between a folder and the carpet.

Then out of nowhere, Jessica saw Kara making a beeline for the man. She hadn't even known that Kara had been around. Jessica almost called in greeting but when Kara tackled the man, after briefly kicking a handy bottle/weapon towards Lee, she decided it could wait until later.

"You looking for this?" Lee shouted while straddling the bear of a man and brought the bottle down on his head with an audible crack that made Jessica flinch and to be honest, turned her on a little. However, she did plan to try and act appropriately annoyed that he'd ignored her pleas to back down.

Violent Lee was one frustrating, yet incredibly hot bastard.

After the fight was over and Jessica had informed Lee of Blondie's nefarious purpose, Kara and Lee decided to have some fun wrangling a confession out of him, leaving Jessica to entertain herself for the rest of the day.

It wouldn't be enough that Jessica 'knew' the man was there to kill Roslin. To arrest him and throw him in the brig they needed solid proof. Though Jessica's 'knowing' did give them enough suspicion to question him. She was confident that Lee and Kara would have no trouble getting the man to spill his guts, especially if Lee went all crazy and violent again. A soft spoken man like Lee was; Blondie was in for a hell of surprise, Jessica thought with a devilish giggle.

"I didn't know a water fountain could be so amusing," Zarek said from behind her.

"Oh Lords. Where's a Cylon when you need one?" Jessica groaned turning around to face him and then back to the fountain.

"I come in peace, Ms Talbot. Can I call you Jessica?"

"You could call me 'Goodbye,'" Jessica shot back.

He smiled and ignored her attitude, taking a seat on the bench next to her. "I've just come to ask your advice."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, if anyone could help me out with this election, you can," Zarek said.

Jessica stared at him and then narrowed her eyes. "I imagine killing off the President would pretty much help you skip right over the vice presidency and slide you right into the presidency."

Zarek's eyes widened but he quickly covered his surprise behind that smarmy smile. "I'm hurt that you would think I would stoop so low."

"Yeah well, leopards and spots and all that," Jessica sneered.

"I assure you, I will let the people win this election for me. Besides, killing off Roslin wouldn't do any good. I'd still have to eliminate Wallace Grey."

Jessica stared at him blankly then nodded with sudden understanding. "He's the guy she picked to run against you?"

"Indeed," Zarek nodded.

"Well, you don't have to be a seer to guess who I'm gonna vote for but I'll give you a hint, Zarek, it ain't you."

"I just want what's best for the rest of humanity. Why can't you see that?" He asked shaking his head.

"Because you're only interested in what's best for you. Everybody knows it," Jessica hissed.

"Well the early polls would prove you wrong, Ms Talbot."

She shook her head, "Isn't there an assassin or someone you have to meet?" Then she snapped her fingers dramatically. "Oh that's right, he's busy being interrogated by Captain Adama and Lieutenant Thrace." She felt a thrilled burst of satisfaction when he clenched his jaw, trying to keep his features neutral.

"I'm surprised that you have all this time to entertain all these conspiracy theories with all the Cylon hunting you're supposed to be doing. But I'd still like you to indulge me. Tell me, Oh Great Seer, truthfully, do you really think Wallace Grey is gonna win this election?"

Jessica rolled her eyes but did as he asked suddenly smiling as the answer came to her. "Nope." Then unable to stop herself, she burst out laughing. She knew that for some reason, Wallace Grey was not gonna win the election but she also discovered that Zarek would not be winning either. She kept that last bit of information to herself as she watched him walk away, strolling confidently across the lawn.

Blondie was dead. He'd been left alone, tied to his chair, in the interrogation room after Lee and Kara had drilled him for information. Somehow, somebody got to him and slashed his wrists, making it look like a suicide.

"I'm telling you, it was murder," Jessica insisted as she sat with Lee, Kara and President Roslin, listening to more election coverage.

"Zarek says he was with you during the time the man was killed," Laura explained.

"Excuse me?" Lee asked with undeniably jealous pique before he could catch himself.

Jessica gave him a small, amused smile but then frowned, remembering how she'd been forced to endure Zarek's company all so he could have an alibi. "That jackass,"

Kara winced as she listened to different people go on about the virtues of Tom Zarek and all the good he could do for the colonies. She turned to Jessica "Not to be a naysayer, but are you sure that bastard's not gonna win this thing?"

"I'm telling you. Zarek isn't gonna touch the vice presidency. But if you'll pardon my saying, Madame President, neither is your guy."

The three of them stared at her. "They're the only two running and something tells me, Zarek isn't just gonna throw in the towel," Lee pointed out. "He's got a following that's growing by the minute. He's charismatic. Don't underestimate him. He knows how to work the people, knows what buttons to push."

"Right, so did the Cylons when they nuked us," Kara grumbled.

Jessica noticed that President Roslin was no longer paying attention to their conversation. Her focus was back on the radio, where Gauis Baltar was talking to the press, giving an impassioned speech in Laura's favor. He praised her leadership so far and assured the reporters that he was confident that she would lead them well into the future. She most definitely had his vote. A boisterous round of applause followed is speech.

"Well, nice to know Doc Batty is doing some thinking with his upstairs brain for once," Jessica joked but her smile faded when she was privy to Laura's train of thought.

"Rest assured, Tom Zarek is not gonna win this election. Now if you all will excuse me, I have a rather unpleasant duty to perform," Laura stood up and Jessica stared open mouthed, knowing where she was going but still unable to believe the woman could possibly be serious.

"Uh, Madame President, Madame President, wait!" Jessica called out following her. "I really don't think what you're about to do is a good idea. Really! It's bad, I mean, like bad, a very bad idea!"

Laura smiled at her as she continued her brisk pace down the corridor. "Consider it the lesser of two evils. That'll be all, Ms Talbot," she added gently but firmly.

"But Mad-" Jessica protested, but Laura had already turned the corner going off in search of Gaius Baltar.

Jessica walked back dejectedly to Lee and Kara who stared back at her in confusion.

"What was all that?" Lee asked.

"Well, we're about to get a new candidate," Jessica explained wincing.

"Who?" He asked.

She dropped back into her seat with wearily. "Well, let me put it this way. Choosing between Zarek and this guy is like asking if you'd rather be shot in the head or in the ass."