Back at their hotel, Woof and Ecurb spent the evening relaxing, if you could call it that, in a holosuite. They had chosen a Klingon combat programme as after the afternoon's events they thought they needed to hone up their skills. Afterwards a goblet or two of Bloodwine was called for in the hotel bar. Deciding they had had their fill of Bloodwine, the two Starfleet officers wearily made their way up to their rooms to retire for the night.
After what seemed like hours of restful sleep, Woof was woken by a commotion in the room next to his. Forgetting it was Ecurb's room for a moment, Woof put his head back down on the pillow. He had barely closed his eyes again when he remembered, and threw back the bedclothes to go and investigate .As he stood up he was about to put on the bedside light when he saw two shadowy figures in the darkness. "Who's there?" he demanded. As he put the light on, he saw a phaser weapon being pointed at him. "Who in the name of….." he began, but was unable to finish as a stun blast from the weapon hit him and sent him falling back on the bed. He awoke to find a female figure kneeling on the bed beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked. He recognised the voice ,it belonged to Metaxa. Woof sat up ,but feeling himself dizzy, partly from the stun blast, and partly from the effect of Bloodwine, he remained on the bed. He looked round as he heard a male voice in the doorway. "Ecurb's fine, but they roughed him up a little. I've called for the hotel doctor" It was Duxeal who had spoken. He kneeled beside the bed and asked "How are you, old friend?" Woof's reply was less than friendly but not aimed at Duxeal.
"They dare lay their hands on a Starfleet officer" he began, his voice filled with rage, " The cowardly dogs will find themselves on the end of my Bat'leth" Metaxa put a hand on Woof's shoulder and said, "I think its best left to us." Woof looked at her in surprise and replied "Us? What do you mean by us?"
Metaxa and Duxeal looked at each other and after a moment of silence, Duxeal spoke " We didn't exactly leave Starfleet" he began "We were recruited by Section 31." Woof stared at the two of them in disbelief.
Getting to his feet, and taking a few paces forward, Woof turned round to Duxeal and Metaxa. After a short pause Woof said "So you are not on holiday after all. You are here on an assignment, and to cap it all, Ecurb and I are part of it" Metaxa got up from the bed and faced her former crewmate. "Yes" she replied ,with a sheepish look on her face, "But you inadvertently got caught up in events,"
Duxeal stood up beside his wife ,and because he thought Woof was due an explanation, continued the conversation. "We have reason to believe that an organisation called The Orion Syndicate have plans to sabotage Starfleet from inside. Ecurb did not catch that virus by accident, he was infected on purpose."
" Ecurb!" exclaimed Woof ,having momentarily forgotten about his friend, "I have to go and see how he is."
"Relax ,Woof" said Duxeal, "The doctor is with him now"
Woof was in a rage now. "The insolent dogs" he went on, "How dare they think they can attack the Federation and win." By now he was pacing the floor with both fists clenched in anger. " Well they chose the wrong people to mess with. If there is one ship in the Federation designed to kick ass, it's the Avenger!"
"No arguments from me there , Woof" replied Duxeal, fondly remembering his days as captain of the Avenger.
Suddenly Woof's attention was drawn to the bedside table. "The Horgon! It's gone! They've stolen it" he exclaimed.
"Oh no" said Metaxa ,a hint of disappointment in her voice, "that was our only lead to the Syndicate"
"How could a wooden idol be a lead?" asked Woof.
Before Metaxa could answer, Duxeal cut in "It contained microfilm detailing the Syndicate's plans. We had the stall under surveillance. The stallholder is a member of the Orion Syndicate and he was waiting to pass the idol on to his contact."
"Until I came along and persuaded him to part with it" said Woof, finishing Duxeal's words.
Duxeal just nodded, disappointment etched on his face, but
this was one Starfleet officer with steely determination.
After taking their leave of Woof, and while walking along the corridor towards reception, Duxeal suggested to Metaxa about checking the security cameras in the hope of identifying the intruders. "How are you going to get them to co-operate?" she asked her husband. "I'll show them my credentials" he replied.
"Won't you get arrested for that?" added Metaxa with a frown.
Duxeal stopped in his tracks, threw his head back in laughter, and said "Of all the Vulcans in all the universe, I marry one with an unconscious sense of humour" Metaxa gave him a smile as the two made their way to reception.
The reception clerk was less than helpful, despite Duxeal identifying himself as a law enforcement officer. He quoted the hotel regulations, chapter and verse, saying the security tapes were the property of the hotel. Duxeal, being a Cardassian, and not noted for their patience, leaned on the reception desk and asked the clerk "Can you count to ten?"
The clerk with an air of nonchalance replied "Of course I can count to ten"
Duxeal then grabbed the clerk by his uniform with one hand, brought his fist up to his face and remarked "Want to try counting without any teeth" The clerk, gasped and spluttered, and realised helping the Cardassian was the better option.
Looking through the security footage ,Metaxa and Duxeal recognised one of the intruders. Looking at each other, then nodding and speaking in unison "Isla Deluxe" they said.
They knew her as a nasty piece of work, a woman not to be trusted. It was rumoured that she had stabbed people in the back over trivial matters. Section 31 had a file on her and she was wanted for crimes all over the galaxy.
Catching her would not be easy, but Metaxa and Duxeal were never ones to shirk a challenge. Posing as tourists, the pair roamed the streets, searching clubs and bars, where they knew she might be, until they stumbled upon a seedy back street bar called McCools. Upon entering they could see the bar was popular with a host of undesirables. Perched on a barstool was the object of their search, Isla Deluxe.
Walking past her intended victim, Metaxa made her way as if she was going to the ladies toilet. Duxeal causally strolled up to the bar alongside Deluxe and said " I'd like a word with you, outside"
"Oh yeah! And who are you exactly?" replied Deluxe, with a sneer on her face.
"I'm your worst nightmare!" replied Duxeal with aggression in his voice.
Isla Deluxe said nothing, but slid off the barstool, reached into her back pocket and produced a knife. She proceeded to wave the blade in front of Duxeal, but as he had drawn her attention, she did not notice Metaxa stealing up behind her. Metaxa landed a karate chop to Deluxe's arm, making her drop the knife. Deluxe, now in a rage, made a lunge at Metaxa, but was met with a high kick which caught her square on the jaw, knocking her back onto a table full of glasses. The impact caused the table to topple over, sending glasses rolling about the floor.
"Hey! Hey! What's going on here? Who's going to pay for the damage?" asked the barman.
Metaxa bent down and reached into Isla Deluxe's pocket. She produced four pieces of gold-pressed latinum and offered them to the barman as compensation. He gratefully accepted them. By this time the bar had gone deathly quiet. Duxeal broke the silence as he informed the rest of the customers "Its okay, we're from garbage disposal. We're here to take out the trash!"
Grabbing an arm each, Duxeal and Metaxa dragged the unconscious Isla Deluxe out on to the street.
Returning to the bar, Duxeal picked up a large pitcher of ice cold water from the bar counter, gave the barman a nod, and went back out to the street. Tipping the pitcher upside down, he poured the contents all over their unconscious victim. She sat up with a start and gave her attackers a startled look.
"Not so brave now are you, Isla," said Metaxa, as she and Duxeal hauled her to her feet. "How do you like being attacked from behind?" she continued, as she and Duxeal escorted her up an alleyway.
Pinning her against a wall by her shoulders, Duxeal demanded to know all she knew about the Orion Syndicate's plans. Isla Deluxe, however was not forthcoming. She maintained she knew nothing about the Syndicate. Metaxa, putting on a pair of leather gloves, gently moved Duxeal aside.
"This needs a woman's touch" she said calmly before unleashing a punch to the midriff of Isla Deluxe, forcing her to double up in pain and slide down the wall to the ground. Crouching down beside her, Metaxa's voice changed to a growl. " We need answers, bitch!" she said with aggression.
Isla slowly got to her feet, still holding her stomach. "I've no idea what you're talking about" she gasped, as a second punch found its target again and sent Isla back to the ground.
Crouching over Isla again, Metaxa's voice deepened as she said, "Wrong answer! You 're going to tell us what we want to know if we have to stay here all night"
Metaxa and Duxeal dragged Isla to her feet and sat her on a beer barrel. She decided that she could not take the punishment that Metaxa was handing out. She provided them with all the information they needed. Looking around the alleyway, Duxeal found some rope and bound Isla hand and foot.
"What are we going to do with her?" asked Duxeal.
"We could hand her over to the local police," answered Metaxa, "There must be a reward out for her" she continued.
"For a Vulcan, you think like a Ferengi," said Duxeal, smiling "Anyway, we're undercover operatives for Starfleet, not bounty hunters. We can't claim any reward," he reminded her.
Metaxa, looking at Duxeal with a twinkle in her eye, replied "Not if we hand her over as private citizens, which is what we are supposed to be. We could start up a private pension fund"
Duxeal laughed and said, "I like your style, Metaxa. That works for me" He threw their captive over his shoulder, though she tried in vain to struggle, and the pair made their way to the local police station.