Ch. 32

Admiral Brislin thumped his hand down on his desk. It had been two hours since he'd received any messages of any kind, and now, at the end of the day, most people would be going home for the weekend. He'd already called the engineers in charge of the comm. system and been assured they were working on a system wide problem. What he couldn't tell them and what they didn't understand was that he'd been expecting to see the latest report from security concerning incidents between Starfleet ships and non-regulated vessels. It was a long and tedious report that most of the admiralty barely skimmed before deleting, but to him it would contain valuable information. Information that could invariably alert him to the impending demise of his career or assure him of his invulnerability.

It had been twelve days since Chakotay had walked away from him at Mercado's house. Twelve days and Brislin hadn't heard a word about Milo Cyronius or Kathryn Janeway. He hadn't seen any reports of unauthorized missions or hijacked ships. Mercado had been taken into custody, but he hadn't said a word to anyone about anything. He'd immediately lawyered up and taken his right to remain silent to heart. Brislin wasn't even sure Mercado knew about his connection in the whole matter anyway. The only report of any interest that had crossed his desk concerning the topic foremost on his mind had been a query from the Voyager refit crew. They had been informed the entire senior staff of Voyager had taken leave and they wanted to know who to forward their current progress reports to.

Admiral Patterson had stepped up, accepting all Voyager reports for the foreseeable future. That had made Brislin suspicious since he knew perfectly well the crew was up to something involving the recovery of Janeway, but Patterson had no personal connection whatsoever to Voyager or its crew that Brislin could find. He'd taught Janeway and half of her crew in classes at the academy over the years, but that went for more than half of Starfleet. If that were a lasting connection, Brislin himself would be in contact with hundreds of students that he'd trained in security classes, and that just wasn't the case.

To be safe though, Brislin had made the effort to run into Patterson, to try and feel the man out. After all he had the perfect excuse, Chakotay and several of his crew had been implicated and involved with the incident at Mercado's house. Brislin had used that as his reason for dropping by Patterson's office, but as Mercado had so far refused to talk about the incident, there had been no charges filed yet against the Voyager crew. Patterson had shrugged it off, stating that was only one of the reasons the senior staff had been granted their leave request. Post traumatic stress and all after losing their former captain. He'd implicated to Brislin that if any charges were brought against them, they'd be handled in-house upon their return from leave. Brislin knew the attack on Mercado hadn't had anything to do with post traumatic stress, but Patterson had been believable and Brislin knew a thing or two about lying. He decided that Patterson was just another fan of the Voyager crew. He probably picked up their work load so he could tour the ship whenever he wanted.

The conversation with Patterson hadn't changed anything for Brislin though. He knew that Chakotay, Paris, even that Borg woman were up to something. He was just surprised he hadn't heard about it yet. And he would have. He hadn't changed his routine at all. He'd continued to come into the office for his normal hours, attend his regular meetings, read over and approve reports and requests, and generally act as any innocent man would. Until the evidence walked through his office door, he planned to continue on as he always had. He saw no reason not to. Aside from Milo, the only other person that knew about his involvement was involved too. He and his future son-in-law had personally disposed of the crew that had kidnapped Janeway only hours after she'd been taken off planet. So unless, Chakotay actually caught up with Milo, which the odds of that seemed to be decreasing with every day that passed, Brislin felt somewhat secure in the knowledge that he may be able to retire with honors after all.

But in order to calm his gnawing fears, he needed that report. He mashed a button to activate his console and received only a blank screen. Now he couldn't even call and harass the engineers about the problem. Using his internal comm. system he buzzed the lieutenant sitting outside his office and felt relief that at least that call went through.

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you have that report I asked for?"

"No, sir. They haven't sent it up," the aide said in a bored voice. "Would you like me to go down personally and pick it up?"

"No. I'll go. I want to have a word with that captain down there about timeliness. There're more important things than running off to start your weekend."

"Aye, sir."

Brislin shut off the line, ignoring the resigned tone of his aide. He was sure the man himself had been trying to get out of the office as well. Heading out of his office and towards the lift, Brislin noted that his aide's work station was indeed already closed down. "In a hurry to go somewhere, Lieutenant?"

"Of course not, sir. Would you like me to wait for you to return?"

Brislin considered it, with the comm. system down, he certainly wasn't going to miss any calls, and he wasn't expecting anyone. He nodded tersely. "Fine. Go home. I will see you bright and early on Monday morning."

"Aye, sir."

Brislin shook his head as he entered the lift. The lieutenants he got assigned passed through his office every couple of months, and they were always in a hurry to be on to the next thing. He barely got one trained before the next one showed up as a replacement. He envied those admirals that kept the same office staff year after year, and wondered who they bribed at assignments in order to do so. It never occurred to him that his aides were requesting transfers away from him.

The trip down to the security office and back took no time at all. Captain Martov had just had the shift turned over to him and wasn't the one responsible for the report being late. That didn't stop Brislin from giving him a piece of his mind anyway, but his heart wasn't really in it. All he cared about was that he now had the report in hand, and he'd be able to see if Chakotay had managed to get himself noticed yet. Brislin used the time in the lift to open and scan through the report. He'd read it in its entirety to make sure he didn't miss anything, but he felt relief that looking over it he didn't see any mentions of Milo or Chakotay. Breathing a little easier, he walked through his office door, and stopped in his tracks.

Someone was sitting behind his desk. The plush, high backed chair was turned away from him concealing the occupant, but it rocked backwards slightly as though someone had just taken a seat in it. Brislin was shocked. "I don't know who you think you are to come in here unannounced…"

The chair spun around allowing him an unobstructed view of the person sitting in it. "Kathryn Janeway," she announced succinctly. "I believe we've met."

Brislin stared, finding himself at a loss for words. And then all the pieces began to fall into place in his mind. The lack of reports. The communication black out. As head of security, he'd put those things into effect many times against other people, he should've recognized it for what it was, but he never thought it would happen to him.

"I hope you don't mind," Janeway said, taking a sip from a steaming mug she held in one of her hands, "but I helped myself to some coffee. You do know how much I enjoy it, don't you?" At his continued blank expression, she leaned back in the chair. "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," she paused, "but then, I suppose you already know that, too."

The tone of her voice had started out playful, but it had unmistakably deepened until now it had a hard edge to it. Brislin sighed, "I don't suppose it would do any good for me to say that I don't know what you're talking about."

The blue of her eyes crystallized at his flippant remark, and it occurred to him belatedly that he had underestimated her from the very beginning.

"Tell me why." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Brislin raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"I want to hear your version."

He sighed and moved forward, she immediately put her free hand on the phaser holstered at her hip. Ignoring her reaction, he lowered himself wearily into the chair across from her. "It was you or my daughter. I chose her."

Kathryn's nostrils flared. "And the only reason she was in danger to begin with was because of you."

He nodded.

"Why didn't you bring it to Starfleet?" she asked, shaking her head. "They could have protected her."

"You have no idea how high this reaches-"

"The Federation Council?" she supplied, cutting him off, surprising him. "Oh yes, I know all about Mister Mercado. He's been talking to us all week."

"What?"

"He's been quite cooperative in exchange for leniency." The corner of her mouth quirked slightly. "You didn't think we would actually let you get to him, did you?"

He floundered in his response. "I don't understand. You couldn't have gotten back to this system-"

"Admiral Patterson has kept me well informed of recent events." She paused. "He also thought, that perhaps, given the chance, you might turn yourself in. You are a Starfleet admiral, after all." Her facial expression showed her displeasure at the notion. "Unfortunately, you continued to show your true colors. Content to sit and wait. See how the chips would fall." She put the coffee cup down on the desk and leaned forward. "Just how did you see this playing out? Early retirement? No one ever the wiser to your part in all this?"

"The only thing I was ever concerned about," he tried, "was my daughter's safety."

"So. Was. I." She bit the words out so distinctly he actually flinched. Kathryn took a deep breath in an attempt to hold on to her temper. "Did it ever occur to you what kind of life you would have sentenced my daughter to? She is six years old, and you allowed her to be sold into slavery."

"That was never my intent."

"Bullshit. You knew exactly what you were doing. You knew they would need a way to coerce me to cooperate."

He remained silent in the face of her accusations.

She shook her head. "How many lives, Admiral? How many lives have you endangered just to cover up your secrets? You knew about Milo's operations…and you did nothing. You are the head of Starfleet Security. You could have dismantled his entire operation. And yet you did nothing. Innocent children sold into the worst kind of slavery, and you allowed it to happen. You disgust me."

"I'm…sorry."

Kathryn scoffed at his apology. "That means nothing to me. You're just sorry you got caught." A light knock on the door made Kathryn look up. She jerked her chin for the person to come in. "Admiral, I believe you've met my husband, Captain Chakotay."

Chakotay walked past where the Admiral was sitting and parked his hip on the corner of the desk. "Kathryn wanted to be the one to confront you, but I was more interested in your commander. It seems you two have been working together in more than just security. Where is Commander Hughes, Admiral?"

"Hughes?" Brislin asked apathetically.

"Commander. Hughes," Chakotay said distinctly. "The one you put in charge of Kathryn's investigation."

"The same commander that just happened to stop by my office the day I was abducted," Kathryn interjected. "I remembered him when Chakotay mentioned his name to me on our way back here, and since then we've done some digging. Hughes came by to deliver a report about security arrangements at the conference I was going to. Arrangements that I had already been briefed on earlier that morning. I didn't think anything of it at the time, a simple miscommunication, but that's how you knew I was going home that afternoon. Did you steal my speech notes as well?"

"No," Brislin said, sounding very resigned, "but we knew you would be taking your daughter to your mother's house. We were going to intercept you there. When you went to your home instead, we took advantage of the opportunity."

"The opportunity?" Kathryn was furious. She didn't even want to think about what they'd had in mind to do to her mother. Then again, knowing her mother, none of this may have happened had she been involved. The thugs that had dared to lay a hand on Madelyn would have been vaporized on the spot. "Just how long had you been watching me?"

"Long enough." Brislin picked at some lint on his pants. "We had several contingencies planned."

"Contingencies?" Chakotay snarled. His patience was gone. If he, or Kathryn for that matter, stayed in the same vicinity as the Admiral for much longer, they really would end up in trouble. He repeated his question from earlier. "Where is Commander Hughes, Admiral?"

"He's gone. He and my daughter took a vacation together. I imagine they've already eloped by now," he said, his voice only slightly bitter. "He'll take care of her." He looked straight at Janeway. "I told you, her safety is all I was ever after."

Janeway tapped her comm. badge harder than necessary. "Janeway to Tuvok. Brislin is ready to be taken into custody."

"Aye, Admiral." There was an audible beep of a console over the open comm. line, and Brislin disappeared in a shimmer of blue light.

Chakotay stared at the empty space the Admiral had occupied for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at Kathryn. She sat rigidly in the chair, staring at nothing, her hands clenched tightly on the armrests of the chair. The air in the room practically sparked with the energy radiating from her. He would wait for her to vent her anger first. His fury was no less than hers, but at the moment his was less volatile. It would keep until he could step into a boxing ring. But he knew her well, and hers would need to be addressed very soon.

He didn't have to wait long. He heard the heels of her boots stomp the floor as she pushed the chair away from the desk with more force than necessary, and she was on her feet, pacing. Her hands were balled into white knuckled fists. When her clipped steps brought her up short, facing the wall, she spun on the balls of her feet, prepared to pace to the other wall. She caught him watching her.

"What?" she snapped.

Chakotay raised his eyebrows at her in silent question.

"Don't give me that look." She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "I'm not ready to be calm, yet."

"All right," he agreed easily. "What do you want to do? Join up with Powell?" At her confused look he continued. "I got a message from him just before we got here. He and the witch have teamed up. They're going after the list of buyers involved that aren't in Starfleet or here on Earth."

For a moment, Chakotay feared he'd miscalculated. Kathryn had a look in her eye that meant she was seriously considering his proposal. Not that he could blame her really. It would be very easy to pick up that cause and go with their two strange new friends, but vigilante justice wasn't a mantle he was in a hurry to pick up again. And except for that incident with Ransom and the Equinox, it wasn't really in Kathryn's nature either.

He was relieved when the hard glint left her eyes and she shook her head. "No, Chakotay. As much as I'd like to….as much as I may enjoy it…no." She dropped her arms from across her chest, releasing the last of her frustrated energy. "And truth be told, I probably wouldn't enjoy it. Not really."

"No, you wouldn't," he agreed quietly, thinking of Sveta and the haunted looked that had returned to her eyes. He knew his old friend would eventually find her peace again, but for now he needed to help Kathryn find hers. Moving closer to his wife, he leaned against the wall next to her. "The task they've set for themselves won't be easy."

"They might do some good, though," she said, quietly. "If they find any of the…children."

"That's who you're really worried about, isn't it?" Chakotay asked even though he'd already known the answer. Survivor's guilt was something Kathryn was very good at it, and he'd been waiting for her to get around to it.

Kathryn nodded. "I only saw three of them, Chakotay, and even those three I couldn't help. I couldn't protect them."

"You protected Maddie."

"Not really," she muttered.

"Hey." He stepped in front of her now so he could be face to face with her. "Cut it out, Kathryn. Madelyn is safe because you kept her that way. You made decisions that kept her from being harmed. You. No one else. Those other kids weren't as lucky, but we're doing everything that we can now to help them. Everything that we can do to keep it from happening again." She still looked doubtful so he continued. "Now if you are dead set on beating someone up over this…I happen to know where Patterson has a certain one-of-a-kind 'art' dealer locked up."

Kathryn knew what he was doing and managed a wry grin. "Too easy."

"Hmmm…" Chakotay pursed his lips. "What about an alien woman with blue hair?"

Kathryn frowned. "I…don't…know…" She hedged not wanting Chakotay to know she didn't think she actually could take Sheila in a fight.

"I'll let you take Maddie with you," he offered. "I hear she's quite a shin kicker."

Kathryn's smile brightened. "Throw in a phaser rifle and you've got a date."

He smiled broadly, offering her his arm.

"Let's forget the brig," she said, looping her arm through his. "Take me home, Chakotay."

"Aye, ma'am."

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Notes: Thank you everyone for sticking with me and reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I truly appreciate the feedback you've given me!

I'd like to take this chance to once again thank my awesome beta QS. And apologize. QS did a lot of work for me on this story and somewhere between transferring it back and forth, I lost about half of her corrections. So, quite literally...any mistakes are mine. ;)