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Switched

Chapter 13

Sitting on a park bench, pretending to read a book, Chakotay kept his eye on a row of terraced houses close by. It had not taken him long to find Cayla Brenton's address, hardly any time to locate her street once he'd found it, and after changing his appearance a little, he'd beamed to the nearest transporter station. There was no trace of his tattoo now and his identity was further disguised by a short-shaven beard and disheveled hair. No one would ever have guessed by looking at him that he was Commander Chakotay of the famous starship Voyager. But while he had found Cayla's house easily enough, he was having no luck spotting Cayla. For over five hours he'd haunted the park, but he had not so much as seen a cat enter or leave her house. The condition of the house had somewhat surprised him. The wood exterior desperately needed painting, the windows were dusty and adorned with shabby gray blinds, and black railings that lead up to the front door were rusty. At first he thought he'd got the wrong house, but a quick check confirmed he had not.

"C to K," he said, hitting a personal commbadge that was pinned to his black shirt.

In seconds Kathryn's voice answered. "K here. Any luck?"

"None," he replied. "The place is lifeless. I'm getting kind of hungry so I'm going to take a break and head for something to eat. There's a pizza place just around the corner."

"Ok," Kathryn answered. "Let me know when you're back on watch."

"I will. C out."

When the connection had terminated, he picked up his black back-bag, popped in his book, and left the bench.

The pizza place offered pizzas-to-go so Chakotay was just about to order himself a cheese pizza through a street hatch when he heard an all too familiar voice behind him. Kathryn's voice. He turned around, desperate to see the woman who owned that voice, but all he saw was the man in front of her. He was tall, lean, and had long black hair tied behind his back.

"See you next week then," he said. "Same time and place?

"I'll be there," she replied.

The man then left her and she crossed the street. Chakotay got his first glimpse of her now and from behind she looked nothing like Kathryn. Her hair was blonde, very short, and her figure was a few pounds heavier. She was wearing blue jeans over black boots, a white studded belt, and a black tank-top. On her left shoulder was a black tattoo and there was a similar one on her right arm. Chakotay hoped to get a view of her face when she reached the other sidewalk, but instead of walking down it, she walked straight over to a bar and disappeared inside.

Not wanting to lose her, Chakotay left the pizza place, crossed the street, and followed her inside. The smell of alcohol hit him as soon as he stepped through the door but the place was clean, presentable, and while it was very busy there were still some empty tables. From the doorway Chakotay looked around for the woman he'd followed in but there was no sign of her. The ladies room door was swinging, however, so Chakotay concluded she'd gone in there before ordering a drink. To make himself part of the scenery, Chakotay went over to the bar, ordered a glass of synthesol shandy and then sat in a dark corner that gave him a good view of the restrooms.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ladies room door swung open and Chakotay gasped when he saw Kathryn's, yet not Kathryn's, face walk out. The woman's eyes were Kathryn's, her nose was Kathryn's, and her lips were Kathryn's, but her eyes were heavily penciled with black eye-liner, her nose was pierced with a silver ring, and her lips were glossed with dark purple lipstick. Confidently, this walking echo of Kathryn strolled up to the bar, got herself a beer, and then went to sit at a table near Chakotay. For a long while Chakotay stared at her. He was unable to take his eyes off her. She was so like Kathryn, so unlike Kathryn, and he was mesmerized. Without a doubt this was Cayla Brenton, and without a doubt she was Kathryn Janeway's identical twin. Cayla must have felt the weight of his stare because her eyes, Kathryn's eyes, looked in his direction. Chakotay forced himself to look away but the pull to her was too strong and he found himself looking at her again. Her eyes were directly on his now and Chakotay could hardly breathe. She held his gaze for a long moment, then she got up and walked over to his table.

"I haven't seen you in here before," she said. "New to the neighborhood?"

Her voice was so like Kathryn's, a little deeper and she had a slight southern twang, but otherwise it was almost identical.

"Just passing through," he answered.

"Business?"

"Something like it."

Cayla scooped up some nuts from a bowl on the table and downed them with a mouthful of beer. Chakotay noticed that her short finger nails were intermittently painted with black and purple nail varnish.

"I ain't one for butter-me-up talk," she said. "If you gave me the eye coz you think I'm that Janeway chick, sorry I ain't. But if you gave me the eye coz you think I'm a hot bird and fancy some hot stuff, you've struck it lucky."

It took Chakotay a moment to find his voice. This woman that so resembled Kathryn, that sounded so much like her, was as different from her as could be. "I did," he said at last. "I mean...you look like Janeway."

"And the hot-stuff?"

"No, thank you," he said quietly.

"What's up? Got a wife? Coz don't worry, honey, I won't even ask your name. I'm easy come, easy go. "

Chakotay made no reply but his face said it all and Cayla got the message.

"Not your style, I get it. Your loss. Have fun on your own. I don't ask twice."

With that she got up and returned to her table.

Having found what he'd come looking for, Chakotay wanted to leave, but as he'd only just arrived he felt he should let a decent amount of time pass before leaving. For at least a minute he managed not to look at Cayla, but she was so intriguing that he couldn't help himself. Cayla was no longer looking at him, however, and as soon as she'd finished her beer she got up and went back to the bar. As she did, a tall stout man with curly red hair approached her. He whispered something to her and then she looked over her shoulder directly at Chakotay. Chakotay looked away but their eyes had locked long enough for her to know he was still looking at her. Moments later, the red-haired man left the bar and Cayla went with him.

Chakotay stayed a few more more minutes, then he downed the rest of his shandy and left.

The nearest transporter station was on West Lane, a busy business area south of the park, so Chakotay made his way there. As he did, he thought about the best way to tell Kathryn that while her twin was definitely identical, they were unlikely to ever be bosom buddies. Chakotay crossed the street by Cayla's house, entered the park, and walked slowly down a path bordered by trees. There was hardly a soul in the park but Chakotay appreciated the tranquillity. That serenity was violently disturbed, however, when four hands grabbed him and pulled him into the trees. The next thing he knew his face was in the dirt and he was being kicked and punched mercilessly. Pain seared through his body and he cried out in agony.

"That's enough," Kathryn's, but not Kathryn's, voice said. "I need him conscious."

Hands yanked Chakotay to his feet and pressed him against a tree. Through blurred vision he saw Cayla standing before him and saw that one of the men holding him was the red-haired man from the bar.

"Tell me who you are," Cayla said firmly, "and why you were following me."

Blood gushed from Chakotay's mouth as he tried to talk. "I...I wasn't."

Cayla stepped closer. "Don't lie to me. You were seen following me from the pizza-place to the bar. Did Taron send you?"

"No," he sputtered.

Cayla pulled a black phaser from her belt, fiddled with it, and then held up a deadly blade. "If you don't start talking, I'll slice your throat. Are you working for Taron?"

"No," Chakotay said again.

Cayla seized his neck now and put the blade to his throat. It dug into his skin and blood oozed out. "Tell the truth or I'll send your soul to hell. Were you sent here to kill me?"

"No..." Chakotay choked.

One of the men searched his body and emptied his bag. "He might be telling the truth," he said. "There's no weapon on him."

The red-haired man laughed coldly. "Maybe he really did think you were Janeway."

Cayla pulled the knife from Chakotay's throat and released her grip on his neck. "Looks like it's your lucky day. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But if I catch you sniffing around me again, I'll kill you, understand?"

With that she walked away and the two men threw Chakotay to the ground with a final kicking. For a long moment colors swirled before his eyes and he lay in excruciating agony, then the colors faded and all went black.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN