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Switched

Chapter 37

Now fully dressed and armed with a phaser, Kathryn welcomed Detective Vic Elliot into her room when he arrived there escorted by Admiral Dawson.

"Thankyou for coming so quickly," she said. "I appreciate it."

"This case is my top priority," he replied. "And, as it happens, I've been trying to get in touch with you."

"You have?"

"Yes. There have been developments." He glanced uncomfortably at the Admiral and Dawson got the message.

"I'll leave you alone," he said.

As he left the room, Kathryn closed the gap between her and Vic. "What's happened?"

"Our mission to apprehend Taron has failed."

"I see," Kathryn replied.

"We'll keep trying, but it could be months or even years before the opportunity arises again. I'm sorry. Until he's behind bars neither you or your family will be safe." He paused. "Which unfortunately means that if Chakotay is missing, Taron or his men have him."

"He's definitely missing. I've called everyone and no one knows where he is."

"When was the last time you heard from him?"

"This morning." Not wanting to compromise a classified case, she proceeded cautiously. "What has Admiral Dawson told you?"

"Not a lot. He said that Chakotay is feared missing and you wish to speak to me about it. I'm obviously hoping you can tell me more. For starters, why you're in this sanatorium. Have you really been in an accident, as I've been told, or are you hiding here from Taron?"

"I've really been in an accident. Cayla too. She's next door."

The Detective's eyes lit up at this. "She is?"

"Yes. Let's just say an idea she had on how to deal with Taron went up with a bang."

"Sounds like Cayla. She can always be counted on for fireworks. Is she ok?"

"For the moment. She's got it into her head that the only way to end all this is to give herself up to Taron."

Vic looked at Kathryn in horror. "Over my dead body! There's no way she's doing that. No way!"

"I've had security tightened around her. If she tries to leave her room a forcefield will activate. There's no way she can escape."

"Don't be so sure. Cayla can get herself out of anywhere." He ran his hand anxiously through his hair. "I'll have to speak with her, reason with her. Damn it, threaten her if I have to. Because if the only way I can keep her safe is to arrest her for drug trafficking, then I will."

"Arresting her won't help. In fact, it could lead Taron right to her. All it would take is for his cronies in the force to hear about it and she would be as good as dead. Neither will reasoning with her do any good. If she's determined to do this, she will. All we can do is keep her here as securely as possible."

"But she can't stay here forever. What happens when she's released?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, let's take things one step at a time. She's safe for the moment, that's all that matters. Our priority now has to be finding Chakotay."

"If Taron has him," Vic said sadly, "we don't have much hope."

"So what? We don't try?"

"I didn't say that. I just want to give you a realistic picture of what to expect. I don't believe in exaggerating dangers and I don't believe in giving false hope. The reality is we've never rescued anyone from Taron's clutches. All I can tell you is that Taron has certain ways of working. If he's taken Chakotay to find out from him where Cayla is, then he'll do one of two things. He'll either dump Chakotay somewhere when he's got the information he wants, or he'll kill him. Which one he'll do is unpredictable. But one thing is certain, he'll return Chakotay either dead or alive." He paused. "I should also tell you that even though we may be pretty certain that Taron has him, until Chakotay's been missing for at least 24 hours there's very little I can do. Officially, I can't do anything. All I can do, and already have done, is put the word out unofficially to my team."

"The I'm going to have to look for him myself," Kathryn said. "I can't stand around here doing nothing while my husband is tortured, perhaps to death, by some bastard!"

"I understand your frustration, and I don't doubt that if anyone can find Taron, you can, but I urge you not to get any more involved in this than you already are. As Chakotay has never done anything to offend Taron, and Taron will consider himself in Chakotay's debt for mistakenly attacking you, there's a good chance he'll return him alive. But if you provoke Taron in any way, Chakotay's had it. Please, play the waiting game for now and then let us do our job."

"You haven't done a very good one so far. How can I trust you with my husband's life?"

"Because while we don't know a lot about Taron, we know a damn sight more than you. Where would you even start to look for him?"

"I can take Cayla with me...in a straight-jacket if I have too."

"And if you find Taron? What then? You let Cayla give herself up to him? Let Taron use both her and Chakotay as pawns in his game? I've spent years of my life trying to catch Taron. I know how he works. I'm certain he'll return Chakotay alive and soon. He never keeps hostages for long. If they don't co-operate, he uses some kind of memory probe to get the information he wants. If they do talk, he returns them with their memories wiped. If they're alive, they've always had their memories wiped." He paused. "Trust my judgment on this, please."

There was such desperate sincerity in the Detective's eyes that Kathryn relented. "Very well...for the moment. But if Chakotay doesn't show up soon I'm going after him."

"I guess I'll have to be happy with that...for the moment." He paused. "But I'd be even happier if you and Cayla could transfer to another sanatorium. As secure as this facility is, it's not foolproof against Taron. He can get in anywhere. And if he finds out from Chakotay that Cayla's here, his top priority will be getting her. Is there another place you can both transfer to?"

"Yes, Starfleet Headquarters. But we'd need to take a shuttle as we're both recovering from PTT. A transport is unlikely to do much harm but it could set our recovery back a couple of days."

"In that case, I'll gladly take you in mine. It has both cloak and shielding."

"Then we'll do that. And let's not waste any time. Let's go and tell Cayla."

Vic hesitated. "I think you should. I don't know how she'll feel...about seeing me again. It might help if she's prepared."

"Ok," Kathryn replied. "I'll tell her and you can wait here."

When Kathryn entered Cayla's room, she expected to find her twin in bed, but the bed was empty and there was no one in the room except Voyager's former EMH.

"Where's Cayla?" Kathryn asked in concern.

"Not here, evidently," the Doctor replied. "I thought she might be with you."

"Well, she isn't. And there's no way she can leave this room as a forcefield's set to activate if she so much as sets a toenail outside the door." She glanced at a silver door behind the Doctor. "Have you tried the bathroom?"

"Of course I have. What do you take me for?"

Not quite taking his word for it, Kathryn went over to the door and knocked it. "Cayla, are you there?"

Silence.

"Cayla?"

Nothing. Kathryn pushed the open button and the door slid open to reveal an empty room.

"I told you," the Doctor said.

Kathryn ignored his remark and hurried over to the window. "Her shuttle's still here," she said, seeing it in the park. "Either she hasn't got to it yet, has left without it, or has been taken by Taron."

"Taken? How? This facility is highly secure."

"And Taron is highly intelligent. As strong as these defenses are, it's not impossible to penetrate them and beam someone out." She hit her commbadge. "Janeway to Dawson."

He responded immediately. "Dawson here."

"Cayla's missing. Seal all doors and let no one leave this building."

"Acknowledged. Dawson out."

"It's more likely Cayla's disabled the forcefield and fled," the Doctor said. "She's threatened to enough times."

"Maybe, Doctor. Let's hope you're right. And let's hope she hasn't gone too far."

With that Kathryn pulled a phaser from her waist and hurried out of the room.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked as he followed.

"To tell Detective Elliot was has happened and then to look for Cayla."

"What? You're in no condition to traipse around this facility playing Wonder Woman! Your body has been through a traumatic ordeal, Captain. You need to relax. Think of..."

"Relax?" Kathryn snapped. "How the hell can I relax? Chakotay is God knows where and now Cayla."

The Doctor flinched. "Chakotay? Is he missing too?"

"Yes. No one's seen him since this morning."

"I didn't know. Why wasn't I informed?"

Kathryn was about to reply when Dawson's voice spoke over the comm. "Dawson to Janeway."

Kathryn responded immediately. "Janeway here."

"I've scanned this facility and can find no trace of Cayla."

"There may have been a security breach and she's been beamed out."

"Extremely unlikely. This place has to be the most secure place on Earth."

"Unlikely does not mean impossible. Investigate the possibility."

"Yes, Captain."

As the connection terminated, the Doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Anyone would think you're the senior officer."

"I'm just telling him how it is." She opened the doors to her room and stepped inside. Vic was waiting. "Bad news," she said to him. "Cayla's not in her room. Right now I don't know if that means she's done a runner or has been taken by Taron, but as there's no trace of her in this building and her shuttle's still outside, I suspect Taron's got through our defenses and has beamed her out."

"It's him," Vic cried. "I know it! For this is all Taron to a T! He always gets his prey within hours of his mouthpiece, always! And he always gets away with it because our hands are always tied!"

Dawson's voice suddenly spoke again. "Dawson to Janeway."

Kathryn answered. "Janeway here."

"Chakotay's just been found outside. I don't know the extent of his injuries, but he's alive."

Relief consumed Kathryn at those words.

"He's being treated by Doctor Levitt in room 4," Dawson continued.

"I'll be right there," Kathryn said. "Janeway out." She then addressed Vic. "You were right. Taron's returned him. Which means that we're out of ifs and maybes. Taron definitely has Cayla."

There were tears in the Detective's eyes and his lip was quaking. "Which means that...it means he's won."

Kathryn gently put her hand on his arm. "Not yet. The waiting game is over. We're going after Taron." She turned to the Doctor. "Call Seven and B'Elanna. Tell them to get here as soon as they can. If Cayla's been beamed out, which is most likely, it may be possible to do a transport trace. I doubt Taron or his friends are stationary, but it would at least give us a place to start looking. It's a long shot, but Seven and B'Elanna have a good aim. And in dealing with Taron, we'll need every bullseye we can get."

"Yes, Captain."

The Doctor went on his way and Kathryn turned back to Vic. "As you've said yourself, no one except Cayla knows more about Taron than you. Will you help us?"

"All the way to hell and back," he replied. "But Taron he...he doesn't waste time. The chances are Cayla's..." he couldn't say the words. "The chances are it's over."

"Oh don't you bet on it," Kathryn said. " Cayla's a prey he's been hunting for a long time. Now that he has her, he'll toy with her like a cat does a mouse. And while he does, we'll hunt him down and we'll trap him."

END OF CHAPTER 37