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Switched

Chapter 43

"Captain, are you ok? Captain?"

The voice was far away, muffled, distorted like a dream.

"Captain? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, painfully, Kathryn opened her eyes and saw a blurry blob that resembled Detective Vic Elliot swirl before her eyes. "Yes," she answered. "What...happened? Where...are...we?"

"On Taron's ship," he said. "We've been captured."

Dizzy and disorientated, Kathryn slowly raised herself off the floor and lay back against the wall. "I remember now," she said, putting a hand to her pounding head. "Lacey was bait and we bit."

"I doubt Taron ever had Lacey. He just made it look like he did."

"Well, let's hope that he didn't. You, me and Cayla are trophies enough. But the cup is yet to be played for and I'll be damned if I'm letting him win it."

"He already has," Vic replied. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever let you get involved in this. Taron always wins."

"Not this time. The set may be won but the match is still to play for."

"We've lost, Captain. The best you can hope for now is to live. Cayla's had it, as have I, but there's every chance he'll let you live. You've got nothing to do with any of this."

"I have now." A pain seared through her head and she groaned.

"With Cayla done for, I don't care what happens to me," Vic said, "but I'm not going to stand by and let you suffer. You need urgent medical treatment and Taron better get your Doctor here fast." With that he got to his feet and pounded the door with his fists. "Captain Janeway needs medical assistance. Do you hear? She needs it right now!"

"I doubt pounding and shouting will do any good," Kathryn told him. "They'll come when they come. Besides, I bet they're listening to every word we're saying. And as to a doctor, the only doctor I trust is my holo-man and he's millions of miles away attending to Chakotay."

Vic stilled in confusion at these words, but then his clever brain soon deciphered her hidden meaning: the Doctor was most likely still on the Delta Flyer as Taron had probably overlooked his presence by scanning only for humanoid lifesigns. And as long as Taron remained unaware of the Doctor's presence there was still hope of victory. A slim hope, but hope nonetheless.

"With all due respect, Captain," he replied for an audience, "you don't have the luxury of choice. Your PTT has been aggravated by transport and it must be treated."

"I'll be ok," she said. "In fact, I'm already feeling better. I think the transport just knocked me for six."

The echo of footsteps suddenly filled the room and both Kathryn and Vic fixed their attention on the door. After what seemed like both an eternity and just a second, the door slid open and in walked five men. They were all armed and were all dressed in identical black outfits.

"Welcome aboard The Dragon," the middle man said. "Your Captain is Taron and we're your hosts."

The two men at his right side violently grabbed Vic and handcuffed him.

"You'll find this is a cruise with a difference," the leader went on. "Our aim is your pain for our pleasure. And we sure have some treats in store for ourselves."

"Let the Captain go," Vic cried. "She has nothing to do with this. She was only helping me to find Cayla."

"If the Captain is innocent, she has nothing to fear," the man replied. "Taron only condemns the guilty. And you're guilty, Detective Victor Maurice Elliot. You're as guilty as hell. So if I was you, I'd save my breath for the blades of hades. Because believe me, you're going to scream like you've never screamed before." He then gave a flip with a gloved hand and the two men seized Vic. "Take him to Ms Brenton's cell and there display the wrath of hell."

The two men dragged Vic away, leaving Kathryn alone with their menacing boss and his sidekicks. Coldly, the boss walked over to her and yanked her to her feet. Still dizzy, Kathryn buckled, and he roughly pressed her against the wall. "What? Has the great Captain Janeway turned to jelly?"

"Only in your dreams," Kathryn said, looking him straight in the eye. "PTT has a habit of staggering one."

The man held her gaze for a long moment and then let her go. "If you can walk, get moving. Taron is waiting to see you and Taron hates to be kept waiting."

"I can walk," Kathryn replied. "At least I think so."

The man pointed his phaser at her. "Then get to it. Now!"

Kathryn walked towards the door, swaying a little until she got her balance, and when she reached it the two waiting men seized her and handcuffed her. Then they began to walk down the corridor beyond and the blunt point of a phaser in her back told Kathryn to walk after them. As she did, she looked around her surroundings, but there was nothing to see but red walls and black doors. At last they came to a lift and it took them up three decks to the bridge. It was red and black, like the rest of the ship, and the men lead Kathryn right across it to black double doors that opened as they approached. The two men stopped outside the door and Kathryn stopped too.

"This is where we leave you," the leader said. "Pray Taron shows you mercy."

He gestured with his phaser for Kathryn to enter the ready room and with a racing heart she stepped inside. As she did so, the men left and the black doors shut behind her. Kathryn looked around, expecting to come face to face with Grant Merellus, but she came face to face with no one. Instead she found herself seemingly alone in a chilling room. The walls were black, the carpet blood red, and the ceiling was painted with all kinds of disturbing images of screaming ghouls and skeletons. Beneath a row of red-framed windows ran a black couch decorated with a spider's web and the spider itself sat before it in the form of a black table. The most chilling sight of all, however, was the large desk that occupied central place in the room. The black table had legs of snarling dogs and hissing snakes and the chair, which could only be seen from the back, was a macabre skull with bleeding eyes that made Kathryn shiver when she saw it. Suddenly, something moved on the table and Kathryn saw that it was a white rat. The rodent perched on the edge of the table and looked at her with menacing red eyes. Then a hand, a female hand with blood red nails, extended from the chair to caress the creature, and a voice, a female voice, spoke.

"Welcome to my lair, Captain."

The hairs on the back of Kathryn's neck stood up and she froze. Was this Taron? Was Taron a woman?

"I know what you're thinking," the sinister voice went on, "and the answer is yes. I'm Taron." The skull began to slowly revolve and black studded boots with sharp points came into view. "I'm also someone else. Someone you've been waiting to meet for a long time." The chair turned a little further and Kathryn gasped when she saw the woman's face.

"Lacey," she exclaimed.

Lacey smiled at the recognition and got to her feet. "I can't say this is how I envisioned us meeting, but life has a habit of surprising us. And this is a very welcome surprise indeed, very welcome." She closed the gap between them and loomed over Kathryn. "And before you say it, no, I'm not a hologram. I'm the real deal."

Kathryn said nothing, just stared at her in stunned silence, and Lacey laughed.

"What's the matter? Lost for words? Cayla was too. Stupor must run in your blood. I could say stupidity, but I know you're a smart one. Just not as smart as me. You see, Kathryn, you're no different to the rest. You make assumptions. It didn't cross your mind for a second that I could be Taron so you fell for my bait hook, line and sinker. And that's how I win. How I always win. You let down your guard. And letting down your guard, even for a moment, is all it takes." She paused. "But I don't intend to make a prize of you. There's honor, Kathryn, even amongst thieves, and your debt to me for trying to steal my trophy, which is Cayla, has been pre-paid by your unfortunate knifing. Once your memory has been wiped of all that has transpired, I'll return you to your vessel. I'll let the detective go too, once he's been punished for his crimes, but Cayla's dead meat." She gestured to the couch. "So, take a seat, Kathryn. Let's talk about our lives and the fortunate accident of our displacement."

Kathryn stood firmly where she was. "I have nothing to say to you."

Lacey curled her lip and took a step back. "You disapprove of me. But of course you would. You make assumptions. I work on the wrong side of the law, therefore I'm wicked. And maybe I am a little wicked, but I'm sure as hell good at what I do. You see, Kathryn, there's an old saying that says if you play with fire you get burned. Never were truer words spoken. The good people, the decent people, the pillars of community, they don't play with fire, my fire, and they don't get burned. I only punish the guilty, those who've burnt me. The innocent I leave alone. That's justice."

"And Chakotay?" Kathryn asked. "What did he do? He's lying in a hospital right now fighting for his life because of you. How is that just? He's never done anything against you. And what about all the other people you've tortured who've done nothing except be related to someone you hate? Because of you many of them are in their graves or are nothing but vegetables in a hospital somewhere. And what about all the lives you've devastated with the filth you traffic? You're worse than wicked, Lacey. You're evil. You're evil to the core." Tears filled her eyes. "And I'm wondering how the hell two people as wonderful as my parents could ever create such a monster."

"There you go," Lacey said. "Making assumptions again. I never torture anyone who doesn't deserve it. And Chakotay deserved it. Do you want to know why? Because he was hiding Cayla from me. Anyone who hides anything from me pays for that crime. As to the drug-heads who turn their brains to sponge on the stuff I ship, that's their doing, not mine. I don't shoot anyone up or hold a phaser to their heads to make them shoot up themselves. They do it of their own free will. You say I'm evil, but I say they are evil who seek to deny people the freedom of choice. Those like my one-time sister and her one-time boyfriend."

A black venomous snake slithered across the floor and curled around Kathryn's legs. Lacey picked the reptile up and looped it around her neck, caressing the creature's tongue hissing head. "If the law denies freedom of choice," she continued, "then we must step outside the law. But I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't do it for politics or for the drugs, I do it for the buzz, for the titillating thrill that rushes through my veins when I stare into the bloody sightless eyes of Death or see terror in the eyes of my tortured enemies when they see his ghastly visage in my face."

Kathryn looked at Lacey with disbelief, disgust and pity. "You're crazy," she said. "You need help."

Lacey laughed and went to sit on the couch. "Crazy? Oh yes, I'm crazy. But I'm also a genius. A crazy genius. And I wouldn't be anything else. I love my life. I love the danger, the adventure, the adrenaline rush. And so do you. And so does Cayla. We just get our kicks in different ways. You in the fleet, her in the force, and me? Any which way I can. Some would say you're crazy. Oh yes, I've read all about you. Your hands are just as bloody as mine. You've killed in self-defense and in the name of justice. So have I. There really isn't a lot of difference between us. It's just too bad that I have to wipe your memories because I'd like you to remember that you met your match in me. The Borg and all the hostile aliens of the Delta Quadrant could not beat you, but little me has with a trick as old as cosmos dust. All those years you survived against all those odds, dodged time and time again Death's deadly blade, but I could kill you now as easily as bidding my darling snake here to slither up your body and bite your alabaster breast." She kissed the snake and put him to the floor where he curled and hissed. "And shall I? Would it give you a perverse thrill to feel its body writhe against yours, to feel it's tongue lick your breast as it marks out a spot for penetration?"

"As I said," Kathryn replied. "You're crazy."

"And like I said, we're well matched." She gestured again to the couch. "So sit down, Kathryn. Tell me about the parents that should have been mine."

Again Kathryn didn't move. "Tell me about the sister who should have been mine," she said. "Tell me how you can make her suffer the way you do. Don't you feel anything for her?"

Lacey laughed. "Oh I feel something for her. I feel utter and total loathing. And so should you, because you were the runt, Kathryn. Baby 2. There was only ever meant to be Cayla. You're what was left over when the egg split. Cayla has never been anything but a pain to me. Always she was there, always and everywhere. You don't know how much I wished she would just kill herself every time she said she wanted too. But she didn't, she just postponed the event like some pathetic little cry for help. Because she was the neediest child you could ever imagine. She wanted a mother who was always there to give her 'all better now' kisses but, as there was no mother, she latched onto me like a leach. And like a leach, she sucked me dry. It was the best day of my adolescent life when our parents took me out of school to play on the road with them. And what made it all the more exhilarating was Cayla's devastation. 'But I'll be all alone now,' she wept. 'Who will I have now?' Because no one ever wanted to be around her, no one except Tali Greene and Roza Lilin who were losers just like her. Leaving her was total euphoria as I was finally free after sixteen years of bondage. All that remained to make my life perfect was a call to say she had topped herself, but that call never came. I suppose she found another mug to stop her. I was always the mug before. Not that I stopped her because I wanted to, but if she got so thin by starving herself that she dropped down dead from heart failure, the blame would fall on me. 'Why didn't you make her eat, Lacey? Why didn't you take better care of her, Lacey?' I wasn't having that. If there's one thing I've always known, it's how to do PR. To the world I'm a respectable mother, music teacher, Starfleet wife. You see, Kathryn, I might be crazy, but I'm not insane. I've never seen a shrink in all my life whereas Cayla's seen more than I can count. And that's because I know how the world thinks, how the universe thinks. I know it spins upon a pole of assumption. So I fashioned myself in the mold of respectability. And by confining and conforming on the outside, I've found the freedom to be who I am on the inside. The me not even my kids know."

A male voice suddenly spoke over the comm. "Gus to Taron."

Lacey responded. "Go ahead."

"Elliot's passed out. There's no more fun to be had with him. Shall we wipe his memories and send him back?"

"Not yet," Lacey replied. "You might not be able to have any more fun with him but I sure can. Throw him to the floor and let him come-to."

"Yes, T. And you're going to love the footage."

Lacey smiled. "I know. Good job. Taron out."

"Let him go," Kathryn begged. "Cayla too. You've had your revenge, let that be an end."

"It will end when I say it ends," Lacey replied. "And it doesn't end yet. Vic owes me big time. He owes me for bringing Cayla onto my case, he owes me for trying to catch me, and he owes me for trying to steal my biggest prize of all time. Only when his debt is paid will I set him free. But as to Cayla, her debt can only be paid by death."

"Why? What good will her death do you? Let her go. Wipe her memories with ours and let her go."

Lacey clenched her fists and got to her feet. "Never! And if you don't watch your tongue, I'll lock you up with them and whip you into line. Because no one tells me what to do, no one!"

Another voice, this time a woman's, spoke over the comm. "Rexa to Taron. We have a problem. Dozens of cop-ships have just uncloaked and are surrounding us."

"Change cloaking frequency," Lacey replied, "and get us out of here at maximum warp."

"There's no escape, T. We're trapped."

At these words infinite relief consumed Kathryn and she addressed Lacey. "Maybe you're not quite so smart after all."

Lacey's indignation showed on her face, but she ignored Kathryn's words and hurried out of the room onto the bridge. Kathryn followed and watched as Lacey walked over to her blood red captain's seat.

"There's always a way out," she said to Rexa. "Find me one."

But before the girl could answer, another woman spoke. "We're being hailed. The cops."

"Put it through," Lacey said. "Audio only."

In seconds the communication was established and a male voice spoke. "Surrender or we'll fire."

Lacey waved her hand as an instruction to cut communication and then she got to her feet. "I won't surrender. Taron never surrenders!"

A tall broad black male wearing a suit of metal approached her. "What shall we do? Rexa's right. There's no way out."

"Then there's only one thing we can do," Lacey answered. "Code Z."

Kathryn stepped forward. "What's code Z?"

Lacey turned to her and looked at her with a strange satisfaction. "Co-ordinated self-destruct between me and my squad." She then gave a chilling smile. "That's right, Kathryn, the great Kathryn Janeway of the great Federation starship Voyager, I'm going to blow us all up, and you're exploding with us. Because if I can't win the game, I can at least draw it." With that she turned around and addressed the bridge. "It's been one hell of a ride, guys, but our time is up. So let's go out with a bang that will make the history books!"

The lights dimmed as self-destruct initiated and a symphony began to play.

"See you all in Hades," Lacey cried. "And we'll throw a party that will really set hell on fire!" She then raised a fist and punched the air. "We do not surrender! We do not surrender!"

All on the bridge copied and chanted euphorically.

Lacey then turned back to Kathryn and triumphantly made the chant at her. Kathryn closed her eyes, closing out the evil in Lacey's piercing cold blue eyes and remembering instead the love she had always seen in the ones from which hers were moulded. It was her father she would remember as she waited for death, her dearly beloved father, Edward Janeway. And she would remember her mother, Gretchen Janeway, her sister, Phoebe, and last but not least, Chakotay and the precious little girl their love had made. In her mind she could see that little girl now, could see her dark eyes and dimpled cheeks, and could see her smiling and laughing in the arms of her father. Then she could see no more as pain bolted through every part of her body and all went black.

END OF CHAPTER 43