Chapter Twenty-eight
"Dingo? You okay in there? ...Salen?"
Salen didn't have a chance to answer as he violently retched again. When he'd woken in sick bay his stomach had instantly rebelled on him. Barely making it to the bathroom he'd spent the last few minutes vomiting. Now he was just uselessly dry heaving against his empty stomach. Forcing his stomach back under control Salen stood up and washed his face off. Stepping out of the small bathroom he was confronted by a concerned looking Razor and the doctor.
"Ding..." Razor started.
"I am fine." Salen interrupted. "Do not concern yourself with me."
"I'll be the judge of that." The doctor said firmly. "Please lay back down."
Salen thought about protesting, but he decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Going back to the biobed Salen laid down. Razor came over by the bedside like a worried mother hen and stood over Salen while the doctor checked over the various readings. Sale looked up at Razor with a puzzled look.
"Why do you care so deeply about my health?"
"It's what partners do." Razor shrugged. "If I end up in the infirmary I fully expect you to hover over me until I'm better."
"I will make a note to remember that."
"Don't worry about it." Razor smiled. "I don't end up in the infirmary."
"You did the other night." The doctor pointed out.
"Yeah, but that was Dingo's fault, so it doesn't count."
"I am sorry for breaking your nose."
"Not a problem."
Salen smiled at Razor's ability to forgive him so easily. Razor still wore a deep bruise across his face. Noticing a red mark at Razor's temple Salen suddenly remembered trying to claw his way into his mind. Salen sat up suddenly despite the doctor's protest.
"Doctor, can you give us a moment alone?" Salen asked.
"Okay, your basic stats are looking good...I think."
"You think?" Razor asked.
"I'm not a Vulcan expert."
Razor rolled his eyes as the doctor left. Salen jumped down off the biobed and went to put his hands behind his back. Thinking better of it he just kept them down at his sides. Razor watched the doctor leave before turning his attention back to Salen.
"What's going on, Dingo?"
"I recall now trying to attack your mind after being pulled from West."
"Yeah," Razor forced a smile "you kinda freaked me out."
"If I ever attempt it again please use all force necessary to stop me."
"Dingo..."
"Even if that means you must kill me."
"What?" Razor asked in surprise.
"I am giving you permission to kill me if I ever attempt such an action again. I placed your sanity in terrible risk, it is an unforgivable crime. It is not something I would do on purpose, however, I was not myself at the time and if it happens again treat me as you would a rabid dog."
"Interesting choice of words."
"They fit."
"You don't really trust yourself, do you?"
"No." Salen admitted. "I can be dangerous, even to those I call friends."
"Which is why you fit in so well here. I don't think there is a Dog here that hasn't lost control once or twice. Beckett himself went completely insane on Ka'scene, shot him in the chest over a dozen times to ensure that he was dead and then whipped around and shot Tyger when he stepped into the room."
"Beckett shot Tyger?" Salen asked in horror.
"Yup, it's okay though, Tyger was in his uniform so there was no damage. Beckett was just working on instinct when Tyger got in the way. So don't worry, you're not the only one who losses himself to violence around here."
"You must still defend yourself against me if need be."
"I fully intend to."
Salen couldn't keep himself from looking at Razor warily. Smiling brightly Razor lashed out and shoved Salen's shoulder playfully. As he did so Beckett and the doctor returned.
"You two playing nice?" Beckett asked.
"Just clearing a few things up." Razor replied.
"Sounds good." Beckett turned to Salen. "Now that you're awake, care to tell us what you learned from West?"
"West was selling a drug nicknamed 'Stargazer' produced by a man named Evans. West knows some about the operation, including the planet where it is located. However, he has never been there personally."
"Evans, there's a name we've all heard before." Beckett growled. "Where is he?"
"Enaria."
"Enaria?" Beckett repeated. "That's a peaceful world. We've been there, doesn't really look like a place to be harboring a giant drug ring."
"They are not harboring it, it is being forced upon them. The factory is underground, natives are used as slaves there and Evans has threatened to poison their entire world if they resist or alert the Federation of their plight."
"Flash?" Beckett called over the intercom.
"Aye, Sir?" Flash's voice responded.
"Get us to Enaria as quickly as possible, and cloaked."
"Aye, Sir."
"Enaira is a fairly low tech world," Razor pointed out "I bet we can detect any large scale underground factory and zap it from space."
"You can not destroy the facility from space," Salen shook his head "to hit it with a photon blast would be to poison the world with the Stargazer drug. It is a liquid and intensely powerful. One drop puts a man in a state of ecstasy, half a teaspoon kills. There are supposedly thousands of gallons of Stargazer underground that could spill into the water table."
"Then we'll storm the place..."
"Evans is a very careful man, the Federation has tangled with him before." Beckett sighed. "I'm sure he is prepared for such an invasion and will easily escape and most likely poison the world out of spite."
"So wha..."
Razor was cut off as the monitor in the next room started beeping. The doctor looked more annoyed than concerned as he strode off into the room where they were keeping West. Everyone followed the doctor. Beckett folded his arms over his chest and looked down at their prisoner. The doctor tinkered with a few settings on the biobed and injected West with a hypospray.
"What's going on, Doc?"
"He's dying." The doctor answered casually.
"What? Dying?"
"Yup," the doctor looked at the monitor "oh wait, hang on, wait for it...he's dead."
"What the hell happened?" Beckett demanded.
"Not really sure. He started going downhill after that whole mind meld thing, but I didn't think that mind melds were lethal."
"They should not be." Salen said.
"Looks like they can be." Razor poked West's side.
"I'm not fully certain that Dingo killed him." The doctor said as he went over the readings. "West's brain had erratic wave patterns, however, the brain was still healthy. It was his heart and lungs, they simply started to slow down and despite intervention they continued to become weak until his heart shuddered to a stop. Could have been a preexisting condition that the stress of the mind meld simply brought to the surface. Anyway, nothing to be done."
Looking down at the dead man Salen tried to feel sorry for him or even guilty that he may have lead to his death. However, the thoughts, and actions that Salen had seen in West's mind made it impossible to mourn over his death. As far as Salen could tell it was perfectly logical to be glad that he was dead. The galaxy was a better place without West. Thinking about it Salen realized that West wasn't the real problem, Evans was.
"Sir?" Salen asked.
"Yeah?" Beckett replied.
"I have an idea to capture Evans."
"This I want to hear." Razor smiled.
"I have enough knowledge of how his buyers operate to pose as one of them. Once inside I could learn the lay out of his security, and find any weakness. Possibly assassinate him."
"I like how this Vulcan thinks." Razor chuckled. "Of course that's just plain suicide. These kingpin types tend to surround themselves with men willing and able to kill and/or die for them. Take an aggressive move towards him and you'd be dead in seconds."
"That is certainly a possibility. However, I believe that the recon of such a mission would be valuable, even if the opportunity to kill him never arose."
"I agree about the recon." Beckett nodded. "However, I also agree with Razor that any attempt to assassinate him in person is suicide. If we can learn more about his security we'll have a better chance at a strategic strike."
"So you agree to my plan?"
"Yes, but I think it would be better to send Cobalt and Ice, they have far more undercover experience."
"It would be exceedingly difficult for me to teach Cobalt and Ice all that I have learned of Evans' business. He will most likely only accept an audience with someone who appears to have years of experience in the drug world."
"Salen, you don't have that either."
"With everything I obtained from West I can easily act as though I have. I know the names of all the key players, drop off points, details about drug quality, the worth of various compounds, not to mention the slang and lingo used by the runners."
"You remember all of that?" Beckett asked.
"Yes. I am the only logical person to approach Evans with a business proposition."
"But you're a Vulcan." Razor said bluntly.
"Thank you for pointing that out to me...again." Salen hissed.
"All I meant by it is: what drug dealer is going to believe that a Vulcan is running drugs?"
"I will present myself as a Romulan criminal looking to move into Federation territory. I can use the scars on my face as proof of my supposedly nefarious past."
"That could work." Razor nodded.
"Razor," Beckett said "you up for playing the part of Dingo's bodyguard?"
"Hell yeah, let's get this bastard!"
"Recon only, boys." Beckett said sternly. "Don't you dare go after Evans on your own."
"No promises." Razor smiled.
"Dingo, keep Razor out of trouble while you two are down there."
"That is a promise that I will most likely be unable to keep, so I will not make it." Salen said seriously.
"You two are nothing but trouble...I love it."
