Chapter 57 - Diversionary Tactics
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Commodore Stone stared out of terminal screen. "You look like hell, Sorenson."
"Then I look as good as I feel, sir." Sorenson deadpanned.
"Which is as good as you deserve. What the hell were you thinking, using Erik to break into that casino?"
He shrugged to hide a slight shiver. "It wasn't quite what I had planned, but it did flush Maldi out."
"And who exactly ordered you to flush him out?" Stone bit out the question.
It was rhetorical, so Allen waited. 1. 2. 3. ...
Stone slammed a hand on his desk. "I swear by whatever deity you believe in, if you ever pull this shit again, I will chain you to your desk!"
Sorenson bit his lip. "I think there are at least a couple Starfleet regulations against that sort of thing, sir."
His department head glared. "Don't get smart with me, Sorenson. I ought to bust you down to ensign."
"You know, Hideo keeps upping the offer on that security position on Naruto." Allen said casually.
Stone shook his head. "You would look damn funny in a neo-kimono, standing two heads taller than everyone else on the planet."
"I already look damn funny." Sorenson grinned. "But bowing low enough for protocol might be an issue. The bank president is like half my size."
Stone's mouth formed an exasperated smile. "Seriously, Allen, crazy shit with technical stuff is one thing. Using yourself as live bait is something else entirely. Bubnova would have caught up to him eventually."
Allen felt a rare flash of anger. "And how many other people would have died before Bubba (a) found him and (b) decided he had enough evidence to bring him in?" He looked down and clenched his fists. He shouldn't look cracked just yet.
"If you keep refusing to join SI, you do not get to criticize them." Stone snapped. "And if you pull any more stunts, I'll take Niles' advice and make 'barking mad idiot' your official code name."
"Really? I told Maldi it would be you-lunatic-what-do-you-think-you're-doing."
Allen got the distinct impression that the only reason Stone didn't face-palm was that it would be beneath the dignity of a Commodore. "Speaking of which," Stone said. "How the hell did you manage to lie under verasitol?"
"I don't think I did. It won't let you. I just had some help not telling the truth, from...Erik..." Allen closed his eyes and took a breath. The geis was gone. She really had risked insanity. He let a shudder pass through him undisguised. "You've, um, probably read in the doctor's report that I sort of dissociated a bit due to the overdose." When he opened his eyes he wasn't trying to look together anymore. "That's not quite the whole story. I know you're hoping for some useful methodology, but while insanity is a useful defense, I really wouldn't recommend it as a rule..."
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Christine Chapel returned from her break carrying a small tray. When she'd left, Allen was still asleep with Selina beside him (They might be just friends now, but the thought still made Christine smile and the fact that she could torture Leonard about it just made it all the better). However, Allen hadn't eaten anything yet, so she figured if he was awake, he should be hungry (and, yes, she was a mother hen and proud of it, thank-you-very-much). She'd even added danishes.
When she entered sickbay, Allen was sitting up playing chess with Spock, but no one else seemed to be around. That was surprising, especially since, as she got closer, it was evident that something was wrong. Allen was almost ashen. She put the tray down and got a good look at the biomonitor above the bed. Every reading was perfect. Yeah, right. Marching over to the bed, she picked up Allen's wrist to check his pulse the old-fashioned way.
He startled. "Um, you do know there's a biomonitor up there, right?"
"What I know is that someone" She looked him in the eye. "reached up and switched it to demo mode and you have really long arms. Your pulse isn't even close to that reading."
Allen hitched a sheepish half-smile. "You're good. The doctor didn't even notice. But then Grey was in the room, so he was a little distracted."
"Care to tell me what you're hiding? And why?" She looked pointedly at Spock. "Either of you?"
Spock's eyebrows rose in affronted innocence. "I was not aware that Mr. Sorenson had tampered with the biomonitor."
"But you're the smartest person on this ship, so don't pretend you didn't know this" She held up Allen's hand, which was shaking despite his effort to control it. "was not okay."
Allen pulled his hand away. "Don't blame Spock. He just went along to keep Grey from doing something stupid and he did not see me flip the monitor. She can read those things pretty well, so I had to make it look like I was fine. I just forgot to switch it back."
"Well, there's why. How about answering what?"
Spock and Allen exchanged a look and she stared hard at both of them.
"You know that part of verasitol is a bit addictive. Usually not seriously, but I guess I've had a bit more than the standard dose, plus a few other things." Allen bit his lip and looked away. "Part of me really wants that spaced out feeling again."
"And you've been hiding that?" If he didn't look so miserable, she might be tempted to smack him.
"I won't risk infecting a telepath with it. Look, it was only a few doses, so there can't be any real physical dependence. I'm just feeling a little hollow and shaky - that part's more of a crash, I guess." He exhaled slowly. "The other I can ride out. It's already better than before. I just have to focus on choosing what's necessary over what I want. I'm actually very good at that."
It occurred to Christine that if she were still at a private hospital back on earth that might sound noble. Now, after four plus years of dealing with Starfleet types, what she wanted to do was shake some sense into him. However, after four plus years of dealing with Starfleet types, she knew the futility of even trying. "Right." she said. "Well, I'm setting the monitor back on and I'm going to be keeping an eye on you. There's not a lot to help with the psychological aspect, but some breakfast might help with the hollow, shaky feeling."
"I don't think I'm really up to eating anything yet."
She got up and brought the tray over. At a minimum, she was going to get a little food into him. "Try. I don't know what you like, so I brought OJ, milk, cereal, toast, and fruit." She grinned at him. "There are even a couple danishes."
"Danishes?" He raised an eyebrow, looking a little uneasy. "I honestly don't remember much of the past several hours. Do I, um, owe you an apology?"
Christine smiled and winked at him. "No, but if you get a chance, I do generally prefer second shift for shore leave."
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"So Sorenson really broke into New Zurich?" Jim asked as he walked Selina to the transporter room.
"Officially, it was a notorious hacker known as Erik the Red." She rolled her eyes slightly at the name. "You seriously suspected that we were real thieves?"
"Well, it would have to have been awfully tempting. And the nicknames do sort of suggest it." Jim shrugged. It's not like he could lie after she'd seen it in his head, which probably explained a lot about why Sorenson wouldn't let her look in his.
She nodded. "If Faf had not been trying to protect me, I could have helped him find those accounts far more easily. You realize that had we actually decided to become partners in crime, we would not have had to content ourselves with mere billions?"
Kirk laughed. He couldn't argue that one. "Can I ask one more question: how did you find out about that reporter?"
"Neither reporters nor diplomats reveal their sources." She winked at him. "Let us just say that I followed a hunch."
"But you actually found him at one point?"
"In a manner of speaking." she replied with a private smile. "I was content to let him disappear; he was largely playing Robin Hood with what he stole."
Jim let the question go and let himself thoroughly enjoy the not-quite-covert looks from security personnel they passed on the way. News traveled fast. Okay, so she'd kissed him for close to the same reason she'd kissed Sulu. But if Bones got to count thank yous, he got to count that! And he'd gotten a real laugh. That definitely counted. The fact that it was a show was sort of fun too (okay, not as much fun as if it were real, but still fun). Plus, he had a reputation to maintain. This would do nicely on that score. He grinned broadly at the officer in charge of transport. "Two to beam up."
Moments later they were on the Enterprise. There was no sign of anything but business-as-usual from Mr. Kyle. So, news didn't travel quite that fast, especially with communications carefully limited from the other ship. That was probably for the best, especially if Uhura really did have some idea of how to get his voice print...
There was a report he should file, but Jim was reluctant to part company with Selina just yet. Not just for the usual reasons; he'd really enjoyed passing mental notes with her. "So did you grab a bite to eat yet?" he asked. "Don't tell Bones, but so far I've been running on coffee and jelly donuts. I really need to get something at least vaguely healthy and I hate eating alone."
"I had breakfast before going to Maldi's ship. While some warm tea would be welcome, looking into his thoughts has probably soured my appetite for the rest of the day." A corner of her mouth pulled down in a slightly nauseated frown. "His mind is an extremely unpleasant place to visit."
"Sorry. I can't even imagine how nasty that must have been. But I really appreciate it. If you were Starfleet, I'd have you up for promotion."
She cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you assume I would not outrank you?"
Jim laughed. "Good point, 'Admiral'." He ushered her into the commissary fairly walking on air. Not only had she agreed to join him, but now he could tell Bones that he'd had breakfast with her. After they'd collected their selections from the replicators, he crashed back to the ground when he turned around to see Selina heading toward Bones, who was waving at them to join him. Well, it was really closer to lunch anyway.
"Len, you should be resting." Selina scolded.
"I laid down for a little while." Bones drawled. "But I couldn't drop off. And what with Chapel fussing around, I decided to get out of sickbay before she started in on me. Woman's in full-blown mother hen mode."
"Like you're one to talk." Jim teased. "You practically cluck."
"Speaking of clucking, you're supposed to be going easy on the eggs." McCoy said, pointing a fork at Jim's plate. "That is unless you'd like to go back to a week of green salads."
"Yes, mother." Jim snarked, adding, "bwawk, bwawk, bwawk" under his breath.
"Watch it. I'll sick Chapel on you next." Bones threatened. "You know how she gets when a patient doesn't wanna eat. I'm surprised Spock hasn't made a run for it yet."
Selina's brows drew together. "Faf is not eating? He has the appetite of a wild sehlat and his bioreadings were..." Her eyes narrowed. "Perfect."
"What's wrong?" Jim asked.
"Nothing. Yet." She stood to leave. "You will excuse me, gentlemen. I need to have a word with Loki and his Vulcan accomplice."
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AN: I get the impression since Spock hides it in TOS that Vulcans (and certain other telepaths) want to keep the fact that they can mess with people's memories a secret.
T'Pol, in Enterprise, notes that Vulcan children learn early never to be late with their sehlat's dinner. Wild sehlats are larger and more voracious than their domestic cousins. Loki is the trickster among the Norse gods, and one Grey's associated Faf with before.
Christine is just fun to write and she had to get a chance to tease Allen about mistaking her for Liz.
wouldn't mind some reviews fro Christmas...
