Chapter 55- The Odd Couple
"Well," Noah smirked in appreciation, "this is…unusual." He had been witness to a great many odd things in his life- things he could never repeat to another human being outside of the Company. Some things were just plain strange and others too disturbing to recall, but the scene that was unfolding before him was something straight out of a Mad Max movie and something about the raw, primal brutality of it all spoke to him. Everywhere he looked was savagery: from the multi bladed weapons that adorned the walls to the post-apocalyptic leather and metal clothing the patrons wore to the snarling expressions most had that made telling friend from foe a challenge to the center of it all where a caged ring stood where two people waged war against each other while others looked on screaming in a frenzy. It was wild, chaotic, and brutal and he was apprehensive that they would all emerge unscathed at the end of it all no matter how hard they tried.
"Yeah, you could say that." Jim yelled over his shoulder as he continued to push his way through the throng of drinking and shouting Klingons towards an empty table in the corner of the room. He sat down with a relieved sigh once he reached his destination without managing to get into an altercation on the way in. Although he often was the recipient of statistically improbable luck, it seemed that in bars more often than not his karma reversed course on him at the most inopportune time and now was one of those occasions where getting into a fight just wouldn't do for his career. Although at least twice it was fortuitous for him to be in a bar and doing so changed his life- when he met Pike and Hiro and both happened in the god forsaken Podunk town of Riverside, Iowa. He often thought that the little town was the ass end of a black hole because the most bizarre things and people seemed to tumble out there from apparently nowhere.
"So," Noah smiled lightly as he jerked his head toward the fighters in the cage, "is this what passes for entertainment in these parts?"
"Looks like it." Jim answered grimly. The truth was the Federation knew only slightly more about the Klingons than they did the Romulans and that wasn't saying much. Jim knew just enough to keep his boots out of the fire and relied on his wits for the rest, but he didn't see any reason to admit that to Noah. He ordered two Romulan Ales from the surly waitress and wondered if she was put off by his uniform. He was reasonably sure it wasn't the drinks because although it was contraband in Federation zones, it wasn't here and no amount of fighting would stop the flow of seriously potent and tasty ale.
Noah took a sip of his blue ale and winced. "Wow." He coughed. "That has some kick." Although it tasted like jet fuel mixed with cayenne pepper it was strangely addicting and he found himself taking one sip after another.
Jim smiled broadly and held up his glass before downing it all in one gulp. "So," he tentatively started as he put his empty glass down and leaned across the table to be more discreet, "I have been meaning to talk to you about this problem I have."
Noah's expression went blank as he slipped into full business mode and he asked in a low voice, "What kind of problem?" In a way he felt honored that Kirk would confide in him, but on the other he knew this had to be some kind of under the table deal because otherwise he would have had this conversation with Spock- but he knew full well that the Vulcan was a man of integrity that saw everything in black and white when what Jim needed was a person who lived and breathed grey.
"It's just that I am between a rock and a hard place here. We all agreed at the outset that we wouldn't tell Starfleet about you, but so much has happened with the Romulans and Sylar and Peter have pretty much exposed themselves to everyone on the prison planet. The only two Klingons that we know knew about them are dead, but here is my problem: it is only a matter of time before word gets back about what happened in the Romulan star system. Mendak knows for sure about you and I don't know that he isn't still out there or what proof he managed to get while they were being held prisoner."
"So you need a cover story." Noah summed up with a tight nod.
"Yeah, but I can't really lie about it. We have data and samples on the ship from Peter and Sylar."
"That show nothing." He deadpanned. "Even Dr. McCoy said they looked completely normal on his tests. 'Two completely healthy human males' he said. Yes you have samples and test data, but so far they are inconclusive and therefore inconsequential. Do you have any video evidence of them using their abilities during testing?"
Jim's eyes fell on the table as he thought about it. "No, I don't think so- just raw numbers on a PADD."
"Ok, that covers your ass." He shrugged. "You took on humans who claimed they had powers but the test data did not find any special abilities."
"But you do have powers. Most officers and medical staff have seen it." Jim insisted.
"Of course they have powers, but that's not what your data says and that's the point you have to stick to because it's the only truth you have." A wide yet cold smile spread across his face as he added, "Omission isn't lying. It's only a problem if you are asked a direct question and you don't have a plausible deflection. It's how the game is played- it's all about manipulating perception and making people believe your particular brand of reality."
He knew that at the core it made perfect sense and it was technically correct, but that didn't make it all sound any less evil. It still felt and tasted like a lie- albeit a sugar coated one. Jim was not a particularly puritanical man- he was not above a little harmless chicanery now and again when the circumstances called for it, but this was something else entirely. This was absolute domestic psychological warfare the likes of which he had never engaged in before and it felt wrong and…and…dirty. Yet he knew that ultimately there may be no other way out of the mess he made. "Ok, so what about the Romulans?"
"Do you play poker?" Noah asked unexpectedly.
"Sometimes." Jim replied slowly.
"Win much?"
"Well…" He shrugged with an embarrassed smile.
"You don't, do you?" Noah asked flatly. "Not because you aren't good at understanding the rules or taking risks. Did you know that in any given hand you only have a 25% chance of winning by the cards that are dealt to you? That means that 75% of the time you have to bluff in order to win and that's what you have to do to the Romulans. Make them show their cards or call their bluff because you don't know what they may or may not have, but you do have something they don't: credibility. Who are your bosses more likely to believe- you or a band of known rogue terrorists? Let them tell the universe about evolved humans! You can always fall back on your data as proof they aren't special. You have to admit that it sounds pretty crazy anyway, right?"
Jim chuckled as he sat back in his seat. "Probably not as crazy as it did in your time. Seriously, what did you think when you first found out?"
Noah smiled easily as he thought back to his first encounter with an evolved human- the one that tried to rob him. "I just wanted the bastard dead."
Jim's blue eyes widened in disbelief. "That's pretty harsh."
"He killed my pregnant wife." Noah replied. "Wouldn't you?"
Jim shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Jesus, I'm sorry. Yeah, I guess I would." He paused slightly before asking, "Did you get him?"
Noah nodded in affirmation. "It wasn't pretty and I was sloppy about it, but I got the job done. It was all I wanted, but after he was dead and even now I wonder about him. He was probably just as scared as me- suddenly finding he was cursed with this ability and no one to turn to. He was probably just trying to survive the only way he knew how."
"Doesn't make it right what he did, though." Jim protested. "Even if I woke up one day and suddenly I could walk through walls it doesn't mean I would rob banks."
"Probably not, but you never really can say what you would or wouldn't do unless you are in that situation. It all depends on who you are and that is why there is good as well as evil in the world. It takes all kinds." He proclaimed as he finished off his drink with a grimace.
"But people can change!" Jim sighed. "I started out as a hell raiser myself, but I turned out ok."
"But you didn't just wake up one day on the straight and narrow, now did you?" He smirked. "Either something scared you straight or you had that one person in your life at just the right moment who didn't give up on you. Either way you got lucky because not everyone has that one magic moment that forever changes their lives. As awful as it sounds, meeting that kid that night was my moment. If he hadn't tried to rob us I never would have known that an entirely different world existed alongside ours filled with special people. I wouldn't have started my job at the Company and I wouldn't have had Claire. Through everything she has been the one thing that truly makes me happy. And as much as I miss my wife and my unborn child I know now that things worked out for the better. Who knows? I might have otherwise ended up an actual paper salesman."
"You sold paper?" Jim asked amused. "I just can't see you doing that for a living." The very idea of selling anything in the new economy of the Federation seemed strange to him, but he knew it was commonplace long ago to have to buy what you needed. And paper probably needed someone to sell it as much as hamburgers or nails he supposed.
"I didn't. That's what people thought I did. It all goes back to perception."
"So you pretended to sell paper while you actually went around catching people like Sylar and experimenting on them? How did you keep that a secret?"
"Very carefully and very well thank you until he burned it to the ground." There was just a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Well, you can't really blame him for that if what you said you did to him was true." Jim defended. "All the tests and giving him some mutated cocktail that took away his abilities and would have killed him anyway even if it didn't do what it was supposed to. I would have been a little pissed myself."
"Yeah, I suppose we had it coming sooner or later." He replied nonchalantly. If he was at all remorseful he didn't show it. "So what about you? Something tells me you have an interesting story."
"Me?" Jim scoffed. "Nah. Not really." Despite his reputation as being self-absorbed, he really did hate talking about himself mostly because there wasn't much he could be proud of.
Noah eyed him suspiciously. "You mean to tell me they make young guys like you captains of starships on a routine basis? Forgive me if I appear a bit skeptical."
"They don't, but I guess I just got lucky." The sharp tone of his voice clearly said he wanted the conversation to end posthaste. "Look, I'm sorry…I just had a long week."
"It's ok." Noah smiled. He knew the young man wasn't telling the truth, but he also knew not to push the issue. "I think we all have."
"How 'bout another round of ale?" He offered as a conciliatory gesture.
"I think I could use one more."
Jim tried to signal the waitress, but she was busy taking orders from a densely packed table a few feet away. He laughed when he realized it was Chekov, Sulu, Ando and Hiro. From the angry look on the waitress's face, they had less than a few seconds to make up their minds before she brained them all.