Chapter 28 (Talia Winters)
Talia stood in front of the window and looked at the awe-inspiring view of the entire complex. A view she'd seen many times in the past. A view that incited mixed emotions.
She still felt that man's touch, no matter how hard she tried to wash it off. But at least she was alone, for now.
Still, Talia could not hold back the hate that boiled inside her. She wanted revenge and began to devise a plan to stop Elvis in his tracks. She'd used her contacts and gained access to the security footage of the entire facility. With a little help from Garibaldi, they'd managed to isolate some key footage.
Talia slowly weeded out details, satisfied at knowing she was doing something about the situation. Even the murdered Minbari could be used as evidence, although she doubted the authorities back at Casabianca would care about them.
However, as she activated the video crystals that recorded footage in Elvis's office, she managed to spot other victims of his cruel game. But before she had the chance to do anything about it, Garibaldi came back and seemed preoccupied.
"Michael, what's wrong?" Talia asked as she watch him prowl around the room.
"It's Zack. He's taken two Minbari females prisoner; God knows what he's doing to them."
Talia felt confused. Why would Garibaldi worry about such matters? They were only Minbari.
"I'm telling you, that man's losing it. His problem is making things worse. Ever since I saved his life in the Mars ambush, things have gotten worse for him. I wonder when he'll stop." Garibaldi trudged over to the alcohol cabinet and poured himself a glass of vodka.
"Michael. I don't know Zack very well, but everybody has their problems. I'm just glad I have you to talk to. I don't know what I would do without you."
As Garibaldi turned towards her, Talia felt her pulse rush and her body tingle with anticipation. He approached very close and Talia never felt so safe.
"Talia, you can talk to me about anything. I wish you had come and talked to me sooner. I could have done something about that bastard."
"I know. I've been so foolish."
"Foolish? No, you're just an innocent victim. Someone I would happily save." Garibaldi paused for a moment. "One who deserves a date? What do you think?"
"Are you taking advantage of an innocent girl in her time of need?"
"You know me," Garibaldi snickered, hiding his sideward grin with the glass of vodka, "I'm a sucker for damsels in distress…so how about it?"
Talia deliberately held back her answer for a few moments, piling on some suspense for Garibaldi. Then she finally revealed her answer. "I would be glad to."
It may have been a basic date for the couple, but Talia felt safe and calm. She'd almost forgotten the horrid events that happened a few days ago and she decided to move her plan of revenge forward. After all, nothing would happen if nothing was done.
She finally brought up the courage to ask for help, and that was exactly the kind of thing Garibaldi was looking for, a chance to help Talia. He sat at the desk and reviewed the latest surveillance footage that was recorded from the secret camera hidden in Elvis' office.
He remembered the time when it was installed many years ago to investigate theft from the office. Before Elvis took over Hank's position at the facility. Garibaldi could still remember the chubby commander who always wore suits and appeared arrogant. But contrary to his appearance, Hank always saw the best in people and looked at his employees with respect. Until he was moved and replaced.
As Garibaldi fast-forwarded the footage, with Talia as his side, he finally came to the moment in question. As expected from the facility's commander, he was up to his disgraceful acts of perverted behavior and Talia mentally blocked the faint cries that came from the monitor.
Garibaldi called to her. "Looks like we've got more evidence. I'll add this to the data crystal and we should have everything we need."
Talia was glad of the news. Finally, hours of painful searching through the recorded footage of her ordeal could now be used as evidence against Elvis. But the final challenging problem was, how to get the information to them without the base's commander knowing about it?
Then she heard the hopeful tone of Garibaldi's call.
"Talia. It looks like we have two Vanguards. Elvis has just welcomed them."
"Vanguards? They rarely stay long enough to do anything," said Talia. She knew the Vanguards only arrived to help guide transports and ships and once they'd arrived out of hyperspace. But once their job was done the Vanguards vanished back as fast as they came. Talia knew she had a limited time and pondered over how to get the information over to the capital city. But this news was a welcome break. They had to smuggle the data crystals to them and impose upon them the importance of going straight to the Casabianca city.
"I'll keep tabs on them, but I think we should get Zack involved. His team knows this facility well and having his help would make this easier."
"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Talia felt like a third wheel. She was letting Garibaldi do all the grunt work and now three more people would have to be used. She wasn't too worried about the Vanguards. Even the facilities commander wouldn't dare do anything to harm them, but Zack was expendable. They would have to tread carefully.
She walked over to the center table and picked up a warm mug of chocolate. It didn't taste like the real thing, but nothing tasted the same anymore. But she saw Garibaldi working hard in the dark background, and he was obvious to read. He had some romantic interest in her; the body language gave it away.
"You better pack your bags," said Garibaldi.
Talia was shocked. "Pack? Why?"
Garibaldi replied, "When the Minbari cruiser attacked, Elvis thought it was a good idea to move all the staff to the cities and have the facility rigged for detonation. He also instructed the builders to install the jump engines right away."
This was news and she guessed that Garibaldi got wind of this before Elvis had the time to announce it. Perhaps she could use this to her own advantage.
She got up and strolled over to the computer terminal Garibaldi was seated next to.
"Do you think we can use the move as a distraction while we pass the data crystals over to the Vanguards?"
Garibaldi took a moment to process the idea, then stretched his back and said in a hopeful tone, "It looks like a good idea. When Elvis makes the announcement I'm sure even he would not discover our plan."
"I hope not. I don't want to get caught. Do you think honestly think Zack will help?"
Garibaldi got up from the table and looked directly at Talia, his voice almost boomed. "Of course he will. All the help he asked me for in the past has mounted up. Time for him to repay some of the debt." He offered her a sporting glance before finishing. "Besides, his new playmates will require some special treatment to keep them away from Elvis."
Talia wasn't sure what playmates he was talking about, but as Garibaldi left her apartment with a promise to see her again, Talia was all alone. But she wasn't scared anymore. She knew Elvis was finished with her and now she planned to expose the truth about him. She was angry, very angry.