Five

For God's sake, I'd only walked ten metres!

"If you start screamin, you die. Got it?" A gruff voice whispered in Julian's ear.

"…Yes." Julian hissed. He tried to ignore his rising panic. With no safety protocols in place, he could easily end up as a blood splatter on the holodeck wall.

"Good. Turn around and empty your pockets."

Julian cautiously moved to face his assailant, who appeared to be no older than early twenties. He was a filthy young man, with a ratty, thin jacket, yellowed teeth and what Julian hoped were red ink stains on his hands. Clumps of greasy hair poked out beneath his cap and odd-looking spots decorated his dirt-covered skin; Julian recognised them as chickenpox scars. I must be in a period before the vaccine was developed.

The man raised his weapon, aiming it directly between Julian's eyes. "Start emptyin'. Now."

"I don't have anything on me." Julian spoke calmly. "I came to town with nothing-"

"Don't give me bullshit stories!" The man shouted. He aggressively shoved Julian up against the alley wall, pressing the gun harder into his forehead. "That ain't no suit a poor man would wear. I suggest you change your story. Empty them pockets!"

Julian gulped. "You can search me if you want, but I'm telling you, I don't have-"

He hadn't even finished before his assailant grabbed his throat, constricting his airway significantly. The man gave Julian a disgustingly sincere smile as he placed his weapon into his pocket before reaching into Julian's jacket. The man fumbled around in a few pockets before he removed Julian's combadge. "I do love searching dead bodies, y'know."

Bugger. I forgot I brought that.

Julian's vision quickly began to go dark. Deciding to use what oxygen he still had remaining in his brain, Julian flung his foot in the direction he hoped would connect with the assailant's groin. A loud expletive erupted from the man's throat, dropping Julian as he collapsed to the ground.

Julian tried to slow his breathing, but he still couldn't help but gulp air into his lungs. His first instinct was to start running, but he realised having a weapon would be an advantage in his quest to retrieve Garak.

The would-be mugger was still curled in the foetal position; Julian didn't realise his kick had been that strong. He stepped around the man, bending down to grab the discarded gun. His fingers had just clasped around it when an excruciating pain ripped through his head, the assailant having recovered enough to deliver a kick to Julian's brow.

Despite the throbbing ringing in his skull, Julian somehow managed to retain his grip on his new prize. He blindly jammed his elbow into the assailant before whacking the barrel of the gun across the man's face, instantly causing a spurt of blood to spring from his nose.

Gasping for breath, Julian tightened his grip on his weapon and made a sprint for the end of the alley. He didn't dare to look behind him, afraid that the man's face would appear instantly if he did. The thought of going back for his communicator was appealing, especially if he was counting on Odo to find some way to teleport him out of the program. I suppose if Odo could've teleported me out, he would've done it by now. Maybe I can find a way to get it if I can get this guy off my tail.

Upon reaching the end of the lane, Julian found himself directly under the lamp post he had originally aimed to reach. The alleyway opened up into a similar-looking street, with drab brick buildings lining both sides of a cobblestone road. The lamp post appeared to be the only one that worked on the street, as Julian couldn't see further than about fifty metres. The general atmosphere he was observing was that it appeared to be a small village in Europe, though he couldn't tell when or where exactly.

"You bastard!"

A cry from the mugger startled Julian, and he promptly turned left, dashing down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. He hoped that his brief assessment of the man's poor health status proved to be correct; he didn't feel up to running a marathon away from this criminal.

The light from the lamp post quickly faded as Julian made a dash for freedom. It wasn't long before he found himself squinting to observe his surroundings. He decided to take the chance for a break, quickly ducking into another alleyway. Leaning against the wall with a hand over his mouth to mask his rapid breathing, Julian listened for his assailant's footsteps, which had seemingly disappeared.

He waited there for some time, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. The village didn't appear as large as he had initially thought, as he now seemed to be on the outskirts. The cobblestone road gradually dissolved into a dirt road lined with scruffy bushes, leading towards a luscious forest about fifty metres ahead of his current position.

He was suddenly aware of heavy footsteps. Unsure what direction they were coming from, Julian decided to take a gamble and bolted for the forest. Sharp branches hitched on his suit as he ran. He kept swatting at the leaves crowding his vision, one or two catching themselves in his mouth. He felt the sting of small cuts across his hands and cheeks as he swiped at the obstacles in front of him.

The footsteps grew louder, though he couldn't tell if that was because there were more people pursuing him or if the assailant had caught up to him.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by another unknown figure and violently slammed into a thick group of bushes. The figure put its full body weight onto Julian, firmly pinning him to the ground. A hand clamped down strongly on his mouth to squeeze it shut. Julian instantly cried out, though it came out as a pathetic squeak.

Julian's eyes widened as he stared at his attacker, letting out of an exclamation of surprise. Garak?

"Shush, doctor!"