Interlude – Darson's Feelings ... and Isha's War - Part 6
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson
Post Details
OLD:
“I know you want to get your revenge as quickly as possible, but If you put a contract out on him,” Darson continued without giving her time to respond going off on a bit of a rant as if this had happened to him before, “once word gets out, oh and word does get out…damn hitmen love to chat about fat bounties, every two bit bounty hunter and gang member will be out to get him and that’s just going to cause an unholy mess for us. I keep track of all outside contractors on the station…of note there are seventeen…but only three with the skills I think to pull this off and get away clean. Luckily you came to me first and didn't do that so we don't have to worry about that…right Isha?”
NEW:
”The official diplomatic channels are not open at this time,” Isha said trying to avoid the subject he was getting at, he already knew, or he suspected, “I already discounted that.”
Isha put the cushion aside and got to her feet. It had seemed like a perfect solution at the time … she thought as she walked over to the vast window that formed the gently curving external wall. She bit the knuckles of one hand as she stared out through her own reflection, her other arm across her stomach, the fabric of her gown bunched between her fingers round her waist.
“I came to you last,” she said without turning back.
Darson stared at her back and said in a voice whose calmness belied his anticipation, “What did you do Isha?”
"I didn't know what else to do," Isha said watching the reflection in the window. "I had merely heard that if one asks the right questions in the right places then the necessary contacts can be made. I left the embassy looking for such a solution, and when I saw her on the promenade, I knew that I did not have to look to a complete stranger for assistance. I was feeling viscerally raw at the time so it is probably a good thing that I saw T'Pal," Isha reasoned. "She was genuinely offended by what had been done to me, I do not think it is her intention to exploit me, or to talk about this. Had I not seen her, had I gone where I intended to go ... then, I think you would be right, there would be cause for concern." Isha turned her head back to look over her shoulder and wondered when he had moved so close.
As Isha spoke and Darson was sure that she couldn’t see him in the reflection of the glass, he leapt silently to his feet and allowed himself a fist pump of victory. He had knew it! But as Isha’s tale wove on, Darson put aside his joy at catching somebody in a lie and stalked silently over to her. He had promised that he would make things right, and the path to that started here. Already a plan was forming in his mind, one that was building on the ridiculously circuitous one that he had already had in motion for some time.
He moved right behind her and said, “I don’t need you to explain yourself, my dear Isha. Though I ask that you not commit anymore lies of omission again. However, the damage done by this is going to be remarkably minimal. I know T’Pal by reputation, and you by some miracle managed to pick the one contract killer who doesn’t fit the description that I laid out before. I think that we can actually turn this to our advantage.”
The wave of relief that struck Isha was so powerful that, she almost collapsed into Darson but refrained and pressed a palm against the window to steady herself. In jest someone had once said that Romulans don’t believe in luck, it was not true, luck existed, but flawless planning was preferable … this was luck imbued with all the twisted humour of the Elements.
“I don’t know any other contract killers, which I am sure is a good thing,” Isha remarked as she dropped her hand to her side and turned to face him, “How do you plan to use her?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet,” Darson admitted as he pulled out a PADD from somewhere on his person and began typing frenetically into it, “But I refer you to the eighth rule of private warfare…never do anything yourself if you can help it. We’re going to approach this problem from all angles and give Getal nowhere to run. And T’Pal is good. Very Good. It would behoove us to have her on our side. But we have to be aware of her movements…get her to follow our schedule. Do you know how to find her?”
Isha shook her head. Somehow she was no longer in control of this, he was. “I didn’t even know she was on the station until I saw her on the promenade. I left her a way to contact me if she needed to, but I did not ask her for the same,” she explained.
“No matter…I’ll track her down. But from now on, you are to have no further contact with her. Plausible deniability on your part my dear. I can inform you of what is going on, but we can’t risk you being seen with a known killer. Too many questions. Also, regarding how you gave your advance payment if you did, or any payment in general. We’re going to run it through shell companies and dummy corporations to get rid of the paper trail. There can be no links between you two.”
“I understand,” Isha said. ”There can hardly be anything strange read in to us having met once, we spent a great deal of time together on the USS Freedom when it took me back to ch’Rihan, a chance meeting and a brief conversation,” she shrugged half expecting him to throw another one of his ‘rules’ at her. “I have given payment … it was not an insignificant sum, but somehow it didn’t seem like much in exchange for a person’s life,” she said reflecting on the enourmity of what she was doing. “I indirectly own a majority holding in the hiera rhienn’arrenh shipping line, or I did until I had ten percent of my investment sold and transferred into a new account held by the Kaesa Consortium, an arrangement that houses my off-world holdings,” she might have said ‘some of’ but Isha was beginning to feel deeply uncomfortable with how much Darson now knew about her. “I don’t know if she has yet accessed that account,” she added.
“Give me the account information and I’ll take care of everything,” Darson said as he handed her the PADD. He could understand if she was nervous about handing so much information over to him, personal information, but for the time being she was playing in an arena of which he was master. And so long as she didn’t give him any reason to use the information against her, she was safe.
"Oh," Isha said as though she had just recalled something, "I don't plan to speak with Getal any time ... or well, ever if I can possibly avoid it, but my contact Meran mentioned that any mention of 'the Plague of Cardassia is sure to cause a most interesting reaction. It seems that it is a period of Cardassian history that the Ambassador dislikes being reminded about. If you should happen to speak with him you will be sure to mention it won't you," she suggested with a slightly wicked smile.
“So noted,” Darson affirmed before tucking away the PADD, reasonably confident that he had managed to hit most if not all of the bases regarding this particular operation, “I think we’re finished here my dear Isha…unless there was something else you wanted to bring up?”
“There is one other thing I wanted to ask you,” Isha said. “Before we were separated at my niece’s party you claimed that you knew me before we met aboard this station, you never told me how or where that was.”
For the first time during this whole confrontation, Darson fully hesitated. He had brought it up at the party in a rare moment of weakness brought upon by decades of reflection and holding onto a promise made ages ago…and he didn’t know if it was the correct decision to make, telling her. He moved slowly away from Isha and picked up the cloak, deliberately putting it on and pulling the hood over his head and looking up into light as if for guidance. He made a very morose shadowy figure.
He looked at Isha, his face blank but his tone managing to convey a tinge of sadness and regret, two things never associated with James Darson, “Isha…what I talked about then was a mistake on my part…I wasn’t ever meant to really reveal it…but if you want, now that you know about it, I can tell you if you wish. But I tell you…you may not like what you hear.”
Isha shook her head and let escape an exasperated breath, "I seldom do hear anything I like when it comes to you people!" whether she meant men, human beings or shady covert operatives in general was not clear. "So I just have to shrug and say, oh, a mistake, that's alright then and let it pass?" she muttered something else under her breath.
“I’m serious Isha,” Darson said, his voice suddenly hard and cold. He sat down on the Plush sofa again and sighed, “It’s a tale of tragedy and treachery, and one that most certainly doesn’t have a happy end. But…” he looked at her determined face and saw so much of the man whose secrets he held he capitulated, “You’ve earned this I guess. But this is going to take a while. Go make a pot of tea, and I’ll tell you about what I meant. The tale of me and my best friend… your husband, Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae.”
OFF
Colonel James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
6th Combined Operations Group
Deep Space 5
Ambassador Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t'Illialhlae
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson
Post Details
| Title | Darson's Feelings ... and Isha's War - Part 6 | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson | |
| Posted | Thu Sep 02, 2010 @ 7:26am | |
| Location | Romulan Consulate, Ambassador's Office | |
| Timeline | SD29 unspecified |
“I know you want to get your revenge as quickly as possible, but If you put a contract out on him,” Darson continued without giving her time to respond going off on a bit of a rant as if this had happened to him before, “once word gets out, oh and word does get out…damn hitmen love to chat about fat bounties, every two bit bounty hunter and gang member will be out to get him and that’s just going to cause an unholy mess for us. I keep track of all outside contractors on the station…of note there are seventeen…but only three with the skills I think to pull this off and get away clean. Luckily you came to me first and didn't do that so we don't have to worry about that…right Isha?”
NEW:
”The official diplomatic channels are not open at this time,” Isha said trying to avoid the subject he was getting at, he already knew, or he suspected, “I already discounted that.”
Isha put the cushion aside and got to her feet. It had seemed like a perfect solution at the time … she thought as she walked over to the vast window that formed the gently curving external wall. She bit the knuckles of one hand as she stared out through her own reflection, her other arm across her stomach, the fabric of her gown bunched between her fingers round her waist.
“I came to you last,” she said without turning back.
Darson stared at her back and said in a voice whose calmness belied his anticipation, “What did you do Isha?”
"I didn't know what else to do," Isha said watching the reflection in the window. "I had merely heard that if one asks the right questions in the right places then the necessary contacts can be made. I left the embassy looking for such a solution, and when I saw her on the promenade, I knew that I did not have to look to a complete stranger for assistance. I was feeling viscerally raw at the time so it is probably a good thing that I saw T'Pal," Isha reasoned. "She was genuinely offended by what had been done to me, I do not think it is her intention to exploit me, or to talk about this. Had I not seen her, had I gone where I intended to go ... then, I think you would be right, there would be cause for concern." Isha turned her head back to look over her shoulder and wondered when he had moved so close.
As Isha spoke and Darson was sure that she couldn’t see him in the reflection of the glass, he leapt silently to his feet and allowed himself a fist pump of victory. He had knew it! But as Isha’s tale wove on, Darson put aside his joy at catching somebody in a lie and stalked silently over to her. He had promised that he would make things right, and the path to that started here. Already a plan was forming in his mind, one that was building on the ridiculously circuitous one that he had already had in motion for some time.
He moved right behind her and said, “I don’t need you to explain yourself, my dear Isha. Though I ask that you not commit anymore lies of omission again. However, the damage done by this is going to be remarkably minimal. I know T’Pal by reputation, and you by some miracle managed to pick the one contract killer who doesn’t fit the description that I laid out before. I think that we can actually turn this to our advantage.”
The wave of relief that struck Isha was so powerful that, she almost collapsed into Darson but refrained and pressed a palm against the window to steady herself. In jest someone had once said that Romulans don’t believe in luck, it was not true, luck existed, but flawless planning was preferable … this was luck imbued with all the twisted humour of the Elements.
“I don’t know any other contract killers, which I am sure is a good thing,” Isha remarked as she dropped her hand to her side and turned to face him, “How do you plan to use her?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet,” Darson admitted as he pulled out a PADD from somewhere on his person and began typing frenetically into it, “But I refer you to the eighth rule of private warfare…never do anything yourself if you can help it. We’re going to approach this problem from all angles and give Getal nowhere to run. And T’Pal is good. Very Good. It would behoove us to have her on our side. But we have to be aware of her movements…get her to follow our schedule. Do you know how to find her?”
Isha shook her head. Somehow she was no longer in control of this, he was. “I didn’t even know she was on the station until I saw her on the promenade. I left her a way to contact me if she needed to, but I did not ask her for the same,” she explained.
“No matter…I’ll track her down. But from now on, you are to have no further contact with her. Plausible deniability on your part my dear. I can inform you of what is going on, but we can’t risk you being seen with a known killer. Too many questions. Also, regarding how you gave your advance payment if you did, or any payment in general. We’re going to run it through shell companies and dummy corporations to get rid of the paper trail. There can be no links between you two.”
“I understand,” Isha said. ”There can hardly be anything strange read in to us having met once, we spent a great deal of time together on the USS Freedom when it took me back to ch’Rihan, a chance meeting and a brief conversation,” she shrugged half expecting him to throw another one of his ‘rules’ at her. “I have given payment … it was not an insignificant sum, but somehow it didn’t seem like much in exchange for a person’s life,” she said reflecting on the enourmity of what she was doing. “I indirectly own a majority holding in the hiera rhienn’arrenh shipping line, or I did until I had ten percent of my investment sold and transferred into a new account held by the Kaesa Consortium, an arrangement that houses my off-world holdings,” she might have said ‘some of’ but Isha was beginning to feel deeply uncomfortable with how much Darson now knew about her. “I don’t know if she has yet accessed that account,” she added.
“Give me the account information and I’ll take care of everything,” Darson said as he handed her the PADD. He could understand if she was nervous about handing so much information over to him, personal information, but for the time being she was playing in an arena of which he was master. And so long as she didn’t give him any reason to use the information against her, she was safe.
"Oh," Isha said as though she had just recalled something, "I don't plan to speak with Getal any time ... or well, ever if I can possibly avoid it, but my contact Meran mentioned that any mention of 'the Plague of Cardassia is sure to cause a most interesting reaction. It seems that it is a period of Cardassian history that the Ambassador dislikes being reminded about. If you should happen to speak with him you will be sure to mention it won't you," she suggested with a slightly wicked smile.
“So noted,” Darson affirmed before tucking away the PADD, reasonably confident that he had managed to hit most if not all of the bases regarding this particular operation, “I think we’re finished here my dear Isha…unless there was something else you wanted to bring up?”
“There is one other thing I wanted to ask you,” Isha said. “Before we were separated at my niece’s party you claimed that you knew me before we met aboard this station, you never told me how or where that was.”
For the first time during this whole confrontation, Darson fully hesitated. He had brought it up at the party in a rare moment of weakness brought upon by decades of reflection and holding onto a promise made ages ago…and he didn’t know if it was the correct decision to make, telling her. He moved slowly away from Isha and picked up the cloak, deliberately putting it on and pulling the hood over his head and looking up into light as if for guidance. He made a very morose shadowy figure.
He looked at Isha, his face blank but his tone managing to convey a tinge of sadness and regret, two things never associated with James Darson, “Isha…what I talked about then was a mistake on my part…I wasn’t ever meant to really reveal it…but if you want, now that you know about it, I can tell you if you wish. But I tell you…you may not like what you hear.”
Isha shook her head and let escape an exasperated breath, "I seldom do hear anything I like when it comes to you people!" whether she meant men, human beings or shady covert operatives in general was not clear. "So I just have to shrug and say, oh, a mistake, that's alright then and let it pass?" she muttered something else under her breath.
“I’m serious Isha,” Darson said, his voice suddenly hard and cold. He sat down on the Plush sofa again and sighed, “It’s a tale of tragedy and treachery, and one that most certainly doesn’t have a happy end. But…” he looked at her determined face and saw so much of the man whose secrets he held he capitulated, “You’ve earned this I guess. But this is going to take a while. Go make a pot of tea, and I’ll tell you about what I meant. The tale of me and my best friend… your husband, Nveid i-Ihhliae tr’Illialhlae.”
OFF
Colonel James Darson
Marine Commanding Officer
6th Combined Operations Group
Deep Space 5
Ambassador Isha e-Khellian i-Ramnau t'Illialhlae