Running Down a Lead

Posted on Thu Sep 12th, 2019 @ 9:18am by Lieutenant JG Gallia Norris

Mission: Mission 3: Masquerade
Location: Private Vessel-S.S. Orca
Timeline: after Murder Most Foul
799 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Annalise Evans and Cara Starfire were hot on the trail of some hard news, the kind that asshat Billoit wouldn't know anything about, and had been very lucky to catch a repurposed Oberth class cargo ship that was headed their way with less than a day's notice. As she sat on the bed they were sharing by necessity, she pored over the record of Aubrey Tate's last escape and the nearly five years it had taken to recapture him, "This is insane." She muttered.

"What? We're two grown women, we can totally share a bed and not be lesbians." Cara replied, "It's okay! I mean, I might need a cuddle if I have a nightmare, but...."

"Not that, Cara." Annalise sighed, handing the padd to her partner, "Look, that's the cabin where Tate held Dola chi-Trei, there's literally no way he could've gotten away from it, much less off the planet, without some kind of help. I mean, less than three days later we've got a now confirmed sighting in the Bajor sector, two murders. A week after that, he's sighted on Toriachade at his former home. He walked around the backyard, even spoke to the little girl living there, told him to take good care of his tree, nobody harmed. I mean, he even gave her an orange..."

"That's really weird for a monster." Cara stated the obvious, removing her bra from under her oversized FNN t-shirt, a gift from Annalise, "I mean, one day he's chopping people up, the next day he's having a snack with a kid. It's almost like two different people."

"Right." The veteran reporter nodded, then sighed, "I just don't know what it all means."

"Uhh, Annie, is it my imagination or is this, like, weird?" Cara said, holding up the PADD.

"What, Cara?" She asked, whatever the younger woman was seeing, she was missing it.

"Okay, so like he's on Toriachade on this day, but he's actually got indictments for murdering the crew of a Klingon freighter on the same day, less than three hours later." Cara began, "But I looked up the coordinates and that's like five hours away from the Earth system..."

"Sol system, sweetie." Annalise corrected her, "But you're right. There's no way he could've been at both places in one day."

"But the Klingon authorities say they've got a DNA match." Cara scratched her head, "And so do the Cardassians at Toriachade."

"Means one of two things, either there's more than one of him..." Annalise began, interrupted by the fact Cara was suddenly clinging to her, ~Like I'd be much help if he was here, but whatever makes you feel better, kid.~ "Or, and this is more likely, someone's lying."

"So, what do we do now?" Cara asked, genuinely unsure.

"We track down the prosecutor who handed down the indictments and trace this ship, the K.S. Koval." Annalise answered, years of practice had made the tough questions easy and the easy ones automatic, "Then we figure out who's lying."

"Right." Cara smiled, "Serious journalism."

A knock came on their door, the chime was out, and Annalise opened it since she was still dressed, "Uh, ladies, hello." Captain Marty Hooper said as he stepped in, "So, I just got a nice piece of information for you."

"Oh?" Annalise raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Share."

"Yeah, seems there's been an attempted murder on Cortic VI and we're going to have to divert, make the delivery there first so they can give this woman treatment enough to keep her alive." Hooper replied, "Sorry, that will extend our trip two days, but don't worry, it's on the house..."

"So, who got killed?" Cara asked.

"Nobody, Sweetie." Annalise sighed, "Nobody gets killed in an attempted murder." Times like this she wanted to scream at the kid, or shake her until the light came on, but she reminded herself the little redhead was really trying, "Anyway, who is this victim we're diverting two days out of the way for?"

"Now that is where the good information for you comes into play." Marty smirked, pausing with his palm upturned.

"Okay." Annalise nodded, slipping a strip of latinum into his palm, "Now talk, you frackin' pirate."

"Colonel Kerri Tate." He replied, "Authorities on Cortic say her brother found her and tried to gut her like a fish. That worth your money."

"Very much so." Annalise nodded, "And our time."

"Speaking of time, ladies, Ol' Marty's got a nice bottle of..." He began, cut off by Annalise shaking her head.

"Sorry, Marty." She smiled, putting an arm around Cara's shoulder, "But we'd really like to be alone..." With that, she shut the door in his face, leaving 'Ol' Marty' looking for some other form of entertainment and some other way to fix his frustrations.

-OFF