Mhevet looked at him in terror. “You think the castellan knew?”
“Well, obviously she knew by the time the ambassador spoke to her—”
“But she might have known earlier? Do you even mean before . . . what happened to Bacco?”
“All I’m saying is that the ambassador went into a meeting with her, presumably to tell her what we both know, then left that meeting and was dead almost immediately after.”
Mhevet went cold. “But that would mean a cover-up at the highest level. And it makes no sense! She and Bacco were tight; they were close. . . . You can’t mean Rakena Garan was involved in her death?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think anymore! At the very least, she’s been involved in the cover-up. And my point is—I wouldn’t trust anyone right now. Not in the constabularies, not in the CIB, and not in the administration. We may as well go and hide in North Torr!”
“I was going to try HARF—” Mhevet stopped as footsteps came clattering overhead. Irian came hurrying down the fire escape, pulling a sleepy little girl behind her.
“I don’t know what trouble you’re in, Ari,” she said, “but there’s a police officer at the door asking for you. Coranis is holding him off, but you’d better get going.” She glanced at Dygan, then looked away. “If you go down this alley, you’ll come to a wire fence. There’s a hole cut into it. Squeeze through, and you’ll come out onto a path running along the tramlines.” She pushed the little girl toward them. “And hurry up!”
They didn’t wait around for her to tell them again. Mhevet grabbed the little girl’s hand, and the three of them sped off along the alley. As Irian promised, they came out onto a path running along the tramlines. The rain was lashing down.
“We’re still too much out in the open,” Dygan muttered. “And fairly distinctive . . .”
“Seriously,” said Mhevet, “if you can think of anywhere we can go, I’m open to suggestions.”
“Let’s get under that bridge first.”
They dashed through the rain to the cover of the bridge. Mhevet checked on the little girl. She was wide awake, bright-eyed and frightened, and trying to hide it. Mhevet hugged her. “You’re doing great,” she said.
“They’ll never take me alive,” the girl said gamely. Her teeth were chattering.
“You bet,” said Mhevet, taking off her wet jacket and putting it around the child’s shoulders. Better than nothing.
“How did they find us?” Dygan asked.
“I don’t know. . . . You left a message on my comm. They must have been able to trace even that.”
“In which case . . . You may as well use the comm again.”
They looked at each other. “It’s a risk,” Mhevet said.
There was a shout in the distance. “I’m going to try down here!”
“We’ve not really got a lot of options,” Dygan said.
“All right. Here goes nothing.”
Mhevet punched in the code. There was some to-ing and fro-ing, and then Fry’s voice came out of the comm.
“Investigator? How can I help you?”
“Commander,” Mhevet said, “I know this is possibly the most irregular request you’ll ever get, but is there any chance that you could beam me and a couple of friends into HARF?” She peered out anxiously into the rain. “Soonish?”
* * *
“Investigator,” said Fry, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. All our installations on Prime are closed to Cardassian citizens. Ari, we’ve been escorting people off the site—”
“Maggie, this is life or death—”
Šmrhová inched closer to Fry. She, Worf, and the commander were in the installation’s small communications center. They’d been monitoring reports from other HARF installations across Prime about the lockdown when this call had come through.
“Life or death,” Fry murmured.
“Could be a trick,” said Šmrhová. “Someone could be forcing her to say all this to get her inside.”
“A complicated plan, Lieutenant,” said Worf.
“This is Cardassia Prime, sir,” Šmrhová replied, and began checking at the companel.
“There have been no signs of any intention to attack the base in that way,” Worf said. “All the disorder has been on the streets—”
“A call’s out for this woman, Mhevet,” Šmrhová said, twisting the screen around so that her superior officer could see. “The constabularies are looking for her. She seems to have kidnapped a child—”
“Maggie, please help!”
Šmrhová listened closely. This really did sound like someone desperate. In the background she heard another voice. “What’s going on? Are they going to help us?”
“Dygan?” asked Šmrhová, moving around to the comm. “Is that you? Dygan, it’s Šmrhová!”
“Aneta! Aneta, is that you?”
“Yes, yes it is—Ravel, I thought you were on extended leave. What have you been up to? What’s going on?”
“Aneta, we’re in trouble. We need to get somewhere safe. Can you help?”
The Enterprise officers exchanged a look. Šmrhová raised her eyebrows. Worf shrugged.
“Sir,” Šmrhová said quietly, “Dygan’s practically Starfleet. . . .”
“So he is,” Worf replied.
“Ari, I’m sorry,” Fry said, “but our orders are to keep the compound closed to all non-Starfleet or Federation personnel. . . .” She stopped speaking. The point had become moot. Dygan had materialized, looking rougher than usual. He was accompanied by two more Cardassians: a female and a little girl. All three were soaking wet and dripping rainwater onto the floor. Fry looked at the trio in shock. “What just happened?”
“Sorry, Commander,” Šmrhová said. “I must have leaned on the wrong control.”
“Lieutenant,” said Fry, “we are under direct orders not to allow any Cardassian citizens on this compound—”
“They were in trouble, sir!” Šmrhová said. “What else were we supposed to do? Dygan’s one of us! You can’t expect us to serve alongside someone and then ignore him when he asks me for help!” She gestured around them. “Isn’t that the whole point of this place?”
Fry suppressed a small smile. “Well,” she said, “you have me there.” She turned to Mhevet. “Ari, since you’re here—care to introduce me to your friends?”
“Yes, of course—Glinn Ravel Dygan, of the . . .”
“Sixth Order,” said Dygan, helpfully. “Although most recently of the Enterprise.”
“And this one”—Mhevet patted the girl gently on the shoulder—“will be our chief witness should we ever be able to bring the murderer of Aleyni Cam to trial.”
Fry drew in a sharp breath. “You know who it was?”
“Yes, we know, but it’s complicated.” She offered Fry her palm, and Fry pressed her own against it. “I don’t know how many rules you’ve broken bringing us here, Maggie, but you saved this one’s life.” She pulled the little girl to her. “And ours.”
“I see.” Fry turned to Šmrhová and Worf. “The Enterprise? You’ve all served together?”
“Yes,” said Dygan. He was out of breath.
Šmrhová patted him on the shoulder. “Dygan is one of the finest officers I’ve served with.”
Dygan turned to Šmrhová. “Thanks, Aneta,” he said. “I owe you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Šmrhová. She lowered her voice. “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
The little girl, all ears, giggled. “I like that,” she said. “Forgiveness, not permission. I’ll remember that.”
Ten
Standing at the third-story window of Commander Fry’s office, Jean-Luc Picard watched the rain leave red streaks on the plastic glass. It was an ever-changing complex of shifting patterns. Outside, a sodden evening was settling sullenly upon a tired and dispirited city. Here in the temporary safety of the compound, however, all was quiet.
At the desk behind Picard, Glinn Dygan and
the Cardassian investigator, Mhevet, were sitting with the little girl between them. Dygan was showing her a series of holo-images.
“What about this man?”
“No, never seen him either. Never seen any of them. Ari, I’m tired! I want to go to bed! I want to go home!”
“I know,” Mhevet said soothingly. “But you can’t go home. Not yet. We’ll go through a couple more of these, and then we’ll find you somewhere to sleep.” She glanced anxiously at Picard, who nodded. He tapped on his combadge and issued a few quick instructions to Šmrhová. Nursery duty, he thought, will serve as preliminary punishment until I find out who is responsible.
“All right, last few,” said Dygan. “How about this one?”
Silence. Picard turned quickly to see the little girl staring at the image in front of her. She poked at it with her small finger, and the picture wavered. “I think I’ve seen him.”
Dygan and Mhevet exchanged a quick look over the child’s head.
“Listen,” Mhevet said quietly. “It’s very important that you’re sure. You don’t have to recognize any of them. There’s nothing to win for recognizing any of them, and you won’t be in trouble if you don’t recognize any of them. It’s much worse if you say you recognize one of them when you don’t—”
“No, I’ve seen him! Definitely! He was the one that was with your friend that time.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. It’s the scar. That scar.”
The captain, coming to join them, rested his hand gently upon the child’s shoulder. “So what do we have here?”
The girl, who for some reason was eager for his approval, looked up quickly. She pointed at the image in front of her: a young Cardassian male with a distinctive white scar running down one side of his face.
“I’ve seen him!” she said proudly. She shot a quick look at Mhevet. “I’m not lying, Ari. Honestly. You said it was important, so I wouldn’t lie. Promise.”
Mhevet patted the child’s hand. “All right. Brilliant work. You’ve got a good eye and a great memory. Shall we get you to bed now?”
“Can I have something to eat first?”
Mhevet laughed. “All right. Kitchen first, then bed.”
“Wait a minute, Investigator,” Picard said. “I have someone lined up for this job.” He tapped his combadge. “Lieutenant Šmrhová to Commander Fry’s office.”
Šmrhová, when she arrived, took on her new task as babysitter with equanimity. She jerked her head to the child. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s see what the kitchen can do for us.”
When they left, Picard turned to Dygan. “Do you know who that is?”
Dygan nodded. “His name is Colak. He’s one of Velok Dekreny’s people. He’s a nasty piece of work.”
“Is he?” asked Mhevet. “I’ll enjoy arresting him when the time comes. I’ll enjoy seeing Dekreny’s face when I arrest him.”
“Good work, Dygan, as ever,” said Picard.
The glinn switched off his personal comm, and the image of the scarred Cardassian disappeared. “I hope so.”
“You’ve established a direct connection between the extremists in North Torr and the city constabulary,” Picard said. “And all signs seem to be that you’ve found the murderers of Lieutenant Aleyni. I’d say that’s a job well done.”
“Well,” said Dygan. “We’ll see.”
Picard glanced at Mhevet. “I imagine this must be a shock for you, Investigator. Did you work closely with Fereny?”
“He was certainly keen to work closely with me,” she said. “He asked me constantly about the Aleyni case. I thought it was because he wanted to work on his first murder investigation.” She rubbed at tired eyes. “You know, of all the people in the department, he’s the last I would have said would be involved with people like Dekreny. Shows how much I know.”
Dygan looked at her sympathetically. “The whole point is not to draw attention to yourself.”
“Perhaps,” she said. “Still, it was on my watch. And we’ve no guarantee we’ll be able to bring either of them to justice. I’ve no idea what’s happening at the constabulary now that Kalanis is out of the way. I wouldn’t dare set foot outside this installation right now.”
“We’ll see what the morning brings,” Picard said.
The door opened, and Worf entered. “Another of our guests has arrived, sir,” he said. He looked at Dygan and Mhevet with a dry expression. “We are certainly receiving a large number of Cardassian visitors tonight. I’ve had her taken to one of the small meeting rooms along the corridor from here. It’s hardly the most impressive of environments for a guest of her stature, but it is the best that this building can do.”
“Thank you, Number One.” Picard turned to the two Cardassians. “Well,” he said. “Shall we see what our guest makes of your discoveries?”
The two young Cardassians followed Worf out of the door, but Picard held back for a moment. He was thinking about the little girl, the only link in the chain between Aleyni and Fereny, and Fereny and the True Way activists in North Torr. She had looked very small, and very vulnerable. Quickly, he sent a message to his wife:
Kiss René for me.
* * *
The captain of the Enterprise opened the door to the meeting room. It was indeed something of a bare room: packing cases stood around, the shelves were already empty, and chairs were stacked up in one corner. Sitting down, small but very upright, with the dark window behind her, was Castellan Rakena Garan.
She rose when she saw Picard.
“Captain Picard,” she said. “I’ve had to cancel several pressing appointments this evening to meet you. I know that the current situation grieves us both, but there’s very little I can do without some sign of movement from your own people—”
“Castellan Garan,” Picard said, taking the seat opposite her, “I’m sorry to have brought you here under false pretenses. I don’t want to discuss Starfleet’s withdrawal with you. There has, as yet, been no change in policy—”
“Then why, exactly, am I here?”
Picard studied her thoughtfully. All his impressions of her had always been positive. She was strong-minded, shrewd, perhaps lacking in sparkle, but clearly a dedicated public servant. Could she really have been involved in the murder of Bacco?
“Castellan,” he said, “how important is our alliance to you?”
“What?” She stared at him. “You know exactly how important! I’ve staked my political career on it! I believe it’s vital—”
“I am sincerely glad to hear that.” He leaned back over his shoulder and called out to the two people waiting in the corridor. “Come in, please.”
Dygan came in first, looking faintly embarrassed at being dressed as a rain-soaked street thug for a meeting with his head of state. Garan’s eyes widened in dismay, but she masked it quickly, Picard noted. Mhevet, coming in next, looked at the castellan damply but without fear.
“Who are these people?” Garan asked.
“This,” said Picard, “is Glinn Ravel Dygan. He was until recently serving on the Enterprise.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of you, Glinn Dygan.” Garan gave him a quick, tight smile. “All good, I hasten to add.”
“Thank you, ma’am. It’s a privilege to serve the new Cardassia.”
“And this,” Picard continued, “is Investigator Arati Mhevet, of the city constabulary.”
“Another name that’s impressed itself upon me. Reta Kalanis has spoken about you very often, Investigator. I believe she has you in mind as a possible successor. Kalanis and I have been colleagues for a long time, and we worked well together.” The castellan gave a heavy sigh. “I hope that this business of her suspension can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
“So do I, ma’am,” said Mhevet.
The castellan looked around at the three of them. “So, two of Cardassia’s finest. Captain, I’m honored to meet them both—but why tonight, and why here, of all places? It hasn’t escaped my attention that I am, t
echnically, on Federation soil.”
“Two of Cardassia’s finest indeed. And, sadly, this is where this meeting has to happen. Both Dygan and Mhevet are, for the moment, under our protection—”
“Protection?” The castellan looked disturbed. “Why would a police investigator and an army glinn need to come here for that? Why are their own people not able to protect them?”
“Because we know,” Mhevet said. “We know about the True Way.”
Garan stared at her. “Know what about the True Way?”
“At the behest of Ambassador Garak,” Picard said, “Glinn Dygan has for the past few months been undercover amongst extremists currently operating out of North Torr—”
“Far be it from me to speak ill of the dead,” the castellan said, “but Ambassador Garak had a habit of wildly overstepping his authority.”
“Which is our good fortune, at least,” Picard said. “By which I mean the good fortune of the Federation. Before the ambassador died, Glinn Dygan was able to tell him that in all likelihood the True Way was responsible for the death of Nanietta Bacco.” Picard paused and watched her closely. “I’m sorry to have to speak so bluntly, Castellan.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one in this room who is sorry,” she said softly.
“When I say ‘we know,’ ” Picard went on, “I’m speaking for the moment of four people only. I’ve not as yet informed any of my superiors.”
She touched her hand against the beads around her neck.
“First of all, I want to establish what you knew, and when. Castellan,” he said, “you must realize that this looks very bad. The ambassador came to see you, presumably to tell you what he knew, and within minutes of leaving you, his skimmer was destroyed—” He stopped short at the sight of her fury.
“What do you take me for!” she said angrily. “I knew Nanietta Bacco! I knew her well! We were colleagues—no, we were friends! We were trying to bring our civilizations together! How could you think such a thing of me?” She stood up. “Who are you, Captain Picard, to question me? What evidence do you have that one of us murdered Nan Bacco? Yesterday it was Bajoran, today it was a Tzenkethi, tonight it is a Cardassian! Your people are in shock, I understand that, but to throw accusations such as this around is unconscionable!”
Star Trek: Fall 02: The Crimson Shadow Page 18
