The Game is Afoot (PM Marco to join)

[Ezac]

[Deck 280]

Marco slithered in like a shadow and was behind Ezac and Shavar in an instant.  He narrowed his eyes at the situation, his face as expressionless as before.

Unless you consider permanent scowl an expression?

Ezac remained crouched and watched as Benitez seemed to pop out of thin air from behind Shavar.

"I hope you're good with that rifle, Crewman Ezac."  He began, his voice so low it was more of a rumble.  "As soon as he points the weapon away from the child I want you to fire on him."  He did not think he had to explain to the Breen to stun the man, so he didn't insult his intelligence by ordering a stun.

Without questioning the procedure that Benitez had laid out, Ezac quietly slipped the phaser rifle from over his shoulder and moved to the opposite side of the crate behind which the security team were lying in wait. He lay down prostrate and slowly moved the muzzle of the rifle around the corner of the crate until he had the male figure's torso lined up in his sights. He set the rifle to "Stun."

Deck 280

...

Taking off his weapon and handing it over to James, Marco moved forward with his hands raised.  He hoped Ezac wasn't the type to hesitate and shot the bastard.  "I'm Crewman Marco Benitez of the Starbase Columbus."  He began and moved forward until the man stiffened.

"Stop where you are!"  He ordered nervously, and swung his weapon at Marco, finding him a threat, which was exactly what Marco wanted.

The moment the weapon was swung around and pointed at Benitez, Ezac gently squeezed the trigger of his rifle, sending a streak of bright light into the aggressor's chest.

[Daniel Howell]

[Medical Bay - Autopsy Suite]

Zex finished the autopsy in record time.  Her execution was flawless.  So after she completed it, the EMH Observer simply offered her a nod and disappeared.

Until next time then the Deltan thought to herself as moved the body into storage.  Then she removed her gloves and white scrubs and placed them in the replicator for recycling.  Finally she was free to head into the main room of the Medical Bay.

Zex still needed to check the serial number on the Engineering Tool.  And she needed to see the place where the body had been found.  If only to help her get a more complete picture of how things may have happened.

Maybe an Engineer could help with both.  So she tapped her combadge.  Ensign Zex to Lieutenant Howell, I need your assistance in the Medical Bay please she said.

Operations
Howell was doing a shift in Operations. He was currently in charge of engineering as the chief was off duty. As he was making a routine check of the power grid, an essential review on a starbase, he got a call though the comms system from Zex. Confused, Dan tapped his badge and replied =/\=Acknowledged Ensign, I'm on my way. Howell out=/\= And with that handed the station to another engineer and then made his way for the turbolift.

Medical Bay
A few moments later, Dan arrived at the medical bay and saw Ensign Zex. Heading over, Howell said "Ensign, what can I do for you?"

[Marco Benitez]

Deck 280

The Breen's aim was true, not that Marco thought it wouldn't be, he had only been worried about hesitation.   He watched silently as the man's body dropped to the ground and released his hold not only on the child but on his weapon as well.  Marco studied the situation only for a nano-second before motioning his fellow security into action.  "Get him a medic, but first move him into one of the interrogation rooms.   Have him checked out then woken up."  Marco clenched his jaw, "I have questions for him."

He turned to the girl, "It's okay, little girl, you're safe now."  Marco was about to call in one of the female crewmembers when the child launched herself towards him and hugged him around the waist where she began to cry in relief.  The move shocked Marco, who was rarely shocked.

What was it about him that screamed Á¢â,¬Ëœcuddly'?  This wasn't the first child to engage in this peculiar way but he wasn't callus enough to push her away.  Instead, Marco awkwardly patted her head and gave her a hesitant, "There, there, it's all over, you're safe."

It wasn't long before he was rescued by what he assumed were the child's parents.  The girl seemed to know them well enough and they were accompanied by Starfleet security.  "Make sure you get their report."  He ordered lightly, trying not to frighten the child more than she was, "And our apologies."  Marco was positive there would be a lawsuit, after all, it was a Starfleet Base and although Starfleet had no need for monetary gain, other races and planets didn't think the same.

After he was relieved of the child he turned to the Breen and nodded, "Good work, crewman Ezac.  Please lead the security crews to finish inspecting the ships, and hopefully avoid another fiasco.  The less people we have around the less that can cause ..."  He looked around, then back at Ezac to finish with a simple, "...trouble."

Marco then turned to Ensign Hawk and simply asked, "How are you at playing the Á¢â,¬Ëœgood' cop, Ensign?" 

[Kirok]

Operations
Howell was doing a shift in Operations. He was currently in charge of engineering as the chief was off duty. As he was making a routine check of the power grid, an essential review on a starbase, he got a call though the comms system from Zex. Confused, Dan tapped his badge and replied =/\=Acknowledged Ensign, I'm on my way. Howell out=/\= And with that handed the station to another engineer and then made his way for the turbolift.

Medical Bay
A few moments later, Dan arrived at the medical bay and saw Ensign Zex. Heading over, Howell said "Ensign, what can I do for you?"

[Medical Bay]

"Hi Danny.  Thanks for coming so quick" Zex said.  They were the only two living people in the room so she didn't think he would mind he calling him by a nickname.  "I want you to take a look at this" he said showing him the engineering tool she had in a clear bag.

The tool was bloody, but he serial number was clearly visible.  "I think this is a spanner.  It was sticking out of Reynaldo Guerrera's throat.  So, I want to know how you would typically carry this tool and who it belonged to, if not Mr. Guerrera" she explained as he handed the bag over to him.

[Ezac]

[Deck 280]

Although he felt a sense of relief over the capture of the aggressor, Ezac wondered if the stunned captive was in fact the murderer. He stood up and slid his phaser rifle over his shoulder and watched as the security team literally dragged their handcuffed captive down the hall and toward the turbolift.

Ezac watched how ecstatic the child was when she lunged at Benitez and offered a hug. Moments like this were those for which Ezac willingly subjected himself to his work. For a brief moment, he thought of Nioa.

Deck 280

...

After he was relieved of the child he turned to the Breen and nodded, "Good work, crewman Ezac.  Please lead the security crews to finish inspecting the ships, and hopefully avoid another fiasco.  The less people we have around the less that can cause ..."  He looked around, then back at Ezac to finish with a simple, "...trouble."

...

"Absolutely, Crewman. I will see to it." Ezac immediately turned from Benitez and proceeded to round up a few small, unoccupied groups of security members.

[James H. Hawk]

"Oh, I rekon I could give it a good shot," James replied to Benitez, "Besides, how could this face be anything other than a good cop?" James asked rhetorically. His mum, when she was alive and later his grandmother, always used to tell him that he could never make a living or never learn anything from all those hours he spent playing holo overly and watching old Earth films. Perhaps today he would get an opportunity and his time playing detective holo novels would finally pay off.

[Marco Benitez]

[Deck 280]
"Absolutely, Crewman. I will see to it." Ezac immediately turned from Benitez and proceeded to round up a few small, unoccupied groups of security members.

Marco took some time to watch as the Breen began to take charge of the team, and how his team was getting very comfortable with the Breen in charge.  He suddenly wished he had Ezac on his team, but that man was on a starship, something that Marco had been reluctant to do himself.

The ships that had been cleared were quickly asking for departure permission from the Columbus and he hoped that this unfortunate mishap wouldn't put some off them off from servicing Starfleet.  He doubted that would be a problem, for every one of the suppliers that dropped, two more were there to take their place.  Such was capitalism.

"Oh, I rekon I could give it a good shot," James replied to Benitez, "Besides, how could this face be anything other than a good cop?" James asked rhetorically. His mum, when she was alive and later his grandmother, always used to tell him that he could never make a living or never learn anything from all those hours he spent playing holo overly and watching old Earth films. Perhaps today he would get an opportunity and his time playing detective holo novels would finally pay off.

Marco turned towards James and gave him a sober nod, his face unreadable again.  "Still, Ensign, this isn't a game and it's been my experience that these type of men can read us as well as we can read them.  Just follow my lead.  I am sure you will do fine."  The last was more of an assurance to himself than to James.  Still, he had chosen the young Ensign for a reason and his baby face features were only part of it.  His youthfulness and eagerness to serve would contrast greatly with Marco's more veteran style.

He motioned for the younger man to follow him as he made his way towards the Security deck where the interrogation rooms were.  All through the walk, Marco made himself mentally ready for the interrogation.  He wanted this man to be the killer, but at the same time he Á¢â,¬Ëœknew' that he wasn't.  The man's style was all wrong and if he was the brain behind that engineering sabotage then Marco would eat his shoes.

Still, he had been surprised before, but he doubted it would be the case this time.  The guard on duty pointed out which room the suspect was in and Marco made his way towards there.  He opened the door and allowed James to go first, then he entered himself and shut the door behind him.   Marco eyed the man that Ezac had just shot and studied him as he pressed himself against the farthest wall and crossed his arm.  He would allow James to take over for the moment so he could gauge the suspect.

His name, taken by Starfleet Security means, was Albert Young, a Terran born in one of the colonies that Marco himself had been born on.  So Marco was very familiar with Albert's Á¢â,¬Ëœtype'.  The whole I was born to poverty so I blame all my badness on my upbringing but did not work with Marco.  For every child who grew up to be like Albert, twice grew up to be just like Marco; a positive citizen of the Federation.  Still, there were too many Alberts out there.

Albert looked at the young officer and his trained dog who lurked in the background ready to bite his head off.  He gave the fair haired young man a frown and growled, "Your men shot at me!"  He pointed a thick meaty finger at Marco, "That one there is responsible!  I've known men like him, they pretend to be all official but turn out to be the worse rats."  He stood up and pulled at his restraints trying to get at James.  "If I didn't have these on, you runt, I'd break your neck and your trained dog there wouldn't be able to stop me in time, I swear, I promise you..!!"   Albert growled and pulled at the restraints that held and prevented him from advancing on the young Ensign.   

[Daniel Howell]

[Medical Bay]

"Hi Danny.  Thanks for coming so quick" Zex said.  They were the only two living people in the room so she didn't think he would mind he calling him by a nickname.  "I want you to take a look at this" he said showing him the engineering tool she had in a clear bag.

The tool was bloody, but he serial number was clearly visible.  "I think this is a spanner.  It was sticking out of Reynaldo Guerrera's throat.  So, I want to know how you would typically carry this tool and who it belonged to, if not Mr. Guerrera" she explained as he handed the bag over to him.

"I see." Howell replied in a shocked and confused tone, to go with a matching facial expression. Inspecting the tool that was in the bag, Dan said this is definitely a hyper-spanner. I know that this tool has come from one of the spare kits that is kept in engineering. All of the serial numbers of this series are in spare cases."

Thinking for a moment, Howell mimicaed holding a tool. It was sort of held vertical in the grip of a whole hand. Dan then looked back to Zex, saying "This is how you would hold the tool with normal usage."

[Kirok]

"I see." Howell replied in a shocked and confused tone, to go with a matching facial expression. Inspecting the tool that was in the bag, Dan said this is definitely a hyper-spanner. I know that this tool has come from one of the spare kits that is kept in engineering. All of the serial numbers of this series are in spare cases."

Thinking for a moment, Howell mimicaed holding a tool. It was sort of held vertical in the grip of a whole hand. Dan then looked back to Zex, saying "This is how you would hold the tool with normal usage."

Zex nodded her had as Dan spoke.  "So, our victim could have picked it up at the beginning of his shift or it could have been picked up by someone else in Engineering?" she asked.  "And once an Engineer took possession of it, would he or she have placed it in a pocket or tool belt or would they have carried it in a tool box with their other tools?" she asked curiously.

As she spoke, the data padd at her hip buzzed.  It was the test results from the nail scraping.  She lifted the padd to her eyes and quickly scanned the information.

[Daniel Howell]

Zex nodded her had as Dan spoke.  "So, our victim could have picked it up at the beginning of his shift or it could have been picked up by someone else in Engineering?" she asked.  "And once an Engineer took possession of it, would he or she have placed it in a pocket or tool belt or would they have carried it in a tool box with their other tools?" she asked curiously.

As she spoke, the data padd at her hip buzzed.  It was the test results from the nail scraping.  She lifted the padd to her eyes and quickly scanned the information.

Howell thought for a moment, before replying "Well, these are spare kits that are kept in an Engineering locker, so anyone that is an engineer has access to them." Quickly, Howell then answered the second question "Normally they would be kept in the actual box, but if needs be they can be kept in a tool belt."

[James H. Hawk]

Marco took some time to watch as the Breen began to take charge of the team, and how his team was getting very comfortable with the Breen in charge.  He suddenly wished he had Ezac on his team, but that man was on a starship, something that Marco had been reluctant to do himself.

The ships that had been cleared were quickly asking for departure permission from the Columbus and he hoped that this unfortunate mishap wouldn't put some off them off from servicing Starfleet.  He doubted that would be a problem, for every one of the suppliers that dropped, two more were there to take their place.  Such was capitalism.

Marco turned towards James and gave him a sober nod, his face unreadable again.  "Still, Ensign, this isn't a game and it's been my experience that these type of men can read us as well as we can read them.  Just follow my lead.  I am sure you will do fine."  The last was more of an assurance to himself than to James.  Still, he had chosen the young Ensign for a reason and his baby face features were only part of it.  His youthfulness and eagerness to serve would contrast greatly with Marco's more veteran style.

He motioned for the younger man to follow him as he made his way towards the Security deck where the interrogation rooms were.  All through the walk, Marco made himself mentally ready for the interrogation.  He wanted this man to be the killer, but at the same time he Á¢â,¬Ëœknew' that he wasn't.  The man's style was all wrong and if he was the brain behind that engineering sabotage then Marco would eat his shoes.

Still, he had been surprised before, but he doubted it would be the case this time.  The guard on duty pointed out which room the suspect was in and Marco made his way towards there.  He opened the door and allowed James to go first, then he entered himself and shut the door behind him.   Marco eyed the man that Ezac had just shot and studied him as he pressed himself against the farthest wall and crossed his arm.  He would allow James to take over for the moment so he could gauge the suspect.

His name, taken by Starfleet Security means, was Albert Young, a Terran born in one of the colonies that Marco himself had been born on.  So Marco was very familiar with Albert's Á¢â,¬Ëœtype'.  The whole I was born to poverty so I blame all my badness on my upbringing but did not work with Marco.  For every child who grew up to be like Albert, twice grew up to be just like Marco; a positive citizen of the Federation.  Still, there were too many Alberts out there.

Albert looked at the young officer and his trained dog who lurked in the background ready to bite his head off.  He gave the fair haired young man a frown and growled, "Your men shot at me!"  He pointed a thick meaty finger at Marco, "That one there is responsible!  I've known men like him, they pretend to be all official but turn out to be the worse rats."  He stood up and pulled at his restraints trying to get at James.  "If I didn't have these on, you runt, I'd break your neck and your trained dog there wouldn't be able to stop me in time, I swear, I promise you..!!"   Albert growled and pulled at the restraints that held and prevented him from advancing on the young Ensign.   

[Interrogation Room]

James entered calmly and sat down opposite Albert. Even as the large man rattled his fists at James, he remained cool and calm ignoring most of the man's comments. James smiled slightly as he began talking, "You say he's my lackey," James said pointing at Benitez, "But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," James leaned closer to Albert and said quietly, "I might have the fancy pips, but Benitez...he's the real boss around here, and when he gets mad..." James chuckled slightly as he leaned back again. "Here's the thing Al, you don't mind if I call you Al? There's only so much I can do to keep him in line, so you have two options here: You answer my questions to my satisfaction or you answer Benitez's questions through his...persuasion methods," James said, pausing to let his words sink in before continuing, "And unfortunately sometimes the cameras recording our interviews don't always work..." James said glancing at the recording device which as of course working just fine but Albert didn't know that.

[Marco Benitez]

[Interrogation Room]

James entered calmly and sat down opposite Albert. Even as the large man rattled his fists at James, he remained cool and calm ignoring most of the man's comments. James smiled slightly as he began talking, "You say he's my lackey," James said pointing at Benitez, "But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," James leaned closer to Albert and said quietly, "I might have the fancy pips, but Benitez...he's the real boss around here, and when he gets mad..." James chuckled slightly as he leaned back again. "Here's the thing Al, you don't mind if I call you Al? There's only so much I can do to keep him in line, so you have two options here: You answer my questions to my satisfaction or you answer Benitez's questions through his...persuasion methods," James said, pausing to let his words sink in before continuing, "And unfortunately sometimes the cameras recording our interviews don't always work..." James said glancing at the recording device which as of course working just fine but Albert didn't know that.

Interrogation Room

Albert looked at the officer's young face than at the figure behind him, then back at him.  He laughed and settled back on the chair  Resting his heavy arms on the tabletop he continued his mock, "He's no real boss, just another colonial brat like me, cept he sold out so he can wear that shiny badge."  He laughed again, and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Now, I want my counsel, I have nothing to say to you."  Albert turned his ugly mug away from James. 

Marco moved at that time and banged his fists on the table, "You WILL need an attorney, Young!  After we charge you with aggravated assault on a minor, kidnapping and attempted murder, we WILL charge you with the murder of a Starfleet officer and try you as a hostile terrorist of the Federation!  You will need a ship load of attorneys, Young.  Tell me, how can a colonial rat like you afford them?"

He grinned menacingly.  "I promise you, you will never be free again.  You will rot in a Federation prison for the rest of your life, and I swear I will send you to the darkest, crapiest prison we have.  Or perhaps the Klingons wouldn't mind a prison exchange.  After all, you are wanted by the Klingon Empire as well, aren't you, Young?  So you can talk to the nice officer right now, or get your warm coat ready for Rura Penthe."   

[Kirok]

Howell thought for a moment, before replying "Well, these are spare kits that are kept in an Engineering locker, so anyone that is an engineer has access to them." Quickly, Howell then answered the second question "Normally they would be kept in the actual box, but if needs be they can be kept in a tool belt."

[Sickbay]

Zex's eyebrows narrowed as she thought over the information.   It wasn't as helpful as she had hoped.  But then again, not all the piece of information for a crime were meant to fit nicely into a puzzle.  It was what made her chosen profession so interesting and vexing at the same time.  "OK" she finally replied as she retrieved the bag and placed it with the victims personal items.

"Now I need to see the crime scene" Zex announced.  It was actually something she was looking forward too.  Hopefully no one had cleaned the area yet.  "You wanna join me?  I there the area needs some repairs anyway" she said. 

[James H. Hawk]

[Interrogation Room]

James chucked as Marco laid into Albert, "I warned you," he said. "Unfortunately for you Al, even if you can afford a lawyer I doubt you'll find anyone willing to take up your case. You kidnapped and attacked a kid in the middle of a starbase, any trial will not go in your favour. At all. So since lawyers are out the question for you, guess who's your only friend?" James smiled as he said that, "Me!" He opened his arms to emphasise his point. "Here are the facts I already know: You kidnapped a minor. You assaulted a minor. You were caught. No lawyer will save you. You're alone. Your only friend is me and.....we are looking for a murderer. Chances are you'll be charged for your actions but if you work with me, I can help you. I could put a good word in with the judge and maybe, just maybe if you help us I can get your sentence reduced and if you impress me enough, I could spare you from the Klingons," James said hoping the colonist would be reasonable and help him.

James picked his words carefully, so he appeared to be promising to help Albert but he really only said he Á¢â,¬Ëœcould' not he Á¢â,¬Ëœwould', and James despised Albert's actions on a child so Albert had better be pretty damn useful. If there's one thing James hated the most I would be people preying on defenseless people such as children or the elderly and Alberts action was a clear example of this. James didn't think Albert was the man they were looking for, but he could be helpful and James thought Marco was thinking the same thing.

[Marco Benitez]

[Interrogation Room]

James chucked as Marco laid into Albert, "I warned you," he said. "Unfortunately for you Al, even if you can afford a lawyer I doubt you'll find anyone willing to take up your case. You kidnapped and attacked a kid in the middle of a starbase, any trial will not go in your favour. At all. So since lawyers are out the question for you, guess who's your only friend?" James smiled as he said that, "Me!" He opened his arms to emphasise his point. "Here are the facts I already know: You kidnapped a minor. You assaulted a minor. You were caught. No lawyer will save you. You're alone. Your only friend is me and.....we are looking for a murderer. Chances are you'll be charged for your actions but if you work with me, I can help you. I could put a good word in with the judge and maybe, just maybe if you help us I can get your sentence reduced and if you impress me enough, I could spare you from the Klingons," James said hoping the colonist would be reasonable and help him.

James picked his words carefully, so he appeared to be promising to help Albert but he really only said he Á¢â,¬Ëœcould' not he Á¢â,¬Ëœwould', and James despised Albert's actions on a child so Albert had better be pretty damn useful. If there's one thing James hated the most I would be people preying on defenseless people such as children or the elderly and Alberts action was a clear example of this. James didn't think Albert was the man they were looking for, but he could be helpful and James thought Marco was thinking the same thing.

Interrogation Room

Klingons were what really scared Albert.  He could retire peacefully in a Federation prison.  They were a joke and he didn't understand why there weren't more criminals, but then again being a Federation Citizen, a peaceful one, had its own rewards.  Not for guys like him however.  His ambition surpassed his actual ability.  So he forced ambition and that meant doing some really illegal things.

"I didn't kill anyone."  He frowned, "I'm a thief, yeah, but I ain't no murderer, I wasn't gonna hurt that kid."  Albert huffed, "She was in on it...yeah you heard me."  He glared at the older man and ignored the young officer for the moment.  "See, they were my ride outta this place, but they got nervous when you folks started poking around everyone's ship.  So they told me to scram, so I said to them that they either help me or I'd finger them.  They're the ones that came up with this whole kidnapping thing."

Albert tried to place his hands behind his head but the restraints wouldn't allow that.  Instead he shuffled them over the tabletop nervously. 

Marco's face was unreadable as he thought about what Albert said.  He had many questions for him, but he allowed James to do his thing.  Anyway, if the kid missed anything he would fill in the blanks, that wasn't a problem at all.  His main concern was why they needed to smuggle Albert out in the first place.  True, he wasn't in any of the crew manifests but sometimes that happened and the stowaway usually just stayed on board the ship.  This time, he had a feeling that Albert had not stayed on board.  There was a reason why he was on the Columbus and that was what Ensign Hawk had to find out.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the alarms began to blare.

=^= Red Alert! Red Alert! Core Breech, explosion eminent, all hands evacuate Baaaassssserrrr! =^=

The computer slurred the last part of the message, then the lights flickered back to normal as a human voice came online.

=^=Attention all Base personnel, belay that order, all engineering hands report to engineering! All available engineering personnel report to engineering immediately =^=

Marco's scowl deepened as he looked at Albert who seemed to find it all funny but not surprising.  He had something to do with this because he was way too calm.  Marco placed a hand on James' shoulder, "Get him to tell you why he was on the base and who he met, or I will get it out of him my way."  His voice came out as a growl, angry that someone was messing with his base.  "I need to see what is going on, I'll have Crewman Bla'Sek join you."

With that the tall security man left, ordering a rather large Orion man join James while Marco went to investigate the trouble.  Once outside the interrogation room, he pressed his combadge.

=^= Crewman Ezac, report please =^=