Standard Disclaimer: All characters and situations related to Star Trek are wholly owned by Paramount Pictures. All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
JD Dunne still had difficulty believing that this was any more than someone's idea of a practical joke. When he had materialized here from inside the confines of his room, he was certain that this was probably something cooked up by the first officer since only Buck would have the audacity and to a certain degree, the no how to perpetrate such an act of kidnapping. Not that JD minded of course. In truth, JD enjoyed the Magnificent Seven program. As a form of recreation, he could think of nothing more exciting than playing one of the seven gunfighters whom protected the town of Four Corners.
Besides, the added bonus of the story meant that he got to be sherrif.
Still despite his lack of concern at being brought here so abruptly, he wished Buck could have at least asked him or given him some warning before transporting him out of his quarters. Although JD did not mind being here, he did not intend to stay for more than an hour because he was tired and wanted his sleep. However, he was somewhat confused that he had been materialized in the jailhouse which how to be devoid of the others. For a few minutes, he waited, assuming that the silence was due to the scenario that Buck was playing out. However, when almost twenty ticked by with nothing happening inside or out, JD decided that perhaps it was time to investigate.
The office in which he was presently occupied was atypical of jailhouses scattered throughout the west in this period of Earth history. There was the standard collection of jail cells, which at this time were vacant; each furnished with a bunk and little else. The sherrif did not fare much either, his bastion being merely his chair and his desk upon which were the obligatory wanted posters that needed hanging up on every surface that permitted. JD pushed himself from behind the desk where he had materialized and headed towards the door, hoping to locate Buck in order to see what the first officer had planned.
He pulled open the door to the premises and found Vin Tanner about to knock. Behind him were Chris Larabee and Ezra Standish, keeping a cautious eye on their surroundings. Their demeanor immediately put the young man on guard, even though he did not know why at the time. Still, if there was some kind of peril at foot, he could not deny that he was grateful to be in their company before it found him. For their part, the three senior officers seemed just as relieved to see that the young man was safe and sound before any of the insanity that had found them in the saloon earlier, did the same to him.
"Captain," JD said with a nervous smile, hoping he was wrong about the danger and that they were simply caught up in the drama of the simulation. "Buck brought you here too?"
"Buck didn't bring us here JD," Vin grumbled as Chris shut the door behind him and Ezra immediately took point at the window so he could have a clear and unobstructed view of the street.
"He didn't?" JD swallowed anxiously. Until now, it had never occurred to him that their being here could be anything more than Buck Wilmington's attempts to amuse himself at their expense. The first officer did have a very peculiar sense of humor but now that JD considered things more deeply, he supposed even Buck had his limits, especially if it meant involving the Captain. While Chris was very accommodating as far as commanding officers went, JD did not think that even his good natured manner would tolerate being spirited off his bridge without permission, even if it were his oldest friend committed the act.
"I'm guessing you haven't tried getting out." Vin looked at JD in question as Chris sat down in the chair he previously occupied behind the sheriff's desk, examining the weapon that Ezra had given him in the saloon. The captain was trying to figure out exactly how the thing worked, having no wish to enter another round with Top Hat Bob so disadvantaged.
"No." JD shook his head. "I just figured Buck brought me here and everything that was going on was part of the simulation. I only started to think that maybe I ought to find him when it was quiet for so long and nobody was turning up. But then I opened the door and there you were."
"For once, Mr Wilmington is not responsible for this little jaunt into wonderland." Ezra drawled from where he was.
"No kidding," Vin remarked, recalling how annoyed Buck had been when they had last seen the man. " He was just as pissed off as we was at being taken off the bridge and sent here."
"I'm sorry Captain," JD started to apologize, feeling immensely foolish at not having realised that the situation was this serious. "I should have realised that something was wrong."
"It's alright JD," Chris answered and gave him a little smile to think nothing of it. "None of us were any surer of things ourselves, even with the benefit of experience." Chris was not at all annoyed that JD had not suspected that there was more to this than simply Buck's idea of a joke. Had not Chris though the same thing when he had first materialized here? JD was younger and still unfamiliar enough with Buck's antics for them to expect him to entirely sure that Buck would not behave like a juvenile.
Hell, half the time Chris was not even sure.
Vin and Ezra exchanged a brief glimpse and a smile as they saw JD immediately swelling with pleasure at the Captain's kind words. Both men did not say what they were thinking, even though their eye contact spoke volumes at the admiration felt for the captain. Part of the reason that Chris engendered the loyalty he did from his crew, not simply from the senior staff, was his ability to make every single member of the Maverick feel like they mattered. No matter how small their contribution to the ship was, not matter how seemingly insignificant it might seem to them, it was not to the captain. He treated every member of his crew, from the first officer to the stewards in the lower decks, that they were a vital component in the machinery that was the Maverick.
"So we're trapped in here?" JD asked, unable to hide his apprehension at the notion that they could not escape from this simulated reality. Coming here for recreational purposes was one thing but to be trapped in here indefinitely was not a prospect that he was particularly looking forward to. He was not afraid to admit that he was a product of his time and did not crave for the nostalgic days of old.
"More or less," Ezra Standish responded, peeking out the window, ensuring that they did not have a repeat of the incident with the individual called Top Hat Bob. At this time, Bob did not appear to be anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the jailhouse and the security chief decided that it was more or less safe for them to attempt their rendezvous with the others. "Unfortunately, it also appears that the safety protocols have been disabled."
"Disabled?" JD exclaimed. "Oh this just gets better!" The young man retorted, forgetting that he was an ensign surrounded by three command officers. However, it was very hard to remember that when they were in this place where the scenario had them playing equals.
"Not to mention," Vin added. "We're seeing some pretty interesting villains."
"How?" JD asked quizzically.
When he had first been invited to join this program, he had studied everything available on the mythology of the Magnificent Seven. JD had been honored at being invited to join the captain's private recreation world and he had not wanted to make a fool of himself by appearing unprepared. Even though they treated him with respect and friendship, JD could not help feeling a little insecure at being an ensign surrounded by veteran officers who were all exceptional in one way or another. He could not deny that he felt a little ordinary in their company and often strove twice as hard in order to be just as good. He took the Magnificent Seven program just as seriously, ensuring that he was completely prepared to face anything that the simulation had to throw at him, memorizing every legend and every villain that the lawmen had faced during their amazing tenure in the town of Four Corners.
"We were accosted by a particularly odious specimen called Top Hat Bob." Ezra answered before Vin could. "The man seemed to be under the impression that the captain had wronged him in some way."
"Top Hat Bob," JD mused, aware that the name sounded familiar and thought about it for a moment before he looked up again. "Does he have an eye patch?"
All three men raised their eyes to the youth but it was Chris who answered. "He had an eye patch."
"Well that's Top Hat Bob!" JD exclaimed, pleased because he knew whom their adversary had been with that one bit of revelation.
"I thought we covered that already." Vin said impatiently.
"Sorry," JD gave the tracker an embarrassed smile and then continued. "Top Hat Bob is one an Magnificent Seven villain but not a very big important one. He's mostly a hired gun but he does have a personnel grudge against the gunfighter."
"Because?" Chris asked. While he enjoyed the program ever since Buck had presented it to him as a birthday present shortly after coming on board the Maverick, Chris had to confess not knowing every aspects of the lore regarding the seven legendary gunmen.
"Something about a wood splitting contest or something." JD answered with a little bit of a frown because the facts were rather vague on the exact details of the character's vendetta. "I do know that it was a contest he lost and apparently got into a brawl with the gunfighter about, where he lost his eye."
"Terrific," Chris grumbled. "I wonder how many others are going to come out of the woodwork." The captain led out a sigh before pushing himself to his feet once again.
"Others?" Vin looked at him.
"There is no reason to assume that there will not be," Ezra responded, in complete agreement with the captain's foresight in this matter. "Someone is playing games with us and if you're a pawn in someone else's amusement, there is no doubt they will want to make the games as entertaining as possible."
Chris stared at Ezra for a moment, feeling something spark in his memory at the security chief's words. For a moment, he search his mind for why he would have been overcome with such a feeling of familiarity but it was gone before he could grasp it wholly.
"Chris?" Vin who knew his expressions with almost intimate knowledge, saw the uncertainty in his eyes even for that briefest of seconds. "What is it?" The helmsman asked.
Chris did not answer for a second as he tried to understand why Ezra's words had struck him so. However, after seconds of rumination, it was obvious that no such answer was coming. "Nothing," Chris shook his head. "Come on," he raised his gaze to those with him. "Let's get to the rendezvous point."
However, the uneasiness still would not go away.
Less than ten minutes after they had collected JD at the jailhouse, Chris and the entire senior staff of the Maverick found themselves gathered around what was normally their table inside the tavern owned by the gambler/ con man who Ezra took such delight in playing. Although it was not at all the practice of the day that they ought to be joined by the ladies of their group in such an establishment and appeared to arouse more than a few strange looks and disapproving glances, Chris decided that decorum be damned. They had larger concerns on their hands at the moment. Judging by the experiences related by the rest of the Maverick's senior staff, it appeared that the mysterious culprit who had placed them in this recreation of their holodeck fantasy was taking pleasure in pitting them against a full array of Magnificent Seven's villains.
"It's like a Batman movie." Mary declared.
Chris stared at her. "A what?"
"Nevermind," Mary shrugged in response, not about to reveal her predilection for 20th century comic books. "What are we going to do? The Antarians are less than a day away, we have to get out of here."
"One disaster at a time," Buck retorted, certain that Chris was just as tired as he was about being reminded about this deadline. "At the moment, we need to figure out how we are going to get out of here."
"Alright, lets examine our situation," Chris said firmly, speaking with just enough authority to remind those present that they were not in a holodeck fantasy despite their present situation. They were Starfleet officers in an alien and hostile environment and it was time they started behaving like it. "We were brought here to what I am fairly certain is not our holodeck program by persons unknown who seem to have programmed every conceivable villain to throw at us for whatever reason."
"Chris," Mary spoke up. "I'm not so sure that this is a holographic illusion."
"What else could it be?" Josiah inquired. "This can't exist anywhere in reality."
"Why do you think that Lieutenant?" Ezra asked, keeping his gaze fixed at one point and fighting the urge to let his eyes wander. Although he was mindful of their situation, he could not help being faced with his personal problems, especially when Julia was right across the table from him. She too, avoided meeting his eyes and Ezra wondered if she was just as uncomfortable about things between as he was. Once again, Ezra cursed the circumstances that had brought them to this and wished he had the chance to apologize to her as he had intended before they were brought to this alien place.
Mary glanced at Chris, always feeling uncomfortable when discussing this particular subject, rare as it was. She was human and thus her psi ability was weak at best and what she felt to be extra sensory powers did not manifest themselves as any more than a strong intuition most of the time. "I get a sense of these people," she looked around the room at the barmaid that looked like Inez, the patrons at the tables, downing drinks and carousing with saloon girls before facing her friends again. "My mind tells me they're not real, that they're projections of light and magnetic containment but they feel real to me."
"I know what you mean," Nathan frowned, remembering the young woman that he had stood over a short time ago. She with the ribbons in her hair, staring at him with silver coins in her eyes, she did not seem like a fake but rather flesh and blood. "They feel like real people."
"Look," Julia spoke up. "That's programming." The engineer in her refused to let her belief in something as intangible as a feeling. She dealt in numbers and facts she could see, in laws of physic and proven theorem. "They are supposed to look and feel real."
"But you don't know that it is." Vin countered. "We're all energy is some way, who knows what makes one thing alive and another an object. We live in a universe with android officers and holographic programs that have gained sentience. We don't know how to classify life, not really."
"Spoken like a true Starfleet officer." Buck grinned; remembering a dozen Starfleet lecturer's making the same point at the Academy.
"Thanks." Vin returned after Buck's comment.
What Mary had said seemed to make a certain amount of sense. Chris knew that her latent telepathic abilities were nothing to ignore or underestimate. On the C'Kaia ship, she had used those powers to save both their lives and he was not about to disregard it because there was no irrefutable proof to back up her insights. "Mary, when you say that you get some sense of them, what do you mean?"
"I don't know," she exclaimed with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "I feel them but not quite. Normally when I'm in the holodeck, the people we see don't register at all. They're not alive and it's like seeing a chair or any inanimate object. It doesn't register to me. But this is different," her expression melted into full-blown concern and Chris knew instantly she was more passionate about her belief than her declaration before them. "They're like shadows. Alive but not alive, I can't explain it."
"Maybe Mr Tanner...." Ezra suddenly suggested.
"Me?" Vin stared back at the Security Chief perplexed.
Alex understood immediately. "Vin, you need to do a meld."
"A meld?" He almost shouted before a stern look from his captain reminded him to lower his voice. As it was they were bringing enough attention to themselves by having the girls in here without causing any further undue fanfare. "Why?"
"You're Vulcan." Alex gave Ezra a brief glance that told him to let her handle this.
"Tell me something I don't know," he bit back impatiently. "I wasn't sure with the ears."
Alex bristled and was about to respond when Chris decided to intervene before they both said something they would regret later. If there was one thing that could make Vin lose his temper, even with Alex, it was bringing up the Vulcan part of himself that he felt uncomfortable discussing with anyone, especially Alex in light of his feelings for her.
"Vin," Chris responded, placing a gentle hand on Alex's arm.
The science officer took the hint and immediately withdrew in favor of the captain. In truth, Alex hated discussing this subject with Vin as much as he hated talking about it in her presence. Mostly because he was so sensitive about his Vulcan background and usually reacted heatedly and because inspiring Vin's temper would also inspire hers and since she could not have her way with him, it was a passion she rather not have ignited.
Completely unaware of what was running through her mind, though he would have been most grateful had he known, Chris continued where she had left off. "You're telepathic and far more capable of telling us if these people in here are more than what they seem. Now we need to know for sure that these people are what they appear to be, holograms that is, before we can figure out what to do next."
"Its insane." Julia interjected. "It's a program, I'm telling you!"
"We cannot make that determination simply because appears to look like a hologram." Ezra retorted.
"Something appearing to be something else did not seem to bother you before." She returned caustically.
"What is that supposed to mean?" He met her gaze sharply.
"I think you know," she declared.
"I think I don't give a goddamn hell what either of you know!" Chris hissed with low snarl and immediately silenced both of them immediately. Julia's cheek flushed red and Ezra could not brave a glance in Chris' direction, able to feel the Larabee glare burning into him from where he was seated. The others found it the perfect time to clear their throats, avert their gaze or generally do anything that kept them from making eye contact with each other.
Chris stared at both of them and said firmly. "Now you listen to me Commander Standish and Lieutenant Pemberton," his temper though vast was not infinite and the bickering and snide remarks that had been traded between these two since the incidents with the Accrans was just plain pissing him off. He had waited for the duo to settle this like adults but if they were not going to do that, it was their business. However, the minute it started to interfere with their duty as officers, it became his. "We are in a life and death situation here and I don't care if you are having relationship troubles and can barely stomach the sight of each other but while you are under my command, you will behave accordingly."
"I apologise Sir," the security chief said properly mortified by his lack of professionalism.
"Like wise Captain." Julia answered a second later, just as equally embarrassed.
"Don't apologise," Chris said abruptly. "Just get over it. For our sake and your own."
A silence fell over the room for a few seconds as everyone tried to regain their train of thought immediately preceding Ezra and Julia's spat. Vin considered what the others had said about his meld abilities and decided that the captain was right. They did need to know the truth and as he let his gaze sweep across the room to the people that frequented the tavern, he had to admit he wanted to know as well. Besides, this was something no one else could do.
Taking a deep breath, Vin rose to his feet.
"Vin?" Alex asked.
"Its okay," he met Chris' eyes and the captain immediately understood. Chris nodded slightly in his direction and Vin knew that was enough. Chris had given his permission in that one look. "Its time to bite the bullet."
"I wish you would use another vernacular." Ezra frowned. "In this place...."
"Shut up Ezra," Alex groaned and turned to Vin with a smile of encouragement. "You can do it."
Vin returned her smile with one of his own, hoping it allowed her appreciate that he had not meant to snap at her. The helmsman went to the bar, where the barmaid was pouring drinks for more waiting customers. Buck had programmed her to look like Inez and Vin had to confess the likeness was amazing. He was rather surprised that Inez had not been offended at her image being used but then these days, Inez did not waste her time on such thoughts when she still had to contend with her grief at losing her fiancée.
"How about drink darling?" Vin asked silkily.
"Of course Senor." She smiled radiantly and suddenly Vin had an idea what Buck found so alluring. She really was pretty and the real Inez was even lovelier.
She poured him whiskey, straight up in a little shot glass and slid the receptacle towards him when Vin caught her hand in his and lingered just enough to run his fingers over the smooth skin. The woman became somewhat offended when he did not let go and his expression became odd, almost as if he was deriving some kind of strange pleasure from the contact. Barmaid or not, such behavior was not to be tolerated and she pulled her hand away, almost knocking over the shot glass in her grip.
"I think that is enough Senor." She retorted, more than a little ire in her voice as she glared at him angrily.
"I'm sorry ma'am," Vin quickly apologized but those who knew him could see that he was unsettled. He barely noticed her gaze burning into his back as he turned away and returned to the table where the rest of the senior staff was waiting for him.
"Jesus Vin," Buck declared immediately, seeing the expression on his face that soon struck alarm into all of theirs. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not a ghost," Vin shook his head, glancing over his shoulder at the bar maid once more. "Ghosts are dead." He stated when he turned his attention to his comrades once again. "That woman was alive."
Even after the fact, it sounded impossible.
Vin Tanner's declaration hung heavily in the air, soaking up the atmosphere surrounding the Starfleet officer seated around the table like a stink that would not face away despite the moments that ticked slowly by. They stared at the Vulcan who had made the discovery, disbelieving at first mostly because denial was the safest solution. To accept what Vin had said was to accept that where they were presently situated was no dream, no illusion of light and magnetic containment but as etched in the fabric of reality as their own presence in the cosmos. For the few seconds following Vin's meld with the bartender, that was the safest concept that any of them could appreciate.
Unfortunately, it could not last.
As much as Chris wanted to wrap himself with the belief that this was still a program, that they were on the Maverick still, the overwhelming evidence to the contrary did not give him that luxury. He was the captain and what those under his command chose to accept with difficulty; he had to process with far speedier efficiency. All their lives depended on it. For the moment, however, he did away with the notion of how this could have happened and focussed on the more immediate problem at hand, being why they were here. It seemed an odd place for an attack on his senior staff. Of all places, why would the enemy chose this place?
Chris did not know but knew that if they were to get out of here, they would have to find out why. Unfortunately, at present it appeared that the rest of his staff were still grappling with the realisation that their surroundings were no fantasy world created by the holodeck but somewhere real with all the trappings that came with existence in reality. He looked up at them from his ruminations and heard them all grumbling amongst themselves, debating the results of Vin's meld with the bartender behind the bar.
"Its impossible," Julia retorted. "This is a holodeck fantasy!"
"I'm telling you," Vin turned to her sharply. "It's no fantasy." He was feeling a little incensed about being questioned, notably because he hated melding with anyone to being with but had understood that it was a necessary sacrifice if they were to get to the bottom of things. It had been uncomfortable enough to drop the shields he had been carefully erecting around his telepathic abilities, to prevent himself from picking up the stray thoughts of others, without having to lower those same shields again. The effort was hard enough without its results being doubted. "I could feel that she was alive, I could hear what was running through her head. Normally, I don't sense anything of the kind from holograms. This only happens with sentient beings. I mean I could tell that she was tired from working all day, that she thinks Buck is kind of cute...."
"Really?" Buck asked, animated by the thought as he glanced over his shoulder and looked at the woman in question.
"That seems to settle it then," Ezra remarked. "The lady is alive but has no taste."
"If that's not being alive, I don't know what it is." Josiah shrugged as he suppressed a little smile at seeing the dark look Buck flashed at Ezra for that jibe at his expense.
"Okay," Alex shook her head of the banter and asked out loud. "If this is real, why are we here?"
"That's a very good question." Chris answered. "Ideas anyone?"
"I think it all connects to the how we are here." JD spoke up, thinking carefully about his answer before responding as always. "This is not real. It can't be."
"He's right," Buck lent his support to JD's statement. "The Magnificent Seven is fictional, a collection of stories. Some say it has its origins from a Japanese folk tale about seven samurai without a shogun who protects a village from bandits. The Americans simply adopted it and fashioned their version into the program we now know."
"So this could not be a case of time travel." Nathan suggested.
"No," Alex replied. "We don't look like these characters and yet everybody here knows us, as who we are meant to be in the Magnificent Seven folklore. If these people existed in that time, they would be here. We would not need to be taking their places."
"But if that's true, then this gets more impossible by the minute." Mary retorted, wondering if this was any more puzzling to the others than it was to her. "Okay, if we're not in a simulation and we are in reality, where is this in reality? Nothing about this makes any sense except the fact that these people and this town was created for us but with far more complexity than any holodeck program."
"I'm telling you Mary," Vin repeated. "Its not a sophisticated holodeck program, these people are real. I heard her thoughts."
"With all due respect Vin," Julia pointed out. "We have no way to confirm that."
"What?" Alex bristled, not liking the fact that Julia was doubting Vin to such a degree. "If Vin says that's what he felt, then that's what he felt. What exactly are you alluding to Lieutenant?"
"That he's been misled." Julia declared, just determined enough to show that she was not about to back down.
"I was not misled." Vin jumped in. "I know what I felt."
"Julia...." Ezra started to speak up, aware that sometimes her mind that was geared for the most logical solutions at hand could be somewhat intractable. It was difficult for her to accept what was not proven scientific theory. Julia's world was one of facts and materials she could see with her eyes and feel with her hands, to suppose something as outlandish as fantasy world being given life in this was disconcerting for her.
"I'm not saying that you were misled, perhaps someone wished to make you believe that all these people are alive."
Vin was starting to get really offended because Julia simply did not understand how personal melding was to a Vulcan. Chris could see the helmsman about to retaliate sharply when suddenly Buck cut in before he could.
"Alright," Buck Wilmington spoke up with a loud voice, flexing his first officers' muscles quite effectively to regain some order at the table. "We're not going to start questioning each other people, none of us." He let his gaze sweep across the face of those who had been engaged in such activity and saw the shimmer of embarrassment that surfaced in their expression when he made his statement. "Whomever put us here in this lousy position probably wants to see us tearing each other apart like bunch of dogs turning on themselves so we are not going to give them the satisfaction of playing their game or being puppets in this little extravaganza they have us performing in."
Once again Chris was struck by the content of Buck's vehement words to the senior officers, as he had been when Ezra had said something similar earlier on. Performance. Games. Players. Puppets. Chris did not say anything. The drone of voices around the table grew distant as he tried to figure out when it was he had encountered all those words together and knew that somewhere he had encountered them in their entirety for their connection in his memory would not let go of his thoughts. He closed his eyes and focussed, centering on the moment he had heard those words spoken in the context that had inspired his thoughts so much and suddenly it came to him. The word escaped him like a captured breath but when it finally did, Chris felt as if a weight had been lifted from him because the truth that he had just stumbled upon could be the only explanation of where they were now.
"Q."
Buck immediately felt silent.
The others saw the sudden change of expression on the First Officer's face and then turned to the captain who had made the statement that had captured Buck's undivided interest.
He turned sharply to Chris. "I hope you're just talking about the alphabet." Buck's voice was a whisper.
"What are you talking about?" Alex turned to Buck and then Chris. "What's a Q?"
It was not surprising that Alex and the rest of the command staff knew anything about the omnipotent entity known as Q. The information had been deemed as highly classified and was only released to command level personnel with the rank of commander or higher. Starfleet did not wish it generally known that there were a race of beings with the power of nothing less than gods, roaming around the galaxy capable of turning, time, space and dimensional realities on its ear at a moments' notice. The directive from Starfleet was to keep the information on the Q Continuum as they called themselves on a strictly need to know basis. Only a handful of people outside Starfleet in the Federation Council knew of its existence.
However, Chris could find no other explanation for what was happening here. In truth, it made perfect sense and having read the data logs written by Jean Luc Picard and Benjamin Sisko who had the most recent encounters with the entity, this was more or less a text book version of Q using them as instruments of his amusement. It was well within Q's abilities to take them off the Maverick and insert them into this world of make believe and with all the villains that were being thrown at them left, right and center since their arrival, it was also consistent with the entity's idea of deadly play.
"Surely you jest." Ezra exclaimed, just as aware as the captain and the first officer what the word 'Q' had meant, other than its alphabetical reference.
"How do you know about it?" Buck looked at him suspiciously, since such information was restricted to command officers of his rank and Chris' only. However, no sooner than he asked the question, Buck knew that Ezra was no ordinary officer. The man was the effective security chief he was because he knew when to keep his ear to the ground and listen for information that was usually a mystery to most. If anyone could find out about Q, it was Ezra Standish.
"One hears outlandish stories all the time." Ezra shrugged, not wishing to divulge to closely his source of information. "Suffice to say, I know who Q is."
"Well I don't know who is," Alex declared annoyed. "Care to fill the rest of us in?"
"I know about him too." Nathan confessed. "When I started the research in the Borg assimilation process, they let me see all the records regarding this Q and his presence on the Enterprise during the first encounter with the Collective."
That would make sense, Chris thought to himself. As one of the foremost researchers in the Federation regarding the Borg, Nathan would have had access to all the data regarding the Collective, including the details of the Enterprises' first encounter with the species. Seeing the expectation in the eyes of the others awaiting their captain to explain to them who and what this Q was, Chris decided that there was no reason to keep the truth from them. The information about Q was meant to be released on a need to know basis and at this moment, they all needed to know.
"Q is an alien entity unlike anything we have ever seen," Chris explained. "As far as scientists have been able to determine, he is some form of life form composed of pure energy, capable of manipulating all forms of it even to the temporal level. It is at this time, the most advanced life form we have ever encountered. Q comes from a race of such beings that call themselves the Q continuum. However, because they have what can justifiably be called omnipotent qualities, their evolution has risen beyond the need for the structure of what we call civilization. They travel and they amuse themselves in any way they can. I suppose when you have the power to do anything and everything plus the added benefit of being immortal, there comes a time when you realize that there is nothing left to do."
"Are you saying this thing has us?" Josiah exclaimed, horrified to think of so much power being in the hands of one being. The idea of being invincible, coupled with immortality could create megalomania on a scale that would allow the being in question to do anything without conscience or regret. Josiah shuddered thinking that he might be in the grasp of such a creature.
"How come we've never heard of this Q?" Julia demanded, unable to imagine such a life form existing. It was wrong for any one species to have that much power. It did not seem in keeping with the balance of nature.
"Starfleet agreed that it was probably wise for the general public to not know that there was an entity like this drifting about the place." Chris answered. "The Q have a tendency for play and using other life forms for amusement but they do no murder or cause permanent harm to any of their pawns. The Enterprise D had several encounters with the Q who seemed to be fascinated with humans in particular. Picard believes that perhaps in an earlier stage of their evolution, the Q may have been like us, which might explain why they keep appearing before humans."
"So we're basically at the mercy of this thing." Vin retorted, thinking of nothing worse than playing puppet to some omnipotent being's fantasy.
"More or less, assuming that I'm right." Chris nodded in answer.
"Is there any way we can confirm it?" Alex asked. "I mean with all due respect Captain, I'm not doubting your word but if you said that this Q's interest has mainly been with the Enterprise, what is it about us that suddenly captured their attention and of all the programs, why this one?"
"Good question," Buck remarked. "I'd like to know that myself."
"Well its one which we all have a part in." JD ventured a guess. "I thought if you want the entire command staff out of the way, this is it."
"That's a point," Buck flashed JD a smile, one that usually meant that he was proud of the young man's acumen.
"Possibly," Chris sighed. "However, until we know more. We are all staying together. We are dealing with an extremely powerful entity that could erase from existence with a thought."
"Wonderful." Ezra sighed. "Now that we know who has placed us here, are we simply to perform for our supper?" He looked in Chris' direction. The others followed gazes, thinking the same thing themselves.
Chris' jaw tensed and he looked at them with ice in his eyes. "Absolutely not. We will do nothing to give Q any more fun that he's already had at our expense. Come on, we're getting out of here. We need to talk freely and we can't do it in this place."
"What about the Clarion News office?" Mary suggested. "Its closest."
Chris nodded in agreement with that idea. "Fine, let's get going."
With that, he rose to his feet and gestured the others to follow. With just as much speed, the senior staff vacated the tavern, following the captain out of the establishment into the street. Unfortunately, their numbers made it impossible to look inconspicuous; not to mention the fact that they were the central characters in this little drama. They were a curious bunch of seven men and three women and as they moved through the fictional town of Four Corners, could feel themselves a tornado moving through the town, sweeping all events that took place in its confines towards themselves.
It was not a comforting feeling.
Although he had explained much about the Q and the entity's habits, Vin could tell Chris was holding something back. The helmsman seemed to have some strange power that allowed him to tell exactly what was on the captain's mind. It was this symbiosis that made them the friends they were and scared him to death because what he saw in Chris' eyes despite the captain's anger at their situation, was a tiny hint of fear. Chris Larabee was not a man afraid of anything but if this Q was merely playing them for amusement, with the intention of releasing them when this was all over, why was Chris so worried?
"Chris," he caught up to the captain as the man led his crew towards the offices of the Clarion News in order for them to gain some privacy while they decided upon some course of action. "What is it?"
Chris grimaced, hating it sometimes that Vin could tell what was going on behind his eyes. The helmsman seemed more in tuned with him than Mary sometimes but supposed that is why they were such good friends, because they did not need to tell each other what was going inside their minds, they simply knew. "Q's at the bottom of this all right, but something is wrong."
"How?" Vin asked, too unfamiliar with the subject of the being to say anything else.
"From all of Picard's log reports," Chris explained quietly as he and Vin kept ahead of the others. "Q is in the habit of showing himself. Part of his fun is taking part in the action, to goad and taunt his victims with his superiority."
"I guess we're lucky we've been spared that." Vin remarked, not seeing what Chris was referring.
"Lucky?" Chris met his gaze. "Why? Why are we so lucky? What's different about us that makes him change his pattern all of a sudden?"
Vin could not answer and merely shook his head in response.
"I'm worried Vin," Chris swallowed thickly. "If he's suddenly changed his pattern in this aspect of his behavior, what else is there? The man can destroy us all with a thought. What if decides its okay to kill us? We won't be able to do a damn thing about it."
That thought was disconcerting and Vin felt his insides knot up in helplessness. "Damn."
Suddenly, Vin Tanner found himself wishing for Q to make an appearance.
However, as they turned the corner towards the street that would take them to the officers of the Clarion News, what they found was not the omnipotent being but rather a dozen men, armed and awaiting. Top Hat Bob, who stood at the head of the deadly party, with his eye patch and his dusty top hat glared at the captain through his good eye with a triumphant leer on his face at the same time.
"Larabee," he called out. "Get ready to die."
He finished his declaration with a gun aim squarely at Chris.
Chris found himself staring at the barrel of the weapon and wondered a split second before it fired, whether or not it was too late to change his holodeck preferences to Buck's orgy in Raisa.
"Chris!"
Chris heard his name scream past Vin Tanner's lips a split second before the officer of the con shoved him forcefully behind some crates at the edge of the street. Being Vulcan, Vin's strength was almost quadrupled that of a human and thus Chris could do little to keep himself from being flung to the ground. The sequence of events moved past him so rapidly that for a minute Chris had no idea what was going on until he saw the bullet that would have torn a hole through his chest slam into the wooden beam of a nearby hitching post. The disorientation resulting from his hard impact on the ground lasted only a split second before his mind switched into a defensive posture and he was shouting out as loud as he could to those under his command who had been behind when the attack suddenly reared its ugly head.
"Everyone take cover!" Chris' voice rose over the sound of shattering gunfire.
The gesture seemed somewhat redundant since everyone was more or less in the process of accomplishing that very thing the instant Top Hat Bob appeared out of nowhere and began firing his weapon. Buck, who had been nearest to Mary and Nathan, took hold of the protocol officer's arm and led her towards the water through near the hitching post. The trio barely managed to reach it, being closely pursued by gunfire and had to skid across the hard ground in order to get there ahead of the deadly projectiles. The water trough was being riddled with bullets so numerously that the liquid seeping through the holes left by bullets created an expanding puddle of water around it. The three Starfleet officers scrambled behind the wooden receptacle, aware that it hollow innards would not offer them protection for very long. The bullets being hurled at them by way of enemy fire was making short work of the through and Buck knew that they could not remain hidden behind it for more than a few seconds or else those bullets would find their mark in human flesh.
"We have to move!" Buck shouted over the deafening roar of bullets, to Mary and Nathan who were crouched low. The doctor was reaching for his gun and checking the weapon with a hint of apprehension at actually using it on someone real, not a holodeck simulation. However, Buck was certain that Nathan knew the stakes as well as he did and this crisis of conscience would be temporary. Mary on the other hand was having entirely different but no less hindering difficulties of her own. The protocol officer was, finding it exceedingly cumbersome to move in her restrictive clothes. The corset wrapped around her waist made it hard for her to remain prone as she was and he could see her straining against the pressure of the garment against her spine.
"No kidding!" Nathan exclaimed an instant before his eyes widened when a projectile ripped an exit point through the space before him, spraying splinters of wood outwards that made him recoil.
Buck immediately rolled onto his knees in order to get a better view of where they were and more specifically where they could run to from this point without being cut to ribbons. He could see the captain taking refuge behind some crates and the space seemed large enough to offer them the same shelter, if only they could make it there.
"Chris!" Buck called out.
The captain looked over his shoulder immediately, hearing his voice through the roar of gunfire. Vin, who had overcome his lack of experience with a real Winchester during their earlier confrontation with Bob and his men, was making up for lost time. The helmsman was aiming the sawn off shot gun at the thickest part of the enemy contingent and firing with surprising accuracy. A number of Bob's men were taking cover and for good reason as the projectiles being sent in their direction was impacting a little too close for comfort to their person.
Chris glanced in Buck's direction and immediately saw the first officer's predicament. Not just his, but also that of Mary and Nathan's. He winced slightly as he saw her groveling in the dirt, trying to avoid the hail of bullets that would eventually penetrate the water trough to reach one of them. Chris recounted again what Ezra had told him about using the weapon of choice for an Old West gunslinger and cocked the gun accordingly in readiness to fire. His eyes met Buck's and then Chris responded with a small nod.
That was more than enough for the First Officer to know precisely what to do. This subtle form of communication was normally used between them when they were on the bridge, preparing to go into battle or some other situation that required discretion. Fortunately at this time, it was just as appropriate for use in their current circumstances. It took a little more than a second for the silent
Buck turned back to Mary and Nathan and saw the instance between close shaves were becoming too narrow for his liking. If they did not move soon, one of them was going to get shot. The exit wounds on the wooden surface behind which they were using as refuge from the gunfire was becoming more and more pitted and the odds were good that eventually one of the bullet would pass through the water through and find its target after all.
"When I give the word," Buck said as loud as he could without giving away their intentions to the enemy. This was hardly an easy feat when the air was charged with exploding gunfire that was almost deafening. "Run to the Captain!"
Mary nodded wildly, feeling some measure of relief in being given that as an option. Almost as if he were aware of what was on her mind, Chris looked in her direction and met her gaze. Their eyes locked on each other and he offered her a silence reassurance that everything would be all right, once she came to him. Strangely enough, Mary seemed to believe that it would be too. However, the moment could not last as Chris needed to pave the way for them to make their advance towards him and Vin who were safely hidden behind the crates. The barrier was formidable enough that Top Hat Bob and his companions could not breach it and once Buck, Mary and Nathan were behind its confines, Chris and Vin could remain there indefinitely to continue the fight.
Chris turned his attention back to Bob who was just as entrenched in his hiding place as Chris and Vin were in theirs. The captain could see the calculation in the villain's one good eye apparently noticing the exchange between Mary and him a second ago. Chris cursed under his breath, realizing that Bob was now not simply attempting to keep Chris' companions, being Buck, Mary and Nathan from being of assistance to him but now concentrating on shooting down the beautiful woman who obviously held his heart. Bob pulled back his teeth in what was a sinister smile and fired. The bullet slammed the space parallel to where Mary was taking refuge and passed before, a hair's breadth away from her face. The protocol officer reacted by dropping down further in her effort to avoid it, while Buck's grip around her arm tightened.
"Son of a bitch." Chris growled angrily. "He's trying to shoot Mary."
Vin glanced at Chris long enough to see the captain suddenly standing up and exposing himself beyond the safety of the crates that had protected them so far.
"Captain!" Vin barked. "Chris! What the hell are you doing!"
Chris did not know for certain and he wondered whether or not he was not allowing his rage to get the better of him but he did not care. Perhaps it was the place that he was in that made him wish to settle this entire situation in the most primeval and fundamental way that it could be resolved. The way it was done in the times before even the Old West became the legend the way it was. Sometimes, the only way to end a fight was to do it the old fashioned way, with bare knuckles until the enemy no longer stood up.
"BOB!" Chris shouted.
"Hold your fire!" Top Hat Bob ordered his men abruptly.
"Chris!" He heard Mary shouting behind him. "What are you doing?"
Chris ignored her. He ignored Buck's demand for him to get back to safety and Vin's warning that he was going to get himself killed. This had to stop before they were forced to engage Bob in his gang in what could only be a bloody shoot out that could get a good number of his crew killed, including Mary. If it was Q's intention to have them perform like puppets than Chris was going to rob him of every ounce of pleasure the entity strived to take from this play they were forced to involuntarily participate.
The shooting slowed and then stopped all together. No one spoke as the air went deadly silent.
"What in the hell is he doing?" Ezra Standish demanded almost prepared to go out there and find out. When the firing had started, Ezra had gotten Josiah and Julia to safety, finding a narrow passageway between the buildings that could be called an alley way of some kind. The gambler had managed to keep Bob's cohorts from reaching them but the security chief had been desperate to reach the captain but somewhat torn because he did not wish to leave Julia and Josiah for that matter, unprotected. The Counselor was capable of defending himself but most of the time did not have the stomach for it.
"I don't know," Josiah shook his head dumbfounded as he saw the captain make his way out in the open, beckoning Bob to approach. The man with the appellation of Top Hat Bob seemed reluctant at first, staring suspiciously at Chris and the rest of them to ascertain whether or not this was a trick. "However, I assume Chris knows what he is doing."
"Never assume that a captain knows what they are doing." Ezra retorted abruptly, staring anxiously after Chris. The security chief was desperately fighting the urge to rush out to the fray and protect his commanding officer. The sworn duty of every security chief was to ensure the safety of his captain and yet Ezra was forced to remain here, mired in amber as he waited to see what it was exactly the captain had in mind. It was a most unpleasant position to be in and his temper was less than amicable. "The position comes with an assumption of godhood that leads them to play the most foolish games with their lives."
"The captain would not place his life in danger unless he knew he could get out of it." Julia said coming to Chris' defense. Julia had tremendous faith in Chris' ability to extract himself and his ship from danger as he had done so on numerous occasions before this. The captain seldom did very little without first having considered what the consequences of his actions were, not only to himself but to his crewmen. Everything Julia Pemberton knew about Chris Larabee told her that his sudden desire to face Top Hat Bob in the open has the basis of a plan destined to extract them from their present situation.
"Spoken like an engineer." Ezra responded not kindly.
It was bait Julia immediately detected and responded to in kind. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She demanded.
Ezra did not turn around but answered with just as much curt. "I do not need to explain it to you. Suffice to say, your experience is engineering. Mine is security and at the moment we need security, not amateurs with wishful thinking."
"Wishful thinking?" She declared, her cheeks flushing red with anger.
Josiah who had been until now could see the unresolved tension building the minute they had come into close proximity to each other. Their affection for each other was clear and thus their passion when incited, equally ablaze. He knew that a confrontation was coming and the part of him that Counselor welcomed it, however, this was not the time for such displays. Not when they were presently embroiled in a life or death situation and required for each member of the senior staff to be thinking clearly.
"Officers," Josiah spoke up before this could be allowed to turn from a brush fire to a raging inferno. "This is not the time." He said sternly, hoping it was enough to snap them out of glare they were holding between each other like a knife poised to strike.
Julia broke her gaze first and turned away but Ezra stared just a little longer and the hurt in his eyes was clear even for someone who was accustomed to never letting anyone in on his private emotions. Secretly, Josiah hoped that their differences could be resolved soon for it was obvious they cared deeply for one another even though their behavior might say otherwise. After an instant, Ezra broke away and returned his attention to what the Captain was doing, glad that Josiah had been present to remind him of his duty and feeling somewhat admonished that he had to be reminded at all.
Julia decided that the best course of action was to stay as far away from Ezra as possible for the duration of this mission. Inwardly, she felt grieved that their relationship had deteriorated to such a point that they could not even remain civil to one another during a mission. It was unprofessional and embarrassing, especially when the entire senior staff could see what was going on and the captain needed to give them a severe verbal reminder of what should be occupying their minds at this time. Despite all that, Julia herself could not deny that she was unhappy about how far things had slumped since this entire affair with the Accrans.
Instead of remaining where she was, Julia advanced further up the alley way, realizing that perhaps the narrow passageway may offer them a way out of their fight with Top Hat Bob and his men without the captain being forced to face the villain on his own. In truth, Julia knew that she was looking for something to occupy her mind because it was becoming increasingly difficult to not dwell on her crumbling love affair with Ezra Standish. She knew she loved and that he loved her, why was it so difficult for her to accept his apology and move on? Inwardly, Julia wanted things the way they were before her body was overtaken by an alien entity and used to confuse Ezra by impersonating her.
The passageway was so narrow that there was barely space enough for one person to walk in single file so she was fairly unconcerned as she continued through the gap between the two buildings. The street on the other side of the buildings beckoned her through the crack of light beaming into her eyes. She was almost half way when she realised that there a doorway along the path. She edged a little closer to it in order to see where it led, assuming it was a back door entrance that was so common to houses in this day and age.
She paused when she was but a few feet from it, turning around to see what Josiah and Ezra were doing. It occurred to her that she was breaking captain's orders about going off on her own when Chris had made it clear that he wanted everyone together. Realizing the prudence of his words, she turned around and prepared to retreat back the way she came when suddenly there was movement in the long shadows hiding in the poor illumination of the doorway.
The palm that covered her mouth and yanked her back into the shadows moved with such speed, Julia had barely the time to process the attack until she was dragged into the darkness. She heard breathing in her ear, a heavy labored pant that immediately reached into her primitive fears and struck cold terror into her heart. She tried to scream but the sound never came, muffled in the birthing by the hand that killed in her mouth. She was not helpless however. She slammed an elbow backwards, feeling the muscle that could have been a stomach being struck. There was a soft groan and quickly rise of sound that resembled outrage. Julia felt fingers digging into her hair and then the wall rushed up at her with blinding speed.
The impact of her skull against it brought cool darkness and she knew no more.
Chris Larabee found himself standing before Top Hat Bob and wondered what in the hell he was thinking.
When he had seen Mary being specifically targeted by Bob, he knew that whether or not this was some illusion created by Q, Top Hat Bob had crossed the line. The man had tried to kill the woman he loved and under no circumstances, was Chris Larabee or the Captain of the Maverick, going to take that lying down. If Bob wanted him so badly then perhaps it was time to give the man the showdown he wanted but under Chris' terms. Men like Bob were easy to manipulate once Chris stopped thinking like a man trapped in a fantasy world and started remembering that he was a starship captain and a pretty mean son of a bitch when he felt like being one.
When he had stepped out into the open, Chris knew he had captured Bob's attention for the firing stopped immediately as the villain tried to ascertain what it was he was attempting to do. When it was quiet and Chris was certain that he could be heard he called out, in answer to the anticipation felt not only be the enemy but the members of his crew who were praying that he did not get himself killed by this plan of his.
"Bob!" Chris called out to the man. "You want a piece of me?"
"You got it coming!" Bob declared after a moment, stepping out from the protection of his men so he could face Chris on his own.
"I surely do." Chris nodded in agreement; not about to deny any of the sins Bob claimed he had committed. For the man to play his game, Chris had to confess his guilt. "The question is, are you man enough to come get you some?"
Bob's eyes flared in outrage at the suggestion. "I'm more man than you'll ever be." Top Hat Bob sneered.
"Alright then," Chris unbuckled his gun belt slowly and paused before he reached the final notch that would send the weapons to the ground. "What say we prove it?"
"You must think I'm a fool." Bob retorted, less certain than he had been a moment ago. However, he found himself suddenly in an intractable situation. If he were to deny Chris' challenge then he would look like a coward to the men who rode with him and it was pack rules in the West, if he could not assert his dominance over them, then he would be removed by someone who could. In any case, refusal would be perceived as weakness and that was something Top Hat Bob could not afford to show.
"If you don't drop your guns and fight me fair and square, I'll think you're a coward." Chris retorted.
Bob's eyes narrowed and surveyed the faces of his men. They were staring at him, wondering what he was going to do. He could see it the word slowly emerging in their eyes with each second he delayed in disarming himself and realised after a split second he did not have a choice. He either fought Larabee or lost their respect and losing their respect was as good as being dead when one considered the company he kept.
"I'll show you who's a coward when you're begging me to save your yellow bellied skin." Bob growled and unhooked his gun belt.
Chris looked over his shoulder and saw the terrified expression on Mary's face, her silent plea for him not to do this. Chris offered her a little smile, assuring her he would be all right. Buck and Ezra's features wore the same worried look and disapproval that their captain had willingly placed himself in such danger. Josiah's look was one of concerned but he and Vin shared one thing in common, they both knew that he would not have entered this trial of combat unless he knew he could win. Alex had made her way next to Mary and was too busy trying to calm the protocol officer to show her fears for her captain's life. Nathan's disapproval of any kind of combat was evident by the distaste in his eyes and JD seemed caught between concern and fascination.
Chris wondered where Julia was.
"Well are we gonna do this or were you jus talk Larabee?" Top Hat Bob sneered and dragged Chris' attention back to him.
Chris gazed at the man long and hard, pushing the images of his crew and Mary to the background as he prepared to fight. He remained where he was, making no initial move towards Bob. The wait made his opponent nervous because Bob could not ascertain whether or not Chris was holding position because he was afraid or merely cautious. In either case, Chris allowed no emotion to show that could be of any help to Bob as the villain studied him. His previous experiences in hand to hand combat had taught Chris one thing; always let the enemy strike first.
It was a concept that Bob obviously had no knowledge of because just as the thought crossed Chris' mind, the large man rushed at him. Fear at the lack of concern in Chris' face had prompted Bob into attacking first and Chris kept his eyes fixed on the enemy as the man began to circle him, like a wolf preparing the death lunge upon a helpless prey. While Bob's combat technique was fraught with posturing and primitive displays of aggression, Chris was content to simply watch him move, concentrating on his muscle and body language, while at the same time readying his own offensive into place for when the fighting really began.
The man threw a plump fist in Chris' direction, which he dodged easily; always careful to keep a narrow gap of space between them to ensure that Bob would always have to lunge in order to reach him. The blow whooshed past Chris and when the man was caught in the vulnerable margin of time after a punch was thrown and before another could be delivered, Chris slammed a focussed strike into the tender part of Bob's side. The punch had its greatest effect above the man's kidneys as Chris intended, forcing an involuntary cry of pain from Bob's lips. The villain howled, enraged that the first punch was not his and further infuriated because he had cried out and revealed that Chris had hurt him. It was no surprise to Chris when Bob suddenly swung wide in anger, leaving his defenses exposed.
Chris did not let the opportunity go to waste. Chris dropped to one knee and struck Bob square in the stomach before the man had time to brace himself against the blow. He felt his palm sink into the fat belly and forced the wind from his opponent's lungs as Bob reeled backwards. Not wasting any time, Chris was standing upright again and this time, he took the offensive as Bob attempted to recover. Despite the fact that the enemy was bigger and possibly stronger, Bob was not a skilled fighter and was probably more accustomed to using a gun to kill his victims rather than his fists. The equalizing effect of the weapon made the men who relied too much upon it to forget that there were other skills of survival and defense. That advantage was all that someone like Chris who had the skill but not the brute strength, to win. Lashing out in a succession of swift blows, his first punch struck the man's ribs cracking it under his fist, the second higher into his throat and the final was a roa d house swing across the man's jaw.
Bob staggered backwards again, coughing loudly as his windpipe sustained a disabling injury and tried desperately to recoup. To that end, he managed adequately but knew he had to get his hands on the Chris if he was to have any chance of winning. Anger and hatred sent him running forward once again, intending to tackle Chris in a body slam. Chris held his ground, watching him cross the short space between them and braced himself for impact.
"Chris!" Mary cried out but Chris was not listening. If he remembered she was there, Bob would kill him.
Ignoring Mary's voice, Chris leapt out of the way just as Bob was about to make contact. The would be avenger ran straight into the wall. The loud crack as his skull met stone would have knocked a normal man unconscious. Unfortunately, Bob was running high on adrenaline and anger and though he was disorientated, he was far from done. However, Chris did not have the patience for a prolonged battle and decided that it was time to finish this once and for all. Taking advantage of Bob's brief stupor, Chris came up from behind him and slammed his foot in to the bend of the man's knee, dropping him immediately. As Bob struggled to turn around, he was met with another balled fist and then two palms that slammed into the side of his head. Another palm strike connected with the underside of his jaw, snapping his head back savagely and in the daze of these deadly strikes, started to falter.
Chris stepped back seeing no reason to continue. Bob was down and they all knew it. Not just the crew of the Maverick or the men who rode with him and now viewed their leader with less reverence than they had earlier but Bob as well. The man was struggling to get to his feet and the crimson stains on the ground indicated that he was hurt badly.
"I think we're done." Chris stood back and looked towards Bob's men. When he turned around and started towards the rest of his shipmates, Chris did not expect anyone to stop him. He was right.
This was as far as Top Hat Bob's revenge was going. It was over.
The only description that Billy Travis was capable of making about the place he was presently residing with his newfound friend Quinn, was by the euphemistic term employed by scientists who made use of the technology. Anthropologists called the device a duck blind. Billy had been on some expeditions with his mother where the device had been called into use and at this moment, the description of his situation could be best explained by that reference. Anthropologist, in order to study primitive cultures without interfering with the course of the society's development, used duck blinds. Utilizing light refraction technologies, the scientists could make their studies in a self-contained environment that was completely invisible to the outside world.
At the moment, the bubble he occupied inside Quinn's holodeck was not too different from that.
He could see everything taking place and the bubble moved when they wished it too, so that he could observe several different people all at once. He had seen the captain; Vin and Security Chief Standish battling it out with the villain Top Hat Bob and recoiled slightly when Nathan Jackson had found that dead woman on the street. He confessed he did not like Mr Poplar much and was glad that Josiah made him small when they had encountered each other. He felt a little apprehension when he saw Mr Wickes trying to hurt his ma but Quinn assured him that there was nothing to worry about. After all, wasn't she always getting into trouble in the real Magnificent Seven program? Billy knew that it was only an excuse for Chris to save her all the time.
In fact, that seemed the only reason to have women in the program at all Billy thought to himself, now that he considered it more deeply. Whenever his mother or Chief Engineer Pemberton was in the simulation, they were always being kidnapped, held hostage or in danger in some way that mobilized the seven into acting. He supposed that's why Science Officer Styles did not participate because he could imagine no situation where she would need rescuing.
"The captain is very resourceful." Quinn remarked as they watched the group following the end of Chris' fist fight with Top hat Bob.
"He's the best Captain in Starfleet," Billy said as they both sat on the floor of their bubble, cross-legged and munching on treats as if they were watching a holovid or something. "Next to my father that is." Billy added after a moment, feeling a wave of sadness when he recalled the father that had died not too long ago. He liked Chris very much but sometimes it was not quite the same as the stoic Vulcan who had always been the paragon of what it was to be Vulcan and yet still put him to sleep with a lullaby. Billy missed him very much.
Quinn looked at Billy. "You are sad."
Billy nodded slightly, trying to hide it but it simply overcame him too quickly.
"I do not understand this idea of death." Quinn answered. "How can one not exist any more? I have always been."
"No you haven't," Billy shook his head. "You were born, like I was born. Everybody gets born."
"But I do not die." Quinn stated.
"You have to die. Every living thing dies." The young Vulcan pointed out.
"I do not die." His new friend repeated himself. "I do not get sick, I do not get injured and I do not die. My father tells me I will live until the universe stops and beyond I wish it. I could go to the past and live as many times as I like because I won't die."
Billy did not think that sounded very good. He was only a child but he did know that he would not like to live so long that everyone else around him would die first. It had been hard enough losing his father; he would not like to have that experience repeated over and over again. "That sounds awful." He said after awhile.
"My father says that I should be grateful that I can do anything." Quinn answered.
"Grown up always say that." Billy remarked.
"Except that I can." Quinn met his gaze and Billy sensed that there was great confusion going on behind the boy's eyes. "I made all this happen."
"This is a holodeck program." The Vulcan pointed out.
"Yes," Quinn nodded with an unfathomable expression that was well beyond Billy's experience to truly understand. "Just a program."
"You know something?" Buck Wilmington said to Chris after they had left Top Hat Bob some distance behind them.
"What?" Chris asked as he dusted himself off after his altercation and victory over Bob.
"If you were not my Captain, I would knock you on your ass!" Buck looked at Chris with a decidedly stormy expression on his face. The first officer had not at all been impressed by the Captain's confrontation with Bob, especially in this pseudo-reality where there were no safety protocols to protect them from death and the characters of holodeck had some how gained flesh and blood status.
"For once I'm in complete agreement with Buck," Alex spoke up. "Captain, that was extremely foolish and dangerous. If Bob had played it smart, he could decided to shoot you when you disarmed yourself to fight him."
"Jesus," Chris grumbled, "you two are like a bunch of old women."
"Hey!" Mary declared. "Chris, they're worried about you like I'm worried about you. We're in enough of a mess without you getting yourself killed. The Captain is the most important person on the ship. Protocols are in place to safeguard you not simply because you are the captain but because you are responsible for your crew and your ship."
"Alright already," Chris growled, starting to feel a little outnumbered. "I get the point but might I remind you a starship is not a democracy?" He gave them a hard stare and then noticed that Ezra, the one he expected to be most vocal about this subject was strangely silent. Normally, the security chief would be the first to be admonishing him for risking himself as he had with Bob but instead, there was an expression of disquiet on the commander's face as his eyes studied the surrounding area.
"Ezra, what is it?" Josiah who noticed it too asked before Chris could.
"Where is Julia?" He asked.
"Well she was right behind us when Chris was fighting it out with Bob." Josiah answered automatically and then realised that he had not really seen where the Chief Engineer had gone to other than that memory.
"She'd know better than to just wander off." Vin retorted. "Especially now that we know that this Q is involved."
"He might have taken her." Nathan suggested, aware that Q was more than capable of spiriting the people he toyed with away at a moment's notice. He had done the same thing to the Enterprise, transported an entire starship in the blink of an eye to distant space where the Federation was first to engage the Borg for the very first time. If Q had not set those events into motion, the Federation might have been spared the Borg onslaught for years to come. However, that premature meeting had made the Borg aware of the Federation, the Klingon Empire and the even the Romulan Star Empire. It had changed the course of Alpha Quadrant politics when the powers that be realised that there were things in space far more terrifying than their petty rivalries with each other.
Chris considered that possibility for the moment and then decided that it was unlikely. Since they had been brought here, one things was evident. While Q was content to throw the entire pantheon of Magnificent Seven foes in their direction, he had not engaged them directly. It was the entity's pleasure to watch his players' dance to the tune he had set for them, not take part in it himself. If Julia was gone, it was more likely to do with the villains that had been plaguing them since the onset of this crazy abduction than Q taking an active interest in things.
"I don't think so," Chris shook his head in response. "It isn't his style."
"God," Mary suddenly gasped. "It could be disgusting Wickes character." She looked at Alex and Buck simultaneously. "The man's a monster Chris! If he has Julia...."
"It will not get that far," Ezra retorted sharply. "Captain, permission to find Mr Wickes."
"Wait, there's something else." Nathan hated to consider this as a possibility but he had to. Now that they knew they were no longer dealing with holograms but real human beings, he had not choice but to consider it. That girl he had found in the street, however she had come to being had been alive when her life was stolen from her so cruelly. Nathan was certain that to her killer, the possibility that Julia may be something else entirely would not matter to him. He would take her life as ruthlessly as he had done to the poor child with the coins in her eyes. "Before we met up with you. We found a body in the street." He explained.
"A body?" Chris did not at all like the sound of this.
"A girl," Josiah continued. "Young, pretty, she had been strangled to death. The killer placed coins in her eyes."
"That's bizarre." JD exclaimed. "Why?" A cold shudder ran through his spine just picturing the image of a corpse in the eyes.
"Well if it's a classical reference, it could mean that the killer wanted to ensure she had money to pay the Ferryman to get to the other side."
"Excuse me?" Vin looked at her strangely.
"In Greek and Roman literature, when you die you have to cross the River Styx to reach the Underworld and the Ferryman, Charon will take you there only if you pay him. That's why when they buried their dead, they put coins in the eyes so that they could pay him."
"That is an act of compassion." Josiah pointed out.
"From a man who strangles them beforehand." Ezra said skeptically, guessing already what Josiah was trying not to come out and say. "Are you telling me a creature like this has taken Julia?" His voice was barely a whisper as he made that demand.
"More than likely cause this don't sound like something Wickes would do." Buck spoke up; hating to admit that Nathan could be right but the truth was Wickes had not seen Julia with him, just Mary and Alex. It made far more sense that if the man were going to attack this way, he would have taken one of them. However, Wickes was the kind that seldom went anywhere without his men. If he had taken Julia, they would have seen him. Unfortunately, the silent abduction that had seen Julia stolen out of their midst, seemed more consistent with the behavior of Nathan's murderer.
"We are wasting time." Ezra interrupted, desperate to find Julia the more and more he heard about this Mr Wickes and this unseen killer that was stalking women about town and murdering them. "We need to start looking for her now."
"Lieutenant Commander," Chris said sharply and reminded Ezra that he was security chief and nothing would be served in they all descended into a blind panic. "We will find her but I need your head screwed on right at this moment."
Ezra dropped his gaze to the ground for a moment slightly embarrassed by his lack of professionalism. Julia was the one person in the universe that could bring the real Ezra Standish to surface, not the cold, hard cynic they had come to know but the person that existed deep beneath that jaded exterior. When he finally met the captain's eyes, Ezra noted the sympathy being exhibited by his friends for his pain and Ezra felt strangely comforted by it. "I apologise." He said evenly.
"Its okay," Chris responded automatically. "Now we can't assume that she is with one person or the other, unfortunately we don't have the luxury of taking a guess. If she's with this nut, then we have very little time so we're going to have to split up. This town isn't that big, we can search it."
"That's right," Nathan added, wishing to give Ezra hope because he knew how deeply the security chief felt for the woman and knew that if it were Rain in the same unfortunate circumstances, he would be as unhinged as Ezra. "What he does with them needs him placed close to town so even though time is against us, he won't be far away. If he has her, he'll be wanting to do it someplace quiet where he can enjoy himself but at the same time not be remote enough to have trouble disposing the body."
"Doctor Jackson," Ezra cleared his throat, wincing each time the doctor had used the word 'body.' "Do you think you could manage to sound a little less impersonal? I do not see Julia as a body yet."
"Yes," Josiah frowned, giving the doctor a dark look that clearly indicated that his bedside manner could use a little work.
"Sorry," Nathan apologized, feeling a little mortified by his insensitivity. "However, we also need to keep in mind that if he is responsible for Julia's disappearance, he may have bitten of more than he can chew."
"I don't follow." JD responded.
"I think I do," Vin caught on immediately. "This guy is used to dealing with women from this time, who wouldn't know how to put up a fight if he came at them. Julia is not from the 19th century, she's from the 24th and she's an Academy trained Starfleet officer who knows how to get out of trouble if she has to. If this guy has her, Julia may know how to take care of herself or at the very least, stall him long enough for us to get to him."
"Right," Chris gave Vin a smile of gratitude at making that statement because Ezra needed to hear some positives regarding Julia's situation not merely the meaningless platitudes of well-intentioned friends. "At the moment, I'm not assuming nothing so we're splitting up to find her. "Ezra, you, Josiah, Alex and Nathan see what you can do about finding this killer. I figure the four of you would have a better chance of tracking this killer than the rest of us."
"What are you going to do?" Alex asked.
"We're going after Mister Wickes," Chris answered. "Chances are if you don't find her, we will."
Ezra hoped it was as simple as that because in truth, he would rather Julia be in the hands of a whoremaster, even if the entire notion was odious, because the man would not be inclined to kill her.
Her chances of survival were considerably better than if she were the unwilling captive of a serial killer.
Julia's head hurt.
She woke up to scent in her lungs.
The acrid metallic stench assaulted her senses with the efficiency of smelling salts and forced her from the dark place she had been slumbering. Sensation bled into her at a crawl but when it did return, she almost wished it had not. The dull throbbing that had been distant and tolerable soon felt as if a thunderstorm was rumbling inside her mind. She did not know she had groaned when she first felt it but there was a sound so she supposed she must have made it.
Her throat felt parched and sluggish and when she lifted her head, fresh pain assailed her once more and force to lie down again. She was on the wooden floor of a place she had yet to identify because her vision was still blurred. Her eyesight was slower to return than her olfactory senses, which were bombarding her with a cavalcade of scents. She tried to identify the acrid smell that had roused her from her sleep and could not quite place it at first. Then Julia felt something warm and slick running through her scalp and was stymied by hair. When she felt it on her brow, she knew exactly what it was.
Blood.
When she attempted to reach for her forehead to investigate, Julia discovered that her arms were bound behind her back. The tension of rope around her wrists brought clarity to her mind like nothing else was capable of doing. Her eyes flew open and she immediately started to struggle, life surging into lethargic limbs, left too long in their uncomfortable position. The ropes bit into her skin, chaffing her flesh as she tried to loosen them enough so that she might free herself. After a few seconds, Julia discovered to her growing concern that the ropes were tied with exceptional skill, ensuring that the captive, being her, would not be able to accomplish what she was attempting to do now.
"You can't escape." A male voice said softly.
Julia froze. She had been so focussed on freeing herself that it never occurred to she had been watched. She looked up slowly and also realised that she was in a church, specifically Josiah's church. During her visits to the program, she had opportunity to be in this place once or twice before and recognised it immediately.
"Who are you?" She asked hoarsely as she turned her head towards him and saw the man sitting on the nearby pew, watching her closely with dead eyes. The lack of anything in them sent a chill through Julia's spine.
"Nobody." He answered, observing her like she was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.
"You must be somebody," Julia tried again. "I have to be able to call you something."
He met her gaze and suddenly, she saw something sparkle in his eyes. "You can call me Death."
When one came down to it, there was no trick to beginning an investigation, no special 'knack' that allowed one investigator to succeed where another had failed. The misconception popularized by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie would have the every day man believed that one needed to have some Holmes dispassionate demeanor or Poirot's incredible arrogance to see clues where none existed. It was pure deductive reasoning that one needed to see through the benign veneer of a crime scene and see the violence that may or may not have been committed there.
Even though it was dangerous to do so, Ezra knew that there was one place he could launch his search for Julia Pemberton and that was where she had been last seen. Although he was mindful that Top Hat Bob and his men might still be in the area, the security chief of the USS Maverick had little choice in the matter. Fortunately, by the time the quartet of Starfleet officers had returned to the narrow alleyway where Julia had disappeared, there was no sign of the villains. Ezra had to assume that Bob was probably somewhere licking his wounds.
"She was standing right here." Josiah told Alex and Nathan once they had returned to the small alley behind which Josiah, Ezra and Julia had taken refuge when the shooting between Bob's men and the seven had broken out. "Then you two got into that argument and she wandered off."
"It was not an argument," Ezra growled as he proceeded down the narrow passageway. "It was a difference of opinion."
"Whatever," Alex remarked, moving to a change of subject. Ezra was one of her closest friends on the Maverick. She liked his wry sense of humour that was at times unlike her own and they both shared a cynical view on things even though she suspected like herself, it was not as jaded as both of them might like everyone else to believe. "I wish Vin had come with us. He's pretty good at spotting tracks in the ground. Something about growing up in the wilderness, I suppose."
"We do not require Mr Tanner's expertise this time around," Ezra said tautly as he saw the marks in the dirt ground and had a very good idea that Julia had indeed gone this way. "She went down this path. I can see the indentation of her heel in the dirt."
"Really?" Nathan exclaimed with some hint of admiration, seeing nothing in the dirt that would indicate that except some unevenness that was deeper in some places then others. "How can you tell?"
"The women of this time wore shoes with different types of heels from that worn by men. Male footwear came with broader heels, where else ladies' footwear seem to taper in that area." Ezra gestured to the tracks they had all paused to examine after he had made his statement. "You can see how it digs into the earth first, pushing dirt around it before being flattened out by the rest of the shoe."
"I'll be damned," Josiah remarked impressed. "I see what you mean."
"She did come this way then." Alex said unhappily, feeling very uncomfortable about Julia's situation for some reason. She almost wished that Mr Wickes had the chief engineer in his hands. At least, they could be assured that Julia might survive the next few hours alive since Wickes wanted her to replace one of the working girls he had supposedly lost because of Buck Wilmington. Anything had to be better than being in the hands of a serial killer. Although advancement in criminology had more or less eliminated the genetic predisposition in humans that turned an intelligent man into a cold-blooded monster, such specimen sometimes managed to slip through the cracks of 24th century vigilance. In the 20th century, they had been a plague almost as virulent as the diseases of the time and no less easy to cure.
The serial killer was a random animal, following a pattern that was usually unique only to him. Profiles tended to be generic and usually when the subject was discovered often ended up being classified as something completely new. Catching one usually required determining the pattern and it was almost unheard of to catch one within 24 hours of the first crime, although in this instance the killer had been doing it quite some time. Even though Alex did not want to say it, mostly because she knew it must be weighing heavily on Ezra's mind, the chances of catching this creature in time to save Julia was slim at best.
They continued up the passageway until they came to the doorway that Julia had discovered earlier. Ezra froze, his eyes seeing details in everything that made his heart pound louder in his chest even though he was trying his level best not to let it get to him. Razor sharp intellect scoured the grimy brick walls, examined the faded paint on the wooden doorway. He noted the greasy hand stands on the doorknob and knew even if he could lift prints off the handle; it would be of little good to them. Finger print evidence was only useful if the murderer had had a prior record and in this day and age, where finger printing was akin to suggesting a man could reach the moon, it was more or less a redundant exercise.
"The tracks stop." Alex replied, knowing enough about what to look for to realise that Julia's footprints had disappeared. However, she had disappeared from this place and taken elsewhere, she had not done so on foot.
"Yes, they have." He nodded slowly.
Josiah noticed the expression on the security officer's face. It was almost ashen. The man was staring at the opposite wall and when Josiah followed his gaze and realised what it was that had captured his attention, could understand why Ezra was so horrified by what he had seen. Josiah swallowed and found his voice after a few seconds.
"Is that what I think it is?" He asked in a low whisper.
Alex who had recovered far more quickly was barking at Nathan to come forward. "Doctor!"
Nathan immediately stepped forward and took a look. He gave Ezra a sympathetic glance before he stepped up to the wall and ran his finger against the brick. What came off it was quickly examined when it clung to his fingertip and Nathan knew immediately, the substance could be nothing else. "I'm sorry Ezra," he found himself saying. "Its blood."
"Ezra," Alex said quickly. "This proves nothing. She might have fought him and one of them could be hurt."
"Yes," Ezra nodded slowly. "There is always that possibility." However, his voice did not sound entirely as if he believed it.
"It may be that he knocked her out," Nathan retorted. "There's not a lot of blood so this could be a minor wound," he reminded Ezra.
"It must be." Ezra said firmly and looked down the doorway and further up the passageway, further along from the doorway. "I do not see further evidence of bleeding. Of course it we had our tricoders, this might be so much simpler."
"Alright," Alex tried to take the initiative, aware of the emotional turmoil that Ezra must be enduring at this moment. "He knocked her out here and must have carried her wherever he was going. Now he can't have gone very far without attracting attention. This is not the kind of place where someone with Julia's standing in the community could be slung over someone's shoulder without being seen. He must have entered the hotel through this door. I can't see him trying for the street."
"I can." Ezra stated. Her theory had sparked his mind into working again. "Do not forget at the time of her abduction, we were engaged in a rather nasty fire fight with Mr Top Hat Bob and his cohorts. No one would have cared about seeing a man carrying a woman away, not when they were all hiding within their enclaves for fear of being caught in random fire."
"Damn," Josiah swore.
"So they could be anywhere." Nathan groaned, with more than a trace of defeat in his voice.
"More or less." Alex nodded grimly.
Ezra did not speak as he followed the footprints that led out of the doorway. Even though there was no blood down the path the killer must have taken Julia, there were still tracks. Julia's wound was only superficial, if not the bleeding would be worse. The deeper indentations of his sole in the ground indicated to Ezra that the man was carrying her, so she was likely rendered unconscious in this tiny little annex, no doubt when she was force to suffer the injury that left her blood on the wall. A cold sliver of ice had burrowed into his heart and no matter what he told himself, Ezra knew it would not go away until after Julia was found.
"We will begin searching." Ezra replied, snapping out of his dark thoughts regarding his lover's fate. He had to have hope that she was alive or else he would be no good to her. "We can safely ignore the saloons or the hotel."
"Yes," Josiah nodded. "He'll need privacy to do what he has to. I'd say the livery stable or a cellar somewhere."
"He couldn't just break into someone's house." Nathan pointed out. "That would draw attention."
"That's right," the Counsellor agreed, well aware of some of the universal characteristics of the psychosis he was dealing with. "This is a man who feels inferior before others. He conjures up fantasies involving himself and the women who are his victims. In his world, they are playing a part and it is a private world where only the two of them exist. To invite others in would be to destroy the fantasy and he can't have that. It would take the satisfaction out of the killing and he can't have that."
"God, that's sick." Alex whispered under her breath.
"As he is." Josiah stated. "Ezra," the counsellor turned to the security chief. "Would it help if we went and found Mr Poplar?"
"The Pinkerton detective?" Alex remembered the name from when Josiah was relating the events of what happened when he had first emerged into Q's playground.
"Yes," Josiah nodded. "Perhaps, he may have some idea about tracking this man that could help us with Julia. I don't like him much and he's a cretin to say the least but I get the impression that he's been on the killer's trail for sometime and may give us a little help."
Ezra considered the notion. "I am open to any assistance we might obtain. Go find him. Alex and I will continue our search. We'll meet back in this location in 20 minutes."
"So soon?" Nathan looked at him. Although Four Corners was not a large town by any means, it was not a small one either and searching for Poplar may take longer than that time.
"Yes," Ezra nodded, broking no argument on this point. He was unhappy at their lack of progress and knew that Julia could not afford to wait until they eventually found her. Time was running out, he could feel the urgency of its diminishing quantity pressing up against his spine and even though there was no outward sign of it to his friends, the fear he felt was so palpable it might reach up and choke him. "A great deal can take place in 20 minutes, Doctor Jackson. A great deal."
"Death."
The word hung from his lips and for a moment, she wondered if he was just sadistic or insane. It did not take her very long to discover that he was both. He sat at the pew watching her, allowing moments to pass without speaking, knowing the silence would heighten her terror almost as much as the length of chord he held in his hands, his fingers gently caressing the rough hessian fibres like something to be savoured.
"What do you want?" She asked, unable to bear it. He was staring at her like a statue, watching her. His eyes were almost black and as he continued to look at her with that detached expression, Julia had the insight that perhaps he was building up to something, as if she were caught with him in the eye of the storm.
Once again he did not answer but continued to stare.
Julia decided she was not going to wait for him to and shouted. "Somebody help me!"
Her scream was short because he was out of the pew immediately, making long strides towards her. Julia braced herself and watched him come closer towards her. She was only going to have one chance at this but she was willing to try it because the look in his eyes told her she had no other choice. He was watching her, allowing his fantasy to gain momentum, to build into a swell of rage that could culminate in venting all that repressed desire upon her. Julia was smart enough and realistic enough to know that she would not survive that outpouring of dark and twisted emotion.
The distance between them disappeared and before she knew it, his shadow fell over her form almost as if the reaper had suddenly moved into her presence. Julia's heart was racing inside her breast as she watched his insistent caress of the rope in his hand become more and more urgent. The need was upon him and she could tell that he had crossed a line in himself, a line that once left behind allowed him no way to turn back until he had fed the monster inside him.
When he was close enough, she kicked out her foot suddenly. The heel connected the curved bone of his ankle and she heard him yelped in pain. Instinctively, he raised his injured ankle and when he did so, Julia kicked out again, this time ensuring that that her foot landed just above his knees. Her kick was strong and desperate, with more than enough force behind him to sweep his feet from under him. Julia did not wait to see him fall. She rolled around onto her knees and pushed herself up as best she could. However, her progress was slow and even though she heard him fall to the floor, she heard scuffling sounds that told her he was recovering quickly and would be after her in seconds.
"Help me!" Julia screamed again, hoping someone, anyone would hear her.
"Shut up!" She heard him shout behind her and knew from the sound of his voice that he was not far away.
She scrambled to her feet, preparing to run but her clothes and bound hands hampered her movements and stole critical seconds she could not afford to lose. She had taken no more than two or three steps when she felt his hand fist up around her ankle and yank back sharply. Julia was unable to prevent herself from falling and without her hands to break her fall, slammed chin first into the floorboards. The impact almost knocked her out and as the pain emanated from her jaw and shuddered throughout her body, she felt blood filling into her mouth.
"Bitch!" She heard him scream through the haze of disorientation but was not in the position too much else.
Julia did not see his fists starting to fly as he straddled her. The room was still spinning when his knuckle met her jaw line. She was aware of crying out as the blows dislodged teeth and felt the blood swelling in her bruised face as he continued to pummel her, unaware of what he was doing because her audacity to fight back had inspired such a mountain of rage inside him. She had dared to destroy the fantasy he had prepared for them both and for that she would pay dearly. Her cries of pain soon disintegrated into whimpers of agony. She did not know how much damage he had caused, only aware that somewhere during the beating, she could no longer see and the smell of blood was filling her lungs with such entirety that she was nauseated to the point of being violently ill.
Where was Ezra? Julia wondered anguished as she felt another bone shatter and were certain that it was her cheekbone finally giving in. Why wasn't he here? She wailed inside her mind, inside her pain for him to come and save her from this nightmare and knew that there was no reason for him to come, even if he knew about her plight. After all, she had not exactly treated him fairly. How could he be blamed for anything when what he had done, he did because he loved her? He had not seen past her eyes and looked into the person she was because his desire was so filled with want for her. How could he have been expected to know? If she were in the same position, could she have made that distinction herself?
Strange how at the moment when she was poised between life and death that certain things became clear. Julia thought about her ship and her friends and she thought about Ezra because she was too weak and in too much pain to do much else. It was becoming hard to breathe and she wondered dazed, if that tightening around her throat had something to do with it, or was her lungs finally filling up with blood.
There was no way for Julia to tell what was happening even though she could hear his movements, slow deliberating sounds that echoed sinister intent with every new ounce of pain she suffered. Both her eyes were swollen shut from abuse and the only thing she could feel was fresh, warm blood gurgling from her mouth and down the corner of her lips. She was no longer able to scream but she could make words, even if no one could hear them.
"Ezra." She croaked softly.
The constriction around her thought paused for a moment.
"Ezra," she tried again, wishing to hear his name in her ears as if hearing it could give her strength to last a little longer. Or at the very least to say what she had to before it was too late, before she never had the chance to, even though it would mean little to him because Ezra was not here to hear it. "I'm sorry." She whispered and felt the warmth running out of her eyes and knew this time it was not blood but tears.
It was becoming harder and harder to breathe and the pressure around her throat was so strong that she could not inhale to take air into her lungs. Her mind started to fog over as the lack of oxygen began descending her into the grey numbness of brain asphyxia. She began to choke and as her heaving grew more frantic and desperate, it appeared that tightening became more insistent until finally she could take nothing in nothing at all and breathes became ragged gasps that seemed to fill her world. For a time, she could not focus Ezra in her head as she battled for the last minutes of light that was left in her but when she finally succumbed, when her body and spirit were willing to accept the dark rushing at her, she thought of Ezra again.
And then there was nothing.
The minute he saw the crowd gathered in the middle of the street, Ezra Standish knew.
He was a man who relied almost entirely on the sixth sense that made him the security chief he was and the unbeatable card sharp at the poker table and when he felt that hollow feeling of dread rising up inside him, Ezra knew he was not wrong. Beside him, Alex broke into a run as she hurried forward to see what it was that had drawn the attention of the townsfolk. Ezra could not bring his legs to move any faster perhaps because he was fairly certain of what was waiting for him. While those around him saw the gambler of the Magnificent Seven striding forward confidently to the scene of the commotion, inside his was quivering with fear.
He knew what he was going to find even before he reached the crowd and knowing would kill him inside. Ezra saw Alex breaking through the crowd and pausing as she caught sight at what she saw there. For a moment, she remained frozen and then her shoulders sagged as she disappeared from view for a few seconds as she became lost in the small gathering. Ezra continued to walk, compelled to move even though he had no wish to. Then he saw Alex reappear. She pushed her way past the town's people. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and she was biting her lip, trying to stop the quivering that would induce her to cry.
"Ezra," she said softly. "Stay where you are." She instructed, trying to keep the authority in her voice but failing. "You don't want to see this."
Ezra did not answer and brushed past her. He felt her hand grab his and halted him from taking another step.
"Please," she implored, warm tears running down her cheeks as she beseeched him not to take another step. "You don't want to see this."
"I have to," he answered, his voice barely a whisper.
"No," she tried to stop him. "You don't."
Ezra ignored her and forced his way through. The townspeople who were programmed to know the relationship between them, stepped aside immediately. Only Josiah and Nathan remained. The duo had been searching for Poplar and their lack of success had brought them into the streets where they noticed the crowd that had formed and realised that they had been too late. Nathan was leaning over the body and Josiah looked up to see Ezra breaking the circle of spectators to see what they had.
"Ezra," Josiah said softly. "I am so sorry."
Ezra blinked as he looked down and saw Nathan removing his hand from her neck where he had been attempting to locate a pulse. Judging by the somber expression on his face, Ezra guessed there was none to find. His breath caught in his throat as he saw those lovely features battered so badly, it was almost impossible to imagine that she had been the beautiful woman that he remembered and loved, who stared at him with those incredible emerald colored eyes. He could not see her eyes because they were swollen shut and had been concealed by the two silver dollars that had been placed there by her killer.
"Why did he do this?" Nathan muttered. "Why did he hurt her so badly?"
"Because," Ezra managed to say, his voice shaking as he forced the words out. "She fought him. She would not have allowed him to kill her without a fight and because she fought, he had to subdue her. He had to break every bone in her face."
"Ezra....." Josiah started to say but the security chief was not listening. He dropped to his knees gently next to her and ran his fingers over the soft strands of titian hair that he had loved to feel against his skin when she kissed him. He ran his hand against her cheeks and did not care that it was stained with drying blood. Now that she was gone, Ezra doubted he would care about anything again. He lowered his lips to her ear and knew that though she could not hear him, he had to say goodbye or he would not have the courage to hunt down the bastard who did this to her.
With glistening eyes and fighting the tears that wanted to come, Ezra whispered softly in Julia's unhearing ear. "I love you Julia, I always will." He bit down the urge to weep once more. "I promise you, I'll find him and I'll kill him."