Title: Holiday Revenge (6/?)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Pairing: Pike/Archer, Kirk/McCoy
Summary: Sequel to Goodbye, Holidays. Events turn ugly, for Kirk’s enemy has found the perfect way to pay Kirk back for his meddling.
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Chapter warning for murder.

Part Six

The police cruiser hits a pothole on the highway that makes the vehicle jump and the driver curse. Jonathan takes it in stride, having little attention for anything other than his cell phone. He’s chuckling at a text message which claims, This is a terrible idea.

He texts back, The terrible idea was running away to begin with.

Hardly surprised when no response is immediately forthcoming, Jon snorts his amusement. The person in the driver’s seat wants to know, “What’s so funny?”

“Kids,” he explains. “Just… kids.”

Marlena cocks her head in his direction. “You have children?”

Jon’s eyebrows fly up. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

The woman shrugs. “Honestly, I didn’t peg you for the family type.”

How right she is. Jon doesn’t want to admit that, so he tucks his cell phone into the curve of his hands and answers primly, “I am an excellent parent.”

Moreau’s sideways glance still holds some disbelief. “Then how long have you been married?”

Uh-oh. “I am a… less excellent spouse.” Jon mutters after a light cough, “Not a spouse actually.”

“Oh, so a single parent. Like Chris,” the woman concludes. “That’s a tough job.”

Crap, he’s in over his head now. She is actually imagining him raising a child alone.

Jon is fumbling for a way to explain how he might have led her astray when she asks, “What’s your kid’s name?”

“Kirk,” pops out of his mouth.

Marlena jerks the car into the next lane, by some miracle of God when there isn’t oncoming traffic. Her exclamation of “Kirk!” is almost nonsensical.

“Ahaha,” Archer laughs nervously, “that’s not what I meant! Kirrr—ken! I was going to say Ken but you know,” he jests, smacking his own forehead, “Kirk on the brain. So NOT Kirk. My kid, that is.”

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

Marlena shoots him a dirty look. “You’re lying again, Sheriff.”

“B-But,” he bleats, “Kirk really isn’t my kid.”

“Of course he isn’t. He’s Pike’s. You,” she emphasizes, “don’t have children.”

“Imagine that,” Jon mutters, shifting in his seat to lean against the car door—and hopefully out of reach in case Moreau decides violence is a suitable recourse for being lied to. But oddly the woman only shakes her head and reaches out to adjust the radio frequency.

Jon’s phone buzzes in his hands. He glances down, sees the alert for a new message. Spock, he reads a moment later, says his father has lawyers on retainer who have destroyed greater men than you.

Damn, but McCoy is not happy. Jon had guessed that would be the way of things.

With a sigh that is more resigned than amused, he orders, Just get it done.

As expected, the threat must be more bluff than promise, for Jonathan doesn’t hear from Kirk’s friends again.

~~~

A dozen reporters crowd the front steps of the precinct, hungry for a story. Out of precaution, Archer and Moreau park in the gated lot adjacent to the station and use the secured door for transporting prisoners to enter the building. The place is a hive of activity now, with the officers of all ranks called in from different assignments, some of them back from their vacations. Liu isn’t downplaying the gravity of Pike’s situation, it seems. Jonathan approves.

He nearly walks into Marlena when she comes to an abrupt halt just within the archway of the bullpen. Looking past the woman’s shoulder, he spies the reason for her reaction. It takes all his willpower not to crow with triumph. Seated in front of desk, chin tucked into his chest, is none other than Kirk.

Feigning an air of surprise, Archer sidles towards the nearest cluster of observers. Moreau shakes off her shock and follows Jon.

“Who found him?” he stage-whispers to the first officer at hand.

A worried-looking Phil whispers back, “No one. He walked in on his own.”

“So why hasn’t Liu put the cuffs on him yet?”

“The captain wants to figure out his game first.”

Archer forces himself not to tense up. “Maybe Kirk came to his senses.”

Phil stares at Jon like he has grown a second head.

“Or not,” the sheriff mutters and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, taking in the scene more fully.

Opposite of Kirk is Liu, arms crossed, a vein visibly throbbing in her forehead. Uhura flanks Kirk’s chair. Neither woman is speaking, having appeared to settle on communication via staring contest. Caught between them, Jim’s posture looks less indolent than it does uncertain.

Damn. Jon had told him to play remorseful. Jim obviously can’t do remorseful for very long.

Clearing his throat, Jon prods Phil with his elbow. “Where’s the boyfriend and the bodyguard?”

Phil shakes his head in the negative. “Jim said they were on the way to his house. Liu radioed the surveillance team and received confirmation just before you arrived.”

Beautifully played, Kirk, Jon congratulates his cohort silently. That would explain why Liu looks like she has bitten into something sour. She cannot deny there is some truth to Kirk’s story.

As if that thought of Jon’s has spurred her into action, Liu plants her hands on the desk and leans across it with a menacing air. Uhura curls her hand around the top of Jim’s chair. Jim says something. Liu responds. Uhura fires back. Then, on cue, Jim slumps forward a little in regret. Uhura slides her hand to his shoulder. With an obvious reluctance, Liu straightens up, the intensity in her expression dying.

The murmuring around Archer has petered out. No one dares to say a word as Liu looks around her precinct.

A prickling starts between Jon’s shoulder blades as the captain’s gaze comes to rest upon him.

This time when the woman speaks, her voice carries: “Moreau, Archer, report.”

Jon feels a buzzing in his pocket. Saved by the bell, he thinks wryly, pulling out his cell phone and waving it in the air as he backs through the crowd and away from Liu’s stare.

“Sheriff,” Marlena calls, aghast that he would rather take a phone call than obey her captain.

Jon mouthes, Sorry, and answers his cell. “Archer here.”

A voice snarls in his ear, “What the hell is going on!”

Jon momentarily stills out of surprise, then sighs deeply and makes more of an effort to find a corner of the station with no listening ears. He tells his irate caller, “Hold that thought.”

Once in an empty hallway and privacy secured (for the most part), Archer faces the wall and ducks his head. His gut says any pretense would be moot so he asks, “How did you know?”

Silence ensues from the other end, a sure sign that his oldest deputy is far from pleased.

“Larry,” he tries again, “talk to me.”

The deputy says, voice brusque, “Word came from a pair of Kirk’s friends. They showed up in a panic, wanting to know what was happening with that detective, Pike.” Larry accuses Archer, “You didn’t say you would be out of town today to solve a missing persons case.”

Jon could never fool his friend. “I didn’t know I would be. It just happened.”

“It just happened,” his deputy repeats sardonically. “I may have been born at night, Jon, but not last night. The kid wouldn’t have called you. You were already there.”

Jon’s tone hardens. “Where I spend my personal time is none of your business, Deputy.” He draws a breath and tries to modulate his voice to a softer tone. “Fine, it’s true I was around—which is a damn bit of luck. I can help out the folks here, Larry.”

“How did you even convince Pike’s captain to take you on?”

He laughs, although the sound contains no amusement. “The captain agreed I was an asset.”

“Asset, my ass. You annoyed the hell out of him, didn’t you?”

“Her, and I’ve been told annoyance is my charm.”

The line falls into another silence, shorter in duration but far more charged, as if Archer’s deputy is making some judgment call about his errant superior.

“Larry?”

Larry finally sounds less pissed. “What do you need us to do?”

“Nothing,” Archer replies. “I can handle this.”

“I don’t doubt that you can… but, boss,” his deputy adds, “who’s to say we can handle our shit without you?“

Jon feels a pang of guilt. “I’m only a call away.”

“You need to rethink this obsession, Jon. I know it burns you up that you haven’t closed Kirk’s case, but you have to be more careful for all our sakes. It’s thin ice over here since you started ignoring the higher-ups.”

Jon has a very explicit opinion about what those people can do with themselves, but he acknowledges Larry’s point. “I’ll take responsibility. Anything else?”

“Just one.”

“Tell me.”

“What do I do with these guys, Sulu and Chekov? They won’t leave.”

In the past, Jon would have been outraged. Now he almost smiles. “Feed ’em.”

“What?”

“And turn on the news. Kirk’s father went missing because he was kidnapped.” A loud exclamation causes Jon to jerk the phone away from his ear. When he settles it back in place again, he says, finally amused, “Surprised?”

“You son of a bitch. Matthews,” the man barks, “turn on the damn television!”

“If you see my face on channel six, start taping.”

“Yeah, the problem will be if we do. The mayor might have an apoplexy.”

Jon sobers. “Then that’s the way it will have to be. I can’t walk away from this one, Larry. I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, I do. Just another reason why folks want you in charge. Make us proud, Sheriff.”

“Thanks,” Jon replies, meaning it, “I’ll do my best. Catch you later.”

“Definitely later. Shit, I think we lost track of the baby-faced one. Where the hell did that kid go? I told the rookie to watch them but he’s on his damn phone again.”

“Toodles!” Jon singsongs and hangs up with no lingering reservations.

Whatever the true agenda of Sulu and Chekov at that station is, Jon does not doubt they will take advantage of his scatterbrained crew to accomplish it. Knowing that should make him feel guilty or embarrassed or angry but in the end he can’t jeopardize this mission in any way. Chris and Jim come first, which is why Jon is simply not able to walk away. They are his family even if he isn’t family to them. One day, perhaps, he will be able to openly admit that if someone asks.

He hears, “Sheriff?” from behind him and tucks away his phone. Then he turns to face the person for whom he has taken responsibility against all good judgment.

“Liu must have let you off the hook,” he says.

Jim shrugs a shoulder. “She said she would let my dad decide my punishment.”

“Ah, a wise choice.” Liu’s a kinder soul than Jon has given her credit for; she has basically said she forgives Jim for his reckless actions, although it seems Jim hasn’t figured that part out yet.

Jonathan allows for a brief silence before he informs Kirk, “Your boys are terrorizing my department.”

The corners of Kirk’s mouth quirk as Jim crosses his arms over his chest. “All part of the plan, Sheriff.”

“Speaking of, I think it’s time we compared notes.” At the man’s blank stare, Jon clarifies, “Trust and teamwork, remember?”

“Then tell me why you wanted me to come back here,” Jim counters. “Or was this a test of my trustworthiness?”

Jon couldn’t answer more seriously if he tried. “I do trust you, Jim.”

Jim just watches him, neither denying or accepting the claim.

“And I promised I would keep us both in the game.” Jon gestures in the direction of the bullpen. “None of them may know it yet but you’re my real partner in this investigation.”

“Why me?”

In studying Kirk, Jon realizes Jim honestly doesn’t know the reason. “Because you’re the only person who loves Pike more than I do.”

After saying nothing for a long minute, Kirk eventually nods.

Jon is relieved. “What do you say we head over to Liu’s office so I can give her that report on Palmetto Row?”

Jim nods again, turning with Archer towards the end of the hall. “Are you going to tell her about your theory?”

“Absolutely. If she can be convinced to send a CSI team to the site, then—” Jon quiets abruptly when he hears the bellow of “Archer!” through a set of closed double doors. “No need to give that woman a bullhorn,” he mutters, pushing into the main area of the station.

Standing in front of her office alongside a nervous-looking Moreau, Liu has the air of someone about to enact a public execution.

Liu’s gaze finds Jon and this time he obeys her command. But when he reaches her office, she steps aside and a person exits it to confront him.

Jon is simultaneously discomforted and wary of Lt. Marcus’s unreadable stare. “What’s going on?” he asks Liu.

“Alex has a theory,” she says. “Since you were out on the Row today, I want yours and Moreau’s opinion.”

“Of course, Captain,” Marlena replies.

Jon turns to Marcus. Liu does as well.

The man reveals, “We might have a location for Pike’s kidnapping.”

A hand digs into the back of Archer’s jacket. Jim, Jon realizes belatedly, is still with him, equally, if not more so, fixated on what Marcus has to say.

“There’s an alley next to a pawn shop on the Row,” Marcus continues on. “Perfect spot to perform a kidnapping. I found an eyewitness who says she saw Pike go into that alleyway yesterday afternoon. He didn’t come out again.”

“Archer,” Liu interrupts suddenly, watching Jon closely, “what is it?”

Jon swallows his dismay. “Nothing to feel alarmed about Liu. Only that I think the Lieutenant is on to something.”

Marlena adds, “We have footage from a security camera in the area. It could help.”

Marcus’s gaze snaps to the young officer. “A camera?”

“Yes, sir, I just handed it off to a tech for review.”

“Good work,” Liu congratulates Moreau. She says to Marcus, “You too, Lieutenant.” Her stare encompasses them all. “I’m authorizing a full sweep of the street. We will turn it inside-out. In the meantime, Officer Moreau, I’m placing you in charge of our techs. Their main priority has been pulling from local traffic cams. Continue to work on identifying the kidnappers’ vehicle, and also let me know what comes of the footage you obtained. You’re dismissed.”

Moreau’s face lights up to hear her new assignment. Archer doesn’t blame her. This turn of events could be a great advancement for her career.

Left now with Marcus and Archer, Liu hesitates as if experiencing a moment’s indecision about something.

Marcus turns his attention to the quietest member of their group. “Captain, he shouldn’t be here.”

Jon bristles on Kirk’s behalf. “That’s not your call.”

“I’m not convinced of your involvement either, Sheriff,” Marcus rejoins. “What do you get by jumping jurisdictions?”

Jim is clearly unhappy about Marcus’s opinion. “You don’t have the authority to make us leave.”

“Gentlemen!” Liu snaps all of sudden. Then, “Your opinion wasn’t invited on the matter, Alex. Archer stays.” Her hesitation returns as she focuses on Kirk

Jon curls his hand around Jim’s shoulder. “The boy owned up to his mistake, Liu—and he’s not going to interfere in the investigation, are you, Jim?”

“No, sir.”

“See? This is the face of true contriteness.”

Jim widens his eyes, no doubt hoping his expression has the appropriate appeal.

Liu’s mouth flattens into a thin line. “All right, against my better judgment he can stay… for a few more hours.” She tells Jim, “But I want you home by dinnertime. Is that clear?”

Jim presses, “Can I come back in the morning?”

“Yes,” the woman replies evenly.

“Since that’s settled,” Jon declares, “I have another mission to take care of.”

Liu and Marcus consider him with matching expressions of suspicion.

“What mission would that be, Sheriff?” Liu inquires.

Jon flicks a finger towards the opposite side of the building. “Bathroom. An urgent mission, very urgent if you’ll excuse me.” He doesn’t wait for a reply, hurrying away through the maze of desks.

In Archer’s wake, Kirk mutters something apologetic to Liu and Marcus before following the sheriff across the room. Archer veers off at the last second in the outer corridor, pushing into an unlocked janitor’s closet he had discovered in his early morning wandering of the precinct.

Once inside, Jon turns around and nearly bumps noses with Kirk.

Jim shuts the door. “It smells in here,” he complains. “I would have preferred the bathroom.”

“No whining,” Jon retorts. “I don’t trust police station bathrooms.”

“Why?”

“Because I know I bug mine.”

Jim makes a face. “That’s illegal. And perverted.”

Jon dismisses the accusation. “More important topic at hand, Kirk. What do you know about Lt. Marcus?”

Jim is taken aback. “What?”

“Mr. Hard Ass out there. The guy who has beef with your dad.” When Jim stares at him without answering, Jon guesses, “So you didn’t know either.”

“What’s going on between Dad and Mr. Marcus?”

“Precisely,” he mutters and rubs the side of his face in thought. “I’m starting to wonder if we can trust him.”

“Alex wouldn’t—” Jim stops and closes his mouth, his visage turning from affronted to considering to solemn.

Jon can be sympathetic and objective at the same time. “Humor me for a moment. Did any of the shop owners question why you were talking to them today?”

“Most of them, because they had talked to Dad the day before.”

“Liu sent Marcus ahead of us to investigate. So shouldn’t their surprise have come from talking to Marcus, not your father? I’ll be honest, Jim, I saw no evidence today that he was there. You were the one they mentioned seeing if Moreau or I asked. She doesn’t know that, but I do.”

Jim looks troubled. “Then how did he know about the alley?”

“Exactly what I want to know too.”

Jim worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “Maybe he didn’t talk to the same people we did.”

“Or maybe the guy got lucky by interviewing someone on the street. We won’t know unless we’re willing to call him out on it.”

Jim’s eyes widen. “Alex wouldn’t like that.”

Tough shit, thinks Jon, for he couldn’t care less about offending Marcus’s sensibilities. But there’s something more important that needs to be said, the reason he brought this up in the first place. “Be careful when you’re around him, Jim. You’ve known Marcus a long time, and your inclination is to trust him. But for Pike’s sake, be speculative. Especially if facts don’t add up. Okay?”

“I can do that,” Jim agrees.

“Good,” Jon murmurs, relieved. “Let’s get out of this damn closet. It’s stuffy in here.”

Jim doesn’t open the door right away. “Can I ask you something?”

Jon is surprised by the request but tries not to show it. “Sure, go ahead.”

“If things were reversed, if it was me who was missing instead of Dad, would you tell him the same thing?”

“I don’t think I would have to. I doubt Chris would trust a single soul until you were found.”

Jim seems to disagree. “He would trust you.”

Jon doesn’t know what to say to that except, rather awkwardly, “I’m glad you think so.”

“I don’t know why,” Jim goes on to say, “but Dad loves you.” He eyes Jon before looking away. “You love him back.”

Before Jon can respond, Jim opens the door to the closet and steps outside. His silhouette is a strange one, simultaneously that of someone who is resolved but nonetheless sad. Jon wishes he knew what was going through Kirk’s mind; more so, he feels the absence of Chris, who would know what Kirk’s look means.

Jon is simply left with the impression he has made the kid unhappy. Even without trying, he has made Jim regret working with him.

Disheartened, Jon exits the closet on his own, and this time he is the one who trails in Kirk’s wake.

~~~

The atmosphere of the bullpen is somber upon Archer and Kirk’s return. The reason is not immediately apparent, not until Jonathan catches the curious stares directed at a slim, feminine figure talking to Phil.

The woman turns around, and Jim’s face lights up. “Number One!” he cries, darting forward.

Jon is left on his own to gape like a fool. Pike’s former partner and fiancée is far lovelier than anything his imagination could have conjured—a classic beauty with shoulder-length dark hair, an oval-shaped face, and soft blue eyes. The clean, simple cut of her business suit and white blouse flatters her, the outline of a gun in its holster beneath her jacket adding just a hint of intimidation and danger to the persona.

With a grave expression, the woman opens her arms and rests a hand on Jim’s back as Jim hugs her.

Jon should have never teased McCoy about being jealous. The emotion draws out an ugly part of him, whispering to him to distrust her, ignore her. It feeds the insecurities, too, making it difficult for him to brush aside the feeling that this woman should have been the love of Pike’s life. Anything he could give Chris would pale in comparison. See how Jim has no reservations about accepting her? his inner voice taunts him. From the way they hold on to each other, they have a closeness Jon could never hope to emulate.

Eventually Number One says something to Jim and gently pushes him aside. When she moves toward Jon, Jon runs a hand over his hair out of nervous habit and wishes he didn’t look like he has been on a three-day bender.

Number One offers her hand. “Hello, I am Agent Robbins with the FBI.”

“Archer,” Jon replies, completing the handshake. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Damn it, he’s too intimidated right now to be rude. He wonders if she knows that.

“Number One,” Jim corrects, eyes gleaming.

“I am not your number one,” Robbins remarks in a dry tone, then offers an explanation for Jon’s sake. “My parents gifted me with a wonderfully traditional but unpronounceable Slavic first name. I shortened it to a version anyone could use, but unfortunately this young man once heard his father refer to me as Number One. For some unfathomable reason he believes it is appropriate to call me that.”

Jon says with regret, “Well I know for a fact it’s not appropriate for me to call you Number One.”

Robbins smiles. “Agent will do fine, Sheriff.”

“Ah, so you heard about me.”

“A few things here and there,” she replies, then hesitates for a moment. “And you must have heard…”

“Don’t worry. I told him you dated my dad,” Jim interjects, looking not so much like an adult than a child who thinks he has done something exceptionally good.

Though Robbins’s reaction is only a slight press of the lips, Jon is embarrassed on her behalf. “Uh, Jim means to say he told me you used to be Pike’s partner.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Detective Pike and I were on the force together before I was recruited to join the Bureau.”

Jim frowns, and Jon acts preemptively by looping an arm around Kirk’s neck and dragging him close in hopes of stalling another embarrassing remark.

Robbins’s lips twitch, but she only adds, “I came in hopes I might be of some use to your investigation.”

“Not my investigation, per se. I’m just helping out too.” Jon glances around. She wouldn’t have come alone; FBI protocol mandates otherwise. “Do you have a partner?”

The woman nods as if she expected that question. “I work on a team of specialists in the White Collar division. Normally our agents don’t cross into other areas of investigation but I requested temporary transfer to this assignment. The request was granted based on my history and local knowledge…” She pauses before continuing. “… and with the condition that my superior take responsibility for the outcome.”

Jon doesn’t like the sound of that, or the way Jim’s gaze suddenly becomes hooded.

Kirk says, “Eyebrow Jerk is here?”

Recognizing the amused resignation in Robbins’s eyes, Archer tightens his arm around Kirk. “Don’t worry about this one, Agent. He’s on a short leash.”

The woman’s mouth curls the tiniest bit. “I thought leashes were for puppies.”

“Well he can get out of the handcuffs.”

“Hey, right here,” Jim complains, squirming slightly under Archer’s arm. “I protest this kind of talk.”

“Oh, Jim,” says Pike’s Number One, “I have missed you.”

Jim blinks and then adopts a dopey grin. It isn’t a far stretch of the imagination for Jon to picture a teenaged version of Kirk with that same grin. Did Jim have a crush on his father’s girlfriend at some point?

Robbins seems to think so, for she says more dryly, “At least you’re legal now.”

During Archer’s coughing fit, Jim escapes the arm around his neck and takes the opportunity to show off his grown-up self, posing very charmingly—albeit dramatically—in front of Robbins. She laughs.

“Ugh,” emphasizes Jon, “the brat’s also taken. Remember that, kiddo?”

“Oh right,” recalls Kirk, his eyes lighting up as he laughs a little too. “Number One, you’re gonna love Bones. He’s great!”

“Is that the one named Leonard McCoy? I heard something about him too. He and I shall definitely meet.”

How has she been ‘hearing’ things? Jon wonders. And from whom?

Before he can ask, their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a newcomer and the unenthusiastic recitation of their names: “Sheriff, Kirk… Detective Robbins.”

The sparkle of humor disappears from Robbins’s eyes; her expression turns neutral. “It’s Agent Robbins now. Hello, Marcus. How are you?”

Jon is sensing some distinctive tension from both parties as they take measure of one another. Even Jim, previously chipper at thought of introducing his boyfriend to his father’s ex-girlfriend, subsides enough to look between Marcus and Robbins questioningly.

Marcus says, “I admit I’m surprised to see you, Una. It seemed to me you left this place behind with no intentions of coming back.”

“Jim called me about Chris. I thought I should help.”

“Ah.” Marcus’s gaze flicks to Kirk. “I should have known. Chris always was the one who could change your mind.”

There’s a history between them that isn’t pleasant, Jonathan surmises. And once again, Pike happens to be in the middle of it. Jon is reminded that he truly knows so little about his lover’s past—or even present.

At Marcus’s comment, a subtle flinch is the only crack in Robbins’s mask, there and gone. Her voice remains cool. “Sir, I believe we can agree that the past has no place in the present. Tell me, what is the status of the investigation?”

Marcus folds his arm over his chest. “You’ll have to ask Liu. I wouldn’t know.” He dips his head in the direction of the captain’s office and adds, “She should be pleased to see you.” Then he walks away.

Jon rubs at his brow, murmuring, “That was ugly.”

Robbins’s mouth presses into a line. “I expected worse.”

Jim looks at the woman in concern. “Why was he like that?”

She sighs. “It’s… nothing much, Jimmy. Just old wounds between Alex and me.”

Jim frowns.

Jon thinks Pike would understand and Pike wouldn’t have stayed silent at Marcus’s brusque greeting. Also, it’s interesting that Chris did not share some of his troubles with his son either. Jon is beginning to think that Robbins’s decision to leave the precinct—and her fiancée, for that matter—for the FBI wasn’t a simple goodbye. Is Chris still bitter about it as apparently Marcus is?

“Number One,” Jim says, still concerned, “did Dad—?”

Robbins cuts him off. “Jim, let’s not borrow more trouble—at least not until after we know your father is all right.” She offers Kirk a small smile and an unexpected wink. “And don’t give me any sass, solider.”

“Ma’am! No, ma’am!” Jim chirps in response and salutes like a boy scout, clearly enacting some old joke between them. But he glances sideways at Archer as he holds his salute, eyes dancing.

Boy, Jon thinks, narrowing his eyes in return at his charge, don’t even consider it. I am not going to help you find a way around that promise.

“I wanna see Eyebrow Jerk in person,” Kirk declares without warning, dropping his hand back to his side. He hurries off in the direction of Liu’s office.

Robbins pivots to stand beside Jon, both of them watching Kirk go.

Curious, he asks, “Eyebrow Jerk?”

“Jim was upset for a time after I moved to D.C. I took funny pictures of my new boss and sent them to him until he was willing to talk to me again. After that, it’s become something of a little joke. Jim came up with the nickname obviously.” She looks to Jon. “People tend to agree with the sentiment after they meet Gaius.”

Despite himself, Jon likes this woman. “And here I didn’t think the day could get more interesting.” When Robbins continues to look at him expectantly, he blinks. “What?”

“Your turn. Who are you?”

Jon points to the emblem on his jacket. “A sheriff.”

“No,” Robbins clarifies, “I meant who are you to Jim and Chris? He likes you.”

Jonathan’s eyes nearly bug out. How does she know that Chris likes him? Does everyone know they’re dating?

The woman’s gaze tracks across the bullpen again, to where Jim is attempting to peep through one of the blinds-covered windows. “Kirk has always had difficulty opening up to new people but once he decides he likes a person… for the lack of a better way to put it, you will be hard-pressed to be rid of him. But I imagine you know that by now.”

“No,” Jon says with undisguised honesty, “I don’t. Agent, I think you may have made a mistake. Jim does not like me.”

An arrested look comes into the woman’s eyes. “That cannot be.”

“Yeah it can. He hates me, actually. Loathes with a passion. Only, I guess you could say we have come to a recent understanding… given the circumstances,” Jon finishes grimly.

“An understanding?” Robbins repeats, mystified, then more slowly as her confusion clears, “Oh, I see. You must be dating Chris.”

Oh shit. How did he step into that one? But Jon has a feeling he can’t tell a lie to this Number One and get away with it. He subtly nods confirmation.

Despite a neutral expression, Robbins’s voice is sympathetic when she says, “As someone who has lived the experience, Sheriff, I can tell you that Jim is not concerned with hating you.”

“What does that mean?”

She huffs softly, perhaps in exasperation, and draws a breath as if to explain—just as the door to Liu’s office flies open and the captain herself yells, “Kirk!”

“Oh no,” Jon says.

“Jim,” murmurs Robbins.

Jim has peeled his face off the window, head up and searching at the sound of his name. If he had a tail, it would be wagging.

Intent on intercepting Pike’s son from meeting certain disaster, Jon strides forward, Robbins already ahead of him and drawing Liu’s attention to her with “Gretchen, how wonderful to see you again!”

Jon takes that as his cue to branch off towards Kirk and grab the man by the back of his hoodie.

“Wait, where are we going?” Jim says, simultaneously confused and excited as Jon drags him through the bullpen. “I think the captain has an assignment for me!”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Jon replies. He pushes Jim into the seat across from Carlos, then draws the officer’s badge out of his jacket pocket and flips it onto the desk. “Lose something?” he questions smoothly.

Carlos picks his badge up and pales.

“Don’t let the kid up from this chair,” Jon threatens him, “or I might fail to forget that I found it.”

Carlos mumbles, “Yes, sir.”

Jon leans down so he is eye-level with Kirk. “I will find out what Liu wants. You will stay here.”

Jim demands, “Why?”

“Because you’re low on the totem of authority. Stay. Here.”

Jim pops up from the chair as soon as Archer turns his back.

Jon whirls around. “Bad Kirk!”

“I don’t care what is it,” Jim insists. “I can do it. I will do it.”

I’ll be the judge of that, kiddo. “One word, Kirk: teamwork,” he reminds Pike’s son. “Be back in a minute.” He shoots Carlos a you’re dead if he follows me look.

Carlos hurries around the desk to take hold of Jim’s arm.

As he strides from the bullpen again, Jon feels eyes on him. Kirk’s, obviously, but also the interest of someone else. Then he spots Lt. Marcus off to the side, sipping from a mug and unabashedly observing him.

Liu turns from her conversation with Robbins at Archer’s approach. Wordlessly, she motions them both into her office. Inside, the man who rises from a chair next to the desk to offer a hand is can be none other than Robbins’s boss. He would be identifiable alone by his caterpillar-like eyebrows. As he looks Archer over while they shake hands, his brow furrows and the caterpillars form an angry v-shape. He doesn’t seem angry, though, so Jon decides this must be a normal look for him. Jon is a little insulted that after their handshake, the guy studiously wipes down his hand with a white handkerchief.

Liu begins, “I debriefed Agent Gaius on our case. He has an idea that may draw out the kidnappers.”

“Oh?” Jon replies politely even as an uneasy feeling comes over him.

Robbins stares at her boss with barely disguised apprehension.

Drawing in a breath, Jon braces himself for the obvious. “You called for Jim earlier. Does it involve him?”

“We would like Mr. Kirk to make a public statement about his father’s kidnapping,” Gaius explains.

“That’s a good idea.” Marcus steps into the room. “I’ll take him home to prepare.”

Jon turns sharply to the door, surprised by the fact that he hadn’t noticed Marcus loitering there. “No, I’ll do it.”

Liu disagrees. “Lt. Marcus can assist the agents with setting up for the interview at Kirk’s house. I need you here, Archer.”

He doesn’t like that idea. “I should be part of the interview.”

Gaius’s gaze snaps to him. “Are you saying you want to participate, Sheriff? In what capacity?”

Damn. “That’s not what I meant. Jim will need guidance on what to say. I have experience at this.”

“So do I,” Marcus counters.

Liu shakes her head.

Jon’s losing the battle and he hates it. He had just promised Jim they were going to work together. Now Liu is determined to split them apart. He can’t make her understand without admitting that he intends to involve Kirk and friends in the investigation, which Liu will hardly appreciate. For instance, while they are haggling over who can drive Jim where, Uhura is somewhere else in the building, obtaining copies of the camera footage Moreau had found earlier that day. Jim’s team must be allowed to operate in some capacity just to keep them from going crazy. It’s harder than Jon imagined trying to keep anyone else from noticing what they are up to.

“Sheriff?”

He realizes Liu, Robbins, and Gaius are staring at him, waiting for his reaction.

No choice, really. “I’ll stay behind.”

“As will I,” Robbins declares.

Jon is surprised.

So, apparently, is the woman’s boss. “Agent Robbins,” the man begins, tone dismayed.

“One of us should review the evidence, sir.” Robbins adds without rancor, “And with all due respect, you’re better suited to handle the press release than I am.”

Gaius puffs up. “I couldn’t agree more.” He orders Liu, “Provide my agent with everything she needs, Captain. You there, Lt. Marcus, is it? Fetch Mr. Kirk. We shall take my car.”

Liu sighs after Marcus and Gaius are gone. “I guess I should call Garamond back. This will make his day.”

Robbins looks between them briefly in silence before leaving them alone.

“Tell me one thing,” Jon says to Liu. “Do you think putting Kirk on the news will really do some good?”

“It couldn’t hurt,” she replies. “In the meantime, it gives us some room to breathe.”

He understands her motives all too well. “I hate working with the FBI,” he mutters.

Liu reminds him, “It’s not always a bad deal.”

“Yeah, when the agents are here to help, I would agree.”

Liu drops into her chair. “So you sensed it too. Gaius is a publicity hound.”

And possibly a very real detriment to their investigation. That can’t be helped now. Jon remarks, “You said you needed me here. What can I do?”

Liu stays silent for a moment. “Marcus said something of interest earlier. I want you to pursue it.” She meets his gaze steadily. “Confirm if Nero is involved.”

Jon plants a hand on top of the chair in front of him but otherwise is able to contain his reaction. “Liu, are you certain you want to go there?”

“It’s more than a possibility and you know it,” she replies.

“Then why not let Marcus chase this particular rabbit down the hole? He wants it.”

“I have my reasons, Archer.” Pike’s boss pauses. “Are you in or not?”

“I am, Captain.” Jon pushes away from the chair and heads for the closed door. “That I am.”

On the other side of the door stands Jim and, behind Jim, Marcus looking nonplussed.

“Do I do this or not?” Jim asks Archer without preamble.

“Jim,” Marcus calls, “we’re leaving now!”

Kirk continues to stare at Jon.

Jon swallows his sigh. “Time to give it a rest, kiddo. Have the Lieutenant pick some dinner up for you on the way home.” He adds more quietly, “And check your texts.”

Jim turns away, drawing up his hood to cover his face, and begins a determined march from the station that to others might look angry. Uhura appears at the last second next to the double doors, tucks Kirk’s arm through hers, and escorts him out, leaving Agent Gaius to bluster and demand that Marcus explain who she is.

Jon doesn’t miss the way Uhura looks back over her shoulder directly at him. He wonders what secret she has left behind—or is taking with her from the grounds as she leaves.

~~~

After Marcus’s departure, Kor offers Chris some hospitality: a meal and a change of clothes. The outfit, however, looks suspiciously like something Chris might wear during a day off from work, and comes equipped with a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a wallet. When he checks the wallet, he finds only one item: his bank card.

Kor tells him. “You will need enough cash for a bribe.”

Chris looks about, raising an eyebrow. “Surely you have plenty of cash, Kor.”

Kor chuckles. “It is not the money which matters, Detective, but the source. Come, we will take a little trip together.”

Uneasy now, Chris suspects this trip won’t involve a trip to an actual bank with witnesses. “Please tell me we aren’t robbing a convenience store.”

Kor simply grins to hear this.

An hour later, Chris is loaded into a nondescript black van with a blindfold and driven into town. He doesn’t have the luxury of catching the clock on the van’s dashboard because of his blindfold so he settles for counting the time until they arrive at their destination.

Kor, who apparently finds no one as trustworthy as himself, takes charge of the rendezvous. “We shall leave you near one of your bank’s ATMs. Make a withdraw. And in case you might consider this an opportunity to escape, I have men following you, Detective.”

Chris suppresses a grimace. “Exactly how much money do you want? I’m not a rich man.”

“We plan to make a few stops,” Kor says. “I suggest you be judicious.”

“Wonderful,” he mutters.

When the van stops and idles, Pike’s blindfold is removed and he experiences some difficulty adjusting to the sudden increase in light. Then, before he knows what is happening, he is summarily shoved from the van into a parking lot.

A sudden sense of freedom swamps Chris as the van roars away. He could run. Oh, he could.

Tugging the cap low over his face, Chris looks left and right. No signs of the shadows Kor had mentioned. He jogs across the street and casually walks in the direction of the ATM. This street is quieter than usual, given that it appears to be late afternoon. He bypasses a pair of teens on their cell phones, two other people of varying ages walking alone with their heads down, and an elderly woman is trying to make her way down an apartment building stoop unaided. Under normal circumstances Chris would offer to help her but he doesn’t fancy being shot in the street.

When he crosses to the next block, he spots the first shadow easily. The man sticks out like a sore thumb among the pedestrian traffic. The third block up, yet another suspicious character is smoking by a street lamp and makes eye contact with Chris as he approaches the ATM. Chris retrieves his bank card and feeds it to the machine. He hesitates over the option of picking his checking or his savings account. The savings account is part emergency fund, part nest egg he had planned to give to Jim when Jim was ready to buy his own house. However the checking account isn’t flush with available funds since his paycheck isn’t due in for another week.

He laughs, then, realizing how silly he is for worrying about an overdraft in his current predicament. He withdraws cash from his checking account, as much as the ATM will allow at one time, and pockets it. Afterwards he has a moment’s indecision as he stands midway between the ATM and the thug standing by the street lamp. Then Kor’s man flicks his cigarette to the ground and comes towards him, hand ominously sliding to a back pocket. With an internal sigh, Pike pivots away and begins the journey back the way he came.

The van picks him up in the same parking lot, where disappointingly Chris cannot visually locate any cameras. Kor has planned this outing well.

They don’t blindfold him for the next two trips around town, each time stopping in an abandoned lot or behind a building while Chris has to find an inconspicuous way to access the nearby ATM. At the end of the venture, the sun has begun a slow descent from the sky and Chris’s pockets are stuffed with nearly a thousand dollars. If the bank activity hasn’t already triggered a warning to Liu’s department, the fact that his checking account is now empty of funds will certainly inform his son that something is wrong.

Before the van pulls back onto the main road, Kor has Pike blindfolded again.

“What now?” he asks his captor.

“A surprise,” comes the answer.

Chris doubts he would like any surprise that comes from these men. He isn’t wrong.

The first sign of something amiss is that the van stays on the road longer than it initially took to reach the place where he was being held. Even if Chris factors in the distance between the first and the last ATM, it takes much too long for the ride come to an end. And when it does end with their van jostling down an unpaved road, Chris’s stomach has turned over in alarm.

Kor removes the blindfold as the van comes to a jolting stop. Chris peers out the side window and, in the dusk, sees nothing but farmland around them. He twists at the waist to look out the back window as well, dismayed to see they had picked up an entourage on the way here. Another van of the same make and model idles just behind theirs on the dirt road.

“What are you thinking, Detective?” Kor asks, his fingers steeped and his gaze shrewd.

Chris calls up a nonchalance he doesn’t feel. “I’m thinking this looks like a place you dump a body.”

“Very astute of you.”

Pike would have preferred crass humor to this calm demeanor of Kor’s. “I thought we had a deal.”

“Get out,” Kor tells everyone.

The man in the front seat lefts a hand-radio to his mouth and speaks rapidly in another language. A man comes out of the second van, then, trudging over to their van to slide open its door and grab Pike’s arm, dragging Pike outside. Kor follows leisurely, speaking in that other language to the swarthy fellow who still has a bruising grip on Chris’s arm.

To Pike he says, “Come this way, Detective.”

“What’s the meaning of this, Kor?” Chris demands as he is herded along into the field beyond the road. Was I right? Are they going to kill me here and walk away?

“You sound afraid, Detective.”

“Should I be?”

Kor stops walking, as does the group following him. He turns on Pike, placing a hand on Chris’s shoulder. “Only if you disappoint me.”

Which means Kor has something on his mind that Chris won’t like at all.

Kor calls to the men loitering alongside the second van, “Bring him!”

Chris looks on, first in surprise then in horror as a man, bound, gagged and bruised from a beating, is dragged from the van’s opposite side. As the captive is brought forward, Chris can see a blue tattoo standing out starkly against his pale, sweat-slicked skin. The tattoo has a scar running through it; it isn’t fake.

He swallows hard. “Who is this?”

Kor’s eyes glitter. “A mutual enemy.”

One of the Kor’s men boxes their prisoner upside the head when he screams in rage through the rag over his mouth. Hatred burns in the man’s eyes as he pins his gaze first on Kor, then on Pike.

Chris can’t help but ask, “What is he doing here, Kor?”

“Providing a fail-safe, if you will. Your Lieutenant’s idea.” Kor turns away, rumbling with satisfaction, “Ah, speak of the devil. He comes.”

An old Charger roars down the road, a model of car Chris hasn’t seen in a decade and certainly one he never associated with Marcus. Marcus draws to a stop by the parked vehicles and kills his car’s noisy engine. Then he climbs out with a slam of the door and approaches them, making plain to all what is in his possession.

Suddenly Chris has a good idea of what is supposed to happen here—and the thought chills him to the bone.

“You found my gun,” he states, unable to keep his voice as level as he would like it.

Marcus lifts the weapon registered in Pike’s name in one gloved hand. “It was right where you said it would be.” He motions to the bound man. “Is this the one?”

“A favorite of Nero’s,” Kor confirms, clearly pleased with the choice of victim.

Chris feels sick.

Marcus nods dispassionately. To the men holding the fellow, he speaks in their native tongue. One of them opens a switchblade and cuts the man’s bindings around his wrists; the other removes the gag. The man immediately pushes out of their grasp and falls to the ground, tugging wildly at the rope around his ankles like he knows his window for escape is narrowing rapidly. He jumps to his feet when he is entirely free, poised on the brink of running but clearly not certain if he should turn his back on them. He opens his mouth, then closes it again on a growl instead of words, spitting in the direction of the men who had held him hostage.

Kor huffs and says in disgust, “A useless cur. Let him run back to his master.”

Upon hearing this, hope sparks in the man’s eyes and he turns to flee.

Wordlessly, Alex lays a hand on Chris’s shoulder and offers him the butt of the gun.

“No,” Chris chokes, “this wasn’t the plan.”

“Plans are meant to be changed,” Marcus remarks mildly. Without further ceremony, he takes aim at the fleeing man’s back and fires twice.

The man drops into the field, not even crying out, twitches and goes still.

Kor cheers, “Now it begins!” To his team, he orders, “Remove our fallen friend to somewhere more appropriate.”

“And I’ll take care of this.” Marcus pulls a plastic evidence bag out of his pants pocket and drops Chris’s firearm into it.

Chris cannot look at the dead man Kor’s men are dragging across the field to a tarp others are laying out for transporting the body.

“Chris.”

Pike turns to stare at Marcus, the friend who also used to be a role model—and who just murdered a man in cold blood without flinching.

Marcus studies Chris’s expression as he tucks Chris’s gun into the back of his pants. “Next time it has to be you,” he warns.

Chris says nothing.

Marcus seems disappointed.

Kor lays a hand on both men’s shoulders. “My Brothers, I welcome you to my house. Let us celebrate the start to a profitable venture! Come.” He leads Pike by a rather forceful hand back to the van. There he waves away a man waiting with a blindfold and grips Pike’s forearm. “You did not protest as much as I anticipated, Detective. I believe you are ready to join us.”

“I’m disappointed that you didn’t discuss this change in plans with me first,” Chris says, steel coming into his voice. “Tell me, do you intend to continue testing my resolve, or has this little display satisfied you?”

Kor smiles. “How can I not be satisfied, Brother? An innocent man has died by your weapon. Now you are a murderer like us.”

Chris looks past Kor’s shoulder, following Marcus’s solitary trek to his car. Yes, he shall be a murderer in the eyes of the law. Marcus is going to great lengths to make certain of that.

Marcus pauses next to his car, meeting Pike’s gaze. “Watch the news if you have the chance. Your boy will be on tomorrow.”

The simple mention of Jim makes Chris tear up. He blinks away the evidence of his misery and climbs into the front of the van. Kor shuts the door and not long after makes himself comfortable in the back with several others. He chatters among his people, at ease, while all Chris can think about is what must come next.

Rubbing his hands along his jeans, for the first time in Chris’s life he feels unclean in a way that cannot easily be absolved. A man died today, pointlessly, because he was too much of a coward to save a life. How can Chris forgive himself for that?

He looks in the rearview mirror and watches Kor.

And just who is going to die next?

__

Note: Number One was never given a real name in TOS. Several different sources sought to correct this by saying as she is Illyrian, her name is too difficult to pronounce. ‘Una’ is used as a first name for her in the novel Captain to Captain. The Star Trek: Early Voyages comics gives her the family name Robbins. She has also been known as Robin Lefler or Leigh Hudec, depending on which sources you read. Personally, I thought Una Robbins was a nice name and hence have adopted here.

Next Part

Related Posts:

• Holiday Revenge (13/13) – from January 20, 2017
• Holiday Revenge (12/13) – from January 19, 2017
• Holiday Revenge (11/13) – from January 8, 2017
• Holiday Revenge (10/12) – from January 5, 2017
• Holiday Revenge (9/12) – from January 3, 2017

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