Interviewing the Alleged Alegari (Part 3)

Posted on Thu 25th Apr, 2019 @ 10:01am by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Captain Andrus Grax & Lieutenant Adam Keller & Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Ensign Joshua Schwartz

1,419 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Intelligence Department, Interview Room 1
Timeline: MD-2, 1130 hours

(Part 2)

From last week's installment:

"This isn't my quarters," Alegari said calmly, handing the PADD back. "I don't know what you are trying to pull, but my quarters have plants everywhere, plants I bought right here in the Promenade on your station. You can check, if you like. They came from a place called ..." she struggled to remember, and was partially successful, "Scentsy or something like that. Besides, that looks like some sailor's storage compartment, not the quarters I have.

"We can take a field trip, if you like," she smiled coyly at the man across from her, her voice husky. "I'll show you my quarters ... and you can show me yours." Her entire demeanor had changed, become subtly alluring. Within seconds, she became another woman entirely. "What do you say?"

"I say you're a bonny lass, and no mistake," Damion replied in a low voice, letting his gaze travel over her as if he were flirting with a girl from back home. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"Destiny ... and I could be yours," she answered in a smoky voice. "Let's get out of here and go someplace more ... comfortable."

Andrew's eyebrow raised, glancing only partially up from his PADD as he took note of the obvious change in tone this line of questioning took. Feeling slightly bothered by the ease at which the woman changed her persona, he could only speculate how the rest of this interrogation would go.

Adam sat back stunned. "Her entire demeanor just changed." He looked back at Grax. "She's umm...aroused, confident...no confusion at all." He grunted, "It's almost like there's a totally different person sitting there. I don't think she's doing this on purpose."

“I agree,” said Grax, “And I’m getting a read on her now alright.” He stared through the screen at the woman in the interview room, his next words little more than a whisper. “Who... or what... are you?l"

---

And now for the continuation of the Alegari Files.....

"Ah, that is a tempting offer," Damion said to the woman sitting across from him, "but we both know I can't accept, delightful though it would be to spend time with you away from this boring old room." He was thinking at a furious pace. This was the woman who had greeted the Security squad at the storage compartment, all charm and sultry bravado. This woman didn't keep plants; she barely kept anything, in fact.

"There are much prettier places to go on this station, though. We've a lovely Arboretum here."

"Phtt," the woman scorned, flicking her fingers as if tossing away a speck of dust. "That," she added, faking a yawn, "would be a complete waste of my time. Trees grow everywhere. Why would anyone want to spend time looking at them?"

"Because a beautiful woman ought to be surrounded by beauty, I think," Damion told her.

With a return to her come-hither look, she smiled slyly, "Looking at trees when we could be getting to know each other better? That is what you want, isn't it? To get to know me?" She leaned forward, her hands stretched out to lie precisely on the half-way point of the table. "I'll meet you half way," she offered with a quiet, confident, knowing smile. She knew what men liked, and she could get this one to give her a way out of whatever Zelda had gotten them into.

"Go with it, Lieutenant," Grax ordered Ildaran quietly, from the other side of the screen. He was curious to see how this particular scene was going to play out and, in particular, to see whether this new persona Alegari had adopted was simply an act, or whether there really was something else going on.

"Come on, now. Don't be shy," Destiny said, running the tip her tongue along her top lip. "Waltz me out of here and find out all my secrets."

Damion's eyes widened slightly as Grax's order came through his earpiece. Apparently, Jacen Miller wasn't the only Intelligence officer who liked to walk on the wild side. This is a dangerous idea, he thought as he too leaned forward and then slid his hands into Destiny's and looked directly into her eyes. He gently rubbed the knuckles of her right hand with his thumb.

Her hands were warm, graceful, like Elizabeth's. Damion shoved that thought out of his mind. Now was not the time to be thinking of Elizabeth.

"You know what?" he murmured in a low voice as he leaned his head in toward hers and pitched his voice even lower, "To hell with the boss. You want to go somewhere? Let's go somewhere." Damion leaned back slightly. "Since you mentioned it, do you know how to waltz?" he asked in a more normal voice. "If you'll put up with flowers, I know a place we can go. And the food they serve there is a lot better than whatever rot they've been serving you in the brig."

He didn't want to go to Orchids & Jazz; it was too public and far too crowded at this time of day for his liking, especially with Destiny in tow. His quarters would have been preferable, though going there held its own degree of risk. But if he could unnerve her enough to get her talking, Damion thought, the risk might be worthwhile. His quarters wouldn't unnerve her; she knew exactly what to do there.

Damion hoped Andrew had heard Grax's instruction, too, or he would think this interrogation had gone completely off the rails--which it frankly had, in Damion's opinion. Most intelligence work, however, demanded flexibility and thinking on one's feet. He had the go-ahead; it was time to see where this led.

"Are you willing?" he asked. "And if you don't know how to waltz, I'll teach you. It's easy."

Destiny eyed him thoughtfully. He was confident, but he wanted a public place, not at all what she had in mind. She knew there were others watching here, but would they let him go out on his own? His invitation presented multiple possibilities ... better than anything that had come along so far. Winking at him, she said. "I'd love a good meal ... and you can teach me any dance you'd like."

Damion looked at Eberstark. "What do you say, Andrew? Mum's the word to the boss on this, and I'll cover for you, your next date. Deal?"

For better or worse, Andrew was able to play off his surprise to Grax's order as a reaction to the 180 degree change this conversation took. He opened his mouth as if to say something but hesitated, hanging on the word 'date' and briefly thinking of Serena unintentionally. Instead he shrugged and gestured his hand to the door, "It's your call, Lieutenant. I'm only here in a support capacity with this..." looking back at the woman, "whatever this is."

Destiny's smile turned even more sly when she heard that. It meant her interrogator had a romantic interest, and she might be able to cause trouble there. A man who felt guilty of something, even if it were nothing, was easier to manipulate. She hadn't expected him to actually go along with her not-so-subtle flirting. That he had made her look down on him slightly, and had her mind teaming with more ideas that could benefit her.

In the other room, Adam stood. "Sir, I can meet my wife and head to Orchids and Jazz. We wouldn't stand out, and I could be back-up if anything were to happen." He offered. "I'd also be able to pick up on personality changes." Adam wasn't sure if 'Destiny' was a transmitter operator or if there was another personality. He didn't read subterfuge from this one or the first personality.

Grax nodded, “Go,” he said, succinctly. “I’ll have Fisher meet you on site as well.”

Adam nodded. "Yes sir." He quickly stepped toward the door. As he walked out, he was taking down his hair and already altering his uniform to look civilian. He wouldn't have time to change completely.

As the door hissed shut behind Keller, Grax tapped his comm-badge. “Grax to Commander Fisher.”

“Go ahead, sir,” Jason Fisher’s voice echoed over the comm.

“We’ve got a rather... unusual meeting going on down here,” Grax said, not wanting to reveal too much over an unsecured channel. “I need you to do something for me...”

 

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