Truth is Never Simple
Posted on Sun 16th Jan, 2022 @ 8:53pm by Mozatholm Zaldekulmu & Renato Solis
Edited on on Mon 17th Jan, 2022 @ 12:22am
2,801 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Brown Sector Community Center
Timeline: MD-2, 2000 hours
Mozatholm Zaldekulmu swept the floors of the Community Center while he waited for Renato to arrive and tried not to obviously fume. Had he actually seen someone trying to kill a Ferengi inside that empty shop on the Promenade? Lt. Michaels had emerged from the shop and broken the news to him that, when he and Officer Lincoln went inside there was just a human-looking female standing alone in the room, unarmed.
It made no sense. Renato Solis, though, was the sort of person who liked to tackle problems that made no sense. Mozatholm hoped this problem would intrigue him enough to take the case.
Renato walked inside the open doors, someone was cleaning inside, and the domestic bliss it gave him was a warmth he needed. Kya was playing with Hasskin, but was dressed for a date. Lexy was wearing her hair up and had her serious bracelets on, date night and a babysitter it seemed. Others were dotted across the room, but the young man sweeping was where his attention fell.
He gave Moz a gentle wave, "How do you do, my good sir?"
Mozatholm let out a breath and swept the last bit of floor debris into the standing dust pan. "Hey, Renato. I need to talk with you. Do you have a few minutes?"
"I always have time for you Moz, Shall we to my office?"
"Thank you," Mozatholm said. He put the dustpan and broom away and walked back to Renato's office.
"How are you feeling since the explosion?" Mozatholm asked as he stepped into Renato's office and closed the door.
"What?!" Renato was abruptly loud in jest, pantomiming his hand as a cup over the ear to hear better. A quick smile and he was back to normal, "I kid, the Starfleet infirmary saw to their work with great skill. I am well. I hope you and yours are also in good health."
He let the silence prompt Moz to supply the real reason he had come today, and softly stared.
Mozatholm snickered at Renato and went on. "Everyone's fine. I've been delivering pizzas for Pub 10-42 on the Promenade, and Mom is still working for the Hangman's Noose." He frowned. "I think (brother) is trying to join one of the gangs. I hope not, because Mom and Dad will be furious if he does. I need to talk to you about something that happened to me earlier today, though."
Rneato's eyes perked at the mention of gangs. His efforts to diminish them had so far been fruitless, the kids didn't trust any adult. Moz's brother would be getting a special shadow in the days to come. Outwardly he shook his head in gentle dismay, "I'm glad you and the pizza place have a good arrangement, keep to that, real coin always spends at a greater ratio than favors and smiles. What happened?"
Renato couldn't help but observe a narrowing of Moz's eyes as he spoke and a tension in his spine that usually were not present. Moz customarily was eager to do whatever interesting thing Renato found for him to do. He'd never come across as trying to master irritation before. It was a newly adult behavior for him.
"Today, up on the Promenade, I saw someone--or thought I saw someone--threaten a Ferengi with a knife. It was dark where we were, so I could barely make it out, but my eyes are slightly better dark adapted than human eyes are. A taller, long-haired person was holding a struggling, shorter person close against the body, pressing a knife against the shorter guy's throat. The shorter guy was struggling and making noises like he was gasping for breath. His clothes looked Ferengi to me.
"I was unarmed, so I knew I wouldn't be able to fight the taller guy. All I had with me was a pizza, so I took out a slice and threw it, and then I ran out of the room we were in. I happened to see a Starfleet security officer I know, so I told him the story, and he called for Promenade Police. A Promenade police officer showed up and went inside the room. A few minutes later she brought out an unarmed woman, no Ferengi and no knife in sight. But--this woman had grease and a bit of red pizza sauce smeared across her left cheek. If I was able to see well enough for the pizza slice to hit her, then I think I saw what I saw--but I have no proof.
"I felt like a complete idiot, though, and now I am asking myself if I just imagined the whole thing. It was dark. Did I mistake it? What happened to the knife and the Ferengi?" Mozatholm spread his hands apart. "I do not know." He dug into a pocket and laid five slips of latinum on Renato's desk. "I would like to hire you to find out what is going on."
"Temba his eyes Wide, put your money away Moz." The wry grin was plastered on his beaming visage once more as he looked at his protege. He continued, "Step one is to get the whole story out. Number two is to collect all of the physical evidence and verify the accuracy of witness statements, surveillance, the like. Three, we revisit the story you told and verify it, or find where the evidence doesn't work. As of now, the only people you can trust to tell the truth are me and you, we can bring more people in as we clear them, though I know a few command staff who may listen if we need. So, Moz. Start with one minute before you saw anything, describe in vivid detail the entire event and your walk back to work, day at work, and going home that night."
Mozatholm flicked his gaze toward Renato, concluded that Remato truly didn't want to accept payment, and slid the latinum back into his pocket. There was pride, and there was friendship. Renato had clearly decided this was friendship; therefore pride had no place.
"I was delivering a pizza to the ladies who run Booted and Suited. It's on the same deck as The Hangman's Noose, so I was keeping an eye out for my mother. I don't want her to know I'm working for Mr. Rienzi to earn money to buy her a birthday gift. If she sees me on the Promenade she'll ask questions, and I'm terrible at lying to her. So the moment I saw her in the corridor, I ducked into the nearest hiding place, which was the temporary wall concealing the remodeling that's being done at Blenheim Shoes. I'm sure the door is supposed to be locked, but it wasn't, and I slipped in as fast as I could."
Renato knew many of the hidden spaces, but that was a new one to hear of. He was losing his grip on the comings and going of this sector given his new attentions to the Law Enforcement wing. Unlocked doors were always suspicious so he put a pin in that detail.
Moz continued. "But I heard a grunting, gasping noise ahead of me. There was just enough light for me to make out--I thought it was two guys--a smaller guy being held close against a taller guy's chest, and the taller guy had a strange kind of knife held against the smaller one's throat. It was like--if you cut a dagger blade in half along its length and bent one side down so that that half of the blade doubled as both a blade and a hand guard. I'm not even sure now if that is what I saw, because it was only for a moment, in the light coming through the open door. It scared me, though. The smaller guy was kicking and struggling, so the taller person had to be strong to hold the smaller guy off the floor. That's when I decided I needed to get away. So I threw a pizza slice at the taller guy and ran."
"Oh Moz! That's golden." A mental profile had started for the two people Moz described. One of them was a male Ferengi, presumably of average size and weight for his species as Moz didn't note anything else. The other was a Humanoid, tall and strong. And covered in grease.
Mozatholm paused a moment and then resumed his story. "When I got out into the corridor I remembered Mother, but I saw she had already passed, and all I could see of her was her back. I ran toward the main circular corridor, and that's when I saw Lt. Michaels of Starfleet Security. I told him what happened, and he said we should keep an eye on the shoe store and summon Promenade Security because he is unarmed. So he called back-up on his communicator, and they told us an officer was on the way. Eventually, an Officer Lincoln arrived, and she want into the store and came out with a long-haired human woman a little while later." Mozatholm spread his hands apart in a shrug. "The long-haired woman didn't have a weapon on her."
Renato nodded, Station surveillance and Officer Lincoln would have the answers to all of his questions from this point as far as time, name, description, perhaps even identity. However there were still a few details, so he pressed Moz with another series of questions.
"Can you describe any details of their voice, any words even guesses on what they were saying? This knife you saw, was it colored or decorated with anything?" The tall female might just be their Hirogen El-Aurian who was staying at the community center. He had hoped this case would unravel with them being in close orbit and that idea had panned out.
"She had a...low-pitched, melodious voice," Mozatholm said. "But she wasn't chatty, like the tamale ladies are. She was reserved, dignified." He thought a moment. "I don't remember any other details about the knife--nothing I would swear to, anyway. I just saw the flash of the blade for an instant, and then its angle changed so it didn't reflect the light anymore."
Darqa was the type to conceal herself and weapons, Step one to this investigating would be to visit the scene and see if anything was hidden.
"Ok, if anything else comes to you dont hesitate to let me know. I'll contact Mr. Michaels for the security logs, and your witness statement. If I find anything out you'll be the first to know."
They shook hands and chatted for a few minutes more...
****TWO DAYS LATER****
{Renato's Office}
Enjoying a rare quiet evening free from hustling cons or cradling babies, Renato took the opportunity to get back to the case Moz had brought to him. El-Aurians, and Hirogen had been on his brain, his investigation into Darqa namely. She had come from nowhere, but reputation had caught up in some regards to her trail here. She had ducked his efforts to trail her as well, the last few days frustrating as she had even established a sensor blind in the suite she rented. His eyes widened as he took in what little knowledge there was on Hirogen. Paul would need to hear about this, as well as obtaining Office Jordan's report. Darqa was not well. She had the body of an El-Aurian, similar to human but still biologically different. The way she moved when they originally met, clued him into picking up just how flexible she might have been. Studying what little he could on Hirogen biology, they were worse than Klingons for their notions of bloodsport.
Darqa, on the other hand, seemed tightly wound and under great pressure. If her body, her appearance, gave people the idea that she was harmless, but her persona was a Hirogen, then she was best regarded as one; extremely dangerous and patiently waiting. He knew she was after a Ferengi as well, and that was when the serendipitous meeting came to pass.
At that moment, there came a chime from the door to his office. Quick perusal of the sensor data revealed an unfamiliar Ferengi had come calling.
Renato saw them outside in the hallway. He had relayed to Kya that a Ferengi might be stopping by in the next few days. Here they were, and Darqa fortunately hadn't been seen coming back to her suite yet. He felt a warmth spread across his back and forehead as the flush of danger overtook him. What in the Hell would this bring?
Crossing to the door, he opened it with a gesture to enter, "Welcome, you've found Renato's, how can I help you?"
“Mr. Renato,” said the Ferengi placing his hands together with an audible clap. “My name is Poark. I arrived aboard your station only recently.” Poark leaned in some and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I believe someone may be after me.” Poark took quick glances over his right shoulder then his left. “Would it trouble you if we were to look over your sensor data, to see who might want me…?” and he placed a finger against his throat and slid it across.
Renato couldn't help but notice the Ferengi was scared for his life. Sincerity was not something Ferengi were known for but Renato detected zero duplicitous intent off the man. The quarry had come to him, as it so often did. The charming little sign with fancy filligree out front brought the folks who needed help the most right to his door.
He'd ride a dragon into hell if the promise of adventure was good enough. Poark was connecting him to a dangerous game, Renato knew of course that Darq sought him, but this was a chance to find out why. If Darqa intended to kill him, Renato felt it necessary to stop her.
"Oh my, you feel like someone is after you to hurt you? Have you tried station security, they are very good here, you wouldn't be mishandled."
Poark recoiled at the mention, Renato chided his hubris at playing hard to get.
"Poark, believe it or not, you've come to me after I've already spent the day researching you." Renato laid the case out simply, leaving out names and details, adding the end of his litany a non-commital, "I have answers, if you have time. But I need to ask that you stay very quiet. I have an office for us to chat in."
If Darqa saw Poark it would spell a fight in the community center, and that was unacceptable. He'd put Poark in the safe room, And was glad Darqa had a room nearby actually, he could keep an eye on both of them.
***Later that evening***
Renato watched Darqa go to her quarters and the privacy filter go active, with so many people in the common area she couldn't sneak to his corridor without his awareness. After an hour it was safe to talk to Poark by his reckoning, so with a careful step he entered the safe room.
All that greeted him was an unused bed and trash near the small kitchenette. His eyes took in the scene, no blood, no scuffmarks, the room was a Faraday isolation cage so teleportation wasn't likely. He smelled no smoke or ionization from a disruptor on disintegrate, besides the alarms would have sounded. Truly confused, Renato had a sudden realization and ran down the corridor past his office and continued straight across the Common area. He didn't knock, there was no point, he knew she wasn't there.
Within the walls of what Darqa had used for her temporary stay, there was not one thing out of place.
He was glad he didn't take the money off of Moz, refunding the boy would have been humiliating. All he had was an idea of what happened, no proof, and two names belonging to people who used fake names.
They were gone. Renato decided to write it up for the crime report and send it to Paul but he hated to disappoint Moz. though really, it was a bittersweet case study in "You don't always get the full story in life."
=/\= Renato to station security... sending in a case file, I don't think there's anything more to do on it; both parties are presumably long gone. Observed and reported."
Poor Moz wanted there to be adventure, but Darqa had vanished. Best guess, Poark fled, was spotted, pursued.... the rest was beyond reckoning without more information. The part of him which rooted for any underdog, or perhaps simply railed against any authority figure, silently hoped Poark was at least one step ahead.
-End-
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