DISCLAIMER: I'm just having fun with the Star trek characters but the story is my own and can't be copied except for personal use. It may not be posted at another site without my permission. Edited SDerkins. ©2006.
WARNING: This is also a romance between two women and written for adults. Please feel free to read something else if this would offend you. Not much vulgarity except here and there. So don't say I didn't warn you.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Starfleet Academy Mystery
By Golden_ruhl
Part Eleven
Admiral Janeway brought the note over to B'Elanna and Seven to read. As the engineer's dark eyes scanned the note a grim smile exposing sharp death appeared. The Admiral knew that humor had little to do with that baring of teeth. The officer rapidly went over the facts in her mind. They had enough on Cadet McCormick for kidnapping and child endangerment to at least arrest him. His family connections couldn't prevent that. The question remained was would any of the female cadets who resigned their commission step forward once he was in custody? She knew whatever had had done must have been profoundly heinous in order for all those cadets to leave the Academy. If they testified against him he would be punished or treated under the full extent of the law.
The only fly in the ointment was B'Elanna. Would she allow him to live so he could be captured in the act of committing another crime or would she kill him? Kathryn really wanted this man caught in an act against a female cadet so he would be prosecuted for that as well.
That was only possible if she allowed B'Elanna to attend that meeting with him. The Admiral wasn't sure they could prevent her from killing him, even if they beamed directly to the crime scene at the right moment. Kathryn made the decision that they would allow B'Elanna to meet with McCormick at the demanded time and place. She just needed to make some plans for possible situations and hope for the best. They had a little less than four hours to come up with viable plans.
Much later, with the assistance of security personnel, Janeway had set up a plan to have security standing by, ready to transport at a moment's notice. A communication officer would monitor the transmissions of B'Elanna's communicator.
The Klingon hybrid spent her time with her daughter and Seven of Nine in her dorm room, waiting until the appointed hour. B'Elanna's hands never strayed from her sleeping child's small form, stroking her gently as she slept. As the time approached, the Captain felt torn between remaining with her daughter or hunting down McCormick and chopping him into little pieces.
She saw the look in the Admiral's eyes and both women knew what was in the engineer's heart. B'Elanna knew that Kathryn had plans on keeping her on a short leash, hoping to prevent her from killing the man who had endangered her little girl's life.
But B'Elanna was determined that the man wouldn't escape unscathed with a slap on the wrist and a sent to a comfortable metal health facility. Her Klingon honor demanded that he would pay the price of pain and blood for his crimes. He had almost killed Miral and injured Tom, and for that he'd suffer. She didn't care what Janeway had planned she'd just work around her limitations.
Shortly before the deadline, Admiral Janeway handed a communicator. "This is a dedicated communicator," she told B'Elanna. "We want to be able to hear every sound without worrying about activating it. Plus we can track your movements if he drags you elsewhere." The Captain nodded in understanding, acknowledging what the Admiral had told her. Her features were grim but she was smiling inwardly. The time they gave her was limited but she could inflict a lot of agony on that bastard before they could transport to her location and stop her.
Admiral Janeway brought her back to the here and now. "Okay people, you know the plan so let's be about it." Everyone headed for their assigned stations as B'Elanna headed out the dorm room to go to Barracks 5.
Seven remained with Kathryn. They would beam over to Barracks 6 on the first floor. Close enough to watch from a distance but not be seen. They wanted a direct line of sight to the crime scene.
B'Elanna approached the kidnapper's chosen spot, her senses keen and fully alert as she scanned the area with her eyes. She tried to make herself appear docile and frightened knowing that he had to be watching from a hidden spot. She didn't want to shake his confidence by appearing like an avenging angel who was prepared to take on the hordes of evil minions single-handedly.
She stepped through the door and found him waiting, his stance lazy and cocky. She recognized him from his Academy photo although the person she saw now had little in common with the mild mannered expression in the photograph. He stood there with a smirk on his face, his eyes cold. He was a predator who enjoyed hurting others and was arrogant enough to believe no one else could hurt him.
She stared at him, knowing she should know him from somewhere, then it came to her. He was the person who had approached her at the baseball field, asking her to join the team. He had touched her in a friendly manner, smiling warmly.
Now he looked nothing like that charming young man.
"Why are you doing this?" B'Elanna asked him.
"Why shouldn't I? Women. Weak and simpering creatures. You human females are so weak that I can do what I want with you. I use you for sex or beat you up for the thrill of it.." McCormick was so busy bragging about his imagined frailties of women than he didn't notice how close B'Elanna had gotten to him.
B'Elanna grew more uneasy as she got closer to him. Not because she feared him, but because he was obviously insane. No true warrior would find honor in killing a madman. But she did want to get her pound of flesh.
Jason ignored the nearing woman, stating his demands. "I want you to resign tomorrow if you want to see your niece again. And I want you to remember something. No matter how far you run, I will find you if you try to return to the Academy or tell anyone why you are leaving. I can even find that little mongrel kid again and make her pay for your blabbing mouth."
B'Elanna shook her head, astonished by the Cadet's hatred and insanity.
"You seem doubtful, but you will leave. You don't want me convincing you like the last one. Do you know what I did? I used her exactly how I wanted, with her begging and pleading for me to stop beating her. By the time I stopped she didn't protest anymore, I could do what I wanted."
"Oh my God, you raped her," B'Elanna whispered. He ignored her question but she knew she was right.
"Will you resign tomorrow or not?"
He started to reach for her but she reached out first, grabbing the hand and arm. With a quick jerk, she felt and heard the bone snap when she applied pressure. He howled in pain, amazed the frightened young woman was fighting back.
"You are so lucky that killing a madman is dishonorable," she snarled, watching him stumble backwards. She didn't see him frantically reaching for something from his trouser pocket. She stalked after him, determined to cause him a bit more pain before Kathryn arrived.
Jason pulled out a small phaser from its hiding place. Even though Cadets were not permitted to carry weapons on campus, he had began carrying it when one of his first victims had turned the tables on him, nearly defeating him with martial arts. He lifted his unbroken arm and pointed the device at the hybrid woman and stunned her. B'Elanna fell to the hard floor, heavily stunned and unable to shake off the effects in spite of her Klingon heritage.
McCormick staggered away, the pain from his broken arm driving away all rational thought other than escape. He hugged the broken limb to his chest and shouldered open the door that led outside. He had no sooner taken a step into the cool outdoors when a hand grabbed him around the throat and held him captive.
Seven looked into the building and saw B'Elanna on the floor. She was alive but Seven was uncertain how badly injured she was. Her grip tightened and Jason dropped his phaser as he instinctively tried to break her grip with his uninjured hand. He found himself being lifted nearly off his feet and dragged back into the building, his heels scrapping the concrete floor.
Kathryn rushed past Seven to B'Elanna's side. The engineer was slowly coming to and sat up with the Admiral's help. Her dark eyes opened and noticed that her suitor had McCormick dangling in her hand.
Kathryn followed B'Elanna's gaze and tried not to grin as she issued an order. "Seven, will you please put him down. He's turning blue and there's a puddle on the floor."
Seven lifted her eye implant slightly and looked down. "Very well, Admiral." Seven opened her hand and watched McCormick drop down into his own urine puddle on the floor.