Jack could hardly miss the cautious looks that he had been getting from some of the command staff. Ivanova was inscrutable as ever, but there were a few others that seemed to know what was going, people that had caught something of what the message was.
The other security officers hadn't started quieting down around him suddenly yet, but he'd seen Lou Welch and Zack Allen giving him quiet calculating looks.
Lou was a good man but not brilliant, it was easy to see the change in attitude he showed after a meeting with Ivanova and Sheridan. Allen was a lot more difficult to catch, the man had talent, for all he seemed to be a layabout.
Still Jack was no idiot. After all, he'd fooled Garibaldi, and they didn't have half his experience.
Somehow, they'd turned suspicious of him, so he'd started watching them closer. And when Lou started bringing Talia Winters to medlab, he'd followed and frowned on seeing Garibaldi awake and with a heavy guard outside the medlab.
"Time to disappear," he muttered.
****
"We've checked his office and his quarters," Welch's voice came over the link. "We haven't found him anywhere."
"Looks like we moved too late," Sheridan said with a sigh as he headed for the medlab. "Keep a watch on all ships going out. He'll try to slip away probably."
He walked into the medlab and saw Garibaldi sitting up with a pained expression.
"You are supposed to be lying down," Dr. Franklin insisted, on the edge of anger.
"Doc, I've been lying down for weeks," Garibaldi said. "If all that lying down hasn't gotten me anywhere in that time..."
"You're awake, aren't you?" the doctor said. "It seems to me that lying down a couple of weeks has gotten you pretty far."
Sheridan smirked a bit, that last statement wasn't entirely true.
"I think you should listen to the doctor, Mr. Garibaldi," Sheridan said formally as he walked in. "I've already noted I don't think much of the idea of losing my Chief of Security right after I take over the station."
Garibaldi turned to look at him with a cautious and considering look. Sheridan recognized it from the first time they'd met when the patient had first woken up. He'd need to have a private discussion with the man soon enough.
"Captain," Garibaldi said. "What's the word on the turncoat?"
"He's slipped the net," Sheridan said. "Unfortunately. Something tipped him off."
"Speaking of which," Garibaldi said. "You were asking about Jack before I had Lou bring in Ms Winters. What tipped you off?"
"We got a broadcast message from dead space," Sheridan said. "Gave a very detailed description of the event that matched what the report has on the matter. Including some details that Lieutenant Commander Ivanova tells me were never put in official statements."
"That's convenient," Garibaldi said. "And, let me guess, it didn't have anything concrete enough to actually make a move, so you set a watch. And I trained Jack, so he obviously noticed the watch and now..."
"Now he's gone to ground," Sheridan said. "You think someone sent us that warning to tip him off?"
"In order for that to happen," Garibaldi said. "Someone would have had to known you'd be getting on to him soon anyway, and somehow, I don't think anybody was about to predict that I was about to wake up and ask a telepath, of all things, to dig around in my head."
"While you figure it out," Dr. Franklin said, stepping forward into Garibaldi's face and giving him an authoritative glare. "Lay down."
"Captain!" a woman's voice shouted insistently.
Everyone turned to see Rally Vincent storming her way into the medlab with a security officer trailing behind her, trying to keep up. The woman's hand was tight around that of Vivian's, the teenager looking morbidly embarrassed at her foster-mother's behavior.
"Sorry, Captain," the woman in the security uniform said. "She wouldn't wait in headquarters."
"You try to wait," Rally snapped.
"That's all right," Sheridan said to the security officer. "I'll handle this. What seems to be the problem, Ms Vincent?"
"My problem is wondering where my daughter is," Rally snapped.
Garibaldi's eyebrows went up as he heard the name Vincent.
"Your daughter?" Sheridan asked. "I'm guessing Shanti?"
"About an hour ago, one of your security personnel, a Mr. Allen, tells me there's a 'problem with your daughter'," Rally said. "I find this one..."
She lifted up Vivian's hand demonstratively.
"Dancing to swing music outside Earhart's," Rally said. "But Shanti, who knows save Mr. Allen, who isn't at security headquarters. He's chasing a rat around the bowels of the ship with most of the other officers. Leaving behind a bunch of secretaries..."
Here the woman in security uniform bristled in an offended manner.
"...who have no idea what I'm talking about. So I'm asking, where's my daughter, because if one hair on that Kitten's head is so much as..."
Sheridan was nodding firmly as he rose his link to his mouth.
"Mr. Allen," he said. "Come in please."
"Here, Captain," the voice on the other end said. "What can I do for you?"
"Did you take one Shanti Vincent into custody earlier?" the captain asked.
"Into custody, no," Allen said. "I asked G'Kar to watch her for us, since he'd seemed willing to."
Garibaldi watched the two Vincents as Sheridan conversed with Zack. He kept his expression rather neutral and uninterested to avoid giving the impression that he was watching them and the teenager failed to see through the mask.
Vivi tugged on her foster-mother's arm lightly but insistently, getting her attention. The angry woman, in full mother-lion with cubs mode, turned to look at the girl with a snapping motion and the glare of a scared parent. The look softened as the girl whispered something and looked toward the man on the bed who had, until recently, been in a coma.
It took a moment, he'd never been the best at lip-reading, but the look on Rally's face as she looked up toward Garibaldi answered it for him. It was the look he had when he'd realized something that should have been dead obvious from the get go.
"That's him," the girl had whispered.
"G'Kar?" Sheridan said, surprised. "The Narn Ambassador?"
"Yeah, well, he witnessed the attack," Zack said, drawing Rally's face back up in another snap. "Said the girl was defending herself, so I asked if he'd watch her what with everything else going on."
"I see," Sheridan said with an impatient sigh. "Next time make sure someone has that information to give to the parent."
"Yeah, will do, Captain," Allen's chagrined voice said over the link.
"Ms. Vincent," Sheridan said. "I'll take you to your daughter."
"What did he say about an attack?" Rally demanded as they left the room.
*****
"So, what did you do next?" Shanti asked eagerly.
"Well, I must admit," G'Kar said. "That it wasn't easy, the Centauri ambush was very well planned. Bloody murderers they might be, but I must admit they are very thorough in their plans. But we did manage to pilot through a small asteroid field before escaping into a jump gate."
"Wow," Shanti said. "Just like Han Solo in the Millenium Falcon!"
"Who is this?" G'Kar asked.
"There you are!" Rally snapped as she came into the restaurant and saw Shanti sitting in front of one of several empty plates. "What's going on?"
G'Kar looked toward the dusky woman coming in through the door and looked between Rally and Shanti before turning toward the teenager. He remembered her saying that her mother was dead, but still...
"This is Rally?" he asked.
"She's my foster-mother," Shanti said, nodding. "Rally, this is G'Kar. He fought in a war just like you did."
"You didn't answer my question," Rally said.
"Well, I believe there should be no problem," G'Kar noted. "The men responsible are in the brig by now, I assume."
Rally looked over at G'Kar and looked him up and down cautiously as Sheridan came in the door behind them.
The Narn looked up at that, wondering if something had happened requiring the Advisory Counsel's attention, but then saw that Sheridan was watching the two women as well. And then a third Vincent, he could tell from her resemblance to the other sister, came in beside him.
"I'm sorry to bother you with this, G'Kar," the Captain said. "I'll try to remind security that Ambassadors are not babysitters from now on."
"Oh, I'm not so sure that babysitting is an inaccurate description of what we do here," G'Kar said. "In any case, I find Miss Vincent to be a very engaging child and a most eager listener. Most seem to be rather bored when I discuss the old days of blood and glory."
"She's been asking you about war stories?" Rally said, looking over at Shanti who looked embarrassed.
"Indeed," G'Kar said. "I assume that Mr. Allen has filled you in on the situation?"
"Assume he didn't," Rally muttered. "At least not coherently."
"Ah, then it is my wonderful privilege to be able to report to you the effectiveness with which your daughter here broke the arm of one of her attackers," G'Kar said in a flattering tone. "Most impressive training for anyone of her age, I must applaud you as a teacher."
Rally colored as Sheridan arched an eyebrow.
*****
Some hours later, G'Kar's good mood was destroyed by the horrible realization that the Ancient Enemy had spies amongst them already. The cruiser the Narn homeworld had sent had been destroyed immediately out of hyperspace, and the only way that could have happened was if someone had warned the enemy that they were coming.
That meant that someone had to know about the mission.
His despair appeared to be a mystery to the others, though he suspected at least one of them probably knew more than they were saying. Either that, or the leak was amongst his own people. He was no longer sure of anything given the involvement of these Shadows.
He looked up as Lennier announced that Delenn was ready to return to them, curious as to what had become of her. As she walked in, he was not the only one floored by the change the Minbari woman had undergone.
Sheridan was staring with his mouth hanging open.
G'Kar's despair was momentarily lightened as he recognized the symptoms almost immediately.
At least someone had a cause for happiness in this time of coming darkness.
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(Posted Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:31)
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