by Jariel Camen
90122.0200
During and after Home in Time for Dinner
-=Orphanage at the Sanctuary at Altaan, Bajor=-
90122.0200
During and after Home in Time for Dinner
-=Orphanage at the Sanctuary at Altaan, Bajor=-
True to his word, Micah Samson had provided Vedek Jariel with a second communications station he could use to begin attempting to track down Tress.
Samson had not had time to test the first system to see if indeed the authorities had tampered with it, but Jariel was more than willing to assume they had, knowing the level of villainy he was now dealing with.
So for the sake of throwing the enemy off of the scent, he began his search by using the compromised system. He would let Vettan, Dendre and Ram believe they knew exactly whom Jariel was talking to and exactly where he intended to go.
Camen activated the unit, and brought up the Child Protection Ministry directory. He scrolled through the list of contacts, looking for lower level agents that would likely know nothing at all, and have the authority to tell you even less.
He settled on a person with the title Junior Adjunct to the Deputy Vice-President, and sent out the hail to the office of a Mister Foalin Britell.
[I am Foalin Britell. How may I help you?]
“Yes, good afternoon. I am Jariel Camen, and I’m looking for a child who was recently admitted into your system?”
Britell’s cheeks seemed to flush, as if he recognized the name Jariel Camen, but was not sure he remembered from where. [Name?]
“Gillan Tress.”
The man set out tapping on his computer, for what seemed like an inordinately long time. Camen waited patiently, but knew every passing moment likely brought Tress closer to being removed from Bajor all together.
“Is there a problem?” He asked finally.
[Yes, I’m afraid there is. Gillan Tress has already been turned over to the foster care system. The rest of her file is sealed.]
“I’m the child’s guardian. This is all a misunderstanding. Can I speak with your supervisor?”
[You can but my supervisor won’t have access to this file either. If you are the guardian you will need to appear, in person, at the CPM headquarters and bring proof of guardianship, a copy of the child’s birth certificate, your birth certificate, a deed or lease agreement showing you have a legal residence that qualifies as the child’s domicile, a bank statement showing you have access to funds to care for the child, and a pay statement from your place of employment showing you have income.]
“Do you have any idea how long it will take me to pull all that information together? This isn’t Starfleet! Many of the records you want are not on the public network. I’ll have to travel all over Bajor!” Jariel leaned forward in mock outrage. “It will take me at least two days before I can even get to your headquarters!”
[Then we will see you in two days.] Britell answered dispassionately.
“Oh, you can count on that!”
Camen closed the channel, and switched off the comm unit. Vettan and her lackeys would now believe Jariel was on what Fleur would call a 'wild goose chase' for the next two days. He was willing to bet that in two days there would be a welcoming committee waiting for him outside CPM headquarters as well.
Too bad for them that Camen would never show up there.
Camen rolled to the right, and activated the second comm unit Samson had set up for him. Once again he contacted the Child Protection Ministry, only this time he went directly to the chief officer of child placement.
[Minister Dressal’s office, how many I assist you?]
“Is the Minister in please?”
[Yes, do you have an appointment?]
“I’m afraid not, but it is and urgent matter of the Bajoran Vedek Assembly. Could you tell him Vedek Jariel Camen wishes to speak with him?”
[Oh, of course Vedek! One moment.]
The screen went blank for a moment, then flickered, and the secretary was replaced by the round, elderly face of Minister Dressal.
[Vedek Jariel is it? How can I help you?]
“I’m looking for a young girl recently placed in your system. Gillan Tress?”
[Yes, we processed her just as the Assembly requested. Is there some sort of problem? We did follow your orders to the letter.]
Camen paused, as he looked for the right way to continue this conversation without arousing any suspicion.
“No, no problem at all. The Assembly did not receive confirmation of the action since the transfer and we wanted to make sure everything went through smoothly.”
[Well, I personally filled out the report myself before I turned the girl over to Vedek Ram. If the kidnappers ever manage to get a hold of the file they’ll be on there way to an address that does not exist looking for a person that does not exist. The Assembly can rest assured they will never find the child.]
Camen’s blood boiled at the mere mention of the name Vedek Ram. *So that is what you told them, Ram? That Tress had to be hidden to be protected from her kidnappers?*
“Well, to be honest, sir, we just discovered the child recently had Vellat Fever. Vedek Ram didn’t know this when he took her into the Assembly’s care, and we haven’t been able to raise him. Did he say where he was taking her?”
[I’m afraid not. He did leave me a contact though. He said to let him know if anyone called me to inquiring about the child. I was actually about to let him know there was just an inquiry to the agency a few minutes ago. From you, Vedek Jariel.]
“A wise precaution. Surely the kidnappers will be able to figure out that Tress was processed through your agency and attempt to track her down. Foalin Britell was quite helpful in directing me to your office by the way.”
[So I don’t need to report the incident, then?]
“Not at all. The Assembly has things under control. I will need to speak with Vedek Ram right away to warn him about the fever. It is a highly contagious strain. Can you transfer me the contact information, since our normal channels don’t seem to be able to reach him?”
Minister Dressal nodded and tapped a few buttons, transferring the data to Camen’s screen.
“Thank you so much, Minister. The Assembly is in debt for your service. You may very well have saved Vedek Ram’s life.”
[Anything to serve you and the Prophets, Vedek.]
Camen smiled, nodded, and terminated the transmission. The smiled faded from his face faster then Dressal’s image from the viewer.
“Any luck?” Azalea Adams stepped into the room, having just seen the Alchemy off on its journey home.
“Vedek Ram has her. I know that much. Where he has taken her, I do not know.”
He wished so much he could speak to Fleur right now. To assure her he was on Tress’s trail, and that he would come rescue Fleur from her lonely cell as soon as he possibly could. He knew she would understand. He just did not want her to believe he had forgotten about her.
“How can I help?” Azalea sat down beside Jariel, folding her arms across her stomach anxiously. She wanted so much to be in motion, doing whatever she could to help. Sitting here was maddening to her.
“I was able to get Ram’s contact information, but there is no reason in the world to believe he’ll do anything other than disconnect us the moment we open a channel to him. We need some way of getting him to disclose his location to us, so we can recover Tress.”
Camen spun back and forth in his chair, trying desperately to come up with a plan. They would only have one shot at this, as after Ram realized they were on to him, he would surely destroy any communications devices he had on him.
“We need to motivate him somehow," She answered. "Make it worth his while to help us.”
Camen stood up from his chair and began to pace the room. Azalea was right, Ram was not going to help him out of the goodness of his heart. There was no goodness in his heart. “Above all else, Vedek Ram is a coward. If we are going to get to him, it has to be through fear.”
“Even scum does not want to die,” Azalea began again slowly. “We need to make him believe his life depends on helping us.”
“I told the Minister at the Child Protection Ministry that Tress had Vellat Fever and could infect Vedek Ram. If we could convince Ram that is true, he would likely run to the nearest hospital in a selfish attempt to save his own pitiful life.” Jariel shook his head with disgust as he spoke.
“But how do we get him to believe us?”
“If he won’t believe us, we need to find someone he will believe.” Camen turned back to the Comm unit, and once again called his old friend Vedek Selivere to help him once more.
[I’m not sure Camen. Is deceiving him the best idea?]
“Right now he has a child and is holding her against her will. He took her from the Child Protection Ministry under false pretenses, and that alone makes him guilty of kidnapping, himself. Selivere, if he gets Tress off the planet, there will be no finding her.”
[He’ll be expelled from the Assembly is everything you say is true.]
“What a tragedy.” Jariel replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
[All right, I’ll help you. But only because I know that in a match of integrity, you would defeat Vedek Ram blindfolded. But you owe me, at least three now Jariel.]
“I’ll baby-sit your child for you.”
[Done.]
Selivere closed the channel, and Azalea stepped out from the shadows.
“What now?”
“Now, Doctor, we monitor the medical channels for any reports of Vellat fever. Once we locate Ram and Tress, we expose his deceit to the Child Protection Ministry and request a formal hearing, to have Tress placed in my care. Permanently.”
“What will become of Vedek Ram?”
“Vedek Ram, and his cohorts, will never again hurt anyone. I promise you that.”
*********************
Jariel Camen
On Bajor
Jariel Camen
On Bajor