The Secrets Of The Boss Man, Part 2

Posted on Mon May 1st, 2023 @ 6:49pm by Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Deck 2 :: Kane's Quarters
Timeline: MD5 :: After 'The Secrets Of The Boss Man, Part 1'
1402 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

"I know, and I am working. No need to pull out the handcuffs yet," Nayisa argued, reminding them both of Zade's own words.

Good to know that Nayisa remembered the Trill's condition to even being in the same room as her. Zade watched Nayisa scan the clothes before asking, "what happens if you can't find what you're looking for?"

"I dunno. We probably get stuck with a new captain," Nayisa responded with a half-truth, the tricorder running down each article of clothing. Getting stuck with a new captain was right, but she also had a pretty good idea of what might happen to Kane if she couldn't find what she was looking for. From what little she was able to gather about the trial, it sounded like things were not looking good for Kane. Not finding anything in the closet either, Nayisa shooed Zade out with a flick of her wrist, avoiding contamination of the gloves by touching her. She then turned her attention to the bedroom.

Zade obliged, getting out of her way. She kept eyeing the entrance to the quarters, the anxiety of someone potentially walking in on them snooping keeping her quite alert. This wasn't as bad as her mind initially made it out to be, but she still wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Nayisa started with the nightstand, the usual trilling of the tricorder being the only response. As she scanned across the bed, she stopped when the tricorder beeped generously. At the same time, the PADD in Zade's hands also beeped, creating a strange harmony in the room. Nayisa briefly glanced to Zade to see her tap the PADD before turning her attention to what caused the tricorder to go off. The pajamas? Even if Kane was working on some late-night Breaking Bad chemistry projects, why the hell would he do it in his pajamas? The clothing had a good concentration of three of the compounds, so she could test the decay rate of all three at once. Setting the tricorder on the bed with the scanner facing the clothes, Nayisa briefly left the bedroom to grab a pocket knife and the collection kit from the bag. Returning to the bedroom, she carefully unfolded the pajama pants before flicking open the knife and cutting off a small sliver of fabric from the bottom edge of the pant leg. It was small enough to not be obvious and make it look like wear and tear if it was noticed.

From the back of the room, Zade watched Nayisa work, and after a moment a sarcastic huff of air from her nose signaled her laugh. The PADD in her hands beeped, and she pressed the button again. "You're telling me you use your skills to steal people's pant legs?"

The silver-haired woman smirked as she scanned the piece of fabric, pleased that it contained a good concentration of the compounds. Good to hear that Zade was loosening up enough to make a joke. "You better watch your tone, or I'll come after your pants next," she joked back as she opened the collection kit. With careful precision, she put the fabric into a container before she sealed it shut. "I don't do analysis on site unless I have to," she explained, folding the pants back to the way they were before placing them carefully back on the bed.

That made sense to Zade, and she wasn't going to complain about it. The sooner they could leave, the sooner she could stop being so anxious. "Is that all you need?" She asked, hoping the answer was yes. It didn't take long for the Trill to figure out that Nayisa wasn't looking for any particular object, but perhaps traces of something on an object.

"This is good enough for one sample. Ideally, I want two more samples to make sure the results are conclusive." Picking up the tricorder, Nayisa gently brushed the bedsheet to flatten the small indent left by the device before continuing her scan of the room, the collection kit and pocket knife in her other hand. The tricorder gleefully announced the presence of the compounds again, this time on a pair of boots at the foot of the bed. "Oh yeah, that's what I want to hear," she praised the tricorder as she kneeled. Setting it on the ground, the silver-haired woman repeated her steps, using the knife to shave off just a tiny piece of the heel before opening a second container and placed the specimen inside. "I haven't found everything I'm looking for yet. I'd rather do a complete scan of the quarters to make sure I didn't miss anything."

So close to freedom, and yet so far away. Zade pressed the button on the PADD again before looking around anxiously. If she had known she would simply be a button pusher for Nayisa, perhaps she should have insisted on staying in the intel chief's office. At least she could find something to do instead of following Nayisa around like a lost puppy. This was well outside of the Trill's expertise, and she questioned why she was even considered for this when literally anyone else could have done it.

Standing again, Nayisa caught Zade's semi-bored and anxious expression and gave her a smile. "All that's left is the bathroom, then we're home free. Promise." It sucked that Zade was stuck playing computer, but it helped immensely. It overall meant less time in Kane's quarters because she didn't have to pause her search every 30 seconds. Exiting the bedroom, Nayisa thumbed the controls to open the bathroom door before stepping inside to begin her scan. The sonic shower was clear, as was the toilet (thankfully), and when she scanned the countertop the tricorder beeped once more. "Finally!" she exclaimed, reading the presence of Pastorium liquid 342 mixed with the Rossium-K. There was nothing on the counter, so she opened the drawer that exposed the sink and several of Kane's toiletries. The tricorder beeped again when she hovered it over his toothbrush, and she grimaced slightly. She couldn't shave off a piece of that, it was too obvious. Kane probably wouldn't want those chemicals in his mouth, though. Gauging how risky it would be, Nayisa decided to go for it and set the tricorder on the counter before opening the collection kit. Picking a larger container, she swiped his toothbrush and sealed it inside the container.

The news that the bathroom was the only room left gave Zade the encouragement she needed to power through. She watched Nayisa put Kane's toothbrush into the collection kit before asking, "won't that be more noticeable?" Glancing down, she tapped on the PADD.

"Probably, but it's the only source of Pas- um, one of the things I'm looking for in here. Plus, I don't think Kane wants to brush his teeth with this anymore. I'll make sure he gets a replacement, don't worry." Snapping the collection kit closed, she shut the tricorder and collected everything she brought into the bathroom. "We're good, let's split." Making sure to cover her tracks, she closed the drawer and shut the door to the bathroom, then dumped the three items into the small bag before doing one last quick search of all the rooms to make sure nothing was out of place.

Zade followed Nayisa to the door and waited near the bag, watching her do one last check, deterring the failsafe yet again with a button press. It was strange to see her so serious, but also act exactly the same as when they were in the Academy. Nayisa also seemed unusually calm about breaking so many rules. Had she done this before?

Satisfied that nothing was disturbed, the silver-haired woman returned to Zade and the bag. "I'll relieve you of this," she said, taking the PADD. Noticing that it was about time to press the button again, she waited until the timer reached zero before thumbing the device. "Before we leave, can you check the cameras?"

"Sure." Glad to have something else to do that did not involve pushing buttons, Zade pulled the larger PADD out of the bag and turned it on. Then, her heart skipped at what she saw. Oh no. This was bad. "Uh... Nayi?" She angled the PADD toward her friend so she could see.

On the PADD, Zora was walking toward Kane's quarters.