‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’

by Lt. Logan Castle

Chief Security Officer

<Stardate: 47307.16>

(To be read after ‘Questions and Answers’)

Lt. Comm. Janice Hargen and Lt. Lorelei entered the Brig together. The calm silence that they found was rather surprising. Logan Castle and Jerome Bryant sat opposite one another without a glance or a word passing between them.

Bryant looked up at Janice Hargen. He smiled weakly and looked at his feet. He gave the Deltan Counselor less of a glance than that. They each sat, flanking the sulking engineer.

And for the three of them, the surprise of the relative calm was replaced by the surprise of the volatile change in the Chief Security Officer. Logan Castle stood suddenly, dropping the padd he had been reading when they entered, "Give me one good reason why I am not firing your ass out of a cannon right now, Bryant. I may have no evidence to support your guilt, but you have guilt written all over your face like chicken pox! Where were you between 00:00 and 08:00 hours today?"

All three, Janice, Lorelei, and especially Bryant leaned away from the suddenly angry Castle as if blown by a wind. The women said nothing, but Bryan’s calm began to dissolve into a mild panic. He seemed to think about it for a few seconds.

"I was on decks 22 and 36. Engineering Support Labs and Main Engineering. Doing my job."

"Oh, really?", Castles tone was harsh and suspicious. "Funny how I have a total sensor white-out on both those decks between 02:00 and 04:30. Can’t see squat in either of those sections for two and a half hours."

"So, I don’t...", Bryant tried to speak, but Castle wouldn’t let him.

"‘So?’ So... I can place almost everyone else on your shift on Deck 22 during that time, but none of them saw you. So, you must have been on Deck 36. Main Engineering. Were you alone all that time?" "No. Yes... I don’t know.", Bryant was sweating. "You don’t know?", Castle leaned into him across the desk. "Pal, I’m about to charge you with sabotage. You better find a working memory cell in there." Castle stabbed the mans forehead with a finger. Hard. "Lt. Castle!", Janice Hargen warned with a sharp tone. Castle ignored her. Bryant was beginning to lose control. Bryant shook his head. "I was ordered by my shift supervisor to scan for a thoron leak. So, yes. I was alone."

"More bad news, Commander...", Castle said to Hargen. "One of my officers found this in Mr. Bryan’s locker." Castle slapped a small flash-light looking device onto the desk top. "Do you know what that is, Bryant?"

A fear leaked into Bryan’s eyes. "It’s... it’s a thoron imaging device. They use it to..."

"They use it in Sickbay to look for internal injuries. A portable X-Ray. Do you know what else it does?"

Bryant shook his head.

Castle sneered and shook his head in disgust. "It screws the hell out of tricorder readings. And wouldn’t you know, Ops informs me of thoron emissions running all over your work area." Bryant couldn’t take it any more. Like before, he suddenly collapsed into heavy sobbing. Lorelei looked to Castle, her face placid. "What the hell is this?!", Castle shouted. "Are you crying? I ain’t your mother, ensign. You wanna cry, you cry to your mother. I don’t have time for this garbage."

"MR. CASTLE!!", Janice Hargen stood, and for a moment, Castle thought she would slug him. "I demand to speak to you outside. At once! THAT is an order!!" Hargen walked toward the door, her posture demanding he follow.

Castle stood, dropping an impugning look onto the sobbing engineer, but giving Lt. Lorelei a sly wink. She frowned, and tried to give comfort to the man. She favored Bryant with a frown also. Castle stepped outside. Hargen exploded.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? That man is hysterical.

I don’t doubt you have evidence supporting his guilt, but I...." "Commander.", Castle interrupted in a calm tone. It was unsettling how he had returned to the reasonable man he seemed to be when she entered before. It gave her pause.

"I am pretty sure he is not responsible for what happened. Unfortunately, I had to push him hard to get a sense of what kind a man he is." Castle snorted disgustedly. "In my opinion, he is hardly a man at all."

Hargen’s look would have slain him if it could. "Actually, a man in his position wouldn’t have to hide his activities. He has a perfectly good reason to be anywhere and everywhere all over Engineering. Also, Lt. Lorelei was doing her ‘Brain Witch’ thing on him while I cracked at him. And she seems convinced that he is not our guy."

"So you torture him to tears, after everything else he’s been through, just to prove your point.", she argued. Castle sighed. He really hated explaining himself. "I have a lot of reasons why I do what I do, Commander. And if you need me to explain them, I will. This once." He raised a single digit to punctuate his point.

"First off: he assaulted another officer. Since Charon has decided not to press charges and all I can do is fine him for Intent to Harm, this is my way of putting the fear of ME into him. I can’t have the people of this ship thinking they can just pop one another in the chops without getting some flak.

"Second, someone is trying real hard to delay the departure of this ship...."

"‘Delay’?", Hargen repeated.

"Yes.", Castle responded. "If someone was trying to stop this mission, it would have taken a helluva lot more than a busted ‘radiator’."

Janice agreed with a nod.

Castle continued. "Someone is trying to delay the departure of this ship and they’re trying to blame Bryant. That means they know about Bryan’s past aboard the Antidem."

"Charon?", Hargen asked with some concern.

Castle grimaced. "Actually, the Cardassian is squeaky clean. I checked him out. He was in 10-Forward during the window of opportunity for sabotage the whole time. With plenty of witnesses." "I still don’t see why you had to reduce the man to tears, knowing what you know.", Janice sighed in weariness.

"Well, Commander...", Castle said. "All I can say is: Sometimes, I can be a real son of a bitch."

"That’s it? You torture this man just because you can?", Hargen asked, her anger rising.

"No Commander. I also believe Bryant is allowing himself to take the blame."

"Now why would he allow that to happen?", she asked incredulously. "For the same reason he assaulted another officer in an obvious and public manner.", Castle finally conceded. "Because he’s trying to get thrown off this ship. He doesn’t want to go. And the penalty for sabotage is slight compared to the death sentence of this mission." Hargen considered this for a moment.

"And before you let your heart break for that piece of cowardly trash, Commander...", Castle said as he turned to go. "For all his sobbing, that mans eyes are as dry as I am from explaining myself." Castle left. As he went, he called to the computer.

"Computer. Locate Lt. Eve Mallory."

=^=Lt. Mallory is at Science Lab 14.=^=

(OOC: Vivian, Melody, Rachel, and Jason. Sorry about last night. I fell asleep at the switch. Won’t let it happen again.)

Lt. Logan Castle

Chief Security Officer, USS Grail

"...If you ain’t cop, you’re ‘little people’."

-Bryant to Deckerd- Blade Runner