Thorn in the Garden of Life

[losthunter]

Hunter paced his apartment, his phone in one hand, and a list of phone numbers in his other hand. He just got off the phone with Marcus, one of the six other people who had been given a gift by Kendra. And had learned that Marcus had been attacked by Austin.

Luckily, Marcus was able to get away, without any major side effects.

But Hunter was now worried about the others. And so he was making calls to everyone else who he had talked to, and warned them about Austin so they could stay safe.

And he knew it was time to face Austin again. But even though he felt like it was an emergency, Hunter knew that it would be better to make sure someone else came with him. He also knew exactly who he wanted to have by his side.

Jim. Austin attacked another person. I feel like I need to deal with this. Are you available to come with me?

Comments

[losthunter]

"In about five minutes, a make-up crew will be arriving to help the TV anchor get ready for the live interview." Austin smiles again. "And we are those people."

He puts his backpack onto a desk, and pulls out a make-up kit, a couple of white smocks, and fake identification cards.

[boldygoing]

He may never get an opportunity like this one. And if he doesn't act now, he may end up participating in a crime accidentally. Nothing he hasn't done before, but he's put those days behind him. Jim pretends to look the gear over, then turns to Austin. "I don't know if you look the part enough. I've got a nice watch you could wear, to add to the look."

[losthunter]

Austin looks up at Jim, studying him carefully for a moment. "Yah? Show it to me."

[boldygoing]

Jim pulls the watch out of his pocket, moving it just enough that Austin might not see the runes, just the gold material it's made out of. "You want to show that you're well paid, right?"

[losthunter]

Austin pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. Jim is making a valid point, that the watch would only help to make his story more believable. And Jim seems comfortable himself holding it, so he doesn't think that there is anything sinister to the offer.

"Good point." Austin pulls on on of the white smocks. And then rolls up his sleeve. "Here, put it on me."

[boldygoing]

So far, so good. Jim is waiting for the other hammer to fall, though, once Austin realizes what's going on. He doesn't know if the other man will be able to tell just from the feel of it or not, but if he is, Jim is prepared to use everything in his power to force it onto Austin's arm.

For the moment, he casually moves to fasten the watch around Austin's wrist.

[losthunter]

Austin doesn't try to stop Jim from fasten the watch on his wrist. There is a moment, before the watch is completely fastened, when Jim's fingers lightly touch Austin's arm, that Jim will feel a slight uneasy sensation.

The sensation will linger on Jim's skin for a moment.

Austin returns back to his task at hand. Not realizing that the watch is now keeping his abilities controlled.

"We only have a few moments to get to the make-up area." He packs up everything else and slips on his identity badge before stepping into the hall.

[boldygoing]

Now may be his best time to act. With Austin's back turned, Jim closes the distance between them suddenly, taking advantage of the moment, and aims to put the other man in a chokehold from behind. "Sorry, the plan's changed."

[losthunter]

It is easy for Austin to be surprised by the movement and get caught by the chokehold. He struggles to try to pry Jim's arms off his neck, but he just doesn't know the right tactics.

And while Jim has the upper hand, there is a disturbance at the other end of the hall, where the guards return to their posts.

Unfortunately for Jim, that lingering sensation of his skin starts to actually ache within his body. Austin was able to connect mentally before the watch was placed on his wrist, and that is starting to take effect. The curse is going to bring one of Jim's dark memories back to his mind, as fresh as when it happened.

[boldygoing]

The odd ache from his body has just enough time to remind Jim of the radiation's effect on his muscles before he's suddenly plunged into the nightmare of the warp core.

The crackling blue energy flares bright white as the housings align, the shockwave sending Jim flying back and off the structure of the core. He slams into the curved bottom of the warp core chamber, a sickening crack in his back as he hits the metal, and all the breath whooshes out of his lungs, a massive weight seeming to sink onto his chest.

His head throbs, his thoughts reeling sickeningly from one extreme to the next, and his skin itches and burns like a thousand bees are crawling all over him. The metallic taste of blood coats his tongue, and he coughs weakly, a single driving thought settling into his mind: I have to make sure the ship is okay.

He knows it'll be the last thing he ever does. But it's all he can do.

With great effort, he rolls onto his belly, ignoring the searing pain in his back, the way his legs don't quite seem to want to work right, and claws his way towards the access hatch. He has to make it before his arms won't work anymore either.

[losthunter]

Austin feels the sensation that he is going to pass out, before Jim lets go and takes several steps back. He doesn't even spare a moment to find out what happened to Jim... instead he runs for the exit.

A couple of guards enter the hallway. By that point, all they see is Jim on the floor, clawing his way towards them.

"Freeze!" One of the guards calls out. The other guard notices that the exit door is open. He uses his radio to call in back-up.

[boldygoing]

As abruptly as it began, the dark red lighting of the access crawlway suddenly gives way to a room that Jim doesn't recognize, disoriented from the flashback. There are other people there... not Scotty. Not Spock. Who... what happened?

Wasn't there someone else here?

Wasn't he doing something?

Jim looks up at the other people, comprehension slowly filtering back into his consciousness. Oh. This is probably bad.

[losthunter]

Outside, Hunter is a little alarmed when three more cop cars show up. He glances at his PINpoint, as he weighs out the options of waiting, or going inside to see if Jim is okay. He has a bad feeling about this.

"Hold your hands over your head..." The guard who told Jim to freeze gives him another command.

"He looks like he is in shock." The other guard kneels slightly. Far enough away from Jim that he can't be attacked, but close enough to still get a good look at him. "Were you attacked? Can you tell us what happened?"

[boldygoing]

Jim hadn't heard the first command, not that he remembers anyway, but he complies with this one, his hands shaking slightly from the shock of the memory as he lifts them up. What the hell just happened?

Whatever it was, he doesn't want to antagonize these guys. Maybe he can still get out of this without making things worse.

"I think so," he answers, genuinely uncertain. Was he attacked? That sure didn't feel like the usual PTSD-style flashback, or the nightmares he's had ever since waking up in the hospital. It can't have been something he did to himself... so did Austin do it? Shouldn't the spells on his jacket have guarded him against that?

"There was a guy," he says slowly, truthfully. "He wanted to get access to, uh, Kingson?" He hopes that's the right name. "I was trying to stop him. That's the last thing I remember."

[losthunter]

The radio broadcasts information about a man, matching Austin's description, running away from City Hall. The other guard tells them to follow him.

The guard who is talking to Jim nods. "We have an ER team on the way sir. You can lower your hands. No sudden movements. But you need to be checked out by their staff."

There is more radio communication that the lost sighting of the suspect.

"Get someone to check on Kingson." The guard manning the radio tells the others. "And send the ER to the east hall."

"Do you have someone we can contact?"

[boldygoing]

Ah shit. While he's glad they aren't treating him like a suspect or anything, he's never been fond of doctors, and he's even more reluctant to let an unknown medic take a look at him. He definitely doesn't want anyone finding out about his phaser, or the knife in his boot; those would be hard to explain away, especially with how suspicious this may look.

"I'm okay," he protests, lowering his hands, but he doesn't get up from his spot on the floor in case they take that as a 'sudden movement.' He doesn't want to jeopardize his chances at possibly talking his way out of this.

The last question has him hesitating. He doesn't know if he wants to get Hunter directly involved in this, not when his dad's in the building. But... maybe having someone to vouch for him is what he needs. "Yeah, his number's in my, uh, phone," he says, trying not to show his reluctance.

[losthunter]

"Go ahead and call him." The guard tells Jim. There is more people arriving in the hallway, as the ER team reports in. And there is a few other people, judging from their suits and holsters at their side, who are bodyguards.

An ER nurse approaches where Jim is sitting. She waits for him to get off the phone, before addressing him. "It is okay to stand up now. We would like to take you to an empty room, just to check your vitals."

"And the guards would like to see if you can remember what your attacker looked like." She seems to understand that most people don't like medics, and is just taking things slow, as one should after a person has been attacked.

[boldygoing]

All these people are making Jim a little nervous, but it helps that most of their attention isn't on him. He flips open his communicator and selects Hunter's frequency in the PINpoint attachment, and sends him a brief voice message. "Hey Hunter, it's Jim. I had an unplanned problem but I'm okay. I think they want you to come get me." He's not sure of the protocol here, but that seems reasonable. And the message should be vague enough that only Hunter should understand the deeper message.

It doesn't look like he's going to get out of this, so he reluctantly gets to his feet, knowing damn well he can't order her around like he can with Bones. With any luck, this'll be quick. Already the shock of reliving his fatal irradiation is leaving his limbs, though the memory itself is still seared into his consciousness.

"Yeah, I remember what he looked like." It'd be easier if he could give them the sketch, but any police officer worth their salt would want to know where he got it, how he had it, and why he tried to handle this himself instead of turning it over to the police. So he just gives a verbal description of Austin, as well as the man's first name.

[losthunter]

Hunter was practically pacing in the alleyway when his phone pinged with the PINpoint message. He reads it carefully. And then worries about what might have happened. He knows that the only way to answer his questions is to go into City Hall and find out for himself. Plus Jim needs him.

He braces his own uncertainties. And then heads towards City Hall.

The police officer writes down the description of Austin, and add that to their bulletin on the suspect at large. The nurse is not asking about checking his vitals right now, since Jim seems to have recovered from his incident.

Arriving at City Hall, Hunter has to report in with a guard, detailing who he is, and why he is there. One of the bodyguards seems to recognize him. And goes off to report in with Kingson. Hunter resigns himself that he might have to deal with his dad. But that doesn't matter. What matters right now is Jim.

And it is not until he is guided to where they are keeping Jim, that Hunter finally starts to relax slightly. Since there are still other people around, they can't really talk about what happened. But he can still voice his concern. "Are you okay?"

[boldygoing]

Jim, likewise, can't tell Hunter what actually happened, not with so many people around. But he can drop a few hints, and first thing on his priority list is assuring Hunter that he's not physically injured. "I'm all right now. Got thrown for a loop." His expression doesn't quite match his words, though, trying to convey 'we need to talk without witnesses' with his eyes. "Best guess is Austin attacked me when I tried to stop him." That part, the others already know, so it can't hurt to say it.

[losthunter]

"Can we leave? I would just like to get him to see our medic." Hunter lies easily to the nurse. He figures if he mentions that another medical professional will see Jim that they should not get any protests.

"We got all the information we need. It should be no problem." The nurse smiled.

"One moment... Mr. Kingson would like to speak to you." One of the bodyguards interrupts the conversation.

Hunter shakes his head. "Tell him I will talk to him later. I have to take care of my friend." He doesn't have time to deal with his dad right now.

"But sir..." The bodyguard tries one more time.

"Listen, I am sure he has his own schedule to meet. I will call him." Hunter replies, just as determined. He offers his arm to Jim. And when they are not faced with any more attempts to make them stay, he leads Jim away from the crowded hall. Soon enough, they have left City Hall and Hunter guides Jim to the alleyway where they can use his PINpoint.

[boldygoing]

Jim keeps it together while Hunter handles the others, still trying to process what happened. And as soon as they're safe in Hunter's apartment, he has to find a place to sit down, putting his head in his hands. "I don't... I really don't know what the hell happened."

[losthunter]

"Take your time." Hunter kneels beside where Jim is sitting. "Start at the beginning. When you found him. And go from there..."

[boldygoing]

The beginning... right. Good place to start. Jim takes a breath before he begins. "We didn't talk much outside. He said that protests wouldn't do any good... had some kind of plan, sneaking in and getting access to your dad. I don't know what he was going to do, but I don't think it was the nice kind of talk."

"I convinced him the watch would be a good addition to his disguise, and I got it on him no problem, but when I tried to detain him..." Jim shakes his head a little, still in disbelieving shock. "I don't know. One minute I had him, the next I was... in the warp core."

[losthunter]

"The warp core?" Hunter doesn't like the sound of that. He places his hand on Jim's knee. "Do you feel drained? Constantly tired? Did he manage to curse you?"