Privateer Education> Strategic Negotiations

[Rue Wydown 0]

Privateer Education> Strategic Negotiations

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This is a bad idea, Doll. A very bad idea." Mason spared one glance to Rue, then returned his attention to picking the door's security lock.

 

"You're just saying that because it's my idea." Rue leaned her back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, trying to block what Mason was trying to do from the general public. Not that anyone paid attention on this side of the station. Rue suspected that she could have lead a full marching brass section and everyone would have turned a blind eye.

 

"No, it's because it's a very bad idea. If we get caught –"

 

Rue turned to the side to face him, her voice loosing its jovial tone, "It doesn't matter if we get caught here, on the promenade, at the airlock check point, or returning to the ship with no product or coin. Same difference." The Doctor sighed. "And any of Thatch's fences here are prolly under surveillance now, waiting for us. You know Thatch, he can't resist a good deal. He's pathological and they know it." For a few moments there was silence between the two pirates as Mason worked. Rue shifted her stance, a saucy smile spreading slowly across her face. "But….but, if those goons are really gone and if I can convince Kwai to take this stuff off our hands…we much just have a chance. Of course, I guess there really is no we here, is there? I'm the one holding – you can still get outta here scot-free."

 

Mason cut his eyes in Rue's direction, scowling, "Of course there is a 'we', I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble." Then turned his attention to the task at hand. "And you could have given the bag to Thatch to deal with."

 

"Oh so he could have shot me instead of bashin' me into the wall. Ha!" Rue laid her hand on his shoulder. "Tick tock, what's wrong with that lock?"

 

"I could do this much faster if you weren't breathing down my neck."

 

"Hey, I just fascinated with all this jiggery pokery. I'd like to learn."

 

"Maybe I'll teach you later. Just give me some room to…there we go." Mason smiled as the door lock cycled. Shifting, he pulled his phaser out the holster and held it down at his side as Rue pushed passed him into the dimly lit back room of the ship. Just enough ambient light to make out what was in the room, a small battered desk, stockroom shelves filled with boxes, a computer console severely showing it's age and a dark shadowy figure holding a weapon while seated in the chair. Rue took it as a good sign that the Trill hadn't figured on the intruders yet – probably because she didn't want to be thrown into detention for shooting intelligence agents. Or attracted attention.

 

"Get out!"

 

"Sorry, mate. We knocked but no one answered. I was worried about ye, so I thought we'd…"

 

"I said GET OUT!"

 

Kwai raised her phaser at the two pirates. Mason yanking on Rue's cloak to pull her out of the room, keeping them both covered with his own phaser. And then Rue swerved severely off script. "You're not going to shoot me." She slipped off her cloak, leaving it limp in Mason's hands, and started flittering cheerily around the room, turning on lights, grabbing medical supplies, and moving things around. "You're hurt, and you need some help. It's partly my fault…so…I'm going to help. I've taken a few first aid courses, I know exactly what to do. Don't you worry about a thing. Dearie, can you watch the back door and make sure those mean men who did this don't come back? Please?" Rue pushed Kwai's phaser down so it was pointed at the floor, then turned an older model tricorder around in her hands. "Lemme see…on button…on button. Oh here we go!"

 

Both Kwai and Mason were flummoxed , albeit for different reasons. "I don't….need any…is she for real?" The Trill dodged Rue's attempt to scan her with the tricorder. She winced in the brighter light. It was obvious the Trill had taken a nasty beating.

 

Mason, who was still trying to figure out what the frell Rue was thinking and why she pretending she didn't know the business end of a hypospray, merely shrugged as he backed up and took a position at the door.

 

"I know it was bang out of order for us to have run out on your like that, but I have a wee female problem that I had to 'tend to, ye know? So I told Elmer…oh yes, we haven't had proper introductions, have we. Where are my manners?" Rue's hands were a whirl, shifting bandages and tricorders and regenerators, yet always conscious about making herself seem like a novice health care worker. "I'm Barbara Dahl. And my mate over there…that's Elmer Sklue. We're like this." Rue used crossed her fingers together. "Even if we can't really carry on a conversation. Had an accident when he was a wee lass." She leaned in and spoke in a stage whisper. "I told him not to stick his tongue to that frozen pipe. But did he listen….Nooooooo."

 

At the door, Mason was oscillating between annoyance and amusement. A scowl seemed to cover both emotions perfectly.

 

"What the—" The Trill winced as Rue applied the regenerator wand on her forehead. "Who are you people?"

 

"Eh, no one special." Rue bobbed her head from side to side, watching for signs of a concussion. She purposely didn't complete the throughts about what she'd told Elmer/Mason to confuse the Trill into thinking Rue was a total nutter. "There you go. Right as rain. A bit of a concussion and some broken ribs, but nothing that the station medics can't fix up. We'll head out. Hope you feel better." Rue was fluttering around again, packing up the medical equipment that she'd borrowed.

 

"Wait? What? That's it?"

 

"Uh Huh."

 

"Please tell me I've just gotten my head knocked in too hard. Or is she always this nuts?" Kwai glanced at Elmer/Mason. Mason replied by twirling his finger near his ear in the universal sign of a lunatic.

 

"Okay, luv. Let's go. We've got people to meet, things to do."

 

"Seriously? That's it?"

 

"Yeah, what did you expect?"

 

"I don't know. You were with Thatch…"

 

"Oh, yeah, I can see how that might make you a bit suspicious." Rue smiled brightly. Internally, she was looking for that segaway to turn the conversation back from this distraction to the matter at hand. Perhaps the mention of Thatch's name was an opening. "The slimy git has me shopping some stuff around today while he futzes around the station like a bloody tourist. Just because I'm new doesn't mean I have to be his beckin' call girl." Rue shook her head sadly. "Well, we won't keep ye—"

 

"Wait, what kind of stuff?"

 

"Just some doodads, doohickeys and thingamajigs. Some medical, some…I don't know…medical grade drugs." Rue shrugged, watching the Trill's body language. The woman was still twitchy, but it was a new positive type of twitchy. The woman was interested. Very interested.

 

"Can I see?" The woman jerked her head to the table next to her. Rue shrugged and sauntered over, staring to offload the items in her bag slowly, examining them as she herself hadn't seen them or put them in there in the first place. Some of the more expensive contraband items were hidden within innocuous bottles and tubes that Rue opened and emptied while the Trill inventoried the loot. After a few moments, Kwai handed over a PADD with a price for Rue's consideration.

 

"I'm new, but I'm not that new." Rue smirked, handing the PADD back. She knew exactly what the items were worth and how much Thatch had expected to get for them. Rue was aiming to increase the profit margin of this transaction.

 

"You won't get a better price around here."

 

"Eh, no problem mate," Rue started to pack up the items. "I've got a couple of other contacts to see in the next system. I can wait." She picked up one of the more valuable bottles of medication and studied it as if it was the first time she'd seen it. She could see the Trill trying to figure out what to do and trying to figure out what the human nut case was going to do. The Doctor didn't make a big production of repacking her bag, which made the Trill antsy as Kwai thought Rue was serious about moving on and what she had was value.

 

"Wait…" Kwai sighed as she picked up the PADD, recalculating. "That tricorder isn't worth much, but maybe I could make some adjustments for the meds." she tapped on the PADD, then handled it back.

 

Rue looked at the PADD, while she was secretly pleased by the new price, she pretended it was no big deal. "Throw in a couple of those kits up there, we'll call it a deal."

 

"Those are outdated?"

 

"I like to collect antiques." Rue shrugged.

 

Five minutes later, with business transactions completed, Rue and Mason slipped out the Trill's back door and head towards another alcove to prepare to smuggle the latnium back on the ship – a much easier product to carry than Rue's original pack. Rue's hands were shaking as she repacked the bars into some of the crevices of the medkit she'd procured from Kwai's place. Mason laid a hand on her shaking one to calm her.

 

"Sorry, mate. A bit dodgy there for a moment, aye?"

 

"You did fine Doll."

 

"Can ye get me in to see the Cap'n? I mean…I don't want Thatch takin' credit for this. I love that slimy git, but…"

 

"Don't worry, Doll. We stick together like Sklue." He smirked. "Seriously, Rue. Glue? Did you have to name me after school paste? And mute?"

 

"Well, you do have sticky fingers. Besides, you seemed like the strong silent type, I thought you'd see it as a compliment." Rue smirked, feeling a bit more confident now to tease Mason now that the contraband was gone. She successfully dodged the swipe at her rear Mason made. All she had to do now was slink through the station without being mugged, sneak past the checkpoint without looking as if she'd committed any felonies, dodge her crazy mentor who was out to blame her for the whole fiasco, keep her handler from wringing her neck and return the latnium to the Captain.

 

Yeah, she could get the hang of this. But could she make a life out of it?

Edited March 29, 2009 by Rue Wydown