Excerpt: Dead Man's Bluff

"What do you mean, gone?"
Tasha stopped dead in her tracks and spun round at Riker who was half a step behind her.
"Well, the computer can't locate him", the First Officer told her, "and you said yourself that he's not down on the planet."
"Maybe he's taken off his combadge, for whatever reason."
"If he were on the ship, the computer would still be able to locate him."
"Then maybe he is down on the planet, only not at Salos City."
"Without his combadge?" Riker asked. "Without telling anyone?"
They looked at each other, both trying to picture a scenario that involved the captain sneaking off to visit the planet.
Tasha shook her head. "You're right, that's not very likely." She thought for a moment. "Did you check out his quarters, yet?"
"No. That's why I called you back from the planet." Riker gave her a tense smile. "You're the one who can open the door. And I'd like to have someone else around, someone from security. Just in case -" He broke off.
Tasha nodded.
Just in case something's wrong.
She could think of several reasons why the computer wasn't able to locate Picard. None of them boded well for the captain.

***

When they reached the captain's quarters, they hesitated. Only for a moment. Long enough for Tasha's imagination to start running wild about what they might find inside. Next to her, Riker cleared his throat.
Tasha nodded and took in a deep breath.
Stop it, she told herself. Get that door open.
"Computer, open the door to Captain Picard's quarters", she ordered. "This is a security emergency, security code Yar Alpha 13."
The computer bleeped. "Security code verified. Door open."
The door slid open.
Tasha exchanged another look with Riker, then entered. He followed her.
The captain's quarters were dark. The only light was coming from the stars outside the windows. Tasha slowly took another step forward, scanning the dark room. The silhouettes around here were unfamiliar - she had never been here before, after all - but as far as she could tell, everything seemed in order.
"Captain?" she called.
No answer.
"Computer, lights."
Immediately, the lights came on. She blinked and gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness before she moved on.
"Nothing wrong here", Riker pointed out, gesturing at the living area and the captain's desk.
"Bedroom's to the right."
Tasha lead the way. She had never been here before but of course, she had memorised the ship's layout. In detail.
The bed, she noticed at once, hadn't been slept in. Either that or the captain had taken the time to make it before leaving to - wherever. That wasn't so bad, after all. At least, it meant he hadn't been forced to leave in a hurry.
Riker checked out the bathroom. "Nothing in here", he told her.
"But here."
Turning round, Tasha had spotted something. The captain's uniform - plus his combadge - neatly folded over a chair.
"Wherever he went, he doesn't seem to have been in a hurry", Riker commented.
Tasha nodded. "Might be a good sign."
She turned to the closet and opened it.
"What are you doing?"
She could hear the First Officer's frown in his voice.
"Checking whether there's any clothes missing."
As far as she could tell, there weren't. Off-duty clothes, a dress-uniform, all neatly hung on clothes-hangers. She turned back to Riker.
"And the computer really can't locate him?"
Riker shook his head.
"What about his last known location?" she asked. "If it's a transporter room or shuttle bay, at least we'd know he's probably left the ship."
"Damn." Riker snapped his fingers. "Forgot about that." He half turned away and looked slightly upwards when addressing the computer. "Computer, tell me the last known location of Captain Jean-Luc Picard."
"Captain Jean-Luc Picard's last known location is Holodeck Four", the computer told them in its pleasant female voice.
Tasha and the First Officer looked at each other. Several things immediately sprang to her mind. Most of them were Klingon. All of them were swear-words. Judging from the look on his face, Riker's thoughts were quite similar.
"You gonna say it or shall I?" he asked.
Forcing back the curses, Tasha simply said what was on both their minds.
"Not again."

***

By the time they arrived at Holodeck Four, they were both running. Tasha nearly toppled over when she came to a full stop but Riker caught her arm and stopped her from falling.
"Thanks."
She checked out the control panel next to the door.
"There's a program running", she told the commander. "It's -" She shook her head. "Just as we thought. Dixon Hill."
"So the captain's in there", Riker concluded.
"Possibly."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
He reached past Tasha to tap a command into the control panel to end the program. But she grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
"No, don't."
He frowned at her and she shook her head, giving him a small smile.
"I know this sounds odd coming from me, but - we shouldn't rush it. If we're dealing with another holodeck malfunction here, shutting down the program might endanger the captain. I suggest we call someone to check out whether it's safe."
Riker nodded. "Make it so."
When he realised what exactly he had said, he gave her a loop-sided grin and shrugged.

***

Geordi adjusted his VISOR and gave a soft whistle.
Tasha folded her arms across her chest. She was standing nearby together with Riker, impatiently waiting for what LaForge could tell them.
"I guess that means the program's indeed messed up", she said.
"Yep." Geordi nodded. "I don't know any details, yet, but I wouldn't recommend trying to shut it down."
"Is it the same malfunction as last time?" Riker asked, "when the Jaradan probe caused problems?"
"No, sir." Geordi straightened and turned to him. "I can access the program, this time. Even alter it. But as I said, I don't know any details, yet, as to what exactly is causing this malfunction. And as the captain still seems to be stuck in there ..."
"So, theoretically, we could go in there and look for him?" Tasha asked.
"In theory - yes. But before you try that, I'd like to find out a little more. You wouldn't want to get stuck in there, too, would you?"
Tasha and Riker exchanged a look.
"What did he say last time?" Riker said, "a nice place to visit but he wouldn't want to die there?"
Tasha nodded. "That's what he said."
"Right." The commander gave Geordi a pat on the shoulder. "Staff meeting in 30 minutes. Try to find out as much as you can till then."
Geordi gave him a nod. "Aye, sir."
Riker waved for Tasha to follow him. They made their way to the next turbolift in silence and entered.
"Bridge", Riker ordered.
The lift started moving.
Tasha knew what was on the commander's mind. She knew because she was thinking the same thing. But she waited for him to speak - which he finally did.
"Do you think the captain -"
He didn't finish the phrase because Tasha cut him off.
"No. If he were dead, the computer would be able to locate his body."
What they weren't saying but only thinking - both of them, they could see it in each other's eyes - was that when the computer failed to locate the living captain, it wasn't very likely it would be able to locate the dead one.
"Maybe it's better if we don't mention that at the meeting", Riker suggested. "We don't want to worry the others, do we?"
Tasha nodded. "I'd say all they have to know is that the captain's gone missing in Holodeck Four. That's all we know, after all."

***

Tasha watched the others enter the Observation Lounge and take their seats. She had chosen a chair next to Riker who was sitting at the head of the table. Geordi was the last one to arrive. He rushed in with a PADD in his hand, sitting down next to Data. Tasha noticed he looked worried but not overly so. She wondered whether she should take that as a good sign. The commander waited till everyone was seated and was looking at him.
Riker cleared his throat. "As some of you already might have guessed, we got a problem", he started without preamble. "It looks like the captain's stuck in Holodeck Four."
Tasha saw Data raise his eyebrows in puzzlement. Troi and Dr. Crusher exchanged a look. She felt Worf shift next to her.
"Excuse me for saying so, sir, but - again?" he growled.
"Yeah, well - right now, I'm seriously considering forbidding him to ever enter another Dixon Hill scenario again", Tasha said. "There's always something going wrong with those, or so it seems."
Either that or I'll assign him a personal body-guard to accompany him.
"Geordi, what did you find out?" Riker asked.
LaForge lifted his PADD. "Not much in the short time. However, I think the current problems with Holodeck Four are caused by a strange code that interferes with the normal programming. As far as I can tell, the holodeck can be accessed but I don't think it's safe to disrupt the program."
"So if we send in a search party -"
"I'd recommend they try to blend in as much as possible."
Tasha filed that information away for further reference.
"What's the captain's status?" Beverly asked.
"We don't know", Riker told her, "the computer can't even locate him, so ..." He shrugged. "He might be perfectly alright - or not, depending on the dimensions of that current malfunction."
Tasha knew he was referring to the real bullets that had almost killed Whalen, the historian the captain had invited along the last time he had visited the world of Dixon Hill. So did the others, judging from the looks on their faces.
"In that case, you should take a doctor along when you go in. Only -" Beverly hesitated. "I'd go myself but I'm needed on the planet. And I can't spare anyone. There's so many injured down there ..."
"I could go", Troi suggested. "I'm no doctor or nurse but I do have additional medical training."
"Hold it." Tasha raised her hand to stop them. "Before we start talking about who should be on the search party, we ought to figure out how to go about it." She turned to Geordi. "You mentioned blending in?"
LaForge nodded.
"I guess that means we have to dress up in clothes from that time period and also act the part."
"That's correct." Geordi frowned. "Though I'm not sure how the program's going to react if we try to write in more characters."
"Couldn't we replace already existing characters?" Riker asked. "Pose as people who're already in the program?"
"That would require only minimal adjustments", Data said.
"Can you get me a list of the characters in the program?" Tasha asked, "so I can figure out how many people we can send in."
"The fewer the better, I'd say." Geordi made some adjustments to his PADD and gave it to her. "That's a list of the recurring characters according to the program."
"If I may, lieutenant ..."
"Of course."
Tasha passed the PADD on to Data. He could figure it out much faster than her, after all. She still found it fascinating to watch the android process information. His eyes flicked from left to right and back as he scrolled through the list on the PADD. It only took him a few minutes to finish.
"I believe these three persons might do", he said, handing the PADD back to Tasha.
She read the three names and raised her eyebrows but didn't comment.
"Three's not many", she said, "I had hoped for more."
"I believe I could easily pose as Carlos from South America once more", Data pointed out, "as I was already established as Carlos by the captain during his last visit to the holodeck as Dixon Hill."
Tasha nodded. "I'd love to have you come along." She frowned. "I guess we can't get away with a Klingon?"
Data shook his head. "It was difficult enough, then, to explain my unusual appearance."
She sighed. "Oh well, can't have everything. So it's you and me, Troi for medical and -"
"Me", Riker cut her off.
"With all due respect, sir," Tasha protested, "but I don't think that's a good idea. If we should get stuck in the holodeck, too, and those attackers should return -"
"I'm sure Lt. Worf can handle that. I'm coming with you. End of discussion."
Tasha decided to let it rest for the moment. She would talk to the commander later in private and try to dissuade him.
Riker straightened in his chair. "Mr. Data, we will need background information on the characters we are to play. Please see to it that we receive it as soon as possible."
The android nodded. "I will have the information transferred to your personal terminals in your quarters."
The First Officer got up. "Lt. Worf, as long as we are gone, you're in command." He looked at the other three members of the search party. "We'll meet in Holodeck Four in thirty minutes sharp."
The others got up, too, and started filing out of the room. Riker hurried away but Tasha managed to catch up with him when he had to wait for the lift. They both entered and gave their respective destination. The lift started moving. Tasha silently counted to ten.
"Computer, stop."
The lift came to a halt. A flashing light indicated it had stopped between two decks.
Riker frowned. "Lieutenant -"
"Sir, I must protest again", Tasha cut him off. "I really don't think it's a good idea for you to come with us."
"You already said so", the commander pointed out.
"Yes, and I'll stand by it. We've already lost the captain in there. If we should get lost, too -" She shook her head. "I know Worf's capable of commanding the ship, at least for some time. But if those mysterious attackers return - I'm no Klingon but I know what I would love to do to them. If it was really the Romulans who attacked, if they come back and if Worf loses his temper -"
Which he's bound to if indeed Romulans show up here.
Riker smiled at her. "That's three ifs, lieutenant. Four if you count the 'if we get stuck in the holodeck' part."
"Well, if you're taking Murphy's Law into account, it's not all that unlikely to happen. And there's just too many things that could go wrong in there."
"Then let's add another if, shall we?" Riker's smile grew broader. "If there's one person on this ship that I trust to bring us out of that in one piece, that's you."
Damn, he had to bring that up, hadn't he?
Tasha shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "Still not convinced."
"Actually, I don't have to convince you. I'm coming with you, like it or not. See it as an order. And if you don't like it, feel free to file a complaint." Riker half turned away. "Computer - continue."
The lift started moving again.
Tasha sighed in exasperation. "Whatever you say, sir. But don't say I didn't warn you."

***

Tasha was not happy. In fact, she was as "not happy" as she probably could be. And once this was over, she would have a word with Data about this character he had assigned her. Or two. Or more.
Bad enough that she had to wear this dress. And these shoes. High heels. Well, high for someone who usually wore Starfleet boots anyway. If she hadn't been naturally good at balancing, she would have kept stumbling. Bad enough, too, that she had been forced to change her hair to fit the fashion of the 1940s. It now was much too long - at least, longer than she would have preferred.
Summing it up, she thought, the hair's too long, the heels to high, the dress to revealing and the make-up too pronounced.
But all of that paled in light of what her supposed boyfriend, a certain Ian Doherty who owned a night club called the Orchid Lounge, had just told her to do.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked.
Maybe she had misunderstood him.
He frowned at her.
"What's the matter with you? You're a singer, right? So go and sing."
He made a shooing gesture towards a low stage where a band was playing a slow jazz piece.
"Sing. Me."
"No, Franklin D. Roosevelt." Doherty sneered at her. "Of course, you."
"I - can't sing." Tasha tried to come up with a convincing excuse. "I got a cold."
The bartender giggled.
Doherty's frown deepened. "Yeah, sure. And I'm the Emperor of China."
He leaned closer to her, swaying slightly on his barstool. Tasha supposed he'd had one drink too many. Or several. Judging from the alcohol she could smell on his breath. She knew that type. A bully - one of the worst sort. He grabbed her arm.
"You're gonna go over there and sing now", he told her in a low and threatening voice.
"And you are gonna let go of me at once if you don't want me to break your arm", Tasha told him in the same tone.
"What was that?" Doherty raised his eyebrows.
From the corner of her eye, Tasha saw Data half rise from his chair at one of the tables.
Great. You aren't here even five minutes and you start picking a fight, she scolded herself, suddenly remembering why they were here.
Like her role or not, she had to play along. At least till they had found the captain. Then ...
I'm so gonna kick his sorry ass.
She wasn't quite sure whether she meant Doherty or Data.
"I meant he's gonna break your arm", she corrected herself and pointed her chin at Data.
Doherty turned his head to look at him.
"Who's that?"
"That's Carlos from South America - my new boyfriend." Tasha tore free of Doherty's grip. "And in contrast to you, he's a real gentleman."
Doherty laughed. "You and a real gentleman? No way."
Tasha bit back a retort.
Think. What would Sugar do?
That one, for once, was easy. With no little satisfaction, Tasha whacked her now ex-boyfriend a good one that almost threw him from his seat, turned on her heel and strode to the stage.
On with the scenario. You can make it. You've had to do worse than singing.
She tried to dig up a song from her memory that she wouldn't mess up and that fit the time period.
Oh hell ...
"Usual song, Sugar?" one of the men whispered at her when she reached the stage.
She shook her head.
Sorry, don't know what my usual song is.
There hadn't been time to study the information Data had forwarded to her in detail. But a song title suddenly showed up before her inner eye in red flashing letters. And a name. Yes, that might actually work.
"Cole Porter," she said, "'Anything Goes'."
The man raised his eyebrows at her but didn't protest. Tasha took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her stomach.
It's only singing, she reminded herself, at least, you don't have to dance.
There was a dance part in that song or so she thought she remembered but she didn't remember reading that Sugar was also a dancer.
It went better than she would have thought. As far as she could tell, she hit all the notes and she didn't mess up the lyrics, either. She almost did when suddenly, Commander Riker and Troi entered while she still was singing but she caught herself. No one noticed.
Data, you're so dead.
They were both staring at her, the commander with his mouth hanging open for a moment before he caught himself, the counselor with a grin she unsuccessfully tried to hide.
Oh gosh, she's gonna tease me with that relentlessly, into the grave and beyond. Me wearing a dress. And long hair. Singing. No way she'll ever let me forget that.
The two spotted Data and joined him at his table. Tasha finished her song and rushed off the stage and over to the bar the second it was over. Never mind Doherty who was waiting for her there. Predictably, he greeted her with "What the hell was that?"
"A song." Tasha sat down two stools down from him and turned her back on him to watch the other three.
She had to pay attention now. Data had told her that as soon as Will and Deanna had arrived here, a police raid would take place that would enable them to get their four characters together. The raid, he had said, was about the illegal gambling that took place in the back room.
Tasha had already figured out a route of escape: In the ladies' restroom, a window lead out on a back-alley that couldn't be seen from the street. They could easily get out that way, dresses, high heels and all, and either make their escape or wait till the police was gone. She hadn't had the time to check out the alley but she thought she had seen a fire ladder from the window.
She returned her attention to the people around her. Data was talking to Will and Deanna - probably explaining about the raid. Tasha took the time to take a closer look at the two. She almost laughed. Will wore a black jacket, black pants with thin white stripes and a white shirt - and a bow-tie. The clothes didn't look too odd on him. However, he had his hair parted in the middle and slicked down with something - Tasha didn't know what and she wasn't sure she wanted to know but it made his hair shine like a pair of freshly polished Starfleet boots. It almost made her laugh out loud. Deanna, on the other hand, looked absolutely stunning in her red evening dress. Everything about her was immaculate, from her outfit to her make-up and her hair pinned up in an elaborate curly hairstyle.
However, before Tasha could dwell on that any longer, a short and stocky man in a grey suit got up at one of the tables close to the exit. He held up a shiny badge. Tasha didn't pay any attention to what he was saying. She knew this was the police raid Data had talked about. She exchanged a quick glance with him and pointed her chin at the short corridor past the bar that lead to the restrooms. He nodded. Before she turned to grab her purse - oh how she hated to drag that thing along but obviously, a woman of this time couldn't do without - she saw him talk to the other two again.
Around them, people were clamouring and shouting and trying to get to the exit. The exit, though, was blocked by policemen who came filing in to arrest everyone. Tasha wove her way through the crowd and waited before the door to the ladies' room. Only a minute or two later, the others arrived.
"In here", she told them.
Inside, she pointed at the window. It took Data much less time to open it than it had her.
"The window leads out onto a back-alley", she explained, "I checked before you two arrived."
She half waited for Riker to comment on her dress, her hair or her singing but he only nodded.
Data helped them through the window - she almost lost a shoe in the process - and closed it again from the outside as best as he could. Meanwhile, Tasha peered around the corner to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. Two policemen had positioned themselves where the alley met the street that went past the Orchid Lounge.
"We'll have to wait till they've left."
"Where?" Riker asked.
"Up there." Tasha pointed at the fire ladder above them.
"Do we really have to wait?" The commander frowned. "Can't we get away over the roof?"
"In these shoes?" Tasha lifted her skirt and showed her heels. "Only if you want me to break my neck. It's a miracle I didn't do so, yet."
Riker nodded. "I guess I see your point. Up the ladder, then."
Again, Data had to help them as the ladder didn't reach the ground and they didn't want to pull it down in order not to make too much noise. They climbed up as far as they could. Not all that far with a two-storied building. They stopped on a small gridded platform outside a window.
"Let's hope no one comes out", Deanna whispered.
"Don't worry." Tasha took a look around. She spotted a loose brick. "If someone does, I'll knock him out."
She pulled the brick out of her wall and put it in her purse. It was a tight fit but she managed.
Will grinned at her. "A lady's weapons, huh?"
Tasha wrinkled her nose. "Not sure about the lady but I can take care of myself. Even playing this character."
"Talking of our characters, this might be a good point to exchange background information", Data pointed out, "as we have to wait here and cannot do anything until the police has left -"
Riker nodded. "Good idea." He grinned. "I'm supposed to be a certain Ross Avery and this here" - he pointed at Deanna - "is my charming fiancée Honey Malone."
His dream come true, I bet.
A sharp look from Troi told Tasha the counselor had got the general direction of her thoughts.
"I'm Sugar Caine", she hurriedly introduced herself. "As you might have noticed, I'm a singer in that night club." She pointed down. "And as you didn't notice since you weren't there then, I'm supposed to be the owner's girlfriend." She gave Data a glare. "I'm sure there's quite some things I didn't notice, either, since the information on Sugar Caine that I got was kinda - sparse."
Data looked absolutely unconcerned but of course, he was an android and most of the time, no one could tell what was going on in that mind of his.
"I forwarded you the information I considered relevant. Also, you fit the physical description of Sugar Caine and I believe you do have some common traits."
"Really." Tasha raised her eyebrows. When Data opened his mouth to answer, she waved it off. "Doesn't really matter. I didn't have time to read all of it - just tell me when I start behaving in an un-Sugar-like way."
The android nodded. "As for me," he said, "I am established as an acquaintance of Dixon Hill. When he was last here, he explained my strange appearance by claiming I was Carlos from South America."
"Honey, Sugar, Ross and Carlos." Deanna looked at the other three. "We're quite a group."
"From now on, we should refer to each other with our characters' names", Data suggested. "If we use our real names, it might lead to confusion and we -"
"- don't want to disturb the program", Tasha finished for him.
"Exactly."
"Sounds sensible enough", Riker agreed.
"What about the rest of the background stories?" Deanna asked. "We know our names now but not how we're connected to Dixon Hill."
"Well, Data - I mean Carlos said he's a friend of Mr. Hill", Tasha pointed out. "As for me, I asked him to investigate the disappearance of a friend of mine. Sal Moretti. Obviously, he went missing some days ago and I'm worried about him."
"How interesting. Ross and I contacted Mr. Hill because we want him to investigate my father's death. He burned. The police think it was an accident but obviously, I don't share their opinion."
Riker frowned at the counselor. "Shouldn't you at least try to look a little more - well, upset? He was your father, after all."
Deanna made a face at him. She opened her purse, struggling with the clasp for a few seconds, took a white handkerchief out, dabbed her eyes and faked a sniff.
"My poor old Dad. - Better?"
Will grinned. "Much better."
Tasha rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "How long do we have to stay here?" she asked.
She was getting cold. They didn't exactly have a warm and friendly summer's night here. More like autumn, she guessed. Cold and wet.
Data was about to answer, when below, a door banged open. Angry voices could be heard. The four tried to melt into the shadows as best as they could. Tasha peered down through the grid beneath her feet. Three men, two in civilian clothing and one in a police uniform. One of the other two was the stocky policeman she had seen show his badge in the club. The other one was Doherty. Tasha grinned.
Looks like they're arresting him. Neat.
They didn't dare to move until the men had turned around the corner and Doherty's angry complaining couldn't be heard anymore. Somewhere around the corner, a car drove off.
"You think it's safe to leave, yet?" Deanna asked.
"Probably not", Tasha said. "If I were them, I'd wait to see whether they can catch any people who got away. Just like we did."
"So we wait some more." Will leaned against the banister that surrounded the platform. "How long exactly? After all, it isn't as if we got all the time in the world. The sooner we find the captain, the better."
"I advise to wait for at least another fifteen minutes", Data said, " twenty minutes might even be better. We might be losing time now but in the end, we would lose more time if the police caught us and locked us up for the night together with the Orchid Lounge's other customers."
"I'm sure we'd be able to talk our way out of that."
"We may but they would keep Sugar. After all, she is Doherty's girlfriend and thus, connected to the illegal gambling."
"We could -"
"No, you couldn't", Tasha cut off the commander. "Whatever happens, I will not leave you or Troi out of sight. A missing captain's bad enough. We can't afford to lose you, too."
Riker tried to protest but she went on: "You insisted on coming along - here you are. But you'll do what I tell you. If I tell you to duck, you duck. If I tell you to run, you run. That's the deal, commander."
The commander was wise enough not to argue even though he did out-rank him and she had no way of removing him from the holodeck, now that they had started.
They sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the sounds around them. Mostly angry voices and shouts from below and from the street. The sound of cars driving by. Tasha felt the damp cold of the night slowly seeping through the fabric of her dress. Not that it was designed to keep its wearer warm. Bare arms, mostly bare back and the fabric was too thin for this kind of weather. Looking at Troi, she wasn't the only one affected by the chill and dampness. The counselor drew up her shoulders and rubbed her hands to warm them. Riker noticed, too.
"What a fine kind of gentlemen we are", he said, "you're cold and we're just sitting here."
He took off his jacket and put it around Deanna's shoulders.
She smiled at him. "Thanks, Ross."
Data frowned, then took off his own jacket and gave it to Tasha. She rewarded him with a curt nod and a look that contained almost no glare.
Don't think you're forgiven for choosing this - silly character for me to play. Common traits, my -
She cut off that train of thought. No good dwelling on it. She had to concentrate on the task ahead.
"That dress of yours is very pretty but not exactly right for weather like this, I guess", Deanna pointed out.
Tasha shrugged. "It allows for free movement - that's why I chose it. Your clothes are nice, too, but I want to be able to move freely, just in case."
She could do without ripping her skirt or other embarrassing things happening to her during a fight. At least, in this dress, she wasn't very likely to bust a seam.
They fell silent again. After a while, Tasha sighed.
"Can't we - I don't know, fast-forward this to a point where we can act again?" she asked.
This is taking way too long.
"Theoretically, we could tell the computer to bring us straight to Dixon Hill's office", Data said, "however, that would disturb the flow of the program, which, at this point, is not advisable as we do not know the possible effects on the captain."
"So all we can do is wait?"
"For the time being - yes."
"Oh boy." Tasha sighed again. "Now, that would make a great title for one of those Dixon Hill novels. 'The Long Wait'."
Deanna laughed softly. "You could suggest it to the captain as a name for yet another adventure here."
"I'm sure he'd be delighted", Tasha said drily.
"Actually, having to wait is quite realistic", Data pointed out. "Detective work is only ever exciting in novels. In real life, it consisted mostly of waiting and watching."
"Thank you Data." Tasha rolled her eyes at him. "I feel so much better now."
"You are welcome, lieutenant."
"I was being ironic."
"Ah." Data tilted his head. "Please forgive my mistake. I have not yet mastered the subtleties of -"
"Let's try to stay in character, okay - Carlos?" Tasha cut him off.
"As you wish, Sugar."
Deanna bit back a laugh. Will hid his grin by pushing off the wall and trying to see whether the policemen at the end of the alley were still there. He had to lean over the banister to be able to peer around the corner. Tasha straightened, ready to move.
If he falls down and breaks his neck, I'll kill him.
"I think the police is gone", he said, "at least, those three policemen aren't there anymore."
"We should wait another five minutes", Data suggested.
Riker nodded. "Right. To make sure it's no trap."
Tasha sighed once more but didn't say anything. It was, after all, a reasonable assumption that the police lay in waiting for people who had managed to get away.
It turned out to be the longest fifteen minutes in her life. Try as she might, Tasha couldn't stop thinking of the captain. Wondering what had happened to him - and how they were going to find him.
Well, if we're lucky, he'll be right there in his - in Dixon Hill's office.
Still, when Data told them the five minutes were over, she was the first to jump up and clamber down the fire ladder. Or rather try to clamber down the fire ladder. A sharp tug on her skirt stopped her.
"Come on." Riker frowned at her. "What's the matter?"
"My skirt caught on something. I can't see where."
"Oh, never mind that dress. It's -"
"We're supposed to stay in character", Tasha reminded him. "I got no problem with ruining it but Sugar sure as hell wouldn't."
She had located where her dress had got stuck between the ladder and a piece of metal protruding from the wall. She tried to free the fabric.
For heaven's sake, it's just a dress! It doesn't matter whether it gets all torn up.
Only that somehow, it did. She usually didn't like dresses but this one here -
It's got something.
Of course, she would rather have died than admit she actually liked it.
Finally, she managed to free her dress. And without damaging it, too. Above, she could hear a low chuckle from Troi.
Great. Another thing she'll keep reminding me of next time she'll want to talk about me trying to hide my femininity. But you do like dresses, Tasha. Why don't you admit it?
She quickly climbed to the ground and checked for police while the others followed.
"They're gone", she told them.
"Great." Riker smiled. "Then - to Dixon Hill's office, I suggest."
"Fine." Tasha looked at him and the other two. "Anyone know the address? I don't suppose it's just round the corner."
"It is too far to walk from here", Data pointed out, "but we could take what is called a cab."
Riker frowned. "Cab? Like Cab Calloway?"
"A cab is a car that can be hired for driving somewhere", Data explained, "it is usually stopped by waving at the driver."
"Fine, let's go."
While the commander probably still wondered what such a car had to do with jazz, Tasha hurried down the alley and waited by the street.
"How do you know a car's a cab?" she asked.
"Usually, you can tell by the colour and a sign fixed to its roof", Data said, "in this period and area, many cabs were painted yellow. Thus Yellow Cab."
He looked at the passing cars. "Like that one." He pointed at a cab coming up to them. "Only that one is occupied, as you can tell by -"
"Never mind."
Before anyone could stop her, Tasha had jumped out in the street, in the way of the approaching cab, waving both her arms. The cab came to a halt with squealing tires mere inches from her. The cab-driver, white-faced, jumped out of the car.
"Lady, are you nuts?" he yelled, "I could have killed you!"
"Get in", Tasha ordered in a tone that left no room for objection.
"Wha-"
"I said get in."
Stunned, the man obeyed.
Tasha continued by opening - after some fumbling with the handle - the rear passenger door. She had spotted someone in the back seat.
"And you - get out", she told the man who was staring at her just as shocked as the cab-driver.
When the man didn't move fast enough, she yanked him out by the collar and flung him onto the sidewalk.
"Hey!" He barely managed to keep his balance.
Tasha waited till Riker, Troi and Data had climbed in the back seat.
"Sorry, but this is an emergency", she told the man, then joined the others.
She slammed the door shut behind her. Data told the driver an address. The man started to protest but a glare from Tasha silenced him and made him start his car so abruptly it lurched forward and they were all thrown back into the seat.
Behind them, the cab's erstwhile passenger started yelling and waving his arms.
Data frowned. "He is mentioning a suitcase ..."
"There." Riker pointed at a brown suitcase at his feet.
Tasha grabbed it and looked around.
"How do I open the window?" she asked.
Data showed her how to crank it open. Tasha pushed the suitcase out of the open window. The result was more yelling and arm-waving - this time with balled fists - from the man they had left behind.
"That wasn't very nice", Deanna said in a slightly disapproving tone.
Tasha shrugged. "So what? I'm not supposed to be a very nice person. Just staying in character." She leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. In the front of the car, the cab driver was throwing anxious glances at his rear-view mirror as if he were expecting her to lunge forward and attack him.
"Keep your eyes on the street, mister", she snapped at him. "You don't want to crash the car, do you?"
The last thing they needed now was a car-accident.
Riker raised his eyebrows. "You sure do have a way with people, Sugar."