A Dramatic Turn: Chapter Fourteen
Title: A Dramatic Turn: Chapter Fourteen: In Which Kara Feels Like the Leader of the Island of Misfit Toys
Rating: T
Word Count: ~1300
Disclaimer: don't own them
A/N: also written bymarzipanilla and nvgvup
Kara knew what she had to do, and she needed help. Bill was in shock since his son was shot and his girlfriend abducted at gunpoint. He had foolishly emptied his cartridge on the bulletproof glass door, but they still had Zak’s gun, and it was fully loaded. The way Kara saw it, they had two options: Follow Zarek and Laura, or try to break through Cain’s and/or Zarek’s changed codes, escaping, and getting help for Zak. But she couldn’t do anything if she kept tending to Zak. She took his gun; the downed officer would have no further use for it that day. Kara further assessed their situation.
The barista wondered what the blonde’s talents were aside from pretending to like Baltar (which would take an insane amount of talent, Kara had to admit). She had to count Bill out for the moment, but she’d certainly need him to get past Cain or Zarek. Kara expected to find Cain if they somehow made it out of the building. And of course there was the third option of staying put and blowing up, but that didn’t fit Kara’s personality of fighting until she couldn’t. She was engaged, and she was damned well going to get them all to her wedding--even Baltar.
She didn’t have much of a team: A cop with a gunshot wound, his distraught father, a perfectly useless scientist, and his traitor girlfriend. They reminded her of the island of misfit toys from that program she used to watch during the Winter Solstice when she was a kid. She wished Laura were there: That woman had the ability to get results from everyone. Kara would do her best to save them all-and maybe Laura too. She hadn’t heard another gunshot, so she assumed Laura was unharmed. Plus, what would be the point of abducting her if he was just going to kill her? No, Kara had to hope her friend and mentor would take care of herself. From what little she knew of Laura, Kara figured she could handle Zarek just fine. And Kara could handle Baltar.
“Hey, Dr. Dildo!” she shouted trying to get Baltar’s attention from his traitorous girlfriend. It worked.
“Are you talking to me?”
“No, I’m talking to the other PhD in the room.”
“I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“Get used to it. Now get over here, I need you to check out my fiancé.”
“I’m not that kind of doctor.”
“I know that, but you must have taken A&P at some point. You’re supposed to be pretty smart, right? And right now, you’re the best I have.”
“What about you?”
“I’m trying to get us out of here.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just keep Zak alive.”
Bill seemed to come out of his stupor. He assessed the situation and was impressed with how Kara was handling everything. She would have made a fine officer. He moved to the young girl’s side and asked, “What do you need from me?”
“Keep an eye on blondie, I don’t trust her, and she might have something useful to say.” She handed him Zak’s gun, trusting him not to waste the bullets with that one.
“Okay.”
“And Bill…”
“Yeah?”
“Zak and Laura will be okay, you have to believe that.”
“I do.”
----------------
Zarek and Laura continued walking to the roof, the gun still pressed against her back. Laura wondered what was waiting for them there. Would Cain be there with a helicopter? That probably wouldn’t end well. Was the detonator on Zarek’s person? Or on the roof? Would he make her watch as he killed the only people left in the worlds whom she loved?
Laura had only one option. She risked turning to face him.
“She’s never going to let you live, Tom. She’ll pin everything on you, and murder you as a loose end.”
His smile made her skin crawl. “Maybe, maybe not. Game’s not over. You might be surprised how it ends.”
“It won’t end well for you.”
“You neither, but at least we’ll be together.”
“Is that all you wanted?”
“It’s all I ever wanted.”
“There are better ways to court a woman.”
“But this way makes me unforgettable.”
“That may be true, but I’ll never love you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll never love you either. Love’s for you and that admirer of yours. What we have is better.”
Laura turned back around and continued walking. The terrorist may have been crazy and wrong about so many things, but he was right about one thing: The game wasn’t over yet.
----------------
Baltar reluctantly kneeled on the floor beside Zak, more concerned with what it would do to his ridiculously expensive pants. He quickly removed his jacket and got to work. He didn’t care about the young officer’s life, but he valued his own very much, and he didn’t want to tempt the young woman to take it from him. He hadn’t missed her unspoken promise that his life and fate were linked to the boy’s. The fact Zak’s armed father was also present, added to his need to save the boy.
He moved the jacket that had been used as a compress. He needed to see what they were working with. Baltar looked at the entry wound. It seemed none of the major organs were hit, but his knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology was limited, and he hadn’t taken a course in it since he was an undergraduate. But like Kara said, he was very smart, and thought himself much smarter than he was, so he trusted his instincts. Baltar gently moved Zak to his side. He needed to check for an exit wound. There wasn’t one. That meant the bullet was still inside. As long as he received medical attention soon enough, Zak should have been fine.
Baltar returned Zak to his original position, replacing the jacket, and putting pressure on him to slow the bleeding. It was the best he could do for the young man. He only hoped it would be enough; otherwise, he’d likely be blamed.
---------------
Kara returned to the security set up behind the reception desk. If they had any hope of getting out of there, she needed to break the codes. Cain or Zarek, whichever was responsible for the backdoors, was much better at security than Baltar was. Under other circumstances, she’d love to rub that in his face. But she had a lot of work to do. She hoped Bill had some luck getting information from Blondie.
----------------------
Bill walked toward the blonde. He had his son’s gun, but he had no intention on using it on the only witness they had. Something told him she’d cooperate if only to save her own life. As he approached, she stiffened, as if she expected him to blame her for what happened. As far as he was concerned, there were only two people to blame, and the blonde wasn’t one of them.
“You work for Cain, right?”
Her eyes became downcast. “It was more than that.”
“Meaning?”
“We all have our needs.”
“I’m not following.”
“I thought she loved me.”
“We don’t know that she didn’t. Zarek was playing his own game all along.”
“Maybe.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you know of the original plan, and we’ll go from there?”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“Honestly, you might be the only way I can get to Cain and Zarek. If anything happens to Laura, or if my son dies…”
“You love so deeply.”
“You have no idea.”
“I’ll tell you what I know, but if Cain really did betray me, leave her to me.”
“It’s a deal.”
Rating: T
Word Count: ~1300
Disclaimer: don't own them
A/N: also written bymarzipanilla and nvgvup
Kara knew what she had to do, and she needed help. Bill was in shock since his son was shot and his girlfriend abducted at gunpoint. He had foolishly emptied his cartridge on the bulletproof glass door, but they still had Zak’s gun, and it was fully loaded. The way Kara saw it, they had two options: Follow Zarek and Laura, or try to break through Cain’s and/or Zarek’s changed codes, escaping, and getting help for Zak. But she couldn’t do anything if she kept tending to Zak. She took his gun; the downed officer would have no further use for it that day. Kara further assessed their situation.
The barista wondered what the blonde’s talents were aside from pretending to like Baltar (which would take an insane amount of talent, Kara had to admit). She had to count Bill out for the moment, but she’d certainly need him to get past Cain or Zarek. Kara expected to find Cain if they somehow made it out of the building. And of course there was the third option of staying put and blowing up, but that didn’t fit Kara’s personality of fighting until she couldn’t. She was engaged, and she was damned well going to get them all to her wedding--even Baltar.
She didn’t have much of a team: A cop with a gunshot wound, his distraught father, a perfectly useless scientist, and his traitor girlfriend. They reminded her of the island of misfit toys from that program she used to watch during the Winter Solstice when she was a kid. She wished Laura were there: That woman had the ability to get results from everyone. Kara would do her best to save them all-and maybe Laura too. She hadn’t heard another gunshot, so she assumed Laura was unharmed. Plus, what would be the point of abducting her if he was just going to kill her? No, Kara had to hope her friend and mentor would take care of herself. From what little she knew of Laura, Kara figured she could handle Zarek just fine. And Kara could handle Baltar.
“Hey, Dr. Dildo!” she shouted trying to get Baltar’s attention from his traitorous girlfriend. It worked.
“Are you talking to me?”
“No, I’m talking to the other PhD in the room.”
“I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“Get used to it. Now get over here, I need you to check out my fiancé.”
“I’m not that kind of doctor.”
“I know that, but you must have taken A&P at some point. You’re supposed to be pretty smart, right? And right now, you’re the best I have.”
“What about you?”
“I’m trying to get us out of here.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just keep Zak alive.”
Bill seemed to come out of his stupor. He assessed the situation and was impressed with how Kara was handling everything. She would have made a fine officer. He moved to the young girl’s side and asked, “What do you need from me?”
“Keep an eye on blondie, I don’t trust her, and she might have something useful to say.” She handed him Zak’s gun, trusting him not to waste the bullets with that one.
“Okay.”
“And Bill…”
“Yeah?”
“Zak and Laura will be okay, you have to believe that.”
“I do.”
----------------
Zarek and Laura continued walking to the roof, the gun still pressed against her back. Laura wondered what was waiting for them there. Would Cain be there with a helicopter? That probably wouldn’t end well. Was the detonator on Zarek’s person? Or on the roof? Would he make her watch as he killed the only people left in the worlds whom she loved?
Laura had only one option. She risked turning to face him.
“She’s never going to let you live, Tom. She’ll pin everything on you, and murder you as a loose end.”
His smile made her skin crawl. “Maybe, maybe not. Game’s not over. You might be surprised how it ends.”
“It won’t end well for you.”
“You neither, but at least we’ll be together.”
“Is that all you wanted?”
“It’s all I ever wanted.”
“There are better ways to court a woman.”
“But this way makes me unforgettable.”
“That may be true, but I’ll never love you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll never love you either. Love’s for you and that admirer of yours. What we have is better.”
Laura turned back around and continued walking. The terrorist may have been crazy and wrong about so many things, but he was right about one thing: The game wasn’t over yet.
----------------
Baltar reluctantly kneeled on the floor beside Zak, more concerned with what it would do to his ridiculously expensive pants. He quickly removed his jacket and got to work. He didn’t care about the young officer’s life, but he valued his own very much, and he didn’t want to tempt the young woman to take it from him. He hadn’t missed her unspoken promise that his life and fate were linked to the boy’s. The fact Zak’s armed father was also present, added to his need to save the boy.
He moved the jacket that had been used as a compress. He needed to see what they were working with. Baltar looked at the entry wound. It seemed none of the major organs were hit, but his knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology was limited, and he hadn’t taken a course in it since he was an undergraduate. But like Kara said, he was very smart, and thought himself much smarter than he was, so he trusted his instincts. Baltar gently moved Zak to his side. He needed to check for an exit wound. There wasn’t one. That meant the bullet was still inside. As long as he received medical attention soon enough, Zak should have been fine.
Baltar returned Zak to his original position, replacing the jacket, and putting pressure on him to slow the bleeding. It was the best he could do for the young man. He only hoped it would be enough; otherwise, he’d likely be blamed.
---------------
Kara returned to the security set up behind the reception desk. If they had any hope of getting out of there, she needed to break the codes. Cain or Zarek, whichever was responsible for the backdoors, was much better at security than Baltar was. Under other circumstances, she’d love to rub that in his face. But she had a lot of work to do. She hoped Bill had some luck getting information from Blondie.
----------------------
Bill walked toward the blonde. He had his son’s gun, but he had no intention on using it on the only witness they had. Something told him she’d cooperate if only to save her own life. As he approached, she stiffened, as if she expected him to blame her for what happened. As far as he was concerned, there were only two people to blame, and the blonde wasn’t one of them.
“You work for Cain, right?”
Her eyes became downcast. “It was more than that.”
“Meaning?”
“We all have our needs.”
“I’m not following.”
“I thought she loved me.”
“We don’t know that she didn’t. Zarek was playing his own game all along.”
“Maybe.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you know of the original plan, and we’ll go from there?”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“Honestly, you might be the only way I can get to Cain and Zarek. If anything happens to Laura, or if my son dies…”
“You love so deeply.”
“You have no idea.”
“I’ll tell you what I know, but if Cain really did betray me, leave her to me.”
“It’s a deal.”