To: 
From: "Jay  P Hailey" 
Reply-To: trekcreative{at}yahoogroups.com


Title: Long Arms
Author: Jay P. Hailey (jayphailey{at}tic1.net) and K.A. Strickland Series:
Vista City/Four Corners
Part: 07/13
Rating [PG] (Some Violence)

 Vista City General Hospital was an over built piece of 1950's architecture.
It rose eleven stories over downtown Vista City and tried to contain every
thing a hospital could ever be in one building.  Consequently it was only
rarely more than half occupied.  It has some of the best medical and
pathological labs outside of San Francisco and Sacramento.  VC General had
plenty of room, after all.

 Karla bombed into the ground floor entrance and was half way across the
emergency room when Scott caught up with her.  "This way."  He
said guiding her towards a door way.  The door way opened onto stairs down.

 Karla stormed into the basement and walked through old concrete and tile
corridors with a purposeful stride.

 In a nearby lab lights were on and people were moving around.  Karla made a
direct line towards the lab.  She pushed through the door and was
confronted by scene out of her nightmares.

 Marlene's body lay half disassembled on a table in the middle of the room.
Jars and sample containers held bits and pieces of Marlene's organs.  A
huge electro-mechanical donut stood off to the side of the room.  Karla
barely recognized a CT scanner, and magnetic resonance imager and several
other advanced scanners lining the walls.

 Voices were calling out arcane medical lingo.

 "Is that blood work back, yet?"

 "I need a another run across the lymphatic system."

 "Look at the DSF levels in the blood stream."

 "Can we tell that the trauma didn't alter them?"

 On screens all over, Karla could see a four armed skeleton whirling in a
simulation. It stopped at every cardinal point and a white line extended
from off screen into its chest.

 "WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?!"  Karla screamed.

 Most of the scientists jumped in surprise.  One woman with thick, black
hair tied into a long braid behind her whirled with a pistol in her hand.

 Scott managed to get himself between Karla and woman with the gun. "Calm
down. It's okay." he said into the stunned silence.  The dark haired
woman raised her weapon to high port.

 "The hell it's okay!"  Karla snarled.  "I want to know who gave these
people permission to play Frankenstein!"

 "This woman was the victim of a murder."  The dark haired woman
said with a
lilting accent.  "We are authorized by the law to search for all
relevant scientific data relating to the case."

 "Sheriff Karla Morgan, of Four Corners, may I introduce Dr. Monique Le
Beau? Dr. Le Beau, Sheriff Morgan."

 "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Dr. Le Beau said politely. She
slipped her gun back into an almost invisible holster at her belt.

 "Who gave you permission to chop Marlene Summers up like that?"
Karla said.
She felt sick to her stomach.

 "Ms. Summers will not mind.  But you might if I must treat you." Dr. Le
Beau said coldly.

 "I'd rather die than let you get your hooks into me." Karla said angrily.

 "This woman had two hearts, Sheriff Morgan.  If she had arrived to my
emergency room alive I would have had to attempt CPR.  I would have failed
because her internal physiology is so different from a normal human's.  If
I am to treat a four armed person who is still alive, knowledge is
critical. Perhaps you consider my work disrespectful or undignified, but
Marlene Summers has been of great help to me, should I be called on to
treat a still living person with the four arms."  Dr. Le Beau
explained.

 "None of this was necessary!  We have all this data at home!  You didn't
have to vivisect Marlene!" Karla cried.

 "Do you think that I did not look first?"  Dr. Le Beau shot back
"Perhaps
when you return to your Four Corners you'll discuss with the hospital there
how willing they are to share this data.  No 'vivisection' was done.
Marlene was well beyond my help when she arrived this morning."

 "Dr. Le Beau, do you have the forensics on the gun shot?" Scott asked.

 "Yes, Scott.  I have finished this."  She turned to her desk and typed a
few commands on her computer keyboard.  The screens around the room
blanked. Then a simulation of Marlene's dressing room at 'The Soul
Attraction' came up.  Karla's face grew grim at the sight of a two armed
mannequin overlaid with the four armed skeleton.

 "The victim was standing inside the room nearly at the center.  She was
about 1.1, 1.2 meters away from the door way.  There was one shot from a
.45 caliber weapon.  The bullet matches the .45 ACP style of ammunition. 
It penetrated her chest and lodged in the left side heart as you see."
The animated mannequin fell like a sack of potatoes " She suffered
extreme trauma and shock.  She was dead less than five minutes later."
 Dr. Le Beau said.  "The shooter was standing inside the door way.  He
or she shot Ms. Summers almost straight on through the upper thoracic
cavity. He was approximately 2 meters tall, give or take ten centimeters,
and fired from the right hand. There was no other sign of injury, struggle
or assault."

 "Thanks.  Do you have the bullet?"  Scott asked.

 "I have completed an examination of the bullet.  I have taken photographs.
If you can locate and fire the murder weapon, then a ballistics expert
should be able to identify it."  Dr. Le Beau reported.

 "Can you prepare Marlene for travel?"  Karla asked.

 "Yes.  We will be able to ship her remains to the undertaker of your
choice."  Dr. Le Beau said.

 "Get her ready.  I'll be flying her back home soon." Karla said quietly.

 "Yes, Sheriff Morgan. Of course.  Would you please tell me where I might be
able to obtain data on treating people such as yourself when you are
injured or ill?" Dr. Le Beau asked.

 Karla took a deep shuddering breath. The smell of the autopsy room crawled
into her face.  "Call Murdock Memorial Hospital.  Ask to speak with
Doctor Anthony Dozier.  Explain... Explain...."  Karla's stomach
rebelled. Fortunately there was a handy sink.

 "Thank you."  Dr. Le Beau said quietly.

 "You know, sometimes this damned place makes me feel the same way." Scott
said to Le Beau.

 She looked at him sadly.  'Sometimes it does that to me as well."

-*-

 On the way out of the hospital, Scott spoke quietly to Karla.  "That scared
the hell out of you, didn't it?"

 Karla glared at him.  "When I was growing up, we were all told that if The
Secret got out then that," she nodded back towards the autopsy room,
"would happen to all of us."

 "You were told that people from outside would dissect you for your
secrets." Scott said.  "Sounds like a scary way to grow up."

 Karla nodded.  "I guess so.  I don't have anything else to compare it
with."

 "Well if it's any help to you, you're not alone." Scott said.

 "What is that supposed to mean?" Karla asked.

 "My right arm is like Rebecca's.  A cybernetic implant." Scott said.
"That's why I didn't offer to shake hands when we first met."

 "Huh?"

 "The skin is latex.  It's a dead give away."  Scott said. 
"I was a secret
prototype twenty years ago.  I had to keep the secret all the time.  If
anyone found out, I could expect to wind up in a place just like that,
getting cut to small ribbons to find out what made my cybernetics work.  I
know what a burden keeping a secret like that can be and I know how
corrosive the fear can be."

 Karla shook her head.  "Thanks.  However, I am not here to identify with
you or make friends.  I am here to find out who killed Marlene and bring
him in."

 Scott nodded. "Okay.  Well I think it's time for you to go get into your
hotel room, and get some sleep.  You looked sort of gray in there.  I was
afraid you'd faint on me.  Let's come back at it tomorrow when we're both
in better shape."

 Karla nodded. "Okay."

 "And one more thing to chew on as we go."

 The arrived at the maroon Crown Victoria.   "What's that?"  Karla asked.

 "Freddie Rios is five feet six inches tall and is left handed."

 Karla grimaced.  "Tomorrow."

 Scott grinned.  "Tomorrow."

-*-

 The Red Sheep Inn was a generic motel.  Among that class it was actually
fairly nice but there was little to give it character.  Karla walked in
carrying her own bags.  Scott offered to carry them, but Karla only wanted
to get checked in and get into bed as quickly as possible.

 She walked up to the desk.  A young man was there reading a comic book.

 "Ahem!" Karla said.

 The young man looked up and froze.

 "I'd like to check in, please." Karla said dryly.

 "Uh...uh...Oh, wow!"  The young man gushed.  "Wow, you know
I never thought
I'd get a chance to meet one of you people!  Wow! This is so cool!"

 "Thank you.  Do you have any rooms?"  Karla said patiently.

 "Oh!  Oh yes!  Yes, Um! ... Here!"  The young man's name tag
said "Drop
Dead.  My name Is Ralph."

 Ralph fumbled out a key, spilling two more and handed it reverently to
Karla.  "That's room 401.  Our Presidential suite."  He breathed.

 Karla took the key and thought about it.  "Would you like me to pay for the
room, Ralph?"

 Ralph boggled at her for a moment.  "Huh!?  Oh, yes!  I'm sorry.  Duh!  Heh
heh. Yes please."  He blushed to the tips of his ears and looked
particularly stupid.  If Karla had known Ralph from a hole in the ground
she might have thought it cute.  Ralph was just amazed that one of the
mysterious mutants was in his motel.  Karla could have been Gengis Kahn for
all he knew or cared.  That somehow made it almost as bad as if Ralph had
refused to serve her in the first place.

 Karla dug out the credit card Jim Mosley had given her 17 hours ago.  She
handed it to the clerk.

 Ralph fumbled it into the credit card machine and imprinted it without
really looking at it.  He handed the card and the receipt to Karla without
a hint of awareness.

 "So...."  Ralph made a heroic effort to sound casual
"you're from... Four
Corners.  Is that right?"

 Karla signed the receipt "Gengis Khan" and put on her best stupid look.
"Four Corners?  Never heard of it."

 The young man ripped out the yellow copy of the receipt and handed it to
her without reading the signature.  "Oh!  Ha ha! Riggggghhht.  Nope. 
Never heard of it! Uh huh! Right! And you aren't here, right?"  Ralph
winked at her.

 She nodded gravely.  "National Security, Ralph.  Say nothing if you value
your freedom."

 He boggled again. "Oh!  Ah, no!  I mean yes!  Ahhhh."

 "Shhh...." Karla picked up the key and her duffel "You saw and heard
nothing.  Right?"

 "No ma'am!"  Ralph went to attention.

 Karla sighed and walked towards the elevators.

 "Sleep well.  See you tomorrow." Scott said.

 "Ugh." Karla replied grumpily.

-*-

 Karla unpacked enough to make it possible to get ready for bed.  She didn't
sleep well.

 The hotel room was generic and colorless, but it felt and smelled odd to
Karla.  She tried to get to sleep but the strange noises of a new city, and
the awareness of how far away from home she really was bothered her, badly.

 Karla slept fitfully and dreamed of mad science and the ugly smell of the
autopsy room.  She had her gun handy, but it didn't make her feel any better.

-*-

 The next morning came too early with a call from the front desk.  It was a
young woman, not Ralph. She told Karla that her ride from the VCPD was
there.  Karla stumbled around getting back into uniform and performing the
tricky task of brushing her teeth with her lower right hand while at the
same time brushing her hair with her upper right hand.  It was slow and
took her concentration.  However, unless she did it that way her other
hands stood around and reminded her that they had nothing to do.  This was
more distracting than simply focusing well enough to keep both right hands
at work.

 Karla went down stairs, half filled with alertness towards her new day, and
half filled with longing for her bed in Four Corners.  Karla was more than
filled with a feeling similar too but not as strong as a hangover.

 In the lobby of the Red Sheep Inn, Karla found Sonja Traveler waiting for
her.

 "Good morning."  Sonja greeted her guest.  "Sleep well?"

 "No."  Karla said.  "I slept like hell.  And yourself?"

 "No complaints.  Do you think some breakfast and some coffee will help?"
Sonja asked.

 "N-" Karla started to press forward into her working day, when her stomach
answered for her.  "Yes.  That sounds lovely."

 Sonja gestured towards the door. "After you."

 Karla walked out looking for a police issue plain wrap.  She couldn't find
one. Some hippie had parked a flowery, chaotically painted VW microbus in
the drive way.  Karla looked at Sonja for a clue.

 Sonja walked over to the hippie mobile and opened the driver's side door.

 "This is your car?" Karla asked, stunned.

 Sonja grinned.  "Yep.  Isn't he cute?" She hopped up into the driver's
seat.

 Karla climbed into the passenger seat and settled herself.

 Sonja murmured soothingly at the VW and patted the dashboard.

 "You really like this thing, Huh?"

 "Like any man, he won't move unless properly motivated."  Sonja smirked.

 Karla smothered a snort.

 Sonja turned the key and the VW rattled to life.  "Hooray!  Bribing the
mechanic pays off!"

 Karla laughed and then sniffed the air of the old car curiously.

 "What's that smell?" She asked.

 "Marijuana."  Sonja replied breezily.

 Karla quirked an eyebrow at Sonja.  "Oh?"

 "It's embedded in the metal.  We search it every so often but the drug dog
can't find anything."  Sonja explained.

 "Okay.  Why?"  Karla asked.

 "Why what?"

 "Why" Karla waved her hand at the old bus "This?"

 Sonja was quiet as she turned onto Valley Boulevard.  Merging into traffic
she answered.  "My original boss demanded that I have a car so I could
respond to emergency calls. I was getting by just fine without the car.  I
live less than five minutes away from work by bicycle.  However, my boss
insisted so... I got a car."

 Karla sounded thoughtful.  "Captain Ashby doesn't sound that tough."

 Sonja shook her head.  "Wasn't Ashby. It was Sergeant Callahan.  He's...
gone now."


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Free shipping on all inkjet cartridge & refill kit orders to US &
Canada. Low prices up to 80% off. We have your brand: HP, Epson, Lexmark
& more. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5510
http://us.click.yahoo.com/GHXcIA/n.WGAA/ySSFAA/TpIolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Star Trek; The E-mail Commands

Post message: trekcreative{at}yahoogroups.com Subscribe:
trekcreative-subscribe{at}yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe:
trekcreative-unsubscribe{at}yahoogroups.com List owner:
trekcreative-owner{at}yahoogroups.com Get Digest:
trekcreative-digest{at}yahoogroups.com Web only: 
trekcreative-nomail{at}yahoogroups.com Normal: trekcreative-normal{at}egroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-4