Caprica Season 2 at Beginning Of Line is brought to you with limited commercial interruption by Samuel: For Men.
Previously on Caprica:
The Graystones and The Adamas were forced together again when a mysterious Tauran began threatening Daniel's life. Meanwhile, a new arrival on Caprica, Matthew Zarek, began working to prevent Graystone's involvement in the building of a new fleet station on Sagittaron. (Episode Three - posted 1/25/11)
Amanda Graystone sketch by Juanita Martinez.
Caprica Season 2, Episode 4
Vengeance Is Mine, Part 2 (of 2)
By Rhesa Sealy
FIVE
Amanda yanked her hand free and glared at the man.
“My husband has done nothing wrong. Now, leave us alone.”
Amanda walked away. She had the urge to glance over her shoulder, but she stayed strong.
She stayed in front of Goldie's and waited until she saw Sam walk out. She looked around and then ran up to him. Sam stopped when he caught sight of her.
“Thought I said stay away,” he said gruffly.
“A GDD agent showed up and accused me of being an accomplice to Vergis’s murder. I need your help.”
Sam could see the fear in Amanda's face. He nodded and pulled her aside. He pulled a match book out of his pocket and placed it in her hand.
“Come to this place around 9 and we’ll talk. Just leave the shotgun at home,” he said.
She nodded, “Thank you, thank you.”
The woman turned around as Matthew walked in. Tamila Vergis disliked the smug, arrogant, Sagittaron, but he was useful, a means to the end. The man strolled in and she pointed to the chair.
“How did it go?" she asked.
Matthew smiled. "Just as we had hoped. Amanda went running to the Tauran. I was also told Daniel cancelled his meeting with the Military. Now might be a good time to push them."
Tamila nodded, "Of course, but I want to know when I get to kill Daniel. This plan of yours seems more in your favour than mine. You are getting all the benefits, and I have yet to see any for myself.”
Matthew nodded in the smug way that made her want to rip his heart out, but Tamila was Tauran, and she would be patient. Matthew stood.
"What you want isn't an easy thing Tamila. Driving a man insane takes time; having him killed requires patience and some finesse. You don't want this coming back to you."
Tamila tapped a well manicured nail on the desk. Tomas had been like a brother to her. Taking a chance on her and then letting her run with a division of his company. He even had given her his last name. Family, even if not by blood, had been important to him.
She hadn't been surprised when he moved to Caprica. The challenge of going after Graystone Industries and bringing down Daniel Graystone himself had consumed Tomas when he realized the Ha'la'tha had betrayed him for a Caprican. It had hurt her terribly when he had suddenly disappeared. Only a brief communication saying he felt he would soon be returning to the soil. He had promised she would want for nothing and could be safe in the knowledge her position was safe.
It had taken months of bribes, questions, and blood to find his body. Tamila returned him to his wife. She was a good Tauran wife.
"What will you do Tamila?"
"Send the motherfrakkers who did this to their gods."
"Do what you must, but I..."
"I understand. I promise you, I will avenge Tomas. I will set this right."
The man could talk a temple into the ground. Tamila focused on what he was saying. He wanted to start the next step of the plan. Tamila nodded. He then began to walk away.
"Matthew."
"Yes?"
"If you betray me, I will kill you."
The man smiled and walked out. Tamila waited for a moment and then unlocked the drawer at the top of her desk and pulled out Tomas' blade which was still stained with his blood. He'd been tossed into the dirt like a common dirteater, no respect. Perhaps, she should take The Guatrau as well? Common sense soon intervened. There was a new one in charge; a woman, so she could not do that.
"I promise you, Daniel Graystone,” she whispered. “You will soon know the true heart of a Tauran. I will have my vengeance."
SIX
Yusif looked over at his brother, then across the table at Amanda and Daniel. They were a fine bunch. Taurans and Capricans at a table. A tragedy had intertwined their lives and now another one was only helping to solidify their entanglement. He wondered if this was a cruel joke on him by the gods.
"You should have told us," Daniel said.
"Why? Not like you're going to do something about it," Sam said.
"Stop it all of you," Amanda said.
All three men were now staring at her. She pushed her cup of coffee away and sat forward so prying ears wouldn't hear.
"We have a problem. Obviously someone knows and wants Daniel to pay, but you can't let him die. The Ha'la'tha would lose its biggest benefactor. What we need to do is to get ahead of this. Figure out who is doing it and stop them," she said.
Sam would never admit it, but he liked the woman. She had balls.
"So, any ideas?" he asked instead.
Amanda shrugged.
Yusif lit a cigarette and the lighter got passed around. Daniel stared out of the glass.
"I've been bidding to build the new fleet station on Sagittaron. But, the Military has been getting a better offer or something. All I know is there is another bidder," he said exhaling a large drag of smoke.
Yusif nodded, "You think they might be doing this to keep you from getting the contract?"
Daniel shrugged, "It's a good place to start, unless you two have a better suggestion?"
They didn't, but they would never admit that to a Caprican. Sam stabbed out his third smoke and drained his cup.
"I'll ask around, see what I can find out. Just don't say anything to anyone," he said.
He hugged his brother goodbye and put on his hat before heading out into the night. He would be glad when this was over. He hadn't seen Larry for more than a few hours at a time over the past few days. It didn't help that they were still at odds. He nodded to a fellow Tauran as he walked over to his car. He got in and pulled away. He had a buddy at the shipping docks. A guy named Lee. Any new players to the game, he would know.
Evelyn handed Yusif a file. He was always amazed at her ability to know what he needed.
"Where? How?"
"I called in a favour, but I have to return it so you only have tonight,” she said. I thought the name of the bidder was a surprise.”
Yusif flipped to the names of the bidders. Most but one had pulled out. Yusif stared in surprised at the rival bidder going up against Graystone. It was the Vergis Corporation.
"Eve, how could I get a list of names of the heads and shareholders of Vergis Corporation?"
"It should all be public record. Want me to get it?"
"That would be great," he smiled and kissed her.
Sam handed over the cash and Lee shoved it into his pocket. The dock worker blew into his gloved hands.
"It's been quiet Sam, but I asked around. There's a Sagittaron trying to rally the boys. Something about union rights and keeping our jobs safe from those frakking cylons. Zarek, I think. He's nothing but a preacher, but a lot of the guys around are listening," Lee said, blowing into his hands again.
Sam smiled and patted the man on the back, "Thanks, now get your ass out of here and somewhere warm. And that next shipment?"
Lee laughed, "What shipment?"
Sam laughed as he turned and walked away.
SEVEN
Yusif read through the names of the top executives at Vergis Corporation. The one that stood out was Tamila Vergis, head of New Technology Research. Her public profile wasn’t anything unusual, a rising star in her field. Tomas had taken her under his wing and placed a lot of responsibility on her. She was even credited with some of the theoretical framework behind the then scraped MCP project.
“Oh frak,” Yusif said re-reading the last sentence.
“Are you saying, you think that little girl is responsible for this?” Sam asked Yusif.
They were in the back of Goldie's. He lit another cigarette as Yusif pulled out the file. He held it up for him to see.
“I called in a favour and they sent me this on Tamila Vergis. Tomas pulled some strings and had her name changed. He wanted to make sure she was taken care of her entire life. She was an orphan like us. She’s brilliant apparently. She did the theoretical framework for the MCP we helped steal for Graystone. She’s been courting Colonel Sasha Patel, recently,” Yusif said.
“Who?” Sam asked.
“The Colonel who's deciding who will build the new fleet station on Sagittaron...”
“What? Sagittaron? Did you say Sagittaron?”
Yusif nodded.
“I spoke with one of my guys at the docks,” Sam said. “He said some preacher guy, Zarek, has been trying to get the workers to unionize. He’s from Sagittaron. Arrived just before all this started.”
The brothers looked at each other. They were wondering the same thing. The only problem was how could they prove it?
“Why now?” Sam said.
“She’s Tauran,” Fidelia said, strolling by. “She waited until now, because now is the time to act. Taurons have patience. She’s not going to do this half-assed.”
“Gautrau,” Sam said
“So we know who it is. Now we deal with it. Sam, handle it,” she said as she turned and walked away.
Sam looked at Yusif and then they both chuckled.
Zarek shivered as he walked back to his hotel. Something was in the air. He was a man of many beliefs, but he was also a survivor. He sensed the tide changing. He glanced over his shoulder. There was no one there. He continued walking.
Tamila brushed her hair out. She glanced down at the blade on the vanity table. She set down the brush and picked up the blade. Tomas was back on Tauron, his body in the soil where it belonged, but his soul had no peace.
“Soon, Tomas. Soon you’ll have peace.”
Amanda poured some more wine as Sarno made a joke. She was still shaken from her run-in with the GDD. The memories of Clarice and what she had done were always there. Always threatening to flood back into her waking mind and drive her back down the road to insanity. She glanced around as Daniel walked in. He looked tired.
“How was your day?”
“Dull. I spent it watching the Bucs practice,” he said lowering his head to kiss her.
“But I thought you had that meeting with Colonel Patel?”
“I pushed it back until tomorrow. Besides, I’m the obvious choice. With the cylons doing the work, it’ll cost them less and it’ll be completed in less time. Let the Colonel sweat for a day,” he said taking her into his arms.
Amanda laughed with him. They soon started chatting about Zoe and other ideas for advancing their cylon project.
Amanda yanked her hand free and glared at the man.
“My husband has done nothing wrong. Now, leave us alone.”
Amanda walked away. She had the urge to glance over her shoulder, but she stayed strong.
She stayed in front of Goldie's and waited until she saw Sam walk out. She looked around and then ran up to him. Sam stopped when he caught sight of her.
“Thought I said stay away,” he said gruffly.
“A GDD agent showed up and accused me of being an accomplice to Vergis’s murder. I need your help.”
Sam could see the fear in Amanda's face. He nodded and pulled her aside. He pulled a match book out of his pocket and placed it in her hand.
“Come to this place around 9 and we’ll talk. Just leave the shotgun at home,” he said.
She nodded, “Thank you, thank you.”
The woman turned around as Matthew walked in. Tamila Vergis disliked the smug, arrogant, Sagittaron, but he was useful, a means to the end. The man strolled in and she pointed to the chair.
“How did it go?" she asked.
Matthew smiled. "Just as we had hoped. Amanda went running to the Tauran. I was also told Daniel cancelled his meeting with the Military. Now might be a good time to push them."
Tamila nodded, "Of course, but I want to know when I get to kill Daniel. This plan of yours seems more in your favour than mine. You are getting all the benefits, and I have yet to see any for myself.”
Matthew nodded in the smug way that made her want to rip his heart out, but Tamila was Tauran, and she would be patient. Matthew stood.
"What you want isn't an easy thing Tamila. Driving a man insane takes time; having him killed requires patience and some finesse. You don't want this coming back to you."
Tamila tapped a well manicured nail on the desk. Tomas had been like a brother to her. Taking a chance on her and then letting her run with a division of his company. He even had given her his last name. Family, even if not by blood, had been important to him.
She hadn't been surprised when he moved to Caprica. The challenge of going after Graystone Industries and bringing down Daniel Graystone himself had consumed Tomas when he realized the Ha'la'tha had betrayed him for a Caprican. It had hurt her terribly when he had suddenly disappeared. Only a brief communication saying he felt he would soon be returning to the soil. He had promised she would want for nothing and could be safe in the knowledge her position was safe.
It had taken months of bribes, questions, and blood to find his body. Tamila returned him to his wife. She was a good Tauran wife.
"What will you do Tamila?"
"Send the motherfrakkers who did this to their gods."
"Do what you must, but I..."
"I understand. I promise you, I will avenge Tomas. I will set this right."
The man could talk a temple into the ground. Tamila focused on what he was saying. He wanted to start the next step of the plan. Tamila nodded. He then began to walk away.
"Matthew."
"Yes?"
"If you betray me, I will kill you."
The man smiled and walked out. Tamila waited for a moment and then unlocked the drawer at the top of her desk and pulled out Tomas' blade which was still stained with his blood. He'd been tossed into the dirt like a common dirteater, no respect. Perhaps, she should take The Guatrau as well? Common sense soon intervened. There was a new one in charge; a woman, so she could not do that.
"I promise you, Daniel Graystone,” she whispered. “You will soon know the true heart of a Tauran. I will have my vengeance."
SIX
Yusif looked over at his brother, then across the table at Amanda and Daniel. They were a fine bunch. Taurans and Capricans at a table. A tragedy had intertwined their lives and now another one was only helping to solidify their entanglement. He wondered if this was a cruel joke on him by the gods.
"You should have told us," Daniel said.
"Why? Not like you're going to do something about it," Sam said.
"Stop it all of you," Amanda said.
All three men were now staring at her. She pushed her cup of coffee away and sat forward so prying ears wouldn't hear.
"We have a problem. Obviously someone knows and wants Daniel to pay, but you can't let him die. The Ha'la'tha would lose its biggest benefactor. What we need to do is to get ahead of this. Figure out who is doing it and stop them," she said.
Sam would never admit it, but he liked the woman. She had balls.
"So, any ideas?" he asked instead.
Amanda shrugged.
Yusif lit a cigarette and the lighter got passed around. Daniel stared out of the glass.
"I've been bidding to build the new fleet station on Sagittaron. But, the Military has been getting a better offer or something. All I know is there is another bidder," he said exhaling a large drag of smoke.
Yusif nodded, "You think they might be doing this to keep you from getting the contract?"
Daniel shrugged, "It's a good place to start, unless you two have a better suggestion?"
They didn't, but they would never admit that to a Caprican. Sam stabbed out his third smoke and drained his cup.
"I'll ask around, see what I can find out. Just don't say anything to anyone," he said.
He hugged his brother goodbye and put on his hat before heading out into the night. He would be glad when this was over. He hadn't seen Larry for more than a few hours at a time over the past few days. It didn't help that they were still at odds. He nodded to a fellow Tauran as he walked over to his car. He got in and pulled away. He had a buddy at the shipping docks. A guy named Lee. Any new players to the game, he would know.
Evelyn handed Yusif a file. He was always amazed at her ability to know what he needed.
"Where? How?"
"I called in a favour, but I have to return it so you only have tonight,” she said. I thought the name of the bidder was a surprise.”
Yusif flipped to the names of the bidders. Most but one had pulled out. Yusif stared in surprised at the rival bidder going up against Graystone. It was the Vergis Corporation.
"Eve, how could I get a list of names of the heads and shareholders of Vergis Corporation?"
"It should all be public record. Want me to get it?"
"That would be great," he smiled and kissed her.
Sam handed over the cash and Lee shoved it into his pocket. The dock worker blew into his gloved hands.
"It's been quiet Sam, but I asked around. There's a Sagittaron trying to rally the boys. Something about union rights and keeping our jobs safe from those frakking cylons. Zarek, I think. He's nothing but a preacher, but a lot of the guys around are listening," Lee said, blowing into his hands again.
Sam smiled and patted the man on the back, "Thanks, now get your ass out of here and somewhere warm. And that next shipment?"
Lee laughed, "What shipment?"
Sam laughed as he turned and walked away.
SEVEN
Yusif read through the names of the top executives at Vergis Corporation. The one that stood out was Tamila Vergis, head of New Technology Research. Her public profile wasn’t anything unusual, a rising star in her field. Tomas had taken her under his wing and placed a lot of responsibility on her. She was even credited with some of the theoretical framework behind the then scraped MCP project.
“Oh frak,” Yusif said re-reading the last sentence.
“Are you saying, you think that little girl is responsible for this?” Sam asked Yusif.
They were in the back of Goldie's. He lit another cigarette as Yusif pulled out the file. He held it up for him to see.
“I called in a favour and they sent me this on Tamila Vergis. Tomas pulled some strings and had her name changed. He wanted to make sure she was taken care of her entire life. She was an orphan like us. She’s brilliant apparently. She did the theoretical framework for the MCP we helped steal for Graystone. She’s been courting Colonel Sasha Patel, recently,” Yusif said.
“Who?” Sam asked.
“The Colonel who's deciding who will build the new fleet station on Sagittaron...”
“What? Sagittaron? Did you say Sagittaron?”
Yusif nodded.
“I spoke with one of my guys at the docks,” Sam said. “He said some preacher guy, Zarek, has been trying to get the workers to unionize. He’s from Sagittaron. Arrived just before all this started.”
The brothers looked at each other. They were wondering the same thing. The only problem was how could they prove it?
“Why now?” Sam said.
“She’s Tauran,” Fidelia said, strolling by. “She waited until now, because now is the time to act. Taurons have patience. She’s not going to do this half-assed.”
“Gautrau,” Sam said
“So we know who it is. Now we deal with it. Sam, handle it,” she said as she turned and walked away.
Sam looked at Yusif and then they both chuckled.
Zarek shivered as he walked back to his hotel. Something was in the air. He was a man of many beliefs, but he was also a survivor. He sensed the tide changing. He glanced over his shoulder. There was no one there. He continued walking.
Tamila brushed her hair out. She glanced down at the blade on the vanity table. She set down the brush and picked up the blade. Tomas was back on Tauron, his body in the soil where it belonged, but his soul had no peace.
“Soon, Tomas. Soon you’ll have peace.”
Amanda poured some more wine as Sarno made a joke. She was still shaken from her run-in with the GDD. The memories of Clarice and what she had done were always there. Always threatening to flood back into her waking mind and drive her back down the road to insanity. She glanced around as Daniel walked in. He looked tired.
“How was your day?”
“Dull. I spent it watching the Bucs practice,” he said lowering his head to kiss her.
“But I thought you had that meeting with Colonel Patel?”
“I pushed it back until tomorrow. Besides, I’m the obvious choice. With the cylons doing the work, it’ll cost them less and it’ll be completed in less time. Let the Colonel sweat for a day,” he said taking her into his arms.
Amanda laughed with him. They soon started chatting about Zoe and other ideas for advancing their cylon project.
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And now, back to "Vengeance Is Mine..."
EIGHT
Sam handed the snitch he had following Zarek, Jase, some cash, and he nodded to Matthew as he entered the cafe. Sam nodded and Jase shuffled along down the street. Sam pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It was going to be a long day.
“What do you mean you are taking the other offer?” Daniel asked the Colonel in disbelief.
“I mean Mr. Graystone the other bidder made a generous offer. As much as I like the idea of speed and lower cost, I have to think about the Military interest and taking your offer would be against Military interest,” she smiled.
Daniel chuckled, “Are we doing this again?”
“Doing what again Mr. Graystone?”
Daniel shook his head as Colonel Patel placed her hands behind her back and walked to the window.
“You have to understand something, Mr. Graystone. While the people like these cylons and believe them to be useful tools, they still don’t like the idea of them taking jobs away from humans. No, if we accepted your offer, we'd look as though we don’t care about them and then we lose all our support. So we’ll take the other offer. It may be a bit more costly and there will be the usual problems, but the people will see we are still listening to them and protesting their interests.”
She walked out of his office. Daniel glared at the door.
Sam looked up at the building. It was a Vergis Corporation off-world research building: the Caprican Branch. He looked at the list of names on the directory. Tamila Vergis. She was there.
He strolled in and looked around. He spotted the guard who walked out of the elevator and nodded.
“Can I help you?” the guard said.
“I could use some information. It is of the utmost importance,” Sam said in Tauron.
The guard looked at Sam. He knew the markings of the Ha’la’tha well, having a cousin in the organization, and he noticed the captain tattoo. This was not a man to deny, so he nodded.
“What do you need?”
“When does Ms. Vergis leave?”
“She stays late most nights, but when she leaves it’s with a driver. She’s usually home by midnight,” he offered.
“Where’s home?”
“I’ll get the address,” he said.
Sam smiled and followed him to the front desk.
Matthew smiled. Tamila had given him the good news. The Colonel would approve Vergis Corporation’s bid for building the new fleet station in Sagittaron space; and he would get the nomination for Minister of Labour in the upcoming elections. All he wanted was coming through.
“Now, you hold up your end of the bargain, Zarek. I want Daniel Graystone,” Tamila said.
Matthew nodded and pulled out his phone and made the phone call. He gave the order and hung up.
“It’s done. Daniel is being contacted as we speak. He’ll be at the location we agreed upon. He’ll think he’s meeting the blackmailer and instead it’ll be you. Do what you will with him,” Matthew said rising and heading to the table to pour himself a drink.
“And you?”
“I’m going to head home in a few hours,” he said.
“Of course, running away.... But if he doesn’t turn up, Matthew – there will be nowhere in the universe you can hide from me, and your precious nomination will be dust in the wind.”
Matthew swallowed the last of his drink, smiled and walked out of her office. Tamila opened the drawer and retrieved the blade. She smiled.
NINE
Daniel looked at the abandoned warehouse. He grabbed the briefcase containing two million cubits and headed inside. He wanted this nightmare with Vergis’s ghost over with. He had thought about calling Yusif, but decided he would handle it himself.
The sounds of birds taking flight made him look around. He chuckled softly and told himself to relax. He had been through much worse. He was in bed with the Ha'la'tha, it couldn’t get any worse.
“Is anyone here?”
He glanced around and felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. He thought he saw a man before he dropped to the ground and blacked out.
Tamila slapped him hard, “Wake up!”
Daniel’s head snapped to the left and then the right as he took another hard slap to his face. He finally opened his eyes to face an angry, beautiful woman staring back at him.
“Who are you? I have your money,” he said.
“I’m Tamila Vergis. I know you killed Tomas. Now, you'll suffer the same fate he did,” she said removing the blade.
“No, wait! I I didn’t kill him,” he said as his mouth filled with blood.
Tamila ignored him and showed him the blade. “Do you remember this? You used it to kill him. You didn’t even have the respect to use something else!”
“He – he,” Daniel tried to explain.
Tamila slapped him again. She was about to do it again when more birds took flight. She looked around and nodded to her bodyguard to go have a look.
She then placed the blade at Daniel’s throat and pressed the tip into his neck. She drew first blood. She laughed quietly as Daniel’s breathing sped up and she could smell the fear. She then slowly slid the blade down his neck.
“You turned the Ha'la'tha against one of their own. He was a Tauran! You are nothing but Caprican scum, but they chose you. Did you enjoy killing him? Well, I promise I will enjoy killing you,” she chuckled.
Tamila raised the blade to strike the first blow into his chest when suddenly, she felt something strange. Her body grew cold and numb as an arm wrapped tightly around her and she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Cold, solid. She smiled. She knew Tauran blades, and this had to be what was piercing her. She could feel the warmth of another body against her back, and the same arm that held her in place for the blade wrapped around her waist as her legs gave way, and suddenly she was staring up into lovely green eyes.
“Be still, it will be over soon,” Sam said softly in Tauron.
Tamila wanted to chuckle: The Tauran Enforcer. She had underestimated him. Betrayed again by her own for the Capricans. Tears slid down her cheeks. The Enforcer was comforting her in Tauron.
Tamila tried to speak but the gods were calling out to her. She smiled. Tomas was there. He was waiting for her. He was happy to see her, and proud.
I am pleased, Tamila.
“Thank you,” she said.
Sam held her until she was gone. He then said a prayer for her soul and picked her up.
“What about me?!” Daniel called out.
“I’ll be back. You’re not going anywhere,” Sam said.
He would do right by her. After all she was Tauran. And he knew what it was to be an orphan.
TEN
Gods damn it. Yusif thought. The Adamas and the Graystones were back at Goldie's. This time they were quiet. Amanda hadn’t looked up from her cup of coffee after they were told about Tamila. Daniel rubbed his neck remembering how close he had come to death. Her eyes haunted him. He could not get the look out of his head.
Sam stabbed out his cigarette. He had buried Tamila well. No one would find her. He doubted anyone else would come looking now.
Yusif sipped the last of his cold coffee.
“It’s over,” Daniel said.
“Yeah,” Sam replied.
EPILOGUE
Colonel Patel walked out of Daniel’s office with a signed contract. With Tamila missing, and the contract unsigned, the Colonel had no choice but to take his bid. Daniel poured himself a drink. He'd earned it.
On Sagittaron, Matthew roared at the TV as he listened to the announcement of Graystone's winning bid. He then walked to the window and looked out.
“Honey? Honey what happened?” his wife asked as she entered the room, concerned.
Matthew turned and smiled at his pregnant wife, “Sorry, I placed a bet on the Bucs and they lost. I should have known better. Anyway, you should be off your feet.”
He patted her belly and got down on his knees to be eye level with it. She laughed.
“Stop that,” she said.
“What?” He placed his hands on her belly just in time for some strong kicking. “He’s going to be a fighter this one is.”
“Okay, Matthew. What should we call him, if it is a him?”
Matthew stood and shrugged, “I like John. Or maybe Thomas. Yeah. How does Tom Zarek sound to you?”
Sam handed the snitch he had following Zarek, Jase, some cash, and he nodded to Matthew as he entered the cafe. Sam nodded and Jase shuffled along down the street. Sam pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It was going to be a long day.
“What do you mean you are taking the other offer?” Daniel asked the Colonel in disbelief.
“I mean Mr. Graystone the other bidder made a generous offer. As much as I like the idea of speed and lower cost, I have to think about the Military interest and taking your offer would be against Military interest,” she smiled.
Daniel chuckled, “Are we doing this again?”
“Doing what again Mr. Graystone?”
Daniel shook his head as Colonel Patel placed her hands behind her back and walked to the window.
“You have to understand something, Mr. Graystone. While the people like these cylons and believe them to be useful tools, they still don’t like the idea of them taking jobs away from humans. No, if we accepted your offer, we'd look as though we don’t care about them and then we lose all our support. So we’ll take the other offer. It may be a bit more costly and there will be the usual problems, but the people will see we are still listening to them and protesting their interests.”
She walked out of his office. Daniel glared at the door.
Sam looked up at the building. It was a Vergis Corporation off-world research building: the Caprican Branch. He looked at the list of names on the directory. Tamila Vergis. She was there.
He strolled in and looked around. He spotted the guard who walked out of the elevator and nodded.
“Can I help you?” the guard said.
“I could use some information. It is of the utmost importance,” Sam said in Tauron.
The guard looked at Sam. He knew the markings of the Ha’la’tha well, having a cousin in the organization, and he noticed the captain tattoo. This was not a man to deny, so he nodded.
“What do you need?”
“When does Ms. Vergis leave?”
“She stays late most nights, but when she leaves it’s with a driver. She’s usually home by midnight,” he offered.
“Where’s home?”
“I’ll get the address,” he said.
Sam smiled and followed him to the front desk.
Matthew smiled. Tamila had given him the good news. The Colonel would approve Vergis Corporation’s bid for building the new fleet station in Sagittaron space; and he would get the nomination for Minister of Labour in the upcoming elections. All he wanted was coming through.
“Now, you hold up your end of the bargain, Zarek. I want Daniel Graystone,” Tamila said.
Matthew nodded and pulled out his phone and made the phone call. He gave the order and hung up.
“It’s done. Daniel is being contacted as we speak. He’ll be at the location we agreed upon. He’ll think he’s meeting the blackmailer and instead it’ll be you. Do what you will with him,” Matthew said rising and heading to the table to pour himself a drink.
“And you?”
“I’m going to head home in a few hours,” he said.
“Of course, running away.... But if he doesn’t turn up, Matthew – there will be nowhere in the universe you can hide from me, and your precious nomination will be dust in the wind.”
Matthew swallowed the last of his drink, smiled and walked out of her office. Tamila opened the drawer and retrieved the blade. She smiled.
NINE
Daniel looked at the abandoned warehouse. He grabbed the briefcase containing two million cubits and headed inside. He wanted this nightmare with Vergis’s ghost over with. He had thought about calling Yusif, but decided he would handle it himself.
The sounds of birds taking flight made him look around. He chuckled softly and told himself to relax. He had been through much worse. He was in bed with the Ha'la'tha, it couldn’t get any worse.
“Is anyone here?”
He glanced around and felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. He thought he saw a man before he dropped to the ground and blacked out.
Tamila slapped him hard, “Wake up!”
Daniel’s head snapped to the left and then the right as he took another hard slap to his face. He finally opened his eyes to face an angry, beautiful woman staring back at him.
“Who are you? I have your money,” he said.
“I’m Tamila Vergis. I know you killed Tomas. Now, you'll suffer the same fate he did,” she said removing the blade.
“No, wait! I I didn’t kill him,” he said as his mouth filled with blood.
Tamila ignored him and showed him the blade. “Do you remember this? You used it to kill him. You didn’t even have the respect to use something else!”
“He – he,” Daniel tried to explain.
Tamila slapped him again. She was about to do it again when more birds took flight. She looked around and nodded to her bodyguard to go have a look.
She then placed the blade at Daniel’s throat and pressed the tip into his neck. She drew first blood. She laughed quietly as Daniel’s breathing sped up and she could smell the fear. She then slowly slid the blade down his neck.
“You turned the Ha'la'tha against one of their own. He was a Tauran! You are nothing but Caprican scum, but they chose you. Did you enjoy killing him? Well, I promise I will enjoy killing you,” she chuckled.
Tamila raised the blade to strike the first blow into his chest when suddenly, she felt something strange. Her body grew cold and numb as an arm wrapped tightly around her and she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Cold, solid. She smiled. She knew Tauran blades, and this had to be what was piercing her. She could feel the warmth of another body against her back, and the same arm that held her in place for the blade wrapped around her waist as her legs gave way, and suddenly she was staring up into lovely green eyes.
“Be still, it will be over soon,” Sam said softly in Tauron.
Tamila wanted to chuckle: The Tauran Enforcer. She had underestimated him. Betrayed again by her own for the Capricans. Tears slid down her cheeks. The Enforcer was comforting her in Tauron.
Tamila tried to speak but the gods were calling out to her. She smiled. Tomas was there. He was waiting for her. He was happy to see her, and proud.
I am pleased, Tamila.
“Thank you,” she said.
Sam held her until she was gone. He then said a prayer for her soul and picked her up.
“What about me?!” Daniel called out.
“I’ll be back. You’re not going anywhere,” Sam said.
He would do right by her. After all she was Tauran. And he knew what it was to be an orphan.
TEN
Gods damn it. Yusif thought. The Adamas and the Graystones were back at Goldie's. This time they were quiet. Amanda hadn’t looked up from her cup of coffee after they were told about Tamila. Daniel rubbed his neck remembering how close he had come to death. Her eyes haunted him. He could not get the look out of his head.
Sam stabbed out his cigarette. He had buried Tamila well. No one would find her. He doubted anyone else would come looking now.
Yusif sipped the last of his cold coffee.
“It’s over,” Daniel said.
“Yeah,” Sam replied.
EPILOGUE
Colonel Patel walked out of Daniel’s office with a signed contract. With Tamila missing, and the contract unsigned, the Colonel had no choice but to take his bid. Daniel poured himself a drink. He'd earned it.
On Sagittaron, Matthew roared at the TV as he listened to the announcement of Graystone's winning bid. He then walked to the window and looked out.
“Honey? Honey what happened?” his wife asked as she entered the room, concerned.
Matthew turned and smiled at his pregnant wife, “Sorry, I placed a bet on the Bucs and they lost. I should have known better. Anyway, you should be off your feet.”
He patted her belly and got down on his knees to be eye level with it. She laughed.
“Stop that,” she said.
“What?” He placed his hands on her belly just in time for some strong kicking. “He’s going to be a fighter this one is.”
“Okay, Matthew. What should we call him, if it is a him?”
Matthew stood and shrugged, “I like John. Or maybe Thomas. Yeah. How does Tom Zarek sound to you?”
Caprica ©2010, Syfy. A Division of NBC Universal.
Beginning of Line is a fan site with no affiliation to Caprica, Syfy, or NBC Universal. You should totes know that.
And "Vengeance Is Mine" belongs to Rhesa Sealy. No, the characters aren't hers, and she can't get paid for it, but if you want to reprint it anywhere, it'd be nice if you asked.
Beginning of Line is a fan site with no affiliation to Caprica, Syfy, or NBC Universal. You should totes know that.
And "Vengeance Is Mine" belongs to Rhesa Sealy. No, the characters aren't hers, and she can't get paid for it, but if you want to reprint it anywhere, it'd be nice if you asked.
