Message-ID: <37327FC1.BE43AEF2@earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 06 May 1999 23:53:05 -0600 From: Katherine Freymuth Subject: Tears of Betrayal - Chap 5 (reformatted) Tears of Betrayal Chapter 5 "Brown sugar. How come you taste so good? Brown sugar. Just like a black girl should." She quickly shut off the radio, quieting Mick Jagger's question. Despite what she had told Al, Verbina didn't take a nap. Instead, only minutes after she arrived in her quarters, she went to her desk to work, turning on the radio on her desk for a bit of distraction. But when she heard the Rolling Stones' rocking tribute to either an illegal drug or a black slave woman, she couldn't listen to it. Mick Jagger wasn't the only one to sing those lines that day and she really didn't want to focus on the other person who sang those lines. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much. It wasn't the first time she heard it from a guest. But this time, she couldn't just shrug it off like she had done before. This time, there was intensity in the way Dick sang those words. It frightened her greatly. The problem was he hadn't done anything that could be constituted as overt sexual harassment. A couple of lines from a Rolling Stones song and a few glances were nothing Verbina hadn't handled before and she wasn't sure why she couldn't handle it this time. She wondered if Susan received the same kind of treatment from him and, if she did, how she handled it. Did she handle it at all? Did she just accept it as being harmless or did she just put up with it? Verbina looked at her clock and noticed that five hours had passed relatively unnoticed by her. She sighed. She didn't really want to but she knew she had to go check on the guest to see how he was doing and to see if she could get anymore information from him. She slowly made her way to the Waiting Room, taking a handlink and putting it in her lab coat pocket as she passed the control console. Taking a breath, she stepped into the Waiting Room, preparing herself for "round three with Mr. Chauvinist Pig." "Well, well," Dick said with a lustful smile. "Chocolate pudding is back." Verbina took a breath, trying to ignore his comment. "I came to see how you were," she told him very professionally. He smiled and walked closer to her. "I'm just dandy like candy now that you're here." She took a step back, suddenly feeling more than a little uncomfortable. "Please, Mr. Anderson-Kemp. I would appreciate if you behaved less familiar with me." He smiled mischievously. "Oh, come on, Verbina. May I call you Verbina?" He came closer to her and circled her slightly. "No. You may call me Dr. Beeks," she told him firmly. He shook his head. "I don't think so, Verbina." A voice screamed out in her mind, ordering her to leave. She didn't hesitate in her actions. She immediately headed for the Waiting Room door. Dick blocked her exit, a dangerous look on his face. "Step out of my way, Mr. Anderson-Kemp," she ordered as firmly as she could. "Or what?" he questioned with a small, sarcastic smile. She tried to walk around him but he blocked her every attempt. "If you don't get out of my way, I will have to call security," she warned. He grabbed her wrist quickly and pulled her towards him. "Then call them," he replied before kissing her forcibly on the lips. He quickly forced her towards a wall, his kiss preventing her from any sound except low muffles as she struggled to get away from him. She started to hit him, trying to force him to release her. Her efforts didn't seem to be working, resulting only in her arms being forced behind her back so that they were pinned painfully against the wall. She felt his hand caress her inside thigh, his intentions obvious. Fear overcame her, causing her to forget two things that were to her advantage. The first was that he would have to let go of her to get off the Fermisuit he was wearing. The second marched through the door and yanked her assailant from her before giving him a hard right cross to the jaw, causing the man to fall to the floor. Verbina didn't see her savior but she had an idea of who it was. Her suspicions were confirmed when strong yet gentle masculine hands held her shoulders and concerned brown eyes looked into hers. "Are you okay, Verbina?" Al questioned, obvious anger in his voice. Fortunately, the object of his anger was also obvious. She hesitated before nodding a bit. "Yeah. I think so." His face softened. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?" For a moment, she was silent before she nodded again. "Yeah, I think I will," she replied just before she promptly fainted directly into his arms. --- Sam worried. He was pretty good at that, especially since it was past noon and there was still no word from Al. Of course, Sam couldn't remember what time it was for his Admiral partner. He couldn't remember if Al was sleeping or not. He certainly didn't expect the Observer to appear looking as if he were ready to kill. "Al, what's wrong?" Sam asked as he stood from Dick's office chair. Al didn't answer for a moment. "We know what happened to Susan." The words caught Sam's attention. "You know who kills her?" he questioned. "Ziggy doesn't but I sure as hell do!" Al told him with deep anger, starting to pace to find a way to vent it. "Who?" "That bastard in the Waiting Room, that's who!" Sam's eyes widened. "What?!" "The sleazebag just tried to rape Verbina and I'd bet he's the one who murdered Susan." His voice was filled with controlled rage. "He tried to..." Sam started in shock. "How is she?" Al sighed with frustration. "She passed out completely after I stopped the bastard from going too far. I carried her to her quarters and put her to bed. I think she'll be okay, though. She's just a little shocked about what happened and I don't blame her. Luckily, he didn't get very far in his attempt." Sam exhaled with no small amount of relief. "Thank goodness for that." He took a breath, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Al, if Dick's the one who does it, then shouldn't I be leaping? I'm not about to hurt Susan." Al shook his head. "No, Sam. You have to get Susan away from him. The further away from him she is the better. You have to make sure that Dick won't bother her when he comes back from the future." Sam nodded a bit. "How do I do that? Rejecting her will only upset her and her rejecting Dick will only cause him to get angry when he returns. What if he goes after her again?" He looked at his partner firmly. "Al, I think Dick's been abusing Susan. If not physically, then mentally because she always seems terrified of offending me. What if he goes after her when he gets back?" "Good questions," Al commented. "Knowing Susan, she won't leave Charlottesville when her business is doing so well. So, he'd be able to find her quite easily." He straightened a bit, obviously having come to a decision. "We're just going to have to convince him to leave her alone." Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "You're going to try to intimidate him?" Al looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I can be pretty damn intimidating when in dress uniform." Sam smiled. "No doubt. How is she now?" "Susan?" Al questioned for confirmation. "She's taking a brief lunch break." "What kind of shop does she have?" Sam asked. "Coffee and pastry shop. It's more like a delicatessen." Sam smiled. "No wonder it does so well. Her days must be exhausting." "They are but she loves every minute of it." He took a breath. "Sam, I'm going to go check on Verbina before I go rattle Dick's chain. Appropriate nickname for him," he finished with a mutter. Sam nodded. "I'll see what I can come up with to get Susan away from him. Good luck." Al nodded as well. "Thanks. You too."