JP - Lt. Ikaia Wong & Arthur Summerside: Tip of the Iceberg (Part 1)
kabanning
((Amity Outpost - Grand Mezzanine, Food Court))
Ikaia scrolled through his PADD idly. A mug of coffee next to him. He wore an expression of intense concentration on his face. As to why, he was in the middle of a medical mystery.
It had all started a week earlier with a Bolian couple who were admitted into the Medical Centre with a nasty case of food poisoning. Truthfully, that would have been hard to do with a replicator but not impossible if it were malfunctioning. But the couple had been eating out that day. Then there was a man from an entirely different eatery who had also come down with the illness followed by a visiting Klingon merchant and his Andorian partner. Finally, more and more cases kept building up. Each from a different restaurant. There had to have been something linking all the cases together. But it was hard to say. THAT was what was so baffling.
He heard some footsteps approaching him. He briefly looked up. It was as if the footsteps had snapped him out of his thoughts.
Wong: Aloha, Mister Summerside. How are things?
Summerside: ::Gruffly:: Miserable. As usual.
Wong: And the news business?
Summerside: Worse - if you can believe it. ::Clearing his throat:: No, that ain’t all true. The station’s got more “buzz” than ever before – but, there are complications on my own end. ::Waving his hand dismissively:: Ahh, never mind. Forget I said anything. The news business is peachy.
Arthur stood with his hands in his pockets, staring sullenly at Amity’s Chief Medical Officer. The truth was that, as a freshly-independent journalist, he was going to have to make a name for himself with something splashy. He’d tracked down something intriguing and Ikaia Wong was the man to talk to about it… Only he was still feeling sore about the last time they’d met. The Klingon CMO had tantalized him with a potential story hook (granted, a pitiable human interest piece) and then pulled the rug out from under him with a single-word answer.
Not to mention the other business with his final Briori Sun article that had Arthur walking on egg-shells.
Summerside: I’ve got a few questions…
Ikaia locked his PADD to prevent anyone from looking at it as he put it down. He can still remember what Starfleet has told him about this man.
Wong: I suppose that's to be expected. Is there anything I can help you with?
Summerside: That depends.
Wong: Huh? What do you mean?
Summerside: I’m working a story right now involving a sudden outbreak of food poisoning on the station. Figured you were the guy to talk to. Only I don’t want the same run-around you gave me last time.
Ikaia raised an eyebrow. He did have a limit on what he could tell the reporter especially if he didn't get permission from his higher ups on reporting on anything Starfleet or Diplomatic Corps related. Then there was, of course, Summerside’s recent article that had him uneasy.
Wong: If you're asking if you can interview me, then you know what that process is. Although, given recent events, I’m not sure if I can grant such an interview. However, it seems like you're aware of something here.
Summerside: ::Smiling slyly:: Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Either way, I ain’t sharing anything ‘til I know this is going to be an equitable arrangement.
Of course Summerside would come up with that! And that's when Ikaia's Oath made itself mentally known. If he didn't get Summerside's help, people were going to continue to suffer and he shouldn't prolong suffering. At the same time if he DID get Summerside's help, it was risky and could breach protocol if he wasn't careful. As it was, this was a dicey dilema.
Wong: And what do you suppose is equitable?
Summerside: ::With a coy shrug:: I want something you have – access to information.. oO now that I’ve been practically black-listed by a furious Betazoid. Oo ..and I have something that you might want – connections. Familiarity with every eatery and gin joint on this station and dock workers to boot.
Ikaia furrowed his brows.
Wong: Let me see if I understand you…. You want me to choose between patient suffering or my integrity as a Starfleet officer?
Summerside: Now now, let’s not get all high-and-mighty. I’m just trying to help us both out. With all the ‘slow news days’ we have out here, what choice have I got but to wile away my hours with the comfort of barrel-aged whiskey and greasy spoon delights? That kind of rapport doesn’t come easily. You burst into a bunch of restaurants shouting ‘food poisoning’ you might be met with a bit of resistance… ‘You want what I’m offering or not?
The tables were absolutely turned on him. He could see that one a mile away. Patients were counting on him to track down what was causing their illness and he absolutely did not want anyone else getting sick.
Ikaia had a way around this if his reports on the incident were public domain or grantable under an FOI request. It was a way he could still do this and still get help.
Wong: Alright. But here's how it's going to work - there are real victims here between people who have encountered the tainted food and the business owners who now have their livelihoods at risk because of this incident. We need to keep them in mind with whatever we say or do.
Summerside: Hey, come on now. I’m a man of the people. I love the little guy.
Ikaia held up his finger.
Wong: That means that you can report this once my report is made public. It's a legal way of making this work. I help my patients and you get your story. Do we have an… equitable arrangement, hm?
Arthur rubbed the lucky quarter in his pocket. Wong was clearly onto the game – they all were. But that didn’t mean Arthur couldn’t still play. It just meant he had to adjust his tactics. And he’d resolved to make 2399 a year of success. So far, that had been a complete bust. He needed this to help turn things around.
Summerside: Swell.
Ikaia nodded.
Wong: Alright. Now that we have that sorted. We need to figure out the common link between all the eateries targeted by the outbreak. You claim to know something, correct?
Arthur waved Wong over and leaned back on the railing behind him as he waited for the Klingon to get up from the table. Once they were both standing, Summerside began walking, one hand firmly tucked in his coat pocket, the other gesticulating as he spoke.
Summerside: It’s not so much what I know as it is who I know. If you want trouble-free access to the kitchens without all the red-tape and paperwork – you know, to catch this thing quickly and put a stop to it before anyone else gets sick – then you’ll need someone who’s already paved those inroads. ::Pointing at himself with his thumb:: That’d be me.
Wong: I never took you for a foodie, Mister Summerside. You're certainly full of surprises. So… where is your first lead?
Summerside: A what now? If you’re calling me a gourmand, Mr. Wong, you got the wrong guy. I like to eat, same as anyone else. But for me, every burger is as good as a handshake. Every milkshake is a ‘howdoyado?’ First stop - Edna’s.
Once again, he raised an eyebrow. He has never heard of Edna's before.
Wong: Edna's?
Summerside: Best breakfast this side of the Devore Imperium. Just ignore the stains on the walls – Edna’s has been here since this place was still ‘Copernicus’.
Wong: And you're ah certain of this place?
Ikaia was a little skeptical of Summerside's description of this place. He hoped this was not another one of the restaurants targeted in the food poisoning incident.
Summerside: Relax. This place is safe. I ate there last night and I’m still feeling fit as a fiddle! ::Pounding his chest once to emphasize his point:: But, if you want the scoop on what’s going on in the kitchens of Amity Outpost, you gotta start where the griddle is hottest. And let me tell you, the griddle is mighty hot at Edna’s.
Arthur gave Wong a grin that he expected would mean nothing to the uncharacteristically reserved Klingon. He couldn’t help himself. For once, one of his schemes was really paying off. Even if he had to wait for the conclusion of Wong’s research, he knew the wait wouldn’t be long. The CMO was practically foaming at the mouth to get this matter resolved. Besides, if he genuinely helped crack this case, maybe – just maybe – he could buy himself a little forgiveness from the Amity brass.
Wong: Alright. If you think this is going to work, show me the way. I suspect that this Edna's isn't on the Mez?
Summerside: Right you are. Hop the train with me. We’re going to C-Town.
Wong: Okay. Lead the way, Mister Summerside.
Continued in Part 2 / 8…
Lieutenant Ikaia Wong PA-C
Chief Medical Officer
Amity Outpost
V239711IW0
Arthur Summerside
Civilian Journalist,
Amity Outpost
V239806K11