Where To Start
Posted on Sun Aug 14th, 2016 @ 4:54pm by Commander Jordan Gunning
Mission:
Lie Of Omission
Location: Galactic South Investigations [Deck 600]
Timeline: Two weeks after arrival on Starbase 332, Case Day 1
Gunning's heels cracked the desk as they clattered down onto it. Drinking was worth a try. He had no idea where to start on his target board and he was starting to think that most of the Sojourner remnants would likely have gone to ground or wormed their way back into the Vinarian Syndicate. He had nothing to go on, no business - although he supposed it had only been a week, and was beginning to think he'd have been better off back in uniform.
In she walked, Gunning barely noted what she looked like, all he could see was a big walking bar of latinum. He grabbed for the bottle of whisky to shove it back in a drawer and almost sent himself head over heels, just managing to grab himself at the last second and leap to his feet.
"Are you Jordan Gunning?" She asked. She was middle-aged and looked like she'd been crying since she started pre-school. She had one of those faces that the galaxy just couldn't stop punching. She looked to upset to have noticed his balancing act and probably wouldn't notice the board full of Sojourner mugshots on the back wall. Nevertheless he punched a button to retract the wall.
"The very same." He motioned toward a chair and she took it gratefully as though her legs had grown bored of holding up her body. "What can I do for you?"
"It's my son." She said simply which led Gunning to look over her shoulder. Things like this usually led to some sap walking through the door and shooting him with some kind of dart. Nothing came. "He disappeared on Archa-Four. He's a student at the institute."
"And you're Archan?" The question seemed apt - it was often impossible to tell in low light since the light ridge around their eyes was pretty damned subtle.
"No, Mister Gunning. I'm not Archan." She seemed offended, probably racist, not that it mattered. "I live on the station and I know you used to be a Starfleet officer, that's why I want you to help me to find my son. I trust you and I trust Starfleet to deliver my son home to me."
Gunning had her pegged. Archa IV could be a really appealing prospect for human students at the Institute - if they found the right streets, in the right towns, they could live there for an entire summer and not even get halfway through their student allowance. He already had an idea of where the kid would be and why he didn't want to come back.
She must have noticed him weighing up the job. "I can pay. Handsomely." She showed him a number on a PADD, a very impressive number at that. He looked her up and down. She didn't seem like the typical terrified parent and had the tone of someone who knew fine well where their kid was but wanted to blow the whole thing out of proportion. More money than sense, more money than parenting skills.
"Sure, I'll help you." Gunning said, reaching across the desk to shake her hand. A deal was a deal after all, even if her kid was just strung out in some backroom drug den.
Jordan Gunning
Private Investigator
