"So, Mr. Rivik, may I ask what you have planned for the investigation?"
It took Rivik a quick second to tear his eyes off the arrogant new comer to the situation. He would have to talk to others about this.... When he finally answered it sounded like he was not expecting to have someone so soon in his lap.. "I have requested the background investigation files on the courier in question. Hopefully, it will provide us with a base line- who is he, where did he come from, what is his background, etc. That unfortunately will take a day or two to arrive. The State, Justice and Security Ministeries have taken to squabbling over exactly who has jurisdiction over the files and what is to be sent. The Ambassador is working with the officials on Bajor to straighten that out. I did not want to go too far before that arrived. I did not want to question the individual without having some background. My experience has taught me to know the individual as much as possible, and taylor my interrogations accordingly." Joe looked at Dais for his reaction before he made his reply. Dais found it hard to believe that the Chief of Staff of the Embassey would not know some information from the personnel files of a diplomat being assigned to the consulate, but decided that as the good cop, it was not really his place to do the questioning. "How long do you think it will take to get those records? I would appreciate it if Mr. Garibaldi and myself were able to have access to those files as soon as they arive as well.' Joe added, "In fact it will be a requirement." Rivik gave an unimpressed answer. "They should be here in a day or two." "Good. But, I am a bit unclear, Mr. Rivik, why is it taking so long to get background information on a diplomatic courier? You should have something along the lines of that information here at the embassy. Why are we waiting? We should be able to start with what you have until the complete files arrive. Why not search his quarters and his work areas? There is no need to wait like this." "This is a very complicated dicploatic issue, Commander Garibaldi. We do things differently. We are more cautious, certain when we act. We have to be in the realm of diplomacy." "Obviously you do, because you do not seem to upset that one of your people brought a severed hand onto this station. You appear to be more worried about offending someone. Offending a courier..." Garibaldi just let the comment hang in the air. He was just falling short of accusing the Chief of Staff of covering up the incident. Dais leaned forward to get the attention of the two men. "I agree that this is a diplomatically delicate situation, Mr. Rivik. That is why I brought the incident to your attention and requested that the investigation be completed in tandem. At the same time, I think that it is important that we share all the information that we have and try to get this resolved quickly. Perhaps you could explain to us why we must be so delicate with dealing with your representative. That might help us understand better and come up with a timetable solution that suits both of us." (response) Jack _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
