Garibaldi and Flynn departed the Asimov with about one hundred and fifty others. Waiting for them was Proxima security chief Rosemary Ambrus, who joined as them left the luggage collection point.

“Hello gentlemen. I never figured you’d be needing to bring suitcases with you, it this an unofficial holiday?”

The woman was in a good mood about something, but Garibaldi struggled to discover what it was. He looked around the dark and dirty place, and could only conclude she’d been promoted and preparing to leave for another position.

“Please follow me, gentlemen,” she said in her cheery voice, “we have prepared some quarters for the two of you.”

* * *

“One bed. Just one bed.”

Garibaldi looked around the hotel room. It looked like one of those honeymoon suites he’d seen in a vid or two. Beside him, Flynn dropped his suitcase.

“You take it, chief.”

“You better believe I’m taking it.”

Flynn looked out the window in the main room. I had a brilliant view of the streets, although they weren’t much to look at. Garibaldi threw himself onto the king-sized bed. “I’m going to take a little nap. Wake me in about four or five hours.”

“OK, Chief.” Flynn quietly left the area and, when he heard no noise from Garibaldi, left the room. Garibaldi heard him close the door, and walked over to the main window Flynn had been looking through, and after a few minutes saw the security officer jump into a taxi.

* * *

The bar was full of smoke. Flynn made the sarcastic guess that a smokers’ convention was holding a meeting, and continued about his work.

He saw a Narn in the corner, with another Narn guard at each side. Flynn walked up to him. “Mr. Fa’Log, I presume?”

“And who are you?”

“I am Sean.. O’Casey. I was wondering if you knew where I could purchase some dust.”

“It will cost you.”

“You damned Narns will sell anyth--” The two guards moved in on him. “And how much will the information cost?”

“Fifty credits.”

Flynn mumbled something inaudibly to the Narn. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and give the Narn fifty credits.

Fa’Log handed Flynn a piece of paper with the address on it. If this address didn’t hold the position of Deuce, Flynn knew he wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of finding him.

“Thank you,” he said as he turned around and left the presence of the three Narn. Garibaldi watched as he left through a back way, then walked up to the Narn. “Where did you send him?”

“Send who?”

“The man who came in before me.”

“It is not good for business to give away the locations of my clients.”

Garibaldi pulled up his pullover to show the energy cap of his PPG. The two Narn guards moved in on him, but he elbowed both in the stomach and they went crashing to the floor. “Now, where did he go?”

The Narn gave a worried smile.

* * *

Flynn pulled the PPG out of the back of his trousers and another from his shoulder brace. With one in each hand, he silently moved down the corridor, following Deuce’s unmistakable voice.

Just before he kicked the door down, Garibaldi slipped up beside Flynn with his own PPG drawn.

“How the hell--?”

“The Narn who gave you the address was very helpful once I convinced him to be.”

“We’ll go on three.”

“Hey,” Garibaldi said. “I’m the security chief around here. Now we’ll go on three.”

“Aye, sir.”

“One, two, three!”

The two kicked the door down, but to find the room empty. Flynn walked up to a recording device playing Deuce's voice and hit stop. He saw a note on the table.

He picked it up, and read it aloud: “Suckers!”

A build-up started in the room that Garibaldi recognised as a bomb. He grabbed Flynn and pushed him out of the room before diving himself. A large fireball quickly followed.

“No… no,” Flynn said quietly as he lay on the ground. “He got away again.”

“Don’t worry Sean, we’ll get him.”

* * *

Flynn walked into the war room on B5 slowly and quietly. Captain Sheridan, Commander Ivanova, Doctor Franklin, Mr. Garibaldi and oddly enough Ambassador Delenn were waiting on him.

“Please sit, Sergeant,” Sheridan said.

“Yes, sir.” Flynn quickly took a seat beside his chief.

Sheridan hit a button on his link, and the PA for the room only turned on. It played a conversation between Garibaldi and Flynn.

    “Yeah, but who would you choose between if there were a split: them or us?”

    “You, of course. I’d never turn my back on you guys--”

Sheridan it the button on his link to stop the chat, “Can we trust you to your words, Sergeant Flynn?”

“Yes, sir. Absolutely.”

“Then let’s get started. I believe you’ve been having images flicker about in your head since the incident with the Mr. Garibaldi.”

“Yes.”

“Then we should explain them. We’ll start about the Shadows.”

“Is this ‘The Darkness’?”

“Yes. We’ll explain them to you first.”

Sheridan notioned to Delenn. She leaned forward in the chair to put her elbows on the table, “There are beings in the galaxy millions of years older than any of our races…”
 

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