Paved with Good Intentions, Part III: No Clean Hands
Posted on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 10:12am by Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal & Lieutenant James Constantine
Edited on on Wed Aug 5th, 2026 @ 11:05am
2,089 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Cold Cases
Location: Ing Colony, Outskirts of Syndicate/Federation Territory
Timeline: 2389, After Part II
Whatever small admissions were being squeezed out of Jayzen were too little too late. Constantine pressed both hands on the table, leaning forward on it, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Then what are you, Jayzen? Because from where I'm standing, you look like scum. I'm putting an end to this. Tonight. No more buying and selling, no more people disappearing without anyone even blinking....I'm bringing them down, and *you* are going to tell the authorities every single dirty little secret you know and testify against them..."
"That was always the deal, man. I knew I would have to testify," Jayzen continued to plead. "Didn't I give you what you needed. If you get me off this rock, I'm done." Constantine wanted more from him than that and Jayzen knew it, but to do what Constantine was asking was writing Jayzen's own death sentence. The Syndicate would get to him one way or another, even if he were in a Federation prison for his own crimes, they would still find their way to him.
"Off this rock? Jayzen, you've turned into a depraved criminal, you're going to prison for what you've done!" Constantine warned him in no uncertain terms, his eyes flashing with rage.
"Surely I can work out some sort of deal," Jayzen was speaking rapidly now as panic levels started to rise. "They'll cut me a deal. I'm good for it. I can plead guilty, probation, a work camp, something. They'll kill me in prison. You know they will."
"A deal...a deal...?" Constantine watched him with disbelief, the bile and disgust rising in him at the way this man wanted to slip away without taking responsibility. "Like the deals you made to get access to those women? Do you think those vulnerable people who have been sold like cattle were cut any deals?"
"Okay, okay... we can work this out." Jayzen continued to plead, but he was already planning to run, and if caught fight for his life if he had to. He wasn't sure how he'd pay to get off the planet, but he'd figure that out later. One step at a time. And right now, he meant that literally - one step at a time as he inched his way to the exit, keeping his eyes on Constantine, watching him for any sudden movements.
But Constantine was a trained intelligence officer through and through. He was hard wired to recognise and react to threats. He tilted his head as he clocked the movement for what it was, his eyes turning cold as they narrowed in a glare that radiated 'you unbelievable bastard'. He moved slowly, matching the other man, circling like an animal. "Don't do it, Jayzen," he warned between gritted teeth.
Jayzen bolted for the door at a dead sprint, faking right and running left in attempt to get around Constantine's attempt to block him from leaving.
Constantine grabbed at him, the familiar rush of adrenaline spiking through him. Jayzen was faster than he had anticipated, clearly powered by his own survival instinct. He almost caught him, but the speed with which he bolted allowed him to slip out of his grasp. He turned sharply, pushing forward to grab at the back of his jacket, yanking hard.
The pull from the jacket came quick and sudden, giving him little time to react. The sudden change in direction knocked his feet out from under him, and he started to fall to his knees, but Constantine still had a hold of him, breaking his fall. Jayzen started swinging wildly, like a wild animal, simultaneously trying to get his footing underneath him. He managed to shrug one arm out of his jacket and took a hard swing at Constantine's jaw.
The first swings missed, but the third finally connected with Constantine's middle, making him groan and grit his teeth. The weight of the twisting body now hanging half out of the jacket pulled the desperate man the rest of the way out of the flimsy item of clothing. Constantine threw the now empty jacket aside with an angry snap of his arm before making a grab for him.
Jayzen saw Constantine coming after him and crouched down as he started to charge back lowering his center of gravity. He took a hard drive with his shoulder into Constantine's pelvis and tried to hook his arm under his left leg in an effort to knock him to the ground.
Constantine let him. His trauma trained body instinctively tightened as he hit the ground, making him gasp with the impact...but it also gave him the tension he needed to keep moving, rolling as he hit, his strong grip dragging Jayzen with him. The intelligence officer was usually known for his ability to keep a cool head under fire. He wasn't sure which nerve had been hit or why, but for once, he was far from cool. He was burning with anger, and each attempt from Jayzen to escape the consequences of his rotten actions only made it burn hotter.
Jayzen found himself locked in Constantine's grip, as Constantine went down. Constantine broke Jayzen's fall, but it didn't put him in any better of a position as Constantine took their momentum and sent them rolling. Jayzen had just wanted to get away, and now he was locked into a grappling match, and the man he was fighting with was not letting go.
Jayzen ended up partially pinned to the ground, but Jayzen's body wasn't completely under his opponent's. He'd been granted the mercy of landing at an angle that left the left side of the body still mostly free. He didn't have much time to think, he just instinctively fought, feeling the urgency of this life or death moment. He bent his knee the best his could to get his left heel planted on the floor and tried to lift his core off of the floor and push himself with his right foot, trying to gain more of an angle as he wrapped left arm around Constantine's abdomen and pressed the right side of his face into the man's ribcage. He needed to keep himself off the floor. He couldn't let himself get pinned.
"Stay...down...!" the primal shout ripped from Constantine's throat, something between a warning and a command. He could feel the raw adrenaline fuelled strength of the other man pushing back at him, but it only stoked the flame in him higher. He drove his elbow down into his shoulder to try and break the vice like grip around his middle. He felt his foot sliding, Jayzen gaining traction through brute force.
Jayzen didn't have the angle or the momentum to break free from Constantine's grip, but he refused to give up, writhing and pushing and pulling to try to get Constantine to loosen his grip. He felt the driving force of Constantine's elbow hit a tender part of shoulder and his grip slipped. In an act of desperation to try to cause the man some pain, some distraction to give Jayzen an edge, a moment to get away, he opened his mouth and bit down hard. his teeth finding flesh near Constantine's flank.
Constantine gasped out, the pain melding with anger and determination not to let this degenerate get away with what he'd done. With his body screaming danger, one arm tackled the man, trying to get around his neck to pull him back, and the other pushed down to try and grab the knife in his boot.
It happened too quickly for Jayzen to process what was happening - Constantine's arm around his neck, the flash of a blade, a glint of a shine coming from Constantine's boot. Jayzen lifted the heel of his own boot and contorted his body, trying to kick at where he saw Constantine reaching for the knife.
Constantine gritted his teeth against the burst of pain in his wrist. He'd managed to grab the knife and pull it free, but the kick had sent it clattering to the ground. He redoubled his efforts to pin the wild man, shifting his weight to try and turn them into the bargain, so he could try and reach for the knife.
Jayzen did his best to throw his body away from the knife, trying to bring Constantine with him. He needed to get this wild man away from the weapon. It was too much of a wild card. Jayzen wasn't a killer and he didn't want to die. He had two priorities: get James away from the knife and get himself free so he could break out and run. He didn't know how he'd get off this rock, but it wouldn't be in a body bag.
Constantine hit the ground hard again as Jayzen twisted away, dragging them both across the floor in a scuffle of boots and limbs. The knife skittered just out of reach. "You want to run?" he hissed, his voice low from exertion and fury as they rolled. "You think you get to run after what you did?"
Constantine's knee drove forward, aiming to trap Jayzen's thigh and pin his hips while his forearm slammed down across his collarbone. He was struggling to breathe, but not from the fight. His mind was screaming. 'Get control. End this. Don't let him get away'. But the cool handler voice that usually guided him was buried under the betrayal and rage. "I trusted you," he ground out, his eyes wild. "I told command you were worth it...but you exploited those people, and think you can run from it!"
Jayzen tried to crawl away from Constantine, get his body out from under him somehow, someway. But his opponent was tall - tall enough to sprawl his arms and legs out enough over Jayzen in such a way that Constantine was able to keep his body weight pressed down on Jayzen from multiple angles. It hadn't taken a knockout punch to leave him feeling pinned. With Constantine's knees pinning the lower half of his body, there was little Jayzen could do with his legs. The pressure against Jayzen's collar bone triggered a next level of threat.
Jayzen only had his hands to fight back with, but he had no good angles in this position. Still, he desperately grabbed a hold of Constantine's forearm with his right hand, trying to pull his arm down away from his throat while trying to reach for the man's fist with his other hand to help with this endeavor.
Constantine barely felt Jayzen's fingers digging into his wrist, the adrenaline burning through his system. "Stop...fighting..." he growled, breathless with the effort of trying to pin him.
But Jayzen wouldn't stop.
Constantine felt him buck and roll violently beneath him, twisting dangerously closer to the knife, and he reacted on instinct to stop him. He hooked an arm around Jayzen's upper chest and yanked him backwards. Hard. Too hard.
Jayzen's head snapped back with a sickening crack.
Constantine froze as the other man's body sagged in his grip. "Jayzen?"
The silence lingered on and his anger melted away as quickly as it had overtaken him. He let him go, rolling him onto his back to touch his face, searching for any sign of life...even if he already knew, deep down, there wouldn't be any.
"Jayzen," the name came out sharper that time, in one last moment of denial.
Constantine sank back heavily, just staring at the body as he caught his breath, lifting the side of his hand to press to his mouth.
One split second reaction and everything was a mess. A man was dead. His orders not to interfere in the criminal operation disobeyed.
Clambering to his feet, Constantine wiped blood from his face, still breathing hard. He grabbed the knife and chit, stumbling towards the door to get back out to the night air...and to try and figure out what happened next.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Corin Layal as Jayzen Drake
Judge Advocate General, USS Artemis
First Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant James Constantine
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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