The Heat Is On In LA (Star Trek Voyager, The Closer, Kathryn Janeway, Brenda Leigh Johnson)

[divinemissem13]

Title: The Heat Is On In LA
Fandoms: Star Trek Voyager, The Closer
Pairing/ Characters: Kathryn Janeway & Brenda Leigh Johnson
Content Notes: N/A
Prompt: beating the heat

Kathryn looks down over the boardwalk at the throngs of people walking, skating, biking, and dancing in the hot sun. They don't appear to be bothered by the heat, but then they are all dressed for it. She could kill Tom Paris for picking out this white polyester pant suit. Not only does it seem a bit out of date, but the synthetic fabric is sticking to her in all the wrong places, plastered to her skin by sweat. This is decidedly not the right outfit for a day at the beach in 20th century LA.

No wonder this entire city got swallowed up by the ocean, Kathryn thinks bitterly as she peels the damp strands of her ponytail off of her neck, hoping to at least catch a breeze on what little bare skin she has. No such luck though because in addition to the heat, the air is oppressively stagnant and as an extra bonus, smells faintly of exhaust and burnt rubber.

Kathryn sighs and attempts to sneak another look at her tricorder. It's hard to go unnoticed when she already sticks out like a sore thumb in this stupid suit. Briefly, she wonders if maybe Tom was wrong about this too — if maybe it wouldn't be so odd for her to be looking at a hand held device out in the open — but decides it's better not to chance it as she ducks her head to peek inside her jacket, hoping that she doesn't look too terribly suspicious.

---

If she has to hear Tau explain the forensic evidence on this case one more time, Brenda is going to scream. They have been sitting in this van for four hours (only four?!?) and they still have another two before Buzz and Gabriel show up to take over. There has been absolutely zero criminal activity, she ran out of candy an hour ago, and she is pretty sure that the air conditioning is malfunctioning.

Brenda doesn't often admit to being wrong, but she really should have listened to Fritz this morning when he said that the team could handle this one without her. It's just that she hadn't really wanted to spend the day with Fritz either, shopping for new sheets or towels or something, so off to the stakeout she went. And now, she's paying for it.

Brenda adjusts her glasses and squints at the screen. She is looking for any excuse to get out of this oven and she finds one. "What's that woman doin' over there?" she asks, pointing to a woman who keeps looking at something inside of her blazer and then looking over her shoulder as if she's being watched (well, she is being watched but that's beside the point).

"I don't know, Chief. But you know, DNA indicated that we are looking for a male latino, so-"

"I'm gonna check it out anyway," Brenda interrupts with a tone that leaves no room for argument. "Looks like she's got a camera. Maybe she got something useful without even realizin' it."

Before Tau can protest again, Brenda is out of the van and squinting into the bright California sun. She probably should have grabbed her sunglasses, but she's not going back now so instead she marches herself over to the woman in the white pants suit (Sharon would be proud because even Brenda can tell that it's out of fashion. Although the suspect does wear it well).

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson of the LAPD and I was hopin' I might get a look at whatever you've got on that camera." Brenda tries to act casual, despite the fact that she began this conversation by giving her full name and title, but she's never really been good at casual.

It doesn't seem like this woman is too good at casual either because she appears to grow about a foot taller as her face morphs into a no nonsense expression of authority. Her hands go behind her back in what Brenda recognizes as a military stance and she is all at once intimidated and intrigued. Who is this woman?

---

"Captain Kathryn Janeway of the… of the Bloomington Police Department," Kathryn declares, deflating just a little as she stumbles over the name of her department. She drops her arms to her side and smiles crookedly. "Sorry, reflex. I'm just here for a visit. And I'm afraid I haven't taken any pictures today."

If Kathryn wasn't sweating before, she certainly is now. She's trying to fly under the radar and instead practically gives her full name and serial number to a police officer? And a deputy chief too, which, if she had to guess from the look of pride on the other woman's face definitely outranks a captain in this hierarchy.

She curses Tom again for coming up with this ridiculous outfit, and for leaving her all alone out here. Where the hell is he anyway? They were supposed to be doing a quick perimeter search but it's definitely been more than the agreed upon five minutes.

Kathryn looks back at Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson who was not deterred by Kathryn's lack of photographs and in fact is now squinting at her, as if trying to figure Kathryn out. That really won't do. She needs a distraction.

Kathryn gathers her ponytail again and pulls it over her shoulder, hoping to create at least a small breeze with the motion. When that doesn't work, she begins to fan herself desperately with her hand. "Sure is hot out here!" Kathryn mentally kicks herself. Why is it so easy for her to open diplomatic negotiations with a hostile alien species and yet so difficult for her to make small talk with one single human woman?

---

Brenda still doesn't know quite what to make of this woman, but she is pretty sure that she doesn't have any sort of involvement in her case. She is definitely intriguing though — far more intriguing than listening to Tau drone on for another two hours. She glances back at the windowless van where she knows Tau is watching, waiting for her to return, and she comes to a decision.

"Well, Captain, from one police officer to another, how 'bout I show you where to get the best ice cream on the boardwalk?"

---

Kathryn almost says no. She should stay put and wait for the rest of the away team to return. But it is so hot she can barely think straight. And on a day like this, refusing ice cream would certainly be more suspicious than accepting, right? Right.

"Do they have coffee ice cream?" she asks with a grin.

The deputy chief shrugs, "Probably. I always go for the double chocolate chip myself."

"Lead the way!" she declares magnanimously and then she follows without even a glance over her shoulder. She's the captain, after all. If the rest of the team gets back before she does, they can damn well wait for her in the scorching heat.

 

Comments

[suzume]

Ha ha, but of course Kathryn wants coffee ice cream!