Reed's Armory -- A Malcolm Reed Fanfiction Archive ..

Title: A Penny Saved

Author: Taryn Eve

Author's e-mail: [email protected]

Fandom: Enterprise

Rating: PG

Category: Gen

Summary: Lieutenant Reed comes to the rescue when Captain Archer faces an old nemesis.

Comments: Date of composition is October 22, 2002. Thanks, Kim S. Accounting Clerk Divas save the day! This story is a simple indulgence on my part. I had fun with it. Thanks to those of you who told me you had fun with it, too!

Archived to Reed's Armory on 10/15/2003.

Reed waited in the corridor with his arms at his sides, flexing his fingers. He wanted to get on back to Enterprise, but Captain Archer had requested him to wait here.

Flexing his fingers, he thought about his duties. Sometimes his friends teased him over his obsession with weapons and defensive training. However, those very things had saved their lives more than once. As a matter of fact, his captain had come to rely upon him.

Reed was a watchdog. So be it.

The door opened, and a padd bounced through the opening and came to a stop at Reed's feet.

"It's not like that," Captain Archer's voice said defensively. "I can explain."

"Right," a husky female voice said in a sarcastic manner. "I've heard that one before." Then she coughed. "What about your Armory Officer?"

Reed picked up the padd and walked into the room. A frowning Archer stood before a small mahogany desk, looking like a supplicant. A dark-haired woman in her mid-thirties frowned at Reed's intrusion, then locked her gaze on Archer. "Well? Don't tell me that you really need 348 phase pistols. My god, you only have a crew of eighty- something."

"And a dog," Reed said, his voice wry. "Don't forget the dog."

Archer threw up his hands, helpless. "Vivian, please. We're out in deep space. We need the supplies."

The brunette sneered. "Don't you Vivian me, Captain Archer. You know I got my ass busted down to lieutenant last year because I let Enterprise get out of Spacedock completely over budget. I'm not going to let that happen again this fiscal year."

Archer opened his mouth to protest, but Reed held his hand up.

"Captain, if I may?"

Holding up his hands as if to protect himself, Archer stepped aside.

Reed glanced down at the nametag on the desk, and the woman's pips on her uniform. "Lieutenant Carruthers, have you ever been in deep space?"

Carruthers folded her arms. "No, Lieutenant," she said, shrugging. "There's not much call for accountants out beyond Titan, you know."

Reed laughed. "You're right, I suppose." Smiling, he put his hand out. "I'm Lieutenant Reed, by the way."

Carruthers looked at the padd still in his other hand. "Oh, the infamous Armory Officer who needs 348 phase pistols. Funny, you only seem to have two hands."

They shook hands. Carruthers had a firm grip.

Raising an eyebrow, Reed smiled. "I'm infamous?"

The accountant leaned back in her chair and waved at the door. "Those fruitcakes down in Research & Development run down the hall screaming every time you mail them back the specs for another new invention. Knock it off, will you? You're making their budget bleed red."

Reed laughed. "Oh, but that's much preferable to having my crewmates bleed red, isn't it? Deep space is a very dangerous place, Lieutenant. I'm just trying to keep my people safe."

"Damn, you're good," Archer said under his breath.

"I heard that," Carruthers snapped. "Lieutenant Reed, has your captain ever told you about the time he shamelessly manipulated a young accountant to get his way? Flowers, candy, opera tickets. Ha."

Archer's grin was wide. "It worked, didn't it? Did you like the Puccini, Vivian?"

Carruthers sniffed. "That's not the point, Captain. I just can't give you everything you want."

The captain's eyes turned dark, and he opened his mouth to protest.

"Maybe we don't need everything," Reed said in a soothing voice. "Lieutenant Carruthers, do you mind if I take another look at our budget?"

The brunette tapped a long finger against her cheek. "Go ahead," she said, sighing. "Just promise me you won't shoot it if you don't like it, Watchdog."

Reed grinned, turned the padd on, and sank into the guest chair.

Archer cleared his throat. Reed kept concentrating on his reading.

The captain tapped his foot. Still enthralled by the line items in the budget, Reed continued reading. Why on earth did Phlox need 300 meters of cheesecloth?

Then Archer sighed.

Reed and Carruthers looked up at him. The captain looked rather bored. Like Reed, he was a man of action most of the time.

Smiling, Reed nodded at the other lieutenant. "Excuse us a moment, please."

"I'll go get us a pitcher of water," Carruthers said, rising from her desk. "I get the feeling this is going to take a while."

She retreated from the room with a slight smile on her face.

Archer stared at Reed. "What are you doing? No one flirts with that brunette battleaxe and gets away with it. Hell, even Soval avoids her when he comes over to Starfleet Headquarters."

Running his fingers through his hair, Reed gave him a stern look. "I'm going to battle for you and Enterprise, sir," he said, his voice earnest. "We need my weapons, and we need Commander Tucker's spare parts. I'm going to have to be flexible about the things Sub- commander T'Pol, Doctor Phlox, and Hoshi asked for, though." He glanced down at the padd. "I can see why she won't be able to give us everything on the budget. You've got to admit it's astronomical, sir."

Archer gave him a penetrating look. "What if she won't give you your phase pistols, Malcolm?"

Reed sighed and tilted his head. "Then I suppose I'll have to resort to your sort of bribery, sir. What kind of chocolates does she like?"

Archer laughed. "Oh, you <b>are</b> the tactical man, aren't you?"

"I do try," Reed said, turning away with a grin. "Go away, will you, sir? I can tell from her body language that she likes me rather more than she likes you."

The captain frowned. "Don't get in over your head, Lieutenant. They still call her the most feared woman in Starfleet, despite the step down in rank."

The door opened, and Carruthers entered the room, holding a tray with a pot of tea, some cups, and a plateful of cookies.

"Let me help you with that," Archer said, trying to take the tray from her.

Carruthers narrowed her eyes at him. He eased out of the room with a last nervous glance at Reed, who nodded at him.

Reed was confident he could win this battle. After all, he knew what he wanted, and he was willing to make sacrifices to get it.

He just hoped the rest of the crew wouldn't be too angry with him tomorrow. He'd betray Trip if he had to, but he was damn well going to get every single thing the Armory needed.

"So, Vivian," he said, taking a cookie. "May I call you by your first name?"

His enemy nodded as she began pouring the steaming tea.

The scent of jasmine rising from his cup made him blink. He loved jasmine tea.

Reed smiled, uncertain of himself now. "This communications satellite seems rather exorbitant. Shall we trim that out of our budget?"

Vivian sank into her chair with a smile full of mischief. "Tell me more."

The budget blinked at him from the padd. A very bad feeling sank into Reed's gut.

"Ah, well, this scientific equipment looks a little expensive..."

The accountant smiled.

Reed stopped speaking, puzzled. He'd seen that smile before.

Oh yes.

He'd been wearing it a few minutes before. It was a warrior's smile, full of self-confidence and impending victory.

His jaw muscles began to ache from the sudden tension. He'd never met an enemy who could turn his own tactics on him so quickly. What had he been thinking? This was the most feared person in Starfleet, after all.

He grasped at the words Archer had spoken earlier.

"Do you still like the opera?" he asked. His voice sounded weak as a kitten, even to himself.

Vivian's smile widened.

*

Archer stared at the tactical station, which should have been occupied by Malcolm Reed. Instead, one of the ensigns flashed him a nervous grin.

Lieutenant Reed was never late for a duty shift. His instincts shouted that something was wrong.

"Hoshi," he said, worried. "Try raising Lieutenant Reed."

The young woman nodded, then started working with her console. A minute later, she looked back at Archer with a grin.

"Where is he?" the captain asked, suspicion tinging his voice.

"Beijing," Hoshi said. "Go ahead, sir."

"Enterprise to Lieutenant Reed," Archer said, rising from his chair.

A crackle of noise whipped through the air, making the captain wince. "Reed, sir."

"Why the hell are you in Beijing, Lieutenant?" Archer asked, putting his hands on his hips. "You were supposed to report for duty on Enterprise an hour ago."

"Ah," Reed said.

Another crash jangled through the comm system.

"You're going to miss the good part," a voice said over the noise. "Come back to our seats."

Archer raised an eyebrow. He knew that voice.

"Malcolm?" he asked. "Why the hell are you in Beijing with Vivian Carruthers?"

A distinct groan cut through the noise. "You didn't tell me she liked Chinese opera, sir."

Archer laughed. "You know what they say, Lieutenant. A penny saved..."

A moment of silence answered him, followed by another sizzle of static. "With all due respect sir, piss off. You'll have your approved budget in the morning."

Jonathan Archer looked at his bridge staff. Hoshi and Travis tried to contain their laughter, but Trip was shaking, hard. T'Pol looked away, disinterested.

Archer smiled. His crew would be safe, thanks to all the things Reed had to go through in order to preserve their budget. "Good work, Watchdog. Enterprise out."

Trip burst into breathless laughter. "You sent that poor guy out with Vivian Carruthers, Starfleet's most vicious officer? You're the most manipulative guy I've ever worked for, sir."

Archer smiled and settled back into his chair. Good thing Trip had no clue that he was going accompany him to the budget negotiations for next year...

After all, Archer knew what he wanted, and he was willing to make sacrifices to get it.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

~the end~