Chapter 6: Revelations

Bashir had to find Odo. This knowledge about the Klingon changed everything. It cleared Quark, and Bashir was desperate to find Odo and tell him before a mistake was made. So much about this case didn't add up, and his discovery -Garak's discovery, he reminded himself- brought with it a whole new perspective.

"Bashir to Odo, please respond." It was the third time he had paged him, and Odo still wasn't responding. Had something happened, or was the Changeling deliberately ignoring his communications?

With a medical bag containing the DNA samples clutched to his chest, Bashir raced towards Ops to speak with Commander Sisko. He had to show him the Petri dishes and tell him what Garak had said about the Bajoran ship. If he couldn't find Odo then he'd make sure everyone else on the station knew that Quark was innocent.

Hurrying out of the turbo lift he was just in time to hear the beginning of Odo's report to Commander Sisko.

...

Odo had sat there until his combadge went off. He was staring blankly at the wall of Quark's quarters, feeling absolutely terrible. It was the same kind of nauseous panic that settled in if he tried to hold a solid shape for too long. He was wary of trying to stand, worried that he wouldn't make it to his feet.

"Bashir to Odo, I need to speak with you."

Odo made no move to respond. There was no point, especially if it had something to do with the case. He'd rather just sit there until he felt stable enough to stand.

"This is Bashir, I've got a development."

Definitely no point in answering, then. It would just be something about Quark. Although maybe it was best that the news of Quark's guilt reached the Commander through Odo. He carefully reached out a hand and grabbed hold of the edge of Quark's bed, pulling himself slowly to his feet.

"Bashir to Odo, please respond."

Once Odo was stable on his feet he made his way out of Quark's chambers and into a turbo lift. He would speak with Commander Sisko himself. It was better that it dome from him than from Bashir. With Quark off the station, it was safe to tell Sisko the truth, and Odo felt he had to do it quickly before he lost his nerve.

The turbo lift deposited him in Ops. The Commander and Lieutenant Dax were both leaning over a console, fiddling with the buttons. Major Kira and Cheif O'Brien were similarly engaged on the other side of the room. They were all intently focused on something.

"Commander, their engines have shut off. We can hold them in the tractor beam, but unless we can take their sheild out there's nothing we can do." Kira reported, looking up while O'Brien began to remove the manual access panel in the back of a console. "Cheif says he might be able to tap into it, given a little more time."

"Excellent. Dax and I have made no progress in communicating with whoever is on board." Commander Sisko looked up as well. "Do what you have to do."

"Commander." Odo hated to interrupt, but he could feel his resolve crumbling with every wasted second. "I need to speak with you."

"Now, Odo? I'm trying to reach the freighter..."

"Yes. Now. What I'm about to tell you is somewhat difficult to say. I'd rather say it now." He had their attention. Everyone was looking at him now, curiosity and apprehension in their eyes. They could tell that it had something to do with the case.

"Would you prefer we confer in private, Odo?" Sisko asked, stepping towards him. "We could speak in my office."

"No. Everyone deserves to know." This was true. Everyone here had a part in this, and there was no point in telling Sisko alone only to have to explain it again later. "I've found the murderer of Drisek Zel."

...

Bashir entered ops just in time to hear Odo's announcement. He froze by the turbo lift, knowing that Odo had to be wrong. The likelihood of Odo figuring this out before him was pretty slim, and if Odo had the wrong idea then it must have been pretty convincing.

"Go ahead Odo, we're listening." Sisko prompted as the Changeling paused.

"I've received a confession," Odo said. He didn't look very happy about it. "From Quark."

"Impossible!" Bashir cried out, suddenly causing everyone to spin towards him. At the same time, Major Kira jumped up and rushed over to Odo.

"I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. "Odo, are you alright?" Before Odo could do anything, she had steered him into a chair. "Commander, I told you not to keep him on the case, this is awful."

"Enough, Major. Let him go." Sisko commanded. Then he turned back to Bashir. "Doctor, I believe you had something to add?"

"I'd be curious to hear what Odo has discovered, but I have something I think I should tell you first," Bashir stated, walking further into the room.

"Commander, with all due respect, I'd prefer to finish my report quickly," Odo interjected. "It's not a very pleasant story to tell."

"Very well, go ahead Odo. Doctor, you can give your report after." Sisko shifted his attention back to Odo. "Proceed."

"Really, mine is time-sensitive." Bashir tried again.

"Let Odo talk." Kira snapped at him. "You can wait."

Odo didn't seem to be noticing any of this. He was staring off into space in Sisko's general direction. "Quark confessed that he had a business deal with Drisek earlier this evening. He intended to sell him the Absinthe that we found above the bar. He told me that something went wrong, and the next thing he knew he woke up with a knife in his hand covered in blood. Drisek Zel was dead, and the Klingon was nowhere in sight."

"Klingon?" Bashir asked, urgency creeping into his tone. "Did you say Klingon?"

"Yes, Drisek's bodyguard. Quark says that his body is somewhere in with those crates. He doesn't know exactly where." Odo looked so sad, and Bashir was getting more and more frustrated. None of this could be true.

"That's not true, Odo. That Klingon is the murderer!" Bashir yelled. "You're all being foolish. In the midst of your self-pitying behaviour you've all lost sight of reality."

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Sisko looked utterly confused. "I'm afraid Odo has received a confession. Upsetting as it is, we have to accept the unfortunate reality of the matter at hand."

"You're all wrong!" Bashir interrupted. "It's impossible that it was Quark, and if you'll just give me a minute I'll explain everything."

"Very well, go ahead." Sisko looked tired, he had his head propped in his hand. Elbow rested against the armrest of his chair. Behind him, Dax was ignoring the console she had been working on, eyes glued instead on the scene unfolding before her.

Bashir pulled the DNA samples out of his bag and set them down in front of the Commander. "When I performed the autopsy, I found three sets of DNA on Drisek. His own, Quark's, and an unknown Klingon's. The Klingon's DNA was found under his nails. Little shreds of hair and skin that one could acquaint with a possible struggle. The Ferengi DNA was only on the sleeve, where it could end up after a handshake."

"Interesting. However, I'm afraid it proves nothing." Sisko sighed, gingerly picking up one of the Petri dishes. "Continue."

"Then I was speaking to... someone who was in the docking ring." Probably best not to reveal that he was using Garak as a source. Sisko was already somewhat suspicious. "Someone who saw the Bajoran freighter disembark. Apparently, a Klingon stole it. Now we're hearing that Drisek had a Klingon bodyguard that we can't account for. Something doesn't add up."

"I interviewed the freighter captain," Odo said thoughtfully. "He said that he thought Drisek's companion may have been responsible for the theft."

"That's the ship we're holding in our tractor beam now!" Sisko exclaimed. "This isn't conclusive, but I think we certainly need to examine this aspect of the case."

"I'd say it's pretty conclusive!" Bashir was yelling again. "You're all blinded by proximity. Can't you see, Quark didn't confess to the murder, he confessed to waking up with a knife in his hand. He isn't guilty, he just thinks he is."

"Cheif, can you get the freighter's shields down?" Sisko asked, anger clouding his face. "I need to speak to that Klingon. Dr. Bashir has a point."

"I did the autopsy. Those wounds took a lot of force, in my professional opinion there's no way that Quark could inflict them, and besides..."

"He'd never use a knife." Odo finished Bashir's sentence for him. The Changeling had perked up as Bashir had been talking, but now his eyes clouded over again. "I've driven him away," he said.

"Odo," Sisko began, moving over to where Odo was sitting. "Where is Quark?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Sisko was starting to look worried. "Odo, may I speak to you in my office?"

Confused, Odo stood up and followed Sisko through the door of his office. They stopped once for Sisko to turn around and remind Cheif O'Brien that he had to get those shields down and transport over to get their prisoner as quickly as possible. "After all, it's time sensitive now." He had stated.

...

Sisko had sat a trembling Odo in the chair across the desk. He had never seen Odo so upset. He could see a mixture of anger and sorrow in the Changeling's eyes.

"Commander." Odo began. "I don't know what to tell you. I would never have let him go if I knew."

"You couldn't know Odo. None of us did. The good news is that we caught the mistake. We can easily apprehend the real murderer, and Quark is safe and sound."

"He's run off somewhere, I don't know where, and he's all alone. He thinks he's killed a man. Two men even. He is not alright, Commander." Odo snapped.

"Odo, listen to me. He is going to be alright. We'll find out where he is, and you'll go get him." Sisko had meant it to be reassuring, but Odo looked even more uncomfortable.

"I don't think it should be me that goes. I thought he was guilty. I doubted him." Odo said quietly. "I'm the last person who should go find him."

"Nonsense!" Sisko boomed, rising out of his chair to tower over the seated Changeling. "Odo, do you love him? No, don't give me that look, we all know about the two of you. Answer the question. Do you love him?"

Odo paused for a moment, fighting against the walls he had put up to guard this truth. He hadn't realized that anyone knew about him and Quark. It was hard for him to admit it. "Yes." He finally said. "I do. I love him." The words were decisive and firm and the look in Odo's eyes reassured Sisko that it was true.

"Then go find him and make sure he knows he isn't guilty. Remember, he doubts himself too." Sisko placed a reassuring hand on Odo's shoulder. "Odo, find Quark and bring him back to the station."

"Yes, Commander," Odo said, smiling slightly for the first time in hours. "Gladly."

"Oh, and Odo?"

"Yes?"

"Do me a favour and tell him you love him." Sisko smiled at Odo. "It'll do him a world of good to hear you say it."

Odo nodded and hurried off to check the departure log. Quark must be on an outbound ship, and Odo was determined to find him. Bashir was right, Quark must be innocent. He had been framed, and as scary as that was it was far better than being responsible for murder.