Chapter 18
"We were afraid you were dead."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Doctor." Odo joined his friends at a corner table in bar they had arranged to meet in weeks before. Dax and Bashir had been there night after night waiting for Odo to meet with them. "I suppose it's obvious our plan hit a snag."
"The bartender has already memorized our favorite drinks. I think he suspects we both have a drinking problem," Dax commented. "Why else would a pair of honeymooners spend their every evening at a bar?"
"Not that we're the only couple who spends most of their time here," Julian added. "Though we may be the only ones who came armed with anti-toxicants."
"Well, that's a relief," Odo replied. "We need all the antidotes we can get at the moment." He handed Kira's betrothal bracelet to Bashir. "I suggest you don't touch the inside of this without protection. It appears to be fitted with tiny hyposprays."
"An unusual way to dispense drugs," the doctor commented as he studied the inside. "I've never seen anything quite like it."
"I suspect Rathaus had it custom-made, though by whom, I have no idea," Odo said.
"I'll have to take it back to our quarters to analyse it. How is Nerys doing?"
"Not well. He poisoned her to induce a miscarriage. She doesn't seem to be suffering physically from it, but he's also been beating her. The physical damage appears to be mostly lacerations and bruises."
"The physical damage?" Ezri queried
"It's hard to asses her mental state. She's heavily drugged. Once we realised that he was using the bracelet as a delivery device, she stopped wearing it when he wasn't around, but that seems to have had only minimal effects in clearing the drug out of her system."
"It sounds like whatever it is has a long half-life," Bashir deducted.
"We don't have much time for analysis. Rathaus read Kira's mind. He knew I was on the estate almost immediately and has threatened to kill her if I try to leave. He's off-planet for a few days, but we don't know when he'll return."
"Let's get started then. The necessary equipment is in our rooms. We can get into further detail while I work," the doctor suggested.
"I'll go out now," Odo recommended as he stood up. "Meet me behind the bar in five minutes."