Creek Johnson and Nance Hurt
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Disclaimer: We are but fleas on the elephants' posterior that is Paramount. No infringement on their rights is intended. We hope none is taken.
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"Two days," said Tom Pendergast looking up from the report he held in his hand. "And all you have is speculation over his eating habits and work hours? Damnit McKinley, what have you been doing with your time?" D. McKinley shifted uneasily in his chair. He had dreaded having so little to report, but it wasn't his fault Quark seemed to be chasing after shadows. He cleared his throat and leaned slightly forward in the chair. "Excuse me, Sir," he said. "If you look a little further in the report, I think you will find an item of interest."
He watched Pendergast closely as his eyes scanned the rest of the report and suppressed a sigh of relief as Pendergast muttered to himself as he read.
"A Cardassian," snorted Pendergast. "Now, that's more like it. What's this about an unpaid bill?"
"According to Mr. Blankman, a package was delivered and there was a misunderstanding over the currency used to pay the bill. One assumes the original quote was in Bajoran Litas, rather than Cardassian Groats…."
"Did you actually see this package?" asked Pendergast suspicion obvious in his voice.
"Ah…no Sir. But Quark did return to the bar directly after Mr. Blankman returned to his office. Quark then proceeded to take images of both the Cardassian and Mr. Blankman while they were in his office…"
"Get them."
"Sir?" asked McKinley slightly surprised. "You want to see both Mr. Blankman and the Cardassian?"
"The pictures McKinley!" snapped Pendergast. "I want copies of those pictures, McKinley, and I want them as soon as possible! Cardassians - can't trust them as far as you can throw them."
"But, Sir," protested McKinley weakly. "We're not at war with Cardassia. It could be a simple business transaction."
"Don't you bet on it," replied Pendergast. "There's more to this than meets the eye, I'd bet my life on it."
Or mine, thought D. McKinley wondering how he was going to do as ordered.
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Jack Blankman whistled softly to himself as he entered the turbolift in the Habitat Ring and ordered the lift to take him back to the Promenade. He had managed to get his rather troublesome guests safely stowed in his quarters without incident and had taken the added precaution of locking them in. In a way he regretted having to do so, but if Fudan's story were true and someone was out to kill him, he couldn't risk allowing the Cardassian to roam freely about the Station. If the story was nothing more than a carefully crafted lie, Jack still didn't want him roaming freely about the Station until he knew precisely what Fudan was up to. The lift slid to a halt and Jack pushed his way through the people waiting outside the doors. He looked around him; the Promenade was packed with new arrivals. He laughed under his breath. Solids, he thought, all this activity just to see the simultaneous eclipse of five moons. He shook his head. If they had only seen half of the wonders he had seen and he wasn't that old by changeling standards. He felt an abrupt pressure against his back and turned expecting he had been bumped into by some open mouthed newcomer to the Station, too absorbed in the sights to pay attention to where they were going.
"Excuse me," he said without thinking.
The two men behind him were not your typical tourists, nor thought Jack, on reflection were they your typical scientific types either. One man was small with sharp, rodent like features, the other was a tall Cardassian, and each had a rather furtive look about them. Neither was willing to look him in the eye.
"Sorry," muttered the Cardassian as both men went about their way.
Solids, thought Jack, continuing to his office. It takes all kinds.
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The sun was just starting to set as they reached the end of the gardens. Odo stood among the ruins of the old Kais palace and mentally shook his head at the wanton destruction around him. In all his years of living among humanoids, no matter how much he thought he knew them; there were still times when he had to admit to himself that they were separate and unfathomable. What, he wondered, could have lead the Bajoran people to do such a thing? That they could take their anger and frustration out on an individual he could understand. He had no love for Winn Adami and was frankly relieved when he had heard that she had disappeared. In a small way it made leaving Kira a little easier knowing Winn was no longer in a position of power and therefore no longer in a position to pose a threat. But this? This went beyond a desire to strike out at an individual. This was an attack at the very office of the Kai.
"Watch your step," called out Temis Laru. "The way is a little treacherous."
Odo nodded in reply and followed. "Tell me exactly what happened," he asked and wondered briefly why he was keeping his voice low.
"Yes, Sir. We came down through here. It was about 01:30 and very dark. Nokis was asking me about how I came to know about the…"
"Ghost?"
"Yes," answered Temis his voice strained. "And I told him about thinking at first it was just the neighborhood kids having a bit of fun – only on closer investigation it wasn't."
"Go on."
"Well, I led him to about here." Temis pointed to a spot close by. They were near the remains of a staircase.
"Where are we exactly?" asked Odo.
"This is underneath what used to be the Heretic's living quarters," explained Temis. "It usually makes its appearance in this general area."
Heretic? Odo was mildly puzzled by the use of the term to describe Winn. Selfish? Yes. Ambitious? Most certainly. But heretic? "Then what happened?" he asked.
"We waited," continued Temis his voice rising in anxiety. "The University clock was just tolling the hour when it came."
"Go on."
"A figure moved in the dark and from around the edge of the staircase it appeared."
"Describe it."
"It looked like a man."
"A Bajoran?" asked Odo.
"Yes, medium height, thin, only it seemed to be made of light. It stumbled, its arms held out in front of it as though it could not see."
"Explain."
"It's blind," gasped Temis lost in recollection and reacting to the memory of the event. "It has no eyes."
"No eyes at all?"
"Sockets, but where eyes should be there is only darkness. It opened its mouth to speak, but where a mouth should be there is an open space and you can see flames inside."
"What happened next?" prompted Odo keeping his voice calm in order not to try his companion's nerves anymore than necessary.
"The being spoke."
"And what did it say?"
"Help me."
"And what was Nokis doing at the time?" asked Odo.
"Nokis stepped forward," said Temis sweat beading on his brow despite the coolness of the evening breeze. "I held him back. I don't know why, it just seemed too dangerous to allow him to get any closer. But he shook me off and reached out."
"And then?"
"He spoke to the being. He said: help you? What do you mean, help you? How?"
As Temis spoke, Odo became aware of a presence in the ruins. He glanced sharply around but could detect no one near. His companion had a glassy eyed look about him that led Odo to believe he felt the presence as well. "What happened next?" he asked his voice barely above a whisper.
"The being reached out with both hands, Nokis reached out as well and was just about to touch it when I tackled him and threw him to the ground. We struggled."
"And then?"
"The being screamed as though in agony," replied Temis his voice taking on a strange echo among the ruins. "I pleaded with Nokis not to touch it but he insisted."
"Yes. Go on."
"Then the being cried out."
"What did it say?"
"Too late!" shouted Temis and to Odo it sounded as though two voices were speaking the words at exactly the same time or more accurately that a second voice was speaking through the young Bajoran. "Too late!"
"Did it say anything else?"
"No. Before we could think, or react, it burst into flames and was gone."
Odo very carefully removed the tricorder from Temis belt and, as the young man stood wild eyed and panting among the ruins, he scanned the area carefully. All he found was a residual energy pattern around them but could find no source of the emanations. Satisfied that there was nothing more to be discovered, he returned the tricorder to Temis.
"Thank you," he said. "When you are ready you can take me back to your barracks and I'll transport back to Kendra. I think I've learned as much as I can today."
"Yes, Sir," replied Temis with a sigh. "I'm ready."
As they made their way out of the ruins a voice echoed behind them - a voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
"Complete the circle."
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"I'd unravel every riddle, for every individ'al in trouble or in pain," Jack sang softly to himself as he sat in the back office and waited for his subspace message to clear the encryption sequence. "With the thoughts I'd be thinking, I could be Roberta Linc…" The computer screen flickered and there on the screen before him was the face of a Cardassian woman. "Yes?" she asked her voice rife with suspicion.
"Hello gorgeous," said Jack.
She eyed him narrowly before her solemn features broke out into a smile. "Shadow?" she asked.
"In the flesh, Darlin'," replied Jack. "So, how's the Traveler?"
"No one's called me Traveler in years," she replied. "And what's all this I hear about your settling down?"
"It's a long story."
"I bet it is," Traveler replied. "But I take it this isn't a social call?"
"No," confirmed Jack. "I need your assistance in tracking down some information for me."
"Me? It's not like you to ask others for information, Shadow. Why aren't you here tracking it down for yourself?"
"That," said Jack. "Is an even longer story."
"I thought so," she replied with a knowing laugh. "Okay, what sort of information?"
"I need you to check in to a murder that happened on Cardassia Prime two days ago. From what I've been told a woman was killed in the Interplanetary Departure Station. She left behind a husband and a child. The child is only partially Cardassian, so the woman could be half Bajoran, or half something else."
"I remember seeing something about that," replied Traveler thoughtfully. "Some sort of botched robbery, but of course, that's the story the public was told. Why? Do you suspect something else?"
"I suspect I'm being bamboozled," said Jack. "So, I need the real story, if you can get it for me?"
"Seems simple enough. Anything else?"
Jack held up the transport papers he had managed to 'borrow' from Fudan without the Cardassian knowing. "There is one other thing," he said. "Now, I suspect these papers were forged, but find out what you can about a fellow named Tosko Fudan. Cardassian citizen. The travel pass was validated in the Deus System. He was also on Cardassia Prime at the time the woman was killed. He claims the woman was his wife."
"Shadow," said Traveler. "What exactly are you up to?"
"Me?"
"Don't play innocent with me," she cautioned him. "I know you too well."
"Okay," he said holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Look, I can't give you the details, but this Fudan fellow may have some very good information about some very bad individuals. I just want to know who exactly I'm dealing with."
"Well, be careful, things may have changed on Cardassia, but they haven't changed that much," cautioned Traveler. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
Jack terminated the transmission and pocketing the stolen travel pass, he lowered the lights and locked the door behind him. As full as the Station was, he thought, Quark's should be packed with any number of people willing to tell you their life's story for the price of a drink. He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled the Promenade.
"I think I could love ya," he sang happily to himself. "I'd be even worthy of ya, if I only had a brain."
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Jake was unusually quiet as they made their way back to Dhek's office. Kira watched him carefully and allowed him time to deal with his obvious bewilderment. They arrived to find the office empty. While Jake sat in one of the chairs, Kira stood at the window and watched the world outside. "You said," remarked Jake. "That the business in the waste management facility was like an old Resistance trick. What did you mean by that?"
"As you know," she replied with a slight smile. "The Cardassians kept a pretty close eye on anyone they suspected was a member of the Resistance. Getting messages from one cell to another was always a rather tricky business because cells were small and by necessity not everyone knew who belonged to what cell. That way if you were caught, you couldn't tell them much. One way of moving information from one cell to another involved arranged transfers by courier. One method used was to have two couriers show up at a prearranged location. Each would be wearing the same color so they could easily identify each other. Courier one would enter…say a shop…and wait for the other to arrive. One would pass the package or message on to the other and then they would both leave the shop at the same time. That way if they were being monitored, the Cardassians would not know which one to follow."
"So the minute you saw two women both dressed in red…?"
"Exactly."
Jake fell silent again. "I still don't understand how Silur Ang managed to be in two places at the same time," he said eventually. "Or how she wound up dead."
"Silur Ang wasn't in two places at once," explained Kira. "It was Huna Chin that entered the Transport Terminal first. When Dhek's people find her, I'll be willing to wager that they will find forged identification on her in the name of Silur Ang. It was the bracelet that gave Huna away."
"So, Huna shows up and waits in the waste management facility?"
"Yes. Silur or someone Silur knows arranged for her to meet Huna in the waste management facility as soon as Silur arrived in Kendra."
"Why?" asked Jake.
Kira had dreaded having to come to this. She sat in the chair next to Jake's and placed a consoling hand on his arm. "Jake," she said. "I think what Dhek is going to discover is that the child Silur brought with her to Kendra was Sarah. You have to accept that Huna, for whatever reason, is part of this whole business. She meets Silur in the waste management facility, either to hand off Sarah, or to relay information, or for some other reason we don't know about yet…"
"And what?" demanded Jake. "Kills her instead?"
"Yes. Now, I know this is difficult to understand…"
"No," insisted Jake. "I understand. I just don't believe it!"
"Jake," replied Kira. "Think about it. Silur Ang comes to Kendra with a child. She meets a man anyone watching would suppose is her husband or boyfriend or relation of some sort. They walk towards the exit as though they are leaving. She hands the child to the man and walks into the waste management facility. Five minutes later Huna Chin walks out, takes the baby from the man and the two of them walk back into the Terminal and are last seen heading for the Departure Area. If it were not prearranged, then why didn't the man make a fuss? What husband or boyfriend would just calmly hand the child over to a stranger and leave with her as though nothing happened?"
"But why?" asked Jake. "What's the point? Huna Chin is not like that. She's a friend."
"Jake…"
"Don't tell me that she wasn't!" snapped Jake the anger and frustration of the last few days finally coming to the surface. "I refuse to believe otherwise. I don't want that type of life. I don't want a life where I have to be suspicious of everyone and everything. It was bad enough on the Station with all the Emissary nonsense! I hated that and I still do! I just want a normal life with normal people around me. What possible reason would anyone have for taking Sarah? What's the point?"
"I don't know," replied Kira after Jake had calmed down a bit. "We most likely won't know that until Dhek tracks her down."
"Unless…" lamented Jake.
"Don't think that Jake," Kira urged. "It's not too late. Not if Odo and I have anything to say about it."
"It's just," cried Jake his voice still rank with pent up emotion. "There are times when I…hate my father for being the Emissary. I hate him for brining this all down upon us and not being here to help deal with it and yet at the same time…"
"I know," replied Kira soothingly, wrapping her arms around him. She could feel his tears against her neck and for an instant she no longer saw the confident young man, but the boy who had lost his father. "I miss him too."
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Julian Bashir looked up from his console to find John Marshall standing in the doorway to the Infirmary. Quickly saving his research, Julian picked up a padd that lay near at hand and went out to greet the Station's Chief of Security. "You rang?" asked Marshall.
"Yes," replied Bashir somewhat apologetic. "I know you have your hands full with all the visitors to the Station, but I've come across something of a puzzle that requires your assistance."
"Indeed. And what might that be?"
Julian ushered Marshall into his office. "As you are well aware," he continued, taking a seat. "I am working with various relief efforts in the Cardassian Sector."
"That I am."
"Well, it appears there has been a death of an off worlder on Cardassian Prime - a Terran who apparently died of injuries sustained in some sort of industrial accident. The Cardassian Authorities fished his body out of a river near an industrial plant two days ago and are anxious to notify the family and arrange for disposal of the body, only there apparently isn't any family to notify."
"I fail to see the problem, Doctor," replied Marshall. "There are quite a few people who have no family. Surely, the Cardassian's can just simply…"
"That occurred to me as well," confirmed Bashir. "So I asked for them to send me a DNA sample just to make sure there was no match in the Federation databanks."
"And were you able to find a match?"
"I was. Only there's one small problem."
"Which is?" asked Marshall not liking where this was leading.
"The name the Cardassians gave me does not match the DNA profile," replied Bashir. "The name they gave me belongs to a man who died two years ago. And the DNA sample belongs to a man who is wanted by Federation authorities."
"And what was the name you were given?"
"Daren Johnson," replied Bashir. "And the DNA sample belongs to one Oren Stephos, who is…."
"Among other things a member of the Orion Syndicate," said Marshall with a shake of his head. "I see. Thank you, Doctor."
"I thought it best to notify you first before contacting…"
"Quite right, Doctor. My office will take care of things from here."
Now what, thought Marshall as he made his way back to Security, would the Orion Syndicate be doing on Cardassia Prime? Cardassians. He, without conscious effort, scanned the Promenade as he walked. Out of the corner of his eye he spied two men walking towards Quarks, one a rather down at the heels Terran in close conversation with his Cardassian companion. Cardassians, he thought and was reminded of his encounter earlier in the day with Jack Blankman and another…Cardassian.
Marshall entered his office and immediately accessed the Federation Security logs looking for any and all reports dealing with Cardassia over the last few days.