Garak opened his shop as usual. He found himself going through the motions of his regular routine but without the sense of trepidation for the upcoming day that he'd come to expect. Today was different. He had an evening full of delightful possibilities to look forward to. He had been relatively coy with the good Doctor yesterday, not wanting to get ahead of himself. They had both waited for this for so long, it had seemed a waste to give in so quickly to his primal urge to take Bashir in the all the ways available to him. Oh yes, the young man didn't know what he was in for. He was certain that the Doctor hadn't been with a Cardassian before and his own experience with humans was limited, issues soon to be rectified. Garak had to force himself to calm down. It was still early and there was no need to get worked up just yet.
As Garak walked behind the counter, he was concerned to see an unfamiliar envelope on top of his latest work-in-progress. It must have been left behind by a customer, but when? He'd had the commission in his hands, working on it until the moment he had locked the place up last night. Therefore, he was disturbed to conclude that somebody must have broken in after and tauntingly left him with the evidence of their misdeed. The Obsidian Order? Perhaps, but without Tain to doggedly interfere on his behalf, would there be any continuation of interest in his mundane and off-world activities? The Order, as he'd known it, was gone. Decimated by their foolish engagement with the Dominion.
Straightening his spine, Garak resolved it was best to open the correspondence and find out what it pertained to. He ran one of his trusted instruments over the envelope first, just to ensure it had no traces of poison, biological agents, or explosives. When the scan came back negative, he swiftly ripped the seal and was left with a simple handwritten card. How very quaint. Nobody took the time to pen messages anymore, PADDs and other methods of digital transmissions had become the norm for convenience. The only benefit to this physical interaction, as far as he could see, was that it couldn't be traced. Also, it had obviously been a warning of sorts that the sender was able to move around the station as he saw fit. Garak hadn't been shy in his use of alarms and deterrents when securing his shop.
1,000 bricks of gold press Latinum
Compensation for relinquishment of claim
Assay Office, S/Locker 119 (Code 8205)
As Garak examined the brief note, there was no doubt who it was from. The Orion mercenary was a bold sort. It was interesting that Masril hadn't listened to his words last night. Garak obviously didn't own Bashir and wasn't in a position to sell him. This could be an effort to tempt him to discard the good Doctor's enjoyable company for financial gain? A starting offer, to get the ball rolling and see how receptive he was to the idea? It was a poor one, if that was the case. The young man was priceless. Was Masril under the impression that Cardassians had no honour and therefore would be open to bribery or free exchange of their partners in this fashion? He bristled at the thought. Just because he was a merchant didn't mean that he conducted himself like a common Ferengi!
Garak was, understandably, annoyed at the insinuations that the gesture made about his character. More worrying, however, was the immediate implications this could have for Bashir. Mas wasn't giving up as easily as he'd have liked. He had hoped that ruling out the Doctor's availability would be enough to dissuade any further propositions, apparently, he hadn't been insistent enough. Bashir was still in danger. Who knew what the next step was? The note could be interpreted in two ways; an opening bid to start negotiations or as a parting gift for what had already been taken.
Garak tried to ignore the worry that had begun to take him over and activated the communication terminal at the back of his shop, steadying his voice before he spoke aloud. "Garak to Bashir? Doctor Bashir?"
When he received no answer, he deftly hacked into the station's computer system and accessed the internal location tracker. Once his connection was secure, he put in his query. "Computer? Locate Doctor Bashir."
DOCTOR BASHIR IS IN THE HABITAT RING, SECTION 2.
Garak sprang to his feet, the Doctor's quarters weren't in that section. It could mean that Bashir was simply visiting a patient, but he had a bad feeling about all of this and wanted to check on the matter himself. There was no time to lose, his pile of alterations and commissions could wait. Closing everything down, he retrieved his essentials and prepared to leave. As Garak got to the entrance of his shop, his path was blocked by Odo.
Odo frowned at Garak's clear impatience. "Somewhere to be, Garak? That isn't like you at this time of day. One could suggest that it is downright suspicious of you. Especially, so soon after security registered unauthorised activity on the station's software. The breach was identified as emanating from this row of shops. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Garak?"
Garak internally rolled his eyes; in his haste he hadn't been as clean as he'd have liked. In fact, he'd been downright sloppy. He had two options; deny everything or bring the Constable up to speed on his current predicament. Deciding on the latter, he stepped past Odo and jerked his head. "Can you walk and talk?"
Odo was surprised at Garak's brashness, the man was usually so silky and genial in his mannerisms. Something must be seriously wrong to have rattled the normally serene façade that Garak presented to the outside world. As the Tailor locked up his shop, Odo fell into step by his side and cast his eyes critically across the promenade. "What is going on?"
Garak drew his disrupter, ignoring the raised brow-like expression on Odo's face. "I believe the Doctor is in danger. An Orion attempted to force himself on him last night with complete disregard for Bashir's own wishes on the matter. I was able to circumnavigate a physical altercation by appealing to his better judgement, ensuring he was made aware that the Doctor is already spoken for… by me."
Odo didn't say anything but harumphed in acknowledgement. It wasn't worth arguing that they should have both filed a complaint against this Orion (or at least submitted a report on the incident) so that he could have monitored the situation as it developed.
Garak growled. "Yes, I know that to you, the two of us making a convincing couple is an amusing thought! Regardless, from what I know of Orion culture, a previous and well-established claim should put an end to the matter. But this morning I received this."
Garak passed the note to the Constable. "I believe this is an attempt to refund me for my incurred losses which seems to suggest that he has already moved against the Doctor. The offer of Latinum is a bid to settle the books, should I have any objections to the transaction after the fact and wish to log an appeal with the Syndicate."
Odo turned up his lip in disgust. "There is nothing amusing about any of this. I had thought we'd seen the last of people being traded like objects aboard this station."
Garak took the insult to his people's occupation of Bajor on the chin and didn't offer a word in their defence. It was hardly the finest hour of the Cardassian Empire. He did feel somewhat guilty about the way things had gone down, not that he ever really allowed himself to dwell on the past. Dukat hadn't helped (no surprise there), his desperate and lecherous behaviour towards the female Bajorans had a knock-on effect on the general attitude and conduct of his countrymen who were posted to Terok Nor.
Garak barely registered the turbolift ride, he was too focused on getting to his dear Doctor to allow himself to be distracted by mild discomfort. He'd been so happy with how they'd left things last night. Now, with hindsight, he wished he'd stood guard and shadowed Bashir's movements today. He hadn't correctly read the level of danger and now the good Doctor was paying the price for his short sightedness. At least he had Odo here to help, the Changeling could well tip the scales in their direction should this turn into a physical fist fight. It had been some time since he'd faced an actual opponent, but he knew that his skills were too ingrained to be forgotten and should still serve him well. There was no room for doubt and Garak steeled himself, he was ready.
As the turbolift door opened, Odo and Garak started to run in the direction of Section 2. Odo was furious. Nothing gave someone the right to take ownership of another humanoid, especially not one of his colleagues who lived and worked on Deep Space 9 under his protection. Not to mention the fact that Doctor Bashir was a gentle (albeit somewhat oblivious and blundering) soul who was always looking after the interests of others. That somebody was threatening him personally was abhorrent in his eyes, it was no wonder that even Garak had uncharacteristically tried to help. Although, the Doctor had always seemed to be the exception where Garak was concerned.
Garak rounded the bend and almost collapsed in relief as he spotted a flash of distinctive teal ahead of them, undoubtedly a Starfleet medical uniform. The person, presumably Bashir, was lying in the corridor. They hadn't gotten far, then. He'd been prepared to board a shuttle in order to pursue the Doctor, across the stars if needed. As he approached, he could see that Bashir had been knocked around and incurred several superficial injuries. He must have put up quite a fight. Garak took in the scene and spotted the prone form of the Orion in the distance; the Doctor had even managed to take down his own assailant! Garak was filled with fierce pride; he knew that Bashir had it in him to be ruthless when he had to.
Garak dropped to his knees next to the young man, drawing Odo's attention to the unconscious Orion inside the open door of the next set of quarters. The Constable could deal with him for now, he was needed here.
Odo took the hint and stepped over them both, moving to incapacitate and properly restrain Masril. He had no intention of being gentle or delicate with his arrest and would take great delight in properly processing this criminal and bringing him to justice.
Garak cradled Bashir's head, drawing the Doctor closer to check him over. His earlier assessment had been correct, the young man's clothing was ripped in places and the worst of his injuries appeared to be several bruises and lacerations to the visible areas of skin.
Julian cracked an eye and grinned before wincing as his swollen and bloodied face protested. "…Elim? You found me? I knew you would."
Garak smiled at the praise, underserved as it was. He hadn't been here when it mattered and hadn't been able to protect the Doctor. "You gave me and the Constable quite a scare. What happened? Are you alright?"
Julian managed to partially sit up and rub his eyes before he focused in on Garak. "It seems so long ago now… I came out here to attend an urgent house call, which turned out to be a ruse. Masril was ready by the door and grabbed me as soon as I rang the chime. He then injected me with something, I can only guess that it was a general anaesthetic of some kind. Luckily for me, my system burns through foreign substances much faster than a normal human. He wouldn't have known to compensate for that particular abnormality. My awareness returned quickly enough that I had the element of surprise on my side, although my movements were still somewhat hampered. Once he'd thought me immobilised, Mas' urgency dropped, and I was able to strike him from behind and then eventually sedate him with my own hypospray cocktail."
Garak cupped Bashir's uninjured cheek, his eyes shining with unvoiced emotion. "You did ever so well, my Dear."
Julian nodded grimly and sighed. "Could you help me back to my quarters? I don't feel like going to the infirmary and can treat myself easily enough. Mas got some good hits in but there wasn't anything major, he didn't want me prematurely damaged. That's actually how he phrased it… I dread to think what he'd had in mind for me had he successfully taken me from the station."
Garak went to stand up, gently lifting the Doctor into the safety of his arms. Once he had Bashir securely held to his chest, he started to make the journey to his companion's living quarters. "We won't think of that now. You're safe, that's all that matters."
As they came around to the staff quarters, Garak was dismayed to see that Bashir's door was already open and his rooms seemed to have been disturbed. This didn't bode well. Carefully stepping over the threshold, he could see that the entire space had been turned over. Masril had been thorough, what little possessions had been on display were haphazardly strewn everywhere. Who knows what he'd been searching for as he ransacked the place?
Julian looked around sadly, dropping his hands to worry the frayed edges of his jumpsuit. "I just wanted to relax and maybe get changed out of these."
Garak was resolved, he wasn't going to let the Doctor sit in this miserable space a minute longer. Stooping to pick something up off the floor he did an about turn and led them back out into the habitat ring. Bashir looked at him in confusion and Garak quickly explained. "You can spend the day recuperating at my place, I'm not leaving you in there."
Julian's heart warmed at the thought of Garak extending him such a courtesy. The man was very private and didn't ever really invite anyone within the sanctum of his quarters. "Thank you, I would never have presumed-"
"Nonsense, Doctor. Ah, here we are." Garak carried the Doctor through into his quarters and set him down on his sofa. He momentarily considered lying him down in the bedroom but had concluded that would give off the wrong signal. He wasn't some sort of deviant who was going to take advantage whilst Bashir was so shaken and vulnerable.
Julian looked around and was overwhelmed at how different Garak's quarters looked in comparison to when he'd last seen them. The ceiling had been softened with strips of luxurious looking iridescent fabric and there was an abundance of greenery, whichever direction you looked. The plant life coupled with the higher temperature and humidity in here reminded Julian of a lush rainforest, it all felt very cosy but open as if they were within a light tent or yurt, not a sterile space station. He knew that Garak didn't like to feel enclosed, and he had done well to transform the small space into something otherworldly and airy.
Julian caught Garak's eye and nodded appreciatively at the décor. "Wow, Garak. The place is unrecognisable. It looks great."
Garak smiled, glad that the Doctor approved. Being unable to distract himself with his implant meant that he'd had to put more effort into improving the little things he still had control over, one of which had been the dismal feel of his quarters. He wouldn't admit it, but he'd kept Bashir in mind as he'd decorated and had hoped to show him one day. Keiko O'Brien had become an unlikely ally and the Botanist had helped him source and tend to some of the more exotic species, her discretion on the matter had also been greatly appreciated.
Bending over the Doctor, Garak placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'll be right back. I'm assuming you want some of your own clothes and toiletries as well as a dermal regenerator?"
Julian nodded; his eyes welling up at Garak's thoughtfulness. Before Garak left, the Cardassian turned and pressed something soft into his arms. Looking down at the gift, he was met with a reassuringly familiar figure. Kukalaka! Now beaming, Julian closed his eyes and drew his oldest friend in for a much-needed hug. Silent tears tracked their way down his cheeks and before the door fully closed behind Garak, he belatedly whispered his sincere thanks.
