That Night

Quark glanced over his shoulder. Even though he was alone in the bar, nearly half an hour after closing, he still fretted over the possibility that someone might see him and wonder what he was up to. Even though he spent every night after closing going over the day's receipts, sometimes for hours, tonight he felt uneasy. Exposed. And he knew Odo, at least, would find his movements suspicious, since he couldn't seem to help the furtive way he kept glancing over his shoulder, then down at the data padd in his hands, then back over toward the door as he went over the situation in his mind once again…

Everything had gone as planned. Major Kira had appeared at the appointed time, vague though that had been, had a drink, palmed the small vial Quark casually hid behind her glass, and left, all without saying a word.

But now, after the wheels had been set in motion, something felt…off. The more Quark thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Something was up, something big, and normally that made his ears quiver with anticipation, but not this time. Not with Major Kira involved. Under other circumstances he would jump at the chance to get her in his debt, but now that he'd had time to think and not merely react, everything about this deal screamed "back off" to his survival instincts, no matter how loudly his business instincts insisted it was the best thing to happen to him since--well, ever. And although there were several Rules of Acquisition that could be interpreted as stating that the business instinct was the one to listen to, somehow self-preservation was starting to seem more attractive.

The struggle between two equally strong instincts continued as Quark sat at the bar, half-heartedly pushing the data padd around with one finger. He had just about made up his mind to head for his quarters and wait for the whole thing to blow over when an unexpected voice nearly made him jump out of his skin. "Hello, Quark."

It was Garak, of all people, sitting casually at the other end of the bar. Holding a half-empty glass, raising it in a mocking salute once he had Quark's attention. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"

"What are you doing here?" Quark blustered, giving the drink--the unpaid for drink--almost as much attention as his uninvited guest. "It's after hours. We're closed. And now I have to add that drink into the tally." He tapped the data padd for emphasis.

Garak shrugged and downed the remainder of his canar. "I think you'll want to hear what I have to discuss with you." He placed the glass deliberately on the bar, Quark's gaze following it uneasily before he forced his attention back to Garak's face.

Quark started to rise. "Sorry, Garak, but anything we have to discuss--"

"Would be better left between the two of us," the Cardassian tailor inserted smoothly, tilting his head to one side in a quizzical fashion as he added, "Unless, of course, you want me to tell Odo what you gave Major Kira this afternoon?"

Quark slowly retook his seat as he stared at Garak's smiling face. The man was constantly smiling, as if he knew something no one else did; it was his normal expression. Which made it hard to judge if he actually did know something now, or was merely bluffing, if he was--how did Chief O'Brien put it? Oh yes. Fishing for information.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he hedged. "Major Kira merely stopped in for a drink, she does that every now and then."

"But it isn't every day she palms a vial filled with a certain illegal aphrodisiac, now is it," Garak countered. "A vial you gave her. And before you try another attempt at dodging me, let me remind you that J'varh has a very distinctive look."

Quark tried not to let his discomfit show; so much for the theory that Garak was bluffing. Somehow, he knew what Quark had acquired for the major; the question was, what was he going to do with that information? Or better still, what did want in exchange for his silence? Because he wouldn't be here now, letting Quark know that he was in on what was supposed to be a private deal, not if he intended to tell someone else about it. "And if I did give her a vial, what's that to you? If you wanted me arrested," he added shrewdly, "Odo would have already paid me a visit. So what do you want?" No sense wasting time. If blackmail was intended, he wanted to get it over with.

"What I want isn't the question," Garak countered. "It's what Major Kira wants with an illegal aphrodisiac that's the question. I wonder," he continued, leaning forward, "what use she could possibly have for something like that? So soon after she and Gul Dukat spoke together privately and he oh-so-altruistically saved the station for us."

"I get it, you don't have to spell out every detail for me," Quark snapped. In fact, he'd already put most of it together for himself, but hadn't wanted to let the major know he even suspected the reason she might need the J'varh he'd acquired for her. Not that he had anything against the use of sexual favors to pay off a debt, but he was forced to admit that was what had set his "back off" instincts screaming. Getting involved in a business deal with Major Kira was one thing; getting involved, however obliquely, with Gul Dukat was just begging for trouble.

"And what do you suppose I'd like you to do with this information?" was Garak's next question.

"If I had to guess, I'd suppose you'd like me to keep it to myself, since it's nobody's business but the Major's," Quark grumbled, "but I suppose I'd be wrong. So I suppose you expect me to do something about it."

Garak nodded, satisfied. Quark was reluctant, but not completely against the idea, or he'd have put up more than this token resistance. The Ferengi occasionally showed signs of developing a conscience, but often required prodding before putting it to use. "I suppose you might speak to Odo about it. Let him know what Dukat forced Kira to agree to do."

"Why don't you do it?" Quark asked suspiciously. "I'm not exactly high on Odo's list of people he trusts."

"Because I don't want anyone to know I'm involved," Garak said. "It's as simple as that. I chose you to speak to Odo because you already know what's going on, and the less people involved, the better."

Well, he certainly had that right, Quark thought sourly. "Suppose I do this, um, favor, for you. Odo's going to know where she got the vial," he pointed out. "Or he'll figure it out. How does that put me ahead?"

"Would it be better for Odo to find out from you, or from someone else?" Garak asked with another smile. A tighter one, this time. More deadly. "I'd hate for him to hear it from an anonymous source--especially if the information came to him after Major Kira had already, shall we say, sealed the bargain," he finished delicately.

Quark snorted in disgust, but was forced to admit that Garak had him. "Fine, all right," he grumbled. "I'll think about it."

Garak nodded. "I can't ask for more." He rose to leave, but turned back before reaching the door. "Of course, I'll know if you don't tell him."

Quark waved him away irritably. "Yeah, right, whatever. Good night, Garak, come again soon--during regular business hours. And you still owe me for that drink."

The tailor flipped a coin over his shoulder as he sauntered out the door of the bar. It landed with a quiet "ping" on the counter--right next to the glass. Quark muttered several unpleasant things under his breath, but heaved himself to his feet, headed for the end of the bar, and tucked the coin into his waistband. After all, it was an after-hours transaction, no need for him to adjust the day's receipts just for that.

Quark leaned on the bar, brooding on Garak's words as he debated his next actions. On the one hand, he'd already delivered the goods to the major, although without having extracted payment as of yet. His business instinct was still grumbling over that, but he ignored it. On the other hand, Garak was very persuasive--and his less-than-subtle threats to leak Quark's possession of an illegal substance to Odo left him without a choice.

"So I guess I'd better do it," Quark muttered, then hit the intercom. Quickly, before he could change his mind. "Quark to Odo. Can you come to the bar?"

"What is it, Quark?" Odo's grumbling voice came back. "I'm not exactly free at the moment. Can it wait?"

"No, it can't," Quark shot back. "It's urgent. And it involves a certain Bajoran major we both know." He didn't dare say anything more over the intercom, and held his breath as he waited to see if what he'd already said had been enough to intrigue Odo.

"Very well," the security chief replied after a brief pause. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Odo out."

Quark smiled in relief; it was out of his hands now. His two instincts could wrestle with each other until the end of the millennium, but since he'd called Odo he was now committed to dumping what he knew into the Constable's capable hands--or whatever appendage he felt like exhibiting at any given time.

He only hoped that Garak's timely intervention had forced him into following the right instinct.