The Next Morning

Odo paced around his spartan quarters, his mind gnawing endlessly at the problem Quark had dumped in his figurative lap. What should he do about it? He dismissed the question of whether he had any right to do anything at all; no matter how Nerys would react to his interference, he still felt it was his duty as a friend, if nothing else, to stop her from doing something so contrary to her nature. All to fulfill an over-inflated sense of duty on her own part. He ignored the tiny voice jeering that his own sense of duty was hardly under-worked.

"Concentrate, Odo," he admonished himself as he forced his thoughts away from the ethical dilemma he refused to acknowledge he was facing. "How can you do something about this without letting Nerys know that you know? Or letting anyone else know, for that matter?" He considered the idea of sneaking into her quarters while she was out, stealing the vial, and sneaking back out before she returned, but discarded it. For one thing, he had no doubt that it was well hidden, and it was very possible that she wasn't letting it any further away than her own person. For another thing, it still wouldn't solve the larger problem; she would simply find another way to force herself to go through with it. Which left him where he started: How was he to deal with this matter?

His brooding thoughts were interrupted by the chiming of the door. "Come," he called out, and somehow wasn't surprised to see Commander Sisko standing in the doorway, an apologetic expression on his face.

"Odo, I only have a minute, I'm overdue for my shuttle." Actually, by Odo's estimates the commander still had about five minutes before he was scheduled to leave, but by Sisko's standards, that was late. "I need to talk to you about Major Kira before I go."

The security chief nodded. "Of course you do, Commander." At Sisko's inquiring look, he added, "She seems to be a favorite topic of discussion lately."

Sisko still looked puzzled, but Odo merely gestured for him to continue without further elaboration. Accepting that the answer he'd received was all Odo was going to give him, Sisko did so. "I'm sure you've heard by now that when Gul Dukat gave us the codes to save the station, he spoke privately with Major Kira first."

Odo nodded. "I've also heard that Dukat was apparently feeling rather altruistic that night, that he made no demands in exchange for his help."

"No political demands, at least," Sisko corrected. "Any personal demands or private agreements they may or may not have reached, however, are officially none of my business. However…"

"However, you feel that anything Major Kira may have agreed to may not be in her own best interest, is that it, Commander?"

Sisko nodded again. "Whether or not it's any of my business, I'm not entirely comfortable about the situation. Unfortunately I haven't had the luxury of being able to devote any time to it. Something happened, something she's not telling me, and quite frankly, it's exactly as you say. I don't want to pry, but I can't leave it alone."

Odo grunted. "I see. And you wish me to look into the situation for you?"

Sisko spread his hands helplessly. "If you could, Constable. I suppose I could be imagining things, but I don't think so. I would do something about it myself if I had the time; the Hitari trade negotiations just hit another snag, and naturally I'm the only one either side will accept as a mediator, which is why I'm off to Bajor at the crack of dawn." He'd thought his troubles were finally over when the two parties had reached a tentative agreement and headed to Bajor to finalize things, but of course it couldn't be that easy. His presence was "requested" to make sure no one tried anything at the last minute.

"I have had concerns of my own," Odo allowed, although he avoided mentioning that they'd only cropped up in the last few hours, and then only because of Quark's information; he'd been far too busy this week himself to have the luxury of delving into his friends' personal lives, and hadn't been privy to any of the information he was now receiving. "I will look into it for you, Commander," he promised. "The possibility concerns me as well."

There was an unmistakable flash of relief in Sisko's eyes as he thanked Odo. He hesitated, then added, "Due to the delicacy of this situation, of course I understand that whatever you discover will be confidential in nature. As long as you feel that station security isn't being compromised in some way, I trust you to deal with this situation, and I also trust you to tell me only what you feel necessary."

Good. He understood the need for discretion; Odo had been searching for a delicate way to suggest just such a thing himself. "Of course." Odo waited for the door to his quarters to close behind Sisko before allowing a brief, satisfied smile to cross his face. The commander's request erased any lingering doubts as to the appropriateness of his interference in what Major Kira would consider an intensely private matter. After all, if the station commander requested that interference, then there was obviously some question of station security. Now all he had to do was decide on a strategy.

Confronting Kira was out, not only because she wouldn't appreciate anyone's interference in her private life, but also because it wouldn't do anything to change matters. She felt obligated to carry out her part of the devil's bargain she'd made with Dukat, and Odo knew from experience how difficult it would be to change her mind once she'd resolved to do something. No matter how personally distasteful that something might be.

No, the line of attack would, by necessity, have to be through Dukat. The question was, how? Appealing to the Cardassian's sense of decency would be a complete waste of time, as would threatening to expose him. As far as Dukat was concerned, he'd made a private arrangement with Kira, one that had nothing to do with anyone else, and he would feel the same as Major Kira--that it was nobody's business but their own. Besides, any threat of exposure would expose the major as well, and Dukat would know that was the last thing Odo would want to do.

That left one last option--honesty. Tell Dukat everything Odo knew about what Major Kira was planning. Appealing to Dukat's sense of honor in this case would be pointless; appealing to his vanity, however, might yield better results. Yes, that was the way to go.

Odo grunted in satisfaction as he prepared to start his official work day. Dukat would board the station in approximately twelve hours, and Odo would be waiting for him.

oOo

Garak watched Sisko leave Odo's quarters, hesitate, look back, then head down the corridor. Just as he'd watched Odo enter Quark's bar earlier, and most conspicuously not leave when Quark and his brother closed up for the night. So the Ferengi had taken the bait, as Chief O'Brien would put it. And Commander Sisko seemed to have finally taken Garak and Bashir's concerns to heart as well and approached Odo on his own. All the better. That meant Garak could keep himself completely out of it, trusting Odo to figure out a way to stop Dukat's plans.

Yes, it was better that he stay out of it. For now.

But one day, Dukat would know exactly who had stopped him. And Garak looked forward to that day.