The next morning, Kira confronted Sisko in his office. "We've got problems."

"New ones?" he asked, a marked lack of enthusiasm in his voice.

She nodded. "I just spoke with Minister Tearas. The Cardassians just got through talking to her. They heard about the irridial somehow, and they're charging that we plan to arm anti-Cardassian terrorists with it. And by 'we', I mean Bajor and the Federation."

"That's ludicrous!" Sisko exclaimed.

She threw up her hands. "Of course it is! They're only saying to make us think that they're not behind it all. As if we'd fall for such an old gambit," she sniffed.

Sisko stared out the window for a moment. "What if they're correct?"

"Correct? Since when does Star Fleet give irridial to terrorists?" she scoffed.

"Not that part of it," he said impatiently. "But what if it was delivered here so that Cardassians could be harmed?"

"I don't understand. Bajor is too busy rebuilding to think of revenge, and besides, everyone knows that any such violence would simply give the Cardassians the excuse they're looking for to come back to Bajor. Their military still thinks it was a bad idea to withdraw."

"But the Cardassians have plenty of other enemies," he pointed out. "Even if they wouldn't take part in terrorist activities, would Bajor be willing to turn a blind eye to the activities of groups who do, so long as the Cardassians were the target of the violence?"

Kira looked troubled. "I don't think so... If they found out, the Cardassians wouldn't distinguish between the two. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"The Rigellian border disputes are growing acrimonious," Sisko reminded her. "Rigellians wouldn't be sorry to see harm befall the Cardassians."

"And they'd be delighted if something were to happen on Bajor to distract the Cardassians from their sector of space!" Kira cried. "Isn't there a Rigellian ship scheduled to dock in the next few days?"

Sisko nodded. "I think we'd better keep an eye on that crew."

"And O'Brien's dummy irridial! I need to report these suspicions to the Council," she added unenthusiastically. "Their special session starts later today. They want me to be there."

"Take the Rio Grande, " Sisko offered quickly.

She gave him a look. "Thanks so much."

"Better you than me," he commented honestly. His grin finally wrung a smile from her.

"I don't suppose I could talk anyone else into going," Kira sighed.

"You might try Odo," Sisko commented, nodding past her to where the Constable had just appeared in Ops. "He's spent the night searching for Ryton without success. He might be ready for a change."

"That reminds me!" Kira exclaimed, surprised at her own lapse. "About Ryton, I mentioned his name to Tearas, to ask her to expedite matters with the Bureau of Records. She in turn passed the name on to the Cardassians. Their records during the Occupation years are much more complete than our own, and they tend to assist us on -- " her smile twisted " -- 'humanitarian' cases, so long as it's politically beneficial to them."

"Yes?"

"They know him. Not his origins, but he apparently was on Cardassia for a time."

"What?" Sisko exploded. "Cardassia itself?"
She nodded admiringly. "No wonder he's such a tough little guy. They assume he stowed away aboard a ship that was bound for Cardassia from Bajor. He drove them crazy for about six months before abruptly vanishing several months ago." She chuckled. "For all our great aspirations, none of the Underground made it to Cardassia. It took a Bajoran child to do that!"

"What happened?"

"According to what the Cardassians told Tearas, they think he was one of the many Bajoran children orphaned during the Occupation." For a moment, Kira's smile drooped and bitter memories haunted her eyes. Then she shook herself free and continued, "After wandering through the system, stowing away on one ship after another, he ended up on Cardassia. He made a nuisance of himself in all sorts of inventive ways, and they could never quite catch him. Then he disappeared. Presumably on another ship."

"That would certainly explain his talents at escaping," Sisko commented, waving Odo into his office.

"I haven't found him yet," Odo declared belligerently, obviously furious with both himself and Ryton.

"Don't be too critical of your staff," Sisko told him. "Kira?"

Kira filled him in on what they had learned of Ryton's background, but Odo was not mollified. "He's only a child. I'll find him."

"Security to Odo! A disturbance has been reported at Quark's."

"What now?" he grumbled, striding out the door without a farewell.

Sisko and Kira exchanged a glance. "If anyone can catch him..."

"It's Odo," Kira agreed. "But when he does, you can expect the Cardassians to demand his extradition."

"Are they serious?"
She nodded disgustedly. "They say he's guilty of everything from malicious mischief to acts of treason. Naturally the Council has no intention of turning him, or anyone, over to the Cardassians; Tearas thinks the Cardassians are hoping to use it as a ploy in negotiations over the irridial. Still, it's probably just as well that he's staying here for the next few days, under Federation custody, rather than Bajoran."

Sisko wanted another cup of coffee. "See what else you can find out about irridial and potential terrorist groups at the Council meeting. Maybe someone on Bajor knows something that will be helpful."

She nodded. "And I'll do a little digging into Ryton's background too. I may be gone a few days -- the special session is supposed to last a week, and Tearas wants me there the entire time."

"I believe that, with luck, we'll be able to carry on without you," Sisko said gravely. When she spun, outraged, to face him, the twinkle in his eye told her that she was being very gently teased.

"Don't forget about the Rigellian ship," she admonished as she turned to leave.

He sighed, sounding rather like Jake. "Yes, Major."

She paused at the doorway and gave him a genuine smile. "Goodbye, Commander."

"Goodbye, Major."

#

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" If the crash of breaking glass hadn't been enough to attract a crowd, Rom's screams would have. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! You criminal! You -- aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" he ducked as another bottle whizzed at his head.

He ranted and spluttered, rushing forward then hurriedly backpedaling as the slight figure behind the bar held him at bay with well-placed missiles taken from the counter behind him.

"Thief! Robber! Miscreant!" Rom ventured forward, but the bottle of Saurian brandy grazed his lobes and he beat a hasty retreat.

"Get him! Get him!" he appealed to the bar's patrons for assistance, but they were enjoying the show too much to intervene.

Ryton yawned. This was almost too easy. Granted, it had been sloppy of him to be caught, and with his route to the door blocked no less. Still, the stupidity of this Ferengi had allowed him to salvage an otherwise disastrous situation.

Ferengi were not kind to thieves. A race who regarded the art of the deal and legal thievery as the ultimate goal of life did not approve of those who sought to circumvent the system for their own means.

"Nononono!" Rom screamed in terror as Ryton selected a small flask of emerald liquid. "Not that one! It's worth 50 bars of gold-pressed latanum!"

Ryton paused and regarded the bottle thoughtfully. "Really? Then what will you offer for its safe return?"

"Huh?" The question was too much for Rom.

"Ransom," Ryton spelled it out. "What will you give me not to smash it?"

Rom furrowed his brow. "Ransom? Er... what do you want?"

"How much cash is there in the safe?"

"No, no!" Stupid Rom might be, but he was a Ferengi, and he was not going to fall for that old trick. "You tell me how much you want!"

"Are you too dumb to remember how much you put in the safe last night?" Ryton hooted, and the audience burst into laughter.

"I am not!" Rom denied the charge vigorously. "I saw my brother put in at least thirty bars of -- uh oh."

"Thirty bars?" Ryton hefted the flask. "That's not a bad price for a vial worth fifty. Even for a Ferengi that's a good deal."

"It is?" Rom was confused.

"Of course it is!" Ryton explained patiently. "You yourself said the bottle is worth fifty, right? And I'm offering it to you for only thirty."

"That is a good deal," Rom admitted, although he still felt something was wrong.

"All you need to do now is open the safe, pay me the money, and it's yours."
"Well..." Whether Rom was actually stupid enough to do it remained moot, for at that moment a new shriek was heard.

"My bar! My beautiful bar!" Quark rushed up to his cowering brother. "I can't spend ten minutes in the holosuites without you reducing this place to rubble! What are you doing?"

"But, Brother," Rom whimpered, "I have just made an excellent deal with this young Bajoran. He is going to sell me that bottle for a mere thirty bars of gold pressed -- "

"He's going to sell you my own merchandise?" Quark screeched. "You idiot!"

Ryton took one look at Quark's maddened face and realized that this was no fool. Deciding to forego the thirty bars, he tossed the bottle at the Ferengi and streaked for the door.

The distraction he'd hoped for was only half-successful. Rom leapt to catch the flask, but Quark dove straight for him. The Ferengi was only half a pace behind him when Ryton banged into a tall, rigid chest.

"Busy?" Odo cooed sarcastically.

"Um.." Ryton stared up at the Constable, his mind churning frantically to formulate a plan of escape.

"Aha!" Quark's hand caught him roughly by the ear, and he yelped in fear, grabbing onto Odo. He'd heard tales of what Ferengi did to thieves.

"Turn him loose, Quark," Odo ordered.

"He tried to rob us," Rom put in, over Quark's shoulder. "I caught him with his hand in the till."

Odo glanced down at Ryton, mildly surprised. "He caught you?"

Ryton blushed. "I was in a hurry."

"Look what he did to my bar!" Quark was undeterred. "I claim my rights! The 53rd rule of acquisition says -- "

"This is not within the Ferengi domain," Odo interrupted. "You cannot claim blood penalty."

"But look what he did!" Quark threw out his arm, narrowly missing Rom. "And he nearly made off with my money! I demand satisfaction!"

"It's true," Ryton said suddenly, looking at Quark oddly. "I did go into his money drawer."

"You see?" Quark demanded triumphantly. "He even admits it!"

"Yes," Ryton insisted, still staring at Quark. "I got a good look inside."

Quark abruptly stopped shouting and looked sharply at Ryton. "Eh, what was that?"

"I saw everything that was in the drawer," Ryton continued, edging closer to Odo. "I had it in my hands."

Now Odo was watching the two of them. "Perhaps you'd better open this drawer, Quark, so that we can see whether or not he made off with anything."

"No, no!" Quark exclaimed suddenly. "That won't be necessary. I believe him when he says that he didn't take anything. It's all right."

All of Odo's instincts were aquiver. "But if you want to press charges, I'll have to make an inspection."

"Never mind," Quark released Ryton hastily. "Now that I think about it, I don't believe any harm was done." He went so far as to pat Ryton's head, but the boy ducked behind Odo.

"Hmf." Odo would have liked to get a look in that drawer, but without a complaint, he had no legal excuse to do so. He glanced around the bar, taking some comfort in the shambles to which the bar had been reduced.

"But, Brother," Rom whined, "it was all his fault!" Whatever unspoken conversation had passed between Quark and Ryton, had missed Rom completely.

"Shut up!" Quark snarled, spinning on his brother with all the frustration and repressed fury within him. Rom bleated in alarm and retreated to the far end of the bar.

"Apologize to Quark for all the trouble you caused," Odo instructed Ryton.

"I'm sorry, Quark," the boy obliged immediately.

"It's nothing," Quark replied between clenched teeth.

Odo's nimble mind had thought of something. "Tell Quark you'll be happy to work in the bar to help pay for the damage."

"What?" both yelped in shock, staring at him.

He permitted himself a small smile. If the boy behaved as usual, his sticky fingers would soon resume their wandering, and if Rom, rather than Quark, was present when they did, Odo just might gain access to the safe after all.

Ryton was gazing at him in alarm, while Quark viewed him with deep suspicion. It wasn't like Odo to be helpful, and the Ferengi's initial impulse was to refuse the offer just to be safe.

"He'll start tomorrow," Odo informed them before further protests could be mustered. "And, Quark, you're not to lay a finger on him." With that, he took Ryton by the scruff of the neck and trotted him off.

"What did you do that for?" Ryton complained. He was loping alongside Odo without difficulty. It was almost a practiced motion by now.

"While you're here, you might as well occupy your time," Odo retorted.

The boy subsided, and the rest of the trip to Ops passed in silence.

"Here he is again," Odo deposited his catch in front of Sisko. "Now what?"

Sisko looked hopefully towards O'Brien who instantly grabbed a tool and vanished beneath the console. The commander sighed. "Benjamin," Dax's quiet voice said in his ear, "it seems as though you've run out of foster families. Whoever takes the boy in, he always ends up with Odo."

An idea flared to life, and Sisko began to smile. "You know, that's exactly right. He always seems to end up with Odo." He stressed the last two words.

Dax caught on and mirrored his seraphic smile. "That suggests something, doesn't it?"

Odo looked from one to the other uncomprehendingly. "Excuse me?"

Sisko put a friendly hand about his shoulders and steered him and Ryton towards the lift. "You strike me as being lonely in that office of yours, Odo. I bet you'd like nothing better than to have some company for a few days."

"You're mistaken," Odo replied stiffly. "I am perfectly content -- "

"And since Ryton needs a place to stay," Sisko continued without pause, "I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together."

"What?" Odo cried, letting go of Ryton. He stopped dead and turned to confront Sisko. "You cannot be serious! My duties do not include nursemaiding Bajoran delinquents! Why don't you send him to Bajor? I'm not responsible for -- "

"It just simplifies things, Constable. You're the one who keeps having to hunt him down; this simply makes it easier for you to keep track of him." Sisko pointed to the departed lift. "And it looks like he's gone again."

"This is absurd!" Odo exploded, but he couldn't stay to argue the point lest Ryton get clean away.

Sisko looked after him with a deep feeling of satisfaction. That was one crisis solved at last.

"Nicely done," Dax praised him. Behind her, O'Brien cautiously surfaced.

"It's safe, Chief. He's gone," Sisko told him, and O'Brien had the grace to turn red.

#

Odo caught up with Ryton within two decks and dragged him back to the Security office. "Sit down," he ordered, slamming Ryton into a chair with more than the minimum required force.

"Ow." Ryton looked up at him in surprise. "Are you really keeping me here?"

"It doesn't appear I have any choice."

Ryton glanced about agreeably. "Who are they?" he asked, noticing the mug shots on Odo's wall and getting up to take a closer look.

"Stay in the chair!"

Ryton speedily reseated himself before Odo could lend a hand. "I can't stay in the chair forever!' he protested.

Odo ignored him, taking the chair behind the desk and busying himself with some paperwork.

"Odo-o," Ryton whined. "Can't I just walk around the office?"

"You sound like Rom," Odo informed him chillingly, and Ryton paused, disconcerted.

"You can't keep me here," he tried another tack.

"Oh?" Odo didn't even look up.

"I was on Cardassia for over two years and they never caught me."

"I did."

"Well, yes," Ryton was forced to give Odo that point, "but there's a difference between being caught and staying caught."

Odo set his databoard down and looked at Ryton skeptically. "You eluded the Cardassians for two years? I find that hard to believe."

Ryton looked sheepish. "Well, it was actually only the last six months or so that they knew to look for me."

"And before that?"

"I was hidden by an old woman." For some reason, Ryton found himself confiding in Odo. "When I first got off the ship and realized where I was, I thought I was as good as dead. I headed for the forest, thinking that I'd have the best chance of avoiding Cardassians there. An old woman, Medol, found me a week later. I was almost dead of hunger." Ryton drew his knees up to his chin and paused, remembering. "She told me later that I reminded her of her son. He'd died when he was little. She took care of me until she died. She would hide me from the patrols that sometimes came by."

"What did you do after her death?"

Ryton glanced over at him. "I decided I was old enough to fight against the Cardassians, so I did. When they were closing in on my hiding place, I climbed aboard a transport and got off-planet. So you see,Odo," he finished, "I'm very good at getting away from people. You might as well let me go now."

"What are you doing here? Trying to get back to your home on Bajor?"

Ryton snorted scornfully. "Bajor? What for? There's nothing there for me."

"Then what? What are you stealing the money for?"

Ryton suddenly looked elaborately innocent. "I don't know. I couldn't think of anything else to do, I guess."

Odo wasn't fooled, but he had conducted enough interrogations to know when to drop the matter. "You'll sleep in one of the cells," he told Ryton. "If you want to move around, you can do it back there."

Ryton sighed and headed for the holding room. "You're just making it harder on both of us," he told Odo, yawning

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Odo suggested hopefully. "You were up all night running away from me."

"Okay." Ryton was sensible enough to recognize good advice when he heard it.

When he next awoke, all was quiet. He slid off the bunk (which was surprisingly comfortable) and made his way to the front office. He'd been surprised that Odo had neglected to lock him into the cell while he slept, but he was flabbergasted to find the front office deserted. With only a moment's pause to thank the Prophets for his good fortune, he ran through the door.

The forcefield caught him at the threshold, bruising his hand and nose. "Odo!" he exclaimed indignantly. "That's not fair! I didn't even know you could set a forcefield on this door!"

He was familiar enough with Federation technology to know that trying to deactivate the screen was hopeless, and he returned to his bunk for the rest of the night.

In the morning, the game began.

Odo was kept busy with the duties of a security chief, and every time he turned his back, Ryton disappeared. The Constable quickly realized that this was a war of attrition, and after delegating as much of his work as he could, he laid a few plans of his own.

On his next escape, Ryton made it as far as the access tunnels of the docking ring before the handle of his flashlight shivered and morphed into Odo. "Lost?" the constable inquired before taking Ryton's collar in an all-too-familiar grip and dragging him back to the office.

The next time, he was the rat sniffing Ryton's shoe in the cargo bay, then a coin in Ryton's pocket, the map of the station he was consulting, and then Ryton's shirt itself. After that last attempt, Ryton seriously wondered if he'd have to make all future escapes stark naked.

When he worked at Quark's, as Odo had insisted, the Ferengi kept too sharp an eye on him for an escape to be remotely possible. Quark was scrupulous about not striking the boy, although his verbal harangues could be almost deafening. Ryton was a quick study though, and soon Quark's tirades were, as usual, exclusively directed at Rom. Quark even began to warm to Ryton, as the boy showed none of the normal Bajoran haughtiness towards the Ferengi or their business dealings.

"Good boy!" he praised him late the second afternoon. "Did you see that, Rom? He never forgets to charge a service fee when exchanging currency!"

Rom glowered at Ryton, who smiled back smugly. "Oh, Quark," the boy said, as though recalling something, "I forgot. Odo wants me to leave early today. Is that all right?"

"Of course, of course," Quark replied, already busy with a new customer at the bar.

Ryton pushed his tray at Rom, ignoring his teeth gnashing, and hurried out. The Security office was just a few doors down to the right, so Ryton turned left. Odo didn't expect him back for another half-hour, and by then... "Going somewhere?" a voice purred in his ear while a steely hand seized his shirt.

"Odo!" Ryton groaned, turning to find Odo half-morphed from the wall on which he'd been hanging. The Constable separated himself completely and escorted Ryton back to the office.

"Don't you have anything else to do?" Ryton groused. "Aren't you getting tired of this?"

"On the contrary," Odo replied loftily. "This has become very diverting."

Ryton subsided into a sulk. He sat in the chair into which Odo always deposited him, and glared at the Constable. Odo was wholly oblivious.

Ryton's plan wasn't working. He'd hoped to make Odo so sick of chasing him that he would give Ryton the opportunity he needed to collect his hidden cache of loot and sneak onto an outbound ship. He'd never wanted to entertain Odo!

Even more maddening was Odo's inhuman (and unBajoran) calm! He never got angry, never shouted at Ryton, never punished him for his escape attempts. Except for marching him back to the office and thumping him into the chair, he never touched him. Ryton growled in frustration. Even a beating would have indicated that Odo was beginning to crack! This patient tolerance was driving Ryton crazy. Worse, Odo's constantly being one step ahead of him was bruising his ego. Ryton would have much preferred a bruised body.

#

Meanwhile, the Council meeting had ground to a halt. "I don't know what to report," Kira told Sisko helplessly. "There's so much paranoia here that I can't tell what's a genuine threat."

Sisko's eyebrows rose. If Kira called it paranoia, the situation must be serious indeed.

"The Cardassians are still muttering threats, but I think it's mostly for show. They just don't want to be blamed for mining the station."

"The Orionite captain's story checked out in all respects," Sisko told her. We heard from the Chordians today, and they have a computer-dated bill of sale on file with the Orionite's shipping line."

Kira threw her hands up. "So? Even if the majority of the cargo was intended for them, it would have been easy to arrange a drop at the station with another buyer. The Chordians wouldn't notice a few kilos from a cargo of several gigagrams. We need to find out who put the irridial on DS9! If it was the Orionite, we need to learn who was supposed to pick it up!"
Dax joined the conversation. "The Rigellians docked a few hours ago. We're keeping an eye on the chief's decoy, but so far they haven't made a move towards it."

"That's just great!" Kira exclaimed in frustration.

Sisko changed the subject. "Anything on Ryton's family?"

She shook her head, looking exhausted. "No, and I've about run out of places to check. Between that search and the Council, I don't know which way to turn."

"It sounds to me like you need to take some quiet time, just to think," Dax said abruptly.

Kira laughed disbelievingly. "Around this bunch? You must be joking!"

"I didn't say there," Dax replied, a mischievous smile playing around her lips. "But surely you can think of a peaceful place, somewhere you can meditate on things."

Sisko glanced from one to the other, bemused. What was Dax driving at?

From Kira's expression, she was as bewildered as he. Finally, with a look of exasperation, Dax rubbed the bridge of her nose hard.

"Wh-- ohhhh!" Kira's brow cleared and a completely different expression came over her countenance. "I understand," she smiled at Dax.

Dax grinned back, eyes twinkling. "I thought you might."
"Kira out."

"Now what was that all about, old man?" Sisko turned to Dax, still mystified.

Dax drew herself up, looking very prim and proper. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do," he pressed. "Come on; tell me."

She turned her laughing eyes on him. "Now, Benjamin, would you expect me to explain to Kira everything we hold in common?"

"Kirzon would have told me," he argued, teasing her.

"Well, I'm Jadzia," she retorted. "Besides, Benjamin, you should be able to figure it out yourself. Really, you men!"

He burst into laughter and, chuckling, she left his office.