" -- and that's the docking ring schedule for the next several days." Kira glanced from Sisko to Dax. "Any questions?"

To Sisko's mingled relief and annoyance, none of his officers appeared to be suffering any ill effects from their nightly revelries. Performance ratings had not slipped, despite his dire predictions, and people seemed every inch as efficient as always. The only difference was a number of new jokes which everyone except him enjoyed immensely. He was beginning to feel like an outsider on his own station.

"On a different topic, I was wondering if we might raise the tractor beam's efficiency if we routinely switched its frequency," Dax commented. "Jake Bennet was telling me that -- "

"Lieutenant," Sisko interrupted severely, "I don't think it would be wise to adopt any of Bennet's 'suggestions'. At least until Chief O'Brien -- " he glanced to where the chief was trying, for the third straight day, to trace Bennet's intrusions into the computer " -- has decided how much damage he's done to the computer."

"Do we have any evidence that Bennet has tampered with it?" Kira asked.

"The chief has found that someone set up a security program to monitor Garek's movements, and Odo assures me that it wasn't him."

"That still doesn't prove it was Bennet."

He frowned. "Who else could it be? Besides, it's that proof for which the chief is presently looking."

"I don't think -- " Dax began, but before she could finish, the station was plunged into darkness.

A shouted oath from O'Brien preceded the emergency power by a split second, and soon they were all standing by his console in the dim illumination.

"Report!" Sisko demanded.

O'Brien thumped his fist down on the instrument panel. "I was that close to catching him, the sneaky bugger!" He made a visible effort to restrain his temper and turned to the commander. "It's bad news, sir," he began unnecessarily. "I've been following Bennet's trail since we spoke, but he left behind so many false leads that it took me this long to find the right one. I had just reached his entry point to the restricted levels when the system crashed. He obviously left behind a booby trap, and I sprung it when I came poking around."

"We've got an Andorian freighter due in four hours!" Kira reminded them. "Will the system be up by then, or should I tell them to divert?"

Dax was already beside O'Brien, helping him sort out the damage. "It looks like most of the lost material is from the security files," she said. "I think it should be easy to restore the rest of the system."

O'Brien nodded his agreement. "He induced a simple cascade failure, triggered by anyone straying too close to his modifications. Once we reload the programs from the protected core, we'll be fine."

"Dax, go ahead and get started. Life Support first, then the main station systems, and so on." She nodded, heading for her station. Sisko continued, turning to O'Brien, "What's the net result of this trap?"

O'Brien exhaled noisily. "Just the waste of all my work over the last three days. The computer can be put right within a few hours, but the records of what Bennet did have been wiped forever."

Sisko's eyes narrowed. "You mean we can't even arrest him for setting this trap in the first place?"

O'Brien shook his head in frustration. "There's no proof that he did anything to the system. All we could prove, by your Jake's testimony, was that Bennet had access to your terminal. We couldn't show that he's the one who set the spy-eyes on Garek or that he rigged the computer to conceal the fact."

"Then we're no further than where we started!" Sisko exclaimed in frustration. "We still don't know why Bennet is so dead set against running into Garek!"

"He can't be over fond of him, that much is clear," O'Brien muttered. "Can't we toss the two of them together and see what happens?"

"With neither of them in custody? Bennet won't be easy to dupe, and it's clear he'll do anything to avoid the Cardassian."

"Maybe Gul Dukat could tell us something." O'Brien was grasping at straws and he knew it.

Sisko sighed. He appreciated the chief's motives, but he was forced to answer, "I don't think it would be wise to call him up and start fishing. Not until I have a better sense of what's at stake."

"Then I guess this round goes to Bennet, sir," O'Brien said in disgust. "All we know is that he doesn't like Garek. Well, that's bloody awful to show for three days' work."

#

As O'Brien and Dax had predicted, within a few hours the computer was back to normal. However, the computer crash was not the only bit of excitement for the day. Shortly after full power was restored, Sisko was summoned to Sickbay. Odo met him there and explained, "It's Garek. Someone took advantage of the power outage to try to kill him."

"What happened?"

"It was fairly simple. In the darkness, someone crept up behind him and bashed his head in with a display pole from his shop."

"Any witnesses?"

Odo shook his head. "It was dark on the Promenade; only the corridors receive emergency lighting, and no one saw anything. If my people hadn't made a routine check of every store once power resumed, we might not have found Garek in time."

"What about forensic evidence?"

"When we scanned his shop for clues, we found evidence that dozens of people had been in it. Hardly surprising -- it is a popular store."

"Then you have no leads?"

"I didn't say that. Our scans uncovered one interesting bit of evidence. Mr. Bennet has been inside Garek's store."

Sisko's eyebrows rose. "Oh? But I thought -- "

"Exactly."

"Can you tell how recently he was in there?"

"Only that it was within the last few days. Unfortunately, we can't be more precise than that."

"Where was Bennet when the lights went out?"

"My staff is searching for him so that I can ask him that very question," Odo told Sisko with a wolfish smile.

"Could it have been someone else?" Sisko played devil's advocate for a moment. "A Bajoran worker, say, with a grudge against Cardassia?"

"Why wait so long? We've had power outages before."

"But what could Bennet's motive be?"

"I assume that when we learn why he's been avoiding Garek so assiduously, we will find out why he might prefer him dead."

"Does Garek himself have any suggestions?"

"He's still unconscious. Dr. Bashir says it will be several days before he'll be well enough for questioning. It was a close thing."

"When you find Bennet..."

"I will notify you at once, Commander." They smiled at each other. They had waited a long time for this moment.

#

Surprisingly, it didn't take Odo's staff long to locate Bennet, and he was soon installed in Odo's office. "Hi, Commander," he greeted Sisko breezily as the commander arrived, summoned by Odo.

Sisko took the seat next to Odo and the two men regarded Bennet across the width of the desk. The trader gazed back with a serene expression.

"Mr. Bennet, is there anything you'd like to tell us?"

Bennet thought for a moment. "Sure. I think your uniforms are kind of dull. Have you considered a new style?"

Sisko could afford to be tolerant. "Very amusing. I was referring to today's events. Perhaps you could shed some light on them?"

He stretched lazily, leaning back in his chair. "Gee, Commander, I wish I could, but I don't know a thing."

Odo spoke for the first time, addressing himself to Sisko. "Perhaps after he's charged with murder, his memory will improve."

Bennet sat upright with a thump. "Murder? What are you talking about? The emergency power kicked in right away! The outage didn't last long enough to cause even minor casualties, let alone a fatality!"

Odo and Sisko exchanged a glance. They had assumed that Bennet would know about the attempt on Garek's life, considering how well connected he was to the station grapevine. "What did you do during and after the power outage?"

Bennet's casual air was gone. "I assumed that a -- computer failure -- had caused the problem," he said carefully, "and I guessed that you might want to talk to me about it. I had no objections, so I stayed at Quark's and had a few drinks until Odo's people arrived to collect me. It took them longer than I had expected."
"Can anyone verify your alibi?" Odo asked skeptically.

"The place emptied out when the lights failed, but Quark and Rom were there. They can..." Jake's voice trailed off as he realized that the Ferengi were his only witnesses. "What's going on? If this is just some kind of stupid ploy to get me to confess to computer tampering -- "

"It's no trick," Sisko told him. "Garek the tailor was attacked and left for dead during the power outage."

Bennet absorbed the information in silence for a moment, then: "Why assume I had anything to do with it? I didn't even know him."

"No?" Odo asked casually. "You seem to know everyone else."

"I don't. He's one of the people I've never seemed to run into."

"Imagine that," the Constable remarked drily. "You've never seen him at Quark's bar? Never encountered him in the corridor? Never visited his shop?"

"Never," Jake replied, too quickly. He caught the glance that traveled between the other two and cursed internally. There was something here he didn't understand.

"You didn't enter his store?" Sisko pressed.

Bennet paused, alarm bells going off in his mind. He had to decide whether it would be better to stick to his original story or quickly to invent a new one. "No," he answered, deciding to stand pat.

"Then perhaps you can explain why your DNA pattern was detected in cell residues from Garek's shop," Odo invited.

Bennet took a deep breath. There was no humor in his countenance now, only tension. "Look, I didn't attack Garek. I don't do that kind of thing."

"You bore no grudge against Garek?" Odo asked.

"I didn't even know him!" Bennet exclaimed, his voice rising.

"Then why have you so studiously avoided him? To the point of utilizing a personnel locator?"

"You can't have proof of that!" Bennet caught himself a moment too late. "I mean, if you did, you'd have charged me with it, right?"

"We only have circumstantial evidence," Sisko admitted, "but a judge might find the sworn statements of a Star Fleet commander and the station's Security Chief compelling. Odo and I saw the locator in action, and we have no doubt that that's what you were using."

"And with the other evidence -- the lie about being in Garek's store, the pattern of avoidance, your past criminal record... I don't think the judge will have too much trouble believing you were responsible."

"Wait a second." Bennet held up both hands. "You can't be serious. I had nothing to do with the attack on Garek. What was my motive?"

"What were you doing in Cardassian space? If Garek had sent a description of you to Central Command, what would they have told him?"

Bennet kept his mouth firmly closed. Odo and Sisko glanced at each other. "Commander, unless you have any objections...?"

"None."

Odo stood up. "Jake Bennet, I hereby place you under arrest for the attempted murder of Garek the Cardassian."

"I didn't do it!" Bennet burst out. "You're going to let the real assailant get away!"

Odo pulled him to his feet. "I will inform the Bajoran authorities; you'll be sent to the planet for trial. Save your protestations for the judges."

"Dammit, Odo! I swear, I didn't do it! Just ask Quark!"

"I intend to. If he backs up your story, you've nothing to worry about."

"Let me talk to him first. For just two minutes!" Bennet begged. "Otherwise he'll never tell you I was there!"

"Suborning perjury -- "

Bennet nearly strangled in frustration. "I'm not going to get him to lie; I'm going to make him tell you the truth!"

"I'm quite good at that myself," Odo retorted, dragging him into a cell. He pushed Jake inside and activated the force field. Then he glanced back at the disheartened trader, and with a hint of satisfaction added, "Trust me."

When he returned to his office, Sisko was still there. "What do you think?"

"I hardly expected a complete confession," Odo replied with a shrug.

"What do you think of his alibi?"

Odo paused. "If he isn't the would-be killer, then he's right to be concerned. Would you want Quark to be the only person between you and a charge of attempted murder?"