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Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 20:25:40 -0500
Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW DS9: Everybody Comes to Leeta's 2/2 (D/L, D/K imp, O/?, AU) [R] FFF
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Title: Everybody Comes to Leeta's
Author: longbeachtrekstar ( longbeachtrekstar @ yahoo . com )
Series: DS9
Codes: D/L, D/K imp, O/?, AU
Rating: R
Parts: 2/2
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek. Warner Brothers
owns "Casablanca". This was written as a fan's tribute (to both
genres). The only profit is (hopefully) an entertaining story.
Archiving: FFF, ASCEM, others please ask.
Feedback: Yes please, here or by email.
Notes:
Based on the film "Casablanca" (1942).
Written for lucky Round XIII of the Femme Fuh-q Fest --
http://www.geocities.com/femme_fuhq_fest/
The symbols ^ ^ are used to indicate dialog inspired by quotes from
the film, as reprinted on various websites. In some cases it is close
to verbatim, while in others cases names, tech-lingo, and other text
were modified to fit this story. But if the spirit of the words was
inspired by the film, then I gave credit where it was due.
Summary: The fundamental things apply, as time goes by...

Everybody Comes to Leeta's
by longbeachtrekstar, January 2004


(Continued from Part One)

The next evening, Dukat and his Cardassian cronies were in the Cafe 
in greater numbers than usual. The Gul bought his men round after 
round of drinks, and they were getting quite boisterous. As Odo 
entered on his evening visit, Dukat flagged him down as if he were an 
old friend. "Odo! Odo!" He patted the seat next to him. "Sit! Drink!"

"None for me, thank you. I'm on duty," he said, as if that ever made 
any difference. He noticed that Yvonne was sitting with the Gul and 
gave her a sardonic smile. Turning to the bar, he called out, ^"A 
bottle of your best champagne for the Gul, and put it on my bill."^ 
Dukat started to object, but Odo cut him off. ^"It's a little game we 
play. They put it on the bill. I tear up the bill. It is very 
convenient."^ Dukat laughed, approving of Odo's abuse of authority.

Odo walked passed Rom, who was playing the piano with his typical 
easy grace, over to where Leeta was surveying her establishment. She 
was leaning backward against the bar, elbows resting on the 
rail. "Your standards must be dropping, Leeta," he teased. Referring 
to Dukat and his henchmen, he said, "It looks as if you'll let anyone 
in here."

^"I gave him the best table... knowing he is Cardassian and would 
take it anyway."^

"And it appears," mused Odo, ^"Yvonne's gone over to the enemy."^

^"Who knows?"^ smiled Leeta. ^"In her own way, she may constitute an 
entire second front."^ The two shared a chuckle. Suddenly, Leeta's 
relaxed expression hardened as she looked across the room. Odo 
followed her gaze to where Kira was entering. Kira -- seemingly 
unaware of Leeta and Jadzia's history, or encounter the night before -
- gave a friendly smile and wave. Leeta nodded in response.

"Remember what we talked about," said Odo as he moved away, ambling 
into the back room to try his hand at roulette, baccarat, or perhaps 
dabo.

The red-haired visitor joined Leeta at the bar. Standing next to each 
other, they spoke without looking at each other. "Word has it," began 
Kira, "that you might have some passports for sale."

"And if I did?"

^"You must know it's very important I get off Terok Nor. It's my 
privilege to be one of the leaders of a great movement. Do you know 
what it means to the lives of millions of people that I be free to 
reach the Federation and continue my work?"^

^"I'm not interested in politics. The problems of the galaxy are not 
my department."^

Kira turned to face her. ^"My friends in the Underground tell me that 
you've got quite a record. You ran guns to Flaxia. You fought against 
the Cardassians on Korma."^

^"What of it?"^

^"Isn't it strange that you always happen to be fighting on the side 
of the underdog?"^

^"Yes. I found that a very expensive hobby, too. But then, I never 
was much of a businesswoman."^

^"Are you enough of a businesswoman to appreciate an offer of a 
hundred thousand credits?"^

^"I appreciate it, but I don't accept it."^

^"I'll raise it to two hundred thousand."^

^"My friend, you could make it a million credits, or three. My answer 
would still be the same."^

Kira appeared perplexed, but not yet perturbed. ^"There must be some 
reason why you won't let me have them."^

^"Don't you sometimes wonder if it's worth all this? I mean, what 
you're fighting for,"^ asked Leeta.

Kira pondered this a moment before responding. ^"You might as well 
question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop 
fighting our enemies, the galaxy will die."^

^"And what of it? It'll be out of its misery."^

^"Do you know how you sound, Leeta? Like a woman who's trying to 
convince herself of something she doesn't believe in her heart. I 
wonder if you know that you're trying to escape from yourself, and 
that you'll never succeed."^

^"You seem to know all about me."^

^"I know a good deal more about you than you suspect. I know, for 
instance, that you are in love with a woman. It is perhaps a strange 
circumstance that we both should be in love with the same woman."^ 
Leeta was startled, and for once it showed. Kira was not nearly as 
unaware as she'd thought. ^"The first evening I came into this Cafe, 
I knew there was something between you and Jadzia. Since no one is to 
blame, I demand no explanation. I ask only one thing. If you won't 
give me the passports, all right. But I want Jadzia to be safe. I ask 
you as a favor to use the passports to take her away from here."^

^"You love her that much?"^

^"Yes, I love her that much."^

At that moment, Leeta noticed Dukat looking in their direction with a 
little too much interest. "Don't look now, but it looks like someone 
is interested in meeting you." Kira instinctively started to turn her 
head. "*Don't* look, I said!" admonished Leeta in a harsh 
whisper. "Okay, go into the gaming room -- there's a back exit. Nice 
an easy, now. Go."

As Kira slipped away toward the back room, Dukat rose to pursue her. 
Leeta stepped into his path. "Dukat! My dear Gul, have a drink with 
me."

"That woman! That was Kira Nerys!"

"Kira who? No, no, no. That was Sasha, one of my croupiers."^

Dukat pushed by her into the gaming room. Looking around, however, 
Kira was nowhere to be seen. He turned angrily to Leeta. "Where is 
she?"

"I don't know what-"

"Do not play games with me, *saloonkeeper*, or I'll arrest you too, 
for aiding a known enemy." Having heard the commotion, Odo pulled 
himself away from the roulette table and approached the two. Dukat 
now turned on him. "It is common knowledge that this wench is hiding 
the passports. Until she sees fit to cooperate, this establishment is 
closed! See to it!"

As Dukat turned and marched out of the Cafe, Odo called out to the 
crowd. "By order of Administrator Dukat, this establishment is hereby 
closed!" With that, his men began ushering patrons out of the Cafe.

Leeta protested. ^"How can you close me up? On what grounds?"^

Odo turned to face her. ^"I'm shocked, *shocked*, to find that 
gambling is going on in here."^

At that moment, a croupier appeared from the back room. ^"Your 
winnings, sir."^

^"Oh. Thank you very much. Everybody out at once!"^

*****

Leeta sat alone in her darkened quarters. A fresh bottle and glass 
sat on her table, but remained untouched. She wanted to remain clear-
headed tonight as she thought what to do next. In her hands, she 
endlessly shuffled the galactic passports -- slipped to her by a 
ne'er-do-well acquaintance of hers seconds ahead of Odo's men. The 
buzzer sounded at her door. "Come in," she said, slipping the 
evidence out of sight.

Jadzia entered, in tears. "Leeta! They're going to arrest her! Kira!" 
She fell into Leeta'a arms. "I was all set to tell her, Leeta. 
Tonight, I was going to tell her I was staying with you. But now she 
says we have to make a run for it -- passports or not!"

"You wanted to stay... with me?"

^"I'll never have the strength to leave you again."^

^"And Kira?"^

^"Oh, you'll help her now, Leeta, won't you? You'll see that she gets 
out? Then she'll have her work, all that she's been living for."^

^"All except one. She won't have you."^

Still in her arms, Jadzia cried. ^"I can't fight it anymore. I ran 
away from you once. I can't do it again. Oh, I don't know what's 
right any longer. You have to think for both of us. For all of us."^

"Okay, okay." Leeta pulled back from Jadzia, taking her by the 
shoulders as she looked her in the eyes and spoke reassuringly. "You 
go home. Don't worry. You and Kira meet me at the launch bay tomorrow 
at zero-six-hundred. I'll make sure she gets away." Jadzia's eyes had 
drifted downward. Leeta took her chin between thumb and fingers, 
lifting her up. "You'll be there this time, won't you?" she teased. 
Jadzia didn't smile, and Leeta regretted her little joke. "Go now. I 
have work to do."

*****

Leeta was in Senor Quark's Blue Parrot Cafe. It had not been closed 
early by Odo and had only recently seen it's last customer out the 
door. Quark was adding up his receipts while Leeta stood over him 
impatiently. "So? Do we have a deal?"

Quark sat back and grinned a toothy grin as he scratched behind his 
enormous ears. "The price is adequate, but this percentage thing..."

"Rom gets twenty-five percent of the profits. That's final."

"Seems to me that if he belonged to *you* before, he ought to belong 
to *me* now."

"He *belongs* to no one. We're partners. ^I don't buy or sell 
people."^

^"Too bad. That's Terok Nor's leading commodity."^

Her sale of the Cafe Bajorain complete, she returned to it one last 
time. There, she found it had been turned into a shambles by Odo's 
men. She righted an upended chair and sat down, idly tossing some 
broken pieces of glass, watching them shatter into even smaller 
pieces. Odo himself was lurking in the shadows and now stepped 
forward. "I figured you'd come back. ^I told Dukat that he wouldn't 
find the passports here, but I told my men to be especially 
destructive. You know how that impresses Cardassians."^

"You want to impress your Cardassian masters? How would you like to 
present them with Terok Nor's most wanted -- Kira Nerys herself?"

"Why would you want to help me with that?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, Jadzia and I have some... history. 
Things would just be so much easier with her ex out of the way."

Odo raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? So, ^love, it seems, has 
triumphed over virtue."^

"Call it what you will. But the deal is, you get Kira, and Jadzia and 
I use the passports to get out of here. Meet us tomorrow morning at 
the launch bay. Oh," Leeta added sarcastically. "Be sure to leave our 
friend Dukat out of this, won't you?"

*****

The next morning, Leeta waited just outside the hangar. She was 
nervous, but no one could tell by looking at her. From a nearby 
passage, Jadzia and Kira emerged. Jadzia was distraught, the emotions 
of the past few days taking their toll. Kira, however, was ready to 
see the plan through. "Save your good-byes," advised Leeta. "There's 
been a change of plans."

"Indeed," said Odo, stepping once more from the shadows.

Leeta smiled. "I always forget how easy it is for a shape-shifter to 
hide."

"Such skills aid me immeasurably in my line of work. Now then," he 
said, pointing a phaser at the two refugees. "I'm afraid I must take 
you into custody."

^"Not so fast, Odo. Nobody's gonna be arrested -- not for a while 
yet."^ Leeta pulled her own phaser from her jacket, pointing it at 
the constable.

Odo broke into a sneering grin. ^"My dear Leeta, I always suspected 
that under that cynical shell, you were at heart a sentimentalist."^

"Be that as it may, you're going to escort us to the shuttle and help 
us get away. Now move. ^And remember, this phaser is set to kill and 
is pointed right at your heart."^

^"*That* is my least vulnerable spot."^

They entered the launch bay, where the daily shuttle was preparing to 
leave. Steam escaped from numerous vents and ducts, giving the entire 
chamber a misty atmosphere. Turning to Kira and Jadzia, Leeta 
motioned toward the spacecraft. "There's your ride. Better get 
going." Both of the women gave Leeta a confused look.

Jadzia stepped forward. ^"I don't understand. What about you?"^

^"I'm staying here, with him,"^ she indicated Odo, ^"until the ship 
gets safely away."^

^"No, Leeta. No. What has happened to you? Last night..."^

^"Last night, we said a great many things. You said I was to do the 
thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and 
it all adds up to one thing. You're getting on that ship with Kira, 
where you belong. You've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea 
what you have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out 
of ten we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, 
Odo?"^

Odo answered honestly. ^"I'm afraid Gul Dukat would insist."^

Jadzia looked from Odo back to Leeta. ^"You're saying this only to 
make me go."^

^"I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you 
belong with Kira. You're part of her work, the thing that keeps her 
going. If that ship leaves the station and you're not with her, 
you'll regret it. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, 
and for the rest of your life."^

^"What about us?"^

^"We'll always have Bajor. We'd lost it until you came here. We got 
it back the other night."^

^"When I said I would never leave you-"^

^"And you never will. I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you 
can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of."^ Behind 
them, the shuttle's engines began to start up, filling the hangar 
with noise and sending strong thermal currents across the open space. 
Leeta's coat flapped in the breeze, and several locks of Jadzia's 
hair crossed her face. ^"Jadzia, I'm no good at being noble, but it 
doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people 
don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy galaxy. Someday you'll 
understand that."^ Jadzia dropped her head tearfully. Leeta touched 
her chin and raised it up -- a gesture they'd shared before. ^"Now, 
now. Here's looking at you, kid."^

Leeta reached into her pocket and withdrew the passports, handing 
them to Kira. Kira smiled and shook her hand. ^"Welcome back to the 
fight. This time, I know our side will win."^ With that, the couple 
wrapped their arms around each other and hurried onboard the ship.

Odo stepped up beside Leeta. ^"Well, I was right. You *are* a 
sentimentalist. I suppose you know this isn't going to be very 
pleasant for either of us -- especially for you. I'll have to arrest 
you, of course."^

Leeta patted the phaser in her pocket. ^"As soon as the ship goes, 
Odo."^

Suddenly, Gul Dukat came running into the hangar. "Dammit, Odo! Stop 
that ship!"

Leeta pulled the phaser from her pocket and whirled around, pointing 
it at the Cardassian. "Hold it, Dukat! ^I was willing to shoot Odo, 
and I'm willing to shoot you."^

Dukat looked at the phaser, then at Leeta. His eyes narrowed, and 
Leeta sensed he was about to try something. Dukat reached for his own 
holstered phaser, and Leeta fired. A bright orange flash struck the 
Gul. He cried out and crumpled to the deck.

Just then, four of Odo's constables hurried into the hangar. ^"Gul 
Dukat has been shot,"^ announced Odo. He looked at Leeta, then back 
to his men. ^"Round up the usual suspects."^ When his men had 
departed, he looked down at Dukat's body, then turned back to Leeta. 
^"Well, Leeta, you're not only a sentimentalist, but you've become a 
patriot."^

^"Maybe, but it seemed like a good time to start."^

The two of them watched in silence as the shuttle launched and 
disappeared from sight, becoming lost among the many points of light 
that filled the void. As the two of them began exiting the hangar, 
walking through the remaining clouds of steam, Odo offered a 
suggestion. ^"It might be a good idea for you to disappear from Terok 
Nor for a while. There's a Free Bajor garrison over on Delgoria. I 
could be induced to arrange a passage."^

"What?" asked Leeta, gesturing about her, "and leave all this?"

"You wouldn't have to leave *everything* behind. Or everyone," added 
Odo, taking Leeta's hand tenderly in his own.

Leeta smiled, somewhat patronizingly. "Oh, Odo. I'm touched, really, 
but... your just not," she gestured again, this time up and down 
Odo's masculine physique, "my kinda gal."

"And what if I *could* be?" Calling forth his inherent abilities, Odo 
shimmered before her, and changed. The hard angles of his body 
softened and rearranged themselves. His breasts swelled and filled 
out the accommodating uniform. His hips widened, if only slightly. 
Even his stiff hair fell loosely and longly about his shoulders, 
until he -- she! -- stood before Leeta, entirely transformed.

Leeta stared unbelievingly. "Prophets!" she whispered.

"I once told someone -- quite unexpectedly, even to me -- I said, 
^'Leeta is the kind of woman that, if I were a woman, I would be in 
love with.'^ Well, I've just come to realize that, no matter who I am 
or how I appear, I *am* in love with you."

Leeta put her arm around the changeling. ^"Odo, I think this is the 
beginning of a beautiful friendship."^

(End of Part Two of Two)




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