Chapter: The informant

The Asari was beautiful, Shepard could not deny it. How she sat in front of her with a smug, nearly alluring smile on her full lips made her as attractive as a magnet. It seemed so unreal that a beauty like her had needs for an assassin. Maybe this was the reason why. A former lover who wanted to hurt her, a wife, who found out about an affair? The trainee of Citadell Security did not care about it. The only thing she cared about was to pass her final exam. It was her dream to pass the final exam and to become a member of C-Sec. Mira would show every men, who laughed about her when she signed into the academy, that they had been wrong. She was as good as men, maybe even better.

Shepard watched the Asari with a severe view while she held her datapad in her hand. Any avocations were not good. Mira has to stay focus on the gesture of the Asari. If she's not, her task would never be completed.

"I'm asking you once again, Firia M'arona. Why did you engage Thane Krios?" Asked Mira und looked at the Asari. The really female looking Alien was only shrugging her shoulders and made a helpless gesture. The music within the flux was- one of the night clubs on Citadell- was damn loud. The beat boomed in her ears and swallowed every word, that wasn't yelled at each other. Shepard rolled with her eyes, leaned forward and said once again, this time louder:

"I know that you've engaged Thane Krios. Listen…" Mira sighed and rubbed over her eyebrows. Slowly the Asari started to make her head ache. "I don't want to foist you for something. I just need information. So, who is Krios going to kill?" The beautiful Asari looked at her innocent with big, eyes- colored like lavender.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anybody with the name Thane Krios." Whispered Firia with a soft tone who would normally left no doubt behind, but Mira had trust in her sources that had sent her to the Asari. The eyebrows were abridged skeptically by Mira and she watched her opponent carefully. Bit by bit was the desperate within her was growing. Two months of her final exam has already been gone without any notable results. She was searching for Thane Krios, the most famous Drell assassin, for two months, but seemed like her hottest track ran into sand right here. As a trainee were the possibilities limited. Mira was not allowed to arrest or to interrogate somebody. So she had no choice then hoping of Firias good will.

Annoyed was Shepard falling back into her chair and crossed her legs. The Asari smiled still like the adorableness in person. Her blue, perfect skin glommed in the most fascinating facet of blue within the light of the Flux. Eyes full of a deep touch were looking amused and interested at the same time at Shepard. The young recruit felt more and more unpleasant with every minute that passed. She hated noise and she especially hated discos, but they're the best place to meet someone without being remembered.

Shepard sighed, stroked a hazelnut brown colored strand of hair behind her ear, leaned as close as possible towards Firia. Her head was bedded on her folded hands, watched the beautiful Asari and smiled with her most charming smile which was possible in the situation.

"Listen, Firia, I don't want anything from you." She said with a forgiving ton in her voice, while Mira raised her hands placatory. Mira also showed her hips where no weapon was. She hoped to underline her god willing with this gesture. The Asari nodded understanding and smiled charming.

"You have to betray me something, Shepard." The Asari purred. "What should a rookie from C-Sec want from the maybe most infamous assassin in the entire galaxy?" Lavender colored eyes sparkled with curiosity. The Asari watched Mira expecting and didn't let her go with her view.

"Final exam…" Murmured Shepard a simple answer. She fixed Firia with a critical view, but her opponent did not even react and stayed with her smile on her lips just like it was grown there.

"So…" She answered surprised, while Shepard could not make out, if it was the truth or a lie.

"Such criminals are your aim for final exam? Even if the best spies of C-Sec have not been able to catch him? You have my sympathy, Shepard." Mira lowered her eyebrows and leaned back with crossed arms. There had been a suspicion within her mind that the Asari was playing a fault game and she had evidence now, but it would not help her. Anger and frustration accumulated in her breast and she curled her lips.

"Right from the point you don't know someone with the name Krios, you're really well informed about the one I'm looking for." Mira asserted soberly that her game was a lie. The Asari widened playfully her eyes like a young child, which had been caught out in the act. Shepard was not touched of it and watched her informant still seriously.

"Oops, seems like I tattled."

"Seems like this." The Asari smiled- once again- and made Mira to see red. Her fingers clawed within the arm-rest of her chair until they turned into white, but Mira kept the illusion of being calm. Just her voice was a bit icier than she wanted her to be.

"Well…Shepard, now that you got me, I should help you. I did not engage Krios, but I know somebody who did it. Maybe this will help you." The Asari turned around so that she was able to look at the barkeeper. The Barkeeper, a great built turian, looked up- like because of an invisible wink from Firia- and stopped to polish the glasses. A smile was in his face -like serving drinks is the best thing on earth- he took out two bottles, turned them cool around and put the drinks within two glasses. Slowly he walked towards them and put the glasses on their table.

Firia smiled her most wonderful smile towards the Turian, which was returned in the same way by the barkeeper. When he left them, Firia pushed the glass towards Shepard.

Mira raised a slim eyebrow and watched the drink carefully. She already divined, that it wasn't simple water. For sure it was one of the strongest alcoholic drinks in the entire Flux. The solid itself was from a bright blue like the skin of Firia and it was dancing in the rhythm of the beat.

Mira asked herself if there as more behind this nice gesture. One of the first lectures of Citadell Security was to be always skeptical on given drinks. Poison attack was not rare on Citadell, but Mira also knew that having a drink together with an informant could also be useful. Thoughtfully Mira weighed all aspects out, but could not find a definitely answer of the question.

Just like Firia had noticed her inner conflict, she took her glass and smiled encouraging to her and dumped her drink with one single swallow. For a part of a second Firia grimaced because of the bitter taste of the drink and then watched Mira challenging. Carefully Mira lifted her glass right in front of her eyes, watched it for some moment, weighted it in her hand from one side to another, but then shrugged her shoulders and emptied it within one swallow.

After she had also to shiver from the bitter after taste, she realized that something went wrong. Every inch of her skin, which got in connection with the alcohol, seemed to burn like the fires in hell, while a crampy cough took her breath away. In the bright blue eyes of the human female burned tears and she felt more than sick. Cold sweat flows down her back and it seemed like her gastric juice was cooking.

The flickering light in the room of Flux became blurred in front of her eyes and Mira felt how her lids became heavier and a strong pain rushed through her body like a flash. With a silent scream she slumped onto the table.

Firia M'arona leaned back with a content smile and crossed her legs. The turian waiter, who had watched the entire scenery, came back to the beautiful Asari and bent down to her.

"Was everything for your satisfaction, Madame?" He whispered with a complacent smile.

"Absolutely." Fria answered in a calm tone and touched Shepard with a thoughtful smile. "But she isn't dead, isn't she? I don't want to have more blood on my hands."

"Of course not. She's just out cold for a few hours." The turian assured her immediately. The Asari smiled and laid a hand on his arm and smiled thankful.

"Good job. I thank you for the help."

"Any time."

"May I ask you to take care that nobody is going to notice from this happening? That will damage my fame."

"It would be my pleasure." The waiter turned around to the door of the night club and nodded towards a krogan who was waiting in the dark. Obviously this turning of the story had been planned right from the beginning, because the massive warrior came fast, threw Mira over his shoulders and carried her out of the dance floor.

"I'm sorry, Rookie Shepard, but I cannot allow you, that you may disturb my commission." She aspirated, while she watched how the krogan brought Mira away. Probably the krogan was going to sell her to batarian slave traders. Nobody in the Flux noticed that a recruit of C-Sec had been kidnapped right in their middle. Neither the busy Salarians nor the dancing Asaris or the loud chatting humans would even remember that Mira or Firia had been there. But that was normal in the Universe.

This was normal in the new, mixed society out of different culture and races. It was a dark, cold place in which just the own survive counted. Corruption, black mail and hypocrisy were just small bagatelle with witch the Citadell Security has to deal with. Everything was like a Black Hole in which every memory of a person was being absorbed just like she never existed. This was one of the reasons why slave traders had an easy job within the different stellar system of the galaxy. Really nobody remembered somebody else.

~ So Mira would never know that she was on the right track. Just half an hour- and two drink for Firia- later; a shadow detached out of the masse of organic livings. A drell with bilious green skin und big, but at the same time empty, eyes, sat down noiseless in the chair where Mira had sat just a few minutes ago. That he was still warm was irrelevant for Thane Krios. What counted for him was his duty. Firia smiled the speedy murderer of her lover and leaned her head on her hands. Thane really did not react in any way- right as both of them were not noticed by anyone else within the Flux.

"Good that you have found time, Krios. I'm really…" Firia started, but was interrupted by the Drell, who was carrying a black leather coat.

"Please, just tell me where my target is."

"Oh…ehm…well…" Firia spluttered and was out of concept for a short time because of Thanes disinterest, but then put it beside and thought that was maybe because of his indifference that may come from all of the years within this job. "Well…of course. Your target is my lover. He threatened me with telling my husband, that I have an affair with…"

"I'm not interested in details." Krios objected with a monotone, rough voice, which seemed to come out of another sphere. His black eyes fixed Firia cold and for a short moment it seemed like they judged over the Asari before they turned back into the emptiness of an assassin life. "Just tell me where I can find him. The rest I'll do by myself."

Firia had to admit, that the infamous Thane Krios was totally different from what she expected. When she had heard the rumors what Thane Krios had done, she supposed him to be an artful, crafty person who loved to assassinate his victims out of the dark, but the Thane right in front of her, seemed more to be caught into blasphemy monotony. Maybe this was the reason which made the difference and causes his care and his distinguished statistic. Until now, not even one victim had survived and there were none eye witness so that just rumors of his actions existed. It seemed like Thane did not really exist. It was like Thane appeared from a dust when a job had to be done and went away right after the job. The Asari shook her head fast. Her job had to be done fast, before her lover would tell her husband about her affair.

"He's in the industry district. He wants to meet there with my husband." She disclaimed. Thane nodded understanding and closed his eyes. Firia turned around to the barkeeper to order another round of drinks, but when she turned back, Thane Krios had been gone already. Nothing remained from him. Just like Thane never existed.~