Dark, quiet, but not safe. No place was ever safe. Everything and everyone was watched, constantly. Every move tracked, every word recorded, the only safe place was in one's own head. For Nine though, even that was now under attack. Nightmares when she slept, if she even slept at all, and pure paranoia when she was awake. Every strange noise in the apartment home put her on edge. She tracked every call made in and out of the home. Nine had made sure this time to connect the building security to her omni-tool. The identity of anyone that came through the doors of the apartment building was picked up by the cameras and scanned through her omni-tool for possible threats. She even included Sariel as a threat. As much as she loved to imagine the drell coming around just to have sex with her, he brought too much trouble with him. Right now, she was pushing it enough with hiding out in Phrixus' apartment.
After transferring the reward credits to Sariel and his contacts, her mood had completely crashed. She stayed in bed all day in the dark. The hours passed so quickly she wasn't even aware of what time it was. Her only clue was Phrixus. He came in quietly every morning and every evening to bring her something to eat. She was shocked he let her eat in bed. Even though she had spent much of her time in bed she had managed to send the room and its accompanying bathroom into total disarray. However Phrixus seemed to let it go. A few times he would try to start some small conversation with her. Something on the news he saw or a joke he had heard at work, and she just silently listened to what he had to say. Today though, when he came in the evening, things were a little different.
"Nine, I shut the shutters and I figured I'd set up dinner on the table tonight. I could get those sheets washed and you can take a shower. I've got you some clothes to wear too."
No, go away, she thought to herself, Bring the food to me like you have been doing. Ass.
A short silence fell in the room, followed by a familiar smell filling it. She turned her head to look at the doorway. In the hallway light she could see there was a very large burrito on a plate held up by an alien three fingered hand. So he finally remembered what her favorite food was. That whole week in fact, she had been fed some of the best meals she had eaten in a long time. Phrixus liked to cook and as she had always assumed, he had a past female human girlfriend he had cooked for.
If I'm quick enough, I can grab it and jump back in bed before he knows what happened.
Carefully she slipped out of the bed. She barely had the chance to reach out for the burrito before it disappeared down the hallway. She peaked around the corner to see Phrixus retreating to his dining room. Reluctantly she stepped out into the hallway.
Who the hell am I kidding? I've spent too much time here already. I need to leave soon or else Phrixus is next on my grief list. Might as well eat something before I go.
When she reached the end of the hallway it was the first time she had smiled all week. The table was neatly set up, with candles and the plates and silverware all neatly organized. The center plate had the large burrito with a side dish of nachos, accompanied by a little bowl of salsa, and little bowls of red and green chili sauce. There was a wineglass with soda in it and a second one with water. Phrixus pulled the chair out from the table and held his hand up in invitation for her to sit.
"I made most of it from scratch," Phrixus spoke proudly, "The burrito has rice, beans, beef, cheese, potatoes, lettuce, and tomato. "
"Is the soda cherry?" Nine asked. It was the first words she had actually spoken to him all week. She could see his eyes light up.
"Yes, it's cherry."He mandibles waved a little.
"Thank you," She nodded, "You may go clean now, servant." Almost immediately he reached under the table and pulled out a box of cleaning supplies. As soon as Nine saw it she covered her mouth as she choked on her own spit laughing. That was all he really wanted to do. Distract her while he cleaned the room. He was just making it as apparent as possible, turning it into a big joke. When he disappeared down the hallway she noticed the clothes he had mentioned buying for her. Neatly folded on the back of the couch. If a turian buying female human clothing didn't clue anyone in that she was hiding there, she wasn't sure what would. She just didn't feel ready to go yet.
The ringing woke her with a jolt. She lifted her already glowing omni-tool, pulling up a holo to see who it was setting it off. In through the doors of the apartment building walked Thecla, a turian bounty hunter that had been chasing Nine for months now. Along with her were a couple of men and a krogan. She apparently had finally broken down to split the bounty with someone for help in capturing Nine. The dossiers Nine pulled up on the mercs didn't make the situation at all promising.
Nine jumped from the bed and ran to the closet, grabbing her well cleaned jacket and putting on her pants. Earlier she had put on the clothes that Phrixus had provided only temporarily while he threw her normal garb in the wash. When he went to bed, she switched back to her athletic suit for the night and threw the new clothes in the garbage. It was some attempt to hide that she was there should someone come looking after she left. Her boots were barely on when Phrixus came into the room.
"What's going on?"
"They're coming." She got the final straps on her boots locked in place and stood up heading for the door.
"Who's coming?" He asked blocking her way.
"Bounty hunters. They've been chasing me for months. I don't know who or why, " liar, " but they're going to kill you to get to me if I don't get out of here now." Her heartbeat was pounding in her skull and all she could see in her mind was headless bodies.
Run run run! Before it's too late! Her own voice was screaming in her head.
"You are not going anywhere." Phrixus started to push her back into the room.
"Phrixus, you don't understand."
"Look, I accepted the risk in letting you hide here. I'm not going to let you run off again. You need to stop doing this to yourself." He grabbed her and pulled her back to the bed.
"I need to stop doing this to everyone!" Nine tried to wiggle free from his arms, "I don't want you to die! I can't lose anyone else. I need to go! Now! I'll message you in a few days." Another alarm went off on her omni-tool. The holo popped up again and showed they were in an elevator heading for their floor.
"What are you going to do to stop them from getting to me exactly?" he asked.
"Lead them away from you!"
"No. You're not going anywhere," he forced her the kneel down with him next to the bed, "There is a hidden storage space under the bed, I've already emptied it out in case something like this happened. It's big enough for you to hide in. Do not say anything. Do not come out. No matter what you hear. They won't kill me as long as they don't know where you are. They will use me to get to you. Not kill me." He moved aside the sheet skirts of the bed and reached underneath. She could hear the sound of a door sliding open, "Trust me, everything will be fine if you just stay put." Her mind was racing.
He had planned this to happen? She looked under the bed to see the empty space in the floor.
"Was this part of your cleaning earlier?" She asked as she climbed into it.
"Yes," He nodded, "Thecla already tried to get information out of me and Sariel a couple of days ago. We've both been trying to find out why, trying to find something on her to stop it from going too far. I knew she was going to do something soon when I spotted her with the goons the yesterday." The alarm went off again. They were in the hallway this time.
"Sariel knows I'm here?" She asked as she laid back flat. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say anything? You idiot! You're going to get him killed too!
"We haven't openly discussed it. If he doesn't know though, I'd be shocked." Phrixus slid the door shut. The small space felt like a cold, dark coffin. She could hear the shuffle of his feet as he quickly fixed the sheets of the bed and any other minor evidence that Nine had been there. Then came the banging on the front door. He finished a few last things as the banging continued. When he finally left the room for the front door, she used her omni-tool to access his translator with her own in order to hear what went on.
"Can I help you..." He barely had the chance to finish his sentence. She could her him struggling, the door shutting, and then a loud crash.
"Where is she?" Thecla shouted.
"I already told you. I don't know where she is." Phrixus sounded very strained.
"Then why are you buying human food? Women's clothing? Shutting your shades after making a big fancy candlelit dinner? Who is that all for?" Thecla asked.
"Myself." Phrixus spoke a little more slowly, his voice expressing embarrassment, "I've been...struggling with some identity issues lately."
"This isn't a joke, Telamon! I'm pissed enough as it is that I'm going to be sharing my bounty now just to capture this little bitch."
"I know that she is actively trying to turn her life around. That's all."
Phrixus, please don't.
"Oh wow. Really? That's great for her. I still want my credits. Where is she? "
"I have no idea."
"Tell me now or you're going to die!"
An electric buzzing noise began.
"I don't know where she- AAAHHH!" Phrixus started to scream in pain as the buzzing got louder. Nine winced. It sounded like some sort of shock stick. He stopped suddenly and gasped. The buzzing continued in the background.
"Tell me or I'm going to burn this through your fingers." Thelca ordered.
Then suddenly, there was a ringing. Nine scrambled to shut the alarm off in her omni-tool for good. A holo popped up and there was Sariel, bolting into the apartment building.
Son of a bitch! Not again! Why are you here?
"That was my alarm clock." Phrixus said.
"Just start tearing up this place, find her!" Thelca ordered.
"She's not here, you're not going to find anything." Phrixus said.
Nine quietly whispered into her translator to Phrixus, "It's Sariel." The door of the room slid opened and she could hear the heavy footsteps of a man. He began to tear into the bathroom and closet.
"You know what's a pisser about taking turian fingers?" Thelca asked, "We've only got three fingers. Pain would be longer if I were torturing a human. "
"AAAHH," Phrixus screamed again. The bed shifted as someone looked underneath it. Nine turned her cloak on.
"Or, maybe I am torturing a human somewhere."
The door to the hidden compartment slid open. Nine froze, breath held in her throat as she looked up at the face of the roughed up, older man that was trying to find her. She was surprised the pounding in her chest hadn't caught his attention. Then he backed away, the skirts of the bed falling back into place.
"How about you actually try to cut my fingers off," Phrixus said, "Jabbing me in the side with that thing isn't going to do it."
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
" Just for giving her a heads up, I want you to beg me to stop." Thelca growled. Phrixus began to scream very painfully. Nine closed her eyes tightly.
The footsteps of the man went away as he headed down the hallway towards Phrixus's room. Cautiously she reached up and slid the door back into place. Once shut, she pulled her omni-tool back up. Sariel was standing at the end of the hallway now. At the doorway was the other man who stared back at the detective. The man raised his hand up to his ear.
"That drell is here?" Thelca shouted, "Shit. Next will be all of C-Sec. Just kill him."
God no.
The gunshot rung loud in her ear, making her jump and hit her head against the side of the coffin she hid in. She could hear Phrixus cry out and moan in pain over the headset.
Fuck it.
Nine slammed the door open and scrambled out from underneath the bed. The man that was looking for her a moment ago was running down the hallway when Nine burst from the room. She slammed her body into his and shocked him with her omni-tool. He had an automatic rifle his hands that she grabbed and then slammed the butt of weapon into his face.
Charging down the narrow hallway like a train came the krogan. The only way around him was up. She used the wall as leverage to jump up and for a moment hold herself up there with hands at each wall, legs curled up to her chest and the back of her head against the ceiling. Once he passed, she dropped and spun around, firing the rifle at his back. He roared as he tumbled into Phrixus's room at the end of the hallway.
"Nine!" shouted a pained Phrixus. Nine spun around with the rifle ready, just in time to see a heavy pistol pulled into her face. She looked beyond the barrel of the gun at Thecla, who glanced down at the rifle pointing at her stomach.
The front door slid open and in came Sariel pointing his own pistol, "Both of you drop your weapons. C-Sec is on their way right now."
"Better listen to him." Thecla said.
"You first." Nine said.
"I wonder. What will be more painful. Being shot in the face, or being shot in the armor protected stomach?" Thecla asked. Her eyes went wide when Nine smiled at the comment.
"Mr. Rieland wants me alive, mind intact. You'd blow the entire bounty if you shoot me in the head." They both continued to stand still, pointing the weapons at each other. There was a twitch in the turians eyes, looking somewhere beyond Nine. Someone was sneaking up behind Nine. Whether it was the Krogan or the man, they didn't have much of a chance to do anything. Up behind Sariel came the C-Sec officers, filing into the room and shouting for weapons to be dropped. Both of them dropped their guns. It was over.
"You people have impeccable timing." Sariel said above all the noise.
"Phrixus!" Nine shouted. Despite demands to freeze, she ran and knelt down next to the turian.
"It's going to take forever to get these stains out of my floor," Phrixus mumbled out.
"That is the wrong thing to be worried about right now!" Nine yelled.
"They only injured me to get you to come out you know. I told you not to listen to anything," Phrixus pointed to where he had been shot. In the thigh. As a couple of paramedics began to surround them and push Nine aside, it was clear the wound was in no way deadly. Phrixus then looked to Nine's side. She turned as Sariel quietly approached, "How did you know to come?" Phrixus asked weakly.
"I came home to my ship completely wrecked inside. They were looking for information on Nine. I actually only really came here to scold you about it and make you come clean it up. Since you've been shot, I'll make Nine do it."
"Go hire a maid," Nine said. The paramedics lifted Phrixus up on a cot to carry him away.
"Nine, please don't go." Phrixus said.
I have to go. That was too close. Way too close.
An officer approached her and Sariel, asking questions about what had happened. It was quite surreal to Nine. Usually she was afraid to say anything to C-Sec. What had happened was nothing to hide. Even more strange, none of them seemed concerned at all that she had been staying with Phrixus. Did Phrixus make C-Sec aware she had been staying with him? There were no warrants on her for any crime she committed on the Citadel. At least, not yet. The fact she had managed to slip out from the C-Sec offices had apparently blown over. To her knowledge, they were not really demanding her for the trial against Zahra.
Despite all this she still felt this overwhelming desire to run away. Even if C-Sec was on her side now because of Phrixus, it didn't mean that more dangerous people wouldn't come looking for her. It didn't mean she or anyone around her was safe. Nothing was safe.
"Do you wish to go to the hospital? Or would you rather spend the night at my place cleaning?" Sariel asked.
No, I'm leaving. It's the best for all of us. Nine began walking out into the hallway. Opposite the direction of the elevator C-Sec was actively using. This just meant a longer walk to the other elevator. It didn't take long for her to regret this choice.
"I'll escort you if you like," Sariel was following her, "What about just a ride around the citadel and a chat? Calm your nerves."
"The hell do you want from me? The stupid mystery is done," Nine snapped, "If you hadn't come here, none of this would have happened."
"You're blaming this all on me?" Sariel then closed his eyes tightly a moment in an attempt to regain composure. Nine turned back on her path to the elevator, picking up the pace a little. She thought she was in the clear when she finally found the other elevator. The doors were caught by Sariel's hand. He slipped right in and the doors shut behind him.
"Hana." He said. Nine wasn't sure why he said that name at first till he said another. "Tara," he was trying to guess her name, "Alyssa? Rachael? Vicky?"
Stop it.
"April? Kristine? Amanda? Stephanie?"
"Stop it."
"Mariah? Karen? Anna?"
"God damn it Sariel! Stop!"
"Miss Nine, I do apologize but I find myself in a very uncomfortable position."
Did he just call me Miss Nine?
"Thanks to my sources, it has come to my knowledge exactly what Phrixus has planned to do to help you. Part of which involves filing for a permanent identity for you."
"He did what?" Nine asked. The elevator doors opened.
"Let's discuss it more in the taxi." Sariel turned and walked out. Nine followed him this time, joining him inside a shuttle taxi just outside the apartment building. "I know very well you wish to run away as usual. This time some place off the Citadel for sure. I just want you to listen a moment and consider your options. Phrixus' intentions behind what he has done are good. I just believe they are a little misguided. He has worked with his C-Sec superiors in order to put you under better protection. The protection will mean you will be put into a life of seclusion away from the rest of society. In return, they expect you to remotely work for them. Again, he has already filed you under a name and they are processing it for a permanent identity. All they will need is for you to come in and agree to it."
"Why are you telling me this?" Nine asked.
"I told myself I shouldn't care. None of it is any of my business. That is why this is uncomfortable. I do not want to see you end up on the run again yet I do not want to see you put through what Phrixus believes is the way to save you. Though I'm coming to realize I don't know how serious your situation is. What Phrixus is planning for you may be ideal. You should make the decision about your life. He has not spoken a word to you about it. Who knows what consequences will be for the both of you if you refuse this after C-Sec is fully committed to having you work with them."
"He's always doing this to me. I don't understand why he thinks I'm not capable of caring for myself."
"In his defense, you are quite self destructive and irresponsible."
"I don't need to be saved or fixed damn it! I'll gladly take some help, but it's my mistakes I'm trying to fix. It's my responsibility, my problems, not anyone else's."
"So you will be leaving?" Sariel asked.
"Yes. I'm not going to let you idiots risk your lives for me like this. I'm not worth dying over."
"That's debatable."
"Really?"
"Just swear to me you'll take better care of yourself. If you have that kind of credits to just give me and my associates as a reward, you shouldn't be living on the streets and as ill as you were. Take a more active role in changing things. Stop running and start fighting back. You are fully capable of it."
"Yes. Of course." Nine nodded.
The shuttle came to a stop at a busy port. Nine looked out across at the signs listing flight times to other worlds.
"Keep whatever contact with Phrixus you've already done at least. That way he will not worry himself sick over you. I'll try to assist in the matter. Maybe I can find him a girlfriend to busy himself with."
"Thank you." Nine turned back to him. Sariel nodded quietly.
Now I remember how incredibly hot you are.
As he reached over to the controls to open the passenger door, she leaned in to kiss his frill lightly. His reaction to it was less than favorable as he immediately sat back in his seat like he was under attack. There was a look of confusion and shock and anger and offense all over his face. Almost like what a little boy's reaction to such a situation would be. It made Nine smile.
"All I did was give you an innocent kiss on the cheek," Nine laughed, "And you act like I tried to molest you." He hit the controls immediately and the door opened.
"Just get out of here!" He waved his hands at her.
"Fine." She stepped out of the vehicle with a smile on her face. She barely took two steps before the thing took off. The force of it moving nearly knocked her over. She looked up as the shuttle left, Ass, then she continued on, disappearing into the crowd.