Chapter 2: Backbite

"Shepard," A monotone voice piped in Shepard's earpiece. "After monitoring Omega's surveillance systems, I discovered that Q'enar Avrino can be found on tier five of Afterlife. It appears to be a privately owned section. I am unable to collect additional information, however, mercenary channels have given reports of an 'unknown female human' in the shuttle transportation hub, which can be found on the sixth level of the station."

Shepard's legs slowed moving trot to a jittery halt. The idea of using an AI at all felt uncomfortably foreign, yet not as disgusting as she imagined it to be. EDI proved her worth, even when she refused to give 'it' direct credit...

"Took you long enough, EDI, but we already knew- wait, transportation hub? A separate area from where ships dock?" There was a grim smile playing on her lips as she glanced to Garrus.

"Yes, for smaller taxis that move throughout the station to the 'ground' levels. The accounts are several hours old, please note – she may have left the district since. I will keep you updated as I learn more." Secondary pause. "I also detect a large number of Blood Pack activity in Avrino's location. I recommend using a different route to prevent drawing attention, possibly a junction in the club's alley. It is blocked by debris, you will have to remove such items to progress." Never fucking easy, was it?

The commander hung her head with an aggravated hiss. "Greaaat. Upload both places to my omnitool."

"Of course, Commander."

"Sooo... why would your assassin be checking out a taxi? I'm really beginning to doubt this whole thing, Shepard – I mean, c'mon... it's coming from the mouth of Aria." Flanged turian vocals pulled Shepard's head toward Garrus. He made a good point; why would this assassin be near the transportation hub? Word would have gotten out already that the Spectre was on the second floor...

She rubbed the back of her arching neck; heavy stress, the turian noted the gesture as.

"A threat is a threat, no matter how stupid it seems to be. Aria may not be the most... trustworthy, but I won't ignore her warning." Rough shrug, Shepard's quick power walk took off again. Part of her wanted to dismiss the entire thing; they were on a suicide mission, after all – defeating an assassin seemed rather... pointless, given the lack of hope in returning home from the Omega 4 Relay. No, if they didn't stomp out this threat now, who's to say the assassin wouldn't interfere later on? Her way of thinking was terribly abstract sometimes.

The turian gave a slight shake of the head; not another word from him, but he had his own gut instincts – something felt very wrong with the whole damn ordeal. Nerves? Well, in truth, yes; wasn't every day that an assassination attempt was about to be performed on the galaxy's hero, but maybe people didn't care about titles and representation anymore.

The duo worked their way back to the club's sub-entrance; it was a single, metal door located east of the main entryway – its framing was dingy, ancient. A dull, orange blinking seal indicated that it'd been barred from the inside. It may have been used as a way inside Afterlife years ago, but now? Trash clogged its threshold like cholesterol in a human heart.

A thick web of metal ducts ran above the door; large and small ventilation shafts bled together in a leaking spiral. Not a sound came from Thane as he dropped wordlessly behind Shepard's still form. Garrus took station in front of her, and even then, it was difficult to trace the drell's movements. For being crammed in a dusty hole in the ceiling, Thane seemed to be surprisingly clean.

Shepard cocked helmeted face left; Garrus' unimpressed mandible flare told her that Thane appeared. The strange tension between drell and turian perplexed her to a degree- so long as it didn't screw with the mission.

"You ready?" A question aimed toward the males, Shepard moved away and began examining the locked door. Omnitool sparked to life; she was a decent hacker, and it only took her a few seconds of tapping away at three-dimensional keys to override the firewall system. Basic, the coding, but it wasn't like Omega was known for its prestigious technology.

"Always ready in a hellhole like this." Garrus murmured (with a trace of sarcasm) while casting a glance at Thane. The drell buckled shoulders, then brought webbed hands forward for a silent prayer.

Shepard's lips curled for a half-smirk. "Good. It shouldn't take us that long to smack Avrino around, but EDI said there are Blood Packs around – be alert. Probably retreated here after we handed them that ass-whooping." Garrus knew damn well what she meant, and to this he offered a dry laugh. The turian recalled that day begrudgingly when Shepard came to save Archangel; Death's cold, bony hands mutilated his face, but he somehow escaped doom – spirit relatively intact, to boot.

The mechanized door struggled to open on ancient gears; crackling and metallic pings caused the frame to shudder violently. Fuuuck. One rough kick and several curses later, Shepard yanked the door open- at least by three feet or so. There'd be enough room to squeeze through – for her and Thane, but Garrus might have a bit of difficulty being that he was the bulkiest of the three. She cocked herself sideways and slid through, only to trip over a-

She grimaced at the sickening snap just under her heel. "Shit... somebody was unlucky..."

The skeleton of a batarian; she incidentally scattered his bones, dirty clothes, and cheap pistol across the darkened hall in a filmy, dusty plume. An old corridor stretched ten feet ahead – no light either, it was purely saturated with a heavy blackness that chilled one to the spine.

Shepard uprighted her posture and, with some respect, attempted to move past the petrified corpse. She paid no mind to how the batarian ended up stuck in the hall, but Thane did; observant, black optics peered at the disarrayed bones- one bullet hole to the skull betrayed how he died, but not why. The drell assumed he'd gotten trapped himself in here – on the run from other criminals – before taking his own life.

White-blue light switched on – a startling effect that left them readjusting their eyes in a series of blinks. Shepard's helmet produced a steady illumination from twin visors; a haloed bubble of limited brightness encircled them protectively. More trash and dust for the eyes to see – strong scent of decay and metal burned the nose. She progressed forward slowly, despite the area being moderately lit. Garrus depended on his visor more than ever now; hands ready on guns, he fell behind Thane who, he figured, was better off than he and the commander in terms of night vision. The drell's fluid elegance in movement through the dark was intriguing, made him a bit envious, to be honest.

Their leader came to a stop at a blockage of some kind down the hall. Broken machine parts stacked high to the ceiling; dumpsters filled to the brim with useless products that no one needed anymore – it was obviously a barricade for another hidden door. This must be the spot...

She came to a slow halt and craned her head up; EDI wasn't kidding, the trash reached at least eight feet in height, making a standard jump almost impossible to pull off.

"Alright, boys, time to show off your muscles. We'll need to move all this shit out of the way if we want to get through. Beyond it should be a maintenance door that'll lead us to where Avrino is."

With that, the human lowered her pistol she subconsciously withdrew and kick-tested the sturdiness of one particular dumpster. Heavy. There was a child-size gap between the cannisters; hard pushing from all three opened additional space, but past that point lurked knee-deep trash – plastics, metals, … more bones? These were Vorcha remains; a pungent odor – alien waste and corroded metal – permeated the stagnant air like thick, murky fog.

Squealing and grinding ached in Shepard's ears while a thin layer of sweat lined her brow. Physical exertion, a team effort, really, ended with the dumpster being tilted sideways; a black column of walk space revealed rectangular hall and a debris sea. Silence was broken amongst them by her furious cursing. More kicks, hip twists; she waded in the trashy corner first-

"Another lovely adventure – swimming knee deep in filth on Omega. You really ought to take us somewhere nice for a change, Shepard. Maybe an ocean villa with a sandy beach..." Sarcastic, flanged vocals drifted above constant crushing- an irritable sound that weighed on the commander's mind. Leave it to Garrus – always supplying dry wit. Maybe that's why she really brought him along...

She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, an unusual sound to both turian and drell. It seemed dismissive, but also amusing given the lightness of her tone. "Are you kidding? This is as nice as it gets, Vakarian." Shepard even huffed out a loud grunt to cement this fact; Thane found the retort to be humorous, and a loose chuckle escaped his moist mouth.

The situation, although heavily darkened, had to be purposely twisted and molded for sanity's sake – he realized. If she remained serious on every single mission, Shepard's mind would've deteriorated from the high levels of stress she often endured. He's only known her for a couple of weeks, but the assassin was fairly decent at reading motives, body gestures – even in humans. This particular human, the commander, relished the idea of impossible odds... perhaps a death wish of her own? Something to end the torment that licked the fringe of her tarnished smile and glossy blue eyes. Her companionship with the turian told him they've been friends for a long while, way before this supposed resurrection. But, as always, there dwelt unspoken emotion – so close, it'd be found on the tip of one's tongue, negated soon by fear. Were either aware of it? Thane most certainly picked up on the connection, and he was an outsider!

He stopped short just as the turian did – rude awakening from thought, Shepard paused at an inactive, bent door frame. Drell optics peered effortlessly through the hazy blackness; it was shattered in sharp reflection, the Deathmask's illumination stretched from corner to corner.

"It would appear that there is no power-" Thane began, but was quickly silenced from a backward wave of Shepard's gloved hand. Garrus cocked his head curiously as well, similar to that of the commander; vibrations, gentle pulsing.

Past this door was the muffled hush of drowned music, infected with girlish laughter. Though the door was made of the thickest metal around, there were still ventilation slots found directly above the top frame. This wasn't Avrino's door. EDI's coordinates marked another four hundred feet ahead of them.

Pressure squeezed her raspy throat shut like clamps on a brittle pipe. Her hearing was pretty damn good with those enhancers and all, but it was a deep struggle to focus on limited volume. Dancers, more or less, there were no local apartments on this side of Omega- right? Shepard's motionless frame broke away – she took a heaped kneel next to the door, palm on pistol. Drell and turian followed suit with her actions.

"Can't make out what they're saying completely," Garrus murmured quietly, "... Something about … make-up?" Brow ridge cocked upward, he shot a hasty look at Shepard's faceless mask. Not a peek of emotion, stray the smothered chuckle. Dancers getting all fancied up, eh?

Shepard nodded once, then gave a quiet tap to the center of the door. Silent cue that she was going to hack and barge the fuck in, despite potential risks. Garrus and Thane made mutual agreement with assured nods; now or never. Bright orange flared, human digits stroked the omnitool for a quick boost and rewire – resurrected systems clacked, an obvious grinding slowly pried the two folds of metal apart. Tangerine light flooded half of Shepard's face- something big and black marred a fraction of it.

They were knelt beside a well-placed table; beneath flimsy metal, four legs – belonging to two asari dancers – were hovering over a mirror several feet in front of them. Clad leather hugged all the right areas – almost naked, but not quite. They were preparing for a spiffy client – Avrino.

Noise echoed terribly within Omega's dented walls, yet the dancers remained oblivious – vibrations shook the floor; music of choice appeared to be pulsing techno. In fact, one dancer closest to the radio jacked up the volume even louder, just as Shepard managed to hack the door open. Both began dancing, indicated by jerking high heels and drunk giggling. A door stood adjacent to the pair; they'd be spotted if they tried moving past them.

To kill, or not to kill? Dark and deep, the morbid nature of her personality hazily clouded squinting vision. Idle twitch beside the trigger, she flexed her pistol-wielding hand up and over-

"Shepard! They are civilians-" Flaring alertness piped up in Thane's whisper- but alas, he seemed too late. Garrus, once witnessing Shepard's aiming pistol, slowly took cautious level with his Volkov. In his own outburst, Thane hadn't realized his teammates weren't actually aiming at the asari...

Pop!Pop!

Two loud cracks followed – orange tangerine light exploded in to a dazzling white flare, like dying stars falling in to the pits of a black hole. Painful blackness soon engulfed the room. Shepard was quick to turn off her safety light; now, they were hidden securely – amongst the high-pitched squealing of startled females. No, she never planned on hurting the asari; she and the turian's aim happened to be the two, full-length light sources that hung low from ceiling.

The screams ended roughly, as with music. One of the asari slapped at a wall console; twisting bass ceased, and emergency lighting suffered a mass failure. Shitty electrical work in the slums.

"Oh, my, GODS- Nesha, what was that?" The tallest one exclaimed first, then eagerly clutched her blue-skinned friend. Steadily, the room began filling with the smell of burnt wire and faint gunsmoke.

"I-It sounded like an explosion! I think someone's in here-" Nesha whimpered lowly; both somehow backed in to a corner. Leaving the room would've been the right idea, but under horror-movie pretense, the females huddled together, as if awaiting an uncertain, and highly gruesome death.

Shepard – the infamous serial killer. Who would've thought? Nah, not today.

"What? You thought we were going to kill them?" Garrus broke out a stifled whisper to the drell; even under the darkness, sharp embarrassment contrasted against Thane's frown.

"Tsshhaa... that's how we do things." Shepard grunted approvingly at the turian. The two were so entwined at this point, Garrus knew every action the commander was going to make. What made it even better was that Garrus knew every reaction she wanted in return.

Shepard ducked low and moved at a snail's pace; she didn't want to alarm the dancers of their presence, despite it being horribly apparent now. They were whispering, desperately making way to the opposing door. As she inched beneath the table, Garrus soon pursuing, a low, resonating voice broke the silence.

Q'enar Avrino was most certainly making his rounds. Yes, he's been spending lots of time with naked asari; tonight wouldn't be an exception. He had reason to celebrate, after all! That stupid assassin promised to some unknown, human god that his rival, Zar Ishiki, would be dead by midnight. Stupid batarian didn't know what'd hit him, quite literally. It's what he deserved for throwing around slanderous claims; Avrino, a former space pirate?

Heavy krogan boots silenced his clicking shoes; always precaution, to hire mercenaries. Without the Blood Pack, why, Avrino wouldn't be where, or even who he was today. Life was good.

There was a strangeness in the air, though, one that Avrino felt in the pit of his stomach. Upon coming to collect his pretties for the evening, the turian heard vague explosion – stifled screaming. Were they starting without him?

"Nesha? You and your friend alright?"

Momentary pause, Nesha gulped and called out loudly. "Th-the lights are off, Avrino!"

Bingo. So, EDI hadn't been wrong at all; this room was a part of the suite he rented for the evening. Devilish smirking grayed Shepard's unseen features.

She lifted her hand away from pistol; assassin and agent understood this meant to hold position – ready on mark.

"Gah... I swear, nothing on this damn station works..." Avrino spat angrily while entering the room.

Hissing door brought forth yellow light, and a mild glance of the turian revealed him to be of standard height, yet decked with regal blues and whites. A business suit – he possessed extravagant taste under growing credit. His plating color was a dingy brown; garnet clan markings differentiated him from fellow turians. A massive, blockading shadow emerged shortly after... ah, a krogan body guard. Avrino's glassy, blue-tinted optics glanced about the room, hands soon settling on his hips. … Gunsmoke?

The asari dancers sniffled from fear and gingerly edged close to the politician – as if he were some wondrous god sent to save them.

"You poor things... you look scared out of your minds. Why don't you sit at the mini-bar and drink? It was probably just a power surge, it seems to happen often here. Of course, Aria's too cheap to fix anything." Avrino purred lavishly at the dancers, but he was tense; strictness devoured the languid walk he carried himself in with – Shepard's digits clenched around her pistol. No, wouldn't be wise to shoot his ass now. She needed answers first.

"Power surge? No, we thought we heard something else- scraping? Over there-" Nesha struggled to point at the vast darkness where the table sat. Shit. Avrino wasn't blind in the dark; hesitant gazing found that the once-sealed door was now very much open. Glowering, blue beams, although dimmed to save energy, pierced misty shadow – a gremlin hiding away behind the table - he spotted Shepard's knelt position.

"Shit!"

Yeah, can't wear the Deathmask if I wanna go rogue...

Avrino, being like any selfish politician, bolted right past his asari dancers while screaming toward the krogan. "We got company! Kill them!" His quick departure noted strong fear laced with paranoia (did someone hire an assassin to come after him?) – the asari squealed again and darted after Avrino. Big-Bad-Krogan mercenary stormed inward to announce a gurgling battle growl. Could krogan see in the dark? She didn't want to find out the hard way.

Shotgun rounds erupted over the team's heads – bizarre red fireworks, the colorful bullets fortunately missed them just as instinctive fingers grabbed the underside of the table's edge; Shepard gave a muscled pull and sent it falling before her, Garrus, and hiding Thane. A makeshift barrier and distraction this suddenly became; make-up and other knick knacks clattered to the metal-grated floor.

The turian agent found slight room beside his commander; Volkov at the ready, he relentlessly shot several concussive rounds to take out the flickering glow of the krogan's shield. Thane carefully lined sight with a massive, scaly head- plunk! Gushing blood sprayed the air in a fine, yellow veil. The krogan merc sputtered something indistinguishable – death claimed him quickly, and he collapsed, an echoing thump felt in the legs.

Impressive. Shepard didn't even have to twitch a finger! Smothered grin and swiveling head bounced between Garrus and Thane.

"Nicely done. See? I knew we could peacefully work together." She gave a firm pat to the drell's shoulder, then hurriedly vaulted over the table. There was that smugness again; Thane glanced at the turian beside him before politely smiling. … Garrus wasn't smiling back.

Victory was short-lived. When wasn't it? Gunfire brought the appearance of snarling vorcha, three of them-

"Why dark in here—GHNA!" Idiot. Shepard stood to full height and laid a perfect bullet hole in the creature's skull. He staggered back and knocked against one brandishing an assault rifle. Liquid bullets went everywhere, a silvery wave that unfortunately struck Shepard's left shoulder. "Fuck!"

Garrus vaulted over the table a split second later; silenced sniper rifle cleanly picked off the remaining two while Shepard's shield regenerated. That was close, but not unusual.

"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus smoothly asked – heat sink spat from the smoking weapon, as if to add coolness to the turian's comeback.

She muttered another curse, but shrugged dismissively. No damage done to her hardsuit, save but a dent; she rewarded Garrus with an unseen grin and coherent chuckle. "Yeah, what would I do without you, turian?" Coy joke on tongue, Shepard left her companion, who promptly delivered a smug grin to Thane. He didn't smile back.

She crunched over the various objects splayed throughout their path; glittery blush and bright lipstick mingled with the bodies of krogan and vorcha. Sticky blood painted the walls and ceiling – flecks of brain matter smeared the sheen of an opaque mirror... definitely one way to make an entrance. Beyond the door branched a hall, then shortly after, the politician's personal quarters. Yellow-washed light sources acted as tiny beacons. No doubt in the back of her mind that Avrino ran to his room to cower while the mercenaries dealt with his problem. Same story for everything, really.

The males trailed behind Shepard, yet right as she rounded the door, a clustering horde of krogan and vorcha blocked their path – again. The hall offered no place for cover; this needed to be executed quickly. Garrus felt anxiety from his commander; her shoulders drooped, arms lowered briefly until she knelt in a hunch and started blasting away the closest krogan. The odds of being injured were entirely high – it was too natural for him to ease past Shepard; skilled aim soon filled her untouched enemies with explosive holes. Did she complain? Never – she often repeated the same act of friendship when he required it. They returned favors for one another as comrades would – or, that's what Garrus wanted to believe.

Thane used shadow as leverage for this particular round. He blended in well near the corner behind Shepard, a true assassin move – his rifle lifted and unleashed fury upon vorcha heads. Mutilating their skulls with bullets, or strong biotec power were the only sufficient ways in killing the damn scavengers. Epileptic colors blotted the narrow passage; cloudy, dark crimson and milky white plumes blended together as disjointed mists.

"Watch the krogan!" Garrus advised them with low, vibrating growl – his shields depleted under rapid fire; long legs remained rooted to the spot, even as the shotgun-toting mercenary crept closer. Now would've been the time to retreat momentarily; shield gone, he kept between raging mercenary and kneeling human.

What the hell is he doing?

"Garrus, get the hell back already!" Shepard's taut voice echoed under gruff command. She watched him hesitate out of the corner of her vision, but he eventually sidestepped back to be of level with her position. Better than nothing. Nimble digits snagged at her ammo belt for a reload; the fight wasn't difficult in the least, she had plenty of time to release heat sinks after dealing a violent blow of rounds to the krogan's head. He jerked from side to side as the three assaulted him with warping bullets. Minutes of gunfire exchange filled the hallway – it manifested as a demonic orchestra. The horde laid slain before them; fleshy entrails and fluid strewn across the floor...

"Cease fire." She barked the command sharply – suddenly. Thane and Garrus instantly removed trigger fingers and glared dimly through patchy, acrid obstruction. Gurgling whines spewed from several dying vorcha – growing stillness, visibility returned – nothing but damaged walls and furniture. Avrino's door, according to EDI's direction, was straight ahead.

There'd be a lengthy break – unnerving silence chilled the corridor. Shepard always found a strange moment for them all to take breath, especially after a blazing fight. Each crew member knew the drill by now; keep quiet, heads down. Garrus grabbed chance to finally exhale; predator eyes shifted hesitantly to his commander. Would she question what he did?

The assassin felt this pretension, right before it even began. Black eyes danced between turian and human. Behavior was definitely peculiar, and he felt slightly on edge for some reason.

Shepard's shoulders uprighted as she erected stance – steaming pistol dangled at curved waist. "I think that's the last of them." No sassy retort, or irritable complaint on Garrus' behalf. Peculiar, indeed. Was she allowing him to protect her? Quiet steps leaped over stomach-knotting carnage. Avrino had no clue who he was dealing with.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Oh, fucking shit- they're coming... they're coming!" The politician's lax demeanor shriveled in to a heap of dry, crumbling ash; his suitcase was being stuffed with clothes, red sand, expensive booze. The asari clutched one another on top of a well-creased bed. They were stricken with fear, unable to move, let alone summon up their innate abilities. In a life where they depended solely on looks, why brush up on biotics? Damp gazes searched Avrino for hope – what was to become of them?

There was a fatal click as he double checked the rounds for his Raikou pistol; why didn't he hire the Blue Suns instead? No, you've got a trump card. He purposely selected this suite for a reason; a trap door hidden behind the typical cabinet would lead him to safety!

"Don't you breathe a damn word about where I went, got it?" He hissed the instruction to the two females, only before Nesha raised her head to yammer out complaint. "What do you mean? Take us with you! They'll kill us—"

"Won't kill you if you stay out of my way." Shepard's mechanical voice separated from hissing door; three blackened figures emerged over the threshold- talk about ominous. Avrino yelped and hastily pointed his pistol in the center shadow's direction, all before it slowly donned on the turian: a female human. If the politician didn't know any better, he felt relief tickle the back of his growling throat. She had two others with her, another turian, and a drell? Rarity among crowds. Nesha and her friend screamed and scooted along the bed – the horror-movie monster was going to skin them alive and eat their hearts, even if she just so happened to be a human!

"You've been the one creating this mess? Get the hell out of here, human. Do you have any idea who I am?"

Shepard dryly scoffed and slowly began shaking her metal-encased head. Pistol was drawn upward, heavy emphasis on a point blank shot to Avrino's face.

"Actually, no, I don't – furthermore, I don't care. I'm Commander Shepard, and I think you should settle down and put away the gun before my trigger finger gets happy." Thane and Garrus all too eagerly made target point with Avrino's head; three guns beat just one.

Shepard? Commander Shepard? Oh, spirits, Avrino was more than just fucked – he was doomed. Aspiring politician faltered under the human's sharp quip; he's heard stories about her and that uncharismatic charm she involuntarily possessed. Nervous eyes snapped between the three- then eventually the hidden door...

"You run, I shoot. It's that simple," Shepard read his intentions right before they could manifest! "... So, let's make it easy on all of us. Answer my questions and I'll be out of your fringe."

Avrino appeared to be weighing out this command quickly enough; Raikou went lowered as shoulders sagged in on themselves. He'd have to comply – at least for now.

"Wh-what do you want? Look, if it's about the space pirate thing, I swear I've never-"

Shepard irritably shook her head again, pistol-hand still transfixed on the turian's skull. "That's not why I'm here. Word around town says that you hired an assassin... I wanna know why."

How did she hear about that? Fresh panic caused his jaw to tighten; mandibles twitched nervously- then again, he was staring down the barrels of three guns...

"Aria's got a bigger mouth than I thought... but alright, I won't deny it. I hired some human assassin to take out a batarian for me. I heard that she was pretty good and reasonable with cost. We've got a feud between us, he's spreading lies, and I can't have him taking it to the Council if I want to be elected in the primary-"

"A batarian? What's his name- and what kind of things has he been saying?" Assumptions led her to an answer already: space pirate; but then again, she wasn't his target?

By now, Avrino found a pint of dignity in the bowels of his conflicting thoughts. Straightening his broad shoulders, he bared an evil glare and fanged teeth at Shepard. "I don't think that's any of your damn business, I already paid good money to have him killed-"

"It is my business- unfortunately. I don't like repeating myself, Avrino." Shepard snarled lowly under mask, and metal digits tightened grip along pistol. Impatience was getting the best of her, she knew it.

"Okay, okay!" Avrino stuttered helplessly as his hands stretched outward for a 'I-Surrender' gesture. "He's... another rival of mine, Zar Ishiki. As for the stuff he's been saying..." Idle pause caused Shepard's brow to quirk.

"Lemme guess, the space pirate crap? Are you one?" Humans were known for their obnoxious curiosity, and Avrino expressed his disdain of her nosiness by growling.

"No! I've never been a pirate..."

"B-but you told us you had been!" Drunk and high, Nesha unwittingly chirped out the information while giving the turian a disappointed frown. He promised her all kinds of fame and fortune if she brought along a friend- fake politicians lie the most.

Shepard snidely grinned – criminal in disguise, she should just blow his ass away right now.

"Damnit, Nesha! D-don't listen to her, asari believe anything you say." Avrino cut in quickly, but his knees buckled. Lies drained the body.

"Huh. So, you're killing off a batarian who's telling the truth? No wonder you ditched the pirate life and became a politician. Corruption – at its finest." Shepard relaxed visibly, only enough to lower weapon; her observant companions did likewise.

"If you want creds, I'll double whatever you're being paid! You... you can even have the asari! I'll just pack my things and leave-" They always wanted to run away from their fates.

"No one's paying me, moron, I'm here on my own free will. I'm after that assassin, whether you like it or not."

"I don't know Shepard, he is offering us the asari-" Garrus interjected with a loose, recognizable grin. He was greeted by silence and a hasty, invisible glare; bore right to the spine, it shut him up quick.

"Where's Ishiki?" Shepard's attention returned to the cowering politician. Wait, kill the assassin before she reached Zar? Well, that'd foil all of Avrino's plans!

"I don't understand why I'm telling you any of this..." Avrino found the barrel leveled with his head again. That's why. "You humans are annoyingly persistent." Angry spat, the turian writhed like a worm on a fishing hook. "Zar has a brother that lives in this dump, up on the first apartment complex – he's visiting. I told her that's where he'd be, but I don't know if she'll kill him there. She just told me it'd be dealt with quickly, sounded... in a hurry, almost."

Shepard felt strangely uncomfortable. Instinct, it boiled the pit of her stomach; something told her that she'd be next on the assassin's list of people to kill.

"How long ago did you meet with her- and what's her damn name?"

Avrino's lagging pause made her uneasiness heighten. "I don't know her actual name, she goes by an alias, Effigia. I met her maybe an hour ago to complete the transaction."

Effigia? The latin word for ghost – how appropriate, for an assassin, but the name struck no familiarity. Shepard grunted her irritation and holstered weapon at her hip. Avrino seemed surprised by this-

"Then we're running low on time. Let's hope, for your case, that she hasn't killed him, yet."

"She told me he'd be dead by midnight-" That gave them less than two hours to find Ishiki... everything had to be so damn convoluted.

Shepard inwardly heaved a thin, raspy sigh. Anyone suspicious – shoot. Avrino was definitely suspicious, being a space-pirate-politician, but would his death change anything? Maybe not right now...

"Alright. You, uh... might want to clean up the hall- and for the record, don't choose Blood Pack next time. They obviously can't keep up." The commander wryly muttered, but upon turning from Avrino, he saw his moment to strike. If she killed the assassin, Zar's damaging words would effect him, possibly even get him persecuted if he truly had proof that Avrino stole the identity of some long-dead turian to pursue an active career in Council politics. Shepard had to be stopped, and she seemed so willing to forgive- a fateful flaw, it'd be one that the he'd play on.

Pistol raised, and with a defiant rumble, he fired off two quick rounds that struck the unsuspecting woman right in the head. It was a side blow; startling impact shifted feet for an imbalance – she toppled right in to Garrus as Thane exited the room first. Asari screaming became faint on the ears, Shepard's brain was throbbing - shields crackled radically from the bullets. Garrus witnessed it first, right as her back connected with his chest. He shouted her name as protective arm snaked around her thin waist to stabilize her weight - an echoing howl followed, Avrino's head exploded under the return of clattering fire of twin guns.

Shepard's attention righted; disoriented reflex found pistol and with shoddy aim, she sent the politican's body colliding back against a table through the force of warped ammo. Smoke vapor filled narrow space; ironically enough, she and Garrus overkilled Avrino – so said the agent's unholstered weapon.

"Shepard! Are you injured?" Gloved talons bit in to her armor, but Shepard quietly groaned while shoving herself from his grasp. Ringing – a constant, high-pitched whirring, she took mild damage an inch above her right ear. It was a shallow ding, but preemptive shielding swallowed most of the shell's impact. She lifted a hand to gingerly touch the spot; of course, Thane appeared magically by her side; webbed hands attempted to probe the helmet for any cracks.

"OH, MY, GODDESS! Oh-why, you killed him!" Nesha yowled as her friend openly wept in fear. They were next – their stripping careers would be ended in a violent double murder!

"Get off- I'm fine..." Fatigued shrug yanked her form from the males; fuck today.

"And would you two shut the hell up!" She snapped loudly at the asari – they complied through weakened trembles.

"Let's get out of here..." No double-asari murder- at least for today.