Everything about being a gun for hire in this day and age required the utmost preparation. All of the weapons, the timing of everything had to be right, more importantly his contacts. Being in his line of work you had to have a steady stream of "friends" in order to keep a living. These friends also acted as an information network for the kinds of jobs where he was the hunter and his target was the prey.

As best as he could he tried to keep his composure, something he was not used to losing. His helmet helped him hide the slight twitches in his face every now and then, an uncomfortable and almost untameable phenomena. Eyes facing forward they fell upon a small booth run by a Volus.

"You promised me a quality product...and I love it! My wife wants one too!" A Salarian exclaimed as he opened up his omnitool.

"Well, I do always seek out the best of the best. Seeking inferior products is not the way I do business." The Volus replied, wiping imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Now, does she want the same exact one you had or the one with the...'enhancements'?"

"Wait, you sell omnitools with 'enhancements' here?" The Salarian replied, face turning red.

"Absolutely, and I can give you one for..." the plump salesman stopped as he saw the menacing figure behind his customer. "Um...tell you what Jarol, how about we meet back in an hour or so. I don't mean to be rude, but I have an old acquaintance standing right behind you."

Only after he mentioned it did Jarol see the shadow. He stiffened like a tree, thinking the wide frame behind him was a Krogan. Too afraid to even turn around, he waved goodbye and ran the other way. All the Volus could do was groan, more money at risk.

"You know how long it's been since we last spoke?" The hulking gunman asked.

"Hmm, I would say more than a few months. Ever since then I've moved here and set up this fine establishment. Oh and I'm sorry about Kinja..."

The very name caused the mercenary to pound the counter, forming a dent in the metal. He took a step back, fearing what he thought had gone away. Clearing his throat the Volus decided to rethink what he was going to say next.

"My...my apologies. I-I-I guess you're here for information." He cautiously asked.

"Damn straight. I need information on recent arrivals, a Qua...qua..." he struggled to even form the word. "...Quarian to be specific." He replied as his face twitched Under his mask.

The Volus' eyes widened underneath the lenses of his suit. He shook his head in disbelief at the man in front of him. "Arthur no...you can't be serious about doing this. I heard what the doctor said about your state, you can't keep doing this to yourself!"

Leaning on the counter he got in the Volus' face and grappled him by his front chest seal. "I didn't come here for a damn lecture Galu, I came here for information on my next target." He replied with a seething tone in his voice.

"No Arthur I'm not lecturing you, I'm talking to you as a friend, a very concerned friend." He replied as calm as can be, looking around at the worried expressions of others in the marketplace. "After your last mission on earth you told me and Viza you were out of the business for good!"

"Well I was until I got an offer. One million credits for capturing a Q-Q-Quarian, that's all!" Arthur shot back, more twitches than before.

"Do you not even hear yourself, or see what your hands are doing for that matter?" Galu asked concern in his tone.

Breaking eye contact for one moment he didn't even notice his gloves slightly shaking. For just a moment he had to close his eyes and concentrate, focus just like the doctor told him to. The shaking stopped for the time being.

"Please Galu, I know I'm a fuckin mess, but it's gonna be the last one. I'll quit after this, sell the suit, the guns, everything! I've even picked out a nice farm to settle on, some place called Eden Prime."

Galu snorted. "You know you're going to need farmhands right? People to help around the place."

"Not if they're all automated I won't." Arthur replied pulling himself away.

Galu nodded, a sign Arthur had been waiting to see for quite some time. "I really do hope you're sincere. Now, you said you're looking for a Quarian right? Recent arrival?"

"Yeah, uh, her name is Tali, Tali'Zorah."

With a flick of the wrist the trendy salesman opened up his omnitool to message his network. Galu, just like Arthur had his own network of friends, all in the right places. The Volus grunted and mumbled at the messages coming across his screen. Chubby digits scoured through raw data flooding in as well as a few how do you do texts. Then one message in particular popped up.

"Ah, here we are. Miss Nar Rayya arrived earlier today and is currently browsing through a cargo vessel emporium like a Krogan in a gun shop." He said as he closed the camera feed.

"Good work. Send me her location as soon as you can. Oh and Galu..." he hesitated as the Volus looked up. "I'm serious about this, I know just how fucked up I am and know how much the payoff is. I'll use the credits to get some help, I promise."

"Good." Galu emphatically replied. "Maybe I can get Viza to chip in to throw a party afterwards. I might even be able to call in a favor from my friends in the embassy."

"Sounds like a plan." Arthur replied as he walked away. He almost ran into Jarol who had been sitting still the whole time, shaking as if a sudden artic breeze blew by.

As he walked back to the skyacar station he opened up his omnitool, waiting for the message to get to him. On the way there he lifted his eyes for a moment to see a couple by the railing up ahead. An Asari and a Turian, and the two seemed enamored with one another.

The sight did not bother anyone else around him, then again they had not been through the kind of loss he had. Just watching the two reminded him of another time, a past less hellish than the present. A scene quickly flashed before him and dissipated all the same. All the time since then, he had to live with these scars.

Finally the skycar arrived and just in time. His target was on the move from there, and from the footage he saw she was not alone. Sliding into his seat he played back the footage from the emporium and watched as a not so camouflaged Turian couple followed her out of the store.

"Well shit." He muttered under his breath as the door closed. "I hate complications. Then again, I have a gun or two."

Swift hands typed in the destination for the car, even going so far as reprogramming it's safety functions for the quick stop he'd have to make. With a command the skycar raced off into stalwart traffic.

Skycars flew around in every direction as he bolted through the Citadel. Part of him was glad he had the team with him back in the day, all of those hacking lessons were starting to pay off. Adding an override through his omnitool he disabled the VI and GPS system, allowing him to take manual control of the runaway taxi.

Of course he would come across the occasional slow driver, but he had enough room to fly around them. One problem he hoped he wouldn't come across was C-Sec, or as he knew them as glorified traffic cops. Every now and then he would scan off to the left and right to check for the ticket hungry ones, the wolves.

Right as he went through another tunnel he made it down to one of the other merchant wards, his final destination. Checking his omnitool again he saw she was running now, probably panicked. Guess she finally figured out they were tailing her.

At full speed he charged down to the ground where she was and opened the passenger side door. A light on the console lit up, revealing the emergency breaks. He smashed the icon on the dash, nearly damaging the interior and managing to throw him forward in his seat.

"GET IN!" He yelled to the scrambling Quarian, causing her to stop in her tracks.

Now this was not the best of first impressions. Here he was, a stranger in combat armor and a skull for a face telling her to get in the car like the grim reaper. She weighed the options in her head looking back at the two chasing her and decided to take the kindness of a stranger. Seeing their target getting away the gunmen decided to break their cover and whipped out a hand cannon each.

Gunshots flew past the startled Quarian as she ran for cover, one shot managing to strike her arm. Instead of sliding into the car more gracefully she leaped in, cradling the injury as best she could. Arthur quickly whipped out a gun of his own, sending shots back at the attackers. Mashing the emergency icon he hit earlier, the car bolted from the ground and off into the air, closing the door as they disappeared in the artificial atmosphere.

"AGH!" the Quarian passenger cried out in pain.

"Ok, we need to get you to my doctor friend, immediately. Tell me, where were you hit?!" He said as he stared at the Quarian in his lap.

"Arm, my ugh...arm hurts, keelah." She winced as she rolled over.

"Just hold on ok, I know somebody who's patched me up before ok, just hold on. Please, f-f-for the love of..." he said as he trailed off, mumbling about something Tali could not even pick up.

He himself did not even know it but he was shaking again. Slight turns of the car ended up becoming over exaggerated shifts. Breathing exercises, like he tried, did so little in a time when adrenaline ruled over his bodily functions. Then he picked up something out of the corner of his eye.

WHAM!

Another skycar collided with their own. Arthur could not tell by himself if it was intentional or not until the car whipped in midair and came back around again. Silently cursing at himself he opened the driver side door and fired a few shots into the windscreen of the oncoming vehicle. The first few shots peppered the thick glass, but the last impact shattered it, sending the attacker right into oncoming traffic.

Other skycars crashed into one another, making a mess of the place and providing an escape route for the two. Through the smoke and noise they were able to get away, but eyes on the ground said otherwise. A masked Salarian watched through their omnitool camera as the vehicle sped off towards another ward.

"Overwatch reporting in. Strike team Zeta has been thwarted and they're heading off towards the lower wards." He said into the omnitool.

"Copy overwatch. Keep track of the targets and notify us when they stop again." A scrambled voice replied.

"Understood, over and out."

Still zipping around at ridiculous speeds Arthur continued driving as if his life depended on it. In this case however, it was not his own he was driving for. Right below him he could start to hear a cough come from his passenger every now and then, causing the shakes to get worse.

"Dammit! Not again, it's not happening again!" He told himself.

Once again he tried breathing in and out to see if it would work now they were not being followed. His breaths were uneven, some shallow, some full. The inside of his suit felt like a sauna, which never should have happened with the mods he had. Then the worst of all the symptoms happened.

The trembling came back in force when he saw a familiar hand reach for the virtual wheel. Ever since...then he had these hallucinations, and the doctor always told him that's exactly what they were, so he fought back. He pulled back the other direction, fully knowing what it wanted, what it craved. Tears came down his face as he corrected the path and more importantly reactivated the automated driving function.

"When is it going to end? When are the horrors going to stop?" He thought to himself.

Without even thinking about the mission, secrecy, or whatever else he ripped his helmet off and threw it in the passenger floorboard. Both hands free he reached for the air control and turned it down as low as possible. Lucky for him the sweats started to go away but not even a minute after the sudden temperature shift he felt a trembling down below.

He almost forgot who his passenger was for a moment, and more importantly her condition. Moving his finger across the dashboard interface he reset the air control unit to outside temperature. Outside was warmer than he had it, but cool enough to calm him down.

"Fuck I'm so...dammit. Are you still cold?"

"No, but thank you for..." she stopped as a cough interrupted her. "Asking...who are you by the way? I-I-I mean it would be good to know who just swooped in out of nowhere and..."she tried to finish her words but they were quickly cut off by a series of coughs.

Arthur knew what to say, the problem was should he? The mission was to bring her back to Fist, but it seemed Fist wanted her dead more than alive. All his contractor wanted was the information, not he informant. Everything seemed problematic, including the fact he had nothing to cover his face. Even so, he decided on something to say, what exactly he was not even sure.

"I'm just a guy." He replied.

"Just a guy?" She asked, a confused tone in her voice.

"Damn that was dumb." He thought to himself. "I know I had an episode but I can do better than this!"

"Ok, would you like the long or the short version?" He asked, a slight twitch coming and going as he spoke.

Tali had to think and cough on the thought for a moment. "I would prefer as much detail as possible please."

Taking a deep breath Arthur prepared the perfect response. "Oh would you look at that, we're here."

Bolting up from the position she had been in for the past fifteen minutes she looked out the window as they slowly flew by a small open market and a night club. Just right down the way was a sign for a doctors office. The Skycar touched down right where it was programmed to and opened up the doors for each passenger.

When his door opened Arthur sprinted from one side of the car to the other, making sure to put his helmet back on when he reached the other side. With one foot out the door Tali tried to stand up and almost forgot which arm was hit. Arthur simply needed to help her up and instead swept her off her feet.

The Quarian herself was not so sure about being carried around like dead weight, but with the pain and lack of a powerful immune system just went along with it. People stared as the jacked up mercenary carried the Quarian all the way to the clinic, some choosing to make comments among themselves. Stepping in front of the door caused it to open.

"That's new, then again she probably needs a hands free door for the kinds of injuries she gets." He thought to himself.

On the other side of the wall through the door stood a red headed physician. She currently had her back turned to the door, but quickly spun around as a light jingle echoed from her omnitool.

"Hello and welcome to...my God, Arthur? What are you doing here and who is this?"

"Doctor Michel, I know it's been a hot minute and I know you don't like to see this armor but she's got a suit breach in her right arm. She's already breaking out with something."

"Ok, ok, um..." the doctor pondered. "Put her on this table here and retrieve the antibiotics. You know where they're stored."

Following her orders to the letter he carefully set Tali down on the table and then rushed across the room, throwing off the gauntlets of his suit for doctor's gloves. Behind him, doctor Michel worked away on the burn on Tali's arm and patching the breach with what she had on hand while linking her omnitool with her patient's envirosuit. At the moment privacy was not on her mind, urgency was necessary.

"Where are the antibiotics?" She raised her voice from across the room.

"Here doctor!" Arthur replied, running with a small case in hand.

"Good, very good. Also, place a lock on the door. We do not need anyone else coming in here to further contaminate the room, understood?"

He simply nodded as he opened his omnitool and threw an override code at the door, causing the lock to turn bright red. Leaning against the wall he blew out a sigh of relief and pulled his helmet off again. The cool air of the clinic felt great on his sweat laced brow, but the glare he got did not.

"How long has it been since you took your last pill?" She asked, still focusing on the patient before her.

"Really? All this time of not even communicating and you ask me..."

"A legitimate question out of concern Arthur. I received a message earlier from Galu about your encounter. You know the Salarian he was helping out called Citadel security?"

Wiping the sweat off his forehead he closed his eyes, maybe hoping she would stop, and he could hope all he wanted.

"For the last damn time, I know you think you're helping but the pills didn't make things any fucking better!" Arthur replied, a slight hitch in his breath.

"First, watch your language, second, what happened?" She asked, now looking at him right in the eyes.

He paused as he thought on it. "When I was on those...things I had the worst nightmares in my life. They made me replay everything like a horror vid. Doc, you ever replayed the biggest fuckup in your life over and over again?"

Trying to focus back on her work she shook her head. "No. I do get reminded about my failures now and again, but nothing that dramatic...wait, are you still seeing those hallucinations?"

Suddenly the air got warm. Right across from the doctor sat a familiar figure, wanted and unwanted all the same. Arthur tried shutting his eyes again, shaking his head at the premise she might go away, but no she stayed, almost taunting him.

"Arthur, follow me please." She said as she walked away from the now unconscious Quarian on the bed.

Looking back and forth between the doctor and the bedside he saw the figure had vanished. Not wanting to see "her" again he followed her to the other side of the room where she pulled him away.

"Why did you not follow up with the psychiatrist I mentioned?" She asked.

"I did actually." He said, thumbing his nose. "Problem was he's fuck...sorry, he's dead."

Shaking her head the good doctor could not believe the revelation. "How did...who did it?"

"You know damn well who." He replied.

Throwing her gloves away she tried to cover her eyes and the tears. Arthur just stood there, thinking about the moment he found out first hand. Dealing with the thoughts were not as hard for him as they were for her.

"I just thought he never responded because of his aspirations. He told me years ago he wanted to open a clinic out in the traverse and help out the colonies lacking infrastructure. I can't believe it." She said, sniffling with every few words.

"It's unfortunate the universe we live in." He replied.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dr. Michel shot back.

Arthur shrugged, "I dunno, maybe it's because we live in a universe with a lot of people we pissed off."

"You always had a way with words, even if you do come off as a cold bastard!" She replied, shaking her head.

"You know, that's the first time I've ever heard you break your curse rule."

The doctor grimaced as she wiped the tears from her eyes using a tissue from the table next to her. "People tend to do that when they think their friend finally did 'the deed'. For months I waited for a response after Galu got word your ship was destroyed. Somehow both you and Kinja were the only survivors."

Arthur's face twisted as the sound of her name, causing the doctor to back up. His left hand began to shake at his side, and he tried to cover it up by putting it into a fist, but the good doctor knew what was going on. Reaching for the disobedient limb she unfolded his hand and watched as each digit trembled before her.

"PTSD...we live in a day and age where medicine can do so much and still cannot cure some ails of the mind." She said as she smoothed his hand out with her own.

"And what if it's not the mind Doc?"

"You're talking pseudoscience Arthur." She scoffed.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Your pills didn't do much in helping me, and trust me I tried everything else to plug the leak. Drinking didn't solve a damn thing, that's how I got kicked out of a bar on Illium. I tried getting into acupuncture and that shit hurt more than helping me. I also tried flirting with a Krogan once..."

Doctor Michel snickered at the last one. "Wait, flirting with a Krogan?"

"Doc, I'm not fucking joking. Remember when you talked about me doing 'the deed' earlier?"

It took less than a split second to make her realize what he was saying. The sudden look of horror on her face told it all. Without another word she wrapped her arms around him, as well as she could in his armor.

"But...how are you still here? Was the Krogan drunk or..."

"No, but you know what the dumbest shit is? She didn't even try to kill me. For some reason I managed to pick some moron that decided to give me a life lesson instead of what I wanted, a dirt nap. I begged her to kill me and the witch still told me to cling on to life, because 'new life in her culture is hard to come by' or some dumb shit like that." He said, anger building in his tone.

"What she said was true Arthur. Only one in one thousand births, or some number around there, is viable! The Krogan are a dying people. Maybe you could learn an example on why you should live from them."

Loosening the doctor's grip on him he carefully removed her, taking a seat on the stool next to him. The doctor walked back over to her other patient, examining everything from heartrate to body temperature. All Arthur did was think back, back to when he thought freedom had come.

(Months ago...)

"Ah stuff it ya damn Turian. Ain't nobody bold enough to talk up Ulran." The Batarian behind the bar laughed.

"Oh yeah? What about that jumpy Asari that came in last week, what was her name?"

"Dala or some a bit like that." A drunk Salarian replied from the other end of the bar.

"Thank you!" The Turian replied. "And she almost got her now didn't she?"

"Got her?" The Bartender laughed. "She ended up getting surgery for a bottle of Ryncol getring shoved so far up her ass she couldn't even touch it."

"Oh...I forgot that part." He replied.

"Yeah, supposedly killed her too." The Batarian replied.

Suddenly another patron's head perked up, one who had one too many and was thought to be done for the night.

"Hey, bartender?" He asked.

All four eyes glared at the man. "What human? Want another shot to knock you out for good? Shoot out your liver?"

"Ugh, fuck no. I just wanna know who's Ulran." He followed up with a belch.

"Heh, you really do want to end it don't you?" He said with a snicker, even glancing down at his Turian friend. "Tell you what, I'll lend you a hand. If you wanna know, she works at the strip club around the corner. Just ask for a 'Tuchanka tango' and they'll get you all sorted out."

"Uh, thanks." He replied, waving his omnitool over the terminal in front of him. "Keep the tip."

The Batarian looked in shock at the amount, baffled as to why anybody would be that generous. Meanwhile, the human moved as fast as he could in his state, popping a mint to try and take the rum smell out of him. Right around the corner, just as the bartender said was a sign with a half naked Asari waving at every passerby.

A human, much like him, stood outside in a full suit of armor, a shotgun on his back. He quickly adjusted his back and continued on past the guard, who only took a wandering glance. Inside the door the sound of pounding music resonated across the room. A desk with a bored looking Asari stood just before a curtain leading inside.

Not even looking up she spoke. "Welcome to Mera's Mirage where all your dreams are real. What can I do for you?"

Clearing his throat he replied. "I'm here for the Tuchanka Tango. A friend recommended it to me."

The Asari snorted. "Did your friend have an itchy quad or something? Listen kid, I wouldn't recommend something as hardcore as that on your first time here. How about some alone time with one of our other..."

"No, and here's why." He replied opening up his omnitool again. "How does two thousand credits sound?"

"Two thousand? You know the dance is only...shit whatever. Just know that if you need surgery or something like that you're on your own. She'll be waiting for you past the orange door straight across." She said as she pointed to the sign below the counter.

"That's fine with me." He replied, making his way past the thin barrier inside.

Lights shined throughout the huge room. In cages hanging above danced Asari, Turians, Salarian even. Most places like this only picked Asari for entertainment, but this place was run by somebody different. Mera, whoever she was, did not seem to be picky and neither did her patrons.

Walking over to an orange lit door he walked straight inside, sitting down as the lock turned red. The room was smaller than last, just enough for two people. Unlike so many other places he did not smell antiseptic or other kinds of cleaners. Either these people cared enough about cleaning up afterwards or he was walking into a germaphobes worst nightmare.

As he sat down on the larger than most bed he noticed a few wall panels pull aside to reveal a hidden door, with a brightly dressed Krogan behind it. Most of her face was hidden from sight, but he could see her eyes.

"Welcome to Mera's Mirage." She said, sauntering as best as a Krogan could over to her client. "We have multiple hours together I see. What do you desire?"

If it were any other situation he would laugh. She tried foreplay and sucked at it, then again he was not Krogan and most would probably get a kick out of it. Taking one big breath he tried to force the words out of his mouth and failed, so he tried something else.

"Are you Ulran?" He asked.

"I am. Now, what do you desire?"

His face twitched at her words. "What I want...I want you to do something similar to me as you did to Dala. I want to die."

"What?" The word escaped form her throat. "Oh no, Khorun most have told you the fairy tale of her demise. I will have to pay a visit to his bar sometime soon for this. But enough of that, you said you wanted to die."

"Did I stutter?" He replied, standing up with her, face to face. "I came here because I thought you could kill me and make it quick, but it seems I wasted my time."

Waving his omnitool towards the lock he aimed to see it turn green. The first try failed and so did the next, and the one after. He tried again and again, only for Ulran to stop him.

"Please, sit back down on the bed." She gently asked.

He sought a comment to come back with and quickly lost it. There was something about her he could not quite place, she disarmed him. As he sat back down she sat right next to him, still holding onto his hand.

"I've met many like you in years past. All were like me, afflicted, lost, Krogan. You see, my people were given a curse by the Turians and Salarians, a reason why I never choose to ever lay with one. I tried to satisfy my mate back on Tuchanka and watched time and time again as we lost children. He thought it was him who caused it and had surgery done..."

"And did it work?" The human interrupted. Now putting both hands on his she leaned on him.

"No, and he never forgave himself for it. He killed himself going off on some journey with others, seeking a remedy for what ails my people. I tried finding comfort in others, attempting to give offspring to any who would lay with me and nothing worked. I left Tuchanka, my home, to find somewhere my heart would not remember such aches. This is why I am here. Many Krogan come through this port and seek a rowdy female yes, but also hope."

"Hope? How can you provide hope for your people if there is no hope?" He asked.

"You cannot see with your eyes closed on the now human. I focused too much on the present myself, the turmoil of the moment and never looked on to the future. I look for a day when my people can be whole again and have families of their own. Where I no longer have to stay here, but go home and bear many young." She said, grinning widely.

"That's a nice dream you got there, but my problem isn't in the present, it's in the past." He replied.

Pushing him down on the bed she straddled his waist while looking straight into his eyes. "Forget about the past human. Focus on what lies ahead for you. The more you hold onto the past," She said as she unzipped his pants, grabbing onto something. "The more it holds onto you. Now..." she started as she threw her leggings to floor. "When you shed the past it is the most amazing sensation you will ever feel." She added, tossing the rest of her garb to the side.

"This is when you can truly live" she said as she lowered herself onto him. "Now human, you have over two hours left with me. Let's see just how strong your kind is compared to mine."

(Present day...)

He could still feel the pain from that night. Maybe if he were somebody that enjoyed pain he would've had much more fun. Instead he hobbled out of the club over to the closest pharmacy.

Everybody had their laugh and he left the small colony behind, the Krogan's word staying with him. Problem was letting go of the past was not as easy as she made it. At least She was fortunate enough to have that special somebody and settle down, he did not.

From across the room doctor Michel threw off his train of thought when he heard her talk to her other patient on the bed.

"I've never had a suit breach before." Tali said.

"That would explain your bodys' reaction to the breach. Tell me, are you on your pilgrimage?" She asked, causing the Quarian to gasp.

"How do you know about the pilgrimage?"

The doctor giggled, "I've treated a few other Quarians in my time, and I do like to hold a conversation."

"She's right." Arthur said from across the room. "After I got back from a job on Noveria, she couldn't stop talking."

"And I remember the occasion. You had an awful head concussion and I was making sure you could still remember who you were." She said with a frown.

"Speaking of which..." Tali Spoke up. "I never got your name."

Breathing in he tried to muster the courage to speak. "Ar...ahem, Arthur, my name is Arthur Quinn."

"Well thank you Arthur. Without you I would have died."

He tried to form a smile on his face, but the message he just received on his omnitool shifted his thoughts once more. Pressing one hand to his ear he turned as he called his employer, leaving Tali and Michel to talk among themselves.

"Ah Arthur is it? It's been almost seven hours without an update. How's the hunt coming along?" Fist asked.

"Um very well actually. I have the target with me right now."

On the other side of the conversation Fist typed commands into his desk terminal. A display of the Citadel showed a triangle forming around a chunk an arm, slowly shrinking in on a location.

"That's excellent news! Tell me, where are you now?"

"Sir, let me say it might not be the best time for that. We're not the only ones looking for her it seems."

Fist cursed silently as he looked up the holographic figure in front of him, impatiently tapping his talon on his arm. He knew who else would be after her right now and why, the question was did his employer?

"Then come back here with her as soon as possible. I can protect you and her." He replied.

Arthur raised a brow at the change in plans and made him question what he wanted. Beforehand she could die and now he was offering protection? Something did not add up between the two and more importantly why Fist suddenly needed to know his location. So he decided to gamble.

"I'm at Doctor Michel's clinic in the lower wards. Any help you can send would be great."

"Fantastic! I have men close by, they should be there soon." He replied cutting off the call.

"Who was that?" Dr. Michel asked.

"Get her and yourself to the back. Barricade yourselves in now." He commanded.

"What?! Arthur who was that and what is going on?" The Dr. Shot back.

"Doc, we have no time to argue. Get Tali in the back and barricade yourselves in."

Even with the fact she never got an answer she still listened to the mercenary, helping Tali to her feet. Reaching into his side he threw his hand cannon over to the doctor who caught it with her free hand, a worried look on her face.

Arthur whipped out the shotgun on his back and checked the gage for ammo. Seeing it was full he reached back and grabbed one of the beds, flipping it over to use as cover. Right as he got in position behind the table he heard voices from the other side of the door.

"Guess there's no rest for the weary." He said as the doors unlocked.