'When I told you to ease up a little' she gasped, with one hand covering her smile.
'Whut?' asked the officer.
'I thought you'd put on a pair of trainers, not...'
Well, this. Compared to the other military people at the gym, the officer looked like some bird-of-paradise that had escaped from a zoo. I wonder if there're zoos on the Citadel with earthian animals in'em. The others wore tops and shorts, futuristic yet smart and their best contribution to society was running on the treadmill creating energy.
The C-Sec lieutenant Blair Summers whom the officer had just made friends with a few days back was struggling to keep her composure in front of her alliance superior. The officer turned up to their 'randezvous' wearing her favourite aloha shirt, lilac biking shorts and worn out gymshoes. The loose shoelaces were flopping about with every step she took. She grinned at her newest training buddy.
'Eccentric's the best' she said 'These're the same sneakers I wore on prom night back in high school.'
'Sure you were elected queen then...!' Blair just couldn't stop giggling.
'Of course I was LT! But I hadta refuse the crown 'cause it didn't go with the rest of my dress.'
Blair burst out laughing uncontrollably. The people around them shot scornful glares at them from under a sweaty brow, not stopping, even for a moment working on that excess fat. The officer, with all her 160 centimetres stood beside her partner. Hands on her belly, as she bent over they were nearly the same height. She stood there shameless however, wondering if there was a shooting range around. With the short legs she had inherited from her asian ancestors she wasn't any good at cardio. The only reason she cared about it was to be able to run away from hopeless situations if needed to. Combat, social or otherwise – I must be the one with all advanteges.
'And I thought the requirement for being higher up in rank was to lose all sense of humor. Ma'am you proved me wrong' said Blair wiping away tears after the giggles wore off.
'Call me Amy. We're not wearing a uniform right now.'
'I noticed' nodded Blair flashing her teeth and pointed towards a couple of treadmills standing still. As they approched them they put on their wrists the pulsemeter watch and talked. A bit about me, some stuff about her... How I like it here at the middle of the universe, where I'd been staitoned before. Should I lie to impress her? Nah, not in the mood. They started jogging at a comfortable pace.
'So how's your investigation going on about that rogue scientist?' asked Blair after a while, panting slightly.
'Slooowly...' she answered. Blair glanced at her checking if she'll elaborate. 'That guy's a mess. And it's not helping that everyone seem to think he's dead... Even his old acquintances, like the twins give me that story.'
'That he died during the Cam Rahn calamity?'
'Yeah.' her stomach tightened. That one, the hijacking of a space station was a nasty one. She didn't know how Adam got there, what he did there, how much of it was his fault... But one thing was sure: Many people died that time, human and alien as well. It was the starting point of the second greatest international shitstorm after the First Contact War with the turians. Adam made a huge mistake being there, with it he'd ensured himself a lifelong manhunt. Maybe it would have been best for him if he had really died back then. 'But I'm sure they lied to me. I have a hunch that they know more than they tell... And there are evidences that he's been seen after that job.'
'And the salarian I helped track down for you?'
Officer Amanda Lee grimaced.
'That slidder gave me a real hard time. In a sense he's more elusive than Adam... there's no worthy information about him around. Not the fact that he's a physician, nothing about him living in the Terminus, nothing that could connect him with Witte, the pirates, or anything at all. According to my research, he's only some grandpa dying of old age with no background, no relatives altogether and nothing on his account. Yet he's being hospitalized at Huerto Memorial, the best private clinic around by far. Fishy, and not because he's an amphibian. Smells like witness protection, maybe agent recovery work for the Secret Tasks Group... The fingerprints are all over this... I mean, footpadprints... Or whatever the geckopeople have for fingers. I just can't see into his case, it's too alien. Out of reach.'
'I'm sorry it didn't do anything good.'
'Heads up sweetie, it did! It's true, there're hardly any tracks I can follow, only the image got wider and more accurate. In the end he did give me some useful answers... But it was tricky, getting to him. I knew I could never pressure him to talk, not about the pirate fleet and the time they'd spent together. I had to lean on his empathy... On the fact, that he does care for Witte.'
Lots of things could be said about the officer, but one is sure: she had made her investigation thorougly. It was a long shot, but she'd gone out of her way to get contacts in the berks of the Citadel Security. If there was any chance that they could lead her to the salarian, or later maybe to the other witnesses – she took it firmly. She lied, cheated, dealt with shady characters and basically did anything that needed to be done to get her missions accomplished. Honesty wasn't a constructive part of her modus operandi, and that made her one of the best operatives that could be found.
