Kaidan Alenko – Shepard's apartment, London
Kaidan sits quietly on a couch in a small living room. Shepard took him to her apartment, which she rented for herself for the time being. He wondered whether she could afford it, but looking at it now, he understands.
The building itself is old, but the previous owners refused to let it be demolished. Reconstructions take some time and only three apartments are occupied by now, their occupants staying under its roof on their own risks. The walls of Shepard's apartment are crumbling here and there, but could be repaired giving enough amounts of time and resources.
The floor is stable, though there are signs of fire at some places. Most of the furniture is covered in white dusty sheets. Counting the little time Shepard expects to stay here, she didn't bother to pull them off. Only a couch in the living room is uncovered, revealing a small space for two people to sit on.
A small coffee table sits in front of it, one leg missing for it to be complete. Papers that used to fill the table are now spread on the floor next to it. Kaidan doesn't bother to check the other rooms, he sits still, listening to the shower running, as water seemed to be the only thing working properly in here, though only cold water can be used for now.
Shepard leaves the shower few minutes later, dressed in a black tank top and jeans, even though the temperature in the room seems to be the same as outside. He watched her as she opens a door to what seems to be kitchen and returns with two cans in her hands.
She hands one to Kaidan, opening the other for herself. He plays with the can in his hands, wondering whether to start a conversation or sit quietly.
The silence between them is cut off by Shepard. "We can start looking for him tomorrow, I'm done for tonight." she says, rubbing her eyes for effect.
"Alright." he nods, "How did you manage to find him anyway?"
"Luck." she says and laughs, "I moved from town to town after the war, but returned here to find Anderson. When I was returning here, I spotted the poor bastard as he walked down the street. Luckily, he didn't recognize me, so I followed him ever since, didn't really have a chance to get him if I didn't want to make a ruckus. Just when I finally decided to kill him, no matter the consequences, I lost him."
Kaidan listens quietly as she speaks, then when she's done, leans back in his seat. "Unbelievable. A wanted traitor and he's walking around London like nothing happened."
"Yeah, I know." she says, "But I'm going to find him again and this time, I'm not waiting for invitation, I'm going to kill him on sight."
Kaidan frowns next to her, watching her as she clenches her fists. She didn't use to be like this, she used to listen to reason and make right decisions, used to follow orders. But she changed so much over the time. He knew exactly why she left after council refused to help Earth, she couldn't bear to lost more people under her command, people who counted on her.
Emilia wasn't aware of it, but Kaidan well knew about her past and not once did he blame her for that decision. Maybe he should have said something sooner, he should have been there for here.
"Shepard, I-" he paused, finding the right words, "I'm sorry, about everything. The things I said, I was just lying to myself. I do respect you, I always did, because you weren't afraid to do what needed to be done."
Emilia Shepard – Apartment, London
She stood up slowly, walking towards a window, cracks in the glass created a web pattern all over it, letting cold breeze slide through. Kaidan's eyes were fixed on her back, she could feel the weight of his look. She didn't know what to say.
"I'm not following Council's every order anymore." he said when Emilia remained quietly leaning against the window frame. She pulled out a cigarette, her hands shaking slightly when she lit a lighter.
"This is not about orders, Kaidan." she let out a sigh, puff of smoke swirling in the air from the motion, disappearing with the breeze that brushed against her skin.
"What did you expect after you disappeared for two years and then surfaced, working with Cerberus?"
"I'm sorry I died, Kaidan, is that what you want to hear?" she snapped, turning around to face him.
Kaidan averted her icy gaze, this is not how he expected his apology to be. "No, I'm sorry I let you die alone, I should've stayed."
Emilia snorted, "It doesn't matter anymore, let it go." She didn't want to hear an apology, not anymore.
"No, it does matter, Shepard." He stood up and walked towards her. She held his gaze, but almost dropped the cigarette from her hand.
"I've been ignoring you because I thought you were a traitor," he says, "and it hurt."
She listened to his with her eyes wide, unable to respond. They worked together for so long before, they've been through Ash's death together and she thought it would be like this forever, she long for someone by her side but then he grew distant and she wanted to forget about him.
Now all of a sudden, every moment they spent together, it all surfaced and banged against her chest. She turned her head sideways, focusing on something, anything else than his eyes.
After a while of silence, she decided to face him again. "You hurt me, too, Kaidan." was all she said and then brushed past him. Kaidan froze in place, his empty eyes staring out of the window as he was listening to her footsteps.
Annie Northway – London
She passed the buildings, recognizing bookstores, cafés, shopping malls, but she doesn't let show on her face. Her eyes never stay at one place long enough for James to notice. The thought of his interest in her past made her walk faster, avoiding any other places she might recognize.
Fortunately, the bar they were headed to was unfamiliar to her, the last time she was in London, she wasn't really allowed to go in such places. But now, she could use a drink, or more than one. By the looks of it, James knew how to handle his drink, but she wasn't about to ask him for money, since she had none.
But she couldn't help but notice James' interest in her, though he seemed to give up on her rather quickly. Maybe he would offer to buy her a drink, she though, taking a quick look behind her shoulder, where James was walking few steps behind. Their eyes met for a second before she turned away.
She stopped in front of the bar, watching the sign with its name on it sway in the wind. It said "Jerry's place", which Annie didn't find very original. Her eyes narrowed, considering the age of the bar, but she let it go, remembering how little she cared about this place, or London in particular.
Annie reached out her hand to open the door, but James was quicker. He gripped the handle and pulled the door open, stepping to the side, so she could walk in. She gave him a faint nod of her head as she brushed past him.
The bartender greeted James with a friendly shake of his hand and a bright smile on his lips. James responded with the same greeting, indicating that he knew the bartender very well. He offered them seats at the bar and James took the offer without question.
"Two beers, Jerry, we had a long flight." James said, his eyes meeting Annie's surprised gaze, corners of her lips suddenly twitched with a smile.
"I don't like you, Vega." she said, "You can read my thoughts."
James burst out laughing and Annie followed suite, his laugh being almost contagious. The bartender put two bottles in front of them and they James let the good mood fade away as he asked his questions.
Annie listened in silence, slowly sipping her beer. Apparently, Shepard was here last night, asking about Alex. Jerry, that was the bartender's name, didn't give her any details, though he well knew that Alex took a cab from here.
"I can give you the cab's number, but you'll have to look for it yourself, I'm not that good of a detective." Jerry wrote a number on a napkin, handling it to James.
"We'll have him by evening." said James. "Did she change her appearance?"
Jerry nodded, "Sure did, short black hair this time, I wonder if she'll go blind next time." They both laughed, but Annie was still quiet.
Only when Jerry left them drink in peace did she grabbed courage to ask, "You're sure you can find him?"
James watched her with curiosity, "You don't trust me, bonita?"
"Like I said, I don't trust anybody." she replied, taking a long sip. "Besides, I barely know you."
"I think you do trust me, otherwise you'd run away first chance you got. You're still here, hell you're drinking with me, that's gotta mean something, right?"
She shrugged, slightly impressed by his logic and the fact that he could be right, though she's never admit it herself. Annie watched him as he drank his beer, but her eyes turned away when he met her gaze and gave her smile.
James made a small conversation and Annie was surprised with herself when she answered in full sentences rather than cutting him off. She was able to relax after a while and even didn't mind his flirtatious comments now and there.
But her serious side came back as soon as they walked out of the bar. James was able to trace the cab using his omni-tool and Alliance resources and they had an address of the place where Alex went to last night. It was a small warehouse on the edge of the town.
The tension was weighing heavily on Annie as James as they approached, both of them knowing it could be a trap. They looked at each other as they walked to the door at the side. James had a tight grip on his sidearm, while Annie's biotic powers were boiling inside her, ready to burst out in the smallest hint of troubles.
Alex Northway – Storage warehouse, London
He remained seated when James Vega kicked open the door, watching him with amusement through his shoulder. He did raise his hands when asked to, but the smile didn't left his lips, it even widened when he noticed his sister following behind Vega.
"Annie, I hoped you'd be the one to find me." Alex Northway stood up quietly, his hands lowering back to his side as he turned around, meeting his sister's confused gaze.
In next few seconds, two things happened at once. First, James and Annie got surrounded by mercenaries , second, James was knocked out cold by biotic powers of two Krogan who entered from behind Nortway.
Annie ran to James, checking for injuries. His head hit the wall hard, but he seemed to be conscious. He met Annie's eyes and reached out his hand to her, but she was out of his reach before he could grab her.
"No need to concern yourself with the likes of his, little sister." said Northway, slowly closing the distance between him and his sister in a hug. Annie was still confused and didn't know whether to attack.
"Don't try anything, or he dies." Alex answered her in a whisper and her hand froze in midair. "Now then, let's go somewhere more private, shall we?"
Annie followed her brother to the next room, behind a desk with a computer. She caught a glimpse of the screen, where a map with a red dot above an old building was. The door closed behind them, before she could make out anything else.
"I'm happy to see you, little sister. I've been on a run for a long time now."
Annie frowned, turning her attention back to a man she hardly recognized as her brother. "You don't say, Alex."
"Don't be like that, Ann, everything I've done was for us, for humans. We could've been the most powerful race in the galaxy. But because of Shepard, that all is in the past. All I have now, is revenge and you're going to help me."
"Forget about it." she said, earning herself a hard slap. Out of balance, she dropped to the ground. She felt blood in her mouth and powered her biotic abilities in a sudden rage. A strong force slammed against her brother, but he didn't even flinch.
Northway laughed at her sister's pathetic try to hit him and deflected the attack with his own biotic shield. The look on Annie's face as her hand fell back down was priceless for him, he couldn't hold back another laugh.
"You're going to help me kill Shepard, are you not?" he asked, pulling his sister back to her feet. She groaned when he grabbed her collar, pulling so hard she could barely breathe. Her head made a light nod and he let her go, satisfied.
"Don't kill James." she said, sinking to her knees. "He can be of use to you if you want to kill Shepard."
"I like your thinking, little sister." Alex patted her on top of her head, making her flinch at his touch. "There's no doubt that we're family. Don't you forget that, I'm the only family you've got left, the only one you can trust."
He pulled her into a tight embrace, she didn't try to fight back this time. Stroking her hair, he said, "It's time to give Shepard a visit, little sister. I promise you'll like it, you're a Northway after all."
