Disclosure 4
Ashley carefully walked up to the hotel door. She double-checked that the room number was right, then carefully tapped the holopad. On the far side, a beeping noise alerted the occupant. Fifteen seconds later, Garrus Vakarian opened it. Ashley was witnessing one of the rare moments when the Turian sniper was not wearing his battered blue armour. He was dressed in nondescript grey cloth which did not fit him properly.
The two of them stared at each other, his mandibles twitching methodically.
"I suppose I should have expected this." The Turian reflected.
"I'm just here to talk." The former marine told him firmly.
"What makes you think I want to talk to you? John wasn't the only one you walked out on at Horizon. Granted he took it much harder because from his point of view, the two of you had been sleeping together only two months before, but still." He made to close the door, but Ashley's hand struck like a snake and stopped him.
"If I don't give something to the council, they're going to keep doing this to him." She said evenly, "and it's only going to get worse. Eventually he's going to be declared rogue and they're going to try to take him down. Is that what you want?"
The Turian's grey eyes watched her a few moments more, then he moved aside. The Spectre stepped into her old comrade's sparse living quarters. He had taken down most of the hotel's more decorative elements, leaving the single room quite barren. His sniper rifle was dismantled and sitting in pieces on the table.
"How is he?" she asked, genuine concern showing on her face.
"Fine." The Turian replied abruptly.
Ashley sighed, "Garrus, why are you so hostile?"
"Because you're the only one who walked away" Garrus said quietly, "Wrex helped us out when we visited Tuchanka. Liara helped us out when we went to Illium. Neither of them could come with us, but they helped when they could. Tali is on board the Normandy right now assisting with repairs. You? You walked away and moved on while the rest of us kept fighting and kept trying to carry on Shepard's vision."
"I was an alliance marine, Garrus." Ash defended, "Not the daughter of a matriarch, a quarian on a guest, some failed C-Sec investigator, and not some hired mercenary. I had a job to do, and loyalty to more than just Shepard."
"That sure didn't stop you from helping us hijack the Normandy, or from sleeping with him. The only reason anyone even knows your name is because you were riding on his coattails. You still are."
Ashley flinched as if she'd just been slapped.
"What are you looking for, Williams?"
"Proof." She answered, fighting down her slow-boiling anger, "I need to give the council proof that Shepard is still fit to command."
"He is."
"How do you know?"
"Because we just got back from what was supposed to be a suicide mission." Garrus gave her a Turian grin, "We destroyed the Collector's base, and we pulled it off with zero casualties. He brought together the best fighters from every species in the galaxy and somehow made it work."
"Was there really a human reaper?"
"Yes." The Turian winced, reviewing the memories, "Incomplete, but very capable of killing. Shepard and Miranda and I took it down."
"And Cerberus?" the Spectre asked, watching closely.
Garrus' mandibles twitched, "It's been dealt with."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." The Turian sighed, "If you're trying to find dirt on Shepard, you're not going to get it here. Every single member of his crew owes him a big one. Some would kill you for asking about it. Take my advice and stop now."
She ignored the warning, "Who is Miranda?"
"A former Cerberus operative." Garrus told her, "Now go away."
"How do you know she's not still working for them?"
"Because I saw her quit." The Turian said shortly.
Ashley nodded, "And she and John are…?"
"Go away." Garrus ordered, "Or I'll get our Krogan to remove you."
"I've heard rumors that there's a Geth aboard the Normandy." Ashley persisted, "Is that true?"
"Use your brain, Ash." The Turian snapped, "Do you honestly believe Tali would stand for it?"
"Well you did say he got all the different races to work together…"
"Yes, Asari, Turian, Salarian, Drell, Krogan… but really?" Garrus smiled, "A Quarian and a Geth? Listen to yourself. If he ever managed that, it would prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that he's a damned good leader."
"Or it could prove that Tali's gone rogue with the rest of you, and Shepard is working not just with known terrorists, but with the race which destroyed Eden Prime. Either one of those things by itself is grounds for proving he's a traitor."
"Who's the traitor, Ash? The man who's fighting against all odds to save the galaxy from the race of ancient giant sentient god-machines, or the woman who'd sell him out for a council paycheck and a fancy emblem?" he gestured at Ashley's shoulder.
She stood, stone-faced, "Are you done?"
"No," Garrus turned on her furiously, "We were a team, Williams; You, me, and Shepard. The three of us took on the universe together. We climbed the Citadel Tower together!" he stood nose-to nose with her, his grey eyes flashing with anger, "You, me and Shepard! We took on Benezia, we took on the Thorian, we took on Saren, and we took on Sovereign. Now you back out, deny everything, and try to take him down?" He chuckled, "I'd rather have my mandibles torn off than help you. You're a traitor to everything we fought for, and everything Kaiden died for! I don't like traitors, and if things were different, the only thing you'd see of me would be a distant muzzle flash."
Ash stared, dumbstruck, "What happened to you, Garrus? Back then, we-"
"What happened back then means nothing now." The Turian snarled, his voice low and sharp like the blade of a saw, "That chapter is closed. It's done. You made sure of that on horizon. You and Shepard, and you and I, are finished. All you are now is just another problem we'll have to deal with before we can face the Reapers."
"But Cerberus is-"
"Cerberus stood by him when everyone else including me had given up! As of now they are the only organization with the balls to give up everything and face the reaper threat head-on, which is more than I can say for you, your Citadel Council or your pansy-ass marine corps."
"Careful!" Ashley warned, her voice shaking with barely contained anger.
"Go back to the council chambers and give that Turian a nice wet sloppy kiss on the ass, would you?" Garrus requested venomously.
The Spectre looked for a moment as if she were going to hit him, but she took a breath and walked away instead.
Garrus stared angrily at the door, regretting his harsh words. It was a mistake, he knew, to provoke the woman, but at that moment, the universe was just a little too ridiculous for him to play the diplomat.
He fired off a quick warning message to Shepard, and went back to cleaning his sniper rifle.
"That is… old fashioned." Miranda said, eyeing John. She was seated with her back to the apartment door, and was facing the subtle hues of the Serpent nebula against which Shepard was silhouetted. He had somehow managed to find a civilian outfit which looked like it belonged on him, but it had taken most of the morning and the previous afternoon. The clothing was nothing fancy, and nothing anyone high-brow would wear. It was simple and workman-like, and it suited him very well. Shepard's build and face, though handsome, were battered and scarred beyond his years. He wasn't grizzled, but he had very obviously seen action. The simple plain clothes of a dock worker or tradesman suited him far better than those of a sleek, silver-tongued, fresh-faced political animal.
The highlight was a simple jacket, it's colour-scheme floating somewhere between dark brown and pitch black. The cut was very much that of a military uniform, with straight lines, broad shoulders, and simple stitching. It fit him like a glove. Underneath he had a simple white shirt, with gray cargo pants.
She whirled her finger in a slow circle. He obeyed, rotating slowly. "Very nice." She rose from her plush chair and pulled gently on the front of his jacket, straightening it out. She folded down the thin collar, giving him a slightly more formal air, then came to a halt as her hand brushed the area just below his left armpit. She very carefully reached underneath the jacket, undid a light strap, and pulled out an M-3 "Predator" heavy pistol.
She held the weapon up and raised one slender, quizzical eyebrow with it.
"I've made too many enemies in recent years to go anywhere public without being armed." He explained, "If all goes well, neither of them will even know it was there. If all doesn't go well, we'll be glad to have it."
"You think any merc group would try to take you out in a crowded bar?"
He shrugged, "My gut is telling me to take it. I listen to my gut."
She examined him for a few more seconds, then gave up and handed back the pistol; his gut instincts had proven almost supernaturally good at sensing trouble. Setting an ambush for John Shepard was next to impossible, as many unfortunate enemies had found.
"Anything else I should know about? Have you an assault rifle jammed down the front of your trousers?" Her brain caught up with her mouth and she glared at him, daring him to open his mouth.
He kept it shut and just smiled instead. Somehow that was even worse. The look she gave him was so dry it could have turned grapes into raisins, but that fact seemed to amuse him all the more. His grin faded slightly as the seconds ticked by. When he opened his mouth, she knew it wasn't to spout a joke, but to ask a more serious question, "Where do you want me to draw the line with your sister, Miri?"
"How do you mean?"
"I mean how much does she know about her own past, and about what you've been doing?
"She doesn't. She knows she was adopted, and she knows we share the same DNA." Miranda replied, "But she doesn't know any more than that, and I don't want that to change yet."
"She is a grown woman." John pointed out, playing the devil's advocate, "She could probably handle at least a part of it."
Miranda rounded on him quite suddenly, causing him to recoil, "Does she have any combat training? Martial arts? Offensive biotics? Would she think to check a room for bugs?" Miranda relented slightly, "I'm not sure she's ever fired a weapon before. I don't want her involved in this part of my life; she doesn't have the training or the mindset. The less she knows, the better."
"It's your call, Miri." He said meekly, "I was just…"
"I know." She gave him a kiss, "Don't worry."
Shepard's omnitool flashed and he glanced down at it.
Williams on warpath. Get Miri get out.
-G
"Let's get going."
"We have an hour." Miranda replied, curiously.
"Maybe I'd like to spend a little more time out on the town with you." John suggested, his arm snaking around her slim waist. He was gifted with another dry look as the woman activated her own Omnitool. Without warning, his flashed on and blinked out again.
"Hey!" he protest, "Did you just…?"
"I've been reading you messages since the beginning, John. Get over it." She murmured, scanning Garrus' warning, "And I'm not afraid of Ashley Williams."
"Neither am I," he responded, "But I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now."
"In that case, let's get going."