Chapter 4: Electric

"Touch me,
You're electric, babe
Move me,
Take me from this place"
Song: Alina Baraz Ft. Khalid | Electric

Four: Electric

Sara Ryder woke to the persistent beeping sound of a new message. She blindly felt around on her nightstand until her fingers found the datapad. "SAM, lights please. What time is it?"

"0214, Sara."

She groaned. This better be important. She read the message with bleary eyes. "Sara, call me when you get this. -RV"

Sara sprang up, swinging her legs off the bed. "What could Reyes possibly want at this hour?" she muttered aloud, but she couldn't stop a smile from tugging on her lips. She was finding it increasingly difficult to resist Reyes' charms. Especially when he was shaping up to be so much more than just an annoyingly handsome ally.

Reyes was a complex man to be sure. She liked the glimpses she caught underneath all the carefully placed layers of irreverence and innuendo. He was astute, dependable and endlessly resourceful. Though unlikely to admit it, she genuinely admired him and enjoyed his company. That said, she had the unshakable inkling that there was still much of him to uncover.

Sara stopped by the bathroom, splashing her face and running her fingers through her hair. She checked her reflection and realized she was showing a lot more skin than usual. Clad in only a tightly-fitted black tank top and little gray cotton shorts with a white trim. He would even see of some of her tattoos. Well, knowing him he'll like the view. If we're being completely honest I won't mind it if he stares.

She arrived at the meeting room. "SAM, call Reyes please."

"Calling. Vidcon connected."

"Sara! I was just thinking ab-" Reyes stopped mid-sentence, apparently noticing the lack of the usual amount of clothing on Sara.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Oh I have many words, none of which are appropriate for this channel."

She grinned at him wickedly, enjoying every second of his gaze. "I gotta say this isn't sounding very urgent, Reyes. I see you're not dying. Why I was plucked out of my slumber at this unholy hour?"

Reyes chuckled, a deep and satisfying sound. "Alright, alright. Sloane's holding a get together for the locals tomorrow. I managed to snag an invite. Care to be my plus-one?"

"Sloane's hosting a party?" Sara asked disbelievingly.

"She sees these events as a necessary evil to keep the locals happy. What better way to stick it to Kadara's self-proclaimed ruler than taking you to her party as my date?" Sara hoped she didn't give away any signs of just how much those last three words pleased her.

"You asking me out, Reyes?"

"Took me long enough. I'll be a perfect gentleman."

"And if I don't want you to be?"

"That can be arranged." Reyes responded, voice low and laced with implications. Good lord, how is he this hot even as a hologram? I better wrap this up while I'm ahead.

"You know I can't say no to free drinks."

Reyes laughed. "Especially from Sloane's reserve. I'll meet you outside Outcast HQ at eighteen hundred hours?"He even picked up on my preference for military time.

"See you then, Reyes."

"It's a date." He winked at her and she ended the call before he could catch her smiling again. Sexy bastard. Sara flung herself face down on her bed the moment she got back to her quarters, successfully killing the urge to scream into her pillow like an infatuated teenager. The giddy feeling from the dancing butterflies in her stomach however, just wouldn't quit.

"This is a private event." a guard watched Sara Ryder warily. She stood near the entrance of the Outcast HQ, waiting for Reyes. I'm not even trying to enter yet and Sloane's cronies are already riding my ass. I can't wait to see her face when I come strolling in.

"I'm with someone."

Sara sensed his approach before she saw him - the commanding presence, the self-assured gait. "That would be me. Reyes Vidal." came his smooth voice from behind her. He placed a hand on the small of her back, raising the tiny hairs on the back of her neck.

The guard narrowed his eyes and checked his datapad. "Go on in."

"You're late." Reyes spoke, beating her to the punch.

"Clever, but I don't think it knows how to tell time."

"Forgive me. I'll do better on our next one." He gave her a radiant smile. This man never fights fair. And who told him he was getting another date? He dropped the hand on her back as they walked through the door, a wise move. There were too many prying eyes and loose lips on Kadara. The goal was to enjoy the party while grinding Sloane's gears, not announce their... Well, whatever it was that they were having.

Sloane's expression soured as soon as she caught sight of Sara. She gave Sloane a jaunty little wave in response. She truly made an effort to find middle ground with Sloane, but the Outcast leader made it abundantly clear to her that she had no plans to ever work with the Initiative again. She vowed to do everything in her power to ensure that an outpost never gets built on Kadara.

Sloane took a portion of the profits from any cargo that passes through Kadara Port. She allowed the production and distribution of a dangerous drug for the benefit of her own organization. She let her own people, people that followed her off the Nexus - wither and die out in the Badlands if they were unable to pay her so-called "protection fees". It was only a matter of time before Sloane incited an attack against the Initiative. The list goes on and Sara knew that one way or another, she needed to remove Sloane from power. The question was, how?

"Reyes Vidal. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show." A lofty voice greeted them. It was a female Angara with a rather haughty look about her.

"You know I like making an entrance."

"Shush. Introduce me to your companion."

"Pathfinder, Keema Dohrgun. Angaran representative to Sloane."

"Call me Ryder. A pleasure to meet you."

"Charmed. Reyes mentioned you to me. Well, you're all he talks about lately."

"Is that so?" Sara cocked an eyebrow at Reyes, not so much because of what Keema said but rather out of surprise that he had someone that he talked to about personal matters.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I need to take care of something." Reyes said, looking distracted. Sara bristled at this inwardly but said nothing. She didn't expect him to hold her hand all night, but going off on his own somewhere when they barely got through the door was a little off-putting. Even for Reyes.

"There are important players here tonight. You should mingle. Make good impressions." He suggested. Ah, work. Smart, coming here for that purpose - but why the pretense of a date? There was always more than meets the eye when it came to Reyes - it was both his allure and his failing.

"Agreed." She replied, rather more tersely than she'd like to have shown.

Reyes moved his mouth close to her ear, "I'll make it up to you, Sara. I promise." Oh, you better.

Reyes Vidal held his breath, concentrating on the guard's fading footsteps. He had several contingency plans in place should he be spotted, but he'd much rather not to have to use any of them. The patrol assigned to the inner areas were mercifully sparse, even more so now that Sloane called additional men to the party. It would seem that Sloane was prepared to have every man deployed in case the Pathfinder decided to step a single toe out of line. Reyes knew Sara would be a fine distraction, Sloane would be too busy staring daggers at her to even think about the private quarters. Sloane had a predictable one-track mind, obsessing over her hatred of the Initiative, of Sara - just as she did with the Kett. She was impetuous, ruled by her emotions and possessing about as much finesse as a bull in a china shop. Day by day she proved what he had long determined - she was unfit to lead.

Reyes had spent what felt like his every waking moment the past days poring over the map of the Outcast HQ provided by Keema. Left, right, left. Second door on the right. He discreetly slipped into a room, shrewd eyes assessing the space. It was a bare-bones, no-nonsense office, very much like its occupant. He moved with utmost care, knowing that Kaetus is likely to notice if anything was out of place. He examined various surface with his gloved hands, finding nothing of significance. He moved towards the desk at the center of the room. It had three drawers filled with manuals, reports, bullets, a spare pistol, a dagger - no datapad to be found. Tsk. He can't turn this place upside down, his time is limited.

Then, it hit him. He opened the second drawer again. Its contents were haphazardly placed, unlike the other two. Not only was this seemingly uncharacteristic of Kaetus, it means that these objects are constantly jostled around. Indicative of - aha! A false bottom. He grinned victoriously, pulling out Kaetus' datapad. He took photos of Kaetus' schedule with his omnitool and replaced the datapad precisely the way he found it. Reyes quickly exited the office, heart thrumming with exhilaration. A crucial piece of information was now in his possession. His goal was close, almost close enough to touch. He felt it in his fingertips.

Now, that concluded business for the night. Reyes entered a storage room, hoisting himself up to peek into one of the top containers. Good, the bottle of whisky that he instructed Keema to plant was safely nestled in the crate. Around this time Sara should be about done with her rounds, getting impatient. She would go looking for him, a trivial task with SAM's help. Reyes crouched back down, feigning a search among the lower crates.

He would apologize, share glasses of the fine whisky, sweep her off her feet - and by tonight he'll bed her. He'd finally have Sara writhing underneath him, instead of every damned corner of his mind. Kian had to be wrong for once. It wasn't love - it was merely the strongest physical attraction that he's ever experienced, growing exponentially because it remained unsated. That's all. Love is a luxury, a weakness he could not afford. Not now, perhaps not ever.

"Step away from the crates." Sara's voice from the doorway. Showtime.

"Sara! It's not what it looks like."

"Oh? Because it looks like I've just been used as a distraction while you go through Sloane's shit."

"Okay, yes - but it's for both our benefit, I promise."

"Another promise? Be still my heart." Sara remarked tartly, wholly unimpressed.

"Sara, Mr. Vidal. Unknown personnel approaching." SAM cut in.

Ah, shit.

"We can't be seen in here. I might as well declare war on Sloane." Sara's urgent whisper.

"Agreed. Even if we get rid of the witness I don't see how we'll move a body out of here."

Sara's beautiful face was set in an expression of resolve. In a blink, she took away the space between them. She snaked an arm around his neck, pulling his head down to hers.

And then her lips were on his.

Reyes' body stiffened with shock, then relaxed in sheer bliss. This woman never ceases to astound me. He kissed her back with fervor, as if to make up for all the time he spent not kissing her. At last. He put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. He groaned against her mouth as her body pressed up on his. Sara's lips were as soft and delectable as he fantasized, tasting faintly of peppermint. She kissed him like she meant it, both her arms laced around his neck while his hands roamed her body. She was the siren's song and he was a sailor - drowning, falling into the endless ocean depths.

Reyes hardly heard the doors as they slid open. "Oh! I-uh e-excuse me..." whoever wanted to get into the storage room was just gifted with the sight of two passionate lovers. They clearly just slipped into the first room they could find for privacy, unable to keep their hands off each other. The intruder cleared their throat and sheepishly shuffled away in awkward silence. Reyes reluctantly broke the kiss, looking around to make sure they were alone. "I think we're in the clear."

Sara looked rather dazed, hazel eyes were still trained on his mouth as if contemplating kissing him again. She looked so ready, so willing. He had half a mind to take her right here in this storage room. She tilted her head. He couldn't help himself, he leaned in towards her.

"Reyes?"

"Hm?"

"Your hands are still on my ass." She smirked, her lips inches away from his.

Reyes laughed, giving her a little squeeze before pulling away, "Vixen. Now you're just teasing me." He pretended to resume his search, climbing up to the top crates.

"And don't think I didn't feel something ungentlemanly press against me earlier, either."

He turned to grin at her. "Sorry, you certainly didn't kiss like you wanted a gentleman."

"Nonsense, that's called commitment to the role."

"A fine performance. Your best plan thus far, might I say." Reyes grabs hold of the whisky bottle, "Finally!"

"Really? You expect me to believe that all this was for a mere bottle o-" He hopped off and brought the label up to her face, stopping her rant.

"Mount Milgrom." Her voice was a little hoarse, eyes wide with amazement. And here we have the benefit of dating a fellow whisky connoisseur.

Reyes cradled the bottle in his arms like an infant, patting it gently. "The only bottle in Andromeda. Triple-distilled and six hundred forty five years old. This is treasure."

"Oh, you're sharing."

"Of course, I'm no demon. Let's get out of here!"

Reyes grabbed hold of Sara's hand and practically sprinted all the way out of the Outcast HQ. They ran through the twists and turns of Kadara Port like a pair of outlaws - laughing, buoyant. Where is this man taking me? Do I even care?

Reyes stopped at an unfamiliar structure, an obscure location that Sara's never visited. He gestured towards a ladder. "Up we go, m'lady." Ah, what the hell. She climbed up to the rooftop. He followed closely behind her, handing her the bottle before hoisting himself up.

Kadara Port's neon lights were softened by the almost-setting sun, everything bathed in a warm orange glow. It looked scenic, almost peaceful.

"Gorgeous, isn't it? I sometimes forget." She nodded her assent, momentarily at a loss for words.

Reyes reached behind some crates and unrolled a thick blanket. When did he-? He held up a finger - he wasn't done. He reached again and pulled out a small basket. "Reyes, how-"

"I was late for a reason." He sat down on the blanket, back against the crates, long legs outstretched. Sara pictured him lugging around the fluffy rolled-up blanket and wicker basket to stash away at this location for her. She burst out laughing at the mental image.

"Okay, I'm impressed." She admitted, settling down beside him.

"Good."

It appears Reyes did plan an actual date - he just wanted to procure something special for it first. Unorthodox as his methods may be, Sara would be lying if she said she disapproved of the mark. She also knew that it was highly improbable that the liquor was his only objective. The exhaustion of all the beating around the bush suddenly caught up with her. If she was going to do this with Reyes, she may as well give it all of her. How Reyes responds to that will be entirely his prerogative.

"I know you didn't take me to Sloane's party just to pilfer alcohol, no matter how rare." He said nothing, likely wondering where she was headed with this and plotting his next move.

Sara continued, "My work requires that I keep some things classified, so does yours. You don't owe me any justification. You've been nothing but a boon to myself and my team. Tell me only what I need to know but don't lie to me. That's it. I trust you."

Reyes was evidently taken aback by this revelation, but as usual he reclaimed his bearings quickly. "You're absolutely crazy to trust me."

"So? I set people on fire when I see fit. You knew about the crazy."

Reyes threw his head back and laughed, "Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Truly." Sara felt her stomach lurch at the mirthful twinkle in his golden eyes. Goodness, he'll be the death of me.

Reyes began emptying the contents of the basket. Two glasses, a knife, a loaf of bread, a small vial of what looked like olive oil, a salt shaker and tomatoes on the vine? Tomatoes? The Initiative's botanists had only recently succeeded in growing those on the Nexus. Is there nothing he could not acquire?

Reyes peeled his gloves off and she followed suit, watching him work. He sliced up some bread, cut a tomato in half, rubbed the half onto the bread until it was pulp, drizzled it with olive oil and a pinch of salt. He handed her the slice and watched her eat. It was delicious, probably the best thing she's eaten since arriving at Andromeda. She closed her eyes as she chewed, sighing in satisfaction. "This is the best food in the galaxy."

He smiled, pleased at her reaction, "Pa amb tomaquet. A simple recipe from home."

"Where was that for you? Home?" Sara poured them each a drink while Reyes ate.

"A town called Begur, on the coastline of Costa Brava. And you?" Reyes touched his glass to hers and sipped slowly, savoring the whisky.

"I was born on the Citadel. What was life like in Begur?"

Reyes shook his head at her. "Not this time, Sara. This time I ask the questions first, you answer me in detail. You'll have your turn."

"Fine, you got me. Go ahead." Sara smiled to herself, loving how perceptive he was. People were usually terribly easy to manipulate to behave in the way that she wanted.

"You told me of your time in the military. Tell me of your family."

"Alright. I asked for your honesty, it's only fair to give you mine. Mom's Ellen Ryder, pioneer in human biotic implants. Her exposure to Eezo throughout her career caused her to develop a fucked up disease with no known cure. She was an amazing mother - loving, supportive, brilliant in every way. Dad's Alec Ryder, N7 and human Pathfinder. He had originally created SAM to try and save mom. I spent my life idolizing that man. We weren't close as he was never one to show affection, but I knew he loved me in his own way. On Habitat-7, he traded his life for mine without hesitation - put his helmet on me when mine got destroyed."

"Damn, Sara. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I had legendary genius parents that I'll never live up to. It's turned me into this emotionally stunted, neurotic control freak slash judgmental asshole, but hey - I'm good at my job. I wouldn't change a thing. Scott turned out alright."

"Scott? A sibling?"

"A twin brother. The yang to my yin. He's my only family now that both my parents have passed. He's in a coma - stasis pod mishap from when the Hyperion hit the Scourge. Scott's one of those shining, heroic humans that you can't help but follow. Y'know the type - bold, charismatic, idealistic, works the room like a pro? You'll like him. Everyone does."

"Planning to introduce me to the family already, eh? At least take me out to dinner first." Sara almost choked on her drink from the poorly-timed joke.

Reyes chuckled lightly and held up his glass, "To the best view on the planet. I suppose the sunset's not too shabby either." He was looking right into her eyes with one of his damnable smiles. There was no way one of the cheesiest lines in existence should work on her. It did. She touched her glass to his and took another sip.

Reyes circled an arm around her, scooting her closer. It felt ridiculously natural to be nestled against him. "I lied to him, you know." She said softly.

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. I was able to speak to Scott even in his coma, thanks to SAM. He asked me about dad and I told him what happened. Obviously he was distressed, his heart rate had spiked up. I was worried that my visit was selfish, doing him more harm than good. He then asked me if Andromeda was at least the golden world we thought it would be. I lied - I said yes. It seemed to help calm him. See, when he wakes up my father will still be gone. I can't change that. But if I'm doing my job, I know I can make this place a home. I can fix this."

"That's a lot of weight to put on your shoulders. Were you always like this? Even before work took over?"

"That far back? Hm, yes. I was bad at being a child, really. I always had my nose stuck in a book. Scott had to teach me how to loosen up, let people in. I was competitive, worked hard to be the best at everything I touched. I took meticulous care of myself - my appearance, my grades, my health. I was not good at making friends."

"What? I never would've guessed that from our first meeting." Reyes teased.

"Hey! It could have gone much worse. I once bit another kid for cutting in line in front of me."

This had Reyes in stitches. Sara grinned at him, "Careful, Reyes. When I was about six, I stabbed a grown man in the neck with a sharpened pencil for insisting on chatting me up. I was told not to speak to strangers, after all."

Reyes groaned, "Why do I feel like this has a sordid ending?"

"It does. Turns out, he was my mother's cousin."

It was liberating to laugh together, almost as if they weren't in a new galaxy having to fight for their survival.

Sara poked his chest. "Hey! It's your turn. You had family in Begur?"

"I did. Sara, if I start delving into that it'll be a longer story than anyone would care to hear."

"Try me. I'd like to hear all of it. Besides, if you renege on this now I'll have SAM start recording all our conversations."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're an impossible woman?"

She grinned and pecked his cheek, "Perhaps."

Reyes took a deep breath and looked down at her, as if he had to make his mind up to speak, "I... I've never spoken of this to anyone. I had a mother. Leona. She did everything she could to raise me as a single parent, but she was always sickly. Ours was not an easy life, but still a happy one. I took on odd jobs around town as soon as people were no longer wary of how young I was. At around fifteen Kian and I landed a job with a local mechanic, Diego. It started out with mostly cleaning and handing him tools, but I've always had an affinity for vehicles. Diego soon saw my potential and taught me everything he knew about ships, rovers, shuttles and the like. As for Kian - he's great with numbers, real business-savvy. He eventually did the accounting for Diego once he was trusted with the books. I would've gladly made it a full-time job had my mother not insisted that I stay in school. She may have been physically weak but when she had her mind made up it was rather terrifying. There was no saying no to her."

Sara felt the gravity of his words, knowing that revealing himself is something that Reyes consciously avoids. "She sounds wonderful, Reyes."

Reyes smiled at her wistfully. "That, she was." They touched glasses and drank to his mother's memory.

"You mentioned Kian - you don't mean Kian as in the bartender at the Tartarus do you?"

"The very same. The day we met, I was walking home from school when I witnessed three brutes roughing up some scrawny kid. I rushed the biggest one and clocked him as hard as I could, I still remember the feeling of his nose breaking on my knuckles. The other two scampered away. I'm not sure what came over me, normally I would just be looking after myself. I've never had a hero complex. Perhaps his lone wolf spirit called to mine. I made sure no one ever bothered Kian again. We've been inseparable since. We may not be blood, but we're brothers."

"You decided to join the Initiative together?"

There was that air of hesitation again before Reyes spoke, "The circumstances that led to us joining the Initiative were... Less than ideal. Things were going pretty well for us. Kian made a name for himself as an excellent accountant and Diego's business partner. I graduated flight school on a scholarship I finagled through impressing Diego's clientele. I was a shuttle pilot, call sign Anubis. As someone that was able to fly from place to place reliably, I received many offers for illicit activities that I continually turned down. The jobs always offered a considerable amount of credits, but I made enough to live comfortably and afford my mother's medications. However, her health deteriorated rapidly as she aged. She needed aggressive and expensive treatment. I took the jobs. I got in deep with some dangerous people, and I told myself it was only due to necessity. The truth was, I quite liked being on the wrong side of the law. I was high on the risk, the adrenaline. I thought I had won, my mother's condition was stable - until it wasn't. I was on another job off-planet when I got the call. I was told that she probably had a few days to live, at best. I flew home as fast as I could. She was already gone. Just like that, she was taken from me. I was devastated, blamed myself relentlessly. An endless string of what ifs and maybes. All I had was an abundance of the accursed credits that couldn't save my mother, which I chose to spend exorbitantly on liquor and questionable company. All the while Kian was there, unwavering, fishing me out of mess after mess. I contemplated selling my childhood home. No place had ever felt emptier. It was torture, but I forced myself to begin arranging her personal effects into boxes. I found letters she's never sent among her belongings. Stamped, sealed, with an address on the back - but unsent. They were all meant for a certain Raul Vidal, my father. Which shouldn't be too much of a shock, except she told me that my father was dead."

Reyes paused, a shadow passing over his face. He took a swig of whisky. It was clear that this was painful for him to revisit. Sara found his hand to hold. "Reyes, you don't have to-"

He shook his head and squeezed her hand in response. "No. Having never talked about this, somehow it's like - it feels... Cathartic." Sara nodded. She understood all too well.

"The letters were difficult to read. They talked almost purely of me, of a mother watching her wonderful son grow - of how proud she was of me. It was a mercy that she never saw me become a criminal. Why would she write all of that, only to never send it? I couldn't understand why she would keep such a thing from me. I needed more. I needed answers. I sought my father out. He was close, only the next couple of towns over. I arrived at the address on her letters. It was a prison." Reyes let out a rueful laugh.

"I was such a fool. Be careful what you wish for, as they say. I've come too far to lose my nerve - I visited him. He laughed at the sight of me. 'Oh shit, look at this handsome bugger. You one of mine? No, I don't remember your mother, why should I? Huh? Leona Blanxart? So I knocked her up. Nah, I had no idea. Wouldn't have stuck around even if I did. Look at me, kid. Do I look like I have anything to offer some frail lady and her brat? What did you expect, some cute family reunion?' He didn't even blink when I told him she was dead. I looked like him, I had his eyes. It was like staring into my own bleak future. It became clear why my mother wouldn't want such a man in my life, yet there I was on his same path. A reminder - no, a warning of what I could become. His words kept rattling around in my brain long after I left the prison. I heard about the Initiative and made my mind up to go. Kian responded to my prepared goodbye speech by packing his bags and telling me that there was no way he was going to let me be stupid in a whole new galaxy by myself. So, here we are. My father was no one. Me - I want to be someone." The faraway look in his eyes caused a twinge in Sara's heart.

"You are someone to me." Sara didn't mean for that to spill out quite so freely. It was the law of inertia at work. All the disclosure had set something in motion, like a speeding train with no brakes in sight.

Reyes turned to her, the sky's meager light reflected in his eyes of molten amber. "I'm beginning to think that kiss was more than just a distraction." He murmured. He cupped her cheek and lowered his face towards hers. He stopped for just a fraction of a second, breath mingling with hers, searching for her consent. Surely the answer is written on my face. His mouth found hers with an unexpected gentleness that left her breathless. She matched his pace as she kissed him back, deliberately slow and sensual. Reyes kissed her as if she were the rarest of delicacies, tasting her, savoring her. They fell onto the blanket and Sara wrapped her arms around him, pulling his body onto hers. She was intoxicated by the scent of him - clean and earthy, reminiscent of a rainforest after a storm.

More. Sara flicked an impatient tongue out and Reyes met it with his eagerly. Their insistent hands wandered greedily over each others' bodies. It was as though all the carefully tempered feelings came spilling out, a spark that flared into an inferno. She loved the feeling of his solid weight on top of her body. Sara gasped for air as he pulled her head back by her hair, trailing searing kisses on her neck. Reyes' lips moved down to her collarbone as he unraveled her scarf and tugged her leather jacket open. He placed his hands on her bare waist under her shirt and moved them up slowly, capturing her breasts in his hands. A moan escaped her lips, body arching up to meet his ravenous touch. She felt the hardness of his arousal press against her thigh. He stopped his ministrations to look at her, eyes burning with lust. He appeared as though he was on the verge of asking her a question. Damn it Reyes, the answer is yes.

Somewhere in between passionately making out with the woman he's wanted since he first laid his eyes on her, Reyes Vidal's elusive conscience decided to pay him a visit.

"I trust you."

"You are someone to me."

Sara's words floated to the top of his mind unbidden, settling down heavy on his chest. Her trust in him was misplaced. She may now know things about his past, but she still didn't know who he was. Part of Reyes wished he could just tell her all of it. All of him knew that he couldn't.

Sara was a vision - hair tousled, cheeks flushed, breathing ragged. Reyes picked this location specifically for its proximity to one of his safe houses. It would have been so easy to do exactly what he wanted. However, for some godforsaken reason he can't bring himself to sleep with her. She didn't know his secret. It didn't feel right. Guilt, the peskiest of emotions.

"Sara, it's getting late. I should walk you back to the Tempest."

There was a flash of confusion on Sara's face. Reyes knew her well enough to anticipate two possible reactions. She would ask him point-blank to take her back to his place, or a tactical retreat to nurse her wounded pride and fight another day. He's hoping that the latter wins tonight. He doesn't know that he would have the willpower to fight the other option.

"You're right, it's nightfall. I should be headed back." Sara wrapped her scarf around the neck he was just kissing and zipped her leather jacket up.

"I'll take you." Reyes said as they both stood up.

"No need. I have SAM." Sara was quick to brush his offer off and Reyes knew better than to push the issue.

He watched her go down the ladder. She looked up at him and her expression softened at the concern that must have shown on his face. "Goodnight, Reyes. I had fun tonight."

"As did I. Goodnight, Sara."

Reyes let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was equal parts relieved and frustrated. He packed the basket up and reminded himself to tell someone to retrieve the blanket tomorrow. His feet moved of their own volition and he was in the safe house before he knew it. He went straight for the datapad in his bureau. "Six men between location fourteen and the docking bay to follow the Pathfinder at different intervals. Do not be seen. If detected, slip away. DO NOT engage."

Reyes was about to put the datapad away when he thought of another message to send.

To: Kian Dagher
"You were right."