Saren just appeared on the side of the road, arriving to the scene when Jane disarmed the batarian and pushed him further down to the ground, propping his hands behind his back. He heard the shot and now saw the hound's leg was shot, so he turned to Jane:
"Who did this?"
"I don't know..." she started, busy with pushing the batarian down "I think it was Archangel, it was one clean shot."
His eyebrows furrowed, looking around the scene. "Archangel?"
"I only heard about him, he's a vigilante... "
"I know." he stated, stepping close to them and crouched down to the criminal. "And you…"
"Who the fuck are you?" the hound growled like a dirty dog, trying to break free from Jane's hold, even with the immense pain of his leg being shot. But Jane was practically sitting on top of him, not letting him slide for even a second.
"Only I ask questions, dog!" Saren growled "You tried to buy a bio weapon from Zen Cohen's lab… "
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
The turian looked at Jane, his eyes throwing fire, and his mandible twitched with disgust. She didn't need a single word said to understand him. She reached back and wrapped her fingers around the batarian's wounded leg and squeezed it as hard as she could, making the thug scream out in pain.
"Come again?" Saren asked in a patient, superior tone, his eyes set on the hound's suffering face again.
"It wasn't my idea" he squealed in pain, losing his voice "Our gang leader gave the task, I was only following orders-"
"What gang?" Jane asked, kneeling into his back.
"The White Hand... " he coughed "Please, I don't know anything else."
"Hmph..." he hissed "What a fitting name for a group of shitty drug dealers..." as he said, Saren raised his omni tool and used it to hack into the hound's tool from close proximity. It only took him a second, it seemed the thug had not much protection on.
"I have their coordinates, they're in the far end of the district."
"Great..." Jane hissed, getting off of the criminal and stretching her back. The hound started rolling on the ground, trying to get up with his wounded leg, slowly succeeding. She was thinking if they should let him go or not.
That question was forever answered when Saren raised his weapon, and just out of the blue shot the batarian dead. Jane looked at the criminal falling to the ground.
"Geez..." she commented "You have no chill."
Saren looked at her, raising an eyebrow plate "He would've gone and tell his whole gang."
"Point taken" she said. He did not exactly expect this answer. Humans of the Alliance were usually against killing like this, but she didn't seem bothered. She seemed to understand this was Omega, and just generally didn't seem to give a shit.
He liked that.
It started to look like Jane was annoying him a lot less than he originally expected.
"Let's go and find a place where we can talk." he suggested, and she agreed.
They quickly rented a room in the district to avoid the streets and locals so they could have a conversation about all of this without the watching eye of the crowds. Everywhere they would have gone there was a danger of being heard, eavesdropped, and Saren didn't like that. The quiet of a simple hotel room was doing the trick for now.
As they entered their room the turian quickly scanned the space for any devices that might be setup to listen in on the guests.
"It seems this place is clear" Saren noted with a long exhale. It seemed he was holding his breath this whole time, only now relaxing.
Jane smiled at that, he was a maniac, but for a good reason. This station was freaky and dangerous, and she too felt like the devil never sleeps here.
"We'll have to assault their base" she proposed while starting to browse on the console on the wall that was mounted for room service the hotel offered. "But with the size of the crowds on the streets… it might be complicated."
"I agree" Saren nodded as he pulled the curtains to avoid being seen from other buildings "We'll go in at night. I don't want any locals or other gangs to interfere."
"Then it's settled."
He left the windows and went to the bathroom to look around and scan that as well for any listening devices "It will be ground assault. That base isn't that big, but we'll have some room to maneuver. I heard you have some commendable biotic skills."
She looked away from the console in the direction of the bathroom, an impish smile spreading across her cheeks.
"You want to see them in action?" she chuckled.
"Damn right." he said as he left the bathroom, putting on an evil smirk himself "I don't accept anything less than perfect… so I suggest you deliver."
"Ooh!" she waved her hand in a roguish manner, pretending as if she was shaken by that threat "My second name is perfection, so don't worry, I won't leave a single target for you..."
"Don't even try that, or I'll get bored and might leave you right there..."
"Saren Arterius leaving behind a free bloodshed?" she teased while putting her hands on her hips "Bullshit."
They shared a glance, both of them satisfied with their banter. After that little chase they were both in good mood, it seems they shared this love for fighting. Jane then turned back to the console, pressing a button on the touchscreen:
"You want something too?"
"What are you doing?"
"Ordering food, of course."
He almost facepalmed. "No. And you would do better not to eat the whole establishment before a gang assault..."
"Pff" she dismissed him "Humans need energy."
"Humans..." he exhaled, leaving her there to sit down in one of the armchairs. He started browsing on the extranet, and got immersed in it so fast, he didn't even pay proper attention when Jane announced she'll take a shower until the food arrives, and he just murmured a robotic "Right.." at her.
He was looking at the info about Archangel on the net.
He was some kind of local hero in the eyes of the Omega locals who had no other chance than to live at this shithole of a station. No one really knew who he was, all that was common knowledge was that he is a turian, usually wears blue armor and lives somewhere within the Kima district, ambushing criminals, gangs and always saving the innocents. Whoever he was, his assistance - even though it helped them - was not at all welcome in Saren's book. He hated others poking into his operations, that was one of the main reasons he never had a partner before.
This vigilante was an unknown in his investigations, and he hated that.
After searching for more info for a good 15 minutes, he suddenly smelled something absolutely heavenly. His first thought was that Jane's order came to their door, and that it apparently was filled with fruits. But as the moments passed, he raised his head and sniffed into the air, eventually narrowing down the source to the bathroom.
The bathroom door opened right in that second and Jane entered the room, covered in her divine cherry scent. But now - possibly caused by the shower she took - it was a lot stronger, lingering around, almost intoxicating him. His mandibles clicked, unconsciously responding to the sweet feeling his mind was filled with now.
"What's wrong?" she asked kindly, tilting her head to the side. She was only wearing her black under armor suit, tightly fitting her. It took a moment for him to answer.
"Nothing." he said with a deadpan face, burying himself into his omni tool. He cursed his sensitive turian nose right now.
She opened the door to get her order in that was left at the door for her and brought it in. It was all kinds of food that she started to immediately devour.
"Are you sure you saw Archangel?" Saren randomly asked, still going through the net, trying to shut his senses down. Being professional was something he was good at, and this was no exception.
"No..." she explained "I saw a figure only, possibly in a blue helmet, but that's it. But the hound did curse out his name loudly."
Saren speculated: "It could have been just an assumption on his part, coming from the fact that Archangel raids the district quite often. Doesn't mean he actually knew it was Archangel."
"I agree" she munched "I bet every criminal in the district blames him for anything bad that happens to them. That could have been anyone."
He looked at her as she ate. She was destroying all the food, she was currently going through some type of fried meat in a coat, stuffing it into her mouth with bare hands. She was eating like a turian child who hadn't had meat for days.
"Right. I don't like it, whoever it was. Stay alert while we're here."
He earned a scolding look from her that was explained by her a second later: "Don't be so pessimistic. Unknowns aren't always necessarily just bad things. What if it was Archangel? And whoever it was, he helped us. Surely that does show something positive."
She was full of contrasts.
She looked so unique, that red hair, the small and beautiful stature, but she was carrying herself like a born spectre. She knew tactics, she was intelligent and calculative when it came to their plans, but so explosive in combat, so wild and free as opposed to being controlled. She was so refined every time but she ate like a real predator. So quick and aggressive in her actions, but so honestly positive at the same time.
She was such a strange creature. He was wondering if he ever met a woman like this… so… unapologetic.
"But if you really think about it, this is Omega." she continued her chain of thought from before, now heading for the bed "From what I've heard and saw, gangs here run drugs, slaverings, whores and whatever you like. Organized crime is the signature of this place, but… I can't really imagine any solid reason anyone would snipe that random criminal if it wasn't to help us. He probably had a lot of enemies, but again this is Omega, you don't need snipers to do the dirty work for you when you can just send someone to beat the shit out of them or shoot them. No one really gives a damn about crime, there is no need for snipers here."
She laid down on the bed, just on top of the bedding, obviously planning a little nap before the night falls. She pulled a pillow under her head and turned to Saren to continue:
"But if you come from the outside, wanting to hunt criminals, sniping them off the map is a very comfortable and viable way to do it, considering everyone is fighting mostly at street level. Until they adapt your ways, you've got the advantage, and that can do a lot of damage." her eyes started to slowly close down as she started to drift. He slowly stood up and and started walking closer, and she followed him with her eyes until they finally closed: "That is why I think it was Archangel..."
And with that she fell asleep.
He smiled as he thought that her logic about Archangel was right on point.
He stepped to the bed and looked at her peacefully breathing. Her red hair fell over her shoulders and the pillow, almost covering her face. She practically sank into it, like it was her own. He sat down, and pulled out his omni tool again. He started working, and as he did, he decided to protect whatever dream was playing out in the mind of the girl on the other side of the king size bed.
She opened her eyes.
She slowly sat up, her vision foggy from her dreams, but she soon focused on the yellow light of the lamp next to the bed. It lit someone next to her: a turian sitting there, sleeping with his back leaning to the headboard. His omni tool still open, its display showing status reports from the Sovereign. The tool was binded to his arm that rested in his lap, just above a raised leg that rested on the sheets.
She turned and got off the bed to make her way to the windows. She slowly moved away one of the curtains and looked out at the city, alit with lights and ads everywhere. She took a moment, then moved the curtain back and turned to face the beast. She stopped at the bed, and slowly, carefully sat down on it, just next to the sleeping Saren.
His plates were almost golden as the light of the lamp shined on him, casting a harsh shadow down his face. His mandibles were relaxed, raising a tiny bit with every slow breath he took.
She remembered how proud, rude and handsome he was when they first met in the requisitions office. And now here he slept, buried in work, but sleeping so soundly. She couldn't take her eyes off of those silver plates, the many small scars running through them, the shape, the perfect symmetry. He looked so alien, so frightening, but also perfect. He looked nothing like the other turians and she loved that. She would find him in a crowd of thousands if she had to. And that cold, serious personality underneath these plates… she couldn't even imagine what he must've gone through to get to where he is now, how much death and destruction he saw, but he still didn't lose the fire inside. That will to cleanse the galaxy, at any cost.
And he chose her as a partner. Because only she knew. Only she understood. Something in them was the same, she just had to find it.
She raised a hand up carefully. She thought he was going to wake up, jump up, but nothing happened. She touched his cheek, and slowly stroked it, now finally feeling his skin without gloves. It was such an alien but fascinating feeling, it warmed her heart. She tilted her head as she smiled, whispering so lightly:
"Saren..."
He moved just a bit, still half asleep, instinctively sinking his jaw into her palm, and she smiled.
"Saren.." she called again, kindly, while she removed her hand from his face. His blue eyes slowly opened, and they found a soft smile, and hair as red as the sun.
"Hey" he heard her whisper.
He sat up and looked at the clock. It was late already, but they had just enough time.
"I thought you were going to sleep forever" he commented, his look cold on her "And I was right. It's already 1."
"You slept too!" she smiled as she left the bed and started gathering her armor to put it on. "But we should go soon."
Of course. He was going to see what she can really do. That should be interesting.
