Beta: None
Bioware owns all (except Jason Shepard; he's mine lol).
From: Adm. S. Hackett
To: Cmdr. K. Shepard
Subject: Interview
I get the feeling that one of these days, Ms. Al-Jilani's face is going to become suddenly and violently acquainted with your left fist.
From Cmdr. K. Shepard
To: Adm. S. Hackett
Subject: Thanks for the Idea
You know me too well, Dad. If that bitch sticks her camera in my face one more time, that's exactly what's going to happen. I wasn't exactly in an interview-type of mood, so she was damn lucky.
Kate laughed when Hackett's next reply came in. She could just picture him sitting at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing as he read her message.
From: Adm. S. Hackett
To: Cmdr. K. Shepard
Subject: You OK?
It wasn't intended as a suggestion, Katie. Please don't antagonize the media anymore than necessary.
From: Cmdr. K. Shepard
To: Adm. S. Hackett
Subject: Just Great
Getting fucking tired of all the betrayal this mission is bringing to light. A trip to a supposedly derelict Collector ship turned out to be a trap set by the Illusive Man himself. More proof that no matter what they may portray to humanity, Cerberus is nothing more than a terrorist organization. This mission can't end soon enough.
As Zaeed had predicted, Dr. Chakwas had been none to happy with Kate after Zorya and tried to get her to rest for a few days, but a message from the Illusive Man had put those plans on hold. After the disaster of the Collector ship, not wishing to incur the wrath of the good doctor, Kate had ordered Joker to set a course for the Citadel and some much needed shore-leave. Now thoroughly rested and healed, she was ready to help Thane find and save his wayward son.
The assassin's tale of how his wife had been murdered had struck a nerve with Kate. She wanted to say she knew exactly how his son Kolyat felt, being raised by his aunts and uncles, but she didn't. He'd been abandoned by his father; she had never felt that way about hers. She may have been raised by her uncle Jason, but her father had made sure they were always in contact. And once he moved to Arcturus permanently, so had she. She'd never resented her father the way Kolyat resented Thane, nor had she had reason to.
Finding out that Kolyat had been hired to kill an anti-human turian politician infuriated Kate. She'd had to resist the overwhelming urge to ask for a moment alone with Elias Kelham, but she knew killing him wouldn't have improved anything and possibly made things worse. And, as Thane pointed out, they did not have time to waste, though he was amused by her ability to use her Spectre status to get them what had possibly been the shortest interrogation in history.
"Kolyat!" The younger drell turned and stared at Kate as she jumped from the catwalks above him before pursuing his quarry into the apartment.
"Dammit!" She slid behind a post as the turian politician's bodyguards began firing on her. "If you want your boss dead, by all means, keep shooting me," she yelled at the krogan. "I'm a Spectre! I can keep Talid safe until C-Sec gets here!"
The krogan stopped shooting for a moment and seemed to consider her offer. "Fine. But if anything happens to him, you're history, Red."
Kate rolled her eyes and motioned for Thane to follow her into the apartment. They stopped dead in their tracks in the living room. Talid knelt on the floor with Kolyat standing behind him, pressing a gun to the turian's head.
"You!" he glared at Kate. Then he saw his father. "What the hell? Now? Now you show up? Well, you're too late. You had your-" He cringed as a vase beside him shattered. Kate lowered her pistol, stepped over to him and punched him in the face. He dropped his gun.
"Kolyat, your father's here because he's dying. He-"
Kate looked down at Talid still kneeling on the floor. "Go! C-Sec's on their way. If you leave now, I won't tell them about all the shady shit I saw going down between you and the business owners."
"I-I-" he stammered.
Kate hauled him to his feet and shoved him towards the door. "Just go!"
The turian hurried from the apartment as Captain Bailey and a couple of officers walked in.
Kate turned back and saw Kolyat and Thane talking quietly. The younger drell was crying. She turned to Bailey. "What's going to happen to him?"
"Well, he shot some people, not anyone good, but still."
Kate scoffed. "Bailey, if I got arrested every time I shot someone, I'd never get out of prison."
The captain smirked. "Then it's a good thing you're a Spectre, Shepard."
"Can't you do something? He's a good kid, just a little... misguided."
"We'll see. Let's get back to C-Sec, let these two talk in private for awhile."
Kate smiled. "Thanks, Bailey."
An hour later, Thane and Kolyat came out of an interrogation room looking a little happier.
"Well?" Kate asked.
"We're going to keep talking, see how things go from there," Thane said with a small smile. "Thank you, Shepard. Now my soul is finally at peace."
Kate shook her head. "No, now you have a reason to come back from this mission. You have to find a way to stay alive, for Kolyat."
Thane nodded. "And what of his punishment?"
"Captain Bailey and I worked it out so Kolyat can work for him, do community service."
Thane turned to the captain. "You would do this for man you don't know?"
"There are so many parents who don't care about their kids. You may have made mistakes in the past, we all do. But you're here now, and that's what matters. If I can help in that, I will."
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of my dad. I love and miss you!
