A/N;
Damn, I'm really really sorry about the delay, guys. I've pretty much been to hell and back this summer, and I forgot to pack something to write on. I will finish this story.
Thank you for the kind feedback both to Autumn715 and Zoe6, for some reason I was not able to respond to it.
Also, as always, thank you to Skeasel.
"Reports are coming in from Omega, sir."
The stunning blond bringing him a bourbon let her fingers linger for a moment, lightly brushing against his own as he accepted the glass from her hand. He looked up at her, a dry smile tugging at his lips. She would have to wait, for now. He had other, more pressing, concerns.
"Yes?"
The slightest of frowns creased her forehead as she reiterated the message. "The SSV Stalingrad docked at the station 6 hours ago, 2 hours later the Normandy followed. Asset Kelly Chambers has been terminated while making an attempt on the life of Systems Alliance Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko, who was critically wounded in the attack." She paused, looking worried as she studied his reaction to the news.
The Illusive Man simply took a sip of his drink, his blank expression betraying nothing of the irritation he felt. That stupid cow might actually have ruined everything. "And Shepard has been sighted?"
"Hovering over his bed since she arrived." The disdain on his assistant's face distorted her features and managed to make her look ugly. "Not much of a secret now, is it?"
He felt oddly amused that this simple woman apparently thought herself above Shepard. "Of course not. She has, no doubt, figured out that I know about them by now." He shook his head, mildly disappointed. In times like this, he missed Miranda. "Anything else in the report?"
Her frown grew deeper at his rebuke, but she carried on. "Most of the Normandy crew has been transferred over to the Stalingrad. That's it."
While taking his time to formulate a new strategy, he admired the luscious figure of his assistant. Everything perfectly rounded, perfectly inviting. Some might say that a woman like that would be impossible to resist.
Relaxing, he felt some of his confidence returning. Shepard would realize that he had played his strongest card far too soon; there was no repairing that. All he could do now was try and convince her that it had turned out to be a weak one. "Send in a cleanup crew."
"Sir, just one crew? With Shepard there?"
A single eyebrow lifted in disbelief was all the reaction he allowed himself, but his voice was sharp when he answered her. "See that it's done, Miss Stevens."
"Yes, sir." She hesitated for a moment before leaving him to his thoughts, hopefulness painted on her face. "And will you be needing my services later?"
"I will not. Commander Alenko, on the other hand, will."
vVvVvVvVvVvVvVv
Shepard awoke with a start, suddenly transferred back in time. It was all the same - white walls, sterile equipment, bursts of… gunfire? Dazed, she blinked a few times before snapping out of the memory and into combat mode, scanning the room as she drew her pistol and readied her biotics. Alenko was still unconscious and there were no hostiles on her location, but she could hear the fighting right outside the door.
She was just about to move into the hall when Garrus threw the door open and tackled her as he rushed into the room. He hardly gave Shepard a glance as he scrambled off her and took up position against the wall.
"Three targets, all of them down, but I'm expecting backup."
Taking a deep breath, she leaned out and caught a quick look of the now empty corridor before returning to cover. "Mercs? And where are the rest of our people?"
"I imagine they're on their way here." Garrus caught her eye and held it. "And no, Shepard. Not mercs."
She swore under her breath, words fueled more by confusion than anger. After braving another look through the doorway, she relaxed her stance. "Clear." They moved together through the ward, carefully checking every room for more hostiles. All they found were nurses and a few patients, each scared witless and none susceptible to her hurried reassurances. Shepard was just about to holster her pistol and start investigating the dead when she noticed Tali's head peak out from behind a door leading to the stairs.
"We're all clear, Tali."
The quarian stepped out to join them, suspiciously eyeing the three bodies on the floor. Without asking, Garrus knew exactly what she was thinking.
"This was not a serious attempt," he grumbled.
Shepard didn't look at him, instead she busied herself rummaging through the pockets of the would-be assassins. "Saren once deemed it sufficient to send two thugs after me," she said, "but I agree." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Unless they didn't expect us to be here."
Garrus just snorted and Tali shook her head. "Then the Illusive Man doesn't know you very well, Shepard."
Pausing, Shepard rested on her haunches and looked up at them. "No, think about it. Why would Alenko even be a target?" Unconsciously, she wiped the worst of the blood off her hands on the unmoving heaps of armor beneath her before she stood. "His presence on the Normandy is what started all of this, and now he's the first one they go after? It doesn't make any sense. None of this makes any sense."
The three of them stared at the dead men in silence, as if an explanation could be read on their faces if only one concentrated hard enough. In the end, Tali was the first to abandon the notion.
"We should inform Chakwas. I left her with Lieutenant Vallery and a few marines in the waiting room." She strode back towards the same staircase she had climbed to get there just as Shepard's comm. sparked to life.
"Shepard?" Joker's voice rang loud in the stillness of the ward, and Shepard realized how odd it was to have gunned down three men in a public hospital with no local law enforcement bearing down on her whatsoever. On Omega, nobody cared.
"I'm here, Joker."
Tali stopped to listen, cocking her head to the side as she turned to look at Shepard and Garrus.
"I've got Councilor Anderson on the line for you, Commander. Apparently, he wants a report."
Garrus grunted a little at that, but no one moved. Kaidan's XO would have made his report to the Alliance already, and Shepard… Well, Shepard didn't really do reports anymore. The Illusive Man had always been on a need-to-know basis, and the council never wanted to know. He could see her chew on her lip in thought.
"Patch him through."
There was a brief pause on the line before the deep voice of the councilor came through.
"Shepard, I heard about the situation. How's he holding up?"
She threw the others a doubtful glance, was this a social call? They seemed as baffled as she was. "He appears to be out of the woods for now, sir." Her mind raced, trying to decide how much to divulge to her old friend. "Recently, another attempt was made. A failed one," she hurriedly added when the man gasped.
"I don't like this, Shepard. If Cerberus is after Alenko, I don't want him anywhere near that damn ship of yours."
She could easily picture him standing there, scolding her with his hands on his back and that look of am-I-making-myself-clear in his eyes. It made her smile fondly; she never had bought that particular act. "I suppose that's something you'll have to discuss with the commander, sir. However, I am taking precautions." Raising her chin and straightening her back, she made a promise she had every intention on keeping. "This won't happen again."
Another pause, then Anderson's voice returned. This time, it sounded more pensive than anything.
"See that it doesn't. And come talk to me on the Citadel."
"That's the plan, sir." Shepard sighed, suddenly feeling very weary. Speaking to him now, she realized how much she relied on his support - not in a tangible way, he hadn't been able to do her any good in that department for years - but he'd always stood by her. Believed in her.
She needed that.
"Sir, if that'll be all?"
"It is." She was going to end the call when he added, as if something of an afterthought. "Oh, and get Commander Alenko to contact that girlfriend of his, tell her he's alright. She's been hounding me all day."
All Shepard could do was close her eyes and concentrate on her breathing. "I'll do that, sir." When she opened them again, she caught her companions watching her intently out of the corner of her eye. "Shepard out."
Turning back around towards the stairs, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy was shaking her head and muttering, mostly to herself.
"I guess that might explain why Kaidan would be alone."
