A/N: Many thanks to all readers, those who favorited and are following this story despite my infrequent updates. Finally, a big thank you to Blausen, a guest reviewer and m. meichiri for your reviews last chapter.
-10-
Garrus wouldn't have followed Jane back upstairs. He respected her need for a moment's peace, a semblance of privacy. Just because they were together didn't mean he suddenly needed to be in her presence every waking moment of the day. But the faster they got this dealt with, the sooner they could leave for the casino. Luckily he was already set with his attire, but no point in changing until Jane's wardrobe was sorted out.
He headed for the main bedroom, her most likely location. He found her in the alcove on her knees at her bag, staring intently at the wall in front of her, the bag's contents scattered around her.
"Taking a moment to unpack, I see," he said, crouching down beside her.
Her ears perked up at his sudden voice, but she did not turn to face him. "Just thought I might have remembered to pack for something like this, save us the time and the trouble," she replied. She picked up the nearest article of clothing, a lacy pair of underwear, and stuffed it back into her bag, completely oblivious to the curious gaze she was receiving.
Garrus continued to watch her as she repacked her bag. Why would she have packed a dress and heels? She wasn't the type to dress up. At all. A fact she had made clear on many occasions. The only time he had seen her in a dress was when she was helping Kasumi get her partner's graybox back from that criminal Donovan Hock. She hadn't liked it, saying the dress made her feel too exposed, but what it had done to her figure had left him quite distracted and unable to focus on his calibrations, even a few hours after she had left the ship. Not that she wasn't beautiful to him in any (or without) attire.
"You don't usually put a dress on the top of your "to pack" list, Jane."
Jane didn't pause in her mission to clean up her mess. "Can't go out somewhere nice in my civvies, can I?"
He fully expected her to do such a thing to avoid being in a dress for even a minute, but she was big on making sacrifices for others. Maybe for a special occasion, for him, she was willing to make the exception.
Did that mean she suspected something about his plans for the evening before all this happened? She hadn't let on she had. Or had she just assumed an evening out would be likely and wanted to be prepared?
Jane finally glanced over at him, analyzing him just as carefully as he was her. "So you'd come up here for a reason, Garrus?"
"Liara wanted to go over what to do about getting you and Brooks "black-tie" appropriate. She's already pulled up a site on the extranet. Some shop on the Wards one of her agents is stationed at." Liara sadly didn't go into any details what a Shadow Broker operative was doing stationed at a clothing store, leaving his curiosity unsated. "She's currently showing options to Brooks."
"She always did have the pulse on everything," Jane replied on a dry note.
"Speaking of which, surprised Miranda didn't try assuming control over this. Doesn't seem like she's mellowed much in the past year."
At this point in the conversation, he anticipated her to come to Miranda's defense, try to convince him she had a softer side than she led people to believe, as she had done many times before, but Jane stayed silent. Back to focusing on putting her things in their proper places. Peculiar.
Rather than drawing attention to that fact, he grabbed for the last piece of clothing on the floor to hand to her. A black gown of some kind, made with a silky material. An elaborate lace pattern was sown towards the top where the cups for the mounds on her chest would be. It wasn't a long nightgown either. Couldn't have been able to cover more than her upper thighs, if that.
He couldn't help the rise of his browplate. "What is this?" He tried to recall this in Jane's possession, but he was fairly certain this would have stuck out in his memory if it had.
Jane quickly tugged it out of his hand, which he let go without any resistance. "Something you weren't supposed to see til later."
Looks like he hadn't been the only one planning something for this shore leave. A shame that seeing her in such form-fitting nighttime attire was another plan put on hold due to this latest attempt on her life.
Jane did a quick scan to make sure everything was back in her bag before standing back up. Garrus was about to point out the lack of a Widow or Predator in her bag when he spotted them lying on the workbench, carefully situated beside the other in a neat row across from his own.
"Let's go get my outfit sorted out downstairs."
Instead of letting her leave, he found himself reaching out for her arm as she passed by, loosely holding it in his grasp. She stopped, her eyes darting down to his hold, then slowly traveling back to him, silently questioning what was wrong.
"I'm..." His throat closed up unexpectedly. Why was he getting so emotional? She hadn't been hurt and she could easily take care of herself. "Glad you made it out of there in one piece, Jane," he finished in a rush.
"Me too," she said, sounding just as relieved. "Could have been a lot worse with me falling through that fish tank."
Those words together had no right to be uttered in the same sentence, even when she said it so matter-of-factly, like it happened all the time.
"At least I got a story to tell the family when they meet you for the first time. Always helps to break the ice with turian in-laws," he replied, needing to inject some humorous comment to hide behind. Prevent him from admitting how much the thought of her taking a tumble through the tank threatened to seize the pit of his stomach in a vice grip.
She let out a puff that could be considered a laugh, but it lacked the same warmth usually embedded within them. Nor did she join in his tease, express any other emotion beyond her momentary laugh. Just as before with Garrus's "off the clock" comment.
He ran his thumb over the fold of her elbow. "You know I'm here if you need it," he replied, offering that unspoken invitation to talk about what had happened, providing her a sympathetic ear to anything bothering her.
"And I appreciate that." Jane gently lifted his hand off her arm. She did not spend any extended length of time holding it, caressing the backs of his knuckles, stroking the inside of his palm with her thumb as she had taken to doing. Instead she dropped it like a packed-to-the-brim sack, ending the contact abruptly. "But I'm fine."
He almost pressed her, on why she suddenly seemed reserved, why she was forgetting simple things. Asked if something else happened before he met up with her, or if something else was bothering her, but he held back at the last minute. They had a mission ahead of them. They had to focus on getting this done. The last thing he wanted was to cause unnecessary tension between the two of them in case she didn't take his prodding well.
So he nodded and followed her retreating form out of the bedroom, back down to the kitchen.
The crew had spread out this time throughout the apartment, only a few in a spot congregating together. Liara, Tali, EDI and Brooks were the only ones who had chosen to remain at the table.
"That one doesn't look too bad. Stylish and reasonably priced." Seemed like Liara and Brooks were still going through options.
"It's too bright a shade of pink. You want something that will allow you to blend in more," Liara advised at whatever option Brooks had pulled up.
"Right. Of course. Sorry, Doctor, I'm not used to this kind of operation. Being all sneaky."
Liara spared her a look of reassurance. "Hang around with Shepard longer and you'll become a pro at them."
"Whether you want to or not."
Jane went up to their quarian friend. "You make it sound so terrible, Tali." Least Jane's love of interjecting sarcasm hadn't disappeared.
Tali patted Jane's shoulder. "Comes from a place of love, Jane."
"What about this one, Dr. T'Soni?" Brooks had paused at an image on her omni-tool, face lighting up at having possibly found something so quickly.
Liara leaned over Brooks's shoulder to get a better look.
"Pretty and makes you inconspicuous. I'd say you have a winner. Now...does it come in your size?"
"I didn't even check." Brooks's face fell a moment later. "Damn it! Why doesn't anyone ever have anything larger than an eight?"
"Glyph, can you pull up a list of dresses in Staff Analyst Brooks's size?" Liara asked, taking pity on her and bringing in outside help.
"I shall begin immediately, Dr. T'Soni," came Glyph's reply.
"I'll start looking at shoes while you scan those," Liara said, already pulling up her own omni-tool.
EDI turned her attention to Jane and Garrus. "Shepard, while Liara and Staff Analyst Brooks continue their search, perhaps it would be best for us to work on your outfit for maximum efficiency."
"Good idea, EDI. You want to help, Tali?"
Tali had her omni-tool up before Jane made it to the end of the question. "Only because you are hopeless when it comes to dresses. You in on this too, Garrus?"
Garrus shook his head. "You ladies got this covered." Maybe he could clean up good, but fashion was not his strong suit. "Think I'll go and awkwardly force myself into other peoples' conversations. Don't have her go on a spending spree, even if she's on a Commander and Spectre salary," he sent the playful chide over his shoulder as he turned on his heel to walk away.
"Liara has assured us the prices are quite reasonable to some other stores on the Presidium. Though from your tonal inflection, you appear to be joking and acting like, as I have heard Tali use the phrase, a bosh'tet."
He could hear Tali failing miserably at holding back a snicker and another one of those half-hearted light chuckles from Jane (did Tali or EDI notice the difference too?). Looks like EDI learned a new word through the wonderful power of eavesdropping. So long as Tali didn't start giving EDI shotgun lessons and teaching her how to threaten him with it, he could take that.
Garrus found himself wandering over to where Miranda, Jacob, Joker and Ash were situated, at the couches near the piano, instead of the bar where Zaeed, Grunt and Wrex were, recounting past battles. He walked in on Joker asking Jacob how he'd been, how Jane told him he was a family man now (he remembered Jane mentioning she'd bumped into Jacob at Huerta, told him he and that doctor were expecting) and Jacob's reply that he was both looking forward to it and downright terrified.
"You'll do great," Miranda said with her usual air of confidence, mixed with a less utilized flair of reassurance. "You're a protector. That goes a long way."
"Really appreciate that, Miranda."
Joker was the first one to notice Garrus's approach. "So how's progress going over there? Those two find sexy new outfits to parade around in yet?"
"Not yet. It's slow. Size issues." He took the empty single seat by the fireplace. "But Liara's on it and with EDI and Tali helping, shouldn't be too long."
"I'd imagine Shepard would not want to waste the time, considering what's at stake." Miranda glanced over at Jane, who had her head down, attention narrowed in on the task at hand. "And her disdain for anything above the knee, if memory serves right."
Ash spun back around from where she had been skimming through the books by the fireplace. "Too bad I can't go. I got a blue dress I look pretty damn good in. I'm gonna need an occasion to wear it. It doesn't really scream "wear me while gunning down husks."
"Don't worry, Williams. You'll get your chance. I'm already working on our big bash once this is all over. About time we had one." No one jumped in to correct Joker, say the likelihood of everyone still being around after the war was slim. It didn't need to be said.
"So, uh, anyway, Cerberus given you or your sister any shit for revealing their diabolical scheme on Horizon?" Joker asked to clear the air from one depressing cloud threatening to hover over them to another, marginally less depressing one.
Miranda leaned back in her seat, folding her hands over her stomach. "None so far. The Illusive Man is likely finalizing his plan. He got what he wanted from that facility." The hard lines sketched on her face and harsh fire in her eyes grew in the neon light bathing her through the blinds of the window. "Everyone on Horizon, including my father, were expendable."
"So is that why you left Cerberus? It seems like the Illusive Man and Cerberus always saw people that way."
"That is an over-simplistic characterization." Miranda rose herself up, her back straightening, body snapping to attention at Ash's combined question and remark. Clearly she hadn't forgotten Jane's tense encounter with Ash the first time on Horizon. "As shocking as it may seem, there were people there for the right reasons with strong senses of morality, who were not there just out of hatred for the Alliance or pure xenophobia."
"Real subtle there, Williams."
"I'm not being accusatory or anything," Ash said against Joker's snide remark, ruefulness an undercurrent in her defensive tone. There would have been a time Garrus wouldn't have believed her sincerity, but accompanying Jane and him on that mission to save the Cerberus scientists Jacob had been aiding showed her not everyone who worked for Cerberus were cold-blooded killers or madmen who took a perverse pleasure in messing with science. "Shepard trusts them and that's good enough for me. I'm just curious why you waited so long to leave. Sounds like you guys were with them for awhile."
"It is a fair point, Miranda," Jacob agreed. "You can't tell me some cells weren't bad," Jacob replied.
"I don't deny that. But there were also cells that were doing good work. Finding new ways to shore up defenses for colonies, increasing medi-gel efficiency levels for medics and soldiers. It wasn't all high-risk operations and experiments." She left it there, refusing to elaborate on whether she disagreed with the types of experiments the original team encountered three years ago. Probably best to save that argument for another day.
"As for why I joined and eventually left," Jacob continued, willing to answer Ash's question. "I only joined up with Cerberus after the Battle of the Citadel. I just got fed-up with the red tape in the Alliance. I knew about Cerberus's colorful reputation, but it actually seemed like it was doing something worthwhile when the Alliance and Council weren't doing anything. Once the Illusive Man showed his true colors, though, it was easy for me to leave. Miranda was there much longer."
"Due in no small part to my father's financial contributions. I may never have thought to join Cerberus otherwise."
Ash wasn't done yet. "So it was more of an only option kind of thing?"
Miranda lost her defensive posture ever-so-slightly when she leaned back again. No such difference in her speech. "I suppose, in a way, but to a young woman yearning for escape from an oppressive father, the sound of an organization offering such freedom in the running of its operations was more than appealing."
"The Illusive Man allowed that much free reign?" Ash asked, sounding like that was hard for her to believe.
"Earlier on, it seemed pretty unlimited. You still had to go to him for final approval, but usually anything you asked for he agreed to. Trust may be too strong a word on how the Illusive Man saw us, but he mostly left day to day operations to his operatives. Project Lazarus, the reconstruction of the Normandy, the suicide mission…those were the most times I've seen him so hands-on," Jacob backed Miranda.
"Sounds like he's making up for lost time in playing puppet master," Joker said.
The shadow settled over Miranda's face again, this time nothing to do with the light leaking through the blinds. "Maybe he had always been one."
The light then returned to her face when she noticed her omni-tool flashing. "It's Ori." She excused herself to answer the incoming vid-link.
"How old is her sister?" Ash asked, watching Miranda briskly walk towards the stairs and greet her sister.
"Think she's either going to turn twenty or already is," Jacob answered.
"My youngest sister Sara's about that age." Her face shifted to one of empathy. "She really seems to care for her."
"Maybe you can use that as a topic of discussion to break the ice next time instead of bringing up Cerberus," Joker suggested.
Irritation sparked in Ash's eyes. "I didn't mean anything by it, Joker. I just wanted to understand why they joined. I'm not looking to start a damn witch-hunt."
Joker raised his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, just a suggestion."
As the silence fell over the four of them, Garrus found his gaze drift back over to the kitchen and the table at its back. Brooks was no longer on her omni-tool, but leaning over Liara's shoulder to look at hers. They must have had luck in finding a dress. EDI, Tali and Jane were still huddled together in a tight circle.
"You know…I miss the days when Cerberus was just hilariously incompetent," Joker brought Garrus back with a facetious dreamy sigh. "You know, when you and Miranda ran things."
That got Jacob's attention. "Excuse me?"
Garrus was about to settle in for a sarcasm-filled Cerberus diatribe courtesy of Joker when someone else had a different idea. "Hey, Vakarian, you still over there? Need you to come over here and settle something."
Garrus answered Zaeed's call, leaving just as Joker began his comedy routine in the guise of a Cerberus field operative calling on Jane to fix their self-induced disasters.
He found Wrex and Grunt in the middle of the open area between the bar and shaded windows, with Zaeed on the couch with one leg crossed and head resting on his left hand, Javik leaning against the bar counter. "What's going on?"
Grunt bounced up and down on his heels as if warming up for something. "The prothean wants to know who'd win in a fight between me and Wrex."
"You got to admit, Vakarian, it's a good question."
"It is a good question," Garrus replied, feigning deep thought just to get under Wrex's and Grunt's (but mostly Wrex's) skins.
"No, it isn't. Baby Pyjak here wouldn't stand a chance," Wrex boasted.
"Don't listen to this fossil. The only thing he could defeat is a glass of warm milk."
"You fought with both of them, Vakarian. Which one do you think's the strongest?" Zaeed asked.
Garrus crossed his arms. Did Zaeed think he had a death wish? "You do realize either one I pick, the other will want to rip my fringe off in my sleep, right? I just got it polished the way I like it."
"Not like you need it to attract females anymore," Wrex emitted his trademark cackle.
Garrus ran his hand over his crest. "It wasn't just my winning personality that got her blood pumping, Wrex. I rely heavily on my good looks. You should know many women find facial scars attractive," he said, pointing at his scars. "Especially krogan."
Wrex seemed to lose his steam at the mere mention of the word women. "Don't remind me," he said with a groan. "Ever since we cured the genophage, every single female on Tuchanka wants a piece of me." That was more information than he wanted. "And Bakara's encouraging it!"
Javik made a noise of approval. "The females are wise. They look to mate with the strongest krogan. So their firstborn is also the strongest." Garrus swore he saw a smirk find its way onto Javik's face. "But are they truly going for the strongest krogan?" And so full circle they came.
"Guess there's only one way to settle this. You boys up for it?" Zaeed asked with a sneer of his own.
"Yeah," Grunt drawled, immediately catching onto to the hint and readied himself to deliver a headbutt.
"You'll have to bring a good hit to take me down," Wrex taunted, looking the picture of amusement, all negative feelings at the thought of over-sexed krogan females vanishing.
Probably a good idea to stop this before Jane had a trashed apartment. "Do you really want to make Shepard buy new furniture, guys?"
"Ahh. Just as it was about to get good," Wrex said with feigned disappointment, but lowering his stance.
"Yeah…you got lucky."
"Why don't you ask the Commander which is the strongest? She also fought with both of you and she is not prone to lying. Her answer may be enlightening. As well as amusing," Javik added, managing to keep a straight face through his droll response.
"Assuming she ever gets done with finding an outfit for tonight. Better her and Garrus than me. I always look ridiculous outside my armor," Wrex said.
"I'd pay every credit I had from my Reaper advisor salary to see that," Garrus said, searching for Jane in the kitchen. She was no longer there. EDI was heading to where Joker, Ash, and Jacob were while Tali, Liara and Brooks stayed in their current location. It didn't take long to find Jane, mingling with James and Cortez in the library/study/game room.
"Looks like you have your chance to brighten her day," Garrus pointed over to where Jane was for them to see.
Grunt pounded his fists together with another bounce of his feet. "Time to settle this."
Garrus went with them, Zaeed and Javik volunteering (for Javik in not so many words) to stay behind, Zaeed demanding a full report.
"Try looking on the bottom, Esteban. No one puts volume controls on the top."
Garrus allowed Wrex and Grunt to pass him into the room, staying close by the entrance next to Jane. "Watching television, Vega? Really? That bored?"
"Hey, Scars," James waved at him. "Just trying to get this interview with Anderson working. We were just telling Lola. Esteban found this datapad lying around here with Anderson talking about what it was like during First Contact."
Garrus picked up the lone datapad on the bar top with the title "Contact" in large font. A candid tale of what it was like in the initial days of the First Contact War (or the Relay 314 incident by turian preference), with a poignant finish only Anderson could deliver:
"Sometimes that's all it takes. A joke. A pat on the back. Just a little reminder that everything's gonna be okay."
"The other one talks about why he joined the military," Cortez said as Garrus finished, still feeling around for the screen's buttons. "He joined cause of this dog he went by every day to school that wouldn't stop barking at him. One day he barks right back at it and the dog left him alone for good."
"Always knew he had a pair on him," Wrex said, impressed.
"Read the last line, Lola, love this one," James encouraged Jane, who was skimming through the other datapad. Her eyes flitted up at the call of her nickname, a firm line on her lips as if holding something back, but chose to read the quote at James's request. "Sometimes, you just gotta howl to make things right."
He liked it. Sounded quite familiar to his "yell loud enough and eventually someone will come over to see what all the fuss was about" philosophy.
"Then we found something about some interview he gave with this report where he talks about the N7 program. Figured it would be worth a listen, since…ah-ha, found it!" Cortez had his hand around the back of the screen, the clicking sound audible in the otherwise quiet room. Wrex's and Grunt's competition seemed to have been all but forgotten, or at least put on hold until this interview was over.
"Couldn't you guys have controlled the volume with your omni-tools?" Garrus asked.
"Tried that, but it wouldn't respond. The screen's not outputting any visuals either, only audio. Must be some faulty wiring somewhere," Cortez said, about to resume the recording. This seemed like a brand new apartment. Would have thought a top Alliance admiral and first human councilor would have been given top of the line entertainment systems.
"Admiral Anderson, today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the N7 program. Can you describe your first day of training in this now-famous program?" the interviewer began, with a piercing voice that sounded suspiciously familiar, but Garrus couldn't quite place.
"The Interplanetary Combatives Training program is all business from day one."
"How so?"
"We're given basic gear, then separated and stranded on an asteroid with no nav data. The test ends when the last person runs out of oxygen."
James let out a low whistle. "Damn, Lola, you weren't kidding. And that's just day one? Can't imagine what the rest of it's like." Garrus briefly wondered why James was suddenly so interested in the N7 program.
"It was a challenge, but it was worth it in the end," Jane affirmed.
They jumped back during the interviewer's dialogue. "That's very impressive, Admiral. Deep space survival training. That has to be... so difficult. All of it would take such strength of character, just plain strength. But then, you seem like a strong person." This seemed so familiar. The voice, the set-up to lead Anderson into the response she wanted…
"I'm sorry, is there a question in there?" Anderson pried, still polite, but a little wary at where she was leading the interview, as if she was going to try and do a smear job on…
Al-Jilani. It was that Westerlund News reporter who always gave Jane a hard time and did everything she could besmirch her reputation. How the hell had she managed to land an interview with Anderson?
"Well…" al-Jilani struggled to maintain her composure. "Does the program make the man?" She paused for dramatic effect. "Or do you think you were born for this?"
Garrus had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the oozing of thick praise coming from her lips. He could only imagine how Jane was reacting with how much she despised al-Jilani.
To his shock, her face was a blank canvas. No inkling, no memory, of her dislike was displayed for the woman who caused Jane to lose her diplomatic cool and finally knock her flat on her ass at the embassies.
No one else in the room would think it strange. James and Cortez didn't know about Jane's history with that reporter. Wrex hadn't been with Jane the first time it happened (he and Liara had had that honor). The second time he had heard about it from Tali, who had been with Kasumi when Jane was accosted by al-Jilani in the Wards.
His instincts had gotten himself into that mess he'd rather forget about on Omega. But he knew. His instincts weren't lying now.
Sometime didn't feel right at all.
From the angle he was standing at by the doorway, he could spy into the kitchen area, spot Tali by the counter reading a datapad. It was time to have that chat with her.
Anderson's voice following behind him, he quietly snuck out to the kitchen, tapping Tali on the shoulder. She spun her head, the faraway look in her eyes clearing when she saw who it was.
He murmured to Tali that he needed to talk to her. He let Tali lead the way upstairs, to the spare bedroom on the right side.
"I think we're finally in private, Tali," Garrus said, even as Tali led them into the attached bathroom.
"If it's what I think it's about, we need to be sure we're not overheard." Tali placed the datapad she still held in her hands on the bathroom counter.
"Then you know it's about Jane. Thankfully Wrex and Grunt will probably keep her distracted for awhile."
He then went into her lack of reaction at hearing Khalisah bint Sinan al-Jilani giving the interview with Anderson.
"Keelah, she hates that woman! She wouldn't hide her feelings about that." Tali lay her palms on the bathroom counter, letting them shoulder her weight. "I thought I was over-reacting with the dress thing, but now…"
Garrus lifted his hands to stop Tali mid-thought. "Wait? What dress thing?"
"Earlier, when we were going through outfits, we did just as Liara did for Brooks. Only pull up ones in her size to save time." Tali's eyes glowed feverishly in her reflection in the mirror. "The one she chose is exactly the same as the leather one hanging in her closet on the Normandy."
Another thing she never made secret. How much she despised the leather dress that had been sent to her along with her casual wares. Too high above the knees, he remembered her complaining. Uncomfortable and unflattering were other adjectives reserved for that dress.
"Was that the only dress in her size?" However picky she may have been, she would have dealt with it for the mission if it was the only one (yet still not hesitating to criticize its appearance).
"No, that's the amazing thing. There were longer ones in her size. I pointed that out to her, but she said the short one was fine. EDI made some comment about it being unusual and even Liara was surprised when she overheard." The fervent glow grew in her eyes. "Jane said something about a long dress getting in the way in case another firefight broke out, which does make sense, but that wouldn't have stopped her. She would have made it work." She looked up at him. "Did you ask her if anything was wrong?"
"I encouraged her to talk to me, but she said she was fine. I didn't want to ask outright, seem too pushy. You know how she can get when she's not ready to talk about something."
Garrus stared at his own reflection in the mirror. The lighting in this bathroom made his scars look ten times more grotesque than they actually were. And his eyes more sunk in.
"What are we going to come at her with, Tali?" he asked suddenly, with a tired sigh. "You've let go of your hate for certain people and your taste in dress has suddenly changed? You seem more reserved than usual?" It did sound ridiculous being said out-loud.
Were they just making a big to-do about nothing?
"Still sounds like it's symptomatic of a bigger problem to me."
He was proud to say he didn't jump at the new voice or reflection in the mirror. He hadn't realized she was still upstairs.
"How long have you been listening?"
Miranda rested a gloved hand on her hip. "Awhile. I had just finished my call with my sister when you two appeared. Something's wrong with Shepard?"
She was already here and showing no sign of leaving. Jane considered her a friend. And as loath as he was to admit it, he did admire and respect her abilities and her dedication, her resolve not to rest until she uncovered the solution to the puzzle. She may as well know what else was going on.
Garrus filled Miranda in on some of the details (and to some extent, Tali), omitting the part of the conversation about Miranda and glossing over anything hinting at Jane's and his relationship. He never was one to share the intimate details of his love life to anyone.
"Quite peculiar. Her memory is impeccable and despite any stressful situations, she usually made the strongest effort to not let it affect her interactions with the crew." Both hands were on her hips now. "So how long did it take for you to meet up with her again?
Garrus thought back to Joker's call, how soon after the attack it would have been. "Not too long after the attack. Half-hour, maybe? I was on the comm with her probably fifteen minutes before then."
"That wouldn't be long enough for anyone to implant something in her head to control her. It must be something else." Garrus wasn't about to ask how Miranda knew so much about that subject.
"Mild amnesia from her fall, maybe? A concussion?" Garrus threw out there.
"She sounded fine on the way to meet Garrus and Zaeed. Plus, she'd be showing other symptoms, wouldn't she?" Tali added.
"Uncoordinated movements, confusion, disorientation, fatigue, slurred speech, nausea, dizziness… none of which she appears to be experiencing. Though she did try to shoot her way through the door in the skycar lot. Personality change is one of the symptoms," Miranda provided.
Tali sent a frustrated look his way. "That wasn't worth sharing earlier, Garrus?"
"It would have been, but I didn't want to over-react if it was nothing. Besides, I'm sure she didn't see the volus." He was positive on that one.
"Regardless, we have to treat it as one of the incidents. Though it is also strange that they occur at random and not all the time." Miranda moved her hands back up to her arm, tapping her finger insistently, deep in thought. "At the moment, she seems fit and coherent enough to go to the casino. It's imperative we find out the source of this threat against Shepard before he or she attacks again."
"But if she did strike her head on that fall, she could be suffering from a concussion that's causing all this and could develop into something serious," Tali insisted. "We should send for Dr. Chakwas and have her checked out, have someone else go in her place."
"You know Jane would never agree to that, no matter how much we pressured her. Miranda's right, Tali, we have to go to the casino as planned," Garrus replied, not liking it either, but knowing time to hunt down their ship doctor was a luxury they could not afford. "While we're gone, we can have Dr. Chakwas sent for to check her over once we're back."
Tali released a choppy breath. "I guess we have no other choice. Should we tell anyone else about this?"
"Keep this to ourselves, including from Shepard, until Dr. Chakwas is called for. If she isn't suffering from a physical ailment and something is bothering her, ganging up on her now will accomplish nothing," Miranda said, assuming command as if this was some type of ground mission.
Garrus didn't feel completely at ease with going behind Jane's back like this, and he could see by the look in Tali's eyes she wasn't either, but he could not deny Miranda was right once more. Maybe he should try to talk to Jane again.
"I'll keep an eye on her," he replied. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't wear this to appear more intimidating," he said, tapping his visor. "Any rapid change in her vitals and I'll know it within a few seconds."
Miranda took in his visor piece. "It looks different from when I last saw you," she observed.
Garrus shifted, not wanting to go in the Omega-related direction his answer would lead them. "Figured it was long overdue for a change." He quickly steered the conversation away from that topic before any follow-up questions were uttered. "What is on that datapad, anyway, Tali?"
"It was in the kitchen." Tali picked it back up. "Al-Jilani asked Anderson for a statement on Jane. I was going to give it to her downstairs. I thought she might want to read it."
"It would also be another opportunity to get another reaction out of her, see if it fits with her usual pattern," Miranda added, never ceasing to see the bigger picture.
"I can give it to her," Garrus said, reaching out to take it from Tali. "I assume the clothing and shoes are coming ultra-express?"
"Liara said the store's not too terribly far. A short skycar ride. They'll be here within twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes too long, but they had little say in the length of time.
With nothing else to hash out between the three, Tali made the first move to head back downstairs. Garrus made to follow her out when Miranda called him back. "Vakarian? A word?"
"You know we're not serving together on the same ship. You could call me by my first name," Garrus replied with a bit of snarkiness, but obliging and stopping in his tracks.
"Our personal relationship is irrelevant. I know you didn't trust me during our time on the SR-2 and I understand that," Miranda began, not sounding bitter about the fact.
"You quit Cerberus for Shepard. That was enough to sway me."
"Not necessarily for her. But because of her." Miranda began to pace back and forth. "As much as I hated to acknowledge it at the time, she rubbed off on me. Got me to see the Illusive Man for who he truly was, what he had become, what he was using Cerberus for. If she hadn't, I would have been implanted with Reaper tech by now."
Garrus didn't see where this confessional was leading them. "You don't mention anything about changing your mind about Cerberus's goals or tactics."
Miranda ceased her pacing. "The Illusive Man's completely lost sight of his original vision, if he ever truly cared for it. Nor were some extreme cells rained in properly like they should have, in hindsight. But despite what your Alliance friend down there believes, Cerberus's original purpose to protect and advance the human race was a cause worth aiding in."
"Can you blame her? She and her family have always been Alliance," Garrus found himself defending Ash.
"I can understand the place she comes from, but the insinuation we were all the same was not deserved. I would say Cerberus needed more people like Shepard to join to turn public opinion around, make it something better, but I fear it's far too late. The Illusive Man has tarnished any hint of its good reputation. He was always…pragmatic, but never this cold or ruthless. I never would have joined if he had," Miranda admitted. "Cerberus will die with the Reapers, along with any memory of the good work we did or the good people we recruited along the way."
She quickly shook away any feeling of regret at her past life away. "Our personal relationship doesn't matter," she continued from where she first began. "But I owe Shepard, call her a friend, and she genuinely cares about you. I would be remiss if I didn't advise you both to watch out for Brooks."
Garrus hadn't been prepared for that type of warning, especially not against nervous, stuttering Brooks. "Brooks? How in the hell is she a threat? That she's skittish enough to blow our cover?"
"The best actors make it nearly impossible to tell if their faked persona is the real one or not." She leaned against the bathroom door frame, crossing her arms. "I admit it sounds far-fetched. But she looks familiar to me. I don't know how. All I know is it wasn't from somewhere we want to hear about her being at."
That could mean…"Are you saying she's Cerberus? Why aren't you checking this out right now if you suspect?"
Miranda frowned at the forcefulness of his incredulous dual-tone. "I already said I don't know for certain, Vakarian," she said with a rough edge of her own. "Besides, if she isn't who she says, I can't be seen doing anything that will raise her suspicions. I can only hope she heard me start talking to my sister so she didn't think I disappeared due to receiving intel from an informant."
"I still can't believe Brooks would be a plant. She doesn't fit the profile at all."
Then again, Sidonis hadn't fit the profile of a betrayer either. It wasn't far-fetched it could happen again.
"All I ask is you pass this along to Shepard. You two can do what you want. I'm going to start digging up what info I can while the three of you are gone. If I find anything out, I'll send it to your omni-tools." Miranda's eyes darted to her reflection in the mirror then quickly back to Garrus. "With any luck, it's nothing. Just like with Shepard."
"And if neither of them aren't?"
Miranda's response did nothing to reassure him. "It will certainly make for a very interesting evening."
She thought she'd never make it out of there.
First Vakarian pressing for answers in the bedroom. Then the apparently out-of-character acquiesce on a short-length dress (she had to think fast on her feet for an excuse once she saw Tali'Zorah's and the A.I.'s reactions). Jimmy Vega, nothing more than a farmboy who lost his pitchfork, calling her by that deplorable nickname "Lola," beginning to ask questions about the N7 program, of which she had no knowledge. Lastly the krogans' "whose got bigger balls" contest, demanding she settle who was the strongest she fought with, while listing off battles she had never been a part of.
She was saved answering by Brooks, volunteering to get her for the asari. T'Soni wanted to go over the layout of the building again and the options they had for dealing with security systems.
She found herself beginning to think it a pity she had to be eliminated. Her thoroughness and attention to detail would have been a great addition. She immediately shot that thought down, disgusted for allowing such an idea to pop in her mind. She could find a human just as capable. She didn't need any aliens among her crew. She would not allow it. The symbol for humanity could only have a human-only crew, human-only squad.
The clothing and shoes arrived shortly after, courtesy of a Shadow Broker agent delivering it to the front desk of the apartment complex. Once T'Soni had come back from acquiring the items and the package had been scanned and was in her hands, she could finally get away, be able to breathe more easily. The longer the seconds ticked by, the harder it was to keep this con going. It did not escape her notice Vakarian and Tali'Zorah slipping away. Nor Lawson's long absence from her original spot beside the pilot. Both Tali'Zorah and Lawson eventually came back down, but Vakarian had seemingly remained upstairs.
A correct assumption when she found him in the main bedroom, in his under-suit and preparing to change into his own formal attire. She would go into the bathroom to change. If she had to do this in the same room as him, she refused to see him any more unclothed than he already was.
He didn't question her desire to change in the bathroom, but he didn't allow her to get to it just yet. He insisted on showing her another datapad from that interview Admiral Anderson gave. It was about Shepard, singing her praises, defending her from her critics. Reminding her "there's a whole bunch of people who lose sleep over her getting back home." She had to suppress the amused arch of her eyebrow at the last line: "Soldiers like the Commander are rare. Women like Shepard... even more rare."
Shepard had allowed herself to be captured so easily. What was so rare about that? If the Admiral thought Shepard impressive, he would see what true power and skill looked like.
Anderson. Shepard's precious mentor. Brooks may have helped in acclimating her to being human, but she did not actively seek her guidance. She had no need to.
She put on the touched face for Vakarian, knowing he already suspected something was wrong, thanking him for bringing this to her, that it meant a lot. She even completed it by squeezing his arm, something she had been avoiding doing, in case he could sense her touch wasn't genuine.
But he still didn't let her go. He dropped it on her, then. Lawson suspected who Brooks actually was (in a sense). Warned Vakarian to be on his guard, though he seemed uncertain whether to believe it or not, for which she was thankful. She could play off that and Shepard's typically trusting nature, direct attention away from Brooks without making it seem as if she was covering for her.
In the end, she did agree to keep a vigilant eye, so as to placate the cynical side of Vakarian's nature. She had to warn Brooks their cover was fragile. Now that Vakarian had conveyed Lawson's suspicions, she couldn't speak face to face with her alone. She'd have to send a message for Brooks when she…
As she ducked into the bathroom, the plan unveiled itself so suddenly she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. She allowed the satisfied smile to cross her face when there was no sign of Vakarian's reflection in the mirror, watch it staring back at her, revel in her success.
The mission parameters had changed and they would answer them. They would adapt to them as any good soldiers would do, coming out stronger than ever before.
This charade wouldn't have to end at the casino…