Chapter Nine: Karma Got Her Bite

Illium

Zane, Shepard, Garrus, and Tali looked around the city of Nos Astra. Skycars zoomed passed the Normandy onwards to their work or home. To Zane, it smelled of a bureaucratic heaven. The only crimes committed here were the white-collar ones. It involved money and tech, not blood and gore. No doubt, there were sections that had the old-style version of crime. But not here, not in the high rises of Nos Astra.

"You're zoning out again Zane." Tali said with a nudge.

"I know sorry. Just thinking."

"About?"

"How glad I am I didn't spend my time here." He said with a smile as a pretty, scantily clad, petite Asari approached. She was followed by white and blue guards of flesh and blood, unlike the game. She wore white and blue similar to the game but there was a difference. Her left arm had a white tattoo, a rarity for the Asari they preferred paint. But hers stood out…Organization logo.

"Shepard, what a pleasure we were told to wave all waivable fees and any that were not waivable have been paid in full and in advance." She said with a cheeky grin.

"On whose authority?" Shepard asked.

"Waved fees were done by the Harbinger and Miss T'Soni has paid everything else." Zane noticed Shepard get excited at the mention of Liara. It was small but he did notice it. The small grin, the pulsing in his fingers, the tightening of his chest. All little details and insignificant on their own but when brought together they told a story of excitement.

"Organization gets around, don't they?" Shepard asked her and she giggled.

"More than you know darling. I will warn you don't sign anything, and don't worry about being followed, and know that we are here to assist if you need us."

"Sign anything? Seems ominous." Garrus said. The girl gave a hand signal to the two guards following her they gave a small bow and quickly rounded the corner to wait. She walked through the team patting Shepard and giving a small nudge to Tali. Luckily for the Asari, it wasn't in a rude way. Then she put a hand on Zane's shoulder as she passed him the hand slid over his shoulder and traced his jawline. Before falling to his chest all the while she giggled.

"It is here at Nos Astra we are loose with laws. Anything can be done and gotten away with a simple contract. Purchases, contracts… servants." She looked at Zane and bit her bottom lip scanning him with her blue eyes. "Mainly of the worker and…sexual variety." She turned back to Garrus.

Zane saw Tali about to pummel the girl's head and hastily and stealthily grabbed her wrist to keep her still.

"Best to not do that." He said silently and she remained quiet. "We have to play nice with the neighbors after all." He said and watched the spectacle on fold.

"Seems like slavery to me." Shepard said. Zane decided to speak on this topic.

"It really isn't, the predicament is mutual and the servants fall under the care of the caretaker. We did it too a few hundred years ago when the New World was found, many signed themselves into servitude for a few years. So, they could get a head start in the Americas. Illium has much more stringent rules to the contract. Breaking the contract in any way is ill-advised…very ill-advised. For both parties, the fees are…astronomical, to say the least." Zane said the Asari nodding to him with a look in her eye he thought only belonged to those with the Consort and her Acolytes. He raised his hood and mask almost like muscle memory as Shepard asked the important questions.

…

Liara was here maybe she would join them. It would be like the old Normandy once again. Things might actually be normal for once. Or so Tali hoped but a part of her knew it was a vain hope. Things would never quite be the same. Plus, if she was being honest a lot of the "normalcy" from two years was crap there were good moments but it wasn't just clean filters and quick engines. There was blood, gore, and loss.

"Tali, Garrus, Zane! It is so good to see you all." Liara said hugging each one of them in turn. She gave Garrus and Zane a quick peck on the cheek and Shepard a quick kiss and then went back to her desk. She was certainly chirpy but then went pure business. It was scary how quick the transition was.

"So Liara you seemed to have settled in quite well." Zane said sitting beside Shepard after he pulled up a chair.

"Why don't we get a chair?" Garrus asked her with sarcasm.

"Not cool enough?"

"I think it has to do with our legs." He said and they looked at their legs and how then bent in comparison to those sitting.

"Really you two?" Shepard said raising a brow. Zane pulled down his mask and hood and laughed.

"Anyways I settled very well thanks to you Zane. If you hadn't led me to Nos Astra I wouldn't have found this job."

"Sure, you would've. Not as quickly or as awesomely but you would've…eventually." He smiled and she chuckled.

"Whatever Zane…now what can I do for you?" Then Shepard began to break down why there were here.

…

Thane was still here and everything was as it should be for now. He was hunting Nassana it was just a matter of getting to her before he killed her. So, that once he was done he would join up. It was simple really.

"Thank you, Liara hope to see you soon." Shepard said as the team left.

"Of course, Shepard. Oh, Zane, come back in here." She said and Zane nodded to the team and returned to the room. "Close the door." She said and he gingerly shut it and at her desk, she polarized the windows.

"Is this the part where I say 'no we can't do this?' That it isn't right or something like that? I mean think about poor Shepard." He laughed before turning serious.

"Oh, please Zane if I wanted some sort of affair I would've broken it off with Shepard while he was here. And I would never do that to Tali." That confused him a little but she was quick to continue. "No, what I need is your help. Someone I can trust. Before you think it, yes, I trust them but I don't trust them to be discrete. I need your help with the Broker again." She said causing Zane to exhale sharply.

"Liara if I keep meddling in his affairs then he will hunt you down to get to me. I am already too much a threat. I am not afraid of him. But I am afraid of what he will do to those I know to get to me." He said. He knew Liara had yet to move on from the Shadow Broker and Zane was the greatest link to him.

"I know that. But don't worry I am being careful. I need you to go to this location it is a known Broker henchmen's spot. All details of the area are on that datapad. Download any and all information and get it to me."

"What will it lead you to?"

"Someone known as the Observer. He is vital to the Broker. The Organization isn't involved I know that. But, they are not making a move on the Broker at least not anymore." She said and contemplated the meaning of it.

"Perhaps they have what they wanted or were ordered off." He said.

"Or both."

"Or both…okay, I will help. Shepard wants to help Miranda after getting Mister Krios. During that time, I will hunt down your man." He said and turned to leave.

"One more thing…no witnesses and no evidence. You understand?" She asked and he turned halfway to her. Only a side of his face could be seen. His hood was raised only revealing his lips.

"You know my price Liara I don't do hits for free not even for friends."

"And what about the information I gave you?"

"I paid that toll a long time ago Liara. You know the price of this."

"Yes, Reaper." She said the difference in calling him Reaper and not Zane signified that she understood the price.

"I expect it all by the time we return to the Normandy. When I have it you will have your Observer." He said and walked out of the room.

…

Zane had been quiet about whatever he and Liara had spoken about since he returned. "Just a business proposition." He said and it irritated Tali to no end. Zane was hers first and foremost. And while Liara was a good friend once upon a time…that could change.

"Hey, you okay?' He asked her as they rode to the Dantius Towers to pick up Thane Krios.

"I am fine." She said with thin lips and with a cold shoulder. She didn't want to be so short with him but she was just too flustered to care at the moment.

"Okay so get in find Thane and get out. Should be pretty easy." Garrus said and the Asari driver laughed.

"Yeah let's see if you feel that way after Eclipse send their mechs after you. Take care Shepard and good luck." She said and left when Shepard shut the door.

"I like her. Real firebrand that one." Zane said laughing he began pulling up his mask and hood before grabbing his rifle.

Before them was a scene that laid out what they should expect from the Towers of Horror as she now called them. Three Salarian ran for their lives one was shot in the back by a mech. Another was run down by a dog mech the head sparked with lightning and let it loose on the worker. The worker -now charred- now only moved due to a spasm of his dead body. The third took a shot to the back and fell.

"Oh, hell no!" Zane said lifting his rifle and opening fire. The shots making the mech recalculate their options.

"Threat detected." Tali heard one say.

"Well, now the fun begins." Shepard said and began to open fire as well. The glass blocking them from the mechs breaking from the torrent of gunfire. Garrus knelt down and fired a shot. The round made a Loki mech's head explode causing a chain reaction that knocked its compatriot down. Tali ran beside Zane as him and Shepard fired at the FENRIS mechs charging them. Three charged and Zane took care of one and Shepard another. Tali raised her shotgun and patiently waited. The mech got on its hind legs and jumped at her. She pulled the trigger and a tunnel was made down its length from the impact.

Zane ran up to the downed mech -his omni-blade out- he charged the mech and kicked down its gun arm the gun sliding away. And then stomped on its back as he impaled its head with the blade. He took out the blade and nodded to Shepard.

"Clear." He said and got back information as the team made their way past the gory scene. A trail of green blood being left for them to follow and there they found the wounded Salarian. He was bleeding, coughing, and was at death's door. Shepard was quick to kneel beside the wounded man and give him medi-gel.

…

As suspected the Salarian was quick to give them all the information he could. He had no love for Nassana and who would? Her own family wanted her dead. Zane kept an eye out for more mechs and Eclipse as well as monitoring devices. He figured Thane would've dealt with cameras and the like. But maybe, he just simply avoided them. When Zane was working as the Reaper he would put a program into the camera system. It was a VI that blurred his image on all cameras and it worked like a charm.

Zane doubted Shepard had tech like that so best to rip out the cameras. And besides, that was much more fun.

"Oh, lucky day." He said seeing once such camera. It was the shape of a ball embedded into the ceiling. He used the debris of construction to rise to it and punch out the lens. And with the wires exposed he ripped those out too.

"Having fun Zane?" Garrus asked, his reply was a grin and a thumb up. Zane jumped down and gave a curt nod to the team as they continued down the hallway. The next door they went through they entered a hostile environment.

"Cover!" Shepard yelled and Zane dove to a pile of something like sheet metal. He quickly switched his ammo to disruptor and popped out of cover weapon read to shred the synthetic enemy. Except there were also organics.

"Oh great." He said and destroyed a FENRIS mech. The metal carcass sliding to beside his foot. A human popped out of cover about to aim at Garrus. Zane grabbed his sidearm -his trusty Carnefix- and fired. The gun had incendiary ammo primed and ready. The scorching round easily pierced the weak armor and went through the merc's head. He knelt back down and put the gun away. He switched his ammo to the beneficial incendiary ammo on his M4 and killed the first armored merc he saw. The body burning until only ash remained and the breeze from the outside quickly drifted it out of sight.

He vaulted over his cover and made a shot for another cover area and crashed into it. He heard a poor Eclipse soldier on the other side and Zane knew what to do. He popped out and grabbed the man's rifle the man's face turned to shock. Zane used the stock and smashed it against the merc's face. Zane grabbed the man's hair and yanked him down to the sheet metal and smashed his nose on it. Blood gushing and painted the silver-colored metal a bright red color. Zane pulled the man to his side of the cover and stabbed him in the neck twisting the blade until he died.

"Zane two o'clock!" Garrus shouted as he killed a commander. Zane rose from cover his rifle out and saw the Asari Garrus was presumably talking about. She had a shotgun and was caught in the open. She knew what was about to come and there was no stopping it. Zane raised his rifle, aimed at the blue head, and pulled the trigger her blood coating the wall behind her.

"Good work team let's keep moving." Shepard ordered and the team grabbed their gear and kept moving. But something felt off to him. Deep in his mind, he felt a tugging feeling. They were not fighting currently so he followed it in his mind.

…

The team was paving their way through the tower easier than any mission before it. Nothing could stand in their way and if it did then it wasn't long. Organics and synthetics alike fell at their feet. Torn apart by precision weapon fire and abilities that would make a spec-ops team jealous.

Tali noticed Zane seemingly zoning more and more out of reality. He talked less and less. Made fewer quips, even moved less "relaxed" as she'd call it and was becoming tense. He was becoming more and more like the Reaper. But this was almost worse…more sadistic more violent. With a single mind goal of killing and completing the mission.

She saw him duck under a merc's fist only for him to grab it, break it, then kicked a foot out from under the merc. As the merc fell Zane activated his omni-blade and embedded it deep in the man's throat and kept it there. Watching as the merc died under him. Zane got up quickly and used his pistol to finish off a bleeding mercenary Garrus had wounded in the shoulder. It was quick and clean. He looked up feeling her eyes on him. His eyes looked distant the warm blue replaced by ice and a small blue glow. Like light shined on the ice of his eyes. He saw her staring and shook his head. His eyes seemingly returning to their normal coloring.

"Sorry…that was weird." He said confusion marking his eyes and forehead under his hood.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know. I just…zoned out. Strange." He grabbed his rifle and followed behind Shepard as they heard two mercs arguing. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of fighting and then a body fell down from a shaft. It landed in the middle of the group and Zane laughed.

"Way to go, guy, you found the Assassin. Too bad he found you too." He laughed and knocked on the merc's helmet and continued further.

…

The Salarian workers ran for their lives as Shepard let them free and all the while Zane thought about him zoning out. He became something he didn't like. He saw what he was doing and he enjoyed it more than usual. He had a single thought…victory at any cost. He needed to win, he needed to kill, he needed to succeed. But why was it so prominent? He didn't understand why it was like he was both outside and inside his body at once. Like he was looking through a glass window while having his hands on the controls. It wasn't him, yet it was. He wasn't blinded by what he was doing he just didn't care.

And then he saw her eyes and her body that spoke of hidden terror. No one else had it and so only she saw the change. And he wouldn't let her be scared of him he wouldn't!

"I will never let that happen!" He swore, he fists shaking. The thought of her fearing him or refusing to even look at him. Now that was his deepest, darkest, fear and it was one he secretly always had.

If Achilles knew how he felt for Tali. How deep, he considered their relationship. Well like an overprotective parent Zane would be refused to even look at her. It was so that he could make the decisions necessary when he had to make them. Zane understood that and so long as their relationship remained as it was then he could do that. So long as Tali still only liked him as a friend and not as…a partner they were fine…he was fine. Because he knew that if she ever asked for it to go further he would not be able to say no.

A round passed by his head and he dove for cover. His rifle already out and the holographic of cryo ammo shined in his eyes. He leaned over his cover and saw three targets. A Krogan a Salarian tech, and an Asari with barriers and a big shotgun. A smile formed on Zane's face as he got a beautiful idea.

The team began opening fire at the enemy and the enemy squad became distracted by the oncoming fire. Zane used his invisibility cloak and ran behind the Asari as she stood beside Krogan. Tali managed to use her drone and her shotgun to kill the Salarian and now only these two remained. He saw that the Asari had two grenades -a rarity to be sure- and put his rifle away. He took one grenade and activated the other. He activated and threw his grenade at the feet of the Krogan and kicked the Asari on the other side of a chest-high piece of cover. She fell over and exploded. A small geyser of blood appearing from her side of the cover and the grenade by the Krogan went off. It didn't kill him but his armor showed the extent of damage he took.

The Krogan turned and look at him his mask coming off and his bleeding face looked deadly at him.

"Raagrh!" He roared and charged at Zane. Zane didn't have time to grab his rifle so he waited until the last moment. He dove out of the way, grabbed his pistol and turned. The Krogan ran into the wall just behind the spot Zane jumped from and slowly turned. His face now even more bleeding and busted. Zane wasted no time and opened fire with his incendiary-reinforced pistol.

The Korgan fell to his knees, his blood congealing in his throat as he choked on it. Zane placed his gun at the big beast's throat and pulled the trigger killing the Korgan and ending his pain.

The team entered the elevator the assailants came from and Shepard pressed the "ascent" button.

"We must be getting closer to the end. There are pulling out the big guns." Garrus mentioned and Zane gave a nod.

"Krogan in Eclipse are very rare. Don't be surprised if that was their only one. Eclipse specializes in their tech, not their manpower." Zane reminded the team and cracked his neck. The stress literally breaking away with each turn of his head. He brought up his omni-tool and made a small note about the zoning out he experienced. He had decided it was best to make notes about anything "strange" about the universe and himself. Chances were high it had to do with the Rogue One and it could help him with keeping facts and events straight.

"We are here." Shepard said and Zane deactivated his omni-tool and grabbed his rifle. The guard at the far end of the hall paced back and forth. He was oblivious to them as he spoke to a superior. It may have been Nassana as far as anyone knew.

Shepard raised his hand to signal to not fire as they approached silently. As they approached the pacing and talking merc Zane smirked.

"Oh, this will be fun." He thought when they stopped only a few short feet from the merc. Shepard tapped on the merc's shoulder. The merc turned slowly and even behind the helmet the team could see the fear and shock he had.

"Boo." Zane said with a laugh.

"Oh shit!" The merc said startled. Shepard approached and got in the merc's face.

"You know who we are?"

"The Infiltrators." The merc said and Zane thought it a good name for their team. He made a mental note to call themselves "Infiltrator" squad. It was like Sentinel or Vanguard from two years ago, every good team has a kickass name after all.

"That'll work, but how about you tell me what we want to know and in return, I don't throw you out this window." Shepard threatened the merc who backed up against the window he took a deep breath and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, right I doubt you will do that. My team is on the other side of that door you push me…" The merc was cut off by Shepard.

"Zane if you don't mind."

"With pleasure." He raised his rifle and smashed out the window the wind blowing against Infiltrator squad and the merc's back.

"Thank you…now, you were saying?" Shepard taunted the merc.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"The Assassin where is he?"

"Some believe that to be you, others tell of another man he was last seen somewhere on the bridge. Of course, there are reports of him still on level eighteen. Truth is, no one knows where he is."

"We know where he is going so we can meet him. Provide a good distraction too." Zane mentioned.

"True enough…now, what about you?" Shepard said looking at the merc.

"I can handle that." Zane approached, his fist turning to an omni-tool pulsing with unseen energy. He punched the merc in the jaw causing the man to fall to the ground. Zane grabbed the merc's foot and put him a safe distance from the broken window.

"Did you kill him?" Garrus asked and Zane shook his head quickly. He activated the omni-tool it was still pulsing.

"A new melee variant for the omni-tool. A sonic variant, non-lethal but it gets the job done. I call it the sonic-tool. Patent pending and name still able to be changed." He laughed as the team shook their heads and moved out. Shepard grabbed a datapad holding the genetic history of the Kirosa family then moved on.

The team went into a big room filled with the merc's "team" a few mechs and a couple Salarians and a single Asari. This was going to be easy as far as Zane was concerned. Tali hacked a mech as Zane switched to his disruptor ammo. Garrus overloaded another mech and Shepard fired his rifle at the Salarians.

"Get to cover!" Shepard ordered and Zane moved quickly to the first pillar he saw. Music in his ears guiding his hand to aim and fire at a Salarian. The alien was caught off guard and soon lost his shielding.

"I need help!" The Salarian yelled as he ducked into cover. Zane heard footsteps adjacent to him and looked to see a shotgun pointed at his face.

"Oh, crap." He said and ducked under the barrel. He used his own M4 to knock the shotgun off course and aimed his rifle at her face. She kicked his weapon out of his hands and tried to swing her shotgun back at him. He blocked its path with his forearm and began punching her. With each swing, her face took another blow. Finally, she dropped the gun and blocked the next attack.

"You bastard!" She cursed and kicked at his stomach. The duo danced the violent dance and neither one seemingly had the advantage. Her body gained an aura of blue the blue mist transferred to her arm just before she struck. He dodged the strike and grabbed her arms and threw her over his shoulder. His omni-tool turning into a blade with lightning coating the length. He struck down and missed her head by centimeters.

"Fucking squirmy, aren't you?" He said and prepared for the retaliation when she got up. She sent a throw at him at close range. In a way, it was easier to dodge because of the close range and so he successfully managed to dodge it. Her long leg was a different story. She then threw a warp his way and it also connected. Zane backed up from the blows the pain was excruciating and then something in him snapped.

He remembered how he felt on Virmire seeing Ashley die because he took a biotic blow. Remembering the Citadel when he took a similar blow and it caused him to nearly die because of it. And then on Noveria he saw Tali nearly lose her visor because of a biotic bitch. That would not happen again.

"Fuck no!" He yelled and ran at the Asari and crashed into her. He used a hand and held her against the pillar and used his free fist and crashed them into her face over and over. Her bloody face not losing the spark of conscious or life. He let go and the girl fell to her knees in pain and defeat. His fist turned into a blade with lightning coursing through it. He had no words and simply stabbed it into her neck. He watched for a moment as she died looking at him with terror.

The lapse in control went away after that and he felt the pain from the warp's blow.

"Ow, that hurt." He said tending to the affected area.

"You okay?" Tali asked seeing him nursing his side. Zane saw the Salarian he had been shooting at still cowering behind the cover. He aimed his rifle and shot the man's head.

"I am now." Zane laughed then winced in pain.

…

The howling of wind ramped up as they ran towards the bridge. Shepard led the charge with Zane following close behind and Tali behind him. Garrus remained even further providing sniper cover.

"Two turrets at the far side and a lot of mercs. I'll work on the turrets." Tali heard in her helmet.

"Affirmative we got the mercs." Shepard replied. He raised his rifle and began opening fire. The mercs scrambled for cover.

"Run you wastes of flesh!" Zane taunted as he switched his ammo to incendiary.

Tali sent forth her drone and the team gave it covering fire. It got behind a crate and she saw it shock someone behind it. The merc cursed and ran away trying to escape the ball of energy.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Zane asked aiming and shooting the running merc. Tali chuckled to herself. It was nice to see him enjoying himself especially after the strangeness of this mission. He had snapped twice it seemed and both were concerning to her.

She was distracted by her thoughts when she heard a noise to her left. A merc began to move up and Tali quickly aimed her shotgun and fired. The blast had so much energy behind it the merc was blown back. Then a large gust of wind took him off the bridge.

"Damn Tali." Shepard commented seeing the merc fly away. She gave an innocent shrug and the team continued to move forward. Zane grabbed the arm of a merc and twisted it. The Eclipse merc dropped her pistol when she did so he grabbed his rifle. He kicked her back and opened fire at point-blank range with his rifle. The rounds soon setting her alight with fire.

A round passed Tali's head and connected with a merc's head looking at her his rifle aiming at her.

"Please pay attention Tali." Garrus said and she ignored the sarcastic remark and followed the team. The group had managed to make it almost to the end of the bridge. The turrets had been taken care of by Garrus. And the Eclipse reinforcements had slowed to a crawl. With a collective breath, the team pushed through making it to a small stairway at the end of the bridge. This stairway connected the bridge to the second tower which Nassana must've been staying in.

"I'll go first." Shepard said with Zane following. Tali and Garrus brought up the rear making sure they weren't flanked.

…

"You have come far but you will come no further!" A feminine voice yelled from the doorway. An Eclipse-colored Asari came out her shotgun at her hip. A fist raised and a bright blue energy shimmered off the blue skin. She hurled it at the team. Shepard dodged right but Zane hadn't expected the sheer speed at which the energy came at him. The blast hit him in the chest and he was sent flying backward. The panel that was acting as a railing gave way and he flipped over it. A large gust of wind picked up and carried him further still.

"Oh fuck!" He screamed as he neared the edge. He reached out in front of him with one hand. His hand scrapped across the edge of the bridge before he grabbed ahold of a piece of sheet metal.

"Zane!" Tali called out in the comm.

"Don't worry I'm on the way." Garrus said. And he could barely see the Turian begin moving. The sheet metal bent and contorted until it peeled off entirely. Zane was sent ever further until he grabbed ahold of a bent bar. The poor thing had bent due to their battle and now it was his saving grace.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Zane cursed as he held on for dear life. He made the mistake of looking down and from that point on he had a new appreciation for the ground. Zooming skycars, large city lights, and a black abyss that led to the ground. All of them were so far from where he was.

"Zane, we are on the way." Shepard said and he could hear the frantic voice Shepard had. Zane had to fight the strong wind to get his rifle to magnetize to his back and make sure it was secure.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the bar tighter with both hands. He had to make his way to the bridge. He would be safe then but right now, he was very NOT safe. With a careful and steady hand, he began to crawl up the bar. The wind seemingly dying down but still giving him trouble. He nearly launched himself to the bridge when he was close enough but in his state, he wanted to be as far away from the edge as possible and he hugged a nearby crate. The team gathered around him and saw him shaking from the experience.

"Are you okay?' Tali asked nearly suffocating his arm with her hand.

"I am fine…let's get Thane and get out of here." He said and the team nodded and made their way to the tower.

…

Infiltrator crowded the spacious office space. Lines were drawn and weapons were pointed at opposing sides. Eclipse on one side and the Normandy's team on the other. Nassana stood like the pompous person she was. Her fists shaking from the annoyance presented before her.

"Shepard and the Reaper…I thought you both had died." She said with a scowl.

"We got better." Shepard said as she approached. Tali's omni-tool clocked and locked on the mercs. Garrus had his assault rifle ready to kill. And Zane's rifle held the orange glow of incendiary rounds as it aimed squarely at an Asari merc. He now had a special hatred for biotics after that little affair outside.

"So, you take out my sister and now you both are here to get me? Who sent you? How much are you being paid?"

"You know what Nassana? I seem to recall telling you to be careful with karma. This is on you." Zane said his eyes trying to burn a hole through the head of the Asari his weapon was trained on.

"Save your condescending talk for someone else Reaper. I know a business opportunity when I see one. How much are you being paid?" She asked the group.

"This is one problem you can't make go away." Shepard said.

"Bullshit, everyone has a price. And I can afford it just tell me what it is that will make you go away." She said not seeing the Drell head peaking from an air duct.

"It isn't us you need to worry about." Zane said and as if on cue Thane dropped down and began his bloody business. But not before Zane put a hole in the head of the Asari he had been staring down since he walked in.

Thane stabbed, shot, and killed every merc until only Nassana remained. He placed a blade deep in her throat and blood could be seen seeping from the wound and down the blade. Thane pulled out the knife and her blood gushed out for a moment before it slowed to nothingness. Thane guided her gently to her desk and crossed her arms before saying his prayers.

As Shepard and Thane spoke Zane got a message on his omni-tool.

It has been sent to the Normandy and is currently being placed.

-T'soni

Zane smiled as he typed a reply message.

Good, you will have your info within the hour.

-Reaper

He smiled at how much he liked this old routine from back when he was the Reaper fulltime. That seemed like a lifetime ago but it was like riding a bike. You never forget…no matter how much you may want to sometimes.