A/N: Hi everyone! Wow, all the feedback and activity I got for the last chapter! I'm still all giddy. Thank you so much!

Speaking of excitement, I can't WAIT for Arrival on Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoys playing it!

And now on to the next part! Just a word of warning: this chapter contains some coarse language. ~J

The still silence around the small cabin was broken as the empty box hit the ground. Shepard couldn't think, couldn't breath as she turned the blood covered eyepiece around in her hand.

Garrus.

Suffocating fear gripped her stomach, chasing all rational thought from her brain, save one: she had to get to him before it was too late – if it wasn't already too late. They'd been gone almost an entire day. What had happened to the other members of the squad, Zaeed and Denny? Their fate as of yet was unknown. But the message, however cruelly delivered, had been perfectly clear. Garrus had been the intended target.

With the eyepiece still clutched in her hand she tore out of the room and punched the button for the elevator, cursing at its slowness. It seemed to take years for the doors to reopen onto the CIC and she nearly tripped over her own feet in an attempt to exit it. She came racing around the galaxy map at breakneck speed, her eyes trained far ahead to the airlock and didn't see Thane and Tali until it was too late. She crashed head on into the quarian, sending them both toppling to the floor. Jumping up, she muttered a quick apology to Tali, and tried to dart around them, but Thane blocked her path.

"Shepard, are you injured?" the considerate drell asked. Behind them Tali got to her feet and brushed her suit off.

"No," she replied hastily and attempted to push past him again. He brought his hands to her shoulders and held her at arms length.

"Are you certain? You both hit the ground rather hard. Perhaps you should go down to the med bay just to be saf – "

"Stop!" she sobbed as her panic continued to mount. "Get out of my way! Please!"

Thane's dark eyes blinked in confusion. It was then that he glanced down and gingerly took the eyepiece from her quivering hand.

"Oh Keelah," Tali whispered. The eyes behind the smooth glass of her helmet remained fixed on it as she came to stand beside Shepard.

"Shepard, this is covered in blood. What happened?" Thane asked.

"They've got Garrus! Maybe even Zaeed and Denny too! I've got to find them!"

"They? They who?"

"I don't know!" she cried. "It came in a box. Just let me go!"

"Shepard," Tali said calmly. "Be smart about this. You can't go anywhere in that."

Shepard looked down. In her rush to leave the Normandy and find Garrus, she had completely forgotten that she was only wearing her uniform. She'd run out without putting on any of her armor or even grabbing a weapon.

"Let me take you up to your quarters and help you get ready," Tali coaxed patiently.

"Yes, good idea. And I will assemble the rest of the crew and tell them what's going on," Thane said.

They were right. She would be of no use to Garrus unprepared. She needed to slow down and think things through logically. Resigned she let Tali pull her back toward the elevator.

It only took minutes for the crew to gather in the debriefing room, but it could have been hours as far as Shepard was concerned. Each second that ticked by was another second that she didn't know the fate of her squad. As she leaned a shoulder against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, a thousand questions battered around in her head. Why attack the small group? Were they still alive? Why, oh why did she choose to stay there and not accompany them?

When the last crew member filed in, some of them still trying to shake off the effects of sleep, Thane addressed them. "We have a situation. Garrus, Zaeed, and Denny have gone missing." He held up the eyepiece and as he did so, Shepard looked away, not wanting the crew to see the hurt and fear that battled for space with the tears in her eyes. "We have evidence that this was a planned attack."

A dozen questions twittered from the group, all questions that she couldn't answer. She ran her hand restlessly through her short hair and pushed off the wall to join them around the table.

"It's too soon to tell who's involved. Garrus was meeting someone who had information that concerned his team back on Omega. It's entirely possible that whoever attacked them decided to turn in the bounty that was out there for Archangel." She took what she hoped would be a calming breath. "Right now everything is just conjecture. The first thing we need to do is head over to their last known whereabouts, Azure, and see what we find."

"I'll go with you," Thane volunteered, clasping his hands behind his back.

Shepard nodded and looked to Mordin. "Mordin, I don't know what we'll find, but it would be a good idea to have medical personnel on hand just in case. Are you willing?"

"Am ready when you are, Shepard."

"Good. I want to head out immediately. We don't have time to waste. The rest of you are dismissed."

With that she spun on her heel and exited the debriefing room, anxious to get going. She kept her eyes to the floor, reluctant to meet any of those that belonged to the crew. She couldn't lose Garrus, not now. Not after everything they'd been through together. She needed to keep her head on straight, couldn't think of the implications of just what that eyepiece meant. Besides, she had two other crew members whose lives were in danger.

She vowed then and there that she would filet whoever was responsible when she found them.

XXX

The sky was a drab combination of black and grey, whereas only a few hours ago it had covered the buildings in gorgeous tones of gold and orange. Instead, a thick layer of clouds had moved in, chasing away the cheerfulness normally found on Illium and cast the surroundings in a dull, cold blue.

Most of the merchants and customers on the trading floor had gone on to more exciting haunts, like the Eternity Bar, leaving the place mostly deserted as Shepard and her team rushed through the hallways.

She tried not to feel overwhelmed but it was proving difficult. The ride to Azure in the taxi gave her enough time to speculate on all the possibilities. Garrus had never mentioned specifics on where he was going to meet his contact, just that he would be in the hotel. She leaned over and put her head in her hands. She didn't even know where to begin looking.

The taxi touched down in front of the lobby and as she stepped out she looked up and took in the sheer vastness of its façade. Unlike the port in which the Normandy was docked, Azure was thriving with life. Guests lingered on the balconies to the rooms above, talking, laughing, and having a good time while others loitered in and around the lobby. The heavy beat of drums mixed with bass could be heard off in the distance and every so often a squeal of delight carried on the wind and wafted to her ears.

"If I were meeting someone," Thane said, "I would want it to be some place where we could talk undisturbed, but also somewhere public."

Mordin ticked away at his omni-tool. "The music and increase of pheromones suggests there is a club nearby."

"That might be a good place to start. Garrus ran into an old friend at Afterlife, and that same friend was the one who sent him the message about the contact."

Thane and Mordin agreed and the trio continued on toward the muted rhythms. Euphoria was swathed in a haze of purple and red neon. Asari danced on tabletops and cages suspended from the ceiling while turians and humans alike gawked and heckled.

As seemed consistent around the galaxy, the bar was located directly in front of them. From where she was standing Shepard could make out a small bump that bobbed back and forth, the top of it barely clearing the counter. As she stepped up to the bar, the squat volus behind it stretched his arms out and welcomed them.

"Ah, Earth Clan. Can I get you something to drink? We have many fine choices here at Euphoria."

"No thanks." She leaned an elbow on the counter and stretched so she could see him better. "I'm actually looking for someone."

"Oh," the volus said in a slightly disappointed tone.

The volus were notoriously known for their love of credits. Anything else barely held their interest. Shepard hoped she wasn't wasting her time.

"Have you noticed anything strange around here in the last day or so?" she asked. She had to raise her voice just to be heard above the music.

The bartender remained as quiet as he considered, with only the noise from his suit's breathing apparatus breaking up the monotony of the beat behind them. "Come to think of it, I did see some vorcha in her earlier today."

"Vorcha?"

"Yes." Deep breath. "I found it odd because they usually prefer Omega. I really don't recall the last time I saw one on Illium."

"Really?"

Another deep breath. "I had to ask them to leave because they were waving their weapons around and scaring off the customers. It's bad for business. But they just laughed at me."

"Sounds like the Blood Pack," Thane said.

"What happened after that?"

"I don't know," he drawled. "When I looked up some time later they were gone. But I would most certainly have seen them if they walked out."

Shepard pushed away from the counter and straightened, trying very hard not to roll her eyes. He could hardly see her and she was standing three feet in front of him. She highly doubted he would have seen anything.

"Thanks," she said and motioned to Thane and Mordin.

"Come back if you change your mind about having a drink!" he called after her.

Shepard sighed. It wasn't a solid lead, but it was better than what they had when they came in. She gazed around at the crowd, hoping that something would present itself. She didn't have to wait long. As she scanned the faces, a man got up from a table full of friends and pushed his way across the dance floor and over to the far wall. He looked to the right and then his left quickly before sliding through a door that she hadn't noticed before.

"Over there!" she pointed. "Looks like the perfect place for a secret rendezvous."

They followed suit, lacking the same level of caution the man had used. The door opened in a dim hallway stacked with large metal crates on either side.

"Which way?" Thane asked.

Shepard removed her pistol from its holster and pointed to her right. "Let's split up. You two take the left half and I'll check out this way."

"Got it."

She lingered only a second as Thane and Mordin started down the corridor before she hurried in the opposite direction. She rounded the corner and came face to face with the man she'd seen in the bar only a few minutes earlier. Instantly she brought up her gun and planted her feet.

"Hey man!" he whined, holding his hands in the air. "There's no need for that!"

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I-I don't want any trouble."

Shepard didn't budge.

"I came to meet someone, okay?" he continued. "T-they were going to sell me some Halix. Don't shoot me!"

She lowered her pistol. "Get the hell outta here kid!"

He didn't need to be told twice. She shook her head in annoyance as he scurried away. One more healthy mind lost to drugs.

"Commander, over here!"

She shook off the misplaced pity she felt for the kid and hurried toward Thane's voice. Her heart suddenly began to pound erratically as fear over what she would find slid into the bottom of her gut. She stopped short. Mordin was leaning over to examine a body that lay on its side with its back presented to her. She swallowed and knelt down beside him.

"Dead. Killer left body out in open. Must have been in quite a hurry."

She turned Denny over onto his back and looked down on him with regret. There was only one bullet hole, just left of center on his forehead.

"It was a clean shot," Thane's thick voice cut in. "He never saw it coming."

That thought didn't sit well with Shepard. It seemed like such a waste. He had practically begged her to go on a mission and now look what happened. He didn't deserve this! Had Garrus and Zaeed suffered the same fate? The thought continued to haunt her as she stalked farther down the hallway. Off in the distance, covered in heavy shadows, was something else.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, running up to it. Her teammates were right behind her. "Zaeed!"

He was worse than Denny had been. Blood was pouring out from multiple entry wounds on his chest and torso. Mordin pushed her out of the way and ran his omni-tool over Zaaed's limp form.

"He's alive, but barely."

Shepard looked up and noticed with defeat that the hallway dead-ended in front of her. There was no sign of Garrus. She keyed her earpiece as Mordin's words echoed in her head.

"Joker. Alert Dr. Chakwas and have her prepare the med bay."

XXX

Zaeed survived, thanks in large part to Shepard and the team finding him when they did. He had come very close to bleeding out and as a result had slipped into a coma.

Shepard grew despondent. Alone, she agonized over Denny's death. She was deeply relieved that Zaeed was going to make it, but it made her angry that her team had been made to suffer and she still didn't know the reasoning behind it.

Most of all, she grieved for Garrus. When she wasn't needed in the CIC or other areas of the ship and had exhausted herself by looking for any clues as to his whereabouts, she huddled on the small couch in her cabin with memories of him playing over and over in her mind.

Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian.

She could still see him standing there against the backdrop of the beautiful trees in the Citadel Tower. In another, he was taking off his helmet, revealing that he was Archangel, the vigilante she had been looking for. And another still, when he had coaxed the broken model pieces from her hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Then there was the time he'd tried to break the tension caused by a day where everything went wrong.

Did you just throw my own armor at me Vakarian?

I'm trying to piss you off. Is it working?

She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, breaking down into tears. Her shoulders shook with her heavy sobs. It was so hard to remain calm and level-headed, to show the crew that she was merely concerned that a member of her team was missing and presumed dead. So hard not to show more than that, when inside her heart was screaming.

Despite her greatest efforts, her grief began to take its effect on her. She couldn't sleep at night, for she would see him in her dreams and remember what it was like to feel the weight of his body next to hers. She refused to eat because her stomach was always twisted in a knot and consuming even a little bit of food would make her sick for hours afterward. She soon became a shadow of herself, thin and gaunt with huge dark circles underneath her eyes.

It took days but Zaeed finally opened his eyes. When Shepard heard the news she rushed down to the med bay to see him. He was lying on his back on one of the tables, shirtless, with a patchwork of bandages taped all over his chest and torso. She winced as she drew closer. The old man was tough and had survived far worse, but it still looked like it hurt like hell.

He shifted his eyes her way as she edged up to the table. "Commander."

"How are you feeling?" she whispered. It was the stupidest thing she could have said. Of course he felt like shit.

"I'm sorry," he said, moving his eyes back to the ceiling. "I've gone and made a ga'damn miserable mess of things."

She placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping that the simple gesture communicated to him that it wasn't his fault. "I'm just glad you're alive." She paused. "What happened?"

"A bloody ambush, that's what happened. They took the kid out before I could even turn around to see what was going on. By then, at least half a dozen of them had us surrounded."

"Did you get a good look at any of them? Could you tell who they were with?"

"I didn't have a lot of time. Blood Pack maybe?"

She nodded. "What about Garrus's contact. Did you meet up with him?"

"Nah, he never showed."

That information unsettled Shepard. Someone had set Garrus up. But why? She almost choked over her next question. "Did you see what happened to Garrus?"

"No. They made short work of putting more holes in me than Swiss cheese. Why? You didn't find him with the rest of us?"

"No." She closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. Not here. She had hoped that Zaeed would have had more details, but she was met with yet another dead end. Squeezing his shoulder lightly she said, "You did the best you could. What happened wasn't your fault. Get some rest – you definitely earned it."

She looked back at Dr. Chakwas and then walked out. But instead of going back to the CIC she walked down the metal gangplank to the main battery. It had been fully restored, the light bouncing off the new titanium beams. After closing the door behind her she ran her hands softly over the console that Garrus always seemed so attached to.

"Where are you?" she whispered to the empty expanse of space. Her bottom lip quivered defiantly. Quickly she sucked back the tears that threatened to fall. "I'll find you. I swear to you. I'll find you!"

XXX

"Commander." Kelly looked at her sympathetically before continuing. "You have a message Commander."

She sighed. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but on the other hand, returning to a normal work routine was the only way she could keep from going insane. And so she nodded at the yeoman and brought up her inbox on the terminal next to the galaxy map. The subject line said For Your Viewing Pleasure. Great, she thought, rolling her eyes. All this modern technology at her fingertips and still no one could find a way to filter out junk email. With nothing better to do at the moment, she clicked on it anyway.

It was a vid of a small stone room. Whoever was holding the camera was obviously an amateur. From what she could see from the angle, water dripped from the ceiling and echoed loudly around the chamber while a fluorescent light flickered above them.

She heard muted voices and then suddenly the camera swung to the center of the room. She was two large feet and then the bulky body of a krogan came into view as it panned up.

"Not me, you idiot!" the krogan growled.

The camera shifted roughly as whoever was holding it switched hands and when it leveled again Shepard felt her heart stop.

"Garrus!"

"Do you have anything to say?" the same krogan asked the turian who was sitting in a chair with his hands bound behind him.

The krogan grabbed his fringe and forced him to look into the camera. His face was covered with cuts and deep purple bruises. His left eye was all but swollen shut and one of his mandibles looked like it had nearly been torn off.

"Shepard don't!" he sputtered, his voice gritty and hoarse. "It's a trap!" Before he could say more, another krogan punched him forcefully in the jaw.

She winced as he cried out, but he stubbornly continued.

"They intend to kill you," he rasped. "Please Nikole! Forget about me and stay away! I– "

His last sentence was broken by a gurgling scream as the second krogan returned with a live electrical wire and shoved it into his abdomen. Then the feed cut out and the screen went black.

"Garrus!" she cried, seizing the sides of the screen. Kelly ran to her and pulled her away from the terminal. She no longer cared if the crew found out about them. "Garrus, no…" she sobbed into Kelly's shoulder.

A somber silence fell over the CIC as a few other crew members rushed in to witness the display. Still clinging to Kelly, Shepard sank to the ground.

"Shh…" Kelly comforted.

Above her the sound of the horrible vid could be heard as Jacob replayed it. "This proves he's alive," he said. "But what does he mean by 'it's a trap'?"

Shepard rose to her feet and wiped the tears from her face. Slowly another emotion entered her mind, replacing the fear and heartache: anger. She rolled through the facts; the package meant for her that contained his eyepiece, the mercs trying to kill the other members of the squad but keeping Garrus alive to torture, Garrus all but begging her to keep away.

You don't want to get on my bad side – it can be very hazardous to those closest to you.

"Son of a bitch!"

She stormed past the elevator and into the tech lab with Kelly, Jacob, and Miranda hot on her heels. Mordin looked up quizzically from his work and followed them as she pushed through the inside door and marched into the debriefing room and slammed her hand down on the button that contacted the Illusive Man. The minute his image loaded she pounced on him, completely skipping any pleasantries.

"All right you self-righteous asshole! Where's Garrus?'

He sat in his chair, reclining back with infuriating calm while he absently ashed his cigarette. "Shepard. I don't believe we have anything more to say to each other."

"Don't play coy with me!" she shouted, pointing her forefinger at the image. "Who did you hire to help you with this? Tell me!"

He took a long drag off his cigarette and let her wait in silence as the smoke rolled around on his tongue. "You made your choice Shepard. This conversation is over."

He reached down and pushed a button on the arm of his chair and instantly his image vanished, leaving her standing in the empty debriefing room. Had there been something to grab, she would have thrown it across the room.

The small group was waiting for her in the hallway between the tech lab and the armory.

"Is the Illusive Man really responsible for this?" Kelly asked quietly.

Shepard took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She'd had reservations about working with Cerberus from the beginning, but she had tried to tell herself – had tried to convince everyone around her that they were fighting on the same side, for the same cause. But now it had become excruciatingly apparent that Cerberus and the Illusive Man had only used her to further their own agendas. And she realized with a dread that threatened to overwhelm her, just how big of a hole she'd gotten herself and the crew into.

"It looks that way," she said finally. "And I think I know someone who can help us find out for certain."

XXX

The usual crowd of shoppers and visitors pushed past Shepard as she stood alone outside the warehouse on the Zakera Wards, oblivious to the inner struggle she was experiencing. She figured that this was the best place to start looking. The last thing she heard, Harkin had been apprehended by C-Sec, but they'd had to let him go due to a technicality. She was pretty sure he wouldn't exactly be thrilled to see her, but she really had no other choice.

She made a conscious decision back on the Normandy that she needed to pull herself together and fight with everything she had to get Garrus back. Sequestering herself in her cabin crying over him wasn't going to bring him back. She needed to tackle the problem with the same attitude that had destroyed Sovereign and brought down the collectors. And that was just what she was going to do.

With an incredible stroke of luck, she found Harkin just inside the door. The surprise that registered in his eyes when he turned around told her that she was the last person he expected to see. He took one look at her and bolted in the opposite direction. Acting quickly, Shepard grabbed the nearest empty crate and hurled it at him. It hit the soft spot on the back of his knee and sent him crumpling to the ground in a heap. She was instantly above him. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt she pulled him forward and savagely yanked him to his feet.

"Get your hands off me, you crazy bitch!"

"Shut up!" she snapped before she slammed him against the wall. "Tell me what you know about Garrus!"

"I ain't tellin' you shit!"

Fire flashed in her eyes, making them narrow in hatred. She shoved him into the wall again, this time with more force. His head made a sickening crack as it struck the metal surface, but she didn't care.

"I wanted to do this the easy way Harkin, but you seem hell bent on making me do it the hard way!"

"You can beat the shit out of me all you want, I don't got nothin' to say to you."

She jerked her pistol from its holster and pushed the cold barrel against his temple. "You'll tell me what I want to know goddammit, or so help me I'll blow your fucken head off!"

In a tone that matched the ferocity of her own he said, "Shooting me ain't gonna do you no good."

"No, but it'll sure as hell make me feel better." For emphasis she pressed the muzzle into his head a little harder.

"I-I don't know nothin' bout Garrus!" he stammered when he realized that she was dead serious.

"You're lying."

"You've got a goddamn gun to my head! Why the fuck would I lie to you?"

This pistol in question shook in her hand. After a tense moment she pulled it away and slid it back into its holster, but didn't release her grip on him.

"The Illusive Man didn't hire you to take out Garrus and my team?"

"The Illusive-who?"

She stared him down as she contemplated what he was telling her. Harkin didn't know anything. He was just being a dick. But he was malleable and could be persuaded to do just about anything. She let go of him abruptly and folded her arms over her chest. He rubbed the back of his head where there was no doubt a large bump forming from where it had hit the wall.

"I need you to look up some information for me," she said matter-of-factly.

"And just what makes you think I'm gonna help you?"

In the blink of an eye she had the pistol drawn again and pointed straight at him.

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands in a gesture of reluctant compliance. "You've made your point. What do you want to know?"

Keeping her eyes trained on him she watched as he went to the nearby terminal and keyed up the screen.

"Garrus disappeared several days ago. He said he needed to meet with a contact that had information about the person that threatened Sidonis into betraying his men. But it turned out to be an ambush and I think the Blood Pack is somehow involved."

Harkin listened quietly as he punched the buttons on the terminal. He was silent so long that Shepard became uncomfortable. She scratched the back of her neck and shifted her feet restlessly.

After a while he said, "I wasn't able to dig up much, but I can tell you for sure that it was the Blood Pack that attacked them."

"That's it? You can't tell me why the Blood Pack wanted Garrus?"

He looked back down at the screen. "No. But it appears they were acting on higher orders – the Shadow Broker's."

Shepard frowned. "Can you find out anything else? Why the Shadow Broker would want anything to do with him?"

Harkin backed away from the terminal and waved his hands at her. "Oh, no. I'm through. I ain't messing with that guy. I don't need to piss him off and have him after my ass."

Coward, Shepard thought. The Shadow Broker huh? It wasn't exactly the information that she wanted to hear, but she did have resources. She flicked her eyes back to Harkin with disdain and then turned to go.

"Hey wait!" he called out. "Does that mean I'm free to go?"

She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. She hated the bastard but right now she had bigger things on her mind than dealing with him. All the pent up anxiety, all the fear and heartache that she'd been holding in about Garrus she had unleashed on him. She figured that for now, it was enough. She started at him for a tense second and then turned and walked out.

When they arrived back on Illium a while later, she strode with new purpose across the trading floor to the administration office. Liara's face brightened immediately when she walked through the door.

"Shepard, it is good to see you again."

"You still looking to go after the Shadow Broker?"