Beta: None

Bioware owns all (except Marcus; that jackass is mine)

Kate winced as she slowly opened her eyes. Every inch of her body felt as if it had been beaten with a lead pipe. Three things were immediately clear to her: wherever she was, she was sitting on the floor, gagged with her arms handcuffed to a hook in the wall above her head; she was completely alone; and she was freezing. The last was due in no small part to the fact that she'd been stripped of her armor, leaving her in only the N7 tank top and black cargo pants she'd been wearing underneath.

She tugged on the cuffs and was immediately rewarded with a sharp jolt of electricity stinging her wrists. Panic set in as every single memory of the last time she'd been in this situation flashed through her mind like a horror movie on fast forward.

She mentally slapped herself. Get a fucking grip, Kate. You're not that skinny little sixteen year old Zaeed found on Omega.You've moved past that. Marcus and his men have been dead for fifteen years. They can't hurt you now.

Thinking of Zaeed made her heart hurt; in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be back in the Loft, snuggled in the safety of his arms. Suddenly, everything that had actually happened started to come back to her, and she felt no better about her current situation.

She, Garrus and Zaeed had been in the factory district, looking for Harkin. They'd been ambushed just outside the pre-fab foundry that the volus had mentioned. Flashbang grenades had been used to disorient and separate them; in the confusion, she'd been shot, which explained the extreme pain in her left thigh just above her knee. Despite her injury, she'd tried to run and had subsequently been knocked out. She could only assume whoever had abducted her had done so on Harkin's orders, which meant she was more than likely somewhere in the foundry, if the volus had been telling the truth. She had no idea what had happened to Garrus and Zaeed.

Without thinking, she tugged on the cuffs again, remembering only too late the electric shock that came with the action. Fuck! Well, you do keep saying you need more scars. Keep this up and you'll get them back, idiot.

A sound of footsteps drew her attention to the other side of the small room. The door slid open and she was momentarily blinded as a bright light came on. Then a voice spoke, one that sent a shiver of fear racing down Kate's spine. It was Harkin.

"Hello, princess. I finally have you all to myself. I've been waiting a long time for this."

He stepped into the room and Kate backed into the corner, bringing her knees to her chest, ignoring the burn pain in her thigh, trying to make herself as small as possible, knowing it was a futile effort. Whatever Harkin intended to do to her, he could and would do it and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Harkin laughed loudly, the harsh sound making Kate cringe. He crouched in front of her and slapped her hard across the face; she immediately tasted blood.

"Not so tough without your bodyguards are you, sweetheart?"

She mumbled through the gag.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," he sneered as he roughly tugged the gag from her mouth.

She spit blood in his face. "I said 'go to hell jackass.'"

Harkin growled as he wiped the blood from his face. "You just think you have an answer for everything, don't you, Shepard?"

He reached up to unlock the hook that held her cuffs and then grabbed her by the throat and lifted her to her feet. "You know, I was going to keep you around as a pet, but you're just too much trouble, so apparently I'm going to have to break you first."

Suddenly, there were sounds of a scuffle outside the room. Harkin spun around, pulling Kate back against his chest and tightening his grip on her throat, drawing his gun as he went. He pressed the gun to her head.

Moments later, Zaeed and Garrus appeared in the doorway. They stopped short when they saw Harkin and Kate.

"Weapons on the floor, gentlemen, or Shepard will be going back to the afterlife. And she won't make a third appearance in this life."

Zaeed knew Harkin was bluffing; he may have held the gun against Kate's head, but his finger was nowhere near the trigger. The man's grip on her throat, however, seemed to be getting tighter by the second. One look into Kate's eyes and Zaeed knew she was fading fast.

"I think I'll take my chances, Harkin," he growled menacingly as he raised his pistol. "Vakarian?"

Garrus nodded. He instinctively knew what Zaeed was thinking and what his next step would be.

Zaeed aimed at Harkin's gun hand and fired. Harkin's gun fell to the floor as his grip on Kate's throat loosened and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. Zaeed caught her before her face hit the floor, as she was unable to brace on her hands because of the cuffs. Garrus moved past them to secure Harkin, who was howling in pain.

Zaeed quickly hacked the cuffs and gathered Kate in his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared; he could tell she was in pain and would hate himself forever if he caused her any more. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he stood and walked towards the door.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

"You and I are going to the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas is going to want a good look at you. Vakarian is taking Harkin to C-Sec, for now."

"And you won't leave?"

He gently kissed her forehead. "No, kitten. I won't leave."

She nodded slightly before she fell unconscious and her head slumped against his shoulder.