When you stop looking for something…

Shepard stared at the Alliance officer sitting in front of him. He squinted his eyes. Attempting to see through the phasaad that a Bleu had built around himself. Shepard gave a weak chuckle.

"I'm not buying into this anymore, Bleu. To be quite honest I'm tired of playing this game with you."

Admiral Bleu's eyes lit up and a smirk went upon his face.

"Shepard, that wasn't my question. I asked did you ever find Miss Lawson."

Shepard closed his eyes and rested his head on the walls of the shuttle.

"I think you already know what the answer to that question is."

Admiral Bleu chuckled.

"What if I asked you to humor me? Would you then answer the question?"

Shepard sighed.

"No, no I haven't found her yet, being in jail kind of stops that from happening."

Admiral Bleu moved to the front of his chair, knocking his knees with Shepard, forcing Shepard's head off the shuttle and eyes open. He then made a motion with his finger to bring Shepard in. Shepard stared at the Admiral. He then made a motion for Shepard to come closer once more.

Shepard hesitantly moved forward. Closing the personal space between him and Bleu.

"I have a story for you."

Shepard sighed.

"Bleu listen when I said I'm done with these games I meant it. I don't want to hear any of your stories."

Bleu looked from Shepard and onto Harper.

"Would you like to hear a story Chief?"

Harper looked from the Commander and back at the Admiral.

"Sure, why not?"

The Admiral smiled.

"Great, well it's not as much of a story, it's more of me finding a fortunate circumstance out of an unfortunate circumstance. Anyway, I was put on a three day 'vacation' after Shepard and I had our little disagreement. Thank you for that by the way."

"Anytime."

The Admiral rolled his eyes.

"Nevertheless, on my 'vacation' I decided that I would visit the Citadel. You know get to see all of things that I never bothered to see on shore leave. And while I was in Purgatory, I saw this beautiful woman. Tall, dark haired, blue eyes. Just…beautiful, she was drop dead gorgeous. And all I could think of is, this woman wouldn't give me the time of day. Not even if I paid her to."

Shepard chuckled and Harper shot him a disapproving look.

She then glanced back to the Admiral.

"Continue."

"Thank you, anyway after a few drinks. Well, a lot of drinks, I decided that I would ask her out. After all there is no harm in trying, right? At least when you're drunk you won't remember it in the morning. So I—"

"Sorry to interrupt your story again," Shepard said sitting up, "but why is it taking so long to get to the Alliance base?"

"Things have changed since you left Shepard, after all you haven't been here in over two years. The base is a little further away."

Shepard gave the Admiral a suspicious glare.

"Can I get back to my story?"

Shepard continued to glare at the Admiral, attempting to read his mind.

"Go for it."

"Thanks, so I went up to her and I told her 'Hi my name is Elijah, Admiral Elijah Bleu. I work for the Alliance' and I started telling her about my position and my job and everything; because believe it or not you can be the ugliest man in the world but when you start talking about all the battles you've fought and who you know, those women fall to their knees and worship you. But this woman, she…she wouldn't budge and I am pulling out everything I have. I am talking about the fighting Geth, I am talking about running after Collectors, I am talking about—"

"—all the thing you didn't do," Shepard interrupted. But the Admiral continued to talk without missing a beat.

"—even knowing Shepard. I am talking about everything and she is just standing there. Staring at me with cold eyes and an expressionless face. Unfazed by everything I am saying. She is even chuckling at my attempt to hit on her. As if she is better than me or out of my league…"

"And was she?"

The Admiral looked to Shepard.

"Yes, but that's not the point. Anyway, once I realized I luck out I said, 'Well, I see this isn't working out. Can I at least get the name of the woman who has turned me down?'"

"And what did she say?"

Harper had become far too into the story Shepard thought, but he also wanted the name of the woman who turned the Admiral down. Once he got off of Earth he would track her down and buy her a drink.

"She said her name was—"

"Admiral, sir, we are here!"

The pilot shouted from the front of the shuttle as the shuttle came to a halt. They all stood and made their way towards the door. Shepard followed behind the Admiral and Chief, leaving the shuttle last.

He looked around, they had now been in a location of a desert and the building they were about to travel into, looked not of one the Alliance would be associated with. Shepard prepared himself for the worst and kept on the lookout.

"Bleu, where are we," Shepard screamed to the man in front of him.

The Admiral turned around.

"We are at an Alliance base!"

Shepard jog up to catch up with Bleu and grabbed his shoulder to halt the officer. The agents around the Admiral threw their weapons up.

"Bleu, where the hell are we?"

The Admiral held his hand up to tell the agents to put the weapon down.

"We are at an Alliance base, Shepard."

"Yeah you see, I get that. But I am also not stupid and I can hear that you are trying to answer what I am asking without lying. By say 'an Alliance' base. Which one, Bleu? Which Alliance base is this?"

The Admiral smile and turned around continuing to walk. Shepard stood where he was refusing to walk into the building. The soldiers pulled up their weapons and made a motion for Shepard to follow the Admiral. Shepard glared at the men and hesitantly turned around.

Admiral Bleu started to talk over his shoulder.

"Almost three years ago, right after your death. No, nap. Hibernation? Whatever that was, we set up this building, this camp, for the worst criminals. Mainly it was for those who helped the Geth out in the Saren attack. Did you know that a lot humans were a part of that? God, how stupid. Nonetheless, anytime the Alliance felt a threat from Cerberus, rogue officers, crazy alien terrorist, they get sent here. To rot the rest of their miserable lives."

Shepard glared at the Admiral and looked onto the Chief standing next to him. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders saying I didn't know with her lips.

"It was a pretty quiet place for a while, well that was until we bought someone in a couple of days ago, and ever since the halls have been echoing with horror. I mean, man can bitch scream! You would think that they were in there killing her the way she shrieks, she was supposed to be this powerful biotic but…you know, everyone meets their match sooner or later."

Shepard didn't move, he only stared at the Admiral as he thought of ways to escape.

The Admiral opened the door, and motion for Shepard to come inside.

"Come on, Shepard."

Shepard looked over his shoulder to the soldier pointing his weapon at him.

"Oh no, Shepard. I wouldn't do that if I were you. See after our last encounter, I am aware that you can take a bullet or two and not be fazed by it."

A small circular red light lit up on Harper's chest.

"But I'm not sure if your friend, Chief Esparza here can."

Harper looked from the Admiral and onto the Commander, with terror in her eyes.

"Come on Commander, all I am asking is that you walk in. For Esparza's sake. I'm sure she imagined a longer life than this. And imagine that you can save it by just walking in the building."

Shepard glared at the Admiral and the soldiers behind him making a slow stride towards the door. As he walked to the door he took Harper by the arm and walked her through the entrance.

Shepard and Esparza walked in, turning around to see Bleu and his officers lock the door.

"Look all you want Shepard. This door is impossible for even a man with your capabilities to get out of. It's complicated, I don't really feel like explaining to you how it works just know that for soldiers like me and you, it's difficult to understand. But one thing I do understand is that, it'll be a while before you see the likes of the outdoors again. That's how good those locks are."

Bleu made a motion with his hand for Shepard and Harper to turn right.

"Lady and Gent, may we continue with the tour."

Shepard grabbed Harper's trembling arm and motioned for her to come to his side. They then proceeded down the hall as Bleu and his two agents followed along.

"The first place of the tour: floor number one. Or also known as the unrecoverable's floor. This means that these people have been here for so long that they couldn't even escape if they tried."

Bleu laughed.

Shepard and Harper walked past the rooms on the floor, each smaller than the next and only separated by the bar walls and doors held firmly in place. They walked past an open door and Admiral Bleu chuckled.

"See, look at that."

The Admiral made a motion to the open cell door.

"Just look at it, I mean this is what I mean when I say unrecoverable. I mean the door is just wide open and the man could leave if he wanted to, but all he is doing is laying on the floor asleep."

Bleu leaned in.

"Or maybe not asleep…per say. Anyway, unrecoverable. Death is now his friend."

"Charming," Shepard murmured.

"I thought so, how are you doing Chief?"

Harper said nothing, she remained silent clutching onto Shepard forearm.

"I'll take that silence as a good thing. Anyway, make left when you get up the hall and follow the stairs down a floor."

Shepard and Harper did just that with Admiral and his officers following a couple of steps behind.

Harper squeezed Shepard's arm harder forcing him to look at her. She motion from him and onto the guards, insinuating that he should attack.

Shepard bent his head closer down to the officer and whispered near her ear.

"It's not that easy, I don't know how many men they have here waiting. This place is very spacious and many people are around in the shadows. If it was just me I would gladly do it. But I don't want you to get hurt in the process."

Harper squeezed onto Shepard's arm tighter.

"Harper, I won't let anything happen to you. We will be out of here sooner than you think, I promise. Besides, I don't think they want to hurt you. They have no reason to, it's me they want."

Admiral Bleu walked up behind Shepard and Harper, coming in between them and throwing his arms around their shoulders.

"Alright, chatty Cathy's break it up. "

Shepard pushed the Admiral's arms off of his shoulders.

"This is the second floor, we call this floor: intermission. On this floor the criminal, being you Shepard. They are debating whether or not they want to live their life or not. So this is where they decided if they want to be unrecoverable, or the suffering, that left turn and we will be off to the best floor. Shepard pushed the Admiral's arm off of Harper and grabbed Harper's arm bringing her closer to him. He then made a left turn down the stairs once more. As they walked down the steps the Admiral stopped Shepard and Harper at the last step.

"Shepard, you would love this floor. It's the suffering, I named it that especially because you can hear the pain of those who are being tortured. This is where they break, where they truly decide that life is not worth living. The worse things that can ever be done is done down here. Whether it's the simple thing of removing nails, to teeth, to fingers, to drowning…electrocution, you know it, we have it."

Shepard turned to the Admiral.

"Your point?"

"Oh no, I apologize. That did sound like I was threating you when I was just stating a mere fact—I…let me explain myself. I never finish telling you the story so you might be wondering why I just said what I said. Let me finish telling you the story and it'll all explain itself."

Shepard glared at the Admiral and moved Harper to his other side. Keeping her away from the Admiral as much he could.

"What part of this story was I—oh right. I asked to have her name. You know so I could at least put a name to the face of woman who turned me down. And you know what that shrill bitch said—"

Shepard heard and scream from down the hallway and went pale. It wasn't the scream itself that alerted him. It wasn't the fact that the voice sounded like the walls would come undone and the floor from its hinges, and it wasn't even the fact that Harper had such a tight grip on Shepard's arm that he thought it would fall off. It was that he recognized the voice behind the scream and within a second he knew what the Admiral was talking about. And who the scream belonged to.

"Miranda?"

Admiral Bleu chuckled.

"Yes, yes! So you've heard this story before? That is exactly what that wretched bitch said her name was. Miranda fucking Lawson."

Shepard released Harper's grip from his arm and started to walk hastily, his walk then became a panicked jog, quickly turned into a run, in search of the room that inhabited Miranda.

She screamed again, and this time Shepard was unhinged, he turned every corner in search of Miranda.

He started checking every cell and every closed door in search of the woman. Shepard ran past a door in time to hear Miranda scream and see the flicker of the lights in the hall.

They're electrocuting her, he thought.

"Miranda," Shepard screamed.

He started banging on the door, repeatedly charging into the door over and over again, despite the fact that his biotics needed to cool down but the door wouldn't budge.

"Miranda" Shepard screamed again.

Miranda then returned Shepard's yells with a yell of her own, this time worse than the last. Bleu turned around the corner and immediately Shepard took stride. He ran full speed towards the Admiral, in hopes that he would be able to charge soon. As Shepard reached to grab the Admiral the agents behind him had shot Shepard within his chest. Shepard took a step back, assessing the wounds given to him from the officers and dealing with the kick of the bullet. He was fine. He continued to make his way toward Admiral Bleu as he was shot at three more times.

Shepard felt a sting but still nothing, it wasn't until he tried to move again when he felt the effect of the bullets. They had shot him with bullets that paralyze the body wherever it hits.

Shepard immediately collapse to the floor. Admiral Bleu walked over Shepard and kneeled next to his body. Shepard fought to move, but his body wouldn't budge.

"You see Shepard, the moral of my story was: When you stop looking for something, it feels great as hell when find it."

The Admiral then lifted his hand and took a syringe that one of the officers than been handing him, he then open the syringe and stuck Shepard's leg with it.

"See you soon."

Admiral Bleu released the drug into Shepard's leg leaving him to fall asleep with the sounds of Miranda's scream echoing throughout the room.


Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to update the chapters. I have been crazy busy, and I didn't know where I wanted to go after the last chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always leave feedback whether good or bad and if you want to read something happen within the story send me a personal message and I'll see what I can do