Chapter 12

A/N: Here we go. The showdown you've all been waiting for. Enjoy.

So far, the stakeout is going to plan. Garrus and I 'borrowed' a C-Sec cruiser earlier tonight, loaded it up with enough food and drink to last (Garrus brought some more of his seemingly endless supply of Tupari sports drink, I stocked up on human snacks, checking the ingredients this time) and are sitting here waiting for Caltan Xenvalis to make his move. That is, if he makes a move. We've been sitting in the car for about an hour and a half now and all he's been doing is walking around his house, occasionally looking at his private terminal, but he definitely hasn't tried to kill anyone yet. What if I'm wrong? What if Caltan isn't actually the murderer? We'll be in a shitload of trouble with Pallin for our rogue investigation, that's for sure…the elcor government probably won't be best pleased either. Crap, I never really realised how high the stakes are here…

"What if we're wrong, Ian?" Garrus asks, sitting in the driver's seat, sniper rifle strapped to his back. Oh yeah, Garrus thought we should bring a bit more firepower for this, even though I've told him there shouldn't be any shooting. I reckon he was just looking for an excuse to bring a 'real weapon', to use his terms, but still it can't hurt to have it there just in case.

"You know, that's really helping my confidence," I snap back. "That hasn't been bothering me ever since we got here, or anything!"

He holds up his hands in mock surrender. "Just thinking out loud, Ian."

Damn, that wasn't like me… "Sorry, Garrus. There's a lot riding on this and I'm a little bit tense."

"It's alright," he nods. "Nerves are normal. Hell, I'd be concerned if you were taking this all in your stride!" That gets a bit of laughter from me, though to be honest it's born from nervousness more than the actual merit of what he said. Still, it beats sitting in silence. Garrus takes another swig of the bright orange Tupari.

"You might want to cut back on that, Garrus. I don't want you not being able to shoot straight because you're on a sugar rush."

"Sugar rush?" Garrus asks inquisitively. Turians probably don't have sugar, do they? And considering he's so damn big it'd take a lot to get him hyper…

"You know what, forget it. It's really not important." He shrugs and turns his attention back to the bottle. I suppose it could be a lot worse, he could be an alcoholic. Yeah, an addiction to brightly coloured soft drink is probably better than being hooked on alcohol. Just ask Scott Shelby's dad, or don't, considering he's probably passed out on a construction site somewhere. Now, last time I checked Caltan was in his office…and now he's moved. Shit, I'm not seeing any trace of him in the house!

"Fuck, Garrus, this is important!"

He jumps to attention. "What?"

"He's gone! We weren't looking for a few seconds and I can't see him in the house!"

Tupari sports drink now forgotten and ignored, Garrus scans the area frantically. Come on, we have not just lost our only lead… "There!" he shouts. "He's just leaving his front door now, we can still shadow him if we hurry!" He pops the doors of the cruiser open, and stealthily dashes off after Caltan.

Looks like the chase is on!

###########

It wasn't exactly hard for us to catch up with the elcor, considering his low top speed, but the initial dash after him was intense to say the least. We weren't quite sure where he'd gone after he left his apartment, leading to much dashing around from me and Garrus. All we needed was some Benny Hill music and the scene would have been set perfectly. In all seriousness, I'm glad I've stayed in good shape since I got onto the Citadel, the distance we've ran would have left most people I know gasping for breath. And that's ignoring the mad speed Garrus can run at. Though he does have the natural advantage, being seven foot tall and all that. We're tailing Caltan from pretty far back, because the Citadel's pretty much empty during its night cycle and if he sees us this'll have all been for nothing. I'm not losing him now, not when we're this close! He heads around a corner, but we follow close behind. I really hope he's going to see his black-market contact, or he's trying to murder someone, otherwise this is going to be a bit embarrassing if he's going for some late night grocery shopping. We round the corner…and the corridor splits in two. There's no sign of Caltan Xenvalis in either one.

"Shit!" I hiss. The one time he goes out of our sight... "I'll go left, stay in radio contact! If you find him, let me know and I'll catch you up!"

"Right, same goes for you," he says, before hurrying off. Right, I'm on my own now…it feels weird, not having Garrus with me to watch my back. Without him I suddenly feel really vulnerable…stop being paranoid, Ian! I dash down the corridor, which goes on for about two hundred metres, then slide to a halt as it leads into a large, open area. There's fuel tanks lined up next to a relatively small spaceship, crates scattered around the place…this looks like some kind of private docking and fuelling bay. And that ship has elcor markings on it!

"Oh my God…Garrus!" I say frantically into the radio, "he's trying to escape! I've found his ship, it's just being fuelled now…" I'm cut of mid-sentence by an enormous force crashing into my back and sending me flying a good ten metres across the room. Ah, that hurts like a bitch! I manage to convert the landing into some kind of clumsy roll, and dive behind a crate before another blast hits the exact spot I was literally a second ago. Shit, that was way too close… I don't think I've broken any bones, but I'm sure going to have plenty of bruises tomorrow…another blast makes me flinch. That's if I make it to tomorrow. What the hell is this guy shooting at me with? I cautiously stick my head out of cover, and what I see is worse than any gun, rocket launcher or conventional weapon.

"Menacingly: Human, have you ever faced an elcor biotic before? Few ever have!"

Fuck, I'm dead.

###############

So it turns out Caltan Xenvalis is a biotic. That bit of news would have been invaluable BEFORE I rushed straight into a one on one confrontation with the bastard! "Garrus, you might want to hurry it up a bit!"

"Why? What's going on? What happened when you were talking before?"

"One word, biotics!" I un-holster my pistol and start shooting frantically at Caltan, but the shots are just absorbed by his biotic barrier.

"Are you shooting at him?" Garrus asks incredulously. "We want to arrest him, not kill him!" Another biotic blast rocks the docking bay, just as my pistol overheats.

"He's trying to kill me, and I don't think he's likely to come quietly if you turn up! But if you want to try putting the cuffs on him, be my fucking guest!" I shout back. Yet another bolt of blue energy collides with my cover, blowing the crate apart. Oh shit! Caltan follows it up with a warp, but I see it coming and dive out of the way, rolling properly this time before springing to my feet and dashing towards another crate, biotic carnage following me. Xenvalis is more powerful than an entire asari commando unit…he's absolutely relentless. Wait, he's walking incredibly close to those fuel canisters…and I don't think a biotic barrier is going to save him from that kind of explosion. I take aim and blast away at them, tensing in preparation for the explosion. The shots are deflected by the shields around the fuel tanks. Of course, they're not just going to leave them unprotected to explode, are they, you idiot! A biotic Throw from the ambassador knocks me off my train of thought, clipping my left shoulder and sending a huge shock of pain running through it. I spin to the floor, gritting my teeth in pain and dragging myself behind the nearest crate. Crap, I think it's dislocated…looks like I'll be shooting one-handed for now. Not that there's much point, considering I may as well be attacking him with a pop-gun for all the good my handgun is doing. I can't believe I'm going to die to an elcor, of all the races in the galaxy…if I was going to go out I'd have at least wanted it to be some dramatic death like a Thresher Maw getting me, not some elcor psychopath pumped up on biotics. He finally breaks through my cover, and I face him down. I'm on the floor, I've got nowhere to run, and nothing to damage him with, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die like a coward.

"Triumphantly: You did not truly think you could defeat me, human? I am a biotic god! The Doctor has paid me handsomely for the organs I have gathered, but he's always looking for more…"

Wait, the doctor…you mean Dr. Saeleon is involved in all this! "People know I'm here, Caltan, investigating you! You won't get away with this!"

He shakes his head, flaring his biotics, preparing for the death blow. "Scornfully: Forgive me if I don't take your word for it, Detective. An investigation into an elcor official without evidence would never have been allowed. You came here alone, and that's how you will die, the latest victim of the Tayseri Ward Butcher."

"Not a bad guess," I reply, smiling. "I didn't have permission for this. But I didn't come alone."

"Confused: What?" A sniper shot rings out, sending huge ripples along Caltan's barrier and sending him staggering backwards.

"Ian, run!" Garrus is sprinting into the room, priming the rifle for another shot. You don't need to tell me, Garrus! I haul myself up, ignoring the protest of my left arm, and head behind a significantly more solid crate. Caltan roars in a mix of pain and frustration, loosing off a stream of biotic energy that knocks Garrus into a stack of barrels.

"Garrus? You okay? Garrus!"

"I'm going to feel that in the morning," comes the flanging reply over the radio. Thank Christ! "You got some kind of idea to get us out of this mess, I did I just come here to get slaughtered?"

At least he's staying calm. "That depends on whether or not you mind causing some property damage, and you're prepared to run away very fast at short notice."

"I'll take any plan right now!" Good attitude.

"If we can lure him close to those fuel tanks by his ship, we can shoot them and even he shouldn't be able to withstand that. The problem is said fuel tanks have shields on them, and I can't hack them!"

"So you want me to sit here and hack some shields, while we're being attacked by an extremely powerful biotic. Why do I always get the best parts in missions?" This is really not the time for this…

"Can you do it?" I'm practically screaming down the mic.

"Yes! Distract him for two minutes so I can hack them without being interrupted by a biotic blast to my face! The ladies like me as I am!" Yeah, we'll see who's laughing when your face and a gunship missile get rather closely acquainted…

"Got it." I stand up and start firing at Caltan indiscriminately. "Over here, you dumb bastard!" He slowly starts moving towards me and away from Garrus, loosing of warps, throws and all manner of biotic abilities as he walks. Right, I just have to hold this position for as long as I can before I switch…it takes him about half a minute to get close enough to be a threat. Time to move! I break out across his line of sight, moving closer to the fuel tanks. He's evidently following me, due to the blue blasts following close on my heels. You'd think he'd work out to lead his target with the shots…a warp is aimed just in front of me, causing me to perform a slide underneath it behind the next set of cover. Aaghh, that hit the dislocated shoulder pretty bad…thank God the Citadel has such smooth floors or I'd have been a goner there.

"Hurry up, Garrus! I can't dodge him for ever!"

"I'm almost done," comes the muffled reply. "Just give me a few more seconds…"

Caltan has managed to close in on my position again, and I've got no more cover except for where Garrus is hiding. Looks like there's only one thing I can try… I run out of cover, making sure I pass directly next to the fuel tanks, before feigning a trip and falling to the floor. Caltan, naturally, takes the bait. Come on Garrus, hurry up…

"Mockingly: Foiled by clumsiness, detective. How embarrassing. It would appear that your partner has abandoned you, as well."

"Done!" Garrus's voice rings triumphantly in my ear.

I raise my pistol up, aiming to the tank next to Caltan's head. Of course, he thinks I'm aiming at him.

"Patronising tone: Drop the weapon, officer. We both know you can't hurt me."

"I beg to differ," I hiss through gritted teeth. Relax, hold my breath, aim down the sight. The fuel tank is squarely in it.

Fire.

It explodes in an enormous ball of fire, taking the other tanks surrounding it up as well. Caltan's barrier holds for a split second, before finally collapsing under the overwhelming force. The fire consumes his face, melting away his skin as he screams in his monotone voice…that's definitely going to be haunting my dreams for a while. I lift the pistol up, unable to bring myself to look at the wretched figure writhing around in front of me, and fire two shots straight into his head. He may be a murdering bastard, but I can't let him suffer like that. No-one deserves that kind of agony. Another explosion rocks the docking bay, as Caltan's ship also catches fire and starts to explode internally.

"Unless you're after a cremation, Ian, I think we need to go. Now!"

Garrus is standing by the exit, waving at me frantically. It all passes like a blur. I'm up, running and clutching my shoulder, sprinting along side by side with Garrus, stumbling, his talon reaching out and pulling me back to my feet, diving out of the tunnel as the ship explodes, huge tongue of flame ripping out of the tunnel before being drawn back in. Slowly, the adrenaline wears off, as Garrus and I lie side by side looking up into the simulated night, exhausted.

Oh shit, Garrus! "You alright?" I ask frantically, shakily climbing back onto my feet.

"Nothing a bit of medi-gel won't fix," he replies, grimacing. "Though my plates are going to be hurting for at least a month because of that. You?"

"Think I dislocated my shoulder, and I'm going to have so many bruises in the morning I'll look like a black guy. Nothing permanent though." We both look at the fire raging in the tunnel.

"We got him." Garrus mutters. "I can't believe it would be an elcor, never mind an ambassador for them…"

"I got the proof he was the murderer, as well. I recorded the sound from the fight on my omni-tool, and he admits to being the murderer just before you show up."

"That's a relief." He sighs. "You think we should call for back up now, or something?"

The sound of sirens fills the air. "I think that problem's taken care of itself." I say, with a tired grin. "I thought police work was supposed to be boring."

"You think that was bad?" Garrus grins back, mandibles flared. "The debrief with Pallin is going to be even more fun."

"Never a dull moment, eh?" He nods, and we stand in silence as the orange glow from the flames mingles with the blue lights of the rapidly approaching C-Sec cruisers.

A/N: And so ends the first investigation. There's going to be an epilogue chapter, another short chapter after that where Garrus and Ian get to know each other better and we find out about Garrus's father issues, before the next investigation kicks off five months after the events in Tayseri Ward! And it will feature Dr. Chloe Michel for the first time! (The next investigation will also be a lot more action-packed, as opposed to the more methodical detective work of this. We're talking bar fight at one point :D)

Thanks for everyone who reads, reviews and supports this story, you're all great.

See you next chapter…