Hope you enjoy.
More to come, of course! ;)

The middle of the ball room was filled with couples slowly dancing away to the boring, slow rhythm of this weird music Saren never heard before. He assumed it must have been some classical human music. As they arrived to the centre of the room where they disappeared amidst the guests, they stopped, and he turned to face Jane.

The woman had a devastated look on her face. She looked like she was on death row, and he could tell she wanted to jump out the window just about now. His mandibles twitched from the effort he made to repress his laughter.

"One day, I will kill you. But your death will be slow and painful..." she hissed at him as he moved his hand to hold her by her waist and took her left hand in his. Her skin was warm, a lot warmer than his own.

"Hush" he ordered, firm and serious.

Her eyes narrowed, she looked up at him, forgetting her anger for a moment. He took a small step sideways, moving her to follow him, and they started a very slow, low-key dance.
She was indeed horrible at dancing. She tried not to step on his feet but his steps were way too big and hers too small. But he quickened their pace, moved her by her core, using his weight carefully to influence the movement of her shoulders and hands. He turned her gently, controlling every part of her body indirectly.

"Bullshit you can't dance." he whispered "You do it all the time on the battlefield."

That struck a chord with her, she turned in front of him, swept away by the dynamics of his moves, following along to this dark rythm of his. He fit so well into this game of theirs, she had no idea this side of him existed. He was controlled and cold as always, but gentle, guiding her into meeting him with their dance.

She remembered fighting. That feeling of lightning coursing through her body, that excitement, the rhythm of her foes falling to the ground and flying in the air as she laughed. She recognized that impulse in their flow, in their steps. She looked up at him.

His mandibles moved, with the slightest smile on his face as his eyes found her.

"There you go..." he purred as she turned again and re-joined him in his arms, now a smile on her face too. She let go of her ego, it seemed his metaphor worked. Her moves started resembling water, smooth, just like when she fought… that unapologetic joy appeared in her eyes again as she let out a small laugh.

"Now listen" he suddenly said, bringing her closer to him, whispering to her. "We're not just here to dance."

She figured this much.

Saren wasn't the type who just did things for no reason, especially something like purposeless dancing in the middle of a stealth mission. But it was a good cover if they wanted to talk privately, without drawing too much attention.

"Then talk." she replied firmly as they moved, and he checked around them before he started to share his thoughts with her on his now low, careful tone.

"Ilsa found that the lower basement is a server room. We need to find out what that is before we do the deed." he said, obviously referring to killing Proctor, but not saying it out loud "I'm not sure what those servers run, but it think it's connected to his plan. You need to help me figure it out."

"Me?" she asked as they turned a bit again in their dance.

"He has a thing for you, we should use that." he proposed, earning a look of fire in response from her.

"I see, you want to be dead that badly. You could have just said so." she teased playfully "You didn't have to take me dancing and offer to seduce a criminal…."

They turned slightly again, their dance slowing down as they both leaned in to keep the privacy of their conversation. He had to slid his hand lower down her back to keep her close enough so she could hear him.

He heard her heartbeat steadying. Maybe she was starting to become comfortable with this game.

"I never said you should seduce him." he whispered, raising a brow "Just make sure he pays attention to you for some time, while I investigate."

She rolled her eyes at him and he already knew he won. "Then make sure that investigation is worth it!"

He smiled confidently, but before he could answer, he suddenly saw Proctor peeking at the dance floor, looking for them. He looked into Jane's eyes, opening his mouth to speak, but another couple suddenly bumped into them.

These people were too close, and he needed their plan to stay hidden, so he leaned even closer to Jane to whisper.

"He's watching us."

She didn't turn to check, just tried to continue moving as natural as possible. She leaned a bit closer too, mimicking Saren's whispering. "How much time do you need?"

As she leaned in, he caught the scent of her, now stronger than before. He instinctively bowed further down, whispering directly into her ear.

"An hour."

His low voice almost melted into her mind. A very unexpected shiver ran through her as she felt his breath on her neck, so close she couldn't move her body. She felt his right mandible touch her jaw, and she just couldn't react to this with reason. This was the closest she's ever been to him, and this strange, alien feeling struck her like lightning.

And Saren felt her insides shudder, her heartbeat quicken. It startled him almost, trapping the air in him. He was never this close to a human before… never should have been. But at the same time he could not pull away.

"An hour." she confirmed slowly "But then hurry back.."

Her tone was very different now. Her husky voice was muted by her whispering, and it was a melody in his ears. That sweet beating of her heart, that cherry scent wiped his mind empty suddenly, and as they turned in their dance, his talons spread on her back, moving up, slowly grazing the fabric of her dress that melted onto her. He felt her chest rise with her breath, her cheek almost touching his jaw.

He didn't reply, instead they continued dancing for another minute, intertwined, silent.

Trapped in the moment.

"I do not fancy this black hair…" he whispered, looking at her wig, that although looked natural, he missed the red colour. Especially now, somehow. "I like the original better."

She laughed a bit, closing her eyes as she did. She was strangely relaxed in his arms, keeping up her game, but her heart was beating in her throat. He couldn't not take this any further.

"That red" he purred, a deep, faint growl almost starting in his chest, and she felt the vibrations as her chest pressed against his "Is that your natural colour, or artificial?"

She opened her eyes to look right into his, her face inches away: "Natural." she said with a smile of a queen, proud and strong.

Saren always thought finally learning the answer to that question will satisfy a curiosity within him regarding unimportant human genetics, but when he heard her reply, that's not what happened. Instead he completely forgot about that, and wanted that black wig gone. He wanted to see her real hair, her real eyes, and the thought moved him somehow.

"Now go." she said and slowly pushed him away from herself. He stepped back, still looking at her with that predatory look, even as he walked out. Once he was gone, she let out a long breath, shaking her head as she smiled. He hated humans or not, he was a hell of a player. Them pretending to be a couple was a damn good plan considering how well he played the gentleman.

But was he playing at all? She wasn't sure anymore, he had this reputation of a rough personality, which wasn't exactly a lie when she thought of the earlier days of them knowing each other… but then again he was never rude with her.

She didn't even realize she was smiling until someone tapped her shoulder from behind and got thrown off. It was Proctor of course.

"Alison..." he started, nodding his head respectfully to her "I'd like to apologize for my previous behavior, it was very intrusive of me. How could I make it up to you?"

His speech was tacky like glue, and she hated it. But she had a mission.

"I need to get out of this room..." she pretended, putting her hand to her temple. "That bastard left me here again!"

"Let's take a walk." Proctor said and offered his hand "I'll show you around."

Saren was down in the basement in mere minutes.

He went so fast, trying his best to forget that little dance. That couple thing was working out too well... and he could not afford the luxury to think of how beautiful she was in the middle of an assassination mission. What was wrong with him...

So he shut it all away.

He made sure to evade all the guards, and the ones he could not ignore - the ones guarding the elevator on base level - he eliminated quietly. Ilsa helped with the cameras to ensure he does not pop up on any security screens, so he could easily proceed to the server room he wanted to check out.

It was almost offering itself. They tracked a bio weapon down to its root, a criminal organization, through a route that was a lot more complicated than it usually is. It was all too logical that something bigger was going on here, and whatever it was, this server room was playing a part in it. Its size was simply just too big for this building, for this organization that largely operated locally.

When he was tweaking with the door controls to try and get access in, he was listening on the comms to what Jane and Proctor chatted about. He wished he wouldn't have to, but turning off their comms was a hazard to mission success while separated like this, so that was not an option.

Proctor was showing Jane the offices as they spoke.

[I find it hard to comprehend that your mate just left you like this.] he heard Proctor say.

[He can be such an ass!] Jane replied, passionately, playing the hurt woman. He was letting a little laugh escape him as he listened onwards [You see he's handling the logistics behind my group, and sometimes I just feel like he doesn't even care about me anymore.]

[If that is true, then he's an idiot.]

The door opened.

Saren slowly stepped in, checking both sides for any guards, but there was no one in there. He went further and closed the door behind him, giving him some privacy to look around. The room was huge, and was filled with server computers standing in giant towers, creating many rows with separated corridors to the backsides where the cabling was arranged in each row. It was huge. Way too big for this building only. This was a completely separate network.

[Say, I have some other arrangements tonight] he heard from the comms [But I would be happy if you and Varus could accompany me next week on a field trip to Illium?]

Jane replied with a small cough at first [Ah… It would be an honor! But I must admit I thought you were devoting this night to your guests? The loyal customers of your company?]

[Ah] Proctor laughed sheepishly [Unfortunately even I cannot escape my duties, no matter how much money I have.]

He thought he was going to vomit for a second.

This man was an absolute idiot, he had no idea how Proctor even managed to order a bio weapon.

[And, this is my office here. Come on in.]

He was taking her to his office? Oh, if he was going to try anything with her, he's going to learn the hard way who Jane is… or in this case, Alison Gunn.

"This is beautiful!" Jane gasped, looking at the personal office of Proctor, that was indeed a modern wonder. All of its surfaces were either cold, grey metal, or shiny glass. The idea in and of itself was not bad, but the immense amount of greenery and that giant waterfall on the back wall… The overflow of frippery was just too much for her.

"Thank you." he said, not even paying attention to how forced that comment she made was "A drink, perhaps?"

"Whiskey. Neat, please."

And she was handed her drink in less than a minute. They toasted, and Proctor thought:

"Hmm… let's drink for… loyal customers."

"... And excellent delivery." she added, trying to sound as sly as possible, which really wasn't that hard. They shared a smile and as she thought of how boring all of this was, and that she still had half an hour remaining from that promised hour… a shiver almost ran down her spine.

But suddenly the door opened, and a turian stepped in. It was a tall, strong and lean woman, with stark red paint over her face. She slipped in, and made her way to Proctor, nodding to both of them politely.

"Mr. Procor, forgive me for the intrusion" she started, her voice as smooth as silk as she looked at Jane "But the time has come to start making the preparations."

"Oh yes..." he said, slowly nodding to her. They shared a glance and Proctor looked at Jane as well: "I'm sorry. Lyeria, meet Alison Gunn, one of our guests."

"It is my pleasure." Lyeria said, bowing deep in front of her, and even though it surprised her, she made sure to quickly bow as well. She didn't want to hurt any traditions or protocol, it would've been too risky. Proctor continued:

"She's helping me with the arrangements f tonight I mentioned before. How should I say it… Lyeria is my right hand, my..."

"...Librarian." she finished the sentence, looking directly into Jane's eyes.

Her heart almost stopped.

Proctor laughed a bit, not noticing the change in her expression: "Yes… That is her nickname around here."

Jane's heart was pumping blood so fast, she could hear it pulsing in her own ears.

No. He wasn't the Librarian.

Proctor had no clue, she could see it on his face, but the turian girl...

"So, Mr." she started again "I will go ahead then, and start."

"Yes please." Proctor replied, not even looking at her, but Jane.

Everything happened so fast, she could barely blink.

Lyeria raised her hand up with a gun held in it, and without a second of hesitation she shot Proctor in head, while standing right next to him. The man fell to the ground as blood spattered everywhere, and the turian looked at Jane.

"He was such an idiot..." the woman's face lit up in the most hellish smile Jane ever seen on any woman's face. "And you are too, my dear. Alison Gunn…. Ha!" she laughed "More like Jane Shepard, am I right?"

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked, immediately taking a step back, reaching for her gun on her side.

She smiled, again.

"The real Librarian."

She knew there was something off with this entire story… But what the hell was going on?