Chapter Fourteen

Jacana awoke in Khalisah's arms, listening to the soft, steady sound of her breathing as she slept. For a moment she blinked and frowned as she studied the outline of the woman lying next to her, her bare skin silhouetted by the light lancing in through the windows. Then the memories of last night flooded back to her.

It had taken all of the night and into the morning until Khalisah had finally become content enough to close her eyes and succumb to sleep. A deep, exhausted sleep where she drew shallow breaths through half parted lips, her cheeks still flushed from their night together.

Jacana was sure Khalisah had never really been loved before, not really. The human had trembled when she had first taken her into her arms, her body had tensed when she laid her on the bed and something, almost like fear, had glinted nervously in her eyes. Three times Jacana had asked her if she wanted to stop, always she had said no.

Throughout the night, with each gasp, each shudder, she had become more willing and then more giving until, in the early hours, it had been her who had rolled over, pulled Jacana against her and whispered: "Again," Jacana could still feel the heat of her breath on her neck.

Khalisah's skin was warm against her now and a chill touched her as she reluctantly pulled away to check the time. They had slept through most of the morning and into the afternoon and Jacana realised the twenty-four hours weren't long from being up.

She settled back down, nestling into the crook of Khalisah's neck so that she could smell the sweet scent of her skin and hear the sound of her heart beating through her chest. Khalisah's eyes flickered briefly but she didn't wake.

Jacana watched her as she slept, her hair had become tangled through the night and lay in disarray about her shoulders, somehow adding to its allure. She looked peaceful, content and Jacana could almost believe there wasn't a single burden on her shoulders.

If Quet came through for her with the encryption key, she could hand it over to the Broker without ever bringing Daniyah into it. The Bekenstein hierarchy would stop caring about Khalisah once the money was claimed, they would both be free. But what would Khalisah have gained? Less than she deserved, Jacana was sure of that.

An hour went by, and then a little more. Khalisah muttered things in her sleep and occasionally shifted and pulled Jacana closer but she continued to sleep soundly. The deadline drew ever nearer and soon Jacana realised it was time to decide.

She slid delicately out of Khalisah's grasp, pausing only to kiss her gently on the cheek, and then slipped into a dressing gown before silently leaving the room and closing the door behind her. The kitchen tiles were cold beneath her feet and she shivered as she walked over to the console and sat. She activated the communicator and waited.

"Quet? Are you there?"

The salarian's face appeared on the screen and it was obvious that he hadn't slept since their last conversation. Heavy bags hung under his eyes and he gazed at her wearily through dull black eyes.

"Well?" Jacana asked before he could speak, "Have you done it?"

There was a pause and a sigh, "I think so. I can't guarantee it'll work."

"I have complete faith in you, Quet."

"Oh? That'll be a real comfort when the Broker has us both killed for going behind his back."

"I'll take the blame, make sure he knows it was all my idea."

"Oh yes, because he's known for being so understanding when it comes to things like this," he sighed again and closed his eyes, placing two long fingers against his forehead, "I'm just a hacker, Jacana, I try to stay away from all this espionage stuff."

She smiled faintly, "That's like being a pickpocket who wants to stay away from theft."

He threw her a weary look but didn't argue, "I don't want to risk sending this to you over the system, I'll bring it to your apartment."

"Okay. Thanks Quet."

The transmission ended and Jacana frowned softly. Quet was right, the Shadow Broker wasn't likely to forgive this one. Still, there was no getting out of it now, she took a deep breath and turned to reactivate the comm, "Shadow Broker, this is Operative Menthe, I have an update for you."

There was a pause. A long pause.

"Shadow Broker?"

"Yes," the distorted voice answered abruptly, followed by another pause where it sounded like he was clearing his throat, "Good evening, Operative Menthe."

Jacana hesitated, unsure how to react, the Broker had never really been one for pleasantries before, "Erm, good evening?"

"You say you have an update for me?"

"Yes. I believe I may have found a way to decrypt Donovan Hock's finances."

"Oh. Excellent."

"I'm not going to give it to you."

Another pause, "Ah. I see."

"Khalisah's father has no right to her inheritance, neither do you; if you want a back door into Bekenstein then find another way to get it. You mishandled this assignment from the beginning, I should have been made aware of the full implications, I ended up putting people's lives in danger because I didn't know what I was dealing with; those lives might have been expendable to you but not to me and I will not stand by and watch Khalisah suffer as well, she deserves better than that. I am giving the encryption key to her because she is the only one I've encountered in this whole mess who I think will do some good with it; more than her father would and certainly more than you."

She ended her rant defiantly and folded her arms as she waited for whatever his response would be. Probably a hint of disappointment and an assassination order, she suspected, but what the hell, it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to go on the run. She wasn't going to compromise her own morals just to save her own neck.

The pause was agonising, just when she was beginning to wonder if he was going to bother responding at all, his soft monotone came back over the comm.

"I understand."

Jacana waited, then realised there was nothing else coming, "You- what?"

"You are quite correct, Operative Menthe, this assignment was badly handled from the start. You have my word that things will change in the future. For now you must follow your conscience, your frankness does you credit. I look forward to working with you again. Shadow Broker out."

Jacana sat back against her console as the transmission ended, opened her mouth, closed her mouth, blinked, and tried to work out what the hell had just happened.

Halfway across the galaxy, within the Shadow Broker's main command centre, Commander Shepard folded her arms and looked critically down at Liara seated next to her.

"I understand?" she repeated sceptically.

The new Shadow Broker wrinkled her nose and looked round sheepishly, "Too polite?"

"Just a bit."

She frowned and nodded, "I'll keep working on it."