Author's Note:
O.K Guys, this is a big chapter...But there is a lot accomplished by our team.
I wont go into major detail, but to my guest reviewer for last chapter;
This is a Shenko. Yes, there is something going on between Shepard and Garrus, but have faith in me... and Shepard. I hope you like what is going to develop over the next few chapters. I appreciate all feedback, even if it is critical.
So I hope I don't disappoint you again, but the characters want what they want, so I will continue to write them as they want.
Reviews are welcome, and I always drop a line back to say thank you!
Chapter Twenty-Six
The two weeks after the girl's night practically flew by in a flurry of activity. The first thing Shepard had done was go back to Illium, and helped Miranda deal with her sister Oriana and her family's move. The brunette had opened up considerably since then, and Shepard was pleased to see that the Illusive Man's hold on the Australian was considerably lessened.
After dealing with Miranda's issue, they had headed back to the Citadel for a supply run, and picked up the last member of their crew. A master thief named Kasumi Goto. She was a tiny Japanese woman, close to the same age as Jack. Shepard liked her enormously, as she was witty and completely unashamed of her sticky fingered habit. She collected old books, real ones, and was very generous in sharing them. The three women had spent a few hours down in Jack's hidey-hole under engineering together, and the tiny biotic was finally opening up a bit with Shepard.
Well, she had opened up enough to tell Shepard about Pragia. Pragia was an old Cerberus facility where Jack had been held, and put through unspeakable tortures as a child. She had, in a way that only Jack could put it, requested that they 'blow the fucking place into fucking hell.' Once they got there and Shepard had seen the evidence first hand of exactly what Cerberus had done to the kids in that facility, she had passed Jack the detonator herself.
Once they got back to the ship, it had led to a tense moment with Miranda, who was at first resistant to believe her precious Cerberus capable of something like that. Thankfully, mostly due to Shepard's patience and willingness to throw herself in between the two fighting biotics, Jack and Miranda came to an understanding.
Miranda came to accept that Cerberus was darker, and capable of more than she had ever imagined. Jack came to accept that Shepard wouldn't let her kill Miranda, so she had to suck it up.
From Pragia, they had been on a merry journey around the Galaxy. Shepard helped Jacob find his long thought dead father, who was actually alive and an egotistical, woman abusing psycho, who Shepard had made sure was put away for the rest of his miserable life.
Zaeed had gone on an explosion filled bender of revenge trying to take down the current leader of the Blue Suns. Apparently the new leader Vido had shot Zaeed in the face and left him for dead, then took over the mercenary band that Zaeed had help found.
Zaeed was a founder of the Blue Suns. The things I've learned.
Vido had gotten away. Mainly due to the fact the Zaeed had thought blowing up the factory Vido was in, while it was full of civilians, was the way to go. Shepard had forced him to see it from her perspective, while aiming at him with her assault rifle. They saved the civilians, and Vido has been left to be dealt with another time.
Then it had been off to Bekenstein to help Kasumi steal back her partners grey-box. The grey-box was essentially all of her former partner's memories. As Keiji had been Alliance at one point, Kasumi had revealed to Shepard that she was worried about the implications if this man, Donovan Hock was able to crack it. The mission had been…different.
For one, Shepard had had to wear a dress. For two, Shepard had had to pretend to be Allison Gunn, a notorious bad ass worthy of getting an invitation to Hock's little 'we are the best of the worst people in the galaxy' party. The only part of the whole mission that hadn't been different was when it all went to hell, and they had fought their way out past a veritable army of mechs, and yet another gunship. Good thing Garrus stayed behind.
Once they were on the shuttle back to the Normandy, Kasumi revealed that the Grey-box was full of memories of her and Keiji together. They had been lovers, and when he had been killed, it had devastated Kasumi. She wanted the box so she could go in and relive the memories at will.
It was something that wrenched Shepard's heart. If she had a box that replayed all the happy memories she and Kaidan had, wouldn't she had gone to any length to get it back?
Keiji however, had other wishes. In the box he begged Kasumi to destroy the memories, both to protect their secrets, and to allow her to move on and not spend her years with a version of him that she could never again have. Shepard had advised her to destroy it, as he wished, but left the decision up to the tiny Japanese woman.
Kasumi had destroyed the box, and had been hiding in port observation crying for 2 days.
Shepard sat at a table in the mess and scowled into her tea. It was well into the night cycle and she had been alone with her musings about the past two weeks for quite some time. She pushed up from the table in a huff, finally deciding that if she couldn't sleep, she could at least try and slog through some paperwork. She had just straightened up when the door to life support opened, and Thane strode out.
He came right up to her, and stood at attention, his hands clamped behind his back.
"Thane? Is there something wrong?"
"Yes. Now that I am here in front of you though… It seems more difficult to talk about."
Shepard stayed silent. She and Thane had gotten to know each other quite a bit better over the last few weeks. As she frequently had trouble sleeping, and the assassin needed very little, they were often up in the mess having tea at the same time. They had had long discussions about Religion, the compact he had served in as a child, and family. Thane had been married, a little over 10 years ago, with a young son, Kolyat. Due to his profession, his family had become a target. His wife had been violently murdered while he was away on a job, that turned out to be a lure to get to her.
Thane had spent the last 10 years hunting down and murdering his wife's killers, leaving Kolyat in the care of an aunt. Shepard knew him well enough to know he would continue to speak when he was ready.
Thane took a deep breath, and then locked his eyes with hers. "You know that I left Kolyat in the care of his aunt, as I did not want him to follow in the footsteps of my life. I hoped he would find his own way, not share the path of sin."
Shepard nodded, and gestured towards the chairs at the table. He nodded absently and they sat next to each other.
"I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become…disconnected. He does what his body wills."
"You'll have to explain that one to me Thane."
He rolled his shoulders and exhaled. It was the most agitated Shepard had ever seen him. The Drell was usually very calm and collected, the quirk of a corner of his mouth twitching into a smile some of the only emotion he showed normally.
"Disconnected. The body is not our true self, the soul is. Body and soul work as one, in a whole person. When the soul is weakened by despair or fear – when the body is ill or injured, the individual becomes disconnected. No longer whole."
It clicked in Shepards mind. Her zombie like trance after Horizon. The feeling that she wasn't really her anymore, like she was in a fog as Garrus led her through the ship.
"What is wrong with Kolyat? Is he hurt?"
Thane looked down, refusing to meet her eyes. "Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been…What I've done."
Ahh. Finding out your dad is an assassin, and that's why your mom is dead…that'll do it.
"I don't know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. He has taken a job as a hit man."
Thane's fist's were clenched tight on the top of the table. Shepard reached over and placed her hand on top of his. He sat stiffly for a moment, then twisted his hand under hers so he was holding hers tightly.
"I would like your help to stop him Shepard. He is – This is not a path he should walk."
"I'll get us to the Citadel as soon as possible."
His hand clenched hers tightly, and in the sudden rush of relief he must have felt, he slipped into a memory. His voice went hard, his eyes unfocused as he drowned in the memory.
"They've wrapped her body in sea-vines. Weighted it with stones. He tries to pull away from me. Calls for her. The Hanar lift her off the platform. They sing like bells 'The fire has gone, to be kindled anew'. He begs them not to take her away. They let her body slide into the water. He hits me 'Don't let them take her away! Stop them! Why weren't you-'"
Thane gasped as he pulled free of the memory, pain flashing across his face.
"I'm sorry Thane. I didn't mean to make you relive that."
He gave her a wan smile. "Perfect memory. It is sometimes a burden."
He raised her hand to his lips, and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.
He stood. "Thank you siha, I will begin my preparations." He moved back into life support.
Shepard sat in the silence for a moment longer, staring at her knuckles. She loved Kaidan. She loved him more than anything. It didn't mean a thing, it was a kiss on the hand, a chivalrous gesture. Perhaps Drell showed appreciation, or thanks that way always.
What the hell does siha mean anyway?
00oo00oo00
She smelled the same. That was his first thought. He lay on his side, with her curled into him, back to his chest. The 'little spoon' as she would laughingly say. He buried his nose in the hair on her nape and inhaled. Rosemary and Grapefruit.
She sighed in her sleep, and wiggled her butt closer to him. He chuckled softly and pulled her as close to him as he could get her, his arm banded around her like steel. His thumb traced circles the the soft skin of her inner arm.
She fit perfectly. He opened his eyes and studied her profile in the soft light of the bedroom. The sharply angled cheekbones contrasting with her long lashes, a dark smudge against her cheek. The curved bow of her lips, soft in sleep, but quirking slightly into a smile. She turned her head slightly and cracked one of her eyelids, mesmerizing green eye peeking at him mischievously as she wiggled her butt against him again.
"Morning Kaidan." She murmured softly.
"Morning Jane." He leaned forward, and kissed her gently when she twisted to face him.
He rested his forehead against hers for a moment and just held her. Ignoring the feeling that something was wrong, that something bad was going to happen.
"What's wrong Kaidan?"
"I don't know… Something doesn't feel right." There was a gnawing feeling of dread settling into the pit of his stomach.
There was a horrible screech, and the wall of the bedroom was torn away revealing the terrifying void of space.
"Shepard!" He screamed, grabbing onto her hand as she was sucked towards the jagged tear.
"Kaidan! Help me!" Her face was terrified, and her hands were like a vise wrapped around his wrist. The void was pulling her, dragging them both along the bed slowly, like some horrifying version of quicksand.
"I got you Jane. I'm not letting go." He muscles strained and popped as he tried to force her back towards him. Her legs and waist were off the bed now, held rigid by the force of the vacuum.
"Why wont you help me Kaidan?" Her voice sounded weird, detached.
"I'm trying Shepard. I wont let you go."
She was off the bed now, her eyes locked onto his. Her face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Fear, anger, sadness. Then settled into resignation.
"You already did."
Her hand was torn from his grip and she was sucked through the hole in the wall instantly. For a moment he saw her, spinning into the void of space, then she was gone. She was gone.
"Shepard!" Kaidan gasped, sitting bolt upright in his bed.
He was drenched in cold sweat and his heart was racing. He looked wildly around his bedroom, but there was no hole, no space waiting to suffocate him. It looked exactly the same as it had last night, before he fell asleep. Bookshelf on one wall holding his old school books and a couple dusty trophies from high school. A photo of him and his parents when he got his promotion to Staff Lieutenant. A poster on the wall of his favorite band when he was 18.
But no Shepard.
"Fuck." He scrubbed a trembling hand over his face. It had felt so real. He had smelled her, felt the warmth of his skin against hers, felt the strength in her grip as she held his wrist to stop herself spinning away to her death.
In the month since Horizon he had dreamt of her, but never like this. Never where they had touched, talked. He swung his legs out of the bed, and cradled his face in his hands. He felt the burning behinds his eyes, and took a few deep breaths, willing the tears away.
There was no use in crying. He had fucked it up. He hadn't stepped up on The Normandy when she ordered him away, and he hadn't believed her on Horizon. It came down to him.
He was the reason she was gone.
He heard the tinkle of glass, and knew that his mother must be awake. He had arrived on Earth yesterday, and took a shuttle out to his parent's orchard a few hours from Vancouver. Hackett and Anderson had told him in no uncertain terms he was to take a few weeks leave.
He pushed off of the bed and headed for the shower. It had been over a year since the last time he was home, and he had gotten in late the night before. His mother would need to fuss over him, and he wanted her to have as little ammunition as possible.
After showering and brushing his teeth, he gave up on the unruly waves of damp hair falling over his forehead, and moved downstairs to the smell of bacon. His mother, Anna, was a small woman, with curly black hair persistently trying to escape the tidy bun she always wrangled it into. She had blue eyes that twinkled with humour from her round face.
She was at the stove, scrambling eggs when he stepped into the kitchen. She had gotten a little rounder since his last visit, and he was suddenly struck by how much he had missed her. He moved up next to her, and deftly snatched a piece of bacon from the pan near her elbow.
"Oh Kaidan! You should wait for your father!" She scolded him half heartedly, dumping the eggs into a large bowl.
"Hi Mom." Once her hands were free he pulled her into a hug, and was rewarded with the feel of her arms squeezing him back tightly.
"Goodness, let me look at you. I see you haven't let up on your training hmm? You need to eat more though honey, you don't look all that well. Are you feeling ok?"
He smiled wryly at her. "Yeah Mom, I feel fine. Just didn't sleep well, that's all. Wow, this looks amazing. I've missed fresh, home cooked meals. MRE's just don't get it done."
His mother sniffed disdainfully. "Why they can't take the time to feed you soldiers properly I will never understand. Why, when your father was in the Alliance he would come home looking just the same. Good food will make for better soldiers I would always tell him."
"And I would always answer that if we ate well while away, we wouldn't enjoy coming home nearly as much."
His father strode into the room, and kissed his mother on the cheek after winking at her. His father was tall, like him with brown hair and whiskey colored eyes like Kaidan's. He had stayed in shape after his retirement, and the farm work kept them both strong and busy.
"Oh Nathan! As if that were the only reason you liked coming home."
"Hmm, you're right… there were other reasons." He gave her bottom a quick pinch, and snagged a piece of bacon with his free hand as she sputtered at him with laughter.
Kaidan grinned as he watched them. Their light hearted, easy banter was what he grew up with, and was what he wanted for himself someday.
His father came over and clapped him on the back, leaning against the counter next to him.
"How are you doing kiddo? I heard that Horizon was pretty rough. Is it true what they say? That Commander Shepard was there?"
His mother's head snapped up sharply at his father's words, and before Kaidan had to answer she came to his rescue.
"Nathan! There will be no work talk at the breakfast table. Come on you two, let's eat and catch up."
As they ate breakfast, his mother kept the conversation on simple things. Who in the community was married, who had had children, how good the harvest was that year. General chit chat. His father grumbled about broken machinery, and the fact that the neighbor's cows had gotten out and trampled the squash field.
Once they were finished eating his father headed off to the shed to tinker on the broken harvester, while Kaidan's mother made a pot of tea and sat with Kaidan on the porch swing.
She handed him a steaming mug, and they sat in silence on the porch, listening to the birds and watching an industrious squirrel cram his mouth full of bird seed. Kaidan fidgeted a bit, then sighed and took a sip of his tea.
"Tell me." His mother said quietly.
"Mom…"
"Kaidan. When you told me about you and Jane those years ago, you know I was worried. She was your CO, you were both in a high stress situation, it seemed like there were too many obstacles. But the way you spoke about her, I knew she was more than a girlfriend to you, that you truly loved her. After she was killed, I remember what you were like. And I know you blamed yourself, even if there was no reason for it."
He snorted bitterly.
"Kaidan Alenko do not snort at your mother!" She scolded him furiously, not unlike the squirrel chattering ferociously at the small bird valiantly braving the feeder.
"Sorry Mom. But there was a reason for it, a reason to blame myself. She ordered me away. Ordered me to get to a pod. And I obeyed her and she died. Or… I thought she died"
"Ahh. So it is true then? You saw her on Horizon?"
He nodded, refusing to meet her probing gaze, and burying his face in his steaming tea.
"Why honey, I would think that is a good thing! I know you loved her very much, even if you refused to tell your father about the two of you. Why are you acting like she isn't back, like this isn't a good thing?"
Kaidan didn't know what to say. How do you admit to a parent who thinks the world of you, that you were a complete and utter asshole to the one person you love more than anything else?
"God Mom, it isn't that simple. She… She was there with Cerberus, that pro-humanity group. She isn't even with the Alliance anymore. She has been gone for two years!"
His mother turned and fixed him with an eye. It was the look she had used when he was younger and had done something she didn't approve of. He instantly felt small.
"So what? From everything you told me about her, and from all the vids and things she has done for us, for the galaxy, there must be a good reason for her to be working with a group like that. What did she say when you asked her about it?"
He cringed.
She stood up, and stood in front of him, a furious look on her face.
"Kaidan Alenko! Are you telling me that after two years, the woman you love, that you almost threw your life away for, comes back from the dead, and you refused to hear her side of things? Because of the uniform she was wearing?"
"Mom, she said she was in a coma or something, that she had just woken up. But she was fighting and strong… and she had a member of the old crew with her. It didn't add up. Why wouldn't she have called me first!"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wished he could call them back.
His mother drew herself up to her full height and stared at him in shock.
"That girl woke up after two years, after being spaced, and you refused to hear her out because of her uniform and because you were jealous that she didn't call you? My god Kaidan, I thought I raised you to be smarter than this! How many stories have I told you about soldiers waking up after traumas with memory loss? How do you even know what she went through? That woman almost died to save you and all of the Citadel two years ago! What the hell were you thinking!?"
"I wasn't thinking alright! Anderson had stonewalled me! Wouldn't give me any information. She just showed up, out of nowhere with Garrus and a Cerberus ship. Then she tells me she just woke up and that the Alliance wouldn't help her, so she had to use Cerberus because they had the resources. I… I didn't believe her. I called her a liar and sent her away!"
Tears were pouring from his face, as he yelled. His mother sat back down on the swing beside him.
"Anderson told me after. He told me that he sent her away too, and that the Alliance had refused to help her when they found out. Hackett staged the whole thing because he couldn't afford for me to leave and join her. She was telling the truth and I called her a traitor and a liar and sent her away."
He was sobbing now, unable to contain the wrenching pain that tore through him as Shepards face as he called her a traitor flashed through his mind.
His mother pulled him into a hug, and he buried his face in her neck like he had when he was small.
"I fucked it up Mom. Her face…god her face. She will never forgive me now. I had a second chance and I fucked it up bad."
She hushed him, and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Kaidan. I didn't raise an idiot. So you made a mistake, everybody does. What makes you a man is when you admit it and then fix it. So what are you going to do to fix it?"
She looked so stern, so formidable for such a tiny woman. He couldn't help but start to laugh.
"Jeez Mom. If you were an Admiral, our enemies wouldn't stand a chance."
She smiled back at him, holding back a laugh.
"Your father has said the same thing when I have had to lecture him. Kaidan… You don't know if it is truly broken unless you try to fix it. So try."
"I have…well I started. I sent her a message, trying to explain. Trying to tell her where my head was at. It didn't come through exactly how I wanted, but I tried. I don't even know if she will ever see it though. And now…"
"And now, what?"
"And now I know that she is going to try and go through the Omega four relay to go after the Collectors. Now I know she is on a suicide mission, and I may never get a chance to tell her to her face that I love her, and was a total ass."
His mother gripped his hand tight. "Oh honey, I'm sorry."
"Yeah. Thanks Mom."
"Well, you can't control what she is doing, but what can you control?"
"What do you mean?"
She looked at him in exasperation. "Honestly, you and your dad have the thickest skulls I have ever seen. You said the Alliance wrote her off, wouldn't help her right?"
"Yeah, said they couldn't spare the resources. They don't believe her about the Reapers, even after Sovereign practically wiped out the Council." His voice was bitter once again at the memory of them writing her off after the funeral.
"Well then. You need to make sure that that support is waiting for her when she gets back. If the Alliance is willing to step up and show that they can help, that they believe, she wont stay with Cerberus. Not if she is the woman I believe she is. That poor girl has been through more in her life than anyone should ever have to deal with. Mindoir, Elysium, the Citadel, getting blown up. And after all that having the only family she knows, and my idiot son turn their backs on her. You have to help her Kaidan, even if she doesn't know that you are doing it."
Kaidan looked at his mother in shock, once again blown away by her matter of fact approach. Blown away by the fact the he hadn't seen it himself. He had let himself wallow in his misery for a month, believing that he had lost the woman he loved for the second time.
He needed to rally the troops. Between himself, Anderson and Hackett they had to get the Alliance to see the truth, to see the Reaper threat. They had to get people to believe in Shepard again.
He leaned in and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Mom, you are a goddess! I need to go get Dad… get him to rally all his contacts."
He jumped to his feet, sending the squirrel running away in a flurry of angry screeching.
"Kaidan honey…Tell your dad. Tell him all of it. He might grumble about regs and make a fuss, but deep down he is a romantic. If he knows what this means for you, what she means to you… He will move heaven and earth to help."
"Thanks Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, honey"
He stepped of the porch and headed to the shed where he could hear his dad muttering and cursing about the broken harvester. His step was light, and he felt like he had purpose again.
00oo00oo00
Anna watched him walk away, her stubborn, handsome son. She wanted so badly for this to work out for him, but she knew above everything else, he needed a reason to fight. She only hoped that poor girl found a reason to fight as well.
If Nathan had spurned her, after everything they had been through together, and she was about to go out on a suicide mission to try and save the Galaxy…well, she didn't know how hard she would have fought to get back to a life that was in ruins. In her years as a combat nurse she had seen soldiers give up after losing loved ones, or getting news that their spouse back home was leaving them. She remembered seeing the lights die in their eyes.
She remembered seeing their names on the lists of the dead, because they no longer wanted to fight to survive.
She decided that she never wanted to read Commander Shepard's name on one of those lists again, and hoped that Kaidan had the strength to fight for her.
To give her a home to fight for.
00oo00oo00
Shepard left Thane at C-Sec to have a heart to heart with Kolyat. Commander Bailey, the C-Sec agent that had helped Shepard her first trip back to the Citadel, had helped them track Kolyat. She and Thane had moved through the Citadel, until they came across one of Thane's old contacts who gave them the name of the Turian Kolyat had taken the contract on.
They had stalked the Turian for almost an hour, before Kolyat made his move. Shepard had managed to get his gun away from him, and no one was harmed.
It had been awful to hear the young man tear into Thane about things he obviously didn't understand. It had been more awful for Thane to stand there and take it like he deserved it.
She had stepped forward and told Kolyat about Thane's illness, once his ranting was over and he was threatening to leave. Bailey had allowed them an interrogation room at C-Sec for privacy, so that is where Shepard left them, after convincing Bailey not to press charges against the young Drell.
The whole mission had taken barely three hours, so it was only lunch time. Shepard was looking forward to having a snack, then was going to see if Joker was up for watching an action vid with her.
She cleared the contamination chamber and stepped through to door, only to come face to chest with a wall of armoured Turian blocking her path.
"Spirits Shepard, I'm sorry I didn't see you."
She rubbed her nose gingerly, but it didn't appear to be damaged.
"It's fine Garrus, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Now that she got a good look at him, there was something decidedly agitated about Garrus. He was almost growling, and his eyes…his eyes looked scary.
"You remember Sidonis. The one who betrayed my team? Well, I've found a lead on him. There's a specialist on the Citadel named Fade. He's an expert in helping people…disappear. Sidonis was seen with him."
There was a niggling feeling of worry in the back of Shepard's mind. She had never seen Garrus like this. He was so calm and collected usually. He was her rock, could be counted on to remain cool and have her six. To see him actually tremble with his rage, and hear the hate in his voice…it made her nervous.
"What are you planning to do when you find him Garrus?"
He hissed. "You Humans have a saying. 'An eye for an eye.' A life for a life. He owes me 10 lives. And I plan to collect."
"You sure that's how you want to play it?"
"I'm sure. I don't need you to agree with me Shepard. But I would like your help."
"O.K Garrus. Where do we find Fade?"
He grinned at her. Not a happy grin, but one of an apex predator. All pointy teeth, and narrowed eyes. She had never felt scared of Garrus before, but a small frisson of fear ran down her spine at the sight of that grin.
"I've arranged a meeting. We'll meet him in a warehouse by the neon markets, down on Zakera Ward."
"O.K. Let's go."
They were silent as the made their way to the warehouse. The tension coming off of Garrus was like prickles dancing along her skin. Every so often he would growl softly under his breath and mutter something her translator couldn't catch. She kept peeking sideways glances at him, getting more and more worried that he might not be able to keep a cool head about this.
They made it to the warehouse and Shepard was glad she had come armed when she saw the two armoured Krogan resting against a crate. She moved cautiously deeper into the room, and was shocked when a Volus stepped out from behind a crate and addressed them.
"Fade? You're… not quite how I imagined you."
"Looks can *hiss* be deceiving."
"So… Which of you *hiss* wants to disappear?"
Garrus stepped forward, his voice menacing. "I'd rather see you make someone re-appear."
The Volus took a small step backwards, towards his Krogan bodyguards at the look on Garrus' face.
"Ahh. *hiss* I'm afraid that is not *hiss* the service we provide."
"Make an exception. Just this once." Garrus pulled his pistol and leveled it at the Volus' face.
Holy fuck.
"Damn it! *hiss* Quick, shoot them you *hiss* Lumbering mountains!"
Shepard drew her pistol and pointed at the closest Krogan.
Garrus took a step forward and growled. "Why don't you tow find somewhere else to skulk."
The two looked at each other and shrugged, then moved towards the door of the warehouse, ignoring the Volus' jabbering.
Shepard moved pointedly in between Garrus' pistol and the Volus, holstering her own pistol as she did so.
"We are looking for someone. A client of yours."
The Volus waved his short arms frantically. "Not mine! I'm not *hiss* Fade. I just work for him *hiss*…sort of."
"I knew it." Shepard sighed in disgust, looking back at Garrus, who finally holstered his pistol.
The big Turian took a couple stops forward, then crouched onto one knee and brought himself to the Volus' eye level.
"Well then. Maybe you'd like to help us find him."
The Volus practically tripped over his words in his haste to tell Garrus what he wanted to know.
"Yes. Of course. *hiss* He's in the old factory district, *hiss* works out of the old prefab foundry."
Garrus looked back over his shoulder at Shepard, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "I know the place"
The Volus tried to warn them, talking about the enormous amount of merc's that would be waiting for them. He slipped up though, and told them Fade's name.
"Harkin?"
Shepard remembered Harkin. The sleaze ball that worked for C-Sec when she had started investigating Saren. He had talked to her like she was a stripper.
She looked at Garrus. "How the hell does Harkin end up being Fade?"
The Volus explained that Harkin had been fired from C-Sec a few months back, and that he used his knowledge of how they operated to help a few people disappear. Then he made himself disappear, and thus, Fade.
Garrus stood again, moving back towards Shepard. "Interesting. But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis."
"Well, let's go pay Harkin a visit then."
With a nod at the Volus, Shepard followed Garrus back out into Zakera Ward. He got them a sky car, and the ride to the old foundry was filled with more tense silence. Shepard was growing more and more worried. If she let Garrus do this, she would be letting her best friend commit cold blooded murder. On the Citadel no less, where his own father was a C-Sec legend.
She knew the pain of his loss, and she knew the anger and hunger for revenge…but this. Letting him shoot a man while she stood by and watched him do it. She didn't know if she could go through with it.
And she didn't know how he would react if she told him that.
Garrus parked the car, and scanned the outside of the building. As she moved around the car with him, the came around a stack of crates and there he was. Harkin. Standing in a doorway, surrounded by about six blue suns mercs.
He looked at Garrus with his mouth hanging open, then his gaze fell on her.
"Shepard?" He said disbelievingly.
She grinned and waved.
"Holy shit! Don't just stand there, shoot them!" He screeched at the mercs then spun and ran through the doors into the foundry.
"Run all you want Harkin! We'll find you!" Garrus screamed then dove for cover as the mercs opened fire on them.
Shepard dove into cover opposite Garrus, then they worked together to take out a seemingly endless supply of mercs as they moved deeper into the building in search of the fleeing Harkin. It was almost an hour later when they finally managed to catch a breather by breaking into the old foreman's office. The checked their supplies, and made sure they had all their ammo slots full.
Garrus moved to the plate glass windows overlooking the giant warehouse of crates they were going to have to slog through next, and glared as though he could will Harkin into sight.
She moved up beside him.
"So, Harkin's finally gone completely bad."
"Ha! He was always a pain in the ass. But I'm in no mood for his games. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll beat him within an inch of his life."
Wow. Somebody's rage is getting out of hand here. "You seem to be getting a little tense Garrus."
He turned his furious eyes to her. "Harkin may know why Sidonis wants to disappear. If so, he knows why we're here, and I don't want him tipping Sidonis off."
Something moved behind one of the crates facing them, and Shepard instantly crouched down so she wasn't exposed. Garrus quickly followed suit.
"Did you see that?" He murmured.
"Yeah…I definitely saw something."
"He is getting ready for us. Harkin had trapped himself in a corner, he must have something in store for us."
"Ok. Let's go. Quietly, if possible."
The moved back into the warehouse, Shepard taking point, with Garrus a familiar presence on her six. They made it through the floor of crates with no incident. Shepard climbed up on top of the last stack and had just hopped down to the other side when there was a ominous creak above her.
She looked up, and dove out of the way as an Atlas mech dropped from the ceiling where she had been standing.
"Shepard!" She could hear Garrus calling her from the other side of the crates.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She chanted as the mech opened fire on her position with heavy guns. The crate she was cowering behind shuddered under the force of the blows. The assault on her position stopped, and she peeked out just long enough to see a second Atlas mech drop from the ceiling and line its guns on her position as well.
It was no good. She had to make a run for it. The next set of crates was a good 50 meters away. Her shields would be toast in seconds under that kind of fire power.
She called to Garrus over the comms. "Garrus. I have to make a run for it. I need you to buy me a couple seconds."
"Shepard don't. It's too far."
"No choice buddy. My current cover is about five shots away from looking like swiss cheese."
"Spirits. OK, I'll do what I can. You better fly Shepard."
"Roger that."
She poised on the balls of her feet, waiting for Garrus to get their attention. There was an enormous explosion, and one of the mechs was rocked backwards a few steps. That was her cue.
She launched herself from behind the crate and ran as hard as she could for the next set of cover. She was still 20 feet away when the heavy guns caught her. Her shields flashed red and she threw herself forward onto her chest, sliding behind the crates in a screech of metal on concrete.
She lay panting for a moment, then gingerly moved her arms and legs. She wasn't shot. She pushed herself to her feet and looked down at her chest. Her armour was scratched all to hell, and her back was sore from the shots, but nothing had gotten through. She whooped.
"Thank the spirits." Garrus muttered over the comm, as she popped out from behind her much improved cover and unloaded her assault rifle on the Atlas closer to her. Garrus' grenade had done its job, and they managed to take them out after about 10 minutes of intense back and forth.
The sudden silence in the warehouse was almost eerie. The climbed the last wall of crates, where an office was perched. It was the last place Harkin could be.
As they moved towards the door, Shepard pulled Garrus to the side while they still had cover.
"Garrus. Are you still planning on killing Sidonis?"
His eyes went hard. "Yes. This is personal Shepard. I know you don't like it, but I'll pull the trigger. And I'll live with the consequences."
He brushed past her and they moved towards the door of the office. Shepard took point, and Garrus took a step back, looking to see if there were any other exits to the office.
Shepard moved up and kicked in the door.
Harkin scrambled backwards, moving towards the only other door. He sneered at her.
"You were close Shepard. But not close enough."
The door opened with a whoosh, and Garrus smashed Harking across the face with the butt of his assault rifle. The former C-Sec agents nose exploded in a spray of blood, and he dropped to the floor in agony. Garrus grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back into the office, slamming him up against the wall and holding him there with an armoured forearm.
"So Fade…Couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"
"C'mon Garrus…We can work this out. Whaddya need?" The man pleaded pitifully.
Garrus released him and Harkin remained leaning against the wall. The big Turian started to pace, his aggression stark in the small office.
"I'm looking for someone."
At his words, Harkin's bloodied face turned shrewd. "Well. Then I guess we both have something the other one wants."
In a flash Garrus was back in front of him, grabbing Harkin and ramming his armored knee in to the humans unprotected stomach.
Gasping for breath, Harking slumped to the floor.
Shepard jumped in, trying to make him understand he had to talk, and fast. "We aren't here to ask favours Harkin."
"You don't say" He groaned.
Garrus bent down, and heled him back to his feet, propping him against the wall. "You helped a friend of mine disappear. I need to find him."
"I might need a little bit more information than that Garrus." Harkin snarked.
Garrus hissed at him. "His name was Sidonis. Turian. Came from-"
Harkin straightened up abruptly. "I know who he is. And I'm not telling you squat." He spit a mouthful of blood at Garrus' feet.
Fucking moron.
Shepard stepped in front of Garrus, who was bristling with the effort to not punch Harkin in the face.
"C'mon Harkin. Is this information really worth all the trouble?"
"I don't give out client information. It's bad for business."
In a rush, seven feet of pissed off Turian pushed past Shepard and rammed his knee into Harkin's gut once again. This time, when the human crumpled to the floor, Garrus placed an armoured foot on his neck to hold him there.
Garrus added a little pressure to the foot until Harkin gurgled. "You know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!"
"Alright! Alright. Get off me!" Harkin gasped, starting to turn red.
Garrus stayed where he was, glaring down at the strangling human a look of pure rage on his face. Shepard moved forward and jerked him backwards.
"Jesus Garrus!"
Harkin looked up at them from the floor.
"Terminus really changed you, huh Garrus?" He rasped at them.
"No. But Sidonis…opened my eyes." He pulled his pistol and leveled it at Harkin's face. "Now arrange a meeting."
As Harkin moved to a terminal in the office, Shepard watched Garrus. He was pacing again, like a big, extremely pissed off cat. She could feel the desire to beat the shit out of Harkin coming off of him in waves. She put her hand on his shoulder to try and get him to stop.
He rolled his shoulder away from her with a hiss.
Harkin finished arranging the meeting, and gave them the point of contact.
"So…If our business is done, I'll be going." He moved towards the door.
Before Shepard could react, Garrus did. He snatched Harking by the collar in one taloned hand, hauling him close to his face.
"I don't think so. You're a criminal now Harkin." The big Turian growled.
"So what? Your just gonna kill me? That's not your style Garrus." The Human gasped, determined to be a prick until the very end.
"Kill you? No. But I don't mind slowing you down a little." Garrus pushed Harkin away and in one smooth motion pulled his pistol and aimed at the human's kneecap. Shepard lunged forward and slammed the gun upwards, so the shot went harmlessly into the wall next to them. Garrus snarled at her and tried to wrench the gun away from her. She used her other hand to grab his closest talon and twist, forcing him to release the gun.
"Garrus, he wont be able to hide from C-Sec now. I've pinged Bailey and they are on their way to pick him up."
He glared at her, then turned back to Harkin. "I guess this is your lucky day."
Shepard moved towards the door, while Harkin muttered. "Yeah. I hope we can do this again real soon."
Garrus spun and head butted him in the face, Harkin's soft human face no match for the natural armour plating on the Turians. Harkin clutched what was left of his nose and howled in agony as he slid down the wall behind him.
Garrus moved up beside her. Once he noticed her stiff shoulders and refusal to look at him he sighed, then muttered. "What? I didn't shoot him."
They got back in the sky car and once again the trip to the next location was completed in tense silence. Shepard knew now that she wouldn't be able to let Garrus take the shot. He wasn't behaving like himself, and she would be damned if she would let her best friend slide into hell while she watched.
He parked the car and just sat for a moment, then turned his furious face to hers.
"Harkin's a bloody menace. We shouldn't have just let him go. He deserved to be punished."
"I'm getting a little worried about you here Garrus. You were going to shoot Harkin. Shoot him, because he mouthed off at you."
"You don't think he deserved it?"
"Shit Garrus. It's one thing to rough someone up for information, but shoot him in the knee for backtalk? It's just not like you."
He ground his teeth in frustration, and something else flashed in his eyes.
"What do you want from me Shepard?" His voice took her by surprise. It was soft, almost, pleading. "What would you do if someone betrayed you?"
She thought briefly of Kaidan, but it wasn't even remotely the same thing so she shoved him roughly from her mind.
"I'm not sure Garrus. But I wouldn't let it change me."
She reached out and put her hand on his arm. He tensed, but didn't pull away. "I would have said the same thing before it happened to me."
"Garrus. It's not too late. You don't have to go through with this."
Pain flashed across his face, and for a moment she thought she had gotten through. That the real Garrus was looking back at her.
"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else cares."
"Garrus…Let me talk to him. Let me try."
He pulled his gaze from hers, and turned to the car door. "Talk all you want. It wont change my mind. I don't care what his reasons were Shepard. He screwed us…He deserves to die."
"Do you really believe that Garrus? I understand what your going through. I do. But do you really want to kill him?"
"I appreciate your concern…But I'm not you. I'm not gonna let him do this to me, to my team, then just walk away."
Jeez Garrus, a little harsh don't you think? Shepard took a deep breath. "This isn't you either Garrus."
He tore his gaze away from the car door and turned pained filled eyes on her once again. "Really? I've always hated injustice. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this…Why should he go on living while 10 good men lie in unmarked graves!"
"Garrus…"
He pushed the car door open. "I'm sorry Shepard. Words aren't going to solve this problem."
He got out of the car. "I need to set up. I can get a clear shot from over there."
He gestured to a dark balcony across from the seating area Sidonis was going to be waiting in. Shepard knew there was only one option now.
She sighed. "What do you need me to do."
He screwed the silencer onto the sniper rifle. "Keep him talking and don't get in my way. I'll let you know when he's in my sights. Give me signal so I know your ready. Then I'll take the shot."
She nodded, refusing to met his eyes.
"You better go. He'll be there soon."
He moved away, his tall frame disappearing soundlessly into the shadows. Shepard felt more than a little sick at what she was about to do. But she had tried her best to get him to try another way in the car, and the stubborn Turian refused to change his plans. Better he hate her now, then himself for the rest of his life.
As she moved into the crowded ward, she could see a Turian fidgeting nervously by a railing. She didn't need Garrus' whispered "There he is" to know it was Sidonis. He was thin, even by Turian standards. He stood up as she approached and waved at him.
"It's about time." He muttered as he stood in front of her.
"Shepard. You're in my shot. Move to the side." Garrus' voice seemed loud in her ear. Or maybe it was just because of the pounding of her heart.
Forgive me, my friend.
"Listen Sidonis. I'm here to help you."
The thin Turian looked at her in horror as she said his name.
"Don't ever say that name aloud." His voice was full of terror, and he looked wildly around them, as though looking for something…or someone.
"I'm a friend of Garrus'. He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary."
"Garrus? Is this some kind of joke?" He was definitely looking around now, and Shepard valiantly kept trying to make sure her head was in line with his. To make sure that if Garrus really wanted to take the shot, he had to be willing to kill her as well.
Garrus' voice was angry in her ear as he hissed. "Damn it Shepard. If he moves I'm taking the shot!"
As she once again moved her head as he moved his, Sidonis seemed to grasp the situation.
"You're not kidding…are you? Screw this! I'm not sticking around here to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems…"
Sidonis spun, turning to leave. Shepard grabbed his arm, and he whirled back to face her, jerking his arm out of her grasp.
"Get off me!"
She got right in his face. Both to block the shot she was sure Garrus would have lined up in the brief moment Sidonis spun away, and to make him understand.
"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head." She hissed at him.
His eyes went wide, and he looked over her shoulder to the dark space where Garrus was, even though he couldn't possibly see him.
"Fuck." Sidonis bowed his head, and allowed Shepard to stay where she was.
"Look… I didn't want to do it… I didn't have a choice!"
"Everyone had a choice!" Garrus said into her ear.
Sidonis was pleading now. "They got to me. Said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"
"Let me take the shot Shepard! He's a damn coward!" Garrus hissed.
Sidonis was getting agitated, and without thinking, started to pace. Shepard immediately started moving with him, keeping her head in what she hoped was Garrus' shot as she spoke.
"That's it? You were just trying to save yourself?"
"I know what I did. I know they all died because of me, and I have to live with that. I wake up every night…sick…sweating. Each of their faces staring at me…Accusing me."
She could hear the harsh breathing of Garrus in her ear. Sidonis placed his hands on the railing in front of them and bowed his head, defeat making his voice thick.
"I'm already a dead man. I don't sleep. Food has no taste. Some days I just want it to be over."
"Just give me the chance. Move Shepard." Garrus's voice was no longer angry. It was cold, almost as though he was pleading with her. She knew if he was ever going to shoot, even with her there, it would be now.
"You've got to let it go, Garrus. He's already paying for his crime."
"He hasn't paid enough. He still has his life-"
"What life? Look at him Garrus. He's not alive, not in the sense of living his life… There's nothing left for you to kill."
"My men…they deserved better."
Sidonis looked at her from the railing, listening to her side of the conversation about whether he would live or die.
"Tell Garrus… I there's nothing I can say to make it right…" The Turian hung his head once more, and purposely moved out from Shepard into the open.
She closed her eyes and waited for the crack of the rifle. Her knee's went weak with relief when Garrus spoke into the comm.
"Just…Go. Tell him to go…"
She opened her eyes and looked at the defeated Turian standing before her.
"He's giving you a second chance Sidonis. Don't waste it."
Sidonis slowly straightened until he was at his full seven-foot height, and looked over her shoulder directly to where Garrus was hidden in the shadows.
"I'll try Garrus. I'll make it up to you. Somehow."
His gaze shifted to Shepard. "Thank you. For talking to him."
She clicked off her comm.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for him. I couldn't give two shits about you, or people like you. I did this for Garrus. Because if he had splashed your brains all over the Citadel, even a Spectre couldn't get him out of it. You had better do something worthy of this. I chose you over my best friend today, and if I come to regret that decision, you had better believe Garrus wont be the one that finds you next time."
She spun away, and stalked back towards the sky car. Back towards the Turian who was going to be furious with her. He was standing stiffly by the car when she approached, his rifle slung over his shoulder.
"I know you want to talk about this Shepard, but I don't. Not yet."
"OK Garrus. That's fine."
They were silent in the car, and once they reached the Normandy Garrus left her abruptly to go into the battery. He locked the door behind him, the red panel a glaring image of just how much he didn't want to see her right now. She scrubbed a hand over her face, the long day catching up to her.
She sat down at the table in the mess, still in her armour and just put her head in her hands. There was a creak as someone sat down next to her. She looked up into the bearded face and green eyes of her pilot.
"Hey Commander. I take it it didn't go well down there?"
She grimaced. "It depends on what you mean by well. The man we went to kill is still alive, by my choice. Garrus may never forgive me for it though. Other than you and Chakwas, he is the one person who would willingly walk into hell with me, and I… well. Let's just say I made a call that he didn't agree with, and it wasn't really my call to make."
"Sounds rough." He cleared his throat and tapped his fingers on the table a few times. "So... Whisky and an action flick in your quarters?"
She gave him an exhausted smile. "Perfect."