This is the worst plan, in the history of bad plans!" Garrus yelled across the conference room table. Jane grimaced at how loud he was but had to agree the plan wasn't exactly a solid one. There was going to be a party, similar to one previously thrown by Donovan Hock on Bekenstein, Jane had been informed. "Everyone who is anyone on Bekenstein will know who you are. Not only because you're the savour of the galaxy! But because you blew up Donovan Hok….AND you're supposed to be dead!" Garrus carried on seething. Tali who suggested it and everyone else who had agreed with her now looking rather sheepish under the Turians wrath.
Jane was stood at one end of the table while Garrus was stood opposite her at the other end. Kai Leng was leaning against the wall in the back having offered no useful insights whatsoever thus far. Tali, Liara and Miranda were stood on one side, James and Kaidan on the other. Miranda and Liara had used their connections to look into Doctor Simon Ettlemen's estate, they unfortunately hadn't been able to secure any useful information about the estate but they had procured an invitation to an art gallery opening not far from the estate, an event that Simon Ettlemen was also supposed to attend. So now they were discussing the best way to proceed, Tali had suggested Shepard attend under an alias using a disguise she would track his movements, while another team investigates the estate for anything useful to find where he is possibly conducting the new 'Project Jane.' So far Garrus had been less than enthused to put it lightly and now was ranting about just how bad the plan was.
"If he doesn't turn up then you'll be surrounded by people that would want to see you dead. With no safe evac route…" He highly disapproved but Jane now drowned him out and started zooming in on the map of the gallery. She saw an empty room and pointed at in, interrupting Garrus's ravings,
"This room? Is that the security?" she asked no one in particular and Miranda answered for her,
"From the schematics we have of the building we believe so."
"How about this? I go in but so do three others, under disguise off course and take the guards out in this room. Commandeer it then you can be my eyes and ears of the entire facility. I would have back up if things were to go wrong as well." She tried to reason but Garrus still didn't look like he was going to budge so she glared at him to try and get him to pull his act together. "this is the best lead we have so far. We can't do recon because the bastards on that planet are paranoid-"
"Rightfully so-" Kai Leng said something finally but Jane glowered at him for the interruption,
"If anyone was to catch a wiff of us doing anything out of the ordinary then they shut down and security will be alerted. If they don't recognise me I can be a good little distraction while the other team snoops around his estate." She spoke confidently and the others nodded in agreement with her.
"Who's playing what in this then?" James asked while bracing his hands on the table and turning his attention to her. She crossed an arm over her chest and braced her elbow on it while pressing her fingers to her lips in thought.
"I want Jack, Liara and James to take out the security and become my eyes and ears." Liara and James nodded as Kaidan sent Jack a notification on his omni-tool. Jane moved over the hologram again looking over the Ettlemen estate, she would need a tech expert on the recon team to deactivate any alarms but she'd also want someone who's done this sort of thing before. She hummed and then looked up to Tali. "Tali I want you, Kasumi and Zaeed on the recon." The quarrian accepted the role and stood back from the table in parade rest.
"What about you Shepard?" Garrus breathed out, clearly still not happy with the plan that was going forwards regardless. Jane cocked any eyebrow up at him asking him silently to elaborate, "Who's going to be your date, and your security? If your disguising yourself you need to look the part. You can't just stroll in without an entourage." He explained and Jane groaned. Rubbing her face tiredly as she began to dwell over the idea,
"Garrus for obvious reasons can't be your date. Given his past as Archangel." Liara spoke softly and Jane just rolled her eyes at the woman rather rudely,
"Archangel?" she asked as if reminding Liara her memory wasn't all there. Liara to her credit did blush and then apologised.
"As much as I'd love to be your date for the evening Jane she's right. I'm too recognisable. Even if Archangel died on Omega there could be someone that would recognise me regardless. I can be your bodyguard? I'll just have to wear a helmet?" Garrus offered with a small smile to Jane which she returned, looking away quickly as her cheeks warmed.
"Kaidan?" She enquired and to her annoyance he also shook his head. "Now I think people are just making up excuses." She joked and that earned a small chuckle from around the table.
"Well, you are a terrible dancer." Kaidan uttered in amusement and Jane made a dramatically shocked face,
"To be fair there Alenko she's gotten better. I saw her and scars doing the tango back on the citadel. She looked mighty fine." Vega flirted and sent a wink her way. She snorted out a laugh in a very unladylike way but Garrus agreed with him,
"Best day ever." Garrus breathed and Jane caught his intense gaze but had to look away quickly as her body became warm.
"But no in all seriousness Jane I can't do it, When they couldn't find you after the crucible I was the next person they plastered all over the news." Kaidan explained. Jane began to rub her temples in irritation when Kai Leng stepped up to the table with a smirk,
"I'll do it." He said smoothly and everyone at the table shot him a heated glare. "What? I'm the only one who can do it. My job for the Illusive man required a lot of discretion." He reasoned and Jane shook her head emphatically,
"I'd rather take Miranda as my date than you." Jane looked hopefully towards Miranda who gave a tentative smile at being a choice, her and Shepard were still not exactly on a friendly bases.
"I'm sorry Shepard but the Illusive Man required the opposite from me. I was his voice, not many met the Illusive man, they met me. So the chances are I'll know at least 50 percent of the people at that gallery." Miranda said and Jane growled loudly. Mulling over all her choices she suggested anyone possible, Samarra was known because she had killed a fair few crime lords from Bekenstein, Jane couldn't go with a Krogan as it would bring too much attention to her and the same went for why EDI or Javik couldn't go along with her. The others already had their roles to play so that left only kai Leng, who was staring smugly at her knowing he had won again. She glared heatedly at him,
"Ettlemen will recognise you." She snapped and he chuffed out a brief laugh,
"Ettlemen is more likely to recognise you than me, and I'm rather good at making myself disappear." He explained and Jane chewed on her tongue in anger, stopping it from lashing out with obscenities,
"Wait…you aren't seriously considering he be your date?" Garrus snarled and shook his head while scowling at the man, "He'd be sooner to turn you back over to Ettlemen than protect you."
Kai Leng had an air of calmness about him but still looked at Garrus with deathly hatred, "Ettlemen betrayed me and left us to be killed by this crew. Besides, I will be aware of who the people are she'll be dealing with, I've worked for them silently before, they never met me but I know them." Kai argued and before Garrus could start shouting again Jane cut in,
"Enough! As much as I loath this plan it's the only one we have." She stated clearly, "How long till the opening?" she asked Miranda,
"5 hours Shepard."
Jane heaved in a heavy breath and looked to the three women with dread, "So any of you want to help me get ready?" The words felt heavy as she asked and instantly regretted them as Tali bounded round the table a little too eagerly and started tugging her arm towards the exit. As she was leaving she heard Garrus threaten kai,
"If you step one foot out of line Leng-"
"I assure you Turain. I'll be nothing but a gentleman." Kai interrupted with a clipped voice.
…..
Four hours later Jane was standing staring at her reflection, she had been doing that for the past hour since Tali, Liara and Kasumi had left her quarters. She just couldn't believe the woman in the mirror was her. They dyed her hair a cherry red and pulled it into an elegant bun with tendrils falling down the nape of her neck and framing her face. She thought she would have more scars but apparently they had to recreate a lot of her skin with skin graphs and weaves and all the previous damages to her skin was eradicated. Her new skin could still damage but not as easily as before. Miranda had loaned her a dress, a black floor length gown with a slit up the leg to mid-thigh and a plunging neckline that stopped under her breast line showing the curve of both breasts. Jane had refused to wear it like that and they'd given her a long delicate necklace that dangled between her cleavage at least making her feel a little more covered. She still felt practically bare on top with a halter neck knotting in a bow, it's labels draping down between her shoulder blades, her back was bare and the dress only started at the small of her back over her buttocks. Unfortunately it was the only dress on the whole ship that fit Shepard, none surprisingly there wasn't many dresses to chose from and her and Miranda were of a similar height, the others came up too short. Matching the dress she had black heels with a gemstone strap around her ankles, her toes peeked out at the end and Kasumi had even gone as far to paint them a dark red. She had a black organza shawl that went loosely around her shoulders and she clung to it with white knuckles as if it was a thick blanket.
She breathed in a shaky breath feeling unprepared for this mission and wondered if this was how she felt the last time she had come to Bekenstein, or if she was just so damaged now she was rendered a pathetic nervous reck. Much to her dismay Liara had insisted on makeup and Jane had conceded so now she was wearing a very pin up girl style including the black eyeliner and blood red lipstick.
"Commander, the gallery opening is due to start in 55 minutes." EDI came over the comm in her bathroom and Jane rolled her eyes,
"I know EDI, thanks for the reminder." Jane drawled and grabbed the large sparkly silver purse.
"You're welcome Shepard. The crew are waiting for you." EDI disconnected and Jane groaned before dragging her feet out of the room and into the lift.
"EDI tell them to get into the shuttles. I don't particularly feel like an audience." Jane asked and EDI did as she bid. When the lift was nearing the cargo bay EDI popped up again,
"Vega sends his apologies but said the others weren't missing this." EDI sounded almost amused and Jane glared at her hologram.
"Of course he did." Jane snarled. She waited with dread as finally the lift stopped moving and the ding seemed to resound around the room like an alarm. She felt her heart rate increase unreasonably given the situation and she breathed in again deeply, pulling back her shoulders she reached into herself and pulled out the Commander. Clenching her jaw she walked out of the lift with her eyes closed, letting her feet clip loudly across the floor until she was out into the wide open space of the cargo bay. All the sounds around her quietened and she opened her eyes slowly to see everyone had stopped what they were doing and were openly staring at her.
"Holy shit." Vega exclaimed looking very debonair in a suit that was clearly too tight for him. Next to him Liara was wearing an Asari gown with sides cut out on her waist, a smattering of makeup on highlighting her eyes, and even Jack had made an effort and wore a dark blue cocktail dress.
"Jack, Liara don't you both look stunning! Everyone look how wonderful they look!" Jane tried to deflect. Though everyone's eyes still remained firmly glued to her, save Kaidan who seemed to be undressing Jack with his.
"Give is a twirl!" Zaeed called and grabbed her hand making her do a very awkward twirl. She glowered at him and pushed him away before marching through them to find Garrus leaning against the shuttle and Kai Leng inside already seated. When they saw her Garrus looked shocked for a moment before clearing his throat and grinning at her, she blushed then had to laughed at the utterly stunned look Kai was giving her, the look didn't suit his face.
"I need a weapon." Jane said firmly trying keep her arms from fidgeting at her sides. Jack snorted as she climbed into the shuttle accepting a hand in from Garrus,
"Where you going to conceal a gun in that? Actually don't answer!" Jack chortled at her own joke along with Zaeed, the dirty minded bastards, Jane thought.
She pulled the shawl around her shoulders feeling naked and Ill equipped for the mission. Garrus took pity on her and gestured for her to follow him, cat calls following the pair as he lead them out of view and out of the cargo bay into the adjoining hall. He pulled her to a stop and pulled out a knife and holster from his a compartment in his armour.
"This is for you, I know I'm going to be there to have your back. But I'm not letting you go down there with only your biotics to rely on." He breathed. Jane felt her chest constrict with gratitude and beamed a disarming smile at him. "This is a leg holster. It goes around your thigh, obviously…if you don't mind?" he gestured to her leg and she nodded her consent.
Quickly dropping to one knee he hooked her leg over his shoulder unnecessarily and smirked up at her with intense blue eyes. Heat pooled straight away to the bottom of her stomach and she knew immediately he'd chosen this overly intimate position on purpose.
"Well it's been a while since we've been in this position." He purred. Trailing his talons lightly round her ankle then up her calf, leisurely dragging them up the inside of her thigh. She tensed her legs when he brushed the underside of her underwear but then breathed in deeply when he moved away again. "Easy Jane. Just putting your holster on…?" He uttered innocently and Jane scowled at him. Her chest heaving and cheeks flushed with want, she licked her lips which suddenly felt dry and watched as his eyes grew darker at the motion.
When the holster was fitted he dropped her leg back off his shoulder but gripped her hips. Suddenly he put his face in between her legs and inhaled deeply, his body rumbling with an aroused growl at her scent. She let out a breathy sigh and grabbed his fringe to steady herself. He darted his long strong tongue out and slowly licked the fabric over her centre. Letting out a strangled moan her legs trembled but Garrus supported her weight. He took mercy and released her, tidying her skirts back up and standing to his full height.
"The only reason I'm stopping is because if we carried on i wouldn't be able to stop. Screw this mission." He growled clearly with pent up arousal, his husky voice showed his truth in regretfully pulling away.
Jane gave him a shaky smile and slapped him on his armoured shoulder.
"I have to do that said mission now with you and now all I can think about is this!" She admonished but he laughed and pushed into her space again. Bringing his face down to hers he pushed his mouth plates against her lips in the best imitation of a human kiss. Running his tongue over her lower lip she let him in and felt electricity when their tongues danced together. She grabbed the sensitive skin on his neck as he gripped her small waist pulling her body into his. He groaned and pulled away before resting his forehead against hers.
"Spirits Jane." He said quietly and Jane chuckled breathlessly. The chemistry between them was still clearly there despite the disaster of the year she'd been absent.
With one final peck on his mouth she detangled herself unwillingly.
Poking him in the chest "you have to behave at this thing. We're professionals Vakarian!" She snapped playfully and he mock saluted.
"Yes ma'am!"
She laughed at him and accepted his arm as he led them back to the shuttle. Garrus offered her a hand and she allowed herself to be helped up, she went into the front of the shuttle for lack of space in the main part due to the rest of their party. Zaeed, Kasumi and Tali had gone in a separate shuttle and would separate on the decent to Bekenstein.
They stopped at one of Liara's contact points and switched the shuttle for an overly expensive sky car, fitting with the alias which she, with all the horror of getting ready, completely forgot to read the dossier about.
"Shit! Who the fuck am I supposed to be I didn't read the brief? Jane questioned Garrus who sat next to her, Leng sat in the front and the rest of their party took another car.
Garrus rubbed his face and groaned at her admittance, "you didn't read the brief?" He confirmed and Jane shrugged nonchalantly,
"Well my forte seems to be winging it" Jane mumbled and Leng snorted a laugh in the front,
"How did you ever beat me?" He said quietly in disbelief while shaking his head. Jane leant forward and shoved the back of his head in a peeved fashion,
"Shut it! I'm best when I don't have a plan!?" She excused before turning back to Garrus with her full attention.
"This isn't one of those missions, you can't go in and 'wing it'" Garrus air quoted and was clearly disapproving of her lack of preparation. Jane just blinked at him with a bored blank expression, waiting for him to explain the briefing to her. "You're essentially a Red Sand dealer, but you're responsible for the majority of the Red Sand available on the black market currently." He began and Jane listened intently, "You're name is Rachel Red…blame Liara for that, she thought it was fitting given the subject of your wealth. And you're also an apt art collector. Which, is probably going to be really hard for you to convey as you have never ever been interested in art."
Jane frowned at that and then rubbed circles in her temples "fantastic! So how does he play into this?" She pointed to Kai Leng who's head moved back at his mention.
"I'm the doting fiancé who actually knows a thing or two about art. So you just stand their looking pretty and I'll do the taking." The corner of the assassins lip quirked up as Jane and Garrus hurled insults at him.
The car suddenly descended to a walkway over a balcony that looked out on a beautiful cascading waterfall. They pulled over a red carpet with security heavily stationed around in key areas, Garrus slipped his helmet on as the door man for the venue opened her car door and offered her his hand. Pulling her to stand Jane plastered her best smile and nodded her thanks to the man. Her eyes darted her surroundings and took in how heavily armed the guards were, the wealth that would be pouring through these doors probably warranted it. Kai Leng got out of the vehicle and stood by her side as Garrus loomed behind her looking very much the part as her body guard. They walked to the door where a beautiful Asari was there with an omni-tool opened dressed in a skimpy red gown, though truthfully probably showed less skin than Shepard's current dress.
"Hello Ma'am, I welcome you to the opening of The Shepard Memorial Art Gallery. Named in honour of our Saviour." She beamed eloquently and Shepard's face turned pale and fell into a disturbed frown. "Could you please show me your invitations so I can process you?" She asked again with such decorum written in her body language.
Jane was still stuck on processing the name of the Gallery when Leng placed a hand at the base of her back, his hand radiating heat into her exposed skin.
"I'm John Stevens and this is my fiancé Rachel Red. I'll send across the passes now." He said smoothly with a charming smile.
The Asari scrutinised the pass before smiling again and motioning them through, not even sparing a glance to Garrus.
A few steps inside Jane lead them to a more private corner and turned on them, "Do you not think It just might have been prudent to tell me the name of this freakin gallery! I was not prepared for that!" She hissed under her breath,
"Blame Liara or Miranda for that, I wasn't aware." Garrus dismissed and Leng nodded for once in agreement with the Turian "in fact I didn't even want to do this in the first place, but we're here now." He snapped back and Jane glowered for a moment.
"Shall we mingle my dear?" Leng drawled in a seductive purr and Jane shot him a dirty look as he again placed his hand at the small of her back, pulling her into his side.
"Getting a bit handsy there John Stevens let's not forget I'm her body guard" Garrus uttered quietly in a poorly concealed threat.
Leng chuckled darkly, the sound reverberated through his body into Shepard who tried to distance herself a bit more from him.
"Let's not forget that's all you are here. Her henchmen tonight…while I'm the fiancé." He said smugly and Jane elbowed him sharply in the ribs in anger causing Garrus to chuckle.
"Shut up! Both of you this isn't the time for a pissing contest. Now let's get me a drink and wait for the others." She admonished and let Kai Leng steer them in the direction of alcohol.
NOTE FROM WRITER
Thank you if you're still reading and enjoying the story, please leave me a review with feedback as its always welcome :) Thank you to the GUEST who left a nice review, FF has a glitch yet so i cant see it on here but i read the email, so thank you for taking the time.
Another chapter shall be up tomorrow and enjoy! x :D