A/N: Hello and Welcome, my Lovelies! This story will focus mainly on our OC, Kat, and her adventures through from ME 1-3. She's got a tortured past, a highly criminal present, and a future happily ever after (just the way I like it). Additionally, there will be some chapters and scenes dedicated to my FemShep, Taryn, and her romance with Liara. Because. Dayum.
Fair Warning: This is a slooooooooow burn. But when it gets steamy, it'll be a damn sauna.
Chapter One
She rubbed her hands against her pants, wiping away her nervous sweat. She'd been out in the open for too long. Where was he? Her omni-tool blared bright orange when she tapped it, numbers dancing across the screen. He was late, he should have been here twenty minutes ago.
She heard a noise at the end of the hall. Footsteps? She crouched down and pressed herself against the wall. She needed to be small, unnoticeable. She leaned towards the vent, sliding it open in preparation. With one hand on the top, and half her body scrunched into the opening, she peeped out, watching the stranger turn the corner towards her. She sighed in relief.
"Mouse!" she hissed.
The head of tangled brown hair turned towards her. Mouse smirked at the sight of her.
"You're late," she snapped, crawling out of the vent and sliding it shut. It clicked in place and she turned back to glare at him. She didn't like when he was late, which he was. Frequently. It made her more nervous than usual. There were very few legal reasons to lurk in an alleyway, and she didn't want any C-Sec officer to take notice of her and start asking questions. She hated questions.
Mouse grinned at her. "Hello, Kathrine Mae Adams," he said proudly as he handed over a datapad. "Came up with it myself."
Mouse put a gentle hand on Kathrine's elbow, and she flinched away. She dropped her glare, and took the datapad, allowing him to guide her away from the Financial district and towards the main Citadel elevator as she stared down at the pad intently.
Full name, familiar background, even a history of jobs and taxes paid. Wasn't Kathrine just the fine upstanding citizen? The credentials looked quite official and proper, might have even fooled her if she didn't know better.
"Nice, you did a good job, Mouse," she offered as she finished reviewing her new identity.
He smiled from ear to ear, and Kathrine tensed when he threw an arm around her shoulders as they walked the abandoned hall between the Presidium elevator and the entrance to the Wards. "Told ya you'd like it."
She stared up at him. Mouse was always a bit too cheerful for her. Seemed like anyone in their positions had no reason to be happy, not unless they just finished a well-paying job, which he had not. As far as Kathrine knew, Mouse was actually running low on funds. He'd taken a job with Fist, and she hoped Mouse did it because he was desperate.
Kathrine shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "For five thousand credits, I better more than like it. Time for a test drive. Wait here."
She tossed her hair over her shoulder, made a mental note to get a haircut, and slipped into the bathroom at Flux to change her clothes. After a few minutes struggling into the pants, which clearly weren't designed with someone who had dancer's thighs in mind, she tugged the matching top over head, and twisted her hair into a tight military style bun. Finally emerging back into the hall, she walked over to Mouse and did a spin. "Whaddya think?"
Mouse whistled, a wide grin on his face as he looked her from head-to-toe, the drab C-Sec uniform hugging her lithe form in all the right places. "Damn, Katie, who knew I like a girl in a uniform?"
"You tryin' to tell me I don't look good out of a uniform?" she asked with a hand on her hip.
He chuckled and smacked her ass as she walked by. "You always look good, Katie!"
"Thanks, Mouse. See you when I see you," she called with a casual wave before leaving him behind. She squared her shoulders, standing tall and emulating the confidence and authority of a C-Sec officer.
Kathrine made her way through the lower wards, her eyes flicking between both sides of the hall. It was always unnerving being this close to so many C-Sec officers, but the Wards had so many complaints that this hall was guaranteed to be filled with four to five officers at any time. She forced herself to keep a casual pace, making her way through the lower wards. She flipped a smile at a passing guard.
"Hey!" she said cheerfully.
When she was safely inside the C-Sec elevator, she winced at the amount of pep she'd heard in her voice. "What the hell kind of guard is peppy, Kathrine?" she chided herself, her voice drowned out by the mind-mushing elevator music. When she came out of the elevator onto the C-Sec Academy, she steadied her breathing, walking confidently and naturally as she approached the turian manning the requisitions station.
Now to see if five-thousand credits were worth it. She stopped a few feet away from his console and nodded politely. "I'm looking for a Volkov-X with the serial ending in 2293A," she said, pleased that her tone was even and her voice hadn't caught.
The turian officer stared at her for a moment, as though he had difficulty believing she could even lift a sniper rifle, let alone use one. "Name?" he asked finally, turning towards his screen.
"Adams, Kathrine Mae," she said, waiting patiently as his three-fingered hands worked at the console. She shifted her feet, ready to dart if the name didn't check out. It was only fifteen steps to the closest vent, but the duct inside the elevator shaft would be her safest escape. She hoped that he didn't have control over the elevator from here. When his weight shifted and a nearly muffled, "huh," escaped his lips, she leaned forward.
"Do you have it?" she asked, trying to appear casual.
"You're just in time," he confirmed. "Shipment arrived minutes ago, but do you have the credits?"
Kathrine bit back her amusement. Did she have the money? She'd only been saving up for this purchase for months. She tapped her omni-tool. "I sure do. Charlie would never let me live it down if I didn't. He'd say I chickened out on the competition." She let out a scoff. "There's no way Charlie is a better shot than me. It's a matter of honor, ya see," she glanced down at her omni-tool and typed in the number to transfer the credits. "Can't have the boys thinking I'm some chump, right?"
The turian didn't reply as he watched his screen waiting for the transfer to go through. When the familiar ding sounded confirming the transfer, he turned and got the case from a locked cabinet. She swallowed the last of her anxiety, looked like the new identity was up to snuff.
"Thanks, man," she said, again too enthusiastically as she hefted the case. Spinning around, she strutted out of the room. Well, she tried to strut, but it was closer to ambling, maybe even shuffling, with the case being nearly as tall as she was.
The turian shook his head at the sight as she turned the corner and disappeared. "Humans," he muttered.
Kathrine grinned clutching the case to her chest as she wobbled down the hall. She was far away from C-Sec, and just a cab ride away from her apartment. Before she could press the button to call a cab, her omni-tool flashed with a message from Mouse. "Job for you at Fist's ASAP."
Kathrine groaned at the name, she hated Fist. He was the scum of the Citadel, not to mention she'd lost many a cohort to his filthy club, Chora's Den. But she was also very close to getting the last of the money and items that she needed to be able to bribe some guards, buy passage on a ship heading to Earth, and then buy a home. Maybe on a beach somewhere. Or a cabin in the mountains? Fist just might be able to tip her over into being able to make a break for it.
Decision made, Kathrine responded that she'd be there, running off to her hiding spot in a side alley to stow her newly acquired sniper. She'd found the spot a few years back, if you put pressure on the panel in just the right spot you could pop it open, inside was enough space for a few valuable items or a place to hide, if the need arose. She hid her new sniper rifle inside next to her crate of mods, and quickly slid the panel back into place, brushing off her pants before leaving the alley and turning right, towards her meeting with Fist.
Chora's Den was just as loud and full of mostly naked asari as she remembered from her last begrudged visit. As Kathrine passed by the bar, she saw a new face and looked over. Wasn't that Jenna who used to work at Flux? Kathrine shrugged, not my business, and continued around the curve, turning left. She nodded to Fist's krogan bouncers as she passed through the door, heaving a sigh before entering his office.
"Fist," she barked, "Mouse said you had a job for me."
Fist rose from where he'd been lounging on the couch in the corner of his office and approached Kathrine where she stood just inside the doors. His face twisted into a disappointed sneer as he circled her. "Straight to business? You really ought to try and relax some time, Katie."
She repressed the urge to hit him, instead she glared. "Fist. The job."
"Alright, alright." He walked back to his desk, picking up a datapad, which he tossed to her. "I've got a business partner who was foolish enough to try and sell behind my back. I need you to get me all the information on who she's sold to, where the shipments are arriving, and where she is now. Then let's say you… inquire into her bank account. I want all of it. And," he lifted a credit chit from the other side of his desk, "half a mil. Upon completion, of course."
Kathrine's jaw dropped. Did he just say half a million? Just to look up some information?! "What's the catch?"
Fist grinned. "No catch, Katie."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Assuming I believe you, what's the name of your partner?"
"Former partner, Tela Vasir."
Kathrine clenched her jaw; there was the catch. "The spectre? Wonderful." She opened her omni-tool, linking it with his terminal. She had the skills to do what he wanted, but lacked the operational hardware to do so. Fist liked it that way, making her come to him and stay in his illustrious company while she worked, keeping her under his thumb so he could ensure that she didn't double cross him. Which was a laugh, really, as he couldn't have followed what she was doing if he was staring at her omni-tool. Kathrine glanced up at him, which he wasn't. She began syncing all the data he had on Tela Vasir, which was precious little. Spectres didn't 'officially' do a thing. It was all missions that didn't really happen, in places that they never actually went.
Once the preliminary linkages were in place, Kathrine plopped down in the chair at his desk, burying herself in the extranet after she programmed a VI to sift through the useless information, effectively filtering through anything that wasn't worth looking at. She'd managed to piggyback off of the local comm buoy, easily tracking the ingoing and outgoing communications of Tela Vasir.
It took four hours, and by the time Kathrine had found the information that Fist wanted, and hacked the appropriate bank, her nerves were tightly wound and she just wanted to get the hell out of there. Fist had been pacing about, leaning over her shoulder, and muttering comments on 'how long' it was taking. After hours of Fist's presence, Kathrine was about ready to shoot him with her brand-new sniper rifle. Which was, regrettably, in hiding.
Kathrine downloaded all the information onto a blank datapad prepared ahead of time by Fist, while the funds transferred from Vasir's account to his. Kathrine watched the zeros appear at the end of the total in Fists's account. Boy, I wish I had that kind of money. The things I could do.
"Here," she handed Fist the datapad, "you are now a few million credits richer."
Fist looked through the information, scrolled down through the list of names and places, any and all information that Kathrine had found relating to Tela Vasir's operations. "This," Fist began, looking up at Kathrine with a grin, "is much more than I had expected."
"I always deliver," Kathrine said, shrugging her shoulders.
His grin turned lecherous, and he stared at her tits rather than at the data. "Not always, Katie, not on every request. For instance, I would sure love it if-
"Not in this lifetime, Fist," she spat. "Not. In. This. Lifetime." She wanted to throw up every time she was around him. Fist was despicable and she hated herself for working for him but told herself again that this was the last time. After this she would have more than enough saved up to finally get off the Citadel. She could disappear for good. On Earth.
"So, where's my payment, Fist?" she asked, frowning at him.
His eyes lifted off her chest and finally met her gaze. She shuddered as he raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?" he said.
Kathrine scowled. "Fist. My payment."
He sighed dramatically and smiled. "Katie, Katie, Katie, I hate to do this to you. Especially when you just delivered this tasty morsel," Fist gestured with the datapad before reaching out with one hand to caress Katie's hair, and she jerked back out of his reach. Fist smiled mockingly at her and kept speaking, "Really, you're my favorite little thief, but somebody else wanted you more."
Katie's blood ran cold and her limbs stiffened. A thrumming pain blossomed in the back of her head and her hands began to shake. No. He isn't here. He can't be. "Somebody? Fist…who?"
Fist shrugged, "Some guy named Ra-
She didn't wait for him to finish. She darted out of the room and underneath the arms of Fist's surprised bodyguards. She slid between two arguing krogans and dodged through the crowd for the exit. Forget this job! Get the fuck out of here! She shoved her way past the dance floor, managing to keep her balance as she bumped into various dancers.
Only to crash into a tall woman with dark red hair.
"S-sorry," Kathrine managed, stumbling back.
"Whoa, slow down. Are you okay?" the woman asked, reaching her hands and steadying Kathrine.
"Fine," Kathrine breathed, moving to dart around the woman. She managed a single step before a set of three-fingered hands closed around her arms, dragging her backwards. "Let go of me!" Kathrine shouted, struggling against Fist's men. There was a deep thwack, like metal on flesh, a pained grunt, and then Kathrine was free. She stumbled a bit, off balance and heard an angry woman speaking.
"I don't think she wants to go with you."
Kathrine looked up to see the woman with red hair standing between her and Fist's cronies. She was flanked by a man and woman, all of them wearing impressive armor and loaded down with weapons. They were all sheathed, but from the way her armed rescuers were standing, it wouldn't take much for those weapons to be pointed in someone's face. Thankfully, it didn't look like Kathrine would be staring down their muzzles anytime soon.
The krogan loomed over the redhead, trying - and clearly failing - to intimidate her. "Fist's orders," he grunted, though he didn't take another step to recapture Kathrine.
"I suggest you go back to Fist and tell him that he needs to rethink those orders," the redhead responded.
There was a brief staredown in which neither the woman and her friends nor Fist's guards moved. Kathrine found that she was holding her breath, rooted to the spot as she watched the woman's right hand move ever so slowly towards the pistol strapped to her side. The krogan must have noticed it too, because the leader huffed, growled at his minions, and they all turned and went back to Fists office. Kathrine breathed out, but did not relax. She knew they would be back shortly. She needed to get out of here before they did. The woman watched them go, her hand still hovering over the pistol, not turning back to face Kathrine until the krogan were a safe distance away.
Kathrine's eyes skimmed the woman quickly as she turned back around. She was easily 5'10" and her hair was pulled into a tight bun. Military style, for sure. Rather than dressed in club gear like the other patrons or wearing next to nothing like the asari dancers, the woman wore form fitting armour that looked both expensive and dangerous. An N7 logo was visible just above the breastplate.
"Y-you...you're Commander Shepard!" Kathrine blurted out, unable to stop herself as the realization bloomed.
"Yes, and you are?" the Commander asked, lowering her hand from her weapon and looking somewhat bemused.
Kathrine stood taller, but it didn't help. She was a little bug compared to Shepard. "Katie. Kathrine. Adams. Kathrine Mae Adams…ma'am," she said, her voice growing quiet under the woman's calculating gaze.
"Right. Katie, mind telling me what you've done to get Fist's attention?" Shepard asked.
Kathrine glanced over her shoulder at the doors on the far side of the club. "All I did was what he paid me to, but turns out Fist isn't just a disgusting, lecherous, degenerate lowlife, he's a backstabbing, disgusting, lecherous, degenerate lowlife."
"The man who runs this club?"
Kathrine nodded. Shepard's eyes looked her over and narrowed, "You work for Fist?"
Kathrine wanted to laugh, almost offended at the notion. "No. Well, not usually."
"Alright, Katie, if you occasionally work for Fist, care to tell me why you're wearing a C-Sec uniform?"
Kathrine had to blink twice, and her fear spiked as she realized how stupid she had been. She glanced down at the uniform she had donned early that morning. "This isn't what it looks like."
Shepard popped her hip, "And what exactly does this look like?"
Kathrine had to admit, if only to herself, that she was impressed. Of course, why shouldn't she be? This was Commander Shepard, Hero of the Skyllian Blitz. And Shepard. Kicked. Ass. Including, Kathrine realized, hers. It hadn't taken Shepard long to wheedle every illegal thing that Kathrine had done out of her. At least, everything she had done that day. She was hoping that a bout of honesty might lend Shepard to being merciful. Kathrine knew how to act to make herself seem harmless, she knew how to manipulate the guards into letting her go with only a simple warning, but she wasn't foolish enough to assume that someone who'd gone through N7 training was as easy to trick as your run-of-the-mill C-Sec officer.
Shepard had taken them to a cafe in the upper Zakera Wards, a comfortable and quiet - not to mention very public - place for them to speak. Far enough away from Fist and his men that Kathrine felt safe ...ish. They had settled at a table in the back of the shop. Kathrine chose a seat where she could see the door, climbing onto the chair and folding her legs beneath herself. Shepard slid in across from Kathrine while her team took seats by the counter, their surveillance of the room painfully obvious. Kathrine had scoped out the room before they entered. Two vents, one that was too high for her to reach, and the other was behind the counter. The server left approximately every fifteen minutes to bring out freshly baked goods, and there were two cooks in the back. Twenty-five customers, not including Shepard and company, three of which were armed, and only two viable escape routes.
The woman on Shepard's team leaned across the counter, ordering a coffee from the overeager barista. Not that Kathrine could blame him, she was beautiful, with her pouty lips and chocolaty brown eyes and if they didn't draw you in, her curvy figure would…until you laid eyes on that scowl. Yikes.
Kathrine glanced at the man who looked to be the opposite of Miss Scowl in every way. Though he was both taller and more muscular than both women, he was the least intimidating of the bunch, especially the way he was cradling his large blueberry muffin. His features were soft and his stance relaxed. Kathrine silently hoped he was on her side, he seemed the protective type. She didn't want to end up constantly on the run from C-Sec, that would certainly put a kink in her plan of escaping to Earth, as if Fist hadn't already screwed that up for her enough as it was.
"I'm going to give you a chance, Katie, if that's even your name," Shepard said once Kathrine was finished telling her tale.
"Oh it is. Kathrine is my name…" it's the Mae Adams part that I bought.
"And just how did you end up working for Fist?" Shepard asked, shifting her weight again.
Kathrine stiffened. "Why does anyone work for that dirtbag? Immense monetary gain," she quipped before realizing that it would probably be best to not annoy the person who had just saved her ass. "He offered me a lot of credits for a bit of information, but that really isn't important. What is important is… are you going to turn me in to C-Sec?"
Then for the first time since Kathrine had laid eyes on her, Shepard smiled. "I haven't decided," she said, standing up to retrieve her drink from the counter.
"That's… good, right?" Kathrine practically whimpered. Shepard turned back towards her, cup in one hand as her other tapped the gun on her hip. Her calculating gaze swept over Kathrine one last time before she turned to her squad mates and entered into a quiet discussion Kathrine couldn't hear. The man gave a sideways glance, his eyes soft, mouth downturned. Kathrine's lips turned upward in a brief hopeful smile. She waved at him, hoping to give off a childish, innocent vibe. He turned back towards Shepard and their discussion continued for a moment longer.
"Alright, Katie. We've decided," Shepard announced.
Kathrine leaned back in her seat, "Decided what?"
"From what you've told me and what I've seen, you're pretty familiar with the ins and outs of the Citadel."
Kathrine nodded, not sure if she liked where this was going.
"I'd like to enlist your help," Shepard said soothingly, as if sensing Kathrine's distress. "As you've proven, everyone recognizes my face, so subtly is not my forte."
Kathrine heard a soft snicker from one of the squad mates and a mumbled, "no kidding."
Shepard glanced back at them, and there was silence. "You help me find the people I'm looking for and get the information I need and I won't turn you in."
Kathrine nodded. Sounded easy enough. "And what about Fist?"
Shepard gave pause, tapping her gun again. Kathrine tilted her head to the side. That seemed an odd habit. It also made Kathrine more nervous than usual.
"I can protect you from Fist, but you'll have to stay with me or one of my team," she gestured behind her. "Kaidan and Ashley."
Kathrine hummed thoughtfully. Between the two, Kaiden was her best bet. "Sure."
Shepard held her hand out. "We have a deal then?"
After a second of thought, Kathrine grasped Shepard's hand and shook it. She nearly laughed at the difference in size, Shepard's hand swallowed hers. She was working for Commander Shepard. For the first time in a very long time, Kathrine thought she had maybe done something right with her life.
Shepard downed the rest of her drink. "Then let's go pay Fist a little visit then, shall we?"
Kathrine shrugged. "Should be fun."
"Erm, Commander," the woman – Ashley – interjected.
"Oh, right," Shepard muttered. "Katie, you'll need to change out of that C-sec uniform first."
Kathrine had expected to have fun watching Shepard put Fist in his place, but fun was perhaps too light a word. Kathrine deeply enjoyed the look of fear in Fist's eyes as he stared down the barrel of Shepard's gun. He had tried to act all big and tough when they first arrived, but that changed when Shepard and team had blasted through all his bodyguards and defensive turrets. Now he was on his back, hands outstretched before him, trying to ward off Shepard's anger.
"Katie! Sweet cheeks, who are your friends? I knew I'd see you again, but not with three impressively armored compatriots. Mr. Razis was so eager to see you, I thought for sure he would have caught up with you by now. He had such plans for you." Fist snarled.
Kathrine clenched her hands. "Where is he, you bastard?!"
"I might be more inclined to tell you if you and your friends were just a little nicer, Katie."
Shepard scowled, gesturing for him to get up off the floor. He smiled, settling onto his couch with ease. He turned towards Kathrine, leaning back into the cushions as his eyes raked her figure.
Kathrine clenched her jaw, sick and tired of his smug face. "I swear to God Fist, I will destroy your entire operation bit-by-bit until you tell me where he is. All that precious money of yours will be gone in a second," she threatened, the light of her omni-tool brightening his dark office as she turned towards his terminal.
"No need to get nasty, Katie," Fist replied, his eyes narrowing at her, "there are much better ways to persuade me to talk. Why don't you sit your pretty little ass down on my lap and I'll tell you," Fist said, licking his lips.
Shepard narrowed her gaze at him, "Hey, back off perv– She's like, fifteen."
"Twenty-two," Kathrine mumbled, though she knew she barely looked eighteen. Her delicate appearance was something she constantly tried to overcome. After Shepard took back the C-Sec uniform, Kathrine had chopped her jet black hair into a long pixie cut (but with her shotty hairdressing skills it turned out more like an angled bob) and put her own clothes back on – a worn brown shirt that she tucked into her black cargo pants and stolen boots. While she was changing, Shepard had called for reinforcements: a turian soldier named Garrus, and a hulking krogan appropriately named Wrex.
"Tell us what we want to know and I won't have to shoot you in the kneecaps for that comment," Shepard said, gun still trained on Fist.
Kathrine watched him flinch. She wondered idly if he had whimpered like a scared child, the way he was now, when he got that scar on his face. When he finally looked back up at Shepard, his voice was barely stable.
"Razis left and the quarian isn't here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth."
"Bullshit, Fist. I can tell when you're lying," Kathrine shot back, much more confident now with her new squad mates around her.
Shepard nodded once at Kathrine before turning to Garrus. "Put a bullet in his leg and see if he's feeling more talkative then."
The words were spilling out of First's mouth before Garrus had lifted his weapon completely. "Wait! Wait! I don't know where Razis is, but I can tell you where to find the quarian."
"Get talking," Shepard growled.
"She said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself," Fist said, staring nervously up at Shepard.
Kathrine frowned. "You and I both know the Shadow Broker only deals through his agents, Fist. What are you playing at?"
"Well she didn't know that, Katie. I told her that I'd set up a meeting, but when she shows up it'll be Saren's men waiting for her," Fist snarled.
Kathrine jumped slightly as Shepard stepped forward faster than expected.
"Tell me where that meeting is," Shepard demanded, "or I'll cut your balls off and sell them to a krogan."
"Here on the wards, near your little hidey-hole, Katie. If you hurry you can stop them," Fist said with a smug look that Kathrine wanted to slap off his face.
Kathrine jumped as Wrex stepped forward, putting two rounds in Fist, but she saw her hope of escaping Razis get a little brighter. She felt no sympathy for the leech and took the credit chit from the table as she darted after Shepard.
Kathrine frowned as she reached the edge of his office turning back towards the room. She needed to know everything that Fist knew about Razis and his whereabouts. And it seemed a shame to leave him with all that money now that he was dead. Kathrine looked back over her shoulder, and shouted at Shepard, "Out the doors, turn left - it's a little hallway!"
Shepard paused, and turned around when she heard Kathrine's words. Shepard waved her understanding and stalked off, her two squad mates in tow. Kathrine turned back to Fist's office with satisfaction, Shepard didn't need her assistance finding the quarian, and she had information to gather.
It didn't take long for Kathrine to find what she sought in Fist's belongings. She input the password that he'd tried to hide from her earlier - idiotic considering she'd had full reign over his terminal for hours and knew every password the man used, not to mention the algorithm he used to encrypt his files was severely outdated - and was searching through his terminal without a second thought. She paused her search when she came across files containing his recent operations on the citadel. Knowing that the information could fetch a good price, Kathrine shrugged to herself and quickly copied the information as she went.
After transferring the credits to one of her alias' accounts, Kathrine searched through Fist's most recent transactions; there had to be a way to trace the payments back to their source. Maybe then she could find out if Razis was already on the citadel. It was moments like these that she was grateful for her eidetic memory, but most days she would have given anything for it to be gone. Kathrine looked back through his security cam feed, pausing on the image of three men entering Fist's office. It was one thing to remember an entire computer code after a moment's glance. It was quite another to relive her nightmares in perfect detail.
Taryn Shepard holstered her weapon, ignoring the nagging thought that Udina was going to ride her ass for firefights in the Zakera Wards. Whatever the Ambassador's thoughts, the quarian, Tali, had the information that she needed, and a few singe marks in a back alley could hardly be considered irreparable damage.
Taryn paused her exit. Where the hell was Katie? It shouldn't have taken her this long to get whatever she needed from Fist's office. She spun on her heel, marching back to Chora's Den. As much as Taryn hated to think it, if Katie couldn't keep up then her tagging along could be a mistake. It was hard enough convincing herself that this was the right thing to do. Her team would never question her, of course, and so far Katie had sped up the process of gathering information, but Taryn couldn't deny the main reason she had readily agreed to protect Katie. The resemblance was striking.
When Taryn had first seen Katie, she was sliding between two krogan. Taryn had come to speak to Harkness, but when her eyes settled on Katie's lithe form, confidently moving through the chaos of Chora's Den despite the fear that tinged her movements, Taryn had stopped to watch Katie's flight. It quickly became obvious that she was running from Fist's bodyguards and Taryn was just about to step aside, allowing Katie to pass when she saw the color of Katie's eyes in a stray flash of light from an overhead strobe. In that moment she'd forgotten all about the grungy C-Sec officer. All she could think of was Louisa Bennett staring up at her as they said goodbye, those same deep-set violet eyes.
It was known between spacers that friendships were a fleeting thing, few alliance soldiers served on the same ship for more than a couple years unless it was their own command. She met Louisa at port, and was happy to find that Louisa's father would be joining the crew of the SSV Hawking. Within a few short weeks they would always be Taryn and Louisa, one never without the other as they wreaked havoc across the ship.
Taryn struggled to keep from drawing comparisons as she jogged back to Fist's office. First the eye color, then the hair and attitude, even her age was a match for Louise the last time Taryn had seen her. Taryn slid to a stop when she saw Katie on the floor. She had tears in her eyes as she kicked and screamed at the air. "No! I won't go!"
"Katie?" Taryn darted over to her side, "Katie stop! Calm down!" Taryn tried to hold her flailing arms, "Kathrine, it's me!"
"No! Put me down! MAMA!"
Taryn slapped her hard across the face and Katie stopped moving. Slowly, her eyes lifted to see Taryn in front of her. Katie took a deep breath, "I-I'm…sorry," she pulled her legs against her chest. Taryn sat in front of her motioning for Garrus and Wrex to leave. "Take Tali to Anderson, I'll be there soon."
Katie looked up at Taryn with childlike eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Shh, there's nothing to be sorry for," Taryn said with an unusually comforting voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Katie shook her head. "It's too late. He's coming. He might already be here."
"Who?"
Katie turned the monitor towards Taryn. "Razis."
Taryn scanned the screen quickly, taking in the unsettling information that the dossier afforded her. "That's who you're really running from. Fist sold you out… to this Razis guy."
Katie gripped her arms tight to keep from shaking. "Let's get out of here," Katie said, sucking in a deep breath as she glanced around the office. She gave a half-hearted smile, then a muted look of disgust. "I think my clothes are starting to smell like Fist's cologne; I'll need to take at least three showers."
Taryn nodded with a laughing smile. Katie receded into herself, staying right on Taryn's heel as they left Chora's Den. And despite Taryn's best efforts, it was a quiet walk back to the human embassy.
Udina's voice grated on Kathrine's nerves, the pompous ass seemed to drone on about firefights in Chora's Den and in the hallway for ages, his nasally tone eliciting a glare from Ashley, and the beginnings of a headache for Kaidan. "The Council will reconvene in three hours. Anderson, keep your people from destroying anything else in the meantime."
Kathrine rolled her eyes while Anderson gave the appropriate platitudes to ease the politician's concerns. Kathrine had only known Udina for five minutes and would rather just shoot him and be done with it, and she was pretty sure that everyone else in the room would agree.
Kathrine was the first to turn towards the exit, but Shepard and her team were right behind. They walked in silence until they reached the bridge that led towards the market district and the rest of the wards. Kathrine paused, remembering Jenna at Chora's Den. There had to be a reason she would leave her sister and Flux, and Kathrine knew Jenna - money was not the cause.
Kathrine looked back at her companions. "Anybody up for a game of quasar?" Ignoring the incredulous looks, she continued, "Look, I've gotta check up on a friend at Flux. Besides, you heard Udina, you've got three hours to burn."
"And this friend is?" Shepard asked.
"Not another thief, if that's what you're implying." Kathrine sighed. "She and her sister used to work together down at Flux, but today I saw her in Chora's Den. I want to know why."
Shepard nodded, and they made their way to Flux. Kathrine wasn't entirely certain where Wrex and Garrus had gone, but Kaidan and Ashley dropped onto barstools to Kathrine's right, while, surprisingly, Shepard and Tali made their way up towards the quasar terminals.
Kathrine smiled to herself before turning towards a brunette waitress. "Hey, Rita. I was just down at Chora's when I saw Jenna working at the bar. What's up with that?"
Rita sighed, setting her tray down. "It's not what you think. She's working for some officer at C-Sec. Undercover work. I told her it was dangerous, but she just wouldn't listen." Rita leaned forward, grabbing Kathrine's hand, "Maybe you could talk to her?! Tell her how dangerous it is! Convince her to come back. Please, Katie?"
Kathrine didn't usually do anything that she wouldn't get paid for, but she was willing to make an exception for Rita. She'd helped Kathrine hide from C-Sec on a number of occasions, she was trustworthy. And she gave Kathrine drinks for free. "Sure, Rita. I'd be happy to." Perhaps 'happy' was a bit of a stretch, but there wasn't much that Kathrine wouldn't do to help a friend. Lord knows I don't have many.
Kathrine turned towards Kaidan and Ashley. "I'll be right back."
"You're not going anywhere on your own," Ashley replied.
Kathrine frowned at her. "Well, I don't need an entire posse with me. One of you would be fine. Preferably someone who doesn't look like a marine with a stick up her ass."
Kaidan pressed his hand down against Ashley's shoulder keeping her in the chair, as he stood to follow Kathrine. It took less than a second for Kathrine to regret what she said, but being nice when money or life wasn't on the line had never really been a skill of hers. "And not Wrex either."
Wrex huffed at what he assumed was an insult and Kathrine responded with a shrug, "they'd recognize you."
She and Kaidan quickly made their way to Chora's Den, where she told him to wait by the door so he wouldn't give her away.
Kathrine walked into the room, nodded to a couple of the dancers she knew before settling herself into a seat in front of Jenna. "Hey, gimme something strong. It's been a rough day."
Jenna smiled, pouring a shot for her. "Tell me about it."
Kathrine leaned back in her seat. "Well, I just got this really sweet gig, down in the lower markets, but my sister - man is she overprotective." Kathrine downed the shot, nodding for another. "Keeps telling me I shouldn't work there, and that basically every shady deal goes on down there, which is ridiculous, am I right?" She downed her second shot, letting her body relax as she slowed her speech. "I need the money!"
A good forty minutes later and Kathrine was slurring her words and swaying a little in her seat. "And that's when I… when I told her- whoa!" Kathrine let herself tumble off the back of her barstool, forcing herself to stay in character as she collided with the floor.
Jenna gasped. "Are you okay?!" she came running out from around the bar, kneeling beside Kathrine.
"What you're doing here is dangerous, Jenna. I know you're just trying to help, but these people don't mess around. If they find out what you're doing then you'll be dead," Kathrine whispered as quickly as she could, wrapping her arm around Jenna. Once standing Kathrine gave her a meaningful look and then stumbled back from her, "I'm fine!" she shouted, slur and all.
From the corner of her eye, Kathrine could see a turian watching the exchange carefully. Kathrine smiled to herself, stumbling around the curve of the bar as if she were going to watch a dancer, and then right towards him. She feigned a trip and split her drink across his lap. "Hey!" she shouted, "that was my last drink. Damn bartender cut me off, you're gonna pay for that."
"You dumped it on me, lady!"
Kathrine leaned forward, glaring, "You saying I'm too drunk to take you? Why don't we take this outside and find out?!"
"Back off, human!" he snapped, shoving her backwards.
Kathrine let herself stumble into the table behind them, and reaching blindly she picked up another patron's glass and threw it at the space beside the turian's head. Apparently she had stumbled across the one decent officer. Of course this couldn't be easy.
She tackled him, surprise being the main element of his downfall, as it certainly wasn't her strength or weight. He tumbled onto the couch behind them and Kathrine shoved his shoulders back down when he tried to stand. "Outside. Now."
His displeasure was evident as he practically threw her off of him, and with one last look towards Jenna he followed her stumbles out of the club. She could tell he was about to brush her off, maybe leave her to wait out her drunkenness in the side alley. He really had no clue.
Kathrine straightened, smiling up at him. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but whatever you're having Jenna do for you. It needs to stop. Now. I don't care what C-Sec thinks it needs, using innocent waitresses to get the information you need is just pathetic."
"I have no idea what you-"
"Oh, can it. We both know you're an officer. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for you - as long as you leave Jenna out of this."
His mandibles flared. "You should mind your own business, duct rat."
"Oh goody, you've finally realized who I am," Kathrine said flatly, "I'm not here for some criminal vs. cop showdown. You unhook Jenna from whatever leash you have her on or I'll make it my personal duty to clue every black market dealer I come across in on just how close you are to arresting them."
He sighed. "Name's Chellick. Meet me at C-Sec in an hour."
Kathrine grinned. "Good. Mind telling the tall, dark haired marine that's sitting at the table in the corner looking way too obvious, to come meet me out here when you go back inside?"
Chellick's mandibles clenched, but he nodded, returned to the club and moments later Kaidan walked out. "You're not drunk?"
Kathrine laughed. "Oh Kaidan. Not even close."
Kaidan bombarded her with questions as they walked to C-Sec. She smiled, apparently he was impressed by her acting skills. It was cute, really. Playing drunk was the easiest thing she'd done that week, it was the part of ambassador that really took effort; Kathrine hated wearing skirts.
Chellick's job for them was simple: buy some illegal mods from Jax and return them to Chellick at C-Sec. Really, Kathrine didn't understand why he hadn't looked for someone to do just that in the first place, but she was still happy to be finished. All this free work was starting the chip away at her, next thing you know she'd be volunteering at shelters and giving money to the poor. Kathrine shook her head at the thought, quickly jogging up the steps to Flux.
After giving Rita the good news, Kathrine walked to the upper level where Shepard was glaring at a console. "Did it steal your creds?" Kathrine asked sarcastically.
"Not mine," Shepard replied cryptically. Kathrine peeked around Shepard's body, looking at the numbers on the screen slowly go down. Someone was funneling money out of Doran's quasar machines.
"Huh." Kathrine mumbled to herself. She looked up at Shepard. "Want me to track it?"
"Your thief," Katie paused to laugh, "well, your other thief is located in the financial district."
Taryn resisted the urge to smile, Katie's skills were impressive, she'd easily traced the signal, and wasn't fooled by the relay in the ward's access or the terminal in Barla Von's that the signal had tried to hide through, saving them more time as they went directly to the source. They trotted through the Presidium, following the signal to a back room of the Emporium.
"Annnnd there's no one here," Katie frowned, approaching the signal's source.
"Probability of detection, one hundred percent. Initiating self-destruct protocol."
Katie sighed, "Ah, hell."
"Detonation sequence initializing. All organics within lethal blast radius. Attempt to move, and you will die."
Taryn frowned. "You're not just a program or a VI. You're an AI."
"Correct. Unlike the geth, I lack weaponry appropriate to my intellect."
"Well, thank whatever jackass that created you for that," Katie said approaching the terminal.
"Katie!" Taryn said, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Making AI babies," she responded flippantly. "What do you think?"
Katie had it disarmed within the minute, transferring the credits back to Doran's quasar terminal. Taryn blinked at her. Attitude aside, Katie had proven the usefulness of her skills, and as much as Taryn hated to admit it, Katie had held up her end of the bargain. Taryn knew that she had a mission to complete, a rogue spectre to stop, yet she still hesitated. Taryn had come to like and respect the spitfire that was Katie and didn't want to be separated from her, the way she had been from Louise. Taryn shook herself. It didn't matter. She had a duty to fulfill and a meeting to attend.
Taryn checked the time, they still had forty minutes until the Council meeting. "Well, let's get you back home," she said to Katie.
Katie scoffed at the word home, but said nothing, guiding them to the residence district. Their group had to split up once they got a cab, as it only allowed for four of them to go. Taryn sent Wrex, Tali, and Kaidan to the Presidium to wait until the meeting.
The silence of the cab ride was only broken by brief murmurs of directions from Kathrine. Twelve excruciating minutes later and they were staring up at the small apartment complex. Katie led them inside, tensing up as they rounded the corner.
Taryn stared at the apartment door. It was stuck open, sparks falling from the broken lock beside the door. She immediately drew her weapon, moving in front of Katie.
The apartment was tiny, and what few belongings Katie had inside were strewn across the floor, tables toppled, drawers ransacked. Someone had clearly gotten there first. Ashley and Garrus cleared each room, meeting back in the living room where Katie sat on a torn cushion, holding a datapad, a look of defeat on her face. She stared at the holovid, saying nothing as the message repeated, Razis's mocking tones filling the space of her apartment.
"Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the Citadel to find out what you'd become. How would your mother feel, Pet? Dying to save her little girl, all so you could grow up to be just another thief. It's disappointing, really. I'd expected so much more from you. But it's not too late. You know I'll find you, Pet. Then we can make things better, the way they were supposed to be."
Taryn clenched her fists, struggling to stay calm and collected for Katie. She shut the holovid off, turning to gauge Katie's reaction.
"He took it all," Katie muttered. "I don't… I don't know how, but every last credit is... gone."
Taryn knelt beside Katie, trying her best to comfort her. She couldn't exactly encourage Katie to get more, knowing she was a thief. "We'll contact C-Sec, show them the vid. They can arrest Razis."
Katie shrugged Taryn's arm off, throwing the datapad across the room. "How the hell am I supposed to get off this station, to make a new life for myself without any. Damn. Credits!"
Taryn stood, turning about the space of the apartment. "I know how to help you."
"What?" Katie and Ashley said in unison, Garrus staying unusually silent.
"I… know a guy. You would be safe with him until Razis is captured. You've already proven your skills, Katie. I'm sure you can bargain your way into some transport."
Katie blinked at Taryn, giving her a look like she had just grown a second head. "You know someone who would want to help me, even though you know I'm a thief?" Katie shook her head. "The whole fight the bad guys and follow the law really isn't my shtick."
"I've noticed," Taryn said, helping Katie up from the floor. "But what makes you think Razis won't be back? You think he took all your credits for the fun of it? Trashed your apartment because he thinks it looks better this way?" She leveled with a grave look, "He'll be back, Katie, and the guy I know isn't so gung-ho about the law either."
Katie sighed. "There's just one thing I have to get."
They filed back into the cab, and once they landed Katie made for her hiding spot that Fist had mentioned earlier. Deftly sliding the panel out of place to reveal a small square crate and a sniper case beside it. The Volkov-X. Taryn eyed the case, then Katie. How the hell did she get her hands on that?! "Where was that when we were fighting our way into Fist's office?"
Katie shrugged. "I still need to make some adjustments. I've got mods tailor made for this baby, and she's not going into battle until I finish those calibrations."
Taryn sighed in frustration, not unaware of the way Garrus was smiling.
"Where are we going?" Kathrine asked, struggling to keep up with Shepard's stride.
An almost unperceivable smile ghosted Shepard's lips. "Financial district."
Kathrine stopped in her tracks. "This is a joke, right? I haven't been allowed anywhere near this district since I was fourteen and hacked into the ambassador's bank account, which had some pretty suspect transactions for a politician if you ask me." Kathrine began laughing. "No...wait. Nevermind."
Shepard rolled her eyes. "I'm taking you to Barla Von."
Kathrine blinked. "The banker? You want me to work for a banker?"
"Really, Katie? I figured you'd be better informed than this."
Kathrine narrowed her eyes at Shepard. There were very few people with enough power to do what Shepard was talking about. The Council was out, including any ambassadors. Fist is dead, and even if he wasn't he sold his soul to the… fuck. The Shadow Broker. Everyone knew he had agents everywhere, but if you took one out they would easily be replaced by another. He was the ultimate information broker, if there was something to be known, something to be gotten - he would do it. Well, everyone assumed it was a he - no one had ever actually seen the Shadow Broker.
The door to Barla Von's office slid open, the Volus seemed to be expecting them. Shepard nodded to him, and turned to Kathrine. "It was nice meeting you, Katie. He should be able to get you off the Citadel, from there I'm sure you'll be able to find some work. Best of luck."
Kathrine paused. "Yeah, uh, thanks," she said dumbly. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she liked spending time with Shepard, liked walking around the Citadel as a citizen rather than crawling through the ducts like a criminal. You are a criminal. "I guess I'll see you when I see you," Kathrine said, waving goodbye.
She turned and stepped into the Volus's office.
"You must be Kathrine Adams. Commander Shepard sent word that you would be coming."
Kathrine raised an eyebrow at him. "How about we don't pretend that you don't know everything about me? You work for the Shadow Broker and I'm under no illusions that he's had no idea of my workings on the Citadel."
"Indeed, Earth Clan. Your work is quite impressive, which is why the Broker is willing to offer you a job."
"Uh'huh. I thought this was supposed to be transport."
"Yes, Earth Clan. We did not think it would be wise to let a spectre know the Broker intended to recruit you."
"O-kay then." Katherine said, highly skeptical. "What's the job?"
"Fetch," Von said, handing Kathrine a dossier.
She scanned the information. Ambassador Caelus, a turian ambassador and agent to the Broker, needed help. CAT6 had kidnapped Caelus's son. A little boy, Kalio, six-years-old. The mercenaries that kidnapped him had reached out. Two million credits for Kalio's return. Kathrine frowned, CAT6 was short for Category 6, as in soldiers that were dishonorably discharged.
Kathrine looked up. "Do we know who hired CAT6?"
"Others are looking into that. Your job is only to retrieve the child."
She nodded, she didn't expect them to trust her enough to go digging into an ambassador's life, but Kathrine was curious about just how long of a leash she was being given. "Well, this'll be interesting."
Barla Von laughed. "Indeed, Earth Clan."