MASS EFFECT: INTERCEPTOR 2

*Episode Four*

Events had moved too quickly for Agent Karius to grasp.

Less than an hour ago the turian C-Sec officer had been tailing Molach and had watched as something was handed over. The trap was ready to be sprung, with three Investigation teams ready to pounce on the batarian as soon as he left the casino.

With the arrival of Zwei, everything had changed.

Karius scratched a brown mandible nervously, hoping the movement wouldn't single him out over the other hostages. The terrified civilians had begun to scream again when Molach was executed, quietening only under the threats and blows of their captors. Karius himself felt the same sickening dread when he heard Molach reveal the nature of his weapon.

Now these robbers had the terrorist's bomb, something that would have given Karius some small, distant comfort under normal circumstances. A bunch of criminals would have been a far lesser risk to move in on. They would hardly have shared Molach's desire for suicidal vengeance. These people, however, were anything but ordinary and finally the terror that had first come with hearing Zwei's name made itself felt.

Everyone in C-Sec had heard of this maniac. His rap sheet could have filled C-Sec's servers and a slot for him was always reserved on their Most Wanted list. He was a real terror, and Karius knew he couldn't allow Zwei to leave with the bomb. There was no telling what this human was capable of.

Zwei cackled as he picked up the bomb case again, Molach's gore-tattered corpse slumped against a roulette table behind him.

'Do you think he was telling the truth?' Naraya asked, her face lined with concern.

It was a worry Zwei evidently didn't share. 'Only one way to find out.'

He made to open the case and Naraya tensed, a reaction that seemed light compared to the shudder of terror that ran through the hostages.

Karius's stomach felt hollow and his hand twitched, aching to grasp the pistol concealed in the small of his back. Only moments ago the weapon had felt like a liability, a secret waiting to be discovered by Zwei's crooks but now it felt like his only lifeline as the madman's fingers hovered over the case's release catch.

Karius lowered his arm, slowly but not subtly, as the knowledge that Molach's bomb was about to go off gripped him.

The movement did not go unnoticed. Zwei's eyes crept over to Karius, and if it were possible, Karius could have sworn the man's smile had grown even more unnerving.

Zwei let his hand fall from the case. He pushed past the confused Naraya and strode over to Karius, the bomb case swinging at his side. Tuvio saw his boss's sudden interest and joined Zwei as he knelt to address the C-Sec agent directly.

'I think I have my answer,' Zwei said quietly, his crisp grey eyes holding Karius still with fear.

Karius said nothing. He didn't have the words to speak as the realisation crept in that his cover was blown. A foot pressed into his back, jamming against the pistol.

'Looks like he's packing,' Tuvio snarled. 'How'd you manage to get that past the security scanners?'

Karius still did not speak, though he didn't need to as a look of triumph passed over Zwei's features.

'Easy. C-Sec can take their gear anywhere they damn well please on the Citadel. Ain't that right, piggy?'

Karius stared back at him, unwilling to give the creep the satisfaction of an answer.

The other male human who'd accompanied the gang thundered down the nearby stairs. 'All done, Boss,' he called out, halting as he spotted the shredded batarian to this left. 'Everything okay?'

Standing, Zwei chuckled. 'Better than ever, Mads. Between this bomb and this here piggy, things are looking very fine. All right, pack up, all of you. We're getting out of here, same plan as before - with a slight alteration.'

~~~ME-I2~~~

Zwei's words had come through clearly to JSTF via Karius' audio transmitter and the mood had shifted, their usual air of intensity growing into a frenzy that would have been a panic had it not been for the precise, organised commands of team leaders ringing out over their heads. Everyone now knew about the T-Seven and the stakes had climbed to heights none of them could have anticipated.

Ket worked on two terminals at once as he patched himself through to Enforcement's team on the ground.

'It's exactly as we told you,' he told the ranking officer, 'Agent Karius has been compromised and is being escorted out of the casino as a hostage. We've already authorised an escape vehicle so we can track them. Do not open fire, is that clear? Do not open fire. Let them leave the area. Follow Special Response's lead on this and focus on keeping civilians out of the zone, if your trigger-happy louts can follow even that simple instruction.'

Already the officer's objections were pouring into Ket's ears but he ignored them, focusing instead on a fresh ream of intel that had arrived on one of his consoles.

With unerring keystrokes he disseminated the new information and called out over his shoulder to Kimberley and Devereaux, 'Network's confirmed local comms are on lockdown. Wherever this Zwei guy is going, he won't be calling anyone.'

'Good,' Kim replied without taking her eyes from her own terminal. 'Special Response is in position, with covert teams ready to ghost him. Make sure Enforcement knows not to pursue. If he's spooked too early he could decide to set off that bomb as a last resort.'

'Or a first resort,' Ket added, 'if his psych profile is to be believed.' A fresh blast of profanity hit him through his earpiece and Ket bared his teeth. 'I don't care about your asinine opinions, just follow the orders you're given!'

The faint tremble of footfalls made him glance back to find Lina and Lorica hurriedly approaching their section.

'Do we have a visual yet?' Lorica asked.

'No, and given what I have to work with here, I'm guessing the first visual we'll get will be on the Citadel News Network. That, or a gout of thermonuclear flame ripping through this room.'

The asari's voice hardened. 'Enough with the backtalk, Ket. Just tell me what we have so far.'

Ket wrung his hands in frustration. 'Nothing new. That psychopath is in possession of this T-Seven and now has a C-Sec operative as a bargaining chip. Of course, if I could at least tell Enforcement the full extent of the threat Zwei now poses then-'

'Not an option,' Lina interrupted. 'Executor's orders. We can't risk a leak, and by extension, a panic. Given that the turians don't even know how Crimson Fist got hold of that device in the first place, if word got out then it'd be all our asses on the line.'

'Understood. I'll keep the beat officers on a leash. Your resident apes have Special Response on the line, I believe.'

Lorica turned to Kimberley. 'Everything set?'

Unsurprisingly, the young woman had been hanging on every word and responded immediately. 'Set and ready to go. We have three unmarked squad cars in position well away from the cordon, an SRT fire team in each. The second Zwei makes his move, they'll follow from a distance. Between our real time access to the Citadel's surveillance systems and operators on the ground, we'll know where he's going before he does and Mike will be feeding updates to their omni-tools by the second.'

Finally, Lorica addressed Deveraux. 'Mike, you ready with those traffic feeds? We're gonna need you at your best to keep on these guys.'

Deveraux pushed his glasses up without taking his sharp gaze from his terminal. 'Ready to go, Ma'am. I won't let you down.'

Lina's mouth lamp glowed as she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'Okay. All we can do now is wait. Kim, patch me through to the ground commander for the fire teams.'

She tilted her head, the incoming communication routed directly into her suit systems. 'This is Commander Lina'Xen of JSTF. Do you read me, Lieutenant Cato? Good. I'll keep this short. You all know your jobs and I know I don't have to tell you how to do them. We'll do our part and make sure you have all the intel you need. Please route all armour cam feeds to the channel provided by Analyst Farrell and if you have any questions before we begin, now's the time.'

'Commander?' Kim said, her head rising from her screen. 'Commander, I've got the file on Zwei. Looks like C-Sec have been after him for a while. Got his rap sheet, surveillance history, everything. Man, he's even been tagged by the Interceptors of all people. Agent assigned to his case is…'

Her curiosity piqued, Lina had already skirted around behind Kimberley and without thought, she finished the sentence. She breathed the name from her suit amp.

'Arlen Kryik. I'll be damned…'

~~~ME-I2~~~

Emerging from the entrance to the casino, Karius blinked as his eyes were assailed by spotlights, his face bathed in white. Flickers of red and blue edged his vision and beyond those, blurred and indistinct figures shifted and yelled to one another.

C-Sec had the building cordoned, creating a barrier of officers and vehicles that blocked all ground access from the Silversun Strip. It all would have been moot were it not for the Patrol division's Mantis gunship circling doggedly overhead to deter airborne traffic. The show of force was overwhelming, more than Karius had ever witnessed in all his years with C-Sec and it took a sharp whack over the back of his head from Tuvio to get him shuffling forward once more.

Karius' weapon had been stripped, his concealed comms destroyed. His hands were upon his head, which he had to lower as his eyes began to sting. The noise was even more oppressive; a maelstrom of shouting, sirens and engines that only made the dozen other hostages around him groan in fear.

They were herded ahead in a compact knot with Zwei's crew in the centre, goading them on with vile threats and blows from their weapons whilst ensuring they did not present a clear line of sight to any C-Sec shooters.

It was a surreal feeling for Karius as he searched the cordon for people he knew and saw only stony-eyed glares filled with ruthless determination. Every officer there wanted to bring Zwei down and only the hostages prevented them from eviscerating the criminals in a hail of gunfire.

'Keep together, everyone!' Zwei called out cheerfully. One of his Shurikens dug into the back of Karius' skull, needling him painfully. 'Come on now, keep in step, one-two!'

He cackled and Karius screwed his eyes shut, willing himself to keep placing one foot in front of the other. His legs felt weak with terror, made all the worse by Zwei's utter indifference to the host of C-Sec weapons trained on him.

'They won't let you go,' Karius shouted over the din. He dared not move his head but he pushed the words from his lips all the same. 'They've already sealed off the area, you can't transport this many people at once. As soon as you let your guard down they'll move in. You'll be dead before you even know what's happening.'

The Shuriken barrel bored deeper into Karius's skin, making him grunt.

'Oh, I got me a few tricks up my sleeves. Come on, piggy, look lively now!'

As one, the pace of the huddled group increased, and they were directed to where a sleek red shuttle stood empty before the C-Sec line. As the hostages moaned and wept, Naraya's omni-tool emerged and the shuttle's doors swung open.

She stood by the rear passenger door and smiled at Zwei, as seemingly oblivious to the danger of the situation as he was.

'Your carriage awaits,' she cooed.

Zwei grinned back. 'Too kind.'

Gripping Karius by the collar, he dragged the turian into the back of the shuttle. Naraya followed while the others entered the front seats, concealed every step of the way by a hostage or two.

The shuttle's thrusters burst into life with a jarring whine and the hostages, sensing their peril was over, scrambled all at once to get clear. The C-Sec officers shouted and gestured furiously for them to move but there was no controlling them as they ran in panic, fouling their line of sight.

Zwei watched the scene unfold with glee. Keeping his weapon's barrel firmly against Karius's body, he called out to the female turian in the pilot's seat.

'Sure you don't wanna let your brother drive, Tuvia?' he laughed. 'He's slow as shite, but you've got that nasty habit of crashing when we don't need you to.'

Tuvia answered without looking back. 'Like hell. That gunship is gonna be on our asses all the way. You really want to trust our lives to that lackwit?'

Karius listened to the exchange numbly, his fear now settled into a sense of helplessness that rendered all other senses mute. He accepted that his life was now completely out of his own hands. All he could do was watch and listen.

'Screw you, Tuvia,' Tuvio snapped, lurching as the shuttle banked and accelerated abruptly.

Zwei laughed again and shouted to Karius, 'Twins, eh? Can't live with each other, can't live without.'

Karius said nothing. He kept his eyes forward, watching the Citadel skyline swerve and dip as the shuttle dove into the crowded reaches of Zakera Ward. He thought the lights and sirens of the C-Sec patrol cars would follow them, but there was nothing. Only the hum of engines permeated the muttered conversation of Zwei's crew and Karius frowned, concerned.

The doubt was not his alone.

Zwei glanced back. 'What's the matter with that lot? I was getting geared up for a chase.'

'Something's not right,' Tuvio murmured dubiously. 'Why ain't they coming after us?'

Zwei turned his pitiless gaze back to Karius. 'It's either you,' he said, prodding the turian with his Shuriken before motioning to the bomb at his feet, 'or that. Do the pigs know about this thing?'

'I don't know.'

Karius grunted as the Shuriken was brought hard against his nose. Cold blood began to stream from it, coating his lips with blue.

'I reckon you do,' Zwei sneered. 'I reckon that's why you were there at that casino in the first place. You were watching that batarian, weren't 'ya?'

Sniffing in disgust, Karius replied. 'Whether they know about the bomb or not, it doesn't matter. They'll find a way to catch you, monster.'

Zwei shifted closer, until his breath was hot in Karius's face.

'I'm counting on it.'

The simple remark, spoken with a boldness and certainty that belay any sense of sanity, forced Karius to turn his head. He looked at Zwei, his lips parted.

'What do you mean?'

Zwei pressed the Shuriken to his pursed lips. 'That's a secret!'

A cold horror crept into Karius's blood as Zwei called to Tuvia, 'Take us down, darling. Into the deep transit tunnels. Pigs'll have a harder time sniffing us out down there.'

'Right, Boss,' Tuvia said evenly and the shuttle dove in response, filling the windshield with criss-crossing aisles of traffic as they plunged into the very bowels of the Ward arm.

Karius's gut heaved and he ground his teeth against nausea. The shuttle grew dark as the light of the Serpent nebula and the surrounding city gave way to deep pockets of shadow. The streets became littered with seedy neon markets and walkways piled with refuse, and further down still there were only banks upon banks of apartments with nothing beyond the occasional maintenance bay to distinguish them.

These were the deepest parts of the Wards, where only the poorest lived and C-Sec rarely trod if they could help it. Even the Keepers, the Citadel's loyal custodians, ventured down there only seldomly for essential repairs.

'Where are you taking me?' he asked.

His grin returning, Zwei leaned back, making himself as comfortable as he could.

'Don't worry, piggy. We ain't taking you anywhere.'

~~~ME-I2~~~

The entire JSTF team sat rooted to the main screen beyond the central dais. Vid feeds were streamed from the covert Special Response teams tailing Zwei's vehicle, though they lost him briefly when his shuttle suddenly veered down into the lower Wards. The vehicle's transponder signal had still been active but in the vast, intricate maze of the deep Wards a simple transponder was not enough to keep the teams on his tail without specific directions.

It was an unexpected move from Zwei; but even more puzzling was that he'd decided to come to a complete stop after only twenty minutes of pursuit.

Lina gripped the dais railing tightly enough to make her suited fingers creak. Something wasn't right. Zwei hadn't led them to a hideout or safe house. Instead he'd just given up and his shuttle now waited in the middle of nowhere. It just didn't make sense.

Her eyes flitted constantly behind her visor, switching between three separate feed windows, the footage transmitted live from cameras hidden in the armour of each team's lead officer. The video quality had dropped the deeper into the Wards they went and the tech analysts tweaked various filters to compensate for the diminishing light levels.

Lina's heart pounded as the leader of Team One got out of his vehicle. With practised ease he raised a military-grade Vindicator assault rifle, the barrel resting in view of his armour cam and trained unerringly ahead of him.

Zwei's shuttle lay ahead, silent and dark. He'd set down in a disused transit tunnel that yawned over the Special Response teams, vast and empty. Steam from a nearby vent laid a fine mist on the ground and Lina's hold on the rail tightened even further as the lead officer's turian voice crackled through.

'Lieutenant Cato, approaching the target vehicle now. Confirm Teams Two and Three in position to intercept if he bolts?'

'Affirmative,' came the calm response, followed by, 'Copy that, Team Three standing by.'

Tension riddled Lina's body, a dull ache in her bones. The seconds stretched out into minutes as she watched the lieutenant make his way over to the shuttle. The scraping of feet indicated the presence of the rest of his team, well outside the camera's field of vision.

No one spoke. It was as if the entire Citadel had fallen silent to bear witness to that moment.

Finally, the lieutenant reached the shuttle door. 'This is C-Sec! Open the door and place your hands in the air!' he ordered.

The blurred outlines of the other agents hovered at the camera's edges as they took position at each of the other doors.

'This is your last warning! We are authorised to use deadly force if you do not comply!'

A hiss broke the deathly quiet. The shuttle door opened slowly and as one, the command centre let out a shocked murmur.

A turian collapsed from the rear passenger seat, his eyes rolled back in their sockets and mouth hanging loose. Blood ran in glistening lines from a gaping hole in his forehead as the body hit the ground.

'Shit,' Lieutenant Cato spat. From behind the corpse, Zwei peered out curiously.

'Thank God you got here when you did, officer! Our friend here, he was just dying to get out!'

Lina closed her eyes in sorrow as the human's twisted laugh cackled through the speakers. She ignored the curses and shouts as the officers dragged out their suspects and pinned them violently to the ground.

'Cut the feed,' she instructed quietly, content to let the analysts take over for the time being.

The main screen flickered off and Lina released a deep, exhausted sigh.

Lorica approached, a cautious smile on her lips. 'Look on the bright side, Commander. We stopped a terrorist attack and bagged one of the galaxy's most notorious criminals all in one fell swoop. Not a bad day's work.'

'Yeah,' Lina replied grudgingly. It didn't feel like a victory after losing Agent Karius. He may not have been JSTF but he was C-Sec and one dead officer was as bad as another to her, no matter their division.

Folding her arms, Lorica raised a finger, pointing to her section. 'Kimberley's debriefing the ground teams as we speak but Ket, much as I hate to admit it, has rightfully pointed out that Zwei is now in Investigation custody. After losing Karius they'll do everything they can to punish the bastard before any other division can interfere.'

'So long as we have the bomb I couldn't care less what happens to that filth.'

'Even so,' Lorica went on, 'I thought there might be one person who'd like to know about his arrest.'

Lina understood immediately.

'Arlen.'

Lorica nodded and Lina sighed again, placing her hands on her hips. She looked down to the ground, wondering if the release of such information would go down well with the executor. It didn't take long for her to realise she couldn't have cared less.

'I'll make the call as soon as we're done here,' she said, feeling the need to give her old comrade some good news, and accompanied Lorica back to Kimberley's desk to oversee the searching of Zwei's shuttle.

~~~ME-I2~~~

The gentle ambience of the Presidium washed over Arlen. Voices, footsteps, the thrum of life all passed through him without notice. He didn't see the pedestrians walking to and fro, and they in turn didn't seem to register him as he stood in front of a dark stone plinth, his eyes fixed on its very centre.

The small memorial was placed before an unassuming restaurant, the patrons dining and laughing without a care in the world. Arlen used to stare at the place, wondering at how quickly it had burst to life again after suffering a fatal explosion just a year ago, but that habit had died a while back. The official story had cited the explosion as an accident. It felt almost obscene to know the real story.

But such thoughts were far behind him now. Now, he visited for the sake of just one soul lost in that terrible tragedy.

He held himself straight, his hands clasped together behind his back. His gaze was fixed on a single name, to anyone else an unknown individual among more than a dozen but to Arlen, it was everything:

Amanda Keller

Though he'd only known the human a short time, he'd felt for her something he could only assume was love. It was the only word that could describe it, and yet it still wasn't enough. There had been no one else, before or since, who had captivated him like she did. Even now, a year after her death, there was a sinking, desperate ache in his chest whenever he thought of her and he only allowed those thoughts when he visited that place.

'I wish Nihlus could have met her,' Arlen said aloud.

Petra's voice rang in his communicator, her tone soft. 'She was special. I'm sure he would've approved, even though she was human.'

Arlen grunted. He thought of his brother often, though the pain was different. When Nihlus died, it was behind a veil of secrecy. As a Spectre, the details of his passing were a zealously guarded mystery. As his last living relative, Arlen had gotten only a curt notice from the Council authorities informing him Nihlus had perished in the line of duty. There was no explanation, not even a body to mourn over.

It didn't feel quite as unfair as Keller's death but there was more regret. Unconsciously, Arlen sifted through all the attempts at contact Nihlus had made to contact him over the years, all stubbornly discarded. Arlen had met with him only twice in his adult life, both during the Seventh Legion crisis. It was not nearly enough.

Arlen felt the spirits of the departed linger over him, driving him to despair. He clenched his fists by his side, fighting the welling of sadness that always threatened when he allowed himself to think of Nihlus and Amanda for too long. Even doing so felt like an insult to their watching spirits but he knew that if he'd let it, the sorrow would cripple him completely.

Releasing a breath, he turned from the memorial. Petra usually remained silent during his visits, and so it piqued Arlen's curiosity when she spoke for the second time in as many minutes.

'I'm sorry to disturb you again,' the AI ventured tentatively, 'but I think you'll want to hear this. It's a private message from Lina.'

'Lina?' Arlen asked as he brushed past a meandering civilian. His pace slowed for a moment as memory flooded him with mixed emotions. 'As in JSTF's Lina?'

'That's the one.'

The breath stuck fast in Arlen's lungs. A slight feeling of vertigo blurred his senses. Memories of the courageous quarian went hand-in-hand with those of Amanda, and he owed both women a debt for his survival.

'Playing back message now,' Petra went on, and Arlen's mood lifted when he heard a voice that had confided everything to him, that trusted him implicitly and whom he trusted in turn. Like everyone else he cared about, it had been far too long since he'd heard that voice.

'Arlen, I'm sorry to contact you out of the blue like this, and I'm sorry I didn't do more to keep in touch over the past year. You know how it is. I have news for you and I was just going to leave a message but things have calmed down here so I have time to talk in person. I'll swing by your apartment after you've finished your shift. Don't worry, it won't take long. I look forward to seeing you again.'

Though his pace hadn't slowed, a look of subtle disbelief crossed Arlen's features.

'What do you think she wants?' he asked.

'No idea,' Petra replied. 'If you wanna upload me to a terminal I can try and slip into C-Sec's servers, see what they're up to over there?'

'That's okay,' Arlen murmured. The vertigo that came over him a moment ago became a leaden weight of fatigue. Even the pleasure he'd felt at hearing Lina's voice was tainted by that burden. 'Let's wrap things up with Captain Ferrata and get back home.'

He was relieved to reach his patrol car and as soon as he was able, he ducked under the swinging door and slumped into the front seat. As the door rasped shut again, he let out a sigh to match and closed his eyes. Every ounce of effort he had spent throughout the day poured out of his body and the knocks he'd taken during the battle with Ronn began to protest, wracking him with pain. His mission had kept him focused and able to block out just about every complaint, physical and otherwise. Without it, Arlen felt like he could sleep for a month.

'Let's hope they haven't roughed Ronn up too badly,' Arlen announced, firing up the shuttle's engines. 'The sooner we get to his boss, the better.'

His omni-tool speakers buzzed, 'And after that? You remember your promise, right?'

Arlen chuckled drily. 'We'll start looking at vacation destinations tomorrow.'

~~~ME-I2~~~

Lina's blood ran cold in her veins.

'Say again,' she uttered shakily.

Lieutenant Cato's reply was adamant. 'It's not here, Commander. We've searched the shuttle and there's nothing fitting the description you gave. We've torn the vehicle apart looking for it, so your guess is as good as mine.'

'Bosh'tet!' Lina shouted, slamming a palm on the dais railing.

A few heads among the tiers of desks rose to look at her curiously before quickly returning to their work. Only Lorica stood nearby, her expression frozen in an anxious mask.

Lina turned to her and lifted a hand helplessly. 'He stashed it. The bastard stashed it somewhere and allowed himself to get caught.'

'This is bad,' Lorica muttered, shaking her head. 'We've got a weapon of mass destruction lying somewhere in the Wards, just waiting for somebody to happen by. The first thing a civvie's likely gonna do to a briefcase is try to open it.'

Pivoting swiftly on her heels, Lina crossed the dais and punched a series of commands into her console. The main screen shifted accordingly and a series of vids emerged, cycling rapidly in time with the deft flicks of Lina's wrist.

'Zwei lost his tail at least once,' she said rigidly, voicing every thought as it came to her. 'There was a gap of, what? Four or five minutes? When his shuttle started moving in and out of the mass transit tunnels.'

Lorica nodded, reading her train of thought. 'And it stands to reason that even from the outset if his crew knew they were being tailed, or if the job went south, they'd need a place to hide the loot. Such as it is. Creds are one thing but jewellery, tech, the physical stuff could be concealed for pickup later. It would've been a likely part of their plan regardless of what happened'

'The T-Seven would be no different,' Lina agreed. She manipulated her terminal with expert precision, cycling through menus and folders on the main screen and accessing them in the blink of an eye.

She pulled up several video feeds, some from C-Sec's pursuit vehicles, others from security and surveillance systems within the Ward itself. Several windows of grainy footage played simultaneously, each showing a different portion of the chase. Some displayed just flickers of Zwei's shuttle as it raced past while others were long, sweeping views of entire traffic lanes that afforded a longer look.

Lina accelerated the playback on each until they converged on a single point - the moment in which the shuttle banked into a dark tunnel.

'There,' she exclaimed, nodding to the screen. 'That's where we lost him. I want a location.'

'Already done,' Lorica answered, her omni-tool shifting on her forearm as she quickly glanced back at the analysts. 'Thanks, Mike. Good work.' She approached Lina and showed her the map that stretched across the device's amber display. 'Sector three-five-five, an old traffic tunnel leading into a minor industrial area. Damaged during the geth attack when a chunk of their flagship tore into the Ward and pretty much abandoned since. Local authorities deemed reconstruction a low priority due to its low population and importance to station operations. Internal systems were taken down for the whole sector to allocate power elsewhere.'

'Making it a perfect place to disappear,' Lina added. 'Bloody great.'

'It gets better. Those internal systems crossed over into three other sectors, so the surveillance blackout is wider than the area would suggest and that's not taking verticality into account. He could've even doubled back and popped up in a sector we'd already chased him down without us even knowing.'

'Keelah, that's a lot of potential hiding places.' Lina brought up another set of feeds, this time able to find the point at which Zwei reappeared with relative ease. 'Here - contact was reestablished six minutes and fifty-three seconds later.'

Lorica kept up ably on her map. 'And he re-emerged from a service duct roughly two kilometres total from the point of entry, way too short for a straight journey at that speed. He was worming his way randomly through that whole damn sector for nearly seven minutes.'

Lina's voice was hoarse with frustration and she wrung her hands. 'Meaning he could have stashed that bomb anywhere. Anywhere! He was in a sky car, he might not have even put it in a place with ground access. We could search that area for months and still miss it.'

She paced the dais, her footfalls heavy. Anger brought weight to her movements and even Lorica took a step back rather than get in the quarian's way. The command centre was silent, and although everyone appeared busy with their work it needed not be said they hinged on everything Lina said.

At last, she stopped and turned to face Lorica.

'We need to interrogate Zwei and his gang. We need to find out where they hid that bomb.'

'Not to mention why the hell they gave up the chase when they had a clear opportunity to escape.'

Lina shook her head. 'It was only ever a matter of time, they must have known they couldn't run forever, and it would've been impossible to get off the Citadel. Control was already in lockdown the second we learned about the T-Seven.'

'So why would Zwei hold up the casino in the first place if he knew he wasn't likely to get away with it? That doesn't fit his MO from what I've seen of his file.'

'I'm curious about that too, but the priority is the T-Seven. One way or another we will get what we need. Arrange it with Investigation. Make it clear to them we're not interested in taking Zwei into our custody, we just need some alone time with him. Hopefully they don't get territorial. I'm not in the mood for politics. Get Ket onto Enforcement again, I want every officer not actively dragging a suspect into their cars out in that dark zone searching for that bomb. If they have a problem with it they can come over here and complain to my face.'

Lorica started to make her way to the dais ramp when Lina spoke again, halting her in her tracks.

'I'm heading out, shouldn't take more than thirty minutes tops. There's someone I want with us when we go to work on that maniac.'

~~~ME-I2~~~

The offices of the Interceptors had become more familiar to Arlen than his own home in recent months. Housed within the headquarters of C-Sec's Investigation division, it was nothing more than a single corridor with a few adjoining rooms. There was little to outwardly distinguish the place from the rest of the building, with its dull silvery grey walls and floors given a soft blue tint by mounted holographic C-Sec signs and vid screens.

The history of the unit was displayed in pictures lining the walls. Agents stood alone or side by side in small teams, mostly salarians and asari with turians only appearing towards the end of the hall. The Interceptors were one of the first cross-species law enforcement organisations in Council space, hailing from a time before Citadel Security itself existed in its current form and such forces were smaller and more flexible. It was only with the arrival of the turians that C-Sec in its modern sense, with armed uniformed officers defending the Citadel in their hundreds of thousands, was born and the duties of the Interceptors was narrowed down to off-station fugitive apprehension.

The history of the unit was not something Arlen had been familiar with on joining but he appreciated it now all the same. Being a member of such an ancient and distinguished organisation, despite its origins predating his own species' arrival on the galactic scene, spoke to his very turian sense of tradition.

He made his way to the end of the hall and a gentle chime welcomed him to the final door as it slid open. The nameplate Captain Avrix Ferrata glowed next to it, and the turian Interceptor commander was already hunched over his desk staring at Arlen as the door opened, his hands steepled in a twin-fingered grasp that seemed far more tense than contemplative.

'Get in here,' Avrix said firmly, his hoarse voice sounding even more strained than usual. 'And close the door behind you.'

Arlen obeyed, keying the greenlit door panel. He made his way over to Avrix's desk but did not take one of the two waiting chairs in front of it, instead clasping his hands formally behind his back.

Avrix was an elder turian by some degree, but hardly what anyone would call an old man. His slate grey crest faded to cold white around his lower jaw and he sported yellow face paint applied in rigid lines along his brow and mandibles, giving him a severe look. It suited his temperament.

'This isn't the first time we've had to have one of these little chats now, is it?' the captain asked with a cocked brow plate.

'No, Sir,' Arlen replied evenly.

Avrix spread his hands slightly, keeping his elbows on the desk. 'So how many more times do you expect me to keep giving this same speech, Kryik? You go off half-cocked, thinking you can punch and shoot your way out of these situations when all you're doing is endangering the lives of civilians and your fellow officers.'

'Sir, with respect,' Arlen said quietly, his jade eyes turning down to his superior, 'I had to act there and then. Ronn's guy ambushed me and I knew Special Response would take longer to move in than I could allow. C-Sec were already under orders to keep armed officers away from the interior of the building, that meant a delay that would've cost Weyrloc Shuul his life. I barely got there in time myself.'

Avrix banged a fist on his desk, making his inactive terminal frame rattle. 'Damn it, Kryik, you can't possibly know that! We have procedures in place for a reason! Whether or not you "got lucky" is hardly justification for your reckless disregard for rules and regulations.'

'I only-'

'You only shot up a public restroom!' Avrix shouted, rising to his feet suddenly and sending his chair back with a loud scrape. 'You only handcuffed a fellow C-Sec officer next to a violent suspect! You only decided to engage an assassin in hand to hand combat without waiting for backup! You showed nothing but contempt for C-Sec procedure tonight, Kryik, and I've become increasingly tired of saying that over the past year. I expected better from a young man fresh out of boot camp, not to mention one of your heritage.'

The mention of his family stung Arlen and he winced slightly. His father was little more than a monster in his eyes while his brother, though a better example of conduct, was a source of constant grief and regret. He tried to keep his voice strong.

'Sir, we are Interceptors. We track down our targets and apprehend them if possible. That's my job.'

'It is,' Avrix conceded with a slight nod, 'but if you can't do your job within the bounds of C-Sec regulations then we have no use for you. I don't care how skilled you are at breaking peoples' limbs, it's only because you're still young that I haven't ordered you the hell out of my unit.'

The commander paused for a moment before sighing wearily. 'I'm also sympathetic to your situation, believe it or not. You were caught up in that Task Force business a year ago, not to mention partnered up with that fool Vakarian, hardly a fitting role model for a new recruit. I can only imagine the nonsense Garrus filled your head with. Of course, he got to be the loose cannon he always wanted to be, flitting around the galaxy with that Spectre friend of his. You, meanwhile, were left with nothing but bad memories and even worse habits.'

'It wasn't like that, Sir,' Arlen argued. 'I can't speak for his actions since, but I do owe Garrus my life for what happened a year ago.'

The captain grunted. 'You owe him more than that. A smack around the head for starters. Now that idiot has disappeared and I can't help but see you walking the same path.'

Arlen frowned and his mandibles twitched in curiosity. 'What do you mean, Sir?'

'You're getting burned out, kid, there's no other way to say it,' Avrix said, seating himself once more and leaning back in his chair. 'You're twitchy, erratic. You've solved five cases in the past year, that's a damn good haul for any Interceptor, never mind a raw rookie. But I see the toll it's taking.'

Even as the words left Avrix's lips, Arlen felt the truth of them. His body was wracked with aches old and new, pains sharp and dull. His spirit felt torn and shredded with lack of sleep, the energy of youth carrying him when the pain meds didn't. He couldn't remember what it was like to not feel so exhausted it hurt.

He raised his chin defiantly nonetheless. 'I'll be fine, Sir.'

Avrix had returned his hands to their steepled clasp but he raised a finger, pointing it at his charge. 'No. No you won't. You seem to forget I've been doing this job a hell of a lot longer than you, I've seen it all and I know the signs. Today it's disobeying orders, the next you're running around like a Spectre doing what you please. Next thing we know, we've got orders to bring you in ourselves.'

He cleared his throat roughly. 'Kryik, you don't have a choice in this. You want to wallow in your own misery, that's your choice. You're a turian, you take responsibility for yourself. But I won't allow you to affect the unit. Frankly, your problems are becoming a liability and one we can't afford. If you don't square yourself away pronto, you're looking at suspension.'

Shame and fury twisted Arlen's gut, making him sway a little on his feet. He blinked in disbelief. 'But…all the work I've done. I can't just let Zwei and his gang get… You can't-'

'I can't what?' Avrix growled. There was no pity in his deep set eyes. 'Do this to you? It's no worse than what you're doing to yourself.'

Numbness settled over Arlen. His eyes drifted from his commander and to the wall in front of him. It was then he saw it, an old-fashioned frame that must have been as old as the Interceptors themselves, holding a picture of Avrix and his graduation intake. It was not the picture itself with its rows of proud, smiling C-Sec recruits that drew Arlen's attention. It was the glass that fronted it. It was the reflection in that glass.

He saw himself then, a ghostly trace of ragged, torn and stained clothing. Webs of cuts layered over swollen flesh blotched with indigo blood, purpling his burgundy skin. His white paint was almost completely scraped and smeared from his face. Most shocking of all to him, his eyes were like those of a stranger, blue-rimmed and bloodshot. What kind of turian would let himself get into such a state?

He closed his eyes, even that small action bringing a rasping pain to his eyelids.

'Understood, Sir,' he said softly.

Satisfied, Avrix leaned back. 'Go home, Arlen. Clean yourself up. Take a couple of weeks off and get it together. The Interceptors need coherent, clear-thinking agents, not shuttle wrecks.'

Some of his old discipline returning, Arlen saluted and turned away, making his way out of the office and out into the quiet corridor again. When the office door was firmly shut, his omni-tool chimed.

'He's right, you know,' Petra said. 'I wish he cared more about you than his precious unit, but your people are strange like that.'

'Yeah,' Arlen quietly agreed. 'We're an odd breed.'

He staggered slightly as he walked, his will finally relinquishing its hold on his body and allowing it to carry the weight of weeks and months of ceaseless stress. The idea of having nothing to do was inconceivable to Arlen, though for now the promise of a hot shower, food and sleep was enough as he began his journey home.

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