Thanks again to my peeps on An Archive of Our Own and here on FanFiction! My beta, Amyress, and my constant companion BJ Hanssen, thank you too!
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The Asari were… beautiful. As if someone took a woman from your imagination and tailored her just for you. And so many of them looked so much alike, it was difficult to tell who I'd already seen and who I hadn't. Clothing was helpful, as well as the different hues of blue skin tone. Some had what I could only assume was make-up in different patterns on their faces which also set them apart. None of this shit was in the dossiers…
"You look like a lost puppy," John smiled at me as we made our way through a market area. "I thought you were going to lose it when you saw the concierge but now I'm worried you may hide under a table." I shook my head, a small smile creeping in.
"Oh ha ha," I spoke softly so no passerby could hear. "I'm reading the area, gauging the people before I attempt interaction. I don't know about you but I'm not really in the mood for an intergalactic incident because I stuck my foot in my mouth."
I pulled to a stop and looked up at him. "You know, we can spare a few minutes, you should probably thank your friend for paying for our docking and such. Didn't the concierge say her office was up those stairs?" I motioned to a small alcove to our right and his smile dropped. He'd instantly become uncomfortable, his free hand finding its way to the back of his neck.
"Yeah, maybe later," he rushed out, his eyes darting from one side to the other as if looking for a place to hide. Feeling the tension roll off of him I sighed, knowing there was a story and not patient enough to wait for it.
"Ok, fess up," I demanded, taking my hand from him and crossing my arms. Apparently taken off guard, his eyes flew back to meet mine. "What's the deal with the two of you?" His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed; something I hadn't seen him do before.
Was he actually afraid?
"Uh," he started, looking around again. "Well…" His eye returned to mine with a sigh. "Liara, she's… kind of my ex." Steady blue eyes looked back at me as I absorbed the surprise information. No wonder he's uncomfortable.
I nodded. "Alright, I'll wait here." I looked around for a place to sit. Finding one a few steps away, I got comfortable and smiled up at him. His eyes were searching mine for … something. I sighed.
"John, go say thank you. I'll be right here when you get back," I pushed. "No need to be rude. Go!" I laughed as I swatted at his hand. Sitting back, I draped an arm along the back of the bench and crossed my legs casually. He took a few steps then looked back at me. I gave him a wink and a nod, smirking at him. He returned the smirk and wink then turned to walk up the stairs.
"You will be the death of me Commander Shepard," I mumbled, reaching to play with a strand of my hair and looking around. People watching wasn't really my thing but if it passed the time…
"Yes, they're red sand dealers. Big operation out of The Eternity Lounge and they need to be stopped," I heard a woman's voice from my right say. My interest peaked so I looked over and saw an Asari speaking with a human man in armor with 'N7' on the chestplate in red. I averted my eyes but kept listening to the conversation, unsure as to what this 'red sand' was.
"Really," he responded, his armor clicking as he adjusted his stance. "How do you know?"
"I'm an undercover cop," she stated, bringing a small smirk to my face. Sure you are, honey. And I'm a Krogan.
"Really?" This guy was getting excited. Too excited, as if he was going to do something…
"How can I help?"
I rolled my eyes and looked in the opposite direction from them. None of your business, stay out of it. Doesn't matter if you can see where this is going.
"What I really need is the deed to the place," the Asari whispered. My hearing picked it up anyway, she whispered like an Irishman.
Anger flooded my veins. I despised liars, manipulators of the naïve even more. It was a big part of my motivation to go into law enforcement, to protect innocents from shit like this. This man was obviously trying to do something good and this asshole was taking full advantage of that.
Not bothering to listen to the rest I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to get my temper under control. I focused on my breathing, in and out, until I saw the guy rush past me as if on a mission. I sighed and shook my head.
"Oh for the love of… I hope I don't ruin this dress," I said to myself as I shot John a quick message to meet me at the bar and followed the poor unfortunate soul.
Thankfully the place wasn't far and my quarry wasn't that observant so I kept up with him without being noticed. When he walked into the place he approached the first person he saw, the bartender, and demanded the deed. The bartender was less than accommodating.
I bellied up to the bar and subtly waved her over, her relief plain on her face.
"Thanks, not sure how much more I could take," she whispered. I smiled and shook my head.
"Just a heads up, someone put him up to it, said something about this place dealing in 'red sand'," I explained, filling her in on the Asari from the kiosk by Liara's office. I could have sworn her face showed a hint of purple then she nodded, moving back toward the misguided man.
"Listen, crap for brains, first, we don't sell red sand. Second, red sand is legal on Illium! You just need a license!" she snorted and walked away just as Shepard strolled up to the scene.
"Conrad? What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously concerned about the guy's presence. The man turned and faced John with a gasp.
"Commander Shepard?" Conrad sputtered out. The bartender perked up at that.
"Hey, if you know this idiot can you rein him in before I slap his ass with a singularity?" she spat, waving her hand as if at a fly. Conrad didn't seem to hear her as he continued to gape at John.
"Shepard, Shepard is that you?" he said quietly. "It's me, Conrad Verner!" He obviously missed the part where Shepard had already recognized him. "We met on the Citadel? I wanted to become a Spectre? Oh, uh, and then you shoved a gun in my face, you showed me what it meant to be truly extreme…" I couldn't take it anymore, I put myself between Conrad and John and put up my hands.
"Ok, that's it," I said firmly, "Enough. You!" I poked Conrad in his armored chest. "Stop. Now." He looked at me mystified then went to open his mouth again but I put my hand in front of it. "AH! No. Shut it." I glared at him and waited to be sure he was going to be quiet then turned to John.
"Conrad was told that this place was a red sand operation, which is apparently legal here if you have the proper permits," I turned to glare at the offending party again then returned to Shepard, "by an Asari at the kiosk near where I was sitting."
I took a breath, allowing my annoyance to drain away. "In his very flimsy defense she claimed she was an undercover cop and needed the deed to this place to shut down the operation. A blatant lie but there it is." I turned to face Conrad again and saw the pitiful look he had on his face. I instantly felt terrible for him. John must have too.
"Alright," he said, placing a hand around my waist as he stood next to me to face Verner. "I'll go talk to this 'undercover cop' and figure out what's going on."
"Thank you," the bartender said from behind her attacker, "If I kill annoying customers it usually causes property damage." She shook her head in disgust. "That comes out of my pay." Verner looked at me then at John.
"Just let me know if you need any help Shepard," he mumbled as he walked away. I turned to look up at John who smiled down at me, his arm still around my waist.
"The bitch at the kiosk tried to take advantage of the guy," I said, nodding toward where Conrad stood. "I couldn't let it happen so I followed him to keep an eye on him."
With his free hand he pushed a strand of hair away from my face, a gentle look in his eye. "You are… huh." I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"What?" I asked, "Nosey? Intrusive?" He laughed, shaking his head.
"I was going to say compassionate," he whispered as he gently brushed his lips against my forehead. "Come on, I've got an idea on how to handle this 'undercover cop'."
John's idea was to convince her everything was cool for her to go to the bar to demand the deed and off she went, as gleefully as could be. When John and I arrived a few minutes later she was already in cuffs. I held my hand over my mouth to subdue my laughter, without success. She shouted a few obscenities at us, claiming that her predicament was somehow our fault as the authorities dragged her away. Conrad was in the same spot as when we'd left, looking at the scene with confusion as we approached him.
"What happened? The undercover cop from the weapon's kiosk just got arrested!" he exclaimed. I slipped my mask into place and waited for John to explain.
"She wasn't a cop, she was a deep cover operative from a terrorist cell," he said, not missing a beat. It took some effort but I kept my face blank as he continued. "I'd never have found her if not for you." Conrad's eye widened.
"Really?" he whimpered. His tone pulled at my heart strings. He must have been starved for any kind of attention, much less the positive kind.
"Really," John insisted, "you did a great job Conrad. Now please go home. Let me take it from here." Verner's face went stern as he gave a stiff nod.
"Can do Shepard, and thanks. It's really good to have you back." And off he went. I shook my head as I watched him walk away.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" John's whisper in my ear jolted my out of my thoughts, making me step away from him and my breath hitch slightly. Shaking my head at him, I rested a hand on my chest.
"Shit, don't do that," I said then dropped my hand and glanced back in the 'hero's' direction. "Some would say what you just did was cruel, that the truth would have been kinder." As I looked back at him he shifted his stance and crossed his arms.
"What would you say?" he asked, eyeing me closely. Holding my blank expression, I stepped toward him. We were practically nose to nose when I grinned slyly.
"That it was an act of compassion," I whispered, giving him a light peck on the tip of his nose and walking away.
"Weren't you taking me out to dinner? I'm starving Shepard!"