"Sorry, I'm kinda busy right- Oh, Viridian! I wasn't expecting you so soon! You should have told me you were coming."
We hugged, with me chuckling.
"Well, I'm here, so what can I do for you?"
She looked at Garrus warily.
"Don't worry about him. Used to be C-Sec, before joining up with me." I assured her.
Relaxing, she nodded. Showing just how much she trusted me. "I'm sure you've guessed, but it's about Jenna. I'm worried about her. Getting hurt. Or worse. Yeah, Fist is gone, but still. Being," Her voice lowered, barely heard over the music. Eyes daring around the room. "an informant is a dangerous job."
"I totally get it." I murmured gently. "Want me to talk to her? Or Chellick?" I knew he was her handler.
"She won't listen. I know you can be persuasive, but you'd have to catch her away from the place to get her to give you the time of day."
"Got it. I'll swing by Chellick's office."
"Thank you so much." Relief was clear on her face.
"Alright, let's head to C-Sec.'
I swear, the elevators took longer the more you used them.
"Chellick!" I greeted, arms out, as we walked into his office. "Long time, no see! Miss me?"
His mandibles moved, eyes going to the turian with me. Ignoring me completely. "Vakarian. I'd heard about your resignation, to work with this one." A motion toward me, proving I wasn't invisible. Or mute. "My sincerest condolences."
"First of all, my feelings." I gasped out dramatically, hand clutching at my chest as I dropped into a seat across from him. Switching gears to serious mode a moment later. "I'm here in an official capacity." He instantly straightened. "I'm here to talk about Jenna."
"I could get her out of there, but," Didn't waste time beating around the bush. "I could use your help with an illegal arms producer."
I nodded, leaning forward. Hands fisted under my chin. "I help you with this- for free." His stare intensified as he leaned toward me. "You get Jenna out, and I owe you one."
His mandibles moved again, more rapidly, as he quickly thought over my offer.
"I only need some of the product. I can't expect you to-"
"You know I don't charge for illegal weapons operations." I reminded him. "Besides, this works in your favor." Especially considering I was a Spectre now.
Several seconds of silence, then-
"Deal."
He went about sending the necessary messages. A few minutes passed.
"The meeting's all set up. All I need is the product. Here." A credit chit. "That's enough to cover it."
He rattled off the time, which was soon, and location.
"I'll be back soon." I assured him. Then, to Garrus. "Come on. Gonna need some muscle backing me. Visually, at least."
"Right behind you, Shepard."
Since the lower markets weren't far off, we made it rather quickly. The guy, and his own muscle, was already there.
I met his stare with my own. "You have the goods?"
"You have the money?"
I opened my omni-tool, wiring the money I'd deposited from the chit into his.
After checking it over, he nodded. "Give her the goods."
I opened the case, my turn to check on things. "Anything more?"
"More?" A scoff.
"This isn't my first deal. There's always more. For a price, of course."
There was a pause. Then, "Double the money."
"Deal." I wired the amount asked.
And was handed another case.
"A pleasure." I bowed my head, walking away. Garrus trailing close behind.
When we were on the elevator, alone, he asked about it.
"Chellick will benefit from the extra product. It'll help his case- the more illegal products he can pin on the dealer and his operation."
"Makes sense. You gonna ask for reimbursement?"
"With the amount of money I steal on a regular basis, that was basically change, for me." A reminder that I was a thief.
"Riiiiight." A look. "Speaking of, are we just not supposed to comment on the fact that anonymous money is being deposited into our accounts?"
I grinned. "Sounds like a good benefactor to have. Someone who recognizes how hard you all work."
An exasperated noise, half sigh, half laugh. A shake of his head.
"Chellick!" I tried the greeting again, earning a glance up from his screen. "I bring you gifts!"
"So I hear." He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "I told you-"
"You know how I like to shower my friends with gifts." Setting them down, one on top of the other, on his desk, I gestured like a game show hostess toward them. "Tadaaaa!"
He rolled his eyes at my display, before opening them and taking a look at what was inside. A hum left him. "This is more than I need. Thank you, Viridian."
Ah, sincerity. It led people to calling me by my first name, which I appreciated.
"Anytime."
"Jenna's at Flux, with Rita."
"Thanks. Just hit me up when you want to call in the favor." I left him with that.
Oh, fuck me.
Standing in front of the stairs leading up to Flux was Finch. Of all the people...
"Viridian Shepard, all grown up, and now a Spectre."
I could feel the turian behind me bristle at his tone. I wanted him to get to the point and go. "What do you want?"
"One of the Reds, Curt Weisman, got picked up by turians." Obstinately keeping his eyes on me, pretending my turian companion wasn't present. "We'd like you to talk to the turian guard in the bar and get Curt out."
"And he was arrested, for?" I raised an eyebrow, leaning my weight back on one leg.
"Some stupid minor offense. Maybe he had a little red sand. You know how the turians are. Declared him a problem, and they're shipping him back for a trial."
I crossed my arms, tilting my chin back. "A jailbreak?"
"Course not." A scoff. "But word has it, you've got some pull with the aliens." Like the one standing right behind me that you're ignoring? "All we're asking you to do is pull a little for us."
"How'd he get caught in turian space? He an idiot?"
"The Tenth Street Reds have expanded, since your days with us." It took everything I had not to grit my teeth. "We do some salvage, a little shipping here and there, that kind of thing."
What a joke they had been, and working with them had been an utter nightmare. Illegal weapons, mods. Drugs. They'd been among the first that had taken me in, under their wing, when I left the Citadel originally after Nihlus had cut me loose. And it had been nothing but rocky since the beginning.
"I'll talk to the guard and see what I can do."
"Thanks, Shepard. I knew you'd remember your old friends." I shook his proffered hand, feeling like I needed to shower after. "The guard's over in Chora's Den. Take care of this, and you'll never see me again."
Too good to be true. I didn't believe him for a second. And, of course, the whole way there, he tailed us. it was amusing, knowing he was trying to be stealthy, but I'd known the whole time. Hadn't even let us leave his line of sight, before he started trailing.
The guard wasn't hard to find. The one uptight-looking person in the club.
I moved to stand beside him, Garrus warily watching me as he fell into place next to me.
"You know who I am?"
"I do."
"A human named Finch wanted me to use my authority as a Spectre to free Curt Weisman."
He shook his head. "Should've known he'd have friends. Thank you for the information. We'll increase the guard on his cell."
"I knew you'd rat us out, Shepard!" Finch walked over, seething. "Now, it's payback time! When we're through telling our story, the aliens will all know what the first human Spectre really is. If you won't help us, we'll drag your name through the dirt! Your alien friends will revoke your Spectre status. You'll be nothing." He crossed his arms, haughty. "Unless you're willing to pay, say, five hundred credits."
"I've a better idea." I raised my voice, so I could be heard by nearby patrons. "Spectre authority."
And then, I shot him in the head. A clean kill.
No one batted an eye.
"Impressive." The guard mused, looking down at my handiwork for a moment. "Perhaps the first human Spectre will not be a disappointment after all."
With that, he walked away.
I gave one of the bouncers some money, paying him off to dispose of the body for me.
"Well, that was..."
"Yeah." I sighed, scrubbing my hands over my face. "I fell in with them when I was fourteen. Huge mistake. They dealt with all kinds of things, from drugs to cold murder. But, in the beginning, they were one of the only groups willing to pay a kid. Hell, half of them were kids, just like me."
"They involved in what happened on Asteria?" A hopeful lilt to his voice.
I chuckled. "No. No, they had nothing to do with that. That was only a few years ago. But!" I held up a finger, wagging it at him.
"I'll have to unlock that dialogue option?" He filled in, bemused.
"Exactly."
A message came through my omni-tool as we were making our way to the Normandy.
From the asari Councilor.
The salarian infiltration team had fallen silent, communication nonexistent as of just a few hours ago, on Virmire. About the same time we docked at the Citadel. After my vision. Damn. What had changed? She was asking for our immediate attention to the situation.
I called over comms to the rest of the team. "Be on the Normandy in twenty. We've gotta get to Virmire. Something's happened in the last few hours."
It wasn't long after that, that we were speeding toward the planet.
