"WHAT?!" Shepard and Garrus gasped as they jumped out of the visitors chairs in Bailey's office.
Bailey held up his hands in what he knew was a fruitless attempt to calm the two detectives down, "I know. Believe me I'm just as outraged as you are but what can we do? This comes straight from the executor."
The fallout from Jorin's shooting of Napier continued to get worse. Strangely enough though, it was only getting worse for Shepard and Garrus. Jorin on the other hand was riding high. It started when Jorin went on the comm. to announce that he single-handedly killed the target and saved the child. If that wasn't bad enough, he further stated that he did all that while Detective Shepard stood around and did nothing. Shepard would have stopped him but he was too preoccupied with what he considered to be more important: comforting the child who was still in shock over her ordeal. Unfortunately Jorin's version of the events quickly spread. When Shepard and Jorin returned the child to her parents, the parents couldn't stop thanking Jorin and giving Shepard a nasty look. That would have been bad enough but then Jorin told the parents he was sorry their daughter had to go through such an ordeal because Detective Shepard wanted to keep the pedophile alive even if it meant risking kids lives. The parents practically yanked the child out of Shepard's arms and stormed off before Shepard had a chance to explain. As Jorin headed off to receive congratulations from the other officers, Shepard searched for Garrus. The two of them needed to get back to HQ and tell Bailey what really happened.
When they arrived, it ended up being Bailey who did the talking. He had received a less than pleasant call from the executor. Apparently the executor was buying everything Jorin was saying about what happened at the Citadome. In a few minutes, he was going to announce to the press that "brave C-SEC officer Jorin Kadarus" not only saved a young girl from a pedophile but he brought the murderer of Shara'Vael vas Moreh to justice. That caused the first stunned reaction from Shepard and Garrus though they weren't stunned enough to jump out of their chairs at that time. Then Bailey told them the executor also felt that the events at the Citadome proved that Jorin should have gotten the promotion to the homicide desk. On top of that, because the executor believed what Jorin said about how Shepard was responsible for the operation falling apart, he ordered Bailey to take Shepard off homicide so that Jorin could take his spot. It was then that Shepard and Garrus jumped out of their chairs.
"With all due respect sir," Garrus said as he leaned on Bailey's desk, "the executor is out of his mind! Kadarus is the one who ruined the operation. Shepard told me how the operation was going smoothly until Kadarus decided to go rogue and kill Napier in cold blood."
"Unfortunately that's were the problem is," Bailey replied, "according to your own statement, you didn't hear the alleged conversation where Kadarus went rogue on your comms. In fact you didn't hear anything until after all hell had broken loose. You're relying solely on Shepard's word that his version of the events happened."
Garrus threw his arms up in frustration and stepped away from the desk, "spirts, Shepard. I thought we were past the point of having people doubt stuff you say."
"Commander," said Shepard, "what about the T'Parro or any of the other officers who were there? Surely they were able to hear Kadarus go rogue."
Bailey shrugged his shoulders, "you would think. But with the exception of T'Parro, no one is willing to say that they did. They're obviously afraid to contradict Kadarus' story and risk angering the executor. As for T'Parro, she's filed many complaints against Kadarus in the past which the executor would always sweep under the rug. He believes that T'Parro is now resorting to lying in an attempt to finally get him canned."
Shepard rolled his eyes, "gentleman I give you nepotism at it's finest. I honestly can't help but wonder how a reckless idiot like Kadarus managed to win the heart of the executor's daughter."
Garrus nodded in agreement, "personally I wonder if the executor's daughter is aware that her father is keeping her husband from getting canned on a regular basis. Or worse, for all we know she could be manipulating her father. She might be using her influence on him to not only keep Kadarus on the force but also pushing him to get Kadarus on the homicide desk."
"If I were a betting man," said Bailey, "I'd put my money on your theory Vakarian. But without proof, going after the executor would be suicide."
"But we have to do something Commander," Shepard said while pacing back and forth, "the executor may be telling the press otherwise but the three of us know that Shara's killer is still out there."
Garrus continued, "we also know that Wilkinson is somehow involved because he lied to us about how long Napier had been back working at the Citadome. Shepard and I even believe that he planned to put us on Napier's trail yesterday when he agreed to our interview request. In hindsight, he did stop Vala from shooting our request down a little too quickly. He's hiding something and we need to bring him here to find out what that is."
The painful hiss that came out of Bailey's mouth told the detectives that Garrus' idea was not going to be that easy to do, "when I was on the phone with the executor, he told me about a call that he had received from that lawyer you mentioned. It started off pleasant enough with her congratulating Kadarus on behalf of the Peacekeepers for taking down Shara's killer. Things turned sour though when she said that she and Wilkinson were not happy that the plan you two came up with to capture Napier went to hell. Even if the case wasn't being considered closed, the Peacekeepers refuse to cooperate with you two anymore and the lawyer says she will personally file harassment charges if either of you show up at the Citadome again."
Shepard and Garrus faces fell. In some ways they shouldn't have been surprised by Bailey's last bit of news. If it was Wilkinson's plan all along to pin Shara's murder on Napier, then any further questioning by C-SEC would seem excessive to everyone who believed the case was closed. What made their faces fall was the threat of a lawsuit because it closed their only active lead in the investigation. If they couldn't think of something, the entire Citadel would believe Napier killed Shara and the real killer would go free.
As bad as that thought was, it was more troubling thinking that Shara's murder was potentially going to be Shepard and Garrus' only case as partners. Jorin was getting glory for supposedly closing their case for them and for cleaning up the mess Shepard was believed to have made. There was no way Bailey would be able to fight the executor's order to partner Jorin with Garrus this time. Bailey seemed to read their minds and gave them the only reassuring news he had.
"Look detectives," he said, "I realize things seem hopeless but we can't give up. Shara deserves justice and she won't be able to get it if everyone believes her killer has already been caught. The executor may want to get Kadarus transferred to homicide ASAP but I can jam up the process to buy you two some time to keep investigating. Find Shara's killer. If we're lucky, that will be enough to show the executor he's making a mistake. But remember, we're doing this for Shara first and foremost.
Shepard and Garrus nodded and saluted Bailey before turning to walk out of the office. It wasn't necessary for them to salute but it was the least they could do to thank him for continuing to back them and for the pep talk. They made their way to their desks to take one last look at the murder board before heading home. Though they wanted to stay and keep working, their shift was over and they were both exhausted from the day's events. If they were going to have only one more day to solve the case, they needed to go home and sleep so that they would be fully energized and ready to work.
When Shepard and Garrus got to their desks, their attention was not immediately drawn to the murder board but to Shepard's desk. The desk had been disturbed and Shepard's breathing got heavy with frustration when he saw what was different. Someone had removed his nameplate and replaced it with one that read "Detective Jorin Kadarus". Those words have no business being together, Shepard thought to himself. Upon closer examination, Shepard found his own nameplate inside a box that was on his desk. There was nothing else inside the box but Shepard was more troubled by the fact he didn't remember leaving a box on his desk. Only one thing could explain the appearance of the box. Fortunately for Shepard, Garrus realized it the same time he did and grabbed the box before Shepard became tempted to throw it across the bullpen. While he took out Shepard's nameplate and put it back on the desk, he glanced up towards Bailey's office. He was met with a return glance from Bailey who nodded to indicate he understood what Garrus was silently asking him.
"Don't let this get to you Shepard," said Garrus, "Bailey will keep his word and make sure that your desk is still here when we come in tomorrow."
Shepard sighed, "I know. Let's just get out of here."
"Have you thought about what you're going to say to Ashley?"
"Honestly I wish I didn't have to tell her anything. She's got enough on her plate between finishing her book and having a baby. I'd hate to add to it by telling her my job is at risk. But I have to tell her. Not just because of what happened last night but because she's my wife and she deserves to know."
"I understand. It's just like I'm going to have to tell Tali. I don't know what she's going to take the hardest, the fact you might not be partner for much longer or the fact that Jorin will be your replacement."
Shepard couldn't help but smile, "she's familiar with your 'adventures' with Jorin?"
"Well enough that I think she'll tell me I should quit C-SEC again to avoid being partners with him."
"All the more reason why we need to solve this case," Shepard replied while giving Garrus a comforting pat on the back, "I'm not going to let C-SEC lose their best officer a third time."
Garrus chuckled as he and Shepard left the bullpen. The happy mood didn't last long. When they reached the buildings main entrance, they stopped when they noticed camera flashes on the other side. Moving to the side of the doorway to keep themselves out of the cameras' line of sight, they carefully approached the door to find out what was going on. It was the sound of several voices shouting questions that solved the mystery for them. To confirm their theory, the voices quieted down when a voice they recognized as the executor's started speaking.
"I've called this press conference to recognize one of C-SEC's finest who, in one fell swoop, made this station safer for our children and closed a murder investigation. Officer Jorin Kadarus was part of an operation to bring in suspected murderer Robert Napier. Napier, a children's entertainer, was revealed to be a pedophile who used his job to gain access to children to whom he would do things so heinous I cannot bring myself to say them out loud. It is believed that he murdered someone who found out about his crimes and was about to expose him. The operation was going smoothly until bad judgment calls by the officer in charge of the operation resulted in the Napier taking a child hostage. It was only thanks to the quick action of Officer Kadarus that the child was not killed…or worse. With that said, I invite you to join me in congratulating this brave officer for his heroic deeds."
The executor and the press erupted into applause as Jorin stepped in front of the cameras and gave an over-exaggerated bow of gratitude. Both Shepard and Garrus looked at the scene with disgust. It was bad enough that Jorin was getting praise that he didn't deserve but they were mad that the executor didn't even mention Shara by name. They both believed that the victim of a murder was the one who deserved to be remembered and honored. Sure the officer who cracked the case would be entitled to receive some recognition but ultimately they were just doing their job. Least of all though it was the killer who didn't deserve a mention. The last thing a killer deserved for committing a crime was to have their actions be glorified in the was why Shepard and Garrus were determined to ensure that Shara's real killer would find himself locked away, never to be seen or heard from again.
Shepard entered his apartment and collapsed onto the living room couch he found Ashley in when he came home the previous night. He didn't even have the energy to call out to Ashley to let him know he was home. With luck, she was working in her office and wouldn't come out to see him in his exhausted state for a few more minutes. This would give Shepard time to rest his eyes until he had enough energy to go in the office and greet Ashley properly.
"YES!"
A surge of adrenaline came over Shepard when he heard Ashley shouting from her office. After the initial worry that the sound meant something was wrong with either Ashley or the baby, Shepard realized what he heard was an excited cheer. Curious to what all the excitement was about, he shot out of the couch and ran towards Ashley's office door. Not wanting to startle her by bursting in, he knocked on the door before opening it.
Greeting Shepard on the other side of the door was a sight he had not seen for quite some time. Ashley was dancing behind her desk. True her large, pregnant belly made it hard for her to be the most graceful dancer but Shepard was just surprised to see her dancing at all. The later stages of Ashley's pregnancy had left her with little to no energy for activities like that. Whatever was making Ashley happy was causing her to dance with enough energy that Shepard was worried she'd make herself go into labor. While Shepard was curious about what was going on, he couldn't resist leaning against the doorway and watching the show.
Suddenly Ashley realized that Shepard was standing in the doorway and started dancing in his direction. Shepard straightened up in time to receive a kiss from her. Ashley then pulled Shepard into the office and the two of them started waltzing around the desk. For a brief moment, Shepard had forgotten all about the bad day he had. He just wanted this moment to last. Finally his curiosity got the better of him.
"Are we celebrating something?" He asked.
"We certainly are," Ashley replied with a smile, "I just got an email from my agent. One of the Citadel's biggest publishing houses is interested in my book."
"Ash, that's fantastic!" Shepard said before he was hit with a moment of confusion. "Wait a minute, how is that possible? I remember you finished the book shortly after the baby and I helped you decide how to end it and that you had sent it to an editor for proofreading. How can a publisher be interested in your book before your final draft is ready?"
Ashley separated from Shepard and went back to sit at her desk while she spoke, "my agent has been looking for a publisher since I told him the book was almost finished. Apparently they were already interested as soon as he said the book was written by Ashley Shepard, Reaper War veteran and Council Spectre. I'll admit that I was a little worried they were going to publish the book just based on my reputation and not the book's merit. But then he said their interest only grew as he explained what the book was about. Some of the people there want to read it themselves to see what happens. Oh Mark, your wife is on her way to becoming a published author."
Shepard smiled and stepped behind Ashley to plant a kiss on the top of her head, "I'm proud of you, beautiful. You've put a lot of work into that book and it's about to pay off. I love you."
"I love you too. Now are you ready to tell me what's troubling you?"
A sad sigh escaped Shepard's mouth, "how did you know something was wrong?"
"I didn't hear you say 'hey beautiful, I'm home' when you came in. You've always said that when you come home from work. The only reason you would forget to do it would be because something is on your mind."
It was hard for Shepard not to chuckle as he thought to himself that Ashley should have been the detective. Helping Ashley out of her chair and taking her into the living room, Shepard proceeded to give her a thorough play-by-play of the day's events. Ashley may have had mood swings during the pregnancy but even those paled in comparison to how many times her emotions changed during Shepard's story. As Shepard wrapped up, Ashley was feeling horrified by what the child had almost gone through with Napier but then she exploded when Shepard explained how the executor was handling the fallout from it.
"They can't do that to you!" She screamed. "I don't care if that idiot Kadarus is the executor's son-in-law. You're Commander Shepard, the hero of Citadel."
"Correction," Shepard said as he sat down with Ashley on the couch, "I was Commander Shepard. Now I'm a C-SEC homicide detective. My military experience may have helped me get the job but that doesn't matter when it comes to reviewing my performance as a detective."
"Even so, it just burns me up that people still don't take your statements seriously. I mean what you told me happened doesn't sound nearly as outlandish as saying that giant synthetics are coming to destroy all organics. And you were actually right about that."
Shepard wanted to point out that Ashley herself had doubted him once but held his tongue. Ashley had already beaten herself up for it several times over the years and he refused to unintentionally help her do it again.
"And that's why I don't care that they don't believe me," said Shepard, "I'm used to people doubting me on a regular basis by now. Garrus, Bailey and I know that we're right about Shara's killer being still out there. As long as we can prove it before tomorrow is over, I don't have to worry about losing my job."
Ashley appeared to be struggling to understand what Shepard was saying, "so if you don't care what everyone thinks of you and you're not worried about possibly being fired, then what is it that was troubling you when you came home?"
Instead of answering right away, Shepard silently gestured for Ashley to move closer to him so that he could put his arm around her. Ashley obliged and rested her head on his shoulder. Though she didn't show it, Ashley was beginning to dread what Shepard was going to say. Every time the two of them got this intimate during a discussion, it was because Shepard was about share something especially dark and troubling and needed the comfort that came from being close to Ashley.
"Ash," Shepard said once he was ready, "I thought I'd seen the worst this galaxy had to offer. As you mentioned, I've even saved the galaxy from being wiped out by an advanced race of giant synthetics. I also went through losing several of my friends in horrific ways thanks to a mad woman's thirst for revenge against me. And yet, these past couple of days have shown me there are still many terrible things out there. A poor woman was brutally stabbed to death in her own apartment. Another one almost killed herself after she was rescued from being a slave for nearly twenty years. And now, a child was almost violated by a sick clown. What kind of father would I be bringing a child into this galaxy where that much horrible stuff can happen in just a few days and all on the same station?"
"Hate to break it to you honey but it's a bit too late for you to be having second thoughts about that," Ashley said while patting her belly.
It was impossible for Shepard not to chuckle at Ashley's joke. He didn't know if Ashley was trying to ease the tension or if she was buying time to think of something reassuring to say but he didn't care. Laughter truly was the best medicine for him. When he was done chuckling, Ashley continued.
"There's no doubt in my mind that you are going to be a great father. From what you've told me, you proved that today when your first instinct after Kadarus killed the clown was to comfort the child. As for the horrible stuff that happens on this station, to be perfectly honest, that's just another reason why I'm still not thrilled about your job."
"Ash please." Shepard said while rubbing his eyes to brace for what he knew was coming, "I'm not ready to get back to that discussion."
"Mark, your job has you confronting those horrible things everyday. Twice in the past two days you've nearly gotten yourself killed in the process. First you were almost killed last night by that girl you rescued and today your risked your life saving a clown who did horrible things to children. Now I'm not saying he should have been gunned down in cold blood. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. I'm just saying that the frequency of these close calls is going to make it hard for you keep the promise you made last night. Is it really worth keeping this job if that's the case?"
Shepard let go of Ashley and got up from the couch to pace. As much as he hated to admit it, Ashley had a point. He did promise her the previous night that he would do everything in his power to ensure he came home safely every day. Yet the events of the past two days were making it hard for even him to believe that he could keep that promise. Maybe it would be for the best if he took a less dangerous job at C-SEC. A job that would allow him to still help people but not have to risk his life on a regular basis. Then Shepard thought of another promise that both he and Garrus had made.
"I hear what you're saying. But the thing is I made a promise that I was going to find Shara's killer and bring them to justice. Garrus and I now have only one day left to do that. I have to see this case through to the end, Ash. Once it's over, then we'll finish this discussion."
When he had finished speaking, Shepard offered Ashley his hand. Though she didn't initially appear to be happy with Shepard's suggestion, Ashley shrugged when she realized it was the best one that he could offer. She took Shepard's hand and got up from the couch with Shepard's assistance. The two of them then headed for the bedroom to turn in for the night.