Shepard stepped out of a taxi at the closest transit station to Chora's Den. She could already hear the terrible, repetitive techno music. Sighing, she shook her head. "And me without my earplugs."
"We agree on something at last, Shepard," Nihlus said, brushing past her.
"Be still my heart. When do I book the church?" She walked to the door leading out onto the walkway. She held up a fist and took cover against the wall, shrugging Roger into her hand. "Hostiles galore trying to look casual just outside the door to the club." She crouched and rolled through the door, taking cover behind a railing. "It looks like a Thugs-R-Us convention."
"It's them!" one of the krogan yelled.
"No shit, morons." Shepard peered over the top of the railing. "Sweet baby Jesus, that's a lot of bad guys."
A squad of twelve turians, krogan, and asari started moving toward them, spreading out to trap them. She hit a small cluster of them with overload to take down their shields. "Kaidan, sabotage as many as you can manage." She waited until he used his tech attack then got up and opened fire. She stood and side-stepped down the wall, launching her drone into the middle of the herd to sow a little chaos. Roger had one down and another one just about flatlined when the enemy flanked them on the left, moving to cut them off from retreat back to the transit stop.
"We can't stay here, Captain," Kaidan called as his shields went down. He rolled back out the door and took cover.
"Yeah, I picked that up." Shepard followed, covering for Nihlus. Her drone expired in a flash of light, so she spawned another, drawing the attention of a couple enemy. Another half second later, her shields went down. Why wasn't Nihlus moving back?
"Come on, Kryik, pull back." Shepard heard the roar of a krogan just in time to somersault behind the Spectre and out of the charge. The krogan slammed through the barrier and tumbled down into traffic. "Shit!" Shepard cried. "That's some fucked up shit, there."
Two bullets hit while she grabbed Nihlus by the cowl of his armour and yanked him back toward Kaidan and the doorway. "We've got to retreat, get some cover, dammit."
He spun, slapping her hand away. "I decide when I retreat."
"My squad, I decide, or are you better at killing things when you're dead?" She kept Roger moving, trying to force the attackers to stay behind cover. A warp flew at her from the left, slamming her to the floor, feeling like every molecule of her body was being torn apart. When it passed, she stayed on the ground and crawled out the door before getting up.
"Damn, that smarts." She took cover behind the wall, trying to keep the bad guys off Kryik's ass.
"One of the asari down," Kaidan called.
"Good job, LT. Next time your lift is cooled, let me know, we'll combo one of those two krogan over the edge." Nihlus's shields went down. "Kryik, get back here before I shoot you in the head myself just so I don't have the distraction of worrying about your stupid ass."
Finally, he backed through the door.
"Lift ready, Captain," Kaidan called.
"I'll overload, you grab him." Shepard leaned out and brought down the krogan's shields. He ducked for cover, but Kaidan was on the ball and grabbed him before he could get too far down. Bellowing, the enemy brute sailed through the air and then fell down through the traffic lanes.
"The enemy are at half strength," Kaidan called. "My amp is starting to get uncomfortably warm."
"That's what guns are for, Sport." Roger took out another asari as she tried to shoehorn her way in the door with a warp. One of the turians made it in the door, but Shepard barrelled into him, tossing his gun as she bore him to the floor. Shoving her hand under his jaw, she hit overload, glad that Kaidan had the presence of mind to shoot him since she was too busy electrocuting herself. When she recouped enough to blink, Nihlus was gone again.
"We going to start leaving him on the ship?" Kaidan asked, leaning out to sabotage the remaining krogan.
Shepard overloaded the krogan then peppered him with rounds. "This is getting old, that's for sure." She dashed out the door and behind the barrier to the right. "When your lift is ready again, Alenko, let's get this last krogan off our backs." She used her sabotage, turning Roger on two turians and an asari trying to make their way down the wall toward her.
A moment later, Kaidan threw himself behind the same barrier. They were facing the club entrance, the krogan pinning Nihlus down on their right, the other three coming down the barrier on their left.
"Ready, LT? Let's clear ourselves a path of retreat."
"Yes, ma'am."
Shepard overloaded the krogan again, whittling down the shields he'd recovered, then Kaidan grabbed him. She turned Roger on the remaining attackers, buying Kaidan a little cover from fire while exposed. One of the turians went down, but the lift didn't drift the krogan far enough, dropping him almost right on top of them.
"Shit! Follow my lead, Alenko." She sabotaged the krogan's shotgun, then leaped up and ran past him, sliding around the corner and going down on a hip. "Fuck, I hate fighting anything that closes on me." She switched to Ingrid. "Try to keep him pinned down." She brought up the sniper rifle, aimed and fired, grinning as the krogan bellowed. Once the recoil settled, she fired again, keeping it up until the bruiser finally went down and didn't get back up.
"Too much like work," she gasped, switching guns again. She glanced around, looking for Nihlus, but didn't spot him. Alenko took out the asari. One left. The last turian held out a few more seconds, then went down.
Shepard sank to the floor with a grateful sigh. "Way too much like work."
Kaidan crouched at her side. "You hit, ma'am?"
"Only five or six times, LT. Nothing I'm not used to." She held out her hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet, then gave herself a shot of medigel. "Now where the fuck is . . .?"
Nihlus strode down the walkway, his entire posture screaming that he was itching for a fight. "Shepard! What the hell did you . . .?"
She stormed toward him, meeting him halfway. "Me? What the hell did you think you were doing?" she shouted. "On my squad, you stick with the rest of the team, follow fucking orders, and fight like you've got a brain inside that skull, goddamn it. You nearly got both of us killed."
He pushed his chest into her face, pushing her back a step. "Your squad? This is my op. You're my . . .."
"Oh, no." She shoved back, refusing to flinch even when he bent down, his face a quarter inch from hers. Fuck, and she thought this power struggle crap settled. "Get this straight, as long as it's my people backing you up, you're on my squad, or you're on your own." Done playing and testing, she needed him to get it through his head or move on.
His mandibles flared and eyes flashed, brilliant and fierce. She grinned as her heart raced. That was more like it. Now if she could just get him playing with the team. "I do better on my own. I don't have to worry about you getting in my way or getting yourself killed." He tried pushing her back, but she just shoved into him.
"Then do it on your bloody own. I don't need the extra headache. I'm an N7, not a bloody ship captain. The last thing I need is a fucking wild card getting my people killed. I'm going to be busy doing that on my own." She reached up and shoved his shoulder, a move that brought him towering down over her, one long taloned hand on the armour at her throat.
A splash of cold and wet hit her in the face. Her teeth clacked shut on her next sentence as it simply vanished from her mind. Sputtering, she stepped back and shook her head, looking over to where Kaidan stood, holding his water bottle ready.
"Sport? Would you mind explaining yourself?" Her voice came out far more reasonable than she expected, considering he'd just thrown water on her like a sparring dog. She wiped the drops from her face.
"I tried yelling, you ignored me. You two were either on the verge of beating the shit out of one another, or something I want to see even less. I did what I had to." He put the lid back on his water and stowed it. "We're here for a reason, aren't we?" He passed her a couple of tissues, then turned to start searching the bodies.
"Yeah, we are." Shepard choked down her embarrassment at having completely lost her temper and patted the water from her face and neck. Once she got herself fully under control, she turned to face the Nihlus. "Tabled for a more appropriate time, Kryik, but this isn't finished. You're not putting my people at risk again. Two kicks are all you get at this can." She thrust the damp tissues at the soggy Spectre, then joined Kaidan searching for evidence.
C-Sec arrived on the scene just as they finished their search. As expected, she found nothing linking Saren to the attack.
"Just once I'd like the bad guy to send notarized orders with his lackeys when they try to kill me," Shepard grumbled, giving the last bad guy a shove as she finished her search. "I, Saren Arterius, hereby command these thugs to kill Shepard. Signed, dated, and witnessed."
Kaidan chuckled. "Good luck with that, ma'am."
She grinned and shot him a wink as she stood. "Don't be crushing my dreams, Sport. I need what hope I've got." She slapped him on the shoulder and nodded toward the club. "Let's leave Nihlus to talk to the cops and head inside. We can watch ass while he kisses it."
Chora's Den didn't disappoint. Dancers and serving girls in various states of undress writhed and pranced about looking both jaded and resigned. Shepard glanced over at Kaidan, who seemed to be trying to look everywhere but at the ladies.
"Your first time in a place like this, Sport?" she asked, trying to hide her smirk.
"Of course not, ma'am. I'm an Alliance Marine." Still, he couldn't even look at her, as if she may have suddenly lost most of her clothing as well.
"Yeah, sorry for saying it, Alenko, but you seem more the 'stay in the crew quarters with a good book' type than the 'getting sloshed and drooling over tits' type." She got her answer about the same time his face started on fire. She chuckled and clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Sport. I'm exactly the same. Got no use for places like this. Come on, let's see if Nihlus is done explaining the bloodbath outside."
The Spectre entered as she finished speaking. Nihlus looked around the bar, not sparing a glance for any of the half-clad employees. When he met her eyes, he nodded off to his left. She answered with a nod, but let him go ahead. Surely, his contact would be more comfortable meeting with him alone, and she couldn't be certain the two of them wouldn't start yelling and shoving again. Kryik still looked ready to kill. Instead, she took Alenko around the other way, staying back as Nihlus moved in on his man.
"What have you got for me, Harkin?" the Spectre demanded, glaring down at a dishevelled, balding man in a stained C-Sec uniform. "You find out where Vakarian is?"
"I got nothing for you, Spectre," the man said, slouching down into his chair. He belched, then scratched his stomach. "Get lost."
Shepard let out a faint sigh. Of course Harkin didn't have anything. She and Kryik really needed to find a shaman or a voodoo priest or something to clean away the bad luck.
"You told me you'd have something," Nihlus growled, leaning over the table. "What are you playing at?" Yep, there is was. The 'going to use those deadly talons straight through the gloves' fury. She preferred it aimed at her. If Nihlus laid into Harkin, she stood to lose a partner before they even got out the gate. Stepping forward, she moved to where she could jump between them if she needed to.
Harkin laughed and leaned forward, not intimidated in the least. Probably too drunk to be intimidated. "Word is that you're not the council's favourite suck-up any more, Kryik. They're pissed, and they're watching you. I'm seen talking to you, I'm fucked for life." He tossed back his drink then gestured for another. "Find yourself another stooge, maybe one who doesn't need to get his job back."
Nihlus grabbed Harkin by the collar, lifting him out of his chair. "I've paid you well over the cycles, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be extorted, you maggot."
Harkin just laughed. "Yeah, well, good luck beating it out of me. There ain't enough credits on the whole fuckin' Citadel for me to talk to you. Fuck off."
Shepard sighed and walk over. Fantastic. She steeled herself, swallowed her gag reflex, and pushed between the two men. She peeled Nihlus's talons off Harkin's uniform and smoothed it out. "Gentlemen, is that any way to behave in front of a lady?" She winked at the drunken disgrace, then turned and lifted his drink off the waitress's tray.
Licking her lips, she met Harkin's unsteady gaze and mimed taking a sip from his drink. "Mmm, not bad." She passed it to him, then looked over at the waitress, using her omnitool to buy Harkin's drink and one for herself. "Have a seat, officer. Let a lady buy you a drink."
Harkin flopped into his chair, snagging her around the waist. "A lady, huh? There ain't many ladies in this dive." He tugged at her, pulling her over between his knees. "How about you sit on ol' Harkin's lap, and we have ourselves a good time?"
"Harkin, huh?" Shepard tilted her head back and lifted her leg over his to sit, straddling his lap. "What sort of a good time are you offering, officer?" She turned to the waitress as the asari returned, giving her a nod of thanks as she took her drink from the tray but then set it on the table, untouched.
"The kind where all that armour is going to get in the way." He reached up and grabbed her behind her neck, leaning in close enough that for a second, Shepard thought she was going to have to kiss him without a half dozen shots in her to kill the pain. Instead, he just pressed his face into her neck and took a deep breath. "Mm, you smell good. What's that perfume?"
Shepard shrugged. "Probably gun oil and sweat." She chuckled and leaned back. "So, what's your problem with Nihlus? Other than the fact that he's an uptight asshole?"
Harkin grumbled a little. "He paid well enough to be worth slipping him a little info here and there … " He burped, and Shepard had to turn away to get control of her urge to vomit as the stench of booze and stomach contents washed over her. God, she needed a raise. "... but now, word is, the council's pissed at him for fuckin' up some op." He blinked blurrily and pawed at her throat. "You've got a really long neck."
Leaning in to nuzzle along his jaw, Shepard chuckled. "Yes, I do." She nipped at his ear. "You say Kryik fucked up an op?" She laughed. "Idiot. He's always fucking up. Can't help it, I think."
"Ha! You might need to buy yourself a couple of sources of information a little closer to home, Kryik." Harkin nuzzled into Shepard's neck, but she could feel his salamander glare slide over her shoulder to the Spectre. "You might not know as much about your precious council as you think you do."
"What are you talking about, Harkin? What op was I supposed to have screwed up? Eden Prime? We saved . . .." Nihlus stepped forward, but Shepard turned, giving him a quick, hard glare to back him off. He stared into her eyes for a moment, his entire body screaming fury and impatience. She didn't blink. If he kept going, Harkin was going to shut down on them and then they'd be completely screwed.
She plastered a soft, seductive smile back onto her face before she turned back to run her hands over Harkin's chest. "All politicians are dirty," she whispered. "It's how they get into power. It's how they stay there." She brushed just her fingertips over his cheek. "I bet you see that sort of bullshit all the time in your job." Nuzzling into him, she moaned low and throaty.
"Word is the council wanted that beacon," he said, his hand cupping her armoured breast. "We really need to get some of this armour out of our way, princess."
Shepard wriggled on his lap a little and leaned up into his hand. "Damned straight we do." She kissed the spot under his ear. "Why would the council want a stupid beacon?"
"No idea, but that's the buzz. My guess would be that they're trying to keep everything prothean to themselves. Don't give the humans any more power." He snorted and reached around her to grab his drink, tossing it back in a single swallow. After slamming it back on the table, he stroked his fingers around her ear. "Keep them in their place, just like me."
"It's all any of them care about. Keep the little guy down, grab everything for themselves." Shepard leaned into his touch. "So what's this Garrus guy's deal? He in the council's pocket too?"
Harkin let out a belching laugh that reeked worse than the first one. "Vakarian? No way. He's got that whole honour stick shoved way too far up his ass for that. Hell, he doesn't even lift loose credits chits at crime scenes." He shook his head and leaned in to kiss her, his tongue dragging along her bottom lip.
She covered her retching gag with a purr and lifted into him again. "So, why's he in the wind?"
"He's still investigating Saren. Thinks it'll get him a pat on the head from dear old dad if he brings down a Spectre. Last I heard, someone saw him headed for Dr. Michel's clinic over in the wards. Something about a quarian runaway or something." He hiccuped. "Helluvino. Come on, princess, let's find a back room and get you out of that armour."
Shepard shoved herself off of him, tipping his chair over backward. "Yeah, about the same time as hell freezes over, asshat." She strode for the door, pausing just outside to reach back to Kaidan. "Alenko, disinfectant wipes, anything."
He rummaged through his pack, taking long enough that she started snapping her fingers. "Come on, I'm five seconds from dumping my lunch all over the damned floor."
He passed her a package, and she ripped it open, scrubbing every inch of exposed skin until it glowed red. She scrubbed her teeth with a corner, ignoring the astringent alcohol, then spat into the wipe and shoved it back in the wrapper. "Thanks, LT. Come on, let's get this over with. I suddenly feel the violent need to yack." She gagged. "A lot."
Kaidan made a nauseated face. "Ma'am, if you don't mind me saying so . . . that was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."
Shepard nodded. "Yeah, I know, Sport, but suck it up. You're making out with the next one, and Barla Von sounds like a volus name." She grinned and nodded back toward the transit station. "Come on, let's find Vakarian and figure out what the hell is going on before the dissociation wears off, and I remember what I just did."