Disclaimer: The Mass Effect Universe and everything in it belongs to BioWare. I only lay claim to London and Teagan.

[Chapter Twenty-One: Information, Information, Information ]

[Planet Watson/ 11AM]

The night had passed by slowly much to the sniper's liking. The medicine she was given had helped her sleep in a way she had not been able to sleep like for years; calm, without dreams, without fear. There was simply blackness and silence. But now eyelids slowly fluttered open to reveal gray, groggy eyes. She could feel the softness of a mattress beneath her and noticed that her slender frame tingled all over, her senses numb and movements sloppy. The world was spinning, blurry and London had to close her eyes once more to still the muddled images and her quickly beating heart. She inhaled deeply, filled her lungs, and then held the breath for a few moments before releasing it loudly out into the room.

"Good morning. It's about time you woke up, sleepy head."

London shot up into a sitting position and wobbled from the head-rush, her long tresses flying forward and landing softly over her smooth, creamy shoulders. Quickly she reached down for the pistol that was no longer attached to her thigh as the blanket that covered her exposed body slid off into a crumpled puddle around her waist causing the young man to grin as he soaked in eyefuls of the beautiful dancer without shame.

The sniper somewhat calmed when she noticed he was unarmed and dressed like any other civilian—possibly a friend of the family currently living here? He was tall and lean with black, shoulder length hair that was tied back into a neat pony tail and had a small, well trimmed patch of hair underneath his lower lip. His eyes were sapphire blue and possessed a certain mischievous quality that London couldn't help but find attractive. Her tone, however, was unmistakably outraged at his intrusion, "Clearly you seem to have me at a disadvantage," she stated firmly, reaching down to grab the quilt and cover her chest. "Have you always had the habit of watching perfect strangers sleep?"

"I'm twenty-seven years old—I assure you that it's nothing I haven't seen many times before."

"Well that's not incredibly pretentious at all, is it?" she said unimpressed, "I don't care for your age, for what 'you've seen', or for how many times you've 'seen it'; I only care that you are in my room when I do not want you to be. Leave. Now."

His eyes twinkled and his smile seemed to only widen, "Are you always so friendly?"

London eyed him harshly, "What are you doing in this room?"

"Do you always answer a question with another question?"

The brunette pinched the area in between her eyes and tried her best to keep her self-control. "Considering you're the one who's in a place he clearly should not be, I suggest for your own sake—"

A thick finger waggled at the woman in response, "Uh-uh. You're the one who barged into this house and pointed a gun at my father, mother, and little brother. I'd say you're the one who needs to start with the explaining."

London clenched her jaw and tightened her grip around the quilt she was holding, "I've already made my apologies, and I owe nothing to you. Now, if you'd be so kind as to leave. I would like to dress." She raised a slender arm and motioned to the door.

He crossed his arms and offered a charming, lop-sided grin. "Only if you tell me what your name is first."

"My name is none of your concern."

The tan man chuckled lightly as he pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the bed, "I guess I'll just have to sit right here then."

London's eyes narrowed, "Are you always such an ass?"

"Are you always so rude?"

"You're the one watching me as I sleep—naked!"

He laughed loudly, "Is it my fault that you decided to sleep naked?"

"I—" she groaned loudly through clenched teeth and covered her eyes, "I don't sleep naked, you little pervert. My clothes were wet, I was sick…and I had a fever and," she tried to think of her caregivers name but found that she never knew it, "…Frank's wife—I don't know her name…but she tended to me and," she suddenly halted, her gray eyes snapping up and glaring into his blue, "…why am I even explaining myself to you! Get out!"

The young man feigned hurt as he clasped at his heart and looked up into the heavens, "Oh my kingdom for this beautiful woman's name!"

London mentally cursed herself when she ended up half-smirking at his playful, moronic gesture. He smiled in return, giving her that lopsided grin that she found oddly and incredibly attractive. "So you smile after all!" he called out, "She's human! I was starting to think you were made up of all angry glares and hot air."

The brunette sighed unenthusiastically, "If I give you my name you'll let me dress in peace?"

"I'll tell you what," he responded light heartedly, "You seem uncomfortable with giving me your name so…what about a nick name or something of the sort? Would that make you feel better?"

London eyed him in quiet contemplation before agreeing to the deal presented, "Leo."

"Leo? Like astrology—"

"Like a lion. It's—" she sighed softly and rubbed her eyes, "look it doesn't matter what the name is. You said I could give you a nick name and I have. It's Leo. Now do you mind?"

He raised his hands in defense as he stood from his seat and made towards the door, "Then Leo it is. I'm Cavan."

xxxxxxx

[Shadow Broker's Base/11AM]

"This is incredible." Miranda gasped as she set up at one of the terminals Liara allowed her to work on. "There's just so much information—about everything! I mean look at this," she exclaimed as she opened several data files on the Cerberus organization, "The Shadow Broker has files on the Illusive Man. The Illusive Man, Shepard!"

John grinned as he placed a hand on the high spirited XO's shoulder, "It seems he's not as illusive as he thought," he mused, nudging the operative playfully. "Get it?" he asked when noticing the second in command didn't even so much as smile, "… not as illusive as… nevermind. What do you have?"

"Honestly it's not very important," she confessed, "it's mostly just information on his recent magazine subscriptions—skyball of course, or his most current sexual liaisons. It's just impressive that they managed to get even that considering how vigilant he is about everything."

Shepard sat down on a chair next to Miranda as she typed away at the terminal, "Well, telling us who he slept with does us absolutely no good. What about funding? Try checking Cerberus' funding from the past few months and see if anything strikes you as odd."

Lawson did as instructed, her fingers effortlessly guiding through the Intel and organizing its data. "As usual, all of Cerberus' income is legitimate. They have several, well known businesses that bring in a considerable amount of income."

"What about payments made? Think you can find out about the mercs who attacked London? Were they on Cerberus' pay roll?"

Miranda's eyes scanned the information carefully, "Cerberus has always had mercenaries under their payment, Shepard. I can't see anything unusual there. It would take me a lot more time to pinpoint specifics. I would have to sort through endless amounts of data by dates and go from there."

"What was the year that Cerberus operatives broke into the Ascension Program?"

"The year was 2178, Commander," Miranda replied easily.

"London's father was one of those mercs wasn't he?"

"Yes."

"Maybe we can find out who he was, who he was partnered with, then make a cross reference to Cerberus' payroll today."

The XO thought quietly, "That …could work, I suppose."

"Well it's better than nothing. Start there and check the names of all the mercs and operatives that were hired to infiltrate, and then compare it to recent names under Cerberus' employment. If we're lucky we'll get something."

The Australian did as instructed and pulled up a countless number of files, sorting through the information based on date and location. "Seven names are under payment on the day Teagan was taken from Ascension." As Miranda started to look over the list her eyes widened with disbelief. Shepard took notice instantly and raised an eyebrow, "Is there a problem, Lawson?" When she did not answer Shepard looked onto her screen and gazed over the list. Out of the seven names, five were written as deceased. "…Miranda, what is it?"

"…Paul."

John clicked the first name on the list and pulled up his data record, "Paul Grayson? He's deceased."

Lawson inhaled lightly before forcing herself to come to her senses. "I'm sorry. I just…I knew him is all."

"How?"

"He was a leading Cerberus Operative. I was younger then and was assigned to work under him on a mission the Illusive Man explained as vital. After we completed the objective, I never saw him again. He left Cerberus only to be later found working for Aria T'Loak on Omega. The Illusive man sent out one of our best, Operative Kai Leng to collect him. After that…who knows what happened."

"What was the mission?"

Miranda was hesitant to speak but the firm gaze Shepard was giving her left her with little choice in the matter. "Okay Shepard, please remember that I did this as a Cerberus Operative. I had an obligation to the Illusive Man if I wanted to keep my job and Oriana safe."

"Lawson, I'm not judging you. I know perfectly well who and what you were—and I also know it is not who you are now; so just tell me."

She tucked a strand of raven hair neatly behind her ears as she looked into the commander's eyes, "Under Grayson's leadership and the Illusive Man's order we sabotaged starships over colony worlds to release dust-form element zero. The worst of these was over Yandoa, Teagan's place of birth."

John squint his eyes, "The Ashland Energy vessel?" he thought, "That's how you connected the dots so quickly, wasn't it? You figured out were Teagan was from because…"

"It was our doing, Commander."

He was silent for a moment more before he leaned over to expand Grayson's file, his eyes slowly reading over all of the information. "I understand. If you feel the need to speak more of this matter, know that my door is always open."

Miranda could only nod in response.

As John began to read his eyes widened in disbelief, "…holy shit. I think the Shadow Broker has a dealer that works within the Cerberus Network."

It was Miranda's turn to raise her brow as she turned her attention back towards the terminal, "What?" she asked in skepticism, azure eyes beginning to quickly read the profile.

[Information dealer ID: Z9IK8743]

Report #209/ Target Subject: Paul Grayson/ Year: 2178

Target was kidnapped by Operative Kai Leng. Illusive man gave orders for scientists to implant him with untested Reaper technology as an experiment and study of indoctrination.

Report #210/ Target Subject: Paul Grayson/ Year: 2178

The Illusive man has made a direct order to terminate the target when all information on Reaper experiment has been gathered. Subject has proved too dangerous to let live.

Report #211/Target Subject: Paul Grayson/ Year: 2178

The Turian Hierarchy has attacked and Grayson has escaped and made it to Jon Grissom Academy. Operative Kai Leng, Dr. Sanders, and Admiral Anderson are now in pursuit.

Report #212/ Target Subject: Paul Grayson/ Year: 2178

Kai Leng has executed Grayson, however Anderson has secured the body and has made plans to autopsy in attempt to study the Reaper technology in hopes of learning how to fight the Reaper threat.

Report #213/ Target Subject: Paul Grayson/ Year: 2178

The target is now deceased and our contract has been fulfilled.

Till our next arrangement, Shadow Broker.

Best regards,

Information dealer: Z9IK87433

Miranda stared at the terminal, "Both the Alliance and Cerberus have been studying indoctrination technology, Shepard."

Shepard's brows furrowed, "Check the information dealers' I.D. number. Who is it?"

Lawson worked quickly in attempt to bring up the profile. "You were correct, Commander. The Broker does indeed have a dealer within the Cerberus network, an Operative Ali Jenssen," Miranda scoffed, "She's been dealing right under the Illusive Man's nose for this long?"

John nodded his head, "We're not going to mention this to anyone—Illusive Man included. Liara's ability to exchange information directly with a Cerberus Operative could prove invaluable. Our relationship with the Illusive Man is on shaky ground right now. I don't know how this Ali Jenssen is doing it, but she is—and we're taking what we can get."

"Of course," she agreed instantly.

"Now, who are the other six names on the list?"

Lawson closed Grayson's profile and brought up the list of names that infiltrated the Ascension Program once more. "Let's see, we have: Operative Paul Grayson (deceased), Mercenary Roy Rodriguez (deceased), Mercenary Linda Hemelton (deceased), Mercenary Sheadon O'Conner (deceased), Operative Matthew Ali'ak (deceased), Mercenary June Sanders, and Mercenary Shaw C. Riley."

John grumbled lightly as he rubbed his face roughly, "How are we supposed to know which Merc was London's father? What the hell is London's last name? She never told us anything!"

Miranda thought quietly as she unconsciously nibbled on her lower lip. "I think we're looking for…Sheadon O'Conner."

Shepard stared at her, "What makes you think that?"

"Well…in honesty it's just a guess but…I think it's a really, really good one."

John looked at her, his expression seeming to demand something more concrete. "Lawson, I'm not about to spend another three hours digging around hundreds of thousands of files because you're basing our next step on a 'really good guess'. It's not that I don't trust you, but you gotta' give me something to work with here."

Miranda sighed heavily as she leaned back into the cushion of her seat and rubbed her tired eyes, "Of course, Commander. I… have this little jewelry box in my office and it has three initials on it."

Shepard blinked blankly, "What the hell does your initialed jewelry box have to do with any of this?"

Miranda tried to act as casually as possibly when she responded, "It was London's jewelry box. It had the initials 'L.E.O' engraved into the bottom. Out of all of these names, only one man has a last name that begins with the letter 'O'."

John raised a brow and smiled, "She left her jewelry box in your room?"

Lawson shrugged with studied indifference, "I was in the Medical Bay when it was most likely left. I have no idea what it was doing there."

Shepard observed her painfully neutral and very business like expression before deciding it best to not push the subject, "Alright then, let's check out this Sheadon O'Conner. Bring up his file."

xxxxxxx

[Planet Watson/1PM]

The afternoon was going by rather pleasantly much to London's surprise. She had spent the last few hours conversing with the young, handsome man known as Cavan. Now they were in the kitchen laughing lightly as they prepared their lunch.

"I'm glad you decided to stay for the day at least. It gets lonely around here when the family is out for business."

"I had a question about that," London said easily as she chopped a large tomato on a cutting board.

"Shocking."

The brunette laughed softly and shook her head, "I'm being serious… I've been curious as to why you weren't here when I…you know…"

"Scared my family half to death?"

London frowned sadly, "Yes...that."

Cavan sighed as he chopped up a head of lettuce, "Hey—it's alright, really. Well, I mean it's not alright but…you didn't know. You come back to your home after I don't even know how long and find another family just took it over. I wouldn't know what to think either."

The statement seemed to ease the tension in the sniper's body, "So how come you weren't here?"

"I was at a colony pretty far from here selling the first of our two batches of oranges."

She nodded softly, "And where is your family now?"

Cavan grinned as he chopped away, "Selling the second batch."

As London diced up the large, red vegetable in her hand she curiously raised a brow, "Does your family always take your little brother on such long business trips?"

"Joseph? Aw heck, he loves going to the colony; all those sights, people, and colors? He goes crazy for that stuff." Cavan's eyes moved from the head of lettuce and suddenly looked onto the brunette, "…Do you have any siblings?"

London froze as she thought about her little sister. It had been a while since she had gotten in contact with her via terminal and was sure the little girl was probably going crazy with concern. If she had known this man a little better she might have dashed off to grab her PT and send a vid-message to ease Teagan's worry, but her protective nature kicked in and decided it would be best if she kept her little sister a secret. "I do not," she replied coolly, "I'm afraid I was an only child, much to my regret."

He reflected on her statement before his tone lightened up, "Really now? That's a shame. You missed out on all the diaper changes and vomit."

London rolled her eyes and grinned, "Remind me to mourn for such a loss later."

He threw a large, green leaf at the sniper's arm teasingly, "Oh I will! Believe you me that I will remind you to mourn for the loss of vomit and dirty diapers."

Gracefully the brunette caught the leaf in her slender fingers and brought it to her mouth to take a bite, an alluring smile coming to her lips afterwards.

Cavan must have taken her actions as flirtation because as he watched her slowly moving mouth, his own lopsided, mischievous grin came to fruition.

London cleared her throat and resumed to her duty of dicing vegetables, "Cavan is an Irish name, is it not?"

The raven haired man chuckled lightly and nodded his head in agreement. "It is. Why do you ask?"

"Oh it's nothing" she said innocently, "my father was Irish."

"Hey mine was too! You and me have so much in common," he continued to tease, causing London to throw a baby carrot at his face. He wasn't so graceful to catch it however and soon found the small, pointed object hitting him straight in the eyeball. Cavan yelped and covered his eye, soon laughing off the embarrassment and swatting the apologetic London away. "Its fine, its fine" he said through a brilliant smile, "you're not a real man until you take a baby carrot to the eye socket and live."

London laughed as she cupped his face roughly on each side, squishing his cheeks and lips together in attempt to hold him down. "Just stand still, will you" she demanded, looking over his eye which was now watery and a light pink, "It's irritated."

His eyes narrowed playfully as he spoke through his squished lips, "…that makes two of us."

"Ugh," she mused, pushing his face away then turning to combine all the vegetables with the now diced lettuce. "Are you ready for lunch?"

He grinned, "As long as you're not throwing it in my general direction then yes, I am."

The sniper picked up another baby carrot and wiggled it at Cavan in false threat, "Don't tempt me."

Cavan raised both hands in surrender and walked towards the dining table to take his seat opposite the brunettes. He kept his mouth shut and watched as she began to move as if it had always been routine. London effortlessly set the table, setting a plate in front of each seat regardless that there were only two people present. Soon after and once the utensils were placed properly, the brunette set the food in the center of the small dining table before taking her seat opposite the sapphire eyed man. She smiled to some extent as she leaned over to serve him first, only stopping to fill his plate when his large hand gestured her that she had served more than enough. "I'm sorry" she said, "Eating at this table just brings back memories. My father used to sit in that seat and he wasn't one for light eating, so I apologize if I've given you too much."

Cavan offered her an understanding grin as he dressed the abundance of salad on his plate, "Oh it's not a problem at all. I'm not exactly a light eater myself so this portion size is fantastic…especially since its salad."

London chewed slowly and swallowed before responding, "You don't like salad?"

"Oh I love salad, but usually I eat it as an appetizer before I eat something…bigger."

"Let me guess… you're a steak eater."

He chuckled lightly, "Guilty."

London suddenly thought of a certain raven haired, azure eyed beauty who shared his similar taste in cuisine. She smiled softly at herself, "I seem to be meeting a lot of those as of late."

xxxxxxx

[Shadow Broker's Base/1PM]

Miranda groaned lightly as she reached upwards to stretch out her arms and back, taking the moment to pop her neck from side to side as well. Shepard rubbed his eyes and sat back into his chair, "Alright, we've been staring at this thing for two hours. What do we have?"

"Sheadon O'Conner has worked for Cerberus on numerous occasions, his biggest feat however being the infiltration of the Ascension Program. He was labeled as both missing and as a threat only days after the completion of the mission—I'm assuming this is when he stole Teagan."

John leaned into the terminal and browsed the data, "Let's see…it say's he went silent for months afterwards, in which Mercenaries June Sanders and Shaw Riley were sent to retrieve data then terminate the target."

Lawson shook her head, but found the information to hold little shock value. "Even if London's father had given them the data and child, the Illusive Man…"

"…had sent them to terminate O'Conner regardless."

Miranda sighed softly before looking up at the terminal, "Looks like we found who London's farther was partnered with…let's see if we can pull up any information concerning these two mercs."

John nodded his head and watched as she worked quickly, his eyes scanning the names on the terminal. "There he is—one more up…there." Shepard took his seat once more near the XO. Miranda brought up both profiles, "June Sanders is not only the older of the two, but by far more experienced than Riley."

"Still employed by Cerberus?"

Lawson nodded, "Still employed. Both are actually—though Riley had been taking more assignments these past two years."

"Why is that?"

"Who knows, Commander. This June Sanders is about Zaeed Massani's age now, so while still very capable, perhaps he's built up enough of a rep to be extremely selective. Shaw Riley however is still quite young—younger than us."

John raised a brow, "Why so young?"

"Apparently he's just very adept in combat and communications, Shepard. He was brought on as a mercenary the same year Ascension was infiltrated. I believe that was actually his first mission under Sanders' training and the Illusive Man's watch."

Shepard nodded his head, "So what have Mr. Sanders and Mr. Riley been up to as of late?"

Miranda viewed the most recent data and shook her head, a frown coming across her brows. "…nothing."

John eyeballed the XO, "What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean that Cerberus hasn't paid them to do anything for about seven weeks now."

Shepard shook his head, "That can't be right. London was only attacked a few weeks ago."

Lawson moved her chair farther to the side so that the commander could look over the information, "Be my guest."

John eagerly took the space over and scanned the information over once more, "I don't get it. These mercs have to be the guys after London."

"Why is that, commander?"

"Because that guy Flex down at Afterlife on Omega said that the merc who noticed London's picture had known her father—old friends is what he said. Mercs that take on such risky missions don't have friends—if anything they have partners, employees—but not friends."

Miranda exhaled loudly as she paced slowly in thought, "So we have two mercs after London who are looking for Teagan and her father's terminal—correct?"

"Right."

"The only ones who wanted the data on London's father has been Cerberus…right?"

"Right."

Lawson rubbed her eyes, "This makes no sense. I mean it's been years since anything else has been done about the matter. Why suddenly act now? If this information was so bloody important why would the Illusive Man simply stop the search for the data that implicated Cerberus in the first place?"

John shrugged, "I'm guessing since O'Conner was killed, the Illusive Man found it okay to stop the search as seeing no information had been released."

Miranda shook her head, "That's not how he works, and he wouldn't simply let London, a liability, walk away. Unless…"

"Unless?"

Lawson paused, "Unless both Sanders and Riley reported back that the entire family had indeed been killed."

"You think the mercs would have intentionally not told the Illusive Man that both of O'Conner's daughters had gotten away?"

Miranda nodded, "I think they thought themselves as smart and found a gray area. The main target was O'Conner, and he was killed—so why mention anything about the daughters to being with? Simply tell the boss that everyone was killed thereby destroying all threatening information. It would have been a big paycheck loss had they not fulfilled the mission. And knowing the Illusive Man, while he would have labeled killing Teagan as an unnecessary loss—the act of saving Cerberus' name from being implicated would have been worth it in his eyes. After all, the Ascension Project was just an experiment and all those children were merely test subjects to ensure growth in humanities biotic strength."

John inhaled deeply as he tried to place the puzzle pieces together, "So let's get this straight. Cerberus was the only one who wanted the data and child, but when O'Conner was taken out the search stopped. But NOW, someone has begun the search on biotic children all over again. We've checked these two mercs out—and they've not been employed by Cerberus for a while now—so it wasn't them who ordered London's capture."

"Correct, Commander."

"So that can only mean that we have another player. If the Illusive Man doesn't even know about London, then he isn't the one giving these mercs the orders. We have to find out who they're working for."

Miranda threw her hands up in the air, "So basically we're back to square one."

John shook his head, "Not at all. We have the galaxy's largest information broker on our side—and we have the names of two men who work for the source we're tracking. I think it's time we ask Liara for a little favor."

xxxxxxx

[Planet Watson/3PM]

"Alright what's going on? You napped for fifteen minutes and now you're rummaging through this shed like a mad woman. What's worse is it's starting to rain pretty hard again and you just got better from being sick. So cough it up—tell me what's going on."

The sniper shook her head, "I already told you that it's difficult to explain."

Cavan rolled his eyes and smiled, "So try your best."

London exhaled loudly as she sat back on her heels, "It's weird, alright? I had a dream about my father and I suddenly just woke up remembering what I have to do."

He raised a brow, "Have to do?"

"Look I told you this is complicated. It's best if you just don't get involved."

"You've been ripping this house and shed up for about two hours now," Cavan mused with a large smile. "Are you sure that you don't want me to help you? I could make your life so much easier if you'd just tell me."

London growled softly as she went through all the packages stuffed inside the small shed behind the old house, "Thank you but no, Cavan."

"What is it that you're looking for anyways?"

The brunette sighed loudly as she tossed aside another box, "Just something that belonged to my father. I need it to continue on my way."

Cavan leaned against the shed's doorframe, "So if you find what you're looking for you'll leave?"

London nodded her head, "That sounds about right, yes."

Cavan tilted his head to the side grinned, "I kind of hope you don't find what you're looking for then."

The brunette turned to eye him and shook her head, "Go figure."

He laughed loudly and shrugged in mock defense, "Oh what? Can you blame a guy for being smitten?"

London's tone and gaze was suddenly very serious when she stood up and turned to face him, "Don't be. Cavan…" she sighed lightly, deciding to lighten her tone noticeably, "…I don't know you and you really don't know me—I think it'd be best if it stayed that way, alright?"

Cavan nodded his head slowly, "Aaaah I see. Is there a Mr. Leo waiting for you somewhere?"

The brunette couldn't help but smile as she shook her head, "As a matter of fact there is no 'Mr. Leo', no."

"So you're not seeing anyone?"

London turned to rummage through another box, "What does it matter?"

"Oh it matters quite a bit. It means I still have a chance!"

London frowned as she worked, "You never give up, do you?"

He shook his head and definitely crossed his arms over his chest, "Never, and it usually ends up in me getting what I want."

"Well you better start getting used to disappointment. Besides…just because I'm single doesn't mean that I'm not interested in anyone."

Cavan's smile fell, "So you're waiting for someone?"

"…it's complicated."

The bright eyed man scoffed, "Is there anything uncomplicated about you!"

London laughed as she walked out of the shed and back into the house with Cavan in hot pursuit, "Actually...no, there isn't. This is why you should just take me as I am; as a guest in your newly acquired house who will be leaving shortly."

The sound of a sharp whistle coming from the kitchen caught London's attention causing her to turn her head in the direction and raise a brow. Cavan charmed her with his grin once more before turning to walk through the kitchen door, "What? It's raining. Hot tea goes great with the constant rain and cold weather around here."

London waited for him to leave before observing the living room, "Damn it, daddy. Where the hell is your terminal? It wasn't behind the loose board in the shed where you usually put it; it wasn't in your bedroom, and it's not in the secret cupboard in the kitchen."

"Are you alright?" Cavan's voice interrupted as he extended a large, red cup in her direction. "Careful, it's hot."

London took the cup and looked into it to view its contents. The liquid was lighter in color and she could smell a slight tang in its aroma. "What kind of tea is this?"

Cavan grinned goofily, "Orange tea—go figure."

The sniper chuckled, "Your family certainly does like the fruit I must admit."

"Well it's a fruit that's done a lot for us. But drink up before it gets cold."

London nodded and took a long, slow drink of the relaxing liquid before setting the cup down onto the coffee table. "I'm going to go back out to the shed and check around just one more time."

"That's fine," he agreed, "I think I'll stay here and read a little bit what with the rain and all."

"Alright" she responded with ease, slipping through the back door and making her way towards the shed once again.

xxxxxxx

[Shadow Broker's Base/ 3PM]

Liara had pulled Shepard aside to speak with him, her hand resting gently on his forearm, "I assure you Shepard, that whoever has hired these two specified mercenaries has not used the Shadow Broker's resources. This 'Buyer' is either already extremely well informed on the subject he's dealing in, or simply has another means of gathering information."

Shepard looked her dead in the eye, "I don't see how they could be dealing so carefully that none of the Broker's contacts have made…well…contact."

"Shepard, perhaps the 'Buyer' knows exactly what it is that has to get done and no longer needs to deal information. Perhaps they've managed to already gather all necessary information over the years and under the radar, and are only acting now because he or she feels prepared enough to do so. I mean there are endless possibilities."

John closed his eyes and took the asaris' hands into his own tenderly, "Liara just please tell me you found something."

Liara nodded, "I have, John. Through several resources I've managed to find several information dealers who have worked under the mercenaries. It seems even one Mr. June Sanders and one Mr. Shaw Riley has needed some help gathering information on their target. I've managed to make a deal and have acquired their current objective and location."

"What's the objective?"

"If I am correct they're looking for someone; a woman who is believed to have data that they want. It's not much but—"

Shepard placed a hand upon her shoulder, "It's plenty. Thank you very much, Liara."

The asari was hesitant but soon returned the gesture with a kind smile, "I've uploaded the coordinates of both mercenaries to the Normandy. One of them has recently returned to Omega and the other is on a colony planet a few days travel from this system. I hope you find who and what you're looking for, John."

Shepard nodded his head in thanks then turned to walk towards the docking station with a stern expression, "Pack it up Lawson, we got em' and need to move now."

The XO quickly jogged to his side, "Commander," Miranda mused, "we've been here all afternoon with no sense of life threatening urgency until now. What did Dr. T'Soni say?"

"We have the location of both mercenaries, but their target isn't data…it's a woman; and they're most likely already closing in."

"…a woma—oh my God."

Shepard nodded his head as he quickened his pace, "With Teagan being in a highly secured facility, I believe their target is London. They found her."

xxxxxxx

[Planet Watson/3:15PM]

London had to stop her movements a few times to regain her balance as she hovered over the mass of opened boxes and clutter in the shed. Her vision had become slightly blurry and she found herself rubbing her eyes quite often to clear the white fog in her sight. After a moment more and deciding it would be best if she got up to walk, she wobbled to a standing position and exited the shed out into the rain. She turned her face upwards to gather a few of the cold raindrops into her eyes and resumed to rub in the water once more hoping that it would help.

"Ah, the book was boring. I'd much rather spend my time being yelled at by you" Cavan called out casually behind her.

London paused and turned around. She could make out the blurry figure walking towards her and she rubbed her eyes once more. "Whoa, you don't look so good. Are you feeling okay? What are you doing out in the rain?" Cavan asked as he reached out to steady the woman.

The sniper shook her head lightly as she blinked, "It's…my eyes keep blurring."

He raised a brow, "Well that doesn't sound good. Are you still tired?"

"A little in all honesty; but it's okay…it goes away after a moment."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should rest. I could—"

"I'm fine, Cavan."

The young man shrugged, "Alright then, if you insist. But will you at least come back in? It's freezing out here."

London turned back towards the door, "I suppose so."

Cavan motioned to the door, "…right after you."

The brunette considered him for a moment before walking into the house and having Cavan enter and shut the door behind them. "So" he asked, "…want to—okay now you're really not looking good."

London wobbled, her body feeling increasingly weak as she began blinking away the progressively thicker fog. "Cavan, I think something is wrong."

He leaned over and placed both hands on her shoulder, "What is it, London?"

The young woman's entire body froze as her name was called out into the stillness of the living room, "…what did you call me?"

Cavan inhaled a hiss as he dropped his hands back to his side, his voice soft and sounding almost as if he was scolding himself. "Shit. And here I was thinking that I'd be able to play nice for at least a few hours more."

The sniper tried her best to control her balance and steady her calm demeanor as her once focused, gray eyes became expressionless. Her heart sped up as the light of the afternoon sun succumbed to the darkness that the drug forced upon her vision.

London was blind.

[End 21: Information, Information, Information ]