Note: My apologies for the long delay for this one. I got sidetracked by my new Dragon Age story so this one got bumped to the back burner. I do hope y'all enjoy this one it's been half written for months and I finally finished it off. This one is all original so I hope you enjoy it.
As always, I thank you all for the favorites and follows. Feedback is greatly appreciated. FlowerMaiden05: this ones for you, thanks for the kind review.
Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"
Chapter Eleven: Hangovers and Raids
Garrus had no idea he could fit this many people in his apartment. It was barely 500 square feet and fairly basic, the typical unit assigned to single C-Sec personnel. It was fine for him; he was usually never there anyway. Standing it wasn't so bad but crashing where they fell was something else entirely. The apartment was the size of a locker so having his couch, chair, and a few other items made his tiny apartment shrink even more. Coming off the success of Noveria the crew needed a night off and a night off is what they got.
He stood in the doorway between his bedroom and the living room looking at it like the day after a battle. After the mutual consumption of alcohol, Garrus had felt it best that people come to his apartment and not try to stumble back to the Normandy and risk getting the 'public intoxication' citation from C-Sec. That's all he needed, drunk and disorderly calls answered by those he used to work with.
**24 Hours Earlier
Sidda traded her armor for her blue Alliance casual uniform and stood before Anderson and Udina. She was 'explaining' herself to Udina for her recent rash of missions that could only be summed up into 'what the fuck'.
"Commander, just what the hell have you been doing out there?" Udina asked. "Therum, Rothla, Feros, and now you unleash the Rachni on the galaxy?"
Sidda lifted an eyebrow at him, she didn't like Udina, sniveling little piss-ant. She dealt with her mission in her own way considering its unique parameters. Granted, she went a little drastic on occasion but it was what she needed to do. "One queen is hardly 'unleashing', Udina," she stated and the Ambassador's eyes narrowed at her.
"Don't split hairs, Commander," he warned sternly. "You've made a mess of things and the Council is not happy either. Sparatus was in here not long ago barking about your version of 'human sayings'."
Her chuckle was enough to make him huff and Anderson smirk. "I can give him a few more," she offered but Udina's expression was cold as ice to her and she sighed. "You can't sit here and side seat drive," she said and paced a little; while she was up here her crew was restocking the Normandy or just taking some personal time. The general consensus was that they were all going to go out and have a drink or two. Try to unwind after weeks of all go no quit. "It's not exactly ideal, I get that, but trust me…I'll try not the blow up the galaxy."
"Not exactly encouraging, Commander," Udina replied and Sidda snorted with a shake of her head.
She rolled her eyes and caught Anderson's 'be nice' expression. "Just let me do my job, Udina, and you do yours."
The discussion with Udina was like talking to a damn wall or a hamster running on a wheel. She told him the same thing six different ways a hundred times, by the time she left she needed a drink or at the least had the incredible urge to bang her head against the wall.
Cerrus leaned back on the bench outside the Human Embassy, he didn't like being there, it was strange. Being on the Normandy didn't help his feelings toward humans; Kaidan was the only one that he could stand, him sitting within 20 feet of the Embassy made it seem that the universe was on tilt.
"Hey, Tyr," he heard a voice call and a regulation Biotiball landed in his lap. He treated it like a hot potato at first bouncing it from one hand to another a few times until he gained control of it, "what are you doing up here?"
He sat up straight and looked up at Kaidan, the only human who would be talking to him right now so informally. "Friend of mine works at the Embassy," he answered simply tossing the ball back to him.
"You have a friend?" Kaidan joked and Cerrus snorted.
"Acquaintance, then?" he rephrased and Kaidan laughed loudly sitting down next to him. "What's with this?" He asked tossing the ball from hand to hand.
"Picked it up at a shop in Zakera," he answered catching the ball as Cerrus casually tossed it back to him.
"Did you play?"
Kaidan shrugged slightly. "Only a little, academy team for a minute, I think Shepard played too."
Cerrus grunted and shook his head. He vaguely remembered that detail though he didn't know why, he didn't attend her birthday bash on the Lante but word had gotten around about the betting between her and Desala. "Shoulda grabbed a Clawball…better sport."
Kaidan scoffed with a chuckle fiddling with the ball. "Regulation Clawballs are hard to find on Zakera Ward…try Shalta," he replied and heard Cerrus chuckle. "Are you coming out with us tonight?"
He'd heard the crew was doing out to celebrate an actual victory in this mess. Killing Benezia was a shot in the arm for everyone but Liara. Cerrus shook his head and leaned forward bracing on his elbows. "Nah…," he replied. "I'm not good company for that."
"Oh, come on, Tyr, you're good company when you're not such a hard ass," Kaidan urged trying to convince the misunderstood Turian to come out and have a drink with the rest of them. "Besides, I think Tali said she was coming along." Kaidan's attempt at subtly came through like a damn bomb and Cerrus looked over her him with a mixed expression. "Don't think we haven't noticed, Tyr, you aren't as subtle as you think."
Cerrus' audible groan was a mix of irritation and resignation. "Alright, alright…if it means that much to you I'll come."
Kaidan snorted loudly through a laugh. "If it means that much to me…you lying ass," he chuckled and slapped his shoulder. "Come on…let's go find you a Clawball."
"Me running around Zakera Ward…yeah, nothing can go wrong there," Cerrus muttered as he paced Kaidan.
"I'll protect you," Kaidan sniped back and Cerrus scoffed.
"Not me I'm worried out."
Cerrus made a few stops before he joined the rest of the party in the Constellation Club. He'd never been to that one but it was less shady than Chora's Den. He questioned the wisdom of going out given his lack of patience for Humans, mixing that with alcohol was a recipe for disaster but he bit the bullet and went anyway. He was dressed casual but his clothing was military grade and qualified as light armor. He figured some type of armor was better than none if he was wading into a club with drunken humans in it.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked as he saw Tali scurrying past him in the opposite direction.
"Somewhere else," she said and her shyness made him cock his head. Tali ducked her head and moved to leave but he put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.
"What happened?" he pressed his tone a mix genuine concern and protectiveness.
"The Constellation bouncer won't let me in, he said if I tried to get in again he'd call C-Sec and have me arrested for vagrancy…then he called me 'suit-rat'," she explained and tried to hide the pain of the hurtful words but Cerrus stood up straighter, his body coming its full 6'6" height.
His mandibles clinched reflecting his anger. "Come on," he gestured for her to walk back the way she had come from.
Tali hesitated a moment trying to figure out what he was going to do. "What?" she asked. "It's not im-…" she began but he turned on her silencing her.
"Tali," he began his tone told her everything. He didn't like her being treated like that, "let's go."
The Quarian smiled behind her mask, Cerrus really did like her and she liked him. She trusted him and had to admit whatever he was gonna do was going to be fun to watch. She broke into a jog to catch up to him and his purposeful pace.
The Turian bouncer sneered seeing Tali returning after telling her not to but his attention shifted to the tall Turian with her for a moment then he looked back down at Tali. "What? You can't hear in that helmet?" he sneered. "I told you not to come back, Quarian." Cerrus stepped forward drawing his attention once again and stood mere inches from him. The guard was young, probably a military wash out. His fringe was short and Cerrus guessed he was barely over 20 with the yellow mandible markings of Digeris. He was also at least two inches shorter than Cerrus. "What?" the guard questioned in a tone that Cerrus wanted to knock out of him, "this little suit-rat bitch your toy?"
Cerrus took offense to those words and shoved the guard the 6 inches into the wall before grabbing his tunic and yanking him back to him. Cerrus brought his left knee up hitting the young Turian right in the abdomen effectively knocking the wind out of him then held him with his left hand as he punched him hard across the face with his right fist. Cerrus' hit bloodied his mouth immediately and dazed him to some degree. There on his knees he felt his left arm get jerked hard behind his back as Cerrus bent it back as far as it could go without snapping. The younger Turian howled in pain but Cerrus didn't care, he held the guards left arm firm from behind and splayed his hand on top of his head yanking it back.
"Alright, asshole, now listen. Her name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, not 'Quarian' and certainly not 'suit-rat'," he growled in the young ones left ear. "Say it!" raising his tone from a growl to a bark.
"T…Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," he repeated quickly and Cerrus held him firm.
"Now you apologize to her for your behavior," he instructed and the guard hesitated. Either he didn't want to or the pain in his abdomen and arm caused him to hesitate a moment. "Now! Or so help me I will rip your arm out," he snarled adding a sharp jerk to the already hyper extended limb.
The guard yelled in pain again. "I'm sorry!" he yelled. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to insult you."
Cerrus looked up at Tali, who was probably shocked as hell with what he was doing right now. "If you give her any more trouble I will come back and kick your ass from one side of the Citadel to the other," he threatened, his growl was enough to make the toughest persons' skin crawl with dread. He put his mouth closer to his ear and issues his final threat. "And if I ever hear you call another Quarian 'suit-rat' I'll tear you in half."
Cerrus released him with a shove causing him to topple to the floor. Tali looked Cerrus up and down as he straightened his clothing. In the literally thousands of times she'd seen Fleet and Flotilla she's always dreamed of romancing a Turian, they were dashing and handsome. So far she'd found no one she was interested in, all the Turians she'd met so far on her pilgrimage either paid her no mind or treated her like that guard. Garrus was nice to her and handsome in a dangerous sort of way, Nov openly flirted with her but she suspected that he flirted with anything female, but Cerrus…Cerrus was a mystery. He was kind to her and helped her but she could see the torment, whatever had happened to him haunted him. She didn't know if he defended her just now because he was a friend or if it was because of something else, they'd grown close but she didn't want to assume anything with him. Cerrus had been through enough in his life and it had colored him, nearly ruined him.
Tali had said nothing during his educational program and Cerrus actually worried that he'd scared her. He didn't think that she scared easily, she may have been a somewhat timid little Quarian but she was braver than most people he'd met. He suddenly felt a pang of embarrassment for what he just did and his face reflected that. "Shall we, Tali'Zorah?" he asked masking his adolescent embarrassment and gestured for her to walk with him into Constellation to meet the rest.
Tali nearly bounded up to him and wrapped her right arm around his left. "You're sweet, Tyr," she said and he purred a little, surprising himself to no end.
He'd been called a lot of things, mostly derogatory insults, but 'sweet' was never one of them. Even his mate had never called him sweet. "Sweet, huh?" he commented. "I'll take it."
Kaidan couldn't help but look at Sidda in a sexual way, she was one of those women who tended to cause a stir no matter where she was, what she was doing, or what she was wearing. As of now, dressed her casual blue Alliance uniform, of course it wasn't revealing in any way, but Sidda had curves that he enjoyed looking at. She was bent over the pool table lining up a shot and Kaidan had to blink quashing the sexy image before him. She was taken he reminded himself and returned his attention to the game. When they entered the bar Sidda and Kaidan had both spotted the pool table and practically pounced on it. Ashley had showed up a few minutes after they did and then the rest, with the exception of Tali and Cerrus, showed up at the same time. In the meantime, Sidda and Kaidan carried on their game.
As their illustrious leader in all this, Sidda kicked it off by buying the first several rounds. The only one not in the mood to celebrate was Liara; the poor girl lost her mother. No matter what side Benezia landed on she still felt the loss. To her credit, she showed up for team moral.
"You gonna shoot sometime soon, Shepard?" Kaidan asked and Sidda simply looked up at him as she confidently took her shot without looking away from him. It was worth it to see him groan as the cue sent two stripes into various pockets. "Oh, come on, Sid, you could have been a little gentler," he said and Sidda chuckled as she downed her shot of scotch.
"Buck up, Lieutenant," she grinned and Kaidan simply smirked back at her then watched as she surveyed the table for her next shot.
"Look who decided to show up," Kaidan said noticing Tali walking up with Cerrus.
Cerrus merely shrugged at him as Tali passed between them. "Had a discussion at the door," he said simply as Garrus passed him a drink, Turian brandy by the smell of it.
"Join the party, Cerrus," Garrus welcomed and raised his glass to the fellow Turian.
A curse from Sidda drew their attention to her at the pool table. She had attempted a shot and missed and was now slumped over the table cursing out loud. "Oh, look, I get a shot finally," Kaidan said sarcastically.
Cerrus was still angry about the scene outside with the bouncer and Tali could tell. The man wasn't tough to figure out at times, he sucked at hiding his anger. He downed the brandy quickly and ordered another. Once he got enough alcohol in him he'd forget about it, he could hold his liquor and he was a quiet drunk.
"So, exactly what is the point of this game?" Garrus asked looking over the table as Kaidan now controlled to game.
"Sink your balls before the other team sinks theirs," Ashley summed up quickly and Wrex let out a single throaty laugh.
"Sink balls," he chuckled as Sidda shook her head at her gutter-minded crew. "I'll show you how to sink some balls."
"Classy, Wrex," Sidda chuckled leaning on her cue stick.
Kaidan managed to pull that round out of his hat and Sidda never got another shot; he left her with two of her stripes left on the board. A satisfying victory for him, the next round consisted of teams, Ashley and Sidda versus Kaidan and Tali. Tali picked up the game fairly quick as Kaidan showed her how to shoot.
Cerrus leaned quietly against the pillar that was surrounded by their chairs and tables containing pitchers and bottles of various beverages. Bourbon, scotch, beer, brandy, you name it and it was there. He watched closely as Kaidan stood far too close to Tali and helped her with another shot, the human's hands shadowing hers and Cerrus nearly growled but he remained still with his hackles up and his arms folded across his chest.
Garrus knew what his body language was screaming. He was jealous and protective, typical Turian male behavior. "Easy there, Tyr, I can hear you growling from at the bar," he cautioned offering him another drink. This would make five and Cerrus was all caught up, "it's platonic."
Cerrus' mandibles clicked to the point Garrus could hear that over the loud music in the bar. "Does everyone on the ship know?" he asked his voice low and clearly annoyed as he took the drink from Garrus.
"Probably," he replied noticing the Captain still fixated on Kaidan being far too close to Tali. "You weren't exactly subtle about it."
Another growl but not directed toward the Sentinel, Tali made her shot, got a point and Kaidan had moved away from her; it was platonic, he didn't suspect Kaidan had ulterior motives but Turian nature was had to quell. This growl was one of irritation, both at himself and at Garrus at the moment.
Sidda and her crew had pretty much taken over a section of the bar, the pool table, two tables, a booth and a dart board. The drinks kept coming and moods lightened, the crew seemed to leave their animosity at the door. Cerrus didn't like the game of pool, he just preferred to watch.
"That's the one." A man said accompanied by two C-Sec officers. Cerrus looked over from his place leaning against the table. It was the bouncer that he'd 'educated' at the door.
"Arrest him," one of the C-Sec officers ordered to the other.
"Stand up, you're under arrest for assault," the other one informed as he approached Cerrus.
"Wait, whoa, hold up," Sidda butted in, "he's assigned to me so no one's arresting him unless I hear a reason why."
"He assaulted an employee," the first officer explained as Cerrus stood up straight eyeing the arresting officer closely. Garrus was now interested as well, being her resident Cop, anything that he could do he would.
Sidda's brow furrowed and she looked from the officer to Garrus and then to Cerrus with her hands out to the side. "Cerrus, what the hell?" she asked as Cerrus didn't resist against the arresting officer.
His hands were roughly pulled behind his back and he sighed. "He had it coming, Commander," Cerrus said with a sigh. "He wouldn't let Tali in and called her a 'suit-rat'."
Sidda raised an eyebrow and looked over to Tali. Given the obvious blooming relationship between them it wasn't much of a stretch to believe Cerrus would kick the crap out of someone who insulted her like that. "Is that what happened, Tali?" she asked.
The Quarian nodded shyly. "Yes."
That was a good enough answer for Sidda and she turned to the officers. "Let him go," she ordered and the lead officer gave her the Turian sneer, like she was some puny little thing that was butting into business that wasn't hers.
"Stay out of this, Human," he ordered.
Sidda took a step toward the Turian one. "My name is Shepard, Officer, and I am invoking Spectre authority, let him go," Sidda had the stern tone of the military without going over the top and her look mirrored the same one a Turian would give. They did teach her well.
The Turian Officer didn't budge. "I can't do that. He's not a Spectre and you have no bearing on this."
Sidda didn't back off and Garrus could see into the future for the next minute or so. "You can and you will. Let him go. If I have to say it again things are going to get messy."
Before the Officer would react to that unmistakable threat Garrus stepped in. "He's not worth going head to head with a Spectre, Loren, he was defending another against bigotry."
The Officer flicked his eyes from the little human encroaching on his personal space, to Garrus whom he vaguely knew, to his partner who had Cerrus cuffed. He made a sharp head jerk to his partner which clearly meant as 'uncuff him' because that's what happened next. The Turian stepped toward Cerrus and eyed him. "You step out of line again and-…," he began but Cerrus cut him off.
"Don't threaten me," he said firmly, it wasn't as clear and firm as anyone could sound. It didn't have to be a threat; Cerrus had the look of Special Ops…the cold confidence, the attitude of a stone cold killer. That was what the C-Sec officer saw but didn't run and cower. He held Cerrus' stare and turned away of his own accord taking the other officer with him. Cerrus' eyes fell to the bouncer; the young brat was still sporting the marks of their last engagement. "Run along, Young One," he growled and he did just that.
Sidda downed a shot quickly as those around them scoffed in various ways. "Gotta make a scene where ever you go, huh?" Kaidan commented to Cerrus.
Cerrus looked at Sidda as she growled down the straight Scotch. "Commander-…," he began until she held up her left hand, it still had the glass in it so really all she held up was an index finger.
"We'll talk about it later, Captain," she said quickly not keen on ruining the fun with scolding the Turian who didn't like her. It sounded like fun in her head but that was the Scotch talking, if she laid into him he'd give as good as she gave. It wouldn't be much fun.
"Another round of drinks?" the waitress asked as she came back over to the group. The blonde human woman had already come over about four times with more rounds. She hesitated a little feeling the energy of the group change as the C-Sec officers left.
"Absolutely," Ashley replied enthusiastically.
The waitres's name was Leah and she'd been flirting heavily with Kaidan all night. Kaidan winked to her and flashed a flirty smile. "Another one of the same for me, beautiful," he said and she blushed as Cerrus flopped down next to him purposely trying to break his flirtation with the waitress. Kaidan glowered over at him as he sat far too close to him. "Comfy?"
Cerrus grunted an affirmation. "Yep," he replied and Kaidan scoffed. When the waitress looked at Cerrus he just nodded and Tali shook her head sitting down next to Cerrus.
Leah moved onto the rest. "How about a Fuzzy Navel?" Ashley commented casually to Sidda and Cerrus' eyes narrowed.
"That can't be sanitary," Cerrus commented disgusted.
"It's a drink," Ashley said her tone irritated but not overly hostile.
"Why would you want to drink someone's disgusting navel?" It was a question that more than he pondered, Garrus was probably wondering too but no one but Cerrus said anything.
Kaidan cleared his throat. "Fuzzy Navel is the name of a drink, Tyr, its vodka, peach liquor, and orange juice."
"What about a Sex on the Beach?" Sidda continued and Cerrus' expression didn't change, he went from confused and not knowing what they were talking about to borderline appalled by human names for the strangest things.
Kaidan headed him off before he asked. "Also a drink…little more complicated, way too fruity for me."
"Why can't you people keep the names simple?" he asked and Garrus seconded that. The officer had spent more time around humans than Cerrus had and even he hadn't figured them out.
The girls ignored him and continued on. "Jello shots?" Ashley mentioned and Sidda's stomach did hula hoop at the mere mention.
"I haven't been to do Jello Shots since the academy," Sidda replied shaking her head.
The next round of drinks came; it was the dangerous part of the evening when people started mixing the bases. Sidda started with just her straight Scotch but had now added Vodka to the mix, a poor choice for the next morning. Sidda was still able to walk straight though, or at least, no one had told her that she was weaving or swaying and it seemed that everyone was understanding everyone well enough so maybe the slurred speech wasn't too bad yet either. She's always found the idea of a dart board in a bar as largely misguided. The darts here didn't have steel points but the Pubs she'd visited on Earth did, she'd always questioned the wisdom in giving intoxicated people a tiny spear to throw at a wall.
"It's called Darts," Sidda said and the two Turian's looked at each other and then back to Sidda and Kaidan.
"What?" Garrus asked.
"It's a game, think of it as a test of marksmanship," she explained in the simplest way possible.
Garrus took the single dart she presented to him. Turians were surprisingly dexterous even with the vicious claws they had. "Marksmanship with this?" he questioned, Cerrus hadn't said anything but he was paying attention even through his best efforts to get drunk.
Garrus wasn't convinced of her explanation and she shrugged. "Okay, fine, think of it as hand eye coordination. You throw this at that, if you get really good you can put the dart wherever you need it." She said demonstrating it by throwing on that hit the board firmly in a 15 then handed him one of the darts. "Try it. Try to hit the center."
Garrus took the dart and tossed it as close to the same form she had. It hit dead center in the bullseye and Sidda's brow furrowed. "Beginners luck…try again." Garrus took the last dart and repeated it putting the next dart right next to the one already in the bull. Her expression changed to irritation and she eyed him trying to ignore his obvious smirk. "You suck," she hissed also ignoring the deep chuckle coming from him.
Cerrus' expression changed to his typical 'I don't understand human slang' expression and he glanced at Kaidan who shook his head taking a drink of his beer. "Don't ask, Tyr, I'm not explaining that one."
The game was simple; Sidda and Kaidan called it Cricket. The object explained was simple: hit the specified numbers three times and close them out. Usually played by individuals there was an effort made to help the Turians so they made it a team game.
"Kaidan, hell no, you can't have both snipers." Sidda argued as Garrus looked over his shoulder at Cerrus getting another drink from the table. "I'll take mine and you take yours," she added and grabbed Garrus' hand pulling her toward him and clinging to him like a giddy school girl clutching her crush. Garrus played along and slung an arm over her.
"Looks like you've been claimed, Vakarian," Cerrus said finishing his drink quickly. He remained close to Tali, the protective mate in him. After the encounter with the Turian bouncer he dared anyone to touch her or say anything about her. That bouncer got off easy; he would have killed him had Tali not been there. It dredged up memories that he'd rather keep locked away; Anara was a Cabal and had seen her fair share of discrimination. He remembered one vividly; one of the few times he and Anara were on Palaven together, at morning mess he watched two enlisted men kick her chair from under her, he heard Anara squawk in pain and everything had gone red after that. He put both of them in the med bay and the squawk he heard from his mate was one of them stepping on her left hand hard enough to break it. He spent 10 days in the brig for that.
"Apparently so," Garrus said and looked down at the little human under his right arm as Cerrus shook his head sharply trying to shake the memory he'd preferred hidden.
"And so have you, Sweetie, get over here," Kaidan teased with a chuckle making the rest of them laugh. Cerrus was jerked over to Kaidan but knew he was merely joking.
"Get off me," he said and pushed Kaidan's hand off him.
The Turians picked up darts quickly, as expected and soon there was a guys against girls game going on. Wrex preferred not to play and Liara didn't seem to be handling all the alcohol that well so she was nursing a drink and enjoying the company. It was Kaidan, Garrus, and Cerrus verses Sidda, Ashley, and Tali in the most frustrating game of 501 that anyone had ever seen or heard about. Largely impaired by the drinks, the boys needed to double out a 10 that not a one of them could hit and the girls had the same issue but with 40. Tali ended up winning it for the girls after nailing the double 20. In all it was a great bonding experience, no one was fighting, insulting, or sneering that wasn't related to game banter.
Sidda's head throbbed from the right temple to the left and back again. When she opened her eyes she found herself on the couch with her feet across Kaidan's lap. She vaguely remembered sitting down on the couch the night before and it took her a moment to remember where she was, Garrus' apartment on the Citadel. Around her were various other members of her crew on various pieces of Garrus' furniture. She managed to get up and walked, more like staggered, toward the kitchen area.
Garrus was leaning on the counter with the singular look of worry on his face. She passed it off; the hangover was trumping everything else. Her vision swayed a little but the cold comfort benefit of being a biotic meant that hangover usually didn't last that long. The amp had its benefits outside of harnessing Dark Energy.
"Good morning," she managed out, her throat dry and scratchy. A wave of dizziness hit her and braced on the counter a moment.
"Shepard," he greeted but something in his tone told her that something was wrong. It was possible he had aspirin but she doubted it so she turned around slowly and threw the nearest item at her Medic to wake him up.
"Even hungover I can hear something's wrong," she commented turning back toward him as the shoe she threw succeeded in not only rousing Kaidan but Cerrus and Tali as well.
"I need your help," he replied simply.
That tone wasn't good, it was simple but it carried weight with it, something was wrong. "Coffee," she said simply and Garrus shook his head.
"I don't have coffee, Commander," he replied and Sidda whimpered, she needed coffee, something to help shake the hangover. Garrus was impatient, however, and continued on. "A few months ago a friend of mine was beaten and raped by Fist's men. Her name's Leena, she was my partner for a few years." His words drew the attention of Kaidan mostly and Cerrus half listened as the voice drew him from the living room. His head was throbbing also but he wasn't as bad off as Sidda was apparently. "She's been at the Zakera Ward Hospital recovering. I know Fist ordered it, I know it was his men…I need your help to prove it."
She felt her stomach do flip flops and she closed her eyes tight waiting for the nausea to pass. "All the technology in the galaxy and we haven't found a cure for the fuckin hangover," she said and felt a burp escape. It tasted bad but she was determined to keep stomach contents in her stomach.
"And the common cold," Kaidan added and she groaned.
"Oh, Alenko, shut up," she mumbled and groaned feeling her stomach rumble some more.
Garrus blinked more annoyed than ever, the fact that Sidda was so hungover that he didn't even think she heard him irritated him. "Commander," he prodded in a louder tone.
Sidda raised her left hand up to tell him to wait. "I heard you, Garrus…just give me a minute…," she said took a deep breath as Kaidan tossed her a bottle of pills. Something for her head. "So, what do you want me to do? You can't get to Fist…he's singing like a canary to your Organized Crime Division."
Cerrus' eyes narrowed questioningly. "A Canary's a bird." Kaidan provided and earned semi appreciative nod from the Turian.
"Leena never said Fist was there, they were his pack of goons."
"You said she served a Warrant to him?" Sidda clarified downing as many of the pills as was safe with a glass of water. "I take it you guys found nothing?"
"Not enough to arrest First but enough to shut down whatever was going through that depot for a few days," Garrus explained frustrated by Sidda making him retell this again, he could see she was warring with a massive hangover and ordinarily he would wait for her to be a little more clear headed but he didn't have the time now. "Leena said that a few of his men, a human and a Krogan, threatened her while she was searching them. Said they'd…do things to her if they saw her again."
Sidda's head cocked to the left. "Did she report that?"
Garrus gave her a confused expression, not seeing the relevance, but answered it anyway. "No."
"That wasn't very smart," Sidda replied bluntly and felt the eyes of Kaidan and Cerrus on her immediately.
Garrus didn't see that as a necessary comment toward someone he cared about. "Commander!" he barked and Sidda focused on him, headache and hangover or not.
"Vakarian, you raise your voice like that again I'll kick your ass from one side of the Citadel to the other." She warned and Garrus found it difficult to keep his obvious retort silent. "You haven't answered my question: what do you want me to do about it?"
"Help me find these bastards…I think I know who they are but I don't have any evidence aside from Leena had told me."
Sidda got a sense of Garrus' mood, was he asking her to be judge, jury, and executioner? "And do what when we find them?" she asked and Garrus stood up straight. Cerrus' eyes flipped between the two of them curious about the answer.
"I'll tell you when we find them," he answered his tone quiet. Cerrus quietly cocked his head as he observed Sidda's reaction. He judged Garrus had the potential to bring vigilante justice if he felt the cause was worth it, he was hot headed and potentially dangerous. Sidda on the other hand would kill if needed to defend, to protect, under orders, if the occasion didn't skew her morals she'd do her duty. That was something about her that he found he could respect, in that regard, she was like a Turian.
Sidda wasn't sure how she felt about that answer but at least it was honest. "Alright, we'll help, Garrus," she nodded giving him a sense of solidarity with her. She owed him, big time; this was a small step toward repaying that.
Cerrus cleared his throat. "Commander, we have a traitor to catch," he reminded simply and earned the ire of everyone in the room, most notably Garrus.
"Are you kidding me?" Garrus snarled.
Cerrus shrugged like the one voice of reason, the one to make sure the course stayed true. "Renegade Spectre. Geth invasion," he reminded in as snarky a tone as he could come up with. It came across as harshly sarcastic.
"You really are an asshole, Cerrus." Garrus snapped in return and his fellow Turian merely shrugged that off, he'd been called worse.
Sidda raised her hands to stem the argument. "Alright, enough; Cerrus is right. Kaidan, what time is the Normandy scheduled to depart?"
"1600."
Sidda nodded tiredly. "Good, that gives us 8 hours," she sighed pushing the throb in her head to the back of the line. "Kaidan, get everyone awake and back to the Normandy, have the Chief and Tali make sure all the requisitions got where they needed to be. Garrus and Liara are with me…I want to talk to Leena. We'll meet up at C-Sec; figure out where we go from there."
Sidda still felt nauseous but the amp had done what is usually did, quelled the headache, the only time it didn't work well was when it fought the losing battle against dextro alcohol, she's developed a tolerance to the brandy but that was about it. It tasted like honey but it whooped her ass. Liara had consumed the least amount of drinks the night before, though she seemed like she had fun she really wasn't in the mood and Sidda felt for her, the whole crew did. Now she, along with Garrus, were going to go talk to a rape victim…not the best task anyone of them had ever undertaken.
Leena Vol was 160 years old and had been in the Asari military before joining C-Sec, it was a common story for an Asari. She was Liara's height, with silvery eyes, striking cobalt skin tone with a fuscha stripe down her lower lip and dotting accents under the eyes from her tear ducts to where an eyebrow would end on a human. She had a kind face and a nice smile that seemed to brighten when she saw Garrus.
"Leena," he greeted gently, his body language changed and Sidda guessed that Leena may have been something more than just a partner, "this is Shepard…she's a Spectre who's willing to help."
Leena's brow furrowed as she looked from Garrus to Sidda and then back to Garrus. "Help with what?" The question seemed to throw Garrus off and Sidda knitted her brow. "Garrus, Pallin wants proof, I don't have it," she sounded frustrated.
"I might be able to work around that," Sidda offered quietly.
Leena saw right through Garrus. "Vigilante justice? Garrus, don't…Pallin will kick you off the force."
Garrus growled, loudly. "I don't care about that," he snarled. "Fist is in custody, he's not going to tell us anything while he can bargain with everything else." Sidda's eye flicked between them. Garrus was frustrated, angry but Leena was calm…strangely calm. She didn't expect an Asari to be in pieces over this especially one that was a military veteran and a trained C-Sec officer but she did expect her to want to bring those who hurt her to justice. It dawned on Sidda a moment later. They knew who did it but couldn't prove it and Garrus was about to do something rash. That's why Leena was so calm; she was trying to keep Garrus from flying off the handle. They continued to argue as she silently made her assessment sparing a few looks to Liara; the scientist had a perpetual concerned look on her face, kind and sympathetic.
"Shepard is a Spectre and a good person, if she can help; I know she will find justice for you," Liara said calmly and her voice seemed to cool the snarling tempers between Leena and Garrus.
"If Fist knows anything about what happened rest assured I'll make him talk, but I want to know what happened," Sidda said and Leena gave her an expression that was a mix of several emotions. "You don't have to go into detail just tell me what happened and tell me what you remember."
"Fist wasn't there," Leena replied, her tone stern.
Sidda sighed; she was as stubborn as Garrus, what a partnership that must have been. "But if he ordered it I'll make sure he goes down for it. Please, just…tell me what you know."
Leena folded her arms across her chest and gave Garrus a semi hostile glare, he was only trying to help and she knew that. Liara sat with her as Leena went into as much as she could remember; it was an awful tale even without the detail. She'd been on her way home when she was cornered by two Batarians and attacked. Leena cursed herself for being caught off guard and Sidda noticed Garrus standing like a coiled spring, she wondered what their relationship really was. Leena went on to explain that she remembered a human and a Krogan in addition to the two Batarians and that after a while she was beaten so badly that she didn't remember anything after the first two. Sidda was happy that she brought the young scientist along as the sympathetic ear, she herself wasn't good at that; she couldn't sit there and pretend to empathize. Part of her did, that wasn't the issue but she couldn't help but look at it as what could you have done different or how did you let yourself get into that situation.
In addition to her own clenched jaw about the story she could hear Garrus mandibles clicking. One very angry Turian, she'd been told that he was a hot head but so far he hadn't displayed much more than anyone else had on this mission so far. She snorted to herself. Guess he just needed the right button.
By the time they were finished listening to Leena regale them with her horrible story Sidda couldn't speak for Liara but she was ready to kill any man in sight, Garrus' company excluded of course. On the way out she felt like she needed a shower, not from talking to Leena but from thinking about what happened. She'd left out just enough detail to let the imagination run wild, Sidda didn't know what was worse; knowing the whole story or vague details.
"Commander," Liara began, "please don't make me sit through another story like that."
Sidda scoffed as she whole heartedly agreed. "Yes, please," she replied with a heavy sigh. "Garrus, do you know who she's talking about?"
Garrus gave her a tentative nod. "The Krogan and the Human, maybe…the two Batarians, however…Fist has a lot of them in his employ," he answered and she huffed.
"C-Sec know where they are?" she asked and Garrus gave her an indiscernible shrug. "I know some people I can ask for an update…Fist's men are hard to find."
C-Sec was like any other police precinct Sidda had been in, not to say she'd been in a lot of them but she had seen her fair share on Earth. Bustling with people, cops, suspects, victims and Garrus strutted in like he was still assigned there. Garrus had worked in C-Sec for years so everyone he passed knew him. He was still a cop but temporarily assigned to a Spectre. Sidda got a few looks as Garrus shook a few hands in passing on his way to find who he was looking for.
They passed interview rooms, squad rooms, and everything else you'd see in a precinct only on a larger scale. Garrus led them into an office with a single Turian typing away at the computer. He looked up and almost did a double take when he saw the big Palaven native walking toward him with a human and an Asari.
He blinked and stood to greet them. "Vakarian, what are you doing here? I thought you were TAD?" he asked and clasped his arm in friendship.
"Just working on something," he replied. "I need your help with something, Chellick."
Chellick gave him a dubious expression. "Word is you're assigned to a Spectre," Chellick said sounding suspicious about what he wanted; Garrus had something of a reputation around C-Sec so when he was being vague it was usually because he was irritated with C-Sec red tape. Chellick's eyes flicked to the Asari, she was pretty, and then to the human. The human he recognized, the short brunette who's Spectre induction had been aired about a thousand times on the news.
"Sidda Shepard," she introduced and extended her hand to him which he shook firmly with a nod.
"The first human Spectre…a pleasure, Commander," he nodded and then Liara followed suit introducing herself to him as Sidda studied him. His markings were the same as Desala's. He was from, or his family, was from Oma Kerr. "What can I do to help, Garrus?"
"It's about Leena's case," Garrus said bluntly and Chellick groaned.
"Does Leena have something new?" he asked and Garrus huffed, this was apparently the tough part. She couldn't identify them, therefore they had nothing. Garrus' expression was enough to answer his question. "I have talked to Leena too…she can't identify them and DNA didn't come back with a hit."
"She heard a human and a Krogan and she saw the two Batarians that jumped her," Garrus fought back and Chellick shook his head.
"Who she doesn't know, she probably could ID them if she saw them again but there a couple thousand Batarians in this ward arm alone," Chellick explained his tone raising slightly to drive his point home to the stubborn Turian who was focused on the task.
Garrus grumbled, annoyed with this. "They work for Fist, which narrows field."
Chellick sighed at the circular argument that they'd had since this whole thing began. Garrus didn't have proof and that pissed him off. "Prove it. Prove they work for him. Prove that he ordered it. Or prove that they acted alone. I'd love to nail these bastards to the wall the same as you but without proof they'll be out in a day and who do you think is going to suffer the retaliation."
"We've leaned on all his people already," Garrus growled sounding frustrated and borderline angry.
"How about we go straight to the source," Sidda suggested and Garrus' head cocked to the left. "If Fist knows where his boys are, let's ask him."
"Commander, Fist will never tell us where they are and Organized Crime would never let us get anywhere near him," Garrus said and Sidda shrugged, she had the trump card and knew it. The last time she dealt with Fist she was just an Alliance Officer on a mission and she did some real damage, now she was a Spectre and the possibilities were endless with a bastard like him.
"Spectre remember," She reminded. "Take me to Fist."
Chellick's expression was priceless. "Wait, wait a minute, wait a minute, Commander, what are you going to do?" he asked sounding about as nervous and worried as Garrus felt.
"I'm going to get him to tell me everything we want to know," she replied and the Turians looked at each other. Garrus was sure that he didn't like the sound of that, Sidda was probably about to piss off all of C-Sec in one fell swoop. Should be fun to watch but he was terrified at the same time. Chellick understood the Spectre authority and wanted to catch the men who assaulted Leena as much as Garrus did so he nodded tentatively.
"Garrus, you find the people who did this and I'll be there to back you up," the other Turian assured and Garrus nodded at him appreciatively.
Getting Fist into a room so Sidda could talk was a covert affair, Chellick helped and steamrolled the watch commander without letting Fist's representative or lead detective get wind.
Sidda still didn't like Fist; just the way he looked irked her. At the moment it was worse, he was sitting too comfortably for her taste. His hand had healed up some but she could still see the remains of the gunshot she'd inflicted.
"What the fuck do you want?" he hissed loudly and she scoffed as she sat down letting Garrus stand menacingly in the corner with strict orders to keep his trap shut unless something got out of hand. To keep Chellick out of too much trouble he stayed outside so it was just Sidda and Garrus.
"And a hello to you too, Fist," she replied with a smirk. "How's the hand?"
"Blow me, Bitch," he hissed back as she snorted softly. Garrus had heard that enough times from the humans he'd interrogated to know what that meant.
"Pass," she rebutted with a fake smile. "We need to talk," she said and folded her hands together on the table.
"Oh yeah, what about?"
"Officer Leena Vol…a C-Sec officer that was assaulted by some of your…associates," she informed and Fist scoffed. "I want to know who they are and where I can find them."
"Why the fuck would I tell you?"
"Word is that Organized Crime is going to throw the book at you…you're looking at a lot of jail time even with what you have given to them," she continued, "you tell me what I want to know and maybe I can do something about that."
Fist's brow furrowed, Sidda could feel Garrus looking at her curiously but she never looked away from Fist. "What the hell could you do?"
"How about I start with what could happen if you don't tell me what I want to know," she went on and Garrus observed her, she was so calm and cold, a marked change from the last time she 'talked' to Fist. "I have a mind blowing amount of shady friends now, bounty hunters, mercs, Turians…you name it I can call it up. If you don't tell me who attacked Officer Vol it's a dealers choice as to how long you're going to last in holding and how you're gonna die."
Fist's expression didn't change but Garrus could tell he was thinking or at least taking her words to heart. "What are you offering?"
Sidda turned the pad around to him and slid it forward. "This is your 'get out of jail free card'. I exercise my Spectre authority to grant your immediate release. If you tell me what I want to know."
Spectre authority superseded most everything else in Council space and Fist knew that. "How do I know that's legit?"
"Signature and fingerprints are all over it," she assured with a shrug. "You tell me what I want to know and it's all yours."
"And C-Sec will honor it?" he clarified, Fist wasn't stupid, he'd seen all the tricks that C-Sec could come up with.
"They don't have a choice," Garrus piped up, his tone a low growl. "Quit jerking us around and tell us what you know or this deal walks out that door." Garrus was expecting to get barked at or scolded but Sidda said nothing.
"Graal and Serok are the Batarians, the Krogan is Weyrloc Rohr and the human…they call him Crowe." Fist told them quietly and Sidda looked over to Garrus silently asking if he knew who they were.
"The Crowe?" Garrus asked and Fist nodded.
"They usually hang out in the Blackhouse district," he went on and Sidda looked over to Garrus who again nodded to her. It was very good to have a veteran cop on the team.
"If this doesn't pan out…I'm gonna lock you in a room with Garrus and Wrex and take bets on which one of them kills you first," she threatened, her tone sounded more like a promise.
Fist's eyes flicked from her to the pissed off Turian and then back to Sidda as she headed out of the room. Chellick had been watching and was in the appropriate tizzy as she had expected.
"Commander, are you out of your mind? You're gonna let him go?" Chellick babbled and Sidda shushed him.
"Keep your voice down, Detective," she scolded and looked over to Garrus. "Blackhouse District…good, bad, ugly?"
"Known criminal hangouts, low income, C-Sec loves it," he replied and she snorted at the obvious sarcasm. "And he mentioned Crowe, I had a feeling that merc bastard was a part of this."
"Care to share, Gentleman," Sidda commented, Chellick spoke first.
"Human merc goes by Crowe; they're all enforcers for Fist," Chellick said quickly.
"Sid, if Crowe is in there we're gonna need some more firepower," Garrus added and she nodded in agreement.
"Get Cerrus and Kaidan down here," she nodded and turned to Chellick. "wanna go have some fun, Detective?"
Chellick snorted sounding almost amused. "Only someone who's not a cop would call going into Blackhouse after Crowe fun."
Sidda chuckled. "After what I've encountered lately…this'll be a walk in the park."
The Blackhouse district was as advertised, a criminal funhouse. The good part about Fist being firmly on C-Sec's shit list was that they knew where his little hideouts were. Crowe especially, the Merc had been flagged by C-Sec the second he stepped on the station a year ago, hired by Fist and a thorn in law enforcements side. C-Sec suspected him of a lot of bad deeds but nothing ever stuck, he was good with tech and covered his tracks.
With Sidda was Garrus, Cerrus, and Kaidan but they also had Chellick with them so the Executor didn't hit the ceiling when this all got back to them. Sidda had the authority to do what she wanted but Pallin notoriously didn't like Spectres. So there was probably a one sided shouting match from Pallin at the end of this little rainbow. Garrus and Chellick represented the law enforcement so no one could say what they were doing was illegal.
"Garrus, get the door," Sidda ordered conversationally as they descended on the warehouse that was a pit for Fist and his goons. According to Chellick, however, this was more than likely Crowe's nest; he was frequently sighted in the area and had been hauled off by C-Sec a dozen times from this location.
Chellick went first after Garrus defeated the lock and Sidda praised the detective's initiative, he seemed like a good man and a good cop. Garrus hadn't scoffed or sneered about him coming along so she figured that he was at least respectable. Garrus was next followed by Sidda. Kaidan and Cerrus were assigned to the back entrance with the other group of officers to make sure the exits were covered. It was shockingly easy to get in and find their targets, as Fist said four people that fit the descriptions were there plus more. Most of them were seat around a round table playing cards and were none the wiser about what was about to happen.
On the ride over Chellick already volunteered to treat this like a raid and brought a few extra officers to handle the back as they went in the front. "Good afternoon, Gentleman," Chellick began in a raised tone as he startled the half dozen men in the room, "this is a raid so don't do anything stupid. Stay where you are and put your hands in the air."
His words apparently fell on deaf ears for some as a young human male bolted toward the back. All Sidda heard was a hearty thwack and he sprawled back into view, face bloody with Cerrus turning his rifle back around. The other human in the area reached for the pistol on his hip and Sidda flared her biotcs.
"Don't!" she barked aiming her pistol at him but showing him that she was fully prepared to rearrange his molecules. He didn't listen and drew quickly, omni-tool activating and setting off an explosive. The blast was small but it made Chellick's team shield their faces as the human ran.
"That's Crowe!" Garrus yelled and took off after him.
"Garrus, wait!" Sidda yelled but he was already chasing him further into the warehouse. "Cerrus, with me!" she ordered as she took off after Garrus.
Crowe sprinted at top speed through the warehouse but humans were far outclassed by Turians when it came to running. A human sprint was barely a jog for a Turian and Garrus caught him quickly as Crowe sent an incinerate toward him. Garrus rolled under it and reached out with his right hand catching Crowe's right foot tripping him up. The Merc fell flat on his face bloodying his mouth and undoubtedly breaking his nose in the process. They both scrambled to their feet quickly and glared at each other. Garrus with intense focus and Crowe with the look of someone who knew what he was doing.
"Vakarian," he growled, he'd lost his pistol when he performed a face plant but activated his omni-blade. "How's your partner?"
Garrus saw red and cast his pistol to the side preferring hand to hand. The fight was on after that. Garrus blocked every hit with precision accuracy and made sure to stay out of the way of the blade. It was over in under a minute, Garrus trapped Crowe's left arm under his arm and drove a hit up under his extended arm, he heard the humerus snap and Crowe's howl of pain was music to his ears, from there Garrus drove his right knee into his spine forcing Crowe to his knees. The Merc screamed in pain as he tried to catch himself with his broken arm. Garrus grabbed a handful of Crowe's hair and pulled him up to his knees. Vengeance was his, this son of a bitch hurt Leena, violated her. He could smell the fear and poised to snap his neck.
"Garrus!" he heard Sidda yell in her commanding officer tone, the one she used to rein people in, a tone that was normally reserved for Cerrus. He didn't see Cerrus tackle him but he felt it when he was rammed into the nearest object. He felt like he was hit by a Skycar.
"Get off me!" Garrus fought back struggling in Cerrus' grip. Cerrus saw the rage he was in and knew that Garrus had one thing on his mind, killing Crowe. It was a Turian rage, Turian's lost their tempers like everyone else did but this was different. This was a rage.
He almost slipped from Cerrus' grip but he was grabbed again and slammed hard into the wall that Cerrus has rammed him into. "Knock it off!" Cerrus roared getting into his face, he was still the dominate Turian and was treating Garrus as he would any other subordinate. Garrus blinked coming out of his rage and realized who was in front of him. He patted Cerrus' arm indicating that he was back in his right mind and Cerrus let him go but only took a half step back remaining on his guard.
Sidda had seen the struggle between the Turians but was focused on Crowe. His face was bloody, he cradled his arm like it was broken, but he still didn't look beaten. "Name," she ordered and he panted as he spit a glob of blood onto the floor.
"Fuck you," he answered.
Sidda thought about punching him but decided against it. "Tell me, or I'll turn him loose on you," she hissed and gestured to Garrus still seething rage. Crowe was in his 30s, black hair, brown eyes, and probably good to look at before he busted his face up.
"Crowe," he answered quietly and spat out more blood looking the brunette biotic up and down, she didn't look like a cop. "You're not a cop, who are you?"
"Spectre Shepard," she replied and she saw Crowe's demeanor deflate.
"A Spectre. Fuck," he cursed and she snorted.
"Yeah," she nodded satisfied with the fear that struck into people, "you're fucked. Cerrus, get him up." She ordered and keyed the radio turning back to the way they had come. "Chellick, we got him."
Parading their suspects into the C-Sec was a good feeling for Garrus and Chellick, they didn't often pair together but when they did they worked well together. They marched their catch past most of the squad room and straight into holding. Pallin had his shouting match with his two officers, mainly Chellick since Garrus was assigned to a Spectre, for not following protocol and bending the rules by letting Sidda talk to Fist. That led to him barking about Spectre's overstepping bounds. While he was grateful for solving Leena's assault case he sorely disagreed with their methods.
All complaining aside having Crowe in custody was a shot in the arm, nothing they ever had on him stuck, he was good at covering his tracks but he slipped up this time. Now the work began to link it all together, match the DNA to what was taken from Leena and to get her to identify the two Batarians.
To say C-Sec was pissed off at her was an understatement; she let a potential wealth of information for organized crime walk out the front door with a free pass. The irritation that came next left Sidda, Garrus, Cerrus, and Kaidan standing off near the lift watching Fist walk out with the most irritatingly smug look on his face. Even though she did it, she didn't like it, she thought about going back on it but she made him a deal and she got what she wanted, Garrus got what he wanted, Leena got the justice she deserved.
"You know that he ordered it, right?" Cerrus commented quietly, he had been listening to everything that was going on. He didn't really want to be doing this right now but given the situation he took it even though he thought they needed to be out finding Saren before he blew up the galaxy…or worse.
Sidda grunted her response in a long uhhh-huhh. "He'll piss someone off and they'll net him," she commented. "Or Wrex will find him and fulfill his contract."
Kaidan snorted thinking of how thrilled the Krogan would be to hear that Fist was out of C-Sec's clutches. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when you tell him."
"Chellick said he'd watch him and Organized Crime is gonna crawl up his ass as often as possible," Garrus added quietly and looked down at Sidda standing between him and Kaidan. "Commander, I would avoid C-Sec for a while…they're all talking about lynching you."
Sidda sighed heavily, really the last thing she wanted to do was make an enemy of C-Sec, she already knew Pallin didn't like her much and she couldn't wait to hear Anderson and Udina come unglued over this, but to get what she wanted she had to crash through C-Sec like a bull in a china shop. At least she had Garrus…and now apparently Chellick. She dropped her head and scratched her left temple. "Alright, I've seen enough…let's get the hell out of here."
"Hey, Commander," a flanged voice called and she paused walking looking to see who it was. It was Chellick.
"Chellick, hopefully you didn't get busted too much for helping us out," she said and Chellick would be lying if he said he wasn't in trouble.
"It'll pass…I've had worse…I was partnered with him for a little while after all," he said and gestured toward Garrus. "I just wanted to say that…this job is difficult and it's usually unpleasant but if you ever need backup for anything, call…I'll be there," he nodded politely and extended his hand to her and was surprised when she clasped his arm in friendship. It was a more Turian type of handshake and he nodded at her.
"Been a pleasure, Detective," she said with a smile. "Stay out of trouble."
Chellick scoffed sounding like Nov as he did. "Well, with you not here I stand a better chance of that." She laughed and slapped his left arm before heading to the elevator that would take her and her team to the Normandy.
Cerrus and Kaidan leaned against the back waiting patiently and Sidda noticed that Kaidan had begun to mirror Cerrus' body language as they were both standing the same way with the same expression. It couldn't hurt Kaidan to pick up the cold attitude of Cerrus so long as he didn't become him. The galaxy only needed on jackass like him. Garrus was quiet and she looked over at him as he tapped the button.
"So…what is Leena to you?" she asked and Garrus looked down at her sharply, he wasn't going to answer that.
"She was my partner," he replied and she shook her head with a sarcastic snort.
"You know for a cop you really do suck at lying," she said as the door closed and the lift took them up to the docks. Garrus didn't reply to that, if she wanted to know more she was going to have to get him beyond drunk or beat it out of him.