Arlynn swiped her chit and watched the credit's tick away. She hated spending money. But a girl's got to eat. The clerk handed Arlynn the bag of groceries. She smiled and thanked the turian as she took the bag from him. Forcing herself to be calm and act normal, Arlynn walked casually from the store. What she really wanted to do was sprint. She had done this dozens of times without any incident, but today she had the uneasy feeling of being watched. It had begun as soon as she had entered the wards. The sooner she returned to her apartment in the presidium the better. There were too many hiding places in the market district. It would be far too easy for a Helix agent to hide in the shadows and watch, or jump out and grab her.

Arlynn looked over her shoulder as she rounded a corner. An opposing force stopped her in her tracks and caused her to drop the bag. The body she had just run in to apologized quickly and began to gather her scattered provisions. "I'm so sorry," the man said as he placed a loaf of bread back in the bag.

"No it's my fault. I wasn't…" she trailed off as she finally got a look at the man. It was a drell. The same drell she had bumped into three weeks ago. The one who had dropped the black cylinder that currently sat in a drawer in her kitchen. "I know you," she said.

"What?" The drell looked up. Recognition filled his expression. "Yes, I ran into you… what, two weeks away. It seems I am making a habit of it." He smiled slightly. Arlynn felt herself smile back as she stood with her now full bag. "I don't believe I apologized properly. Allow me to do so now." He made her a low bow. "My deepest apologies."

"That's not necessary," Arlynn said quickly. He straightened and looked at her. She squirmed a little and reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear. At the last moment she stopped and let her arm drop awkwardly.

"This may be a long shot, but did you see a black cylinder when we last bumped into each other?" he asked. "It was about this long." He held up his hands about four inches apart. Arlynn took a deep breath and stood a little taller.

"Yes, actually I did see it. I picked it up." The drell's dark eyes lit up.

"I don't suppose you still have it?"

"Actually, I do." Arlynn said hesitantly. The drell sighed in relief and he smiled again.

"You don't know how much trouble you saved me. I thought I would have to browse every store to find a replacement. I don't suppose you have it with you?" Arlynn just shook her head and the drell's shoulders drooped in disappointment. "I thought that would be too much to hope for."

"I don't even know why I kept it. I didn't think I'd ever run into you again," she said impulsively. She quickly bit her tongue from any rambling.

"Well, I shall count myself lucky that you did. Quite literally, in fact." He gave her a sly smile. To Arlynn's surprise, she felt her cheeks grow warm in a blush. "Perhaps I could accompany you home and you could return it," he suggested.

Red warning flags went off all over in Arlynn's mind. 'Just get a good mailing address and tell him you will send it to him,' a little voice in her head said. She quickly back peddled. "No," she said a bit too forcefully. The drell seemed taken aback. "I mean, I don't think that would be a good idea," she said a bit gentler. "Maybe you could just give me your address and I'll mail it to your apartment… or ship. Or whatever." This time it was the drell that hesitated.

"No, I don't think that would work either. It is a very expensive item, you see, and I wouldn't trust it to arrive." He reached up and rubbed his left shoulder. "Hmm…" he mused as his scaly fingers massaged the joint. "Would you be willing to meet somewhere?" He asked Arlynn thought about it for a moment. If it was somewhere public either lots of people, she thought it might be alright. Finally, she nodded slowly. "Do you know the bar purgatory?" he asked. Arlynn nodded again. She would have liked to pick the place, but at the moment she couldn't think of a single place. "Excellent. We could meet there tonight, hopefully without running into each other. You could give me my cylinder and I could buy you a drink as thanks."

"Alright," she agreed, albeit a bit hesitantly. She gave him a polite smile and shoved her fear aside. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"Until tonight." He gave her a small bow and then walked around her and melted into the crowds. Arlynn watched him go for as long as she could. When he was out of sight she briskly made her way to her apartment. Once inside the safety of her house, she locked the doors and sighed in relief. She placed her bag of food on the counter and then pulled the drawer open. The black cylinder rolled backwards with the momentum.

Arlynn picked it up and studied it closely. She noticed a small button and with some hesitation she pushed it. Her suspicion was confirmed as a thin red laser shot out the end. Arlynn dropped the laser onto the counter. Pieces began to fall together in her head. Helix had always attempted to bring her in alive, but perhaps he had finally grown tired of the chase. Arlynn didn't know what Helix's intentions were, but she at least knew one thing; that drell was an assassin