VI

Out of the Bag

"Stace, get Tony out of here. Don't worry. I've got Meg and Hope. Jim, Kitty, move that crate over there over the target. Nash, Finch, take the car, and get lost."

Stace looked with wide, terrified eyes at her little sister and her baby as she held up Lopez, half-conscious and losing blood fast. But she staggered out the back door of the warehouse right away, dragging Tony with her. She knew he'd need medical attention fast, but they couldn't trust the paramedics. Meg, sitting on an overturned crate, was still white as chalk from her ordeal. The marks on her wrists where she'd been held were angry red, and Hope, held in her aunt's arms, was wailing like no tomorrow.

Sam and Ren were tying up the last of the turians on the floor. One of them started to come to. He caught sight of Beth. She didn't have a translator implant like Tony and Nash, so she didn't understand the words he spat, but she could guess it was pretty nasty. The tone and the look in his eyes was unmistakable. Ren kicked him in the ribs, and he hissed.

"None of that!" Beth snapped at her. "Leave it to the cops."

"But Beth . . ." Ren looked at the body on the floor. Lukas lay where he fell. The pool of blood around him shone wet and scarlet still. Beth didn't look at it.

"Leave it," she repeated. Ren stepped back from the turians. "Nash, Finch, I said get lost. The car can't be here when the cops show up, and neither can you. They saw you last week at the shooting. They can't link that to this. Get gone."

When Nash still didn't move, Beth rounded on him, drawing her pistol and aiming right at Nash's left eye. "I said: get gone," she repeated again. She didn't speak much louder than a whisper. Didn't trust that if she tried she wouldn't start screaming or crying or something just as stupid and useless, but her voice echoed in the silent warehouse anyway. Everyone stared, waiting to see what she'd do, waiting to see what he'd do. No one but Lopez or Stace had ever confronted Nash directly. No one had dared. Stace and Tony hadn't ever pulled a gun on him. But Nash's stupidity and aggression had got Lukas killed this time. It was past time someone called Nash on his shit, and it wasn't like she hadn't already blown Little Beth to hell the second she'd answered Meg's warning com and taken charge instead of cover. As far as Beth was concerned, if Nash pushed her, she wouldn't hesitate.

Nash didn't agree. "You wouldn't," he sneered. He jerked his head at the prisoners. "You're soft, Shepard. You didn't kill them, and you won't kill me. And the cops are coming."

"Try me," Beth snarled. "You were there at the shooting. It's your fault this happened. I don't have to be so nice. You can stay, and we can let the cops put two and two together after all. Put his gun in your hand," she jerked her head at one of the turians' pistols, on the floor, "And this looks like last week the Suns had a little fight among themselves, that's all, and that today, things didn't work out like they planned. That's what I'll tell them: that you were with them, and we killed you in self-defense. You think the others won't back me up? I'm giving you a chance. But time's running out."

Beth twitched the gun toward the skycar and raised her eyebrow. Nash looked at her, evaluating, deciding. Then he looked around at the rest of the gang. No one said a word.

Nash looked like he still might go for Beth's gun, but Finch stepped up. "Come on, Nash," he muttered under his breath. Nash shot Beth one last, deadly glance. Once it would have terrified her, seeing him look at her with that much hatred. But now, Beth just felt tired. But she held the gun on him until he turned away and got into the skycar with Finch. Jim activated the cargo door, and Nash and Finch drove away.

In the distance, Beth heard the sirens coming. They had maybe two minutes, tops. She turned to the desk behind her, opened a drawer, and pulled out several plastic ID cards. "Will. Hand these out," she said, attaching one to her shirt. "Now we're employees here," she told everyone still in the room. "We're going to keep things simple. Meg, you were coming to visit your sister, okay? You listening?"

Stace's sister still couldn't speak a word, but she stopped staring at Lukas on the concrete floor long enough to nod that yes, she got it. "You were coming with your niece to visit your sister as a surprise, but she'd already stepped out to get takeout for us all," Beth continued. "Then it was a raid, just like Nash's last week. The Suns came in for skycar parts. They didn't like our rates. Sam, you were supposed to give them to the guy with the red tats." She waved her hand at the turian that had spat at her, and Sam acknowledged. "They took you and the baby hostage at gunpoint to secure a getaway, Meg. Then it's just like what actually happened, except Nash, Stace, Finch, and Tony were never here. The only gun our side had was this one, Tony's, that I grabbed from his office. Lukas still tried to free Meg, and they still shot him, and we still used the distraction to neutralize the situation. Self-defense. It'd be a clear-cut case, anyway, but let's not go into the details. Jim, Kitty, Will, Ren? You guys helped me take them down." Beth looked around as Will handed the last fake warehouse worker ID to Sam, glad she'd had the whim to make them all those months ago.

"Everyone got it?"

There was barely time for everyone to mumble agreement before there was a shout at the door. "Police! Come out with your hands up!"

"It's alright!" Beth yelled back. "The situation's been dealt with, and the attackers have been restrained. Call an ambulance, though. We've got one body. We're coming out now. I've got one gun, but I'm ejecting the ammo pack now." She ejected the ammo pack, letting the sound echo through the warehouse and out the open doors. Then she went to Meg. She put an arm around the girl and the baby. "Come on. It'll be okay, you'll see."

The entire gang talked up her part in the scuffle. The police called her a hero. The local news called, asking for an interview. It was a great story, they said, with tragedy, alien interest, and the salvation of two young lives. The people would want to know. Beth turned them down, and they had to do with a ten-second bit that barely scraped the surface. But that was just as well. The less said the better.

The Reds would be too close to the radar for a long time in any event. Until further notice, they wouldn't be using Lopez's warehouse after hours as a base.

Beth got two texts on her omni-tool at the end of that week, though, and Saturday morning, she made her way to Lopez's place, a decent enough downtown apartment. Since Stace and Meg had moved in, it'd been fixed up a bit, and it was now quite a homey little place.

All Lopez's most trusted people were there, camped out on the couch and around the table. Ren, Will, Sam. And Nash, perched on the ottoman, long legs under him ready to spring, like a large, blond spider, glowering at Beth from the shadows. Stace was leaning up against the kitchen wall, rocking Hope, and Tony was near her, arm in a sling.

"Well, well, Little Beth," he said, laughing at her in his way. "Looks like everyone's here. I think we need to talk about what went down Tuesday." He met her eyes then, and said seriously, "You saved everyone's ass, Shepard. Saved Stace and her sister. Saved my daughter."

Beth shook her head. Her mouth tasted like ash. "I didn't save everyone," she disagreed.

"Greer was slow," Nash said. "He should've retired ages ago. Incredible he lasted as long as he did. I've been expecting him to kick it every day for years."

"You shut up, Nash," Stace snapped. "He was a good man."

There were murmurs of agreement from Sam and Ren. "I'm going to miss that old bastard," Tony admitted. "He was a Red through and through. I'm sorry he's gone. But there's no question that it could've been a hell of a lot worse."

"It was a bad job from the get-go, Tony," Stace said. "Nash and Finch moving on their own? Against the Blue Suns? They're so far out of our league it's not even . . . they could've annihilated us. All of us. Would have, if Beth hadn't caught Meg's signal and sounded the alarm so we were ready."

"They could still take us out," Nash growled. "Little Beth didn't have the stomach to kill the fucking aliens, even after they captured Meg and shot dear Lukas. You think more aren't going to come after us for landing their guys in jail? Violence is the only thing these people understand."

"Killing their guys would've started a gang war that we'd lose," Beth argued. "Besides, they won't go to a jail on Earth. Turian. The cops will have to turn them over to the turian government, and they'll go to jail in turian space."

"Oh, so the fucking turians will just turn them loose and they'll come right back to get even themselves," Nash retorted. "Yeah, letting them go was a great idea."

"Will they go to the turian government?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," Ren confirmed. "Local Earth government isn't authorized to hold aliens, even if they break local law. Only the Alliance, and I didn't think to call them instead."

"More and more aliens are visiting Earth. Laws need to catch up, or little operations like ours will be the least of the cops' problems," Sam remarked.

"That doesn't matter right now." Stace said. "Will they come back, Beth?"

Beth shook her head. "No. They're criminals. Turians? They aren't like humans. Totally civic minded. Every single one of them is expected to represent their race and uphold the law with honor. Those that don't are outcasts. They get caught? No way the turians let them wander around free to continue screwing over their reputation as 'galactic peacekeepers.'" Sam snorted a laugh. "No, those guys would be better off if they were going to an Earth prison," Beth finished. "And I'd bet the turians send a team down here to take care of any Suns presence in the city too."

"Just what we need. More aliens in our city," Nash muttered.

"Lay off, Nash. Everyone knows how you feel about aliens," Tony said. "You're just lucky I didn't let Stace shoot you for what happened because of it this time."

Nash shot Tony a look toxic enough to burn. Beth and Stace saw it, and exchanged a glance. Nash was getting more out of control every year. Stace had said before that the only reason things hadn't exploded yet was because Nash was Tony's friend from way back. But after Tuesday, Beth thought that it was only a matter of time. There was no friendship in Nash's eyes now. This whole mess was at his feet and he knew it, and it made him angry, and more dangerous than ever.

"Better to let her do it," Nash said, jerking his thumb at Beth. "Prove Little Beth's got guts as well as brawns and all those brains. She's been holding out on us. If I betrayed the Reds, let her hold 'em up."

But Lopez was done chewing out Nash. "We've already lost Lukas, Nash. I'm not going to lose you, too." Still, he contemplated Beth. "But he is right, Shepard. You been holding out on us. That shit back when? When you were kicking everybody's ass for a while in practice? You, Stace, and Lukas sold us it was a fluke. Wouldn't hold up in combat conditions. Guess you were wrong."

Beth stiffened. God, she'd just known that her heroics in the warehouse would come back to bite her in the ass. She didn't meet Tony's eyes, but she didn't deny it, either. Denial would be pointless now, and dangerous too. So she just said, "I'm a tech, Lopez. Only one you got now."

Lopez had come a couple steps her way. He peered down at her. "Maybe, maybe," he conceded, "But you're also a hell of a fighter, a crack shot, and a cool head in a crisis." He paused, glanced around the room, added, "Not to mention apparently an authority on aliens. We're learning a lot about you, aren't we, kid?"

Nash, sensing a point made, pressed it. "She's not a Red, not really," he sneered. "I been watching her for years. She never put everything into us, Tony. She never did. Never shares a drink with her friends at the end of the day. Just sits still and watches. Learns whatever she can and does just enough you keep her around. Not half of what she could. Little Beth. Hah! She could kick all of our asses to hell and back, even your precious Stace, or save us a fuck-ton of work every damn day, but she doesn't have the heart. She's a dynamo, but it's wasted on the bitch."

"Fuck off, Nash!" Stace cried. "Or I'll kick your ass to hell and back."

At her tone, Hope woke up and started to whimper. Stace rushed to soothe her. "Yeah, Mommy?" Nash laughed. "I'd like to see you try. You've lost your stuff, Paxton. You've gone soft. If you weren't always, deep down. You were always backing Shepard, anyway. Right from day one."

"Because she's a kid, Nash," Ren said. "She's still a kid. Talented, but she's got time."

Nash folded his arms. "Eighteen," he said. "How old were you when you made your first sand run? Sam, when did you jack your first car, hmm?"

Ren and Sam blinked and looked at Beth as if they'd never seen her before. Well, thought Beth, they hadn't. She'd made sure of that. But it looked like that was over with. "You always do stay out of the big jobs, Beth," Ren said. "You don't even bring customers to the game anymore."

"Since I turned fifteen, when I come up to talk they think I'm a badly dressed prostitute," Beth explained. "And either way that ends doesn't turn out well for me or the game."

Ren accepted this with a grudging nod. "If they're interested, you disappoint them and they leave angry. If they're not, they don't buy in. Okay. Fine. But you could handle other jobs, Beth. Definitely."

Beth took the hit. Wasn't much else she could do now. "Yeah, so maybe I could," she admitted. "But you need a tech. I'm better where I am. Learned it from you, Lopez," she added, appealing to Tony. "Gang's best offense is a good defense, right? Anonymity. I help you stay low. Keep your car running, your weapons in shape, and your security tight. I get you away in a pinch and run interference when someone tries to hack you. I get caught or even IDd on a job, by the cops or someone else, you're suddenly running at half efficacy without that defense."

Tony'd been watching all this time, hearing the argument, reserving judgment. "Awfully hard sell there, Little Beth. Methinks the lady doth protest too much," he said, but Beth knew by his tone she'd made her case. She'd proved on Tuesday that in a crisis she would step up. Lopez owed her, and he knew it, and besides, Nash was obviously looking for a fight. "You graduate in a few weeks, right?"

"Yeah."

"Top of your class, Stace tells me."

"I did well enough. I'm not valedictorian."

"Oh, seventh in a class of fifteen hundred," Stace snorted. "Well enough."

"You'll have your diploma, no cop will see you and think you're playing hooky," Lopez continued in a reasonable tone. "You can get job and go to work like the rest of the world. Couple openings in the warehouse. I hear you've already got an ID. You'll have time to do more than just the defense." He looked at his second. "She'll play her part, Nash. Will that make everybody happy?"

Stace watched Beth, but Beth kept her face impassive. "Sure," she lied. "I'll be glad of the extra money. They would've kicked me out of the home last week. Aged out of it, but they like to encourage kids to finish school. I'll need to get my own place anyway."

Tony extended his good arm to shake, and Beth shook. Nash grunted and glared, but didn't argue. "Be good to have you full time, Shepard," Sam said. "Place is a little brighter when you're around. And if we get into another tussle with some turians, you can save all our asses again. I'll teach you to get shipments out the airport. We'll have you making runs by summer's end."

By summer's end, Beth thought, I will be so far gone you won't even know what system I'm in. She looked over at Nash. He was right, though not the way he thought. It wasn't that she didn't have the guts, but she wasn't a Red. She'd been careful for another reason, and now, it didn't matter that her secret was out of the bag, that they knew she could do more than she'd done for them. Because Nash was right, too, that she could kick all their asses by now. She didn't need them like she had as a child of twelve. The Reds didn't have anything on her. Nobody was going to hurt Lopez's girl, and Lukas was dead. There was no reason for her to stick around anymore. In a few weeks, she'd be gone.

A/N: I want to thank all of you for your support last week. I wrote this for fun, but sometimes it's good to hear other people are enjoying it. If you like Little Beth, stay tuned! This story will conclude on Saturday, but the next part, Soldier, will begin posting next week.

Always,

LMS