The Captive

Disclaimer: Bioware owns all.

Chapter 3: Murder

"The Alliance will be looking for me, it's in your best interest to-"

Nihlus cut her off, "Actually, we've found reports of Commander Shepard dying in a tragic thresher maw attack. They are none the wiser."

Shepard felt the color drain from her face. She didn't like this one bit. They were holding all the cards- they could do whatever they wanted to her and never suffer any retaliation. She started weakly, "What do you want from me?"

"Just some records from the Alliance-"

"No. They may think I'm dead, but I'm not helping any of you dinosaurs." She spat angrily. Shepard looked away as his talons clicked the table, bored. Her arms strained against the cuffs and the chair. Ever since her little outburst, they've made it nearly impossible for her to pull it again. Nearly.

She was Commander Shepard after all. If they didn't kill her beforehand, she would find a way to escape. Nihlus tilted his head,

"Garrus is protecting you for now. But if Saren gets here, you better have some answers. A lot of his subjects never come out of interrogation if they don't give him what he wants."

She snarled, "Take me out of these restraints and your little Saren will wish he never came in here."

The Turian's mandibles twitched into some semblance of a smile. Shepard growled, "You said Garrus is protecting me?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. I may be a Spectre, but Garrus is one hell of a force to go against."

She nearly smiled. "Yeah. He is."

"What was the Alliance doing on that planet?"

Shepard shrugged as she mulled over the answers. Whether, they were dangerous to reveal or not. It really wasn't classified material. "We were examining the vegetation. You have to understand, this is humanity's first time outside of our planet. There's a huge Galaxy out there to explore, we want to understand it."

"How do you feel about Turian's, Commander?"

Shepard laughed, "I'm not fueling your ego's."

Nihlus chuckled softly, "That's interesting that the leader of humanity, the poster child, is not a xenophobe."

"I'm not their leader. I'm just part of a few. If I had it my way, I would have given anything to live amongst Turian's and learn your language and the way you're raised. You have a fascinating race, Nihlus. Too bad we're in this conflict as enemies."

"We don't have to be enemies."

"When this Saren gets here, I'm sure I'll find that hard to believe."

Nihlus nodded his head, he looked to the side as his ear piece lit up. "Right. Yeah, let him in." He looked up. His green eyes connected with hers in understanding. He stood up to leave, Shepard hissed, "Let me out of these restraints, please. I need a fighting chance."

The Turian shook his head, "I can't do that. I'm sorry Commander. I'll be pleased to hear if you survive."

And with that he left. More chilling words could never be spoken. If you survive. Her body tensed as her heart began to race in panic. She jerked her arms against the arms of the chair, it gave a little hop. The door opened and she saw Saren and Garrus in a heated argument.

Garrus threw up his arms in exasperation. Saren shook his head and pushed him away before walking into the room. The last look she got to the outside was Garrus standing with his arms crossed angrily, staring at her.

Shepard swallowed slowly as Saren walked around her silently. He was huge. Taller than Garrus and Nihlus and any other Turian she had ever seen. The Turian's seemed relatively lean and muscular. This Turian, however was a tank all over. He stood behind her, "I'm a Spectre-"

"You might as well kill me now, I'm not saying anything."

His talons gripped her skull and slammed her face into the table. She felt the trickle of blood and the familiar crack of a breaking bone. She groaned as he held her face to the table, she sputtered in the pool of blood that was forming around her face.

The metallic taste filled her mouth, she tried spitting it out. This asshole was going to drown her in her own blood.

"I will be the one talking. Don't speak unless I've-"

"Fuck you, Mr. Spectre." She spoke snidely. A smirk crossed her face as he growled in irritation. He grabbed her by the hair and wrenched her head back. She repressed the groan of pain that threatened her.

She wouldn't give this Turian any satisfaction.

"You have someone of ours-"

Shepard was confused. They didn't have anyone, she would have been the first to know if they had captured a live hostage. "We don't have anyone."

"Don't lie to me you disgusting meat sack."

She couldn't help it, she laughed. "Meat sack?"

One of Saren's powerful arms swept around. Her head was knocked to the side from the force behind the swing. She felt that familiar metallic taste filling in her mouth again, she glared at the Turian beside her.

He was fuming. She loved it.

He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall. The chair fell to the floor with a heavy, resounding clap. Shepard struggled for air. The Turian growled, "Tell me where the Turian is-"

She spit and a spatter of red sprinkled his face. It was delightful the look of pure rage that crossed his facade. He threw her against the wall, she hit it with a dull thud and slid down. The world spun around her, but she made a stand as Saren turned his back on her.

At the sound of her shuffling, he looked at her. It all happened so quickly to Shepard. She hadn't even seen him draw the gun. After the bullet fired, she saw it, and she most definitely saw it when she felt her insides being torn apart by it's velocity.

She gave a weak whimper. Shepard looked down and saw the blood from her stomach. So much blood. How could her small body keep so much? She collapsed to her knees as she felt her body's strength dissolving with every drop of blood that exited the wound.

Saren slammed the door open and stormed out. Several Turian's were rushed in by Garrus and Nihlus. One applied medigel the other was removing the restraints. Garrus lifted her into his arms. She sputtered with a bloody grin, "I-I survived."

Nihlus chuckled weakly, "Yes, yes you did."

Shepard groaned in pain. Her stomach felt like it was on fire. Her eyes took in her surroundings. It was familiar but strange all at once.

It hadn't been a dream.

She was still on the Turian ship, and beside her was Garrus. His blue eyes stared at her intensely. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot." She muttered.

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "I don't understand why you just-"

"If you were being interrogated would you give up information?"

"No-"

She cut him off. "Then I rest my case."

Shepard turned her back to him. Garrus' eyes traveled from her smooth shoulders down to the curve of her waist and hips. She was truly a sight to behold. Not now, Vakarian. Focus.

She turned slightly to look at him, his eyes met hers. "We did find a dead Turian on that planet though."

The news shocked Garrus to his core. His eyes widened, "Why didn't you tell Saren?"

"I wasn't giving that bastard any satisfaction. Besides, I needed to tell you first. There was something interesting about the Turian we found."

Shepard struggled to sit up, her core screaming in pain. She felt Garrus' hands on her back, helping her. She looked at him steadily.

The Turian promptly withdrew his hands awkwardly. How adorable. Shepard gave him a small smile, "Thanks."

He visibly relaxed and nodded his head. "About the Turian?"

"Yeah. You're friend, he was murdered."

Garrus' eyes narrowed, "How do you know that?"

"Well, either that or he really enjoys his sex rough." Garrus cringed at the thought as his mind drifted to only a few days ago when Shepard had grasped his fringe. The feeling it shot through his body straight to his- Stop it Vakarian.

"There were ligatures on his wrists and feet from being tied up. His fringe was split and he had several cuts to his face. And all of that combined with being spaced, I'd say he was tortured heavily, possibly had been interrogated."

Realization dawned on the Turian. "That's why you didn't tell Saren." He paused before he turned to look at her again, "So, why tell me?"

"Because you are just about the only person on this ship that I trust with this information." She stared at him hard. Daring him to break her trust. Garrus dropped his head, mandibles twitching, "Well, Thank you for trusting me."

She grunted and looked away. Shepard would deny it, but she was beginning to really enjoy the Turian's company. The way he looked at her when he was thinking, his laugh. His voice- God that voice. Then there was his awkwardness, it had an air of charm and a sort of adorableness to it. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she in one of those situations where women began to care for their captors? No. Garrus wasn't her captor.

Besides, she had felt this way even before. When they were simply enemies. Fuck. She had a serious problem.

Garrus had to do something for her. She placed her trust in him. Nihlus would need to know. But before that, he needed to show her that he trusted her as well. Wasn't that how humans operated? Give a little something, to be given something back?

He wasn't sure, but he would anyway. Shepard had possibly given them a clue in this case that had been sitting idle for years. Murder? It was inconceivable.

What Shepard hadn't known was that this murdered Turian was a Spectre, and also Saren's younger brother.

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