And It All Seemed Harmless Chapter 8

Jack is not surprised when Miranda steps in front of her. The operative's heels had clicked the entire way down the stairs, Jack's least favorite sound on the entire Normandy. The biotic doesn't acknowledge Miranda even when she clears her throat and cocks one hip as she does when annoyed with her crew members, especially when annoyed with a certain tattooed member. Instead, the lanky woman on the bulkhead continues to tamper with her omni tool regardless of the new presence, making a point to avoid eye contact.

"Jack..." Miranda starts, irritation evident in her voice. She doesn't come down often, in fact she would prefer to never come down. Jack should know whatever it was, it was important enough for Miranda to make the trip the operative avoided at all costs in her daily activity. When Jack doesn't respond, Miranda theatrically rolls her eyes and continues.

"I'm not here for you. I'm here for Shepard. Jack. Do you know where she is?"

Jack types for several more seconds, then sits up, slinging her legs over the side of the crate pile she was currently using as a recliner. "Of course you're looking for dear old Commander, knew I saw some disappointment in your eyes when you saw me. And not the usual kind. Did you come down because you couldn't see if Shep was down here on your camera?" Jack sneers, tilting her head towards a dimly lit mangled pile of metal Jack had unceremoniously assembled in the corner of the room.

Miranda bristles, rage flowing through her body before she takes a second to composure herself, the security precautions were not important right now. She would deal with Jack later. When the Commander was onboard again.

"Jack, it's important. You have no earthly idea where Shepard could be?"

Jack glares at her, clearly dismayed by the operative's lack of reaction to her broken toy in the corner. In a smooth move, Jack once again reclines on her crates, looking away from Miranda to the one of the dim red lights on the ceiling. Though Miranda was positive Jack appreciated the unusual lighting because she was under the impression it added to her intimidation, the operative could not disagree more. The warm light made Jack's face look softer, younger even. Though the red tint did appear to discolor her tattoos minorly, the soft color seemed to make them all blend a bit more, different shades of red on a small, sarcastic canvas, that had tensed from the moment Miranda had entered the room.

"Cheerleader. Shepard is a grown ass woman. Why the fuck does it matter if you don't know where she is at every second of every fucking day?"

Miranda stills at Jack's words, and for half a second Jack feels bad for clearly shaking the uncharacteristically concerned woman, though that half a second passes quickly, as does Miranda's hesitation.

"You know what. This does not concern you Jack." Miranda spits, saying Jack's name as if the taste of the very word disgusted her.

"If you don't know where Shepard is I'm leaving." Miranda huffs, spinning on her heel to head towards the staircase, her heels clacking twice before Jack speaks softly.

"Wait."

Miranda halts, rearing on Jack quickly with a rage so intense the biotic sits up on her crates, as if a defensive position could be necessary.

"Don't you DARE pretend you care criminal."

Jack doesn't respond to Miranda's comment, instead she turns her attention to the floor, her dark eyes blank though she shifted her hands nervously, clearly uncomfortable with her own concern for the situation.

"Is Shepard okay? She...didn't seem well..you know….Shepard was…. at the end of the mission."

Miranda stares at Jack in surprise, clearly having not expected the level of concern from the biotic. She crosses her arms, still unwilling to forgive the biotic for her initial apathy, and Jack sighs at the gesture.

"I...fuck I don't know, I'm worried I guess. If that's the feeling. She's been going through a lot since that blue bitch threw her away."

Miranda nods, understanding the reference to Dr. T'Soni. The information broker was currently on the same planet, but since the implode of her relationship with Shepard, the crew had visited the planet multiple times with no interaction with the asari. To Miranda's slightly guilt, Illium was probably be the last place Shepard wanted to be after a taxing mission.

"Have you used EDI to track her omni tool? She may have some vitals info too, if you want to see if she's okay." Jack offers and Miranda nods, her cheeks reddening slightly as she chastises herself mentally for not using EDI in the first place. If Jack notices Miranda's embarrassment at not remembering that resource, she strangely does not comment, and leaps to her feet, her small frame making a light noise as she does.

"C'mon." Jack says with a cool voice, though Miranda can tell by the biotic's slight urgency that she is worried. "Can you get that information on your omni from here? Or in your office?"

"In my office, I didn't want y….. the entire crew to have access to all of EDI's information." Miranda says, cringing at her near slip of tongue. She is not lucky enough for Jack to have not caught the implications, and the biotic crosses her arms, her eyes filling with fire the concern had edged out.

"All right Cerberus. We go there then. Not the entire crew, just you and me." Jack says with a cruel smirk, daring Miranda to admit the reason she had locked down EDI's programming for the crew was because of her distrust of the criminal.

Miranda meets the criminal's eyes, considering the challenge, and relents. She did not have time to battle Jack in the bulkhead with the Commander possibly in danger.

"Do you really want to help me with this Jack?"

"Damn straight Cheerleader. And don't for a second think this is a favor to make sure the Illusive Man doesn't fuck your test tube manufactured ass when you lose his investment. This is for Shepard."