A/N: READER BE AWARE! As I'm sure I've mentioned before, the contents of this story may not be pleasant, at all. It is intended for mature audience only! You have been warned.

CHAPTER 1: Initial Shock

"There it is. Blood Diamond. You sure about this?" Liara quietly asked.

"There is no turning back now." Thane answered. They were here, after all. Under the cover of the night, they had gotten fairly close to the club. The entrance was blocked by three burly looking guards in heavy armor and equipped with illegal weapons. Nothing he couldn't handle if he wasn't handicapped. Unfortunately, his condition kept him from taking risks.

"We need to find another way in." he suggested as another guard joined them, armed just as heavily.

"What? You don't trust me?" Liara replied in mock offense.

"Not you. Them."

"This is the only entrance."

"No, it isn't. They are criminals and criminals always have another way out."

"What's your plan, then?"

He didn't have one. Not this time. In the past, his work often involved infiltration and information gathering for a successful assassination. He also understood that this time was no different, minus a paid contract. But not knowing was part of the deal.

"Thane?" Liara prompted. "You're doing it again." Thane blinked momentarily and shook his head. He was getting into habit of answering questions in his mind, forgetting to voice them.

"We need more information." he said after a pause. "Tell me everything you know about this place. We're going back to the ship."

"But all the information we need, they may have inside. This may be our only chance."

Thane sighed. He knew Liara was right. He, once again, was not thinking clearly. Something of a regular occurrence as of late. The oppressing emptiness inside was getting the better of him and he shouldn't allow that.

"You are right." he conceded and was about to leave their hiding place when shouts rang through the night. Both him and Liara peeked over the edge of the rock to see what was causing the commotion. A guard was dragging out a barely dressed female asari out by her neck.

"You fucking bitch! I'll teach you to steal!" The back of the guard's hand connected with the asari's face, sending her flying into the coarse sand and dirt. Her cries and apologies echoed in the mountains. "You think you can get away with this, you whore?"

"Please! I didn't do it! I swear!" the asari pleaded, cowering on the ground as the guard pulled out a pistol. Next to him, Thane felt Liara tens up, her expression matching the outrage he felt. Holding her back, it was all he could do to keep himself in check. In his profession, he had come across many similar thugs, needlessly violent and overly confident. Most times, he ended their lives quickly. But he never witnessed someone so cruelly beating up on an innocent and helpless victim. A deep laughter filled the thick air as the guard forced the asari to strip all the way and make her run for her life.

The cruelty was appalling and unable to watch it progress, Thane crouched down behind the rock, pulling Liara down with him, as a shot rang through the night, followed by more laughter. He clenched his jaw, trying to control himself. In the distance, the killed yelled for the guards to go clean up the body and after several minutes of grunting and complaining, the night returned to silence as if nothing ever happened. Except the shot still rang in Thane's ears, the asari's face still fresh in his mind. The helplessness in her eyes, the dead soul behind them.

"I'm going in." he quietly stated. If he was right, which most often he was, slavers were involved in this business and from his personal experience, they often carried vital information on them.