"Don't fucking move, cabrón!"Vega's voice rang out, echoing against the solid metal walls that surrounded them. Alenko lifted his hands slowly above his head, to show that he held no weapon, but his face was twisted into a wild snarl of rage, his eyes darting around in search of his attacker. The turians at the door had surged into the room, their assault rifles raised as they looked around for the source. But the echoing of Vega's voice, combined with their excellent hiding spot made them incredibly difficult to spot. Vega jerked his head at Nora in the opposite direction. They moved apart, creeping towards the opposite sides of the window, their guns trained on Kaidan's torso.

"Show your face, cowards!" roared Kaidan to his invisible adversaries, his eyes flicking down to the laser dots that were trained right above his heart. Maybe if he could reach the pistol at his hip… He moved his arm an inch towards the gun.

A gunshot echoed sharply, and a bullet grazed Kaidan's ribs. He inhaled sharply through gritted teeth as a stinging pain sparked through him. Blood, hot and thick, trickled down his side, splotching red on the blue t-shirt he wore beneath his leather jacket. But he didn't dare move again. One laser dot swept upwards to his forehead, where it stayed, quivering. The other one was gone, and he wasn't sure where it was aimed now.

"The next one won't miss, fucker!" They were moving, Kaidan knew – the masculine voice was about a foot further to his left now. Did that branch just move, or was that the artificial breeze generated by the Citadel's life support systems?

Another gunshot rang out. The turian officer to Kaidan's right abruptly slumped backwards against Ashley's dresser, dark blue blood spurting from a deep wound in his neck. He gurgled wetly, blood dribbling across his mandibles and chin, and slid to the ground. He tried to say something, to call for backup, but the gunshot wound had severed his vocal chords. He clawed at his neck, twitched once, and fell motionless. The remaining C-Sec officer whirled in the direction of the shot, but it was impossible to tell where it came from. He moved slowly around Kaidan, and stepped in front of the laser dot on Kaidan's skull.

"No, don't –!"

But Kaidan's warning came too late. Another gunshot and the turian dropped to the floor heavily, dead before he touched the carpet.

Kaidan swore, teeth bared in a ferocious snarl. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to pinpoint their location. "You bastards!"

Vega and Shepard stepped out of the brush, once they determined that the coast was clear. Vega kept the stolen assault rifle trained on Kaidan's chest as he stalked forward, snatched the pistol from Kaidan's hip and tossed it out the broken window with the flick of his wrist. He grabbed a handful of Kaidan's hair and shoved him roughly to his knees, pressing the hot muzzle of Ashley's assault rifle to his temple. Kaidan gave a grunt of pain as Vega thrust his face into the carpet with the barrel of the gun that once belonged to his best friend. Kaidan's eyes locked onto the still, sheet-covered form of Ashley Williams, and his blood turned to ice in his veins.

Meanwhile, Shepard was searching around near the windowsill, outside in the mud, in the window-well itself, for the packet of red sand, frantic. Her hands skimmed over the sill, carefully skirting the broken glass. She whirled to look at Vega, panic-stricken. "The red sand isn't here!"

Vega looked up from Kaidan, startled. "What? Where the hell is it?"

"I don't – " She cut herself off, comprehension dawning on her, her mouth opening wide. "That old skank that caught us leaving! She must've taken it before C-Sec got here!"

"Shit!"

Vega had turned slightly towards her, distracted, and that was all the opportunity Kaidan needed. His hand shot out, lightning quick, and he seized the muzzle of the assault rifle pressed to his temple. In the blink of an eye, Alenko twisted the gun out of Vega's grip, a corona of blue flaring into life and surrounding him with protective biotic flames. Vega stumbled back, momentarily caught off-guard by the sudden movement. Shit, of course he would be a biotic. Kaidan surged to his feet, blue rippling around him, and raised the reclaimed rifle. He pressed the muzzle against Vega's huge chest. A heartbeat of silence passed, Vega standing between the Spectre and Nora, the end of the gun pressed against his sternum. It seemed, for a second, as if he was going to come quietly. Perhaps to protect the girl? But then something flashed in Vega's dark eyes, and his hand lashed out to push the muzzle from his chest, to fight back.

But he wasn't fast enough. Kaidan squeezed the trigger. Nora screamed.

Vega stumbled back. A wet, choked cough escaped him. A trickle of blood dribbled from his lips. He sank slowly to his knees, a huge red splotch blossoming across his chest. Nora took a step forward to help him, but Kaidan had aimed the gun at her next, halting her immediately. Tears burst in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks as Vega fell backward onto the carpet beside Ashley's body, his arms limp at his side. He didn't stir afterward, but he was alive, his chest rising and falling irregularly, his breathing labored. He gave another spluttering cough, drawing a pained, ragged gasp, choking on his own blood. Nora looked at Kaidan helplessly, pleadingly, desperate, but the Spectre's eyes were hard and unforgiving. The gun's muzzle barely trembled in his steady grasp.

"Don't move."

"Please!" she cried, hysterical, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please let me help him, and I'll go with you! You can do whatever you want to me, just please, please! He's dying!"

Kaidan's eyes flicked down to the wounded man at his feet, his biotic barrier flickering out of existence. The red splotch across Vega's chest was widening, his face growing pale and his eyes becoming glassy. He struggled to draw breath. Kaidan hesitated, indecision clawing at his insides. What would Ashley have done? She had always been a no-nonsense kind of Spectre, but he knew better than most that she wouldn't have allowed someone to bleed out while their loved ones watched on helplessly, criminal or no. He maintained a white-knuckled hold on the grip of Ashley's assault rifle, still pointed at Nora, freeing a hand to rummage through his pockets. He produced two large tubes of medi-gel.

"Toss your pistol over here."

Nora's pistol skittered across the floor past Vega's head without hesitation. Kaidan caught it with the toe of his boot. Gun still aimed at Nora's chest, he tossed the tubes of medi-gel onto the floor by Vega's body.

"Make it quick."

Nora lunged forward, collapsing onto her knees by Vega's head. She lifted it gingerly, pillowing it in her lap. Kaidan saw a weak smile on the man's bloodied lips. He coughed again, and the smile was gone, replaced by a grimace. She snatched up the tubes of medi-gel and began unscrewing the caps with trembling fingers. She was whispering soothing words to Vega that Kaidan didn't quite catch as she ripped his tank top off and used it to mop up as much of his blood as she could. She barely even bat an eyelash at the ragged wound in his chest. Kaidan suspected it wasn't the first time she'd seen a wound like that. He noticed it wasn't just her fingers that trembled as she smoothed medi-gel over Vega's wound. Her entire body was quivering, but there was a determination in her eyes as the medi-gel dried, encasing his injured flesh in a solid, sturdy shell.

She leaned down, touched her forehead to his, and tenderly wiped the blood from his chin and lips with his shredded tank top. Kaidan suddenly felt like he shouldn't be watching this. It was too intimate for an audience, but he didn't dare take his eyes from her. Vega gave another cough, but no blood flecked his lips this time. He managed to lift a hand to touch her face, to wipe her tears away with his knuckles. He called her Lola. That made her smile, despite the tears.

He could move, at least. That was good enough for Kaidan. He stalked forward and grabbed Nora by the upper arm. He wrenched her roughly to her feet, twisting her arm painfully behind her back to gain control of her. Vega's head slipped off her lap and hit the carpet, and he struggled to sit up as Kaidan practically dragged her away. The Spectre knew he was too weak to follow them. He'd call for back up as soon as he got the girl alone.

"Wait! Wait, no!"

He yanked her, brutal and vicious, from the room, ignoring her struggles, her desperate attempts to get back to the wounded man on the carpet. She was strong, lithe and nimble, but Kaidan was stronger, and his strength won out in the end. He pushed her in front of him, forcefully guiding her down the hallway outside apartment 212. His omni-tool flared to life, and he placed a call to C-Sec while she thrashed in his strong grip, frantic to get back to Vega.

"We need back-up and an ambulance at Ashley Williams' home. Bring cuffs, we've got a suspect injured and in critical condition. I have the other suspect in custody. I'll be doing my own interrogation." It was impossible to miss the implication in Kaidan's voice. But Spectres operated outside of C-Sec authority, so there was literally nothing anyone on the Citadel could do about it, except for the Council.

Kaidan directed his attention to the flailing, hysterical woman in his grip as the omni-tool mitt disappeared. He grabbed her other wrist, twisted it behind her and slapped a pair of omni-cuffs on her. Her struggling had ceased at this point, replaced with defeated quivering, her body occasionally wracked with sobs. He spun her around and pressed her against the wall, to begin the interrogation. He wanted this over with, so he could get on with his life. So he could properly mourn his friend. There were fresh tear tracks on her cheeks. She stared at him with red, tired eyes, her gaze listless. A choked sob escaped her, and she surged forward to get in his face, suddenly fierce. He didn't flinch away, but kept a hand pressed to her shoulder to maintain a safe distance.

"You didn't let me say goodbye! I'll never see him again!" And then she sagged against the wall heavily, energy rapidly leaching from her, murmuring how she didn't get to say goodbye between broken, hiccupping sobs.

Kaidan instantly felt shame, white-hot and nauseating, crawl into the pit of his stomach. He'd let his rage and grief get the better of him. He knew if Ashley had been there, she'd probably punch him. He'd manhandled a grieving, sand-blasted woman, and he had almost forced someone to watch their lover bleed to death. He shifted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, before reaching behind her, seizing the omni-cuffs and steering her towards the C-Sec cruiser parked outside the building. He was much gentler this time, and she came along without struggling. She was dragging her feet a little, more out of grief and sudden exhaustion than a desire to escape.

He put a hand on the back of her head and guided her into the backseat of the cruiser. She sat down heavily, and slumped over to lie horizontal, curling into a ball as best as she could with hands behind her back. Kaidan slid into the front seat of the cruiser, placed Ashley's assault rifle in the seat beside him and glanced back at her with a frown. At least she had managed to quiet her sobs, so that tears flowed freely but silently from her eyes. She didn't speak, didn't move, save for an occasional hiccup. Her eyes were closed. Kaidan blew out a sigh and started up the cruiser. It was going to be a joy to explain this to Bailey.

As the car lifted into the air, more C-Sec officers arrived to secure the scene. They quickly dispersed the crowd outside the door of Ashley's apartment. But when they entered the apartment to secure the suspect that Kaidan had warned them about, they found only a Spectre's corpse and a warm, fresh patch of blood on the carpet. The officers looked around, scratching their heads, but they found no trace of the mysterious second suspect.

But he was watching. Vega, still woozy from blood loss, crouched in the thick bushes behind Williams' apartment building. He had moved several apartments down from the crime scene, near the corner of the building, and watched the blue and white cruiser soar silently towards C-Sec headquarters. He'd managed to rescue his Crusader before escaping the apartment, and it was clutched tightly in his fist.

"Don't you worry, Lola. I'm comin'."