"I know I've said this before, but I feel it bears repeating – I don't like this."

Kaidan and Nora had arranged to meet the merc boss on what had been called 'neutral territory', but as they descended further into the Lower Wards, an uneasy feeling had crept into the pit of his stomach. They were passing fewer C-Sec outposts and more shady-looking mercs, all bearing the same crest on their armors – A crudely painted silhouette of a varren in silver paint. She had allowed him to bring a side arm, and his pistol was underneath his leather jacket in a holster. And if push came to shove, he had his biotics, so he supposed he should relax a little.

She reached out and patted his wrist, to mollify him somewhat. "Don't worry, Kaidan. I'll protect you."

"Very reassuring," he grumbled dryly.

She turned to face him, walking backwards down the long corridor.

"What makes you think we're going to get into trouble?"

The side of his mouth quirked up into a half smile. "Well, for starters, I'm here with you."

She gasped in mock offense, and put a hand over her heart. She pulled an exaggerated hurt face. "Why, Kaidan, you wound me. You think I can't protect you?"

He chuckled. "Is that what I said? All I said was that you attract trouble. Am I wrong?" Suddenly he lunged forward, panicked, and coiled an arm tightly around her waist, pulling her away from the precipice of a flight of stairs. She gasped and glanced over her shoulder. If it hadn't been for Kaidan's quick reflexes, she'd probably have a very broken neck right now.

"See what I mean? Trouble magnet." He tried to keep his tone light, but instead his voice sounded strained with worry. He grimaced.

She looked up at him and her arms came around his neck. He felt the familiar blush creep up his neck. "You are going to be the death of me," he said quietly, and a strange feeling squirmed in her belly at the huskiness of his voice, at the implication of his words. His eyes were so intense she felt she might melt underneath his scrutiny.

He straightened, placed her back on her feet and released her. "Let's get this over with," he muttered and descended the stairs. After a moment of appreciative staring at his receding backside, she followed.

They walked along the dimly-lit corridor until they came to a door with two krogan guards posted on either side. Both of them bore the crest of the Silver Varren, and both were carrying large Claymore shotguns. Kaidan approached warily, his hand slipping into his jacket to palm to handle of his pistol. Nora put her hand against his wrist with a tiny shake of her head. We're going to die, Kaidan thought bitterly, but dropped his hand.

"We're here to see your boss," said Nora matter-of-factly, and the krogan to the left leered down at her with a growl.

"What for?"

"We have business, and it's none of yours."

The krogans exchanged glances, a few grumbled words and then one of them raised a hand to the side of his head to press against his earpiece. It appeared the boss had overheard what was going on. The krogan grumbled again and then the door between them whooshed open.

Nora entered the room, and Kaidan went to follow, but one of the guards pushed him back with one large hand.

"Not you," growled the krogan, his hand on Kaidan's shoulder, and Kaidan's eyes went wide.

"Why is my associate not being let in?" demanded Nora, turning around and folding her arms over her chest.

"Boss's orders," replied the krogan evasively. Kaidan scowled, and tried to push past, but the krogans were too strong. He stumbled back and looked at Nora helplessly. If she was panicking, she hid it well. He certainly didn't feel as calm as she looked.

"I'll be okay, Kaidan, I promise." There was no levity to her voice now. Kaidan nodded hesitantly, and the door closed with another sharp whoosh. He was left alone with the two guards and a sinking feeling deep in his gut.

Did he mention that he didn't like this?

Nora turned away from the door and strode forward to meet this merc boss. She came to a table surrounded by krogans, batarians, and a vorcha or two. All around the medium-sized room were other mercenaries, of varying races. Seated at the head of a table was definitely not what she expected to see.

A human woman, petite in height but muscled well, covered in tattoos from the waist up, was leaning over Citadel schematics, working on a plan for her mercenaries. She was wearing trousers tucked into knee-length boots, and white gauzy bandages wrapped around her waist and over her shoulders to cover her breasts. She had a jacket, black leather and rounded metal studs, cropped short just below her ribcage. Her hair grew in a single stripe along the top of her head, secured at the back of her skull in a ponytail.

The woman looked up as Nora approached, and dismissed her mercenaries with a wave of her hand. Nora took note of the LOKI mechs that lined the far wall. At least half of them were actively holding weapons, but they seemed to be powered off for now. She briefly wondered how easily they could be activated.

"Well, well. You're here for information on Sovereign?" The tattooed merc boss was striding around the table to stand before Nora, arms folded over her breast.

"Yeah. And there's a decent price on the intel, if it's good."

Nora now wished she had been as paranoid as Kaidan and brought a weapon. She didn't like the looks this woman was giving her. Like Nora was a meal, and she hadn't eaten in weeks. Nora eyed a shotgun someone had left behind the table, several feet away at the far side. She deliberated for a moment, considering the distance between her and the weapon. She might be able to reach it, if she was quick.

The other woman was circling her now, gaze roaming lazily across Nora's form. Nora stood, as passive as a statue. She was used to being stared at like this.

"Oh yeah, it's good." Nora caught a glimpse of the tattooed woman gesturing crudely behind her back to some of the mercs crowded around the room. A dark chuckle rippled through the throngs of mercs. Nora was painfully aware at how outnumbered she was, but her cool mask did not falter. "But, uh… you won't be getting it, sweetheart."

In an instant, the tattooed woman had produced a submachine gun and had it pointed at Nora's head.

"Sorry, babe. You're real cute, but Harbinger gave orders. You been asking too many questions, and you went and got a fucking Spectre involved. He'll fetch a good price, though." She smiled an unkind smile, and her free hand lashed out to grab Nora by the neck. But Nora was quicker. She ducked under the arm and lunged for the shotgun, sliding across the table.

"FUCK! Open fire!" snarled the tattooed woman to her mercs, but Nora had the shotgun in her hands now and raised it level with the tattooed woman's stomach. The mercs had all raised their rifles, but none fired, waiting. The tattooed woman scowled furiously at Nora. She lowered her submachine gun down to her side, but Nora saw her white-knuckled grip on the gun and didn't move hers.

"I'll take that intel now."

"Fuck that!"

And the tattooed woman lifted her gun, pointed it at Nora's chest, but Nora got there first. Two gunshots rang out in the room. The tattooed woman crumpled to the ground, lifeless, and the mercs standing around faltered. A few lowered their weapons and glanced at each other, uncertain. Nora held the shotgun in one hand and strode around the table to crouch by the dead woman. She found a data drive in the breast pocket of the leather jacket and slipped it into her own sweatshirt pocket. None of the mercs tried to stop her as she walked towards the door.

It opened with a whoosh.

Kaidan stood there, blue biotic flames licking his body, one krogan guard lying unconscious on the floor and the other held in a pulsating stasis field. He had one hand held out to maintain the field, but let it drop when Nora appeared. The krogan collapsed heavily to the floor and didn't move again. She didn't care if he was dead or just unconscious.

"I was just about to – Shit, you're bleeding!"

Nora looked down at her arm. There was a bullet hole in her bicep, and thick blood was dripping down the length of her arm. She seemed entirely surprised by this. She reached up to poke gingerly at the ragged hole with her index finger. It didn't even hurt. How on earth did bullets kill people? She felt fine.

"Wow, look at that. Ha, she was a terrible shot."

"Don't touch it," Kaidan said roughly, and pulled her closer to inspect the wound. He bent his head a little to wipe away the blood ineffectively with the sleeve of his leather jacket. She smiled as his arm came around her waist to steady her against his chest.

"Well, if this is the reward for getting shot, I might just put myself into the line of fire more often."

Kaidan looked up, his jaw taut. There was no smile on his lips. Hers faltered a little underneath his intense stare. He felt as if he'd aged 10 years in the span of 10 minutes. He went back to inspecting her wound. It appeared that it was a through-and-through shot. At least, he couldn't find any evidence of a bullet still inside the wound.

"Or not…"

"Don't do that again, please."

"I wasn't really given much of a choice, you know."

"We could have walked away. Is revenge really worth dying for?"

"Yes."

There was zero hesitation. He looked back up at her sharply, eyebrows pinched together in a scowl. She didn't meet his gaze, instead looking over his shoulder at the wall behind him. Her hands trembled slightly at her sides, and he knew it had nothing to do with red sand.

"You don't know what he's taken from me. Nathan was just the… final straw, really."

Kaidan was silent for a moment as he stared at her. He didn't know if it was his place to ask. He didn't know if he even wanted to know. Some things really were better left unsaid. And she probably wouldn't have answered his questions, anyway. He learned quickly that she preferred to keep herself to herself. He busied himself with searching his pockets for medi-gel. He swore when he couldn't find any.

"Shit, I left the medi-gel back at my house. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged and looked down at the wound. The blood had begun to dry just a little, but it still oozed unpleasantly. A long red dribble lined her bicep and dripped from her elbow onto the filthy ground. She grabbed the short sleeve of her t-shirt and rolled it up, exposing her shoulder. She moved her arm a little, to test it.

"I don't even feel it."

This was what worried Kaidan. He frowned and pressed his thumb into the wound, hard. At least at this, she hissed in pain and jerked back. So the nerves weren't totally dead, just numbed by – His eyebrows shot up. She wouldn't. He had thought she had been making progress – her withdrawal attacks had been showing up less and less the past few days and now he knew why.

Her expression grew wary as she watched him piece it together. She looked away guiltily when he glared down at her.

"How did you get it?"

She fidgeted, refusing to make eye contact. He grasped her chin firmly with his thumb and forefinger and forced her to look up at him. He felt like he was reprimanding a child. The lost, helpless look in her eyes did nothing to alleviate that.

"Nora."

"…Vega brought it for me."

Kaidan broke away from her to stalk the corridor angrily, his hands on his hips. She looked down at her hands as he paced. He couldn't find the words to say, to tell her what a punch to the gut this was. In the end, he opted for a disappointed silence, and stared at her for a long minute.

"Let's get the hell out of here, before the mercs change their mind about letting us go." And he strode away, back down the passage in the direction they came. He didn't even glance back to see if she was following and it stung more than she had expected it to.

He didn't speak to her the whole car ride back to his house. They sat in a stony silence, each gazing away from one another, until the car glided to a stop. He didn't get out immediately, and she didn't move, either. It was several seconds before Kaidan could give voice to his thoughts. He spoke quietly, choosing every word very carefully.

"You're better than this, Nora. You deserve better than Vega. You deserve –" He cut himself off and stared angrily at the steering wheel. Nora's eyes were fixated on her knuckles. The silence dragged on between them, and Kaidan suddenly felt suffocated by the confines of the car.

"We've got another lead to chase. Come on." He opened his door and slid out of the seat. This time, though, he waited for her. She opened her door and slowly got out of the car. As she moved in front of him, he grabbed her gently by the wrist. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him with those sad, mossy eyes.

"Hey. No more, please." There was that worried strain to his voice, the furrowed knot between his brows. It felt strange, to have someone care for her like this. She supposed Vega cared, in his own way, but despite his aversion to red sand, he had been the one to push it into her palms when he snuck into her window last night. Vega had been the one to convince her to use, after she had said she was trying to quit.

"I... I'll try," she said softly, and that seemed good enough for Kaidan, for now. The worry lines in his face smoothed and he seemed to breathe a little easier. He nodded and released her hand.

As she ascended the stairs behind him, she knew in her heart that she was a liar. She had no intention of stopping, had no intention of ever stopping. He just didn't understand, and she wished she could explain. But there were no words. She knew that Vega was coming over later that night, in fact, and she knew that he'd be carrying another bag of red sand in his pocket when he climbed into the window.

"I did get some info," she offered, her voice very small as they stepped through the front door. "Might help us get to Sovereign."

Kaidan glanced at her as he shut the door and removed his leather jacket. "Maybe. Let's get that bullet wound patched up first." He turned and fished the medical kit out from the hall closet again. He'd definitely need to stock up on medi-gel with her around. She lowered herself onto a dining room chair, kicking off her shoes and drawing her legs up to her chin. Kaidan knelt beside her and began cleaning her wound.

"So, let's discuss how I was completely right and how you are the biggest trouble magnet I've ever met,"Kaidan said gruffly and she laughed. He determined in that instant that he would make it his sole mission in life to hear that sound come from her as much as he could.

"Maybe it's not me that's attracting all the trouble."

"Oh no, don't you go blaming this on me. I never had so many near-death experiences in a week until you came barreling into my life."

"Well, then, you should be thanking me! See how exciting I've made your life?"

Kaidan made a derisive noise in the back of his throat and glowered up at her. His heart leapt at her playful smile. He smoothed medi-gel over her wound and applied a gauze bandage to it with some medical tape. "All done."

She flexed her arm experimentally and beamed down at him. "What would I do without my trusty medic?" She reached out and ran her hand through his hair, scraping her blunt fingernails lightly against his scalp. He felt his biotics spark and pop at her touch and she jumped a little, but didn't pull away. His pulse skyrocketed. He cleared his throat and reluctantly pulled away.

"You'd have fallen down those stairs and broken your neck," he replied, as playfully as he could muster. She laughed again, and he couldn't help but smile broadly. He replaced the medical kit in the closet and returned to the living room.

"Alright, let's have a look at this info," he said, rubbing his palms together eagerly. She produced the data disk from her pocket and moved to the vidscreen. She inserted the disk and joined him on the couch, drawing her knees to her chest as he scrolled through the archives on the disk. A lot of it was just meaningless, schematics of the Citadel, a few casualty lists –

"Wait. Go back to that last one."

He did so with a swipe of his omni-tool, and leaned forward to get a closer look. "Hmm, shipping routes, a list of different ports and docking bays?" He scratched thoughtfully at his chin and looked at her. "What is he shipping? The red sand?"

"Gotta be. When's the latest recorded shipment?"

Kaidan flicked his wrist to scroll through the list to find the most recent entry. "Looks like… two days ago, to a docking bay in the Lower Wards, E75."

"Think we'll find anything if we go there?"

"Only one way to find out. But maybe we should go see this stripper of yours first."

"Exotic dancer."

He rolled his eyes and ejected the data disk. "Whatever." He stood and snatched it from the vidscreen, and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. Best to keep this sort of information close at hand. Might be a decent bargaining chip.

"Do we have to go now?" she whined, falling over dramatically on the couch, throwing her arms over her face. "I'm tired. I got shot at today."

"Technically, I think you were shot, not just shot at. Come on, better to get it out of the way now."

She groaned and moved her arm to scowl at him. "You just want to go stare at tits."

He sputtered indignantly. "What?"

She got to her feet and pulled on her shoes, grumbling. "Try to keep your tongue in your mouth while we're there, alright?" she teased and gave his chest a playful push as she walked past and back out the door. Kaidan gawped after her, completely flabbergasted, before yanking his jacket off the hook and following.