The ride to Purgatory was longer than Kaidan remembered it. He glared out the windshield as he sped recklessly fast across the Presidium's skyways, his knuckles white from the ferocity of his grip on the steering wheel. With nothing to distract his mind, it fast forwarded, and Nora was lying on the floor in some back room of the club, motionless, bleeding, dying…

Kaidan pushed the accelerator down further, until it hit the floor of the car. The car raced across the Presidium, zipping past buildings and other cars. No. No, no, no.

The car glided to a halt in front of the club. There were several C-Sec officers milling around outside the doors in street clothes, and Kaidan could make out the bulge of concealed assault rifles and shotguns. He opened his door and got out with his Crusader in hand. He shoved the muzzle into the waistband of his jeans as he approached an officer who seemed to be giving orders.

"Situation?"

The officer nodded tersely at Kaidan. "We've got a few undercover officers inside, but –"

And then from somewhere inside, there was an explosion, followed by shouts, screams, and rapid gunfire. Kaidan felt ice drop into the pit of his stomach. The C-Sec officer he was speaking to moved forward but Kaidan stopped him with his arm.

"No, stay out here. I need you to cover the exit in case Sovereign tries to escape."

The officers exchanged glances, but Kaidan didn't have time to reassure them. He approached the door of the club cautiously as he dared, expecting a trap. It was locked, and his omni-tool's bypass module wasn't going to crack it in time. There were more screams coming from somewhere inside the club. The blue biotic aura instantly hummed into life around his body, whirling around his fingers. Several of the officers had taken cautious steps back, and one was already cowering behind a car. Kaidan glanced over his shoulder at the officers, his eyes glowing with the same ferocious blue.

"You might want to stand back."

Kaidan barely gave the officers a heartbeat to run before he withdrew a glowing fist and slammed it as hard as he could against the door with a shout. It shattered and exploded inward with a blaze of biotic energy. Kaidan's blue barrier flickered away. He drew a pistol from his holster and entered the club, the gun held tightly between his two fists.

Several civilians came barreling towards him to escape the explosions and gunfire. They ran past him and out the door to the waiting C-Sec officers. Kaidan stepped around them and into the club, his eyes darting around and looking for his target. The club was literally on fire, flames from the explosion licking the walls and spreading about the floors in little puddles of molten metal. Kaidan skirted these carefully and made his way towards the upper levels.

Then he heard something behind him and he whirled on his heel to see just who he was expecting. Vega was standing there, looking smug and vicious. There were fresh scratches along his cheek, dark red and jagged. He had stepped out from a dressing room door, but half of him was still obscured by the frame. Kaidan could see a pistol in his hand.

"You just got to make a big entrance, don't you, cabrón?"

"Where is Nora?" Kaidan's voice was deceptively calm, but his fingers trembled on the grip of his pistol.

"Oh, she's right here." And Vega stepped away from the door to reveal a battered and bruise Nora. Her hands were bound behind her back with duct tape, and there was a strip of it across her mouth. Dried tear tracks ran across her cheeks, and Kaidan could see fresh bruises purpling across her forearms. There was a knife cut along the inside of her bicep.

Kaidan's grip on the pistol tightened. He took a step a forward with a snarl, but Vega was faster, and he pressed the pistol muzzle against Nora's side. Kaidan saw her tired, red-rimmed eyes flick to the pistol and she struggled to pull away from the gun, but Vega held her fast. Her head sagged hopelessly against her chest.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Kaidan froze. "Drop it," commanded Vega, and Kaidan hesitated for a fraction of a second before releasing the pistol and letting it clatter to the ground. "And the other. I'll take that pretty little shotgun, too." Gritting his teeth, Kaidan relinquished his weapons and kicked them over to Vega.

"What a shame you decided to come here alone," said Vega lightly, as he kicked the pistols and shotgun off the edge of the club's platform. Kaidan's heart plummeted when he heard them hit the ground several hundred feet below.

"I'm not alone," replied Kaidan viciously. "There's about a dozen C-Sec agents out there and –"

Vega started to laugh, cutting Kaidan short.

"Oh, really? Did you see their badges, puta?"

Kaidan felt like someone had taken hold of his heart and squeezed. He stared blindly at the blasted door to the club. Of course. How could he have been so stupid? All of those men were agents of Harbinger. So he really was alone. Kaidan's eyes flicked back to Vega, who was still holding Nora by her duct taped wrists.

"So, Sovereign," Kaidan spat the title like it tasted foul on his tongue. "Pretty good plan, but you didn't count on one thing."

"And what's that?"

"Me." Kaidan's biotics burst into life around him and he surged forward, catching Vega off-guard and knocking the pistol from his grasp. Nora was thrown away from the pair as they grappled, and Kaidan knew he had the upper hand. He may be smaller and weaker physically than Vega, but biotics always gave someone the edge in a fist-fight.

However, Vega had been doing red sand for months now, and was evenly matched.

His hand lashed out and grabbed the front of Kaidan's shirt. He heaved Kaidan into the air and flung him across the platform with all his considerable strength. Kaidan hit the ground on his elbow and rolled with a grunt. His momentum propelled him backwards several feet, the air knocked from his lungs. He rolled onto his hands and knees and gasped for breath, one hand held to his ribs. And then he heard a shriek. He looked up sharply, his vision blurred.

Nora had managed to cut the duct tape with a jagged edge of glass she found on the floor, had ripped the strip from her mouth, and had attacked Vega upon freeing herself. She managed to get a good slash across his arm, but he was too fast. His large hand came around her throat tight enough to bruise, and he drew her face closer to his. The shard of glass slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor.

"I'm disappointed, Lola," he hissed. She clawed helplessly at the vice-like grip on her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I thought we had something special!" His grip tightened with a snarl and Nora gasped for breath, feebly pulling at his fingers in an attempt to loosen them. They only tightened more, crushing her windpipe and bruising her flesh.

A piece of rubble sailed through the air and smashed into the side of Vega's head. He stumbled, momentarily disoriented, but his grip on Nora's throat remained steady, even as blood dripped from the wound and down the side of his face. He turned to see what the hell had done that.

Kaidan was on his feet, if a bit unsteadily, another heavy chunk of rubble held in his glowing blue fist. His chest was heaving, still trying to recover from having the wind knocked from him. "Let her go," he croaked, and swallowed to soothe his burning throat. The chunk of rubble glowed blue and lifted from Kaidan's fist and hovered a few feet in front of him menacingly.

Vega's jaw twitched and an unpleasant smile blossomed across his face. "If you insist." He lifted Nora by her throat and flung her away. Though he put less force into this throw than he had done with Kaidan's, she still traveled a considerable distance before coming to a stop in a crumpled, motionless heap on the floor. Kaidan's heart turned to ice in his chest, and his gaze flicked back to Vega's. Blue smoke started billowing from Kaidan's eyes, but it wasn't blue he was seeing. It was red.

With a shout, Kaidan surged forward, determined to rip Vega from limb to limb and burn the pieces, but a voice and a stasis bubble stopped him in his tracks.

"Enough!"

A large male krogan, dressed in red armor to match the scarred crest on his head and the cruel eyes that took in the decimated club, was descended the staircase with two LOKI mechs on his flank. His hand was glowing blue – the stasis bubble had come from him. Kaidan took note of the pistol on his hip and the shotgun in a holster along his back. Four long, jagged scars ran vertically across the side of the old krogan's face, and his crest was peppered with bullet wound scars and scratches. Kaidan immediately recognized him from Nora's description.

The mercenary she had worked for was Harbinger.

The krogan approached Vega and promptly head-butted the large man with a snarl. Vega cried out and collapsed heavily onto the floor, holding a broken nose, blood streaming from between his fingers.

"You stupid pyjak!" snarled the krogan, giving him a swift kick to the ribs for good measure. Vega curled onto the ground with a spluttering cough. "What the hell were you thinking? I told you not to start this plan yet!"

Vega mumbled something thickly, unintelligible through the hot spurt of blood pouring from his nose. The krogan seemed to understand him, or he'd at least heard the argument before.

"Who the hell cares, Vega?! Because of this little stunt of yours, I've had to cancel shipments and push everything back for months! And who the hell is going to repair the club? You gonna grab a hammer and get to work?" He reached down and grabbed a handful of Vega's short hair and yanked his head upwards.

"I oughta snap your neck, if I didn't think you were still useful," snarled Harbinger, and Vega sputtered an incoherent protest, before the krogan released his head and turned to Kaidan.

"Why?" Kaidan snarled as the krogan strode past, and the sharpness of his voice took Harbinger by surprise. The krogan stopped in his tracks and stared at him, before smiling viciously.

"Why?" he repeated with a laugh, his deep baritone voice filling the empty club. "For 30 million credits a crate, that's why! Oh, were you asking about something specific?" He chuckled and followed Kaidan's gaze to Nora's motionless form on the floor several feel away.

"Oh, her? Well, she was my top agent for a long time. No one could sling sand like Shepard." He was pacing before Kaidan now, still suspending him in the stasis bubble. Kaidan grit his teeth and willed his limbs to work, to fight against the imprisonment. His fingers flexed an imperceptible amount and he glanced at Harbinger.

Harbinger didn't seem to notice and was continuing. "But then she and her idiot brother decided to turn on me. They stole several thousand credits' worth of merchandise to start their own empire. They went to the Spectre and made up some crap about wanting to escape me." He chuckled darkly.

Kaidan had managed to move his fingers more. He watched the krogan as if entirely absorbed in his information, but he was trying to force his biotics to life. They sputtered feebly and Kaidan froze, testing to see if Harbinger had noticed.

The old krogan had his back to Kaidan now, looking over the destroyed club.

"So of course I had to kill her brother… And then that stupid Spectre got herself wrapped up in the sand and she was going to tell everyone, so she had to be dispatched… And this was all just crowd-control, I swear," he said with another chuckle.

"My only mistake was hiring that idiot," muttered Harbinger, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Vega, who had managed to stand at last and was pinching the bridge of his nose to stem the flow of blood. It wasn't doing much to help. His t-shirt was splattered with blood and his eye was already swelling shut. He spit blood onto the floor and gestured fiercely at Kaidan.

"This cabrón was fucking her! She was mine, you said she –" shouted Vega, and Harbinger rounded on him and cut across him, his voice thundering around the room.

"I told you to be patient, Vega! If you'd waited –"

Kaidan's shout interrupted them both as he broke the stasis' hold with a powerful surge of biotics. The azure flames licked his body as he leapt for the krogan. Harbinger moved, surprisingly agile for such a large creature, and his hand shot out to grab Kaidan's forearm, twisting it roughly behind him. Momentarily disabled, Kaidan gritted his teeth and struggled helplessly against the krogan's firm grip.

"You're pretty good," panted Harbinger, holding fast as Kaidan gave his arms another jerk.

"Yeah, and I'm even better when I'm pissed," snarled Kaidan, and he spun on his heel, turning his body to twist his arm from Harbinger's grasp. A sharp twinge of pain in his shoulder – he'd be feeling that tomorrow – and he was free. One hand swung around to grab the pistol on the krogan's hip and he turned swiftly to press the muzzle underneath the vulnerable flesh beneath the krogan's jaw.

Harbinger stiffened and his eyes narrowed at Kaidan. "Big mistake, kiddo," snarled the krogan.

Kaidan realized too late that he had forgotten about Vega, just in time to see him lunging. Vega slammed into Kaidan and knocked him to the ground. While Kaidan was disoriented, Vega grabbed his forearm and slammed it against the metal floor. Something in it popped and Kaidan screamed as white-hot pain shot through his broken forearm. The pistol skittered from his grip and Vega scrambled for it, but Kaidan's biotics had exploded into life around him defensively, and he shoved Vega away with a powerful shockwave that sent him flying.

While Vega was scrambling away from the edge of the platform that led to the deep abyss, Kaidan was dashing for the pistol, his unbroken hand outstretched. Vega's hand came around Kaidan's ankle and the biotic hit the ground just a few inches shy of the pistol's grip. Kaidan kicked Vega in his already broken nose and he recoiled with a sharp cry of pain, giving Kaidan the time he needed to grab the pistol.

He fumbled, his broken arm blinding him with searing pain, and Vega was clambering towards him, pinning him to the ground, and his hand came around Kaidan's throat –

A gunshot rang out, and Vega stiffened, a look of confusion on his face, before he slumped limply against Kaidan. Kaidan heaved the massive weight off his chest and Vega rolled, lifeless, to the side, a single red splotch blossoming across his stomach. No one would rescue him this time.

Kaidan rolled to his feet, breathing hard, to see the old krogan standing over Nora.

"Get away from her!" thundered Kaidan, and he advanced on Harbinger, pistol raised. The krogan snarled in response but straightened, raising his palms to show that he was not a threat.

"Come on, you don't need to kill me. Just… let me live, and I'll get off the Citadel, and I'll give you a nice little parting gift! How's half a million credits sound? Deal?" He extended a hand towards Kaidan with a sly smile.

Kaidan hesitated, staring at Harbinger's outstretched hand for a moment while he considered. Then his expression grew dark and his biotics sparked once more. Harbinger took a step back, alarmed.

"No deal."

He withdrew his unbroken fist and shoved it forward. A surge of bright biotic energy slammed into the krogan's chest and Harbinger went flying over the edge of the platform with a shout. Kaidan listened with malicious satisfaction as his terrified screams receded into the distance. There was a loud, terrible whud, and then the screams were no more.

Only when the room was silent did Kaidan finally turn to Nora. He ran to her side, crouched down beside her, and rolled her over. Her head slumped to the side limply and he felt sick to his stomach. He pressed his first two fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. It was either so weak he couldn't feel it, or…

"Nora! Come on, babe, please don't do this to me!"

He lifted her motionless form off the cold metal floor and cradled her against his thigh. Her head lolled lifelessly backwards, exposing her bruised neck, and blood dripped from cuts on her face. Her skin was icy to the touch. Kaidan's hands shook as he reached up to cup her cheek, to shake her gently. Hot tears pricked at his eyes and he pulled her tighter against his chest with a choked sob.

He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her closed and bruised eyelids, and finally her mouth, but she didn't stir. He started rocking back and forth, tears streaming down his cheeks. IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou, he thought ferociously, but he couldn't bring himself to speak the words. Not when she couldn't say it back. So he held her and sobbed against her hair.

"Please. Please don't leave me behind."

He buried his face against her neck, clutching her to his chest, ignoring the sharp pain in his broken forearm. And then he felt soft, shaky fingers running through his hair. "You can't… get rid of me that easy…"

He lifted his head sharply and looked down at her, eyes wide with disbelief. Her eyes were open only a little, her fingers were shaking uncontrollably on his cheek, but she was alive. She was breathing. She was alive. Another strangled sob, this time from relief, escaped him and he crushed her against his chest.

"Ouch," she complained in a hoarse whisper, and he eased his grip a little with a watery chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I just… I love you," he finally could say the words, knew she could say them back. Finally, finally, finally, and he kissed her. She was weak, but her kiss was as ferocious as she could muster, conveying relief, fear, love. Her trembling hands clung to his shoulders as best as she could, fisting in his shirt to anchor them in place.

"I love you, too, you idiot," she said with a weak smile when he pulled away a fraction to breathe, her voice edged with tears and pain. He shifted and, despite the screaming protest of his broken forearm, lifted her and stood. He cradled her against his chest as they left the smoldering ruin that had been Purgatory. Harbinger's agents had all scattered by now, disappearing into the woodwork, never to be seen again. Kaidan slipped into the backseat of his car with Nora still in his arms, and told her the story of his heroic rescue.

"Vega... he was -" There were tears in her eyes. The betrayal had obviously come as a surprising blow to her. She buried her face into his neck.

"Yeah. I figured it out after he took you." Kaidan programmed the autopilot and settled back as the sky car glided into the air. C-Sec officers, real ones this time, were arriving at the scene. He watched through the window as their cars settled on the ground and officers swarmed the club. His omni-tool was chirping. No doubt Bailey was calling to find out what had happened. Kaidan turned it off. Bailey could figure it out himself.

There was a heartbeat of silence. She shook her head a little and a soft sob escaped her. "I-I went with him, Kaidan. He showed up to give me more sand and I was so stupid!"

Kaidan shushed her gently and pressed his lips against her forehead in a comforting kiss. Sleep was pulling at his mind insistently. His body was screaming and he didn't want to think anymore. "It's alright, it's over now."

"Is he dead?" Her voice was small, but he didn't detect any regret there.

"Yes."

For a long minute, neither of them spoke. He rested chin on the top of her head, his broken forearm cradled between them. Perhaps she had fallen asleep at last?

"And Harbinger?"

Kaidan's half-closed eyes snapped open and he cleared his throat sleepily.

"Dead. Remember that mercenary you told me you used to work for? The krogan?"

"Wrex?"

"Was that his name? I recognized him from your description."

A sigh, pained and quiet, escaped her. "He told you about what Nathan and I did, didn't he?"

"He might've mentioned something about wanting to start a new empire..."

She was quiet for a long moment. "That was... a long time ago. Nathan and I were... very stupid."

Kaidan made a quiet 'mm'. She looked up at him. He had fallen asleep, his face finally free from worry lines and wrinkles, his head drooped against hers. She wiped a sooty smudge from his cheek with her thumb. Kaidan had stayed with her through all of this. He had remained steadfast and honest when faced with the adversity related to her drug problems, and hadn't judged her when she came clean about her past. It only made sense that he would be there now, carrying her despite a broken arm, saving her from Harbinger, from Sovereign, from herself. She kissed him gently, and he smiled a little half-smile in his sleep.

If he could be steady and constant and trustworthy, she could, too.

She settled against him and the rest of the ride to the hospital was spent in silence.

They spent weeks in Huerta Memorial afterward. The road to recovery was long and painful, softened only by their time together. Kaidan recovered first – he'd only received a broken arm and a few bruised ribs – but Nora had to stay on for longer, to receive treatment for her red sand problem. The doctors managed to convince stubborn Nora to receive their help, and she wasn't sure if she was happy about it or not. When Kaidan slipped his hand into hers while she lay in a hospital bed, though, she knew she made the right decision. They talked quietly of the things to come until the early morning, of what they would do once the hospital released them. Kaidan had been given a medal for his heroics efforts, but the Council insisted on keeping the whole thing as quiet as they could, to save face.

He politely told them they could stuff their Spectre position and retired. He thought maybe he could try out teaching. Maybe a group of biotics.

Nora agreed.

Harbinger's name became a rumor on the Citadel in the years to come. When there was a slow day on the news, a report would air on the ANN about the mysterious disappearance of the boss of the Citadel's biggest crime syndicate, and who had been responsible. They would always ask their audience for any information regarding the identities of the heroes, and nothing about the story would air for another 3 months. People would whisper as Kaidan passed by them on the Presidium with Nora at his side – There went the Spectre who took down Harbinger, that's the ex-Spectre who killed a big crime boss - but no one ever said it to his face. He wasn't even sure if they believed it, truly.

And neither of them were going to talk about it. So they quietly receded into obscurity together, and they were happy.

End.