Morning everyone. I'm sorry for the wait; you're all so wonderful for being patient with my writing habits.

A lot of you hated meeting Neeva last time around...this chapter has a bit more of her. ;)

Let me know what you think!

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In his entire time on Omega, nothing had bothered Garrus more so than seeing the bond mark on Neeva's shoulder. Almost every day had given a glimpse of some type of anguish, whether it was death, pain, or sorrow. Those never fazed him in the slightest. Neeva's shoulder however, that was a completely different story; one that crippled him and left him unable to cope with anything. His mind couldn't focus on any other important matter that demanded his attention. Instead it always brought him right back to that incriminating mark. He hadn't even fully bonded with Shepard.

The reality of the situation finally sank in as he remembered all of the times he shared with Jane. He had never felt love before her, and he knew he never would again. So many opportunities to bond with her were missed, simply because they both never saw themselves without each other. Being with her was such a simple time, no matter what sort of crazy missions they went on. For all he cared, they could have discovered a million ships like Sovereign and still been okay. Nothing in the galaxy affected them because they were together, in fighting, working, and loving. He had always felt that everything was easy with Shepard by his side. Had he already made his mark on Shepard, he would have never even thought about doing it to someone else for as long as he lived, drunk or not. Perhaps it was that small fact that he hadn't done it before, that his body yearned for it with someone he truly loved, that caused his drunken body to commit such an intimate act.

Regret flooded him and Garrus found himself lying on the floor, lethargic as ever. There he stayed for the rest of the night, swallowing nervously, never quite getting rid of the feeling of dread that now occupied his being. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing Neeva again. He shouldn't have called her after discovering her call tag. But what was he supposed to do? He knew she was interested by the way she almost forced herself onto him. The sad truth was that calling her back was most likely his way of reaching out since Shepard's death. Although, he never thought that he would begin to move on from his relationship with her through an almost forced bonding. What kind of psychotic turian female would want to actually keep a bond mark made by a total stranger? It was very possible that Garrus was over thinking his half of the blame in this. Turian's marking their one night stands through lack of self control was not unheard of, in fact it was probably a lot more common since the establishment of legalized consort chambers. Even if the turian hadn't meant it, medi-gel was always the cure to an accidental bond. But Neeva was something else, and with each passing second his opinion of her only grew darker and more disgusted.

Hours went by before his brooding was interrupted with a light chime from his omnitool. A message? He lazily lifted his arm so as not to get off of the floor. Nothing could break him out of this sulk session; not even – Sidonis?

** LSidonis- Hey.**

Garrus was beside himself with utter confusion. But his befuddlement was quickly replaced with a mixture of relief and happiness to be seeing his friend's name on the holoscreen. He rose from the floor and sat at his desk, pulling up the messaging program.

** GVakarian- Lantar. Good to hear from you.

LSidonis- Listen, I really need to talk to you. I didn't walk away, Blood Pack got me.

GVakarian- …

GVakarian- …Is this a joke?

GVakarian- Please tell me this is a joke. Are you alright?

LSidonis- It's not a joke. Got lucky but I'm in bad shape. That's not the point. The point is I eavesdropped and got some good stuff for you.

GVakarian- Leave it to you to turn a kidnapping into a mission. Where do you want to meet up?

LSidonis- At the bar. Yes, that bar.

GVakarian- I can leave right now.

LSidonis- I'll need directions. BPs got me because I got lost looking for your sorry ass.

GVakarian- Shit, I had a bad feeling about that. I'm sorry. From the medical school, go left 5 blocks and make a right into the alley. Sneaky left into another alley and follow the vorcha. Entrance, left side. Can't miss it.

LSidonis- I feel like an idiot for not remembering that. Heading there now.

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Lantar could barely keep his demeanor in check. Seated at a secluded booth in the Endless Tap, he was fidgeting constantly while re-reading his conversation with Garrus over and over. The lies he had said to him were stabbing wounds into his heart. If it had been that hard for him to simply type those fabrications, he didn't know how it would be possible for him to speak more face to face. Garrus was his best friend, and he was about to ruin it all. At least it was for a good cause, but that didn't lessen the pain of it all.

He laughed disdainfully at himself. Everything was his fault. Garrus had needed someone, and Lantar had never tried hard enough. Sure he was pushed away when he did try to console his friend, but he had given up after that. He had always resolved to simply let Garrus be. It was darkly funny that the one time he had decided to chase after his friend was the time that shit hit the fan. Too little too late rang the most true in his mind.

He ordered two drinks for himself and his soon-to-arrive guest. Might as well loosen up a little. When the drinks arrived, he downed half of his in one gulp in an attempt to prepare himself for what was to come. He wasn't even sure if Garrus would trust him. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he could keep it together while leading his one, true friend into a death trap. Sweat was gathering in the most uncomfortable places while he watched the time slowly tick away. For the second time in a week, he found himself wishing he were dead. Since when had he become so suicidal? Since his best friend became the center of every Mercenary lord's attention.

"Sidonis! Spirits, you look like hell."

Fuck. Sidonis had not been ready. That sneaky bastard had snuck right into the seat across from him while he had his eyes closed, rehearsing treacherous lines. As he looked into Garrus's questioning face, he mentally remembered the pictures of each of their squad member's families. He was doing this for Butler and his wife and child. He was doing this for Weaver's salarian relatives; for the brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, cousins and extended family of the entire squad. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"I uh, had a rough week."

"You said it. How did you get away?"

Sidonis was caught off guard by that question. For some reason he had only gone over the parts where he would tell him about the false information. Good thing improvisation came easily to him. "They came in each day around the same time to beat me. On the last day one of the Krogan officers kicked me so hard, my chair fell over. I guess somehow the backing of the chair rubbed on the crude bindings around my hands. I just sort of wriggled free after that. No one bothered to bar the door."

Garrus chuckled at their falsified stupidity. "Guess they hadn't counted on you extorting their carelessness."

"Yeah, I guess not." Sidonis laughed awkwardly. Each bit of silence between sentences made his head hurt with anguish. I will never forgive myself for this, Garrus. "So on my way through the halls, there was a steel door that I heard loud discussions through. I sat to listen in, and heard most of what they were saying."

He paused to gather up the rest of his courage. Sorrow filled him at the terrifying realization that his story was becoming easier to tell as he continued talking. Funny how adaptive turians were. Even with something like this, it only ever gets easier to do it over and over. If he had ever known when he first met Garrus that he would eventually get good at lying to him right to his face, he never would've agreed to form a partnership. Do it for them. For the crew. For the innocent lives. He pressed on regretfully. "They were talking about a gun running operation. It sounded like their plan was to smuggle imports through the lower residential levels of Kenzo, keeping a low profile by splitting up the shipments to different groups. They'd all take different routes to their base of operations, each arriving at different times. Then they'll count up the stock, divide it evenly amongst a new set of 'delivery men' and have them haul each order to the recipients."

He watched Garrus with anticipation to see if he bought the story. If his friend was feeling leery about it, he'd have to improvise quickly to convince him otherwise.

"Sidonis, do you realize how incredible this is? We can all form up, head to a vantage point close to their base, and take out almost every single one of them before they can even load them onto their vehicles!" Garrus was ecstatic about the news and Lantar couldn't help but audibly sigh at his success. The hardest part was over.

"We need to go tell the others. Come on, Sidonis. You can explain the smaller details to the whole crew."

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Neeva met the two turians at the back entry. As Garrus approached, an all consuming impatience filled him and he found himself becoming more and more annoyed with each step. Why was she waiting for them? For what purpose did she find it necessary to block the entry? How did she even know they were here?

"Who the hell are you?" Sidonis immediately whipped out the pistol he had clipped to his leg and pointed it right at Neeva's nose. Her arms slowly went up, but she ignored him and instead turned her attention to Garrus.

"There's a situation with Weaver." She seemed completely unfazed by the cold barrel that was practically resting on her face now. Garrus kept his cold eyes on her, studying the way her heart was keeping calm and steady. She wasn't nervous, she wasn't anxious. Strange, but unfortunately not convicting enough to make him care.

"There's almost always a situation with Weaver. I have business that I need to attend to." He paused to rest his hand on Sidonis's shoulder in a silent bid to have the gun lowered. The weapon slowly fell down to be placed back in its holster. He began to pass by her but her hand reached out and caught on his arm, sending a rigged tenseness through his spine. His eyes narrowed and he menacingly turned his face to glower at the intruding woman.

She continued, unwavering. "Garrus, it's about Melenis. She left today."

He searched her mouth and mandibles for any sign of twitching, her neck for any sign of straining, her eyes for any sign of lying. When he found none, he exhaled and beckoned for her to elaborate.

"Weaver found some troubling evidence about Melenis being untrustworthy. He says she's been spying on us."

"Us?" Sidonis nearly snarled at her subtle pronoun. "Garrus who is this person even! I've never seen her before in my life."

"My name is Neeva. I'm his bond mate."

Garrus froze in place. If he had thought it unraveling to merely see her shoulder, he surely felt this to be much, much worse. Hearing her speak those blasphemous words made his stomach convulse as he braced a hand against Sidonis's shoulder for balance. He felt his past shatter into a million tiny pieces all around him. Who was he anymore?

When he finally took in a breath, he saw Lantar shake his head and continue up the stairs without him, rubbing his hands together nervously. Garrus would never live this one down. Casting a dangerous glare to Neeva, he slowly began the trek up the stairs for Weaver.

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"I thought I told you not to fuck with me, Shepard."

The woman in question held her arms up exasperatedly in a show of compliance. "Aria, relax. This is hardly fucking. I just need some answers." She sat without permission. Aria simply glanced at her and followed suit on the opposite end of the couch.

"You're still alive because I like you. But you're pushing your luck." Her violet hand reached towards a rather tall batarian, who promptly filled the void in her palm with a glass. Aria sipped at the drink slowly, eyeing Shepard with a look not far from murderous. It was either that or villainously seductive, though the latter made her cringe. Aria didn't like to be fucked, and one could only assume that she meant it to apply to both connotations. So Shepard decided to wait. She leaned back against the plush leather behind her and crossed her arms over her chest plate. The N7 logo glinted in the black lights of the club, timed to the rumbling bass that surrounded them. For a while she zoned out into the shadowy movements of the night club, thinking only of how severely she hated the music. Aria was drinking the contents of the glass at an agonizingly slow pace however, and Shepard soon became restless. She might have all the patience in the galaxy, but Archangel couldn't afford as much. She tapped her foot before finally speaking.

"Alright, Aria. Tell me what you know about Archangel."

A sly smirk before she threw her head back to finish her drink. The asari cleared her throat before leaning into the corner of the sectional with an arm draped over its backing. Her smirk grew.

"My, two recruits in one day? What kind of plans are you cooking up?"

"That's classified."

"Oh come on now, Shepard. I only like gambling when I've got the winning numbers."

"You've got them already, Aria. I'm just borrowing one of them."

"Mordin was hardly a winning number. But you should be so lucky that I simply gifted him to you."

"I suspect you wouldn't just give me something you find useful."

Aria clicked her tongue between her teeth before letting out a throaty chuckle. "You can have them both for all I care. Mordin wasn't a winning number and Archangel...well, he's a thorn in everyone's side."

"So then why keep him from me?" Jane intentionally kept her eyes on the dangerous asari, watching and waiting for an inevitably angry reply. It never came, though, and she was instead met with a rather obnoxious laugh. That one must have been forced. Aria had then unclipped her Carnifex from its holster at her thigh and began dismantling it. She leisurely glanced up at Shepard every now and then, as if checking to see if she would still be there by the time she finished. When the pieces lay splayed between them, she picked up each one in turn and began cleaning.

"I have spies everywhere. For the longest time, I even had a spy close to Archangel." First piece finished and shining; she handled the next and continued, "He was able to report on their comings and goings from the lair, how many were present at a time, and how many he took with him on missions. It sounds seemingly pointless, but it proved very useful. He kept his distance from me always, but I was still wary to an extent of his…potential." Next piece. "One day, my spy did not report back to me. It wasn't until a week later that a wimpy little shopkeeper in his district came by to deliver a video. It was a recording of the outside of his shop, but incidentally, a gun glinted in the distance of the far corner. A few seconds later, a body drops with a resounding crack right at the shop's door step from above. I could only assume the gun was Archangel's since the body that had fallen was my spy." Aria paused and clicked the heat sink back into place. She pointed the gun at Shepard's face. "The last thing shown before the video cuts out is another glint of the same gun…then a split second later, a loud smack. The video ends there."

She lowered the gun and fingered at its grooves, almost lovingly. Shepard could only smirk as she realized that Aria wasn't just angry at this vigilante. She was afraid. Commanding a ship with a variety of crew members was a game that Shepard had played for a very long time. Long enough to be extremely good at reading people she encountered. Aria was definitely scary and absolutely psychotic, but she knew fear when she saw it, and this woman was teeming with it. Her power on Omega was at stake here. This could only mean that Aria would be glad to have the masked turian out of her hair, though she might not readily admit it. Jane reached for her own gun and cocked the chamber before pointing it in mimicry. Aria's bodyguard jumped at the sight and fumbled for his pistol for a bit before setting its barrel into Shepard's temple. Unflinching and unmoved, Shepard smirked playfully at the asari.

"A favor for your hospitality, then. You want peace? I'll make sure he never comes back." A long silence followed as she watched Aria. So focused on her reaction was she, that she was even able to see the Queen's pupils dilating in and out slowly. Shepard blinked when Aria broke the awkward situation with another bout of obnoxious laughter. She signaled to the uptight batarian after calling him a bumbling snail and stood to offer a hand to her new friend.

"Mercs are using one of the rooms downstairs for recruiting. It was lovely doing business with you, Shepard. I've decided that I do like you for sure, and I really do hope you don't piss off anyone enough to kill you." Her wicked smile faltered when Shepard grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her close, whispering into Aria's ear, "Death doesn't scare me, Queen bee."

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"I love her, Garrus." Weaver's voice sounded as tired and strained as his face reflected. Wide eyes were fixed on a single omnitool on the table. It was a great contrast to their usual incessant darting around. To say the salarian was anxious would have been a dramatic understatement. Garrus could practically feel the man's erratic heartbeat from across the room. Hands were constantly wringing and rubbing together, and it seemed to be all Weaver could do to not experience some sort of mental break. So the turian opted for patience, and he sat in his usual spot on the couch. Before long, Weaver came to sit next to his commander, visibly more calm than he had been. It was a step in the right direction.

"Weaver, tell me what happened…Is that her omni-tool?" He noticed the salarian's heart pick up its pace once more, and for a second, he wondered at the oddity. But he was brought back to focus on his friend.

"I…This isn't about sadness, Garrus. Please understand. I would not be anxious if she was unhappy in our relationship…which I am of course doubt now too. But I found data on her omnitool. Incriminating data. Files, endless files on you, me, everyone."

"Wait, what? What kinds of files – "

"Files about our lives, and our families. There were extended data collections on each member of our families, their occupations, their own lives. Then there were messages. I did not want to read them, Garrus, but the files were too suspicious. She had been sending messages to an unknown party. Reporting to them the information in the files. She has been…spying." Weaver hung his head low with his final word while Garrus's mind reeled at the implications of his friend's story. Melenis was a spy? How many did he have to take out before they were rid of outsiders? He thought he had kept the crew safe with the last spy he had taken out, but he never would have foreseen this.

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Around the corner, Neeva leaned against the doorway with a quiet sigh as she listened patiently to Weaver's concerns.