Chapter 6

"No!" Kaidan raced to the balcony, looking down, expecting to see two broken bodies on the floor below. Instead he saw what Shepard had tried to describe to him. Shepard and Ashley were still locked in combat in midair. A blue biotic corona enveloped them both, but in a flash of Shepard's face, he could tell she was exerting all the control she could muster to make the descent slow. In any other situation, it would have looked comical—two people locked in an embrace, spinning slowly in midair as if in time to a music only they could hear. Then he caught a glimpse of Ashley's face: cold, eerily calm, devoid of all emotion whatsoever. It chilled him.

Kaidan whipped around to Vega. "Go! Meet them at the bottom!"

"Sir, should I shoot to kill?" Vega's voice sounded grim.

"No!" Kaidan holstered his sidearm. "Subdue only. We need to question her..." And find out what devil's game Cerberus is playing this time, he added grimly. Vega saluted and ran out of the room. Even running full tilt, it would take him a few minutes to reach the bottom, either by stairs or the elevator. Kaidan didn't want to waste that time.

Kaidan blew out a breath and flared his biotics. Without further hesitation, he vaulted over the edge of the balcony.

It was harder than it looked. Kaidan could feel the pull of gravity below, and the instinctive urge to fling himself away from it was almost overpowering. But he knew if he did that, he'd simply slam himself into a wall or the ceiling. Knife-edge precision was needed here.

His descent was clumsy at best, but it was controlled enough that he wasn't falling as quickly as he should. He hit the ground with a grunt, rolling to absorb the impact, and came up in time to see Ashley—now on the ground—pull her fist back and slug Shepard in the face. Blood gushed from her nose, but Kaidan felt gravity twist as a wave of biotic energy propelled Ashley off Shepard and through the air where she landed with a grunt next to some decorative potted plants.

Kaidan executed a quick mnemonic, freezing Ashley in stasis, at least for the time being.

"Shepard!" he knelt next to her and helped her sit up.

She nodded her thanks, wiping the trickling blood from her nose. As he helped her to her feet, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't try new biotic maneuvers without practice first?"

"Well," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her face. "I figured I could loosen up the rules. Just this once."

Shepard smiled but it faltered as she looked over his shoulder at Ashley. "Kaidan," she said in a hoarse voice, "she... what..." She trailed off, hollow-eyed.

"Cerberus," Kaidan growled. "I had EDI run a scan of the medical files—they were falsified by Cerberus. They're involved somehow—they did something to her—and we're going to find out what."

Vega arrived then, emerging from the apartment complex building, and blinked in confusion at the scene. He eyed the immobilized Ashley with uncertainty, gun hovering up to cover her, though she was still frozen, and would be until Kaidan released her or his amp gave out.

Shepard moved toward him, ready to deliver orders. But through the gathering crowd, four C-Sec officers stepped into the scene, drawing their guns.

"Nobody move!" shouted one, a turian with dark plating. "Hands behind your heads! You!" The turian gestured at Vega. "Drop your weapon, now!"

"Easy, officer," Kaidan said, hands up and open. "This is Spectre business. Scan my chip." He held still as the turian came closer, suspicion still present in his small eyes. Once he was close enough to scan, the officer's omni-tool pinged.

Grunting in acknowledgement, the turian holstered his weapon and gestured for the others to do the same. "Sorry for the misunderstanding. Anything I can help with, sir?" he asked grudgingly as if already knowing the answer.

"Actually, yes," Shepard said, stepping forward. "We need to question this... person we apprehended, but we would appreciate an escort to the docking bay. It would enable us to keep her under control without worrying about the crowds."

The turian nodded. "Of course, ma'am." He turned, gesturing to his officers.

"Docking bay?" Kaidan muttered.

"If she's Cerberus, she's dangerous to everyone and everything around her," Shepard muttered back. "I want a controlled environment—the Normandy is as good a place as any. Plus, with EDI, we might have an advantage we can't get anywhere else."

Kaidan nodded. A thought struck him. "Joker..."

Shepard ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Right. I should... probably call him; give him fair warning before he sees her." She grimaced. "Cerberus. What haven't they touched and ruined beyond repair?"

Kaidan caught her by the shoulders. "They at least gave me a second chance with you."

Shepard closed her eyes, nodding, and squeezed his hand. This wasn't the place for more.

"Sir?" One of the officers was back. He gestured to Ashley, still frozen in stasis. "Do you need cuffs...?"

"Yes," Kaidan said, walking over to Ashley, still frozen. Her limbs were splayed out in an uncomfortable pose. When he released her, she'd probably have trouble walking until the blood rushed back. He could keep her in stasis, but… "I can't move her easily like this," he said, turning back to the officer. "Stasis is designed to keep someone from moving."

The officer stepped closer with the cuffs. Shepard spoke up, still wiping blood from her nose. "How strong are those cuffs, officer? During our struggle, she displayed... unnatural strength for a human."

Kaidan shot her a questioning glance, she shook her head slightly. Later, she clearly meant.

"These cuffs are rated for krogan, ma'am," the turian C-Sec officer assured her.

Their strength was proven a moment later as Kaidan released Ashley from stasis and it took three of them to hold her down to put the cuffs on. Ash strained at the bindings, making inarticulate frustrated noises as she tried and failed to get free.

It was like watching a wild animal be caged, Kaidan thought, revolted on some level he couldn't identify.

Eventually, however, Ash seemed to realize that her struggling was in vain and subsided. It was only after they grabbed her again, wary of a renewal of her attack, that Kaidan saw her face. It was still carefully blank, as if someone had wiped all emotion, all humanity from her face, but her cheeks were wet with tears.

Shepard came back to where he was standing, not looking over at Ashley. "I just talked to Joker," she said, a dark bruise beginning to form on her cheek. "He's... not happy."

"I bet." Kaidan tipped her face away, examining the bruise. "You need to get some ice on that before it starts to swell."

Shepard pulled away. "It'll heal." The officers began to lead Ashley away, and she watched them, eyes bright. "Some other wounds, though..."

Kaidan didn't reply, but put his arm around her briefly. She gripped him tight, and made a motion as if to turn her face into his shoulder, but stopped herself. He swallowed hard against an unexpected lump in his throat.

Would Shepard ever get a break? He wondered. To stop worrying, and fighting, and hurting and simply be? Would they?

"Let's go," she said in a rough voice, gesturing Vega forward. Kaidan followed.