Four hours thirteen minutes to sunset and still neither Aethyta's contacts nor Benezia's own had appeared with any useful information; lieutenant Alenko had made good on his word and sent a notification out across the nets, alerting any and all staff of the Jane Doe they had pinpointed as one of the potential kidnappers.
It seemed whatever reward he had offered for information related to her whereabouts was not incentive enough for her colleagues to turn against her; did the woman command so much respect or was it that no one cared to be associated with her in even the most tenuous fashion after this disaster?
Benezia glanced up from her screen to study the reports streaming in over the net; the media had taken whatever sparing details Alliance Security had seen fit to release and run rampant with it. In the first hour alone several 'informants' cropped up, all swearing they knew the woman and would give her up for a pittance; every last one of them had proved to be either delusional or dishonest. For once it was Aethyta that had been forced to urge discretion- Benezia was of the firm opinion that she should be permitted to pry every relevant detail from the swines' brains with a meld.
Aethyta had ever so kindly reminded her of the penalties associated with initiating an unsolicited meld, adding that Humans had long since adopted a code of 'universal rights' that would likely prohibit the act. Seeing the wisdom in her partner's words, Benezia had returned to her own quarters discreetly, leaving word that she was not to be disturbed unless Liara herself came to fetch her.
Which made it all the more puzzling when she heard the chime. Benezia pushed herself up from the desk, stifling a wince when her joints creaked an ominous protest at such a long period of inactivity. With some trepidation she keyed in an entry command, bracing mutely for whatever news this messenger would bring.
Shiala waited just outside the door, kitted out in full battle attire, though her holster hung empty at her waist; Shiala had not been pleased in the slightest when Atrium security demanded she hand over her weapons, but she had grudgingly complied.
She snapped to attention immediately when Benezia stepped from the room, already struggling to contain her eagerness.
"Ma'am-"
Benezia gritted her teeth, willing the silly thing to spit out her news already. It wasn't like her to be so short-tempered, but her nigh legendary patience was no match for several days of helpless wondering and nights spent envisioning the many tragic ways this could end.
"Matriarch Aethyta requests your immediate presence in the infirmary." Shiala's composure crumpled, giddy excitement wending through her voice; "Someone's come forward, and this one may be-"
Benezia was already on the move, sliding past Shiala gracefully on her way out the door; the infirmary. Had Aethyta been hurt? No. Aethyta would never have summoned her if she were laid up in a bed; there was nothing she hated more than to be perceived as weak or incompetent in any way, and finding herself in a doctor's care would mean both as far as the stubborn matriarch was concerned.
The snitch then. How had he- she- the human, presumably- come by its injuries? A misguided attempt at apprehending a fugitive perhaps? Had it come forward willingly or did the medical staff file a report of injuries sustained in combat? If her services as an interrogator were required, Benezia was more than willing to put her skills to use. She had become rather lax in recent years, but once there had been a time when she could pry much-needed knowledge from the mouths- and occasionally minds- of even the most reluctant informer.
Aethyta would not have sent for her unless the chances were very good that this rat knew something worth prying out of it; what was shocking was that she hadn't already extracted everything they needed to know before sending a runner.
Shiala bolted around the corner, catching Benezia just as she stepped aboard the lift. "What do you know of the informant?"
"Male, middle-aged human. Bleeding profusely; the nurse said he'd been shot and showed signs of plasma burns. Arrived in questionable transportation and started calling for security as soon as he regained consciousness."
Shiala frowned, "He's very chatty, but Matriarch Aethyta believes that is mostly a product of whatever chems they're giving him."
"Not in any life-threatening peril, I take it."
"Condition is stable."
"Very good. Have any guards been assigned to him?"
"They're instructed to let you pass, but they stay until he's ready to leave. In cuffs, I suspect. Ashley Williams is already present; she was very insistent."
"Offer her your support and remain nearby any time Aethyta and I cannot be present."
"Of course."
The doors slid open and Benezia rushed out, Shiala falling into step beside her; she wondered if her own face betrayed the same excitement and desperation she saw painted in such sharp relief on the maiden's face. With a concentrated effort she modulated her breathing, flexing her jaw minutely until she could feel her muscles release the unintended clenching; no use frightening the human into not speaking if he was truly volunteering so much already.
"You said they had medicated him, Shiala?"
"Not heavily, but combined with the blood loss it has taken a toll."
"Coherent?"
"It… comes and goes." Shiala winced almost imperceptibly; there was a story there she didn't much feel like sharing. It could likely be coaxed from Aethyta as soon as their impromptu interrogation came to a close.
Lengthening her strides, Benezia put aside her frivolous thoughts and began to compose a list of questions still requiring answers. The object now was to reach the infirmary as swiftly as possible lest someone think to offer their catch counsel.
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Damn it. Aethyta glared balefully at the injured man sprawled unceremoniously on once pristine sheets now stained with his filth. This bastard was determined to be a nuisance; not a straight word out of him after that first desperate comment offered as a deathbed confession. As soon as med staff had assured him those injuries would not prove fatal, he'd shut up; with several Alliance personnel breathing down the back of her neck, it looked like there was nothing she could really do to loosen his tongue at the moment anyway.
"What now?" Aethyta snapped, watching his lashes for even a hint of a twitch.
"Now we wait." Ashley murmured, "Even if he doesn't want to speak- and that is his right at the moment- we know the direction he came from and Kaidan will be backtracking over surveillance."
This was why she needed Nezzie here immediately; she would have thought of that immediately instead of wasting precious time wondering how they were going to pry the information from him piece by piece.
Then again, given the state Benezia had left in, nothing was certain. She had looked ready for cold-blooded murder this afternoon when she had finally stalked out of the common area to seek the relative privacy of her own quarters.
His eyelids flickered and Aethyta gathered herself to pounce; tired and hurt as he was, she was betting his resolve was growing rather weak about now.
Familiar footsteps rang out in the corridor and she jerked away from the bed, leaning out over the door jamb to gesture Benezia inside.
"Is he awake?"
"He's twitching."
They leaned over the bed, fingers clenching along the edge to dull their mutual compulsion to prod their sleeping prey.
"Cats." Ashley whispered with a snort; both asari turned to glare, backs stiffening with offense.
"Not wholly inaccurate." Shiala added from the doorway, not even bothering to flinch when their affronted gazes turned to her.
"What is his name?"
"The nurse offered to run a blood sample. I didn't think it mattered so much as where he came from; he said something about an asari bitch when they hauled his sorry ass in. Since we've been here together for the past few days, I assumed Liara was the only one he could be referring to."
"That's the general consensus." Ashley abandoned her post near the door to join them. "His partner is already in a holding cell, and he's no more inclined to speak than this one."
"They must be complicit in the abduction. I would think if these scattered groups are so desperate and mercenary as you believe, the recompense would be enough for them to offer a name and location." Benezia drew back, clasping her hands neatly at her waist in a gesture only a select few would recognize as the precursor to a truly spectacular show of temper.
"Nobody's making any effort to hold back a name unless it's their own. We know the woman we're looking for is called Shepard, the one security hauled off gave us that much; he just doesn't want to tell us where the hell she is or where he came from. As I said, Kaidan can fix that." Ashley nodded in what was probably supposed to be a reassuring manner; Benezia did not seem convinced.
"Shepard? I presume there is another name to accompany that."
"We're sticking with Jane; Shepard is all he called her, and she's used the surname a couple times- both with other names attached."
Aethyta circled the bed, surreptitiously poking at the brace fastened about his forearm. Benezia and Ashley raised matching eyebrows, lips pursed as though they had been sucking on lemons.
"Will the lieutenant return before this one wakes up, do you think?"
"All he has to do is run the vehicle ID; it's ancient, and probably stolen. It shouldn't take too long to run a scan and reconstruct its route."
"It concerns me that they had access to a vehicle." Benezia kept her voice low, pitched to carry no further than the small space separating them. "I think it would be best to assume access to other resources as well; other vehicles, weapons even."
"Safe bet."
"When lieutenant Alenko returns I will take Shiala and three others to whichever coordinates he has specified-"
Ashley cut in briskly, "We'll assemble a unit, ma'am."
Benezia nodded placidly, "And we will form a part of it-"
"Three? You mean the three you selected for our team?" Aethyta snapped, "Why not four? Include at least one of mine-"
"Did you think I was unaware that you had secured Shiala's cooperation before we departed? An oversight on your part."
Shiala's gasp didn't register with anyone else in the room.
"Hardly. She 'cooperates' in the loosest sense of the term-"
Ashley pointedly took the absurdly uncomfortable chair near the door, crossing her legs and threading her fingers behind her head. "Is this really the time?"
A resigned sigh from Nezzie, Aethyta had to resist the urge to tug at her clothing like some awkward child caught at mischief.
"I will take the three best suited to my abilities; Shiala among them."
Aethyta shrugged helplessly; it wasn't ideal to her way of thinking, but seeing as Nezzie had recovered her typical unflappable demeanor… "I'll be your second."
"You-"
"It is my right."
It was obvious Benezia could not have disagreed more, but with one final look at Williams- still watching their show from a safe distance- she grudgingly acquiesced.
"We are agreed. I will leave the final choice to you."
Ashley cleared her throat pointedly, "If I may; this is a joint collaboration. I will be accompanying you as well, along with whomever I feel is best suited to our objective- home team advantage." The smallest quirk of her lips took some of the edge from the reminder, but the implied rebuke had found its mark.
"I apologize, chief." Benezia dipped her head the barest inch; goddess but she was blushing enough for the both of them.
"Good to have you along." Aethyta added, forcing as much enthusiasm into her voice as she could; Nezzie flashed a chagrined grimace, there and gone again almost faster than she could track.
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Silence blanketed the room, heavy and oppressive; Ashley began to regret her words, she had meant it more to ease the tension and offer a light reminder of the Alliance's responsibility in this matter. It seemed she had come off a little too cutting, but what had the Asari expected dismissing their allies so casually?
Shiala had very carefully distanced herself, moving over to stand with the matriarchs, now arrayed along the opposite wall; every time she glanced up they hurriedly looked toward the patient, but it was obvious they had been practicing their non-verbal communication.
Ashley hummed the opening bars of "Drink to me only with thine eyes" softly, caught herself and fell silent once more. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, the shift of fabric against plastic seeming to echo like smothered laughter in a church. Damn it, they just looked so embarrassed it was making her blush.
Where the hell was Kaidan? Why hadn't the nurse returned with a name yet? Was the bastard faking unconsciousness? No. The monitor reflected a pulse consistent with rest; she was no kind of doctor, but that BP was still a little low. She wasn't sure it would be such a loss if he slipped away quietly; prison would not treat him kindly.
Everyone started when her comm chirped, three pairs of eyes focused on her like the she held the Holy Grail.
"Coordinates." She breathed. "He's got the coordinates, or at least an approximation of where the vehicle originated from."
"And?" Aethyta snapped, already stalking toward the door. Benezia outstripped her, gesturing to Shiala to accompany her.
"We need approval. This part of the grid has been shut down for some time. Now you know as much as I do; I'll let you know if I hear more."
"How much longer until we can go?"
"An hour if we rush."
"Not good enough. Make it faster."
"I can't just-"
They were already gone; it never ceased to amaze Ashley, how the council races could accuse Humans of being rash and thoughtless and yet remain so perfectly blind to their own hotheaded tendencies. She breathed a quiet prayer of thanks that she was dealing with Asari, if this was an example of levelheadedness she dreaded to think what might have happened if it had been the Turians instead.
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It should be noted that this is only about a third of an unbetaed chapter; my beta is as busy as I am.
For some reason, I thought having a solid chapter outline would make putting all this into words much easier. I have seldom been more wrong, but I'm still working on it!
This week is Midterm Hell, but I'll see what I can do about posting a much longer chapter up by next Tuesday.