A Disappearance, An Arrival

An hour and a half later, Garrus grew worried. Shepard was supposed to be back a while ago, and she wasn't responding to any of the messages he'd sent to her omni-tool. Very unlike her. He felt a knot grow in his stomach. What's taking her so long? What if her and Alenko are... He stopped himself. Shepard wouldn't do that. She just wouldn't.

Two hours after she was supposed to be back, Garrus left the main battery. He wasn't sure what he intended to do, exactly, since he didn't have any clue about where to find her. But I know someone who might. When he got to the mess hall, he took a right.

"Uhhh, Operative Lawson?" Garrus had meant to knock, but the automatic doors slid right open. Miranda was sitting at her desk, as always, typing furiously into a terminal.

The typing ceased. She looked surprised to see him. "Something I can help you with, Garrus?"

"Yeah..." he said, walking in a little uncertainly. Then, he remembered that while Shepard was off the ship, Miranda was his commanding officer. He straightened up and said, "Yes, there is. Shepard's been gone a full two hours longer than she said, and she isn't responding to her messages."

There was still a look of consternation on her face. It made him feel embarassed, like he was worried over nothing. "I thought she was with you," Miranda said, getting to her feet.

Garrus stood there, unsure of what to say. It occurred to him that the make-out session he had with the commander possibly wasn't as private as he'd thought. He'd forgotten that there were cameras all over the ship, since it was, after all, a Cerberus vessel. And that the person who had access to those cameras was none other than Miranda Lawson. "Err... no."

Miranda gripped the back of her chair, her gloved fingers digging into the soft material. "How long ago did you say she was supposed to be back?"

"Two hours."

"And she's not replying to any of her messages?"

"That's correct."

Fantastic. Miranda had just repeated everything he told her a minute ago. Unlike Shepard, Miranda liked to process things out loud. Garrus wasn't used to it. "Do you think something could have happened to her?"

And by something, Garrus knew that she meant something bad. He nodded. Yeah, that's what I think. He just didn't know what exactly.

Miranda brushed past, waving him after her. "Okay. We'll organize -"

"Uhh, bridge to Miranda Lawson?" It was Joker, speaking over the intercom system.

Miranda approached the nearest audio receiver, leaning against the wall to speak into it. Her blue eyes remained fixated on Garrus. "What is it, Joker?"

"I think you should come up here... there's someone here who wants to speak to the captain."

Garrus summoned the elevator. Why did he get the feeling that this had something to do with Shepard's disappearance?

"I'll be up in a moment." She stepped inside the elevator next to Garrus. She couldn't decide if she preferred the situation that had arisen over the usual bland peacefulness that overcame the Normandy when Shepard wasn't onboard.

Miranda was somewhat confused when she saw a pale blue asari on the bridge, speaking to Joker. She wondered what Samara wanted. The justicar tended to keep belowdecks, only surfacing for mission briefs.

But Garrus knew right off that it wasn't Samara. "Liara?" he asked incredulously. He hadn't seen her since Shepard's funeral. She hadn't changed one bit, but that was to be expected. Asari had notoriously lengthy life spans. And from what he heard, Liara had been keeping herself busy.

"Garrus," she said warmly, taking his hand in hers. He saw that her skin was wet. And, more surprisingly, that she was wearing combat armor. She was an information broker, not a mercenary. Why would she need to wear that? He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "You're acting captain of the Normandy?"

He shook his head. "No. That would be Operative Miranda Lawson. Shepard's XO," Garrus said, introducing the two of them.

Liara gave her a polite greeting, but she was clearly relieved to see a Garrus's face, albeit with more scars than she remembered.

"The ship looks... good," Liara said, indicating the combat information center and the doors that lay beyond.

"Well, we're not going to give you a tour," Miranda said. Garrus cringed. Ah. And there's that unfailing charm. He agreed with her, though. Liara didn't come aboard the Normandy just to sight see. Though he would've put it a bit more delicately than that. Miranda cut right to the chase. She jerked her chin at the newcomer. "What's your business here, Dr. T'Soni?"

Liara turned an even paler shade of blue. But her face hardened, like she was bracing for bad news. "It's Shepard." She took a deep breath. Garrus felt his heart drop into his stomach. "She's been taken."

Garrus didn't want to believe it was happening. Shepard didn't just get... "taken." She was Commander Shepard. When people tried to take her, she took their lives.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"I mean agents of the Shadow Broker kidnapped her and are now holding her captive," Liara said.

"The Shadow Broker?" Miranda wasn't buying that. "How do you know?"

A fury burned in Liara's eyes. She glared over Garrus's shoulder for a moment before looking at Lawson. "My secretary, Nyxeris. She was his informant," Liara revealed. "Which is why I came here. I can't trust any of my people for this mission, but I can't do it alone. I need your help."

Miranda barely gave herself a moment to feel any emotions at all before she stuck them in the back of her mind so that she could work on a solution to the problem. "Cerberus has protocol for dealing with hostage situations. We'll contact the captors, deliver the ransom -" she began.

"I don't think you understand," Liara cut in. Her eyes were narrowed. "It isn't going to be that simple. The Shadow Broker went to the trouble of sending his top field agents after Shepard. He's not going to just give her up for a handful of credits."

Miranda pursed her lips. "What we would offer would be quite a deal more than a handful of credits, Dr. T'Soni."

"Good. I'm going to need a team to help me discover Shepard's location, so we can kill the Shadow Broker once and for all."

"Hold on," Garrus said, getting over his initial shock at the news that Shepard had been taken. "Who said anything about killing the Shadow Broker?"

Miranda glared at her. Liara looked angry. "He needs to pay for what he's done!"

Garrus put a hand on her shoulder. The small asari was trembling with rage. "What's going on, Liara?" As troubling as the kidnapping of Shepard was, Liara wouldn't get this worked up about it. At least, she wouldn't let it show. She hadn't even looked this upset when Shepard died. There was something more to it than she had initially revealed.

She quickly regained her composure, stranding up a little straighter and pretending as if her outburst had never occurred. "I've been hunting the Shadow Broker for two years. Someone close to me was... well, his blood is on the hands of the Broker." Her eyes shimmered for a moment. "This is my chance. We can go in, get Shepard, and kill him, in one fell swoop."

Miranda spoke up before Garrus could. "Sorry. Shepard's rescue takes precedence over your plot to avenge your friend." He would have said the same thing. Maybe a little more nicely.

"Well, you don't have much of a choice."

"Of course we do. Like I said, Cerberus will -"

"Yes, Cerberus will ride in wearing their shining armor to save the day," Liara said sarcastically. Garrus was taken back at her caustic tone. Surely, this wasn't the Liara he knew. She looked the same, but... he'd never seen this dark, ruthless side. She looked willing to die for whatever it was that she was after. "Wrong. Any negotiations made with the Shadow Broker, if they were able to contact him at all, would take days. Weeks." Liara stared at Garrus. "Goddess knows what they're doing to her."

Her words had the desired effect on him. Liara knew about his relationship with Shepard. She could use that information to her advantage. She was counting on the fact that he wouldn't want to leave her for that long, not while there was something he could do about it. And there she was, giving him a way to save her.

"When can we leave?" Garrus asked. He could be ready in four minutes. Less if necessary.

"Not so fast," Miranda said. "You have no idea what you're walking into. You can't just... go after the Shadow Broker. We don't even know how to get to him, or if he is keeping her in the same place."

Liara set her chin determinedly. "You may not know... but I do."

Miranda crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one foot. "I don't believe you."

"Go ahead, ask your precious Illusive Man. Ask him who's the best information broker on Illium. Ask him who devoted the most time of anyone in the Terminus Systems to finding the Shadow Broker." That shut Miranda up. "One thing he won't be able to tell you, however, is how to get Shepard back."

Miranda didn't like this asari. She didn't like most of them, but this one especially carried that infuriating air of superiority. Like everyone was just supposed to shut up and do what she said. Miranda ground her teeth, then said, "Fine. We'll work with you. Tell us how to get to the Shadow Broker's hideout, and we'll get you there."

"I'm glad we've reached an agreement," Liara said coolly.

"But let me be clear about something," Miranda said. She went toe to toe with Liara, using her height to enable her to look down the bridge of her nose at the asari. "You are not in charge of this mission. You provide the intel, you go in with the ground team, but you do not give orders."

Joker watched with anticipation from the pilot's chair. He smelled a catfight in the works. Maybe they'd tear each others' clothes off. With their minds.

"Well, then who do you suppose will lead it? Yourself?" Liara said.

That was what Miranda had first thought, but she was forced to reconsider. She knew herself well enough to admit that her leadership style didn't fit everyone. Especially not this Liara T'Soni person. And the last thing Miranda wanted was for any conflict between the two of them to get in the way of the success of the mission. Not that it would be her own fault, of course. If anything, it would be the asari that caused a problem. Still, it was better for everyone if she removed that possibility.

Surely Liara would follow someone she trusted. "Garrus will."

Liara looked at the turian. "You're exactly who I would've chosen." She and Miranda could at least agree on that.

"Where do we start?" Garrus asked. Although he was leading the mission, Liara was the one who had all the information. Without her, they would've never even found out who had taken Shepard.

"Kaidan."

"Where is he?" He was surprised that she hadn't brought him with her.

"In an alley. He's badly hurt. We have to hurry."

Miranda and Garrus grabbed a couple pistols from the armory, just in case, before meeting Liara at the airlock.

"Why didn't you bring him here?" Garrus asked, setting the pace at a fast walk. Miranda easily kept up with him, but Liara, whose legs were considerably shorter, had to break into a jog every few steps, even though she was the one who knew the way.

"It was too dangerous for me to approach him by myself. There could still be agents in the area. With the three of us, it should be safe. And besides, I wouldn't have been able to move him myself. We'll need to bring him back to the Normandy for treatment," Liara said. She made a silent prayer to the Goddess that she hadn't waited too long.

Kaidan coughed and turned onto his side. The rain pooling on his face was making it hard to breathe. He put a hand to the bloody spot on his shirt, cringing as he did so. He wished that whatever that greenish gas was, it had lasted a bit longer. He hadn't been hit by a high enough concentration of the knockout gas to keep him out for more than an hour or so, and all the pain came back to him in a rush. Shepard was gone, taken by an unknown enemy. How had he let them take her? Why hadn't he protected her?

He pushed himself off the ground, sitting back against the wall. He had intended to stand, but that didn't work out so well. There was a flood of something wet across his stomach. It was too dark out for him to tell if it was rain water or blood. Most likely it was a mixture of both.

"Kaidan?" It was Liara, accompanied by none other than Garrus Vakarian. At his side was a slender woman wearing a jumpsuit emblazoned with the Cerberus logo.

Liara ran to his side, kneeling down next to him. She put her hand on the side of his face, beaded with rain drops. His hair was completely soaked, matted down from being exposed to more than an hour of heavy rain fall. She felt the barest twinge of guilt for leaving him out there alone and bleeding for so long, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Shepard," was the first word out of his mouth. "She... they took her..."

She shushed him. "We know. Hold still." She turned back to look at Garrus and Miranda, who both had their backs to the two of them, scanning the alley for possible threats. "I need medi-gel!"

Garrus left his post, joining Liara and Kaidan on the ground. "Hey there, Alenko," he greeted him, getting to work patching his wound as best he could.

"Garrus," he returned through gritted teeth. Like Liara, Kaidan was someone who Garrus hadn't spoken to since Shepard's funeral. It wasn't that he didn't like the guy; it was just that seeing each other made Shepard's absence that much more painful. Now, it seemed ironic that they were united under her disappearance.

"There," Garrus said when he'd finished. "That should hold you until we get back to the ship."

"Can you stand?" Liara asked him. Garrus thought that if she weren't an archaeologist or an information broker, she would've made an excellent doctor. Her steady hands and soothing voice put Kaidan at ease, and made him think that maybe, just for a moment, things might turn out all right. Garrus glanced at her glove. There were blood stains on her knuckles and forearm. Recent. And not just human. It looked like information brokers got their hands dirtier than Garrus would have guessed. It made him uneasy to think about who the blood belonged to.

"Yeah," Kaidan replied. Carefully, as gently as they could manage, Liara and Garrus helped him to his feet. With one arm around Liara's shoulder for support and Garrus taking point, he'd be able to make it back to the Normandy.

Miranda looked at the spot where they'd found Alenko. She bent over and picked up a blood and rain soaked jacket. Two droplets fell onto it in rapid succession. Miranda blinked, then scanned the street one last time. Somewhere, Shepard was out there. Somehow, they'd get her back.