The Informant

It was late, or early, enough that the trade center floor by Liara's office was nearly empty. All the vendors' kiosks were closed, and there were only a few lone stragglers hurrying home for the night. Some of them glanced up at the sound of loud footsteps, but their eyes quickly fell back to the ground when they caught sight of Grunt. Garrus could imagine the questions forming in their minds, but there was no doubt that their curiousity was overriden by their trepidation. He had insisted that they take as many back alleys as Liara could navigate, so as to attract as little attention as possible, but they had to take the main street for the last hundred meters or so of the journey.

Garrus was relieved when Liara unlocked the front door to her building, and the five of them climbed the stairs to her office. Once they were less exposed, he released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"So," Liara said, making sure to lock the front door of her office building behind her. The last thing she wanted was an interruption. "How are we going to do this?" she asked Garrus.

He crossed his arms over his chest and propped his chin up on one fist, thinking. After a moment, he said, "We'll start with standard C-Sec interrogation procedure, and take it from there. We can bring in the big guns if she's still uncooperative." Grunt gave a low chuckle, baring his teeth. Kaidan looked uneasy.

"Sounds good to me," Miranda said with a nod. Garrus figured that her blunt manner would be useful in convincing their informant to talk, but he would have to make sure that it was balanced with a more delicate touch. Although he usually liked to play the bad cop, between the Cerberus agent and their krogan companion, Garrus decided they had enough of those.

"Okay. One of you should probably stay back and guard the door."

"I got it covered," Kaidan volunteered immediately. He had never had the stomach for this kind of "interrogation" stuff, and he knew that if Garrus deemed it necessary to bring a krogan, he planned on getting their hands dirty. Not that he had a problem with that, but he'd prefer if he wasn't the one to do it. Or have to watch.

"Good. Grunt, wait with him until we give you the signal to come in." Garrus, Liara, and Miranda started to head into the office, where Nyxeris was hopefully still tied up.

Kaidan did a double take at Grunt, then said, "Actually, why don't I..."

"No switch-backs," Miranda said, tossing her hair over her shoulder before she closed the door behind her.

Grunt gave Kaidan a long, hard look. "You served with Shepard." It was more of a statement then a question.

"Yes," Kaidan replied. He didn't like the way the krogan was staring at him, like he was his dinner or something.

"So who would win in a fight? You or her?" But Grunt already knew the answer to that. He just wanted to see what the human would say.

Liara breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the lumpy form of her secretary curled in a dark blob in the center of the unlit room. When Liara found out that Nyxeris had been spying on her for the Shadow Broker, the ensuing brawl had been brief. The secretary was no match for Liara's years of combat experience. However, Liara's knot tying skills weren't exactly up to par, and she wasn't sure how long Nyxeris would remain unconscious. She'd added a stasis field, just to be sure, and it appeared as if that did the trick.

Liara turned on the lights, illuminating her office. Garrus was impressed by the resplendent aura and posh furnishings. Every surface gleamed and shone, and the broad window offered a great view of the trading floor below. Prime real estate, no doubt, and on a place like Illium, he could only guess at how much it cost her. He couldn't help but compare her office to his former headquarters back on Omega, which were humble at best. Looks like she's doing pretty well for herself. And then it hit Garrus: that was the difference between him and Liara. While she was getting rich trading secrets and manipulating information, he was spending every credit he earned on helping other people. So really, he had nothing to... is that the new iTerminal Pro? How did she even get one of those so soon?

"Garrus, bring my chair over here," Liara said. She and Miranda were dealing with their captive, hoisting her limp body off the ground. Garrus dragged the chair across the floor, setting it in the center of the room. "Hit the shutters, will you?" He did so. Liara was more worried about agents of the Shadow Broker who might be tailing them than the authorities, who would only interfere if there was some breach of contract. And as far as Liara was concerned, the only contract had been breached was Nyxeris' employment agreement. So she was well within her rights to... oh, who was she kidding? If anyone interrupted, Liara would have to tie them up, too.

"We should re-tie her," Garrus suggested. The way she was, it would be difficult to get the captive to sit up straight in the chair. Her limbs were twisted awkwardly beneath the cord, as if she'd been bound in a hurry. Liara and Miranda nodded in agreement, getting to work untying her. Miranda tugged particularly hard at the cord, then glared at Liara. Obviously, someone needed a refresher in their knot-tying course.

After a few minutes, they'd worked enough knots free to slip the cord from the Nyxeris' motionless body. Liara leaned back, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand. "That should -"

The asari's eyes snapped open and she lunged forward. Her fingertips glowed blue with biotics, reaching for Liara's throat. Both she and Miranda had no time to focus their dark energy on a biotic attack, but Garrus didn't have to fool around with any of that. He grabbed her by the shoulder and brought his knee into her abdomen. She gasped loudly, winded and wounded, and before she could recover, Garrus shoved her back into the chair. Nyxeris tried to get back on her feet, but Garrus hit her face with the back of his hand. It made a satisfying smack. Her hand went up to touch the spot where she'd been hit. A bruise was already starting to show.

It was quiet for a moment before Garrus said, "Now just stay in the chair so I don't have to pimp-slap you again."

Nyxeris gave him a dark look, her hand still on her face. Slowly, it dropped into her lap. "You're Cerberus, aren't you?" she spat.

At the same time Garrus said, "No," Miranda said, "Yes." Nyxeris' eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"It doesn't matter," Garrus recovered. "What does matter, however, is that you have some important information we'd like you to share with us." He paused for a second before saying, "I think you know what that is."

Nyxeris remained silent. Evidently, his good cop tactic was ineffective. Oh well. Worth a shot, I guess.

"Look, we don't have all day, here. Tell us what we need to know or I'll kill you where you sit," Miranda said, pacing back and forth behind the chair.

Nyxeris laughed. "You're not going to kill me. I'm your only lead. Without me, you'll have nothing."

"This isn't a question of whether or not you're going to tell us where Shepard is." Liara put her hands on the arms of the chair, leaning forward so that her face was very, very close to Nyxeris'. Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "This is a question of how long it will take. Like you said, you're our only lead. So we'll do whatever we must to get that information, even if we have to drag it out of you." Liara leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You could be home in twenty minutes, Nyxeris. Just tell us where they took Shepard."

The offer of freedom was alluring. "I... I don't know, okay? My job was just to point the retrieval team in the right direction," Nyxeris said. Not alluring enough to give them the truth, of course. No offer was worth that. But she could throw them a bone.

"Tell us about the retrieval team. Who were they?" Garrus asked, standing directly to the left so that Nyxeris had to turn her head to face him. She glanced in his direction briefly before casting her eyes to the floor.

"I don't know. I don't know any of their names."

"You're lying," Garrus said. Sometimes, for people who'd lived for hundreds of years, asari could be really terrible liars.

Nyxeris kept her mouth shut, probably because she, too, was aware of that fact.

"Come on, Nyxeris. We'll let you go if you just tell us what we ask."

A short, bark of a laugh tore from her lips. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. Now that the Shadow Broker has Shepard, she's not leaving. Ever. Just accept it."

Before he could stop himself, Garrus had slapped Nyxeris again. For a moment, she look shocked, then she started laughing again.

Liara grabbed Garrus by the shoulder and led him towards the door. He thought for a moment that she was going to reprimand him, but she instead she said, "This is taking too long. We need the krogan."

That was something they could agree on.

The whites of Nyxeris' eyes shone in the light as they nearly popped out of her head. She was staring at the Claymore shotgun that Grunt was casually waving in front of her face. "You won't shoot me," she whispered, reassuring herself.

"You're right," Grunt said. "They're going to let me eat you."

Nyxeris bolted to her feet, but before she could get anywhere, Grunt headbutted her as only a krogan could. She slumped back into the chair. Her eyebrow was split open, blood running into her eye.

"We need names, addresses. Give us something to go on," Garrus pressed her.

When her lips remained sealed, Grunt pumped his shotgun and fired a round into the ground near her chair. Nyxeris jumped at the loud sound. A gasping squeal escaped her. "Oops. Look like I missed," Grunt said, grinning. Their captive began to quiver.

"Just tell us what you know," Garrus encouraged, standing behind Grunt. He didn't want to be anywhere near the wrong end of that shotgun when it went off.

Nyxeris clenched her jaw and screwed her eyes shut. She wasn't talking, and she knew the consequences. Grunt frowned. He liked it when they were surprised. But, hell, he wasn't picky. It had been a couple of days since he shot anyone, and he was going to take what he could get.

The slug embedded itself in her right leg. Her scream was like a grenade detonating in the small space. Miranda clamped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the shrill noise. Grunt whacked her in the face with the butt of his gun. "Get a hold of yourself!" he roared, trying to make himself heard over the racket she was making. The scream cut off, but she began sobbing uncontrollably, choking on her breath as she fought for air. Looks like that one scream really took the wind out of her. Maybe now she'll just answer the damn questions. Grunt kicked the leg he'd shot, wincing at the sound of another one of the asari's piercing cries. "STOP THAT OR THE NEXT ONE GOES IN YOUR HEAD."

That shut her up. Garrus wondered if Grunt knew that asari did not have redundant nervous systems. Still, he was impressed with the krogan's handling of the situation. A little more... aggressive than the interrogators back at C-Sec, but hey, if that's what it takes.

"It doesn't have to be this hard," Garrus informed her gently. The asari's leg was soaked with blood. He was afriad she might pass out from loss of the stuff, but with any luck, the interrogation would be over before it came to that.

"Uhhhh," Nyxeris began. She was seriously starting to rethink her strategy. As much as she feared the Shadow Broker, these people, especially the krogan... they were ruthless. But, still, even with the information she'd give them, they wouldn't get very far before they were struck down by the Broker's forces. No one would ever have to know that she was the one who pointed them in the right direction. "I... I only did ever speak to one of the agents on the retrieval team."

"Who is he?" Garrus demanded, shifting to front and center. Grunt made his way around the chair, resting his shotgun on its back so it was right in the asari's peripheral vision, reminding her of the consequences if she dared to lie.

"She," Nyxeris corrected. Her voice was hoarse. "She's an asari commando. Been with the Broker for a long time."

"Name?"

"Kamala Nasar."

Liara committed the name to memory. She'd never heard of her, but she knew of someone that could help them track her down, or at least get some clues to her whereabouts.

"And, one more thing?" Nyxeris grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth. Her eyes were red, her face swollen. Not a pretty picture. "She's an Ardat-Yakshi." Only Liara knew the full extent of the implications. She could almost feel the blood draining from her face. Nyxeris glared at Garrus. "What happened here, it's nothing compared to what they're doing to your precious Commander Sh-"

A heat sink found its way into her forehead. She slumped forward, a sticky mixture of saliva and blood dribbling from her mouth.

Liara stared at the lifeless body, then at her killer. "Garrus?"

The muzzle of his gun was still smoking. He let his arm drop to his side, reholstering his pistol. "Let's go. There's someone back on the ship who is an expert in hunting Ardat-Yakshi."

"How'd it go?" Kaidan asked Garrus when they exited the office. He remained silent.

Liara answered for him, saying, "She told us the name of the leader of the squad who attacked you in the alleyway. It's not much, but it's a link to Shepard. She might have left some kind of trail that we can follow."

"Good," Kaidan said, letting out a sigh of relief. Liara locked her office door behind her. She'd have to deal with the mess inside later. "Wait... aren't you going to let her go?" Kaidan thought that it was only fair, since she did give them the information she asked for.

Liara didn't look at Kaidan. Her eyes were on Garrus. He heard Kaidan's question, and said, "She's not a problem anymore."

Even Kaidan wasn't naïve enough to misinterpret that.