Thank you again to my beta, Miss Amyress, for keeping me sane.
"Get back. Get back!" the Salarian shouted as he shoved a gun toward us. "I'll shoot!" I could tell by his body language and his voice that he was terrified, definitely not thinking clearly.
"It's alright," I cooed, putting my borrowed pistol back into its holster and putting up my hands. "We're not here to hurt you." Garrus and Shepard followed suit, shouldering their guns as well. "See? We're all good." I held my calm stance as his hand shook harder, his finger flexing on the trigger.
"I don't want to hurt you… but I will. I said get back! I'll do it!" His tone changed in that moment, as if exhaustion, both mental and physical, were setting in. "Please… don't make me do it." Something akin to defeat flashed in his eyes as he dropped them to the ground.
His terror tore at my heart, the man had already been through God knew what and now more strangers armed to the teeth were in his face… My hands still up, I used one to slowly remove my helmet.
"Hey," I said softly, my face and eyes exuding calm and empathy, "we're not the bad guys here." I slowly put my helmet on the floor and dropped my hands to my sides. "What's your name?"
He seemed to hesitate. "I'm… I'm Telon." I took a step toward him and his defenses went back up. "Don't… don't come any closer." He waved the gun again but I noticed it was never aimed at me. Ok, time for the negotiator to take over.
"Hello Telon," I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment, a move that, in my experience, put people at ease. If you don't show fear they are less likely to hold onto theirs. "My name is Kayla. This is Commander Shepard," I gestured to John with a smile, "and this is Garrus." The Turian gave the same nod I did and I continued. "We don't work with the mercs, we are here to help." Waiting was always the hard part, so many things could happen, go wrong. A merc could show up and blow it all to hell or one of his buddies could voice his mistrust and undo all my work. I held my smile and blinked slowly. Easy buddy, calm…
"I… alright." He breathed out and took his finger off the trigger, handing the gun to me. "Here. I… don't feel so-" and down he went. I stifled a giggle as I knelt next to him. When I saw his chest was still moving I nodded to John and stood as another Salarian rushed over to him.
"Telon!" He shouted as his hands roamed over his face and arms then looked up at us. "He's my brother. Good, he's alright." He looked at John. "Are you the ones who shot the merc?"
John looked over to where the Salarian gestured to see a man in the same armor as the last one we had a 'conversation' with and shook his head. "It wasn't us. Your brother didn't do it?"
"No, Telon was standing here with me," he insisted.
"What happened exactly?" John asked as he relaxed. I smirked. He will learn to trust me eventually.
"The merc found us and shouted at us to move. We panicked and he shouted more. I thought he was going to kill us… then… his head just exploded! Telon picked up the merc's gun but we were afraid to leave. Then you showed up." He was definitely calmer than the others we'd encountered, I was grateful for that. I looked at John to see him glance at the bridge outside then back at the Salarian.
"How safe is that bridge out there?" he asked, gesturing toward the window.
"The bridge is stable but the wind's your real problem. If it doesn't throw you off the mercs will certainly try. There's a lot of them out there." Most likely encouraged by this one's clarity, John pressed him for info.
"We're looking for someone, probably the guy who killed this merc." The Salarian nodded.
"Telon thought he saw someone following us, but he's been a bit... on edge," he admitted. "But I haven't seen anyone but the mercs." John nodded and gestured to the window again.
"Is the bridge the only way to the penthouse in the other tower?" he asked. I could see the wheels in his head turning, concocting a plan. The Salarian confirmed our suspicions and reiterated the threat the mercs posed. John nodded and told him to get to safety. That was when his brother started to come around so he pulled him to his feet.
"Can we go home now?" Telon asked. I felt a pang in my chest as the two made their way to the elevator. We saved them, at least.
A very bracing trip across what felt like a suspended bridge with no railing and people shooting at us wasn't enough, when we finally got to Nassana's office she was flanked by even more mercs. I shook my head.
"Jesus, they breed like bunnies," my voice went over the coms. Garrus' vibration and a huff from John told me they were thinking the same thing. As we approached the group the Asari I assumed was Nassana turned to face us.
"Wait," she held up a hand to signal the mercs to hold. "Before you kill me, just tell me who hired you." Wow, you must be a real asshole if you can't pinpoint who wants you dead.
John stepped forward. "I'm not an assassin Nassana, but I am looking for one." I noticed he'd put his gun away and gripped mine tighter as the Asari started toward him, practically snarling.
"You break in here and decimate my security just to find the person that's here to kill me? What are you playing at Shepard?" So caught up in her own speech, she didn't notice the rumble of movement above her head.
But her people did.
"What?!" Nassana demanded as another Asari standing next to her, fully armed and armored, tried to get her attention.
"I heard something," she insisted, seemingly confused. Nassana shook her head.
"Dammit, check the other entrances!" As the merc walked away she turned to us, pointing. "You… stay put." A flash of green behind one of the remaining mercs told me this was about to get interesting so I kept my gun pointed at the group and waited for him to strike.
And strike is definitely the word I would use for what happened next.
As Nassana was uttering some kind of threat to John, Thane snapped the neck of one merc, punched another in the throat and shot the third in the chest, leaving Nassana for last. She spun around to figure out what was going on as he grabbed her arm, yanking her toward him to shove a gun into her abdomen.
I grinned like a little kid on Christmas.
When the pistol went off it was a quiet popping sound followed by Nassana slowly falling into Thane's arms. He cradled her head to keep it from falling back and rested her dying body on a nearby console, folding her arms over her chest and steepling his hands in…
Prayer?
His head bent down, he mumbled something to himself I could not hear. I was mesmerized by the scene, unable to stop staring until I saw John walking toward him out of the corner of my eye.
"I was hoping to talk to you," he said, prompting Garrus and I to put away our weapons and relax. Thane glanced up at him.
"I apologize, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." His eyes down again, he returned to his quiet mumbling. John cocked his head to the side.
"Do you really think she deserves it?" he asked, obviously confused by Thane's act. The Drell, still looking down, creased his eyebrows momentarily as if in physical pain, then replied.
"Not for her. For me."
Something in the way he said that made my heart crack. What could this man have done that was so horrible to feel as if he needed forgiveness from his God for killing this thing that called itself a person? This monster who slaughtered who knows how many innocent people in a few hours, made them so desperate that they jumped out of 100 story windows to avoid being mauled or worse?
That bitch didn't deserve to live, much less die as peacefully as she did.
"Thane," his name came out a little quieter than I expected but it got his attention, as well as John's and Garrus' who looked at me in surprise. The assassin looked up as he dropped his hands and smiled.
"Hello Kayla," his vibrato hummed through the room. I smiled back and nodded.
"It's good to see you again," I continued as I took off my helmet and stepped toward him. His stance was guarded but calm, as it was the night we met so I was confident it was safe to approach him.
"It is good to see you as well," he hummed as he met me halfway then stopped and cocked an eyebrow at me, "although, I am confused as to why." He turned to face John and continued.
"I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me," he said, nodding to Shepard. "Well... here I am."
Taking in the Drell as he stood facing Shepard I realized this was not he man I'd met almost two weeks ago. His face showed experience, dominance, maybe even a little bit of a challenge toward John. His shoulders were straight and his jaw jutted out just slightly but enough to give him a stern facade. Well, this could end badly. Luckily the Commander took it in stride and smiled pleasantly.
"I'd like to talk to you, but how did you know I was here?" His conversational tone lightened the tension in the room slightly and Thane seemed to accept it, if not allow it as he gave John a small smirk.
"Gunfire and explosions," he replied. "I prefer to work quietly. If I have to fight through guards I've made a mistake." He dropped the smirk and stood at parade rest, folding his hands behind his back to put weight behind his next words. "I rarely make mistakes." He then looked at me and a small smile returned. "You disrupted my plan but your distraction eventually proved valuable." He nodded his thanks which I returned.
"Glad we could help," I smiled, glancing at John. His expression had changed from conversational to…
Almost aggressive.
"Let's cut to the chase," he interjected, making Thane's head turn enough to see him out of the corner of his eye. "I need you for a mission."
Not moving, Thane replied, his voice stoic. "Indeed." Is he doing what I think he's doing?
"You're familiar with the Collectors?" John's question seemed to peak Thane's interest as he turned to face him again, his hands still folded behind his back. Then he turned to walk across the room, facing the window. He is, he's provoking John. But why?
"By reputation," he replied, still revealing nothing nothing of his interest. John's frustration threatened to bubble over as he folded his arms across his chest.
"They're abducting entire human colonies, Freedom's Progress was their handiwork." As the Commander's words sunk in Thane dropped his head, shaking it slightly.
"I see," he whispered.
"We're going after them." John's words sparked something in Thane as he whirled around, giving John a look of grim disbelief.
"Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 Relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so." John smirked at Thane's response.
"They told me it was impossible to get to Ilos too."
"A fair point," Thane relented as John approached him. The Drell turned back to the window. "You've built a career on performing the impossible." I approached the men, standing on the other side of Thane from John and turning so I could see his face. He glanced at me then closed his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his lips.
"This was to be my last job." The silence in the room was deafening as we waited for him to continue. I knew whatever he was going to say would be insightful but I never expected…
"I'm dying."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Once Thane explained his illness and the fact that it was non-communicable he and John shook hands, the assassin officially joining the mission. He left to grab his things and told us he would meet us back at the ship so Garrus hitched us a ride back to the docks.
Back on the ship, the three of us met with Miranda and Jacob, giving them a debrief of the action.
"Damn, Kayla," Jacob blurted out as he looked at me in shock. "You have certainly come out of your shell. You ok after all that?" I smiled, a little embarrassed at the attention so I dropped my gaze to the console for a moment before responding.
"Yeah," I replied, glancing at John then looking Jacob in the eye. "I am." Apparently he didn't expect the simplistic answer so there was a small uncomfortable silence before John saved me.
"We'll brief Thane more thoroughly when he arrives, in the meantime I need to head down to the planet. Liara needs... " He stopped dead.
His gaze went straight to me and it became intense, as if he was carefully weighing his words. I didn't flinch, just stared right back at him, trying to see what was going on behind those blue eyes but he quickly looked away, glancing at Miranda.
"We need to thank our information broker for her assistance and pay her, I assume you hold the purse strings?" Miranda nodded and motioned for Jacob to follow as the three left the room without another word. Still looking at the place where he stood, I tried to ignore the giant knots that had formed unbidden in my stomach and throat. Did he just...lie?
"Before you go all negative..." Garrus' voice broke the silence. I looked at him, arching a brow as he held up one of his hands to stop me. "He brought back-up." He waited for that to sink in, which it did, but there were too many other voices in my head to let him have the only say in the matter.
"Miranda holds the purse strings… and yet he is also going," I replied then shook my head. "Come on Garrus, give me some credit. Like I couldn't tell..." I took a breath and looked away. "Doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter... No, it…" Squeezing my eyes shut, I laughed at myself, at how easily those silly words had fallen from my mouth. I shook my head then dragged a hand through my hair before looking up at the Turian, his face the picture of smugness. "You, sir, are an ass." We turned to leave the room as I heard his vibration of a laugh.
"Like I said, made for eachother."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Garrus had dragged me into the Weapons Locker under the guise of choosing a pistol to add to my gear but I knew he was just trying to distract me. I allowed it, feeling like a kid in a candy store with all the cool guns to pick from. I was drooling over the Phalanx as I ran my fingers over it.
"Oh I like very much," I said, looking over every detail of the rather elegant weapon. Picking it up, I aimed at the door leading to the CIC and hit the sight button. The laser was a bit jumpy but manageable.
"No surprise there," Garrus leaned back against the work table, crossing his arms. "The damage and accuracy are off the charts, plus it holds a decent amount of ammo so it's perfect for you." I pulled the weapon back to examine it yet again and looked up at Garrus, grinning like a maniac.
"Can I have it?" I asked, practically begging as I batted my eyelashes. His vibration told me yes and once he'd turned around to start cleaning up the table I let loose a little victory jump then quickly locked it away with my Revenant.
Realizing I hadn't seen John come through to drop his stuff off I looked at my omni tool and saw a few hours had passed since they'd left. I pulled my lips between my teeth to keep from saying anything but Garrus said it for me.
"It's been a while since they left, right?" he mumbled more to himself than me, pulling up his omni tool and plucking a few virtual keys. A tiny gasp from him had me crossing the room in a heartbeat.
It was a news feed showing the front of Liara's office, talking about an attempt on her life. Scanning through it I didn't see anything about John or the others being involved or injured but it didn't stop my imagination from running wild. I realized too late my breathing had sped up and so had Garrus. He closed the tool and took me by the shoulders.
"We know nothing," he stated flatly. I nodded but broke his hold, flying through the door to the CIC and heading straight for Joker. No, but I'm going to find out.
"Where are they?" I asked as the pilot jumped, my tone startling him but brokering no hesitation. Reading my mind, he rapidly started punching keys in the air.
"Looks like they're in a car, moving-no, stopping in the Dracon Trade Center," he rapid-fired as he continued to work the virtual panel. "Not sure what-shit!" He withdrew his hands like they'd been burned.
"Bringing up the video," EDI stated as a movie feed flashed into view in place of Joker's keyboard. My eyes were glued to the scene as my jaw dropped.
"What the-?"
It looked like a building had exploded, smoke and rubble everywhere. My heart jumped up into my throat.
"No," I breathed out, slowly backing away and out of the cockpit. Confirming no one was paying attention I turned and ran back to the Weapons Locker, grabbed my new pistol and snuck back up toward the crowd that had gathered. I watched the back of Garrus' head, waiting for him to turn around and look for me but he didn't. Finally sure he was distracted, I secured the Phalanx in the back waistband of my pants, opened the docking bay door and slipped out, making a run for the concierge.
Someone is going to tell me what the fuck is going on.