Sorry for the long pause between chapters, vacation and work got in the way. Here's a long chapter, hope it makes up for it!

Thanks to Miss Amyress, my beta and strength! :)

And BJHanssen, the training wheels are off, let's see if I crash. :)

"Bailey," Shepard greeted the man at the desk as we entered the Citadel. He smiled in response and nodded, looking back down at his screen briefly before speaking.

"How's it going Shepard?" He finally replied, looking back up at us. Making eye contact with me, he gave me a nod which I returned.

"My associate is trying to find his son," John replied, motioning to Thane. "We think a local criminal may have hired him."

I casually watched the C-Sec officer for his reaction, which was to immediately search his database for the info Shepard requested. Mental note, Shepard must have made quite the impression for him to jump to assist like that. One tick in the 'Human' column.

Subtly, I looked over at John who happened to be looking back at me, his eyes dark with something that made my lower belly tense. How the fuck does he DO that?! Make that two, I thought. Then he flushed, embarrassment plain in his features and his body language as he quickly looked away, making me inwardly giggle. How adorable, three then.

"There we go," Bailey continued as he typed, "One of my men reported a Drell recently, and he was talking to Mouse. Interesting…"

That peaked Thane's interest, "Mouse," he stated more than asked. I watched the Drell's face as Bailey explained who 'Mouse' was but I was pretty sure Thane was fully aware of the 'duct rat'.

The term seemed harsh considering it referred to small children but the way Bailey explained it these kids didn't have any protection from predators other than the ability to hide in the ducts around the station. And God forbid they make a wrong turn, they could be shredded, suffocated, shot into space or turned into protein goo.

Fully nauseated, I diverted the subject slightly, "What about the ones that manage to grow up?"

Bailey shrugged, "Most do odd jobs for shifty people, duct rats take whatever's available to get by. Data running, fencing stolen goods, selling illegal VI personalities…" The man looked directly at John with a smirk. "Actually Mouse was selling one of you."

Shepard instantly became more uncomfortable as he grasped the back of his neck, "Me?". I held back a giggle waiting for Bailey's explanation.

"Yeah," he explained, "when you erased a file it would say 'I erase data like you on the way to real errors.' Buggy though, it crashed every half hour. The error message was about how the galaxy was at stake and you should fix the problem yourself."

Unable to hold back, I sputtered out a laugh, "Wow Shepard, that's pretty harsh, don't you think?"

John shook his head, smirking at me, "Laugh it up, Sam." He turned his attention back to Bailey, "Where can we find this 'Mouse'?"

"He's usually upstairs outside the Dark Star, he works out of a public comm terminal," he said then smiled. "You should pick up a copy of the Shepard VI when you talk to him," he teased then turned to face Thane, his expression turning serious. "Sounds like your boy is running with the wrong crowd."

Thane nodded, "Yes, I agree."

Bailey nodded, "If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly he'll know who can," he tried to assure Thane. "I'll help you if you need it."

John narrowed his eyes at the man, "You don't know us Captain," he remarked suspiciously, "Why are you going so far to help us?"

Bailey's eyes got that far away look, "I've worked Zakera for two years, every day kids turn to crime cause they've got no other choice, cause their parents don't care." He shook his head then looked at Thane with sympathy, maybe something even deeper, "You're trying to save yours."

Thane appeared to absorb the man's words, as well as the emotions behind them. "He faces a dark path."

Glancing at Shepard, I motioned to the exit, "We'd better get going then."

When we were out of ear shot Thane stopped, looking at John, "You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone."

John shook his head, "This is messy enough without getting C-Sec involved."

"Agreed," he replied. "Thank you Shepard."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We found Mouse with no problem and, as I suspected, he and Thane knew each other. Mouse used to run for Thane when he was 'working' on the Citadel. A little back and forth and the boy gave up a name, Elias Kelham, which gave us a place to start.

We went back to Bailey and got a very different reaction from what I expected.

"Kelham," he repeated, "Shit." He shook his head with a sigh. "Look, this is awkward. Kelham and I have a-an agreement. He doesn't cause too much trouble and 'buys tickets to the C-Sec Charity Ball' from me. In return, I ignore him."

I took a deep breath to remain calm, also to keep from hitting him, "Are you backing out?"

He had the nerve to leer at me for a moment but relented, "No. I can have some of my people bring him in and set him up in a private room. You can interrogate him yourself. I'll stay out of sight, if I'm lucky Kelham will believe I had nothing to do with it."

"Bring him in," John replied, "we might not have much time."

Bailey nodded, "I'll make it happen, wait here."

Once he was out of sight I poked John to get his attention, "Not sure how I feel about him."

Shepard sighed, "Yeah, but so far he's a friend." I nodded and looked in the direction he'd gone, debating how to move forward when a thought occurred to me.

"You know," I said, looking back at John, "I have training and experience in interrogation, maybe Thane and I should handle this." I watched his expression go from surprise to suspicion. UGH, he still doesn't quite trust me.

"Samantha has a point," the Drell whispered, "between the two of us we can pick him apart with ease."

I looked at John, "Are you ok with it? I won't go against you..."

Shepard shook his head and sighed, "Yeah, go ahead. Let me know what you find out." I tried to catch his eye but he looked away quickly, as if avoiding me. That made a large knot form in my throat that I tried to swallow back down…

Unsuccessfully.

Schooling my features, I looked over at Thane who nodded in the direction of the interrogation room. I returned the nod and turned toward the doorway where a very obnoxious man was being dragged in. I smiled at Thane who simply shook his head and followed me to the room the human had been locked in.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, turning to the Drell.

He shrugged, "This is not my field of expertise, do you have any suggestions?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, staring intently at the floor as different techniques crossed my mind. "I don't know, we could do 'good cop- bad cop' but I'm not entirely convinced it would work."

Thane nodded, "Agreed, I don't see a crime lord responding to traditional methods. Maybe something more direct?"

A small smirk, born of distaste, came across my face as I made my decision. "Follow my lead and stay quiet. When I glance at you, ask who he hired Kolyat to kill." Looking at the door, I remembered what that asshole had done and what was at stake, a tactic that has always made me more effective. I may not enjoy this, but I can make it look like I do if it gets the job done.

When the officer opened the door and I saw Kelham shackled to a chair my angry expression almost slipped, but I managed to hold it as I walked around to the other side of the room. As the door closed behind us Kelham's expression became confused.

"Who the hell are you two?" he asked. I held eye contact with him and made my way over to the front of his chair.

"You hired a Drell recently for a hit, who is the target?" I deadpanned, never blinking or looking away.

Kelham smirked, "The only person I'm talking to is my advocate." I allowed my lips to curve into a small smile as I leered at him. Letting a few seconds go by, I then took hold of his pinky finger, gripping it just below the joint connecting it to his palm.

"Who. Is. The target." I whispered as I gripped the joint a bit tighter.

He grit his teeth and seethed, "Who the fuck do you-" he let out a pained screech as I ripped the finger out of its socket.

Giving it a flick for effect, I then moved on to the ring finger. "Who."

Laughing through the pain, Kelham looked back up at me. "You just handed me your job, ass-AAAAAAAAAAH!" Another scream as I ripped that finger from its socket as well.

I gave the finger a twist, getting another screech from the criminal as I smiled down at him. Thinking it was time to turn it up a notch, I glanced back at Thane who took the cue.

"Who?" he asked as he moved toward Kelham's other hand. As he took hold of it the prisoner started to squirm.

"Who are you, frog boy. Are you her little- AHHHH!" Another scream as Thane removed a finger from its socket. I sent him an appreciative glance and a nod as I gave the hand I'd worked on a little squeeze, extending Kelham's screams..

Thane grasped him by the chin and yanked his head up to look him in the eye. "Who is the target?"

I squeezed his hand again. "Who did you hire the Drell to kill, Kelham?"

Another scream from the prisoner told me Thane had removed yet another finger from its socket. Time to put the screws to him, I thought as I gestured for Thane to step away. I straddled Kelham's lap as he whimpered, taking him by the ears and yanking hard on them.

I roared in his face, "WHO! Tell me now or I will rip the rest of your fingers clean OFF!"

"JORAM! Joram Talid, a Turian on the 800 blocks…" and with that the crime boss passed out, probably from the pain. A satisfied grin came over my face, glad to see those skills be put to good use and to someone who deserved a little pain and fear in their lives.

Not just to find out where someone had stashed a flash drive. Yeah, that one got messy.

"He's unconscious," Thane hummed. "No need to wake him up I think." I smiled in agreement as I got down off the chair and moved to put the fingers I'd 'relocated' back to their original alignment.

Thane did the same to the other hand. "I'd hoped to avoid unnecessary violence," he said thoughtfully. "Pure results come from pure methods." He shook his head. As we made our way toward the door he completed the thought.

"I worry about what is yet to come."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We gave Bailey and Shepard a quick debrief to which Bailey added a few tidbits of background. Apparently the target was a politician who made promises about stopping organized crime, which would be great. The kicker was he was also anti-human, making him a racist piece of shit in my book. The fact that he could do so out in the public eye drove me insane but apparently it was common, John didn't question it at all. Mental note, ask him what that's all about when we're alone.

After Bailey's patrol car got us to the 800 blocks, we walked around looking for the asshat Kelham wanted dead.

Alone? I swallowed hard as I walked alongside Shepard. Why does that bother me so much, being alone with him? And not in a 'you make me uncomfortable because you might not be human' way but in a 'you make me so hot I want to tear your clothes off' way. Taking a deep breath to attempt to clear my head, I blew it straight out my mouth, making a whooshing sound as I glanced at the man walking next to me. If you're not human you would make one hell of a sex bot.

John glanced at me then leaned his head toward me. "You ok?" he whispered as we continued walking. Struggling to hold my expression and my emotions in check, I held back my ironic laughter and just kept moving. When I didn't respond he nudged my shoulder and smirked at me. "You, uh, look a little flushed."

Really? Can't imagine why.

"I'm good," I ground out, keeping my eyes forward and thinking about puppies. Cute, fluffy little puppies. Nothing torrid about them.

John stopped and gestured toward something, "There he is." I looked up to see two Turians talking, one in white dress clothes who greatly resembled the posters Bailey had told us about. Talid. Shepard turned to look at Thane, "How do you want to handle this?"

The Drell looked around then motioned to a walkway above our heads, "Shepard, follow Talid on the maintenance catwalks," he said, looking back at John. "Tell us what he's doing, the Krogan bodyguard will make him easy to follow." When he looked at me I nodded and glanced around looking for ways to blend in.

Shepard looked between the two of us, "Where will you be?".

I smiled as his eyes rested on me. "The best place to hide, of course," I replied. "Right in plain sight." Giving him a nod I turned, walking toward a kiosk selling implant augmentations and pretending to browse.

As I listened to what was going on around me I realized the Turian's beliefs were very widespread, many of the constituents he stopped to speak to were agreeing heartily with repressing the humans and to go out on election day to vote for him. Wow, I knew humanity had its flaws but these people want us collared and leashed!

John reported in, confirming Talid's position when I saw the bodyguard enter one of the stores on the strip. Confident Shepard could handle keeping an eye on the target, I followed the Krogan into the shop when Talid's back was turned to find out what they were up to.

Moving through the doorway before the door had closed behind him, the muscle wasn't aware I was even there when the threats started. I opened up my omni-tool and started recording, video and audio.

"If you want to continue doing business, human, you will pay," the bodyguard demanded as he picked up a datapad on display and tossed it across the room, shattering it. The clerk was shaking as he raised both of his hands in surrender.

"I-I'll transfer the credits, j-just leave!" the desperate man insisted, tears welling up in his eyes. I remained silent, my presence obstructed from the human by the large Krogan. Sensing the right side of the beast's body tense, I anticipated movement and countered, moving to remain behind him as he walked back out the door. As I watched him leave, in my peripheral I saw the human start at my sudden appearance.

I turned to the clerk and gave him a concerned look, "Are you alright?".

He shook his head and let the tears fall, "No. That bastard has been bleeding me dry for months. I can't even keep help, I have no idea how I'll stay in business at this rate."

I stepped up to the counter and reached across, taking his hand in mine, "There is one way..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After leaving the shop I walked at a steady pace along the corridor, casually scanning the crowd. John and Thane had kept a close eye on our friend so I had an idea as to where he was, I was more interested in looking for a Drell that may be not-so-professionally lingering in the shadows.

"Still no sign of Kolyat," I updated, "You two stay on Talid and I'll look for the boy."

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing back here?" an unfamiliar voice came over the comms. I froze, waiting to hear the response as I scanned the catwalks looking for John. That and a way up there should he need back up.

"What am I doing up here, what are you doing up here?" Shepard responded.

"Wha-?" the worker's tone was confused so I decided to coach John.

I whispered into the comms, "Tell him to get out, it's not safe."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is up here?" John insisted.

"Dangerous?" The worker's confusion deepening. I smiled. Easy target.

"Tell him to get out before it blows," I deadpanned, hoping the laugh I was stifling was not going through the comms.

"Get out of here now, before it blows!" John shouted. I pulled my lips between my teeth and clamped down on them to keep from laughing.

"Blows?" the worker still questioned what was going on and wasn't moving. Fuck.

"RUN!" John shouted louder.

"A-alright," the worker stuttered. Then silence.

Two seconds later a low rumble of a laugh came over comms.

"I have to say, Sam," John's voice full of humor, "I cannot believe that actually worked."

I shook my head as I released the giggles I'd been holding back, "There's logic behind it but I can fill you in some other time."

"I'll buy you a drink," he stated, "and you can tell me all about it." My heart did a little leap but I took a deep breath to calm it and continued toward the entrance to what appeared to be a residential area.

As I approached I spotted Talid and the Krogan so I followed, scanning for any sign of Thane's son. I watched Talid as he walked, looking for signs of tension or fear but saw only arrogance. Shaking my head, I noticed movement to his left.

A Drell I did not recognize.

"I've spotted Kolyat," I spat into the comms as I ran to intercept the boy before he got to Joram.

A human had stepped into his path, blocking him from his target but he shoved him out of the way unceremoniously and pulled out his weapon, drawing a shriek from the victim as he fell to the ground.

"Kolyat!" I yelled, getting the attention of Talid and his bodyguard.

When they turned and say Kolyat the boy began firing, hitting the Krogan twice as Talid made for his apartment. Once the Krogan was down Kolyat went after the Turian.

"Thane!" I shouted.

A flash of green appeared beside me as I vaulted over a railing in pursuit, "I saw."

"He's heading to Talid's apartment," John deduced as he caught up, the three of us charging into the building.

Once inside I pushed John ahead as I stayed back by the door, hiding in the shadows. I peeked around John to find Talid on his knees and a terrified but determined Kolyat holding a gun to the Turian's forehead.

Once Thane had Kolyat's attention, I started to slowly make my way around the room along the wall, keeping to the shadows and not making a sound. The two Drell were trading words and the Turian on the floor was begging for help when Bailey and another C-Sec officer showed up.

Shit, gotta move fast before this gets out of control.

"Get out of my way," Kolyat demanded, "I'm walking out and he's coming with me." His shortness of breath and body language screamed panic, I knew once I disarmed him things could go either way.

Thane approached the other Drell carefully, "They'll have snipers outside," he tried to reason with the young man but the gun in his hand continued to shake slightly.

Taking advantage of his attention being elsewhere, I slithered along the wall until I was just behind his right shoulder, then I moved toward him. Closing the distance, he still was not aware of my presence so I kicked the gun from his hand and quickly moved to stand between he and it.

His confusion as to what had happened would have been comical in any other circumstance, but it certainly wasn't at the time. It was heartbreaking.

"You," I pointed to Talid, anger flashing in my eyes, "Get out."

He stood, unsteadily at first, then made his way toward the door, "Yeah, yeah, I will."

"Take the boy into custody," Bailey barked at his officer, who moved to do just that.

Kolyat turned to me, rage pouring off of him, "You, you bitch!"

I couldn't help but smirk, "Like you're the first person to call me that."

"Your father doesn't have much time left, Kolyat," John interrupted, pulling Kolyat's anger away from me and toward him. "He's trying to make up for his mistakes."

The young Drell snickered darkly as he looked at his father, "What, so you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?"

Thane approached the boy, love and concern in his body language and on his face, "I came to grant you peace." He was quiet for a moment then, looking at the ground, he continued. "You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died."

Kolyat sneered, "You weren't there when she was alive, why should you be there when she died?". The fury that boy had kept inside, probably for many years, came out in that one sentence. I understood, empathized with him even, but I also felt for Thane. As I looked at the older Drell, I saw that the words had done what was intended.

Stabbed him directly in the heart.

I couldn't let it continue in front of so many prying eyes. "That's enough," I interjected, moving to stand between the two. "This should be happening behind closed doors, not here... in front of strangers."

"I agree," Bailey said as he stepped forward. "Boys, take Kolyat and his father back to the precinct. Give them a room and as much time as they need." The other officers cuffed Kolyat and allowed Thane to follow as he was taken to a patrol car outside. I walked over to where Bailey stood, as did John.

When the older man looked at me I smiled, "Thank you."

John crossed his arms, "I'm surprised you're letting him do that," he said.

Bailey shrugged then looked away, "You think he's the only man who ever screwed up raising a son?" His eyes dropped down briefly then he looked back at John and I. "I have to get back to the precinct. Come on, I'll give you two a lift."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"They've been in there a while," John sighed as we waited for Thane outside the interrogation room.

I nodded, "It'll take as long as it takes. Family can be messy, and they have a lot of time to sort through."

"The kid's been through a lot," Bailey agreed then glanced back at his screen. "I ran some searches in the C-Sec archive. About ten years back a bunch of real bad people were killed, like someone was cleaning house.

"The prime suspect was a Drell, we never caught him." Bailey looked back and forth between John and I, looking for some reaction.

I nodded, "Sounds like someone was cleaning house. Did you a few favors if your files are correct."

The Captain nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right about that." Then the door to the interrogation room opened and Thane emerged.

When he joined us I gave him a nod, "Do you need more time?"

Thane gave a small smile, "Yes, but not today I think. It will be difficult but we will keep talking, see what happens."

"Your boy shot some people," Bailey said flat-out, "No one I feel sympathy for, but there it is."

John leaned on the edge of Bailey's desk, "We watched those guys shaking down businesses and threatening humans."

Bailey opened his mouth to speak but I raised a hand to stop him, "I've got proof, video and audio of one of the shakedowns. Plus the store owner was going to speak to the others on his block to see who else would come forward to press charges."

John looked at me, cocking his eyebrow in disbelief, "Your doing?".

I grinned sarcastically at him, "Technically it's your doing but I was the one who convinced him to try. Power in numbers, right?" He leveled his brow and smiled at me, a knowing smile that I couldn't help but playfully sneer at. A few months ago I would have just shot the asshole and been done with it. You made me like this. Jerk.

"That's all well and good," Bailey interrupted, "but he still can't just get away with shooting people."

John nodded, "The kid wants to make a difference, give him community service."

Bailey's eyes got really thin as he leered at Shepard, "Community service for attempted murder? What Jury would agree to that?"

"None that I've seen," John replied, "This would need to stay out of the judiciary. Strictly within C-Sec."

Bailey hummed in thought then stood, moving next to Thane, "Interesting, I'll think about it," and shook Thane's hand.

Thane nodded, "Thank you Captain." As we gave our thanks and moved to walk away, John took my arm.

"How about that drink?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye. I choked for a second then looked over to Thane who was already through the doors leading back to the ship. Traitor.

"Um-" I stumbled, then took a breath. "Sure," I nodded then waved toward the entrance to the Presidium. "Lead the way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A beer in hand, I leaned over the balcony, looking down on the rest of the 'world'. The climate control for the station was near perfect, a slight breeze and the vegetation around us made it nearly pleasant to be there. I took a breath in, smelling the flowers someone tended nearby, and smiled.

"You seem calmer today," John interrupted my thoughts as he leaned on the railing next to me. His arm inches from mine, I could feel the body heat radiating off of him. Breathe…

"I am," I agreed, then brought the bottle in my hand up to my lips, taking a decent swig. I wanted a few minutes to collect my thoughts, needed them actually. Completely unsure as to how to start the conversation, all I knew was I wanted to tell him everything.

His humanity no longer in doubt, I was ready to report back to my handler my assessment and let him know I'd confided in John. At that point I saw no reason to hold back, there were things he needed to know and things I needed him to know. Mainly I had to admit to contact with my new handler and tell him that I actually doubted he was human.

But ten seconds of silence was all I got.

"Are you going to tell me what's been going on?" he asked, nudging my shoulder with his. I glanced at him, giving him a slightly annoyed look then looked back down at the drink in my hand.

"It's not like I can just blurt shit out and pick up the pieces later, Shepard," I replied, unable to hide the minor annoyance in my tone. "Everything I say has to be measured, exact, precise. I can't afford misunderstandings." I looked over at him to gauge his reaction. His expression was thoughtful, open and concerned. Shit, I need to lighten the mood a bit. "Wow, John, you look like you're expecting me to tell you I'm pregnant!" I blurted out a laugh as his face turned two shades of red.

He shook his head and sighed, a small smile appearing, "I don't know why I didn't see that coming."

Still laughing, I gave his arm a pinch, "Yeah, me neither." When I caught my breath I let out a relenting sigh. "Ok, fine. You want to know why I've been so edgy lately. Well, It's simple…"

John held up a hand to stop me, "If you bring up some monthly woman thing I'm leaving."

Giving him a sneer as he laughed, I slapped his arm, "No, jackass, I wasn't going to bring that up." He nodded and refrained from laughing, gesturing for me to continue. "I admit I deserved that, anyway, it's simple."

I held his eyes, intent on seeing his reaction to my next words. "And I didn't have to go all the way to Earth."

I let that sink in as I took another long swig, hoping beyond hope that I didn't have to explain much more. The gears in his head were turning, processing, then he understood but continued to think. There was something else that was eluding him, something he wanted to know but couldn't quite put together yet. He can't figure out why that would bother me, and how it would involve him. Here we go...

"I didn't tell you sooner because I was ordered not to," I supplied. A single eyebrow jumped up in question so I continued. "I was ordered not to tell you, specifically." His brow then furrowed, telling me he knew he wasn't going to like what was coming next but he wanted to know regardless.

I nodded, pleading to him with my eyes, "Ok, I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise me two things. One, swear to me on what you hold most dear that you won't share anything that I say with anyone. That and…

"Please don't hate me."

His eyes, those beautiful blue eyes were boring into me as if they could read my mind, and if he looked at me too long he would have seen right through me. Every secret, every indecent thought I'd had up to that point would have opened to him like a book.

I held his stare, trying to push everything else aside and convey to him what I wanted him to know, what I needed him to know. I will bear my soul to you, please, I will tell you everything, just promise me...

"Sam, I-" he stopped short and sighed, shaking his head as he looked away.

"I can't."