.
Loyalty and Limerence
Part 1
Chapter 2
The entire firefight was over after a minute, the thugs hadn't stood a chance against highly trained military personnel. As Garrus caught his breath, events seemed to speed back up to the pace of reality around him. Before he could process anything, he was asking to join Shepard's investigation.
"Welcome aboard, Garrus." John Shepard's voice seemed to resonate with friendly warmth as he extended his hand. Garrus found himself taking it immediately, any fears or concerns easily put to rest in the presence of the human commander. There was something about Shepard, you couldn't help but trust him. He wasn't particularly surprised given what he'd heard of him in the news after the events on Elysium a few years back. They called him a war hero, and he seemed to embody the ideal admirably.
"Thank you, Commander." After a moment, he added, "You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."
"Yeah, we got some intel about him just before we started looking for you, I sent two of my men to go track him down." Garrus blinked in surprise. Shepard seemed resourceful, so it wasn't surprising that he already knew about Wrex, but the fact that he had been explicitly looking for Garrus was curious. He hadn't been aware that he'd made an impression on the humans one way or another. Perhaps his opinionated views regarding Saren counted him as one of their few allies. That had to be it.
Before he knew it, they were wrapping things up in the clinic. He put in a call to C-Sec regarding Fist's dead men, instructing Dr. Michel to head to their nearest office to insure her safety. Shepard was making a call, probably to check in regarding their next plan of action. The other human, the red headed sharpshooter who had saved Dr. Michel, was checking over the bodies for information and anything useful. He wasn't quite sure what to think about her yet, particularly after watching her admonishment from Shepard following their dramatic entrance moments before.
"What were you thinking, Lieutenant? You could have hit the hostage!" Shepard's voice was hard and cutting, and the woman's green gaze immediately lowered, her back stiffening.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Her voice was clipped and even, just toeing the line for a subordinate being reprimanded. Her eyes remained focused somewhere in the vicinity of his elbow as Shepard crossed his arms, but her face remained impassive; a poker face shielding her thoughts.
"I expect better from you. I don't ever want to see brash behavior like that again, do I make myself clear?" Garrus couldn't help but wonder at the level of disappointment he detected in Shepard's voice, was this usual amongst human COs?
"Yes, sir."
Shepard glanced down at the body of the man at his feet, the one his subordinate had shot to protect the doctor.
"But…" Shepard's voice softened slightly as he grew quieter, "That's damn fine marksmanship. Very clean." The woman's eyes flicked up to look at her commander, a small quirk to her lips.
"Thank you, sir." -
"Okay, let's move out. Sounds like Kaidan and Ashley managed to track down Wrex, he wants to meet me at Flux. Garrus, is that far from here?"
"No, not far at all. I'll send you a nav point." Garrus glanced away from the woman as the commander's voice called out to him. Pulling up his omni-tool, he sent along the information as they turned to leave.
"Perfect, thank you. By the way, Garrus, this is Lieutenant Jane Shepard, infiltration and tech specialist." Shepard gestured to the other human, who stepped closer for a moment to offer her hand. He shook it, but felt his mandibles flick in confusion as he glanced between the two of them. Perhaps it was a common name? She must have noticed, as she was quick to respond.
"And his sister. Nice to meet you, Vakarian."
"Ah, I see. Nice shot back there. Couldn't have done better myself." This elicited a raised brow and a half smile from her, but before she could respond the commander started for the door, leaving the two of them to follow.
It wasn't long before they found their way to the thumping, thrumming music of Flux. It was still early yet, so it wasn't as loud and populated as it would be in a few hours, but there were definitely enough people around to make it a chore for Garrus to stick with his new human companions. By the bar, an awkward looking group stood waiting for them. The man raised his hand to usher them closer while the woman's eyes never left the hulking, red armored krogan. The krogan, Wrex, on the other hand, didn't seem to even notice them.
"You must be Wrex." Shepard called out over the music and watched as the krogan finished off the rest of his drink. Wrex put it down, wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, and turned to face him.
"You must be Commander Shepard. I've heard a lot about you. Your little errand boy here told me you might have a business proposal regarding Fist, but I don't deal with small fries." Wrex shifted his weight, tucking his thumbs into his belt. The two humans Garrus hadn't met yet seemed to bristle slightly, but remained quiet as Shepard crossed his arms.
"We're going after Fist. Thought you might want to come along."
"We're both warriors, Shepard." Wrex leaned in close, and Garrus saw out of the corner of his eye as Jane shifted next to him, and glanced down to see her hand resting on her sidearm. He felt himself tense, beginning to worry about the possible fallout. "Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist." Even with the Krogan's face right up in his, the commander remained calm and collected.
"Fist knows you're coming." Garrus cut in quickly, trying to defuse the situation. Wrex turned to look at him and narrowed his eyes. "We'll have a better chance if we all work together." Wrex glanced him up and down before returning to Shepard.
"Vakarian? Why do you have a C-Sec turian on your team, Shepard?" Wrex spat derisively, glaring at Garrus through the corner of his eyes.
"I'm not exactly working on the books at the moment. I'm teaming up with Shepard for my own reasons." He had a quick moment of concern that his involvement might complicate things. Wrex seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging and finally stepping back into his own space again.
"My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend." Jane relaxed slightly, but her hand didn't return to her side until the commander extended a hand out to the krogan with a smile.
"Glad to have you on the team, Wrex." They shared a firm handshake and a smile. While Shepard had felt friendly and inviting, Wrex's had a sardonic twist.
"Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."
After some discussion, it was decided that they would corner Fist in his office behind the bar, Chora's Den. According to Wrex, Fist generally didn't show up until the evening, but that was one of the only surefire ways to corner him. They killed a little time picking up some supplies up on the Presidium, then finally started making their way down. They had all been able to fit in the large elevator shuttling them toward the lower wards, but not with too much room to spare. Four humans, a turian, and a krogan made for a somewhat awkward ride.
"So…" Wrex drawled quietly, leaning back against the elevator door. On the other side of the cramped space, Ashley, Kaidan, and Shepard were muttering amongst themselves. Wrex peered down next to him where Jane stood between him and Garrus. They had all been introduced once Wrex had joined the team, but the general atmosphere was still somewhat like strange varren circling and sniffing, unsure of one another. Jane cocked her head and glanced back, lifting a hand to brush a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes. Garrus still marveled at the color of it as it drew the eye like nothing else in the room. Part of him wondered why she didn't draw more attention as they made their way through the Citadel.
"Hm?" She questioned, prompting a small grunt from the krogan, snapping Garrus out of his reverie.
"So…" Wrex repeated, his voice still low, "Think you coulda pulled it off?" Garrus' confusion must have been mirrored on her face, because after a heartbeat, Wrex added, "Think you coulda shot me, right there, in the middle of Flux?" She snorted lightly as she crossed her arms, her stance relaxed and yet radiating the kind of confidence that came only with experience.
"You weren't stupid enough to warrant the trouble, not yet anyways." She glanced away again, her eyes hooded and the corner of her lips curled upward.
"You got some nerve, pyjack." The words held no actual heat or venom, indeed the krogan actually seemed amused.
"So long as you don't fuck with the Commander, then I think we're going to get along just fine, Wrex." Garrus couldn't help the nonplused smile from spreading across his own face as his mandibles fluttered slightly. Perhaps unflappability ran in the family, both Shepards seemed to have cornered the market on confidence.
"You really would have, wouldn't you." Wrex stated with a chuckle, "Not that your little pea shooter would have done much, but it certainly would have made things interesting. You've got quads, kid."
It wasn't long until their elevator arrived, and the commander led the group until they approached the bar. Immediately, Garrus knew something was wrong. The lights in the alley leading to the gentlemen's club were dimmed, not a soul in sight. At this time of day, there should be a pretty steady flow in and out, and the lack thereof had Garrus double checking his weapon.
"Looks like it's shut down." He muttered just loud enough to ensure Shepard could hear him, and he saw others begin to reach for their weapons, too.
"Something's not right here." Ashley said slowly as she checked her assault rifle. "This is where we were ambushed earlier this afternoon." Garrus' eyes widened at that, surprised to hear about yet another firefight these humans had gotten into. Trouble seemed to follow hot on Shepard's heels. He hadn't heard anything through C-Sec channels about any of that either, which was odd.
"Fist knows we're coming." Wrex grunted in a voice that must have been considered quiet for a krogan. Shepard, who was taking point, positioned himself next to the door, shotgun raised and ready. He signaled for everyone to take positions, and Garrus felt his heart rate start to quicken. Taking a calming breath, he steadied himself. He hadn't seen quite as much action the past year since moving up from beat cop to investigations, but you know what they say: You can take the turian out of the military, but you can't take the military out of the turian. He knew he was capable of whatever they were walking into, but he found himself wanting Shepard to see his capability, too. Odd, he thought, that he found himself desiring the good opinion of a man he'd just met. A human, at that.
The door opened, and all hell broke loose. Gun fire broke through the silence, and within seconds Shepard was charging forward into the room, protected by his biotic barrier as he let loose a storm of bullets. Immediately tossing the bartender across the room with his biotics, he drew the attention and fire from the mercs and thugs positioned throughout the room so that the rest of the team could enter and take positions. It was an amazing display to watch, and Garrus was starting to see how the commander had been able to hold the line on Elysium.
Before he knew it Garrus found himself sheltering behind an upturned table, taking aim at one of the thugs across the room. One, two, three shots, and three mercenaries dropped with a heavy crash before he ducked behind the table again. Waiting for his weapon to cool, he checked it before leaning around the table to take another shot.
"Very nice." He nearly jumped as he returned to cover to find Jane Shepard crouching next to him, her back up against the same table, checking on her own heat sink.
"Thanks, but I'm only getting started." He tried to keep the smugness out of his voice, but he couldn't deny the exhilaration brought about by lining up and taking the perfect shot, watching your target drop. Peering over the top of the table, he lined up his next shot, but froze as he watched his target topple over before he could even take the shot. Next to him, he heard an amused chuckle.
"Going to have to be faster than that, Vakarian!" Jane taunted as she returned to cover, and Garrus grumbled good naturedly, unable to stop his own smile from forming.
"So, that's how it is, huh?" For the next few minutes they took turns ducking out of cover to pick off another target or two, and it was hard to say who was the better shot. Suddenly, another mercenary ducked through the door decked in much better quality shielding tech. "Shit." Garrus breathed as his first shot was batted away like a fly, barely making a fizzle.
"Hold on…" Jane trailed off, pulling up her omni-tool and quickly inputting a few commands. "Cover me." Quickly, Garrus ducked out and laid down cover fire just as she, too, ducked out while pointing her omni-tool in the merc's direction. Suddenly, the man cried out as his shields overloaded and died with an electric shock. Without needing any encouragement, Garrus quickly put a bullet between the man's eyes.
Before they knew it, the last man fell, and Shepard gave the orders to regroup by the entrance to the back offices. As they made their way over to the commander, Jane looked up at him with an appraising look before returning to checking her heat sink.
"I'm impressed, Vakarian. Glad to have you aboard." She said without stopping as she moved past him to say something to her brother. Garrus felt a bubble of pleasure at the compliment. Glancing around the bar, about two dozen thugs lay about in the wreckage. This strike team of Shepard's was clearly an effective one, and it felt good to be useful, to be moving forward with this investigation. And it felt good to put these skills to use again.
"Well done, everyone. Glad to see you both can hold your own." Shepard looked pointedly at Garrus and Wrex before continuing, "Very impressive work. Let's keep moving." They both nodded their acknowledgement, and Garrus felt the pride the words elicited.
What was going to happen after they found the proof they were after? When Saren was proven guilty and condemned as a traitor? Would the Alliance soldiers board their ship and fly off to track him down? Was he just going to go back to his desk and wait for the next case to be dropped in his lap? Somehow, he thought that would be very difficult after all of this.