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Loyalty and Limerence
Part 2
Chapter 8
Zakera Ward, Present Day
The moment his feet stepped onto the dock at the Citadel, Garrus could feel a bittersweet taste on his tongue. Logically, he knew this place was his home, and in a way he was happy to see it again. Yet, it felt odd, as though he were looking back on the memories of another person, as though the Garrus Vakarian who lived and worked here for so long was some other Garrus Vakarian, someone he could hardly relate to anymore
He didn't miss the fact that they were not welcomed with open arms into the Alliance docking bay. He supposed a Cerberus ship was not granted such privileges, no matter who captained her. Then again, the Alliance and the Council probably had no reason to believe Shepard truly alive at this point, despite the proposed upcoming meeting. It was certainly difficult to believe until you saw him with your own eyes. Garrus could certainly attest to that.
"So, what's the plan, Shepard?" He asked, glancing up the line to the new security checkpoint apprehensively.
"I have my meeting with Anderson soon, but I have some errands I need to run first. A couple of people on the crew have made some requests for specific supplies that I'd like to pick up." Shepard replied, checking the time on his omni tool.
Glancing about the team assembled near the Normandy's jetway, Garrus decided it was an interesting bunch. Mordin had opted to stay and get work done in his lab, apparently looking forward to the quiet as a good deal of the crew would be away. Jack was coming, though Spirits only knew what her plans were. When he'd inquired, he'd been met with an instruction to go do something lewd which he was pretty sure was physically impossible for just about any species. Except perhaps the hanar…? He shuddered at the thought.
Zaeed had come along as well, declaring his plans to meet up with a couple of old friends, no doubt as gruff and weathered as he. Garrus wondered if perhaps he should contact some of his own friends, maybe Ridgefield and Lamont. But he quickly squashed that idea. He'd dropped contact with all of them so suddenly and completely that it felt awkward to just pop up and act like everything was fine. Plus, he had some contacts he wanted to touch base with in regards to his search for Sidonis, and that had to be his top priority.
"I looked up a few shops on this ward that I'd like to visit." Grunt, the tank bred krogan, chimed in, something almost like a smile on his chiseled features. "There's this one neat looking explosives shop, and then there's a comic shop, and a krogan restaurant that I'd like to try. The pictures looked really yummy…" With each location, he held up another finger, looking down at them with a pleased expression.
"I think it's best if you stay with me, Grunt. You've never been to the Citadel before, and it's a very big place." Shepard pointed out slowly, his voice doing very little to hide his obvious concern. "I don't want you getting lost. We might be able to find some time to stop by one or two of those before we head back later-"
"Oh, let the kid go find his shops, I'm sure we can track him down if he gets lost. It's not like he can't radio in for assistance. He's a baby, but he's not stupid." Jane laughed, slapping Grunt on the back in a friendly manner, causing the krogan to grin. "If you're really worried, John, then once my meeting is done, I can escort him around." As the words left her lips, the change in Shepard was immediate. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his attention completely upon his sister.
"What are your plans? Who are you meeting with?" Shepard asked, his voice light and disinterested in a way that gave away his true curiosity.
"Oh, it's nothing major, just meeting up with some people I haven't seen in a long while." Jane replied airily, as though the answer was nothing of consequence. "It's nice to be back on the Citadel, it's been a while since I've last been here." She glanced around, the change of topic readily apparent. After a moment, Garrus couldn't help but ask.
"It seems like they beefed up security quite a bit, is this new or…?" Garrus trailed off, hoping for an answer. Despite his disgruntlement at Jane's vague answer before, Shepard chimed in to agree.
"I don't ever remember seeing this many officers at the docks before. I can't believe we have to wait in a line to get through security."
"Yeah, they really upped security after Sovereign's attack." Jane replied offhandedly, looking down at her omni-tool. "Not that I think this sort of security is really going to do much about Reaper attacks, but-" Jane cut off, her voice quiet and suddenly serious, "Hm. We have company."
Everyone froze, glancing around surreptitiously before the nearest ad console sprang to life. The image of a hooded woman appeared, her lips quirked up in a smile.
"Tell me your password, Commander Shepard." The woman said lightly as though she were playing a fun and entertaining game.
"...Ah!" Shepard seemed to remember something, scrambling to pull up his omni tool. "I know they told me the password, it's in that email somewhere…" He began scrolling through his old messages hastily.
"Kasumi!" Jane exclaimed happily, a huge smile on her face as she put away her own omni tool. "What are you doing here? Ah, don't tell me… you must be the thief Cerberus hired for us."
"Shep, I should have known you'd be tied up in all this. It's good to see you again, we have so much catching up to do." With that, the thief leapt off the catwalk above, landing nimbly before them. Standing up, she dusted herself off before nearly squealing as she embraced the red haired infiltrator.
"I see that, uh, you two know each other." Shepard slowly lowered his omni tool, a look of confusion and mild concern taking up residence upon his face. "How? Exactly?" He glanced between the two of them as they parted.
"We were, er, business partners? I suppose? Back when I was working on Illium for a short stint." Jane explained quickly before turning back to an amused looking Kasumi. "How have you been? Keeping busy, I'm sure."
"As always, you know how I like it. Never a dull moment. Especially from now on, I'm guessing. Nothing is ever dull when you're around. Remember that one time at the club in the Ber'ah District in Nos Astra? Oh man, those poor mercs had no idea what hit them, I bet they're still probably reeling. They sure could dance, though, am I right? I remember you having a good time." Kasumi's voice seemed laced with double meaning, and even though he couldn't see her eyebrows under her hood, Garrus could almost imagine them wiggling at the suggestion. Jane tossed her head back and laughed at the same time Shepard seemed to splutter and cough.
"Anyway," Kasumi continued, turning back to Shepard, ignoring his incredulous expression, "It's good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan. I've heard a lot about you."
"Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?" Despite his previous discomposure, he was quick to get back to business.
"Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't come to see me sooner." After a moment, she added, "My fault for being hard to find, I guess." Shepard seemed content with that, giving a short nod.
"Good to have you along, Kasumi. Are you ready to get settled aboard the Normandy?"
"I travel light…" She smirked, turning to look out the window at their ship docked there, "I've already slipped my things aboard your ship." Jane scoffed at that, her expression pained and amused.
"Of course you did. Should have guessed." She chuckled, crossing her arms, which caused Kasumi to smile sweetly at her before turning back to Shepard.
"I'm really glad you're helping me out with the heist." With a grin, she continued, "Can't wait to see how you look in formal wear." She gave him a none-too-quick glance up and down, her grin widening. Shepard seemed not to notice, his eyebrows knitting as he considered her words in confusion.
"I have a feeling you know something I don't."
"They didn't tell you? And they call me secretive." She shifted, her voice growing serious, "I'm looking for my old partner's greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back." Shepard seemed to consider her for a moment, weighing her words before he responded.
"If that's what Cerberus promised you, we'll get it done."
"It'll be fun. And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." With that, Kasumi turned and started toward the Normandy's jetway. "We should probably wrap this up. I'm sure you have lot's to get done."
"Wait, Keiji's greybox? What happened to Keiji?" Jane cut in, her expression confused and concerned. Something in Kasumi's smile seemed to freeze as it lost its ease, becoming wooden and fixed.
"Let's catch up later, Shep. See you all on the ship." Kasumi took a step and suddenly vanished into thin air. With a sigh, Garrus decided he probably had a hint as to the origin of Jane's impressive tactical cloak.
"Interesting friends you've got." He quipped with an amused smile, causing Jane to turn to him with a half smile and raised brow.
"You're one to talk. This is one of the most bizarre crews in the galaxy."
"Yo!" Garrus jumped as he heard Jack yell at them from the security checkpoint, "Shepard! Get your ass over here, it's our turn!" Garrus realized with surprise that the security line, including Jack and Zaeed, had continued on without them. Jogging forward to join them, the team reunited in time to pass forward into the C-Sec scanner.
As they came to a halt in the cramped room, a series of beams scanned over them with a few small beeps. After a moment, something flashed red.
"Shut it down." Barked the guard into his com before looking down at his console in concern. "What? Do you seriously think… Yeah. Okay." He looked back up at Shepard, frustration and contrition warring upon his face. "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir." He looked down at his console again before doing a double take, his eyes flicking up to land on Jane more than once.
"Is something wrong, Officer?" She asked, her voice carefully leveled and neutral. He looked up at her in something resembling confusion again before replying.
"Er, no, Spe…er, Miss… Shepard." The officer seemed to nervously stand a little taller. "Our scanners are, uh-" He seemed to swallow, his eyes widening a bit as they darted to Shepard, then back to Jane again before looking back down at his console, "-they seem to think he's, ah, dead."
"I'm sure that's something you guys can fix." Jane stated firmly, crossing her arms again, her expression unamused.
"I was only mostly dead. Try finding that option on government paperwork." Shepard added, his voice dry, causing Jane to shoot him an annoyed glare.
"Hah, we need to get that cleared up for you." The officer stated as he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, refusing to look at Jane. With that, he directed them to a Captain Bailey, who assured them he could fix the problem. After very little work, he looked back up at them.
"Something else you need?" Bailey finally asked not unkindly, "Or can I get back to work?" He glanced over to Jane for a moment, his eyes sharp and inquisitive, causing Shepard to shoot her a questioning look which she appeared not to notice.
"I should be going." Shepard stated, turning back to Bailey, who nodded.
"You need anything else, let me know."
"Okay, guys," Shepard turned to face the group as they stepped out of the C-Sec offices and out into Zakera Ward's shopping district, "You know where to meet and when, let me know if you run into any trouble, though try to keep your noses out of it if you can." He got a few chuckles at that.
"Sounds good, I'll see you guys later." Jane replied quickly, already heading toward a connecting hallway, her hand lifted in farewell. The group dispersed, but Shepard caught Garrus' elbow as he turned to leave. "Garrus, hold on a moment."
"Sure, Shepard, what's up?" Shepard waited a moment, ensuring no one else was in listening distance before he answered, his voice low.
"I want you to follow Jane." He hissed, his eyes still tracking her as she began disappearing in the crowd. Garrus nearly choked, coughing before he could reply.
"What? Why under the Spirits would you want me to do that?" He asked, his eyes opened wide in surprise as he looked down at the other man.
"Because something doesn't add up, and I don't know what it is. Everything with Cerberus, her disappearing every chance she gets, the weird looks she kept getting from the C-Sec officers, all of her odd and interesting acquaintances, I don't know. My gut feeling is that there's something she's not telling me, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
"Shepard, I think this might cross a line." Garrus pointed out slowly, stamping down on the sick feeling growing in his stomach. "Why are you asking me to do this?" Shepard looked back at Garrus, his expression bordering chagrin.
"Subterfuge is not exactly my forte. I think you'd stand a better chance at not screwing this up, and I need to pick up these supplies before my meeting. Can I count on you for this?" The urgency in Shepard's voice grew as Jane turned a corner, disappearing. Hesitating, Garrus cursed, frustration growing at being put in a situation that felt doomed no matter what he did.
"Isn't this a breach of her trust?" He couldn't keep the accusation out of his voice, but Shepard's sharp eyes drove into him.
"Please Garrus. I'm asking you to do me this favor, just this once. " Shepard pleaded with him, his expression bordering desperation. Garrus was trapped between his desire to capitulate to his commander's request, and his desire to protect his friend's privacy. He felt as though he and Jane had made progress in regaining their closeness the past few weeks, in spanning the divide between them, and doing this could do more than ruin that.
And yet… Shepard was right. Garrus had questions about Jane's peculiar behavior, choices, and actions lately, too. Jane had even hinted that there were things she wasn't telling them. Shepard's request was not, perhaps, wholly unreasonable…
"Bah, fine. I don't like this, but I'll do my best. Mind you, I don't think I stand a chance, and I'm throwing you under the bus if she catches me."
"That's fine, just go!" Shepard pushed him in the direction Jane had gone, and Garrus hurried after her. He hurried down the hall, turning into the stairwell he'd seen her head into. At the top of the stairs, the hall opened into another part of the shopping district, and just ahead, he could see her red hair standing out amongst the other people coming and going. Keeping his distance as he fought the feeling of bile in the back of his throat, he drew upon years of police work coupled with the tracked he'd done during his time as Archangel.
He tried to keep his head low, attempting to blend in with another group of turians just ahead of him. More than once she seemed to peer around her surreptitiously, and after the third time, the sick anxiety in his stomach started to fade, replaced by a completely different anxiety as Garrus started to think that perhaps Shepard wasn't too far off the mark. Jane clearly did not want to be followed, and seemed vaguely concerned that she might be. Granted, she was entirely correct to be worried, it turned out, but still…
After a few minutes, she seemed to pick up her pace, changing directions a few times in seemingly random places, pausing for a few moments here and there to peer into windows, apparently interested in what she saw. Each time, she glanced about before returning to her winding path through the shopping district. Garrus felt like he was using every drop of his training and experience just to keep her trail without giving himself away.
Suddenly, she darted forward and into an alley, causing him to curse before hurrying after her. As he turned into the alley, his stomach sank as he saw it was completely empty. Looking around him, he wondered if she'd used her tactical cloak. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he thought back to his training when he'd first joined C-Sec. One of his instructors had told him about the human concept of "gut feelings", and that it was generally a good feeling to trust them when you weren't sure what to do.
Making up his mind, he hurried down the alleyway, and wasn't surprised when it opened up into a hallway, another stairwell leading off in another direction. As his mandibles flicked in annoyance and growing agitation, he let his eyes jump between the hallway and the stairwell. Freezing, he closed his eyes in hopes of hearing some sort of sound that may give him a clue. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the sound of light footsteps hurrying upwards. Darting up the stairs as quietly he could, he wondered if perhaps it would be best if he lost her trail. Then he could tell Shepard he'd done his best without breaching Jane's privacy. But something kept his feet moving forward.
As he hurried out into an open corridor, he froze and darted back into cover as he saw her materialize back into sight as she darted toward a public transport console.
"Gotcha…" Garrus couldn't help the upswell of pride as he watched her hop into a skycar and fly off, hurrying over to the same console to hire his own. As he took off, he kept her car in sight as best he could, keeping as much distance between them as possible. She'd always been somewhat of an erratic driver, but at least the traffic patterns throughout the Citadel enforced some amount of regularity and safety. Finally, he watched as she landed the skycar on the Presidium, to his surprise.
Garrus landed his own skycar soon after, and he watched as she beelined to the newly rebuilt embassies, which confused him further. Why would she need to go to the embassies? Maybe she was meeting with Anderson? Jane jumped into a waiting elevator, and as soon as the door closed, Garrus hurried over and pushed the button, hoping the next elevator would arrive soon. As a nearby door opened, he hopped in and hesitated. He had no idea which floor she'd gone to, but thinking about his theory that she was there to meet with Anderson, he hit the floor for the councilor's offices.
As the door opened, he felt a leap of elation in his chest as he saw her hurrying up a set of stairs. He darted back into the elevator just in time to avoid her as she glanced back for a moment before continuing on. He quickly made his way toward the stairs, slipping up them before coming to a slow, watching Jane as she turned and walked through a door on the left. As soon as the door closed, he started forward again, pausing as he realized which door it was that she'd just entered.
Jane had walked into the Spectre Offices.
Oh.
Oh.
Garrus fought to keep his jaw from popping open as he retreated a few steps back toward the stairs, positioning himself where he could watch for when she left. He knew perfectly well that no one could enter the Spectre Offices unless they were a Spectre, or accompanied by one.
Could Jane really be a Spectre?
Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and hoped he looked casual enough not to draw any unwanted eyes as he stood there, considering. Garrus had no idea what to think as a million questions erupted in his mind. For every old question it answered, it created a hundred more. It was so far outside of what he'd suspected that it was beginning to feel as though he'd had the rug ripped out from under him.
A few minutes into his wait, he pulled out his omni-tool and pretended to be busy to deter attention, settling in for his stakeout. After about ten minutes, Jane left the Spectre Offices and crossed the hall before entering the office belonging to the asari Councilor. The fact that she just opened the door and stepped in without any hesitation or argument suggested to him that she must have been expected, which only gave credence to his suspicion that, somehow, Jane was actually a Spectre.
Moments later, Anderson left his office, also making his way to Tevos' office. So, she wasn't meeting with one, but at least two councilors. Probably all of them, if he had to guess. Making his decision, Garrus turned and headed back down the stairs. He parked himself leaning against the wall just around the corner in order to wait for the end of her meeting. There was only one way to get the answers he wanted, and since this appeared to be the only exit…
He settled in to wait. To his surprise, it wasn't long until she came trotting down the stairs, turning toward the elevators without pause.
"So," Garrus drawled, his voice full of bravado and disinterest he didn't feel, "I must admit to being a little surprised." Jane froze, a sudden tensing of her shoulders the only sign of the surprise he suspected she must be feeling. He remembered Ridgefield had an odd saying, something about a deer and headlights. "How long have you been a-"
"Shh-!" She whipped around, shushing him as she looked around feverishly. Taking a moment to breathe, he could see her visually relax before she continued. "I knew someone had tried following me, but I had figured I'd lost them. I'm impressed you kept up. Pissed, mind you. But impressed." Jane narrowed her eyes dangerously, her voice deceptively calm.
"Don't avoid the question." Garrus pushed back off the wall, taking a step closer, his own frustration and anxiety ballooning to fill his chest with the anger that had been his old friend the past few weeks. She held her ground, crossing her arms.
"What makes you think you deserve an answer after this?" She took a step toward him, stopping so that they were nearly toe to toe, looking up to glare up at him with flashing eyes, hard as steel. The tension between them pricked like electricity. "Why did you follow me? Just felt like pretending to be a cop again? Felt like tailing me like some sort of perp? Do you not trust me or something?" Even with the flat, single layer of human speech, the lack of subvocal levels, he could hear the suppressed anger, disappointment, and accusation hiding in the words.
"The Commander asked me to." The sharp words seemed to hit her over the head like a brick, her eyes going wide as her arms fell to her sides. Her eyebrows came together not in anger but in hurt at the revelation. Taking a deep breath, he remembered vividly her accusation that he'd been lashing out at her, and he forced himself to find a scrap of calm, moderating his voice in hopes of softening the blow. "He's suspicious because you won't talk about why you're with Cerberus, and honestly, I was confused by it, too. But now there's this." Garrus gestured back toward the offices. "Why won't you just tell him what you're up to? Do you not trust him?" After a moment, he added quietly, "Or me?" Jane seemed to consider him for a long moment before turning and walking away.
Garrus felt himself deflate, disappointment and despair nibbling at him until she paused, turning back to him. With a quick toss of her head, she gestured for him to follow, her eyes seeming to scream 'Well? Hurry up!'. His heart leapt and he hurried after her as she led him across the waiting room, past the elevators, to a door leading back to another collection of smaller, less consequential offices.
With a flick of her wrist, her omni-tool lighting up, the door's security was instantly disarmed, allowing them to pass through into the hallway. Jane poked her head into a series of offices, some empty, some not, until she stepped into one, pulling him inside before she shut the door behind them.
"Whose office is this?" Garrus asked, examining the room as Jane ran her omni tool over the console quickly before entering a command to shutter the office's windows. As the windows clouded over, she pulled up some program on his omni-tool before beginning a slow scan of the room.
"Some junior under secretary, it doesn't matter." She replied offhandedly as she focused on her work, and Garrus could help but smile bemusedly. The fact that she felt confident enough to waltz into some random person's office and take it over without fearing repercussions just added yet more support to his earlier suspicions.
"What is this all about?" Garrus asked, watching as she ducked down to examine something before the desk.
"Ah ha…" Jane breathed out before standing back up, a small device in one hand. Holding her omni tool up to it for a moment, she looked it over before dropping it to the ground, crushing it under her boot.
"What what that?"
"Cerberus." Was her only response as she sighed, looking down at the debris before her. She went back to scanning for a few more minutes. Finally, she closed down her omni tool before bringing her hands up to face, scrubbing at her eyes tiredly. "Sorry about that, I have to be careful, else it's my neck on the line." Looking back down at the debris, she continued. "That was a Cerberus bug, I imagine they have them planted all over around here. I thought they were doing regular scans for them and their like, but clearly not well enough." Garrus felt his eyes widen, looking down at the destroyed electronic bug.
"Spirits. I didn't realize it was this bad even on the Citadel." He breathed, his eyes darting around the room anxiously, causing Jane to scoff.
"The Citadel is no safer than Omega. Just cleaner." She growled, and Garrus couldn't argue with that. "Look, Garrus… I'm sorry I haven't been entirely honest with you or John." She sighed, leaning back against the desk, crossing her ankles before her. "Just… Please bear with me. I'll try and tell you everything I can, it's a bit of a long story."
"Just start from the beginning. I'm listening." Garrus stated encouragingly, his voice gentle, and she smiled dully before taking a deep breath.
"It started a few months after the memorial service." Jane started, closing her eyes as though she were remembering the scene in detail, "I got a summons from Anderson asking me to come to the Citadel for a meeting…."
(Note: Thank you very much thelordofdarkreunion for agreeing to become my second beta reader! You should check out their story, Technophiles, as it is very well written and features our favorite quarian.
Thank you, as always, to my other beta reader, Zwober, and to all my readers! I love responding to your reviews and always welcome your thoughts, questions, and critiques.)