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Loyalty and Limerence
Part 2
Chapter 19
Illium
Screams reverberated across the plaza, injured civilians crying and moaning as flaming debris smoldered where they'd fallen. Garrus' eyes went wide as he surveyed the wreckage and carnage around him, bodies strewn about like discarded playthings. Nearby he could hear alarms beginning to ring, shouts echoing as horrified onlookers mobilized to assist the injured. His body felt numb as he struggled to process what had just happened while above him the roiling clouds slowly moved in over the city.
"Jane's in there!" He shouted at Vasir as dread creeped up his throat from his belly. Immediately he activated his comm and begged Jane to reply, but still he got nothing but faint static. He was momentarily thrust back to that instant weeks ago as he'd watched Morinth leading her out of the club, the moment where he'd realized how much he had to lose.
"They just took out three floors to make sure T'soni's dead! I'll head to the roof and seal off the building from the top!" Vasir shouted as she hurried back to her nearby sky car while Garrus pulled out his assault rifle.
"I'll start down here and work my way up." He replied with a growl as he started toward the demolished front door.
"Just leave some for me!" She shot back at him as the sky car's door closed. Garrus dodged around the bodies of the dead and dying, his mind zeroing in on the one person he prayed was still alive.
The smell of charred flesh scorched the inside of his nose as he forced his eyes to scan each and every body he encountered, dreading the moment he'd find a splash of red hair splayed across the floor. The flames burning nearby coupled with the flickering illumination of damaged overhead lighting made it difficult to pick his way around the debris, but he quickly made his way toward the stairs.
Garrus paused when he came across the body of a salarian wearing a uniform, the company's name emblazoned upon his breast.
"Baria Frontiers…" Garrus muttered as he noted the haphazard bullet holes riddling the man's body. Whatever, whoever, killed this man, it hadn't been the explosion, that much was obvious. He hurried up the stairs, each step more hurried than the one before. Jane had to still be alive, he couldn't… wouldn't entertain any other alternatives. He tried hailing her once again. No response. He cursed.
As Garrus stepped out into the second floor's atrium, he noticed more of the same: dead and injured civilians, fires leftover from the explosions, and the alarming groan of damaged infrastructure. But then he immediately noticed the body of one man in particular, an unmarked merc clutching an assault rifle. Glancing up, he noticed more armored bodies ahead, strewn across the stairs leading up farther into the building. Blood trickled, dripping down the treads as it leaked from corpses, but Garrus hardly noticed as he rushed up to the next floor.
He froze as his eyes landed on the unarmed military grade explosive device sitting on a low ledge by the door of a nearby office. Carefully, Garrus approached it, but as soon as he decided it wasn't a threat, he turned his eyes toward the office. Baria Frontiers seemed no different than any of the other offices located in the building, except for the two dead mercs lying outside its front door.
Garrus approached quickly, and as he noted the clean bullet hole through the head of one and the broken neck of the other, he felt his breath catch. It was neat and precise handiwork, not unlike the work of a master plying their trade. Handiwork that he recognized.
His feet carried him through the doors and into the offices in a flash, hope blooming in his chest, spurring him on faster. The lights flickered, but the darkness failed to hide the bodies of the mercs laying about, riddled with bullet wounds, his path ahead blessedly clear. He hurried up another flight of stairs, leaping over the bodies of yet more dead mercs.
Garrus stopped as he heard the muffled sounds of conversation and he darted into cover, checking his rifle. Carefully, he ducked his head out just far enough to catch a glimpse of movement in the next room. A flash of red, a familiar voice-
"Jane?" He called out, his heart hammering in his chest as he waited for a reply. Spirits, he needed to hear her voice, any sign that she was alive.
"In here!" Garrus released the breath he was holding as he heard the reply, the joy evoked by the sound of her voice nearly overshadowing the horror of the situation. He double checked the course was clear before darting out of cover, desperate to lay eyes on her, to see she was truly safe. But he came to a screeching halt as he passed through the door into the next room, his weapon lowering in confusion.
"What-?"
Jane and Vasir stood at either end of the room, pistols drawn on each other, their eyes locked as they considered the other coldly. Jane's body was tense, coiled like a spring about to snap. Vasir, who appeared to be clutching a data disk in her off hand, seemed relaxed and confident.
"What's going on here?" Garrus asked sharply, leveling his weapon on Vasir, his eyes still darting between the two of them.
"Vasir is working for the Shadow Broker." He jumped at the sudden voice of Liara T'soni, and he turned slightly to see her kneeling in front of a bleeding salarian, her omni-tool out as she applied medi-gel.
"Liara? But how did she…?" Garrus looked back up at Vasir, whose lips curled up in a sardonic smile.
"I knew we couldn't trust you, but I hadn't thought you'd sunk this low, Vasir." Jane spat as the two women took a step sidewise in near unison, slowly circling each other.
"I saw her!" Liara accused, "I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment." She stood suddenly, turning to jab a finger in the other asari's direction.
"You didn't know where Liara went. But you'd hoped I would find a message if she left one." Jane finished, her eyes narrowing, the hand holding her pistol trembling ever so slightly. "What I don't understand is how you found out she was here."
Vasir barked a harsh laugh, her face distorting in amused disgust.
"I thought I trained you better than that. You of all people should know, Shepard. On Illium, there's always someone watching. You thought you were safe when you took your little prize outside, but it wasn't hard to tap into the apartment building's security system. Including the parking lot cameras." Jane was silent at the revelation, no doubt kicking herself for the oversight as much as Garrus was. Vasir shrugged, her smile smug, "Thanks for the help."
"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces. They bombed the building to take me out." Liara stated as she came to stand beside Jane, her pistol suddenly drawn and trained upon the other asari. Vasir's eyes narrowed as she took a slow step backwards toward the window behind her.
"No hard feelings, Shepard." She shrugged, taking another small step backwards, "If you'd just shared the data from the start, you never would have needed to be in harm's way. Or maybe if you'd just taken the data from Cerberus to begin with, as I had asked months ago, no one would have needed to die."
"You're not going to get away with this, Vasir." Jane growled, her finger tightening on the trigger despite the continuing tremble, "You blew up a building full of innocent people."
"A Spectre does what they need to to get the job done." Vasir stated, bringing her hand behind her to tuck the data disk away. They stared each other down for a silent moment before Jane replied.
"Yes, we do."
They both moved in the same instant and the room burst into chaos. A sparking, blue glow sprung up around Vasir and her expression hardened. The window behind her cracked loudly before splintering into thousands of tiny shards.
Jane fired off three quick shots just as Vasir sent the shards flying at them, her trembling hand causing the first two to fly wide, the third just grazing the other Spectre's arm. Vasir returned fire just as Garrus grabbed Liara and pulled her down and out of the line of fire.
"Damn it!" Jane cried as she lifted a hand to protect her face, but the shards shattered and crashed against a sudden biotic barrier that sprung up to protect them. Garrus helped Liara regain her footing as she held the barrier above them, cursing softly under her breath. He looked up to see Vasir turn and dash toward the window, and he realized she was going to jump. "Oh no you don't!" Jane yelled as she took off after Vasir, darting right through the barrier without hesitation.
"Jane, no!" He called as he realized what she was doing, and shouldered past Liara to grab her, but he was too late. Jane lept on Vasir, grabbing her around the middle and reaching for the data disk just as she reached the window, causing both women to hit what remained of the glass with enough force to shatter it.
Garrus' heart seized as they were flung out into the air and, for a split second, they seemed to hover before tumbling down toward the hard ground below. He ran to the window and looked out to see Vasir's biotics spring up around them both, slowing their fall as they grappled with each other.
Jane managed to get in a good right hook, catching Vasir hard in the cheek, but the asari twisted to ram her knee hard into Jane's middle. With a shove, Vasir pried them apart and with a final kick, Jane lost her grip a few meters above the ground. She hit the ground hard, tumbling amidst the shattered glass until she stopped, prone and unmoving. Vasir landed hard, crouched like a cat, and soon took off running through the atrium toward the stairs leading to the lobby.
"Crap!" Garrus hissed as he peered down at Jane where she lay, still motionless, but just as he was about to stand and hurry toward the office's exit, he heard the pounding of running feet. He turned just in time to see Liara leap over him, flinging herself out the window as well. Her biotics sprung up around her, slowing her descent as she floated down toward the lower level.
As soon as Liara's feet hit the ground, she took off after Vasir without so much as a backward glance at Jane. Cursing again, Garrus didn't even bother trying to calculate the height of the fall, opting for the stairs like a sane person. Which he must be the only one of in the whole goddamn building, he thought angrily as he sprinted toward the stairs.
Garrus slid to a stop beside Jane as soon as he reached the atrium, where, to his great relief, she was slowly starting to pull herself up onto her knees. He quickly offered her a hand, and she grasped his forearm, allowing him to help her up.
"Are you okay?" He asked hurriedly, his subvocals revealing his elation as she stood.
"I think so," She stated with a wince, bringing up a hand to feel her side, "I think I bruised a rib. Just got banged around a little."
"That was stupid and reckless." He pointed out, but he couldn't stop the relieved smile from creeping across his face.
"Yeah, it was." Jane groaned as she rolled her neck and then her shoulder, "But that's nothing new." They heard the far off sound of shouts and gunfire, and they both pulled out their own weapons. "We've gotta catch up to Liara." She stated firmly before looking up at him, a smile starting to form on her lips. "Ready?"
Checking his heat sink, he grinned back at her, "At your six." At that moment, they heard the rush of boots on stairs, and dove into cover just as the first merc hurried out into the atrium.
Jane and Garrus fell into an old, familiar dance as they ducked out to return fire, covering each other as they exchanged heat sinks or pushed forward. He'd missed fighting alongside her the past few weeks as she'd recovered, and if he'd been worried that she'd gotten rusty, she was currently diswading him of that. She wasn't entirely her old self, as demonstrated by her occasional slight tremor, but improvement was vast in comparison to just weeks ago.
"So how did you survive the blast?" He asked after a minute or two, and Jane responded with a harsh bark of unamused laughter.
"Dumb luck, I suppose. Was in the right spot at the wrong time. Ran into Liara and we had to fight our way into the office, but we were too late to protect Sekat or prevent Vasir from stealing the data disk."
It didn't take them long to fight their way down stairs, the mercs serving as only a small barrier for them. They made their way back through the lobby, leaving nothing but bodies in their wake.
"There she is!" Jane pointed to where Liara crouched behind a skycar, gun raised as she prepared to shoot. Not far away, Vasir sheltered behind another skycar, protected from Liara's attacks. A crack of lightning lit up the sky, and moments later a chilly breeze cut through the plaza.
Vasir's omni-tool sprang up over her forearm, and she hurriedly began inputting commands. Within seconds, a skycar carefully maneuvered through the air, disappearing over the nearby ledge. Without more than half a glance back at them, Vasir turned and sprinted toward the edge, her biotics engulfing her as she lept toward the hovering skycar.
Jane and Garrus ran toward the edge only to watch as the door closed on Vasir before she quickly made for the sky.
"Goddamn it!" Jane cursed, whipping up her pistol to take a few pointless pot shots at the skycar as it darted away.
"Over here!" Liara yelled, and Garrus turned to see the asari gesturing toward another sky car that had been parked nearby. Jane beelined for it, hopping into the driver's seat. Liara hesitantly climbed into the backseat, but Garrus paused for a moment beside it.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" He asked pointedly, causing Jane to roll her eyes.
"Just get your ass in the car." Begrudgingly, Garrus climbed into the front passenger seat, buckling himself in with extreme care. Even though he knew they were about to be in for an experience, he couldn't stop himself from gazing briefly at Jane as his mandibles flicked outwards in a smile. Somehow, she'd survived the explosion and the fall through that window, it seemed hard to feel disgruntled in the face of such luck. Or maybe that was just the adrenaline talking.
"What could possibly go wrong?" Liara asked, her voice drier than he could ever remember it being.
"Famous last words." He chuckled grimly as Jane booted the car up, her sudden smile far too enthusiastic in his opinion
"Come on, she's getting away!" Liara urged, her anxiety to go nearly palpable as Jane fiddled with the chair settings.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Garrus stated just before they were thrown back into their seats as Jane rammed her foot down onto the peddle. Liara yelped in the backseat as the car went tearing off after Vasir.
"You're both being melodramatic. She's just a little ahead of us and the sky is wide open. How hard could this possibly end up being?" Jane spun the wheel sharp, sending them careening around a corner. Garrus sighed as he braced his feet and gripped a nearby handle.
"If Illium is as much like Omega as you say it is, then you only need three things: A good horn, good breaks, and good luck."
"Oh, Goddess-!" Liara choked out a cry as Jane jammed the wheel forward, forcing the car into a nosedive just in time to dodge under an oncoming car. Just ahead, they could see the tail lights of Vasir's vehicle as it turned. "Hang a right! No, your other right!" Liara nearly screeched as they were tossed about, Jane's hands furiously working the wheel.
"Make up your damn mind!" Jane hissed, her expression pinched with focus as her eyes followed their prey. "I'm on her, don't worry."
"Hang a left!" Liara added a moment later, causing Jane to growl.
"Stop backseat driving!"
"Okay, sorry!" Liara replied, sounding equally annoyed, causing Garrus to chuckle as they were thrown about.
"Where did you get your license, Jane? A cereal box?" He asked, and Jane turned her head to shoot him a glare, causing Liara to snap at her to keep her eyes forward.
"I'll have you know that I passed my N level combat driving course." Jane stated matter of factly.
"With what grade?" Garrus asked, his grin growing as she paused before answering.
"High enough to pass." Jane muttered begrudgingly, causing Garrus to laugh even as he was thrown hard into the door as she turned suddenly again.
"How can you be laughing right now?" Liara asked incredulously, "Vasir is getting away with that data, and Jane is going to kill us, and you're- Jane! Red light! Oncoming traffic! Red light!" Jane shot through the intersection, pulling up just enough to skate over the top of another car passing through it. The sound of metal grating and scraping on metal caused Garrus to wince, but Jane continued on, picking up speed as she followed after Vasir.
"We're fine, stop worrying." Jane stated nonchalantly, but after a moment of silence from the rest of the car, she continued, "Red lights are more of a suggestion, anyway." Garrus raised a brow at that, but she probably knew exactly how bad that sounded.
They dodged and weaved through traffic as they followed Vasir in and out of tunnels, Liara seemingly caught between urging Jane to go faster and begging her to slow down as they were jostled about.
Vasir cut off a truck suddenly, causing it to swerve and lose control. The large tanker spun, cutting off most of the lanes passing through the tunnel, and Garrus felt the tight grip of fear in his throat as they careened toward it.
"Truck!" Liara cried, pointing forward at it as they approached it.
"I know." Jane said calmly. The truck loomed nearer.
"Truck!" Liara shouted again, her voice rising in panic.
"I know!" Jane yelled back at her in irritation just as she pressed forward on the controls. She sent them hurtling downward toward the bottom of the tunnel, missing the truck by mere inches before it smashed into the tunnel wall.
"I don't get what you guys are so worked up about, we're still alive! And did you see that? It passed right over us, wasn't that some smooth driving?"
"No, but then again, I don't have a death wish." Garrus replied, raising a brow at her, causing her to deadpan.
"Oh, fuck you, Vakarian. Who asked you anyway?" She glanced at him and he could see the smallest hint of an upward curl of her lips.
"Car!" Liara yelped suddenly, and Garrus looked up just as Jane managed to jerk them out of the way just in time to only clip it, the side mirror flying off as they bounced off the other car.
"No problem, you weren't using that anyway." Garrus drawled dryly, and he grinned as he was rewarded with an indignant huff. Jane shot him a look before intentionally cutting hard to the right, swiping the side of another car, losing the other side mirror. She righted them, speeding up to keep with Vasir as she turned a corner. Jane's face remained completely neutral as he raised a brow plate at her.
"Wasn't using that one either." She stated matter of factly with a shrug, causing Liara to groan with despondent frustration.
"Why would you do that? How are you going to see cars in your blindspots now?" Liara asked, her voice aggravated and disbelieving. Jane rolled her eyes as her self satisfied smile returned.
"Blind spots are for other drivers."
Just then, he noticed Vasir toss something out her window, and whatever it was pulsed with a small red light as it hovered in the air.
"She's dropping proximity charges." Garrus stated as he tensed, his subvocals losing all hints of humor.
"I see them." Jane replied as she flew wide of it. She nearly dodged around the next, but it exploded without warning as they got too close, the shockwave hitting their car hard. As they righted themselves, Garrus glanced at Jane to see her gripping the wheel, her brows drawn in her first real look of concern since they'd taken the car.
Slowing, Jane seemed to take more care than ever before as she maneuvered them around the proximity charges hovering ominously before them, but after a minute or two, it was clear Vasir was putting substantial distance between them.
"Crap." Jane growled, her fingers digging into the wheel as she glared at the distant glow of the asari's tail lights. Just then, a van went careening past them, smacking into a nearby car as it tried to crash into theirs.
"She's got reinforcements!" Liara shouted as Jane groaned.
"Craaaaap." Jane spun the wheel, barely managing to dodge as another car tried to ram them. After a moment, Jane continued, "What kind of weapons does this thing have?"
"It's a taxi!" Liara replied with incredulity, "It has a fare meter!"
"At least it seems like Vasir's run out of proximity charges…" Jane huffed as she continued to duck and weave as the other cars attempted to slow or stop her. While they did seem to be gaining on Vasir again, Garrus was beginning to suspect it would require a miracle for any of them to survive.
They turned a corner, and suddenly the van was just ahead and coming right at them. Jane jerked the wheel, and the van shot past them, smashing directly into the car that had been tailing them closely. Liara gasped, bringing a hand to cover her mouth in shock as the van and car spun down toward the ground far below, engulfed in flames.
"A head-on collision at this speed…" She muttered, clearly horrified, causing Jane to scoff.
"Yeah," She stated dryly as she accelerated, gaining on Vasir quickly, "I hear those can be bad for you." Just ahead of them, a truck began turning, cutting off Vasir, forcing her to cut hard to the right in order to avoid it. Jane shot forward, accelerating until she was able to pull up neck in neck with her.
"Force her to land!" Liara demanded, leaning forward between the front chairs as she glared at Vasir through the window. The other asari looked up and noticed them with a start before glaring right back at them.
"Watch out!" Garrus braced himself as Vasir's car leaned in and shouldered hard into them. Jane fought with the controls to steady their course before cutting the wheel hard to the right, ramming them into the side of Vasir's car in turn.
The two skycars bounced against each other, metal screeching against metal as they veered from side to side, each pressing for advantage. Garrus looked up to see another car from oncoming traffic hurtling toward them, and he felt the icy chill of the impending crash under his plates.
"Oncoming car!"
"I know!" Jane growled, but the two cars continued their battle for dominance, neither car pulling away as the oncoming car drew nearer. Garrus clenched his jaw, unable to tear his eyes away as they played an ill-fated game of what he believed humans called 'chicken'.
The car, seemingly unaware of them, loomed ever nearer and he fought the urge to shut his eyes as their death rushed toward them on the beams of its headlights. Without warning, he felt the sudden jerk of a gear shift, and he was thrown forward against his seat belt, Jane hissing a frustrated oath. They were tossed hard to the side and Jane spun the wheel, detaching themselves from Vasir's car and dodging out of the way just in time.
Garrus turned to look out the window just in time to see Vasir's car hit the oncoming car hard, nearly head-on. The resulting fire seemed to engulf half of her car as she spun out, shattered glass falling to the distant ground as she began losing altitude.
"That was a… a really good maneuver." Garrus stated breathlessly as Jane trailed after the falling Spectre's car.
"I told you I passed my combat driving course." Jane replied distractedly as her eyes narrowed, her gaze following the other car as it failed to cease spinning, losing air at a faster and faster rate. "She's not going to make it…" She trailed off, her voice seeming almost sad.
Vasir must have been still alive, for after a moment or two of continued spinning, the car seemed to right itself, and instead of crashing into the side of a building, it pulled up and landed hard on a balcony. Jane sighed as she followed after the flaming car.
"Of course she did." She spat, her voice weary with resignation. They began slowing as they neared the terraced balconies, and Garrus looked down to see a wounded Vasir pulling herself from the wreck, glaring up at them.
"I see her down there, we need to park and get that data before she gets away." He pointed out, but instead of turning them around and landing, the car continued on around the building. "What's wrong?"
"Something's up with the brakes, I must have damaged them. I'm having trouble landing. Hold on." Jane grunted as she fought with the controls, finally bringing them in for a hard landing, causing them to skid along the balcony until they came to a stop. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it."
"Yeah, the painful way." Liara groaned as the door popped open and the three of them pulled themselves out of the skycar. Garrus felt the sensation of cool rain beginning to drip across his plates, one trickling down the back of his neck making him shiver.
"We arrived alive. Good enough." Jane stated as her feet hit the ground and she pulled out her pistol while checking her omni-tool. "Multiple contacts incoming. Looks like Vasir's got backup to slow us down."
Before she'd even closed her mouth, a skycar landed nearby and mercs began pouring out, prompting them to dive into cover. Garrus ducked out to shoot a concussive round toward a group of them as they leapt out of the skycar, returning to safety as another group returned fire.
"We've got to hurry if we're going to track down Vasir. She's injured, but I can't afford to lose that data." Liara called out from where she hid before twisting about to throw a singularity in the direction of another skycar landing nearby.
"Cover me!" Jane yelled just before she turned and darted in the direction of the door into the building. Garrus stood to lay down a cover fire and as soon as Jane signaled, he darted out to follow her, Liara hot on his heels.
They made their way through the building, fighting off occasional mercs as they landed on nearby balconies, all the while making in the direction they'd seen Vasir's car crash. Rain began trickling down the windows, rivulets streaming down their armor as they passed across balconies.
The building appeared to be some sort of club, at least that was his first guess. They burst through rooms with shocked patrons in fancy dresses and suits, low tables set with an array of foods. But Garrus felt his mandibles flutter in surprise as they ran past a group of scantily clad dancers cowering in fear.
"Interesting place." He muttered, and Liara scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
"You don't know the half of it."
By the time they found the crashed skycar, Vasir was long gone. Jane glanced around the balconies within view of them, cursing under her breath while Liara pulled out her omni-tool frantically. Garrus examined the car, looking for any evidence of where she could have gone. Glancing down he spotted something on the damp ground.
"Guys, over here." He beaconed to them as he pointed down, "She must have been injured badly in the accident. She's bleeding, we might be able to follow the trail." He gestured to a bloody footstep, clearly that of an asari or human. Quickly they hurried after the trail of bloody drips quickly dispersing in the pooling rainwater. Garrus couldn't help but notice as the trail seemed to waver and wobble from side to side across the balcony and into a nearby hallway. She had to be significantly injured, they had to be able to catch her.
"She's lost a lot of blood. We have to be getting close." Liara muttered, and Garrus noted that the amount of blood did seem to be increasing. With wounds like that, it was a miracle she was still moving at all.
"Vasir!" Jane barked as they turned a corner and saw the asari Spectre before them. She had her omni-tool out and was applying medi-gel to her wounds as she hobbled down the hall, her other hand clutching her side in pain. She froze, turning to them with a furious snarl on her face before continuing to limp faster. She rounded a corner just as they sped up.
Jane took the lead, rounding the corner before taking off at a sprint, her side arm ready. Liara was not far behind her, trailing angry, biotic blue energy. Garrus took up the rear, following after them out onto a large open balcony. He came to a slow as he took in their surroundings.
There seemed to be some sort of party going on, the sounds of clinking glasses, soft music, and low voices hanging in the air. Vasir had vanished, and there was no sign of her as the murmuring crowd started to notice their presence. Jane and Liara began searching the area, weapons drawn, prompting the murmurs to gain an edge of anxiety.
"Stop right there." Garrus heard a voice hiss in his ear just as a hand engulfed in biotic energy appeared before him. Before he could react, Vasir's hand clamped down hard on his throat, her biotics sizzling across the soft, vulnerable skin there.
Air froze in his chest, his blood running cold as he felt the barrel of a gun press hard against the side of his head. Someone in the crowd of party goers screamed as they pointed at them with wide horrified eyes, causing Jane and Liara to whip around.
"Garrus!"
"Down on your knees, 'Big Guy'." Vasir spat mockingly, applying pressure and forcing him down. "Now drop the weapon, hands where I can see them." He hesitated, but felt his eyes widen as the biotics flared brighter around her hand gripping his throat, "Now." Struggling to swallow, he lowered his assault rifle to the ground in front of him before raising his hands.
"Don't you fucking touch him, you-" Jane snarled as her pistol trained on Vasir, her eyes seething with a cold hatred as her fast twisted in rage.
"Oh, Shepard. Really, I expected better of you. Showing your weakness so openly, so brazenly? How could you not expect me to exploit it when you dangle it out there in the open for everyone to see?" Vasir crooned tauntingly as her hand inched upwards to grip his jaw, forcing his head back. The biotic energy caused his newly healed mandible to prickle with burning pain. "I told you. I saw everything that happened in that parking lot. You want your lover to live, don't you?"
Jane's eyes narrowed, but her weapon remained pointed at the asari. Garrus could see the slight tremor in her arm that had dogged her ever since her encounter with the Ardat-Yakshi.
"Vasir, you don't need to do this." Jane's voice was suddenly even, controlled, and measured, and Vasir scoffed.
"All you had to do was wipe the data I asked you to find when you first joined Cerberus, Shepard. But you twiddled your thumbs for months, accomplishing nothing except finding your do-gooder brother. And so now it has to get ugly. Thermal clips on the ground. Power cells, too, unless you want me to hurt your cute, little pet turian."
Silence fell as no one moved, even the party goers having gone quiet as they watched. The rain began picking up, strands of Jane's hair sticking together as it seemed to darken. A slow, taunting smile stretched across her face, her eyes remaining as hard and cool as steel. They glinted as a crack of lightning lit up the sky.
"Is that it?" Jane asked, her voice amused and nonchalant. Garrus could feel Vasir stiffen in surprise.
"What?"
"Vasir, I became a gang hitman at the age of 16." Jane stated bluntly, "I led my entire team to their deaths rooting the batarians out of Torfan. You watched me work for months when I became a Spectre." She let the words sit for a moment, giving Vasir time to digest them. "So," She continued, her voice lowering as her smile melted off her face, "For your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot him."
Uneasiness began prickling under Garrus' plates as Jane's gaze remained steadfastly focused on Vasir, not flickering for even a moment. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but he wanted to trust her.
Vasir seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then suddenly the press of the gun barrel was removed from the side of his head. The pistol whipped around to point directly at Jane, and Garrus jerked before feeling her hand tighten painfully at his throat, the biotics beginning to burn his skin despite the rain splashing down in heavy drops. If either of them had to have a weapon pointing at them, he'd rather it be him.
"Jane, just take the shot!" He managed to bark out hoarsely, wincing as Vasir wrenched his head hard.
"You're bluffing." Vasir said confidently to Jane, her attention never wavering.
Garrus looked up at Jane, and their eyes finally locked. Rain was trickling down her face now, her hair and armor soaked as it dripped off her. He saw her finger tighten on the trigger, her hand still trembling slightly. He swallowed, but then she took a deep breath, then another, and finally her hand seemed to steady, the tremor gone.
After a moment, Garrus smiled, closing his eyes as he thought back to the first day he'd met her. Jane had stood in Dr. Michele's office, her hair fanning out around her face at her sudden entrance, her pistol drawn as she took an impossibly precise and dangerous shot.
If Garrus had to place his life in someone's hands, he was glad it was Jane's.
"Now, Liara!" Jane yelled, causing his eyes to snap open just as something huge and solid collided with them, sending them both flying. Garrus hit the ground, rolling as he struggled to orient himself. Pain exploded in his knee and leg as he crashed into something, and he heard a loud splash from nearby.
Garrus looked up to see Liara sprinting toward him and Jane disappearing with a flicker as her tactical cloak activated. Liara grabbed him and helped him into cover, shoving him back against a low divider as she pulled her omni-tool out.
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry I threw a table at you, I wish there had been a safer way." She whispered in a hurry as she began applying medi-gel to the burns on his neck and jaw. Somewhere, he heard cursing and the pounding of armored boots through rain puddles.
"I'm okay." Garrus grit out, wincing as he felt his knee, a sharp pain shooting up his leg. Shots rang out, and Garrus did his best to twist around.
Jane was reappearing as she fired at Vasir, forcing her to use her biotic charge to flee across the balcony. Garrus spun to sit back down, wiping the rain out of his eyes as the screams of nearby spectators echoed in his ears. The party goers were huddling, their hands over their heads as Vasir and Jane exchanged fire, but none of them seemed to be moving for some reason.
"We need to evacuate them or else they're going to get caught in the crossfire." He muttered as he pulled out his sniper rifle, "Go get them out of here, I'll cover Jane."
"Will you be okay?"
"Yeah, leave me here, I'll be fine." With that, Liara nodded and turned to run low toward the people huddling, terrified and small in their fancy outfits. He could hear her barking directions at them, but he was already twisting as he brought his rifle up.
Jane rolled out of the way as Vasir sent a biotic shockwave hurtling toward her. The blasts sent chunks of debris flying, but Garrus managed to line up a shot. Firing, he swore as her barrier flared, deflecting the shot with ease before it could penetrate.
Jane disappeared again and Vasir brought up her pistol, firing off shots in a blind attempt to hit her. Jane reappeared a moment later just before her, spinning as her foot came up to catch the other Spectre in the chin. Vasir recoiled, her barrier absorbing only some of the hit, before her fist came up, enveloped in luminous biotic energy.
Jane managed to raise a hand to deflect the blow before dancing out of the way, bringing her pistol up to fire a series of shots, all blocked by the powerful biotic barrier. Energy sprung up around Vasir as she lowered her stance, and Jane only managed to dodge out of the way at the last second. The force of the charge sent her flying back, water splashing as she rolled through puddles before pulling herself back up to her feet just in time to throw herself out of the way of another shockwave.
Garrus fired off another series of shots, causing Vasir's barrier to spark and roil as it deflected them once again. He winced as the recoil reverberated through his body, causing his knee to scream in pain. Jane got back onto her feet just as she disappeared, and Vasir brought her pistol up as she glanced around.
"What's wrong, Shepard?" Vasir called out, laughter in her voice, "You don't seem like your usual self. I really am disappointed."
Jane reappeared behind her an instant later, her leg sweeping out to catch Vasir's ankles, causing the asari to stumble to her knees. Jane's omni-tool sprang to life as she raised her fist, bringing it crashing down upon Vasir as it glowed bright red. She fired off a point blank range incineration that hissed and popped in the rain, bringing it smashing down upon Vasir's barrier, causing the blue biotic energy to crackle.
Vasir's foot came up to catch Jane in the stomach hard, causing her to gasp and stumble back, bringing up a hand to grab her middle. Garrus used the opening to fire off a concussive shot, catching Vasir hard in the shoulder and sending her hard onto her side, sliding across the wet ground. He groaned, gripping his knee before looking up and wiping the rain out of his eyes to see Jane rolling behind cover just as Vasir aimed another shockwave in her direction.
He could see Jane bracing herself behind a low wall as she grimaced, bringing a hand up to her head in evident pain. She was pushing herself, he realized. She wasn't fully healed after everything that happened with Morinth, no matter what she'd told John.
"You can't hide forever!" Vasir taunted as she got to her feet, but Garrus could see her barrier was weakening. Jane's omni-tool activated and she vanished, reappearing seconds later as she stood and fired off a series of shots at Vasir. Her barrier caught them as she lunged forward into another biotic charge.
Jane brought up her arms to block, but Vasir collided with her hard enough to send her flying back with a sickening crack as her armored back hit the ground. Water sprayed as she rolled across the balcony. She finally managed to right herself, and Garrus realized with relief that her shields must have absorbed some of the hit. Getting to her feet shakily, Jane sprinted forward right toward Vasir, lifting her fist to throw a punch.
Vasir brought her arm up to block, but when Jane's hand shot forward, something left her fist and hurtled toward the confused looking asari before sticking to her breastplate. A moment later, Jane dropped to the floor, her momentum and the wet floor sending her sliding through Vasir's legs before she quickly rolled into cover nearby.
Garrus recognized one of Kasumi's flashbang grenades an instant before it exploded in Vasir's face, causing her to scream as she was thrown backwards. As she hit the ground, he could see her barrier flicker and die, and he felt a moment of triumph. Raising up his rifle, he took aim and fired a shot, cursing as it ricocheted off her shields.
"Shit, of course she also has shielding…" He muttered angrily as he loaded up an overload, but a moment later she had scrambled to her feet and in a burst of blue she had charged across the balcony again.
"Not so confident now, are you Vasir?" Jane called out, her pistol drawn as she stood tall, breathing heavily. Vasir stood across the balcony, her weapon drawn on Jane as she struggled to catch her own breath.
With a snarl, Vasir crouched low as biotic energy sprung up around her again. She launched forward in a charge again, throwing herself toward Jane who stood her ground, unflinching. At the last moment, Jane rolled out of the way as she brought her omni-tool up, shooting an incineration at Vasir. It caught her in the back as she was regaining her footing, causing her to scream in pain as it burned through a portion of her shielding.
"It's time to finish this!" Vasir snapped as energy surrounded her again, and Jane's eyes widened as Vasir shot right at her again like a bullet. Unprepared, Jane brought up her arms in defense as she attempted to dodge out of the way, but Vasir's arms latched onto her, sending the two of them flying across the balcony and landing with a splash in a large depression in the floor where a puddle had started to form.
Garrus looked through his scope as they grappled with each other, the water splashing around them. Vasir sat upon Jane's chest, one hand holding the human woman down as she struggled to dislodge the asari above her. Vasir's other fist came up, engulfed in biotic energy, preparing to bring it smashing down upon Jane, and Garrus' memory was instantly transported back to the events in Morinth's Omega apartment. Samara's final biotic attack, the blood splattered across the floor.
Loading up a concussive shot, Garrus fired it and caught Vasir hard in the shoulder. Her shields absorbed some of the shock, but still sent the two women rolling as Vasir retained her grip on Jane. As she struggled to climb back upon Jane, she missed it as one of Jane's hands slipped down toward her own belt.
Pulling up his omni-tool, Garrus hurried to load up an overload. Jane's knife flashed just as he fried the remainder of Vasir's kinetic shield, lodging in the space between her chest plate and her shoulder guard. Vasir's scream echoed across the balcony as she brought a hand up to brush the knife, the ear wrenching sound dampened only by the deafening rain pounding upon the ground. It ended abruptly as Jane's fist collided with Vasir's jaw, her head whipping backwards.
Dislodging the other Spectre, Jane got to her feet as she gripped her middle in pain, her other hand reaching for her pistol. Vasir wobbled as she got to her own feet, violet blood dripping down her arm to mix with the rain pooling at her feet. Both were breathing raggedly as they stared each other down, hate and cold anger radiating off both their faces.
Biotic energy sprang up around Vasir as she prepared to charge again, but vanished in an instant as Jane fired, the shot catching Vasir hard in her other shoulder. She hit the ground again with another scream of pain, blood spraying across the ground. She didn't move.
Lowering her pistol, Jane seemed to droop, her knees wobbling as she turned to look at Garrus with exhaustion written across her face. Garrus holstered his rifle, struggling to his feet as his knee screamed in protest. He ignored the pain as he took a few uncertain steps toward Jane, pausing to double check that Vasir had remained where she'd fallen. Blood was pooling around her as her wounds oozed, the ground under her turning violet as it mixed with the rain water around her.
Garrus looked back at Jane to see her lurching toward him, her eyes wide. In an instant, she crashed into him with enough force to nearly topple them both over as her arms wrapped around him.
"Garrus, I'm-" Jane panted harshly, her entire body trembling with exhaustion, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I never would have shot you, you know that, right?"
"I know. It's okay, I'm fine. And it'll take more than a table to take me out." They both chuckled at that and he brought his forehead down to brush against hers softly, her skin wet and slick against his brow plates. "Spirits, Jane. That was amazing, you were amazing."
"Couldn't have done it without you."
"Of course you could have. Not as stylishly, of course. Are you okay?"
"If my ribs weren't broken before, they probably are now." She grinned, but it became a grimace as she winced, pulling away slightly as her hand came back up to her middle gingerly. Her eyes strayed over to the fallen asari, her eyes sobering.
"Is she…?" Garrus trailed off, allowing himself to focus on his visor's life sign readings.
"Still alive. For now." Jane replied coldly as she stepped away from him, turning to face Vasir as she fingered her pistol, now holstered at her side again. Slowly, Jane approached, pausing as Vasir gasped and coughed, her head rolling as she convulsed in pain. Garrus suspected it looked worse than it was, the vivid, bloodied rain spreading out in a large halo around her body. But if left untended, it clearly would be fetal.
Stepping up to her, Jane rested one booted foot on Vasir's chest, causing the other woman to groan. She looked down at the asari, droplets of rain running off her face and hair to land on the blue face below her. Sneering in disdain, Jane leaned down and grasped her knife, wrenching it free without a care, causing Vasir to cry out again.
"Quit the melodramatics." Jane snapped as she holstered her knife on her belt before leaning down to sift through the contents of Vasir's belt pouch. Pulling out the data disk, she peered down it. "This must be what Liara needed in order to find the Shadow Broker." She muttered before turning and tossing it to Garrus. He grabbed it out of the air, holding it firm in his fist. The rain seemed to be starting to let up, coming down as a light drizzle rather than the thundering down pour of minutes before.
Turning back to Vasir, Jane whipped out her pistol and leveled it at her. Vasir turned her head to face up at Jane, raw fury and anger twisting it into an ugly mask.
"You're as good as dead." Vasir gasped and winced as she shifted, blood oozing out of both the wounds, "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced." She hiss hoarsely, her pain evident in her voice.
"Is that why you sold out the Council to work for him?" Jane asked accusingly as she glared back down at her.
"You think I betrayed the Council?" Vasir demanded, her voice rising in outrage, "Like Saren? Go to hell." She spat, her voice full of disgust. "The Broker's given me damn good intel over the years. Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe!" She winced again as she tried and failed to move her arm, "So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation!"
"Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people!" Jane snapped as the finger on her trigger tightened.
"Sure we do..." Vasir's eyes seemed to roll a little as she struggled for consciousness, "We get our hands dirty… So the Council doesn't have to." Jane didn't respond, and so she continued after a moment, "The councilors might complain about our methods to soothe their consciousness, but they never look too closely."
"That doesn't excuse what you did here today."
"Don't you judge me!" Vasir coughed and groaned, "You hide behind your brother's coat tails, wasting your own potential and letting him make all the decisions." Vasir sneered up at Jane, who's eyes had opened wide in surprise at the sudden jab, "You have the ability to do so much to help the people of this galaxy, and yet you're playing the content lap dog for a bunch of human terrorists, pretending to be the Council's 'eyes and ears'. You make me sick. Look in a fucking mirror before you judge me."
Jane stood in stock still shock as she stared down at the panting asari under her boot. The tirade had clearly taken a toll as Vasir struggled to keep her self conscious.
"I do what I must for the greater good of the galaxy, Shepard. If I need to sacrifice a few lives here so that I can save a few thousand elsewhere, then so be it."
Ruthless calculus, Garrus thought with grim realization. In the coming years, or whenever the Reapers arrived, how often would they need to make similar decisions? For the 'greater good'?
Jane considered Vasir for a moment before lowering her weapon. Removing her boot from her chest, she kneeled down and pulled out her omni-tool to begin applying medi-gel.
"Don't make me regret sparing you, Vasir." Jane muttered as the asari's eyes finally began to droop. "I don't like your methods, but I can't fault your logic. I'll leave it up to the Council to decide what to do with you." Garrus limped over to give her a hand with stabilizing Vasir, who had finally lost her battle with unconsciousness.
"I think she'll probably make it, but we should get her to a doctor. She lost a lot of blood." Garrus said as he checked her vitals on his visor. Jane took a moment and removed Vasir's omni-tool, tucking it away.
"I bet she has some interesting files. I'm going to have her shipped off back to the Citadel along with my report about what happened here. They're probably going to let her off with a slap on the wrist, but hopefully by then, we'll have taken care of the real problem. Speaking of which…" Jane stood up and glanced around the balcony. Garrus stood as well, wiping the rain out of his eyes. "Where's Liara?"
"Over here, Jane." Liara's voice echoed across the balcony, and the both turned to see Liara stepping out of a nearby room. "I see I missed all the fun. Did you get the data from her?" Garrus held up the data disk, causing Liara's eyes to harden as she picked up her pace. She snatched the disk away before quickly loading the data into her omni-tool.
"Where did you go?" Jane asked tiredly as she stretched her notoriously bad shoulder.
"I got all the bystanders out of the line of fire and tried to keep the Shadow Broker's forces from interrupting." She stated distractedly as she began sorting through the data. Garrus and Jane shared an astonished look while Liara continued, "The local police force are attempting to round them up at the moment, I had to call in a couple of favors."
"Good," Jane sighed as she looked down at Vasir again, "She's going to need medical treatment and then I need to have her transferred to the Citadel under guard. Then she can be the Council's problem, not mine." Liara paused just long enough to scowl down at Vasir before looking back at her omni-tool.
"I need to get moving as soon as I can. I think I know of a ship docked in Nos Astra with stealth capabilities that should be able to get me to the Shadow Broker's system quickly. Nothing in comparison to the Normandy, of course, but it will have to do."
"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Pretty sure I have the authority to commandeer a ship in the case of an emergency." Jane shrugged, looking back at Garrus with a small smile.
"Wait, what?" Liara froze, turning back to face them. "Commandeer…?"
"I'll explain after we get moving. You didn't think we were going to let you have all the fun with the Shadow Broker after this, did you?" Jane asked as she looked back to Liara, who stared at her in confusion.
"But don't you have commitments to your brother and his mission against the Collectors?" Liara asked, and Jane turned to look at Garrus. It was his turn to shrug.
"We should probably check in with Shepard before we agree to help with anything." He relented, and Jane crossed her arms as she frowned in consideration. Suddenly, Garrus wondered how much consideration Jane was giving what Vasir had said to her just minutes earlier.
"I'll let John know we're taking a small holiday, there's no need to bother him with this." Garrus opened his mouth to argue, but Liara spoke up over him.
"The Shadow Broker might even now know about what's happened here. If he decides to kill Feron…"
"We'll get Feron out of there alive, Liara. I promise." Jane interjected, taking a step closer as Liara began pacing.
"I know. But we need to move now. The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck, they won't notice we've left until it's too late."
"Then let's get moving. I'll send John a message, let him know what we're up to. They can join us as soon as they're done with their mission here. Sound good, Garrus?" Jane asked, turning back to him with a smile, and he nodded.
"Sure. What about her?" He asked, gesturing to where Vasir still lay.
"I'll have one of my contacts in the Nos Astra Police Department come pick her up. They can do whatever you want with her." Liara stated as she closed her omni-tool, looking up at them.
"Perfect, then let's get moving."
(Note: Thus concludes the longest chapter to date! I hope you all have been enjoying the story so far, and thank you to all of you who have been taking the time let me know what you think! An additional thank you to all my lovely readers, both new and old!
Finally, I'd like to give credit to my wonderful beta reader, thelordofdarkreunion for help with some of the jokes during the chase scene. Wouldn't have been nearly so funny without some of his suggestions! Thank you!)