"Garrus really wanted revenge on Sidonis. Badly. You know what he's like; the world is black and white. Things are as straightforward as they appear. When we met him, he was an idealistic, reckless individual. And it seemed that those two years I was gone didn't cause that to go away."

Kacey and Garrus walked through Zakera Ward towards the C-Sec outpost, with Kacey avoiding the odd stares from the bystanders. Garrus shot some nasty glares at the bystanders that were staring at Kacey as they approached Bailey's desk.

"Hey." Kacey said as she reached the desk, "Do you know anything about a local forger by the name of Fade? We're looking for them."

"Yeah I know of him, the alias anyway." Bailey replied, looking up from his computer, "He's been a thorn in the Network division's side for the last year. He works with the Blue Suns."

"Of course he does." Kacey groaned.

"Where can we find him?" Garrus asked.

"If I knew that, he'd be in a cell." Bailey responded, "Best i can do is put you on the trail. There's a warehouse in the marketplace. Some of Fade's contacts work out of there. Go ask them some questions. Gently, of course."

"Of course." Kacey said with a bit of sarcasm, "Why haven't you been able to catch him?"

"Whoever he is, he's damned good at avoiding C-Sec." Bailey replied, "I think someone on the inside is feeding him information. Either that, or he's got access to our databases and comms channels. I don't know which is worse. But you're outside C-Sec. Maybe you can nail his ass."

"That's the plan." Kacey mused, "See you around, Bailey."

…

The pair wandered down towards the warehouse, with Kacey following Garrus as they headed downstairs. Kacey felt uneasy; heads turned and eyes were watching her as the pair headed towards the warehouse only for someone to jump in front of the pair.

"Commander Shepard! The people want to hear your story, Shepard!" Khalisah al-Jilani said as she jumped in front of the pair, her camera drone flashing a light in the pair's eyes.

"Ow! Ow! Fuck again?!" Kacey said, rubbing her eyes.

"Khalisah bint al-Jilani, Westerlund News." Khalisah said, offering a handshake that Kacey refused, "I interviewed you two years ago when you first became a Spectre."

"You mean when you cornered me outside of the elevator of C-Sec Academy." Kacey mused.

"You presented your case very well on camera." Khalisah said snidely, "Do you have a minute?"

"Why, so you can do another smear job on me?" Kacey said.

"Now, Shepard, you may object to my methods, but we're on the same side." Khalisah replied defensively, "You're back, you're news–"

"And I don't want to be." Kacey replied.

"Look, I just want to give your story its due." Khalisah said, "Sources claim you were at the heart of the Presidium during the Battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say the course of the battle hinged on your words. If true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing hundreds of human lives and securing the continued dominance of the Citadel Council."

Kacey rolled her eyes in annoyance, "The turians lost twenty cruisers that day. Figure each had a crew of around three hundred. The Ascension, the asari dreadnought we saved, had a crew of nearly ten thousand."

"But surely the human cost–"

"The Alliance lost eight cruisers: Shenyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw, Madrid. And yes, I remember them all. Everyone in the Fifth Fleet is a hero. The Alliance owes them all medals. The Council owes them a lot more than that. And so do you."

Kacey walked off, nudging Garrus as they headed towards the warehouse. She was irritated after that run in with the reporter. She never liked dealing with the press, and she made it her mission to avoid them as much as humanly possible. But, Khalisah had managed to find a way around that, twice now.

As they entered the warehouse, Kacey looked around and saw krogan bodyguards standing around on either side near the crates, eyeballing the pair. Kacey remained cautious, keeping her pistol close as they entered the warehouse.

As Kacey and Garrus reached the bottom of the steps, the krogan moved in front of them as a volus appeared from behind some of the crates, walking in front of the krogan.

"Fade?" Kacey said, "You're not quite how I imagined you."

"Looks can be deceiving." The volus said, "So…which one of you wants to disappear?"

"I'd rather see you make someone reappear." Garrus replied sharply.

"Ah…that's not the service we provide."

Kacey crossed her arms as Garrus responded, seething and pulling out his pistol, "Make an exception. Just this once."

"Damn it." The volus said, "Quick…shoot them! Shoot them you lumbering mountains!"

Kacey quickly drew her pistol and had it pointed at the volus' face before the krogan could pull up their shotguns.

"Why don't you two find somewhere else to skulk?" Garrus said.

The krogan wandered off as the volus turned and told them, "Just like that? You're not getting paid for this! What's the point of hiring protection if they won't protect you?"

"We're looking for someone." Kacey said, putting her gun away, "A client of yours."

"Not mine. I'm not Fade!" The volus pleaded, "I just work for him. Sort of."

"Yeah, I guessed as much." Kacey mused.

Garrus put his pistol away and kneeled in front of the volus,"Well, then maybe you'd like to tell us where to find him."

"Yes, of course." The volus said quickly, "He's in the factory district, works out of the old prefab foundry."

"I know the place." Garrus said before Kacey could say anything, "So we won't be wandering around for several hours."

"Still not dropping that either, are you?" Kacey mused.

"Uh…he's got a lot of mercs there…Blue Suns." The volus explained, "Harkin thinks they're protecting him."

"Harkin?" Kacey groaned, "That prick?"

"He got fired from C-Sec a while ago, but he still knows the systems."

"Interesting." Garrus mused, "But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis."

"Well, let's go pay Harkin a visit." Kacey replied.

"We'll need to go to the transit station. I can get us to him from there." Garrus added.

"So…" The volus trailed off, "Can I go?"

"Sure, but if we don't find Harkin, we'll be back for you." Garrus said as both he and Kacey pointed their guns at the volus from the hip.

"Oh, good." The volus said, walking away.

…

Kacey stared out of the window of the skycar as Garrus drove the vehicle. The turian had made a sly joke about Kacey crashing vehicles which had put her in a slightly better mood. She didn't agree with Garrus' plan to kill Sidonis. It wasn't going to make him feel better, nor bring his squad back.

They were friends; she thought of Garrus as her best friend. And yet, she was conflicted on what to do. She understood his desire for revenge, but believed that it would do more harm than benefit to the turian. He was always a reckless person, and all too willing to go too far at times. She didn't want to encourage that by helping Garrus with his revenge plot. But at the same time, he had her back during this crazy mess.

"So, how do you know Harkin?" Garrus asked.

"I had to talk to him to find you." Kacey said gazing absent-mindedly out the window, "Back when we were trying to nail Saren. We found that jackass in Chora's Den, and he wanted me to service him like the dancers. I told him where to shove it and he did eventually tell me where to find you."

"Par for the course with Harkin." Garrus mused, "He's an ass, and if he's Fade, then its all the more reason to pursue him."

"Definitely."

The conversation dropped off from there. She didn't know what else to say; she knew that killing Sidonis was a bad idea. The better question was how she was going to convince Garrus that it was. He was headstrong, impulsive. Not so far removed from her in a way. But there were key differences between them, ones that kept Kacey out of trouble, and would land Garrus in a lot more.

"We aren't so different. Not entirely. But Garrus was uncompromising in this case. He wanted that bastard dead. No matter what."

Garrus landed the skycar carefully; out of the window, Kacey could see some Blue Suns mercenaries near a door with a human male barking orders. She rolled her eyes as she got out of the car, avoiding Garrus' gaze as she did so, and ensuring once again that her assault rifle was loaded and ready to go.

"There he is." Kacey said as the pair headed towards the door.

Harkin turned around, startled and squinted his eyes in surprise at Kacey, "Shepard? Shit. Don't just stand there…stop them! Stop them!"

Harkin bolted it as the mercenaries moved into position, as Kacey expected. She moved into cover as Garrus drew his gun and shouted, "Run all you want, Harkin. We'll find you!"

The two mercs at the door to Shipping were dispatched quickly as the pair entered through the door and into a wide yet cramped area where LOKI mechs appeared from within the large containers that caused the warehouse to feel a lot more cramped than it should have been. The new upgrades Mordin installed into her rifle, more specifically the upgrades to her concussive shots and the heightened damage to her damage output and the mechs never stood a chance against the disruptor concussive shots. It absolutely annihilated the mechs in one or two blasts.

However, the cramped environment did not provide much cover, and the onslaught of tireless mechs was wearing down their ammo count quickly. Kacey rolled across the narrow gap between the containers to get a clearer shot on her targets. Garrus ploughed through with a ruthlessness that Kacey had never seen in the turian before as they cleared out the last wave of the mechs, for now.

"He really wanted to reach Harkin. Badly. Revenge has a way of getting to you. And it showed in the way he was fighting those mechs and mercenaries. It was calculated ruthlessness."

She turned the corner just as more mechs appeared from the now opened containers, alongside some Blue Suns mercenaries. Before she could react, within a split-second Garrus launched a concussive shot that was only a metre away from Kacey, killing the mercs, but damaging her shields. She shot the turian sharpshooter a disapproving look before returning her focus to the mercenaries. They were going to have a word about that later.

Stupidly risky stunts irritated Kacey: as someone who tools risks on the regular, she knew which were necessary and which ones were plain stupid. And it seemed like her best friend favoured the stupid ones. She would've chalked it up to a lack of experience had Garrus not been with her on the Normandy while they were chasing Saren. Garrus knew how things were done; he just didn't seem to care.

Kacey looked up and saw mechs being transported above them; she fired a disruptor concussive shot which dropped the now destroyed mechs on top of the mercenaries, causing them to move right into Garrus' line of fire. Kacey dived back behind cover and took out the remaining troops as the pair rhythmically moved from cover to cover as they moved further into the foundry.

"We're getting close." Garrus said, as he lowered the bridge to the main platform in the foundry.

"More mercs up ahead." Kacey mused, "Let's just be careful, okay?

…

"The fuck happened to 'let's be careful'?" Kacey said sharply as the YMIR mech exploded.

The fight got complicated with the arrival of a YMIR mech, which resulted in Garrus growing extremely reckless and destroying his own shields just to get past the damn thing. He nearly died once before and damned if Kacey was going to let it happen again.

"I'll be fine." Garrus replied.

"You better be." Kacey mused as they entered a small room, "So, Harkin's gone completely bad."

"He was always a pain in the ass." Garrus said as he opened the shutter, "But I'm in no mood for his games. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll beat him within an inch of his life."

"He didn't say that." Kaidan said.

"Oh no, he did." Kacey replied, "Garrus wasn't in a good state of mind. After all, revenge changes a person."

"You seem to be getting tense, Garrus." Kacey said concerned.

"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear." Garrus replied sharply, "If so, he knows why we're here and I don't want him tipping Sidonis off."

"I get that, but–"

"Did you see that?" Garrus said as the sound of mechanical whirring filled the room and the warehouse outside.

"I saw something." Kacey replied.

"He's getting ready for us." Garrus mused.

"If Harkin doesn't cooperate, then what?" Kacey asked, "What are you planning to do, Garrus?"

"He's a real criminal now." Garrus responded, "Working for the Blue Suns, i should just shoot him. But I need him alive, so I won't do any permanent damage. Just enough to loosen his tongue."

"You don't need to hurt him to get what you want."

"Don't worry. Harkin's a coward. He'll talk long before I can really hurt him."

"That's not as reassuring as you think it is." Kacey said, "You're still planning on killing Sidions aren't you?"

"That's the plan." Garrus replied bluntly, "It'll be quick and painless. Unlike everyone he betrayed, he'll be spared the agony of a slow death. It's more than he deserves, but as long as he's dead, I'll be satisfied."

"Garrus, do you really believe killing Sidonis will make things right?" Kacey asked firmly.

Garrus sighed, "I know you don't like this, Kacey, but I have to do this."

"Is there no other way?"

"Maybe. But this is personal." Garrus replied, "I'll pull the trigger. And I'll live with the consequences. All I'm asking is that you help me find him."

"You're asking me to help you kill a man." Kacey replied, "Let's go."

They left the room and entered the main floor of the warehouse. Hangers moved above them carrying crates as the duo moved through the area, suspicious by the sudden lack of any hostile activity. But her fears were realised when four YMIR mechs stamped their way towards them alongside an army of LOKI mechs.

"Come the fuck on!" Kacey rolled her eyes as she ran into cover.

"What don't you just turn around?" Harkin cackled over the intercom.

"Smug bastard." Kacey mused

She fired off several disruptor concussive shots to scatter the LOKI mechs, as Garrus overloaded the shields of one of the YMIR mechs. The LOKI mechs were the easy part; and once they were destroyed, Kacey turned her attention to the massive mechs, firing those concussive shots one after another in an effort to destroy them. .

"I'm not running from you, Shepard!" Harkin said.

"Then you're an idiot." Kacey replied.

"Harkin's going to regret this!" Garrus mused.

"Do you really think you can take me down, Shepard?" Harkin bellowed down the intercom.

"Yes." Kacey replied.

She had got the reaction she was looking for as she blew up one of the mechs and rounded on to another. It took a while before all four of the YMIR mechs were destroyed and the pair ran quickly towards the door.

They had managed to sneak up on Harkin; the moment Kacey revealed herself, Harkin started to shake as he backed up repeatedly towards the door behind him.

"You were close," Harkin taunted, "but not close enough."

However, Harkin was in for a nasty surprise as Garrus came through the other door and hit Harkin in the face with his sniper rifle, bursting his nose open as Garrus grabbed Harkin and dragged and pinned him to the wall.

"So, Fade…" Garrus growled, "Couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"

"Come on, Garrus." Harkin smirked, "We can work this out. Whaddaya need?"

"I'm looking for someone." Garrus replied.

"Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants." Harkin said smugly.

It seemed that his tone didn't strike well with Garrus, who kneed Harkin in the balls, dropping the man to his knees. Kacey kept her composure as she drew closer to the two men, ready to restrain Garrus if need be.

"Ouch." Kacey mused, "Look we're not here to ask for favours, Harkin."

"You don't say." Harkin mused.

"You helped a friend of mine disappear." Garrus said, "I need to find him."

"I might need a little more information than that."

"His name was Sidonis. Turian, came from the–"

"I know who he is, and I'm not telling you squat." Harkin sneered.

"Harkin, this doesn't have to be hard." Kacey said in a very restrained voice.

"Screw you."

"You wish." Kacey scoffed.

"I don't give out client information, it's bad for business." Harkin said.

Garrus kneed him again in the gut and as Harkin laid on the ground, Garrus put his foot on him.

"You know what else is bad for business?" Garrus said, " A broken neck."

"All right! All right!" Harkin shrieked as Garrus applied pressure, "Get off of me!"

"Garrus!" Kacey said firmly.

The turian reluctantly removed his foot from Harkin's neck, clearly pissed off by Kacey's verbal intervention. Harkin took a few deep breaths.

"Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?" Harkin breathed out.

"No, but Sidonis…opened my eyes." Garrus replied, "Now arrange a meeting."

"All right, I'm going." Harkin said as he scurried over to his terminal under the eyes of Kacey and Garrus.

Harkin managed to get someone on the other end of the line, "Yeah, it's me. There's a chance your identity may be compromised. That's why I'm calling. I'm sending an agent. Where do you want to meet? All right. They'll be there. Don't worry, I got it covered."

As Harkin spoke on the phone, Kacey saw Garrus draw his sidearm and watched as he examined the weapon. Her concerns over his mental state were justified as she watched him carefully.

"It's all good." Harkin said as he hung up, "He wants to meet you in front of Orbital Lounge. Middle of the day. So, if our business is done, I'll be going…"

Before Harkin could leave, Garrus grabbed Harkin by the collar, "I don't think so. You're a criminal now, Harkin."

"So, what…" Harkin spat, "you're just going to kill me? That's not your style, Garrus."

"Kill you?" Garrus said, letting go, "No, but I don't mind slowing you down a little."

Garrus pointed his gun at Harkin's knees, but just before he could pull the trigger, Kacey pulled the gun out of his hand just as the bullet landed next to Harkin's feet.

"Kaidan, if you honestly thought I was going to let Garrus shoot Harkin, then you don't know me that well after all. Trust me, as much as I wanted to shoot Harkin myself, I knew that letting the prick rot in a C-Sec cell would be a much more fitting punishment."

"You don't need to shoot him." Kacey said, restraining Garrus' arm, "He won't be able to hide C-Sec now."

Garrus wrestled his arm free after a few minutes before turning his focus back to Harkin, "I guess it's your lucky day."

"Yeah, I hope we can do this again real soon." Harkin said sarcastically.

Garrus headbutted Harkin just as Kacey turned her back. She sighed before gesturing for Garrus to move his ass.

"I didn't shoot him." Garrus said.

"Come on. Let's move." Kacey replied.

"Sidonis better be there, or I'm coming back to finish the job." Garrus said.

…

The skycar ride was silent, very silent. Kacey refused to look at Garrus, Garrus refused to start a conversation. It was tense.

"Harkin's a bloody menace." Garrus said, shattering the silence like glass, "We shouldn't have just let him go. He deserved to be punished."

"There's a right way and a wrong way to punish a criminal, and executing them isn't it." Kacey said, staring out of the window.

"Still doesn't mean we let him go."

"Still doesn't mean you shoot the bastard at point blank." Kacey said firmly, "Look, I'm getting a little worried about you Garrus. You were pretty hard on Harkin."

"You don't think he deserved it?" Garrus asked.

"It's just not like you." Kacey dismissed "Or how I used to know you."

"What do you want from me, Kacey?" Garrus asked, "What would you do if someone betrayed you?"

Good question. She didn't have an answer. She hadn't faced something like that before, not to this extreme anyway. But she was stubborn. Too stubborn.

"I'm not sure, but I won't let it change me." Kacey replied.

"I would've said the same thing before it happened to me." Garrus replied.

"It's not too late." Kacey replied, "You don't have to go through with this."

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't?" Garrus responded, "Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else cares."

"I care." Kacey replied, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't. Give me a chance to talk to him."

Garrus scoffed as he landed the car, "Talk all you want, but it won't change my mind. I don't care what his reasons were, he screwed us…he deserves to die."

"Do you really believe that?" Kacey said in a melancholy tone, "I understand what you're going through…but do you really want to kill him?"

"I appreciate your concern…but I'm not you."

"This isn't you, either."

"Really?" Garrus replied, "I always hated injustice. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this…Why should he go on living while ten good men lie in unmarked graves? I'm sorry, Kacey. Words aren't going to solve this problem."

"I'd like to try." Kacey replied, "Look, I get it–"

"You don't!" Garrus snapped back, "Have you ever been betrayed like that?"

"No." Kacey said firmly, "But I do know what it's like to want revenge. To lose people close to you and to want to kill the bastard who did it. You don't know me as well as you think."

After a long pause, Garrus eventually spoke up, "I need to set up. I can get a clear shot from over there."

Kacey looked away sharply, "What do you need me to do? She asked in a flat tone.

"Keep him talking and don't get in my way." Garrus said, "I'll let you know when he's in my sights. Give me the signal so I know you're ready, and I'll take the shot. You better go. He'll be here soon."

…

"Kacey? Can you hear me?" Garrus said through the comms.

"Loud and clear." Kacey replied flatly.

"All right. There he is." Garrus said, "Wave him over and keep him talking."

Kacey could see a turian in a black and red outfit sitting on a bench, keeping his head down. She waved him over, a plan forming in her head.

"Garrus hates injustice. We know that. We went through all this with that Doctor Saelon. Things are always more complicated than it seems. I guess Garrus just needed a reminder."

He seemed anxious; Kacey observed him carefully as he approached.

"Let's get this over with." Sidonis said as he approached Kacey.

"You're in my shot." Garrus said, "Move to the side."

"Listen, Sidonis, I'm here to help you." Kacey said.

"Don't say that name out loud!" Sidonis said, startled.

"Look, I'm a friend of Garrus'. "Kacey said, "He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary."

"Garrus? Is this some kind of joke..?"

"Damn it, Kacey." Garrus said, "If he moves, I'm taking the shot."

"You're not kidding, are you?" Sidonis said clearly rattled, "Screw this. I'm not sticking around here to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems…"

Sidonis started to move away from Kacey, who in turn grabbed the turian before Garrus could get a chance to pull the trigger.

"Don't move!" Kacey said sternly.

"Get off of me!" Sidonis shouted.

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head."

"Fuck!" Sidonis said, shaking his head, "Look…I didn't want to do it…I didn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice." Garrus said through the comms.

"They got to me." Sidonis said, "Said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me take the shot, Kacey!" Garrus said, "He's a damn coward!"

"That's it? You were trying to save yourself?" Kacey said.

Sidonis sighed, "I know what I did. I know they died because of me, and I have to live with that. I wake up every night…sick…and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me…accusing me. I'm already a dead man. I don't sleep. Food has no taste. Some days I just want to be over."

"Just give me the chance." Garrus said.

"You've got to let it go, Garrus." Kacey said firmly, "He's already paying for his crime."

"He hasn't paid enough. He still has his life…"

"Look at him, Garrus." Kacey said, "He's not alive…there's nothing left to kill."

"My men…" Garrus sighed, "They deserved better."

"Tell Garrus…I guess there's nothing I can say to make it right…"

"Just…go." Garrus breathed, "Tell him to go…"

Kacey turned her attention back to Sidonis, "You're lucky. Don't waste this second chance."

"I'll try, Garrus." Sidonis said, "I'll make it up to you, somehow. Thank you for talking to him."

…

Garrus stormed over to Kacey as she approached. She was certain that she did the right thing. He looked pissed; agitated.

"I know you want to talk about this…but I don't." Garrus said sharply, "Not yet."

"Pretty sure I said the same thing after Horizon." Kacey mused, "I know it didn't go the way you planned, but I think it's for the best."

"I'm not so sure…" Garrus mused.

"Give it time."

"Yeah. Maybe that'll be enough." Garrus mused, "I want to know I did the right thing. Not for me – for my men. They deserved to be avenged. But when Sidonis was in my sights…I just couldn't do it."

"The lines between good and evil blur when we're looking at people we know." Kacey said.

"Yeah." Garrus replied, "There was still some good in him…I could see it. It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey…I don't know what to do with grey."

"You've got to go with your instincts."

"My instincts are what got me into this mess into the first place."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Kacey replied, "It's a complicated balance. You've got to do the best you can. Nobody said it was going to be easy."

"I guess so." Garrus said, "Thanks, Kacey. For everything. Let's get going. I need some distance from this place."

"I'm with you." Kacey said.