Faux Blood
Charles flipped through the C-Sec records, keeping tabs on his growing mental list. It looked like Kevin Briggs managed to get off on beating the shit out of his wife, Eliza, again. She refused to press charges so they let him go right after processing. If Charles didn't still need to lay low after David's death sparked talk of a serial killer, he'd be making plans to cut Kevin up nice and slow. Guess he'd just have to keep reliving his last kill a little while longer.
Too bad it didn't really do much to stop the itch or feed the beast. He wondered just how long he'd need to wait. Maybe if he did something different … got rid of the body instead of leaving it behind. The incinerators were big enough to shove a grown man into, but he'd have trouble doing it by himself. There were the protein vats, too. Ares said he dumped Cameric into the vats, and all of his soft parts were dissolved by the time they found his body.
The chime went off above the door, drawing Charles away from his thoughts. Automatically plastering a smile on his face, he glanced up. "Welcome to Citadel Souvenirs," he said before his eyes even registered the new customer.
Jasmine flashed him a smile, heading straight for his kiosk. "Thanks."
Fighting the urge to glance over at Mahlia, he blinked and softly cleared his throat. "Is there something, in particular, I can help you find?"
"No, thanks," Jasmine said, glancing up at him and smiling again. "I'm just here to look around."
"Sure, let me know if you need assistance." He took a couple of steps back down the counter, putting as much space between the two of them as he would with any other customer.
"Will do." She turned her attention back to the kiosk, flipping through screens.
Charles watched her for a second, and it occurred to him she used her left hand to flip through the screens. He felt fairly certain she was right-handed, so it seemed a little odd. At first, he thought maybe her shoulder was hurting her, but then he saw a small light slowly flashing on her closed omni-tool—which she wore on her left wrist. Some of the programs Ares gave him, like the one that scanned for security systems, made his omni-tool flash in the same way. He wasn't sure she was running a program to help her get Werin, but it certainly made sense.
"I'm going on break, Charles," Mahlia said.
Glancing at her, he nodded. "Alright."
As soon as Mahlia disappeared into the back room and the door closed behind her, Jasmine asked, "How many people are here today?"
The employee kiosk pinged, letting him know she'd added something to her purchase list, but he didn't bother to look. "Including me, three." He glanced at her and added, "The other two are people I care about." He didn't know why she came there when Werin wasn't on the clock, but if she intended to go looking around, he wanted to make sure Mahlia and Cammus weren't in danger.
"Don't worry about them. Locations?" Her gaze never left the kiosk, and her voice stayed low. She added something else to her purchase list.
"Mahlia's in the breakroom right behind me." He scraped his teeth over his lip. "Cammus is in the stockroom, back through the breakroom."
"What's the lunch break rotation?" she asked.
"Uh, Cammus and Mahlia will go at the same time at sixteen hundred hours. I'll go when they get back an hour later."
"You'll be here by yourself?" She arched an eyebrow, glancing at him.
"Yeah," he said, giving her a slight nod.
"Excellent." She smiled before pressing the checkout key on the kiosk and scanned a credit chit.
He moved down the counter to look at the kiosk, a smile creeping up on his face. "Model ships?" he asked, raising a brow at her.
She grinned. "I have a friend who likes them."
"Fair enough." He tilted his head to the side. "You want me to have them pulled now or have them delivered somewhere."
"I'll take them with me now," she said.
"Alright." He accessed the kiosk and sent the order back to Cammus. "It'll be right out."
If Jasmine came back to Citadel Souvenirs while Cammus and Mahlia were out on lunch break, Charles didn't know about it. Being the only one there, he'd remained stuck out front, and she at least didn't come in that way. He hoped if she'd found another way in through the back, she'd avoided the cameras—preferably without messing with them in any way that'd come back to bite him in the ass.
He wondered if she came looking for something in specific, or if she just wanted to scope the place out. And if so, if it meant she intended to kill Werin at work instead of at his apartment. It seemed riskier, and it'd definitely draw more attention, but she was the professional.
Cammus sat down across from Charles at the break table and cracked open a bottle of water. "I saw Acevia at lunch, she said hello."
"Cool. So, are you and Acevia like an official thing now, or …?" Charles cocked an eyebrow, taking a drag from his cigarillo.
Mandibles fluttering, Cammus shook his head. "No, it's completely casual. Neither of us are looking for anything serious right now. Besides, I think we make better friends."
"Yeah?" Charles hummed.
Cammus flicked a mandible and tapped a talon on the table. "She's not exactly what I think of when I think of a potential bondmate."
Charles tilted his head a little. "Then what do you think of when you think of a potential bondmate?"
"Hmmm. Someone less …" Shaking his head, Cammus chuckled. "… less excitable."
Snorting, Charles raised an eyebrow again. "Excitable?" He took another drag from his cigarillo, watching the turian sitting across from him.
"Yeah." Cammus fluttered his mandibles. "Acevia is … wild. She's fun, I enjoy her company, but I can't imagine trying to keep up with her every day."
Charles laughed, leaning back in his chair to blow smoke up at the ceiling. "Keep up with her? You mean in bed?"
"No," Cammus said with a chuff, giving Charles a flick of his mandible. "I have no problem with that. I mean, hmmm, she craves constant excitement. Bars, dancing, fights … theft."
"Theft?" Charles blinked. He didn't expect the last one to be on the list, but he found it kind of amusing. "Seriously?"
"Just small things. It gives her a thrill." Cammus flared his mandibles and turned pleading eyes on Charles. "You won't tell her I said anything … or tell anyone?"
"No, secret's safe with me," Charles said with a smile before taking a drag.
Cammus let out a sigh, shoulders relaxing. "Thank you."
"Of course." Tapping the ashes off his cigarillo, he winked at Cammus.
Fluttering his mandibles and lifting a brow plate, Cammus asked, "How are things with you and Aelianus?"
"Um, good, actually." Charles nodded and took another drag, blowing it out as he said, "Things are good."
"I'm glad to hear it." Cammus smiled and hummed. "I've found us another gym to use, one where I think we'll both be more comfortable. Unless you wanted to go to the place you normally workout?"
Charles shook his head, rolling the tip of his cigarillo in the ashtray. "Nah, the place I normally go doesn't have an open area with mats to train on."
"Okay." Cammus gave him a curt nod. "I thought we might go tomorrow on our lunch break if you don't have plans with Aelianus?"
"Sure, sounds great," Charles said with a smile, taking another drag.
Ares took Jasmine and Charles to Steel and Stone, choosing the same table outside on the restaurant's porch as he did when they went there with Cammus. Jasmine headed for the same seat as Ares, but she took a deep breath and held her hand out for him to sit there instead, choosing a different chair for herself. Charles chuckled and sat down in the same seat he used before, glancing at the menu.
"How's your leg?" Jasmine asked as she sat down and put the napkin on her lap.
"It's fine." Charles shrugged and looked up at her. "I won't let it get in the way." The bruising on his leg worsened overnight, but he sucked it up enough to walk without a noticeable limp. At least he didn't think it was noticeable, no one commented at work, and being on his feet all day actually seemed to help loosen the muscles.
She snorted, a smile on her face. "Uh huh."
Ares hummed around lighting a cigarette. "I already told him if he doesn't move his ass, I'll shoot him again."
"I might like it." Charles smirked at Ares. "Might be our new form of foreplay."
Jasmine laughed, picking up the menu. "For some reason," she said, tilting her head toward Ares even though her gaze stayed on the menu, "it wouldn't surprise me."
Ares chuckled and shrugged. "He might like it, but he'll still bitch about it."
Charles huffed. "Would not." He didn't bitch about the first shot, not really. Not beyond the first few seconds after it happened.
Blowing out a breath of smoke, Ares made a skeptical hum but didn't respond otherwise.
Snorting, Jasmine glanced up at Charles. "What's good here?"
He shrugged. "I had the elyine special last time. It was pretty good."
She closed her menu and tossed it on the table. "Elyine special it is." She glanced at Ares. "I cleared it with Ray, I'm yours for the whole night."
Ares snorted, rumbling around a drag of his cigarette. "Not in the way I'd hope." Flicking ash, he nodded. "What place you thinking for drinks? Someplace comfortable like Chora's or fancy?"
She glanced sideways at Ares, cocking an eyebrow. "Chora's, obviously."
"Why Chora's?" Charles closed his menu, sliding it away from him. "Not that I have anything against Chora's …."
Jasmine hummed and looked over at him. "Familiar territory. Good drinks. Hot asari."
Ares thrummed around a drag, letting smoke out from the sides of his mouth. "Dark."
"Places to take cover." She tilted her head to the side.
"A good place to get into a fight without getting kicked out on your ass." Ares flicked ash into the ashtray sitting in the center of the table and looked at the approaching waiter.
"Can I get you something to drink?" The sand-colored turian asked, humming in greeting as he dipped his head. "Or do you need a minute?"
Turning her attention to the waiter, Jasmine flashed a toothy grin at him and said, "Bring me your best rum, if you have it. If not, your best levo substitute. And a glass of iced tea."
"Mount Milgrom … and orange Paragade," Charles said and smiled at the waiter.
"I'll have to check, but I believe we do carry a couple of different varieties of rum." The waiter nodded once before glancing at Ares.
"A 'Red," Ares said, looking at Charles and Jasmine. "I'm ready to order if you are?"
Jasmine gave him a brief nod.
"I'm ready." Charles looked to the waiter to see if he was ready to actually take their orders.
The waiter pulled a small tablet from a pocket on his uniform and held a hand above it, poised and ready for the orders.
Ares took a drag and blew it away from the waiter as he hummed in consideration. "The special, double meats. Easy on the sauce." He handed over his menu and sat back.
"I'll have the elyine special, and uh," Charles said, glancing at Jasmine as he handed over his menu, "I think she wanted the same thing."
"I do," Jasmine smiled, offering the turian her menu as well.
Charles watched as the waiter finished inputting their orders and left the table before digging out his cigarillos. Remembering Jasmine smoked some of Ares' cigarette the night before, he pulled one out and stuck it between his lips before offering the pack to her.
She shook her head. "I don't actually smoke. Haven't for years."
"Oh." He lit his cigarillo. "Then why'd you take his cigarette last night?"
Her lips parted, and after a second, she reached over and pulled the cigarillo from Charles' mouth. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ares before looking back at her but didn't say anything. She put the cigarillo between her lips and took a small drag, rolling it around on her tongue. She watched him for a second, blowing the smoke back out slowly before taking another drag and handing it back to him.
"It's a trust thing," she said, shifting her attention away from him to glance over the veranda.
Ares merely hummed in agreement as he took a deep drag from his cigarette, holding it in his mouth a moment before letting it drift between his parted mouth plates.
She looked back at Charles again and said, "By letting me have his cigarette, and then smoking it again after I've taken a drag, he's telling me he trusts me not to poison him. By smoking after him, I'm telling him the same." She shrugged. "In a nutshell. There's more to it for me, but it's a long story."
Charles looked down at the cigarillo in his fingers, hesitating for just a second before bringing it back to his lips and taking a drag while holding her gaze. She gave him a soft, approving smile.
"She also knows it's because I don't just let anyone smoke my shit," Ares said, rumbling as he stamped out the butt of his cigarette. "These things are too fucking expensive to play around with."
She chuckled. "That, too. Hmmm. For me, it's also … I guess you might say a promise."
"Promise?" Charles raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she said, lifting her shoulders again. "I don't share with people I wouldn't be willing to fight for … it comes from my time on the streets."
Ares rumbled, the tone teasing as he smirked at her. "You could've just shoved your tongue down my throat, and we could've forgone the cigarette."
She snorted. "Ah, but I'll fuck people I'm not willing to fight for."
He huffed. "Who said anything about fucking? But, hey, if that's offered, too …."
"A kiss wouldn't mean the same thing to me. Although, now I feel like you don't trust me because you haven't kissed me." She stuck her lower lip out into an exaggerated pout.
Charles snorted. "He didn't kiss me for the longest time. When he did, it shocked the hell out of me."
Ares rumbled and shrugged. "Hey, if you both want me to shove my tongue in your mouths, then I won't complain."
Charles grinned at Ares, leaning over to wrap his hand around the turian's jacket and tugged him closer, voice low as he said, "I always want you to shove your tongue in my mouth."
Ares growled and smirked at him. "I know."
"Kiss me," he said, tugging Ares closer still, and Ares rumbled, pressing his mouth plates to Charles' lips and shoving his tongue in. Smiling into the kiss, Charles entwined his tongue with Ares', savoring the feel of his rough mouth plates. He slid a hand up, cupping the back of Ares' head and nipped his tongue.
"Get a room," Jasmine said, her voice playful.
Growling, Ares flicked a mandible and pulled his tongue back into his own mouth, breaking the kiss. "There's no fun in that." He sat back in his chair as the waiter returned, setting their drinks out before taking his leave once more. "And I have no problem making you feel better about trust by kissing you, too."
She pursed her lips for a second, and then, with a spark of mischief in her eyes, she pushed away from the table. Standing, she rounded the table and pulled it away from Ares instead of trying to pull his chair out. She sat down on his lap, wrapped her hand around his crest, and tugged his head back. Smirking, at his soft growl, she pressed her lips to his mouth and slipped her tongue between his mouth plates.
Charles watched, wide-eyed, jealousy rearing its ugly head again. He did his best to stamp it down and smoked his cigarillo. Flicking his mandibles, Ares growled again and shoved his mouth against Jasmine's lips, tongue pushing in against hers. He wrapped one of his arms around her ribs, his other hand resting on the outside of her thigh. After a few seconds, Jasmine broke away and grinned at him, patting his cheek before standing up and shifting the table back into place.
"Thanks, I do feel better," she said, sitting back down with a grin before taking a drink of her rum.
Ares rumbled in amusement as he picked up the bottle of his beer and took a drink. "Of course you do. Turian tongues have many perks."
She snorted. "So does Tannor's."
"I don't feel better." Charles let out a heavy sigh and smirked. "I feel left out."
She chuckled, glancing over at him. "That so?"
"Yes." He nodded. Truthfully, it wasn't so much about wanting to kiss her, too—although he did find the thought appealing—but if she included him … maybe he wouldn't feel so challenged by the woman when it came to Ares.
She reached across the table and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in closer, and kissed him. Her tongue tasted like rum, but her lips were incredibly soft. Charles shoved his tongue back into her mouth. Reaching across, he tried to cup the back of her head, but her other hand caught his wrist and brought his hand back down to the table between them. He supposed it made sense. She'd want to be in complete control of the situation, and regardless of what she said about kissing not having the same meaning for her, she obviously wouldn't trust him as much as Ares.
After a few more passes of her tongue, she let him go and patted his cheek. "Happy?"
"If that's what you want to call it," he said with a smirk, wagging his eyebrows at her.
Ares snorted over his bottle.
"You two are kind of perfect for each other." She took another drink from her rum before waving her hand for Charles' cigarillo again.
He smirked and passed it over, watching her take a deeper drag before she passed it back. He liked hearing she thought he and Ares were right for each other because Ares was his, and he had no intentions of ever letting the turian go.
"I actually kind of like those." She hummed.
Ares reached into his pocket and pulled out his own cigarettes, putting one in his mouth while he searched for his lighter. "If you like that kind of shit."
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What do you know? You don't even like French fries."
"Oh, you're right. What do I know of mushy, flavorless starches?" Ares hummed and flicked his lighter open, lighting his cigarette before flipping the lid closed.
"You said these weren't so bad." Charles tapped the ashes off the end of his cigarillo.
"Yeah, they weren't bad." Ares took a drag, saying, "But I didn't say I liked them over my own. Their taste is too strong, drowns out the other flavors."
"Hmmm. Well, good thing you don't have to smoke them, then." Charles smirked and then turned his attention to Jasmine. "Is Tannor your husband or whatever?"
Ares looked at Charles, dropping his chin a little and lifting a brow ridge. He left the sarcastic 'really' unspoken, but Charles heard it anyway.
The tendon in her jaw jumped a little, but then it smoothed out and she turned her attention to Charles again. "I'm not married. I don't think I'm really the marrying type."
He realized it didn't answer his question, but he got it was one she didn't plan to answer, so he let it go. "I would've said the same thing a few months ago." He chuckled, glancing at Ares and added, "But apparently I fell in love with a giant turian."
Ares grunted around his cigarette. "Sap."
Smiling, Charles took a drag of his cigarillo. When he responded, he spoke to Jasmine even though he kept his gaze on Ares. "He loves me, too, he just doesn't realize it."
She hummed, glancing between the two of them with a soft smile on her face but didn't say anything.
Ares flicked his mandibles a few times and pointedly drank from his beer. "I'm fully aware of my own emotions."
Jasmine snorted, unsuccessfully hiding a smile behind her own glass.
Charles' lip twitched, but he didn't say anything else. There were way too many ways he could interpret Ares' response, and if he let himself go down the rabbit hole, he'd just tear himself up. The waiter returned, carrying a stacked tray, and set plates down in front of each of them. Ares rumbled at his plate and put his cigarette in his mouth, freeing up his hands to slice into his flatbread pizza, topped with two different kinds of meat.
"So, Charles," she said, drawing his attention back to her, "how long have you lived on the Citadel?"
He shrugged. "I've lost track but a few years."
"Did you come here from Shanxi, then, or move around?" She raised an eyebrow at him as she sliced into her pizza.
The question gave him pause. She seemed so particular about what she'd answer for him, yet she didn't seem to hesitate to ask questions just as personal. Granted, he wasn't an assassin who needed to worry about concealing so much about himself, but still …. Maybe it was some kind of test. He took a few seconds to consider her question, debating on whether or not he really wanted to answer, but in the end, he thought he might get more out of her if he gave a little more himself. It felt important to him to get to know her a little better, like knowing her would help him know Ares.
Taking a last drag from his cigarillo, he put it out and said, "Moved around … though … I guess I didn't really live anywhere for a long time."
The answer seemed to surprise her, gaze sweeping over him again in an appraising manner. "As in homeless?"
He nodded, and then something she'd said earlier clicked into place in his mind. "Is that what you meant by 'your time on the streets?'"
Lips parted, she nodded. "Yeah."
Charles stepped into the changing room, looking over the little nodes he was supposed to stick to himself, feeling a little lost. He turned around and saw a kiosk mounted to the wall with a list of species. Pressing 'human' and then 'male', he started the instructional vid. He stripped down to his boxers and started putting the nodes on himself, following along with the vid.
"Need help in there?" Jasmine's voice called through the door, light and teasing.
"Ah, no. I think I've got it." He huffed but grinned. After another minute or so, he got all of the nodes in place and redressed, including the lightly padded crap Ares got him to wear.
Stepping back out of the room, he glanced over at Ares who busied himself stuffing something into his pockets and pouches from a box on a shelf. Jasmine stood not far away, checking over her sniper rifle and her pistol. True to her word, she'd kept on her street clothes, just like Ares—making Charles feel like even more of an ass. At least Ares bought a private slot for them, there wouldn't be any cameras going for the viewers to laugh at Charles.
He moved over next to Ares. "What's that?"
Humming, Ares grabbed Charles' wrist to pull up his hand and slapped something into his palm. "Think you can throw this a good distance?"
Charles looked at the metal disk, some vague memory informing him it was a grenade. "Probably."
"Probably?" Ares rumbled and flicked a mandible. "Or yes?"
Holding out his other hand, Charles asked, "Well, I mean, how far do you consider 'a good distance?'"
"Far enough away to not blow yourself or us up, preferably into a group of enemies." Jasmine glanced up, holstering her pistol at her back.
Ares nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I can do that." Charles shrugged, slipping the grenade into one of the pockets built into the padding.
"Just be sure to let us know when you throw one," Ares said as he closed the emptied box and unholstered his heavy pistol, starting to check it over.
Charles pulled out his Stiletto III, looking it over and changing out his ammo block for one of the simulator cartridges the arena used.
Crossing the couple of feet separating them, Jasmine reached into a pocket and pulled something out. Opening her hand, a small, oddly shaped device sat in her palm. She picked it up between her fingers and fiddled with it before stepping closer to Charles. "Bend down a little?"
He glanced at Ares, and Ares nodded at him. Doing as she asked, he bent down and cringed when she slipped the device into his ear.
She chuckled and stepped back. "Just tap it when you want to speak to us."
He reached up, gently touching the device. "This is incredibly uncomfortable."
She grinned. "Yep."
"Stop bitching like two children." Ares looked down the sights before lowering his pistol and started to turn away.
Without saying anything—and faster than Charles processed in order to warn Ares—Jasmine pulled out her pistol and shot the turian in the ass. Ares snarled, the sound more surprised than pained, and he glared at her. Charles' eyes widened, gaze flicking back and forth between the two of them, expecting all hell to break loose.
She grinned, reholstering her pistol. "You're not the boss of me."
"If you'd prefer, I can cut your comm and you fly alone." Ares flicked a mandible. "I was going to offer you take the majority of the high ground, but if you're going to shoot us …."
"Us?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Charles. "Did I shoot you?"
Charles chuckled, though it felt equal parts nerves and humor, and shook his head. "Don't think so."
Ares flicked a mandible and holstered his pistol, reaching to his back for his sniper rifle. He turned away from them, holding the gun up, checking the sights and taking some time to adjust his scope. Charles knew Ares was pissed, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem interested in ripping into Jasmine. It only made Charles feel more nervous.
She smirked, strapping her sniper rifle over her back and rolled her shoulders. "Are we ready?"
Ares grunted and collapsed his rifle, glancing at Charles. "Are you?"
Charles just nodded, feeling out the temperature between Ares and Jasmine, afraid to say or do anything which might tip the scales. Ares rumbled and looked at Jasmine, giving her a nod as he stepped aside from the entrance to the simulator. She seemed oblivious to Ares' being upset with her or at least intent on not letting it bother her.
"I'll stick close to you," Ares said as he moved next to Charles. "Until you get your bearings on the field."
"Okay." Charles took a deep breath. "How exactly does this work again?"
"We'll have a few minutes to find cover before enemies will spawn. At this level, the simulator will announce the location of their spawns as well as how many remain on the field." Ares pulled out his pistol. "Hit them just like you've been practicing … or until your weapon's fire activates their death sequence. And don't get yourself shot."
"Each match is three rounds, and every time, the enemies will spawn from a different point, so stay alert." Jasmine started walking to the door. "You'll see the orange, holographic flame things wherever they're coming from."
Ares nodded and motioned for Charles to head to the door and get ready. "Any other questions?"
"What happens if I get shot?" Charles asked, glancing over at Ares.
"It hurts," Jasmine said. "And if you get hit enough, without using Medi-gel, the VI counts you as dead. So, don't."
Ares flicked a mandible. "Just use Medi-gel. We'll have enough of it."
Taking another deep breath, Charles adjusted his grip on his Stiletto III and nodded. "Alright, let's do this."
Smiling, Jasmine walked on, and the doors opened in front of her. A large area looking a lot like some of the rundown streets on Earth stretched out ahead of them, half destroyed buildings, streets, even a few parked skycars and crates. It felt weird, it looked too real to be a computer generation, but Charles knew it had to be.
She glanced over at Ares. "You got him for now?"
Ares nodded and looked at him. "Keep her at your back, but don't let yourself get too comfortable. She can watch from above, but her job isn't just to keep you from getting shot."
Jasmine smiled and pointed to the roof of what looked like a warehouse. "I'll start there, but I won't stay there." She lifted her hand to her wrist and hit something, disappearing from sight. "And you won't always be able to see me."
"Whoa …." Charles blinked, mouth agape as he turned to look at Ares and then back to the spot from where she vanished.
"Don't waste time looking for her. You'll hear her rifle fire. Judge her relative position from there, but don't worry about her." He patted Charles' shoulder and pointed further into the simulator. "Scan the grounds and pick out possible cover from various positions. Always anticipate where an enemy will be, and be ready."
Charles did as he was told, looking over the streets, taking in the locations of buildings, the cross streets, skycars, crates, and anything else he could hide behind. He didn't really know how to decide where an enemy might be, but he figured they'd probably be trying to find cover, too. A loud ping announced the beginning of the simulator, and Charles saw a glistening waypoint further down the path of the center street, directly in the middle of an intersection. Ares glanced at Charles and rumbled in question. Charles pointed toward a building down the street, nearer to them than the waypoint, which would give him the ability to stand behind the wall and still see the enemies approach.
Ares nodded and lifted his weapon. "Go," he said quickly as he started making his way down the field toward a skycar close to the building.
Charles ran for the building, hearing gunshots. He jumped, kicking off the side of the skycar and using it to launch himself behind the building faster than he would've gotten there on foot. Rolling a little as he landed, he popped back up and edged down the wall to peer around the corner. Several asari wearing yellow armor rushed down the street toward them, ducking behind buildings and crates.
Glancing across the way, Charles saw Ares level his weapon, mandibles fluttering as he opened fire. Turning his attention back to the one asari he just barely saw around the edge, Charles aimed his Stiletto III and fired at her shoulder—the only thing really visible. His shot hit, and she moved further back into cover. He cursed under his breath, unable to see anyone else. He waited and watched, and a moment later, another asari popped into view. He shifted aim and took a shot, but the asari managed to get back behind cover just in time to dodge the hit.
A couple of seconds later, he heard the loud bark of a weapon coming from somewhere above. He figured it must be Jasmine. Half a second later, an asari stumbled out of cover, and Charles shot her in the chest. It didn't do any real damage, though, thanks to her armor. It did keep her out of cover a moment longer, however. He adjusted and tried to aim for her uncovered head, but hitting a moving target seemed far more difficult than the still images at the range.
"Lead your shots," Ares said, rumbling as he fired on a salarian beside Charles' target. "If you can't estimate where they'll be, then shoot their legs." He fired and the salarian's leg practically disintegrated. "Then kill them."
The asari Charles shot at already got back behind cover. He waited a minute, but none of them stuck their heads out again. So, he did something he remembered his father talking about before. Firing off a couple of rounds at the crate, he waited, trying to flush them out. Sure enough, a second later, an asari peered around the edge, right into Charles' crosshairs. He pulled the trigger and hit her in the side of her face. The simulator showed violet blood spray from her before she ducked back behind the crate, screams echoing through the arena. Charles licked his lips, the beast stirring inside of him.
A moment later, another asari ran out, heading across the street for different cover. Charles shot at her legs but missed, and she ducked behind another crate before he could fire again. A moment later, another bark of gunfire from above flushed out a salarian. The salarian didn't really look injured so much as stunned, which made Charles think either Jasmine sucked, or she intended to line up targets for him.
Either way, he didn't take much time to question it before shooting the salarian in the leg, making his leg buckle. Shifting, Charles took a shot at the salarian's head but barely grazed him the first time. He fired again, catching the salarian in the neck. It wasn't what he went for, but the faux blood spraying out distracted him from taking another shot, the beast purring at the sight.
"Flush them out with a grenade," Ares said.
Glancing over at Ares, Charles licked his lips, shaking away the blood haze filling his mind. He reached into the pocket where he'd stuck the grenade earlier and looked it over, figuring out how to activate it before glancing around the wall again. He pushed the button and lobbed the grenade out over the crates. A second later, two asari ran away from the area, and Charles shot at them. A second after that, the grenade went off, the crates exploding in the process, and he heard the pained screams of those who weren't quick enough to get away.
"They're moving in on your six," Jasmine's voice came over the comm.
Ares aimed after the escaping asari and jerked his head toward Charles' right. "Move position. Cover your flank. I'll keep them off you, then circle around and flush them down this street."
Charles nodded, slipping along the side of the wall before turning and running. He stopped at the end to peer around the edge, the sound of gunfire echoing behind him, and then he darted down the street to the next building. He made his way to the end and looked around again, finding the coast clear. He licked his lips, keeping his gun raised and stepped out, moving as quietly as he could.
Rounding the building, he jogged back down to the end and hit the comm. "I'm in place," he said.
A moment later, he saw a group of mercs backing up, moving into the street as they tried to get out of Ares' fire.
"Take cover," Ares responded, giving Charles just enough time to duck back behind the building before a grenade went off, not giving the enemies enough time to escape the blast.
Charles glanced around the edge again and fired on the wounded, writhing on the ground, trying to get their feet back under them. After landing a killing shot on a human, he turned his Stiletto III on a salarian, firing twice, once in his head, the other hitting the wall next to him.
A soft thud behind him made him jerk and turn, weapon swinging around, but a hand darted out and grabbed his wrist, knocking the gun away. Jasmine's face registered with him, and she grinned, lifting her own pistol to fire over his shoulder. He turned to look and saw she'd just killed an asari who crept up on his left he hadn't noticed. She hit the band on her wrist again and disappeared, leaving him by himself. He turned to look all around him, making sure there weren't any other enemies nearby before killing the last asari still alive at the cross-section. The simulation chimed, signaling the end of the round, and began to count down a five-second warning to prepare for the next wave.
Ares stepped out of the shadows at Charles' side and motioned his head toward their eight o'clock position. "Waypoint's that way."
Charles nodded and moved off in the direction Ares indicated until he saw the waypoint and choose new cover behind a skycar. If he thought having the chance to kill simulated enemies and blow shit up with grenades would calm Ares down after Jasmine's poorly chosen prank, he was wrong. Ares didn't act angry, per se, but it seemed painfully obvious to Charles. He saw it in the tightness of Ares' mandibles, the icy gaze, and the death grip on his rifle.
The next round seemed a little harder than the first. The waypoint created a strong, strategic positioning for the enemies to spawn. Ares and Charles got separated when a salarian set a crate they were hiding behind on fire, forcing them to run for new cover, but Ares kept it together and never let Charles out of his sight. At one point, Charles spotted a human moving into position behind Ares, and he used his comm to let Ares know, but Ares just jerked his head and kept up his rain of fire on the asari across from him flinging biotics. A second later, the human's head exploded, the sound of Jasmine's sniper rifle coming from somewhere off to Charles' right.
Charles grinned and turned his attention to the asari edging along a building at his two o'clock. He couldn't see her legs hidden behind a planter, so he took aim at her chest and head. He'd learned real quick, even with armor, it might take him a bit longer, but his pistol could tear through the ceramic. Hitting a target in the chest two or three times worked almost just as well to throw them off as hitting them in the legs once did, and it was a hell of a lot easier to hit than their legs. Sure, the legs were more efficient, but he really needed more practice with moving targets before he'd be able to dependably pull it off.
In the third round, Ares let a human get close enough to bash the merc in the face with the butt of his rifle. Blood spurted from his nose, and Ares flicked a mandible, an agitated gesture, before shooting him at point blank. Starting to get tired, Charles got hit twice, but he used Medi-gel when Ares' barked at him through the comm. Jasmine appeared down the street, hands wrapped around an asari's chin and head before she jerked, snapping the asari's neck. She let the asari's body drop to the ground and spun, flinging a knife out at the salarian across the way, embedding the blade between his eyes, and the VI chimed, signaling the end of the match.
After retrieving her knife, Jasmine walked down the street, stopping in front of Ares. She glanced over him and said something Charles was too far away to hear. Jerking her head, she gestured with her thumb back over her shoulder. Ares flicked his mandibles, nodding, and Charles started over toward them. They both turned to face him, Jasmine with a smile on her face but Ares with mandibles tight against his jaw.
"Ready for another match?" Jasmine asked, flicking fake blood off of her blade before lifting her shirt enough to stick it back in a sheath strapped around her waist.
Charles hesitated, looking back and forth between her and Ares. He was tired, and Ares seemed pissed, but Ares gave him a nod, so he said, "Sure."
"Great." She grinned. "You're going to stick with me through this one, cool?"
"Uh …." He glanced at Ares again, getting another nod. "Okay."
Ares opened his omni-tool, and a second later, the next match began, the VI's voice welcoming them to Armax Arsenal Arena. Ares checked his sniper rifle and headed off, disappearing between buildings down the street. Jasmine unholstered her pistol, checking her thermal clip before nodding her head toward a half-ruined building. Charles followed her as she started jogging, checking his thermal clip as he went.
"I thought he could use a little room to … stretch out, blow off some of that steam without worrying about you." She waited next to the building, waiting for the waypoint to appear before pointing it out to Charles.
He nodded in acknowledgment. "You really kind of pissed him off."
"I seem to be good at that," she said, giving him a wry smile as she waved her hand toward two skycars a few feet apart. "Go left, I'll go right. Stay low, get behind the skycar."
"Got it." Charles crouched down, running to the skycar.
Jasmine slid into place opposite of him, perched on her toes, knees nearly touching the ground as she duck-walked a little further down the vehicle before peering over the hood. Being pretty short, even with as low to the ground as the hood of the C-111 Skyline Shuttle was, she seemed able to stay well hidden. Charles not so much. But, staying just a little further back worked well enough.
Halfway through the round, Charles spotted Ares off to the left on the far side of the arena, using his knife and bare hands to rip enemies apart. Yeah … he definitely needed to blow off some steam. Charles just hoped he got it all out of his system in the arena. If he didn't … well, maybe Charles could help him work some of it off in bed.