Remnants

by General Rage

From Halo's ashes, a mismatched Alliance is born. UNSC soldiers now serve alongside both Batarian deserters and shifty Jackal Space Pirates. Now Shepard and Master Chief have to keep these strange bedfellows from killing one another before they can stop an emergent new threat to the galaxy. The Next Swashbuckling Chapter of the Wormhole Chronicles.

9. Stowaways

Chapter Eight: Stowaways

You can go a long way with a Smile. You can go a lot further with a Smile and a Gun

-Al Capone

"That's when I knew I would never have come back from Florida alive."

Zek laughed a little at that as he took his drink in hand.

"Yeah, now you get it," he said putting the glass to his beak. "Took you only most of your natural life, but you finally got it."

He took a brief sip from the glass with most satisfaction.

"Damn, this is the greatest cautionary story ever told," he declared. "Mothers should read it to their kids at night."

"Even the part where they kill the guy in the diner over a bunch of dumb jokes?" Kasumi asked, still holding her bowl of popcorn.

"Especially that," Zek insisted. "It's the whole damn crux. It shows the reality of the situation, they are fooling themselves."

Kasumi had once again decided to join the Pirates for another seemingly long night of old vids in their rec room. She wondered if they were still stuck on Japanese Tokusatsu, but it turned out the day's bounty had given them a different mood, gangster films. Scarface was the first, now they had Goodfellas and Zek seemed to like them equally. Honestly, she wasn't sure why. She thought Zek would be rooting for the bad guys to win in this one, but instead he seemed to revel in their downfall. That's when she latched onto that word he had used before.

"What do you mean by 'cautionary' anyway?" She asked him digging into her popcorn a bit.

"Exactly what I mean, it's a lesson in what not to do," Zek elaborated. "Specifically why we're pirates, and helps demonstrate one of the most important rules of the Pirate Game."

"Which is?" Kasumi asked again, even more intrigued.

"Never lie to yourself," he explained. "Embrace what you are, never act like you aren't a hoodlum or a rogue. Be proud of it, do not hide, do not pretend to have honor. You are a scoundrel, pure and simple."

Zek looked back to the holoscreen directly and pointed at the lead character on screen, currently talking to an FBI agent about entering wittness protection.

"Look at Mr. Hill for example, a child who never grew up," he declared. "Who never accepted the harsh truth about his life until it was too late. The concept of your Mafia is cute, adorable even, but it's self-defeating. Pretending you are somehow legitimate businessmen, pillars of the community, is denying the fact you're anything but. It's false protection, a smokescreen that barely does anything but obscure you for a bit."

"It seemed to work for a long time," Kasumi noted. "They could do whatever they wanted and get away with it almost daily."

"Fantasy, fleeting fantasy," Zek informed her nonchalantly. "You heard Hill himself, your so called friends come to kill you with smiles. They pretend they're family, but they're not. They have no real loyalty to anything but their own skins, yet they act like they stand for something. They don't though, they're criminals. By definition we stand for only ourselves. Trust is fleeting within the Mafia system, family is a lie. You know why?"

Kasumi shook her head, but it was most out of eagerness to hear his answer.

"Because they live in a society with laws and restrictions and rules," Zek listed off rather plainly. "They try to fit into that system, to play it, game it, and they will succeed for a while. But to do so they make up their own laws to hide and protect themselves from another set of laws they willingly break. Inevitably, someone makes a mistake, someone does something they're not supposed to and it gets them in real trouble. They can't help themselves! You spend all this time breaking other people's laws, what makes you think yours are any more binding? And when one gets wise to the fact they're at the end of their rope, with nowhere else to turn, what do they do?"

Zek waved his hand back at the screen, already showing Henry Hill jumping off the witness stand to a frozen courtroom. He was lamenting his shattered life, his demolished dream of a gangster, his whole world crashing down in an instant because of one stupid decision.

"Everyone had their hands out, everything was for the taking," he said, depression and loss in his voice. "And now it's all over."

"They become what they hated and destroy all they once so valued," Zek concluded. "Crime cannot be organized. Crime cannot be legitimized. It is an oxymoron. Pirates accept the grim reality that we are outlaws and we are freer for it, Ms. Goto. Freer than Henry Hill is in his little podunk house in the middle of nowhere. Piracy is freedom, accepting no law, but the code you follow for yourself and your crew."

"But you have to have some rules," Kasumi said. "At least, some idea of what to not do."

"You live and die by your own merits, the code is a guideline but never binding," Zek assured. "A Kig-yar Pirate's loyalty and trust is not based on some blood oath or honor. It's based on practicality and respect. A crew needs a strong shipmaster to guide them, lead them to glory. A shipmaster needs a crew to achieve his ends. Both must respect the other by the simple fact they will crumble if they don't. And if a pirate neglects his duty for his own greed, all well and good. But fair is fair and he will be dealt with if he is not careful. We let the tide itself decide our fates, if you will. Not some shadowy board of bosses making up rules to protect themselves."

It was as Miranda had kept arguing, Jackal society was mob rule. No laws but those you make your own, only a small semblance of order based on what made sense practically. It wasn't a free for all, but it was a lot less restricting on the individual. She had gotten a taste of it when she was on the Hollow. Now, Zek was outling the philosophy in full. She'd be lying if she said she didn't see the appeal. After all, that was kind of how she lived her life, right? Carefree? No respect for the law? Sure she wasn't as violent as Zek's people, but she had to admit their lifestyles weren't all that different.

As the credits to the film started to play, rock music echoing through the rec room, Zek was already looking for another vid to roll. Kasumi had another look around the room. They were notably missing someone.

"Retz missed the whole vid," she said. "Hope he's not upset we watched it all without him."

"I think he watched it earlier," Zek assured her. "Said something about it being a little nostalgic. Probably because he and Hill both grew up on the streets. Retz was his own man though, didn't need to play valet to anyone. Unless he used it as a scam to steal some money, I can see him trying that."

"He mentioned a bit about that before," Kasumi recalled. "Said he had a fence at six or something."

"He's always been able to make some pretty good connections over his career," Zek noted. "That silver-tongue of his is most handy. I probably wouldn't be half the pirate I were today if it weren't for him."

He leaned over into Kasumi's ear at that.

"Don't tell him I said that by the way," he cautioned. "He's already got a bit of an ego about him, don't want to add to it."

"No problem," Kasumi assured. "So, you decided on a vid yet?"

Zek started scratching his head a bit at the question.

"Not sure," he admitted. "I'm at a loss between this 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Blood and Death on Illium', they both sound interesting."

The choice would never be made. A loud terrible sound rocked the ship, like a small explosion of some sort. Zek and the rest of the assembled crew looked about confused for a moment. The Pirate Leader eventually clicked his comm-link on.

"The hell was that?" He demanded.

"Sir, there's been an explosion in the crew quarters," shouted a voice over the line. "You better get up here. It was in Taq's room!"

Zek instantly lept to his feet and ran for the door. Kasumi placed her popcorn aside and followed him. She had never seen him, or any of the Jackal Pirates for that matter, this flustered and frantic. Keeping up with him as he rushed through the corridors was almost a chore in itself. Eventually they stopped outside a small doorway, singed and partially damaged. There were some armed guards at the scene already, looking over everything. The smoking smell of explosive residue still filled the air. When they got inside the room, they saw a small crater in the floor with burn marks all around it. That was when they heard coughing behind a piece of furniture. Zek rushed to it and found Taq, shaken but alive and not worse for wear, holding onto a plasma pistol in her hand nervously.

"You alright?" He asked her, sounding legitimately concerned for once.

"I'm fine," Taq assured him. "Better than him anyway."

She pointed her gun past her cover over to a small counter top. Lying against it was a dead Jackal, his beak hung open and plasma scoring across his torso and head. Zek scowled at the corpse as he tried to lift Taq up, but the female Jackal simply forced his hands away and stood under her own power. Kasumi stood beside him, taking the whole scene in.

"Looks like you have a problem, Zek," Kasumi cautioned.

"Vid night is over sadly," the pirate declared, looking to his men. "Lock the ship down, no kig-yar gets off. Inform Haverson and Shepard at once and find Retz! No one enters this room until they arrive and we start getting answers!"

Now Kasumi was concerned. Zek was acting serious for once. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. She supposed she couldn't blame him. The Ex he was still in love with had just been attacked, possibly by a member of his own crew. And it was obvious why he needed to get Shepard and Haverson involved. After all, they warned him this might happen.

All Kasumi knew at the time though was that this average night had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.

---

"Don't want to say I told you so, Zek," Haverson stated. "So I won't. I'd like to think I'm better than that."

"Act smart all ya want, Lieutenant," Zek growled back. "It's not exactly helping anyone but your own self-satisfaction."

"Let's not get into another argument here," Shepard was quick to interject. "Right now, we need to know what we're dealing with."

It hadn't taken long for everyone to more or less arrive at the scene, save for Retz who was still nowhere to be found. Shepard had brought Garrus along with him to the scene, hoping his experience with similar instances in C-SEC could help with this case. Currently sitting down in a chair was Taq, still shaken from the ordeal and be comforted by Kasumi.

"Let's start from the top," Garrus began, speaking to the female Jackal. "You come in the room and then someone tosses a grenade at you."

"Right, so I ran to cover as fast I could," Taq reiterated. "Then the dead idiot over there started scanning the room for me. I caught him with a plasma bolt when he wasn't looking and just unloaded a second one into him to be sure. Then I stay here just trying to breathe and reconcile the fact someone had just tried to kill me in my own room."

"So who is our assailant then?" Haverson asked, directing his gaze to Zek in particular.

The Pirate leader walked over to the body and looked him over.

"He's probably one of the fresher faces we recruited," Zek admitted. "I'm familiar with most of my old crew, I don't recognize him. Even with half the face charred, he doesn't look like anyone I know."

"How'd he get through Retz' screening process?" Garrus asked. "He said it was airtight."

"Well he could've snuck aboard I guess," Zek supposed. "I mean, it was pretty hairy during our escape from the Hollow. After that he could've just blended in."

"Then it's safe to say this is one of your friend Snarlbeak's men," Haverson suggested. "He was probably trying to kill Taq and take her data module back to him."

"A fair analysis, but no."

Everyone turned to see Retz standing in the doorway, he walked in rather casually examining the scene carefully. He knelt down next to the scorched floor where the grenade had gone off.

"If this were Snarlbeak he would've instructed his men to take Taq alive if possible," he explained, scrapping his talon against the blackened floor. "He would need her expertise to get his prize, or at the very least he'd want to watch her die for betraying him. No offense meant, Taq."

"None taken," she replied.

"Also, a simple Snarlbeak stowaway wouldn't have waited this long to strike and he wouldn't have used a human grenade," Retz continued. "I can smell the powder and burning smoke smell. This is far more potentially problematic."

"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"I theorize that our would-be killer over there had other goals in mind," Retz replied, pointing to the corpse. "He wanted to cover his tracks. The plan was to kill Taq, steal the module and make a run for it. The idea of using the human frag grenade was to suggest the UNSC was actually involved. Then we'd spend a few hours accusing each other, trying to find the man responsible, giving the culprit ample time to get away with his prize. Zhoc is clever, but this requires way too much subterfuge to pull off. It's too complicated for him, he'd just go directly for the module. Hell, he'd be more likely to send a pickpocket to try and steal it off her person without her knowing. This assassin though, he wanted to make a statement with his kill. That's why he used a grenade, more flashy, garners more attention."

The theory earned raised eyebrows and perplexed looks from everyone save Zek and Taq. It was as if they were in on the conclusion Retz was making before anyone else. That was a scary thought, especially given their concerned expressions.

"So they wanted to make a spectacle of the kill, send a message," Shepard reasoned. "Who would go through all that trouble? What message are they sending?"

"Never cross the Syndicate," Retz answered thusly.

Zek grumbled worriedly in his throat while Taq looked downcast.

"Oh this is just perfect then," she groaned.

Everyone else, however, was just more confused. The word really meant nothing to them after all.

"What's the Syndicate?" Shepard asked for those out of the loop.

"The closest to thing to any real authority a Kig-yar pirate actually respects," Retz explained gravely. "It's a confederation of the three biggest pirate clans, led by each clan's ruling Pirate Queen. They are the dominant criminal enterprise in the galaxy and, more or less, run the proverbial show."

"I thought the Kig-Yar weren't big on organization and governments," Kasumi said, still a bit confused.

"We aren't, but we are not without some structure," Retz clarified. "They don't exactly make laws, they don't tell the smaller clans and fleets what to do, no one is actually beholden to them outside their own fleets. They do, however, represent an important part of Pirate society. They help settle disputes among other Pirates, money, territory, the usual, in an effort to prevent them from killing each other. You go to them when you want to ask for favors and you're so desperate that you don't care what their price is. And, more often than not, they insure that no one threatens to bring undue exposure onto Pirate Society."

Kasumi was entirely convinced about this.

"It sounds like a government body when you put it like that," Kasumi told him.

"Then I'm explaining it wrong," Retz corrected himself. "They don't actually govern anyone, they exist to protect Pirate Culture more or less and they do so at their own discretion. They banded together centuries ago when they realized the simple truth that the Covenant were putting the squeeze on kig-yar pirates. Rather than expend resources in a pointless costly war between each other, the Clans decided they'd be better off pooling resources and using the collective partnership to protect themselves and other pirates from falling prey to the Covenant's relentless march."

"Well how does killing other pirates or sneaking aboard their ships play into that?" Garrus asked. "If their mission is to preserve piracy, why attack their brethren?"

"Because when everyone plays by their own rules, the potential risks increase," Retz explained bluntly. "Pirates who take too much heat, who threaten Syndicate operations, who get into territory squabbles too often, garner too much attention by Covenant task forces or who are a little too chummy with the Covenant in general. They exist to remove those cancers before they spread and bring other pirates down with their reckless behavior. Everyone is free to act on their own code, but when you start making a nuisance of yourself, you shouldn't be surprised when others deem you a liability to their security."

So Pirate Court, Kasumi thought to herself. As strict and uncompromising as any other, but with no set laws, no jury, just a bunch of old lady birds apparently deciding if you endangered Pirate culture or not. And, knowing the Jackals like she did, their ultimate verdict came down to whether or not you endangered them more than anything or anyone else.

"Alright, how do they traditionally work then?" Shepard asked. "What's an average day on the job for them?"

"Say a pirate comes to them with a problem," Retz began, speaking succinct and clear. "A rival is pushing into his territory too much, ripping off his marks, stealing his jobs. So he asks the Syndicate to do something about it. They consider it, for a price of course, usually pretty high. You only go to them if you have no other option. They don't like interfering with others if they get nothing out of it. Inversely, you might have a pirate who has gotten too big for his own good. He's hitting the Covenant military too often, he's selling out his rivals to the Covenant to take them out of the game, he could even be targeting the Syndicate directly. Well, now they have to deal with him. You can't have a task force chasing down pirates or said pirate giving the Covenant information on Syndicate operations. He needs to be dealt with. Not every solution requires outright murder, but it's sometimes deemed the easiest response. Others could include the sabotage of key ships, reprisals against the offender's operations, maybe they turn the crew against him and maroon him on a planet. The motivating factor behind any action is the same though, send a message."

"Mess with our status quo and you pay the price," Garrus concluded. "Okay, how do they go about doing all this? Where do they get their information? How do these covert operations they conduct work?"

"Well, usually they already have operatives in the field," Retz said rather plainly. "People implanted into other fleets, sometimes for years, sometimes only recently recruited by the shipmaster himself. They sit, they wait, report back what they find all the while and execute operations when told to. Those undercover for years are usually there because the Pirate they're implanted with is of particular interest to them. A potential threat they wish to keep an eye on, activated only when need be. It's the ones who get deployed at a moment's notice who are a more immediate threat. They're not there to observe, only to act."

Haverson had crossed his arms during Retz's explanation and was now offering a skeptical look in response.

"Pirate spies?" He said, somewhat in the form of a question. "You're telling me there is such a thing as Pirates who double as spies."

Retz just offered an innocent acknowledging shrug. It said to Haverson, and everyone else for that matter, that they were free to think of it that way. Kasumi liked that herself. Secret Agent Pirates, two great tastes together. It made her imagination fire off rockets a bit, well-dressed swashbuckling badasses wearing eye-patches and tuxedos, sailing on boats armed with all kinds of tricked out gadgets. Perhaps she had been watching too many old vids, but she couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm also getting the feeling you're telling us that our dead friend over there isn't our only problem," Shepard reasoned aloud. "That there are probably a lot more of them aboard this ship."

"It all depends on how important the operation is deemed, but usually there is more than one," Retz answered plainly. "They're about the strength of a squad, about eight people. Any more and you start to attract attention. I can't say for sure if we have that many, but it's a possibility. And it's more than likely they are all after Taq and her data module."

"Great, as if one asshole vying for my head wasn't enough," Taq growled.

"I'm guessing they want what Snarlbeak does," Garrus presumed. "They want that Forerunner Artifact."

"Or they want to insure no one can acquire it," Retz postulated. "Maintaining the status quo of their power is important to the Syndicate. They'd rather no one Pirate obtain an edge over them, so destroying the information is just as viable a resort of action. It could be another reason why the assassin chose a grenade for this attempt. If the module was somehow damaged in the blast the mission would still be a success. This one acted in haste though and it's cost his fellows the element of surprise. We can use that to our advantage to hunt them down."

Hunting down Pirate Spies, Kasumi honestly did not think this was how the night would go. Not that it wasn't a bad situation, but she couldn't help but feel excited over the prospect. It was like a mystery novel, a veritable cast of characters to investigate and track down. It was her kind of danger, more intrigue, less of the burning cities and killer monsters that she had nearly gotten used to.

"We'll help keep your ship on lockdown while you weed out these stowaways," Haverson offered. "We should also take Taq into some kind of protective custody off the Serpent. If she is a target, we can't risk her or the data module falling into this Syndicate's hands."

"I appreciate the offer of help, Haverson," Retz stated cautiously. "But the fact of the matter is that these spies are but one piece of a larger problem."

Haverson looked at the feathery pirate curiously, not looking all too pleased by the potential insinuation.

"Please elaborate," he asked, sounding a little peeved.

"Well, I imagine you have protocols, Lieutenant," Retz shrugged simply. "I don't think you just leave grenades lying around out in the open for anyone to take. You have them secured, same as us. We don't lock-up frag grenades, so it had to come from your armory and the only people with access-"

"Are you suggesting one of our people could be involved?" Haverson asked, now sounding incensed.

"I'm suggesting that, unless some random Marine has reported they're missing a grenade or two, you should probably see if your armory is missing a few frags," Retz informed him succinctly. "And if possible, you should find out who took them."

Like any good mystery there was a twist, a possible traitor within UNSC ranks, assisting assassins in some way. Haverson looked livid and Kasumi swore he was about to pop a blood vessel. Then suddenly, he calmed, taking a short breath.

"I suppose you have a point, Retz," he relented. "The frag grenade had to come from somewhere. We should conduct an inventory inspection. Discreetly, however. I don't want to risk any of the men thinking we're hunting down a potential traitor on behalf of the Jackals."

"Well if we're going to do this, I suggest a two prong investigation," Zek declared. "Just so it can be fair and impartial on all parties involved. Retz should of course lead the Serpent's efforts."

"A good idea," Shepard concurred, turning next to his turian companion. "Garrus, I want you investigating this as well. You have experience with this after all."

"No problem, Shepard," Garrus nodded. "However, I think I should bring some backup on this. Samara is an accomplished investigator in her own right. It's part of her job description. She could be of some service."

"So long as everyone reports back to me and Holland their findings, I'm more than happy to agree to this," Haverson assured. "I'd like to have this matter resolved quickly, before rumors start circulating. We don't want more trouble than needed. Speaking of, I need to inform the Colonel about this. He is going to flip of course, but we need to prepare in case any of our people are in fact involved. Good day, gentlemen."

As Haverson left, Kasumi jumped up from her spot beside Taq. She headed right for Shepard. If they were hunting down Pirate Spies, she wanted in on the action. And she knew just how to convince the Commander.

"Shep, I've spent a good amount of time with these pirates, they kind of trust me," she explained. "I can help out Retz in uncovering these Syndicate guys. I mean, I know how the criminal mind works better than most. That's part MY job description."

"You sure about this, Kasumi?" Shepard asked

"Yeah, these Syndicate guys sound like shifty customers," Garrus added. "Plus, you'd be with him."

Garrus' head pointed to Retz, who responded with a raised brow.

"I can hear you," he informed the turian. "You are aware of that, correct?"

"Garrus, relax," Kasumi said, exhaling a slightly annoyed sigh. "Retz is on our side. He might not be squeaky clean, but none of us really are. I feel completely safe with him, honest."

Shepard eventually offered a reluctant nod.

"Alright, Kasumi, I suppose it would be a good idea to have someone else's eyes on how Retz handles things. You know, just so the report is... factual."

"Still can hear you," Retz reminded him. "Also, that term is so binding. Everyone slightly embellishes, makes the report that much more interesting a story."

Shepard and Garrus glared at him, but just shrugged in capitulation.

"Watch yourself, Goto," Garrus warned in a whisper.

"I'll be fine," she insisted again. "Honestly, you guys worry way too much. I've handled way shiftier people than him."

Shepard and Garrus just gave her an accepting look and walked away. Kasumi was now left with Retz, Zek and Taq alone in the room.

"So," she said, clapping her hands together and looking at Retz. "Where do we start, partner?"

Retz walked over to the dead assassin and started rifling through his pockets. He came up empty and shook his head.

"We need to check where he was sleeping," he deduced. "He was here at least a day, he had to get some shut-eye at some point. I'll run a facial recognition scan, pinpoint his bunk on the security systems."

He then turned to Taq, still sitting in her chair.

"Taq, it would probably be best to stick with us," he told her. "Until we're certain no humans are involved, you're not safe out of our sight."

"Fine," Taq groaned. "This whole hit-list thing is going to seriously put a damper on all my research time, you know. Let's wrap it up fast."

Retz then turned to Zek, the Pirate Leader offering a very serious, pleading look.

"Take care of her, man," he requested. "And deal with this fast. I don't need these guys running around on my ship. It's only going to make things more awkward with the UNSC until it's done."

"Don't worry, Zek," Retz said, curling his fingers into a fist. "I know how these guys think. They won't last a day, promise."

---

True to Retz's word, the security systems found the name of their grenade chucking assassin. His name was Joc, although Kasumi probably wondered if that was his real name. Whether or not it was an alias, he had been assigned lodging after being recruited. It didn't take long to discover his bunk in the main sleeping quarters of the Serpent. They found his empty bed, unkempt after a brief stay in it. He had gotten up in a hurry no doubt.

"I'm looking at the place where my attempted killer was sleeping probably just an hour ago," Taq said nervously. "This is kind of weird."

"Just stay close, watch yourselves," Retz warned. "His colleagues could be watching us right now. We need to search the area. It might have some kind of clue."

Retz had started looking through the bed, searching for something hidden in the mattress while Kasumi and Taq scanned the surrounding area. There were some compartments above the bunk, a good hiding spot potentially. When Kasumi opened them though, she found nothing. Currently, the song "Living after Midnight" was playing over the intercom. Not nearly that loud, but still blasting. Boz the Buzzard did not know how to sleep apparently. In any case, her mind wasn't fully on finding clues. Something Retz had said was still nagging at her.

"What did you mean before when you said you know how these assassins think?" Kasumi asked him.

"To tell you the truth, it's because I've been expecting this," he explained. "Zek's lineage meant it was only a matter of time before someone in the Syndicate tried to install someone in his ship."

"Being related to Dread Feather is hardly enough to get him on their watch list," Taq argued, mocking the very idea of such a thing. "Why would they care enough to bother?"

"Maybe they don't, but I preferred to be prepared just in case," Retz responded. "The Syndicate only answers to themselves. If they believe you're a threat, that's more than enough reason to send an agent your way. To be honest, I've been looking forward to this a little, a chance to match my wits against them. My only regret being that their arrival has put Taq in danger. My deepest condolences, my dear."

"Eh, I suppose it's nice to be wanted," Taq said shrugging, somewhat self-deprecating. "Even if it means dead or alive by a number of parties."

Kasumi crossed her arms a little, frowning slightly as she did.

"You didn't really answer my question," Kasumi told him. "How do you know how they think? Why have you been preparing for them?"

"The answer is somewhat two-fold," Retz admitted, turning to look at the hooded thief directly. "Part of it is because I suppose I think a lot like them. They're professional liars, the best kind of hustlers out there. Only far more dangerous than me. Kig-yar have a reputation for being duplicitous and underhanded, but they exemplify it. I suppose I just want to hope I have a better handle on how they operate given my job. I've had to scheme and talk our way out of a few jams over the years. And as for the second, well, because we encountered a few over the years."

Kasumi's frown now turned to a look of intrigue. What exactly did he mean by that?

"I thought this was the first time agents have gotten aboard," she recalled.

"But not the first time I've run afoul of them, so to speak," Retz clarified. "Not every agent operation takes them to pirates ships. Every high profile brigand has a few side businesses. One particular master of a small flotilla had a casino he had set up on Eayn. Zek and I had planned a heist on it, this was before we were proper pirates, you see. Thanks to an inside source, we found a way into the vault. We recruited a small team and managed to pull off the job."

Kasumi's eyes flicked in excitement. A casino raid, those were always fun. While the regulars got off on wheels and slots, you pulled off a true gamble. All that security, all those credits, never an easy thing to pull off. She always wanted to hit a high profile joint on the Citadel, but never managed it sadly. Not a big enough crew.

"Must've been a hell of a take," she said congratulatory.

"It was," Retz admitted. "And then we got outside and two minutes later... the whole place blew up."

Well, that was not how Kasumi imagined something like this would go. Stealing the creds? Sure. Blowing the place up? The hell?

"It wasn't us of course, we got out with barely a problem," Retz explained. "The place wasn't entirely packed either, we had pulled the emergency alarm and escaped in the confusion. We didn't even pack explosives. It soon became clear what had happened. Our inside source was no doubt a Syndicate agent. Word on the street was that the Pirate who ran the casino had only managed to build the place thanks to a generous donation by the Syndicate. He had failed to keep up his interest loans though, so they decided to pull their investment it seems. I should've realized the truth of the matter, the tip was just too good, too detailed. Someone really wanted us to get in there. I probably would've suspected earlier, but I was younger, inexperienced. Not nearly as adept at finding the lies as I was at telling them."

"Why didn't this agent just do the job himself?" Kasumi asked.

"The Syndicate wanted to send a message, blowing the place up wouldn't have been enough," Retz elaborated, sounding a little giddy at the recounting. "They wanted him cleaned out, their share of what was owed returned and the Pirate humiliated for going back on his deals. Being robbed blind and then his place getting destroyed was their choice of delivering said message. The insider clearly made sure he got himself recruited, snuck the explosives in with him and prepared them while we were busy taking the credits. A most clever strategy, a plan within a plan."

"So they used you," Kasumi reasoned. "They used you to destroy a man's livlihood and put you at risk. You were their potential scapegoat if things went wrong. The first to get retaliated against if this guy found out about you while their agent slipped off into the night."

Retz could only shrug at her unassumingly

"We still were able to keep our share, overall everyone got what they wanted," he said plainly. "Except maybe the Pirate who got his building blown up. He kind of ended up getting killed by a rival when they saw how weak he was. These things tend to work themselves out like that. However, I always remembered how we were used and it made me gravely concerned. I did admire the handiwork, but I didn't like us getting played like we were. I made it a mission of mine to make sure the Serpent would never get stuck in such a situation again."

Kasumi couldn't help but admire that conviction, that desire to make sure your loved ones were safe. It was a tall order and Lord knew she had failed it once or twice herself. Retz was here trying to protect his ship from such exploitation.

The story helped clear her mind and eyes slowly glanced to the side of the bunk's leg. She noticed something odd, sticking out from the end. She bent down and started to pick at it curiously. It moved slightly as she did. Taking the odd piece in hand she yanked it back and revealed a hidden compartment within the bunk. Retz quickly kneeled down, along with Taq and looked inside.

"Recently made," he observed. "Must've cut into the bunk's side and made himself a secret spot to hide his gear. He worked pretty fast. Fortunately, he still had bad aim."

Retz reached into the compartment and pulled out a data module. Placing it into his wrist computer he activated it revealing a text message of some sort. Kasumi couldn't read it, it was in the kig-yar language. but Retz could.

"This is an activation order," he stated. "Straight from the Syndicate. He's part of a team sent here to take out Taq and either retrieve or destroy her Forerunner data module."

"We know all that though," Kasumi reminded him. "Confirming it isn't getting us closer. Does it say anything else?"

Retz nodded, pointing to a bit of text she couldn't read.

"This is interesting," he said. "It says here that he's not the primary. He's a secondary."

"What does that mean?" Kasumi asked. "He wasn't supposed to kill Taq?"

"Only if the primary failed," Retz replied plainly. "He was supposed to take over if their hit was unsuccessful. If true, it would appear he went off script, acted alone when he should've waited. That means it's likely Taq was not supposed to be targeted yet."

"Why would he go off script to kill me by himself?" Taq asked.

"We might be dealing with a less unified front here," Retz cautioned. "An assassin who wanted to grab the glory of the kill for himself, impress the Queen maybe, get advanced higher. Probably some young idiot who thought this would be easier than it looked. Now it's gotten them exposed and a man down. They'll need to replan, restructure, that at least gives us time."

Kasumi wasn't so sure she liked what Retz was saying though. If they now knew they had been found out that meant they'd get scared. She'd seen it before. A good crew for a job ends up turning on each other, worried that the mission is screwed, time to take off and run. Others want to stay, go through with what was planned. Either way, they get angry, they get desperate, they drop civility and just go in guns blazing. The longer that feeling of unease went on, the more problematic things would get until they reached a point where they decided to take a risk rather than execute something perfectly. Sure, they had time while they sorted things out, but things would be potentially more explosive when they did.

"So how do we use this to track them down?" Kasumi asked. "Does it say anything about a meeting place or how many of them there are exactly?"

"I don't think they'll risk giving that information," Retz told her. "All that's here is the overall instructions, their rank and position on the team and that they are to await further orders. Said orders would come from the Operational Leader, the guy organizing this whole party of theirs. He'd call the shots and if he's smart..."

Retz tried to locate any other files in the module, but found it empty.

"Yep, all of his other messages are designed to be deleted after being read," he groaned. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. We don't know where or if they met each other. All we know, is that they're potentially fracturing as they possibly have different motives."

"We can still hunt them down," Kasumi suggested. "I got a good idea where they might have met. Think about it, what's a regular meeting place for a lot of these guys? They're on a new ship, they need to know more about their target, the type of crew they're with, learn potential gossip that might be useful. Where would you find that? Where would you go to get the latest dirt on what's happening aboard a ship?"

It took only two seconds for both Taq and Retz to answer that at the same time.

"Bar."

"Exactly," Kasumi answered them both. "If they were here for any length of time, like any good Jackal, they probably wanted some ichor while they schemed."

"You really do know how we think, Ms. Goto," Retz smiled. "Come on, I need some water myself anyway. Bit thirsty."

"Hunting Pirate Spies will do that I hear," Kasumi joked, following closely after the two Jackals.

---

Garrus hadn't been a cop for years, but the training they gave you at C-SEC never really went away. When he arrived at the armory, he already had a set list of questions he wanted answered. Chief among them was concerning UNSC protocol concerning grenades. He needed to be sure everything was in order. With any luck, there would be no link to any humans picking up some unauthorized extra ordinance. That would make Holland happy certainly, last thing he needed was disciplining troops on behalf of the Jackals everyone disliked.

When they got inside the armory they found it filled to the brim with a lot of weapons, some human, a lot of them re-purposed Covenant tech. That was inevitable, given that this was a Covie carrier. However, even with most of the weapons being alien, there was a fair amount of UNSC guns too. He couldn't see any grenade boxes out in the open though.

"I will give the pirates this much credit," Samara relented as she looked around. "They certainly came through on their promise to provide us with ordinance."

"All the more reason to wrap this up quickly," Garrus told her. "Imagine if a Marine or Trooper gave that assassin a grenade after the Jackals gave us all this. The sooner we rule out any UNSC involvement the better."

The asari looked at Garrus suddenly rather skeptically.

"I understand the concept of innocence before guilt, but it would be best to not let your hopes cloud judgment," she warned. "It is entirely possible someone with access to this place stole weapons for the Pirates."

"I know, but I'd like to be proven wrong here," Garrus insisted. "Tensions are bad enough without the Pirates suspecting the UNSC of stirring up trouble on their ship."

"Agreed, but it is hard to ignore the obvious," Samara reminded him. "I am well aware of the discontent among the ODSTs in particular. I cannot say what one would hope to gain by assisting an assassin, but many feel the Jackals are long overdue for some kind of consequence for many of their slights."

"I know you feel the same way," Garrus recalled aloud. "You made that very clear to Zek himself."

Samara didn't even shrug at the comment, only giving a slight knowing gaze at the turian.

"My oath to Shepard prevents me from acting, my honor as a Justicar would be tarnished if I broke that vow," she explained. "In any case, they are currently a lesser evil in comparison to the one we now face. We must prioritize threats in the name of protecting the innocent."

"So, what, the Pirates helping us is like community service?" Garrus asked her, trying not to laugh.

"It would be more accurate to claim it as a stay of execution," she replied coldly.

Garrus was now regretting he had ever bothered asking that. Sometimes it was easy to forget that, as good-natured and wise as Samara was, she was also very methodical, no nonsense. She'd probably get along with Miranda, if the Ex-Cerberus Officer's prior association with said terrorist organization didn't mark her as well.

Come to think of it, a lot of people on their crew would probably be dead by now if Samara had any say. He'd probably get lucky because the worst he had been was a vigilante and had only killed the unjust. Kasumi probably wouldn't die, unless she resisted getting sent to jail maybe. Jack, oh she'd certainly be dead. Grunt was the product of murder, but had never committed it himself, he was safe. Tali was safe, Jacob probably not as much so. Depended really on whether or not the asari considered him guilty or just naive for joining Cerberus and if he had really done anything wrong. Mordin, possibly, his work on the Genophage could be considered a war crime. Legion, no idea on that, he wasn't sure if being a machine exempted you from asari justice. Thane, tricky, he imagined not all of his victims as an assassin for the Hanar were completely guilty. Samara might still see it as such though, murder is murder after all.

Yet her oath to Shepard kept her check from doing her usual job. That had to be difficult on some days for her. You devoted your life to the Justicars, serving out justice to the unjust and now you were confined to shackle yourself to someone else for a duration of time. He had seen her just let loose on the Hollow though, maybe that had been enough to work out her frustrations for the time. Still, there was a whole ship of lawbreakers just next door who flaunted their guilt a lot. It had to be hard to hold herself back, even now.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the Sergeant at Arms. He announced his presence by coughing into his hand rather loudly. They turned to see the slightly heavy set Army Soldier holding a datapad in hand already approaching them. He a rather bored and tired look on his face.

"Got the protocols right here for ya," he said in a gruff sounding tone. "Still running inventory on the grenades themselves. Sorry it's taking so long. We're kinda short-handed here these days."

"I understand," Garrus said, taking the datapad from the non-com. "Where exactly are the grenades anyway?"

"Locked up in the secure room I've got in the back of my office," he answered, pointing behind him with his thumb. "It's makeshift, being this is a Covie ship and all, but I make it work. I'm in there almost every hour of every day and it's all locked down when I leave. I got the only electronic key as well. I'm telling you guys, ain't no way anyone stole anything on my watch."

That was quite possible, but Garrus wanted to hit every base just to be sure. He went over the protocols rather quickly and they seemed pretty tight. However, that didn't mean much of anything, not in his experience. Their time with the Jackals, as annoying as it was, did teach him something. Everyone bent the rules now and again.

"It says here you have to clear every ordinance request that anyone makes," he noted. "Specifically about grenades. Is that right Sergeant Ellery?"

"Just call me Paul," the Sergeant responded. "No one calls me Ellery but my Ma. And yeah, I have to clear everything."

"Standard grenade count is about three per soldier," Garrus said, reading briskly from the datapad once more "Sometimes five if proper clearance is given, but that always takes a little time doesn't it?"

"I guess," Paul shrugged. "That's just details though. It often depends on rank. I usually don't got the time to bother with a lot of it."

"And any unused grenades have to be returned to storage," Garrus added. "Is that correct?"

Paul's bored and uninterested expression now carried a bit frustration.

"Yeah," he admitted. "But it's also protocol that every used grenade is recorded so we don't lose track. Soldiers or their officers are required to do routine ammo checks, that's one of the things they look for. You can't just sneak a grenade out and not give it back."

"Point is though, now and again, someone might want more than protocol says they can take," Garrus informed Paul. "An extra clip, a second side-arm, heavier weapon, maybe even a few more grenades. I also imagine that some people don't want to go through the paperwork of authorizing every little stupid request."

Paul just groaned, crossing his arms in indignation.

"If you got an end point just say," he requested.

"I'm saying you don't like adding more time to your day," Garrus explained. "And maybe, just now and again, you have someone ask for more than protocol allows. You don't want to bother with all the little bits of red tape yourself either, you just want to get your job done for the day. I know the feeling, had a similar disposition."

"Point please," Paul asked again, growing impatient.

"That's my point, you don't like wasting time or sweating the details," the turian declared, now speaking rather directly and quickly. "Some soldier comes up, he wants an extra clip or two. You figure, he's on a dangerous mission, he could use the extra ammo. So you give it to him, what's the harm? He might not even use it. It's just to set his mind at ease. So you skip on the authorizing and just pass him the bullets. Not a big deal, you're just trying to help a fellow warrior out."

"I follow the rules I need to," Paul claimed. "I'm not running some black market here. I keep an inventory and I report it back. That's my job, I do that job and I do it well."

"Not saying you don't," Garrus assured him. "Hell, if you are giving out extra ammo, I bet you only have the best intentions at heart. However, I need to know if you gave out any extra grenades lately to anyone. Specifically on the recent mission at that Plasma Coil factory."

Paul scratched the back of his neck, scrunching his face as he did. Eventually he just grunted and shrugged.

"I don't recall giving anyone, anything," he stated. "I did my job, that's it."

Samara stepped up glaring at Paul as she did.

"A grenade was used against a resident of this fleet, Paul," she informed him coldly. "A grenade that could've cost the life of someone valuable to our current mission. The only place to get them is from you. You're in control of them. Either you gave more grenades then you should've or someone stole one from you on your watch. If it's the latter, we can only assume you are complicit."

"Hey, whoa," Paul said putting up his hands. "Okay, I might be a little lazy when it comes to paperwork, but I'd never give someone a grenade if I thought they were gonna use it on the wrong people. We're out in the middle of nowhere, we got bad guys all around us. If someone wants another bomb on their person, who am I to judge? It's thanks to those pirates we got a surplus anyway. Who's gonna miss a few?"

"How many are a few and who did you give them out to?" Garrus asked once more.

Paul could only sigh.

"Alright, it was about three extra," he relented. "Figured no one would really care. Plenty of plasma ones we can use if we run out of those. As to who it was, some ODST, had his helmet on, didn't know who he was, didn't give his name. Last minute request really, just handed them to him and he took off."

"And those were the only grenades you gave out?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, most I could do," Paul continued. "I figured with all the chucking the Drop Troopers do in a fight, he'd use them all up anyhow and it would be recorded. Subtract it from the inventory, done. Nothing wrong, no one is the wiser, everyone wins."

Garrus was already on his omni-tool before Paul even finished. He put in a download request for the after action report concerning the ODST operation on the Plasma Coil factory. It didn't take long to get it. He then highlighted grenades concerning the reports. According to what he was reading, every ODST was afforded three grenades. No one reported they had six. He then checked how many grenades were used in combat. Surprisingly a lot, as Paul suggested they did like to chuck a lot. Only seven grenades were reported returned. The numbers seemed to add up when you did the math concerning the official paperwork. That was when the inventory report came in, handed to Paul by the soldier he had had counting the grenades for the past hour or so.

"Well, there you are," Paul said. "You'll see that everything is in order when you compare it to the inventory count prior to the action."

Garrus did compare the numbers, but his grim look never left. Paul was suddenly knocked out of his bored stupor and now looked a little concerned. Garrus showed him the comparison himself on his omni-tool, flipping the screen for the Sergeant. He also showed the calculations for the after action report along with it. Just in case he didn't get it then, Garrus spelled it out in full.

"You're three short," the turian told him bluntly.

Garrus shoved the protocol datapad back into Paul's chest. Then both he and Samara marched out of the armory leaving a rather dumbfounded Sergeant behind them. Garrus supposed he should've been more sympathetic, the guy didn't think he had been doing anything wrong. He was just helping out his brothers in arms, but it had also almost cost someone their life. Garrus wasn't in the mood to comfort him. An ODST had taken more grenades then he should've and then kept them. He had hoped to close this link and instead Retz's suspicions had been confirmed. Now they had another problem to deal with.

"We need to contact McKay," he told Samara.

"She will not like what we have to report," she informed him.

"I won't like telling her," Garrus replied. "But we need to find where those other two grenades are before they do any more damage."

---

The Serpent's bar was not nearly as boisterous as Kasumi thought it would be. The lockdown hadn't done anything to stave off anyone's thirst, but everyone looked more wary. Word of potential Syndicate Agents among them had obviously spread. Everyone was keeping to their own tables, more or less, or just getting their drinks and leaving. When Retz arrived with her and Taq and tow, Kasumi noticed the less energetic atmosphere. No one was partying like they usually did, they were keeping their eyes on each other, mumbling to themselves, speaking to their own little circles. Mostly though, they avoided eye contact with Retz. They even moved away from the stools near the bar itself just to give him enough space. The somber scene was contrasted by the song Boz was playing on the radio, Hush by Deep Purple.

Retz pulled himself up on a stool and let Taq and Kasumi sit beside him on either end. Behind the bar was a sleezy looking Jackal, even for his species. He had a scratched up beak and a few missing quills and quite a few plasma burns on his arms. Also very grungy looking light armor on his chest. Honestly, he was everything Kasumi expected a Jackal bartender to look like.

"Row, how are things?" Retz asked him.

"Busy," he stated bluntly with a grumbly voice. "This lockdown has every dipshit on this tub sucking down Ichor like there is no tomorrow. This Syndicate Agent nonsense has them all thinking they've been targeted and some are worried those ODST jackboots are gonna kick in the airlock to resolve this themselves. Preferably by shooting everyone and letting whatever deity they worship sort us out later."

"All the more reason to help us wrap this case up," Kasumi told him. "Maybe we can stop this before it gets messy."

"Fine by me, then people can calm down and I can go on break," Row replied. "What do you need?"

"Glass of water maybe," Retz said as he placed a datapad on the table. "Also, information from you. Did you ever see this kig-yar around here?"

Zek tapped the pad to reveal the face of the now dead assassin. Row picked it up and gave it look. After a few seconds, he started nodding.

"Yeah, I remember him," he recalled. "Was in here celebrating with some of the boys after the raid. Well, I say celebrating, but he was the buzzkill. Kept making a nuisance of himself, complaining to anyone who he could force to listen."

"What about?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"Well, the gist of it was he wasn't satisfied," Row admitted. "Something about being passed over, how he deserved more credit, how his friends seemed against him. Mouthy prick, honestly, I get as a bartender I'm supposed to be a sympathetic ear to people, but he just kept bitching no matter what I or anyone else tried to say to him. At some point your pity only goes so far, so I just kept nodding hoping he'd tire himself out."

"Did he say anything specific about his problems that you can remember?" Kasumi asked.

Row scratched the side of his beak for a moment, slightly lost in thought as he tried to recall anything. While he did that he got Retz his glass of water, pouring from the tap nearby. Once he placed it down, his memory finally kicked in.

"From what I can remember was he angry at his mates," he said rather simply. "About how they were wasting his time, that he was smarter than all of them. Something about a job they were taking too long to do because they spent more time discussing it than doing it. I think he said he could do it alone, they were baggage and he'd get the credit for it all. I honestly wasn't sure what to make of it, because I couldn't be sure if he was angry at something that had already happened or was going to happen. He was all over the place with tenses. Point was he felt he was ready and they weren't and it was costing them."

"I see," Retz said, nodding knowingly. "Was he drunk at this point?"

"Nah, not unless his drink of choice was anger," Row clarified as he cleaned out a leftover glass with a rag. "I wanted to get him to drink something to at least calm down and, admittedly, loosen his tongue. If there was some score they were working I figured you and Zek would wanna know about it. Could've given you guys some major trouble. In the end he just took off and I just let it be. Decided he was just mouthing off and being an ass for no good reason. Lots of guys like him really, can't let a grudge go. I figured, no sense in making a fuss about it. He'd cool off eventually. Guess I probably should've thought otherwise since we're here talking about him."

Retz just took a sip from his glass and sighed.

"It's fine, Row," he assured the bartender. "I can't expect you to report every angry crewmember who mouths off. Probably wouldn't have changed anything if you had. I don't suppose you saw him with anyone specifically? Like any longer conversations? Crewmembers that looked like they knew him?"

"If he was I didn't see it," Row said, shaking his head. "Lot of people in here and he only stuck out when he decided to make a scene. If he met with anyone or talked to anyone it went under my radar. Too many people in here regularly, I can't keep track of all of them."

"Fair enough," Retz relented. "Thanks anyway. Let me know if you do recall anything else."

Row just nodded and walked back down the bar. Not nearly as much information as Kasumi had hoped. Retz wasn't all that happy either. He just sat there stirring the water in his glass despondently at the whole thing.

"At least this confirms they're fractured," Kasumi said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation. "Their friend moved before they were ready. Better yet, sounds like there's conflict. They don't know how they're going to get the job done."

"I bet it has something to do with the data module," Taq chimed in. "The information on this thing is incredibly valuable. Who's to say they don't want it for themselves? If I were them and I knew what was in it, I'd probably want to snatch it intact myself."

"It's just so disappointing is all," Retz said, throwing his hands up slightly. "You expect better of Syndicate Agents. More professionalism, cohesion, an actual plan beforehand. One that the Lead Operative would've thought of in advance. This infighting is so... uncharacteristic."

"Perhaps reality just doesn't always match up to the real thing," Kasumi told him.

Retz just shook his head.

"I know the reality, I've seen it," he reminded her. "They're smarter than this. I expected anyone who got onto this ship without me knowing to be better than this. It's embarrassing."

Being a thief, Kasumi actually understood security a fair amount. People took pride in their ability to keep people out of places they didn't want them to be. For some it wasn't just about safety, it was about being smarter than those trying to break in. In truth, she actually respected a lot of average security guards and rent-a-cops guarding the stuff she stole. They were just doing their jobs, same as her. It wasn't their fault she was just too good at it.

She never thought she'd get the other side of that coin from a fellow crook though. It kind of made sense for Retz though. He took a lot of pride in outsmarting people, she had seen that firsthand. Now he was facing a threat he had prepared to confront for who knows how long and it sounded like they shouldn't have even gotten this far.

"Maybe there's more to it," Kasumi suggested. "Maybe the Pirate Queens in charge jumped the gun and put these guys together at the last minute. They had to have a very limited window to get people aboard on the Hollow and there was no guarantee Taq would even end up here."

"Not all of them probably arrived during the Hollow," Retz suggested solemnly. "Some of them could've been among the kig-yar we invited aboard when we took the Chorka. Agents are installed everywhere, even in the Covenant, to act as informants or saboteurs if need be. Chances are there are a few among Snarlbeak's crew as well, that's how they learned about the data module and Taq in the first place. They probably wanted to cover their bases when they realized the possibility she might leave with us. So that's when they had agents sneak aboard our ship in preparation for that outcome."

Retz took a long swig of his water, glaring into the glass as he put it back down.

"So maybe it was haphazard, maybe they weren't able to pick and choose their agents," he admitted. "That still isn't an excuse for me missing this. Worse, it makes this more treacherous. They're that desperate to get this data, they're forgoing usual subtlety in their methods. That never leads to anything good."

Kasumi could already tell something was stirring in Retz's mind before he even looked to her. Another memory of his was bubbling to the surface. A memory he wanted to share.

"We had pulled off a difficult hijacking of a freighter hauling a lot of credit chips," he began slowly. "It was a secret account of some Minor Prophet in the Covenant. He didn't want people to know he was hoarding cash with the whole war going on. No one likes being taxed after all. We had liberated him of that problem and decided to celebrate at this big club on the Hollow a big name Pirate Fleetmaster owned. Zek and I thought it would be a nice night out on the town. We didn' realize that our gracious host had run afoul of the Syndicate. Apparently, he had only come into prominence recently because he was selling the Covenant information on the Syndicate's operations so long as he was left alone. He thought he had tricked them, gotten away with it."

"He was wrong?" Kasumi presumed.

"Dead wrong, pardon the pun," Retz confirmed gravely. "One of this Pirate's rivals had a Syndicate Agent installed in his fleet. He convinced him to attack the snitch's club on the day we were coincidentally visiting. Nothing subtle about the plan, the Queens wanted the tattletale dead and in a very spectacular way. Next thing we know, the doors are busted open, needles and bolts are flying everywhere and we're just trying to keep our heads down long enough to survive. I forced Zek to stay put while I found us an exit. In the chaos I managed to run across our host trying to get into his office and lock the door behind him. He probably hoped to escape through some back door or something. Instead, all I hear is a bunch of screaming. There was a Syndicate Agent waiting for him, just in case the full frontal approach didn't work. When I managed to open the door I found the snitch with his belly cut wide open and a message that said, 'Now he needs Stitches', written out in his own blood."

"Ugh, pleasant," Taq grumbled sardonically. "Was that last part really necessary?"

"The agent clearly thought it was," Retz said shrugging. "Luckily I managed to get Zek out of there through the escape hatch our host had attempted to use. But the point remains, when Syndicate Agents throw their usual playbook out, things get messy in more ways than one. And even then, there's always a backup just in case. If they are cracking, you can bet one of them is already devising a separate plan in case everything goes wrong. And whatever it is, it won't be pretty."

There were inevitable moments that Kasumi felt truly shaken about things. They happened when reality caught up to her daredevil attitude. When the things she found exciting revealed their less than noble colors. Retz's story was one of those times. It wasn't that she was simply oblivious to the danger she faced, just that she tried to ignore it. When you admitted a job was dangerous, expressed your doubts and fears in any overt fashion, they became real. When she was younger she had let that fear slip, let it worm into her brain and then she made mistakes that almost cost her.

However, reality was inescapable. What she did was dangerous, recent events had made that all too clear. Once again, Retz's story became a reminder that this was no game. These people were assassins, they were brutal and they were merciless. Worst of all, unlike the threats she had faced before, they were already inside. They were among the crew, hiding in plain sight. She scanned the room, trying to discern the faces of those around them. Trying to pick up on any hints to no avail.

"They'll slip up," she insisted once again, trying to keep optimistic. "When they do we have them. We just gotta keep chasing leads. We can root them out, I know it."

"Yeah, like the ultimate game of hide and seek," Taq said scowling.

Kasumi and Retz eyed the female Jackal mournfully.

"I'm sorry," Kasumi apologized. "I know this has to be stressful for you."

"I'm good with stressful, I rob ancient tombs for a living," Taq assured her grimacing. "I wouldn't be good at it if I couldn't handle a little stress. Hell, I managed to tolerate Zek for a little over a year, that's a feat of immense fortitude on my part."

She sighed, dipping her head into her palms while ruffling her quills.

"I was prepared for Zhoc to come after me," she admitted. "I was okay with that. Really, I was. I just wanted a good score, that's all. They say that's your right. That if you can accept the risk you can get the reward. Well how the fuck was I supposed to know this risk? Huh? I just wanted to find something amazing and make enough money to never worry about work again! So I could pick where I went, not have to worry about making ends meet every other day! Now I got a target on my back put there by the fucking Syndicate and why? Because of something I found! And they probably decided I was dead the second I did for whatever fucked up reason!"

She slammed her fists on the table, causing Retz's glass to shake.

"It's not fair!" She said, almost sobbing. "It's my damn claim! I found it! I should be able to get it! Now I'm stuck on this stupid ship with my asshole of an Ex making advances at me every other minute along with a fucking death warrant on me! All because of one stupid job I took, one stupid fucking job! If they want what's in the stupid wreck so bad, let me get it! I can negotiate a price! They can have it! Play the fucking game fair! That's all I ask! That's what I deserve!"

Retz placed a sympathetic hand on her back as she lowered her head.

"I know, I know, you're right, it's not fair," he sadly agreed. "But the Syndicate doesn't really deal in fair. They deal in the status quo. Perhaps they think any pirate that possesses what your module has on it is too dangerous to their power. Whatever the reason though, it doesn't matter. If we can get rid of these agents now, they won't be a problem later."

"I just want to be an archaeologist," she whimpered. "I just want to dig and find cool shit. I never did nothing to those bitches and they want me dead for doing my job that I love. It is so fucked up."

Retz just nodded and signaled to Row with his hand. He slid a cup of Ichor over to Taq who eagerly drank it down.

"Thanks, Retz," she said smiling as she placed the cup down. "You always know what to do."

"I make it a habit with everyone," he grinned. "But with you, well, it's special. You have every right to hate him, I won't dispute that, but Zek still loves you. He wouldn't like seeing you unhappy."

Taq just snickered at that.

"I would hope you're not just nice to me because I'm your best friend's Ex," she chided him.

"I admire people who love what they do, Taq," he stated firmly. "And you were always a pleasure to work with. I was gravely upset to know Zek had hurt you. The three of us worked so well together and I missed you being a part of this crew. I have very few true friends, you see. You're one of them, never doubt that."

Taq beamed at that, as did Kasumi. The scene had stiffened her resolve. Taq didn't deserve this, no one did. She hadn't hurt the Syndicate, they were all just afraid of what she might find and what she might do. All the more reason to stop this before it got further. Everyone deserved a chance at the good life, she knew that better than most. Who were these Pirate Queens to decide Taq didn't get her due? They had to think of something. Someway to track these assassins down. As her thoughts wandered, she looked to the ceiling and spotted something attached to it. A camera node, part of the ship's security system, pointed right at the bar. That was when she got an idea.

"Hey, this ship has cameras, right?" She reminded Retz. "They work, right?"

"Yes," Retz recalled. "I considered using it to track our assassin as well. Problem is, it's not going to be easy identifying his associates on it. It doesn't sound like they actually met here in the bar to talk like we had hoped. At least not in the way we suspected they would. And we can't be certain if anyone he talked to is part of his team if he was mouthing off to everyone for extended periods of time."

"But maybe we could at least retrace his steps," Kasumi suggested. "Find out where, if at all, they met each other. Hell, if we're lucky, we'll find out when he received that grenade. If what Garrus reported to us a while ago is true, we know he had to receive it at some point after the raid."

"It's worth a shot," Retz relented, scratching beneath his beak. "But there's a lot of footage to go through on that night, lot of data on the computer to analyze."

"I know someone who can help with that," Kasumi assured.

She opened up her omni-tool and contacted the Normandy. When she connected to who she wanted she grinned sly into the holoscreen.

"Tali, I need a favor."

---

McKay had been waiting for them at the entrance to the Drop Troopers' barracks. As Garrus had predicted she was not happy to see them. He understood why, this was the last thing she needed facing the scrutiny she was under from her own people. They couldn't change facts though, an ODST had taken extra grenades and not returned them. They needed to be found.

McKay had already gathered all the ODSTs under her command within the main quarters. The situation had already been explained, so at least that was out of the way. Weeding out the guilty party was all that remained. Garrus hoped it would just be a simple matter of searching them all and finding the grenades on hand. For all they knew though, the Trooper in question had already given them all out or was hiding them somewhere out of the way. Finding their perpetrator would more than likely take a bit of doing.

"Just to let you know," McKay forewarned Garrus. "There's a few Troopers who feel they're being persecuted here. I don't think it would be any different if Haverson was handling this himself, but you were closer to what happened during the mutiny than him."

"If it helps, I only ever tried to defend myself against most of them," Garrus explained. "I tried not to kill anyone if it could be avoided and I didn't like having to fire on them. I was doing what I knew was right. It wasn't personal."

"I know that, I was in the same situation and they don't care," McKay reiterated simply. "Just don't be surprised if you get death glares. Now lets get this over with."

When they got inside they found the assembled unit standing at attention on either side of the room. McKay dressed down each side with her gaze as Garrus and Samara stood at the front of the assembly. As the Trooper Leader had just warned him, more than a few of her men were glaring at him. He imagined at least of them had opened fire on him during the mutiny. He couldn't tell which, they had all been wearing helmets at the time after all.

"We know why we're all here," McKay began. "Someone has violated our trust. Garrus and Samara are only here to find out who. We cannot operate with members of this unit committing acts of subterfuge for whatever reason. I'd prefer to settle this quickly, so simply cooperate."

"Why? So we can get railroaded by the turian and the freaky blue girl in an efficient manner?" Collis asked, snorting at the air.

There were a grumbles from his side of the room, one that sounded a lot like murmurings of agreement. Not a good start. To McKay's credit she tried to get order back quickly, glaring at the offending side as she did.

"No one is getting railroaded," she informed them. "I've already explained the evidence they have. They need to confirm it, that is all."

"Like any of this crap makes the remotest sense," Collis piped up. "Just because Paul claims he gave a Drop Trooper extra grenades doesn't mean a thing. He's probably just trying to cover his ass because he misplaced some, the lazy bastard."

"And anyone could've been dressed like an ODST," Fadden continued. "It's not like he can ID any distinguishing features, not even a name tag on the uniform."

As expected they were already trying to make up an excuse to deny the possibility any of them were involved. Didn't suggest guilt, but it did suggest they were looking out for one another. Garrus had seen it with too many corrupt C-SEC officers. They made up excuses, they corroborated clearly fake stories and always tried to find an out. It was another reason it had been so easy for him to go with Shepard when they first met. C-SEC back then was full of people who disgraced the uniform. He tried to keep those memories in check though, this was a different situation. These were professional military soldiers who had been fighting for their species for decades now. He doubted any of them had done this out of greed or scoring a commission. That didn't mean he was going to let these excuses slip by.

"Paul seemed pretty surprised when he found out he had missing grenades," Garrus informed the group. "He might cut corners, but he's been careful about it. He would've done a way better job covering up things if he knew he misplaced anything."

"And it is highly improbable someone impersonated one of you without your knowledge," Samara added. "There are very few spare ODST uniforms, all under lock and key due to rationing restrictions. I doubt a Marine or Soldier managed to sneak off with one and return it in time before it could be found missing."

"Still doesn't mean anything," Sergeant Lendon claimed. "Why would any of us do deals with the Psycho Turkeys? No one here likes them, not even them."

Lendon pointed towards Buck and his own squad. Buck did not like being singled out by his fellow Sergeant. Even if he was accusing him of anything, it still sort of sounded like he was. That much was clear from the expression on Buck's face. He liked things a lot less though when Corporal Fadden chimed in suddenly with his own two cents.

"I don't know Sarge," he said venomously. "I bet Rome could've traded a nade for some of their erotic crap. I hear he's into alien shit like that."

Dutch had to stop Romeo before he burst out of line, holding him by the shoulder. He couldn't stop his friend from barking back though.

"You wanna start something here, jackass?" He asked angrily. "Huh? You want a fight? Go ahead, I'll bust you wide open, motherfucker!"

"Easy, Rome," Buck told him. "He's just trying to bait ya."

"We don't need to take this shit from them, Buck!" Rome shot back. "They're the fucking traitors here! Not us!"

"We ain't traitors! We followed our CO!" Travers growled back. "You're the fucking traitors!"

"Everyone shut up!" McKay screamed at both sides. "You hear me? Shut it! This isn't about that, no one is above suspicion here. Garrus and Samara are going to conduct their investigation and you are all going to cooperate. I don't know why one of us would hand grenades to the Jackals, but we are going to settle that in time."

The brief offset of tension was relieved for the moment as everyone got back in line. Garrus could tell he needed to tread carefully. Everyone in here was on edge in more ways than one.

"First things first," Garrus began. "We need to figure out where everyone was. The more people we can account for, the more people we can rule out. I have Cortana poring over security footage from before and after the raid. I'd like to get some of your stories straight before then so we can compare them with the footage."

"Why not just rule us out?" Fadden asked. "We're the least likely suspects here."

"Yeah, its like Lendon said," Collis added erratically. "We wouldn't do deals with the Jackals. We hate those birds. Why'd we ever hand anything to them?"

When Collis said "we" it was clear he meant his side of the room. The side with all of Silva's still loyal supporters to be perfectly clear. Fadden also spoke up again to add to the thought himself. Garrus supposed he had to give a reason, he wasn't sure they'd like it.

"I'm not saying any of the ODSTs that didn't participate in the mutiny are absolved here, McKay has already made that clear," he reminded them. "Any one of them could be more trusting because of that. That trust could be misplaced and they probably could've done it thinking it was okay to give them the grenades as a show of good faith. However, let's be honest here, there's plenty of motivation for those among you who followed Silva's mutiny. Undermining the current alliance for one, seeing as I'm keenly aware a lot of you don't agree with it. There's plenty of motivation to go around. Right now, I'm trying to establish opportunity. We can discuss motivation after we figure that one out."

It didn't seem to win him any fans, but the ODSTs didn't offer further objections. So they began the task of asking for alibis, starting with those sympathetic to McKay on their side of the room. This was an attempt to show they weren't playing favorites. It probably wasn't too effective at garnering cooperation, but at least it was something.

Buck was the first, along with his squad. Partially because Garrus wanted to absolve one of his friends from any wrongdoing from the the get go, but also because he was probably the only one he could trust to be honest straight out. Buck had after all been one of the first ODSTs to help him out during the whole mutiny fiasco. If he couldn't trust him, well, Garrus figured they'd already be in trouble.

"I went straight to mess for chow, same with everyone else on my squad," he stated. "I was really tired, it had been a long raid and I didn't see anyone. Before the raid, well, listening to that Buzzard guy. He's got decent tunes."

"Firing range they set up in the big ass hangar," Romeo was quick to add. "That's where I was the whole time before the call came in and I didn't put my helmet on until we got into the Pelican. You can ask the Marines who were there with me, I remember their names and everything."

"Looking at some of my old messages in my bunk," Dutch stated next. "I got nostalgic I guess. Like Buck says though, we were all in the mess together after and I wasn't looking for anyone suspicious."

Garrus trusted those statements, mostly because they had no reason to lie and they didn't sound like it. The security cams would confirm their stories one way or another. Garrus came next to Gilfoyle, who seemed a little reluctant at first. His stance was less sure, his shoulders slumped. The turian tried his best not to make a big deal over it, not give anything away. It didn't technically mean anything anyway, lots of people were just naturally nervous like this.

"I was in the barracks most of the day, not doing anything special," he tried to explain. "That's mostly it. Went back there after the raid."

"Anyone see you?" Garrus asked. "Anyone outside the ODSTs anyway?"

"No," he said, a little too quickly for Garrus' taste. "No one really. I was just doing my own thing. I didn't see or do nothing."

The fidgeting was not helping his case. Samara picked up on it too and set herself upon him almost instantly. That did not help his nerves.

"It would be best if you were honest, Corporal," she cautioned.

"I am, I didn't do anything," he claimed again, shaking slightly in his spot. "I just... I went back to my bunk. I didn't have much to do, so I went back there."

"These are serious charges, Gilfoyle," McKay informed him sternly, joining the conversation as well. "I suggest you give us something better than that."

Gilfoyle looked around the room and he could already see his fellow ODSTs were giving him looks. He quickly shook his head about, lowering it to the ground.

"I didn't do anything bad," he swore. "I just... I wanted privacy. It was nothing, honest."

"Then there is no reason to dance around the subject," Samara reiterated. "Where were you?"

Gilfoyle groaned outwardly, clearly not comfortable at all. Garrus lightly pushed McKay and Samara to the side and looked at the trooper directly himself. With a calming look, he tried to persuade the kid to be honest.

"If you've seen something tell us, no one will judge you," he assured him. "We just want the truth."

"I didn't see anything," he reiterated. "I couldn't have, I was nowhere even near the armory."

"Then where were you?" Garrus asked, firmly but non-threatening.

Finally, Gilfoyle just sighed and threw up his hands.

"I was talking to your shrink," he relented.

It took a second for Garrus to figure it out.

"Chambers?" Garrus asked confused.

"She promised to keep it under wraps, I made her, don't blame her, okay," the Corporal insisted. "I didn't want anyone to know, it's on me. Please, this ain't her fault."

"Why were you seeing Yeoman Chambers?" McKay asked, also confused.

Gilfoyle looked almost ashamed as he looked at them, crestfallen even.

"I was in the hangar the whole time, back on Halo I mean, during the mutiny," he began. "I didn't want to disobey the Major's orders, but I didn't want to disobey Holland either. So, I just guarded the area and tried to keep my head down and my radio open. Every channel, I just wanted to know what was going on and then... well then... the Flood."

Garrus remembered, when Truth and Reconciliation attempted liftoff it alerted the Flood still inside the ship to attack. A lot of good ODSTs ended up getting ambushed before they could even make the hangar. It was why the units numbers were so slim now. While some still thought Silva was right regardless, it was big factor in changing a lot of opinions among the Drop Troopers, creating the current split.

"I heard everything," Gilfolye continued distantly. "I heard every Drop Trooper screaming in my ear, every last word, every panicked cry. I finally just tore off my helmet and ran into the nearest Pelican and... I... I curled up. I just freaked out, I prayed, did whatever. I thought I could drown out the screaming, but it didn't work. I kept hearing them. I still do."

"You believed Yeoman Chambers could assist you in silencing them," Samara concluded, sounding much more sympathetic than before.

"I heard she was a psychiatrist and I figured she could help, I didn't want anyone knowing though," Gilfoyle answered dutifully. "I asked her to meet me in this side room, off the Normandy, she agreed to keep it quiet, even from her fellow shipmates. I insisted she did or I'd call it off. She wanted to help, so she agreed. I didn't want anyone thinking I cracked at first and then I didn't want her getting in trouble for helping me off the record."

McKay nodded in understanding at the Corporal.

"You didn't have to go behind anyone's backs on this," she informed him. "You could've come to me and I would've tried to set this up officially."

"But then you would've taken me off mission maybe and everyone would think I was getting special treatment," Gilfoyle said meekly. "I didn't want let the unit down, not when we lost so many good people. I just wanted to do my job and get some help, that's all."

There was a derisive snort after that remark.

"You ain't no help if you're gonna crack up at the first sign of trouble," Collis quipped. "Glad you weren't watching my ass during that raid. Surprised you haven't gotten someone killed yet."

McKay was quick to react, turning to Collis and pointing aggressively at him, eyes burning with boiling anger.

"Shut it, now," she demanded sternly. "I hear one more word out of you, Collis, and you're peeling every potato from Hydroponics for the next week. Then when you're done, I'll find some other boring ass fucking job for you to do and stick you on it. And the same goes for all of you. Lock your traps unless you're spoken to."

Collis backed up at that, returning to line and nodding in recognition. McKay turned back to Gilfoyle, the anger subsiding.

"We're going to discuss this further later," she told him. "We'll set up a regular session with Chambers, official this time. No going behind people's backs to get it done."

Gilfoyle saluted, accepting the judgment. One problem down it seemed. The rest of the interviews went a lot smoother, even the ex-mutineers side. They all basically had the same story, they were in the mess and for the most part they could cover each other's alibis. There was really nothing that stood out as a contradiction at first. No surprise, these people were professionals, they had been trained in advanced interrogation techniques. Not all of them were great at it, but they knew how to answer questions when asked. These weren't scared criminals hoping to get off when their lawyers arrived, they were soldiers and they knew how to handle this kind of situation.

But now they had all their stories, so now they could look for possible discrepancies in them. It wasn't long after they got everyone's statements that Cortana sent the compiled security footage. The Covenant weren't apparently very thorough about cameras it seemed. A lot of the Carrier was covered, not all of it but most of it. Garrus just focused on the mess hall, where most of the ODSTs claimed they had been for a good long while after the raid. It looked like most of the ODSTs were there, situated in their own little corner and minding their own business. Easy to keep an eye on, even easier to pick out individuals.

Usually it would take hours and a whole team searching through this stuff to find anything useful. Lucky for Garrus though, Cortana was no slouch in the investigative department herself. She had already found the other ODSTs on several cameras, corroborating most of the stories. She had also done the grunt work of highlighting points she found questionable. When Garrus saw what she found in the mess, he knew he finally had something to go on. He returned to the group at large and walked over to Sergeant Lendon, Corporals Fadden, Travers and Private Collis. He showed them the video and let it play as he narrated the action.

"You were all in the mess, for about five to ten minutes each," he said glaring at them. "Then you each get up around the same time and leave the room. You all failed to mention that."

The video showed exactly that, Collis leaving first, Travers second about a minute later and Fadden and Lendon a few minutes later about the same time. Lendon stared at Garrus gruffly, barely even flinching.

"Doesn't prove jackshit," he claimed.

"It proves you're hiding something," Garrus informed him. "Cortana tried to follow you, but you all suspiciously keep avoiding the cameras when you can. You want to explain that or should I chalk it up to coincidence?"

Lendon shrugged and everyone else kept their lips shut. That was until McKay stepped up to the plate. She gave one look at them and, still staring them down, spoke to the rest of the unit.

"Everyone back away from the suspects," she ordered before announcing in a more demanding tone, "now."

It took a few seconds, but they complied. The four were now separated from the rest of their fellow Troopers, isolated. They were still standing at attention, but they looked a lot more alone. McKay kept a close eye on all of them as Samara loomed in the background, her eyes giving off their own death glare.

"Talk," McKay ordered. "Now."

"There's nothing to say," Travers claimed.

"Bullshit there isn't," McKay spat back, speaking methodically and patiently. "You've been talking plenty. You really think I'm stupid. I know what every one of you thinks of me. I hear all of it. Every. Last. Line. Chief of Security is ONI, you think your crap gets by him? Think again. You think Cortana can't fucking hear you? You're wrong. You four have been some of the most vocal, the ones undermining me to my face at every chance you get. Now, how about you stop with the shit and start talking before I decide to let Samara handle this her way."

Samara's hands were already glowing bright blue. It didn't seem to bother three of the accused, but Collis was a different story. He groaned outwardly, throwing up his hands.

"Fine, fuck it, I ain't taking this shit today," he declared angrily. "You wanna PT me for it, whatever. I took no grenade, I wasn't selling to the Jackals. I'm not going to get saddled with that shit. I left for personal matters."

"Specifics?" Garrus asked.

Collis went to his bunk and dug around for something beneath his pillow.

"I knew where someone was going to be, I wanted to be there," he exclaimed, pulling out an OSD drive.

He handed it to Garrus, practically slamming it into his palm.

"Take it, force me to clean out the toilets with my tongue," he demanded. "I am not getting blamed for some blackmarket crap."

Garrus plugged the drive into his omni-tool. When he opened the file he saw Miranda Lawson, wearing her black outfit, handing a datapad to someone not in photograph. Garrus imagined though it was Haverson and the datapad contained her personal report on the raid from her perspective. There were several pictures actually, some more directed at certain parts of Miranda's anatomy than others. Garrus, Samara and McKay all instantly looked at Collis disgusted. He just stared back emotionless at them all.

"I get bored here, I need something to do," was his only response.

McKay closed Garrus' omni-tool for him. She then walked over to Collis, and with no warning, punched him in the gut. The ODST dropped to his knees and hands groaning in agony.

"You're not getting off so easy as latrine duty, degenerate," she told him harshly as she stared down at him. "Every morning for the next week is going to be fucking hell, you get me? Up early, two hours before everyone else. You are going to run around this ship's overgrown hangar bay until you feel like throwing up. Your rations, halved. Your potato duty, peeling with a women's razor. I'll lend you mine. And I'll be sure to come up with a few more ideas once I discuss them with Commander Shepard personally. I will be watching you, Collis, you understand me? Like a fucking hawk. Now get up!"

Collis forced himself to stand, still in great physical pain. McKay didn't always look like much, but she knew just where to hit a man and hard. However, as satisfying as it was to see him get what he deserved, it seemed Collis had been too busy with other things to concern himself with anything else. That left three.

"Would you like to add something to your previous statement, Travers?" Garrus asked. "McKay's still mad at Collis right now, she might go easier on you."

"I won't," Samara assured. "Not if he is hiding a greater guilt."

"Hey, I'm not a fucking pervert, I was smart enough to bring my own stuff," Travers assured. "McKay's got nothing on my mom. She'd kill me if she ever found out I was doing that shit."

"In that case, there's no reason not to be honest then," Garrus informed him. "Spill it, now."

Travers sighed, the sign of a man who had run out of decent options.

"Okay, I left the mess, and I was trying not to be seen," he relented. "But I didn't go anywhere near the Jackals. I just wanted to check out something in the hangar for myself. I wanted... I wanted to sit in one of the Seraphs."

"You wanted to sit in a Seraph?" Garrus repeated. "Mind if I ask why?"

"I wanted to see if I could learn to fly it, if we all could," Travers explained. "Fucking Spartans can't be the only ones capable of piloting that shit. We could probably do it ten times better. We just needed the chance. I wanted to check out the controls for myself, see if they were really all that hard if the Spartans could figure them out easy enough."

McKay rolled her eyes, but she wasn't as angry this time. More frustrated than anything. Just a bunch of competitive bullshit she didn't like to deal with. She set him straight quick.

"You're a Drop Trooper, emphasis on the drop. You are not a fighter pilot," she reminded him. "We head in boots first, we don't flip around in space doing barrel-rolls. You have a problem with that, transfer out to the Air Force when we get back to Earth. Otherwise, do your damn job, be happy I don't feel like reprimanding you and stop complaining about what the Spartans get to do in your stead. You're an ODST, act like it."

"Yes, ma'am," he responded. "If you want proof, I took pictures of the controls to study later."

He pulled out his own OSD drive from his pocket and handed it to Garrus.

"I'm dropping this," he assured them all. "Stupid idea anyway. Point is, I wasn't selling grenades to the turkeys."

Garrus looked at the OSD and indeed it did show pictures of the inside of a Seraph. That seemed to clear Travers, but he wasn't off the hook just yet. He still wanted to talk to the other two, Lendon and Fadden. They were still the most suspicious out of the group. Garrus picked Lendon first.

"So where were you?" He asked.

"My bunk, okay," he admitted firmly. "I was tired. Didn't think it was a big deal."

Garrus perched a brow at that. He was pretty quick to change his story. He probably hoped that would be all, but Lendon would have to do better than that to get off. Garrus could tell he was hiding something, it was more subtle than the others, but it was all over his face, all in his tone.

"You were tired and you didn't think to mention that before?" Garrus asked skeptically. "You just wanted a nap. You're just telling us this now?"

"I told you, didn't think it was a big deal," Lendon said shrugging. "I wanted to sleep. Big whoop."

"It's a contradiction of your previous statement," the turian informed him. "Can you prove you were here?"

"I don't take pictures of myself sleeping," Lendon said snorting.

He wasn't cooperating, fine, Garrus didn't need him to. He took another look through the security footage again, this time finding the camera pointed directly at the ODST barracks' entrance. Sure enough they soon saw Lendon enter the room. Fast forwarding about a minute later though, he left with a satchel. Garrus looked to the Sergeant once more. He looked stoic, but the turian could see a bit of sweat running down his forehead.

"What's in the bag, Sergeant?" Garrus asked.

"Nothing," Lendon claimed glowering at the turian.

Garrus glared back. He was done with this, he wanted answers.

"Where's his bunk?" He asked McKay, not taking his eyes off the Sergeant.

McKay pointed to said bunk. The turian moved towards it in an instant. Lendon tried to stop him, but Samara moved in between them both. She stood over Lendon, biotic energy pooling around her. She didn't have to lay a hand on him, the hardened Sergeant just froze. He knew what her powers could do, he'd seen it first hand with Jack.

Garrus soon found the satchel in question in Lendon's footlocker at the base of his bunk. He started rummaging through it, but couldn't find any grenades. That didn't exactly exonerate the Sergeant, but lack of evidence did not help their case. He did find something though, something potentially just as incriminating. Grabbing it in his hands, Garrus pulled out what appeared to be a rope necklace of some kind. Attached to it were several feathers and quills of varying colors and lengths. All clearly Jackal in origin. Garrus looked to Lendon, but he had no reaction. McKay was a different story, as she had a very simple demand that almost boiled over to rage.

"The hell is this?!"

---

AN: Tis the season for giving, so why not another chapter? I managed to get to a point in my writing where I was comfortable publishing this. I do hope you've enjoyed the mystery so far and are asking a few questions yourselves. What is this all leading to? Expect the answers in due course. I have a few more chapters to complete first, but trust me, you're going to love where this is headed.

Anyway, please let me know your thoughts, check out the profile for a link to mine and do come back next time dear readers for the conclusion to this two part mystery.