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Friends With Benefits	By : The_Red_Celt Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6229 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect or any of the characters therein, and make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Friends With Benefits
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 3
- 4
- 5
A little over an hour later found them outside the customs office, looking for the master thief. Shepard wanted to bring along some back-up but felt bad about interrupting the existing crew’s shore leave. Taking the thief along would give them an extra gun hand and they’d be able to see how she handled herself in a firefight, if it came to that. Shepard had a feeling it would; her current track record made it more than likely someone would be shooting at them before the day was out.
“Commander Shepard, we have the finest companions waiting for you,” intoned a female voice to her left. There was a hooded figure broadcasting on an advertisement stand in the corner, a playful set to her mouth as she spoke.
“Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style.”
Shepard gave her the password the Illusive Man had sent, and couldn’t help but be impressed with Kasumi’s mode of discretion. She came off as confident rather than cocky, speaking with the calm assurance that she really was the best at what she did like it was a fact rather than something to prove. Shepard liked her immediately.
After laying out the admittedly sparse details regarding the task she needed help with, Kasumi appeared on the catwalks overhead, her hip thrust out to the side and a smirk on her face. Garrus looked surprised—it wasn’t every day someone snuck up on him like that. “We should probably wrap this up. You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement.”
“Actually, we were just on our way to find someone and could use some back-up,” Shepard said, and Kasumi hopped down to ground level. “Feel like tagging along?”
“You’re not going to order me to come with you, Shepard?”
“Would that be any more effective than just asking nicely?”
Kasumi smiled and patted a small pistol holstered on her thigh. “I think we’re going to get along just fine. Let’s go.”
__________
They made their way through the warehouse, gunning down Blue Sun mercs and mechs all the way. Of course there were mercs, Shepard thought; having to fight through hordes of the bastards was as reliable as night following day. It was almost comforting, in a way. A little dash of consistency in the midst of chaos.
Bringing Kasumi along was proving to be a good choice; she’d don her cloak and sneak around to flank the enemy, raining bullets and swinging her bladed fist before they even knew what hit them. Her taunts and mocking laugh was keeping Shepard’s dark mood at bay for the time being, but she knew that wouldn’t last long. Harkin was just around the corner, and she didn’t know what Garrus would do once they found him.
The turian for his part was all cold determination as he sniped mechs left and right. He’d promised to beat Harkin within an inch of his life rather than just shoot him on sight, which was a step in the right direction at least. They finally made it to the control room at the other end of the warehouse and Shepard and Kasumi popped around the corner, their guns leveled at Harkin’s head. He tried to run, but Garrus was already there and he swung the butt of his rifle up hard, breaking the man’s nose with an audible crunch. His eyes started to blacken almost instantly as Garrus slammed him into the wall and growled menacingly at him.
“So, Fade, couldn’t make yourself disappear, huh?”
Harkin tried to reason with him, but was too cocky to see that Garrus was well beyond reason. A cold knot had seeped into Shepard’s gut, but she couldn’t afford to show her doubts to a man they were about to question.
“I’m looking for someone,” Garrus said.
“Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants.”
Oh, Harkin. You stupid, stupid man.
Garrus’ knee pistoned up into Harkin’s gut and he crumpled to the floor. “Come on, Harkin, this doesn’t have to be hard. Just tell us where to find Sidonis,” she said.
He balked again, and Garrus ground his boot into his neck. Shepard wanted to tell him to back off, but Garrus was too keyed up and needed to hurt something; he would take it badly if she started barking orders at him now.
Harkin hauled himself into a sitting position and said what had been on her mind for a while now. “Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?” He finally conceded and set up the meeting. Garrus drew his gun and looked over at where Harkin stood at the comm, but Shepard put a hand on his arm and shook her head.
“Don’t.” Garrus hesitated for a long moment and Shepard could practically see him arguing with himself, but he finally stowed the gun and nodded. He didn’t like it, but he was still listening to her and that gave her hope.
__________
They dropped off Kasumi at the docking bay and proceeded on to their destination. Garrus headed up to a nearby balcony where he’d have the best shot and Shepard went over to Sidonis, anxiety gnawing at her.
When Garrus finally had eyes on Sidonis again, his trigger finger twitched involuntarily. The need to avenge his team, to make sure their deaths weren’t tainted by their betrayer’s continued existence, was so strong that it almost hurt. He watched through the scope as Shepard approached, but she blocked his shot as she talked. Garrus could hear his sorry explanations through the buzzing adrenaline that pulsed in his head. The bastard was claiming that he couldn’t sleep or eat without seeing the faces of the men he’d gotten killed, and a savage sort of happiness bloomed in Garrus’ chest. Good, he thought, he should be miserable. Shepard was still in the way, though, and he thought that if he just grazed her leg she’d drop down just long enough for him to—
Spirits, what the hell was he thinking? His horror at what he had been considering was enough to chase away the anger just far enough that he could think straight.
“Look at him, Garrus, there’s nothing left to kill,” she said, her voice small and tinny in his ear, and he knew she was right. Sidonis had been a strong presence when they’d worked together and was a good man to have on his side. The man down there with Shepard was a shell of the man he’d been, the guilt obviously plaguing him. He seemed genuinely contrite about the whole thing, so maybe he did deserve a second chance.
“Just . . . go, tell him to go,” he choked out, and he barely heard Sidonis’ promise to make it up to him as he made his way back to the shuttle. He paced back and forth as he waited for her to come back so they could get the hell out of here. Finally she appeared and looking like she had something to say, but he held up a hand and the words died on her lips.
“I know you want to talk about this, but I don’t. Not yet.”
“Look, Garrus, take it from someone who knows—actually getting revenge isn’t as fun as planning revenge. For what it’s worth, I think you made the right choice.”
“What do you mean, ‘someone who knows’?” he asked, and she looked away. “You said in the shuttle that you didn’t know what you’d do if someone betrayed you.”
“And I still don’t. I’ve never been betrayed by a friend before, but I never said I didn’t know what revenge feels like,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Look, if I thought that Sidonis was still a threat to anyone, I’d have let you kill him like Doctor Saleon. Hell, I’d have held him down for you, but you saw him, Garrus. Killing him would have solved nothing.” She looked up at him and she suddenly looked much older than her years.
“My men deserved to be avenged. All you had to do was step aside, but you saved him.” He was pacing again, the stale adrenaline in his veins making him jumpy. “Why? He’s a cowardly waste of air.”
“Garrus,” she said softly, “I wasn’t trying to save him.” She raked her fingers through her hair and sighed. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, let’s just get the hell out of here.”
She trudged toward the car and he stared after her for a long moment, long enough that Shepard began to fear he’d just let her leave without him.
“Right behind you,” he said finally, climbed into the driver’s seat, and piloted them back to Bachjret Ward.
- 3
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- 5
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Friends With Benefits