Curious Jealousy- a F!Shenko Fic

Chapter Twenty-One: Coup Pt. 2: Confrontation

"There might be survivors in here," Shepard informed her squad quietly over their internal comms, watching her HUD. "Survivors are always a priority."

"When's the last time that you saw Cerberus leave people alive?" Few people had the courage to question her like that, but Garrus well…Garrus was Garrus.

She cast a triumphant grin his way that was barely visible through her helmet as she said, "Grissom Academy."

Shepard motioned them into cover as she pulled out her beloved M-98 Widow and gestured for Garrus to pull out his own sniper rifle (a Black Widow). They sighted down on the two targets.

"Got left," Garrus informed her quietly.

"One," she murmured.

"Two," he responded.

"Three," they said together and pulled their triggers, effectively dropping both of their targets.

"Damn, Scars, you're almost as good as Lola- in the shooting department, that is. You can't hold a candle to her looks and moves." James eyed the impassive Shepard as she reloaded her rifle and replaced it on her back, pulling out her Mattock.

"Almost?" Garrus snorted.

"You hesitated," she informed him matter-of-factly. "Your target fell after mine."

James and Garrus both stared at her in shock. Her tone was much too harsh for the conversation. Garrus looked her over carefully- looking for any blood that might be seeping out or an expression of pain (he had gotten a lot better at reading human expression since the old SR-1 days). There was nothing.

She ignored the two men and gestured for them to follow. Shepard was unsure what it was that had set her off.

James' careless flirtation?

Garrus' shot?"

Sighing, she flipped to a private comm link with Garrus. "Sorry," she murmured.

"I get it," he assured her.

"Care to clue me in?"

"It's just like Horizon," Garrus pointed out, ignoring her flinch. "He was in danger and you were running at 150%, just in the hope that you could save him. We- Kasumi and I-…well…we were just slowing you down."

He is here, she thought frantically as she set off in a run as soon as her boots hit the ground. She barely paused long enough to pull out her Mattock (one of the few good things that Cerberus had given her since she was revived).

She was aware that she was talking to Mordin, but she didn't know what she was saying.

It didn't matter.

Kaidan was on Horizon- in a colony under attack. She couldn't let the Collector's take him. She would sooner trade herself in so that he might escape. It was worth losing her own life (again) so that he would continue on.

She knew that Garrus and Kasumi were struggling to keep up. Once again, it didn't matter- she had to save Kaidan.

"We're here to save everyone on the Citadel- not just one person."

"Whatever you say, Shepard, whatever you say."

Kaidan wasn't quite sure when he had started to hate Udina. It might have started when he first met the obnoxious ambassador. He had discredited Shepard's words as quickly as the Councilors. It might, even, have started after the SR-1. Udina had been on the front lines of those spitting on Shepard's name.