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Ard wasn't too sure about this job.

It was pretty simple, really, but... If there was one thing Ard knew, things that seemed simple never were. An asari and a human had moved into Talon's territory, and after a cursory examination he'd discovered the two were wanted. That was fairly typical, considering it was Omega, but these two turned out to be an ardat yakshi and a rogue spectre. There was a considerable reward attached to the ardat yakshi, and that was as complicated as it got.

Talon had sent him on recon, with instructions to subdue if he got the chance, so Ard had been trailing them for a few days. And honestly... They didn't seem like hardened criminals. Ard didn't pretend to be an expert on reading people, but he was fairly sure that stone-cold murders didn't cuddle as much as these two did. They seemed more like a newlywed couple than a murderer and an ex-agent. They both had jobs, real jobs, or as close to real jobs as you could get on Omega, and they didn't so much as lie about a cold to take a sick day. When they weren't working they were together, usually very close together, either on their beat up threadbare couch or the bed they shared.

Ard had been camped out in the building across from their apartment for four days now, and the only even slightly illegal thing he'd seen was the asari convincing a grocery store cashier that their bill was ten credits cheaper than it really was.

In any case, Ard knew he'd do as Talon had asked, but maybe he'd mention it to Talon after he'd captured them. Which was going to be pretty soon, as the two were sprawled on their couch, the asari asleep with their head in the lap of the human, who was tapping away on a tablet.

"Talon," he says, activating his communicator, "I see an opening on this bounty. Should I go for it?"

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"Don't use real names over the comm system, my dear," Talon's voice chuckles, crackling a little over the intercom, "This is a secure line, but still, it's good practice. I'm Zifa, youre Kato, remember?"

He spins around a few times in his swivelling chair, steepling his fingers thoughtfully.

"But yes, bring them here. And do be careful of the asari, they say if you're not careful one look is all it takes for them to ensnare you. Bring them in alive, the spectre may be an innocent victim and the Justicars will want to execute the Ardat-Yakshi themselves."

He grins behind his mask, slightly, spinning his chair again.

"Take care, my sweet. Tell me if there's any trouble. And, keelah, wear your helmet this time."

Ard rolls his eyes at Talon's antics, smirking to himself as he listens.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he says tiredly, though he's sure Talon can hear the smile in his voice and how he reaches over to pick up his helmet and put it on, "I will. Orders confirmed, my love," he attempts to throw back, but it just sounds embarrassing when he does it, compared to the light, flirty way Talon manages it, "See you soon." With that he clicks off his comm, and goes about a systems and weapon check. His pistol is filled with tranquilizers, meant to work on humans and asari, and he has a backup rifle filled with regular thermal clips just in case. Then he let himself out and sneaks across to the right building.

He kneels in front of their door, exercising the only theiving skill he'd ever been any good at; lockpicking. He makes quick, quiet work of the lock and lets himself in, just far enough that he has a clear sight to the couch, and the back of the human's head. According to the bounty the asari was the only dangerous one, but from what Ard had observed over the last few days was that it was the human who was always glancing around, keeping track of his surroundings and measuring up people like they were targets, all habits that spoke of deeply ingrained military training that had not been forgotten. Even if he was enthralled, the human was a bigger threat.

He shoots once, and buries a tranquilizer in the back of the neck before jumping aside. The human shouts and whirls around, immediately starting to glow with his biotics, one hand still obscured by the couch (probably holding down the asari, keeping him out of the way) while the other reached for a pistol on a nearby table.

The tranquilizers kick in before he can reach it, though, and the glow falters as he stumbles back.

"Dimitri, run..." is all he can gasp out before he's falling to his knees, out cold.

"No!" Dimitri shouts, quickly throwing up a shield before grabbing the pistol and ducking under the table. His heart hammers, and a sick, horrified feeling rushes over him as he looks over at Owen's lifeless body, lying on the ground just feet away from where he was crouched.

"You bastard, what did you do to him!" he shouts, jumping out from his makeshift cover and using his biotics to rip the gun out of the turian's hand. He shoves him backwards with another blast, knocking him hard into the wall before rushing to Owen's side. In a daze, he tries ineffectually to hook his arms under Owen's and lift him somewhere safer. He does manage to drag him the short distance to their bedroom before the turian can get back to his feet, and he slams the door shut behind them and tilts a chair against the knob.

"Owen, Owen!" he says, his voice frantic as he slaps his face lightly. He spots the dart in Owen's neck and yanks it out, hoping and praying that it was a tranquilizer, not poison.

"Owen, you gotta get up, baby, come on," he begs, his voice breaking terribly as he shakes him by the shoulders.

Ard curses to himself as he struggles to shake off the blow and get back to his feet, running over to retrieve his gun before he advances on the door the asari had disappeared behind. He hesitates for a moment just outside the door, hearing the asari desperately pleading with the human to wake up. Surely if he was just an enthralled bodyguard, the asari wouldn't have bothered with protecting him and wouldn't sound so broken up about him being hurt. Ard files that information away to be mentioned to Talon later, and reminds himself not to hurt either of them any more than was necessary.

He tries the doorknob first, and sighs when it won't budge, stepping back to raise his gun and then kick in the door.

"No, no, please!" Dimitri shouts when the door comes crashing down. He shields Owen's body with his own, his eyes wide and terrified, and fumbles ineffectively attempting to load the pistol before it falls out of his hands and clatters across the floor. In his desperation, he puts his hands on his head, attempting in his panic to surrender.

"What do you want," he chokes, talking quickly, "You want money? I can get you money, I can get you anything, anything you want at all, no joke, just let us go, please, we don't want any trouble, if we crossed someone it'll never happen again, swear on my life!"

Ard hesitates again, just for a moment, thrown off by the asari's pleading, and how they don't even attempt to use biotics or the famous mind-control powers. He tilts his head to the side, glancing at the asari for a moment before shaking his head and shooting them in the neck as well.

After the asari slumps back over the human Ard advances, checking both their vitals and using the restraints he'd brought with him. Then he stands up and activates his comm, frowning all the while.

"T--Zifa," he says, remembering the pseudonym at the last moment, "I have them. I need transport." He notices something next to the bed and moves over to it, touching one finger to the photograph of the human and the asari with their arms around each other, both of them grinning hugely.

"There's... something you should know, though."

"Good work!" Talon says brightly, "I've already got a vehicle on the way to pick you up, should be there any minute now."

He stands up, pulling his hood back up over the top of his mask and giving himself a once-over in the mirror.

"What is it? They didn't give you too much trouble, did they?"

"No, actually..." Ard says, carefully choosing his words, "Just the opposite. I took out the human first, and then the asari... Dragged him off. Tried to protect him. Pleaded with me not to hurt him." Ard sighs, taking off his helmet so that he can breath more easily, "I've been watching them and... I'm not sure they are who the wanted poster says they are. They seem like... A happy couple, actually." He's quiet for a long moment as he paces across the room.

"I trust your judgement, as always, but... Be careful."

That's when the transport arrives, hovering just outside the window, and Ard excuses himself to carry the bodies over.

When they get back to their hideout Ard helps a few of the others restrain the two prisoners more securely, and then goes off to report back to Talon.

Talon opens his mouth to speak again, but Ard shuts off communications, and Talon is left alone to ponder his words. Ard was a softie, and a little gullible, and Talon knew he was likely to see a victim in just about anyone. This could still just be a sick case of some maniac becoming too attached to their flesh puppet, or the two might really be in cahoots after all. He flips on his voice scrambler, deciding he'll make up his mind once he's seen them in person.

He meets Ard near the garage, surveying the scene as two vorchas and a krogan secure the prisoners.

"Disable their biotics. And blindfold that one," he says, nodding towards the asari, "There's something about the eyes that gets you, I hear."

Ard can't help but smile when he sees Talon, as it's been several days since they'd seen each other. Sure, they'd been in near constant contact the entire time, but Ard had missed him still. He moves to Talon's side, and wants to put an arm around him or just touch him, somehow, but he resists the urge in front of the others.

"Hey," he says, his voice warm and affectionate.

"Postis," he says, seriously and formally, though he turns his head to give Ard a slight wink when he's sure no one else is looking.

"The three of you are dismissed," he says, nodding to his men, who nod in turn and head out the door. Once they're gone, he turns his back to the prisoners, and his fingers come up to twist the valves that hold his mask in place, and he removes it momentarily, planting a quick kiss on Ard's mouth before putting his visor back over his face and resecuring it.

"Don't stay gone so long next time," he says, smiling, and it sounds funny in his ears with the way his voice has been distorted.

"Now, what exactly happened?" he says, resuming the severe, no-nonsense character he'd been using before, just in case either the human or the asari decided to wake up soon.

Ard reaches up to tenderly stroke a hand over Talon's neck after they kiss, but moves away and affects formality when Talon does. He doesn't like the strange, filtered voice that Talon uses, and can never quite relax around him until he's turned it off.

"Well, first off, the most illegal thing I saw them do was steal about ten credits worth of groceries," he says, shrugging, "But, more than that, they just... Don't seem the... Cold blooded killer type. They seem..." Ard trailed off, looking over at the two and frowning, "...In love." He winces a little, embarrassed at himself for that, but gives Talon a pleading look anyways, "I mean, they could be innocent, right? Maybe the whole bounty thing is a big, I don't know, misunderstanding, and if we turned them in we'd be sentencing two innocent people to death." By the time he's finished Ard's worked himself up, and he has to take a deep breath and get himself under control.

"Postis! Relax," Talon says, gripping him by the chestpiece of his armor.

"We're not sentencing anyone to anything yet. I'll hear them out, we'll figure out what's really going on. I don't make snap decisions, you know that. If we they're innocent, nothing happens to them, all right?"

He folds his hands behind his back and paces a circle around where the prisoners were secured, double-checking their restraints as they wait for them to regain consciousness.

Owen slowly regains consciousness, feeling strangely dizzy and disorientated, and it takes him a long moment to figure out what happened. When he remembers he makes himself open his eyes, though it seems to take an extraordinary amount of effort to do so. He looks dazedly around the room and then towards the chair next to his, where Dimitri is slouched down, unmoving.

"Di... Dimitri," Owen gasps, and then snaps to attention, finding the other two people in the room and snarling at them, "What the hell did you do to him! If you hurt him, I swear I'll..." Owen tries to activate his powers to break through his bonds but nothing happens, even when he concentrates, and he grunts as he gives up, panting. He tries to flex against his restraints as well, but nothing happens.

"If you hurt him, I'll make you pay," he yells, turning his ferocious, furious expression on the turian and quarian.

Talon pulls the gun on his hip from his holster and points it at Owen when he starts rattling against his restraints.

"I suggest you relax," he says calmly, "You're going to wear yourself out. No one is hurt, yet, but I can't promise that won't change. You know who I am, yes? Because you've been in my territory for quite some time now and, while I do house some pretty nasty sorts, I tend to steer clear of vampiric serial killers and rogue spectres."

He pulls up a wanted poster, a large picture of Dimitri's mugshot, and displays it on his omnitool.

"This is your friend, yes?" he says, pointing at the asari slumped over in the chair.

At that moment, Dimitri starts to stir. He had been half conscious for a few minutes, but at the quarian's last words he raises his head wearily.

"It's me," he says flatly, blinking his eyes slowly, "It's me, it's all been me, I...kidnapped the Spectre back on the Citadel. For protection. He...doesn't know what he's doing, just let him go."

He was almost sure this lie wasn't going to cut it, but he gives Owen a bleary, pleading look, begging him without words to go along with it.

Owen stares at Dimitri, his mouth open in shock as he can't quite believe what Dimitri is trying to pull. His heart lurches at the implication, that Dimitri would surrender to execution just so he could walk away. It feels like a slap across the face, that Dimitri would even consider that an option, as if Owen could live with himself knowing he'd caused Dimitri's execution.

"Dimitri," Owen grits out, his voice broken, and Ard speaks up before he can say anything else.

"There's no way that's true," he says, crossing his arms over his chest, "I've been watching you two, and he's not just your protection."

"It's not true," Owen says, glancing up at Ard, and then at Talon, "It's not."

Talon pulls up a chair and sits down, leaning forward and continuing to hold Owen and Dimitri at gunpoint.

"Someone around here had better start telling the truth soon, then," he says coolly, "Because the official story is that an Ardat-Yakshi wanted for murder enthralled a young Spectre during her escape from police custody and used him to steal a small spacecraft, one that sounds a lot like one that, through a little digging, my people were able to find broken down and discarded in a junkyard on the station. That's the story I'm inclined to believe, but my operative here doesn't seem to think that's the case. He thinks maybe the two of you are just unlucky fools who got mixed up in some bad business somewhere along the line."

He leans back, folding his arm across his chest.

"It would really eat away at my operative's conscience if I sent the asari in for execution without at least hearing the two of you out, so I'm going to give you a chance to explain yourselves."

Owen glances at Dimitri and then grits his teeth, lifting his chin to look right at Talon.

"The real story is, we met by chance in a bar. I saw an innocent person in danger, and I helped them. When Citadel Security found out about his condition, they tried to kill him. I... disagreed. I stole that ship. He piloted it. We stayed together when we got to Omega. I wasn't kidnapped. I chose to stay." Owen keeps his eyes on Talon as he speaks, afraid if he looks at Dimitri he'll lose control over his emotions.

Ard frowns while he listens, standing just beind Talon's shoulder with his arms crossed over his chest. He's inclined to believe every word, but he knows Talon would just call him soft if he said that out loud.

Talon considers for a moment, looking over to where the blindfolded asari hung his head in grim silence.

"I wouldn't exactly call an escaped murderer with an aptitude for mind control an 'innocent person in danger,'" he says, but he puts the safety lock on his gun and lowers it, looking sideways at Ard as he does, "But...my man here does not seem to share my opinion, and I typically don't enjoy collecting bounties on residents of this station, anyway; Do too much of that around here and you'll be branded a vigilante. We'll have to sedate you to return you to your place of residence, unfortunately, but you'll be free to go. We will continue to monitor the two of you, however, and if I find out anything that contradicts your story...Well, we'll be seeing each other again. Oh, and do be more careful about hiding your identities in public. If we found you out, others will surely follow."

Ard breathes a quiet sigh of relief, reaching down to squeeze Talon's shoulder, relieved that Talon must have seen what he did in them.

Owen stares at Talon, then at the turian, and glances back at Dimitri.

"You're... letting us go? Seriously?" Owen asks, confused that it had been that easy, and nobody had been hurt. He'd have to rememeber to buy that turian a drink, he thought deliriously.

Talon takes the tranquilizer gun from Ard's holster, and checks that it's loaded with darts.

"Like I said, it's bad for business if we start turning out tennants in, as long as he's not seducing and murdering any of my clients."

He takes in the bewildered expression on the asari's face, before aiming the gun and shooting him in the neck, knocking him out quickly. He then takes aim at the human and tranquilizes him as well, before returning the gun to Ard's holster and checking to make sure the two of them were truly unconscious

"Put them back where you found them," he instructs Ard, "And...keep an eye on them. I'm not as convinced as you that this isn't some kind of trick."

"Whatever you say, boss," Ard says, his voice warm and affectionate again, pleased with Talon's choice and not at all disgruntled with his continuing distrust. Talon didn't see people the way he did, anyways, and more than once Talon's tendency towards suspicion and distrust had saved Ard's behind. He thinks they balance each other well. Ard checks his supplies but turns back to Talon before he calls in the others to help him move the bodies.

He moves in close to Talon, waiting for him to remove his mask again before he dives in to kiss Talon deeply, but briefly.

"I'll be home soon," He promises, giving Talon's arm a squeeze before he turns away.

~

Owen wakes up on his couch, and jumps up to look around wildly but of course they're alone. The apartment even seems to have been tidied, Owen's tablet is sitting neatly on the table and there's no sign anything happened at all.

He sits back down, sighing and running his hands through his hair, trying to stop his heart from beating out of his chest.

It takes Dimitri longer to come to, and when he does he can still feel the lingering effects of the sedatives. He sits up, his head spinning and his heart hammering, and when he spots Owen on the couch next to him, he breathes a loud sigh of relief before flopping back down, reaching out and grabbing Owen's hand to hold it tight.

"This is real, right? This is real," he repeats, over and over.

"It's real," Owen says without looking up, squeezing Dimitri's hand back. He's glad for the way things turned out, still can't quite believe it, but the thing he's reeling from the most is Dimitri's attempt to lie to save him. If it had been anyone else, any actual law enforcement, they would have accepted Dimitri's admission without question, and anything Owen said to the contrary would be dismissed as enthralling.

"Dimitri," He says, his voice low and broken, "We have to talk about this."

Dimitri closes his eyes, catching his breath. His head was spinning too much for him to think of what Owen might be talking about, so he just nods his head in agreement.

"S-sure," he stammers, wiping cold sweat off his forehead, "sure, talk about what?"

Owen looks over, noticing Dimitri's state and reaching out to brush his fingers over Dimitri's head.

"Are you okay? Do you feel sick?" He says, his heartache momentarily forgotten as he's distracted by Dimitri's distress.

Edited 2015-03-11 19:08 (UTC)

Dimitri rests his head in Owen's lap, taking a few more heaving breaths.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine, though," he assures him, holding the hand he still clasped in his own up to his mouth and kissing it as he closes his eyes again.

"Okay," Owen says faintly, sitting there watching Dimitri and stroking his face. After a few quiet minutes he sits back, swallowing thickly.

"Dimitri, you tried to turn yourself in," He says, sighing, "To save me."

Dimitri's breathing is steadier, now, but it still catches in his throat when Owen speaks again.

"Well...yeah," he says, keeping his eyes shut, "I...I mean, of course I did. I saw a chance to get you out of trouble and...I tried to take it."

He opens his eyes, but can't bring himself to look at Owen's face.

"It's...because of me that you're here, one way or another, anyway."

"Dimitri, you..." Owen trails off, covering his face with his hands, "I chose to be here. I can't... I can't believe you would even consider that an option. How am I... supposed to live with myself, knowing you're dead and it's my fault?" He says, his voice shaking as he pushes his hands into his hair and grips tightly.

"Dimitri, you... You have to know I wouldn't... I'd do whatever it took to keep you safe. I'd never leave your side."

Dimitri rubs his eyes with his palm and sighs.

"Owen, I...please don't be upset," he says softly, "It wouldn't be your fault, and if anything happens...I'm dead no matter what, there's no reason for me to take you down with me."

He sits up slowly, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands.

"I can't let you die for me, either," he mumbles quietly, muffled by his palms.

Owen reaches over, placing his palm over the back of Dimitri's neck, then tilting his forehead against Dimitri's temple.

"If that happens, I'd still..." Owen starts to say but trails off, unable to describe that particular scenario in words, "Let's... Let's just say... Whatever happens, we'll face it together, right?" He rubs his fingers over Dimitri's skin in a way he hopes is soothing.

"I love you," he whispers, squeezing his eyes shut as emotion makes his voice crack.

Dimitri turns his head to the side, his forehead touching Owen's, and his eyes crack open the slightest bit.

"Yeah," he says, speaking softly to keep his voice from wavering and touching Owen's face, "Yeah, we will. I love you...so much."

He presses a gentle kiss to the corner of Owen's mouth, Owen's beard scratching softly at his face, and closes his eyes again.

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