Garrus made no effort to stifle the growl of annoyance in his subvocals. "They gave me a partner for this job! Can you believe that?"

"Having a partner isn't so bad, Garrus." Nihlus said, one mandible twitching outward in the turian equivalent of a smirk. "Especially one as good looking as Jane. It'll give you something to look at when you don't have your nose buried in a scope."

"I work better alone. Always have." Garrus crossed his arms and looked away. He focused on two C-Sec officers standing near the elevator, wishing he could be anywhere but here. "Besides, she's human. I've never had a thing for humans."

"You won't be saying that when you see her. I'm telling you, Garrus, she's gorgeous. Red hair, green eyes, slim figure... I'd love to get my hands on her. Maybe buy her a drink."

Garrus rolled his eyes. "Please, like she'd ever consider having a fling with your sorry ass. You can't even win the attention of an asari."

"Neither can you!" Nihlus huffed, sitting back in his chair. "Look, just give it a chance, alright? This is a pretty big job, and you're only one turian. Just imagine if you pull it off! You could make the boss happy, get the girl, and impress your father! You... did tell him you're not working for C-Sec anymore, right?"

"You really think I'd tell my father, the C-Sec man, that his son quit because he got tired of all the protocols and red tape?" Garrus forced his subvocals to settle before he continued. "No. He doesn't know about my resignation, and I don't plan on telling him anytime soon. I just need to get through this job. I'll figure the rest out later."

Nihlus raised a plated brow at him, then shrugged. "If you say so. Just keep your head on your shoulders and you'll be fine. I'm here for you if you need me, Garrus."

"Right... thanks. I'll keep in touch."

After bidding Nihlus farewell, Garrus rose from his chair and headed for the elevator. He'd be leaving soon and couldn't wait to kiss the Citadel goodbye.

•••

The docking bay was quiet, aside from a handful of security officers stationed at certain checkpoints.

Garrus checked the time. Jane should've been there by now. He'd always been punctual, sometimes arriving an hour or so before an intended meeting just to give himself time to take in his surroundings. The importance of being early was drilled into every C-Sec officer in basic training. His father used to say: "if you're not early, you're late".

As if arriving on time made any difference.

Had Garrus been alone like he preferred, he'd be halfway across the galaxy by now. Instead, he was stuck waiting in the docking bay for an agent he'd never laid eyes on.

His eyes left his omni-tool when he heard the whoosh of the elevator door and widened upon seeing the red-headed woman who stepped onto the platform.

The sharpness of her facial features intrigued him, though not as much as her hair did. Humans were the only species he knew to have hair. He'd always wanted to touch it, run his fingers through the locks just to see if it felt as soft as the vids claimed. Her loose loungewear didn't reveal much, leaving most things up to his imagination.

What he truly wasn't prepared for was the size difference. He stood around seven feet, which was pretty average for a turian. She was a solid five feet eight inches, just tall enough to reach his shoulder. Hell, he knew humans were on the smaller side compared to other species, but this really put it into perspective.

He didn't even realize he'd been staring until her voice snapped him out of it.

"I take it you're my partner." She stuck out the hand that wasn't carrying luggage. "Jane Shepard, Alliance Navy."

Garrus blinked at her, then shook her hand. "Garrus Vakarian, turian military. I didn't think I'd be working so closely with the Alliance. Do you prefer to be called Jane or Shepard?"

"Shepard is fine. We don't know each other yet."

"Understandable. You can call me Garrus. Vakarian can be a bit of a mouthful sometimes."

Her lips curled up in a slight smile. "I see. Let's talk more on the ship. Admiral Hackett is waiting to brief us."

Garrus followed her with his eyes before he managed to get the rest of his body moving. Once the two of them boarded and stowed their luggage, they made their way to the comm room.

The dark room was illuminated with a soft blue light as Hackett's hologram appeared. His image flickered at the edges as the connection was secured, then evened out. The admiral crossed his arms over his chest as he addressed Shepard first.

"Good to see you again, Shepard. I hope the ambassador didn't cause any issues." He said, his voice crackling with slight interference.

Shepard leaned back in her chair with a soft chuckle. "The proposal certainly ruffled some feathers."

"I take it your ambassador wasn't very fond of sending one of his best to the Terminus Systems." Garrus said. From what he'd heard, Ambassador Udina was notoriously stubborn and difficult to work with.

"No, he wasn't, but he'll be dealt with later. Fortunately your Primarch was more understanding of the situation and its need for this partnership." Hackett folded his arms behind his back. "He spoke very highly of you. I read your file and I am confident in your abilities. I think you'll work well with Shepard."

Garrus risked a glance at Shepard to admire how the glow of the hologram highlighted her features. He looked away after a few seconds, hoping she hadn't noticed.

"In any case, this mission is high on our priority list. Intelligence gathered by Alliance agents has helped us narrow down the location of a prominent distributor of Red Sand. It is safe to assume that other criminal activities are taking place as well." Hackett explained. "According to our intel, the target will be attending a party in one of Kadarsha's resorts. The two of you are going undercover as a high-end couple interested in the Red Sand business."

A couple? Garrus hadn't been aware of that detail.

"Further details will be sent before you arrive. Your job is to gather any information that could lead us to the main operation, as well as anything you deem useful."

"Anything else we should know?" Shepard asked.

Hackett thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "There will be a heavy security presence. Keep your trigger fingers in check. I'd rather you get in and get out without making a scene. Depending on what you find, an assassination may be the next step."

"Understood, sir."

"I look forward to reading your report. Hackett out."

The admiral's image fizzled out of existence and the overhead lights came back on. Garrus blinked a few times to readjust his vision, then rose from his chair and stretched.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." He said, carefully controlling his subvocals so that nothing hinted at how nervous he felt. He was under the assumption that she didn't know how to read turian subvocals, being human and all.

Hopefully that was true.

Shepard stood and faced him. "Neither was I. He made it seem like they already found where the operation was based out of, not that they needed us to find it."

"And the couple... thing."

"Is that outside your level of expertise?"

Garrus quickly backtracked. "Not exactly. I'm just used to working alone."

"Right. You're the lone sniper type, aren't you?" She said, raising a brow at him. Her expression read amusement, but her eyes were serious. She appeared to be gauging whether or not he'd be a liability on the mission—just as he feared. "That's just about all I know. Care to fill in the blanks?"

Shit, she wanted to know about him? Garrus had always been good at talking about himself, but for some reason Shepard's request made his throat close up. His mandibles twitched anxiously as he tried to formulate a coherent thought.

"Well, I spent a good portion of my career on the Citadel—the place just about every turian wants to go." He said.

"You were a C-Sec officer?"

"One of the best. It was a decent job, but I got tired of it fast. I submitted my resignation a few weeks ago and got picked up by an agency linked to the turian military."

"Why the change?"

Garrus found it easier to speak now that he was venting frustrations, though he withheld most of the details out of caution.

"C-Sec was great at first, but as I rose in the ranks, I got saddled with more and more red tape. It was all protocols and policies." He explained. "I didn't always agree with how cases were handled. C-Sec wanted things done their way and I wanted more discretion, so I left."

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest. "That couldn't have been an easy decision."

"Believe me, it wasn't." Garrus sighed. His thoughts briefly drifted to his father and he caught himself before they wandered too far. "But that's why I jumped at the chance to become an agent. I'll finally be able to get off the Citadel and see the galaxy. What about you, Shepard? What's your story?"

"I joined the military the moment I turned eighteen. My parents were out of the picture and I didn't have anything going for me, so I decided to see what I could get out of the Alliance." Shepard said. "I was there during the Skyllian Blitz on Elysium. Since then, I've spent most of my time hunting Cerberus and dismantling pirate operations."

"You survived the Blitz? Hell, Shepard, you should be out there saving the galaxy, not scrounging up leads with a washed up C-Sec officer."

"I prefer this kind of work, actually. Going into a warzone guns blazing is fun until you've done it for the hundredth time."

Shepard brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. Her green eyes met Garrus's gaze and rooted him to the floor.

"Besides, I'll take a washed up C-Sec officer over corrupt politicians any day." She flashed him that smile as she turned towards the door. "Get some rest. We've got a party to attend."

Silence filled the comm room. Shepard had gone and Garrus was left alone to mull over the conflicting feelings that gnawed at him. As much as he preferred his solitary ways, it was... nice to have someone like Shepard to talk to.

They both seemed to share the same views of how things should be done. There had been some light banter between them, and their conversation felt natural despite its awkward beginning.

Garrus cursed Nihlus as he strode down the corridor to his quarters. Why did he always have to be right?