NOTE 1: Hello, folks! Welcome to the 32nd chapter of the story! I am really sorry for the massive delay. I have suffered from little time (busy with real life), lack of inspiration and author block. This chapter will be short, containing one of the main scenes of my planned 32nd (now 33rd) chapter. I wish to publish this to let you know that this story is not dead! Unless I say so on my profile, this is not dead!

NOTE 2: I have decided to help give some faces to my characters by using the good old casting method. Not all gave faces yet other than the descriptions in the story, but I already have a list of them on my profile with hyperlinks if you wish to check. Please let me know if this is not too much of a bugger for you. You can Google them up and see the faces that come closest to what I imagined for my non-canon characters. I'll even include some canon characters if you imagine the story play out more like a movie/series than animated cutscenes (like those we have in the actual game). The characters are available on my profile with links to the images if you cannot find them.

Chapter 32: Bad Boys

Citadel, Zakera Ward

Lower wards

"Move it, you shit!" Hellas, aka Viper Four, pushed Fist. "If you try that crap again I'll break the bones of your arms," she threatened him when he attempted to flee during one of their short firefights with C-SEC. Fist tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction and run. Too bad Hellas caught him almost immediately.

Her armor took a beating, though. She was shot in the back and the armor barely held there. She requires replacements for the titanium plates there. The first grain sized rounds were stopped by the titanium alloy. However, the momentum dented the plates and weakened them, allowing partial penetration. They just slowed C-SEC's rounds now, with the Kevlar the last layer of defense on her right shoulder blade. There was lingering pain there every time she moved her right arm.

"Put him over there!" Viper Two instructed. Four pushed Fist's body against the wall. She followed it up with a punch to his stomach. The Batarian grunted in pain before sliding down on his arse.

"Hey, watch it! Nobody touches him until we get him out of here!" one of the Batarians that took Fist hostage shouted at her. "He's ours!"

"The hell he is!" Hellas turned on him. "It's because of you lot that we're in this shit spot right now."

"Two of our comrades are most likely dead because of your interference! They delayed C-SEC long enough for all you to get out of Chora's Den! Fist is ours!"

"If I even sense you're trying to cross us and leave with him, I will put a bullet right between those four eyes of yours," Four threatened. "It's because of you that we are in this spot."

"Stop the infighting!" Metiana – the technician of Garrus' team, raised her voice. "We can't get off station while Arx is under blockade by C-SEC. We are stuck. We need to get off this station or reach Arx."

They had holed up in one of the lower accessible levels of Zakera Ward. Rarely did somebody come down here. It was primarily used by the underworld and C-SEC when suppressing underworld activity. Even the Citadel had its problems. The richest place in the galaxy, where the richest lived, tends to attract a significant population that's earning money by illicit means. The most thriving illegal businesses are those that feed the rich residents' vices.

"Secure the entry points!" Archangel shouted over the room.

They were in what could be used as a storage area, with a slit in the wall large enough for a shuttle or skycar to come through and land, drop cargo, then be on its way. Tunnels lead further into the depths of the station. The slit overlooked the open space below destined for heavy duty equipment, and the tall opening that reached into the upper levels of the ward.

"This corridor is clear!" Avitus Rix informed them as he checked their escape route. They'll move out as soon as they catch their breath. "How much time do you think the charges bought us?" he inquired from Archangel.

"Five minutes if they move quickly," Archangel replied. "Ten if they take a break." He leaned against a wall and let his weight slowly fall to the ground. "Any ideas how we get to Arx or off station? We can't keep running like this."

"Arx is under blockade," Nihlus reminded them. "How do we even get off Zakera Ward and to Kithoi Ward? My SPECTRE status is useless all the way down here. I don't think any company operates down here." Nihlus exchanged looks with the team. None had anything to say. He let out a frustrated growl.

Garrus' eyes were now locked on Fist. Viper Four was holding him at gunpoint. Fist, the Batarian that had been the epicenter of the fiasco. No doubt Saren, Sparatus and Pallin had been expecting the Hierarchy to make a move on Fist. The presence of C-SEC at Chora's Den as a permanent guard was proof enough. But then they went ahead and put it under lockdown, against the treaties, just to suppress the Hierarchy's efforts and stir the pot of trouble some more.

"At our current rate… well… I don't think we are going to be reaching any safe location. There is not a place in Zakera I can recall as safe," Avitus added.

"Damn it!" Viper Two cursed. "You two are SPECTREs. Can't you just use that to make the police stand down?"

"What's with the redundant questions, Human?" Avitus barked back. "Do you see this badge here?" he indicated with his talons to the seal of the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance on his armor suit's right arm. "Did not stop them from shooting at us."

"I had my suspicions that you two were Human," one of the Batarians, the leader, walked up to them. "This just confirms it. So, what is your deal in this? I think I can guess what the Turians are after. What do you Alliance types want?"

Viper Two glanced at the Batarian. He and Four hadn't taken their helmets off since the operation had started. "What's it to you, SIU?" he poked him in the chest. He must have seen the Batarian consider playing dumb for just a moment and cut him off. "You don't think we Alliance types do our homework on the Special Intervention Unit?"

"Then you know we are your only way off the Citadel," he wanted to make it clear for the Turians and the Humans. "We have a small freighter waiting outside the docks on the far end of Zakera Ward. They've been slowly unloading cargo. We have less than a day at best before they leave and we miss our window of opportunity."

"Far end?" Metiana chimed in while her eyes were in her omnitool. "That's 20 kilometers if we have a straight line toward the docks. I bet all my credits those tunnels are not a straight shot. There's a labyrinth up there."

"We could end lost down there," Nihlus remarked as he gazed into the widest tunnel. It looked like it went a long distance.

"A booby trap went off," Metiana informed the team. "The wire grenade. Add a few more minutes. They'll be moving slower, checking for other traps."

"To hell with this whole thing!" Garrus cursed. He looked at his team. "We do this now or we lose everything for nothing. Cover me." Garrus aimed his M-11 Suppressor sidearm at Fist. "Tell me right now what I want to know or you die slowly."

"Hey, what-" one of the Batarians moved to place himself between Fist and Archangel. He was stopped by Nihlus aiming his gun at him. The second SIU agent leveled his gun with Archangel's head, only to have Avitus threaten him in response.

"What are you doing, Turian?" the SIU leader demanded.

"What I've always wanted – getting answers and justice," was the cryptic response. "Stay out of this interrogation and you might have Fist some way or the other for your Hegemon."

Fist struggled under Viper Four's strong grip on his neck. He was not stupid to do anything foolish that would get him killed. Archangel had a gun aimed at his abdomen. Four had her pistol at his head. "I still have no idea what is going on here! I should be the one getting answers. Who sent you? " He looked between Archangel and the SPECTREs. "Even for a SPECTRE, this is not something you will be flashing your badge and get away with it. C-SEC will catch you sooner or later and you will go to one of your Turian prisons."

"Do you want me to rough him up a bit? He will be a good, helping boy when he is starting to hurt," Viper Two offered.

The SIU grunt made a move, but his superior looked at him and conveyed a message through his gaze alone. That settled his subordinate. They did not need to do something stupid and get shot by the Turians.

"What does Saren Arterius want? Why did you smuggle the Salarians to the Citadel? What are his goals? Tell me everything you know. Where is Saren now?" Archangel questioned.

"If you touch me you are only burying yourself deeper!" Fist warned him. "I have nothing to say to you. Don't drag me into the dirt, Turian. Nobody has anything to win. Only trouble will come from this adventure."

An unspoken instruction went from Archangel to Viper Two with a single hand gesture. Two took a few steps to Fist. "Make sure you hold him tight," he advised Four. She attached her weapon to the magnetic clamp on her body armor. Then, with little effort, she stood Fist up and held his hands to his back. Fist had his entire torso exposed now, with no means to defend himself. "Help us by answering questions and I will not lay a hand on you."

"I will make sure your Alliance will be-" Two cut Fist off with a powerful punch to his belly. That took the air out of him. Another punch a few centimeters to the left followed. And another centimeters to the right.

"No time to waste. Answer the simple question or I will make the next five minutes the longest in your life."

Fist recovered his stamina just a little bit to be able to look up. Archangel's voice piped up. "Where is Saren Arterius? You were communicating with each other. Where was he sending messages from?" Fist continued his silence for a few seconds. Archangel lowered his pistol, pointing it at the ground. He raised his right foot and slammed it into Fist's stomach. A pained grunt erupted from him. "Talk, you worthless criminal! I am not stopping until I hear an answer!" Fist took a good beating from Viper Two in only a few seconds.

Avitus glanced at Nihlus with a worried look. "I don't like this, Nihlus," he whispered just for the two of them in another of their Turian languages. "This entire operation is crumbling down, we have nothing to show for it, and he-" jerked his head in Archangel's direction, "is beating our only source of information to death."

Nihlus looked over. The two Batarian SIUs were growing concerned. He could tell that much. It was only a matter of time until one tried something. The leader of the SIU team must have felt Nihlus' calculating eyes on him. They locked their gazes. The Batarian looked like he was about to do something, his eyes searching for a solution in Nihlus to stop the beating. The SIU wanted Fist alive. The Hegemony wanted Fist. Nihlus always suspected the underworld leader to be in the pocket of the Hegemony, and his association with Saren pissed off somebody high up the food chain.

Nihlus took a second to evaluate the situation they are in. The Hegemony came after Fist, which paints him as even more guilty. Nihlus and other SPECTREs speculated that Fist was a Hegemony agent on the Citadel, just in case the Batarians required a deniable asset. They had a few clues, though nothing definitive on the topic. If the SIU smuggled Fist off station they would hit a dead end – High Hegemon Dhothan would not leave such an opportunity go to waste. It would be used big time against the Hierarchy for concessions. If they did not achieve their objective now – discover Saren's whereabouts and his location – they will lose their only lead and Saren will be left at large in the galaxy. It would drag any negotiations between the Hierarchy and the Hegemony long enough to cost them their target.

The Primarch would not tolerate such a slight from the team, especially if it helps the Batarians in the detriment of fellow Turians. Both Nihlus and Avitus will end in a load of trouble, most likely kicked out of the SPECTREs and do jail time if it goes sideways. The least they can do now is interrogate Fist and transmit the findings to Arx by whatever means they could. It would be a starting point.

"Archangel," Nihlus called out. The team leader did not turn his attention to Nihlus just yet. He was focused on Fist.

"Just you wait until C-SEC catches up to you, Turian…" Fist managed through pained grunts. "You lose either way. And I will make sure you go down big time when this is over."

"Oh, so that's what you think will happen?" Archangel said, his voice not much above a whisper, focusing on Fist's face, the team erupted in a heated argument. Archangel zoned our their voices. Fist was staring at him with ill intent, and a smugness that denoted he was somehow victorious. Archangel switched his attention to the M-11 Suppressor pistol at hand. Checking on the others, they were almost shouting at each other, weapons prepared to fire. They coagulated in a loose circle. The two SIU operators were not facing him anymore.

It only took five shots fired in very quick succession and silence settled. Nihlus, Avitus and Metiana stared at him, mouths open, completely taken by surprise. Viper Two had cursed in his own foreign language. Four had loosed her grip on Fist. Archangel simply lowered his firearm, shifting his wrath on Fist. He checked the glancing blow on his left arm. Nothing serious. Two drops of blue blood stained the ground beneath him.

Fist's jaw was firmly locked in Archangel's talons. His head was forcefully tilted up to lock eyes with his Turian interrogator. "Look at them," pointing at the two dead SIU agents, "there goes your Hegemony option. Closed the door for you. And C-SEC?" Archangel's voice took an amused note. "I will kill you and leave you here for them to find you if you don't talk! And, before that, I will cut every single of your fingers with my omni-blade!" he shouted in Fist's face. "No prison for you, no clemency. Nothing. We kill you before you say arrest. You… Pallin… Sparatus… Saren… you are not the bad boys, Fist. We are." He paused for a second, letting the threat settle in. "Where is Saren Arterius?"

"You're crazy! You've lost your mind, Turian!"

"Wrong answer."

The hiss that followed was from Archangel producing the omni-blade from his omnitool.

NOTE 3: I have planned A LOT for the next chapter! I have rewritten it like 4 times already… this scene alone was rewritten three times and revised almost every long writing session I had. I want to move the plot by leaps in the next chapters, and get to the next parts :D I am eager, really! Just as a note – I still have faculty studies to finish and a master degree project, so I see potential for another delay in update until this summer. After I finish with faculty, I will only have my personal projects to keep me busy. Do not lose hope!

NOTE 4: You guys should go check "Semper Vigilo" if you want a masterpiece to read until my next update. I promise you, it will keep you busy and engaged! Best regards!

A STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Apollonir