Call Me V

Chapter 2

Achievement tasted so sweet. Almost as sweet as the cake Asher nibbled on, but still sweet. Sitting on her beat up couch in her tiny apartment, she felt like her new life was finally starting. When Earth had become too…complicated, she'd just packed her things and took the first transport ship to the Citadel. Shifty companions, good information, and busts on well known politicians had gotten her in over her head as a Captain of the police force in the most crowded city on Earth. The higher ups and politicians were putting pressure to force her to retire. Asher had to buckle and agreed, taking the bonus, selling what little she had, and left Earth behind. And now here she sat, wearing only her underwear, hair curling wildly around her waist, and eating angel food cake and drinking lemonade on a stained, third hand couch on the Citadel.

Damn, I need friends, she though, frowning at her cake. I could always go back out to The Dark Star. Not much of a celebration when you only had yourself to drink with. Asher sighed and set her plate aside. Maybe she could charm one of the young guys from her contact list into a nice date. Her full lips curved into a smile. A date would be perfect.

Knowing just the right outfit, she jumped up off the couch and dove into her closet. She riffled through dresses and blouses, picking through colors, trying to find the right one. Pink was too girly, yellow was too cheerful, she had worn green yesterday, and blue seemed too gloomy. With a cry of triumph, she pulled out a red silky dress. Asher slipped it on, smoothing it down around her knees and tied the belt on around her waist. The dress was her favorite. It had a high neck which quickly dipped into a low neckline to show generous amounts of cleavage and bearing her back, was cinched at the waste with a cloth belt and ended in bouncing ruffles around her knees. The red was a deep crimson, shimmering slightly in the lights. Perfect for tonight.

As she swept her hair up into a quick twist, Asher's terminal gave a loud chime, the screen lighting up with a blinking exclamation point. "What's this…?" she whispered and tapped a few keys, bringing up the message. It was from V. She grinned and quickly read.

Sweet Asher,

One of my many pairs of ears running around has heard that you are the newest member of C-Sec. I am very happy to hear this. Celebrations are in order, dearest Asher! You should meet me again at The Dark Star tonight. The drinks will be on me. Perhaps we may even learn a bit more about each other as well.

V

Asher laughed, shaking her head. She couldn't even remember who this mysterious V was. Her curiosity was peaked. Was this V handsome? Was he even human? With a small sigh, she dabbed on some perfume. Maybe she would get another victory tonight. Asher felt as though she deserved a bit of a romp in bed. If he was good enough looking, that is. She walked back over to the terminal and typed up a reply.

Mysterious V

I would love to have someone to celebrate with tonight. Drinks always make things more interesting. I will be there within the hour and stay though most of the night. I look forward to seeing you.

Asher

The enter button was jabbed and the message was off to whoever this hopefully delicious was. She slipped her shoes on and hurried out of her apartment.

The slow yummy burn down to her stomach after trying a new drink made her toes curl. Nothing beat it. Asher felt her whole body tingle from the slight buzz, her attitude already cheerful and touchy as she got when even slightly drunk. She just always felt those urges to give people hugs and kisses! How was she supposed to have a good time with this buzz if there wasn't anyone else around? It had been a good hour since she'd gotten here and V had yet to show up. And she wasn't the most patient of ladies.

Pouting out her lips, she lifted the glass to them, mostly to cool them on the glass. The thump of the bass had her swaying slightly, the corners of her mouth lifting up in good humor. "There is nothing like a good song." Asher glanced to her right and lifted an eye brow at the speaker. A rather striking turian sat down on the stool beside her. He was dressed in full navy blue with white boarders. There were more intricate designs but she couldn't make them out in the dim light. His white facial tattoos were bright against his black plates, almost seeming to glow, though she thought that was mostly due to her being tipsy. All dressed up fancy. That must mean he was out on the nightly prowl.

Asher smiled and lifted her glass to him in a salute before downing the rest of her drink. With a content noise, she turned to him and crossed her legs. "I would have never thought turians were much for this kind of music." His mandibles flared a bit in a grin. "But then again, I don't know much about turians to start off with," she said, thoughtfully looking up and tilting her head to the side. "No offense."

The turian let out a deep chuckle. Asher felt goose bumps go up her arms and her face become a bit more flushed. "None taken." He turned to the bartender and waved his hand at her glass. "Put her on my tab, please. And get her another drink." The salarian nodded, taking the glass. "Now, you are here to celebrate, are you not?"

She raised her eyebrows and laughed. "With a comment like that, I am going to guess you are the mysterious V?"

He twitched his mandibles and frowned slightly. "V? I don't know any V."

"To bad," she murmured, leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees. "Not to be rude, but do I know you?"

"I'm guessing you don't remember. We only spoke for a few minutes last night. Well, after you bumped into me and knocked my drink in the face of a rather large human man." The turian rubbed one mandible lightly. "He hit like a krogan."

Asher frowned, sitting up straight. "Sorry about that. I get a bit wobbly after a few drinks. Let me pay for you. It's the least I can do." She flipped her omni tool open and flicked through a few tabs to find the club's name.

He reached out and put his hand on her arm, his other hand lifting her chin up. "No need. Getting a beautiful woman into my arms made it quite worth it. Especially if she's willing to spend some more time with me." His dark purple eyes seemed to draw her and Asher smiled as he let go of her chin.

"You're pretty smooth with your compliments for not even telling me your name. I'm Asher," she said, reaching back for the new glass the bartender set down.

"I am Kelsto." Asher took a big gulp from her drink, sucking a breath right after as the alcohol burned down her throat. Kelsto leaned forward again, resting a hand on her knee. "What is it that you're celebrating?"

"My new job! You are looking at a new C-Sec officer. My connections finally got me an interview and after a bit of banter over how my tits would get in the way, they let me in." She poked her breasts with a finger and then crossed her arms underneath them. "The Captain decided to piss me off as a test. Apparently Bailey told them about my temper." Kelsto laughed, running his fingers under and over her knee. His talons left a tingling trail along her skin and she caught his gaze. The turian's mandibles shifted as he showed more teeth in a feral grin. Nothing like a predator to get the blood flowing. It was almost hypnotic with the feeling of his talons, those deep, searching eyes, and radiating warmth from his hand.

His grip suddenly tightened, the tips digging into her skin through his gloves. Just as Asher let out a yelp in surprise, another turian suddenly stumbled into her legs, knocking Kelsto's hand off. The stranger landed in her lap and knocked both off the bar stool and onto the ground. The air left her lungs in a big gasp as her back hit the ground, the weight of the heavy alien on top of her knocking into her torso. She was stunned for a moment then blinked. "What the hell?" she exclaimed, starting to push up at the turian's plated chest.

"You need to stay away from Kelsto!" She stopped struggling at his urgent whisper, the deep rumbling vibrated through her. "Trust me when I say this. He's bad and you don't want to get mixed up with him at all." Asher opened her eyes and almost flinched at his intense stare, brows jutting down in a look of worry and anger, bright blue eyes shining with emotion under them.

"V?" she asked, keeping it low and soft. He nodded and started to push himself up off her up when another taloned hand reached down and grabbed V's fringe. Kelsto roughly pulling him back by the sensitive plates and pushed him to the side.

"What the hell is your problem buddy!" he yelled, quickly help Asher to her feet. V grunted as Kelsto's foot slammed into his chest.

Asher grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Kelsto, stop! It's fine. He just tripped." The smaller turian of the two glanced down at her, grimaced and stepped away from V. V pushed himself up off the floor with the help of a few people crowded around to see the commotion and rubbed the base of his fringe lightly. "You'd better go home. I think you've had too many drinks," she said to him. He nodded and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Asher glanced up at Kelsto. The turian followed V's retreating figure with narrowed and suspicious eyes. If what V said was true, he could be involved in a number of crime rings. Her inner cop yelled out for her to investigate. Perhaps it would be better for her to get close to him.

"Are you alright, Asher?" She looked up to meet Kelsto's concerned look. Now that she'd sobered up a bit from the surprise, she could see the mask he had up. Behind that fake worry, cold and calculating eyes roamed her face as he twitched his mandibles anxiously. And even a bit of lust. Pushing back any thoughts that might stop her and swallowing her fears, Asher gave him a small smile and nodded. If she managed to loosen his tongue up a bit, then she would have a nice bit of information to give as a present to the Captain. "This place is a bit too crowded," he murmured, "Let's go find some place a bit quieter." He took her hand in his and started for the doors.

She quickened her steps to meet his long strides as Kelsto headed for the taxi stand. Though she left her feet wobbly to keep up the appearance of being drunk still. She would take anything she could to have even the slightest advantage over him. With the main rush hour over for the night, a taxi immediately pulled up, opened its door with a hiss. He hurriedly ushered her into the taxi and quickly tapped a number into the panel.

"Thank you for using Citadel Rapid Transit, ERROR 44392000. We will be arriving at ERROR 9223 in approximately 15 minutes GTS." The pre-recorded voice filled the taxi as Asher looked at the panel in confusion.

"Where are we going?" she asked, leaning back and try to fake being sleepy.

"My place," Kelsto answered, leaning over and slipping an arm over her shoulders, sliding her snug against his side. "We can really celebrate there." His voice came out more as a deep growl then a whisper. Asher fought down a shiver. She may not feel much attraction to the one next to her, but turians and their voices. They could get a girl off on that alone!

Grimacing on the inside, she reached out and traced his tattoo and around his face, scraping her finger nails over and under his fringe. His chest rumbled with a purr and his eyes rolled back into his head. She had fibbed a little when she had said she didn't know anything about turians. They were a favorite of hers, in many ways. "That sounds pretty good, tough guy," she murmured. His arm around her shoulders slide down, gloved hands tracing her waist and settling on her hips. "So, I've told you what I do for a living. What do you do?"

"Trade, in a way. I mostly do guard work, following around volus' cargo or just looking scary with a big gun. Nothing illegal, Officer."

Asher snorted and folded her hands in her lap. "Yeah, right." She tilted her head back to give him a light frown, her lips pouting out slightly. "If you stay off my radar, I'll stay off yours." Kelsto grinned and nodded his head.

The light chime from her omni tool had her straightening up and quickly bringing the menu up. A message from Bailey. In a few angry words, he was waiting outside her apartment with her gear and had been for at least half an hour. She let out a laugh and then sighed. Kelsto was reading over her shoulder and let out a grumble. "I guess you need to head home then?"

"It would seem. Bailey isn't one to be overly patient." As she spoke, the taxi shuddered as it landed. So much for her getting any information out of him. The door opened and they both slide out. The vehicle quickly took off again and Asher turned to smack the button to call another. The low click of a pistol sounded behind her head and she froze. "I was wondering how long you'd wait to pull that thing out," she said quietly, wishing that she had a weapon herself. Asher quickly tried to gain her bearings. He had obviously brought them to a loading dock, evident from all the metal crates and moving equipment stacked and scattered all over. Which one, she didn't know.

"Yeah, well, a taxi's a bit small for that kind of thing. Put your hands in the air and step away from the stand, Asher," Kelsto barked the last bit out. She did so slowly, turning around as she side stepped away. The turian's mandibles flared and closed as his eyes flickered back and forth, trying to spot any danger. He looked nervous. "You aren't very smart. How in the hell did you get into C-Sec?" He laughed loudly. "It doesn't matter now." His hand reached out and roughly grabbed her chin, placing the pistol against her temple. "It's a shame really, having to kill you. You're not half bad looking for a human," he said lowly, tracing her cheek with the weapon slowly. She wrinkled her nose up as his breath washed over her face.

"Too bad you aren't my type, Kelsto. You're really missing out," she said, taunting him with a sultry voice and a knowing grin.

"Who says I have to? Who's here to stop me?"

"Me."

Kelsto turned his head to the side and grinned. "Well! Look what we have here! I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." Asher turned her own head slightly, eyes widening as V stepped into view, dressed in C-Sec armor and spouting a pistol of his own. What the hell was he doing here? "I knew I smelled a rat. Drop the weapon or I'll shoot your little pet," he said, digging the muzzle of his pistol into her temple again.

With his attention drawn away from her, she might be able to get a hit in. Taking a deep breath, Asher ducked and swung out her fist, managing to get a solid hit right in his throat. The turian's head whipped back, pulling the trigger multiple times and waving the pistol about. The rounds went flying all over, one nicking her shoulder and the rest punching holes into the metal carrier behind her.

"Get back!" V called out. She jumped back and looked over as V shot his pistol, hitting Kelsto's shoulder and sending him to the ground.

Asher grabbed the dropped weapon and pointed it in the fallen turian's face. Shoulders heaving with deep breaths as adrenaline pumped through her, she managed a grin. "It's a good thing I'm wearing a red dress. If any of my other dresses had gotten blood stained, I'd have to make a new one from your sorry ass hide." Kelsto hissed and spat at her.

V came up, kicking the downed alien in the head and knocking him out cold. All the tension she had been holding all came out as she sighed heavily. The adrenaline rush passed and the sting on her shoulder was finally noticeable. "Are you alright?" She lifted her head to meet the hard blue gaze of her mysterious helper. Now that the lighting was a bit better, she could make out dark grey plates, faded and scratch blue tattoos, and elegantly curved fringe. Defiantly built to fight, with the way he held his stance. He was a handsome specimen among his kind and probably among other species as well. She openly let her eyes roam up and down and then gave him a wink.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, flicking the safety on her newly acquired pistol and gave him a cocky grin.

"Good, then I won't feel bad for this." He reached out and smacked the side of her head with an open palm. "What the fuck were you thinking? After what I told you, you still went with him? Just because you suddenly got a new job in C-Sec doesn't mean you can go waltzing around with criminals thinking you can catch them. Damn rookies…" he trailed off into a string of turian curses. Shaking off the initial stun of being hit, Asher pulled herself up to her full height and poked a finger at his chest.

"And who in the hell do you think you are, telling me what I can and cannot do?" The nerve! She was tired of people telling her how to do everything. So much for her mysterious V sweeping her off her feet and into bed. He was turning out to be a mighty fine prick. Fueled with annoyance, she gave his shoulder a shove. "And don't you ever touch me like that again."

His eyes narrowed to slits, a loud growl rumbling from his chest. "I'll keep that in mind next time I save your squishy ass, rookie" he said, punctuating the word ass with a shove of his own. Curling her hand into a fist, she swung at him, but he easily caught it and yanked her against him. Even through his armor, she could feel the warmth radiating off him and the gentle vibration of his chest as he let out an amused chuckle. "You really aren't smart, are you, kid," he said, leaning his face in close to hers. Asher lifted her nose up into the air and turned her head to the side, but he grabbed her chin in his other hand and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Bailey wasn't kidding when he said you were a spitfire."

His stare was making her face warm up and her skin to tingle. "Take a holo, it'll last longer," she hissed and tried to jerk back. Much to her surprise, he let go of her chin, fisted his claws into her hair and crushed his hot leathery mouth onto hers. Her own mouth opened in surprise and his long tongue quickly slipped in, tangling with hers. His frustration, anger, and want poured through the kiss and she felt her own body reacting back. Her free arm slipped up behind his neck and she dragged her finger nails over the soft skin under his fringe, his mouth swallowing her soft whimper. A growl of pleasure rumbled from him in answer, sending a spark down her spine. Talons tangled in her hair, knocking out her clip and allowing it to tumble down around her waist. His sharp teeth nicked her lips and tongue and his own rough tongue soothed over the small wounds.

With a final gentle nip on her lower lip, he lifted his head a bit, leaving his mouth hovering over hers, and chuckled. "I've wanted to do that all night. Nothing like a good human hello," he said, his hand giving her hair a slight tug before releasing it. Asher finally jerked from his grasp and slapped him across the face. V leaned back on his heels with wide eyes and gingerly rubbed his hurt mandible. "I guess I deserved that. But I'm not sorry I did it."

She let out an impressive growl, turned on her heel and stormed over to the stand, slapping the button with heavy hand. A taxi quickly landed and she climbed in, but leaned out to yell, "Have fun cleaning up this mess!" The door sealed shut but she could barely make out the loud curses of a very frustrated turian.