forgivetheinsubordination | IC Contact

Don't completely rule things out. You know how groups must occasionally work.

[And if Niko's mission is to protect a Red? He would have to do what he would have to do.] Always be ready for the worst. In the meantime you got good friends so enjoy the best. You need it. You been through shit.

That's why I said not likely. Didn't say impossible. If it happens...

[Shit. He doesn't know. Would he kill someone to save his own skin for a few minutes? ...Probably. Very probably. Certainly it would depend on who was sent, but Garrus already gave his life easily once. It's not going to happen again.]

I'll deal with it then. Until then... Yeah. I've got good friends.

[And a lot of them are hurting. He'll do what he can for them.]

Thanks, Niko. And thanks for being there for Tali. She means a lot to me.

I think I embarrassed her a little bit. She has never seen me be serious before. [But he did what had made him feel better back when he was wounded as a child, what made his mother feel better after his father had laid into her.] And I don't think she wanted me to see her like that.

She said she would tell Shepard, though.

[He knew they were both Shepard's, but little more than that. Same crew, anyway. He didn't know how close they were. But the more to look after her the better.] It would be better if you looked in on her.

No one wants to be seen like that.

[Writhing, unable to control yourself, bleeding... No. No one wants anyone to remember this image of them.]

And don't worry. I'll be checking on her. Or she'll beat me to it, one of the two. Either way, we've got each other covered.

I guess not. Even if I've seen much worse.

[He frowns to himself.] Should I leave you to rest? You've been through some shit today. Or if you want a good story, I could tell you what happened to the last asshole I work for.

It might be good to hear.

[He's tired, but at the same time, he could go for a story. It sounds promising, too, the way Niko phrases here.]

You mind if...

[This isn't easy. He takes a breath before continuing.]

Mind if I lay down while you tell the story?

Go ahead. Consider it a bedtime story.

[He settles in, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together.] I was never really the type to "settle down" with one boss. It was just too bad a business to commit all the way to, even if I got pulled in and couldn't pull myself out.

So when I went to Liberty City and got pulled in, there was this chain of asshole bosses I worked for. Eventually a stronger guy would get pissed at another, higher up in the chain of command, and have me kill the guy I used to work for.

There was this one, though, who dicked me over. I never could corner him but he was making my life a living hell.

There was this collection of old families operating out of Liberty City. "The Commission." I eventually ended up working for one of the guys in the Commission in secret, he had ties to the American government, Gravelli. At the same time, I am working for this asshole who wants into the Commission, Pegorino. I think it is called "delusions of grandeur". He thought he was important, but he paid. All the while the guy I know on the Commission is just laughing because he thinks the whole thing is funny. And Pegorino, he keeps doing things like hiring me to kill guys that work for him, even killing a guy that he is supposed to love like a son.

Well, I finally got what I came to Liberty City for, and I was technically out. But Pegorino, he comes and tells me that he has one last job. But the piece of shit is working with the guy who has been harassing me for months.

I got two choices. Take the money and make my cousin happy because he will never want for anything again. Or, get rid of the guy that is harassing me because I know he will keep it up, and just not do the job at all.

[Garrus gingerly climbs into bed, resting his head on the pillow with far more relief than he ever shows. He's weak and sore. All he can be thankful for is that Niko doesn't seem like he'll be judging Garrus for giving in to some of it.

Once he's settled, he can really focus on what Niko is saying. The description fits the crime world, everyone always trying to displace each other, to be a bigger predator in a limited pond but not so big that anyone pays too much attention and takes them down.]

What did you do?

[He'll lean toward killing the guy until he has an answer. Sure, it's not financially practical, but there will always be more jobs. Then again, if the story was to apply to here, the other would more likely be the answer.]

A thing like that was not so easy a choice. I thought about it. On one hand, I could settle my cousin and make sure the last of his debts were covered. On the other, I could stop a man I was certain would not leave us alone, quit the life.

So I killed the guy that was harassing me.

I asked the woman that I loved to go to my cousin's wedding. To me, it wasn't just a celebration of their union, but that I could freely be with her. To be out. Then Pegorino shows up to gun me down. Needless to say, I am not the one the bullets hit. Kate was dead before I was able to lower her to the ground. My arm had been around her, you see. [It's an explanation for his previous rageful statements, at least.]

[There's a forced dispassion as he gets to that part. It had been the last thing to break him before the CDC showed up. And it's still there as he describes her.]

She was a good woman, Garrus. She had a smile that lit a room, everything about her was soft, and she was even still a virgin because she had such self-respect that she would not be with a man unless she knew he wanted to live a good life. I killed Pegorino after that. I got to tell him that he was nothing, and those that he wanted to impress laughed down on him. That part meant something. Killing him did not. She never came back.

Sometime people get killed when your principles are there. But at the same time, those principles could be the best thing about you to that person.

So be careful, ah? Think hard about things.

[It's not so much a discouragement, but advice for how Garrus should consider doing things. Niko resents this life, but for all that he likes people to understand, here he has finally reached the full conclusion that full doses of the truth of the universe makes him want to ask to become a giant space entity as a freebie and personally go to every CDC ship in existence and shit on the hull of it.]

[But people don't always get the outs they want. He hopes Garrus does. He stands up to exit then.]

Edited (editted for the adventure of hunting down a link to a previous thread) 2015-05-09 23:32 (UTC)

[So that was the story behind Kate. The story behind how Niko approaches his time here and their bosses. Go against orders, lose people you care about. But it sounds like Niko's not completely broken by what Pegorino did, at least, and that's something. That's a definite something.]

Thank you, Niko.

[He'd heard the change in Niko's voice, knew the story had to be hard to tell. The human had lost someone precious to him. Even more than that, he'd lost hope in a better future with her, lost his chance at a better life.]

Do your principles still matter to you?

[His voice is tired, but the question seems important after the talks they've had. Has Niko's life taken that away from him, or made him cling to them harder? Garrus hopes it's the latter.]

[He actually takes a moment to think on that, adjusting his fingerless gloves as he does. It's not a hard decision, it's just explaining it.]

If I did not, then I would have nothing left of the world I wanted to protect. Like I said. Principles are still important in that.

[Garrus nods once. That makes sense. And it's also weirdly encouraging. They can be eroded, but here's Niko after similar dealings and he's not gone.]

Really appreciate it, Niko. The talk, and the story.

[There's a beat as he starts to relax and his mind starts to wander, and then Garrus has one more thing to say.]

Later, I'd like to know how close you and Tali are.

[Because the fact that she chose Niko to go to... well. Maybe there's nothing there, but maybe there's something.]

I was drunk when I showed her my stomach. I didn't do anything more than that. I promise.

[And with that he lifts his hands defensively, and backs out of the rover.]

IC Contact - Consignment

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spoilers for one of the choices that leads to a GTA IV ending

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