Dr. Bryson's Apartment, the Citadel, Friday

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan was in a good mood. No, scratch that, he was in a great mood. Had stayed that way for most of the morning, too, even if Shepard had to take off and go talk to someone who might have intel on the Reapers. Dr... something.

Dr. Something had remained Dr. Something until about an hour later, when Shepard called in to let him know that Dr.

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[allie_vamp]

Allie hopped out the shuttle and quickly glanced around for signs of Shepard. "Well?" she asked when she didn't see him in the immediate area.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack walked behind Allie, slower and with the weight of a new case on his shoulders. But he could only be so dire with Kaidan looking so happy.

"Hi there," he said mildly, glancing around the apartment. "Where should we start?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Shepard's interviewing the murderer in the next room," Kaidan said, nodding in that direction. "You want to sit in on that? He seems... out of it."

[allie_vamp]

"Drugged? Or something else?" While Allie was more then happy to let Jack take the lead, it didn't mean she wasn't going to ask the occasional question.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack looked lightly around the apartment as he waited for the answer to Allie's question. It had been a good one.

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan inhaled sharply, leaving his happy buzz aside for the moment. "That's what we're trying to find out. There was a scuffle, but... well, you'll see," he said. "Come on."

He walked into the next room, which held two turian C-Sec guards, a man on a chair, and Shepard. The man was unconscious. Or at least, he had been. Now he stirred, eyes opening, first groggy, then wide.

"What. I--" The man jerked entirely upright. "What's happening?!"

From a corner, behind a stack of research materials, a tall, shapely robot commented, "His name is Derek Hadley."

[allie_vamp]

Allie found an unobtrusive spot along the wall where she could observe and maybe loom a bit.

[bitten_notshy]

"Hi Derek," Jack said, gentle as he could make it. "Don't worry, you're safe. We're just trying to find out what happened."

[not_a_whiner]

The man's eyes drifted around the room, panicked, passing over Shepard before settling on Jack. "I, I don't know," he said, "I... I was gathering data when... he came in--" He looked back up at Shepard. "-- and then... it was dark... cold... like I was someplace else."

[bitten_notshy]

"Did he do anything that you noticed?" Jack wondered. "Slip something into your drink, maybe?"

His sensitive nostrils twitched, hunting out anything unusual.

[not_a_whiner]

Derek shook his head. "No, nothing like that, I mean, Shepard was there, and then it was like... something threw a switch."

He sucked in a quivering breath. "And then the next thing I know, there was a loud noise--"

[likealostlimb]

"That was a gunshot," Shepard interjected. "You shot Dr. Bryson."

Derek's eyes went wide. "What...? No!" He shot a panicked look across the room, and spotted the prone body lying on the floor. He hurled himself out of his chair at the body's side. "I'd never do something like that! I swear! You have to believe me!"

[allie_vamp]

When Derek had started moving, Allie took a step forward, ready to intervene if it seemed like he was a threat. Once it was apparent he wasn't going to do anything, she stepped back. "Then explain how he wound up dead."

[bitten_notshy]

"I want to believe you," Jack added, arms folded. "But it's a little bit tricky to do when someone is dead on the floor."

[not_a_whiner]

"But I wasn't-- I couldn't--" Derek's hands went scrabbling at Dr. Bryson's body. "The gun was in my hand..."

"This does resemble reports of indoctrination," the robot in the corner said. Kaidan looked up and met her eyes.

"What EDI means," he said, for Jack and Allie's sake, "Is that the Reapers have a way of... mind-controlling people when they're in close proximity. It's not usually quite like this, but... it does sound a little like it."

"Indoctrination?" Derek said, as he rose to his feet. "Me?"

[allie_vamp]

"So if that is what happened, why? Why would they want the doctor dead?" Allie asked.