"I've heard you've made a personal relationship with Kate." The Illusive Man said, blowing smoke out of his mouth.
"I don't kiss-and-tell." I said.
"505, I know everything that goes on under my control. I've got a job for you, and two teammates. Learn to trust them, because this mission, though short, might be important. Operative Victor has been captured by batarians. Get him out, or what data is on his corpse, and bring it back to me." The Illusive Man said.
"And after? I'm not going back to Purgatory." I said.
"If your stealth skills are true, I'll have a place for you in Cerberus, or, alternatively, you'll have the option to go back to being an assassin." The Illusive Man said. "You will have to get your hands dirty working for Cerberus."
"I've been ready, willing, and able to get my hands dirty for a long time." I said.
"Your personnel are Doctor Rachel and Operative Brad. Last names are unimportant. Rachel will monitor your psychological profile and send reports. Brad is a soldier, capable with every gun in your arsenal."
"Sounds good. I'm ready to go." I said.
"So...how are you feeling?" Rachel asked. She had brown eyes and dark hair, and was grating on my nerves. "Your file says you have PTSD, and a predisposition for a heart disease."
"I'm fine." I said. "I don't see the Skyllian Blitz when I blink, and my heart is pumping blood like normal. Do you spend time around people much?"
"Her bedside manners do need work." Brad said.
"It's not like she has much experience. You two are too young to have been with Cerberus for very long, which means that you two took this job to get ahead in Cerberus." I said.
"You don't know that." Brad said.
"Your holding your gun wrong." I said. His Lancer rifle was aimed at his leg.
"Ah...crap." Brad said. "Not like I'd feel it. I have Congenital Analogies. It's a-"
"Disease that makes you unable to feel pain. Congenital means you've had it since birth." I said. "How long until we get to Omega?"
"A couple hours." Rachel said.
"I'm going to sleep." I said. "It'd be best for you to get a few winks in before Omega. I don't plan on staying in that shithole for longer than a day."
Sent to: The Illusive Man
Sender: Doctor Rachel
Drake has surprised both Brad and I. He found out we were relatively new to Cerberus in moments of meeting us. When we arrived to Omega, he had a nightmare of the Skyllian Blitz, waking only after screaming for a minute. Once he had waken, he shook violently, stopping only after he had taken several oval-shaped pills. I have identified these pills as an asari-made nerve calmer, made to help asari commando units sleep under fire. It's side-effects are pupil dilation, hyperactivity, dizziness, and temporary amnesia. It is possible that Drake is taking these pills hoping to completely forget the Skyllian Blitz. Another possibility is that he relies on these pills to help him cope with the guilt of being an assassin.
When I gave Drake his 'Hand-Cannon' pistol, he put the pistol down the back of his pants. When I pointed this out, he remarked that it was an old habit. I tried to get him to tell more, but he was defensive. Was 505 raised in a slum? Was he in a gang? Is it possible, judging on his comment that Omega is a 'sh**hole', that he was born on Omega? Nevertheless, the mission is going to begin soon. Drake is going to go to try to hurry the mission by getting to Operative Victor quicker. We are going to the VIP area of the 'Afterlife' club in Omega.
I hit him on the side of the face, swept his legs out from under him, and jumped on top of him, beating him ferociously with a flurry of punches. I stood up and faced his two other friends.
"I don't like him that much." One said, backing away.
"He was an asshole." The other said, backing off. The batarian bodyguard looked at me, winked, and put a drink down.
"Thanks." I slurred, one of my teeth feeling like it'd fall out of my head if I talked more than one word. I drank the brandy in one swig, and took the napkin, reading the location written on the bottom of it-warehouse number seven. I was to be there in an hour. "C'mon, kiddies. We got somewhere to be!" I said to Brad and Rachel.
"What the hell kind of stealth is that?" Rachel asked.
"It's the kind that gets you somewhere. Vic's going to be here, and they'll want me to beat the info out of him." I said, and spat some blood out on the ground. "Can't believe he hit me with a wine bottle! What kind of man uses a wine bottle? It was a damn thick bottle, though. I'm going to clean myself up. Brad, find a sniper spot that'll let you shoot anyone trying to get into the warehouse. Rachel...what can you do?"
"I'm a biotic." Rachel said.
"Kill anyone trying to sneak up and attack Brad while he's sniping." I said, and left.
"This is the guy!" A batarian said. "So, how good are you at fighting?"
"Good enough to learn about the Cerberus operative in that warehouse." I said.
"What are you going to do?" The batarian asked, his friends drawing their weapons.
"I'm going to beat the hell out of him and find out what he knows for no charge." I said.
The batarian laughed. "I like this guy! He's in there, tied up." I walked into the warehouse, and quickly shut the door in front of the batarians. I fried the circuits so it wouldn't open, and ran over to Victor.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"My front pocket." Victor wheezed. I grabbed the OSD, and began to untie him until the batarians shot through the door and killed Victor. I pulled out the pistol and headshot everyone of them but the bartender, who slid behind cover. The bartender stood up and aimed a gun at me, and I saw a flash of the Blitz.
"What the hell!?" The bartender asked when I jerked and hit him in the shoulder. I shot him in the leg, then in the head.
"Get me the hell out of here!" I yelled in to my radio, then passed out.
"What the hell happened?" I asked. I was just let out of the hospital, and was just about to go into the Sunset, a Cerberus cruiser ship.
"The combination of the element zero and bacteria in the warehouse with the pills in your system put too much of a strain on your heart. No permanent damage, but no more of those pills for you." Rachel said. "The Illusive Man said that if you wanted to work for Cerberus you'd have to wait. He only wants you in top condition."
"Damn, this mission was soooo fun I wanted to do another one just like it right after." I said sarcastically. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Drake. You never told me what '505' meant." Rachel said.
"I never will." I said, walking off into the Sunset.
2