A/N: I do not own Mass Effect or the Matrix

CHAPTER 2

Liara just arrived to the apartment of her friend Thomas Anderson only to find his place being swarmed by the Nos Astra police, investigating the foul play that went down before she arrived. She was accompanied by her friends Feron and Demita; they showed equal concern for the situation as well, because they were also friends of Thomas.

Now an asari Spectre calling herself Tela Vasir approach the trio. "Ms. T'Soni? Please step through, but your friends will have to stay behind. I'll explain situation to you."

Liara complies with the order while Feron and Demita quietly agree. The two asari walk through the apartment to the dismay of the police officers trying to gather all the forensic evidence they could gather using their Omni-tools. Liara could see the handprints left behind by Thomas and various items dropped on the floor.

"Hey!" One of the officers said. "This is a closed crime scene!"

"Yes, I know." Vasir rebutted. "Thank you officer, now your people are dismissed."

Realizing that they have no choice, the officers complied with the Spectre. Despite Illium being independent from Citadel space, Illium maintains its freedom by giving tribute to the Council once in a while through various gestures and one of those gestures is aiding a Council Spectre whenever a 'request' is given.

The leading officer is becoming upset and she makes a futile protest. "You can't do that!"

Vasir simply replied. "Already done."

The officers were not pleased with the outcome. The lead officer simply huffed in dissatisfaction and walked away from the crime scene with her fellow officers tailing behind her.

When the officers left, Vasir turned around and faced Liara. "Again, let me introduce myself. Tela Vasir of Special Tactics and Recon."

"Why would a Spectre be interested in what Mr. Anderson was doing?" Liara asked.

Vasir didn't answer right away; as a matter of fact she hesitated for a moment. Then she answered. "It would seem that your friend Mr. Anderson has come across some sensitive information involving a very powerful figure in the galaxy." She stepped closer to Liara. "And I know that you know that as well, you are partners with Anderson after all."

"This is not the Citadel if I might have to remind you." Liara became stern. "Gathering the kind of information as we do here on Illium is not illegal. So please explain to me what this is about?"

Vasir just narrows her eyes. "It has come to my attention that you and Anderson have acquired information about the Shadow Broker, a dangerous enemy to make if I may add. You, Anderson, and your two friends out there could be in danger."

Liara didn't shrug from her comment. Liara just simply replied. "I'm well aware of the danger the Shadow Broker is, but since you are here and my friend Thomas is gone what can you tell me? What happened?"

"About twenty-five minutes ago, someone took a shot at Anderson." Vasir pointed to the large window with three holes present while keeping her eyes on Liara. "Note the bullet holes. He stuck around for almost two minutes before leaving the building. Whatever he was doing was important. He was in a hurry, he left his duffel bag upstairs and it was only half-packed."

"If he is not here, where is he?" Liara asked.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be sifting through his crap." Vasir looks at the apartment and shakes her head. "Look at this. I have never seen so many monitor vids and I'm sure each contains enough information to blackmail half of the Traverse and I can't find a shred of information about his whereabouts."

"He was proficient in technical matters." Liara smiled while recollection his talents with both hardware and software, especially the time when Thomas gave Captain David Anderson his self-made device which allowed him to hack into Ambassador Udina's computer, after giving Udina a nice swift punch to the face. Then Captain Anderson released the Normandy from their lockdown and the device prevented him from being implicated from prosecution since the device erased himself from the security vids and fooled the docking manifest logs that the Normandy was still in dock.

"Well, I'm glad to see how much you admire him, but to my annoyance he disappeared like a ghost and I can't find anything on the man." Vasir seemed rather flustered at first, but her annoyance turned to admiration. "There's no blood, no body. It looks like Anderson got away. I wouldn't expect any less from a well-trained former intelligence agent like him. He saw the sniper coming and he got out of the way. It was like he knew the sniper was around before he saw it coming. Clever on his part."

"Did the police find anything after they arrived?" Liara asked.

"Just the mess and the bullet holes." Vasir smirked. "I gave them a gold star for finding the bullet holes."

"Thomas was expecting me." Liara said. "I would imagine he would leave something here for me to find if you say that he expected someone to shoot him. Our office wasn't safe."

"I'm not surprised." Vasir said. "Like you said before, this isn't the Citadel. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes. I haven't found anything useful for tracking him down yet. You knew Anderson better than I do. Where would he have hidden his backups?"

"Allow me to look around, perhaps I will find something." Liara said.

The two asari looked for roughly five minutes in hopes of finding something that could lead to the whereabouts of Thomas. Vasir was trying to gather as much information on his vid screens while Liara searched his bedroom. She noticed the duffel bag being halfway packed as described by Vasir, but what caught her eye was the picture on the nightstand. She gazed at picture and she let the image sink in. It was a picture of herself next to Shepard and it also had Ashley Williams next to Thomas. Kaiden, Tali, Wrex, and Garrus also posed for the photograph and she had a slight moment of both melancholy and happiness.

As Liara picked up the picture, something happened to the image. It was no longer the group photograph; it was a photograph of ancient ruins. She picked her head up and she tried to locate a certain object in Thomas's apartment.

"I have found something." Liara told Vasir. "Take a look."

The Spectre approached Liara and looked at the image on the photographic screen. "What did you find?"

"This photograph changed right when I touched it." Liara explained.

"It must be encoded to your I.D." Vasir said. "Maybe he was trying to tell you something."

"Yes." Liara told her.

"What picture is that?" Vasir asked.

"It is a Prothean dig site on Ilos." She explained to the agent. Then she tilted the image so Vasir to get a better look. "He knows that I am an expert on the Protheans and this must be his message."

"Do you understand the message?" Vasir questioned Liara, but not in a demanding manner. It was more of a concerned tone.

"Yes, over here." Liara walked over to a glass case. Inside the case was a piece of material which happens to be from Ilos. She examines the case and looks for anything out of the ordinary or possibly a hidden device such as a button or a handle. "It should be here."

Vasir could only look at her actions and the item that is inside the case. "What is this thing?"

"It is a Prothean artifact." Liara said. "It was a thank you gift from me to him for when he helped me a while ago."

"Prothean, huh?" Vasir looked at the artifact and nods approvingly. "It looks priceless."

Liara was about to say something in reference to the artifact, but then she found a switch near the base of the glass case. "I think I found it." A small drawer opened and inside contained a disk with a glowing red light.

"It looks like a backup disk. Let's try on his terminal." Vasir said.

Liara complied with the request and she placed the disk in Thomas's terminal. Bits and pieces of information projected itself in a holographic form on the numerous screens. Then the screens showed an image of a salarian. Thomas had recorded his phone calls and left it for Liara to find. The two asari listened to the conversation.

"What do you have now, Sekat?" It was Thomas's voice and only his voice. The only thing that could be seen was the salarian.

"It was tricky, but you paid for the best." Sekat said. "I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."

"How soon can you have it?" Thomas asked. "I left my colleagues to think that I have the information here. I damn well couldn't tell them it was going to be a series of clues back at the office. The office was bugged and now they're coming here soon, so I have to tell them when they arrive."

The salarian answerd. "Shouldn't take long. Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say, Anderson. You're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"

"Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a few hours and if it will make you feel better I even have a couple hired guns that will watch your back." Thomas said.

"I feel safer already." Sekat replied sarcastically.

Liara turned to see Vasir. "This must be the information he was talking about, the Shadow Broker's agents tried to kill him. Goddess I hope he is still all right."

Vasir pulls the disk out of the terminal and places it in her pocket. "I know where the Dracon Trade Center is, do you?"

"Yes and I have my car." Liara said. "I'll follow you there."

The ride on the skycar was quiet yet tense. Liara followed Vasir's car and she never took her eyes off the Spectre's vehicle. Feron and Demita also remained quiet while riding with her. Demita broke up the silent monotony by speaking up.

"You knew Thomas longer than I have." Demita said with a hint of concern in her voice. "He should be all right. Should he?"

"Thomas is very strong, but sometimes even the most skilled warrior can fall for a simple trick from time to time." Liara responded.

"That is insightful." Feron said. "Who said that?"

"Wrex. A krogan battlemaster who accompanied us during our mission to bring down Saren." She replied.

Demita sense the distress in Liara's tone. "You have nothing to worry about, Liara. Thomas knows how to take care of himself and I'm more than sure that avoiding those sniper rounds was more than proof to show that he's one step ahead of the situation."

"Thank you, Demita." Liara told her friend. "That does give me a sense of solace in this situation."

Feron could see the building as they quickly approach the structure. "There it is."

Vasir's voice echoed through the vehicle. "T'Soni? We're here. Park your vehicle in the front and don't worry about the parking ticket, I'll have it wavered."

"Understood." Liara obeyed the instructions and land her skycar behind Vasir's car.

After everyone exits their vehicles, a bright flash erupted on the third floor of the Dracon Trade Center. Then a powerful blast followed after the flash which was so powerful it knocked the people standing around outside the building on the ground. Then more explosions followed the bottom two floors.

The people who were inside the building were running out through the lobby entrance. The site was horrifying. Asari, humans, turians, salarians, and even a few krogan were either getting away from the danger or carrying an injured person around their shoulder.

"Spirits!" Demita gasped.

"Gods of the ocean, what just happened?" Feron showed equal concern.

Vasir ran up to Liara. "The Baria Frontiers was located on the third floor! Right where that explosion came from!"

"Thomas was up there!" Liara exclaimed.

"And they took out the three floors to make sure they got him!" Vasir told her. "I'll grab the skycar and seal the building from the top!"

"We'll start from the bottom and work upwards!" Feron said.

Vasir jumped in her car but not before saying. "Just leave some for me!"

Liara, Demita, and Feron pulled out their weapons and stormed the front of the building. As they were inside, the once plush and beautiful plaza that stood as a testament to capitalism and independence from Council space was now in ruins. Emergency sprinklers were showering areas of the lobby that wasn't destroyed. Pieces of concrete crumbling around them and computer terminals damaged beyond repair and the automated voice boxes now reduced to unintelligent mumbling. Scores of dead bodies littered all around them. This was obviously the makings of a terrorist attack, but they know this was just a major procedure to silence the one person that could be a potential threat. That threat was Thomas, but who would do such a thing? That question points at the obvious answer; however, Liara wasn't going to make accusations just yet until she finds her friend.

Liara tried to activate the elevator. "The power is out. The elevator will not work."

"No alarms, no police." Demita stated. "Whoever did this is a professional."

"The stairs is over here." Feron pointed over to the side.

The trio made a quick dash towards the stairs as Liara takes the lead. They enter the second floor only to discover that the damage is not as extensive as it was on the first floor. As they pushed through, they found more bodies.

When Liara examined the first body, she noticed it was a human male wearing a business suit. Then she realized this human was not killed by the explosion. "This man was killed, not by the explosion, but by gunshot. He's covered in bullets." She calls for Vasir. "Vasir, there is a possibility there are mercs present in this building. I just saw evidence of victims with bullet wounds."

"Bullet wounds?" Vasir questioned. "Guess this was more than just an explosion."

As Liara, Feron, and Demita pushed forward to the third floor only to find more evidence of carnage. They came across a crater which was the spot where one of the explosions took place.

Feron scanned the crater with his Omni-tool. "There was evidence here of a military grade bomb that went off."

"Military?" Demita said.

"There's only one organization I know of that would go this far to kill someone." Feron said.

"The Shadow Broker." Liara made the connection. "I'm disturbed, but not surprised that it would be the Broker's work. Killing hundreds of innocent people just to reach one target. What a despicable act."

"Baria Frontiers is just up ahead." Demita said as she checked the entrance log. "Thomas was here. He signed in a few minutes before the explosion."

"Come on." Liara ordered. "It's through this door."

After they opened the door, they were greeted with a sign that said Baria Frontiers and a voice recorder greeting anyone who entered through the security checkpoint. Unfortunately they were greeted with a bright flash. That flash belonged to a flash frag grenade.

The three were temporarily blinded, but when their sight returned they were greeted by a squad of heavily armed mercenaries wearing light gray armor with a distinctive red symbol plastered on their shoulder pads. It was the symbol of the Shadow Broker and the Broker had sent his private army to stop Thomas and Liara.

"Vasir!" Liara called on her radio. "I'm pinned down by mercs and they are well armed! The Broker sent his soldiers!"

"Dammit!" Vasir said. "Let's not forget well disciplined! The Broker just doesn't hire two-bit mercs!"

"She's right!" Demita said picking off a few of the Broker's soldiers. Judging by the sound of their grunts, they were batarian and turian. "These are professional soldiers!"

The three pushed through the maze of the wrecked office. Cubicles and desks that were once used for business affairs, were now nothing but twisted metal and smoldering debris scattered all over the entire floor. This is the epicenter of the explosion, but to the surprise of Liara, Feron, and Demita there were no bodies like on the lower two floors. It was most likely the staff was gone for the evening or the bodies were taken away to hide the evidence of foul play.

Liara took the lead and she used her biotics to enable a biotic throw against one of the lead soldiers, a human male. She takes the human's body and tosses him like a ragdoll against a few of his comrades. This allowed enough of an opportunity for Feron and Demita to shoot the fallen soldiers when they were down.

Liara's biotics have grown powerful since her adventures with Shepard a year ago; she would often think to herself If Shepard can see me now! The thought often ran through her mind, but it would also remind her as an acknowledgement to her growing confidence… or overconfidence to which Thomas was not afraid to point out from time to time as he would see it as a caution to the winds.

Liara's barriers were also quite strong, strong enough to provide cover for her two comrades as the Broker's men continued their onslaught. Feron and Demita gave her the support she needed by giving her cover fire.

From a distance, the three can see more soldiers coming out of the offices and exits, but this gave Demita an opportunity. She pulled out her sniper rifle and took careful aim of the men approaching. She squeezed the trigger and one by one the Broker's men went down and took delight for what she did.

"Impressive." Feron complimented his friend.

"Why thank you." Demita smiled.

"Goddess!" Liara said observing the damaged office floor. As they pushed forward, they discovered another massive crater showing evidence of where the main explosion occurred. The structure of the floor was torn from the building's beams and the floor exposed the bottom two floors. It was then they realized the explosion occurred here and from the series of burn marks it was a series of explosions going off at once.

"I know!" Feron added. "Such determination for the death of one man!"

"We're almost there!" Demita yelled over the roar of her assault rifle.

"Come on!" Liara ordered. "It's just behind this door!"

When Feron was trying to hack through the lock, they heard the blast of what sounded like a shotgun going off. Feron moved faster to open the door, but when he finally got the door opened they were looking at the backside of one of the Broker's agents standing before a salarian's dead body. The agent jerked his head back when he realized there were people that weren't in his group standing behind him.

With lightning quick speed the agent turned around and aimed his shotgun at Liara and her friends. Before he could squeeze the trigger, another shot rang out. The agent dropped to the floor and standing behind the fallen agent was Tela Vasir with her pistol drawn and smoking from the gun's chamber.

Vasir holstered the pistol back on her side and said. "Damn it. If I had been a few seconds faster, I've could've stopped them." She spoke regretfully, but her tone of voice suggested that her statement was slightly vague.

Before Vasir could say more, Liara examined the dead salarian's still-warm dead body. "This must be Sekat."

"Must have been." Vasir said.

"I can't find the data anywhere." Demita said while scanning the room with her Omni-tool.

"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?" Vasir asked.

Then to the surprise of everyone in the room, another voice echoed. "You mean this body?" Liara, Feron, and Demita turned to see that the voice belonged to Thomas. He managed to sneak up behind Vasir and he had his pistol pointed at Vasir's head.