Chapter 2
Taking Care of Business
"Ah, Shepard you're late,"
Jane looked so flabbergasted that Soze gave her a small smirk and said, "I bet you are confused that I know who you are and that you would be here correct?" Jane looked befuddled for only a half second more before switching to a to-die-for poker face. "I am guessing that you are Jonathon K. Soze?" she responded already knowing the answer. Soze stared at her with the brightest of blue eyes that she has ever seen and after a single moment of tenseness started laughing. "I like you Shepard, I can already tell that being your teammate will be rewarding."
Soze then went to his kitchen and brought out a small crystal glass, "Would either of you like a drink?" he asked. "I have Brandy, Batarian Ale, human Scotch and Serrice." Shepard interrupted him saying, "No, no we have to leave because you know, we are a bit busy stopping the reapers." Soze just smiled at her (or smirked, which is what Miranda saw it as) and said, "I still have some important nonsense to take care of first: type out a business form, pack my stuff, fake my death-" "Wait, what?" Shepard interjected again, "Why the hell do you need to fake your death?" Before Soze could even say anything Miranda gave a snort, "Obviously, he is an important business head who is always in the spotlight. He can't just disappear, there would be people searching the whole galaxy for him!"
Soze looked at her approvingly, "Yes, that is correct. It's necessary and if I don't survive this adventure it is already taken care of." "But what if you live?" Shepard asked curiously. "Well, then I go back to my desk and send a memo out saying that the ship I was on crashed, but I survived. Simple and efficient." Soze looked at his watch, yawned and told Shepard, "I'm very sorry but I have much to do. I will be at the Normandy at 1800" as he started to walk them to the door Shepard grabbed his arm and said, "One thing I need to know, how exactly did you know who I was and the whole situation?" Soze looked at her for a few seconds before giving her yet another smile and answered, "I believe we have a mutual friend by the name of Liara T'soni?"
"Wow, sounds like a fuckin' head trip." Jack so eloquently said after Shepard got back and told her what happened. Jane and Jacks' relationship was very unexpected. Somehow the psycho that Jack was became Jane's best friend. Maybe its because Jack is the most honest person I've ever met, Jane mused. No matter how it happened now the two women were constantly down in Jack's hidey hole drinking bottles stolen out of Kasumi's room. (even though chances are Kasumi knows they stole them.) Jane knew that Jack would always give her own opinion about her decisions and not just go with whatever Jane said. "Yeah, it was pretty weird to be back on Earth," Jane said. Jack knew Jane's history and truly felt for her. That was another reason why the two of them were such good friends, they understood the pain the other one went through. Jack tried to change the subject, "So how bout that Soze guy huh? Is he bangable?"
"Jesus Jack!" Jane responded laughing uncontrollably, "He's a teammate, and why don't you just see for yourself? He will be here in about twenty minutes." Jack sauntered off with a drunk smile that was so rare to see, "Maybe I will, What does he look like?" Jane thought for a second and remembered that Soze did look familiar. Those eyes for instance, those were not normal looking eyes, and that hair, even his mannerisms. Jane felt something was off but Jack was still waiting. "Oh, blue eyes, dark hair, ten thousand credit suit, and a cigarette that apparently never leaves his hand," Jane said. Jack sat back down, "That's disappointing, I was hoping he was like the rest of us," Jack began, "you know, dirty, poor and not having come from money." Jane looked at her thoughtfully while saying, "According to my file he grew up on the streets of Dublin, fighting for scraps for him and his 80 year old nanny." "Well either way I'm probably going to be edgy around him," Jack stated, "you know I don't get along with suits."
One Hour Earlier
Jonathon Soze stepped out of his apartment and lit yet another cigarette. Sinead always told him that he was going to get cancer and die. I miss that old lady, he thought, maybe ill go visit her back in Ireland and then we would go to the Cliffs of Dover one last time. Soze walked down the steps while absentmindedly rubbing the lenses of his sunglasses with a piece of cloth. That woman at the age of ninety-four was still strong-willed enough to not be in a nursing home, and still be doing labor on their farm. He was glad that Sinead was enjoying her life on the farm that he bought her, when it came to anything she came first.
Soze knew that she wasn't happy with him leaving Ireland, but he had to. Nothing in this world would have kept him there, Sure Ireland is pretty and all, but he had seen to many murders, muggings and other assorted violent crimes covered up by the paddies who were in the pocket of evil men. I could always have been a vigilante, he thought, I am smart enough to get away with it. Even though he knew that to clear up evil and corruption in the long haul, you had to have true power. Power to end anti-alien businesses, the power to actually help. That kind of power was what Soze wanted to have when he stepped off of that ship into New York.
Soze looked around and cursed himself, Stupid stupid I have to be at the Normandy in twenty minutes and I am on the other side of Little Italy. As Soze walked he saw a human owner of an Italian restaurant yell at a cowering young Quarian female. "Why do you steal my pizza huh? Why?" The young woman sounded like she was in tears when she answered, "You had thrown it in the dumpster, I didn't think you wanted it!"
The man swung his hand back as if to strike her, but his wrist was now in a vice of a grip by Soze. The man tried to swing around, but Soze kept him facing away from him and now the man could feel the sharp point of a blade at the small of his back.
"6 Inch serrated knife filled with Batarian poison, positioned at your back level with your kidneys. One stab that goes through more than 2 centimeters estimated time of death: 4 minutes. One stab that goes through less than 2 centimeters estimated time of death: 6 minutes. Do you want to risk it?" Soze said in the coldest voice imaginable.
"nuhnuhnuh noooo," the man mumbled shaking. "Good, I see you have a brain, now get out of here and pretend this never happened," Soze ordered. The man walked away and Soze could see that the man had urinated on himself. Soze turned to the Quarian girl and said gently, "Are you okay miss?" The Quarian got up nervously and said, "yes I'm fine, you didn't need to do that." Soze smiled at her and responded, "No? Well, then I did it because I wanted to. Does that sound fair? Whats your name miss?"
The Quarian said, "my name is Decia D'vara nar Uguia." Soze grabbed her hand and murmured, "It is very nice to meet you, my name is Jon Soze and if I may ask a favor?" "Anything!" Decia responded eagerly. "Well, I have an apartment on the other side of the city and I need someone to watch it while I am gone, it is fully equipped with Dextro-DNA food and any comforts you can possibly imagine. If you have any problems just send me an extranet message and ill help you."
Decia was completely speechless and it seemed that her brain was not functioning right, because if it was this man who had just saved her was also giving her an apartment in the biggest human city. "Is there any work to be done?" she asked. "No, no, no," he said smiling, "just some fish and a television that needs someone to watch it."
"So, basically you are giving me your apartment?" Decia asked refusing to even hope he was telling the truth. But Soze just laughed and told her with his cigarette in his pocket, "You saw right through me, here's the address and my extranet account, oh wait I forgot something." he dug into his pocket and dropped something into her hand and walked away. When Decia looked into her hand she smiled because he had just given her more money then she had ever seen in her life. And for once she felt hope.