Cerberus Kill-Team Six, En route to Omega
Cerberus Operative Lucas Draven paced the narrow confines of the dropship's cargo compartment, the top of his helmeted head occasionally brushing the alloy ceiling. As he paced he briefed the eight men and one woman under his command and felt their eyes tracking him as he moved.
"Our target is a former Cerberus operative, Miranda Lawson," he stopped pacing in the centre of the cargo bay, between the two rows of soldiers seated on benches bolted to the ship's superstructure. He activated his omni-tool and the interface's amber glow illuminated the otherwise darkened interior of the ship. Draven's right hand danced across the holographic display and the device projected an image of the target in mid-air. The image of Lawson, taken from Cerberus files, revealed shoulder-length dark brown hair framing a rounded face with cold blue eyes and a full mouth. Alongside the image ran columns of data detailing Miranda's biotic and combat training, ending in the words Considered extremely dangerous.
"Lawson is an extremely talented L5 biotic and possesses above-average physical strength, speed and reflexes." He paused, gaze travelling along both rows of soldiers, meeting the eyes of each. They each returned the looks steadily, betraying no emotion or fear. "She is cold, calculating and, when circumstances demand, extremely ruthless."
"Sounds like my ex-wife!" one of his men, Henderson cracked. Henderson accepted an enthusiastic palm slap from the trooper seated beside him. The sole woman on the team, Holli Michaels, rolled her eyes and drummed gloved fingers against the armoured thighs of her hardsuit. "Can we please get on with this?" she demanded.
"Why the rush, Michaels?" Henderson replied, "You missing a beauty treatment or something?"
Holli raised one hand slowly and deliberately, giving Henderson the finger. "That's enough!" Draven snapped. Once he'd regained his squad's attention, he continued the briefing. "The Illusive Man is promising a hefty bonus if we bring her in alive but I've served alongside Lawson before and trust me when I say, if we hesitate in taking her down when we'll have a real fight on our hands." Draven resumed pacing, extinguishing the holographic image. "Find her, get the drop on her, put two rounds in the back of her head. Clear?"
"Clear," his team answered in unison.
Miranda jogged at a moderately fast pace through one of Omega's myriad maintenance tunnels, feeling truly alive for the first time in months. Some hundred metres behind her, at a north-south intersection of tunnels, lay the bodies of two of the Cerberus operatives sent to kill her. She'd known the Illusive Man would send teams after her, in his position she'd have done the exact same thing and having worked closely with Cerberus' chief for so long, Miranda liked to think she could predict with some certainty how the Illusive Man would react to a given situation.
Most other people in Miranda's current position – cut off from former colleagues and their support network and hunted like a dog – would have long since lost the will to continue fighting and submit to the inevitable. Miranda was not most other people and she relished this opportunity to test her skills against some of the best operatives currently in the Illusive Man's employ. Miranda may have been isolated from the Cerberus network and her old resources but she hadn't gotten to where she was today by failing to cultivate her own private network of informants and dead-drop sites throughout both Citadel space and the Terminus.
These tunnels were but one such dead-drop and Miranda carried on her person an impressive arsenal of tools and weapons – submachine guns and pistols alongside a scoped and silenced rifle for long range encounters. Her omni-tool and a selection of grenades rounded out the supplies and her hardsuit was a match for anything currently in service. That it closely hugged her physique and enhanced her curves was a mere side-effect. One she was not above exploiting. The comm unit taken from the dead Cerberus commandos chirped at her hip and Miranda slid into a shadowy niche set into the tunnel wall.
"Team Two, status report!" a familiar male voice spoke over the comm.
Miranda smiled in the darkness and raised the comm to her lips. "Hello, Draven," she greeted her erstwhile colleague, eyes and ears attuned to the sounds of pursuit from the tunnels. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Lawson? What happened to my team?"
"You're a smart man, Lucas," Miranda replied. "I'm sure you can work it out."
Draven quickly muted his comm and hissed at Michaels, "It's Lawson! I'll try to keep the bitch talking as long as I can, see if you can triangulate her position."
Holli nodded and began working her omni-tool though she harboured doubts. Miranda wasn't stupid; she had to know the Cerberus operatives would try to track her position.
Draven re-opened the commline. "The Illusive Man is very unhappy with you, Miranda," he spoke in conversational tones. Just two people chatting about nothing.
"Oh, I can well imagine," Miranda's Australian twang sounded in his earpiece. "But these last few months have given me a...new perspective on the galaxy and my place in it."
Draven snorted, "Shepard turned you, you mean. Don't worry, The Man has plans for her too."
The Cerberus operative heard the smile in Miranda's voice. "Right now, Shepard is the least of his worries." Draven shot a glance at Holli. The other woman looked up as her omni-tool beeped and nodded. Draven smiled crookedly. "Been nice talking to you, Miranda. I'll be seeing you sooner than you think."
"Looking forward to it," Miranda answered before cutting the signal.
Stepping out the darkened niche in the wall, Miranda tossed the comm aside. Its work was done and there was one more element in the drama about to play out; Miranda believed it was past time to put it to use. Keying her comm, Miranda opened a channel to the woman known to Cerberus as 'Subject Zero.'
"Jack?"
The tattooed biotic sighed, "What is it, Cheerleader?"
"A Cerberus kill-team is heading to your location." She paused a moment, allowing herself a small smile. "They won't be expecting you."
"How many?" Jack demanded and Miranda heard the predatory grin on her face.
"Cerberus protocol recommends at least two five-man teams. But I've taken out two already."
Jack snorted,"What? I'm supposed to be impressed?"
"They'll be there in about five minutes." Despite herself, Miranda could not help adding, "Good luck."
"Fuck you, Cheerleader," Jack hissed before the line went dead.
"All right, boys." Draven shot a glance at Holli, "And girl. Here's where we're at: Michaels has triangulated Miranda's position to this warehouse," as he spoke, Draven brought up a schematic of the area on his omni-tool, highlighting a large, disused space a half-klick away.
"What are the odds it's a trap?" Krueger asked.
"High," Draven admitted. "But all of our intel suggests she's cut off from any form of support and besides, this is the best chance we have to nail her." With that, Draven turned and led his seven surviving men towards the warehouse.
From a position atop the roof of a structure across from the warehouse, Miranda observed the kill team as they assembled outside the closed doors. The sole woman on the team nodded at an unheard order from Draven and bent over the keypad, omni-tool glowing. "They're hacking the lock on the door, Jack," she warned the biotic lurking within.
"Yeah, yeah," Jack answered.
The warehouse door rattled upward on poorly maintained tracks and half of the eight-man team darted into the space beyond, the rest remaining outside. For several seconds, Miranda could hear nothing of note beyond booted footsteps. Then the interior of the warehouse glowed a brilliant blue-white as Jack's biotics cut loose. A powerful shockwave blasted through the doors, carrying with it the contorted forms of the four soldiers. Even as their bodies bounced and thudded off the floor, the rest of the squad began pulling back, blind-firing into the room.
Shotgun blasts from inside the warehouse forced the team back yet further. Holding her position on the roof of the building, Miranda unslung the rifle and scoped in on Draven.
"Goodbye," she whispered.
And pulled the trigger.
Author's Note: So lately, I've been thinking of how the Illusive Man would react if Miranda and Jacob sided with Shepard if Shepard defies the Illusive Man and destroys the Collector Base. And I'm thinking assassination squads and kill-teams. As you do.