Reyes snuck into one of the storage lockers the minute the celebration went into full swing. He was working off old information while he dug through the bottles stored in the crates. Alas, his information had been incorrect, but it did not stop him from stealing the poor imitation of Mount Milgrom that he found within. He hid the bottle in his knap sack listening to the noises around him. With one set of business completed there was one other thing left.

Finding Evfra was not as hard as he anticipated, secluding him alone however, had been. The leader of the Resistance stood in a hidden corner out of the eye sight of the initiative, and more importantly, Sloane. "You look like you are waiting for someone," Reyes spoke up from the darkness smoothly.

The old man scowled. "You must do these things on purpose." He shook his head. "Rumor had you on Elaaden."

"You really should visit sometime. "Reyes leaned back against the wall, the very image of calm and collected. "You don't write. You don't call. I'm wounded."

"Of course you are." Evfra shook his head. "What do you want?"

"I want to maintain our… friendship," Reyes began. "I will always be the Shena you need." He wished Sara was there, she would have laughed at that horrid joke while Evfra looked somewhere between completely unimpressed and pondering the quickest exit. It was part of what Reyes liked about him.

"I don't see why that would change. You are a wanted man Reyes," He grumbled, "but your information is always good."

"I wouldn't worry about the Outcasts forever," Reyes replied smoothly.

"I do not have time for such nonsense," Evfra spoke firmly. "Even with things the way they are now the Roekar are not to be antagonized and I need information for the next strike against the remaining Kett."

"Nor do I intend to bring you into it," Reyes grinned at the resistant leader. "I still have eyes and ears on the planets you do not."

It was a statement of truth. Reyes had worked hard before the Pathfinder and before Sloane led all the discontents. He had paid his dues, he had listened to the one who came before him, and more importantly… He had learned. It was a simple game he learned: touch, exploit, and gain. He had learned so much about his fellow explorers the first few months since they arrived in Heleaus. There are so many things they don't presume a pilot will hear.

"Fine." Always pragmatic Evfra replied, "Keep me informed."

Good. He thought to himself. He would have to undercut the pathfinder's support but, at the moment, it was a price he was willing to pay to keep his men afloat. "It will be an Angaran port again if I have my wishes."

Evfra looked at him. It wasn't like how Sara or anyone else did. It was a look he often had seen in a mirror.. Reyes knew Evfra was pitting him against Sloane and what it would gain for the Angarans in the long run. In this Reyes knew he had the upper hand. "We'll speak again." Before the old man could respond he turned and disappeared down the old corridor in the Hyperion.

The Charltan was always a few steps ahead. The two separate entities were becoming less and less with every passing day. Sloane had seen to that, and then he took the mantle himself. Perhaps in another life he would have chosen a different name between Shena and the Charlatan, but it wasn't his choice anymore. He would be what he needed, what THEY didn't know they needed. He would lay the path out that they would tumble into. There would be no more wild cards, no more Pathfinders that he would look at with hope in his eyes. That time was done.

Shadows gave way to the docks as he weaved through the crowds of revelers who were too drunk to notice the wanted man slipping past them.

Reyes smirked when he saw HIS ship sitting there in the hanger. It was close to the Outcast freighter that had carried Sloane and her men to the battle. It looked a little worse for wear, but it was her. She was the first ship he flew in Andromeda to find a home. She was the one he stole when they were exiled. She was called Macaria and she had carried him to Kadara.

The entire landing site was very loosely guarded even Sloane's men seemed to have let their guard down in the rapture of celebration. It was easy enough for one man to slip inside the ship, his treasure, and find the familiar pilot seat. They had done some modifications that made him snarl. Macaria had been his ship. They dishonored her in their ignorance. He quickly inputted his manual overrides and fired up the launch sequence.

As the ship roared to life and as it lifted into the air, lurching with an unfamiliar weight, Reyes watched as his adversaries on the ground realized what was happening. He laughed as they scrambled to get closer to the ship as it took off. Flying up into the blue sky of Meridian, he hit the thrusters and jumped into the stars.

He watched Heleus as he passed each star, each planet and he sent a message to Cynopolis and his men. The Charlatan returns to Cynopolis. He set is VI to work to manage his messages and sort them as they started pouring in. The updates of what his men had done during his absence. Reports of Sloane on Meridian, conversations overheard in passing that may be viable information.

By the time the ship touched Elaaden he had known he was being followed. The ship that tailed him was Nexus made, its prominent Andromeda Initiative logo was what had given it away. He weighed his options as he broke atmosphere onto the planet, and he lined them against each other. He wasn't like the Pathfinder, having a computer in his head to weight the options. He had to rely on human instinct. He had to gamble.

The port in Paradise was more than willing to receive him as he worked on the landing. He landed his ship between two cargo freighters. It wouldn't be the safest place on the planet but it would have to do for now. Reyes was a man on borrowed time. It would only be an hour until his tail hit the planet. They knew he was here and whoever gave chase had known where he had been. It was dangerous. It was thrilling. He felt alive while he paid extra to have one of their dock managers hide Macaria by New Tuchanka. He had paid his dues with Morda and she would keep his precious ship safe in exchange for information or a favor. Reyes Vidal thrilled at being a man leaders wished favors from.

He dressed like a man about to journey through the desert. He pulled up his omni tool and alerted his men that they would be having company. Whoever was following him made Reyes want to know why and to give him a warm welcome. One that led to them being beaten and broken and spilling all their secrets onto the floor.

The Charlatan would hold those secrets and spread them in the stars as betrayal.

Reyes Vidal wondered what his teacher would have thought of him now. Perhaps there would be pride. Perhaps the drill sergeant would have thought twice about the harshness. He could cause a war with a single word, or he could bring peace. The thought of such things thrilled him. There was a power in secrets. Perhaps in another life, Sloane would have had secrets he could have exploited for control, or ones that bent her to his will.

Reyes had read Sloane's history, anything he could get his hands on, and the only thing that was there to exploit was Kaetus. She knew she was a hot head, she knew who she was against authority and the only thing that bent her was her love for the Turian. Reyes swallowed. He had only known such love once. It was a long time ago during another unending war where he lost everything that made him human. Now he was a king of his own making. He wondered what his Abuela would think of him now. Perhaps a shadow of his father, or all the good he had from his mother?

It didn't matter anymore. Reyes was Reyes. Reyes was the Charlatan and in Elaaden he had become Law. He worked within the boundaries of the Initiative and Morda, but there was now no question. It wasn't in the credits he handed to the dock manager. It wasn't in the supplies his men gave to Morda… it was the time and respect he had channeled into each and every interaction. He could play the pieces. It was a new feeling he endured. The selfish part of him had wanted to not risk his life as a known entity. He wanted to be as the Shadow Broker was, but now? He had realized there was a difference.

The Shadow Broker lived in anonymity. Reyes had wanted to follow those footsteps. They were invisible in the sand and controlled so much power. The Shadow Broker could start wars if the mood came. There was a viciousness there in the dark where words were whispered and secrets were kept. It was a place paid in blood.

A message appeared from one of his operatives. Kaetus followed you from Meridian. We are counting at least fifteen heavily armored agents. Itching for a fight it seems.

Set the stage, Reyes fires back.

Affirmative, Charlatan. Noise on the network is saying that Sloane isn't aware he followed you. He has been ignoring her messages.

He slips into one of the buildings in Paradise with a hard trained ease. The exiles here had heard the news about the Archon and the celebration had crossed to the planets. He needs clothes he reasons, and ones that don't look like the outcasts. "Vidal." There is a trill behind him as he opens another crate looking for something.

Reyes turned to see a turian woman behind him. She flexed her mandible,s irritated at him. "Velonia! My friend." He smiled brightly and turned on the charm. "Did you hear? The Pathfinder stopped the Archon… we should celebrate."

Velonia looked at him less than impressed. She had always been one of his better buyers, and before Ryder, one of his favorite tumbles. "You should hear what they are saying about you, Vidal."

"I am a man where many words can be said." He turned back to his quarry finding clothing in his size. He found a flight suit that would due for him.

"You want to go out that way," Velonia turned her head to the door that was opposite the port "The Outcasts just landed. Some of the others are going to send them out to one of the ports as the location of Cynopolis. They are looking for the Charlatan."

"Tell them to go to the stronghold. I am curious, Velonia, why you are helping me." Reyes smirked, leaning casually against the wall.

"I've been in the smuggling business for a long time. I don't like assholes who take more than their share." She shrugged. "Not sure how I feel about someone using a sniper for the dirty work, but it could get the job done."

Reyes rolled his shoulders. "I feel like it is time for the Outcasts and Andromeda to understand who I truly am." He tightened the gloves on his hands and stole out through the back door, into the sun, and towards Cynopolis.

There was a stage to set.