Chapter 3

Black & Gold: Sam Sparro

Charles Carmichael. The Cybernetic Ninja. Stormblade. Darkstalker. The galaxy knows him by different names, but all say the same thing; get on the wrong side of this week's Badass, and he'll be the last thing you never see. He's been sighted across the galaxy, from central stations and planets like the Citadel all the way out to Omega and Tuchanka, usually after dispatching his foes with deadly efficiency and a sword some claim is made from lightning itself; eliminating whole platoons of fighters without needing to fire a single bullet. Other reports speak of an invisible assassin, capable of passing through entire buildings without a trace, leaving his targets unaware of their perilous situation until the lightning strikes.

Yet who is Carmichael, really? Who does he work for, what are his goals? Badass Weekly is able to reveal he's the CEO and sole field agent of a small private agency known as Splinter; priding himself upon the promise that one man your enemies can't see can do infinitely more than an army in clear sight. No group we contacted admitted using Splinter, yet Carmichael has a known record for eliminating criminal groups that police and government agencies can't handle, assassinating high level mercenary leaders, and in one legendary instance, destroying a two-hundred strong batarian mercenary group and their entire headquarters in less than half an hour, a contract rumoured to have originated from rival Eclipse mercenaries. Splinter and Carmichael have no clear mission statement; the extortionate fee required for their services seems incentive enough. Yet with a perfect record of success and the promise of quick, clean problem solving, Splinter seems an increasingly logical route for governments and mercenaries alike.

However, his work in the field isn't the only thing leading to Carmichael's Badass spot this week. Few people know him personally, yet rumours follow everywhere he goes. Despite having no sex drive, extranet searches reveal salarian 'fanpages' for him, and numerous sightings on Palaven have suggested a somewhat intimate relationship with a turian Primarch. Speculation on Omega states that he's broken Omega's first rule…in more ways than one. Indeed, one Citadel tabloid news network reported allegations that after a raucous party (which he funded) he bedded a krogan diplomat and hanar-

"A hanar?" I ask, snapping my head up from the datapad and glaring at Kasumi as she looks out the car's windshield, smiling innocently. "Why would you write that?"

"It makes you a talking point," she replies. "I thought that was the idea."

"It was great up until then," I say, rolling my eyes and putting the datapad away before I can scar myself any further. "Then it turns into some weird fanfiction thing. And why have I slept with so many guys?"

"Like I said, it's a talking point." Kasumi looks at me this time as she flashes a wider smile. "Maybe you should have written your own sex life instead of making me stay up late to handle it myself."

"I knew I should've read this before you published it," I sigh. Everyone at the party's either gonna be staring at me in awe for my sword based abilities, or staring in a disgust at my alleged perversions. Jesus, I really hope there aren't any hanar there. The futuristic party suit I'm wearing is already making me feel way too self-conscious. "Fingers crossed people don't ask to see my arm. Or any sword tricks."

"Relax," Kasumi says, going back to driving. "Your sword's in the Saren statue we sent over already, as well as all the other gear. Plus Hock's having this party to celebrate himself. He'll make sure he's the centre of attention, not you. The article was mostly just to get us invites. How's your arm doing, though?"

I lift up my left arm, flexing the hand and smiling. At least this can cheer me up. "Good as new. Which I guess it is." It's been an awkward week trying to get it to work, advancing from basic finger movements to being able to flex the synthetic muscles, all the way up to firing a gun, climbing, hand to hand combat and acrobatic manoeuvres. Calling the programme 'intensive' feels like an understatement, considering even Melanis never had me training that long or that hard before, but now I can move the new arm it seems worth it in hindsight. Sure as hell didn't at the time, mind.

Aside from that, things on the Normandy have been pretty normal. Asides from eventually managing to say hello to Jacob when he was in the gym at the same time as me, it's honestly been a quiet week. The arm programme didn't leave me much social time, and when I had breaks for meals or free time in the evening, I was too tired to really talk to anyone beyond casual chit-chat. Still, I'm going to be on the SR-2 for some time yet, so I can work my social magic now everything's back to normal. As normal as it can be, anyway. Mordin gave me my first injection a couple of days ago, which was…I dunno. Odd. Aside from the syringe being quite sore, I didn't feel any different for it, but I suppose that's kind of the idea.

We've been docked on the Citadel for a few days too, while Shepard runs around trying to smooth things out with the Alliance and the Council. From what I remember, she was supposed to only have one meeting with the Council to get her Spectre status reinstated, but these past few days everyone's been wanting a piece of her. Considering the Alliance and Council thought she was dead these past two years, I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but the only thing Shepard seems to getting from it is a headache. Comes back aboard the Normandy looking more and more haggard each time. I've not really been able to check up on her, but from the few things I have heard, the Alliance isn't particularly happy about Cerberus, and the Council are stalling on her Spectre status. With luck, the political system should spit out a decision for us in the next day or two.

On the bright side, Donovan Hock's party mansion is on the planet Bekenstein, located in a system neighbouring the Citadel, so it's easy enough for Joker to take Kasumi and I out near Hock's mansion and let us fly the rest of the way in the car. Kasumi had the bizarre and ingenious idea of hiding our combat gear within a statue of Saren she already sent ahead, so at least if things go south, we've got a contingency. It's too bad I can't tell Kasumi that Saren's still out there, though. I can imagine the bastard turian finding it very entertaining that I essentially helped fund a statue of him.

"Glad to hear it," Kasumi smiles. "It should be fairly simple when we get in. You can mingle with the guests while I weigh up security and work out the best way to get through. Then we pick up the greybox, and get out of there."

"Sounds easy enough," I nod. "And I guess a domestic vault must be a piece of cake compared to art galleries, right?"

"Exactly," the thief replies. "Though we should still be careful. Hock's not going to give up the greybox easily."

"You said it had Keiji's memories on it, right?" I ask, looking at her. "Why's that so important to him?"

"It's not just his memories," Kasumi replies, shaking her head. "Keiji…he'd uncovered something big before he died. He didn't tell me what it was, just that it could implicate some very important people. And to someone like Hock, information like that is worth money. A lot of money. So he'll be looking to protect it."

"Too bad he's got a master thief coming after him."

"Exactly." We sit in silence as she starts to descend through the cloudline, and Hock's mansion looms out of the windshield, making me roll my eyes at the extravagant glass structure, towering above the surrounding houses and lit up like a Christmas tree, presumably so no party guests mistake any of the surrounding hovels for Donovan Hock's pad. That would be a disaster. "There it is."

"Kind of assumed," I reply, making Kasumi smirk. "I really hate the ones who treat mercenary work like a white collar job. There must be so much evidence in there, if the police looked…"

"That's not likely to happen," she explains. "He wouldn't have settled down here unless the police are in his pocket."

"Oh good," I mutter. "Having the whole of Bekenstein PD on us if we mess up sounds like a blast."

"Don't mess up, then," Kasumi says, smiling to herself again as we enter the final descent towards Hock's mansion.

"Oh, right, already putting the onus for failure on me," I reply, rolling my eyes. "Cheers. You messing up isn't a possibility?"

"Nope," the thief says cheerily, bringing the cruiser down as I shake my head. "You have the hardest job."

"I do?"

"Not punching Hock whenever he opens his mouth," Kasumi says, and I notice there's the faintest hint of venom behind that. As much as she keeps it under the surface, she hates Hock. Considering he killed her best friend, and probably lover from what I can gather, can't say I particularly blame her. She touches down on a white tiled landing pad, leading to a veranda area and large steps leading into the glass fronted mansion. I can already see the Saren statue near the steps, presumably ready for transportation by the human guy scanning it with his omni-tool. Kasumi assured me the statue was scan-proof, but even so, I can feel a little lurch in my stomach as I see him doing that. Doesn't look like he's noticed anything untoward, though.

She pops open the car doors, both of us climbing out at the same time. I was planning on just walking straight inside, but I suddenly pause as I feel the wind hit my face, and fresh air in my lungs. Then it hits me; this is the first time I've breathed real air in about two years. First time I've felt a breeze that wasn't coming from a dirty ventilation fan. I shut my eyes and breathe in deeply, surprised at how invigorating it actually is.

Course, when I open them again, Kasumi's giving me a funny look as she holds out her arm. "You aren't going to walk your date in?"

"Oh, course, sorry," I say, quickly linking our arms and slowly making my way towards the house. "Just haven't felt the natural elements in a while. And the last time I posed as someone's boyfriend at a party, she almost broke my hand on the way in."

Kasumi's smile curls higher at that. "She sounds nice."

"Turian girls," I reply, making Kasumi give an understanding chuckle. "Funny thing is, we ended up in a relationship for real."

"You must be a glutton for punishment."

"Oh, you don't even know," I mutter, unable to help smiling to myself as I think about Melanis. Five days until she's due to call in, and I'm counting them down as they happen. I'm looking forward to everyone getting back in touch and being safe, of course, just…her more. A lot more.

"Excuse me, sir?" a guard asks as the two of us walk past the bottom of the stairs, making me look around and see the Saren statue staring right down at us. I get chills for two different reasons there; firstly, having Saren towering above me like this is creepy, and secondly, the guard stopping us is the one scanning it. Balls. It's supposed to be scanproof. "I just need to scan this before you can enter the building."

Alright, time to get into badass mercenary persona. I narrow my eyes at the guard, shaking my head. "We saw you on the way in. Scanning it. Several times. You know how an omni-tool works, right?"

I'm surprised to see the guard actually gulp as I turn my attention onto him. I guess that article Kasumi wrote really did have an effect, because I never thought my angry stare was that intimidating. "That's the thing, sir. Nothing's coming up on the scan."

I keep staring at the guard. "That's a problem?"

"Yes, he makes a good point," a new voice says, prompting me to turn and face a guy with the most god-awful chin beard I've ever seen, combined with a goatee and moustache, narrow features amplified by his short black haircut. His accent sounds…South African? I think? I've seen enough of Kasumi's pictures to recognise him as Donovan Hock, though. Guess we're making friends earlier than I'd anticipated. "Why is that a problem?"

"It's just unusual, sir," the guard says, sounding even more nervous now his boss has gotten involved. Hock, in the meantime, stares up at the statue of Saren, a small smile on his face as he shakes his head.

"Well, we are in the presence of an unusual man," Hock chuckles, looking back at me. "My apologies." My first instinct is to tell him it's absolutely fine and that he shouldn't worry about it, but the reminder about playing up the whole badass thing encourages me to stay quiet. "Though I should introduce myself. Donovan Hock."

"Charles Carmichael," I reply calmly. Neither of us reach to shake the other's hand. "Sounds like you've heard of me."

"With the amount of attention you've been receiving recently, that can hardly be a surprise," he says. "I'm shocked I only heard of you so recently."

"I preferred to keep things under the radar," I mutter. "Then you cut up one group of batarian mercs and suddenly you're a celebrity."

"I notice you don't have that sword with you."

"Didn't want to make your guests piss themselves."

Hock chuckles, shaking his head. "A shame. I think some of my guests were looking forward to a display."

"I've never been one for showing off," I reply, giving pointed looks at the party decorations scattered around, hiding a grin at the glare it earns me from Hock. "Should we head inside?"

"You may, Mr. Carmichael," he nods. "But I'm afraid I must ask your companion to remain outside." I glance quickly at Kasumi, then back to Hock, not sure what he's playing here. Does he recognise Kasumi? If he does, why's he still letting me in? "You understand, I hope."

I fold my arms, shaking my head. "Can't say I do. What's the issue?"

"I don't like the look of her," Hock says simply. "So she doesn't come inside."

"Well, I do like the look of her," I reply. "That's kind of why I brought her with me." Kasumi reaches out quickly and squeezes my arm, making me sigh and step off a bit. I've got to play up the role she made for me, but at the same time, there's no point compromising ourselves over it. She'll just have to be extra careful poking around. I sigh, giving this one to Hock. "But fine. It's your party. The guards aren't going to shoot me for bringing drinks out here later, will they?"

"I'll see what I can arrange," he smiles. "Enjoy the party." With that, he turns and heads back up the stairs, as I roll my eyes and look back to Kasumi.

"Arsehole."

"Me or him?" she asks innocently.

"Take a guess," I reply, even though I do laugh at her comment. "This isn't going to wreck everything, is it?"

"Shouldn't do," Kasumi says. "Your role was to be the talky one, and I can slip in under cloak. It's just annoying. No-one's supposed to know what I look like."

"To be honest, you're not doing yourself any favours with the outfit" I mutter, glancing back. "It does look kind of shifty."

"It's fashionable."

"Maybe he already got the greybox open?" I ask, Kasumi giving a dangerous frown at my comment on her clothes.

"If he knew who I was, he would have killed both of us right there," she replies, shaking her head. "He must be suspicious. Or paranoid. With all the things on that greybox, I can't say I blame him. He'll be expecting people to come after it."

"Makes you wonder why the he'd a throw a party," I point out.

"Oh, you know what mercenaries are like," Kasumi smiles. "A bit of ego-stoking is worth any risk."

"Good point," I admit. "Okay, I'm gonna head in before he starts thinking something's up. Contact me over comm. when you're in, and I'll reply when no-one's looking."

"Sounds good," she nods. "Good luck."

"Thanks." I start to head up the stairs, taking one last look back at Kasumi…except she's already disappeared. Least she's not wasting any time.

I finally push through the main doors and into Hock's mansion, unable to help feeling a tad impressed by the huge carpeted corridor leading into a circular central area. A large water fountain lies in the centre, which the rest of the room essentially seems to rotate around; and an enormous wall window allows the sun to shine through and dramatically silhouette it in front of me. "Show off," I mutter to myself, pressing forward as I try to work out exactly what I should be doing.

There's loads of guests mingling around in little groups of three or four, and I recognise a few faces from C-Sec files and intel gleaned on Omega. I can't see any representatives from the big three merc groups, but lots of little ones seem to be here; from a glance around the room, I can make out no less than fifteen leaders from small companies. Though I'm sure all of the other guests have illustrious criminal careers themselves.

Hock's hanging around in front of the fountain, so I make sure to avoid there, heading left and noting a room with cameras and two guards stood outside, handily labelled with 'security' above the door. Beyond that, a few guests are hanging out in a small library and art area…including a hanar. I quickly swipe a drink from a passing waiter and pray it doesn't sound me as I move to the back of the room, closer to the window.

"He's got an interesting vault," Kasumi's voice says into my ear, prompting me to turn my back on most of the party goers and lean on the railing, looking out over the vast, green and chrome expanse of Bekenstein. The people may not be the nicest, but you can't knock the planet itself for that. "Quite a few layers of security. Password lock with voice recognition, a DNA scanner, and a kinetic barrier thrown in for good measure. The Saren statue has yet to be put inside, you'll be pleased to hear."

"Well, push comes to shove, I can always grab my weapons and make him open the vault that way," I chuckle.

"I suspect the guards would have a thing or two to say about that," Kasumi replies, and I can hear the smile in her voice. "It shouldn't be too hard to get through. If you find the power box for the kinetic barrier, I can disable it from there. We can grab DNA samples from Hock's private quarters, and if you chat him up, I can record a voice sample and re-arrange it to say the password."

"You sure me chatting him up won't scare him?" I ask, smiling. "After that article you wrote for me?"

"Relax. I made it quite clear you only like alien guys in that." I sigh and slump on the railing a bit. "As for finding the password…maybe the security room will have it. I might be able to hack you in there. You brought your sidearm in?"

"Course," I say. "You think it might get bloody?"

"Security probably aren't going to let us walk in there," Kasumi points out. "I'll try and be non-lethal about it."

"Alright," I nod. "Just make sure you're ready to shoot if it comes to it."I might not want to kill the guards, but if it's one of them or us getting discovered, I'm shooting every time. "Which one should I go for first?"

"I can set your omni-tool to scan for electromagnetic fields so we can hunt down the power," Kasumi says. "I'll look at getting us into the security room while you do that."

"Alright. I'll let you know when I find something," I say, looking down at my omni-tool as it flashes, and I accept a download from Kasumi. A few moments later, it opens up a display of the room visible from its internal camera, except there's bright blue lines for where the power source must be coming from. Guess I'd better follow them-

"I heard Archangel and Archdemon fled Omega," I hear a regal sounding woman say as I start following the line towards Hock's library area. "Good riddance to them."

"Indeed," a human guy standing with her nods. "They were setting a dangerous precedent, for all of us. Open rebellion on the streets of my city because of them. Can you even imagine?"

"That sounds awful," a third member of the group, salarian this time, says sympathetically. "People don't appreciate what mercenary groups do for them. All the attention on Archangel had my local government consider pulling our security contract, you know." There's sharp intakes of breath from around the group, but the salarian shakes his head, smiling. "I called in a few favours. And this news of them running away certainly helped."

I look back down at the omni-tool, then to the group again. I shouldn't say anything. I really, really shouldn't. "I was just on Omega, actually," I interject, making them all turn to look at me. I can't help myself. "Where are you all getting your information from?"

"I'm in contact with many high up people in Omega," the male human says pompously. "They keep me informed."

"Right," I reply. "You know some mercenaries who don't want to embarrass themselves. Fair enough. Course, if you actually ask the normal people, or you know Aria well enough to get information off her, you'd probably be aware that the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack are all scrambling around wildly after Archangel assassinated their leaders. And then left to start mopping up the rest of the galaxy." I give the three of them pointed looks. "Just a heads up."

There's an awkward pause. "I think I need to make some calls," the salarian says, opening his omni-tool and hurrying away.

"Me too."

"Same."

The humans dash off to make their calls in private too, as I sigh and look back down for the trail.

It's gone.

"Good work on the power source," Kasumi says in my ear. "That should deal with the kinetic barrier."

"I didn't touch anything," I reply. "The trail on my omni-tool just went dead."

There's a pause on the end of the line. "Well, that's unexpected."

"It looked like it was going into the library area," I tell her, starting to follow the path as best I remember. "I'll see what I can find. You keep doing what you were doing."

"Good advice." She signs off the comm. as I walk into the library, trying not to look at the hanar, who thankfully ignores me himself. Guess Hock's the only one who actually went to the trouble of reading my article. There's a turian looking at one of the paintings as I walk to the bookshelves. I remember there being a holographic fireplace here, but now there's an electrical panel, sparking as I stare at it. Someone got to this first. What the hell…?

"What are you doing?" a voice snaps behind me, making me whirl around and see one of the Eclipse guards glaring at me, a human male with short blonde hair and an oddly square face. Shit.

"Inspecting the bookcase," I say innocently, as the guard steps closer, not looking placated.

"Sure as hell doesn't look like that," he says aggressively. "I think you should come with me, sir."

"I suppose we should just tell him the truth, Charles," a deep, rumbling voice says, as the turian who was staring at the painting comes and stands next to me, flexing his mandibles politely at the guard. What in the hell… "We were looking through Mr. Hock's book selection when I spilled my drink into what I assumed was a fireplace. It started sparking and slid back into the wall, then this thing did the same, and my lovely human friend here offered to try and repair it before it caused us any embarrassment." He squeezes my shoulder in his hand. "Regrettably, it appears that has failed us." A look of concern flickers across the turian's face. "It's nothing important, I hope? We can pay for the damages."

I can see the guard's mind working overtime as he looks between us. On the one hand, he must know that the electrical panel hooks up to something important. On the other, the turian's excuse is detailed and not half bad, plus arresting two guests who have a solid alibi would probably go against his directive of keeping the party running smoothly. Plus there's still a DNA lock and voice password. He knows if he arrests us and gets it wrong, Hock's going to have him out of a job, or worse. The risks outweigh his rewards.

"No, it just controls the fireplace," the guard says, his voice calming down as he looks between us. The turian even has an empty glass in his hand to back up our story. "I'll have a maintenance team sort it out later. Just…try to be a little careful, okay?"

"Of course," the turian replies courteously, as we both nod. "Sorry to trouble you."

"Enjoy the party," the guard says, and I can see him shaking his head to himself as he walks away. My attention, however, is drawn to the turian, who immediately pulls me back towards the painting and lowers his head to my ear.

"Now, Mr. Carmichael, I think you owe me an explanation of who you are," he rumbles in my ear. Each word is slow and carefully considered, and even for a turian the deep texture to his voice is fantastic. "And what you're doing trying to access our gracious host's vault."

"I could ask you the same question," I murmur back, as his mandibles flex in a small chuckle. Okay. Considering this guy saved me from that guard, he might be friendly. At the very least, not hostile. Plus, if he cracked that power box before we did, he knows what he's doing. "But you're right. I owe you one. I'm looking to recover an item from the vault that Hock stole from me."

"From you?" he says smoothly. "Or your hooded friend standing cloaked on the other side of the room?" I widen my eyes as he says that, making him chuckle again. "It takes a thief to know a thief. You pick out the little signs, the flickers in the air, the hints of a cloak that the normal eye would miss. Besides, it seems odd a C-Sec contraband detective would be out in a place like this, breaking into a vault. A little out of his jurisdiction. Then again, working with a master thief isn't typical either."

He knows who I am? "Alright, stop playing games," I reply. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Rolan Quarn," he smiles. "The law refers to me as a thief, smuggler, con man. I prefer to say that I redistribute wealth from those who don't deserve it, to those who do. Mr. Hock just did me the pleasure of gathering a lot of undeserving people together."

Oh my god. He's like a future Robin Hood, but turian. With a distractingly attractive voice. "No wonder you know a contraband detective when you see one. Never really dealt with con men, though."

"I make sure to keep track of who I'm dealing with," he says. "And I always preferred con artist. An artist leaves his mark smiling as he takes their money. Something I pride myself on." He pauses for a second. "Would you prefer Mr. Carmichael, or Mr. Shaw?"

"Just Ian," I reply, sighing. Apparently every thief worth their salt knows me. Wonderful. "Looks like we might have a mutual goal, Rolan. Assuming you're targeting the vault."

"I am," the turian nods. "And I would relish the opportunity to work with the great Ms. Goto. I'm an admirer of her work."

"Can't say I've ever heard of you," a disembodied voice announces from next to him, as Rolan pulls away from me and smiles towards where Kasumi is presumably standing. "I didn't realise we were inviting people along for the adventure, either."

"I assure you, if Hock has stolen something of yours, then I have no intention of taking it myself," the turian tells her. "Our shared goal is to access the vault. From there, we go our separate ways." Kasumi doesn't say anything to that. "I could sweeten the deal by telling you the vault password as well."

Kasumi must be thinking it over, obviously not too happy about sharing this heist with someone else. Rolan seems to know what he's doing, though, especially if he knows the vault password. That'll save us some time. "Alright," she finally says. "That password wouldn't hurt, I suppose."

"Perrugia," Rolan tells us. I have no idea how he got that, but something makes me think he wouldn't tell me even if I asked. "I have yet to obtain a voice sample from Hock that I can convert into saying it. My background story to get in here isn't nearly elaborate enough to catch his attention. Which is where someone with your reputation might be of use." He looks directly at me.

I glance over at Hock, standing at the fountain with his drink in hand, then back at Rolan and the invisible Kasumi. "I'd need at least thirty seconds of his voice to convert it," Kasumi tells me.

"I think I can handle that," I nod. I'm about to head towards the human, before I pause and look to Rolan. "Just so we're clear; the stuff in that article isn't true."

"And here I was thinking your eyes perked up when you saw a turian coming to your rescue," he replies, in that damn voice of his. Not only do professional thieves know who I am, they also know how to wind me up extremely well. Excellent.

Ignoring Rolan's little jibe, I step out of the library area and head out towards Hock. I should probably have a topic of conversation in mind for him, but given how egotistical the man is, I'm sure I won't have to push him too hard. If anything, he'll probably be eager to show off and prove he's the 'better' man compared to me, though I use the term loosely.

"Ah, Mr. Carmichael," he says, turning as I approach and giving an incredible fake smile that can only come after years of practice. "Enjoying the party?"

I could act polite about it and say yes, but that doesn't really lead into more conversation with him. And to be honest, even if I wasn't here to rob the place, I wouldn't be having a great time anyway. "It's alright," I shrug. "A bit tame. I'm a little more used to rowdier stuff."

"Yes, I've heard all about that," Hock says, and I don't need to follow his eyes to know that he quickly glances over at the hanar. "You do appear rather adventurous, Mr. Carmichael, in more ways than one."

I smirk and fold my arms, deciding to just go with it. "Well, you know what they say. Variety is the spice of life."

"Indeed," Hock nods, apparently not wanting to pursue that himself. That sure as hell wasn't thirty seconds. Thankfully, Hock's the one to throw me a bone this time. "I have to say, you rarely see someone who runs his own company and works out in the field."

"I prefer it that way," I explain, locking eyes with the South African. "There's an element of personal responsibility you don't get commanding things from behind a desk. Helps you remember what it is you're fighting for."

"Oh? And what is it you fight for?" Hock asks curiously.

I chuckle, flashing him a smile. "The highest bidder. I just tend to prefer my contracts on the right side of the law. Saves so much time when you're not dodging the authorities. What about you? What are you in this for?"

"The credits have their draw, I will admit," he nods, before spreading his arms out and turning around, as if to address the whole room. "But it's more than that, Mr. Carmichael. The galaxy is full of problems, problems people prefer to ignore. I imagine you've seen plenty of them yourself." I just stay quiet, allowing him continue. "People like you and I, we solve those problems. We take the people of this galaxy without anything, the wandering guns, the dishonoured soldiers, and we give them a purpose. People may call it criminal, they may call it unjust, but they haven't seen what you and I have seen." He turns back around now, making eye contact with me as he moves closer. "We do the terrible things that keep this galaxy spinning, we make the sacrifices that let the ordinary people live their lives." With that, he raises his glass in the air. "So this party is for us. The cleaners. The support structure for the galaxy's gleeful delusions of peace." He gives me one last smile, before addressing the room again. "May there always be a market for the things we do!"

The room erupts into pretentious applause, making me practically strain to not roll my eyes as Hock turns to me again. "Enjoy the party, Mr. Carmichael." I nod politely, but by the time I've walked back into the library area where Rolan's waiting, I'm about ready to explode.

"I hate that guy," I say. "I mean, most bad guys are pricks, but wow. Wow. He's taking it to a new level."

"I actually thought he came across as a good orator," Rolan notes. "No doubt a quality that's helped him amass this ill-gotten fortune."

"Just please tell me that was enough," I sigh, looking behind him to take an educated guess at where Kasumi's standing. "If you need more, Rolan's taking it this time."

"Don't worry, that was more than enough," Kasumi replies. "Mr. Quarn was just telling me a way we could get into Hock's private quarters." Is it just me, or does she sound really snarky when she says 'Mr. Quarn'? It's almost like she's jealous.

The turian nods, taking over now. "I talked my way into the security room earlier and had a look around. It allowed me to find the vault password, and also let me see the staff roster and access their communications."

"They let you do that?" I ask, with some confusion.

Rolan chuckles. "I can be charming when the situation calls for it. One doesn't pose as a company CEO for two years without picking up certain skills. I simply borrowed a guard's identification and posed as plain clothes security."

"None of the guards are turian," I point out.

"And none of the guards care enough to inspect an ID card when it's flashed at them," he replies. "Remarkable what you can do with a confident attitude. If you believe you belong somewhere, you'd be surprised how many others believe it too."

I shake my head, smiling as I do. I shouldn't be impressed by all this, but I can't help it. "So that means you can get us into his quarters?"

"Of course," the turian says, smiling back down at me. "Ms. Goto can pose as the formidable Chief Roe when the guard calls to check if we're allowed entrance. Assuming she grants us access, we should be able to get inside and obtain DNA samples at our leisure."

"We could have done that ourselves," Kasumi interjects. "I noticed a path into his quarters by climbing some scaffolding near the back of the room."

"An astute observation," Rolan nods. "But one that would have required fighting the guards posted there. I prefer a defter touch."

"So do I," Kasumi says, sounding offended. "I just-"

"Maybe we should get inside his quarters?" I suggest, even though I'm quite tempted to let them continue. "We can work out who the better master thief is later."

"Sounds like a good idea," the turian says, even as I feel the cloaked Kasumi punch my arm on the way past, which makes me grin. She is jealous.

It only takes a few seconds for Rolan and I to walk around the fountain and to the large white door leading into Hock's private quarters, attended by a single guard who holds out his hand to stop us. Thankfully, it's the not the same guy who caught us earlier. "Sorry. No-one's allowed into Hock's private area without authorisation."

"Good thing Chief Roe already sorted us out with it, then," I say, as Rolan gives a low purr next to me. I guess the two of us going into private quarters does give off a certain impression, so he's playing along with it.

"We'll see," the guard replies, narrowing his eyes between us as he opens his omni-tool and dials a number quickly, before talking to what I have to assume is Kasumi.

"That purring is really distracting," I mutter to him.

"I'm playing the role," he murmurs back. "It's not my fault you're distracted."

"So you're not aware of the effect a noise like that can have on some people?"

"You said the things in the article weren't true," Rolan chuckles. "So I assumed you weren't one of those people. And that suit you're wearing does make it come rather easily."

The guard drops his omni-tool, and nods to us. "Alright, that checks out. You're clear to go in."

"Thank you," the turian smiles, guiding me into the corridor with his arm, large glass window on our left, stairs leading down to our right. I wait until the door closes before I wriggle free and he laughs.

"That's not funny," I tell him, as we head forward and a tactical cloak flickers out of existence next to us, Kasumi finally coming into view. "Seriously."

Rolan manages to reduce himself to chuckles, flexing his mandibles. "Don't take it to heart. I'm just trying to help you prove a point to yourself."

I raise an eyebrow at him in confusion, but the turian just shakes his head as we continue downstairs, taking a left at the bottom of the stairs into an enormous circular room that must be Hock's bedroom. An enormous double bed sits in the centre of the room, while another curved wall window on the left hand side of the room is adorned with a table and four couches. Directly in front, I can make out a weapon's rack and holographic fireplace, and to the right, there's a desk covered with files, datapads and a terminal. "Alright, let's get looking," I say. "And it's not a competition, you two."

"I never said it was," Kasumi says innocently, as she heads over to the table and opens her omni-tool, scanning a drink glass. I pop open mine, glad I've still got DNActive installed as I let it scan the immediate area around me, seeing if anything pops up.

"So you two aren't being competitive with each other?" I ask, smiling between them.

"I'm a great admirer of Ms. Goto's," Rolan says respectfully. "I'm just surprised she didn't think of an easier way into these quarters than fighting guards."

"If you hadn't had us here, your plan wouldn't have worked anyway," Kasumi points out. "It relied on at least two people. And like I said before, I've never heard of you."

"In our line of work, I'll take that as a compliment," the turian replies. I just look down at my omni-tool and pick up samples, deciding to stay out of it. "Though I thought you might have heard about the theft of an entire auction of stolen paintings in October 2184, and their subsequent return to their galleries of origin."

"I missed that," Kasumi says, as I try really hard not to laugh at the playful rivalry they've got going on here. "I was busy myself around that time. I was at a show on Ilium, one of my biggest heists. Security everywhere, cameras, laser tripwires, an army of guards, everything. It only took about an hour for me to get in, take a priceless bust, replace it with a fake, and leave again. They never even knew it was gone. Which is more than I can say for your heist."

"Impressive," Rolan admits. "Though if you're curious to hear about jobs I've completed without anyone noticing, I've posed as, let's think…a stunt driver, sous-chef, martial arts instructor, ambassador, varren tamer, news anchor and a stand-up comedian. All without anyone noticing."

"Never would have guessed that last one," Kasumi says, shooting the turian a sarcastic smile as I scan one of Hock's weapon cases, getting a good sample. "I did an undercover bit of work once myself. Disguised myself as a buyer from some batarian slavers and rescued a child prodigy they had in captivity. She painted me a picture while we were flying back into Council space."

Rolan actually stops in his tracks as he says that, smiling widely. "I didn't think my respect for you could increase any further, Ms. Goto."

"Well, thank you," Kasumi says, and I can see her faintly blushing beneath the hood. Rolan seems content to leave the debate there, as does Kasumi, while I absent-mindedly scan a plant then realise what I'm doing, looking around to see if anyone noticed.

Then a muffled scream sounds out. Then another. Then a whole cacophony of them, accompanied by loud gunshots, the screams winding down into small whimpers. The three of us all look at each other, then burst out of the bedroom, running upstairs towards the door leading into the party hall. The guards that were posted outside the window have all disappeared, as Kasumi and I draw our weapons, and I'm pleased to see Rolan's got his own pistol as we stop at the door. "Let me do this," I mutter to them, still hearing the panicked shouts of guests and yells of others as I crouch at the door, opening my omni-tool and rolling a small, pocket-sized camera under.

Kasumi and Rolan huddle around the omni-tool display, as my eyes widen at what I see. Every guest is being gathered in the centre of the room, heavily outnumbered by shotgun wielding Eclipse mercs. The same guards Hock had posted around the party himself. I can see the party host himself, on his knees with his hands behind his back with a gun pointed at the back of his head. "What the hell…" I mutter, but the two of them shrug as I look back to the screen.

The only guest who isn't on his knees is talking to some of the Eclipse guards, a smug smile on his youthful face, sporting cropped brown hair and a small but visible amount of stubble as he surveys the room with satisfaction. "It seems we aren't the only thieves with designs on Mr. Hock's vault," Rolan murmurs.

"I'm getting that impression myself," I reply, trying to get a closer look at this new guy, before I realise who he's talking to. It's the guard that let us in here. Who's pointing to Hock's private quarters, while a team of three other guards gather around him. Shit. There must be at least twenty hostiles in there, and I've only got a pistol. No armour or anything else. It's all in the Saren statue.

Instead of simply cracking the vault, now we've got a mass hostage situation, we're heavily outnumbered, and unequipped. But unless we do something, this new thief is going to get away with the content of Hock's vault. Including the greybox.

Well.

This complicates things a little.

A/N: For anyone unaware, Rolan Quarn isn't an OC; he shows up in the Citadel DLC during the charity ball, and he's been featured in some Cerberus News Network articles back in 2010. And yes, he's a thief as well as a con artist, it's all in those articles.

Sorry about the long delay; again, with this being the build-up to the most important exams of my life, I'm a tad busy on the school side of things. At the very least, I'll try and keep monthly updates (which I know is horribly slow, I'm sorry), with the aim of going faster if I can.

See you next chapter!