Chapter Four
Vakarian was good. Nihlus almost never worked with anyone, preferring the simple one-man army strategy many Spectres were known for. Of course, having no back up had almost killed him several times, like when an asari justicar saw him kill what she thought was an innocent. She couldn't have known that the asari he shot was the ringleader of a slaving guild, and the two-week long chase they'd gone on after almost killed him. If only he'd had a sniper like Vakarian, the ringleader would have died long before the justicar had arrived. Speaking of Vakarian . . .
"Garrus! Cover on me!" Shepard was shouting. For a small human, she had powerful lungs. Her roar was nearly as loud as the krogan's, and it was practically comical to watch the armed thugs grapple with the choice to shoot the huge, monstrous krogan or the small, terrifying human. Nihlus kept watching Shepard out of his peripherals, but he had his own problem. The club had a krogan of their own, and contrary to popular belief, this one cared more about living than fighting. So instead of charging in to fight the friendly krogan and Shepard, the former bouncer was sprinting headlong towards Nihlus. Dropping his rifle, Nihlus flipped out his shotgun and ran to meet the krogan's charge. The krogan's eyes flickered with surprise before he lowered his head, ready to crush Nihlus and keep on going. Most krogan that Nihlus had fought did that. Nihlus dove for the krogan's feet and kicked as hard as he could. He could feel his greaves cracking against the natural armour plates, but his plan worked. The krogan's forward momentum sent him crashing to the ground in a heap, grunting and growling the whole way. The angry alien lurched and rolled onto his back, glaring up at Nihlus.
"Uh-" Was all the krogan could manage before a heavy slug punched through his armour plates. Nihlus took a moment to put another round into the krogan's head before he spun on his heel and rejoin the fight. His melee with the krogan had put him almost completely behind the enemy line, a long line of open backs pointed towards him. Nihlus let himself grin as he unloaded his modified shotgun into the enemy. The collected turians and humans fell without warning as Nihlus tore through their lines. It took only moments for the slaughter to end.
"Huh. And here I thought krogan were the most vicious bastards in the galaxy." Nihlus' new big red friend grunted. Vakarian made a face behind the krogan's back but quickly moved to cover Nihlus. The turian Spectre observed the carnage his team and the red krogan had created. Broken humans and turians scattered around the once lively club, a dead krogan bouncer slumped in front of the entrance. Scattered weapon particles littered the floor, and multicoloured blood streaked the walls.
"Poor janitors," Shepard muttered quietly. Nihlus couldn't help but agree.
"Time for that later." He raised his weapon again. "Let's move." The squad shuffled forwards to the inner sanctum of Chora's Den, stopping as more voices were heard inside.
"Come on, go check!" came one voice.
"No, you go!"
"Did you hear all that gunfire? I'm not sticking a ten-foot pole out there, much less my head!" Nihlus heard a chuckle come from Vakarian behind him before he reached forwards and pounded on the closed door.
"This is Spectre Agent Kryik! You have five seconds to drop your weapons and surrender peacefully!" Nihlus shouted.
"Aw fuck man, there's a Spectre out there?"
"We give! I don't wanna die!"
"Good answers." the krogan grunted as he keyed the door open. The sight behind it was mildly disappointing, to put it lightly.
"Really?" Nihlus couldn't help but ask. Two humans, barely adults, stood there with a crowbar and a flare gun laying in front of them, surrounded by cargo containers. "You heard gunfire, screaming, and a krogan, and you were going to fight with a flare gun and a metal stick?"
"Hey man, I was panicking." the human on the left mumbled. The one on the left just turned bright red.
"So, what're you gonna do with them?" the krogan growled deeply. Nihlus could have sworn he saw dark spots appear on the humans' pants.
"Let them go." Shepard order from beside Nihlus.
"You sure? They're not even smart enough to use cover." The krogan gestured to the cargo containers.
"I think having some survivors around will let people know what happens when the underworld tangles with Spectres," Shepard spoke again. Nihlus nodded approvingly at his new protege.
"You heard 'em. Scram!" the krogan roared at the humans. Both men screamed in terror and took off from the club.
"Hehehehehe. Did you see their faces?" the krogan chortled heavily. "Now, let's get Fist!" Both the krogan and Vakarian cocked their guns and moved towards the main office. While the krogan took cover next to the entrance, Vakarian slowly crept inside. Moments later, Nihlus' fellow turian came flying back out. Vakarian tucked into a roll and quickly took cover behind the krogan.
"I'll kill all you bastards! Come on!" someone roared from inside. Must be Fist. Nihlus thought to himself. His suspicion was confirmed when the krogan roared back.
"Fist! You slimy son of a varren, the Shadow Broker sends his regards!"
"Wrex? Well, if I knew the big red bitch was coming to the party, I'd have cleaned up more!" The krogan was about to shout back at Fist's barb, but Nihlus cut him off with a hand on the shoulder.
"I'd love to see you two bicker, but I really don't have the time," Nihlus said. With that, he reached into his armour and took out one of the experimental Spectre weapons. He distinctly remembered the experiments officer saying 'never been tested on a sapient being' several, loud, times. I guess it's time to find out. Nihlus grinned in his mind. The prototype stun grenade was light in his hand, almost too light. Handcrafted for a turian's stronger, more dexterous three-fingered grip, the grenade was supposed to send an electrical shock into every electrical device and biological creature in its immediate surroundings. The experiments officer had clearly stated that it might also vaporize the nervous system and brain, but no tests had shown that.
"Fist!" Nihlus roared into the office. "You have pissed off the wrong turian!"
"Ha! You think you're the first to try to get me? I've been fighting you alien bastards for- OH SHIT!" Nihlus chuckled lightly as he hurled the stun grenade into Fist's office, the little piece of metal bouncing off the far wall and landing out of view. The crime lord shrieked in fear before a burst of blue energy filled the room. Nihlus counted out five seconds in his head, and when no sound came from the office he slowly stepped inside. Two defence turrets guarded the room, both resting in their slots with small sparks shooting off of them. Shepard stepped into the room after him, scanning for any threats. The young woman quickly marched to the large desk facing them, glancing quickly at the spasming man sprawled over it. Nihlus approached Fist's shaking form as Shepard began going through his files. A quick look towards the entrance showed Vakarian taking up a position covering their backs and the krogan, Wrex, following Nihlus.
"Well Fist, this is a good look for you." Wrex shook with laughter as he stared down at the crime lord. Fist wore heavy black armour and had a powerful looking rifle strapped to his back. All in all, he would cut a very intimidating figure if he weren't currently drooling over his polished synthetic desk.
"Mmm, hrmm, grrrrm!" was all Fist could manage through his paralyzed lips.
"Interesting" Nihlus muttered. "Complete physical paralysis, but vocal cords, eyes and speech still function."
"You got yourself a fancy toy here, turian." Wrex chuckled as he picked up the stun grenade. The krogan tossed it to Nihlus, who reached up and caught it. He examined the small silver ball closely, noting the growing power charge.
"Fancy, and reusable apparently." Nihlus agreed. Then the two turned back to Fist.
"So what, do we wait for him to start walking again?" Wrex scratched his plates. The krogan's shotgun was a little too close to Fist's head for Nihlus' comfort.
"Not quite." the Spectre shook his head. Nihlus showed Wrex a small injector from his belt, the same material as the stun grenade's shell. "The grenade turns off motor function, the serum turns it back on for interrogation."
"Excellent." the big alien's eyes lit up at the explanation. "I need to find some of that for myself." Nihlus ignored the krogan and examined Fist's neck. He found a suitably large blood vein and placed the injector. One quick button press later and Fist's spasms were much less jerky. Before the crime lord could regain all function, Nihlus heaved him up and slammed the big human against the hard wall.
"Now, Fist." Nihlus rubbed his mandibles gently, staring into the human's eyes. "I want to know about a certain quarian."
"I won't tell you anything!" Fist snapped. Nihlus couldn't help but grin. The man could barely keep the tremor out of his voice. He couldn't even hold his gaze.
"Are you sure about that?" Nihlus laughed darkly. He reached down slowly to make sure Fist noticed as he drew Saren's combat knife. A Council team had analyzed all of the former Spectre's belongings, and Nihlus' request for the knife that had almost killed him was granted when they couldn't find any good planetary markers on the knife. Now, Nihlus would use it to stop whatever evil had killed his friend.
"Aw shit." the human whimpered as the serrated turian blade neared his throat. "Alright, alright! I give!" Fist raised his hands weakly.
"Explain. Now." Nihlus' voice echoed through the now quiet room.
"I started working for a Spectre, Saren Arterius. You should know him." Fist started rambling. "I did odd jobs, found him gear. Then the quarian came in a few days ago and wanted to make a deal."
"And?" Nihlus started to move the knife back to Fist's throat.
"She said she wanted to sell information!" Fist was almost screaming. "She thought I still worked for the Shadow Broker, and she was selling information on Saren!"
"That's why I'm here," Wrex mentioned helpfully. "Shadow Broker wanted me to teach Fist a lesson."
"Where is she now?" Nihlus nearly roared at the cowering human.
"Close!" Fist was crying now. "The alleyway outside the club! She thinks she's meeting with the Shadow Broker himself!"
"Really? Well, that's just plain stupid." Wrex grunted. Nihlus couldn't help but agree. He'd been a Spectre for ten years, and in all that time he'd bought from the Broker three times. Three times too many, in his opinion. But he had learned many things, namely that no one ever sees the Shadow Broker in person.
"I know, I know." Fist squeaked as the massive krogan stepped closer. Shepard had finished with the computers and was standing on the other side of Fist.
"Who's she meeting with instead?" Shepard asked quietly. Her deep brown eyes scanned Fist's face as the crime lord sweated.
"I don't know exactly, but I know who they work for!" Fist's voice turned hopeful. He must think he has information to keep himself alive. "If you let me go, I'll tell you who."
"Alright, deal," Nihlus said without a second thought. He ignored the sounds of protest from Vakarian and Shepard and stepped back from Fist. The human massaged his throat and swallowed heavily.
"They work for an asari Matriarch." Fist said with a grin. He looked so pleased with himself.
"That's it?" Nihlus asked. Fist nodded enthusiastically. Nihlus sighed and glanced at Shepard.
"You found everything you needed?" He asked. Shepard nodded quickly and turned back to the crime lord. Nihlus gave the smug human one withering look before nodding to Wrex. The big krogan laughed heartily and emptied his shotgun into Fist. The crime lord crumpled into a heap, the ghost of that smug look plastered on his face.
"Why did you do that?" Shepard snapped at Wrex, her hand going to her pistol. Nihlus quickly stepped between them and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder.
"You don't know who Fist was. I did. It was for the best." He said soothingly. Shepard glared up at him before relaxing. Nihlus gave her a small smile. "Besides, I only said I'd let him go. Never said anything about Wrex."
"My thanks, Spectre," Wrex grunted from behind him. Nihlus gave the big krogan a curt nod.
"Shouldn't we be going now?" Vakarian asked quietly.
"Yes." Nihlus raised his rifle. "Let's go save a quarian."