Chapter Seven
Orbit of the Citadel
October 28th, 2176, 2019h
The first thing Longoria noticed about the SSV Calgary Goddess was that it was in desperate need of a new paint job. This twenty-eight year old cruiser had seen its share of warfare, but it was definitely within her limited budget. She also didn't have to borrow that much from Cerberus either, which made her exceptionally happy. This mission would not at all be easy-it could last for months for all she knew. The steady EFTs funneling into her bank account would be the only things reminding her that she was doing her job correctly for now.
Operative Charon said that he trusted her to handle this on her own without him, and she should only contact him in case of an emergency or when she had success. Going undercover and trying to infiltrate C-Sec was not going to be easy at all. But that was not all she was required to do. Longoria also had to recruit a real C-Sec officer for Cerberus. Thankfully, Cerberus already had a target in mind, and his name was Damon Harkin.
Harkin had an alcohol problem as well as a bit of a gambling problem, so there would be no issue finding him. He'd either be in a casino or at a bar if he were off duty. The easiest part would come first as she needed to hand in her file and get accepted to C-Sec.
The paperwork for Longoria was crafted by Cerberus' analysts, and it was perfect. It had said that she did some training with the Alliance but decided to leave and pursue detective work because it interested her more. The dossier also had one or two personnel flaws in it because no personnel file should be without one. If it had no flaws, then it could easily be called a fake. Her downfalls were hardly untrue, though. The dossier called her impatient and ambitious.
Longoria docked her ship in one of the bays and noticed a few Alliance ships around her-the SSV Jakarta and the SSV Hyderabad. Great. Hope I don't bump into anyone I know.
The ride on the elevator had softly playing music as a feed from the galactic news suddenly came on. "Pirates and slavers have attacked Elysium, the human capital in the Skyllian Verge during what Alliance leaders are calling the Skyllian Blitz. Plans for acts of possible retaliation are in discussion due to the horrible loss of human life. So far, the Batarian diplomats have not released any official comments to the galactic news network, but they say that they will discuss this matter heavily with the human embassy."
Longoria sighed. "Discuss the matter…humph." She couldn't leave the elevator fast enough as another news feed started to pour in. Various turian C-Sec officers turned their heads to glance upon the elevator as she walked out but soon lost interest as they noticed that it was only a human. "Excuse me, where's the recruiting office?" she asked one.
"Down the hall to your right. Shouldn't waste your time," the turian smirked.
"I already did by talking to you, apparently," she snapped and made her way towards the office. "Is this the C-Sec recruiting office?" Longoria asked the turian officer inside.
"Come in," he gestured with his claw-like hand. "Did you complete the application?"
"Yes, and I believe my dossier was uploaded to your server already under the name of Serena Longoria by my former Alliance superiors."
"Hmm…one moment, please." The officer did some typing and instantly got the results he wanted. "Here it is. Says here that you'd rather serve in C-Sec to become a detective."
"Yep. I made it about halfway through the Academy when something about all the training didn't feel right. I'm good at reading people, and I didn't want to just be a cardboard cut out soldier."
"I'll forward this information for approval to my supervisor. It'll take about one to two business days before we can let you know anything concrete. Otherwise, I believe you'll have no trouble getting in. The tests won't be necessary, as you already passed the Alliance's. We just have a few formalities to get out of the way. Have you an extranet email account?"
"It's on the application, I think."
"Oh, yes, indeed. Pardon my mistake," the turian apologized.
Longoria's eyebrows climbed upward. "You're apologizing to me?"
"I don't hate humans. As you can see, we are hiring some. But Executor Pallin likes to be cautious. I say, why turn down good help, no matter what race it comes from?" the officer shrugged. "Next, please." He gestured to the next recruit, to which Longoria took her cue to depart.
Flux, the Citadel
November 10th, 2176, 2209h
The lounge's bouncer gave Longoria a smile as she walked inside. "Nice to see another fellow human being in here," he told her.
She paid him no mind and went straight for the bar, where her mark, Damon Harkin sat on a barstool. "What's your pleasure, Earth-clan?" the volus inquired politely.
"Gimme a boilermaker. Your strongest whiskey," Longoria huffed and sat down a couple of stools from Harkin. The C-Sec officer gave her a cursory glance and went back to his own drink. Seconds later, the bartender fulfilled her request.
"Would you like to keep a tab or pay now?"
"Leave a tab open for me. I'm gonna need several of these tonight." She grunted heavily. "Damn turian superior kept grilling my ass. Said I wasn't 'following procedure' because I missed filling out a page on my report."
"What kind of work do you do, miss?" the volus bartender asked innocently.
"I'm an officer in C-Sec…customs. Wanted to be a detective, but there weren't any immediate openings." With that remark, Harkin's head went in her direction.
"They think they're so much better than us humans. That's what really gets in under my skin," Harkin commented.
"Yeah, tell me about it. We've been doing police work just as long as those jerks. Though a few decisions the Americans made back in the 21st century were jokes," Longoria shook her head.
"What district are you in?"
"Tayseri Ward, for now. What a bunch of slums. Only thing worse they could have me doing is scrubbing the fucking toilets at HQ. You?"
"I hear ya," Harkin nodded. "They've got me in Zakera Ward. It isn't much better." He slid over from his barstool closer to hers. "How long have you been with us? I haven't seen you in HQ."
"A little over a week. I'm still glad I left the Alliance, though. Life's better here on the Citadel."
"You from Earth or one of the colonies?" Harkin chugged his drink down and put his glass down on the counter afterward.
Longoria's mind nearly forgot that her application did not say Earth. What did it say? Think, damnit!
"Does it really matter?" she inquired and lifted an eyebrow.
"Just thought you might be from Earth since you were talking about the Americans. I miss Chicago-grew up there," Harkin shrugged.
"Noveria," she finally remembered. "Down in the Aleutsk valley."
"How'd you know about American customs?"
"Reputation. Too bad they got so sloppy-almost drove the country into bankruptcy." She waived at the volus bartender. "Another round for the both of us."
"Thanks," Harkin smirked. "So you grew up with the cold, too."
"I liked it-made me appreciate travel all the more. This place is unbelievably perfect," she said and looked over her shoulder at the cityscape.
"Yeah, it could use some human touches, though."
"Like what?"
"Well, the drinks for one." Harkin pointed to his as the bartender refilled both of their glasses. Longoria lifted her whiskey and let it drop to the bottom of the beer. "They need to get better breweries. This guy makes a helluva vodka martini, but their beer needs some refinement."
Longoria nodded with understanding completely as she drained her drink. The beer here didn't come close to anything on Earth. The stuff on Mars was close, though. "It's not bad to wet your whistle with, though," she shrugged. "I'm no expert. How about their whiskey?"
"Ahn…it's passable. Their gin is great for degreasing engines, especially if a turian tries to make some," Harkin laughed and did the same. "Next round's on me. What's your name?"
"Longoria. Serena Longoria."
"I'm Damon Harkin." He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did and gave him a smile with full teeth.
"The pleasure's all mine," she said, laying on the full-fledged charm.
"You ever hit the slots much?"
"I like to be in control of my own money, but I don't have a problem with people who do. Their call with what they do with their own money."
He nodded in agreement. "Wanna have dinner sometime? Like tomorrow?"
On the inside, Serena's stomach churned itself inside and out. This guy was a complete louse-he was probably as dirty as they come in C-sec, but whatever. This was the job, and the quicker she gained his trust, the faster she could get out of the Citadel and back to getting back at her father.
"My shift finishes at six. Where do you want to go?"
"There's a cafe on Zakera Ward with some exceptional chow. How about we start there?"
"I'll meet you there." She arose from her bar stool, and Harkin's hand covered hers.
"Leaving so soon?" he wondered. "Thought we were just getting started." He was tipsy already. Longoria studied him for a moment before giving her answer.
"Maybe one more drink," she said with a wink.
"Hit us again!' Harkin exclaimed happily and slammed the counter.
600 Block, Shin Akeba Ward, Citadel
December 6th, 2176, 2:18h
Longoria woke up from a nightmare in a cold sweat. She glanced over at the naked form of Harkin sleeping beside her. Thankfully, he was either too drunk or too high to notice that she'd awoken. She left the bed and pulled a Japanese robe onto herself. The silk felt good, certainly better than the drunken sex she'd just had with Harkin.
Well…he was drunk, anyhow. Apparently, he had more issues than she thought. Issues that Cerberus could definitely use to their advantage. For one thing, he was not only an alcoholic, but he also would skim off red sand off the top of drug busts that they made. He was only a social user but would also sell it while they were out. She turned a blind eye to it, only because saying anything would definitely hurt their situation.
Harkin was not quick to trust at all..in fact, she was now wondering if he was using her like she was using him. But why would he do so? She didn't have any useful information. And he certainly wasn't smart enough to detect that she wasn't who she pretended to be.
The nightmare was about Kaidan. She was still dreaming about him, wanting him. Every time she had to screw this feckless drunk she imagined that he was Alenko, loving every single moment of it. With a sigh, she gazed out the window of his apartment and looked at the traffic. It was quite minimal now, compared to the hustle and bustle of the morning or early evening.
Longoria kept playing out her last moments with Kaidan, imagining him to say something completely different-to love and accept her. To provide her comfort no matter what she did or who she was. It wasn't her fault that that stupid cadet pulled a gun on her! Then the last image that came through her head was the blood upon her Alliance t-shirt. She had wiped her hands off on it, but she couldn't make the blood go away. It kept coming back like a seeping wound that wouldn't close. This wasn't the first night she had dreams like this, either.
Harkin grumbled something unintelligible in his sleep and felt the place beside him. Finding no one, he sat up. "What's the matter?" he asked sleepily.
"Nothing, just thinking," Longoria replied evasively.
"About what?"
Her mind searched quickly for a lie. "Rain."
"Rain?"
"Yeah. It doesn't rain here. Don't you miss it?"
"Never really thought about it," he cleared his throat and gave her a hungry gaze. "God, you're sexy. Men in the Alliance must've tried to jump you a hundred times a week."
His comment made her flesh crawl, but she shook it off and chuckled lightly. "Make that 1,000. I'm as hot as they come." She started to charge up her biotics.
"Hell, yeah. Get over here."
"I don't think so," she replied in a husky whisper and outstretched her arm. He floated towards her helplessly and as she put him down, he aggressively threw open her kimono.
"Talk dirty to me, Longoria," Harkin growled and bent down.
As much as it annoyed her, she pretended to feel pleasure. "Oh, yes, Harkin, just like that."
Longoria's apartment, Shin Akeba Ward, Citadel
January 12th, 2177, 0045h
After another round of debauchery, Longoria left Harkin to sleep. She had sneaked in a couple of mickeys just to make sure that he wouldn't rouse as easily as he had the last couple of times. This time, as she flicked his ear and tried to slap his cheek once or twice, he was completely unresponsive.
Things weren't going well as well as she'd hoped. Out on her balcony, she activated her omni-tool to call Operative Charon. She wasn't sure exactly what time it was on the space station but didn't care. She was getting restless and wanted some reprieve if possible.
"Ah, Agent Longoria," Charon's baritone voice greeted her cheerily. "I was just thinking about you and wondering how far you'd come in your progress. What have you to report?"
"I hope that this isn't late, sir. Apologies if it is."
"Not at all-it's just the end of the work day here. Why, what time is it where you are?" Although this was a secure channel, he was always cautious as to who could possibly be listening.
"After midnight."
"Ah, I see. What can I do for you?"
"The mark is coming to…I mean…I'm not sure how much he trusts me. It's not easy to tell since he's so casual about sex."
"Has he told you anything about himself that we don't already know?"
"Not really, other than he grew up on Earth and is a red sand dealer from time to time. That I learned from keeping my mouth shut, by the way. He takes a cut from the stuff for himself when we bust up some big dealer in the wards."
"That's useful, good. Does he use it?" Charon inquired.
"From time to time. He's not a serious junkie, and he keeps his deals extremely low key."
"Has he done them in front of you?"
"Not directly, no. But it's an easy thing to spot in a nightclub when you're not drinking like everyone else," she shrugged.
"Any high profile clients that you've noticed?"
"No. Sorry. Look, I know that this is really important, but…what do you want me to do now? I've done what you've asked."
"Do you feel that he'd do anything for you?"
"I'm not sure. He's not smart but he's no complete moron."
"Perhaps it's better that you stay with him until you know that that answer is positive," Charon replied.
"Can't I just…invite him now to join us?" She was growing impatient and started to pace. "I've played my part, and I don't wanna be here anymore with this sleaze ball. You've got enough on him for extortion, right?"
"We don't extort people into Cerberus, it's a choice," Charon disagreed and shook his head no.
"No, but you certainly can talk them into it," she argued, remembering the recruiting Agent Rawlings that she had spoken two nearly two years ago.
"Unless I'm hearing things, I believe that that is the job we both agreed that you would do. If you feel that this is the appropriate time to recruit Mr. Harkin, then do it. If it isn't, then continue on as planned."
"But I don't have anything planned!" she nearly shouted. "I'm tired of screwing a filthy scum sucking maggot like this asshole!"
Charon looked at her with a sullen expression on his face. "We appreciate what you're doing out there, Agent Longoria. It sounds like you've made some headway."
"For how long?" she muttered.
"Don't call me again unless it's an emergency or unless you've convinced him to join us." He terminated their call. Longoria threw up her hands in the air in frustration.
"Son of a bitch!" she yelled from the top of her lungs to no one.
C-Sec Headquarters, the Citadel
January 26th, 2177, 1757h
Longoria couldn't take it anymore. Harkin had been giving her lascivious glances all day throughout their departmental meetings. She packed some of her things from the apartment during her lunch hour and took them aboard her ship. Now it was time to bust loose.
Every time she had been with him, she had imagined that it was Kaidan. Now it was becoming dull and mundane. All Harkin ever did was take-he never gave anything to her. He wasn't opening up about his beliefs, hopes, or dreams, no matter how much she tried to pry. All he seemed interested in was how he was going to make a quick thousand credits next. There was no point, she decided. Besides, Cerberus didn't need him all that much. She could've carried out the work if need be; however, Longoria didn't want to stay on the Citadel.
As she rode the elevator up to the docking bay, Harkin was there waiting for her, leaning up against a wall to the airlock. "Nice ship," he remarked. "Going out for a breather, so to speak? Visit Noveria for the weekend?"
Serena licked her lips nervously; she hadn't expected that he'd followed her there. "Want to come with me?" she asked warily.
"I'm working a double shift tomorrow, so I don't think so." As she walked by him, he suddenly grabbed her by the arm. It wasn't rough, but it startled her. "So why were you really here?"
"I'm not sure I follow you."
"You talked too much like a human from Earth, so I figured that that Noveria story was bullshit. And you wouldn't have screwed me upside down from next Wednesday every other night if you were from internal affairs. I'm not much to look at, and I can't offer a woman more than a cop's salary plus a little extra dough every now and then. You're cutting loose because you weren't getting anywhere with me or now you're appalled and want outta something. I don't know what because I'm not Einstein or Tesla, but I've got a nose for when something doesn't smell right."
He was smarter than she thought, but there was no sense in letting him know that he was even close. She remained silent as she tried to collect her thoughts. Should I lie or try to talk him into it now?
"So who the hell are ya, lady? Should I slap the cuffs on ya now for trying to impersonate a C-Sec officer or are you gonna come clean with me?" Harkin pressed.
"I was sent to make you an offer, but I don't think you're good enough to join us. I'd rather return empty handed than let a jerk-off like you get into our ranks. Get outta my way," Longoria's resolve returned and shook herself free of his grip.
"Ha, whoever you work for must have a lot of guts. I don't work for anybody but myself," Harkin laughed and turned his back. "Tell your boss to shove his offer up his ass."
"Like I said, there is no offer, you bastard," Longoria snarled and jammed her fist onto the airlock's control panel. "Why don't you take a long walk off of a short dock?" Her body began to glow in a blue aura.
"That's right, go back and cry to your daddy. Is the boss man getting some from you too on the side?" He cruelly continued to laugh.
"Someday, you're gonna wish that it was me who killed you. Because whoever does you in will make you suffer like the low-down, flesh eating, parasitic leech that you are!" Serena thundered and threw him as hard as she could. Without looking back, she entered her ship and closed the airlock door.
Harkin flew back several feet-the backs of his feet were nearly hanging off of the edge of the pier. If he leaned the wrong way, he would be half a foot off from losing his footing. As he went to try and steady himself, he heard the SSV Calgary Goddess' engines fire up. When he regained his balance, the ship was gone. "Bitch," he mumbled and hit the call button for the elevator.
*A/N*-First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for reading thus far. Reviews are always welcome. If you don't care for the story, then I understand. Constructive criticism will certainly be taken into consideration but not necessarily changed. That being said, I know that I completely took some liberties with Harkin. I have no clue what his name is, and I did check on Mass Wiki. I don't believe that he was ever given one, which is why I made one up for him.
Secondly, if you like my Mass Effect fiction, then please do travel over to the Amazon or Barnes and Noble website. I have a book that I published very recently that is being sold there in either paperback or on e-book should you have a Kindle or a Nook. The paperback is $14 plus shipping and handling, whereas on the e-reader, you can get it in about five to ten seconds. The book is titled "The Edge of Obliteration". There is also a dedicated Facebook page to it, but I cannot link it on my profile due to spam restrictions. This book has nothing to do with Mass Effect but was heavily inspired by it. Thanks once again for reading!