Whited Sepulchre
[Unidentified], [Retracted], [Data Corrupted]
[Date Not Logged]
22:00: [m3rcbntyhntR.0001 has logged on]
22:01: [opkech02 has logged on]
22:01: O: [Data corrupted] [Retracted] What are your standard fees?
22:01: M: You want him alive, my standard rate is 50,000 now and balance upon delivery. You pay all costs of the job plus my base fee of 95,000.
22:01: M: If he runs, my fee goes up. I don't guarantee he'll stay alive.
22:02: M: I can guarantee he'll live for a nominal fee of 125,000 and only if the bastard doesn't make me chase him. I'm not responsible for broken bones, bruises or bullet holes.
22:02: M: I'm not a goddamn nurse. I don't administer medical attention.
22:03: O: And your 'dead' rate?
22:03: M: You want him dead? Damn. Poor bast – [ Data Corrupted] – rate is 25,000 now; pay the balance on delivery. My base fee is 75,000 and you pay all the costs of the job.
22:03: M: My fee goes up if he runs. I don't guarantee delivery of the entire body. I usually just cut of the bastard's hand or something.
22:03: M: One time, I was asked to cut the cock off a cheating – [Data Corrupted] You should have seen the look on his girl's face when I – [Data Corrupted]
22:15: M: The fee goes up to 100,000 if you want me to deliver the whole body. You pay to clean the smell of rotting flesh out of my armor.
22:15: M: I don't hide bodies. I don't keep bodies. I don't sell bodies to batarians. I might sell the body to turians for an additional, negotiable handling fee. Again, you pay to clean the smell out of my armor.
22:20: O: Your price is steep.
22:20: M: You wanted the best. Are you going to goddamn whine about it or pay up and let me do the job for you?
22:20: [opkech02 has logged off]
22:20: [opkech02 has logged on]
22:21: M: Well? What will it be? I don't have all day.
22:22: O: I want the best. You have the job. Here are your instructions. [attachment: bek.90210 – jrpg.33811]
22:30: M: You're goddamn joking.
22:30: O: This is no joke, Mr. [Retracted]. Follow the instructions. Receive your payment.
22:34: M: Transfer the creds, and I'll be on my way.
22:35: [ePayMe! data packet received from opkech02. . . .]
22:36: [transfer in progress. . . . ]
22:37: [please wait. . . .]
22:39: [transfer in progress. . . .]
22:40: [please wait. . . .]
22:42: [transfer complete. . . .]
22:42: [Sum of 25,000 credits has been deposited to your account number 78883XX-XX-33-XX!]
22:42: [Thank you for using ePayMe! Your Creds in Real Time, Today!]
22:43: M: Pleasure doing business with you.
22:43: [opkech02 has logged out]
22:44: [m3rcbntyhntR.0001 has logged out]
Commandant's Chambers, Hades Station, [Data Corrupted]
December 14, 2183
The head of Cerberus inhaled smoke from his cigarette just as Kelly Chambers' full-body image appeared on the quantum entanglement comm. It was the first time he'd seen her face-to-face, so to speak, after her latest modifications. She looked good with red hair, he decided. After this mission, perhaps she would dance for him again. Her posture was relaxed, a good sign. The comm, however, highlighted the dark circles under eyes and the glassiness of her newly-colored green eyes.
"Kelly," he greeted, smiling warmly, puzzled and irritated as to why Boaz hadn't updated him on the physical effects of the virus. She shouldn't have been showing any signs to indicate illness. He flicked the ashes from his cigarette in irritation and laid it to rest on the tray.
"Dr. Boaz said you wanted to speak with me, sir," she told him, blinking back the weariness in her eyes. "Would you like a full report or just a summary?"
"I'll wait for your written weekly report in a few days," he said. "I only wanted to pass some information on to you and to see if you had any pertinent information about Joker." He took a swallow of his bourbon neat and sat the glass back on its holder on his chair. "The Alliance is moving Joker to the safe house on Bekenstein, and I'm sending Dr. Boaz ahead to search for Alliance surveillance equipment and install some of our own.
"They think Cerberus wants him dead."
Kelly looked confused, all traces of weariness leaving. "Dead? Why would they think that?" Her posture was now on alert.
Good girl.
He took another drag from his cigarette and gave a shrug as he exhaled the smoke. "At the moment, it doesn't matter," he said as the smoke ringed his head. "We can use this to our advantage. Get him alone, and you can better do your job."
She nodded, smiling brightly. "Yes, sir. That's a wonderful plan."
"I understand he's still unconscious."
Her features morphed into concern. "He's in terrible pain. Every time he moves, he moans." She shook her head sadly. "They've changed his pain meds a few times now."
Ms. Chambers was always one to show compassion. It was what made her one of his better operatives. No one expected the pretty, concerned young woman to be the freedom fighter.
She continued, "The doctors have taken to keeping him completely sedated until the nanites have completed doing… whatever it is they're supposed to be doing. I have to admit, it's all over my head. I'll be working closely with him just as soon as he's able to move properly. He'll need to move soon, or he'll have less mobility than he had before the surgery. The Lieutenant has lost a lot of muscle mass."
"Have they given you a time line?"
She shook her head; it was all he could do to keep his face neutral. Another setback; another drag on his cigarette to calm his nerves. "Dr. Boaz is more positive than Dr. Chakwas. He says two to three days. Dr. Chakwas says a week to ten days. As brilliant as Dr. Boaz is, I'm more inclined to go with Dr. Chakwas' assessment."
"Why is that?"
"Well, sir, Dr. Chakwas is the authority on Vrolik Syndrome, and Lieutenant Moreau has been her patient for years." She paused, looked pensive. "I've looked over his records. There are notations from Dr. Chakwas since he was a boy." She cocked her head to the side. "It's like she's taken him under her wing; made his syndrome her life's work. Amazing , really."
The Illusive Man made a mental note of this as she continued to elaborate on some of the effects the brittle bone disease had on Joker's body, only half-way paying attention to her. Lieutenant Moreau's records had been sealed years ago, and now he knew why they couldn't get into them. Dr. Chakwas was already working with them, albeit reluctantly. If Cerberus recruited one, it was likely the other would follow. Good.
He made a noncommittal sound before changing the subject. "Has Chief Williams been a problem?"
"Not so far. She's the one who suggested keeping him sedated." Kelly looked concerned. "She's so worried about him. There's a definite attraction there, too. However, you could ask her to her face, and she would deny it."
The head of Cerberus made another mental note: Kelly's compassion may warrant observing closely. Her loyalty to Cerberus was vital to this mission.
"She's been assigned to protect him," he told her. " You'll either need to discredit her or get rid of her at the first opportunity. I'll let you decide the best course of action."
"'Protect him'?" Kelly repeated, looked puzzled. The set of her shoulders changed as she looked thoughtful. "She's told me that they're friends who served on the Normandy together."
"That's correct."
"From her body language regarding Lieutenant Moreau, I'd say she's more than a friend. She also says that she's only there visiting, and she's on shore leave." Kelly smiled. "I might be able to use that to my advantage. I don't think she's told Jeff. In fact, I think she's let him believe that she's there solely as a personal matter."
The Illusive Man nodded in approval. "How's your health?" he asked, took a long pull of his bourbon.
Now, her posture grew rigid, and she looked somewhat guilty. "Honestly, sir, I can hardly wait until Dr. Boaz says I can begin the antibiotic treatments. I feel terrible most days." She raised her hands and quickly reassured him, "But it hasn't stopped me from doing my job."
He nodded again as he set aside his drink. "It may well get in the way if Dr. Chakwas suspects you have a cold. I would imagine Lieutenant Moreau shouldn't be in your vicinity just after surgery. For now, keep your distance. I'm sure his immune system is trying to cope with the nanites. I'll have a talk with Dr. Boaz about beginning your treatments."
She gave him a big smile, relief clearly written on her face and in her posture. "Yes sir! Thank you, sir!"
"I'll expect your written report by the end of the week via the usual channels," he told her and cut the connection.
Systems Alliance Headquarters—Office of the Fifth Fleet Commandant, Arcturus Station, Arcturus System
December 14, 2183
Admiral Steven Hackett bit off a scathing reply as Ambassador Donnel Udina paced around the comm unit, his image dipping out and then back again.
"Do you even realize the political ramifications of allowing such a surgery to take place on Arcturus Station?" the Ambassador demanded. "Citadel Conventions –"
"Dr. Boaz is the Alliance's most brilliant surgeon," Admiral Hackett assured him. "He's the best and the brightest."
Udina didn't look particularly happy. "Yes," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's what you said about Commander Shepard, too." He tossed his hands up in the air. "She ended up being a raving lunatic with too much power. Councilor Anderson still believes her." Udina sniffed. "And so does her mother."
Steven let him go on for another few minutes before asking , "Is there a reason for this call, Ambassador, or are you just looking to rant?"
Donnel turned an interesting shade of purple. Steven secretly hoped he would drop dead. "My career is on the line! It's bad enough one of our people detonated a nuclear warhead on a planet with a population."
Hackett rolled his eyes at that. Donnel didn't like Shepard because she didn't give a rat's ass about politics or that Udina's precious career hung in the balance of her decisions. "Commander Shepard was instrumental in the Siege," he pointed out. "Saren and the geth would have had access to every government and every census across the galaxy. He could have put himself and his little AI minions into power, and we'd have a dictator like none have ever seen."
Udina's response was to grumble something the comm didn't exactly pick up. Steven ignored it. He didn't want to know.
"As for your political career," he continued, "I suggest you stop micromanaging. The less you know the better."
"A little late for that!"
The Ambassador was right, and – as much as Admiral Hackett disliked Donnel Udina – were the annoying little twit to be replaced, it would set things back for Fifth Fleet and quite possibly humanity. He was just loud enough to be the irritating cocklebur just under the hems of the Council's fancy clothes. He got things accomplished.
"This will go away just like the Reaper threat," the Admiral assured him.
"There are no Reapers!"
"You took the words right out my mouth, Donnel."
Admiral Hackett cut the connection with a shake of his head. Moreau's records were already sealed; Dr. Chakwas kept a close watch on them anyway. Williams might be a problem, but he had already come up with a way to keep her occupied – if she wasn't a Cerberus target. Right now, they were operating as though she was; he'd keep it that way until he had intel that told him otherwise.
"Admiral, you have an incoming call," Joe's disembodied voice interrupted his train of thought and he looked at the clock.
"Take a message," he said, "I can't keep the Joint Chiefs waiting any longer."
