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Chapter 9
Shoot mercs, rescue hostages, right Shepard? I chided myself. I thought back to Garrus' warning right before we left. I should have been more careful. But Kasumi had assured me this room wasn't monitored. I didn't even question that she might have been wrong. I had no idea how to get out of this. I needed more information and time to think. I especially needed to get out of these wrist ties.
"What do you want me to do?"
Hock chuckled. "Patience, Shepard. Let me enjoy the victory a bit longer. You followed the script brilliantly."
"What are you talking about?" I snapped. I was struggling against the ties. I could feel them biting into my skin, drawing blood.
"Shall I lay it all out for you? It will dovetail perfectly into what you're going to do for me next." A merc kicked the back of my legs, forcing me on my knees. Hock pulled up a chair directly in front of me. Sitting down, he leaned forward.
"I take part in all kinds of deals, but my capital of choice is information. It has the ability to force people to do what you want. More powerful than money or weapons, the threat of exposure brings presidents to their knees. Much like you are now."
I glared into his eyes. "Get to the point."
"That box your after has extremely sensitive information that I want. It was stored in the body of a petty hacker. I paid a fortune to have him brought here to me. He was easy to eliminate. But his encryption methods were good. Too good. The only information we could extract was a face from a small sliver of a single memory we cracked open."
He leaned back in the chair. "Kasumi Goto, thief and assassin. She was the key to unlock the memories surrounding the encryption. I had to create an opportunity to bring that missing piece to me."
Hock stood and began pacing again. "She's dangerous; I needed to control when and in what way she would come to me. But how could I create the trap?" He paused and turned toward me. "Savior Shepard, back from the dead, is working with Cerberus to once again save humanity. Word got around that you were building a crew to take on the Collectors. I fed a dossier to Cerberus. You took the bait. All that was left was to leak that I was throwing an elaborate party with an extensive guest list, which would give any thief easy access to my location. With you on Goto's side, she'd be confident enough to try and take the box."
He clapped his hands together and laughed manically. This man is certifiable. We've got to get the hell out of here.
"I was so pleased when you arrived! The trap was set. I couldn't make it too easy for you or your suspicions would be raised. It was very precise, the level difficulty I gave you. Having Goto wait outside was only the first diversion I knew you would overcome."
He sat back down in front of me, his sour breath hitting my face. "After sneaking in, what would she do first? Download schematics for cameras or bugs. How convenient that it showed this room being devoid of both. With a vault needing my DNA, what better place to get it than from my seemingly unobserved private quarters? I even replaced some of the plates of bulletproof glass so you could break and enter! Didn't you think it odd that I'd have breakable glass surrounding the place I sleep? Honestly, Shepard, I thought you'd be smarter." I saw him focus his attention behind me. "Shall we chalk your stupidity up to your former lover, the supreme distraction?"
Kaidan. There were two mercs flanking me. I couldn't turn around to see him.
This is wrong. This is all wrong! I started to panic. How did we get into this mess? I was cocky, overconfident. I thought I was playing him, but all the while, it was me who was being played! And now, because of my carelessness, Kaidan was in danger.
"This all leads into what you're going to do for me." Hock picked up the walkie and put it next to my mouth. "You're going to tell Goto that you've gotten the DNA. Then you're going to meet her by the vault. You'll cut the power and with the voice sample and DNA, you're going to open it. You're going to lead her straight to the box. Once she has it in her hands, you're going to tell her to access its information. It has a chip embedded that will transmit all of the files to my personal terminal. Do all of this, Shepard, and I'll let you all go. If you don't follow my instructions exactly, I shoot your lover in front of you, torture Goto to crack the box on my own, and sell you on the black market. How does that sound?"
I heard Kaidan's voice from behind me. "Don't do this, Shepard. That information will cost millions of lives."
So he is here for the same reason.
Hock picked up my pistol and pointed at the floor next to me. "Bring him forward."
I heard struggling, then Kaidan fell on his knees beside me.
"You're the one variable I didn't anticipate. I can guess why you're here. The Alliance wants that box, undoubtedly. But tell me, Alenko. Who tipped you? I'm curious."
"Go to hell."
Hock sighed. "Wrong answer." He raised the pistol in a wide arc and slammed it into Kaidan's temple, knocking him unconscious.
I tried to charge Hock, but the mercs held me back. I roared through gritted teeth. "Donovan Hock, I swear, I'm going kill you!"
He looked at me with disgust. "Love. It's so easy to manipulate."
Hock held my own pistol in one hand, aimed at Kaidan's unconscious body, and the walkie in the other. "I'm not going to ask you again. Choose wisely."
My thoughts were becoming desperate. If I tell him I'll go along with his plan, it will at least buy me time.
I hung my head. "I'll do it."
"What was that, Shepard? Say it louder." Hock was relishing every moment of this.
"I said I'd do it!" I yelled.
He motioned to the guard beside me. My bonds were cut. I stood up and rubbed my wrists, wincing at the deep gashes the ties had made.
With my pistol still pointed at Kaidan, Hock handed me the walkie. "Talk to her."
I took it from his grasp. I waited for my breathing to slow, and then I opened the channel. "Kasumi, I have the DNA. Do you copy?"
