Chapter 9: Custom and Contention
"So how'd that vid you quoted last night go, Liam? Somethin' about a 'wretched hive of scum and villainy'? Heh-heh-heh, that about describes Omega. Back me up, Doc—am I right, or am I right? The station was run by whatever merc gangs and crime bosses could gain a decent foothold, and the most powerful was an asari named Aria T'Loak. Bit of a flair for the dramatic, that one, fond of saying things like 'I am Omega!' Heh-heh-heh, but she wasn't too far off. Nothing happened on that station without her knowledge—some would say, without her express permission, though that wasn't entirely true. She did maintain a semblance of order, though, even if it was all orchestrated just to keep her rich and powerful.
"Aria reigned from a club near the docks, place called Afterlife. We head straight there, but of course we get stopped by the bouncer—an elcor, big grumpy-lookin' guy. 'With authority: stop right there,' he drones. 'Smugly: you are not on the list.'
"'I'm an old friend of Aria's,' I tell him.
"The elcor just sighs dramatically and shakes his great big head. 'Sarcastically: of course you are. I have not heard that one before.'
"'Maybe this'll do the trick, then,' I say, and hand him a credit chit. Bribery'll get you just about everywhere on Omega, heh-heh-heh.
"His whole attitude changes immediately. 'With feigned surprise: ah, yes, of course. Go on in.'
"'Must be quite a short list,' Thane comments when we're out of the bouncer's earshot. 'Elcor have long memories, but not especially detailed ones. How did he know who we are?'
"I have to laugh. 'He didn't, kid,' I say. 'There's no list. That's brass-quad extortion, right there—you wanna get in, you pay, simple as that. Aria is many things, but subtle ain't one of 'em.'
"Thane is quiet for a moment, probably reconsidering what kind of friends I have. Or maybe what kind of friends he has. '…I see,' he says finally, and leaves it at that.
"Now, Afterlife is what I've heard some humans refer to as a 'gentleman's club,' but ain't nothing gentle about it. You know Chora's Den on the Citadel? It's kinda like that, but more so. Loud music, dim lights, half-naked asari dancing on tables. Private rooms where the shadiest of shady deals go down. Seedy-lookin' bartenders who'll as soon poison you as serve you. Kind of place where you wouldn't be surprised to find a knife in your back.
"And of course, Aria's not hard to find, holding court on a dais high above all the action. She's got a couple of goons guarding the stairs, but they just glare at us as we pass them. Nobody's dumb enough to pull anything on Aria T'Loak on her own turf. Or if they are, they don't live long enough to regret it. The hired guns are more a warning than anything else.
"As for Aria herself, she looks up as we approach but doesn't stand, eyeing us coldly as she lounges on her couch, surrounded by more bodyguards and other assorted flunkies. 'Well, well, well, if it isn't Nakmor Drack,' she drawls. 'I thought you'd be dead by now, you boneheaded old bastard.'
"'Heh-heh-heh, I'm too stubborn to die, Aria, you should know that,' I reply with a grin. 'Good to see you, too.'
"'I just bet.' Her eyes flick over to Thane, then back to me. 'Still keeping interesting company, I see. None other than Thane Krios, master assassin. Oh, don't raise your eyebrow ridge at me,' she says to him. 'Friend of yours told me you might be coming. Of course, he also thought you might be dead.' She shrugs. 'Clearly, he should have had more faith in you.'
"Now, that catches my attention, 'cause it all but confirms our guys are here. Thane stiffens as he comes to the same conclusion. 'Does this… friend of mine have a name?' he asks. 'A location?'
"'That depends,' Aria says, leaning forward with a predatory smile. 'What's it worth to you?'
"Thane is silent for a moment as he weighs his answer, but before he can speak, Aria chuckles. 'Never mind, the look on your face says it all. You're gonna run him down if it's the last thing you do, aren't you?' She stands and closes in on him, gettin' right up in his personal space, tryin' to make him uncomfortable, I think. 'Tell you what, since you're obviously the brains of this operation. Do a little favor for me, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Call it a contract, if you will.'
"Thane grits his teeth as he holds her gaze. 'Ms. T'Loak,' he says, his politeness strained to the breaking point, 'my mission is an urgent one. I haven't time for games. I will pay you whatever you require for the information.'
"'Pay me?' Aria laughs, and gestures grandly. 'Look around, Krios. You don't think I have all the credits I could ever want?' Her good humor disappears, and she gets real serious all of a sudden. 'I'll let you in on a little secret. These friends of yours? They're my friends, too. If you want me to double-cross them, you'd better make it worth my while.'
"There's a tense silence as they stare at each other for a moment, until Thane finally concedes. 'Then it would seem I have little choice in the matter,' he says. He straightens and clasps his hands behind his back. 'Very well. What would you have me do?'
"Aria steps back from him and turns around to look out over the goings-on of Afterlife. 'It's an easy enough job,' she says. 'There's a red sand dealer in Kima District: a human, name of Martin Skell. He's small-time, but he's undercutting my operations in the area. Now, I'm not unreasonable, so I offered him protection in exchange for a cut of his profits.' Her hands ball into fists. 'He refused, and now his men are attacking mine on sight. And rumor has it he's convincing some other small dealers to do the same. I want you to make an example of him, Krios.'
"'An example?' Thane asks.
"'Make it loud. Make it messy.' Aria turns back to face him again, her teeth bared. 'I want him to suffer. I want all his little friends to know what happens when you cross me.' She lets that settle for a moment, then extends a hand. 'Do that for me, and I'll point you right to where those friends of ours are hiding. Deal?'
"Thane is silent for a moment, and I can see his jaw clench as he considers her offer. He doesn't like it, I can tell, but he knows we won't get any further without Aria's cooperation. And he's heard the threat in her voice. There's a shade of defeat in his posture as he shakes her hand and says, 'Deal.'
"Aria's biotics flare, trapping Thane's hand in hers, and she grins. 'I haven't had this much fun in a long time,' she says. 'I want you to know, I have assassins in my employ already who are more than capable of this job. I know your reputation, Krios—this isn't your style. In fact, it's so far beneath you, it's humiliating. But I've got the leverage to make you do it anyway.' She laughs out loud. 'I am so getting off on this!'
"Thane yanks his hand free, a look of disgust and horror on his face. Then he turns on his heel and leaves without another word.
"Aria falls back onto her couch, still laughing. 'That was cruel, Aria,' I growl. 'Kid's goin' through some serious shit right now. Lay off him, will ya?'
"She puts a hand on her chest in an affected gesture. 'Aw, standing up for your poor, traumatized friend,' she mocks. 'Doesn't that just warm my cold, black little heart.' She gestures for me to sit down and says, 'I have to admit, Drack, when those guys said Krios was traveling with a krogan bodyguard, it never occurred to me it might be you.'
"Now it's my turn to laugh. 'Heh-heh-heh. I ain't his bodyguard, Aria. I'm just kind of… helpin' him out. You could say I owe him.'
"She snorts. 'You always were a sentimental fool. It's gotten you into a lot of trouble over the centuries.'
"'Sure has,' I agree, 'but it's gotten me outta some, too. You seem to be doin' well for yourself, though.'
"'I'll feel better when Skell is dead,' she growls. 'His operation may be small, but he's made himself a real thorn in my side these past few months. It's like he's deliberately trying to get under my skin and piss me off.'
"'Doin' a good job of it,' I say.
"But Aria continues like she didn't hear me. 'I don't know what his problem is. He should know better than to fuck with me. But not only is he openly selling on my turf, he's getting cute with it. Presses the stuff into the shape of a death's-head and calls them "Skell's Skulls." Stupid.' She gives me a sideways glance. 'Might help you track him down, though.'
"I can take a hint, so I—ha ha, real funny, Vetra. ''Preciate it, Aria,' I say, and go catch up with Thane.
"He's waitin' for me by the bar. Not drinkin' anything—I don't think I ever saw him touch a drop of alcohol—just chattin' up one o' the bartenders. She's tellin' him everything she knows about Skell, and makin' eyes at him the whole time, heh-heh-heh. I dunno, lotta human females seemed to find Thane attractive. I don't even think he notices.
"'He's a real creeper,' she says. 'I think he's a drug dealer, but he's not like any other dealer I've ever met. He asked if I do red sand, but he actually looked disappointed when I said no. He didn't try to sell me any, or even convince me to try it. Not that I wanted him to. It was just weird, you know? He only seemed interested in selling to people who were already hooked.' She giggles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear—same way I've seen you do, Ryder, when you're talkin' to Jaal. Hey, she turned that same shade of red, too! 'Hallex is more my speed,' she continues. 'I've got some, back in my apartment… I get off shift in two hours. I could, you know… share.'
"'I'm afraid I must decline,' Thane says drily. 'I need to find him quickly. Can you describe him for me?'
"The bartender pouts for a second, then perks up. 'I can do you one better,' she says. 'Give me your extranet address, and I'll send you the security cam footage of him.'
"'That would be quite helpful,' Thane replies. They exchange information and she uploads the file to his omni-tool. He opens it up and turns it so she can see it. 'Which one is he?'
"'Pause it, right… there,' she says, and the vid freezes with a face looking almost right at the camera. 'That's him. That's Skell.'
"He had the kind of face you just want to punch. Fleshy cheeks, pointy nose, and a self-satisfied, superior kind of smirk. He had dark eyes and floppy dark hair that looked like he spent way too much time grooming. Didn't really look like a typical drug dealer, aside from being shady as hell. 'Thank you, Anna,' Thane says. 'Come on, Drack, let's go.'
"'See you around?' Anna calls after him hopefully, but he doesn't answer.
"On our way down to Kima District, Thane stops at what seems like a random kiosk in the markets. He breaks a credit chit into smaller denominations, and buys a handful of little toys. Like, kids' toys. 'What's all that for?' I ask.
"'In places like this, the best sources of information are what my people call drala'fa: the ignored,' he explains. 'Homeless junkies, orphaned children, the ones who see everything, yet are not seen. Few take pains to hide their activities from them. Therefore, they can often be persuaded to share their observations in exchange for a meal or a small gift.'
"'Huh,' I say, and we head out."
"'The ignored,'" Cora murmured softly. "How… brutally honest."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Vetra.
"Think about it," Cora replied. "It's true: we walk right past these poor, disadvantaged kids without a second glance. Maybe we spare a few credits or a moment of pity, but we've forgotten them by the time we get where we're going. An uncomfortable truth, but there it is." She leaned forward across the table. "To call them 'the ignored' acknowledges that. And puts the onus squarely back on us, the ones doing the ignoring, to help them. It's not a description, it's an accusation."
Ryder nodded in agreement. "Let's hope our new society can do better."