Chapter Eleven
Orbit of Apo, Mantano system, Maroon Sea cluster
August 3rd, 2182, 2:28h
Benson had yet to come back to the agent quarters. He must've been out for a night of carousing. In a way, she felt guilty because he had provided her a way to contact the Shadow Broker. However, there was certainly no way that she could have planted the evidence on Operative Charon. He was too shrewd and besides, operatives had their own separate cabins. Nobody would look twice at her as she entered Benson's quarters, as they did socialize quite a bit together. Most Cerberus personnel thought that they both were dating.
Unlike the Alliance, the agent quarters were co-ed. There were no rules against fraternization, so Serena felt absolutely no shame when she sneaked into them and planted a data pad underneath his pillow. She made sure that her omni-tool was on stand-by for recording when he came back. There were two to each cabin, and Benson's top bunkmate usually stayed over with her boyfriend. Tonight was no exception.
Benson wobbled back into his room and hit the switch on the wall, no doubt too intoxicated to even see her leaning against the wall in the dark. After he spun around, he saw her. "Hey, Serena. Wanna go back and get another beer together?" he asked innocently and burped.
"I would take you up on that offer, Benson, but unfortunately, we've got a problem," she said and hit record on the omni-tool.
"Problem? What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure where I'll start specifically. But I gotta say that I never expected it to be you."
"Me? I'm always me, what do you-" He started to remove the covers from his bed and knocked the data pad onto the floor. Benson bent down dizzily to pick it up and glanced at the object. "What is this?"
"Like you don't know," she huffed and crossed her arms. "Come on, Benson. We've known each other for a few years now. You can fess up now-I won't hold it against you."
"I don't get it." He shook his head as he tried to read the screen, but the text was too blurry for him to read. "Something on your mind?"
"I was assigned to find the person or group of people responsible for broadcasting information outside of Cerberus. And of all people, like I said, I never thought it'd be you," Longoria commented sadly. "Why would you do something like this? Are these reports going to the Alliance-some hot-shot reporter, maybe, who promised you one helluva kick back?"
"I'd never betray Cerberus," he slurred.
"Then why hide this data pad in your room, away from everyone? There's no use in continuing to deny it, I already read everything."
"I'm telling ya, I don't know where that came from. I leave all my shit in my locker or on my terminal."
"Maybe we can make a deal. Just confess to it, and maybe Operative Charon will cut you some slack."
"There's no need, Serena, because I didn't do anything!" He started to sober up and reality began to hit him. Thankfully, she had just stopped the recording. That was plenty of evidence should they need it. She withdrew her pistol.
"This is a set up. You're trying to cover up your own-"
He never got to finish his accusation; she gunned him down with two shots to the head. Longoria next hit the recording button again. "An unrepentant traitor like you deserves execution, Benson. Cerberus represents the best of humanity's ideals, and you just signed your own death warrant by betraying us," she finished and fired another shot into his temple to make sure that he was indeed dead.
Longoria pried the data pad away from his fingers and walked calmly out of the room as if nothing had just happened.
Orbit of Illapa, Matano system, Maroon Sea Cluster
August 4th, 2182 1019h, Briefing Room
"Good work, Operative Longoria," Miranda Lawson's voice on the communication channel greeted Serena as she strolled into the chamber.
"Yes, thanks to you, we've been able to pull out a rather serious weed," Operative Charon's head bobbed up and down with approval. "That recording you made proved it all. Too bad that he wouldn't surrender. Benson was a good pilot." His eyebrows knit themselves together. "I just can't…well…-"
"Something you'd like to add, Charon?" Miranda inquired.
"Well, you can't always see a betrayal coming," he shrugged and arose from his seat. "He was a good hacker and a good pilot. I never like losing people from my team. And now, well…I'm gonna lose another one." Charon glanced up at Longoria with a forlorn smile. "I'm proud of you, Longoria. You'll always feel like a daughter to me."
Serena stiffened up and nodded. "I learned a lot under you, sir, and I'll never forget to be careful because of you."
"Wherever they post you, Operative Longoria, promise me some day, that we get together for a drink. Maybe we can really talk." He patted her on the shoulder and left the room.
Longoria wasn't quite sure what to feel about her former superior now. Here he was congratulating her for a job well done-for framing a friend and killing him. At least she didn't shoot him in the back. She sat down at the table in front of Lawson.
"So I guess that leaves us two ladies," Longoria stated nervously. She felt all the more anxious as she felt Miranda's cold gaze look her over. "What does Cerberus have in mind for me?"
"The Illusive Man has one or two assignments in mind for you, Operative Longoria. Ever been to a planet called Illium?"
"No, I haven't. Where is it?"
"In the Terminus systems. We've got some work for you there should you be interested. Or perhaps you'd like to go to Omega, which is located in the Saharabik system. A woman like you should have no issues whatsoever dealing with the ilk of people on that planet," Miranda replied.
"You're giving me a choice?"
"Naturally. This isn't the Alliance, you know. We recognize your talent and would like to reward your hard work."
"Can I have the details of both possible missions before I decide which place to go?"
"That's fair-you've never been to either place. Come back to the briefing room tomorrow at nine hundred hours with your decision, Operative Longoria." Miranda closed the channel.
"Ever hear of the word 'please'?" Longoria muttered to herself. "Damn, thought I had problems."
SSV Calgary Goddess, orbit of Illium
August 9th, 2182, 1115h
Longoria left the cruiser on autopilot while she made her call. Two days ago, she'd gone to Omega to acquaint herself with the planet's so-called culture. Yuck. She'd found more charming slums in Toronto but had run across a shop that sold some decent signal scramblers. What better way to test it out than now on her way to a mission for Cerberus?
"Agent Longoria, your update is most pleasing. I am glad that you were not exposed-your value to my organization has just soared upward," the Broker's filtered voice told her in her comm room.
"It came close, that's for sure. But I've gotten Cerberus' trust now, and if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate a better encoding device so that my delicate position won't be compromised in the future," Longoria stated.
"One can be delivered to you. Where will you be in the next one or two solar days?"
"Illium, a port called Nos Astra. Do you have anyone stationed there?"
"I know the port, and yes, there are agents there. One will provide with a very sophisticated model. It's used in the asari intelligence units," the Broker informed her. "Will you be arriving within the day?"
"Probably in an hour or so. Know any good places to eat?" she joked.
"Your contact does own a few restaurants, Agent Longoria. I will forward the address to your omni-tool."
She laughed. "I can't believe how widespread your network is, thanks. And I also wanted to thank you for providing that other data…you know, about my father."
"Is that situation behind you?"
"It's as resolved as it needs to be."
"Good. I won't contact you until your job on Illium has been completed. Approximately how long will that be?" the Broker queried.
"Three or four days at the minimum," she shook her head. "Why?"
"New Dawn Pharmaceuticals is suspected of being a Cerberus front by the Salarian STG group. There has got to be an organization that goes in between New Dawn Pharmaceuticals and Cerberus, but it is difficult to pinpoint it without proper evidence. I would like for you to escort a fellow Broker agent so that he may learn more information about it. I could not ask you to infiltrate your own organization without drawing more attention to you."
"Thank you. This would be my pleasure, Shadow Broker." Longoria ended the call and traveled back to the cockpit with a beam.
She sighed happily to herself and transferred manual control back to herself as she maneuvered the Goddess into Nos Astra's docking arms. "This day just couldn't get any better."
THE END
*A/N*-Okay, thanks to everyone for reading. Although this story has long been finished for over a year now, reviews are still appreciated. If you like this story, then might I suggest browsing Amazon's or Barnes and Noble's websites for my book called "The Edge of Obliteration"? It is available in both paperback and e-book format, depending on your fancy. The author name is listed under Sigyn Piwonka. The book is not related to the Mass Effect series, but it is about science fiction, suspense, and espionage. The protagonist or hero is just a normal Joe Schmoe who kind of gets wrapped up in a very intriguing series of circumstances that take place about sixty years in the future (our current century).
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