A/N:
And after that load of reveal(s), we're jumping right in...
To a Responding to the Reviews! [I know, I made that joke before.]
Edit: Screw Me! I was almost done with the RTTR and then my computer dies.
Gotta love technology, XD
ultimate idiot: Like I said before, nothing's set in stone yet.
And it'll be quite a while before the opportunity for Chris to hop dimensions even presents itself, that's why I'm taking suggestions now, so I can get a feel for the many lores and worlds out there, and eventually choose one.
Dawning Wisdom: I'll look into the lore ASAP, I lost the opportunity yesterday due to personal things.
But, from what I've read from you, Warhammer Humans sound like assholes,
It'd suck to be tossed from our Earth to Warhammer Earth..
Atreyu429: Okay, wow.
It'd probably take an entirely new chapter to respond directly to every point you've made in your reviews, so I'll answer the main summarizations of your argument in this review.
syntax/prose: Punctuation was always a problem with my writing, but I have been making a consciouss effort to change that.
Description: I agree with your point, and I do plan to go back in pretty soon to make descriptive additions, hopefully it'll be better with these additions.
Dialogue Tags: Adding dialogue tags after everything said was a writing habit I picked up, and have been trying to throw for a loooong time.
Pacing: At least there's something you like.. Relatively... XD
A/N's: I've no clue what a Garu Stu is, let me look it up.
...Well that sucks, though (I) can only see a few points in the past/present/future of the story where something Gary Stuish happens, I will try and adjust it.
Romance: As to your eh.. Language, when it comes to the point about the romance, all I can really say is I wouldn't have said as much in such terms.
Odds and Ends Points:
WW3 Tech: I've been considering burning that at one point, but I stand by my decision to upgrade the tech. And hey, at least I tried to explain it! :D
Miranda: No reason? Just wait..
Kai Leng: He was always an ass, the effects of our 'Mutual Friend' just made him more so.
Flux: It's not on the Presidium? Sh*t!
DEagle: I've always held an unhealthy love/appreciation for the Desert Eagle, ever since I found it in MGS4, and refused to use another gun for the entire game. Stupid decision to make it McGraw's side arm? Probably.
Am I going to change it? Nope.
Final Verdict: I'm listening to your reviews, and will be making changes to HtC based upon them.
unity9: Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
TheFlamingBlade: Why thank you! It's always nice to 'meet' the folks who've been reading since the beginning.
Aw shucks, you don't have to say that.. [Blushes]
And the HUD Glasses'll be staying, other than the augmentations [That he still doesn't quite know the capabilities of] they're his ace-in-the-hole. I will go back and maybe dial back their range though, I see that point. Granted, this is [Redacted] Tech, so if it was imperfect, that'd be pretty amazing.
As to your unsaid question on the file name... (Ahem)
Hallelujah! Someone got it! Really, I'm amazed at how few people have found the small references in my story. [And there are a lot.] Though you may want to go back and check Tor's rant, I changed a detail or two due to character needs.
And I'd totally do that.. If I had an X-Box. I've been waiting for funds and a price drop, but I haven't seen one or the other any time recently. I settle for watching youtube walkthroughs and looking through the Halo Wiki.
As to Chris vs GLaDOS, even I'll admit, I'd like to see that. ["You moron-" "Shut the hell up!"]
And, you actually make a good point, about Project Freelancer... Depending on where I put him [If I do in the first place] there would be some damn good opportunities for OC.. More so than what I'd been planning on.. [I won't reveal any details, but I will tell you that the majority of the folks on the planet speak Hungarian... {And if you get that reference, I'll give you a frigging Fishy Stick.}]
And admit it, we all want to see the M.O.I. go up against a Reaper.
subsider34: Wasn't his fault! Jorra just refused to understand him!
And I'm sure you'll love Garrus in this chapter, I won't say why at all, because any hint at all will spoil it.
And as to Sha'ira.. Firstly, only she, Nelyna, Jorra, the G-Man, and the Shadow Broker know who McGraw is, so the worst that could happen would be that the press rips her to shreds because one of her patients went insane when he went to visit her.
As to the PS: She's refusing to show me what she's drafting right now, but she says that she doubts anyone, even me will see it coming. (And I've still got the [Redacted] bomb to drop!)
Gavoon: Remember the Exodus mission?
Neither do we.
;)
Brodur: I'd say [Redacted] is [Redacted].
8D
And without further ado, we're off!
Chapter 20:
August 20th; 2180
She stared at the man, his words slowly repeating themselves in her mind, over and over, until she realized what they meant. To say she was enraged, would be an understatement.
"What do you mean he is going to kill himself!?" Demanded Jorra, trying to grab the man, but passing through him - as if he didn't exist - as a result.
"I mean the mental… Stress… and Physical Exhaustion… has built up. You will need to find… Him before the day ends. Or he will end it." Said the man, adjusting his tie, as if he were to leave.
"Can't you just take me to him!?" Demanded the former assassin.
"I was ordered by my… Superiors to keep a distance… Until the time is right. While I… Could… Give you his location… I would rather test your devotion." Said the man, as a green energy portal appeared in front of him. "You have twelve hours. If you find him within that… Time… Your chance of success is almost… Perfect. If you do… Not… You will not." And with that, the man stepped into the portal, and disappeared.
Jorra found herself staring at the space where the man had just been. Physically, she was doing nothing, but her mind was moving at a mile-a-minute.
I'll need information. Was one thought. Locations, who can I contact that would remember who I am? Was another. Fade. Duct-rat. Shadow Broker? No… No… Possibly… Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of a C-Sec cruiser. She looked up, and saw it zoom by. Her heart fell as she recognized the two bored looking men inside, they were the same ones that had hunted Chris on his first mission, and have been doing so ever since. If she remembered correctly, they were also the exact same ones who had been adamant in finding Ghost's identity. If they found Chris, they would most definitely take him in - if, for nothing else, - for his lack of gun permit. Then they would find his mask, and he would be arrested. Jorra would not let that happen.
Nigri! She suddenly thought, before she tore off down the street. She can locate his Omni-tool, and bring me right to him! Jorra pulled up her Omni-tool, and made a vid-call.
"So, another day, another missing person?" Said the human, as the sky-car whizzed on by. "The hell did they send in C-Sec detectives in to find him?" He wondered aloud.
"Ever since Ghost took out the Underground, missing persons tend to be ex-members, taken out by rival gangs who felt brave and bold enough to take them out." Said the Turian. "This Christopher McGraw the Consort mentioned may be some kind of lieutenant, if he can afford her." He reasoned.
"But that was months ago!" The human said.
"Still feeling the effects." Stated the Turian. "Gang wars, trying to seize the Underground's power, old enemies executing each other, old grudges need settling.. Ghost has given Citadel life a turn for the worst. Would have been better off with him never coming here.."
Several minutes passed by in silence.
"Well, if anything, if and when we find him, we can run him in for assault, seeing as how he shot at the acolyte." The human stated.
"True."
It took a few minutes, but eventually the sky-car landed in front of the Consort's office. The two Citadel Security detectives exited the vehicle, and entered the office, they were greeted by two rather attractive Asari.
"Greetings, Detectives Garrus Vakarian -" The Turian detective indicated himself. "And Joseph Jordan. We're responding to the missing persons report?" He said.
"Good morning, Detectives. My name is Sha'ira, my acolyte and myself made the call." Greeted the taller of the two Asari. This one was wearing some sort of silk dress, made of a purple and red material. The human had to tear his eyes away from the more 'full' areas of her body, in order to listen to the conversation.
"What can you tell us?" Asked Joseph.
"Mister McGraw is ex-alliance." Said Sha'ira. "He was involved in a slaver raid many months ago, and sought my help in coming to terms with it. From what I understand, his mind had locked away a few more gruesome memories, and when we melded, I caused those memories to surface." She explained. "This caused him to break, mentally and emotionally. I do not know where he is going, but I fear for those around him." She finished.
Oh, just wait until the press hears about this. Thought Joseph.
Garrus whipped out his Omni-tool. "Could you describe him for me?" He asked, opening up a program.
"He was about the same height as my acolyte -" She indicated the other Asari in the room. "He had a shaven head, wore a white hooded shirt, with… Jens? Humans call them?" She inquired.
"You mean jeans?" Asked Joseph.
"Yes, yes, Jeans. He wore those, his eyes are dark blue… And…" She seemed hesitant to say the next part.
"Ma'am, anything you've got, even the smallest detail can help us out." Said Joseph.
"He's got a gun." Said Sha'ira.
The detectives had been told this, but were still a slight bit shocked to hear her say it so casually. "What's the make and model?" Asked Garrus.
"I am not sure… I do not think it uses Mass Effect technology, as I saw him slip something into the weapon before he fired." Said the other Asari.
"He's using a bullet gun?" Said Joseph, incredulously.
"I do not know what that is." Said the acolyte, looking down.
"It's alright. Is there anything else?" Asked Garrus, looking up from the Omni-tool.
For a split second, it appeared as if the acolyte was about to speak, but Sha'ira interrupted her by saying "No, detectives."
Garrus knew they were hiding something, but literally had nothing to back that up. "..Alright then… We'll contact you if we need any further help." Said the Turian, before he nodded and left the room, followed by his human companion.
When the two left the building, Garrus sent out the description - and the picture the program had created to go with it - to all officers on the Presidium, who would then spread it out amongst the wards.
"What do you think?" Asked Joseph, as he called in the sky-car.
"I think we've stepped into something big." Said Garrus.
"The hell makes you say that?" Inquired the human.
"You remember the pictures we scavenged and recovered from the security vids, the day the human ambassador almost got assassinated?" Asked Garrus.
"Yeah." Nodded Joseph.
"And how that's the closest to an appearance and identity we have to Ghost?" Garrus let it hang.
"No way." Said Joseph, picking up on Garrus' unsaid statement.
"Think about it, Joe." Pleaded Garrus, as the two stepped into the Sky-car, and it took off. "How many human men are there on the Citadel, with that description?" Asked the Turian.
"Not many I've seen." Conceded Joseph. "But, assume for a moment, you're right." He began. "That means we're dealing with one of the most efficient killers in Citadel space, and we've got to deal with him now that he's insane. How the hell do we deal with this?" The human detective asked.
"All officers, we've got reports of violence near the Rodam Expeditions, anyone in the area, code two, please identify." Said the radio in the car.
"We wait for him to slip up." Said Garrus, with the Turian equivalent of a grin painting itself across his face.
I'm here. Where are you?
Jorra Niatsu typed and sent the question as quickly as she could. The moment it left her Omni-tool, she spun around and saw one of her first informants step out from the alley behind her. She wore a hooded shirt, that hid her face well, in the dark shadows of the alley.
"Niatsu." Said the woman, a Batarian. "It's been a long time." She said, a smirk crawling across her face. "What do you need from this tired old woman?"
"A location." Said Jorra. "My bonded one has entered a battle-sleep I fear he will not be able to awaken from. I need you to locate his Omni-tool and find him before C-Sec does." She ordered.
"And what do I get from this?" Asked the Batarian, leaning against the wall.
In a flash, the confident Batarian was turned into a scared woman as she was pinned to the wall she'd been leaning on, by her throat. Jorra pressed her fore arm into her throat, and spoke softly.
"You get to walk away." Said Jorra. "As we speak Citadel Security is sending it's best, brightest, and most stubborn to find him. I do not want that happen. You do not want that to happen." She said, calmly. Her lack of volume, coupled with the complete calm and coolness of her tone instilled a deep fear into the Batarian she was choking. "Do you understand?" The Batarian nodded, Jorra let her slip down the wall.
The Batarian straightened herself, then opened her Omni-tool. "Can you give me his account information?" She asked.
Jorra had made this decision long ago, granted 'long' was subjective, she gave the woman Ghost's account details.
"I'll be damned, you're fuckin' Ghost." Muttered the Batarian, as she went to work. She saw Jorra's hand move to something behind her back, and quickly added "It's just a joke! Calm down!"
It took several minutes, but finally the Batarian spoke.
"Looks like your boyfriend is in Rodam Expeditions.. I'd get moving though, looks like C-Sec…" She looked up, Jorra was gone. "Is en route." She finishes.
Jorra had taken to the keeper-cat-walks, moving with silent speed as she sprinted through the Citadel. If she remembered correctly - and she did, given her genes - Rodam Expeditions would be a few standard blocks from her position.
C-Sec Detectives Vakarian and Jordan stepped out of the sky-car, to be greeted with a rather large crowd gathered outside Rodam Expeditions.
"The hell?" Wondered Joseph.
"C-Sec, what's going on here?" Asked Vakarian, as they reached the crowd.
"Thank god you're here! This guy's nuts!" Said one person.
"He's got a gun!"
"I feel sorry for that Salarian.."
"He's doing it again!"
"Let me see!"
And with that a light confrontation broke out as people shoved each other to get a better view of what was going on inside.
"That helped!" Declared Joseph.
"Move aside." Said Vakarian, as he and his partner moved through the crowd.
As they reached the store's entrance, they heard a voice shout, and music playing.
"Der schnat?" Asked Garrus.
"Why in the name of hell are we listening to Looney Tunes?" Asked Joseph.
"AGAIN!" Screamed a voice from inside the store.
Vakarian and Joseph burst inside, to find the single most odd sights to be seen with their eyes: There was a human, pointing a gun at a Salarian, who was doing some sort of tribal dance, to the tune of the song playing from the human's Omni-tool. The two C-Sec detectives stared at the commotion, at each other, then back to the commotion, not believing what they were seeing.
"Um… Mister McGraw?" Said Vakarian.
The man in the white hoody suddenly stiffened. He whipped around. The human stared at the two C-Sec detectives for a half minute, his face blank.
Suddenly, "DAMN IT it's the fuzz police!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Without any warning, he sprinted forward, and slammed his arm into the throat of the human detective, and the butt of his gun into the face of the Turian detective. Jordan fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, and Garrus stumbled, immediately assumed a combat stance upon regaining his footing.
The human was the first to throw the punch, which Garrus caught with a clawed hand, but the human's next move would be to spin around, grab the arm which held him, and toss Garrus over his shoulder and onto the ground, the Turian landed with an audible grunt. Not a moment later, the human was on his knees, and he was repeatedly slamming his fist and the butt of his pistol into the Turian's face, which quickly became cut and bleeding, Jordan sees this, and scrambles to his feet, before tackling the human to the ground.
Joseph landed atop the human, who simply chuckled when Joseph pinned his shoulders to the ground, "This is why you don't bring a fist..." Joseph felt the barrel of a gun pressed to his gut. "To a gun fight." He smiled and pulled the trigger four times, completely ignoring the shields on the man, four bullets screamed through the man's gut and impacted the window behind them, the window spider-webbing into a huge series of cracks as a result. Instinctively, Jordan's left hand went to cover the wounded area, and the human beneath him used this to pistol-whip the man off of him.
The human stood up, and before he could dust himself off, Garrus' fist slammed into his face. The human backed up into a wall, and raised his gun and his hand, his hand went to staunch his bleeding nose, his gun went to halt the detective's advance.
"Ah fuck Garrus, that hurts!" The human with the bleeding nose looked up at Garrus with a slight bit of contempt in his clouded eyes. "Damn it.. I - Ooh!" His face lit up when he looked past Garrus. Without warning, his gun went to his head, and his finger to the trigger. "Alright, here's how it's going to work, see? You're going to let me out of here.." He began circling around the detective, who did the same to keep the distance between them. "Or this guy gets it!" He dug the barrel of the gun into his own head.
Garrus slowly reached for his pistol, this man had lost his mind, that much was blatantly obvious, maybe if he humored him he'd get the time he needed. "Alright sir... Just.. Put down the gun.." He requested, slowly and clearly.
The human stopped moving, just in front of the cracked window, "Um... No." And with the he whipped around, emptied the rest of his weapon into the window, and jumped through it, shattering it into millions of tiny pieces, then sprinted through the crowd, it took a few halves of a moment for the C-Sec detective to whip out his gun, but he was halted from shooting when the human started shouldering through civillians and such to get out of the way.
"This guy's gone fucking nuts!" Declared Jordan, through the intense pain in his gut, and his labored breathing.
Garrus crouched next to him, and activated his Omni-tool. "Don't worry man, medic's on his way." Said the Turian, before he distributed some medi-gel to the human's wounded area.
"Forget me, I've got medigel, and I'm certain this place has some, go out there and get that S.O.B." Joseph ordered.
Garrus looked at the human for a moment, obviously conflicted, before finally nodding, and tearing off through the store, a few civillians pointing him in the direction of the fleeing human in the bloodied hoody. It took a quarter of a minute, but Garrus caught up with the fleeing man. They were tearing off through the Presidium, a wide open space, full of shopping centers to their left, and the railing seperating this level and the lower level of the Presidium to the right.
"Freeze!"
"Leave me alone!" Screamed the human, as he sped forward, doing everything he could to evade the human C-Sec Detective.
"C-Sec! Stop that man!" Garrus reasoned that maybe some good samaritan would sstick his foot out, help the detective do his job.
"Don't you fuckin' do it!" Screamed McGraw, ejecting the magazine from his pistol, inserting a new one, and then brandishing the gun for anyone to see. "Ooh! Yay! I see!" He shouted, before he took an impossibly sharp right turn, ambled onto the railing, and leapt.
"Shit!" Garrus sprinted forward, and saw the human was simply diving into the Presidium's pools of water below.
"I didn't ask for this shit!" Screamed the human, as he curled up into a ball, and rocketed towards the water.
Garrus simply stared, open mouthed, as the insane man slammed into the water, creating a gigantic splash, and sailing towards the bottom of the pool. When the man surfaced, and flipped the detective the bird before retreating, Garrus just couldn't believe it.
"What the syrt did I just witness?" He asked himself, watching the man run off out of sight, a second later he opened his Omni-tool and called in the squad car, which appeared several seconds later. It came to a halt to Garrus' right, and he ambled inside, before shutting the door and soaring down to the lower level, trying to track the insane human.
Jorra Niatsu arrived at Rodam Expeditions, as the crowd that had formed began to disperse, some leaving, some heading inside the store. Not wasting any time, she found the first man that looked knowledgeable, and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"What happened here?!" She demanded, her eyes telling the man that she was not to be trifled with.
"Some guy went nuts, shot a C-Sec, and made the Salarian in there do some dance."
"Where'd he go?" Demanded the former assassin, shaking the man a bit. She saw in her peripheral vision, a C-Sec detective on the ground in the Rodam Expeditions store.
"Uh, that way!" The human pointed to her rear right. She dropped the man and tore off away from the store.
As she moved, she opened up her Omni-tool, intending to get an update from Nigri. When she opened it though, she saw a message waiting for her.
Since I know you're going to contact me again, I sent you the program I used to find your boyfriend. It's already got his information plugged in, just open it up and you'll find him.
Jorra made a mental note to thank Nigri, as she activated the program. It told her that Chris was on the move, and was moving fast. In response, Jorra moved faster, as she knew C-Sec would be using similar techniques to find him.
I won't let them take you! She vowed, biting back tears, as she sprinted along, catching many a confused glare when she would dodge between people.
"Sniaf, how did I lose him!?" Demanded Detective Garrus Vakarian, as the sky-car made another pass over the ground, attracting many a confused and nervous eye.
Maybe I shouldn't have used the fucking siren... But that was the only damn way to get those cars out of the way!
His Omni-tool went off, when the detective opened it, Joseph Jordan was on the other end.
"Garrus, I managed to tag him with a few nano-bots while we were fighting." Joseph stated simply, in the background it looked like he was in some sort of vehicle.
"How in the h- Never mind, where's he going?"
"Towards B-Ward, I think he's on a Sky-car." Said Jordan.
"Well then I can just use C-Sec clearance and pull it over. We've got him!" Said Garrus.
"No… You misunderstand. I said on a sky-car.." Stated Joseph.
Garrus looked at the human detective with the Turian form of an incredulous expression, as the car piloted itself into the sky-way.
"How the hell is he breathing?" Asked Garrus.
"I heard he was a biotic.." Suggested Jordan.
"That'd explain some things, but still!" Prodded Vakarian, as the car's sirens blared and they sped forward.
"Maybe that mask doubles up as a breathing apparatus, I don't know." Relented Jordan. "Point is, he's moving fast, probably to his main base of operations."
Garrus gave the human a Turian-equivalent of a smile. "Starting to think he's The Ghost too?" He asked.
"Hard not to.. Who else can afford to use an ancient gun as a secondary weapon?" Reasoned Jordan.
"That's true."
"Yes it is. Anyway, I sent you the details and specifications the nano-bots sent me, just open up the tracker on your tool, you'll find him." Stated Joseph.
"Thanks, good luck in the hospital." Garrus gave the Human a Turian smirk, when he saw Joseph swipe his hand through his hair.
"You know I'm not going to have good luck in there, the place fucking hates me." The human chuckled, before cutting the Omni-tool off.
The detective did the same, and as the cruiser flew through the air, he kept on the lookout for anything suspicious. Several minutes passed, before the detective's Omni-tool went off again.
That's him! He thought, looking from his tool, to the blue car several lengths in front of him.
Garrus didn't see the human he was looking for, but wagered that he was more than likely hanging on to the vehicle from below, or something. He opened up the C-Sec car's terminal, and entered the 'kill-code' that would cause any auto-piloted sky-cars to shut down and make the nearest safe landing, as well as broadcasting a standard 'This is C-Sec' message. Garrus looked up and saw the car veer out of traffic, and towards the ground.
As Garrus' eyes followed the car, his attention was attracted to something on the ground. He looked at what was attracting his attention, and saw - just barely - a shrouded figure, moving at speeds that he thought were impossible. The figure was sticking to the shadows, and somehow transitioned between them so quickly that it didn't even disturb the ground it walked on. To make matters more interesting, it was moving for the human's landing zone.
"This just got a lot more interesting." He thought aloud, as his own car made for the ground.
Jorra Niatsu was angry. Her skills had become dull in the time she'd been spending behind the desk, and in Chris' arms. Yes, the training she helped him with helped lessen the dull, but he wasn't trained like she, and it was like sparring with a child. As a result, she'd lost her touch. She'd let C-Sec get ahead of her, and now they had caught him. The tracking program told her that Chris was in the sky-car they'd just pulled over, and she knew that there would be a nearly infinitesimal window of time in which she could extract Chris, and she honestly did not know if she could do it, given her dulled skills.
Anger wasn't the only emotion running through Jorra Niatsu's mind. There was also fear. She was utterly scared of what she would find. She had the training, so when it came to her first kill, it was as simple as pulling the trigger, and forgetting about it. She'd had years of training and mental preparation to make her ready for her life as a killer. But Chris? Chris had told her - on no uncertain terms - that the life he'd led before meeting her was entirely different than the one he led now. He had been - in his own terms - a slacker, who looked no farther than the next morning's breakfast. Sure, he'd conceded that once he joined the fire department, he'd try a bit harder to grow up, but he'd told her his one goal in life was to just 'wing it' and have fun. That was not the life that preceded a killer, and that was not the kind of training that would be needed to perform the job he leads. She'd only ever once seen a man break, and that had been explained as a 'light' loss of sanity; it haunted her dreams and memories even to this day. With Chris, she knew beforehand that he had utterly lost his mind, was truly broken. Her feelings for him, her past memories, and her conversation with That Man were conjuring up horrible images and scenarios in her mind, which did nothing to help her growing apprehension. All she wanted was to find him, and try and make everything better; to take him somewhere - anywhere - where he didn't have to worry, where he could just sit back and 'wing it', even if only for a moment. She forced these thoughts to the deepest part of her mind, as she saw Chris' sky car descend. When it landed, she pounced upon it, and forced the car's door open. Needless to say, what she found within confused her to the core. There was a human - not Chris - and an Asari woman contained within, both looking terrified for their lives.
"Where is he?" She asked, as she heard the C-Sec car land behind her, she needed to work quickly. "Where is Chris!?" She demanded.
"We don't know who you're talking about!" Declared the human. "One second we're on our way home, next we're getting pulled over by C-Sec!"
As if on cue: "C-Sec! Freeze!"
Jorra didn't move. Not because she'd been told to, but because she realized what had just happened. This was a taxi, and stuck to the back of the Asari's seat, was an Omni-tool, the wire hanging loosely, undetected by the couple within.
Chris had tricked them, she had lost him again.
Before she could think further, she felt a clawed hand close around her wrist. On instinct, she recoiled, spun around the hand's owner, twisted it up his back, and slammed his head into the car. She looked behind her, and saw the no one, so she proceeded to slam the C-Sec officer's head into the car again, this time hard enough to knock him out.
Acting quickly, she took Chris' Omni-tool, and activated a program she'd insisted he install a few weeks ago. This program would copy any and all data from his machine, to her's, and would purge the data as it was copied. It could not be traced, and it rendered the Omni-tool inert, and unusable. A moment after the program had been activated, it was finished, and she snapped the tool's wire for good measure, before sprinting off into the darkness again, her thoughts filled with only one sentence:
How could I have lost him!?
"Ugh…" Grunted Garrus Vakarian, as he woke up many minutes later, the sky car he'd seen a few moments before the dark was gone. There were civillians standing all around him, many with their Omni-tools open, calling C-Sec or taking pictures.
"C-Sec business, who saw who did this?"
"She ran off that way." One civillian, a Salarian, stated, before pointing off towards the Presidium's rings.
"Thanks." And as Garrus stood up, something on the ground caught his eye. "Excuse me.." He moved aside a few civilians, and saw a snapped Omni-tool lying forgotten on the ground.
I think I know my next move... He thought, picking up the broken tool, and stuffing it in his pocket, slightly angry it was broken. Get Christopher McGraw's apartment address.
Jorra Niatsu was on the verge of tears. She'd spent hours scouring the Presidium, and a majority of the ward she'd found Chris' Omni-tool at, but came up with nothing. She found no trace of him, anywhere. She'd went through his contacts, had called up 'Chuck' at the antiques store, Bo'laan the land owner, even the two 'Favors Owed by' entries, Kasumi Goto and Miranda Lawson, and they'd all come up with nothing. The former three said they'd be on the look out, though the last of the first three said she doubted she'd be able to do much, seeing as how she was on Illium at the moment. The final said she'd try and talk to her 'friends', see if they could get something done.
It was well into the Citadel's night cycle. Jorra's legs and feet were sore from over-use, her eyes were puffy from the few times she'd cried, and her heart ached. She had no clue where Chris was, and felt as if she'd failed him because of this.
Currently, she was stepping through the doors of their apartment building, ignoring the greeting made by the Volus, she knew she needed a moments rest, and some food in her stomach, before she set out again. As each minute passed, she found herself fearing more and more the miniature prophecy set by That Man. She utterly didn't know what she'd do if Chris died, even less so if she learned he'd killed himself.
After an agonizingly long elevator ride - during which she felt as if she was utterly wasting time, and was practically drowning in grief over that fact - she moved towards her and Chris' apartment. Upon opening the door, she was greeted with a peculiarly loud sound, coming from Chris' room.
"And the mercy seat is waiting.
And I think my head is burning.
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this weighing of the truth." Came the loud, deep voice, accompanied by a humming rhythm of the acoustic guitar, and some sort of a piano.
What in the name of… Jorra found herself wondering, as she slowly - disbelievingly - made her way into the house.
"An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die." Said the man, before a small guitar solo.
What is that? Who is in his room?! Demanded Jorra of herself.
"I hear stories from the chamber.
Christ was born into a manger.
And like some ragged stranger,
He died upon the cross.
Might I say, it seems so fitting, in its way
He was a carpenter by trade..
Or at least that's what I'm told" Said the man, keeping in tune with his guitar.
Jorra pressed one of her fingers into the green plate, and the door opened, unceremoniously revealing Christopher McGraw, sitting silently in a chair, blankly staring ahead, as a his terminal played the song.
"Chris!" Jorra gasped.
"SHUT UP!" Shouted Chris, dragging out both words and flailing his arms to interrupt her. "Song's almost over!" He said, looking at her with an expression mixed with false rage, and insanity. Immediately after he stopped shouting, his face lost it's expression and he resumed staring at the wall.
"And the mercy seat is smoking
And I think my head is melting
And in a way that's helping,
to be done with all this twistin' of the truth..
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth.
And any way I told the truth,
But I'm afraid I told a lie."
With that, the song continued into a small solo, before slowly fading into silence.
"Ah. Pretty deep." Sighed Chris, a small, fake, smile playing across his features. "Should probably get that." A second later, someone began slamming their fist repeatedly against the apartment's front door.
"Chris, are-"
"C-SEC! OPEN UP!"
"Chris-"
"You should get that."
"OPEN UP!"
Jorra was conflicted, and felt rushed. Chris was here, safe, but C-Sec was at the door, and if she didn't answer, they'd come in anyways, and find them both here.
"Don't do anything rash.." She begged of Chris.
"I've still got a song left. Give me three minutes." Stated Chris, still blankly staring at the wall ahead of him.
Jorra desperately didn't want to, but she tore herself from their room at the sound of more bangs on the door. Just before the officer would shout some more, she unlocked and opened the door, to reveal the one C-Sec detective she didn't want to be seeing rigtht now.
"C-Sec, Detective Garrus Vakarian, is mister McGraw in?" He asked, looking down at the Drell, he towered over her, by a foot at least.
Jorra could see the rifle on Garrus' back, and the pistol on his hip, and knew that she had to tread lightly.
"No... He's been out all day... I just got home, from looking for him." She tells the detective.
"The Volus down stairs says differently." And with that, more music blared from Chris' room, first in the form of hand-claps and guitar strums, then with the vocals of the same deep-voiced man Chris had been listening to earlier.
"You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time.
Sooner or later God'll cut you down,
Sooner or later God'll cut you down."
Jorra felt her face slowly drain of blood, and her body get ready for a fight, as the Turian before her slowly looked from the direction of the music, to Jorra.
"Go tell that long tongue liar,
Go and tell that midnight rider,
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down"
"Are you... Sure... You're alone, miss?" Garrus' hand slowly, surreptitiously went for his pistol. "Let me in." He demanded.
Jorra looked at the Turian, quickly going over how she could take him down in a silent manor.
"I won't ask again, let me in!"
"Well my goodness gracious let me tell you the news
My head's been wet with the midnight dew,
I've been down on bended knee, talkin' to the man from Galilee.
He spoke to me in the voice so sweet-
I thought I heard the shuffle of the angel's feet!
He called my name and my heart stood still,
When he said, 'John go do My will!'.."
The Turian made to push her aside, but Jorra caught his hand and slammed it into the door frame, he responded by whiping out his pistol, and making to press it against her head, but she used her other fist and backhanded the gun out of his hand, the gun clattered to the ground. The Turian slammed his fist into Jorra's face, but she ignored the biting pain, before she regained her balance after stumbling backwards into the apartment.
"Go tell that long tongue liar,
Go and tell that midnight rider,
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down"
Garrus made to grab his rifle, but Jorra tackled him to the ground, and brought her elbow down upon his face. He responded by grabbing her face and tightening his grip, his claws tore marks into her forehead and on her chin, and drew some blood, but again, she ignored it. She grabbed the Turian's arm, ripped the hand from her face, and quickly got him into an arm-bar, though she didn't stop there, she pulled at Garrus' arm, and didn't stop pulling until she heard the 'pop' that came with it's dislocation.
"You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time.
Sooner or later God'll cut you down,
Sooner or later God'll cut you down."
Garrus rolled to his stomach and grasped his arm in pain. He saw his pistol standing several feet from him, and scrambled forward, trying to reach it, only to have his face slammed into the ground by Jorra's foot.
"Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light"
Garrus was dazed for a moment, but sobered up almost instantly when he saw his pistol pointed at his face. He tried to slap the gun out of the Drell's hand, but her grip was too tight, and she responded by slamming her left fist into his face, and bringing her knee to his throat, pinning him to the ground.
"You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time.
Sooner or later God'll cut you down,
Sooner or later God'll cut you down."
"You won't... Shoot me!" He croaked, in response, Jorra brought the pistol around to be aimed at his face.
"Go tell that long tongue liar,
Go and tell that midnight rider,
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down"
And with that, the song ended. The gunshot echoed throughout the apartment, and the apartment building. The Turian beneath her flinched, expecting to have been hit shot, but his eyes opened the second he realized that the gunshot hadn't came from the Drell. He looked up to find the her, pointing the gun at him, her eyes wide, and her hand shaking. Before he could try to claw her off of him, she violently pressed her knee into his throat, and cut off his air supply. It took a few minutes, but eventually he fell limp, and unconscious.
A/N: For those who are wondering, the songs I used were called 'The Mercy Seat', and 'God's Gonna Cut You Down', the Johnny Cash covers were the ones I had in mind as I wrote this chapter.
Reviews are appreciated!