Chapter 58 – Cutting The Knot
Jack Shepard's apartment
Tiberius Towers, Silversun Strip
The Citadel
I looked around and realised why I never threw house parties. People walking around, touching your stuff, sitting on your furniture and eating your food without a care in the world.
I winced as Vega nearly knocked over an expensive-looking vase, caught just in time by Ashley. My whole crew had somehow decided to pile into the nice new apartment Anderson had gifted me, having been summoned by Joker with malicious intent.
I loved these people. I would take a bullet for them. If necessary, I would even die for them. But letting them breeze through my personal quarters? That crossed a line. Mi casa su casa is not a Shepard family motto.
"Glad you made it out of that ambush ok," said Cortez, who had taken a seat at the mini-bar. "None of us saw that coming."
"Thanks Steve."
"What was it, five minutes before the bad guys started shooting at you?" Garrus asked, wandering into the lounge.
"You make it sound like it's my fault."
"Can't rule it out. But this, this is a pretty cool secret hideout to hang out in...unless the bad guys look in the window."
"There's security features...wait, who said anything about you guys hanging out here anyway? This is my private apartment."
Garrus waved an arm. "We can discuss it."
"Jack?" Liara called. "My investigations are complete. Shall we?"
"You heard the lady," I said. "Everyone gather in the dining room."
Liara had set the gun I took from the Cerberus merc on the table. Brooks was already there, gazing intently as Liara finished up her scans.
"We have a lead," she said, once everyone had wandered in. "I called in some favours to run a trace on the gun. It led me to a casino owner named Elijah Khan. He's been suspected of smuggling weapons onto the Citadel."
"Why would a casino owner smuggle weapons?" wondered Ashley. "It's the easiest business there is."
"Maybe he wanted more money," said Joker.
"You'd have to be a complete idiot to lose money while running a casino," she said, shrugging. Liara cleared her throat. "Immediately after the attempt on Jack's life, Khan made a very interesting call." She said, and brought up an audio file.
"Wait, you can do that?" asked Brooks. "Call up private phone records?"
Everyone stared at her, and she backed down a little. "Right, sorry. Just...never mind. Sorry."
We listened to the conversation. Khan apparently sold weapons to the person he was speaking to, but he was unhappy that the attack was all over the news. He threatened to release info on the other guy if they came after him, before ending the call.
"Who's the other person speaking?" asked Tali. "Our identity thief."
"Still working on that," Liara replied.
"Anything on the mercenaries who attacked us?" rumbled Wrex.
"They're a group called CAT6," said Liara.
"Those fuckers," Vega swore. "Dishonourable discharges, scum who commit war crimes and get kicked out of the Alliance, but don't have the brains to do anything useful."
"That's correct, Lieutenant," said Liara. "No doubt hired by our thief, not Khan."
"Khan didn't sound too friendly in that call," Garrus pointed out. "Maybe he'd open up to us. With just the right amount of persuasion."
"We can't go in guns blazing," argued Brooks. "Khan's guards aren't afraid of civilian casualties. If we try a frontal assault, it'd cause a lot of damage."
"Yeah, that's true," I said. I sensed, rather than saw, the tiniest little tense-up of Liara's muscles when she heard what Brooks said.
"The casino has a panic room," said Liara. "Chances are, he'll go to ground there the instant he senses danger."
"We should do a stealth mission thing!" Brooks suggested. "The casino will be holding a charity event this evening to assist war refugees. We can infiltrate the place and speak to Elijah Khan, even if he retreats to his safe room."
"Glyph, please project an image of the casino's layout," I said. The little mech did so and we all leaned in closer, scoping it out.
"This air shaft bypasses the security gate and ends up in storage," said EDI, pointing. "From there, the panic room's door-camera can be disabled."
"This is a casino though, there will be alarms in the shaft,"
"Who will go in the shaft?" asked Javik. "They will need to be small in size."
Everyone looked at Tali.
"Keelah," she muttered. "I swore to myself the last time I did that was the last time I would ever do it."
"What you need is someone trained in zero-emissions tech," cut in Brooks. "No electronics, no metal, just undetectable polymers. I took a hacking course back at Op-Int, disabling a bomb with these little tweezers. See, the bomb was filled with shaving cream..."
"Oh that's good. Alright, Brooks is in," I said, even though Ashley looked like she wanted to say something.
"Me? I got shot just coming to talk to you? And now you expect me to hack into a crime boss's lair?" Brooks said, sounding panicky.
"Don't worry, we'll be backing you up. The minute you hit something you can't handle, we'll cover you," I said.
"Right," said Brooks doubtfully. "I can do this."
"I'll get someone to go with you for protection, get your gear and make preparations," I said. "Vega? Javik? Please go with Ms. Brooks and see that she has everything she needs."
"Yes sir," said Vega. "Come on, we can get a snack along the way."
Still the apartment
When the three had left and the door shut behind them, I turned to my team and held a finger to my lips. They quietened down immediately.
"Liara?" I asked.
"It's clean," she said. "Double checked security, with Glyph's help. No listening or recording devices are active in the apartment. We can speak freely."
"John, she's a fucking spy!" blurted out Ashley, sounding like she had waited a long time to say this.
"Yes," I said. "I know." I was rewarded with a look of surprise on Ashley's face, and I couldn't help but smirk a little.
"Wait, what's going on? She's not an Alliance officer?" asked Tali. The others looked mildly shocked, even EDI. Only Liara was smiling, and Garrus was nodding, satisfied.
"Obviously!" said Ashley. "She took a hacking course back at Op-Int? Physical hacking with tweezers? I worked for Alliance Intelligence before, they don't teach you how to use goddamn tweezers like you're in a bad action movie!"
"Well done, XO," I said. "In fact, I'd like to know how the rest of you figured it out."
"I got suspicious when she said Khan's guards aren't afraid of civilian casualties. If she's new to the Citadel, and stays out of danger, how would she know that?" piped up Garrus.
"Thank you. Picked that up too."
"My own suspicions were aroused when she was talking about the Spectre codes. What was it she said again?" asked Liara.
"She said, 'imagine what they could do with Shepard's high-level codes. That's why they were trying to kill you,'" I recalled.
"That was it. Why would a group of mercenaries who had cunningly hacked into Jack's personal files and obtained his high-level security codes, then launch a very public attempt to assassinate him? If they succeeded, their codes would be useless because everyone would know that he died."
"So why did they attack at all?" asked Joker.
"Isn't it obvious?" I said. "To make us trust her. Who wouldn't believe someone who got shot at by a merc that they're not working with the mercs?"
"Ah, that's why she kept whining on and on about getting shot at," said Wrex. "She wasn't even wounded."
"She sacrificed all those mercs just for her little ploy too," said Liara. "We're dealing with someone fairly ruthless."
"Is that how you figured out she wasn't on the level, sir?" asked Cortez.
"No," I said. I looked at Joker. "Do you remember the first thing this Maya Brooks person said to me?"
Joker thought about it. "She said something like 'Shepard, there are people trying to kill you.'"
"That was it," I said, with a grin.
"I don't understand," said Tali.
"She called me Shepard. With familiarity. Except I don't know who the hell she is. If she really was an Alliance officer, like she claimed, she would have addressed me as General, or sir. Only civilians would address a superior officer by their name. And her salute was all wrong. I guess they don't drill it into you wherever she really comes from."
Ashley chuckled. "You can take the boy out of the soldiers, but..."
"Excuse me, please. Marine."
"Hoo-ah, sir," she said, with a wink.
"So she's a spy. What do we do next?" asked EDI.
"That's a good question. What do you guys think? And let's not waste time. Vega's not going to hold her forever."
"Why send James and Javik to go with her?" wondered Liara.
"Vega could talk the hind leg off a donkey," I explained. "Keeps her off balance. And Javik will not let Brooks out of his sight, no matter what she does. Just because she's supposedly Alliance doesn't mean he trusted her."
"Let's see," mused Garrus. "Maybe we should start with what she doesn't want us to do."
"She doesn't want us to contact C-Sec. Remember? She said it'll make them a target," said Joker.
"Which makes absolutely zero sense," Ashley said. "If these mercs could monitor our comms to the extent that they'd know if we contacted C-Sec, there are bigger problems than making them potential targets."
"The key is still this Elijah Khan person," said Liara. "Get him, and he can tell us more about Brooks."
Together, we came up with a plan. When we were done, I leaned back in my chair, stretched out my arms and laced them behind my head.
"Apologies for interrupting shore leave, everyone," I said. "I'll make it up to you."
"No need," growled Ashley. "Just leave me in a room with this traitor. Ten minutes, that's all I'm asking."
"Get in line," said Joker. "She set up a situation where the general used me as bait!"
"Joker, I swear to god, if you don't knock that shit off I'm telling Captain Bailey you're working with Brooks."
"Alright, but we're going to have a conversation later about this."
Silver Coast Casino
Silversun Strip
Battle was one thing, suicide missions, race-against-the-clock scenarios were all fine, but this was the most terrifying of all – a red carpet event. I plucked at the sleeves of my fancy formal get-up, the legacy of another high-society caper Kasumi once asked me to pull off.
"Don't look so nervous," said Liara. She too was dressed to the nines, in a flowing white long-sleeved asari-style gown. "It's just a party, after all."
"I hate parties," I muttered.
"Me too," said Brooks. She looked equally nervous, and I wondered again just how good an actor she was. Vega and Javik had brought her back and it was all I could to restrain myself from shooting her right then and there.
Who are you really, Miss Brooks?
The guards checked us out, waved us through, and we found ourselves walking into the casino's grand entrance hall. It was a lot quieter here, with soft, refined music and murmured conversation. Waiters glided through the crowd, carrying flutes of champagne and other, more exotic drinks.
"I'll get to the ventilation shaft. Wish me luck!" said Brooks. Liara followed her.
"Ok. Tali, EDI it's time."
Tali and EDI came through the doors. Their job was to jam Brooks' communications while she was in the casino. No messages would reach her, or get out.
Behind Tali came a veritable army of C-Sec officers. Bailey's finest. Quickly, discreetly and efficiently, they explained that the party was shut down and the casino was now the site of a crime scene investigation. The guests were escorted out and the guards lay down their weapons.
"Good job fellas," I said.
"Our pleasure, sir," said the commanding officer.
We went up the stairs to the second level where Brooks and Liara were, just outside the entrance to the ventilation shaft. Liara had pinned Brooks to a wall with her biotic powers. A pistol was on the floor by her feet. The look on Brooks' face was priceless.
"Thank you, Liara. Boys, be careful. Don't want her biting down on a suicide pill or anything. She needs close questioning."
"You," hissed Brooks, in a voice of pure fury. "How did you -"
"I could stand here and explain it to you, but it's more fun to let you puzzle it out. Take her away, boys."
The C-Sec officers marched her away. I turned to Liara, grinning.
"I always wanted to say that!"
"Now that we've accomplished that, shall we get to the reason why we're here?" asked Liara.
We reached the safe room and waved at the security camera. "Hey there Elijah, what's it like in the panic room?"
"Why the hell are you here?" came a voice from the intercom. "What's going on?"
"We just saved your life, Mr Khan," said Liara. "You were the target of an assassination plot this evening. If you tell us what we know, we might tell C-Sec to go easy on you."
There was a moment, then the door slid open. Elijah Khan was sitting at his desk, looking mutinous.
"I'm not saying anything without my lawyer present," he said.
"Cut the bullshit, will you?" I said. "I know you're smuggling weapons. And unlike the C-Sec boys, I'm not bound by due process. I could shoot you in the head right now and type up a report that I deemed you a threat to the security of the Citadel. That's if I even remember to do the paperwork. There's a war going on, after all."
"You wouldn't!" gasped Khan, looking at the C-Sec officers.
"Spectre status," I said. "We have a shockingly irresponsible amount of power. Now, we can debate the finer points of certain cops being above the law, extra-judicial killings and jurisdictional authority if you like. I'm against it myself, but at the moment it makes it so much easier for me to shoot you."
I holstered my pistol. "And that's why I'm not going to do that," I said. "No one should be above the law, not even Spectres." Khan looked pleasantly surprised.
"I can ruin your life without ending it, after all," I continued. "I'll have my team here hack into your secret accounts and give your entire fortune away to the war effort. This casino can be turned into a refugee housing centre. Even if you die, your children won't inherit a single credit. They'd be forced to spend the rest of their lives begging on the streets, and judging by how the war is going, it's not going to last long anyway."
Khan looked ill. I went on. "On the other hand, the quicker you help us now, the quicker I can end this and get back to fighting the war, and I promise I will hand you over to C-Sec where you and your crooked lawyer will likely get a reduced sentence in exchange for a big fine and a promise not to be so naughty next time. So please. What do you say?"
"I guess I have little choice," muttered Khan. He told us everything he knew. How he sold weapons to Brooks and her gang of mercenaries, and the army of mechs they had hidden in the bowels of the Citadel. The C-Sec commander relayed some quick orders back to HQ.
"Thank you, you've been very helpful. One more thing – who's this mysterious partner that Brooks is working with?"
"I don't know," said Khan. "He – if it is a he – never revealed his face."
I considered. "Is there anything else you can tell us about him?"
"Brooks once let slip a reference to the Illusive Man," said Khan. "That's another reason I wouldn't have gotten tangled up with her. I do shady deals, but I'm not a pro-human bigot. I don't believe in what the Illusive Man stands for."
"Thank you for not discriminating in your arms dealings," said Liara dryly.
"And she once said something about 'Commander Shepard's legacy.' I don't know what it means. Please, that's all I know."
"We're done here," I said to the C-Sec commander, who led Khan away. I huddled with my team.
"Cerberus huh. EDI, any clues?"
She shook her head in a pretty good imitation of Joker. "No. Compartmentalisation was a key doctrine of Cerberus protocol. I was not involved in the Lazarus project."
Then it hit me. "Time to phone a friend."
Dolo Station
Xe Cha System
"You won't let me walk out of here alive," the man spat. "So there's no point in me telling you anything." He was bound to a chair, unable to move. He was alone in the hangar bay, except for one other person.
"That's true," said Miranda Lawson smoothly. "I won't patronise you by giving you false hope that you can survive this. You were dead the moment you decided to skim supplies and ship them to Horizon."
"Do your worst," he growled. "I'm not giving you anything."
"That's where you're wrong," said Miranda. "The money goes somewhere. And there's nothing easier than finding out where money goes. A bank account, accessible by a woman and a little girl in Ontarom. She goes to school at Rania Agarwal Kindergarten. Cute kid. Red hair, missing left incisor."
His eyes grew wide. "You wouldn't."
Slowly, so he could see every little move, Miranda reached into her bag and extracted a pair of kid's shoes, tied together. She dangled it in front of the man.
"You recognise these, don't you?"
He nodded wordlessly.
"Tell me what I want to know, and I will cut your throat before I blow you out of this airlock. I will also transfer an additional hundred thousand credits to that account. Call it a life insurance policy, cashed out. Whoever those people are to you, they will be taken care of.
But play games, and you will go out of this airlock, still alive. And I will go back to the same place where I found these shoes. And the police on Ontarom will have a double murder case on their hands. The same thing happens if you give me information that later turns out to be incorrect."
Miranda leaned in closer, speaking almost compassionately. "These are your only two choices. There isn't a third option."
With tears running down his cheeks, the man told Miranda what she wanted to know.
"Thank you." She unsheathed a knife. "This won't take long."
Then her communicator beeped, her secure line. "Pardon me, I need to take this," she said, turning away.
"John?"
"Hi Miri. Bad time?"
She glanced back at the man in the chair. "Can't think of a worse one, really."
"Is that crying I hear in the back?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. Why the hell are you calling?"
"Listen, there's a bit of a situation here on the Citadel. We think it's Cerberus related."
Miranda listened as Shepard rattled off a rundown of everything that happened so far, and a quick description of Brooks.
"That sounds like Hope Lilium," she said. "She worked in the Intelligence division back in Cerberus. She did always seem interested in the Lazarus Project."
"She mentioned something about my 'legacy'. Do you have any idea what that means?"
Miranda thought about it. The sobs from the man in the chair were getting distracting, and she walked further away.
"I wonder if it could be something to do with the clone we had in storage."
"Excuse me? A clone?"
"Cerberus believes in back-ups," said Miranda casually. "If you needed a replacement organ quickly, the clone would provide it. And something about one day having an army of Shepards, all loyal to the Illusive Man. You know how it is."
There was a short pause, then Shepard spoke up again. "And you think Brooks...Lilium is working with this clone somehow?"
"Possibly. She was obsessed with it. She doesn't know that I knew, but I did."
"Great, this got a lot more creepy. Thanks Miri. Hope you're still safe out there."
"As much as I can be."
"Hey listen, if you have some free time, come and join us at the Citadel. We're on shore leave and we haven't seen you in a while."
Miranda considered. "I could use a break. I'll see you later, John."
"Thanks again Miri. Stay safe."
She ended the call and went back to the man in the chair. "Sorry about that."
"Cerberus? You're Cerberus? Is this what this is?" he asked. Miranda decided she would do him the courtesy of answering his final question.
"No, not any more. And this isn't Cerberus. It's family."
She slid the knife across his throat, quickly and cleanly, and watched as his life's blood gushed out in a red tide, and his body grow limp. Once that was over, she dragged the chair over to the airlock, shut the door, and hit the eject button.
Silver Coast Casino
Silversun Strip
"So," I said. "You're not going to believe this."
"I already don't like where this is going," Tali said.
"Miranda thinks that Brooks is working with a clone they made of me. I think that's her partner."
Liara, EDI and Tali stared at me for a moment slightly longer than was comfortable.
"Look, that's what she told me," I said defensively. "I'm not making it up!"
"If Ms. Lawson is correct," said Liara diplomatically, "Then finding Brooks' partner should be fairly simple. I will run a facial and audio recognition scan on you."
She activated her omni-tool and held it out for me. "Say something."
"Uh, my name is John Kennedy Shepard and I really, really rather would be doing something else with my time on shore leave."
"Thank you," said Liara. "EDI, could you patch me into C-Sec's security network?"
"Certainly, Dr. T'soni," said EDI. Liara's programme began running, I assumed, checking up on all the myriad cameras within the vast Citadel and trying to find a match.
"There's someone with a 73 per cent match down in Zakera Ward," she said, after a while.
"Is that the clone?" asked Tali. Liara projected the security camera's feed into the air. The man was sitting at a noodle bar, eating a bowl of ramen. His clothes looked shabby, and there was at least five days worth of stubble on his chin. But he did look a bit like me.
The ladies examined the image carefully. "He does look like the captain, but I believe he would not be able to pass as him under scrutiny," said EDI. "I believe Cerberus would have better cloning technology."
"He looks like you if you made some bad decisions in life," quipped Tali.
"I've made nothing but bad decisions for a while now, beginning with touching that Prothean beacon."
"I have another match," said Liara. "98.9 per cent."
We all leaned in closer. It was a camera in a bar somewhere, the rougher area of the wards. My heart began to sink when I recognised the layout. This was the bar where Jackie liked to hang out.
"He's going after her."
The Bloody Moon
Zakera Ward
The Citadel
Jackie sipped from a mug of something frothy. The bartender called it drell beer, but as far as she knew, the drell weren't exactly known for their breweries. Nevertheless, she found herself liking it.
She pored over reports of her Grissom Academy kids that Kahlee Sanders faithfully kept sending her. They were spread out across Alliance units, providing support. Reinforcing barriers, modding ammo, that sort of thing. Much better than using them as blunt shock troops. This way, they would be safer. Or as safe as anyone could be in this war.
She noticed a familiar figure walking over, and smiled.
"Hey there, soldier. Buy a girl a drink?"
"Nothing I'd like better," said Shepard. He was dressed in some kind of body armour Jackie had never seen before, and sat down at the table. "So what are you up to, Jack?"
Something kicked Jackie's brain. Then her communicator lit up, the secure line. This was meant for emergencies, a call that would get through even if all other calls were blocked. Only one person could contact her this way.
The thing that looked like Shepard smiled a strangled smile. "I have a gun pointed at you underneath this table right now," he said. "Move a muscle, even twitch that biotic brain of yours, and you're getting shot in the gut."
"I'll fucking kill you first, whoever you are," hissed Jackie.
"Oh, I don't think so. I'm fully shielded against anything your biotics can throw at me. Cause trouble, I'll set off a bunch of explosives here and now. Do you really want all these poor filthy innocent aliens to die?"
Jackie swore again. But the clone was right. The old Jackie would have shrugged off the death of so many innocent lives. But that wasn't her any more.
"Before I'm done with you, you're going to answer a few questions for me," said the clone.
"Fuck you."
"If you answer them, I'll think about not killing all these civilians. Is that something you want?"
Stall for time, something whispered in her mind.
"Ask your fucking questions," said Jackie.
The clone looked at her for a moment. "Why you?"
That wasn't a question she was expecting. "What?"
"I know who you are, of course," the clone said. "Subject Zero. Kidnapped before you could walk or talk. A lost, broken, damaged psychotic undergone intense mental and physical trauma. A lab experiment."
"Keep talking," she said, through gritted teeth.
"And yet, he chose you," said the clone. "It's absolutely ridiculous. There are men and women far worthier of him. The Cerberus operative, genetically designed to be perfect. His former Alliance comrade-in-arms. Even the aliens would have been a better fit, disgusting as that sounds. The brilliant asari professor. The drell assassin, so precise with every move. The justicar, the krogan warlord. Any of them would have made a better match for him than you. Why you?"
"Why do you even care?" asked Jackie, even as the old doubts began to surface once again.
"Isn't it obvious? I've studied all of you. I know everything about you. But I've studied him most of all. Every detail. Every last decision he made. There's just one I don't understand. The reason he chose you, out of all people."
"I don't know," said Jackie. The clone raised an eyebrow.
"Last chance."
"He said – he said I make him feel good about himself," Jackie muttered. Discussing the most intimate details of her relationship with a murderous clone of Shepard was not on her to-do list, but here she was. Somehow.
"What?"
"That's what he said."
"Nonsense," said the clone. "I see it now. You're just a project to him, aren't you? Someone to fix. Someone to put together and take care of. Someone who would pathetically cling on to him because she knows she can't find better. He wants a devoted slave, one so thoroughly lost in her delusion she doesn't even know she's wearing a collar."
"You're wrong," said Jackie, even if her voice was trembling just a little.
"Oh, I don't think I am."
"That might have been how it started," she said, admitting something that she had never dared to before. "He wanted to help me. But it's different now. He could have walked away, so many times. I could have too. But we chose each other. We keep choosing each other, despite all the problems and all the setbacks. I'm his, but he's mine too. We're a team. Partners. Equals. Something you'll never understand."
The clone smiled again in a hideous approximation of Shepard's smile. "Nobody is my equal. Not even him. And you'll die now."
A shot rocked the side of the clone's head. The shields bore the brunt of it, but the clone fired the gun in his hand on reflex. Quicker than thought, operating on pure instinct alone, she created a biotic shield that just about caught the round, stalling it in mid-air, before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
"JACKIE!" came a roar from outside the bar. But he was too far away. Jackie shoved the table at the clone, sending him reeling back. He gave her a glance, and she knew immediately what he was going to do. Calling up her biotics again, Jackie created a hard shell around the clone, sealing him inside a nigh-impenetrable cocoon. A second later, a huge explosion went off that nearly knocked Jackie to the ground. But thanks to her shield, no one else was hurt in the blast. The full force of the explosion burned only the Shepard clone and shorted out his own shields.
Jack and Garrus rushed in. "Everybody out!" yelled Garrus, in his best cop voice. The patrons and the bartender didn't need to be told twice.
"Are you hurt?" Jack asked.
"I'm ok," said Jackie. "This asshole tried to murder me."
"I know. I'm glad you're alright."
"What do we do about the clone?" asked Garrus, looking down at the groaning, prone form, still smoking.
Jack shoved his gun into the clone's mouth. It barely had time to look surprised before his brains were blown out all over the floor.
"Shame," said Jackie. "If he wasn't such a cunt, I wouldn't say no to having two Shepards at the same time."
Garrus laughed. Jack holstered his gun. "Did he say anything to you? Was it important?"
Jackie thought about it. "No, not really. Nothing I didn't know already. Anyway, I knew that wasn't the real deal."
"Really? How?"
"I called him 'soldier' and he didn't correct me about being a marine, actually, like you always do."
Jack rubbed his head, looking sheepish. "Yeah, I do tend to do that."
"And he called me 'Jack'. You never do that."
He leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "Of course not. I'm your Jack."