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The Citadel under attack by Cerberus! Unbelievable. What had Udina done? Shepard tried to turn it over in her mind as she hurried into her gear. Was it the money? Udina had said he would be scraping the bottom of every available barrel to keep Earth Alliance running, and they needed the money desperately—but Cerberus? What could they have promised him that he would turn over the Citadel to them? She had never trusted Udina, but in this case, she believed he had done whatever he had done out of desperation and a belief that Cerberus was the way to save Earth. If she were honest with herself, she might have considered the same in his shoes. After all, she had partnered with Cerberus herself, and she knew firsthand how persuasive the Illusive Man could be.
None of which excused this, she thought, watching impatiently through the shuttle window as Cerberus troops attacked C-Sec. Her gun was up and ready as soon as the doors opened, and she had bullets in two Cerberus men before her boots touched the ground.
Behind her, Garrus and Vega were shooting with as much precision—and as much anger. It didn't take them long to clear the Cerberus presence out of the area. A few of the C-Sec troops were still moving, and she hoped their wounds weren't too bad. They were going to need every available pair of hands to take back the station, and to clean things up once Cerberus was gone.
She heard her name, and turned to see Commander Bailey on the ground near the main offices. He had dragged himself to a sitting position, leaning against the wall, and he held out a hand to her.
Reaching down, she helped him up.
"I thought you were done for," he said, wincing in pain as he stood. "I should've known better."
"What happened here? How did they get in?" she asked him.
"Sneak attack. We never saw it coming. Cerberus took headquarters in the first push. These were all the troops I could gather to take it back." He glanced at her, shaking his head a little. "Should've just waited for you, I guess."
"Just glad we were in time to help."
"If you've got a little more juice left in you, we gotta get them out of here. C-Sec's flying blind without the network."
Garrus nodded grimly. "We've got it."
"Do you know if the councilors are all right?" Shepard asked. "I'm supposed to be meeting Valern."
Bailey shook his head. "I think they split up. I'll know more once I can get in and access a terminal." He punched a code into an access panel, holding his hand over the wound in his side.
The door slid open. Shepard and Garrus took point, guns ready, while Vega hung back with Bailey. Bullet holes marked the walls, and bodies lay here and there. Cerberus had been thorough.
Bailey moved past all of it, making a beeline for the main terminal behind the desk. He tapped some keys. "Here we go. C-Sec network access, courtesy of Cerberus. They control the main channels, but I can set up a new one, get our people a plan—and a chance." He frowned at the screen. "Hello …"
"What have you got?"
"A warning from Councilor Valern. He's supposed to be here, meeting with the executor."
"Here?" Garrus looked around at the wreckage of the office. "Doesn't look good, Shepard."
Bailey read from the screen. "'Be on guard—the likelihood of betrayal from within is high …' Not a lot else."
"Does it say why the councilor was meeting with the executor?"
"Usually means someone big's about to be prosecuted. I guess that someone had Cerberus friends."
"The councilor mentioned Udina … but that's insane. Does he even have this kind of pull?" Garrus asked.
"You know who'd have the answer to that? The councilor."
"Bailey's right. Where's the executor's office? Garrus, do you remember how to get there?"
"I got called up on the carpet often enough, I ought to. It's a fairly defensible position—the councilor could still be alive."
"We'll have to hope so. Bailey, you all right here?"
"I'll live, Shepard. I'll keep in touch. Be careful."
She nodded, motioning for Garrus and James to move out. She hoped the councilor was still alive—without him, they had no way of knowing what Udina might be up to. "Thane's on his way," she said to Bailey. "See if you can reach Kaidan Alenko—he'll help." If either of them was still alive … but she couldn't think that way. Not now.
The sprinkler system in C-Sec had been activated, so everything was soaked, and the floor was covered in treacherous puddles. Vega slipped in one, maintaining his balance with difficulty, and cursing in Spanish as he righted himself.
"Keep going, Shepard. There's a stairwell further on. Executor's office is right above it." Garrus's voice was clipped. He was enraged at the carnage they were passing through. She could almost forget at times that Garrus had been C-Sec when she'd met him, but now she realized he must know some of the people lying dead on the floor. He called out as they came around the corner, names Shepard didn't recognize, but no one answered.
Several of the people appeared to have been shot in the back of the head. Sleeper agents. The Illusive Man's particular genius. Shepard supposed she should be glad he never saddled her with one—unless you counted Chambers, but there wasn't much about her that was concealed.
The executor's office was as silent as the rest of C-Sec. Shepard pinged Bailey with her omni-tool.
"Shepard. Any survivors?"
"None that we saw … but we didn't look too closely."
"Damn. Did you find the councilor?"
"They got the executor, and two salarians who look like bodyguards, but no sign of Valern."
"Keep looking, Shepard. If we lose the Council …"
"Understood. I'll keep you posted." Shepard closed the omni-tool and looked around. Had they taken the councilor prisoner? She couldn't decide which would be worse—the councilor dead or the councilor indoctrinated. Either way, they had to find him.