Chapter 13: Calm Before The Storm

AN: Well, this took a while, didn't it? Unfortunately, I had to take a new Math class, and then had to spend every moment of my free time studying for it. Fucking hate math, but at least I walked out of that class with a solid 92%. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Citadel, Michelle's Safehouse, 2176 A.D

1 Week, 3 Days After The Skyllian Blitz

As Whitley walked into the living room, he could hear his sister and Michelle arguing again.

Whitley sighed, before quickly walking up to Jane and Michelle.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

Michelle glared at Jane, before turning to Whitley.

"Shepard, with all due respect, are you sure bringing the Commander here was a wise idea? Our mission requires discretion, and the Commander is almost the antithesis of this."

Jane was about to reply, before Whitley made a calming motion towards her. He turned to Michelle.

"Michelle, you've been a wonderful ally, and, dare I say, a decent friend…" At this, he began to walk up to her, a harsh glare clear in his eyes. "…but don't ever insinuate that I can't trust my own sister ever again. Got it?"

Michelle glared back, before turning and walking away. Jane crossed her hands.

"For telling off your friend so easily, you weren't in any hurry to tell me about any of this." Jane stated.

"If there was time, I would've told you. Unfortunately, the slavers seem to be working around the damn clock." Whitley replied. "I don't even think I had a decent sleep this entire week."

"Well, look on the bright side, kid. Your restless nights will soon be over." Wrex grunted.

"Don't even start, old man." Whitley replied. He turned to the group, before waving his omni-tool over the table. A holographic map of the Citadel lit up.

"Alright, so here's what we know so far. The slavers have amassed a strong foothold in the Citadel. We don't know how they were able, although Balak's rather pretentious autobiography points towards some mysterious benefactor. Right now, that is not the priority."

The map zoomed onto the tower that they had raided yesterday. "What is the priority is taking down Balak and his cabal of slavers."

The map zoomed out, before focusing on the Lower Wards. "Using C-Sec's top-of-the-line radio towers, I was able to pinpoint Balak's location to these three locations in the Lower Ward."

The map created three distinct lines, before pointing them toward three warehouses. At this, Whitley took out Romak's omni-tool.

"However, we've hit one last snag. From what I could gleam on Romak's omni-tool, Balak and his crew had an evacuation plan in place should their assassination attempt on my mother fail. As we speak, they're gathering their supplies and preparing to cut their losses. Now, while I would prefer to visit each location one by one and flush Balak out, that's not an option. Balak and Romak set up a complex security system. If one of the locations is compromised, a signal goes out, and the protocols for an immediate evacuation at the main location will start. Considering that the odds of us finding the main location are thirty-three percent, I'd prefer if we didn't start busting doors down just yet."

Jane crossed her arms. "What's the plan?"

"Simple. We split up. Jane can take some of her comrades and go to this location here." Whitley pointed towards a warehouse.

"Meanwhile, me, Wrex, and Michelle will head to this location here." Whitley pointed towards the second warehouse.

Michelle frowned at the map. "And the third location? Who will take care of that?"

Whitley hummed. "Michelle, quick question. How long do those credentials that you weaved into the C-Sec database hold up for?"

Michelle rubbed her chin, deep in thought. "Usually, cover identities last until the operation is over. Then again, most operations are much quieter than what we've been doing. Why do you ask?"

At this, Whitley sighed, opening his omni-tool and activating a private key between his omni-tool and the person he was about to call.

"Let's hope my contact hasn't gotten a promotion recently."

The omni-tool beeped for a few moments, before the line was picked up.

"Hello? Who's this?"

"Nyrelia, it's me, William Seras. How have you been?"

"I'm okay. How about you? Are you alright? Things have been pretty hectic for C-Sec since the night you came in. One of the guards disappeared, and there was blood all over the floor he was guarding."

"I know. That's one of the reasons I'm calling you. Nyrelia, I have reason to believe that the ones who killed the guard were the same group that attacked the Presidium today."

"Are you serious?! They got into C-Sec?!"

"Yes. I've managed to acquire their location, but I need people that I trust. People that are completely unwilling to bend to corruption. Do you know anyone like that?"

For a few moments, Nyrelia didn't say anything. She broke the silence with a shuddering breath.

"There is a new officer here that's been making waves recently. A Turian. His father used to be a C-Sec officer, with a reputation for being a hardass when it came to the law. From what I've heard, the new guy seems adamant on following his father's footsteps."

Whitley hummed. "Sounds exactly like the kind of man I need. Who is he?"

Lower Wards

Whitley opened the door of the rooftop, wondering how he could convince a by-the-books C-Sec officer to work with him.

In the distance, a Turian wearing a holographic visor could be seen, leaning on the railing.

"I gotta admit, when Nyrelia came to me about this crazy plan of yours, I was half tempted to just report her to the brass and let them handle you."

Whitley chuckled. "Come on, is that any way to treat a fellow officer, Garrus?"

Garrus Vakarian's features tightened a small bit. He turned to Whitley, a harsh glare on his features.

At that moment, several laser sights highlighted themselves on Whitley's chest.

Whitley glanced at Garrus, unamused.

"Come on, really? We're doing this now?"

"Yes, we are, officer." Garrus replied, acidly. As Whitley stood still with the laser sights focused on him, Garrus began to slowly pace around Whitley.

"Nyrelia may not have been around long enough to know everyone in the program, but I've been a part of it ever since I left the military. I know everyone there is to know in C-Sec, from the brass to the new guys. And let me assure you, Officer Seras, that if your credentials had matched what they truly were, you and I would have interacted at least three times throughout our careers. The moment you escaped from that stunt you pulled in the tower, I spent every moment of my free time trying to find out who it was that spiked our communications. It wasn't until Nyrelia turned up at my office that I was finally able to put the pieces together. After she told me who you were, it was simply a matter of me cross-referencing your credentials with a few eyewitness reports."

Bloody hell, this guy is good. I'm impressed.

"And yet, you still haven't thrown any cuffs on me, Officer Vakarian." Whitley replied.

"I'm considering it." Garrus growled. "The only reason you and I are still talking right now is because Nyrelia seemed convinced that you had a plan to take down the slavers that had infiltrated the Citadel. Was that a lie as well, or were you telling the truth about that, at least?"

Whitley sighed. "Alright, the truth, then. But if we're going to do this, can you at least tell your people to stand down?"

Garrus stared at him for a few moments, before giving a signal. The laser sights on Whitley's chest began to disappear, one after the other.

"You've got five minutes to convince me why I should work with you."

Whitley nodded, typing a few keys into his omni-tool. A few seconds later, his black hair faded to it's natural white color.

Garrus stared at him, before groaning in exasperation.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Are you seriously expecting me to believe that C-Sec has been made a fool of by a snot-nosed brat?!"

"I'm seventeen!" Whitley muttered, annoyed at Garrus's dismissal of him. "And how do you know who I am?"

Garrus snorted. "Haven't you been keeping up with the news? Newsflash, kid, your family's famous. Your sister saved Elysium from Batarian slavers, and your mom singlehandedly took down a Batarian Vanguard. In between all the media's talks about your family, there are a few snippets here and there about Hannah Shepard's adopted son. A white-haired human whose intelligence seems to rival that of the top minds of the Special Tasks Group." Garrus shook his head. "No wonder you're so invested in taking down these slavers. I'm assuming they're a part of the same group that attacked Elysium?"

"Not just a part. They're literally the same group." Whitley replied.

Garrus sighed, tapping a small rhythm on the handlebar next to him.

"Does your mother know about this?" Garrus asked.

"Are you mad? If she knew, she would ground me for life." Whitley replied.

"Does your sister?"

"...Perhaps."

Garrus sighed. "I'll take that as a yes. Does that mean the Alliance is supporting…whatever it is you're doing?"

"Officially? Not in any capacity I'm aware of."

"And unofficially?" Garrus asked.

Whitley chuckled. "I do hope you have better ways of fishing for information besides blatantly asking me, Officer."

Garrus sighed. "Kids these days." he muttered. "Can't believe I miss the times where I busted punks for trying to steal cars."

"Look, Officer, this has been a rather riveting conversation, but we're running out of time. From what information I've gathered. Balak and his crew are planning to leave the Citadel within the next five hours. If there was any other group I could go to for help to stop the slavers, I would have done so. As it stands, you're my only option. If you're going to arrest me, then just slap the cuffs on me already and get this over with!" Whitley exclaimed.

Garrus stared at the Citadel skyline for a few moments, before turning to Whitley.

"Have your allies killed anyone?"

"Yes. I assure you, though, that it was in self-defense."

"I'm sure it was. What about you?"

"This is for you, Father."

His finger began to squeeze around the trigger.

And Whitley's vision went completely red.

In that moment, everything faded away. The only thing that mattered in that moment was one goal.

To stop the sniper.

By any means necessary.

"No." Whitley lied, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with the man who held his life in his hands.

If I fail, then Balak will be able to try again. And next time, Mother won't have me around to stop the next sniper.

Garrus once again stared at the skyline, before shaking his head.

"Can't believe I'm considering this." He turned to Whitley. "What's the plan?"

"I'll send you the details later. We're running out of time."

"Fair enough." Garrus replied. As he turned to gather his men, he stopped.

"You know, it wasn't exactly a great idea, meeting me alone here."

Whitley smirked, before a laser sight appeared on Garrus's forehead.

"What makes you think I came here alone, Officer?"

Whitley chuckled, before the laser sight disappeared. As the teenager walked away, Garrus activated his omni-tool.

"You alright, Garrus?"

"Never better, Thornton. Just make sure to remind me when this is all over to keep an eye on the Shepards."

Meanwhile

As Whitley climbed into the skycar, he turned to face the driver.

"Told you I could handle it, sis."

Jane sighed, exasperated at his brother's antics.

"I swear to god, if you ever try to rope me into a stunt like this again, I'm gonna put you on a shuttle and ship you out to Eden Prime. At least there you won't get into nearly as much trouble."

"You'd miss me." Whitley replied.

"No, I wouldn't."

Jane and Whitley sat in the skycar for a few moments, before Jane broke the silence.

"At least the cop was pretty cute."

Whitley made a small noise in the back of his throat. "Are you seriously telling me that when you were aiming at that man's forehead, the first thing that popped into your head was how 'cute' he was?" he asked, exasperated.

Jane smiled. "It's called taste, bro."

"Whatever it is, keep me out of it." Whitley replied.

AN: Raise your hand if you expected Garrus to make another appearance!

Alright, put that hand down. Honestly, Garrus was a last-minute addition to this arc, but when the idea randomly popped into my head, I couldn't let it go, so instead of having part 1 of the finale of this prologue, you get one more teaser before everything begins to conclude.