The catwalks were only so useful. The C-Sec lockdown had shut and sealed all the maintenance hatches, so she couldn't easily just stick to them until she reached the bridge- and as the walks didn't extend over the bridge, she would have to drop down to hack the door and cross.
Still, they gave her some measure of a bird's eye view for a time. Keeping low and quiet, she crept along, watching for hostiles both on the walks themselves, as well as below her.
Then, the catwalk turned to the left, leading into a locked maintenance area that joined to another walk heading the wrong way. She'd covered more ground than she should have, but her momentary advantage was at its end. Turning the direction she needed to go, she descended a small ladder onto a maintenance ledge behind a large neon sign. Using it as cover, she carefully peeked around to surveille the area below, a short corridor on the nearest end to the bridge.
The corridor and its associated store fronts looked abandoned, save for the three mercs positioned in wait. One was near the bridge door, the other two watching the other entrance. A couple of kiosks and a handful of large power ads meant they would have adequate cover, even from above.
Watching them, she weighed her options. Neither of the weapons she had were silenced, nor did they have scopes. Sharp cluster of rifle fire to the face-plate of the one near the door would drop him, but that would leave the other two adequate time to get into cover, and then she was looking at a standoff…one she would lose, as they had more guns, more ammo, more armor, and visible grenades clipped to their belts.
Same sharp cluster to the face-plate of the one nearest to her would do the same- tear through his shields and drop him, but give the other two plenty of time to get to cover. Same standoff.
She could spray the first guy, and the guy near the door, but that wouldn't give her enough attrition to get through their shields and drop them- then she'd have three mercs under cover and the standoff would end that much faster.
Her dark eyes glittered faintly from the shadows as she looked at everything she could see, anything she could use to take advantage of the situation.
The three mercs. The power ads. The grenades. The locked bridge door.
Shifting back behind the sign, she carefully accessed her omni-tool and worked quietly for a moment. She knew it was a risk, but it was one she had to take- and honestly, this gave her the best chance of getting out of here.
Successfully inputting the command she needed directly into the systems of this sector, she watched as a countdown displayed on her omni-tool.
Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen…
Turning back around she put her rifle on full auto and edged the barrel up in a gap in the sign's design, focusing on the merc the furthest from her. He was standing next to a power ad, rifle in hand but lowered, looking around. She dialed in as close as she could without a scope, aiming for his belt.
Just don't move, fucker, she thought. She couldn't see her omni-tool countdown from this position, but she didn't need to. She was mentally counting down herself in time with it.
…five, four, three-
When she reached 'three' she opened fire, concentrating a furious spate directly at the merc's waist. Instantly all three startled, the one she was shooting stumbling back in surprise, trying to get his gun to bear on her. She kept up the attrition, watching as the other merc in the middle of the room ducked behind his power ad, the one near the door heading forward and opening fire.
It was clear he knew what general area she was firing from, but not exactly where. His shot tore into the far side of the sign, more glass and neon shattering . She resisted the urge to duck back and kept on the first merc.
Her countdown reached one.
No alarm rang, as she had disabled it, but a calm, almost disinterested VI voice started speaking as if it had. Fire. There is a fire in section three. Please move in a calm and orderly fashion to your nearest emergency exit. Fire.
A moment later, plumes of white fire suppression jets shot down from the ceiling. Almost instantly, visibility below went to zero…but as the suppression powder was meant to sink and suffocate the fire, the area up where she was remained clear.
It wasn't that easy to stay directly on target, though- not with the merc half swallowed in a white fog, trying to get away from her shooting and find somewhere to duck down. Reaching out, he fumbled for the power ad he had been standing by, nearly tripped, then caught hold of it. Thus anchored, he would be able to work around it and get it between him and her, even being unable to see.
Too bad her gunfire chose that moment to do its job.
His barrier died with a snap of blue light, and her bullets found nothing preventing them from hitting his grenades.
The merc went up in a delightful flare of fire and body parts, the explosion rocking the entire room. A second blast followed almost instantly as the power ad's systems were devastated by the grenades. It went up as well, sending glass and electronics spraying wildly around the room.
Her perch swayed a bit in reaction to the blasts and her gunfire cut off for a moment as she tried to reorient.
She grinned without mirth when she saw one of the two explosions had taken out the second merc as well, leaving only the fellow who had been on the door. He was stumbling around, disoriented and possibly injured, trying to find some landmark in the slowly dispersing haze. The suppression systems were designed only to go off for a short amount of time, and had already stopped.
Regaining her balance, she took aim and hit him. Three bullets and he went down, sprawling face first onto the floor, his barriers lost in the two blasts.
Hacking into the fire suppression systems using her Spectre clearance would have alerted all the mercs to her current location, if they didn't already know. She had no time to linger and appreciate her work- she had to get the door open, and get across the bridge and to that shuttle before reinforcements could arrive in force.
Slinging the rifle over her shoulder, grimacing as the strap brushed hard against her bandaged wound, she grabbed a nearby ladder and slid down. The powder was settling but a good amount still hung in the air, and almost immediately she coughed. Waving a hand in front of her, she grabbed a grenade and an extra thermal clip, jamming them into her pockets before going to start on the door.
Then, a voice filled her ear again- and this time, it wasn't Brooks.
{Shepard, where are you? Are you ok?}
Liara sounded a bit out of breath, and worried. Without switching focus from what she was doing, Shepard coughed and then replied, the powder still annoying her lungs and sinuses.
"Tianlán, I'm here-"
{Thank the Goddess! Joker told me what happened…I am on foot and heading your way now. Are you injured?}
"Nothing more than I'd get from a few rounds of boxing," she said. "Be careful, Li- there's a group of mercs after me and they probably won't hesitate to take a pot shot at you too. I'm just across from Illustra Motors- if I can get there C-Sec can pick me up."
{Understood, I will-}
{Hey! Hey! Who is this?} Brooks' voice came in, high pitched and alarmed. {Who's on this channel? Get off this channel! Don't you know you're putting Captain Shepard's life at risk?}
{What? Who is this?}
"Li, that's SA Brooks. Brooks, Liara T'soni. Be nice or she'll kick your ass, and then I will."
{Oh! She's…yes, gotcha. Sorry, but…she is. Doctor, they've got Captain Shepard's omni-tool hacked, and every time a communication comes over-}
{Shepard, Garrus here- are you all right? I heard you started quite the party.}
{Oh for Pete's sake! Captain, I can't keep you safe if-}
"I'm here, Garrus."
{I've got everyone heading your way. Don't have all the fun.}
{Captain! I have some flares if you would rather just set them off and-} Brooks bleated sarcastically, exasperated.
"I think we're past that Brooks, I'm about to set off a 'flare' anyway," Shepard said, and finished her work. "I got the door opened."
The lock turned from red to green, then the door parted and slid open, revealing the bridge across the gap. The moment it did, alarms began to bellow from every corner. Pausing only long enough to make sure it was clear, Del began to run.
{Be careful, Captain- that would have drawn every merc in the area-}
"No shit! Just get me that damned shuttle!"
She pulled her rifle down into her hands as she ran. On the bridge, there was absolutely no cover. There were a thousand vantage points all around that would have a sniper's eye view of her. The barrier she'd nabbed would alert her to the first shot, maybe two depending on the caliber of weapon. After that, she was fucked.
She pelted as fast as her legs would carry her, weaving from one side of the bridge to the other in a random pattern, knowing full well that only an idiot ran in a straight line, unless they wanted to die.
She was just over halfway across when a dozen lights bloomed in the ten or so yards in front of her feet- sniper lasers. Skidding back, she nearly fell, letting out a curse as the first guns opened fire. Bullets pitted and sang off the metal bridge, one spanking close enough to her leg she heard the whine and hiss as it ricocheted past. Her barriers flared a moment as one shot came even closer than that.
Del darted to the side, spraying random cover fire toward the area the lights had come from-a ledge just over the far end of the bridge. Several of the lights retreated as the snipers ducked back from the gunfire.
{Shepard!}
"I'm taking fire on the bridge!" Shepard shouted, tossing another spray of gunfire upward as she regained her speed. "Dozen hostiles at least, and they-FUCK!"
She saw the tell-tale line of smoke jet suddenly off the ledge, angled downward. She lunged forward frantically as the rocket slammed into the bridge only a few yards behind her.
The explosion was loud only for a second, before the inside of her ears seemed to collapse on themselves with needle-sharp stabs of pain, swallowing sound along with it. She was tumbling in a cloud of haze and pelting debris, her grip on her rifle lost.
She felt like the beating she'd sustained falling out of Ryuusei had just been renewed seven fold, every inch of her body screaming at her as she finally got halted. Struggling to get her breath back, her head throbbing madly, ears aching, she knew it was move instantly or die.
Forcing herself to her feet she didn't bother looking for her rifle, instead fumbling the pistol from her waistband as she limped into the covered corridor next to Illustra Motors.
{….pard…shhhhh….pard…!}
Dimly, distantly, she heard a voice in her ear. A buzz began, transforming into a horrible ringing that throbbed along with her pulse.
Thank God for synthetic ear drums, some part of her thought. Had she still had her own, that blast would have ruptured them easily. As the ringing dialed up in volume, the voice itself got louder and clarified. It was Liara of course, and she sounded terrified.
{Shepard! Goddess, please! Please answer me!}
"Li," Del replied, her own voice little more than wet cotton to her own ears. "Li, I'm all right…"
{Oh Goddess! I-I heard that blast and-}
"They took out the bridge but I'm across. I'm nearly to Illustra. The mercs are on the level just above, they'll be swarming the dealership any minute. Brooks, is the shuttle there?"
{N-Nearly, Captain. Four minutes.}
"I may not have four minutes, goddamn it! I've got a pistol and my own skin between me and easily a dozen hard-suited fucks with goddamn grenade launchers! I need a fucking evac!"
{I-I-I'm sorry, I-I-I'm trying…} She sounded almost on the verge of tears.
{Shepard, I am to the dealership,} Liara said breathlessly. {Entering on the west side- I do not see you!}
"I'm on the east," Del said, shaking her head sharply trying to get rid of the persistent ringing as she reached the dealership entrance. "Coming in now!"
Pistol up, she scanned over the showroom floor as she rushed in. At first she saw no one, then a lone figure appeared from around the corner, weaving through skycars as she crossed the show room floor. Lowering her pistol, Del slammed her fist into the door control behind her, closing and latching it.
"Shepard!" Liara let her biotics die, lowering her own weapon as she saw no one had followed Del in. Her eyes widened as she got closer. "Goddess!"
"I look worse than I am," Del said, tucking her pistol back into her waistband and heading to the nearest skycar, opening the driver's door. "Give me a hand."
The cars themselves were not an option for escape. All dealerships kept them locked down from any flight if they crossed out of the lot unauthorized- it took an employee's override to let one leave for a test drive.
Fortunately, she didn't need it to leave. Leaning in, she activated the engine and put the car into neutral. The hover field switched on and the car lifted a few inches off the ground, frictionless. Liara took hold of the other end and they carefully maneuvered it in front of the locked door Del had entered through. She switched it off and the car landed, further blocking it off.
"Won't keep them long, we need to get the other side blocked."
She started off then halted as Liara caught her shoulder. "No, stop."
"Li, there's not much time-"
"You are bleeding, badly," Liara said, already reaching into a pouch on her belt and removing a small pack of medi-gel, nodding toward Del's arm. The make-shift bandage she'd tied around it had loosened and become soaked. Blood was painted over her arm. In all the mess she hadn't even noticed.
Liara took the bandage off and quickly slathered the gel over the wound, sealing it. Her brows were tight, the look in her eyes betraying her true feelings as she worked, but she tried to keep things light.
"I see I cannot leave you to have dinner unescorted anymore."
"Joker did seem concerned that we didn't have parental supervision," Del replied with a faint smirk.
"It is a pity," Liara told her. "That looks to have been a nice outfit."
Del looked down at herself. Her once off-white top was now a marble of red, gray, and black, damp, torn and ripped to almost near immodesty. Her slacks were still wet and had become grimy as well, clinging to her legs in folds and wrinkles, as well torn in a few places.
"You know me…can't have nice things," Del said, echoing another sentiment of Joker's from the restaurant. Liara shook her head as she finished up with the sealant, and Del cupped her face a moment, before she turned back to the matter at hand. "C'mon, we have to get that other door blocked."
They headed across the floor. As they moved another skycar in front of the other door, Del touched her ear bud.
"Brooks, we're in the dealership and we've blocked off the doors. How's that shuttle?"
{T-t-two more minutes at most,} she said. {It's nearly there.}
"Good, let us know." She looked at Liara as she came around the car. "Which way is the lot?"
"It is over there, through that gate," Li said, pointing. "The gate is locked and it is on a private encryption system limited to the dealership. We will not be able to hack it swiftly with our omni-tools."
"There'll be a console in the manager's office..." Shepard looked around, spotting it not too far away. "C'mon."
Reaching the office, she found that was locked too. Glass windows afforded them a shady view within, and as she peered past the glare, she saw huddled motion beneath the big wooden desk.
Aching, wound up on adrenaline, head and ears throbbing, Del's temper was at a fraying edge.
"Hang on," she said. Grimacing, she drew her pistol and aimed it at the window, but before she could pull the trigger, Liara reached out and gently urged her to lower it. Del scowled a bit, watching as Liara went to the window and rapped on it with a knuckle.
"Hello there," she said sweetly. "Would you mind opening the lot gate, pretty please?"
A moment passed, then a stubby little hand reached over the desk, fumbled a moment, and hit a button. Behind them, the gate unlatched and began to trundle open.
"Thank you," Liara called, then looked at Del as they headed that way. "Sometimes all you must do is ask nicely."
"Yeah, but it's not nearly as much fun as shooting things."
"Del."
"Or blowing them up."
"Honestly."
They reached the lot, the wind from the skycars and shuttles passing a couple hundred feet below stirring Del's mussed, wet hair. As Del looked out into the gap intently, trying to spot the C-Sec shuttle, Liara looked at her worriedly.
"Do we know anything about these mercs?"
"They have guns and don't like me," Del replied.
"That is not helpful!"
"No fucking kidding, but that is pretty much all I know," Del told her with an irritated grump. "Two of the ones I managed to take down were human males. They're well armed and well armored. What did Joker tell you?"
"That you had been approached at the restaurant by an Alliance staff analyst who warned you someone was hacking your accounts and trying to kill you. That very shortly thereafter, these mercs showed up. He also told me you used him as bait."
"I did, and it got me a gun and him out of there," Del said. "Without it I would not be standing here right now and likely neither would he."
"I am not taking you to task for that, Shepard," Liara said. "I was on my way back from the Normandy to the apartment when I received his communication. I headed immediately here, but if someone is trying to hack your accounts I may be able to-"
"There they are," Del said abruptly, pointing as a C-Sec vehicle appeared, heading their direction.
{Shepard, I've reached the C-Sec lockdown,} Garrus said. {Should be to you in a few minutes-}
"We're evacing right now, Garrus," Del replied, the wind picking up and whipping her hair against her cheeks as the shuttle slowed and lowered toward them. She nodded at Liara, who activated her own omni-tool and began to work. "Message the others and get to the address that Liara is sending you now. I don't know if the docks or the Normandy itself is being watched but this address should be clear."
{Roger that.}
She switched off her bud and looked up as the shuttle drew to a halt, hovering about a foot off the platform, the side door levering open.
The first thing she saw was familiar hard-suits-decidedly not C-Sec.
The second was the mini-guns.
There was no time to call out a warning. Turning she lunged, tackling Liara around the waist just as the asari finished sending her message and looked up.
A rampage of bullets savaged across the lot right where they had been standing, tearing into the ground and then into the skycar they'd landed behind. Metal shredded and the skycar actually jumped a bit under the barrage, pushing closer to them.
Del and Liara scrambled to keep from getting smashed between that vehicle and the next, and found themselves trapped in a wedge formed by the two skycars and the drop-off past the edge of the lot. Crouching, Liara cast a barrier up overhead.
"What do we do? We have nowhere to go!"
"If we jump can you float us down?"
"I could if it were not for the traffic," she said. "We would be hit instantly. Even if we somehow got through it, all they would have to do is take the shuttle and pick us off right out of the air-floating is not nearly as fast as falling. How did they get a C-Sec shuttle?"
More gunfire, and the car to their left rocked again, glass and plastic shredding and raining into the air. The barrier Liara had put up kept any of it from pelting them, but it was only a matter of moments before the mini-guns would chew through their cover, or the mercs realized all they had to do was move the shuttle up a few feet and lob a grenade.
Then something shattered- a loud, large boom that was far too big to be a windscreen. They both looked up in time to see a big dark figure sailing out of the sky in a rain of broken glass, a roar rising above the even the mini-gun fire.
Nearly a thousand pounds of angry krogan in full armor landed on the front of the shuttle, the impact heavy enough to drive it down, slamming the front end into the lot. The back end struck a breath later, the engine skipping and whining as one of the drive blades bent and tore.
The mercs wheeled at the jolt, trying to recover their balance. One fell forward, his leg catching on the mini-gun brace, spilling him face first into the lot. Another one had managed to hold on to the mini-gun, swinging it drunkenly around as a hand reached in, grabbed it, and wrenched it right off its moors and out of his hands. The gun dropped behind the krogan as Wrex brought his shotgun around and planted the barrel against the merc's chest plate.
"Surprise," he said with a sneer, and pulled the trigger.
