Chapter 29: Climbing the Tower

While Liara had told them where the auction was being held, she had neglected to tell them about a good way to get inside. The Dantius Towers were right outside the window to the trading floor, twisting together like a double helix, and yet they were so far away. Apparently, you couldn't just walk into the towers for business as it was an exclusive type of establishment. It supposedly hosted the very best dining, apartment space, offices, and services Illium had to offer. However, Jack knew from a quick extranet search that the buildings owner, one Nassana Dantius, was a financial benefactor to the Eclipse mercenary group. Luckily, he just happened to have one of the galaxy's best thieves to give him ideas.

Vetra was pacing along the window edge they were standing next to, "Can you work any faster please? I don't like just standing here not doing anything."

Kasumi was looking over blueprints for the towers on her omni tool, "Nothing yet, just give me a few minutes. Security is awfully tight tonight, almost as if they're expecting someone to crash the party."

Jack frowned not liking the sound of that, "Probably Miranda more so than us. Her father knows she'd do anything to rescue her sister if she was willing to work for Cerberus."

He tried to comm Kal and then Miranda to tell them that both of their missions were going to be in the same place but, their comms were off. If he had to guess, Miranda already had a plan to get into the Dantius Towers and they were already inside sneaking around. Hopefully they could keep everything separate enough since she didn't want The Illusive Man knowing what she was doing but, he wasn't going to be able to do too much to stop their paths from crossing. He still had to recruit Thane Krios and Vetra was determined to try and save her own sister from the auction.

The Turian gave him a nervous glance, "Jack, do you actually trust T'Soni? She said there was another traitor in Archangel that took Sid, but I can't think of anyone besides Erash that would've done something like that."

Jack nodded to her question almost immediately, "We wouldn't have been able to defeat the Reapers the first time around without her help. I trust her to tell us everything she knew about the situation... Do you have any suspicions on anyone in particular?"

Vetra shook her head sounding frustrated, "No! I mean, I wasn't there all the time to really know but, they all seemed like a family unit. I guess it doesn't matter anymore since they're all dead... I just wish I could fit the puzzle pieces together in my head."

Jack smiled at her trying to keep her upbeat, "We'll just have to ask Sidera what happened when we find her."

She nodded and looked at her omni tool, "Yeah, and then I can get as far away from here as possible." She looked at Kasumi impatiently, "Well? I know you can work faster than that. What's our way inside?"

Kasumi shook her head sarcastically, "Tsk, tsk, Vetra you should know never to rush a master when they work. I wanted to try and find an easier route but, looks like we only have one way in." She pulled up the blueprints on her omni tool making them big enough for everyone to see, "We won't be able to just steal a cab and land on one of their docking zones because of security. Luckily for us the second tower is still going through some renovations so, I think we can steal a construction vehicle and blend right in."

Vetra glanced down at herself and then Jack, "We're in armor Kasumi, not exactly these construction workers attire I hope."

Kasumi gave her a mocking expression, "They're part of the Eclipse, of course they're workers are going to be armored up and ready for a fight. I think it'd be better if you let me drive our borrowed construction vehicle into the tower. Then we'll figure out what we're doing from there."

Jack didn't exactly like the idea of pretending to be a construction worker for Eclipse, too many things could potentially go wrong. If any one of them were recognized it would be a fight to get anywhere in the tower. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to come up with another plan. Miranda would most likely want to rescue her sister before the actual auction started to avoid complications. Hopefully his deal with Miranda wouldn't be put in jeopardy if they made too much noise. She had to know that what The Illusive Man wanted unfortunately had to come first, just for appearance's sake.

He rubbed the back of his neck feeling just a little worried, "Lead the way then I guess."

The way Kasumi walked through the streets of Illium made it feel like she owned the place despite probably having never been here before. Jack admired the fact that she didn't seem to fear getting caught by CSEC or anyone else even though she often bragged about her skills in public. He didn't have that type of confidence, perfering to work behind the scenes and not attract too much attention. That seemed like it would be impossible given the fact that he was the first Human SPECTRE but, none of the Asari seemed to notice him. Maybe the other races didn't pay enough attention to galactic politics to care, or more likely only cared when it hurt their bottom line.

As they approached what had to be the construction office, Jack couldn't help but notice how small it was. He would've thought that someone as powerful as Nassana Dantius would've picked a company with more prestige to work on her towers. Then he realized larger companies would've asked too many questions about her activities with the Eclipse. This place was probably just happy to get the job of a lifetime and took the credits. Once he entered, Jack changed his mind and considered the possibility that they were actively involved with her criminal enterprise. The receptionist didn't even blink when they walked in even though their weapons and armor were clearly visible.

The receptionist even gave them a friendly smile, "Welcome to Hanax's famous builder shop. I'm Herra, how can I help you today?"

Kasumi just tossed her a large credit chip, "You can help us by just taking that and forgetting we were here. Maybe buy a new house or something."

The receptionist gave them all a broad smile, "I'll just open the next door for you right now. Have a wonderful day."

After they walked through the next door, Vetra gave her a surprised glance, "How do you know that worked? She could be calling the guards right now."

Kasumi shrugged at them nonchalantly, "I don't, we'll find out in a few seconds won't we?"

Jack tried hard not to tense too hard when they entered the loading zone. The large room was filled with Asari and Salarians wearing full sets of Eclipse armor. They were making themselves busy putting blocks of concrete and marble into the backs of the maintenance ships headed for the tower. He would've been less concerned with the situation if he still had his biotics but, since he didn't, the Asari would be able to toss all of that at them in a fight and he couldn't block them. Jack couldn't help but feel stunned when none of the workers even turned to look at them. From the way they were moving, it was clear Nassana had them on a tight schedule.

Vetra subtly pointed to a Salarian in the back of the room who was struggling to carry a block of marble, "I'd say it looks like he could use a little help."

He nodded motioning for Kasumi to take the vehicles drivers seat before approaching the Salarian, "Hey, we're new on the job and want to help. Why don't you take a break for a few minutes?"

The Salarian groaned placing the block in the bed of the truck and grinned at them, "Oh would you?! My wife would hate it if I seriously hurt my back doing this. A thousand thank yous really! The rest of the blocks are over there." He pointed to a huge pile of blocks yet to be carried.

Jack smiled right back at him, "Don't mention it, I'm sure you can pay us back someday."

They waited for the Salarian to disappear around the corner before climbing into the bed of the vehicle and shutting the doors behind them. A few seconds later the ship started moving and Jack relaxed a little, they were going to make it to the tower at least. He would've liked to think the hardest part was over but, it definitely wasn't. Now they had to work their way up the tower under renovations to get access to the actual tower they wanted to be on. Then, they had to figure out where the auction was being held so they could find Krios and Sidera. That was before even thinking about how they were going to escape the towers in one piece.

Vetra was making sure her rifle was clean for the hundredth time as they were driving, "How's potential fatherhood going for the two of you?"

Jack laughed at the question knowing she was talking about Zero, "Slowly, she doesn't really trust me yet. She's warming up to Kal though, I kind of feel like after Omega he needs her as much as she needs him."

Vetra looked away for a few seconds, "Yeah, Kal took your death the hardest out of everyone. He was sobbing at the funeral so hard he couldn't get through the speech he wrote. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from getting tortured..."

Jack blinked as though she had splashed him with a bucket of cold water, "He didn't tell me he was tortured. When? What happened?" He remembered seeing all the scars along his spine.

Her mandibles twitched and she looked around, "I thought he would've... Early on the Blue Suns grabbed him and wanted to know where Archangel was hiding. He didn't break, I think he wanted them to kill him... I... Let's just say the woman in charge knew exactly what buttons to push to make him want to break."

Kasumi tilted her head to the back of the truck, "We're approaching the checkpoint, you two should try and hide."

They quickly scrambled to get behind some of the concrete and an Asari yelled, "Your not Lariiae! Where is he and what have you done with him?!"

Kasumi stayed calm, "Woah, no need to get so angry, we're just covering for him. His wife didn't want his back injured and we were there to help."

The Asari wasn't buying it, "Uh huh, I'm going to need to search your ship. The boss is really paranoid about intruders tonight."

Kasumi sighed, "Well, there goes my plan A. Sorry guys."

Before Jack could react, Kasumi had pulled out her submachine gun and started shooting. He had to duck to the ground when the vehicle was getting shredded with bullet fire. The engines ramped up and Jack felt the ship ram into a barricade, thankfully breaking it. Vetra managed to crawl to the back of the vehicle and open the door a crack to start shooting out of it. There went any attempt at being stealthy, they were going to have to fight for every inch in the tower now. He joined Vetra and noticed the ship was gaining speed and height.

Vetra yelled to the front of the ship, "This doesn't look like the loading dock Kasumi, where are we going?"

Kasumi's voice was strained as she was shooting and driving, "With our cover blown there's no way the auction stays on, our best bet to find your sister is talking to Nassana directly. So, I'm driving us as close to her office without being shot down."

Jack couldn't argue with that logic and hoped Miranda could adapt her plan to fit their own, "Just tell us when we land so we don't get caught off guard."

Kasumi laughed putting both seat belts on, "Land? No, we're going to hit the tower so they aren't expecting us. Brace for impact Shepard."

True to her word, Kasumi rammed the front of the ship into the building at top speed. Jack and Vetra could only hang on to the back door handles and kick away at the incoming concrete blocks sliding towards them until the ship stopped moving. He wanted to take a moment to breathe when the ship finally stopped but, the sound of gunfire made him open the door completely and start shooting. Somehow Eclipse already had a team on this floor waiting for them and they were ready for a fight. However, when an Eclipse merc was kicked into the group of them from the side of the truck, he discovered the team wasn't there for him but for Feron. The familiar Drell was wearing an Alliance uniform and fighting some of the Asari with his own biotics.

Feron sent a warp at the last merc sending them flying out the open window, "You always tend to make a grand entrance Commander. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you what your doing here, and if you don't tell me, we're going to have a problem."

Kasumi hopped out of the drivers seat, wiping broken glass off her suit, "You must not know Shepard all that well. Threatening him tends to get people killed."

The Drell pivoted one foot to the right so he could see all three of them and drew his pistol, "I know Shepard quite well actually which is why I'm going to ask you again, what are you doing here?"

Jack was surprised by the sudden aggression from him, "I'm not here to hurt the Alliance, The Illusive Man wanted me to recruit an assassin for my mission against the Collectors."

Feron blinked before lowering his weapon, "Who is this assassin? What's his reason for being here?"

Vetra stepped forward around the truck to make sure Eclipse mercenaries weren't sneaking up on them before returning to Jack's side, "Thane Krios, apparently he's after Nassana for one reason or another. I'm here for the auction she's holding."

Feron's eyes went blank for a moment as he was pulled into a memory, "My mother lays on the table, limp with her eyes closed peacefully. I try to push past the nurses to wipe the blood from her dress, she never wanted to be dirty. I cry for my father but no one is there as her vitals go flat. I do not understand what that means until someone tells me she has passed a-"

Jack had to interrupt Feron's memory and shove him into cover when more Eclipse mercenaries arrived guns blazing. So he was right to assume Feron and Thane were related but, what did that mean? Had The Illusive Man orchestrated this evening just to get Feron and Thane together? The fact that Feron was wearing an Alliance uniform made him think the Drell wasn't here on Cerberus' behalf so it was possible. It would also explain Feron's reaction to him despite knowing previously that he worked for Cerberus. What made the Drell leave Cerberus before completing his mission was the bigger question though.

He fired a few blind shots over his head and looked down at Feron, "You alright? There's more Eclipse here that we could use help with."

Feron nodded before giving him an apologetic stare, "I'm sorry Shepard but I have to go now, Nassana has information on my own investigation. I can't let her get killed tonight."

A biotic warp forced them to roll apart and the Drell started running down a side hallway out of sight. Jack wanted to know what the hell was going on here but, his curiosity would have to wait, he had more Eclipse to kill. Since the Asari were much more interested in close combat with shotguns and biotics, the three of them stayed as far away as they could in the room with their assault rifles. It was a tough fight, the Asari used biotics as extra shielding on top of their armor so the three of them had to concentrate their fire on one Asari at a time. Eventually, the last Asari went down with a moan leaving them in a quiet room once again.

Vetra was breathing heavily and looking around for more of them, "What was that about Jack?"

He gave her a shrug and a sympathetic look, "Your guess is as good as mine. I have a feeling we need to hustle though, Nassana's about to get killed."

He didn't know how he was going to reach her office before the Drell but, he had the sense to know she was important enough to keep alive.