Chapter 16
Kaidan pulled cobwebs off his face as Shepard light flashed on. They were in some sort of narrow metal airduct. Her light illuminated the wide shaft overhead running up to a vent in the roof. Kaidan turned on his own light and lit the duct in front of them as it tapped into a dark tunnel. Slits of light filtered through spaced vents down the tunnel. Shepard smirked at Kaidan with an eyebrow lift then dropped to her hands and knees. She scuttled forward into the duct tunnel. Kaidan dropped down behind her. The vent panels looked out on poorly lit hallways of what was probably the auditorium's balcony. Kaidan moved his head looking through the vent slots and shined his Omni-Tool light on the floor. Footprints crossed back and forth in the dust.
"The auditorium's ahead," Shepard murmured and crawled forward.
Kaidan followed. The duct slipped wetly under Kaidan's hand. He raised his palm in the light of his Omni-Tool.
"Shepard, you bleeding?"
"Huh?" She looked back. "Am I?"
Kaidan reached forward and grabbed her ankles. The leather of her boot slicked his fingertips. He leaned in with his Omni-Tool light and raised the hem of her pants. He pulled down a soppy red sock.
"Shepard …" He said looking up at her. "You didn't know you got bitten?"
"I did?" she said. She strained to lift her ankle up but her knee caught against the wall. "I felt something. Just didn't think … well, it's fine. Let's go."
Shepard dropped her leg back down and crawled forward. Kaidan grabbed at her ankle.
"Don't you want to bandage it or something?"
"No, it's fine," she whispered back at him. "Keep your voice down. It carries."
"I know," he whispered back.
Shepard shuttled forward. The metal vent popped beneath them as Kaidan slid along behind her. The stripped light through the vents illuminated the grimy, red smears in front of him. Kaidan tried to say something again, but his voice muffled under the bending and popping duct. Shepard continued forward. Kaidan's mouth twisted. He grabbed her ankle again and stopped her. Her Omni-Tool light flashed over her shoulder. He held a hand up to shield his face.
"Shepard, it's filthy in here. You're getting blood everywhere. There isn't a time crunch. Let's bandage it up. It's a dog bite."
"I'm not worried. Let's go." She looked forward, then paused and added. "I'll pay for your dry-cleaning if I get blood on you, 'kay?"
"No, not 'kay.' You think I care about getting blood on me? Come on, Shepard. Do what you want though. It's your ankle."
Shepard didn't say anything and shuffled ahead. Kaidan rubbed his bloody hand across his chest then continued after her. The vents grew larger and the light brightened. Like Shepard said, the vent ran along the top of the auditorium.
Shadows lined Shepard's face as she looked down through a vent screen. Kaidan crawled back a step and ducked his head to see through another vent. Rows of theater chairs expanded out from a broad wooden stage. The second story had balcony seating and a few single boxes.
There were people, all human. Some slept in chairs or on the floor in sleeping bags. Two men and a woman stood on the stage arguing. The light caught the white of Shepard's eye as she turned to look at him and tilted her head toward the stage. The moved forward pausing at each pop in the metal duct. They came alongside the stage and stopped. The faint voices rose and fell with the speaker. Kaidan strained to hear.
"Not coming himself!" a bearded man said gesturing.
Kaidan angled to see their faces through the vent. He didn't recognize any of them.
"None of them?" the man continued. "How can we make any decisions?"
The woman cut him off with a chopping motion. "We know the plan. We just need the specifics. The other team leaders will be here and the leadership's representatives. We don't need the heads. We just need marching orders."
The third person, an older man, nodded. "We just need the zones. The targets."
The bearded man shook his head. "I can't believe we're okay with this. They hide-"
"They've always hidden," the woman said. "The Scorpion needs secrecy. The head members need it too. They're important. Could be recognized. There are too many people at this meet. Wait until the Council's Summit. We'll see the Scorpion."
Kaidan looked over at Shepard, but her eyes were fixed looking through the slotted screen. A young man came up a side aisle to the stage. He was only sixteen or seventeen. Kaidan's jaw set. The boy rushed up to them. Kaidan recognized his voice from outside.
"Couldn't find anything. Dogs definitely had something though."
The woman crossed her arms. "Should we …"
"No," the older man said. "Keep looking. Maybe increase the watch. Station sentries down the road. This involves too many members. We're bound to get onlookers."
"Probably be some in the crowd." The bearded man waved out at the chairs.
The woman sighed. Kaidan concentrated to hear her.
"The sensitive information will be in the private meeting. The stage is just for show. Morale."
The boy looked between them. "You want to come look?"
"It's getting close to morning," the older man said. "That should help."
"I'll go check with you," the woman said to the boy.
The bearded man lingered for a moment then stormed down an aisle. The others dispersed. Some of the people in the sleeping bags stirred. Shepard looked at Kaidan and tilted her head forward.
"Let's see how far this vent goes," she whispered. "See if we can see backstage."
Kaidan searched in his pocket and found them. He clicked one to the metal vent Shepard had been looking out. Shepard squinted back at him.
"What are you … Are you bugging it?"
"I have four more," Kaidan said.
"Good thinking, Major."
"See. I didn't go to the Spectre offices to download expense reports."
"Uh huh." Shepard crawled forward. "Wouldn't put it past you, Kaidan."
"I'm not that boring. Come on."
Shepard kicked her foot back at him. "I'm just giving you a hard time."
"Yeah, I know, Shepard." He pushed her foot away. "You're still bleeding, you know."
"Hmm."
The duct twisted and the vent panels spaced out until they disappeared. Kaidan turned on his Omni-Tool light.
"Are you grumbling back there, Kaidan?"
"Should we look up a blueprint? At some point, it would be nice to get out."
"You suggesting we backtrack?"
"Not necessarily. Just … Never mind. Go ahead. Lead the way."
"I'm the one bleeding from a dog bite. We get trapped up here, I'm dying first."
Kaidan exhaled a long hiss and reached for her ankle again. "Let me bandage it, Shepard."
"Shhh! Your voice—"
"Carries?" Kaidan whispered. "You're just as loud, Shepard. I know you don't think you are, but you are."
Shepard flashed her light back at him. He squinted.
"Radio silence." She waved a hand forward.
They shuffled along on their hands and knees in silence. This vent was never going to end. Shepard stopped and a thin light illuminated her face. She flashed her Omni-Tool light upward and rolled onto her back. Kaidan bent to look. There was a vent in the ceiling of the duct. Shepard peered down her body at him then looked back up and pushing up on vent with both hands. It gave way. She flashed him a smile then crawled up through it. Kaidan followed her.
The vent led out onto an indented curve where the wall met the ceiling, probably not a place anyone was meant to stand. Rolled-up back drops and suspension lines reaching out around them. The dimly lit backstage area stood below crowded with set materials and props. Nothing moved below. It was empty.
Shepard raised on the balls of her feet and peered below. Her eyes passed over the ropes and pullies for the backdrops. She grinned. Oh no. He glanced over the edge. When he turned back to her, she had that glint in her eyes. There had to be a better way. But fine. He wasn't going back in that duct. He gave her a nod and moved to the ledge.
Shepard shimmered and reached out to one of the ropes. Metal pullies squeaked as the rope glowed, unwinding, and slithering through the air to them. Kaidan caught it in a fist and shot a glance back at Shepard. The rope curled taut around the pulley above, and Shepard smiled at him. He looped the rope into a foothold and gripped it tight. He met Shepard's eye then stepped off.
He tried not to give himself much momentum, but he still swung. He swung into the unfurled backdrop but deflected it with a glowing hand. Shepard burned like a blue flame as the pendulating rope lowered to the stage floor. He released the rope and dropped into a crouch. He made a quick circuit of the backstage – chairs, background cut outs, fake plants, tables, even a piano, a couple open doorways along the wall bulging with clutter. On either side of the stage stood sliding doors. They probably connected to the main stage judging by the muffled voices and scuffing sounds. It was clear though.
The rope swung slowly just above Kaidan's head. He raised his hand, and it glowed blue as it coiled upward. The pullies squealed. The rolled-up backdrops and scaffolding creaked overhead dropping dust on his head as the rope wound around its pulley. From this distance, it took some concentration to coil the rope and bring the end over to Shepard. She could lower herself undoubtably, but one of the first things you learned as a biotic was not to juggle too many tricks at once. Manipulating a rope and pulley, ready to catch or correct any problem, was enough on its own without managing your own descent. Kaidan had seen more than one biotic juggle too many things at once and fail. Shepard clutched the end of the rope. Her weight shifted onto it as she dropped over the side.
The stage's side door clicked, and floorboards creaked. Kaidan exhaled sharply but kept his eyes fixed on Shepard. The door's seal hissed open as the doors slid apart. She was only halfway. Shepard glowed and reached out a hand. Something large scrapped across the wooden floorboards behind Kaidan. It crashed into the doorway to a surprised yell. Shepard released the rope. She slapped to the floor on bending knees and caught herself with her hands. They dropped the mass effect fields, and the room dropped into a dim yellow.
Shepard pushed off the floor tearing to her feet. Kaidan raced behind her around the piano and sliding to the floor as the door's blockage burst open. Five men tumbled through the doorway shoving aside a bulky costume rack with harsh voices. Their footsteps pounded into the center of backstage. One of the men yelled and pointed upward. The rope swung slowly above them. Shepard touched a pistol to her thigh. The muscles in the back of her hand tightened as her finger curled around the trigged. A man waved around the room and one looked their direction. He drew closer with narrowing eyes. Shepard pressed back against the piano and raised her pistol up beside her head. Kaidan's eyes shifted up to the swinging rope and creaking backdrops overhead.
A blues flash caught all the men's attentions. Their heads snapped up. Kaidan tore out the rigging and scaffolding, and it all gave way. Kaidan pushed Shepard back as everything crashed down. Screams swallowed in the concussion. Flying debris and torn shaffolding exploded against a blue shield rippling from their hands. Pieces of metal and wood cut into the floor around them.
Voices screamed as footsteps charging up the stairs to the main stage outside the doors. Broken wreckage groaned with pieces still falling and sliding in a swirling gloom of dust. Shepard coughed and covered her mouth. A man moaned on the edge of the pile-up. Shepard flashed blue and snapped his neck before Kaidan had even turned all the way. She shoved Kaidan from behind, and they slid along the wall as a crowd poured through the two side doors. They merged into the crowd as it welled around the debris. People jostled and rushed to move debris. Others ran screaming for help. Kaidan slipped through the nearest side door with Shepard trailing behind. On the other side of the theater, bodies flooded in from outside and swarmed up the aisles to the stage. Several of the ones running up wore armor and clutched rifles to their chest. They bumped around people rushing on stage and headed down a side aisle.
The older man from earlier appeared at the back of the auditorium and roared something. He shoved people aside and tore down the aisle coming directly at Shepard and Kaidan. The woman from earlier was yelling on his heels. Kaidan hedged in front of Shepard. She was a lot more recognizable. Kaidan's eyes strayed to the rifles thumping against armored chests of the men running by. The man's eyes roamed over faces as he pushed them aside nearing them. Kaidan moved sideways pressing Shepard against the wall behind his shoulder. He didn't let his eyes drop. The man slowed as his eyes met Kaidan's. The woman behind him slowed too studying Kaidan. Blood rushed in Kaidan's ears, but he nodded with a smile. The man's brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth. Someone screamed from the stage.
"Petersons's alive! We need medical."
The man eyed Kaidan darkly but turned his head to the stage. The woman touched his arm and whispered something.
"Someone find Yuorik!" he said. "You, Gable, you need to …"
The man brushed past Kaidan. The woman didn't spare him a glance. The people around them moved forward again as the man passed up to the stage. A woman behind Kaidan yelled for bandages and water. As they neared the auditorium's entrance, three armed men pushed them aside as two people rushed by with a stretched. The people were going so many different directions at once. Kaidan tried to keep his gait purposeful as they walked down the theater's entrance hallway and out the front door. No one seemed to notice as they slipped around the barrel fires and around the corner of the building into the dark. Shepard followed a little delayed.
"More people than I thought," Kaidan muttered.
"If this is just the pre-conference workshops …" Shepard eyed him sideways.
They jogged along the side of the theater. The parking garage rose ahead of them. Shepard slowed with a grimace. Her left leg trailed with each stiff step. Kaidan frowned. Dogs barked behind them from the front of the theater. Lights came around the corner illuminating dogs rushing ahead of the voices.
"Must be in the off-limits area," Kaidan said.
"Deja vu." Shepard's jaw flexed, and she picked up her pace.
They entered the parking garage and cut to the left for the row of storefronts. Shepard tripped over a cement parking block, and Kaidan grabbed her elbow. The dogs and voices echoed down the side of the theater. Shepard stumbled into a sprint, and Kaidan rushed to keep up. A dim light beyond the edge of the parking garage looked like the beginning of dawn. If they could make it to the buildings, they could hide. Shepard faltered.
"Shepard!"
She limped a step and touched her calf with a hiss. Barks reverberated through the cement parking garage. She swung her head and looked back. Chips of pavement scattered out under her feet as she lurched forward again. She pumped her arms, tripping a little, eyes narrowing on the parking lot exit. A voice yelled something behind them. One of the dogs howled. Shepard lagged. Kaidan slowed, darted a look over his shoulder, and scooped her up. She didn't fight him. She clung to his neck and peered over his shoulder breathing hard into this ear. They broke out from under the shadow of the parking garage and raced to the closest building.
"Kaidan …"
He skidded up the broken front window of some store. He tumbled Shepard over the edge of the jagged glass and leaped over as dogs hit into the wall. He almost threw out a shield, but it'd be too dark not to be seen. The people would be close enough to see the light. He stumbled back instead and shoved Shepard toward a stairway. The dogs roared snapping lunging outside the broken window. One yelped as it broke out the bottom of the jagged glass and dropped through.
The stairway crumbled with exposed bricks as they rolled out onto the second story. The whole right side had caved in and exposed. A dog bellowed tearing up the stairs about to the clear the landing. Kaidan mashed it with his boot as it came up the last stair. It toppled overtop the pack rushing up behind.
"Kaidan."
She was halfway up a fire escape ladder to the roof. Kaidan stumbled back kicking at another dog. Voices yelled up the stairway. He jumped up the ladder smashing down at the dogs lunging at them. A bit hooked on the sole of his boot. He kicked it back and pulled up the final rungs. Shepard slammed the escape ladder's hatch closed
"They'll search up here. I heard them," Kaidan said.
The building abutting the roof had probably been several stories high. Torn curtains riffled through a broken window a story above. Voiced hollered at the dogs amid a few shrill hurt whines. Probably beating them back to the ladder.
Kaidan turned to Shepard. She was already ready. He hoisted her up. He jumped and snagged the window edge. Shepard pulled him up. His boots scrambled over the window seal right as the hatch flung open with a metallic bang. Shepard peeked over the window ledge. Wide eyes turned back to him, and she motioned Kaidan deeper into the building. They rushed down a long hall. Caved-in offices lined the soiled blue carpet. They went down a staircase and moved through two more collapsing buildings before they slowed. Shepard limped up a twisting flight of stairs.
"Doing all right?" Kaidan asked.
"Yeah," Shepard said. "More worried about the blood trail I'm leaving. You get bitten?"
He shook his head. They forced open the door at the top of the stairway and spilled onto a flat roof. They slunk to the wall and squinted over the rim. A group of people and dogs moved in the low morning light on edge of the parking garage. It was too far and dark to count them, but nothing else moved in the streets. The people lingered in a group but called back any of the dogs straying toward the street. Shepard released a long breath. She put her back against the wall and melting down the wall.
"Thought they saw the blood on the roof," she said.
"Think we gave ourselves away?" He said, eyes fixed on them.
"We caused a commotion. Let's just hope they don't suspect we're Spectres or anything official."
"Two Council Spectres routed by dogs? For the embarrassment alone, I hope they don't suspect."
"They suspect biotics, and they'd know we're military. Besides, can't very well leave a pile of bodes. That would raise enough alarm to change venue. Just hope that 'accident' backstage took out all the witnesses."
"Not Peterson," Kaidan said. "Apparently."
"It was fast. Probably didn't see anything."
Kaidan slipped down the wall next to Shepard and leaned his head back. Blood oozed under Shepard's fingertips as she prodded at bit on her ankle. Kaidan leaned over and cupped a hand over his Omni-Tool light as he looked at it.
"Wish I had medigel, Shepard."
"Never appreciated medigel like I should have."
"Like anything you get used to probably."
"I suppose."
Kaidan leaned back and touched a slice on his forearm. Must have gotten it reaching over the broken glass when he dropped Shepard. Shepard's fingers touched his arm, and she bended to look at it. She looked up at him, and he smiled at her.
"You okay?" he asked.
She shrugged scooting down.
"Tell you after the next full moon," she said resting flat on the floor.
"Medigel's not going to help that."
"Would for now. I have two weeks to figure out my next move."
Kaidan rested his elbows on his knees. He craned his neck to the see the shadowed outline of the theater behind them.
"It bother you too, they're not obeying the city leash law?" Kaidan asked.
"Pretty sure they don't have burn permits for those barrels either," Shepard said.
"You see those rifles? That armor?"
"Caught my eye. Must have some generous benefactors."
"Rifles were Tsunami line. Standard issue."
Shepard's eyes rolled up to his, but she didn't say anything.
Kaidan leaned back on his arms. "What now? They're stepping up their patrols in the street. Up for leaping across rooftops?"
Shepard gave a long sigh, hesitated, then sat up. "Let's go."
"I'm joking." He pushed her back down. "Let's call a friend, right?"
Shepard settled against the floor. "Hope you have more cousins to go with all these favors you're owing."
"I won't run out." Kaidan grinned. "I suppose I should have mentioned Henry's views on monogamy. I can use his card over and over."
Shepard smacked him lightly on the leg. "Hey. You gave me your playboy cousin?"
"Playboy?" Kaidan smirked. "Maybe aspiring."
"Well, good luck using your reusable card on Vega or Joker or Garrus or whoever else."
"Vega already got his card," Kaidan said. "How about we message … What time is it? Who gets up this early?"
"They have to find a shuttle, work out a way to come in unseen, and rescue us from being, quite literally, being treed by dogs. Being woken up is only a fraction of the inconvenience."
Kaidan looked down at her. "So, being woken up even earlier and actually getting treed by the dogs with you … where does that rank?"
Shepard poked his knee. "I won't joke, Kaidan. Ranks pretty high."
"Well," he said. "You are the one helping me with my Terra Firma angle, maybe it's me actually owing you."
"I want a better cousin."
"Should have read your warranty."
Kaidan typed a message into his Omni-Tool and tapped the send button. He slid down beside her and looked up at the sky.
"I put out the SOS."
"We probably could make it from roof to roof. I think they recalled the dogs. The sentries can't be out too far."
"Already sent the message."
"Treed by dogs."
"Right."
Shepard interlaced her fingers across her middle and sighed. Kaidan rested his face against the cement and watched her. Her eyelashes blinked slowly with each breath as she stared up at the fading night sky. Pale morning light touched the stray hairs across her forehead. Her lips curved up, and her eyes shifted over to his. Kaidan bolted upright.
Shepard frowned up at him. "What's the matter?"
He took a deep breath and hunched forward pulling up his Omni-Tool. "Nothing."
In Kaidan's peripheral vision, Shepard twisted her face back to the sky. He stared straight forward with his heart pounding. He was forgetting himself. It wasn't the old times. He squeezed his eyes shut and let the feeling slide away. His wrist buzzed. He raised his Omni-Tool flashing with a message. Kaidan brought it up.
"Joker's coming," he said turned the screen off.
"Joker?" Shepard asked. "You know, he already thinks you owe him one."
"I know," Kaidan said absently. His throat felt dry.
"When he pulls in for us, I wouldn't lead with your Henry card," Shepard said. "Joker could quite literally leave you to the dogs."
Kaidan rubbed a spot on his arm and didn't say anything for a moment. When he looked over, she was frowning at him. He straightened and flashed her a smile.
"I think the dogs are circling for you." He fixed a smile on her. "The white one wants seconds."
"The great white one?" Shepard grinned.
Kaidan nodded then looked away. They sat in silence except for distant barking and a sack caught in on a broken antenna and moving in the breeze. Geese honked overhead. Kaidan brought up his Omni-Tool and tapped through the screens.
"So, uh … why Joker?" Shepard asked.
Kaidan glanced back at her. "Access to a shuttle. Doesn't need a pilot. Probably can manage a stealthy extraction."
"Makes sense."
Kaidan scrolled down the holoscreen glowing on his arm. They were all functioning, all five bugs. Shepard shifted on the ground beside him.
"Why not Liara?"
"Liara?" He paused. "Why?"
"I thought maybe … She doesn't live too far off."
Kaidan punched a button activating each bug. "Well, if I knew you cared, I would have taken requests."
"I don't care."
He shrugged. She lifted her head and squinted at his screen. He held his arm out for her to see.
"You placed them all? When?"
"A lot more backstage than I wanted, but we'll see."
Shepard sat up on her elbows. "One of us needs to be back here to catch that private meeting. If there's a backroom conversation, we can't count on the bugs picking it up."
"I agree."
Kaidan touched his ear and concentrated. They worked. He switched between the bugs. It was just chatter. Seemed like there was still a lot of upset over the disaster backstage. No suspicions being voiced that he could hear. Didn't mean there weren't any though. He'd have a lot of audio to shift through as they continued to record. Shepard watched him.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You want to listen too?"
"No."
Kaidan's eyes moved back to holoscreen, but he could still see her watching him. Kaidan pulled the earpiece out and curled his hand around it as he looked back at her.
"What's the matter, Shepard?"
She held his eye but didn't say anything. He snapped the earpiece back into his Omni-Tool and turned to face her. Their eyes met. The silence stretched between them tightening in his chest, and he swallowed dryly. A soft light gleamed in her eyes, and energy surged in his chest.
"Shepard …"
A shuttle engine hummed. Shepard sat and up and twist her head to it. A message blinked on Kaidan's Omni-Tool.
"Rides here," he said letting out a slow breath and then stood.
It came in low and droned quietly as the door slid open. Shepard took a flying leap and stumbled to catch herself inside the shuttle. Kaidan followed and mashed the button to close the door. He clicked the earpiece out of his Omni-Tool again. If someone saw the shuttle, the information might take a while though to filter indoors where his bugs could pick it up. Still, hopefully if it was noticed, it would be like Shepard said. If there wasn't a reason to suspect Alliance or Council infiltration, they wouldn't change any plans. Shepard limped up by Joker. He looked around his seat at them as the front window lit up with skyscrapers and skycars.
"Okay, guys, next time we see Cortez, we're talking about this. You see the way I slid in there?"
"Slick, Joker," Shepard said leaning against the wall behind his seat.
"Kept the hum down and lift cycle low. Low purr. In and out. About as cloak and daggers as you can get on this thing."
Shepard grinned as she sagged against the wall. Kaidan walked over, but she waved him off.
"Bring any medigel, Joker?"