Chapter 19

Shepard spun after Kaidan and slipped in front of him before he went down the stairs.

"It's for the attack?" Shepard said. "Then it's the Scorpion's attack on the day of opening ceremonies?"

"Part of it. Has to be," he said stepping around her.

"Where are you going?"

He paused on the top stair. "The Council."

"Wait, wait." Shepard passed him and rounded to face him in the middle of the stairs.

He folded his arms and sighed. "Why are you stopping me?"

"Listen. The only way to use this floor is by someone who's a biotic and inside the shield, right? Standing in the center."

Kaidan shrugged. "Yes."

"Then," Shepard came up a step, "from what you told me, Kaidan, this has to be for one thing. It's your scorpion's coming out party. What better way than having your biotic powers magnified ten-fold, kill and devastate everyone that ever have stood up to you, and all on live vid in front of the entire galaxy? This is how we catch him."

Kaidan just stared at her.

"Narrow's our list, doesn't it? The Scropion's on the guest list for the opening ceremony. What biotics will be onstage?"

"Any asari."

"Humans?"

Kaidan gave a long sigh and frowned. "There are hundreds of awards."

"Probably less than a hundred biotics, I'm betting, and we'll have a list," Shepard said. "Look a little happier. Your list of suspects just narrowed in from millions."

"All right." He watched her. "We have a list to key on. After we take out the floor."

"Take out the flooring, it gives us away. He won't reveal himself." Shepard folded her arms mirroring Kaidan. "This is how we catch him."

"You can't be serious."

"Dead serious. Why not? Think about it."

"Shepard, I am thinking about it. Maybe you're not thinking about it." Kaidan took a step back from the stairs and gave her a hard look. "With this floor, even a weak biotic could kill everyone in the room. Maybe bring down the entire building. The Councilors, the Alliance brass, the most decorated contributors to the war, delegates and alien leaders … We need to take out this flooring. We need the shard back for the relay."

"The relay can wait. We can remove the shard later." Shepard stepped onto the stage in front of him. "Removing the flooring only adverts this disaster, not the next. We have the upper hand here. How much time until they just plan something else. Next time, we might know nothing about it."

"It took them a year to come up with this one. It would buy us enough time for the relay's to be up and the alien leaders to be safely on their way."

"Or push Terra Firma into a panic."

"If they're disorganized that works in our favor," Kaidan said.

"Maybe panicked and desperate, but with the Scorpion and other leaders still in charge, it won't be disorganized. They have a lot already prepared – people recruited, targets identified, resources."

"Shepard," Kaidan stepped in closer. "This is like finding a bomb with the fuse burning. We can't just let it burn all the way to the ignition hoping we catch it in time to prevent the explosion."

"Kaidan, we didn't win the war by being conservative. This is our best chance to hit them between the eyes. Without the scorpion, they'll be lost. We find their panel of leaders through this private meeting they're planning and stop the wider attacks, their whole network goes down. A matter of days, and the terrorists you've been hunting for months? Gone."

"We don't know this is our best chance."

"We take out this flooring, mess with it, we lose the only real thing we do know - the day of opening ceremonies, the Scorpion will be here on stage, and will reveal himself"

"And if he uses his biotics before we can stop him?"

"We'll stop him."

Kaidan exhaled sharply and shook his head. "We don't know that! We don't even know who we're stopping."

"The center of the stage is where the fields amplify. We rope it off. Someone crosses the ropes, we'll have caught him."

"Rope it off?" Kaidan stared at her. "You don't think that's going to give us away?"

Shepard focused on the center of the stage. Her eyes flicked to the statue in the back.

"If there's a reason for it to be roped off …" she murmured then turned to him with a clear voice. "We move the statue to the center, and rope it off. Shouldn't be too odd. And if someone tries to get to the center, I'll be there. I'll stop him."

"Meaning …"

Shepard sank to her haunches and pressed a palm to the floor. A blue barrier spread across the surface of the marble and quartz slab. The barrier encircling it into the floor. "Go over there. Try your biotics. Bet it won't amplify. Not when there's a barrier covering it."

"That's hardly foolproof, Shepard. The timing …"

"I know. I'll have to be quicker than it takes the Scorpion to reach to the center. But trust me, it will work."

Kaidan gave a long drawn out sigh and shook his head. "Shepard, I trust you can do it, but we won't know anything until the Scorpion makes a move. We could be watching the wrong person. Maybe you're talking up front or distracted. There are too many variables to control, and it's at the cost of the Councilors and alien leaders. A huge risk, Shepard."

Shepard regarded him silently, then finally said. "You'll be my backup."

"Shepard, I can't—"

"Yes, you can," Shepard said.

Kaidan's brow furrowed concentrating on the stage at his feet. "I haven't practiced covering something this size this a barrier. To be strong enough, impermeable? That would take time. Three days won't cut it."

"You start it, I'd come in. If I see it first, then come in and help me. We can do this. We're good at strengthening each other's biotics."

Kaidan touched his forehead and looked up at her. "I don't know, Shepard. The risk if something goes wrong … We need to tell the Council. They can decide."

"There could be moles there was easily as in the Alliance."

"So, you and I - renegade human Spectres - we just decide this for everyone?"

"I've made those decisions before."

Shepard eyes strayed to Oriana's statute. The black stone eye of the geth stared across the stage at her.

"Shepard, you really think this is the only way?"

"It's not the only way, but I think it's the best way."

Kaidan ran a hand down his jaw and paced. Finally, his hand dropped and he turned to her with a deep breath.

"Okay. I trust you. I'll back you up on this."

Shepard nodded with a creeping smile and came over to him. "Let's practice then. I know you can do this."

XXX

It would take more practice, but he could do it. His barrier was weak, but it could stretch enough to cover the floor by the end. If the Scorpion sprang over the ropes, he was going to be under enough heat, there shouldn't be time to attack Kaidan's barrier. Besides, their barriers together would be more than enough.

There might be push back from the Summit Planning Committee on repositioning the statue, but she'd drive it through. It would probably look great there. If the committee thought she was just being partial to Oriana by centering the statue, all the better. Kaidan checked his Omni-Tool as they walked out the Summit Hall's main door. He turned down the hall.

"Kaidan, where you going? What about the Alliance reception?"

Kaidan turned. "Still a few hours off. I'm going to lie down. Hackett wanted to talk to me before the presentation anyway. I'll just see you there."

"Okay," Shepard said.

She watched him disappear down the hall. He didn't look back. Not even once.