Chapter 35
Shepard slid the shuttle door closed. She followed Anthony with her eyes until he disappeared behind the sliding doors into Alliance HQ.
"Okay." Shepard tore off her helmet. "Cortez?"
"Here," he whispered and jogged out of the shadows just off the landing pad. He tossed something at her. She caught it.
"Uh, thanks."
"Energy drink," Cortez said. "The Major messaged me."
"Right. Thanks." She tore off the lid.
Kaidan snapped open the pilot's hatch and hopped out. He'd already removed his gauntlets, and he shoved his helmet at Cortez. Cortez set an energy drink on the pavement by Kaidan's feet and inspected the helmet.
"Don't know if this will fit," Cortez said eyeing Kaidan up and down.
"You only have to wear it long enough to return the shuttle. Then meet Joker where I told you," Kaidan said.
"Hurry up," Shepard called.
"Go. I'll catch up," Kaidan said.
He still had his leg guards on. Shepard tossed her helmet into the back of the shuttle and rushed over to him.
"Need help?"
"No. I'll catch up."
"I can help him," Cortez said. "Go."
"All right." Shepard put her hands up and skipped backward. "I'm on the comm."
"I won't be that far behind," Kaidan said and wrenched off an arm cuff.
Cortez bent and helped with the armor on Kaidan's legs. Shepard sprinted to the sliding doors.
Anthony had entered Alliance HQ's leadership wing, a good sign they were getting close to something. Dim night-time lighting lit the hallway as Shepard slipped along the bleached walls. She slipped around the sofas and tables. A door whooshed open somewhere her left. She bolted down that hall.
At the end of the hall, a door slid shut. The center button lit up as it sealed shut. It turned red. Shepard skid to a stop in front of the door. This wasn't an area she'd been in before. A keypad glowed on the wall beside the door. Shepard lingered over it. This was the Alliance's wing, but she tried a Spectre code anyway. It gave a flat beep. The light still glowed red.
There was nothing to be done but try the control panel then. Shepard brought up her Omni-Tool and sank to her knees with a sigh. She could be here all night. The control panel's cover was sealed on tighter than normal. She clawed at the edge until her fingers got some traction. She dug her fingers in and pulled. A shadow moved overhead. A hand slapped over hers. She looked into Kaidan's face.
"Don't." He lifted his hand away. "They're censored for tampering."
He stood up.
"What the hell is this door? I've never seen it here," Shepard said rising to her feet.
"Security doors. They close at night. Seal off the back offices."
"You spend a lot of time here at night? How do you know that?"
He shrugged and hovered a hand over the glowing keypad.
"I already tried that," Shepard said.
Kaidan frowned at the floor as if concentrating. Shepard sighed and ran her hands over the metal doors. Seemed heavy duty. Kaidan looked up sharply and punched in five numbers. It chirped and turned green.
"Let's go."
Kaidan rushed to the widening crack between the security doors.
"How …" Shepard frowned.
Kaidan darted through the doors.
"Wait," Shepard called.
Shepard slipped between the doors and sped after him. Here, the hallway finally looked familiar. Office doors lined the hallway. That was Rear Admiral Peter's office to the right.
"We're in the executive wing," Shepard said catching up to him. "How did you know the code?"
"I remembered it."
"Remembered it? From when?"
"From the shadow broker."
Her stomach twisted.
"Interesting choice for pillow talk," she said.
He gave her a sharp look out of the corner of his eyes, and his jaw tightened. A hardness glinted in his eye that she hadn't seen in a long time. Her throat constricted, and his eyes shifted forward again. Shepard scrambled to keep up with him.
"I'm just ribbing you, Kaidan. Liara told you the codes?" she said.
"Something like that," he muttered but his voice had an edge to it now.
They skid to a stop at a hallway intersection. No sign of Anthony any direction. The only sound was their breathing and the fluorescent hum of the economy lights casting a greenish tinge over the white walls.
"Admiral Wilson's office is straight ahead," Shepard said.
She plunged down the hallway.
"I never found anything on Wilson's terminal," Kaidan said catching up to her.
"So maybe he's not an idiot."
"Or, maybe he's not the one we're looking for."
Shepard slowed and turned on him. "You have a better direction then?"
"Let's split up. We'll cover more ground."
"And if something happens?" Shepard asked.
"You hear gunfire, come running."
"Uh huh," Shepard said then raised her voice like an orator. "Today we remember Kaidan Alenko. 'Let's split up,' he said. 'We'll cover more ground,' he said.'"
"Don't belittle me, Shepard."
"Oh, come on. No armor, no barrier, biotic fatigue? It's not a good idea."
Kaidan stepped in closer and there was some heat in his voice. "Shepard, I don't need your—"
"What are you two doing here?" a voice boomed.
Shepard spun around and knocked into a potted palm. Kaidan lurched and steadied it. The bottom of the pot clapped back to the floor as Admiral Wilson stormed toward them. Shepard raised her eyebrows at Kaidan.
"Coincidence?" she said under her breath.
Kaidan frowned.
"It's the middle of the night," Wilson said stopping in front of them. "These offices are off limits to unassigned personnel during afterhours. Neither of you is an admiral correct?"
Wilson focused the heat of his glare on Kaidan. Smoke almost curled from the space between Kaidan's eyes.
Kaidan squared off with him. "Working late, Admiral?"
"Are you refusing to answer my question, Alenko?"
Wilson's eyes burned as he stepped up closer to Kaidan. An Alliance brass who hated Kaidan more than her. This was a novelty.
"Admiral Wilson," Shepard said. "We're assisting the Council with something."
Wilson glared over at her. "In the middle of the night? In the Alliance Executive wing?"
"Yes, and yes."
Wilson eyed her up and down with narrowing eyes. He turned a critical eye to Kaidan's clothing. They were an odd pair - Shepard dressed in ill-fitting armor and Kaidan in a tank top and black denim. He didn't even have his hoody anymore.
"In here, Spectre authority doesn't supersede Alliance authority," Wilson said.
"We're—" A sound made her cut herself off.
She listened putting up a hand to stop Wilson as he opened his mouth.
"Was that a door?" Shepard looked at Kaidan.
"I didn't hear it," Kaidan said.
Wilson put his hands on his hips. "Someone could be working late. Authorized personnel with clearance are allowed to access these offices."
"It was down the hall," Shepard said.
"Let's go." Kaidan nodded that direction.
Wilsons's eyes widened as they hurtled past him. His feet pounded up the hall behind them.
"Listen up!"
Shepard stopped short and rounded on him. "Shsh. Just listen, Admiral. Please."
She could be cloyingly respectful if she had a mind to. It seemed to take some fire out of Wilson's eyes, but Kaidan just crossed his arms with a tight expression. Apparently, he had no intention of making up to the admiral.
"Okay," Shepard said keeping her voice low. "Kaid—Major Alenko and I are following someone with information we need to intercept. Something for an attack tomorrow at the Summit. The attack is real, not rumor. He's meeting with a panel of Terra Firma's leaders and the Scorpion. If Alliance officers are involved, we need to find out who they are."
Wilson's face blanked. He looked between them. Finally, he cleared his throat and nodded.
"I saw my assistant in the hallway. It seemed out of place," he said.
"Who else is still here?" Shepard said.
"I'm not sure. I've been in my office."
She met Kaidan's eye and tipped her head down the hall. Wilson fell in behind them. This wasn't what she expected, but it could be useful. Kaidan couldn't know all the door codes. At least, she didn't think so.
"Voices," Kaidan said.
"That's a conference room up ahead," Wilson said.
They rushed to the metal door with the muffled voices and movement. Shepard pressed her ear to it.
"That didn't work before," Kaidan whispered.
"It's a different door," Shepard said. She pulled back. "Same outcome though. You're right."
"You don't want to …" Kaidan's eyes moved to the ceiling.
"Not this time," Shepard said.
It sounded like a lot of different voices inside. She couldn't hear words, just the bass-like undertones. One voice pitched higher than the rest - Anthony's.
"Sounds like a good-sized group," Kaidan said.
Admiral Wilson shifted on his feet and glanced around them. His eyes rested on Shepard waiting. He was waiting for her directions then. An odd turn of events. Out of all the strange companions she'd had, Admiral Wilson was definitely near the top. Shepard smirked over at Kaidan, but he didn't meet her eye and continued to gaze at the door.
"Okay," Shepard said moving her eyes from Kaidan to include Wilson. Kaidan's eyes flickered to Wilson and his mouth stiffened, but he didn't say anything. Kaidan had been advocating for Wilson not being involved only a few minutes ago, but apparently that didn't extend into wanting him at their six.
"I saw Anthony leave with a datachip," Shepard said. "He's supposed to hand it off to someone, maybe the Scorpion. We need to know who's in that room and get that datachip."
"How big's this datachip?" Wilson leaned deeper into their huddle.
"It's a normal datachip. Size of your thumb."
"Anthony will destroy it before he gives it over," Wilson said.
"Then I'll shoot him," Shepard said holding her pistol up.
"Oh." Wilson glanced at it.
He fumbled for his own pistol. It was probably clogged with dust. Kaidan must have been thinking the same thing. He grabbed a spare clip from his belt and shoved it in Wilson's hand.
"How old's that clip?" Kaidan said.
Wilson narrowed his eyes. "Implying something, Alenko?"
"Not implying," Kaidan said. "You've been at a desk for over a year. Unless you've changed out clips in that time, I'd do it now."
Wilson stared back at him. "I go to the firing range, Major."
"Stop," Shepard said. "We're going in, so get ready."
Kaidan gave a sharp nod, wrapped both hands around his pistol, and pressed his back against the side of the door. Shepard moved to the door's keypad.
"Admiral …" Shepard turned expectantly. She frowned. "What are you doing?"
Wilson slung his clip down the hallway and popped in the spare. He caught them watching him.
"I go to the firing range with a different weapon."
Kaidan snorted turning his head back to the door and flexing his fingers across the butt of his gun. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and Wilson's nostrils flared.
"Here." Shepard tossed him another clip. He grabbed it. "Spare. Now, let's go. Open the door, Admiral."
Wilson tore his eyes off Kaidan and stepped to the keypad on the opposite side of the door. Shepard's fingers tightened on the grip of her pistol, and her muscles coiled. Wilson punched in the code, and it turned green with a chirped. Shepard edged forward as the doors slid apart.
"What's going on?" a voice said.
Voices rose, chairs screeching, and upending. Tables turned over. Shepard hesitated until the door widened enough, then she darted in.
"Surrender. Special Tactics and Rec—"
A blue flash knocked her back into some overturned chairs. A biotic shield flared out and sealed off the back of the room. The Scorpion was here then. Shadows around the room dodged for cover behind upended tables. The first shot glanced off her shoulder, and she slid under a table and overturned it. It rattled with gunshots. A few came right through the thin wood. Wilson dipped his head around the door and returned fire amid the pounding feet and yelling.
Shepard clutched her pistol still shaky with biotic fatigue and peeked around the edge of the table. A blue sphere swirled above her. She clawed at the table as she started to lift. Bullets sprayed plaster from the wall behind her as she floated up. She grit her teeth and flashed a barrier over her skin. It broke the hold, and she dropped with a thud and rolled free letting her barrier dropped. Lights danced in her vision under a throbbing headache. Her pistol clattered to the floor as she braced herself on her hands and knees trying to stop the spinning.
A scuffling sound made her look up. A barrel aimed down at her. Kaidan rammed into the woman's legs, and her pistol fired into the wall as she tumbled backward. Shepard snatched her gun off the floor next to Kaidan's knee. The woman lifted her head, and Shepard fired. Blood misted into their faces as the woman's head slammed back against the floor. Red spread across her uniform – a rear admiral.
The overturned table shuttered, and a man flew spun around the other side. Shepard's vision flashed blue as Kaidan batted his hand out. The boom reverberated in her teeth. Shepard whipped him in the face with her pistol and shot him in the forehead.
Kaidan's head thudded back against the table, the pistol loosening in his hand, and blinked rapidly with a big swallow. Shepard leaned across him and fired around the edge of the table. She hit a woman in the chest, and she toppled over. Pieces of tile flooring exploded in the air as a bullet hit the ground by her knee. She drew back and changed clips. Wilson was still returning fire from the doorway, and Shepard spun a spare clip his direction.
Shepard touched Kaidan's shoulder, and he focused on her with a nod. His fingers gripped onto his pistol, and he sat up from the table. Shepard peeked over the top and exchanged fire with two uniforms huddled behind the table across from them.
Shepard caught the movement too late. A barrel tipped around the table. Kaidan's Omni-Tool glowed and the woman's gun clicked. She cursed and drove her Omni-blade at Kaidan. It sliced his hand as he turned it aside with his pistol. She ducked his shot reeling back with wild eyes and spun around. Her eyes fixed on the blue shield separating the room, and she pushed to her feet. Shepard's shaky pistol only hit the wall beyond her. The shield rippled to let her through. Kaidan lunged out from behind the table and caught her foot. Her hair flared over her head as her face cracked into the floor. The shield resealed without her.
Shepard darted out beside Kaidan and gave return fire. Her gun clicked. A man in the corner smiled up from his Omni-Tool and rushed at them. Fire plumed from his Omni-Tool. Kaidan pressed to the floor and angled his pistol up, but it clicked too. He seemed to anticipate the tech attack and dodged the burst of ice. Shepard planted her feet over Kaidan as fire washed over them. He bared down on them, and Shepard launched forward through the flames and buried her Omni-blade right through his gut. Her face stung, stomach twisting with the stench of scorched hair, and let him drop to the floor.
A bullet broke Shepard's chest plate, and she staggered back with a gasp. Kaidan grabbed her arm and dragged her behind a stack of chairs. His hands patted rough around the top of her head, and she had to stop herself from thrusting him away as she realized what he was doing. The pain burning across her scalp wasn't from his roughness. A squeak escaped her lips, and she tangled her fingers up into her hair.
"I've got it." He pushed her hands down and mussed her hair one last time before rocking back on his heels.
She searched his face. "Bad?"
"Noticeable."
"Damnit." She slammed her fist down on floor.
Wilson's gunshots stopped, and his gun clicked. There was only one man left not hiding behind the biotic shield. He fired at them as he bolted past. It was Anthony. Shepard spun out after him knocking over the stack of chairs. Wilson fumbled in the doorway with a spare clip as Anthony's arms punched forward, Omni-blade glowing. Shepard and Kaidan flashed blue at the same time. Anthony flew sideways in a wave of blue energy and crunched into the wall. Shepard let the energy drop and stumbled to a stop. She turned to the shield, but whoever was left was hiding deep inside.
The earth moved under her, and she tasted the blood running over her upper lip. She turned woozily to find Kaidan. He lay face down not moving. Her fingers grappled for the edge of a table to steady herself as she lurched over to him. He lay in the open without armor. If they dropped the shield, they could fire on him. She crashed to her knees beside him and put her armored back to the shield. Darkness rimmed her vision, head spinning, as she slouched over him. Her fingers curled a wad of his shirt into her palm, and she closed her eyes.
XXX
She woke with a start, her face pressed to Kaidan's back. Gunshots rang in her head, and she bolt upright. Wilson's legs shifted standing between them and the shield. He shot round after round at the rippling blue wall. Shepard pushed to her feet unsteadily. Kaidan moaned and stirred against the floor.
"You're awake. Didn't know if you would." Wilson fired again.
Shepard pushed his arms down and turned to the shield. She squinted through the blue veil, but whoever was on the other side was hiding behind the tipped-over tables.
"Give up. This is Commander Shepard. You've lost."
Her vision was still wavy, but she pulled herself up straight.
"Commander Shepard?" a younger male voice said.
"Yes. We know everything, so just drop the shield. We won't shoot you."
Kaidan crawled to his knees, grabbed his gun, and stood with a slight stagger. Shepard gripped his arm. He wiped blood from his nose and met her eyes with a quick nod before she let go. She turned back to the shield.
"It's useless. We have you. Just give—"
Two shots fired. The shield fell. Shepard surged forward to the overturned table in the back. She turned the table aside and stood back. Two bodies in Alliance uniforms lay bleeding from the heads with pistols still rocking at their side. Kaidan stepped up beside her.
"Mason's son." Shepard turned to Kaidan.
"And Flight Admiral Dumas." Kaidan pointed with his gun.
Wilson shoved between them. "No …"
The gun slipped from his fingertips, and he froze over Dumas's body. Shepard drew in a deep breath and met Kaidan's eyes. Mason's son was a biotic with inside knowledge of the Alliance and Council and scheduled onstage on day one of the Summit. It was over then. She smiled, but Kaidan looked away. He shoved his pistol away.
"Who's calling it in?" he said.