Plans New and Old

Christie stepped out of the shadows and Jak did his best not to snarl at the white, black and orange lightweight armor she wore. Not combat armor, but far more protection than his civvies.

"HQ figured a familiar face might meet less resistance. Silly that. Told them so. You are not surprised." The woman he had known as Christie Susansdottor said with a small frown.

"Why would I be?" Jak asked mildly. "Cerberus breaks every other law. Why not cheat death too?"

"You have cost us a lot, Jak." Christie chided him gently. "I know what happened wasn't your fault. Hell! I agreed with your nutcase plan. As you said at the memorial, it was the right thing to do. But I was in rehab for over a year after I was pulled from the wreckage after the crash. So you don't have a monopoly on angst."

"Never said I did." Jak replied, still not moving. "But I swore to serve the Alliance, not a power mad nutcase who enjoys killing people."

"It is not like that, Jak." Christie sighed. "Don't be that way. We just want to talk."

"Like you talked to Admiral Kahoku." Jak asked. Christie actually flinched at that and Jak pressed his advantage. They had both worked for the man and liked him. "Yeah. Great discussion there."

"He betrayed-" Christie started, only to freeze as Jak snarled at her.

"He never worked for you!" Jak snapped. "He worked for the Alliance, for humanity. You know, the human race? The people who rely on soldiers to protect them from enemies foreign..." He grunted. "...and domestic. He was asking questions about his missing men. He was getting close to your scum, so you killed him. Did you do it personally?" He demanded. "Did you enjoy it?"

"It is not like that, Jak." Christie said with a glower of her own. Her Carnifex did not waver. "You do not understand."

"Then enlighten me, oh wise guru." Jak snapped. "Or did you find a Cerberus slogan in a bubble gum wrapper and decide to join up then?"

"I joined Cerberus after they put me back together, Jak." Christie said quietly, back on even keel. "They had a team moving to aid the colony when we did. That team found me in the wreckage of the gunship after the crash. I had been left for dead but wasn't quite."

"'Aid'. As in 'take anything not nailed down and maybe some slaves too'?" Jak demanded.

"No Jak!" Christie replied with a bit of heat. "A medical team and escorts!" Jak glowered at her and she flushed. "Yeah. I know. From the facility we were supposed to hit."

This had to actually be Christie. No one else alive other than Hackett know that the team Jak had been carrying had been tasked to take out an illegal research facility. A fairly nasty one dedicated to creating biological weapons. He hadn't known it was run by Cerberus, but it wasn't that surprising. Nasty was what they did.

"We both know this is going to end with you pulling that trigger, Christie, so go right ahead and do it." Jak sank back into the chair, eyes closing most of the way. He glanced up at the ceiling as was not surprised at what he saw in a few of the reflections. "Go ahead. Double tap me. Be a good little goon."

"Jak, we just want to talk!" Christie protested.

"Like you did before?" Jak demanded. "Hernandez? That was talking." Christie flushed again. Dead on target. "Too bad Hackett was onto him before the asshole tried to drug me for kidnapping."

"That was...ill advised." Christie admitted. "But Jak..."

"Oh and how can I forget being abducted, scanned against my will and then waking up with no clothes in a room with a young girl who also has no clothes on. Both of us doped so we spread our legs for each other?" Jak demanded. "Also a fine discussion!"

"What?" Either Christie had become a much better actress than she had been or she was genuinely shocked by that. Then again, he had warned her what would happen if she did such to him again. "When was this?"

"Don't tell me your boss doesn't know!" Jak snapped, still not moving or opening his eyes further.

"I know a lot." A new voice sounded and Jak sat bolt upright as a hologram appeared nearby. It seemed to come from a hovering ball thing. The man was sitting in a chair and his eyes were the only part of him that were clear. Blue, metallic eyes. Jak had never met the man, but he knew who this was. "More than you can imagine."

"Well, well, well." Jak shook his head. "The grand high poobah himself. The mighty Illusive Man come to talk to the peons? Or just to piss on them as you usually do?"

"And you, Mister Collains, are as charming as Miss Susansdottor claimed." The Illusive Man said mildly. "But I would like an answer. What happened?"

"Don't tell me your people didn't abduct me, Lara and Janice from the asylum." The withering irony in Jak's tone might have cut steel. "Don't even try."

"We did." The Illusive Man said quietly. "We needed to know why you and the girl exhibited such close brainwaves. We also wanted to know what happened to Doctor Hernandez. We want to know what happened after that." Jak looked at him, then at Christie and then back at the holo. "We are not enemies, Mr. Collains."

"Could have fooled me." Jak sat back and closed his eyes most of the way. They flitted to the ceiling. Soon now. "When you try to get me to rape someone, it crosses you off my 'friend' option permanently."

"Sir…" Christie said weakly. "Did you order that? Oh, my god. You did, didn't you?" She pleaded when he did not respond. "Oh shit. Sir, that was a very bad idea."

"I see you remember." Jak said in a soft, silky voice. "I did warn you about that. After you got me drunk and faked having sex with me."

"Jak, don't!" Christie had her hands up now, the pistol dangling from one hand as she begged. "Sir, he feels very strongly about that. Very strongly! Jak... We can… We can work this out."

"Can we?" Jak asked slowly. "Yeah. Drug me up and get me to rape as many women as he wants to try and breed an ability. Not that he can, but hey, why would he care about silly things like ethics or morals? Do you get your jollies from such things?" He asked the holo. "Or is it something sicker? Necrophilia maybe after what you did to Shepherd?"

"Shepherd was an expensive mistake." The Illusive Man said with a small frown as Jak smiled wide. "Mr Collains, you do not seem to understand the situation."

"No, it is you who does not understand the situation." Jak said flatly. "Want to clue him in, Warrant Officer?" He smiled wider as he glanced at the ceiling. "If that woman with the stun baton takes another step, she will hit a mine." Tactical cloaks shimmered out of existence at that all around the room. Yep, a full squad.

"Mines? EVERYBODY FREEZE!" Christie screamed as Jak's hands came up. One with a Predator pistol, the other with his omni-tool live. "And whatever you do, DO NOT try to disarm those! He always booby trapped them!"

"Party pooper. I wanted to see one try and get blown to pieces." Jak sighed as he shifted to get more comfortable. He put the pistol in his lap, focused on his tool. He glanced around and eight forms in Cerberus armor stood with weapon ready, but none were aimed just yet. Two women, six men, all terrified from their postures. He smiled as he pressed a button on his omni-tool. All of a sudden the room was crisscrossed with now visible red lines, laser triggers for mines. They were everywhere. He had armed them when Janice had left. It was pure luck none of the Cerberus goons had tripped any as they had entered. Then again, he had tried to figure out how his team would have done such a snatch and planned accordingly.

"How the hell? He is a pilot." One of the men said weakly. "Not a marine."

"Be glad." Jak said with a grin that might have frightened a shark. "If Horst were here, this whole floor would likely be one big fuel air explosive ready to go. For such a mild mannered girl, she did like making things explode." Everyone looked at Christie who made a face and nodded. "We have nothing to discuss, Illusive Man. I had just hoped to get more than nine of your scum."

"If you die, according to our data so does the girl Lara. You would kill yourself and her for this." The Illusive Man asked, eyes speculative. "What of Miss Susansdottor?"

"What of her?" Jak asked mildly. "She made her choice. I made mine." He reached for his omni-tool again, but paused as the Illusive Man held up a hand.

"Mister Collains." The Illusive Man sounded tired, but not worried. Then again, he wasn't physically present, was he? "We need you."

"You need a proctologist to get your head out of your ass.." Jak snapped. "You want me, I don't want anything to do with you. Impasse."

"Not really." The Illusive Man smiled as the laser triggers suddenly went out. "Anything technological can be hacked, Mister Collains. Even booby traps."

"True." Jak shook his head a little as the Cerberus troops started to close in slowly, wary of his pistol that hadn't left his lap. Christie did not move, he noted. She had seen that the safety on his pistol was on and her eyes were worried. Very worried. With reason. She knew that if he had thought he needed it, he would have it off safe in such a situation. She knew him and he knew her. He eyed her. "How long in rehab, Christie?"

"Seventeen months. Four spinal fractures, shattered skull and lot of other mess." Christie said weakly. "Jak… I… I didn't know, I am sorry." He stared at her and made a snap decision.

"Zap! Z minus one." Christie's eyes went huge and then she hit the floor. "Not her! Weapon free!" Jak snapped. The others stared at Christie as Jak shrank down into the chair as well. Then one of the Cerberus troops disintegrated. No other word did it justice. Pieces of him flew every which way and his blood coated two of the others as well as the wall and ceiling. A large hole simply appeared in one wall and another in the far wall. "Watch your overshoot! You don't know what is downrange!" Jak called.

"Teach your grandma to suck eggs." Came a recognizable voice from a hidden speaker. Commander Shepherd sounded downright cheerful. Another Cerberus troop vanished in a red mist. Everyone else wisely froze.

"For those who may be slow on the uptake..." Jak said mildly as he placed his pistol at his side. He wouldn't need it. "That is, indeed, Commander Shepherd, Council Specter and Hero of the Citadel, formerly of Cerberus employ. She was on her way here to come to the dedication but a little late after her adventures beyond the Omega 4 relay. When I called and asked if she could help me with a canine infestation problem, she was happy to assist. Before anyone asks, I don't know where she is. Within a kilometer I assume with a good sight line."

"Good assumption." Shepherd said coolly. "Cerberus? Be cool and no one else dies. Be stupid and I can and will kill you all. Your armor won't save you from my Widow and neither will that couch." Jak had to smile at the looks on the two Cerberus troops who had hidden behind the useless furniture. "Jak, your ride is on the way, ETA three."

"Shepherd." The Illusive Man's holo wore a disgusted look now. "Still interfering."

"What can I say, Illusive Man?" Shepherd replied. "It is a gift." The sound of a shot came from the speaker and then another bolt flew out of nowhere. A trooper who had been surreptitiously raising a pistol lost her arm at the elbow and lay on the floor screaming before another grabbed her and started setting a tourniquet. "You want any of these, Jak?"

"No. I hope my fighting days are done." Jak slowly rose and stepped to where Christie still lay, her arms over her head now and her pistol thrown away. She stared up at him. "All else aside, Christie, I am glad you made it."

"I thought you were dead." Christie said weakly. "Everyone was dead and I was lost. Nothing left. So much pain and fear, and so angry."

"I am looking for a fresh start, Christie." Jak said quietly as he looked at the few remaining Cerberus goons. "If you had the chance for such, would you?"

"Don't even think about it, Miss Susansdottor!" The Illusive Man snapped. Another bolt from the blue and the holo vanished. Jak stared as a sparking orb fell to the now ruined carpet.

"He talks too much." Shepherd said quietly from the hidden speaker.

"You don't say?" Jak let a hand down and Christie took it carefully. Then she inhaled sharply and collapsed as the drug on the needle he had hit her hand with took effect. It had done as designed, gone right through her armored glove. She crumpled and he pulled her up into a fireman's carry. He had planned on the possibility of a prisoner, but he hadn't planned on it being her.

"Don't start." Shepherd quipped. "One minute." The sound of a shot came from the speaker. "Snipers trying to set up on an adjacent roof. One less. Idiots."

"Even an idiot with a sniper rifle is still dangerous." Jak said mildly.

"Yeah, but if the enemy is in range, so are you and there is zero cover up there." Shepherd replied as Jak opened the balcony door. Another shot cracked across the sky. Someone had to hear this and probably call the cops soon. "Almost as much cover as in that room."

"I don't think these are going to do anything. They are not complete idiots." Jak said as he looked at the Cerberus troops who shook their heads quickly. "After all, Christie has to be trapped and they can likely track her to wherever she goes. But I have to try. I owe her that much."

There was no answer and Jak stepped onto the balcony as a shuttle in while and black swooped down and its hatch opened. Shepherd stood there in full N7 armor, a massive sniper rifle in hand. It went to her back and folded, but still looked huge.

"You were firing from a shuttle?" Jak asked, eyes wide as he stepped in, handing the unconscious woman to Shepherd who laid her on the seating, searched her quickly and then laid binders on her wrists. The hatch closed behind him and he moved to sit.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Shepherd replied with a grin. Jak groaned and Shepherd smiled a bit wider. "Let's get out of here. We will let the doc check her out when we get back to the Normandy."

"I can't stay, Shepherd." Jak said quietly as he shifted to sit beside Christie's slumbering form. He felt the shuttle accelerate more and sank gratefully into the cushions. "I am going to call Ryder, see if the offer is still open."

"You will be missed, Walrus." Shepherd said quietly. "I have to say? That whole trap was a thing of beauty. They had no idea what they were stepping into. Pilot or no, you are one sneaky son of a bitch. Getting me to plant the mines while they focused on you at the reception was evil."

"Didn't want you to get bored." Jak smiled at Shepherd's chortle and closed his eyes. He would rest them for a minute.

Just for a minute…

"Jak." A familiar voice pulled Jak back to awareness. He jerked and then relaxed as he realized he was still in the shuttle. But it was dormant now. Shepherd and Christie were gone, but he could hear the engines still cooling down, it hadn't been landed for long. Illia stood at the hatch, her eyes flashing. "You are an idiot, you know that?"

"Been said." Jak stood up and stretched slowly. "Lara wake up?"

"Not yet. What the hell were you thinking?" Illia demanded. "If they hadn't backed off… If Shepherd hadn't scared the shit out of them… If Christie had been faking being drugged… They could have taken you. You know that."

"No, they couldn't. Illia, I cannot live my life, whatever it is going to be now, in fear." Jak reached for his shirt and pulled out a small device. Illia's eyes went huge as she saw a detonator. He opened his shirt and her eyes nearly fell out of her face as she saw a series of small devices that had been hidden under the baggy civilian clothes. Trip mines set to directional blast on a command detonator. "Christie knew I was rigged separate from the room. She didn't tell them. I want to know why."

"Lara is going to kick your ass and Korri will help." Illia shook her head as Jak started to carefully divest himself of the explosives. "Korri was awake for all of that, but couldn't get through to you."

I am sorry, Korri. I had to stay focused. Jak sent and was immediately assaulted by rage, sorrow and grief. A wailing torrent of recrimination and fear all mixed with exasperation. I am sorry. But I had to do this or they would never have let me go.

They won't anyway. You know that. Korri snapped, still furious. If I don't have the right to kill myself, why do you?

"Good question." Illia crossed her arms.

"It was a tactical decision." Jak said quietly as he finished disarming the devices and laid them aside. He had no idea where Shepherd stored such things and did not want to leave them lying about. "I didn't plan on dying, but I also couldn't let them take me or track us back to where Korri and Lara are. I knew Shepherd would have eyes on me the whole time. She is not infallible any more than I am, but she is damn good."

"Tell her the rest." Shepherd's voice pulled both of them to where the human stood near a door, her face cold and remote. She still wore her armor but no helmet. "Them the rest." Jak shook his head and Shepherd sighed. "Fine, I will."

"Shepherd..." Jak protested.

"When Jak contacted me just before the reception, he had a plan." Shepherd said sternly. "A stupid one. I made him come up with a better one."

"If it is stupid and it works, it is not stupid." Jak said with a glower that bounced right off the woman's N7 armor.

"Don't you dare quote Murphy at me." Shepherd speared a finger at him. "You knew I would help, You know how I feel about Cerberus."

"I wasn't totally sure." Jak admitted. "I figured even if you were serious about that, then the Illusive Man probably had your ship bugged. He would hear about the crazy and his men would be wary. I didn't know you were on the level until Christie showed up without a clue."

"He might be playing games still." Shepherd mused. "But Jak, that was nuts. How much of the building would have been left standing?" Jak shrugged.

"What was he going to do?" Illia looked and sounded a short step from horrified.

"He figured to fake his death. Not a bad plan in and of itself, but the execution.. Pilots do not generally go for low impact statements, Illia." Shepherd said with a grunt. "Joker is the same way. Why use a grenade when you can use a bomb? Why use one bomb when you can use five?" She shook her head. "Yeah, I had to help when he told me he was going to rig the entire penthouse to blow. And his 'escape plan'?" She made air quotes. "Fall four stories and hope nothing important broke when he landed."

JAK!

The mental shout came from many voices and Jak winced as Illia repeated it aloud. The asari and N7 looked at one another and then back at Jak whose heart fell at their matching expressions.

This was going to be a loooong day.