READ: I MADE A SLIGHT MODIFICATION TO THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ IT AGAIN ( if you havent already), OTHERWISE THIS WONT MAKE SENSE.
AN: Please don't hit me. It's been about a month since I decided to disappear. I've been very slowly adding buts and prices to this but today, I was finally able to breath and sat down to finish this. It was VERY difficult for me to write this, life issues notwithstanding. I wanted to do so many things with this, then this big idea hit me while daydreaming and came up with this. Not quite what I wanted but it's the closest I'll get. Thank you SO MUCH to all the people that have reviewed, followed, and fave-ed. I'll try to catch up with the next chapter. I've written about half of it in the HUGE binder I have filled with complete/incomplete fanfics. I'll keep you no longer. Enjoy!
"Ready?" John asks.
"Ready." Jack and I respond simultaneously.
"Nate, Zeke. Go."
A white delivery truck pulls up to the entrance. We begin listening what they say through our earpieces.
"State your business." the guard says, which is actually an Alliance soldier by the looks of it.
The driver, Nate, answered. "Got a delivery of cakes."
"Cakes?!" the alliance soldier asked, dumbstruck.
"Yeah, cakes. Y'know, pastries used in parties that range in flavor and-"
"I know what a cake is." the soldier said, clearly annoyed by Nate. "Sir, this is an Alliance warehouse. You have to leave the premises."
"Alliance?" Zeke came in. "Well, your boss must be having a party or something because here's the manifest, the order along with this address." Zeke handed a datapad to Nate, which gave it to the annoyed soldier. He read over it, then gave it back to Nate.
"Delta, can you come over here?" the soldier asked into his radio. A moment later, about five soldiers-Delta, I presume- walked out of the warehouse and over to the entrance.
"That's our cue." John said. "Let's go."
We leave the side alley and enter the warehouse through the now-unguarded exit. Crates and terminals filled the place. On the far side was a lone office which I assumed is where the deliveries are checked and the like. We crouches toward a terminal and I quickly got to work.
"Think it's here?" Jack asked.
"Don't know. Bug I can access all the files in this place from here." I answer, my eyes looking down onto my omni-tool.
"I just hope Nate and Zeke can keep them occupied long enough." John commented as he gripped his assault rifle tighter.
So do I...
My omni-to brightens up for a moment as I finally get past the firewalls. My time with the Knights served me well, learning and fine tuning my hacking skills. Thank god for that.
Okay...files, files...Weapons... Ships...oooh, "Cross-species Project"...focus... Tech schematics...where...is...OH! Here!
I kept looking through the "Communication" files when Zeke suddenly came over the earpiece.
"John, they kicked us out! You gotta move quickly!"
"Move it, Cupcake!" Jack whispered loudly at me.
"I'm trying, Jack!"
"Suit up." John ordered to Zeke and Nate through the earpiece. "Be ready in case things go sideways."
File after file after goddamned file...
No..No...Uuuhhhh... No...no... Here! Access fi- Aw, shit!
"Fuck! It's uploading to Arcturus! I can't-" My omni- tool flashed red. "Are you fucking serious?! It triggered a silent alarm!"
"Can you stop the upload?" John asked.
"I'm trying, but it's going to take some-"
"Hey! Stop!" a soldier yelled, followed by five others.
Where did so many come from?
"Cover her!" John ordered. "Give her time to stop the upload!" John and Jack open fire at the Alliance soldiers as well as they.
Taking cover behind some crates, John contacts Zeke and Nate. "Guys! I need you over here now!"
"We're on our way." Zeke answered.
10% uploaded.
FUCK!
More soldiers arrived just as Zeke and Nate arrived. Bullets zipped over my head as I typed away furiously at my omni-tool, using algorithms and software to stop the upload.
"Who the fuck is that?!" Jack exclaimed from behind her cover. I lift my head to see what she referred to and saw two white armored trucks that were dropping...
No...
Fully-armored soldiers with military-grade weapons poured out of the trucks. Their armor was frighteningly familiar: white and orange with a few black stripes int the sides. That damned logo on their armor causing so much distress within me.
Cerberus.
"John! That's Cerberus!" I yelled at him.
"The ones that-"
"Yes! Those!"
The Cerberus soldiers began firing at the Alliance troops. One of them nears us and I pull out my pistol and fire at him. The bullets jump off his barrier and shields, causing him only to stagger.
"Hold your fire!" he said, his voice sounding like he was talking through a damn tube. I hated those radios. "We're your backup."
Our...WHAT?! You have GOT to be shitting me!
Something-rage, I think-clicked in my brain and all the pieces came together. If Cerberus troops are our back up, then that clarifies how the Templars have oile of money and tech. Something else clicked-rage? Definitely.
I've been working for fucking Cerberus.
Well...
Fuck.
That.
I began to shoot at him again until his lifeless body fell to the floor. I closed my omni-tool, letting the upload continue. Standing at full height behind a column and getting my sniper, I began to open fire on Cerberus forces.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zeke yelled at me from his cover. Nit being able to think straight due to the redness around my vision, "Shoot them!" is my respond.
"Open fire on them!" John adds. Somewhat confused at the situation, the other opened fire nonetheless. The fight seemed to go on forever, the slight pain on my shoulder increasing with every shot fired from my sniper. An Alliance vehicle arrived and, while they occasionally fired at us, took care of the remaining Cerberus forces.
When the last of Cerberus fell, the Alliance soldiers trained their guns on us and surrounded us.
"Hold your fire!" the leader-I think- commanded. He approaches us and removes his helmet. He looked...familiar. "Names?"
"What the fuck for?" Jack spat, clearly not wanting to go down without a fight.
"It'll be easier for all of us if you collaborate. I'll ask again, names?" the man said. His voice sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. His heavy British accent sounded so very familiar.
"Tell us yours and I'll tell you mine." John offered.
"Lieutenant Commander Coats."
Coats..? Oh! Coats! Major Coats!
"I'm John Shepard. That's Selena Davidson. Ezekiel Wayne, Nathaniel Jackson and Jaqueline Naught. If you're gonna arrest us do-" a loud noise interrupted Jonh. Another Cerberus truck began to ram its way towards the warehouse, driving over the barricade the Alliance had put up.
"Everybody move!" Coats commanded. Just as everyone jumps out of the trucks way, it slams into a wall, exploding on contact. The warehouse was quickly filled with flames and smoke.
"Selena!" I hear through the chaotic area. I begin to move towards the direction of the voice- John's voice- when hands suddenly grabbed my arms. I jerked towards the person and recognized him.
"Where are the others?" the Lieutenant-Commander coughed. I was about to reply that I didn't know when a familiar voice was heard through the smoke.
"Let her go!" I hear from behind me. John moves to punch Coats but was too slow. The LC caught John's wrist and began to half drag, half push us out of the burning hell we were in.
"We have to go back!" John yelled as we finally made it out. "The others are still in there!" he jerked away from Coats' grasp and began making a speedy path back into the fiery warehouse. The LC quickly grabbed John and pulled him back.
"There's nothing we can do. We'll send in a team to deal with this mess, but right now we have to go."
"There's always a way!" John yelled as he tried to escape the lieutenant's grasp. Coats was holding him with his right, me in his left. If John couldn't get away, neither could I.
"You can't save all of them." the LC said, almost on a whisper. Dragging us to an Alliance vehicle, Coats practically threw us in the back seats and locked the doors. Sitting in the drivers seat, the vehicle came to life and began to move. Away from the burning warehouse. Away from my friends. Away from a stupid assignment gone wrong.
Head in our hands, John and I tried not to cry or rage. I had just left three friends to their fate, dead probably. No longer would I be called Cupcake, or listen to Nate's stupid jokes, or talk to Zeke. All of that taken away by fucking Cerberus. First, my parents. Now, my friends.
They're gonna pay for this.
Every. Single. Damn. One.