They were greeted by no less than the head of Eldfell security himself when the shuttle door finally slid open to reveal the welcoming party. Omar Khalif was a man of African descent, his pudgy face a strange counterpoint to his imposing and well-toned physique. The rolls of flesh had the effect of almost hiding his small eyes, and the casual onlooker would be tempted to think that he was all brawn and no brains.
But Miranda knew better. As far back as she could remember, Eldfell guards were some of the highest paid in the galaxy, and their skill and efficiency rivalled that of government strike forces. There was no reason to imagine things had changed. It also meant that Khalif had to be an extremely shrewd and intelligent man to have risen to his position. And it was with satisfaction that she observed how he kept the exchange of greetings to the minimal before leading them straight towards the heart of operations in the tower.
"As per your orders, we've cleared the tower of low-clearance personnel. Everyone else has been advised to leave and we're monitoring essential staff left behind to maintain operations in certain areas."
Khalif began without preamble the moment the security bulkheads slid close behind them. The operations room was similar to setups found all over the galaxy, except two to three times larger than what most corporations boasted of. The giant space was filled from floor to ceiling with hundreds of monitors that funnelled data from countless different sensors and surveillance equipment covering the entire tower, the concourse and the marina-the equivalent of a small city's activities. Trained analysts monitored these in front of rows and rows of consoles, sifting for anomalies in the data after the inbuilt VI had filtered most of the chaff out.
"What's the status of your security teams?" Miranda crossed her arms as her eyes travelled up and down the aisles, taking in the details. This part of the tower was one of the areas she'd never been in, and despite knowing the logistics involved, the scope of it continued to amaze her. Beside her, Shepard looked on unobtrusively, ignoring the fact that most of the personnel were studying him curiously. Either they knew who he was, or they didn't. No matter what, it firmed her newfound resolve that any insight into her personal life was entirely hers and Shepard's to disclose or conceal when they wanted to.
"I've called in our reserves and cancelled all leaves." If Khalif knew who Shepard was, he gave no indication as he continued his update. "Patrols have also been stepped up, mostly concentrated in the perimeter where we can expect most intrusions. In my experience, our extensive monitoring and the fully operational security system more than take care of the tower itself."
She nodded as she absorbed the information. It was exactly what she would've done with firsthand experience informing her on just how good the billion-dollar security system was. So good in fact, that in this particular operation it was a matter of concern.
"There's a change of plans, Mr. Khalif, I want all lethal countermeasures disabled. We can't afford any kind of tragic accident happening."
Khalif frowned thoughtfully as he digested the new development.
"That will stretch my manpower resources since certain access points are guarded solely by those countermeasures. While that isn't a problem in the short run-" He paused here to clear his throat. "It's my understanding that you're hoping to lure your clone into the tower with your presence, Ms. Eldfell. What if she doesn't take the bait?"
That name again... The distance that Miranda had managed to place between herself and her past was such that she couldn't help but cringe mentally at being called that.
"We'll stick to this holding pattern for a week. Your men should be able to handle that. I have every confidence that my—sister will take it. She has to, or she'll lose the chance to access the tower entirely. We have the home field advantage here."
Khalif didn't look as though he was entirely convinced, but wisely kept his peace. If he was as good as he looked to be, he'd have read up every available file on her before tonight's meeting. Miranda wasn't inclined to challenge whatever misconceptions he might have about his new employer. Those would either be corrected as they negotiated their way to a working relationship, or this entire fiasco would end before any serious differences became a problem.
"Do I have full access to the tower and its systems, Mr. Khalif?"
He looked away to consult an accompanying aide before returning his attention back on her.
"Yes, Ms. Eldfell. Your personal passcodes have been input into the system and activated as of this afternoon. You can override any system from anywhere through the secure transmission channel using your omni-tool."
That was it. Hearing those words finally brought home the realisation that she had been given the master key to the place where she was conceptualised, conceived, nurtured and eventually imprisoned in. All that had belonged to the man responsible for those paradoxes was now hers. Nowhere else would she find more complete records of her genesis, from the project inception decades before she was born all the way through the years of her absence from this place. And perhaps secreted somewhere within that chronological repository would be an inkling as to the motivations of the figure she called father.
That old address grated far less this time. Miranda felt as though she was slipping back into an old skin, one that insidiously moulded itself to fit her newly minted status. It was so easy to just close her eyes, to let the vivid images from her childhood take over her mental processes.
A gentle touch on her arm woke her from that reverie, and she reopened her eyes to Shepard's enquiring look. She tried to muster a reassuring smile for him.
"I'm fine."
"I know." He said as they moved aside to confer privately. "Just thought you might want to take a personal tour of the place. Don't think we'll see much action in the next few hours. I can stay here and keep watch if you like."
Trust him to get right to the heart of what tugged at her. But she was grateful of his intervention for a different reason. With her innermost desire given voice by his question, her mind invariably came back to its senses to point out that the tower was massive enough to house an entire town's population. If she moved beyond this area, it would literally take a while to return if a crisis popped up. Ultimately, she was the one in charge of this mission.
"There'll be time for all that later." She took a deep breath before replying, "It's been almost thirty years. It can wait a few days more."
Shepard studied her before accepting her explanation with a nod. That was one priority put into the correct place. Miranda turned back, intending to iron out more details with her new head of security only to find that he'd moved to look over one of the surveillance monitors, a frown on his face. The guard that was manning the station was speaking into his comm unit as he looked up to his superior worriedly.
"Trouble?" Shepard asked as they came within earshot.
Khalif glanced up at the question, his frown deeper than ever.
"There's an Alliance squad requesting entrance. And it seems their commander isn't willing to explain the reason for their presence. It's strange because we haven't had Alliance around here for years. Usually, we take care of our own problems."
Appropriately, he moved aside to give them a clear view of the monitor screen. Miranda's heart sunk even as Shepard breathed noisily through clenched teeth when they realised who it was.
"Somebody you know?" Khalif queried.
"Someone I used to call a friend." Shepard clarified reluctantly. "I think we can take it from here if you'll give us a moment, Mr. Khalif."
They shared a troubled look as they moved to a corner again to confer privately.
"It has to be either Kai Leng or Cordelia who got wind that you're wanted by the Alliance and tipped them off." Miranda said darkly. "My bet's on Kai Leng."
"Always knew I'd get a visit from the Alliance sooner or later but I never expected them to send Jacob after me. Got to say it makes perfect sense now that I think of it." Shepard laughed mirthlessly. "They finally figure they might have misread Shan, and so they send in the one who got me into this mess in the first place."
It was emotionally-fraught reasoning, but Miranda had to admit it was sound. There was no other reason why Jacob would be given the job, and she could only curse the asshole back at HQ who'd thought of the idea to send him.
"Do you blame Jacob for making the report?"
Seconds ticked by as Shepard considered the question. In the end, he shook his head with a sigh.
"Neither of us were in our right minds back then. And no matter the reasons, I did have a hand to play in destroying the friendship between us."
"I suspect given a more benign political climate, Jacob's report would've likely been conveniently lost in the mountain of paperwork generated by the war," she said judiciously. "It only got pulled out of the slush pile because the ruling party is looking for an axe to grind."
He shrugged.
"For all it's worth, I think you're right."
There was a good chance that Jacob wouldn't know of Shepard's exact whereabouts. Any personal attempt on his part at resolving the issue would require him to reveal his presence, which simply squandered away that mother of all advantages. Miranda knew Shepard would arrive at the same conclusion even as the chain of logic unfolded effortlessly in her mind. It was a terrible position for him to be in, and she could almost see the waves of frustration emanating off him. On the other hand, she had legitimate reasons to be at her father's ancestral home. Admittedly too, she hadn't talked to Jacob in years, but at least that particular bridge hadn't been irrevocably burned.
"I think it's best if I go down and deal with Jacob," she murmured in conclusion.
Shepard looked down, gave a snort of a laugh and then looked up at her gratefully.
"I'll stay here and watch the show from the monitors." He quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Just... go easy on him, eh?"
"I'll try," she returned with a wry smile.
It was a short trek back to the elevator lobby with Khalif in tow. As they walked the distance, Miranda gave instructions for Jacob to be shown a private meeting room. If the situation wasn't so serious, she'd have groaned at the embarrassment of interceding on the behalf of her current lover with a former flame. It was the stuff of bad romance holovids and she could only be glad she'd never said much to Shepard about her relationship with Jacob.
Not that there was much to tell. During her time with Cerberus, she'd been so desperate for the company of people that didn't sign up to feed their personal vices that she capitulated into a relationship she wouldn't otherwise entertain. That realisation had come almost as soon as they'd hit off. Coupled with the discovery that their principles were too different for them to truly see eye-to-eye, Miranda had terminated it before things soured. She'd gotten wiser since, but she'd never been sure if Jacob felt the same.
It was a far warier man who greeted her when she entered the meeting room at any rate. Neither did he seem surprised that she'd been the one who arranged for the meeting, although his attention lingered on the door, as though he'd expected Shepard to enter after. Her eyes took in other details, including the new rank tabs of lieutenant commander on his combat armour.
"It's been a while, Jacob." She was determined to be cordial as she gestured him to take a seat. "How have you been?"
He shrugged as he settled into a leather chair, his face remaining expressionless.
"Been better, but I'm not complaining." His eyes travelled around the room, taking in the whole tower in effect. "Congratulations on your inheritance by the way. From how you used to talk about your father, this has got to be poetic justice."
She was half-inclined to deny that, and then decided it wasn't worth the effort.
"Thanks. I see you've gotten a promotion yourself. Congratulations."
A grimace contorted his face as he gave a bark of a laugh.
"Looks like we're moving up in the world in our own ways. In my case, these rank tabs are a daily reminder that I earned them by throwing the Saviour of the Galaxy to the wolves. Not exactly the kind of payment he was expecting, I'm sure."
Firmly, Miranda quelled her instinctual bristle. Jacob had never shown the tendency to gloat over another's misfortune. He was far more inclined to pity those that didn't deserve it, often to her amusement and exasperation. On that knowledge alone, she decided to play it straight.
"Did it give you satisfaction doing so?"
He gave her a grateful look.
"You're the first person to ask me that. No, I took no pleasure in reporting Shepard's conduct," he said heavily. "Especially when I saw how my report was used as a tool by politicians to one-up each other in exchange for votes—both sides talking about rightful causes when it's just streams of shit flowing downhill."
She frowned and followed that up with the next pertinent question.
"If you feel that way, why don't you walk away from it?"
"And go where? Wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth like you." He looked away from her, directing his attention to the tabletop here. "Made up my mind they can do whatever they want, as long as I get to stand on the sidelines."
This coming from a man who'd initially abandoned the legitimacy of government service to join a terrorist organisation because he felt he could make a difference. She'd heard from mutual acquaintances and Shepard the changes to his personality, but never did Miranda imagine it would be this drastic. With a pang, she realised how often that happened nowadays—meeting someone from her past and finding them irrevocably changed and it was with difficulty that she wrestled her thoughts back to the present. Now was not the time for the trip down nostalgia lane.
"So what brings you here, Jacob? I can't imagine it's just to catch up on the old days."
He propped both elbows on the table, tenting his hands before he began without preamble.
"I'm here to apprehend Shepard for breaking his parole. I know he's somewhere around here, so you can stop trying to cover up for him."
At least he retained his oft-brutal honesty, she thought. The best defence remained keeping Shepard entirely out of sight. Almost any complication down the road would be averted if they could manage just that and as a rule, something as close to the truth as possible invariably made it easier to maintain consistency and corroboration. In the lack of more information, she decided to play by their original scenario—that Shepard's trail mysteriously ended after she'd sabotaged his ID chip onboard the outgoing freighter at New Canton.
"What if I say I have no idea where he is right now? I returned to Earth to attend to highly-personal business. If you're here because records showed that both of us left New Canton at the same time, then I must tell you that I broke up with Shepard a month ago, and we haven't contacted each other since."
That gave him cause to pause. Which told Miranda several things—that whoever tipped the Alliance off on Shepard's whereabouts probably did so anonymously and didn't provide much in terms of details, which would fit Cordelia or Kai Leng's modus operandi. It was also likely Jacob had been given his instructions and hadn't seen the source for himself.
Whatever the reasons, he remained suitably sceptical as he shook his head.
"Sorry, but there's no way to believe what you just said is the truth. Fact is Shepard shouldn't have tried to take matters in his own hands. The only way to legitimately clear his name is to return to the Alliance and stand trial."
She couldn't help her mental headshake at Jacob's stiff-necked attitude. It was so reminiscent of the man he used to be that it was impossible to keep the familiar sense of ire and impatience from rising.
"Regardless of my reasons for breaking up with Shepard, I still think he wasn't given much of a choice in this matter." She pointed out, careful to keep the emotional quotient in her tone level. "We both know something like this would take years to resolve. He shouldn't have to waste his life in an Alliance jail for the sake of furthering someone's political agenda."
"What we think has no place in this." Jacob replied adamantly. "He has to work within the system whether he likes it or not. The alternative is to fall back on terrorist organisations like Cerberus again and we both know what that's like."
One which you were very much a part of. She wanted to remind him but refrained. Miranda remained highly divided over her time with Cerberus, but to denounce them as being the greater evil against which everything else was preferable was incredibly simplistic, not to mention grossly hypocritical on the part of former members like themselves.
"You continue to surprise me, Jacob," she murmured with a shake of her head. "Just when I thought you've moved on from making absolute judgements, you do it again. The fact remains that if not for Cerberus, we would never have gotten a headstart researching on how to defeat the Reapers."
Jacob's nostrils flared subtly at her words.
"It surprises me that you're still willing to make excuses for them. You really think that the Alliance or the rest of the Council races wouldn't have hit jackpot eventually?" He paused here to say, "Point is organisations like Cerberus are far more trouble than they're worth. I've gotten wiser over who and where I place my allegiance in."
"Trouble because it's inconvenient to the lifestyle you have in mind? Or because it throws a wrench on your ambition to make admiral someday?" she tossed out irately before reining herself back. She'd never have thought to accuse Jacob she knew from before of being self-serving, but neither did she know enough of the man he'd become to make that judgement right now.
"Look, Jacob, I won't condone Cerberus's more questionable practices anymore than you do nowadays," she went on more reasonably. "But don't kid yourself thinking the Alliance won't bank on another shadow organisation to do their dirty work. And we're getting side-tracked here—Shepard doesn't deserve to be treated this way after all he's done. "
"The fact remains he sacrificed five billion human lives to win the war. Someone needs to be held accountable for that." He frowned at her darkly. "It's the same with you, Miranda. Your first impulse is to take the easiest solution to any problem, no matter the price. Seems to me that's something you haven't learned."
She looked at him coldly. And realised she had nothing else to say to him. She had absolutely no interest engaging in a debate of semantics with someone possessing principles as mutable as the weather. It'd been something about him that had bothered Miranda before, but never on this magnitude.
"What I have learned is there's no reasoning with people who denounce what they privately believe in because it's more profitable to do so. At any rate, I refuse to discuss our differences in principles. Shepard isn't here, so let's stop wasting each other's time."
"Wouldn't say I'm wasting my time." Jacob bit out finally, his jaw muscles standing in relief. "The source that tipped Alliance command off explicitly named you as an accomplice to his escape. I didn't want to believe it, but now that we've talked, that doesn't sound so far-fetched after all. I guess you'll just have to bear with my presence for a while."
Silence hung in the air for a long time between them.
"You're going to have to produce a search warrant or excuse me for not entertaining that outrageous request."
More than ever, she wanted Jacob gone. But even so, there was no satisfaction watching him struggle for an answer when it was apparently he didn't have one.
"I've heard about the special 'arrangements' your father made with the local government." He finally tossed out in a put-on offhanded manner. "Makes sense that the richest man on Earth could do anything he wanted in his own little kingdom. Hate to say but that's going to change. You have to subject yourself to Alliance jurisdiction or be charged for obstruction of justice like everyone else."
The threat in those words was unmistakable. And if there was anything Miranda hated more than anything else, it was posturing and chest-thumping made on delusional or ill-informed grounds to try and cow her into submission. That she should have to be subjected to something like that from a friend who ought to know better made it all worse. No, she really didn't know who Jacob was anymore.
"Regardless of prior arrangements my father may have with the Alliance, the fact remains that you cannot produce a warrant to justify your presence." She stood up abruptly, at the end of her tether. "I'm giving you the grace now to leave on your own two feet. I suggest you take it or Mr. Khalif here will have you and your squad forcibly removed."
Jacob rose to his feet slowly, his face an unreadable mask.
"I'll be back with that warrant, you can be sure of it."
"You do that," she said tersely as she left, trusting her new head of security to carry out the necessary measures.
So much for not burning that particular bridge to both hers and Shepard's past. As she walked back to the elevators, Miranda couldn't help but wonder if she could've handled the situation better. The changes in Jacob continued to take her by surprise, but the more things changed, the more they stayed the same apparently. Once Jacob had his mind fixed on a particular notion, misguided or not, it was near impossible to dislodge him. And she had absolutely no patience for his stupidity and complicity in being pulled into this whole farce.
What she did simply put a longer fuse to a potentially explosive situation, but given the circumstances, it was probably the best she could do, she decided. As she rounded the final bend before the lobby, Miranda stopped short, momentarily caught offguard by the sight of Shepard exiting a lift.
"What are you doing here? You could've been seen by Jacob."
He looked at her, silent agony and worry etching deep furrows on his forehead.
"I wouldn't have come down if it wasn't urgent. I just got a call from the safehouse." He took a deep breath. "Cordelia is there with Oriana. She's demanding to speak to you."
-~o~-
So much for trying to keep me safe.
That thought went on in a litany in Oriana's mind even as her muscles froze into place at the mind-boggling change in events.
How the hell was she going to get out of this predicament, or even send warning to Miranda, she hadn't a single clue. But as she was beginning to find out, those weren't her immediate problems. She watched in growing alarm as Cordelia redirected her attention to Shan, casually retrieved her pistol before pointing it at his unconscious form.
"Stop!" Her voice came out as a harsh croak, her vocal chords managing to unfreeze just in time. "Don't kill him!"
Cordelia looked at her curiously.
"Why?"
Just one week ago, Oriana recalled how she'd felt so resentful of Shan over his role as Shepard's reluctant gaoler. The idea that he could possibly die in this expedition had never occurred to her. And now that it was an immediate possibility, she was reminded painfully of the fact that he didn't ask to be involved in any of this. More to the point, her heart simply spasmed at the idea of him dying for her sake. The only problem was saying that wouldn't go over well with Cordelia at all.
"Isn't it bad enough that you're planning to kill all your sisters?" She blurted the first thing her mind could come up with. "Why add more to the list?"
Even as those words left her mouth, she winced at how flimsy her defence sounded. As if on the same mental wavelength, Cordelia cocked her head thoughtfully.
"You sound anxious that the Alliance Marine live. Who is he to you?"
Taken aback, Oriana clamped her mouth shut. That was a very good question, but definitely not one she was willing to answer under these circumstances. Instead, she decided to take another tack.
"You got to admit what you're planning isn't exactly lawful. Doesn't it make sense not to draw more attention to yourself? If you kill him, you'll just bring the Alliance down on your head."
"Kai Leng has already done the honours. The bloody fool has informed the Alliance of Shepard's whereabouts on the misguided notion that it'll give us an advantage. So much for keeping a low profile." She snorted bitterly as she took in Oriana's frowning look of disbelief. "Oh yes, we know he's a fugitive on the run from the Alliance. But first things first."
Cordelia gazed at Shan for a long while. Finally, she hoisted him by the armpits and dragged him against a wall after which she methodically stripped him of weapons and all the equipment he had on his person. Oriana stood stock-still as this went on, torn between looking for something that might give her a fighting chance, yet acutely aware that any false move on her part might just snap her other twin's patience and cost Shan his life.
"Satisfied?" Cordelia asked dryly when she finished tying him up securely with a coil of wire. To her credit, she wasn't excessively ungentle in the manhandling either.
Oriana let go of a pent up breath and said cautiously, "Thank you."
"How is Shepard by the way?" Cordelia asked as she pulled out a dining chair, turning it around to straddle it, arms over the backrest. "Why don't you take a seat? I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere, I assure you."
Oriana frowned at the sudden air of geniality, but in the end, she walked back to the sofa to sit down gingerly. As she did that she couldn't help her eyes darting over to Shan, wondering when he'd wake up and how were they going to get out of this.
"Kai Leng suspected that Shepard would survive his parting gift." Cordelia continued conversationally. "But that's almost to be expected, isn't it? Together with her, they make a formidable team, maybe even offsetting the disadvantage of his outlaw status."
Her, in this case,could only mean Miranda. But apart from that now familiar epithet, Cordelia's singular lack of anger at having her plans thwarted was puzzling and rang warning bells at the back of Oriana's head.
"Don't tell me you have a bone to grind with John too..."
Her third twin laughed, a sound that rang brittle and just off-pitched enough that Oriana couldn't help but frown.
"Shepard is Kai Leng's prey, someone whom I enlisted partially because I knew I would have to find a way to deal with Shepard." Another off-kilter laugh here. "I thought I had it all planned, you see. But it seems nothing goes the way I want it to."
"No plan ever survives contact with the enemy. Isn't that what they say?" Oriana replied carefully. Not that Cordelia was exactly sane even during her best moments, but tonight, there is definitely more than an air of desperation and faint hysteria surrounding her.
"Do you ever get that feeling that no matter what you do, nothing changes because everything is already set in stone?" Those blue eyes, exactly the shade of hers and Miranda's looked at her in such a stark and plaintive manner that Oriana was taken aback.
It was almost like a child asking about the meaning of life, and it struck Oriana suddenly that for all her bravado and tendency for decisive action, Cordelia had been a prisoner for more than two thirds of her life. Deprived of social interaction and a proper education, she had neither ties nor experience that regular people like herself took for granted to get around in the world.
"I never think that way, even though sometimes it feels like that's the only answer." She said seriously as she looked at Cordelia straight on. "There'll always be things beyond our control. But heck, if everyone uses that excuse and do nothing, then there'll be no change for the better."
A myriad of emotions flitted past Cordelia's face before her third twin finally looked at her in genuine wonder.
"You really do believe that..."
Oriana sighed tiredly as she rubbed her forehead.
"If you weren't so bent on mocking me, you'd have figured out I always mean what I say."
"I'm sorry." Cordelia's mouth thinned as she looked away. "I suppose I'm too used to hearing lip service."
To hear Cordelia admit that was so unexpected Oriana almost couldn't believe her ears. And riding along that realisation inevitably came the painful flaring of hope that just perhaps, she might be able to get her younger sibling to abandon her mad cause after all. At the same time, she knew she had to proceed very carefully. Dealing with Cordelia was in many ways like trying to handle a wounded animal. Any sudden or drastic move would easily undo all the hard work before.
"That's why I won't stop trying, no matter how hard it is, especially if I know it's worth it." Oriana pointed out carefully. "I've said this before and I will say it again: you can't blame Miri for what you've gone through. If she'd known you were with Cerberus, she would've gotten you out of there, even if she had to kill herself along the way. And that's not my bias speaking. Because she did the exact same thing for me."
It was a measure of the effect her words had that Cordelia refused to look at her as she said this.
"Remember I was a baby." Oriana continued in a quiet voice. "She didn't owe me anything at all, but she still got me away when she escaped from the tower. You used to live there, you'd know how hard that is, especially for a sixteen year-old. And if you want to argue that she did it on an impulse, don't forget she kept our father away from me for almost twenty years after that. Just because you've never experienced something unconditional like that doesn't mean it can't exist."
It was the first time that Oriana managed to get all of that off her chest without the being interrupted by mocking interjections or curt rebuttal. And it was with bated breath that she waited to see how her younger twin would take it.
Cordelia's laugh, when it finally came, was harsh and remorseless.
"It's a nice story, and I mean it. I can see how it would be real to you. But it never came to pass for me. You don't get it, do you? It's too late. I can't change, I can't stop. Because everything will just collapse."
She finally looked up at Oriana, and the look of regret on her face shook Oriana more than any show of defiance or threat could.
"I like you. I didn't imagine I would, but I do. It'll give me no pleasure when I have to kill you."
Oriana wanted to scream in frustration even as desperation welled up like rising floodwaters within her.
"Why must you do this? What does it take to make you stop?"
"Because I never had the luxury of choice. Even if you were to present the perfect alternative on a platter, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I can't imagine the idea of making peace with her. It—makes me sick just thinking of it..."
All this was delivered in a deathly voice, almost a whisper like Cordelia was arguing with herself. After which she shook her head and laughed deprecatingly, her gesture and body language so achingly like Miranda that Oriana couldn't help but shiver.
"For all it's worth, thank you for telling me all that. Maybe it's time I return the favour. In the last few weeks, I've found out certain things that I feel, for the sake of kinship—" she continued in dry irony, her tone almost back to her usual here. "—that I ought to share before everything goes to hell. Consider it my unwillingness to bear the burden alone. And perhaps then you'll understand why I say it's all too late."
Saying that, Cordelia stood up and walked over to the security station. With efficient motions, she punched in some code on the keyboard. The reason for her strange behaviour became apparent as she hit the broadcast button and a voice sounded over the speakers.
"You have reached the Eldfell Tower security hotline. We are sorry to inform you—"
She pressed another series of keys before she finally got a human receptionist on the line.
"Tell Miranda Lawson I have her younger sister in custody and I want to set up a meeting."
-~o~-
It was an experience Shepard didn't think he wanted to undergo again, seeing the blood drain from Miranda's face as the news sunk in. It didn't take a psychic to figure out what was going through her mind. As the implications hit him, he'd found himself cursing at the fact that they'd slipped up again. Somewhere and somehow, Cordelia had found out the location of the safehouse. It was one of the oldest tactics in the book—breaching your adversary's stronghold when he is off setting up an elaborate trap—and they fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
The worse thing had been the presence of the niggling doubt that said Oriana might've been safer with them in the tower. He'd chosen not to voice it because he'd felt uncomfortable shoving his nose into a highly-personal, not to mention tangential connection in the nascent relationship between himself and Miranda.
The feeling of recrimination would be far worse for Miranda, but she lost no time venting her frustration or even to make the attempt to return to the security office. Instead, she chose to take the call at another private meeting room nearby. He now stood unobtrusively at the side, outside of the vid pickup range, but at an angle where he could get a good view of both parties, including the reactions on their faces.
It was unsettling to see how Cordelia looked exactly like Miranda, down to her hair and attire. He knew she must've taken pains to impersonate her oldest twin to such a degree and he couldn't help thinking of the potential mishaps they'd face with two women so easily mistaken for one another.
"Hello, dear sister." The doppelganger began pleasantly, arms crossed in imitation of her oldest twin. "I'm sure Shepard has told you where I am, although I'm thinking a demonstration ought to settle any doubts." Without waiting for an answer, she reached over and swung the camera one-eighty in a wild motion, presenting them with a stomach-churning panoramic shot of the living room. As the view zipped past, Shepard was certain he saw Shan's comatose body slumped against the wall. The camera finally came to a jerky halt with Oriana on the screen. He breathed easier when he saw that she looked tense but unharmed sitting on the sofa.
"Say hi to the viewers, Ori," came Cordelia's voice off-screen in a tone so achingly like Miranda's that Shepard couldn't help wincing.
Oriana looked straight at the camera, her blue eyes wide with anxiety. It was obvious she was doing her best to remain calm.
"I'm fine, Miri." She replied in a hushed tone. Her eyes darted to the side, in the direction where Shan was before adding, "Shan's fine too. He's just unconscious at the moment."
Miranda stood stock-still as she absorbed all of this, her facade only breaking into visible relief when Oriana spoke up. Without preamble, Cordelia swung the camera back to herself again.
"That was a gesture of my goodwill. As you can see I don't want an unnecessary bloodbath."
"What is it you want?" Miranda finally narrowed her eyes, her voice a harsh grate.
"Simply this: I'm using Oriana here as a guarantor of sorts for me to enter the tower safely. I want all of us to meet up tonight. Call it a family gathering if you will." Cordelia cocked her head to the side here, as though she was listening to a voice off screen. "But while I get that arranged, I'd really suggest you go to the labs and read up our project files. Your own especially. There are things in there that will interest you immensely. More to the point, it'll put us all on the same page when we see each other again."
Before her oldest twin could respond, Cordelia reached forward to punch the disconnect button, leaving them staring at a blank screen.
Miranda stood as though she was frozen in place for such a long time that Shepard finally placed his hand on her shoulder. Beneath her armour, he could feel the rock-hard tension in her body. Eventually, she lifted her hand to grip his briefly before she turned around, eyes blazing with anger.
But almost immediately, her shoulders slumped as she leaned back against the table edge.
"I fucked up." she whispered, slowly shaking her head. "How could I be so stupid to think Ori would be perfectly safe?"
The despair in her voice was such that Shepard felt he had to say something. Even though almost anything he could imagine saying felt like a platitude.
"You didn't." He finally pointed out. "We both know something like this might happen, but there was no way we could've foreseen it."
When she failed to respond, he was compelled to ask, "Do you believe what Cordelia said? Can we buy her show of good faith?"
She looked up at this and bit her lip in thought.
"I'd say it sounds entirely reasonable. But from what I know of her, that isn't exactly reassuring."
It was what he'd thought she would say. Nonetheless, he released a pent-up breath because her reply told him that she was getting back into her professional self, thinking practically despite the emotional blow. Which led him naturally to ask the next question.
"Are you thinking to go back to the safehouse?"
Miranda looked directly at him, agony clear as day in her eyes. Wordlessly, she turned around to punch in the code for the operations room. After a brief consultation with the personnel there, the monitor flickered to life again, this time showing the perspective of a security camera covering the main entrance of the tower. The parked Alliance shuttle could clearly be seen, with its entourage of marines milling around the perimeter. Jacob was nowhere in sight, but the behaviour of his squad said very clearly they weren't leaving anytime soon. She inclined her head at the sight.
"I'm tempted to have one of us head back, but that is a problem. They're beyond the tower grounds so I can't call them out for trespassing. You're safe while you remain in here, but eventually Jacob's going to come back with that warrant. And now we have a new complication to deal with."
It was a measure of Miranda's state of distraction that she replied his question in such an oblique manner. It'd been a long time since Shepard felt this helpless. And the fact that he'd become a source of concern among the plethora that clamoured for her attention only made him even more frustrated. To top it all off, Cordelia's strongly-worded suggestion that Miranda ought to seek answers within the tower would surely strike a chord. Despite her earlier nonchalance, he knew how deeply the desire for the truth tugged at her.
"If we're going to take Cordelia at her word, we'll have to do it all the way. She doesn't seem like the sort we can reason with. And if she says she doesn't want bloodshed, going back to the safehouse now is probably a sure-fire way to get one." He extrapolated thoughtfully.
"I'm inclined to agree with you, but in the lack of information... That's really our biggest problem right now." Miranda muttered in frustration. "I feel like I'm being blindsided from every direction."
"Then go to the labs. If there's something important there that could tip the balance, you should know about it. It might even give you a chance to rebound the trap on Cordelia."
Miranda rubbed the bridge of her nose where a deep-set frown had taken root.
"What about Jacob? Not to mention Kai Leng. He has a hand in all this. It's got his stink all over. So where the hell is he?"
"Let me handle it." He said firmly. "You've got more than enough on your plate. And some demons—it's best I exorcise myself. Loan me your security forces. I'll make sure Jacob and Kai Leng stay out of your way."
She looked up, a worried expression on her face.
"I don't see how you can do that unless you reveal your whereabouts, John."
Shepard took a deep breath.
"It may come to that. I heard your cover story for Jacob. Are you fine with it if I break it?"
"It was only supposed to be a delay tactic. But you can't—"
She subsided into frustrated silence here. This past week, Shepard was more deeply aware than ever of the conflict Miranda must feel over his return to the fray. But she knew better than to hold him back or make him promise not to put himself in danger. The strength in their partnership had always lain in trusting each other to do their jobs, and he saw no reason why that had to change now. If anything else, that approach made even more sense with their newfound connection.
Reluctantly, Miranda nodded her head in deep finality.
After a moment, they came together in a heartfelt embrace. Shepard held onto her tightly even as he silently wished her all the luck and support he could give. There was no denying time was of the essence, and they broke apart eventually. And it was with lingering concern that he watched her depart the room to head back to the lift lobby.
With an effort, he wrestled his attention back to the security pickup. He could see Jacob standing at the hatch now, one hand gripping the overhead ledge, his other pressed against his ear as he talked to someone over the comm. Probably trying to expedite the issue of a search warrant, Shepard thought darkly.
A ping on his omni-tool interrupted his mental rumination here.
"Admiral Shepard? Khalif here. Ms. Eldfell has ordered that I avail myself and my forces to your command."
"Let's meet up. Where are you?"
"On my way to you actually."
The door opened almost immediately after, revealing Miranda's head of security. Khalif followed his line of vision to the vid pickup to take in the scene with all its implications.
"Looks like they have no intentions to decamp. They must want you pretty badly."
"Do you have a problem with that?" Shepard asked softly as he gazed at the other man.
Khalif returned his appraisal with a frank look.
"I'm paid a lot to do my job, Admiral. And a good part of that involves safeguarding anything my employer deems important, including secrets and sensitive information. I'd like to think I do my job well."
It was an honest answer, devoid of any sentiments that would complicate the issue, and Shepard couldn't help but find himself warming up to Khalif's all-business attitude.
"How many patrols do you have outside? Have they found any anomalies lately?"
"We've stepped up surveillance. I've got about three squads outside at the moment. Is there something we should be looking out for?"
"An ex-Alliance commando. Very skilled and dangerous. He's probably the one who tipped the Alliance off on my whereabouts. He's got to be around here somewhere monitoring the fallout."
Khalif frowned thoughtfully.
"Now that you mention it, my men found traces of monitoring outside the annexe yesterday. Someone kept a stash of parts in a very well-hidden niche. It was a stroke of luck the patrol stumbled upon it. We get a lot of paparazzi activity so I'm not inclined to take such findings seriously, but the equipment was unusually top-notch."
"The annexe? That's the building that houses the main entrance to the tower, right?"
"Right. Acting on that suspicion, we conducted an extensive search of the area, but turned up nothing. If your ex-commando is as good as you say, I wouldn't discount the possibility of passive monitoring sensors that might escape our notice."
Shepard returned his attention at the screen, his brows knitted in deep thought as he digested this. It was entirely possible that Kai Leng was preparing to set up some sort of surveillance. Whether he was successful or not wasn't the biggest concern at this late date, but the fact that he might have his eyes set on the annexe—that could be used to their advantage.
If he were to remain true to his promise to Miranda about not taking unnecessary risks, all Shepard had to do was let Jacob stew outside. But in the light of the fact that Cordelia was likely to enter the tower with Oriana in tow tonight, Alliance presence was definitely a complication none of them needed. The one scenario he had no desire entertaining was Jacob barging in with a warrant at the worst time possible with Kai Leng on the sidelines inciting more chaos.
There was no other option, Shepard concluded with a heavy heart. He was acutely aware of the fact that none of this would be a problem if it wasn't for him. He was the liability and the one thing he could do now was to even the odds out for Miranda and take certain things off her mind. No, better to spring the trap set for him at a time of his own choosing. The only problem was he would have to hand in their trump card and reveal his presence to Jacob. It was a calculated risk, but if he could secure his freedom while doing that, it might be worth a shot.
"Mr. Khalif, I'm going to engage that Alliance commander in a private conversation. I'm thinking to do it in the annexe reception hall. It's not part of the tower strictly speaking, so you wouldn't have to go against Miranda's standing order of keeping them out."
Khalif frowned thoughtfully.
"That's quite dangerous, Admiral. Once they have proof you're here, they won't stop till they've apprehended you."
"Is our shuttle secure? Are there other available transports on landing pads further up?"
"Yes to both."
"Worse comes worst, that'll be my escape route. It's a risk I'm willing to take."
The annexe was a building extension made to house a massive glass and steel entrance to the tower proper. Part of the reason for the design was to imbue a more corporate feel to the place, making it look less like a billionaire's private playground. Given the architectural style, any covert agent worth their salt would find a myriad of ways to monitor whatever happened within from the outside.
Shepard narrowed his eyes and took in likely spots where Kai Leng might've set up surveillance as he stood in the centre of that open space. He'd given Khalif similar instructions, and the Eldfell head of security had placed his men on high alert to look out for suspicious activity.
The sliding door at the far end opened smoothly, and from his vantage, Shepard looked on as Jacob, escorted by two guards, walked in alone. A nod of his head dismissed those guards once they came within speaking range.
"Good to see you, Shepard." Jacob greeted him cautiously. "I'm glad you've chosen to turn yourself in."
"I don't intend to go back with you, Jacob."
The other man frowned darkly.
"Then what's the point of this meeting?"
Shepard hesitated, his prior conversation with Miranda coming to mind. But even after an hour of further reflection, he found himself unable to muster much resentment against Jacob. It was a contrast to his anger, even hatred of Kai Leng which continued to smother under the surface.
"I wanted to clear the air between us," he confessed finally. "I can't forget what happened back at the Reaper base or the fact that I pulled my gun out on you."
Jacob remained silent for a long time.
"We weren't exactly ourselves back then." He muttered grudgingly. "Not to mention how that place totally did a number on our heads. It's all water under the bridge to me. And for the record, I'm sorry my report got used as a tool to indict you." Jacob exhaled noisily here. "But it doesn't change the situation—you need to go back with me and clear your name, Shepard."
It was ironical that as little as a month ago, he might've gone on with Jacob willingly. But that was no longer the case. And Shepard wondered how long he could carry on with an argument he couldn't care less about anymore. The radio chatter filtering into his comm-unit continued to report negative sightings. But if there was one thing Shepard knew about Kai Leng, he could never resist being given things on the platter.
"I regret we've come to this stalemate, Jacob. But I—"
The attack was sudden and merciless, exactly Kai Leng's modus operandi. A flurry of shouts on the comm-system of which Shepard could only single out certain keywords was his only warning. Immediately after, he heard the whine of a shuttle's engine growing louder and louder. He looked up in alarm, and saw beyond the glass of annexe the looming bulk of a shuttle with its thrusters set in full reverse, hurtling straight towards them at an incredible speed.
"Look out!"
Instinctively, Shepard fired up his biotics and tackled Jacob with the full force of his mass-effect field-augmented weight. The stunt threw the both of them onto the ground and skidding out of the door just as the shuttle plummeted into the building. Steel struts groaned, bended and snapped, banks of glass shattered in an ear-piercing cacophony all over the perimeter. A loud roar began to resound as walls started crumbling from the abuse. But this was nothing compared to the ominous hiss of leaking fuel from the downed shuttle, followed by the tell-tale whomp sound as a spark ignited with the volatile air, turning the whole area into a giant conflagration of fire.