On the balcony, several men pointed guns at Shepard, while Isabella watched, none-too-happy.
"What the hell, Shepard?" Isabella asked. "You went back on our deal!"
"I believe someone who worked with you said that. A rather unfortunate salarian." Shepard said, then "I never made a deal. I lied."
"That's mean, Shep." Isabella said. "I'm..."
"Hurt." A man suggested.
"Wounded." Isabella said.
"You don't think the others you've betrayed felt this bad? How about the people you've killed? How did they feel in their final moments?" Shepard asked. "You're a spoiled little girl, Isabella. I'm not letting you run Omega like some game."
"But this is a game. For me, at least. No one is better than me, or smarter than me. The only one who even knows I've even betrayed anyone is you, Shepard. You're a loose end." Isabella said.
"Let me guess. You're going to kill me." Shepard said. "You think you can kill someone the Reapers couldn't? Saren couldn't? The Geth couldn't? Give up, Isabella."
"Well, joining your crew sounds like fun." Isabella said. "But it won't pay the bills. Open fire!"
Shepard ran behind a pillar, his mind racing. Shepard worked out several options, finally deciding on one after the pillar's top crashed to the ground, landing a foot from him. While it was told to Alliance soldiers to charge out one the shooting stopped, Isabella's troops had been trained to fire in a special rhythm so that at least one man was firing at any given time.
Shepard ran, wondering where his genius plans had gone, and quickly fired up.
"Trying to shoot the chandelier, Shepard? How cliché." Isabella said.
Shepard growled. Even now, Isabella acted like this was a game. Shepard slammed through a door, the wood splintering as his body smashed through it, and he looked around the office. Seeing a desk, he quickly searched it, finding a grenade and an Assault Rifle.
"Thank you, god." Shepard said, and tossed it onto the ceiling, blowing a hole to the second floor. Several men ran into the room, wondering what the explosion was, and saw the hole in the roof, immediately running over to the desk.
At the exact moment they ran to the desk. Shepard pushed the bookcase he had hidden behind over on them, then opened fire on the others. The man trapped under the desk moaned.
"Don't kill me." He whimpered.
Shepard frowned, and kicked him in the head, knocking him out and killing a few brain cells. Then, Shepard crawled through the ceiling, where three soldiers were positioned like a firing squad, Isabella behind them.
"F-!" Isabella tried to be theatrical, making her take longer to say 'fire' than it normally would. Had she seen the reality in this situation, she would've killed Shepard and then gloated.
Shepard lunged forward, grabbing one of the men's guns, then ducking. The two other soldiers shot the man to death, thinking Shepard was still in front of him. Then, Shepard took his pistol out and shot the other two men directly between the eyes.
Shepard emptied his pistol, then put it in his belt, having no more ammunition. Isabella backed up, terrified.
"This is real life." Shepard said. "This is what happens when you betray the wrong man. This is what happens when you're a criminal."
Isabella briefly wondered if she should draw her pistol when Shepard pointed his rifle directly at her.
"Don't kill me." Isabella whimpered, a teenager once more.
Shepard felt his instinct to pull the trigger, but found himself unable to do so.
"Damn it." Shepard said, and brought the rifle butt up quickly to Isabella's head, knocking her unconscious. Shepard slung the girl over his shoulder, then took her omni-tool and earbud, changing it to the radio frequency he used. "Michael, Haku, come in."
"Shep, are you okay?" Haku asked, her voice riddled with static. Shepard's radio frequency would penetrate any barriers, even the one in Isabella's mansion.
"Yes." Shepard said, wondering how many soldiers were left. "Haku, use my omni-tool. Say exactly what I say."
Shepard heard Haku's heels click the floor, reminding him of Miranda, then Haku said "I got the omni-tool."
"Say 'EDI, access blueprints for the Auditore mansion.'" Shepard said.
"That's weird." Haku said, then did as Shepard said.
"Accessed. Your are not Shepard, though." EDI said.
"An AI!" Haku asked, shocked.
"It's okay, EDI. Link to Isabella's omni-tool." Shepard said.
"Linked. I am assuming you are using her omni-tool."
"That's right."
"There is a hidden elevator to your right, behind a fake wall. It goes directly to the courtyard, beside my current location."
Shepard nodded, kicking the fake wall down and running to the elevator, hearing boots hitting the floor.
"Shep, is Isabella dead?" Michael asked hopefully.
"It is a surprise, the best kind of prize." Shepard said.
"I never expected you to be the one to use that line after I did." Haku smiled.