Ch. 24
Tarak stepped back and looked down at the datapad, tapping a few keys. That was one hell of a strategic location. He scowled, glancing back down at the bloody turian. "If you're lying, you're dead." He motioned to his men with a hand, and they hauled the turian to his feet and dragged him to a chair.
Tarak stepped out of the bare little room, looking up at an anxious salarian. "You heard that?"
Jaroth nodded, fingers flying furiously over his omni-tool. "I don't know if we can just run in there and kill him. And everyone else. Our last count he had twelve men, who knows how many are in there now?" His lips twisted up in a grimace.
"You're saying we shouldn't just storm the castle."
"I'm saying it'll be hard. I wouldn't do it."
Tarak growled, looking over his shoulder quickly. There was a very good possibility that this was all just a trap. Archangel's number two had been a little too easy to pick up. One of his men spotted him alone, talking to one of the bouncers outside Afterlife. They snagged him as soon as he was out of sight of any witnesses and brought him back here.
They could have been followed. Archangel could be waiting right outside with a gun at eye level.
Tarak shivered. He didn't want to do it, either. "So what do we do?"
Jaroth rubbed his fingers together thoughtfully, looking past the batarian to the little room where Sidonis sat. "We lure Archangel away. Kill all his men. Kill him alone. You're honestly going to let that cloaca go?"
"He gave me what I wanted. Rest of his life he's going to be looking over his shoulder. We'll never see him again." The batarian grinned slowly as an idea came to him. He lifted a finger, "We lure Archangel away, kill all his men, then let him go home and find them."
Jaroth's eyes narrowed, "You sure that's wise? His base is incredibly well fortified. This bridge-"
Tarak's grin disappeared. "You came to me, Chuckles. Working together was your idea."
"It was Velig's idea," Jaroth corrected in clipped tones.
"Whatever. Is Garm in on this?"
"He is, but-"
"We get this asshole here to call him," Tarak motioned over his shoulder with a hand. "Tell him some bullshit to get him out of the base. Your men, my men, Garm's men all run in there and kill everyone. Every last one of those mother-fuckers."
Jaroth nodded slowly, "And Archangel?"
"He's going to be alone." Tarak was grinning again, showing all his sharp and crooked teeth. "He's going to be surrounded by the corpses of his dead men. He's going to be betrayed by his turian boyfriend. He's not going to want to put up a fight."
The salarian narrowed his eyes. "I'm not convinced."
"That's the plan. Take it or leave it." Tarak's hand rested on his sidearm. Working with Eclipse and Blood Pack was a dangerous idea. Jaroth came to him a week ago, after Velig died, and Tarak had dismissed him.
Then Archangel attacked him. In his home. Since then, he couldn't sleep. He was flinching at shadows. His men were losing respect, whispering in corners, watching him.
He imagined Archangel waiting outside and shivered again.
The salarian eyeballed him warily. He shrugged, "Fine. I'll assemble my men. Have the turian call him."