A/N: I'm back bitches! Long semester, academic probation, yada yada yada. Enjoy the new chapter (FINALLY) and I'll do my best to update ASAP. As always please R&R!
After a semi-successful hacking attempt, Aranya managed to get the blast doors ajar. Zaeed quickly placed himself between the shudders and pushed, allowing for just enough space to slip through. He made a gesture with his head and Aranya slipped under his arms to the other side and Zaeed followed though without any leverage to hold them open, the blast doors sealed behind them. Aranya assured him there would be no second attempt at hacking the door should they wish to turn back. The structure's security systems had already taken a massive beating from the constant firefights between the Blue Suns and Aria's goons.
They were in a large, dome-shaped room. It would have been pitch black save for the lights on the catwalks above that provided source of illumination. It was quiet to the point that their own footsteps echoed along the metal walls. Though it was the deepest point in the structure and possibly Vido's only place to make a last stand, it appeared deserted. With rifles held to their shoulders, they scanned every inch of the room for a possible ambush.
They didn't get far before laser sights belonging to several long ranged rifles leveled on them. A centerpiece light on the ceiling now lit the entire room. Two Blue Suns marksman held their rifles on the each of them while more troopers clad in blue armor spilled out from the entrance on far end of the room and across the catwalks as well. The mercenaries all took careful aim and waited as someone followed in their wake.
"Zaeed, you persistent bastard! You really do exist just to make my life hell don't you?" Vido growled. He walked to the forefront of his lackeys and pointed an accusatory finger at the bounty hunter.
Zaeed huffed and replied, "I do my best, though it looks like my men and those mechs of yours we managed to reprogram are doing a better job of that." Aranya managed a smirk at his comment.
Vido scowled just as the muffled sound of an explosion was heard and the room rocked shortly after. "You're not getting out of here the way you came in, Vido. No one would blame you if you threw in the towel right now."
"If I have to die, I'm going to make damn sure I have the satisfaction of killing you first!" Vido yelled and quickly drew his pistol aiming it directly at Zaeed. The bounty hunter and asari reacted and took aim with their own weapons at the desperate mercenary commander.
The three continued their standoff as the room rocked once again. "I've got more guns than you and your whore, Zaeed! Drop your weapons and maybe I'll keep you both alive as hostages and escape this crumbling hell hole.
"I could kill you with just one pull of this trigger, Vido, and we both know I'm the better shot." Zaeed retorted.
"True enough, but my mine will turn you into grinded meat as soon as that hammer goes back."
"I'm willing to make that sacrifice if I have to."
"You are, but what about you Aranya, willing to die for his grudge?"
The asari glared daggers at the man. "As far as I'm concerned, the both of you are whiny ass holes. I just happen to hate you more."
"Fine then! I'll enjoy putting a bullet in that one good eye of yours Messani-" Just before he could achieve an aim on the bounty hunters head, the blast doors by which Zaeed and Aranya entered shrieked as they were contorted and bent before being thrown forward. Behold, the queen of omega, eyes glowing blue and shrouded in biotic aura, emerged with Anto and his henchman following behind.
"That eye and the head it's connected to just so happen to belong to me, Santiago." Aria announced. Damn she has good hearing, he thought. Vido's men redirected their weapons to Aria and her men in another desperate standoff.
Aria remained composed. "Now, now, I'd like to make an offer that will work in the interest of everyone here…" Everyone in the room shared glances with their comrades before she continued. "Five-hundred million credits to the one that brings me Vido Santiago alive..."
Knowing they were at a disadvantage, outnumbered by the omega queen's men and their own mechs, the Blue Suns troopers knew that soon they would either be sitting in cell block in omega, or six feet under on their own turf. With nothing left for them under Santiago's leadership, they turned their weapons on him. Vido shuddered upon witnessing his own men betray him.
"Who the hell do you think you're all aiming at! I can double what she's paying you!" Vido yelled frantically. "What are you all doing, answer me!"
Aranya stepped over to him and collected his pistol as his own men restrained him. "Money talks, Vido. What you pay them won't mean a thing if they're all dead." She walked back over to Zaeed and handed him the pistol. Zaeed stared hard at the weapon before making his way over to Vido who was desperately struggling in the arms of his captors and made a gestured towards the troopers to release him.
Vido stared level eyed at Zaeed. "Come on, Zaeed, you got what you wanted." Zaeed came within inches of his face and stared into his very soul with fury built up over twenty years.
"Not quite…" Zaeed pistol whipped him across the face causing him to stagger while holding his broken nose. He then kicked Vido to the ground, straddled him and began beating him to a pulp with his gloved fists, unleashing every bit of anger he had felt every day of his life since the day his was betrayed, venting his rage for every time the flash of that pistol appeared in his nightmares. A minute later Zaeed relented and stood up, breathing heavenly from exhausting vengeance. Zaeed stared down at the once untouchable leader of the Blue Suns. Pathetic, bloody, bruised, and utterly defeated. Coughing up blood, Vido was a swollen wreck, no more a threat than a sickly pijack.
Picking up the pistol once again, Zaeed slowly and carefully took precise aim at his sworn enemy, leveling the blue colored laser sight on his forehead. After two decades of planning his vengeance, fantasizing all the different ways he could sadistically torture the man who stole his life's work, it all came down to one simple pull of a trigger.
Vido looked up at him through his one eye that wasn't swollen. "T…Taking your time, old dog? That's not like you…Just…g-get it over with…" Zaeed bared his teeth, feeling tremors in his hands he failed to keep his aim steady. It really did all come down to this, but now that he was here, looking down upon this speck of human trash, he felt a sudden sense of satisfaction. Letting out a breadth he hadn't known he had been holding, he lowered the pistol to his side. Aranya, surprised, though understanding came to his side and gingerly relieved him of the pistol. The Blue Suns troopers picked up the beaten heap that was Vido Santiago and hauled him away while Zaeed quietly stared at the floor.
Aria walked over and stood impatiently with one hand on her hip. "I've held up my end. Can I expect the same from you?"
Zaeed looked over at her and after a moment replied, "I pay my debts, love. You want me to be your new poster boy, so be it."
Aria grinned and turned towards the exit. "Good, after all, you do need some way to pay back that five-hundred million you owe me…" With that she stalked off after Anto who lead the rest of his men outside. With the room cleared, Zaeed now turned to Aranya, the one person left in the galaxy he had unresolved issues with.
"All that big boy talk of revenge and you couldn't even pull the trigger. What changed?"
Zaeed let out a soft chuckle. "Guess it takes losing an eye to look at things in a new perspective…" Though he wouldn't say it, she understood. Vido was nothing when you took away his guns and goons. Killing him there, on the floor would have been no different than shooting an insect; a waste of ammo. "How about you, Aran, dissatisfied you weren't able to avenge that senator's pup?
Aranya suddenly burst out laughing. "You really believed that pathetic sob story? I threw that together on the spot!" To her surprise, he just smiled back at her.
"I know you did, love. I did some digging around on the extra-net. Illium has yet to have a Salarian senator." Aranya was dumbfounded. She has expected him to switch into grumpy mode as soon as had heard that. "That's all fine by me though. Job's done. I do have to ask why the bloody hell you stuck with me this far?
Aranya put her hands on her hips and grinned wide. "Ever think that maybe I just missed you?"
Zaeed shook his head and sighed. "There's the crazy wench I fell head over heels for." The two stood in awkward silence, reminiscing over cherished memories, if you consider target practice on batarian slavers with one another good memories…
Aranya slowly looked up at him, having not realized her gaze had drifted to the floor for some time. "So…" she started. "Where do we go from here?"
…
Nothing…
Thane had been playing stalking Udina for hours and thus far, there was little to no activity or at least nothing that struck him as out of the ordinary for man in a position of power. Observing the human ambassador's daily routine revealed that the man was involved with many meetings ranging from delegations to negotiations, everything you'd expect from a politician.
Shortly after becoming the first drell to witness the rebirth of a prothean, Thane knew that the crew's attention, and that of Shepard's, would be redirected to their primary objective to seek out and destroy the lone reaper, Sovereign. If Udina was indeed monitoring their activity, maybe Shepard's occupation with their prothean guest would cause the human ambassador to lower his guard and possibly slip-up, if he was in fact guilty. He hadn't informed Shepard. He knew his commander would only insist on aiding him and if the drell was caught, he wanted to be sure he would be the only one to go down. Shepard's part in all of this was far too crucial.
Originally the plan was to break into Udina's office and hack his computer to get a closer inspection of personal data files. However, if he was a double agent working under the flag of Cerberus, surely he would be more careful than that. It was entirely possible that he didn't keep any incriminating files on record. Relying on his many years of experience as an elite assassin, Thane assumed that like his past targets, Udina would most likely keep that sensitive information on his person. Thus the drell opted to shadow the human and wait for his opportunity to come.
He reared up on the human ambassador, dodging pedestrians and being aware to keep his distance should his presence be made known. Udina had recently exited an expensive citadel restaurant after enjoying a hearty meal. Maybe the last one you'll ever have, the drell thought to himself.
Using the interface built into his shades, Thane marked the ambassador and the two human bodyguards who followed closely behind the human as a cautionary measure to prevent himself from losing sight of them in the bustle of civilian activity. He followed them through the lower markets to the night club Chora's den. A fortunate circumstance since it would allow him to blend in with the patrons seamlessly.
The Krogan bouncer stopped the ambassador at the entrance, telling him that his bodyguards would have to wait outside so long as they carried weapons, a new safety measure he claimed after a particular incident that occurred two years ago. Udina showed the bouncer his credentials and the Krogan apologized with before stepping aside to allow them entry. Thane followed closely, letting the bouncer run an omni-tool scan on him to check for weapons. The Krogan gave a nod acknowledging a clean scan though Thane put on a faint smile of pride, knowing how good he was at masking his pistols from detection.
Thane sat down on a stool at the bar and silently observed as Udina took a seat at a table in the far corner. What he found interesting was that the person sitting across from him. He recognized him as the man lifted the glass in his cybernetic hand.
Quickly Thane brought up his omni-tool and sent a silent hack to Udina's omni-tool that would allow him to hear their conversation through the ear pieces in his shades. "Look, what do you want me to say? This guy came in with clearance signed by the damn council! What was I supposed to do, pull rank?"
Udina scowled at Nidas. "I would have expected you to make a thorough analysis of the authorization before granting anyone access! I told you specifically to lock that place down from everyone but Shepard to avoid his suspicion!"
"The council doesn't exactly have a hotline I can call for authentication. If it were anyone else-" the executor didn't get the chance to finish before Udina interrupted.
"If it were anyone else you wouldn't have singlehandedly jeopardized our operation! Without the body, we have no evidence and therefore, no conviction!"
"What's the problem? Even without the body there's no way Shepard can put us in the spotlight. I worked out every detail, they're no leaks."
"Fool! It matters because without the body this case will remain open until the council has found their culprit! We cannot match the rifle to the gunshot wound if there is no body with which it can be matched!"
"It's not a problem. We have the infiltrator's alias registered in the c-sec database. I have every officer on the citadel out searching for Roman Able. Course' I'd find him faster if you would just inform the boss and get him to send me some real muscle."
Udina became noticeably nervous at the mention of the Illusive Man. "He doesn't need to be bothered with small errors. I have everything under control. Now get back to work, find this Roman Able and bring him in for questioning. I want to know who's he's working for and if he has had any prior contact with Commander Shepard."
With that, Udina sat up and hastily walked out of the night club with his bodyguards. Thane waited several minutes for Nidas to follow and then left to return to the Normandy. He had reasonable evidence but nothing that could warrant an arrest. He needed them to openly admit their involvement with Cerberus and they were careful enough to not discuss the organization in public. For now he would return with what he had gathered and hopefully be able to use it in the future.
…
"Sir, our front in the Crescent Nebula was raided by Alliance special forces. Any and all personnel on site were either captured or killed in the assault."
The Illusive Man put out his cigarette and lit a fresh one before replying. "I see…and you did take the proper precautions to prevent any data from being traced back to Cerberus I presume?"
The holographic image of the man clad in Cerberus combat armor flickered as the soldier gave a nod. "Yes sir, I saw too it myself. As far as the Alliance military is concerned, they're just a bunch of smugglers who 'happened' to end up dead shortly after being apprehended."
"Good. Devote your resources to discovering the spies within our networks. I don't want any more lose ends. Am I understood, colonel?"
"Yes sir, I'll flush them out and report back…you…" the image become distorted with interference and was then replaced with red colored hologram of an all too familiar warship."
"Greetings Jack Harper." The image spoke in deep malicious voice that reverberated through the room.
The Illusive Man dropped his cigarette, startled but composed. "That man died nearly thirty years ago."
"And yet I look upon him even him… Living flesh and blood…"
"I am called the Illusive Man now. I assume I'm speaking to reaper sentinel known as Sovereign? So, what business does the emissary of the reapers' coming have with me?"
"It is as you have said. The time of our next harvest is almost upon you. You cannot stop the arrival, Shepard cannot stop us. Only those who pledge fealty to us will remain. Those who oppose us will become but dust."
The Illusive Man stood up from his chair and walked closer to the hologram. "And what is it you want from me?"
"You, your people, you desire supremacy over this galaxy and its creatures. We can deliver it to you. In return we would only ask for your allegiance. And when this galaxy has been purged, you will rise as the dominant ruler over all humans."
"So, we ask you, Jack Harper, do we have your submission?"