Chapter 23:
Infiltration

Callus tried to keep his frustration from showing, though the Cerberus operatives wouldn't have cared of he had shown it. The omni-cuffs were tight enough to where he couldn't slip out, but loose enough where he was completely uncomfortable. He wondered if Shepard had done that on purpose. He did need to break free of them soon, after all.

Shepard and Alenko marched on either side of him, fully decked in Cerberus armor, keeping the helmets on to hide their identities. As long as they didn't have to speak to anyone who knew the squad well, they should be alright. Shepard got the feeling that no one in Cerberus truly knew each other, though, so he was confident that they would be able to pull this off.

Hollister was waiting for them at the end of a corridor. He frowned when he saw only two of the troops remained. "They put up a fight?" he asked.

Kaidan nodded. "It wasn't easy bringing them down," he replied.

"No matter," Hollister dismissed. As they approached, he took a step forward, as though he was examining the turian. "Callus Orion," he mused. "It's nice to finally meet the son of the great Dhalon Orion."

Callus clenched his jaw. He didn't have to act to want to punch this son of a bitch in the face. Composing himself quickly, he managed a smirk. "You must be Hollister," he said. "I thought you'd be taller."

Hollister mirrored his smirk. "Enjoy your humor, Mr. Orion. You will need it for what is to come." He turned on his heel and walked slowly, expecting the small group to follow. Shepard, in character, have Callus a shove to get him moving. Hollister motioned to the window on his right. "Impressive, isn't it? What humanity can accomplish?"

Callus scoffed. "It's nothing we turians haven't been doing for centuries."

Hollister dismissed Callus' jab with a wave of his hand. "Anyone can build a base, Orion, but very few can perfect one." He turned around and looked him straight in the eye. "That is the goal, isn't it? Perfection?"

"Perfection doesn't exist," Callus retorted.

"How very turian of you." He turned to Shepard. "What happened to Shepard?" he demanded. "I made it very clear I wanted him alive."

Shepard thought quickly. If Hollister wanted him alive, then based on his reputation, this "soldier" would be in serious trouble if he was the one to kill him. "He died before we got there. Must've been killed on impact."

"Hmmm..." Hollister mused. "Well, I suppose that is two technicians we are losing today..." Shepard almost felt sorry for whoever shot them down. "No matter. You." He pointed to Alenko. "Take our 'guest' to cell block four." Alenko nodded and pulled Callus away, leaving Shepard and Hollister alone. Hollister eyed his "soldier", and Shepard briefly wondered if his cover was blown. Finally, Hollister spoke. "And you. Go fetch the commander. His part in this is almost over."

Shepard saluted and walked away, using his HUD to find Anderson. Hollister looked after him for a moment, but then turned and walked toward the command center, hoping the technician who killed Shepard was still here. She was actual pretty good-looking. Perhaps he would have some fun with her before her... discharge.

Alenko kept Callus at gunpoint, uneasy about marching an ally to a prison cell. His role in this whole thing was to keep his disguise going as long as possible to buy the group time to save Commander Anderson. He hadn't expected Hollister to separate him and Shepard, but the plan hadn't changed. Shepard was retrieving the commander at that very moment, accomplishing one part of the mission. Now they just needed to get out undetected and fly the shuttle back to the Fifth Fleet while avoiding the numerous Cerberus troops and AA guns wanting to kill them.

No pressure.

"Hey, Harvey!" someone called out. Alenko looked over to see a guard jogging over to him. "You got Orion?" he asked excitedly.

Alenko paused. This one seemed to know this Harvey person. He'd have to tread carefully. "Yeah," he replied. "We took a good hit, but we got the bastard."

"Congrats," the other soldier replied. He nodded in satisfaction at his "friend" accomplishing something for Cerberus, but frowned at the weapon in Alenko's hand. "I thought you were left-handed?" he demanded.

Alenko froze. He had been so busy fighting Harvey he never saw which hand he used. Thinking quickly, he spat out the first thing that came to mind. "I'm ambidextrous."

The friend looked at him suspiciously for a moment, but shrugged. "Hey, how's your wife?" he asked.

Alenko thought quickly again. "I wouldn't know," he replied. "I haven't talked to her in a while."

"Right," the other soldier said slowly.

"Well," Alenko said quickly, turning to move on. "Better get this goddamned turian in his cell before he escapes, so-."

The soldier grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "You know what's funny?" he asked, his voice no longer married. "No one on this base is married. We all went through the check before we were sent here." Alenko almost slapped himself for his carelessness. The soldier glared at him as his other hand went toward his pistol. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Wasting no time, Alenko let out a biotic throw, crashing into the shoulder point blank and sending him into the nearby wall. An instant later, Callus broke free of the omni-cuffs and grabbed the shotgun on Alenko's back. An instant after that, the alarm was raised, and both soldiers were in a tense firefight.

Hollister noticed the alarm and snarled. What the hell was this? He stormed into the command center. "Report!"

"Internal breach, sir!" one of the technicians replied.

Hollister looked at the monitors with a glare in his eye. It was Orion, broken free and killing his men along with one of the soldiers who "captured" him. But if he was an imposter... his eyes wandered to the monitor showing Anderson's cell block, where the other soldier was now running. "Shepard," he muttered under his breath, irate at the turn of events. "Stop him!" he yelled into the radio to the guards of that block.

Shepard had broken into a run the second the base's alarm sounded, knowing full-well their cover had been blown. If they were compromised, Commander Anderson was in danger. Three guards, apparently informed of his true identity, drew their weapons and took aim. Wasting no time, Shepard grabbed one gun and slammed his elbow into its owner's face. The trooper fired, but Shepard aimed the shotgun at his fellow soldier. The proximity was so close between them that the victim's shields never even had a chance to engage. He was blown apart instantly. Shepard grabbed the shotgunner's head and twisted sharply, killing him before picking up his gun and shooting the third guard. The attackers dispatched, he ran to the cell block where Anderson was being held and went to locate his cell.

He just hoped he wasn't too late.

Anderson began pacing in his cell nervously. The alarms, the gunfire, it was apparent what was happening. Cerberus was under attack.

Which gave him a chance to escape.

He heard gunfire even closer to him, and he stood by the door waiting. As soon as it opened, he threw a punch to the person behind it, catching them in the helmet. They reeled backward, and Anderson followed them out into the corridor, keeping up his attack. The intruder was skilled, though, and he was able to counter Anderson's attack and pin him against the wall and train his shotgun on him. Then he let go of Anderson and backed up a step.

"You ready to get the hell out of here, Commander?" Shepard asked, flipping the gun around and offering it to Anderson.

Anderson was floored to see the lieutenant. Recovering, he grabbed the gun. "You have no idea, lieutenant."

As the two ran down the corridor, Shepard radioed Callus. "Callus! Anderson is secure! Send the signal to Joker and meet us at the extraction point!"

"Copy," Callus replied.

Shepard led the way toward the extraction point they'd planned on using. Rounding a corner, the duo ran into a squad of Cerberus troops. Getting into cover, Shepard recognized the leader of the pack. Hollister.

"SHEPARD!" Hollister shouted, his previous composure gone. "NOW I want to shoot you!"

Shepard shook his head slightly and prepared his assault rifle. "Make it count, you son of a bitch."

He popped out of cover and took aim, and the firefight was on.