"No," Logan said definitively.
"What?" Brady declared with surprise.
"I'm not having her on the team," Logan stated then turned towards the quarian in question "No offense Tali, it's great to see you, but I'm not letting you get tangled up in this,"
Tali narrowed her eyes "I said if you needed my help, call me, and I meant it," she argued.
"I know, but-" Logan started.
"Brady told me what happened, and while I don't like the idea of... robbing a bank or something, I'm here for you," Tali countered.
Logan sighed "You do realize you will be filling out quarian stereotypes, right?" he asked.
She nodded "I know, but I'm doing this for my friends. To hell with what other people will think," she proudly declared.
"I don't like this," Logan said "but if you really want to, I guess I can find you something to do,"
Under her helmet, Tali was beaming "Thanks, Logan," she declared
"If you want out at any time, just say so, we won't hold it against you," Logan explained to which the quarian nodded "Alright, let's get everyone together,"
Basement of Zathdex, Kithoi Ward 1 hour later
Logan, Brady, Stephen, and Tali stood in a small room, waiting for the Cerberus operatives. Above them they could hear the muffled sound of machines running. Zathdex is a large factory that manufactured bolts that held commercial vehicles together, it was also owned by Sagath as a cover. Tali fidgeted nervously at the thought of working with Cerberus. From his place to her left, Brady reached over and placed his hand on both of Tali's and gave her a reassuring smile. Tali nodded at him and dropped her hands to the side.
Finally the silence was cut by the door opening to reveal the two Cerberus personnel, who strode in and stood across from the four.
Operative Fallows immediately pointed at Tali "What's with the quarian?" he asked aggressively.
Logan gritted his teeth "Her name is T-"
"I don't care what the suit rat's name is, what the hell is it doing here?" he interrupted.
Brady and Logan bristled at the insult thrown at their friend but the latter calmly answered "She's part of the team, so you better learn her name,"
"No, that thing is not going to be part of this team," Fallows declined "This is why The- my boss put me in charge,"
"Well, guess what asshole?" Brady exploded "Logan's in charge, her name is Tali, and she's part of the team, you don't like that? There's the door!"
Lloyd was seething and he had to fight himself to keep from speaking out again.
"Now that that's settled, let's get down to business," Logan said to break the tension "I found a suitable target to hit," behind him on the wall a large screen came to life to reveal the layout of a street in the Bachjret Ward "This is the Bachjret Central Bank, BCB," he explained.
"I know that place," Jester spoke up for the first time "Don't the Eclipse own it?
"Yes, they do," Logan replied with a smile "Which is exactly why we are hitting it. If an alarm gets tripped C-Sec won't respond, we'll be dealing with Eclipse mercenaries. I'm still working out some finer details for the plan but first, we're going to need weapons, armor, and a vehicle,"
"What happened to your weapons and armor from your mission with Shepard?" Lloyd asked, annoyed that it appeared this mission would take longer than expected.
"After she died, the Alliance took them back," Brady answered.
"Sagath set up a meeting for me to meet the CEO of BCB, I'm going under the cover that I want Zathdex to bank with them. That will allow me to scout the inside, see what we're dealing with. Tali, you're coming with me to this meeting, acting as my secretary," the quarian nodded "Act like you're taking notes but I want pictures, as much as you can get,"
"I won't let you down," she responded to which Fallows snorted.
Logan ignored the operative "Now like I said we're going to need credits for weapons and such so Sagath put me in touch with one of his informants. Tomorrow there's going to be a red sand deal going down over on the Zakera Ward between The Void and The Last of an Ancient Breed, two low time gangs, like lower than the Twisted low,"
"How much we looking at?" Brady asked.
"According to the agent, they should be holding roughly seven thousand credits worth of sand," Logan replied "Along with the the seven thousand credit chit. So make sure you grab at least one of those, preferably both,"
Lloyd scoffed "How are we supposed to hit it without weapons?" he asked.
"Stephen has a few assault rifles, nothing special but they'll work for now," Logan replied "I've looked into these two gangs, and like I said neither of them are anything special. No armor, no shields, and hardly an assault rifle between them,"
"What am I doing, then?" Stephen asked.
"We're going to need a vehicle for this job," Logan explained "It needs to be durable, the Eclipse are no joke, once they find out their money is being taken, they'll send everything at us. Also I think it's time that we take care of the Tayseri Twisted for good. On the vehicle I want the Twisted sign painted, make the Eclipse think they're being burned by them,"
Stephen smile wickedly "With pleasure," he exclaimed.
Logan nodded with a smile "We've all got work to do, so ramblers, let's get rambling," he stated as he shut down the screen.
Bachjret Central Bank 3 hours later
Logan landed the skycar a block away "The CEO is a turian named Virius Laevinis. Word has it that he's not too fond of humans but he knows how much credits Zathdex brings in, he won't be able to resist. I'll be going by Teddie Barrus owner of Zathdex. You're Susa'Lonis nar Wogro, working as my secretary until you have enough money to pay your way back to the Migrant Fleet," Logan explained as they exited the car, the human dressed in formal attire.
"Yes, sir," Tali stated falling into character causing Logan to chuckle.
The pair entered the bank, the inside protected by two guards and a weapon scanner. Tali's omni-tool glowed on her arm as they walked up to the the front desk where a lone asari sat. As they approached the asari gave them the classic secretary smile.
"Welcome to Bachjret Central Bank, what can I help you with today?" she asked.
"Hello, I'm Teddie Barrus, I have a meeting with Virius Laevinis," Logan stated.
The asari activated her omni-tool "Sir, Mr. Barrus is here," she said "Yes, sir. He will be out shortly,"
As soon as the asari finished speaking the door behind her opened and out stepped an older turian and a salarian "Ah, Mr. Barrus, it's pleasure to meet you in person," the turian declared and shook the human's hand "This is my son, Jarlol,"
Logan couldn't help himself "Son?" he asked fighting a smile.
The old turian chuckled "I took him in after his parents went missing during the geth attack," he explained.
"You're a good man," Logan stated then gestured to Tali "This is my secretary Susa'Lonis nar Wogro,"
Neither the turian or salarian offered a hand but instead nodded "Follow me to my office, please," the former declared and turned to lead them "I think you'll find the BCB is the best place around for your business,"
Logan nodded "So I've heard, but we move lots of credits, I need to know that my money is secure as it possible can be," he stated
The turian chuckled again "You want secure?" he asked "You've got it. Not only does this facility have state of the arm weapon scanners, it's also protected by the Eclipse. There aren't many out there that are foolish enough to try their luck with them,"
Logan nodded thoughtfully, next to him Tali constantly kept her fingers moving on her omni-tool, pretending that she was taking notes.
"If you'd like we can take a little detour and I can show you our vault security," Virius offered.
"Yes, I would like that," Logan responded. The group took a turn, Logan kept up idle conversation to help Tali keep taking "notes" and soon they were at a door with a large scanner. Virius reached up and placed his hand on the scanner and a few seconds later the door opened. Inside two Eclipse guards stood on either side of a large vault door.
"The Newbark TI-45 Vault, complete with DNA and omni-tool scanner," Virius exclaimed proudly.
Logan gave the turian a sideways glance "Omni-tool scanner?" he asked, genuinely ignorant as to what that was.
"Every omni-tool has a unique code, nobody but the manufacturer can change it," the CEO explained "This vault only recognizes two codes. One is mine, the other is on the other side of the galaxy with my mate,"
"Smart," Logan stated.
Virius nodded "Indeed, now let's go to my office and talk business," he said
Zathdex the next day
"I told him I need to think on it," Logan explained to the rest of the group "I set up another appointment four days from now, so we need to be ready by then," he activated the screen and pulled up Tali's omni-tool pictures "The entrance is guarded by two Eclipse mercs and a weapon scanner I've never heard of,"
"Valkyrie 2045," Tali interjected "State of the art, but nothing for a quarian to scramble, we should be able to bring at least pistols"
Logan smile "Glad to hear it. There's a hand print scanner on the door before the vault, so we may have to knock Virius out,"
"Or cut off his hand," Lloyd suggested.
"No," Logan stated "Definitely not. Now the vault has a DNA scanner and an omni-tool scanner. His omni-tool will be easy to acquire but the DNA will give us some trouble,"
"You might need to make him bleed a little," Brady offered "Nothing too bad but one drop of blood should suffice,"
Logan nodded "Good thinking. Stephen how's our escape vehicle coming?" he asked.
"I've got one in the shop right now getting a new paint job," Stephen answered "It's a Sutherland FR 900G. Big enough for all of us and enough power to escape pursuers. They're also known for being pretty much bulletproof,"
"Where'd you get it?" Logan asked.
"Parking garage over in the Zakera ward," he replied "No one saw me take it,"
"Good, while Brady and Lloyd get the credits for the rest of our supplies, I'll finish the plan," Logan stated "Meet back here three days from now at this time,"
Back alleys in Zakera Ward
Brady and Lloyd sat in the shadows, watching the two gangs negotiating. Neither the drugs or money were in sight yet, so the two stayed where they were. Five from each crew had showed up to the deal, with three from each crew on lookout. Out of The Void's gang truck a turian, dressed in the blue and black gang colors, strode carrying a large bag. As he approached the salarian of the opposite gang, he opened the bag.
"There's are drugs," Brady declared.
"No shit," Lloyd replied.
The salarian, dressed in the pure red color of The Last of an Ancient Breed, nodded then signaled back at his gang's car where a human stepped out carrying a suitcase.
"There's the money," Lloyd proclaimed.
"No shit," Brady mocked over emphasizing the operative's deep voice, sudden commotion brought his attention back to the exchange.
The turian and salarian were arguing, apparently the turian felt he was getting a raw deal because he pulled out a pistol and shot the salarian point blank. Before the Breed could react, the rest of the Void opened fire as well, taking out a majority of their opposition before they could get to cover.
"Oh fuck, they're burning them," Brady declared with a laugh "We need to get in this, before they make off with both the drugs and money,"
The turian leader smirked as he stooped to pick up the suitcase that held the credit chit, as he straightened sudden gunfire from the alley cut him down. The other Void members turned, stunned, allowing the remaining Breed members to get a few shots off, eliminating two of the Void. More gunfire from the alley took out another Void gangster before the last one dashed back to their truck, the drugs and money forgotten. The two Breed members ditched their cover to try and gun him down, with success, as the gangster fell dead. Once more the alleyway erupted with gunfire and the two Breed gangsters were wasted. Brady and Lloyd strolled out to collect the valuable items. The bag of sand had a little of its contents spilled when the turian was killed, but was salvageable. Lloyd picked up the suitcase and opened it.
"Nothing," he said as he showed Brady the empty container.
Brady nodded his head towards the Breed's car "Check their car," he declared.
Lloyd scowled, not liking being ordered around, but complied. It took several minutes to search the car but when he finished he was empty handed.
"So, the Breed were planning on burning them fist," Brady proclaimed "Heh, the Void were ahead of them on that,"
As they reached their car, the sound of an engine approaching caught their attention. As they spun around a Breed gang car stopped in front of them.
"Shit!" Brady shouted as he hoped in their car. Lloyd jumped into the passenger seat and they took off with the gang on their heels.
"Open the hatch," Lloyd declared "I'll take care of them"
Brady hit the controls and the hatch opened, allowing Lloyd to lean out the side. Brady sped the craft through the buildings, trying to lose the gang as Lloyd peppered the gang's vehicle with bullets with the gang returned fire. A few bullets from Lloyd's rifle impacted one of the gangsters and he toppled out of the car. Even without a gunner, the pilot of the gang car still chased them.
"Persistent bastard" Lloyd complained as he reloaded. The operative pinned the trigger and finally managed to take out the driver. The gang car careened out of control before slamming into a building, exploding on impact.
"Oh, shit!" Brady exclaimed as Lloyd laughed in triumph.
The operative settled back into his seat as the hatch closed "You're not to bad, kid" he said to Brady.
Brady didn't say anything, instead focusing in returning to Zathdex.
Sagath met the two as they landed "You got the stuff?" he asked.
Brady tossed him the bag of drugs "That's all we got, the Breed was planning of ripping them off, there was no money," he explained.
"This will have to do then," the batarian declared "I won't be able to get much with this, though,"
"We need at least two sets of armor for Stephen and myself. Lloyd and Jester have their Cerberus issued armor. Logan and Tali won't have much use for the armor inside the bank," Brady stated "But we need five assault rifles, Tali has her shotgun,"
"I'll do what I can." Sagath replied then headed out without another word.
3 days later, Zathdex basement
Sagath stood at the head of the group "Your drug money wasn't enough," he stated "I was able to get assault rifles but there wasn't enough for armor,"
"We'll figure something out," Logan declared "What type of assault rifles?"
Sagath picked up a crate and put in on the table before opening "Five M-3 Sentinels," he said "I know they're old, but they are reliable. They cost twelve hundred credits a piece,"
"So we've only got one thousand left to spend?" Brady ask.
"Two thousand," Sagath declared "I was able to sell the sand for more. A decent set of armor will run you about three thousand each,"
"That's alright, I have an idea anyway," Logan stated "Thanks, Sagath,"
The batarian nodded then left.
"What's the plan?" Brady asked.
"I had Stephen take Tali up to the roof of the bank and scan some stuff up there," Logan explained as he pulled images up on the screen "Here is a vent that goes all the way into Virius's office. Before Tali and I get there, I want you guys to lower my assault rifle and Tali's shotgun down that vent, that way we have something other than pistols when we start,"
"We can do that," Stephen stated.
"Good. Brady," Logan turned to his friend "Tali will have a comm line to you, when I give the signal, Jester and yourself will storm the bank and take out the two guards. Once they're down your job is to hold the front door. Make sure no one gets past you. Hopefully we're already at the vault when I give the signal,"
"What about me?" Lloyd asked impatiently.
"You're going to be in the truck with Stephen giving Jester and Brady support," Logan explained "Once we get the credits all four of us will exit the bank when there's a gap in reinforcements or if we cut down the opposition enough. We'll take a right into this alley and run to the other side where Stephen will pick us up. All goes well, drinks are on me,"
"That's all well and good, but what about our armor?" Brady asked
Logan smiled as he looked at Jester and Lloyd "I hope you don't mind painting your armor. Brady and Stephen, you're with me. We're going to steal a pair of Twisted armor sets,"
"What?" Stephen asked in surprise.
"It won't cost anything and it will further our disguise as the Twisted," Logan explained as they made their exit.
"But how are we going get the armor without anyone noticing?" Brady asked.
"Today is the day they come to collect their protection money, right?" Logan rhetorically asked "We'll take it off them. Then we'll have to move fast with the heist before the Twisted realize their boys are gone,"
"Sounds good to me," Stephen admitted.
"I just hope it's humans that show up," Logan declared.
"It has been for the past few weeks," Stephen confirmed "New blood,"
Stephen's garage
The two Twisted members, both human males, strode into the shop laughing loudly and being obnoxious. They strode up to the counter, where Brady was waiting, with smug grins.
"You got the money?" one of them asked.
"I really hope you don't, I want to have some fun," the other stated causing both to laugh.
"Of course we have the money," Brady said while rolling his eyes "Not in front of the customers though. Through here,"
The three walked through a door out into the garage, and as soon as the door shut Logan and Stephen jumped out from behind a car being serviced with their assault rifles trained on the gang members. The two gangsters froze with a look of shock on their faces.
"Take your armor and omni-tools off, now," Logan ordered. The two complied and soon they were down to street clothes.
"Come on, man," one started to beg "We don't like doing this, Decius forces us to,"
"Shut up," Stephen ordered as he opened a door to another small room "Get in there,"
The two reluctantly walked into the empty room, Stephen then shut the door and locked it "Without omni-tools they won't be able to get out," he assured them.
"Good," Logan said "Then get that armor situated,"
As Logan exited the garage into the store he was met by Tali "Hey, what are you doing here?" Logan asked the quarian.
"In my spare time I've been working on something," she declared nervously "It might help when we're inside the bank,"
"I'll take all the help I can get," Logan proclaimed.
"I designed a program on my omni-tool that emits low wattage electrical shocks by touch," she explained as she brought up the program on her tool "It's non lethal but maybe enough to render someone unconscious. I've only been able to test it on mechs but it works, but you can't use it too much or it will fry your omni-tool,"
Logan nodded thoughtfully then removed his omni-tool and handed it to Tali "Put it on my omni-tool, I'm sure I'll find a use for it,"
"It shouldn't take me more than a few hours," she explained.
"Good, give it back to me tomorrow before we hit the target," Logan declared "Right now I need to get some sleep," the quarian nodded and took her leave.
The whole way home Logan ran the plan over and over in his head trying to find any holes he may have missed. After deciding if there was some, they were tiny, he went to his daughter's room to play with her until bed time.