Chapter 13: Through the Eyes of a Thief
The city of Nos Astra had grown a great deal in recent years due in no small part to the expansion of several corporations and mercenary groups who'd increased their presence around the bustling capital. The two largest and most influential of the merc bands who also happened to hold the largest spheres of influence at the moment were the Eclipse organization and of course, the Terminus Wolves. A very tenuous peace existed between the two groups but both maintained a careful watch on the competition and any other possible threats to their continued dominance. This fact alone made intelligence gathering a huge priority for everyone who had any serious intention of remaining a solid player in both the corporate and underworld scenes. Information brokers were in high demand and so were the more unsavory characters that they often employed to gather their intel. This was a fact that a certain unnamed thief knew all too well.
As the sun started to fade in the sky above the commercial district, a somewhat short, unassuming, human with sand colored hair patiently awaited the moment to make his move while casually leaning against a wall within a corridor that ran fairly close to a well known info broker's office. After taking a moment to check the time on his omni-tool, he calmly adjusted the hat that he was wearing so that it wouldn't impede his ponytail before quickly checking some readings on the screen of a small device that he was carrying.
"She's really taking her sweet time today." he muttered before releasing a sigh. "At this rate I won't be able to catch them before they leave."
A few seconds later, the moment of opportunity that he'd been waiting for finally arrived when the occupant of the office left for the day and began strolling into the commercial district while making her usual trek home.
"Finally!" the mystery man whispered in relief.
Afterwards, he performed one final check of the delivery uniform that he was wearing. He was hoping that he'd be able to slip in and out without having to resort to the ruse he'd abruptly concocted. Under normal circumstances, he would've prepared a far more convincing disguise but he'd received a tipoff about his intended targets only a few hours earlier and tracking them had proven to be a far more difficult and tedious endeavor that had required most of his attention. After adjusting the collar on his shirt and taking a whiff of the pleasant aroma that was emanating from the food that he was carrying, he found himself growing slightly hungry.
"Asari cuisine, it really is underrated." he quipped to himself before proceeding with his plans.
He then quietly made his way to the entrance of the office that was now unoccupied and got to work. The reception area was vacant, just as he'd anticipated. After sneaking behind the desk, he immediately began hacking into every system he could while systematically downloading any useful files that could benefit him later. After shutting down the surveillance in the office, he quickly made his way to the door and disabled the lock before proceeding inside. The office appeared to be quite welcoming and a comfortable place to do business, the furnishings and upholstery were all high quality.
"Someone has been doing well for herself." he whispered in amusement while taking in the sights.
After doing some light ransacking and procuring several credit caches and a new prototype Spider heavy pistol from a hidden safe that he was quick to pocket, the mystery thief promptly turned his attention to the main objective of his incursion, the console on the desk. Once he accessed the true prize of his burglary, he quickly discovered that most of the data that it contained was heavily encrypted and he didn't have the time or the skill necessary to access the files. Fortunately for him, procuring the owner's personal documents hadn't been his goal. He ignored the more restricted files and immediately hacked his way into the personal surveillance feeds that this particular info broker had no doubt utilized on more than one occasion.
"Bingo," the thief whispered in triumph after locating his quarry in an empty warehouse district across town. "Just who the hell are they meeting?" he quietly pondered as a small squad of CAT 6 mercenaries cautiously made their way to what he could only assume was a rendezvous point near a crane.
He didn't have much time left and after pinpointing their location and taking one final glimpse at the screen, he quickly exited the program and began erasing all traces of his intrusion but not before peeking at a few unrestricted files that had a bit of info about the Terminus Wolves and Eclipse, including their leaders.
"Geez Mal, what is with you and asari?" he quietly joked after eyeing an image of the Terminus Hunter for a moment. Afterwards, he shut the console off and prepared to slip out of the office when he suddenly found himself face to face with the former occupant who had an Acolyte heavy pistol aimed at his head.
"I've decided to be generous, so I'll give you one chance to explain who you are and who your employer is." the asari quietly stated while staring him down.
"Lady, I'm just a delivery guy or was the uniform too obscure for you?" the thief calmly replied while pointing to his clothes. "A Little Taste of Thessia happens to be my employer and believe me, I don't get paid enough to have to deal with this shit."
"You are lying, quite well I must admit, but not well enough. I suggest you not test my patience any further." she warned him.
"What exactly do you want from me? Feel free to contact my boss if you really think I'm lying. She was the one who insisted I go out on this bogus delivery in the first place. I knew this whole thing had to be a hoax and pranks like this tend to come out of my pay." the thief convincingly continued.
The shot from the Acolyte that whizzed by his head and almost shattered the reinforced glass of the window behind him indicated that the asari stranger wouldn't be willing to put up with his antics much longer.
"Alright, ALRIGHT!" the thief shouted. "The truth is…I'm in love with you. You hear me? I love you Doctor T'Soni!" he loudly declared catching her off guard. "I think about you day and night, I imagine running my fingers over the curves of your body and wondering where else those adorable freckles-"
"ENOUGH!" Liara shouted in outrage while placing an arm across her chest and recoiling slightly as the stranger eyed her while smiling. "You worthless, degenerate-"
Her angry retort was promptly cut short when a flashbang grenade suddenly rolled towards her and detonated. After recovering from the momentary disorienting effects of the explosive, she noticed that her uninvited guest was gone and that a sizeable hole in her window had taken his place. She immediately made her way over to the window and peered into the street below but there was no sign of the mystery thief.
"Glyph, were you able to observe what he accessed before contacting me?" she quietly inquired while narrowing her eyes in frustration.
"Yes, Doctor T'Soni. Shall I relay the information to your private terminal?" the VI polite replied after appearing behind her.
"Do it and send me any surveillance footage that you managed to salvage. I will find out who he is." she angrily vowed.
Less than an hour later, the thief found himself at a seemingly empty warehouse area and donning yet another disguise while observing a group of CAT6 mercenaries as they conducted a meeting with several other dangerous figures that included a few Yahg and members of the Forgotten pirate band. Several other high profile criminal groups were present and they were acting far too chummy for the thief's liking.
"…still too dangerous to challenge him outright. He's got too much influence and his Fangs are more dangerous than anyone wants to admit." a CAT6 soldier cautioned his colleagues.
"They're weaklings that don't concern us. His superhumans-they are the ones who concern me, his children in particular. We should deal with them now before they get the chance to follow in their father's footsteps." a large, burly looking yahg scoffed.
"The Yahg is right. I remember what that bastard did during the war. I know what he's capable of and the last thing any of us needs is more of him running around screwing up our plans." a bitter looking Forgotten biotic added.
"You want to organize a hit on the Terminus Hunter's children? I thought the CAT6 guys were the crazy ones. I guess losing so many of your people to the Nemean Enforcer finally pushed you over the edge." a shady looking soldier who was wearing a recon hood countered in amusement.
"We'll see if you're still laughing once he starts expanding into-Wait, somebody else is here." the biotic warned, putting all of his associates on guard.
As they all drew their weapons, the thief found himself wondering exactly what had given him away before finally taking notice of a ferocious, black, four-legged mech that was standing behind him while growling.
"A Mongrel Mech, wonderful." he sarcastically sighed a moment before the mechanized hound pounced on him.
Within moments, he was dragged before the leaders of the small gathering as the guard dog pulled him from the shadows while biting into his leg.
"Well, well, what do we have here-"
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" the thief suddenly pleaded before immediately wrapping himself around the legs of a nearby CAT6 soldier who was shocked by the display. "I'm just a maintenance worker, damn it!" he wept as tears and snot poured from his face and fell onto the soldier's boots. "I just started this job a week ago, I knew I should've stuck with the gig I had mopping up at the mall! Please, I have a family! Well, a cat actually but still! Don't make Miss Flossy an orphan! I'm basically just a janitor!" he bawled. "A candy-ass janitor who makes less than a slave! I'm begging you, PLEASE!" he wept before burying his face into the ground.
His captors appeared to be thoroughly stupefied by the shameless display of cowardice. "What's that smell?" the soldier that the thief was clinging to finally asked. "Did you actually shit yourself?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." the thief continued to cry. "But y-you've got Yahg standing with you and I-I-I…" he once again broke into a hysterical bout of weeping that was beginning to grate on his adversaries' nerves.
"Shut up!" the enemy biotic finally ordered. "We aren't going to kill you. But we are going to have a little chat once my friends and I finish our meeting. In the meantime, this nice soldier is going to take you somewhere to get cleaned up."
"Thank you, oh thank you!" the thief wept before kissing the boots of his CAT6 captor in gratitude.
"Ugh, get off me!" the man shouted in disgust while kicking him away. Afterwards, he exchanged a brief nod with his biotic colleague. The implication was simple. The interloper, regardless of how pathetic he was, had to be dealt with.
The thief continued to ramble his gratitude after being led away from the gathering and into a darkened area on the outskirts while his captor discreetly drew his pistol and prepared to execute his prisoner.
"…but you seem like a really nice guy and I'm glad-oh, wow! I never expected the authorities to show up." the thief cheerfully exclaimed while pointing behind the CAT6 merc who instantly turned around to investigate.
It was a poor decision on his part and the string of blows from a stunner that was attached to the thief's own carefully concealed pistol quickly ended his life before he could fully regret it. "I can't believe that actually worked. I'll have to thank Liv someday…" he quietly mused.
"The true depth of how pitiful your species can be still manages to surprise me." the Yahg disdainfully remarked as the nefarious meeting with his associates continued.
"Right, it's not like a human managed to bring down your whole empire or anything." the Forgotten biotic scoffed while eyeing the giant.
Before their confrontation could escalate, several small, silver spheres quietly rolled into the center of the congregation and began releasing smoke. Within seconds, a dense fog covered the entire area and the conspirators found themselves stumbling around in confusion and triggering several proximity explosives that were now scattered within their ranks. The sounds of cursing and explosions didn't bother the thief who had already climbed his way above the area and taken control of a crane that was holding several large cargo containers above the gathering. Without hesitation, the thief began dropping the enormous hazards on top of his confused foes while singing a popular new single that was the talk of Illium at the moment.
"The wolf with no shame and the famous name rules with his queen and runs this game." he chanted while bobbing his head. "That beat really does get stuck in your head."
After dropping the last of the containers and completely decimating the opposition, the thief casually disembarked from the crane controls and calmly climbed back down to the chaotic scene below. The fog had now cleared and all of the unfortunate schemers now laid dead across the area. Satisfied with his work and the information that he'd gathered, he prepared to leave when a shot from a sniper rifle suddenly rang out in the distance and he found himself lying on his back. Seconds later, the mystery figure wearing the recon hood from earlier decloaked and swiftly marched towards him. After reaching his downed opponent, the sniper was shocked to discover the thief unharmed and smiling up at him from the ground as the remnants of a decoy faded nearby. A split second later both men reached for their pistols but the thief was quicker. The string of shots that tore through the sniper's kinetic barriers and chest quickly put an end to the confrontation.
"The Spider, huh? Sorry Doc, but I think I'll hold onto this." the thief remarked appreciatively while admiring his new backup weapon.
He then got to his feet and began whistling while strolling away from the mayhem. After reaching the sky car that he'd parked several blocks away, he once again found himself facing an irate asari with a gun aimed at him.
"Honestly lady, you'd think I stole your panties or something." the thief sighed as Liara glared at him.
"Tell me, how is Mal these days?" Liara calmly inquired.
"Same as always, larger than life and cooler than cool." the thief replied nonchalantly.
"I must admit, I never imagined that he employed so many humans, ordinary humans that is." Liara continued.
"Then I guess you don't think much of his intelligence." the thief replied before stretching. "You really think he's gonna use superhumans in this line of work? Tall, hulking, ridiculously ripped, walking titans? Oh yeah, they'd be real inconspicuous." he joked.
"I don't suppose you'd like to share what exactly it is that he's planning? I have a few leads that indicate he's organizing a great deal." Liara further inquired.
"How the hell would I know? I'm just a thief." the thief replied indignantly. "A thief who just crapped his pants earlier, so you know, I'd really like to go somewhere private and get changed." he added causing her to place a hand over her nose while keeping the other tightly gripped on the pistol she had aimed at him.
"Are you one of his Shadow Fangs? I was under the impression that you were all simply assassins." Liara persisted.
"Doctor T'Soni, two things. One, don't ever assume that the Shadow Fangs are just killers. Two, don't ever assume that you know exactly what kind of people Mal employs. He didn't just rescue superhuman orphans." the thief briefly explained before dropping a smoke bomb and once again disappearing. A moment later he was gone and Liara found herself staring at a pair of soiled trousers where he'd just been standing.
"Goddess, this city will soon be a battleground of the worst kind." she lamented before scrunching her nose as the stench from the mystery thief's pants assailed her senses.
Several hours later, the thief found himself sprawled across a couch inside an office in the Illium Den of the Terminus Wolves. "And that's everything you learned?" Mal casually asked while adjusting his tie. The formidable leader of the most famous and feared group of mercenaries in the galaxy was in the midst of preparing himself for an important meeting with several of his clients and a slew of other high profile figures who owned and operated business enterprises across Nos Astra.
"That's everything Top Dog. You should probably let Vince handle the rest." the thief suggested before yawning and turning his head to get a better look at his boss. "Looking sharp as always."
"Maybe but I hate these damn parties." Mal complained while grabbing a suit jacket from the back of his chair. "At least I've got Tess and the triple threat with me this time." he joked.
"Liv and the guys? No kidding?"
"It's part of Lou and Leon's punishment. As for Liv, I'm planning to take her shopping later to make up for the boredom." Mal explained.
"She'll like that, Top Dog. She's probably eager to spend as much time with you as possible before the three of them head out with Zaeed."
"You know, you could say hi if you wanted. The hotel isn't far from here." Mal informed him.
"I appreciate the thought but…no thanks. I made certain promises to myself when I agreed to take on this job and I plan to honor them." the thief quietly responded. "I'm not the guy she wants to see anyway." he solemnly added in barely more than a whisper. "Anyway, back to business. I had a little run-in with Doctor T'Soni, so she'll probably be keeping a closer eye on our operations now."
"I would've been surprised if you could've pulled this off without alerting Liara." Mal pleasantly stated after fastening his jacket and brushing himself off. "And she's always kept a close watch over everything that goes on here, it is her backyard after all. I'm more concerned about the Shadow Broker. You didn't encounter any of his people, did you?"
"Not that I know of, but let's face it, even if I did, I wouldn't really know anyway." the thief admitted.
"True," Mal agreed. "One of these days, I'll find his ass." he vowed while gazing outside his window. "You sure you don't want stop by and greet everyone?" he cheerfully added after turning around to face his subordinate.
"Like I said before, I'm good." the thief assured him before finally rolling off the couch and getting to his feet. "It's time for me to head out. If I'm going to keep gathering intel and living like a thief, I should get back to the gutters before I'm missed." he announced before making his way to the exit.
"Make sure you stop by the Black Claw safe house and grab whatever you need." Mal advised. "And be careful, Rabbit."
"I'm the dirtiest, most shameless, cheap shot under your command. I'll be fine Top Dog." his agent calmly assured him while heading for the door. "Tell Liv and the others I said hi." he quickly added before leaving.
After reaching the hallway outside he took a moment to reflect on how he'd ended up where he was and a flood of memories quickly engulfed him. Being a half-starved stray who was somehow lucky enough to be found by the Terminus Hunter after being stabbed and left for dead in some filthy back alley on Omega. Arriving on Cartagena Station and being enrolled at the Hunter Institute of Higher Learning. Getting picked on by some of the other kids for being smaller than the rest. Being rescued by Olivia Hunter and her brothers and making his first real friends.
"I wonder how much more beautiful you got?" he pondered. "Pretty enough to cause problems for Lou and the others, I'll bet." he chuckled before proceeding to stroll down the hall past another office where several female members of the Spirit Fangs were congregating.
"I'm telling you, I saw Vince before we all left Cartagena. The whole Hunter Clan got together for a family night out. He's even more delicious than the rumors say." one of the women explained rapturously.
"I got to escort Lucas and Leon to their hotel rooms after we arrived." her friend added. "I had to keep reminding myself that they aren't eighteen yet." she giggled.
"You're terrible, I hope you know that. And I suggest you not let our den mother hear you." her friend cautioned.
"Relax, Miss goody two-shoes. We can all wait a year." another woman interjected.
"We don't have to wait for Vince though, do we?" the first woman slyly added.
"Actually, I've heard a few rumors about him and a certain Alliance soldier…"
The young man abruptly stopped his eavesdropping and continued on his way. He knew the rumors all too well and the truth behind them. "You picked the wrong one, Vince. It's a shame by the time you realize it, it'll already be too late." he muttered before quietly continuing his trek.