Chapter Ten: Between a Rock…
"Cease to hope and you will cease to fear."
Martin and Velpia looked at each other again for a fleeting second, surprised that Aria would spare them. Then again, Martin figured - to her, they were just mercs with no absolute allegiance to whoever they were working for. They must have impressed her in some way.
"I need someone found and taken care of; this... thing has been a pain in my ass for the last few months." Martin lowered his hand from the grenade on his chest.
"So, who's the target?" Martin asked with slight annoyance. Aria didn't seem to be impressed with his tone. She stepped forward towards Martin with a stern look. "Whoever it calls itself Ghost, I want him found, and I want him dead."
"Must have done something pretty serious to piss you off," Martin replied with a slight chuckle. Aria turned to take a seat on the center of the couch.
"The bastard has been doing everything to get on my nerves. I want him gone; that's all you need to know. And if you can't do it, Bray will see to it you both don't live long enough to regret it." The Batarian standing to Martin's right pulled his pistol from his waist and began to look at it as if to signal who he was. Martin paid him little mind as an uncomfortable realization came over him, and his heart sank into his gut, Ghost... Velpia saw Aria's expression change in reaction to Martin's sudden silence, but she nor Aria commented on it. He had to be hiding something.
Aria dismissed them after they agreed to her terms; they had no choice. Martin thought he might have been able to throw the flash bang and leap off the balcony and onto the bar, but he'd probably be full of holes as he exited the door.
So they both agreed to the job and were signaled to leave Afterlife. Martin was still shaken from the conversation and headed back to the apartment.
Velpia began following him and quickly reached out and grabbed Martin's shoulder, forcing him to stop. "I don't think you've heard, but we need to work together on this. Can we just put what happened behind us and move on? At least temporarily?"
Martin turned back towards her, "Let me handle this." Velpia moved her arm off him and walked in front of him to block him. "You don't even know who this person is, Martin, don't be stupid."
Martin gave a slight laugh and shook his head. "I know who Ghost is, Vee. Just stay out of my way, and I'll deal with it." Velpia was taken aback; he shouldn't really know anyone and couldn't have been dealing with the target for what little time had passed.
"Martin, who is it? This isn't the time for grudges." Martin looked at her and nodded his head but didn't answer. "Look, we need to work together; our lives depend on it. We can do this together, you can come back to the room, and we can figure this all out."
He rubbed this face with his hand, annoyed by the entire situation. He didn't quite know if he had it in him to do what needed to be done, what was being asked of him. He was silent for a while, avoiding eye contact. He didn't want her getting in the way. "Alright, but if you try that stunt again-." She immediately cut him off. "I won't."
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They returned to the room after gathering Martin's things from the other apartment. He returned to his couch at the end of the room, removed his weapons, and placed them on the table.
He then changed into his regular clothes, removing his hard suit. He was tired and preoccupied with what to do. Velpia made her way into the room with the last box of gear; she had set it down next to the couch. She stood over him for a moment before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to tell me who 'Ghost' is now?"
Martin sat upright on the couch, he didn't want to tell her, but he didn't feel he had a choice. He looked at her, still conflicted by everything. "It's Dallas." She dropped eye contact with him and realized why he dismissed her help. "When he first reached out to me, he used his old callsign "Ghost." Martin paused before standing and moving towards the fridge to grab something to drink. He wanted something else to focus on. Velpia took the time to get changed in the bathroom but left the door open to continue the conversation.
"But how do you know if this is the actual target?" Velpia questioned, half yelling from the bathroom. He took a sip of water from the bottle and placed the cap back on.
"It makes sense, right? Dallas shows up with a code name and gives us a job to free some 'scientists' from a dockyard owned by Queen Bee upstairs, so then she hires us to take out Dallas in revenge." Velpia walked out of the bathroom, this time in more conservative attire. "Well, This is your friend. How do you want to play this?"
Martin looked at her, crawling into her bed and laying on her side. "I'm going to meet him. I at least owe him an explanation before I put a hole in his head." She was taken aback by his complete disregard for his supposed friend. "Is that how your kind treats their friends?"
He shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "Apparently, this is how this place works." He stated, making the comparison to their earlier scrap. "Well, let's make sure we actually finish the job this time." She awkwardly joked.
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The following day Martin sent a message to Dallas asking for a meeting. He played it off as he needed help dealing with the Blue Suns. Velpia actually approved of his plan, at least that part. She was still unsure what to expect once they ran into him. Dallas agreed to meet, but only Martin. He wanted Velpia for backup, just in case.
They agreed to meet at a private warehouse, which spooked Velpia, although she didn't express it to Martin. They were distant from each other, although they still tried to act like nothing was wrong and avoid the problems between them. The walk to the warehouse was more or less quiet, with the two rarely speaking. They were here to do a job, nothing more.
When they approached the outside corridor of the warehouse, Martin stopped at the door. "We do this my way; you do not shoot or breathe unless I give the okay. Got it?" Martin demanded. Velpia nodded in agreement. She understood that this was probably going to be hard for him. "But If anything happens, I won't hesitate to barrage in." She added. Martin readied himself at the door, "Fair enough."
Martin continued down the corridor to the main warehouse floor; there wasn't too much cargo on the main floor. He saw a few conveyor belts that ran through the building, a large roll-up metal door on his right, and a few other closed doors around the building. As he waited, he leaned against one of the cargo boxes in the middle of the room as Velpia was still in the corridor just behind the doorway.
Dallas appeared about five minutes later; Martin noticed his shiny bald head as he approached. Although he saw he wore a white combat-hard suit, it wasn't like his. It looked like serious protection. It was bulkier and had a large left pauldron on its shoulder. Behind him was a woman with brown hair in a ponytail but wearing lighter white armor.
Dallas approached him but stopped about ten feet from him. "I thought you asked for a one-on-one; who's she?" Martin asked while standing up off the container.
"Funny, I was going to ask the same question about your Turian by that door," Dallas replied, signaling to the corridor. Velpia rolled her eyes, stepped out of the doorway, and headed to Martin's side. "I know what this is about, Martin; and the Blue Suns aren't shit, so give me the real reason."
Martin's face went blank for a moment before he looked up at Dallas. "Look, I'm giving you notice. Aria sent us to kill you." Dallas laughed at Martin's statement. "That bitch sent you to kill me?" He laughed again, looking at his friend, who wasn't as amused. "Oh, Cheer up, Madz; I told you the Captain's a funny guy." He said while talking to the woman next to him.
He stopped laughing and looked at Martin and Velpia. "Let me ask you something, Captain; what are you fighting for out here?" Dallas paused and pointed at Velpia. "Fame? Glory? Trying to piece together a hopeless existence amongst the rabble? ... or is it Her?"
"My employer needs people like us to defend humanity; hell, they made us into what we are today... I'm sure by now you've realized that you feel more than you were back then."
Martin's anxiety began building in his body, and he clenched his fist, "What are you talking about?" Velpia stepped forward a bit. "He's saying whoever he works for genetically modified you while you were in Cyro." Martin started to get angry, "I want some goddamn answers, Dallas!"
He seemed unmoved by Martin's demands and remained calm. "I'll give you all the answers you want, but you just have to come with me. My boss can explain everything."
"I can't do that, Dallas." Velpia began to back up slowly as she saw Dallas and Madz back away.
"I guess I'll have to put you in your place again, Captain." Martin quickly grabbed his flash-bang grenade from his chest rig, but he stopped, his right hand on his pistol. He couldn't move. Velpia saw him standing there from her cover and started shooting at Dallas and Madz. Madz threw her own grenade at Velpia, forcing her to run back through the corridor. Madz gave chase, leaving Martin alone with Dallas.
Dallas approached Martin, who was still unable to move. "Interesting technology we have today." He menacingly said while holding up his Omni tool. "I hate it when history repeats itself, Captain, but just like then, you wouldn't listen. At least now I can MAKE you listen." Martin tried to struggle against whatever kept him immobilized but to no effect. Then Martin's body began to move. It had gripped his pistol. Martin struggled against it, but as he did, his brain began to feel like it had caught on fire, his muscles were confused as to which signals to listen to, and a ringing noise began to grow louder.
The pistol was being raised to his head, and his finger was struggling to lay itself on the trigger. "The more you fight it, Captain, the more it will hurt." The pistol was finally raised and pointed at his head. "I tried to do this the easy way, but unfortunately for you, I have insurance."
Dallas looked up to see a grenade land next to him and Martin. Dallas kicked Martin behind some crates as he took cover. The loud explosion rocked them both. Forcing him to run into the next room. This had released Martin from Dallas's grip. He tried to stand up, his head still ringing and hurting. He saw Madz approach him and raised his pistol, and fired.
The weapon's thunderous sound and vibration left its impression on his arm and chest. Madz put out her hand, now glowing blue with some kind of energy, and generated some type of barrier around herself. He watched helplessly as the powerful shots were continuously deflected until he ran out of thermal clips. She dropped her barrier and cocked her hand back as Martin scrambled to reload his weapon.
She thrust her hand forward and emitted a lightning-fast blue ball that hit Martin's chest. She launched him backward some thirty feet, bouncing off the metal floor before sliding to a rest.
He was dazed but tried to get up, only to see Madz jump some ten feet into the air, her entire body encased in blue light and her fist glowing that much more than the rest of her. She landed just a few feet away from him, her fist striking the ground and again throwing him back into the wall and falling onto his side.
Martin stood up; he did not want to be thrown around again. "Fucking space magic bitch!" Martin began to get very angry, drew his K-bar knife from his leg holster, and ran at her. She again began charging her right hand, and he ran towards and released another. Martin quickly dove over a few crates, and the attack missed; he saw his opening and launched himself at her, and the two began exchanging punches. It became apparent that she was well-trained in Martial arts, and she began blocking and weaving every blow he attempted.
Velpia returned back to the warehouse, having lost Dallas in the complex. She saw the two in hand-to-hand combat. She saw Martin's pistol, picked it up, and ran towards them. Madz managed to push Martin away just far enough to use her power again and throw Martin back against some crates. Velpia raised the pistol and took aim; the gun didn't fire, but it had gotten Madz's attention. She threw the gun aside, lifted her Avenger rifle, and began firing; again, she raised a barrier around herself, and rounds glanced off of her. "Oh crap, Biotics." She said as she kept firing.
Martin had recovered and charged at her again from behind. She quickly held out her left hand; his mind slowed as he ran toward her. He saw her charging for another attack while also holding the barrier. He saw some scrap on the floor, bent over while running, and picked it up.
She released her attack toward him, and he threw the metal sheet at the blue orb, screaming toward him. It made contact with the metal as he leaned out of the way of the metal now zooming passed him at an extreme speed.
As he tackled her to the ground, his mind returned to its normal speed. Velpia held her fire as Martin got close. Madz, now on her back, quickly managed to get her right leg onto Martin's shoulder just as he was about to strike her with the knife. Martin pressed his weight onto her, she had a hold of his knife arm, but his weight forced her leg to fold back further than she should have been able to flex it.
Velpia ran up to the struggle when she noticed the roll-up door open. "Blue suns!" She yelled. Martin and Madz turned to look at the nearly a dozen armed Soldiers entering the warehouse.
They quickly looked at each other. Martin quickly sprang up and kicked Madz in the side of the head as he ran past her. Velpia threw Martin his pistol as they darted for the exit. The Blue Suns began firing at all of them. Martin looked back to see Madz fighting for her life, using her barrier and throwing soldiers around the room. They ran for the corridor and closed the door. Velpia shorted it out to prevent anyone from following.
"Where's Dallas?" Martin asked, trying to catch his breath. "I'm Sorry, he got away." She replied, out of breath herself. "Fuck! We need to find him!" She quickly grabbed his arm, "No, we need to leave, and we need to get you to someone about what they did to you!" Martin Hit the wall behind him in frustration. He wanted this to end here and now. Velpia grabbed his face with both hands to force him to look at her, "Martin, they have control over you. We need to find a way to fix it." He grabbed her forearms and pulled her hands off his face, although not aggressively; he knew she was right. "Goddamnit, nothing is fucking easy around here!"