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"So Cerberus not only has contacts within the mob, but has enough pull to set up a meet with possibly the most secretive bosses on the planet? You sure they gave us good info Commander? Cause if it is, I'd like to know their justification for seemingly being in bed with men like this." Susan asked as they reached the roof of the building they had previously landed on.
Ross answered his anxious NCO. "Organized crime has made politics one of their strong basis since a market for the vices of men has been around. Now it simply stretches to planets. Just because we're flying in shiny pieces of metal that can fly from one end of the galaxy to the other does not mean everything is so...shiny. Men who control the vices of the people will always be watched and at some points collaborate with even the brightest of stars in the political circle."
Ross sat down at the pilot seat and began to start the transport, though the meeting was still hours away he had it in his mind to pass by the area and make sure they knew what they were getting into. And to know as much as they could about what they are getting into. "Cerberus is probably in bed with men like this because no one has more precious information about those in power or the changing shape of the galaxy like the underworld."
Susan growled a bit to herself as she took her seat. "Animals. All of them."
Ross chuckled to himself about his opinionated friend, and pulled the ship into the air and into traffic.
New York, like most of the major cities of earth, was a modern metropolis though some of its historical structures and neighborhoods remained. One such was Little Italy, though much of Midtown and others were modernized, this area of New York still kept much of the same charm and look as it had so long ago. Many a politician had tried to renovate the area, and each time it was quietly shut down which was perhaps a good indication of just who held power in those blocks.
Ross brought the shuttle out of the air and into the neighborhood, slowing it to a crawl as he looked out the mirror. He tapped the console for a verification of their location. "Down there." He pointed to an alley between buildings, "Should be a larger parking area in the back. The club should be downstairs. It says here the buildings are historical buildings, old headquarters for some newspaper and a restaurant."
"Also a good place for a trap." Observed Susan.
Ross nodded and looked back at the passenger in the back. "What do you think Noah?"
Noah had remained quiet while the Commander and his second argued the finer points of doing business with anyone involved in crime. She could only wonder how naĂŻve the Chief Ops was. Power always corrupts. Those that cater to that corruption control that power. It did not matter what species one was speaking of. She and Menar made a very good loving from that very concept as had whole armies before them. When asked her opinion, the Drell looked out the window to the buildings that Ross was aiming for. They were old and extremely close together and she knew instinctively that even the Commander and Chief Ops would stand out as strangers to this insular community.
âI believe that Chief Ops Vasquez has a rather innocent view of politics, Commander.â She offered. Glancing up, Noah realized that Ross probably was referring to the buildings below them and not the debate regarding dealing with organized crime. âGetting in or out will be a challenge, I believe.â Somehow her tone indicated that âchallengeâ really meant ânearly impossibleâ.
Ross tried to hide his chuckle from the Ops Chief, but the glare of death she gave both of them cleared that right up. He cleared his throat and looked back at Noah. He landed the ship several buildings from the club. He brought up a screen which showed a map of the area. "People we are dealing with won't give us the doctor for what Cerberus is giving them. They'll figure they have the upper hands, both in negotiations and with fire power. We need our own ace in the hole to shock them out of that mind. Noah....I think it's time to see if Menar was right about your skill. Think you can get in there? Without spilling blood? We need this done cleanly, I'd hate to have to deal with both gangsters and police in one day if things get all boomy."
The three stepped down from the shuttle, with the Chief Ops leading the way, Noahâs usual innocent enthusiasm had evaporated disconcertingly. Her body moved more fluidly. Her large, liquid eyes seemed to take in everything. When Ross asked his question, she answered with a simple, âYes.â
Susan checked the hang of her pistol in the shoulder holster under her jacket and then looked toward the club, checking for guards or obvious security. She murmured to Noah, "Don't engage, just get in and..." She turned her head to see that the Drell was gone. She hadn't made a sound.
"Fuck I hate when she does that." The Chief Ops growled.
In the short space of time that Susan had attempted to impress upon her how to carry out the mission, Noah had simply slipped away as if made of shadow. This was what she had been trained for and it was times like this that the soul took a back seat to the body. Despite her alien look, she gained the back door of the restaurant which was blocked open by a vegetable crate to help vent the heat. Crouching, the Drell peeked into the kitchen quickly to note that only two cooks worked inside and were focused on their duties. That quick glance had also granted her the basic layout of the kitchen, the exits, obstacles and anything that might be used for improvised weapons. For others.
Gliding forward swiftly, she crossed the narrow kitchen to the opposite door following a waiter that had entered to fill his tray with someoneâs dinner. She remained in the waiterâs wake until she saw a door being guarded by a heavily-built man sitting in a chair and reading a paper. To Noah, this was obviously somewhere she wanted to be. Ordinarily, she would simply remove the obstacle, but Ross did not wish any casualties at this juncture.
Returning to the doorway to the kitchen, Noah hefted a heavy can of some food item she didnât recognize and when the door swung open to admit the waiter once more, she slipped out behind him. Before the door closed, she hurled the can into the tray the waiter carried. Retreating, she hid behind the restroom door during the din of crashing plates and glasses. Swearing and shouting brought the door guard down the hallway allowing Noah to slip forward again and down the dimly lit stairs that lead to an underground room. She heard the soft sound of lackluster conversation below occasionally broken by the sound of some recorded game of a type she did not recognize. In this state, she was not curious, either. She had a mission.
The Drell continued down the stair until she could spy the occupants of the room. A pair of men, one was older and thin, but flint-eyed and the other was younger with the bored look of someone used to getting his way. They were focused on a vid while the younger man played with a knife idly. Their positioning allowed Noah to continue down the stair and into a darkened side room that smelled musty and was lined with shelves containing extra stores for the kitchen above. Satisfied, Noah settled into a crouch in a far corner, went perfectly still and waited.
The Commander and Ops Chief circled the area with the shuttle a few more times trying to get the lay of the land and alleyways. The maps from omni-tools are great sure, but they don't beat first hand recon the knowledge of where cover is ahead of time can give that split second speed which can save their lives. The Commander however, was growing impatient, and decided the meeting was happening now and put the shuttle down across the street. As they landed he pulled out his M-6, the Ops Chief seeing this followed suit checking her own weapon. The Commander however did not check his, instead he threw it into a compartment. He was rewarded with a curious look from his Ops Chief.
"What's the point when they are just going to frisk us and take them away anyway. This meeting right now is on their terms, their deck is stacked so we just keep folding until we change the odds in our favor."
The Ops Chief was about to argue against this, however the Commander was already exiting the car. She looked at her own heavy pistol with disappointment and with a sigh also threw it into the compartment. And with that she followed her Commander into the lionâs den.
Hidden in the darkened store room, Noah unwittingly fell into the embrace of the solipsism that was both a blessing and a curse to her race. The perfect clarity of Drell memories occasionally trapped them in a state between memory and reality, leaving them unable to tell the difference. The muscles in her thighs twitched and jumped as she relived the failed mission that had nearly killed her had it not been for Menar. She saw and felt the choking dust as the building she had been in imploded around them. Huge chunks of debris rained down on their group and innocent civilians alike, she could smell as well as see the blood-slicked floor and clearly heard the screams of the dead and dying. The depths of her dark eyes flickered and roiled as she remained trapped in the memory unable to escape, just as sheâd been trapped that day nearly 3 years ago. Noah felt the pain of her shoulder breaking when a huge chunk of the interior facade hit her as she raced past a crumbling wall.
As the Commander had thought, they were greeted by two goons who'd had a look of having more muscles than brains. For a moment he wondered if he could have gotten away with bringing their weapons. But he was justified as before they were allowed in they were patted down. "A lack of brains yes," thought the Commander. "But well trained." Once they were cleared to enter they were very quickly escorted towards the back of club and into a smaller room and down the stairs, this the first time the Commander felt wary, sure that they'd be meeting the boss in his office upstairs. Instead they were brought to a much more difficult escape route of underground.
Arriving at the room they were made to stand near the center of the room with a table in front of them and then they waited with 3 heavily armed goons watching them. Ross gave a smile to one, "So....who you got money on this year?" He got no reply and perhaps an even harder glare. "Ok was just looking for some inside info." The Ops Chief rolled her eyes a bit until the door opened softly and a man entered. Well-dressed, but not opulently, so he reminded Ross of a boss of old, a dignified businessman. Smart.and dangerous. He was flanked by another goon who was dragging an unwilling man who was wearing a sack over his face. This person was shoved on the chair next to the table while the suit took a seat.
Still trapped in her memories, Noah struggled. She had been thrown off balance and fell onto her side to try to protect her injured shoulder, and was immediately buried by massive slabs of steel and concrete from the floors above. It had been a minor miracle that Noah hadnât been crushed. While she lay under the rubble simply trying to breathe, dust and small chunks of the concrete began filtering down into the tiny space sheâd been buried within. Ominous groans and sounds of cracking mortar foretold of the remainder of the buildingâs imminent collapse into the lowest sub-level two floors below ground level. Noah closed her eyes gently. She had no chance. She was prepared for that.
"Charlie Alfonso. I am the owner of this fine place and other entertainment around this city." Said the suit. A scoff came from the bagged man, Charlie looked at the goon next to him and who smacked the hood behind the head.
"I didn't fucking say anything!" said the muffled voice.
Charlie ignored the whine from the bag, "And you must be Commander Ross, and his loyal pet Vasquez. You are early, throwing me off my schedule is not a good way to get on my good side Commander I am a busy man. Not a good start for civilized negotiations."
The Commander smirked and thought, son of a bitch I knew he'd try and get more out of this deal. "I came here under the understanding that you had already come to an agreement with Cerberus. And on top of that I believe we can go no farther until I can see that the man you have there is unharmed and really is our man."
Charlie nodded his head, "Well I suppose it's only right." He motioned to his man next to him. The man smacked the bagged man behind the head again.
"Ahh what the hell was that for!!"
"No! Take...off...the...bag." Charlie said slowly to the goon insulting his intelligence and giving him such a look that the large man gulped and pulled off the bag from the prisonerâs head.
The man revealed was sweating profusely, both from the heat inside the bag and the general situation he found himself in. He was still wearing a fairly expensive suit though now the top collar and pits were soaked with sweat. "Oh thank god! It was ungodly in there! Couldn't you guys invest in one with a fabric that breathed a little more?"
"Now hit him."
Smack! "Ow ow ok! I'm shutting up!"
"Now Commander back to the matter in hand. Yes I've made deal with Cerberus. But they are nothing more than middle men. I prefer to do my business with the person I'm investing in face to face." He leaned a bit more forward, âCerberus had generously offered to pay Mister Kangâs debt to us plus a generous interest of 18% for 5 years. However with you here Commander, I have decided that consideringthe risk I can only imagine he might be going into, that I need to add more to make sure I can make up the money this little bastard owes us. Doing the math in my head. I would say....32% more. That would equal payments of $500,000. A month."
Meanwhile, still caught in her memories, Noah continued to relive that day on Delganian.
Larger chunks of concrete became dislodged from her precarious tomb hitting Noahâs unprotected shoulder and she cried out softly. The sudden tearing away of the single, mammoth slab that kept her trapped caused Noah to look up in shock to see the Krogan that had been leading their team standing over her.
âYou alive?â Heâd asked curtly.
âYes, butâŠâ She started to answer.
âNever mind. Move your ass.â With that Menar had reached into the small area sheâd been lying in, filled his fist with the front of her jump suit and jerked her bodily from the hole. Sparing no time to see if she was injured, he thrust a pistol into her hand making her fumble for it awkwardly. Then, with a powerful hand around her upper arm, he began to run. He had picked up momentum and simply smashed through most obstacles in their path.
There was some silence in the building as everyone wrapped their head around this number. It was the Ops Chief who spoke first. "Ten Million! How the fuck does someone lose Ten Million credits!"
Kang voice cracked as he screamed. "It wasn't my fault! These fucking guinea swindled me somehow! I did the math I couldn't be that unlucky! It not fai-Ack!" This time the smack came without any motion from Charlie, though the boss very much appreciated the imitative taken by the man.
The commander looked at the man in front of him and smiled, just roll with what you got he thought to himself. "20%" He countered.
Charlie was wide eyed by the reply, the guy in front of him has got some balls on him. He'll give him that. "Now now Commander you have to appreciate the risk I'm taking here. I was originally planning on just killing the man, can't have people think we'd gone soft now could we."
The Commander shrugged, "20% There are other medics."
Kang's eyes got wide, "N...now wait a minute! They...you had a deal! I can't....I can't die here!"
This time both Charlie and Ross looked at the man in the chair. "Shut up." Smack.
Charlie looked back to Ross, a hint of frustration on his face. His voice however was as calm as ever. "Commander, this is a negotiation and there are keys to its art. You're in my business, underground, with 5 highly armed men including myself. You're unarmed. You need to face facts here, Commander. I'm holding all the cards and I am being generous. I don't ask for 75%, but you will take this deal and like it because if you don't I have no reservations in killing you, your pet, or this pain in my ass."
Ross calmly looked back at the powerful man in front of his, though this time his smile was gone. He had to be ready for what came next. "Perhaps itâs time I bring out my ace in the hole."
Silence.
"I said ace in the hole."
Once again there was no movement.
"Well this is embarrassing," Ross said honestly, some awkward moments later he looked around those room. "So you boys Yankees fans?"
Susan let out an audible groan. "Sir...this is New York. What do you think?"
Behind them the floor began collapsing into the lower levels in slow waves threatening to swallow them up. Noah could barely keep up with the Krogan under full steam due to the grip he had on her injured arm. When they caught sight of the door leading to the exterior, the entrance began to collapse into the basements as well. âWell, shit.â Menar had muttered. âThis is gonna suck.â With that cryptic remark, heâd thrown himself bodily through the glass doors as they shattered and tucking Noah up into his chest, fell an entire story before landing heavily on the grassy park-like exterior lawns that made up the corporationâs grounds.
The impact had driven Menarâs heavy exoskeleton almost 2 feet into the turf and winded him. Noah, unfortunately, had impacted against Menar and was knocked out cold. Sheâd added a broken pelvis and several broken ribs to her list of injuries.
The âfeelingâ of hitting the ground on top of Menar broke Noah free of the sollipsism. She shook her head to clear it in time to hear Susan groan at something Ross had said. Rising from her crouch, she stalked to the open doorway to the darkened storeroom sheâd been hiding in and peeked out to survey the scene.
Facing her at the table was an older man dressed in a suit with thickly waved silver hair. His body language left her in no doubt that he was the leader of this group. Behind him was a large man in an ill-fitting blue suit standing guard over another man who obviously was their doctor. His bruised countenance spoke to having had a rough go of it. Two more guards stood on either side of the older man, guns drawn, but held down in supreme confidence. The Commander and the Chief Ops stood before the table while another pair of gunman stood behind Ross and Susan effectively boxing them in. But, they had their backs to Noah.
Noah knew instinctively by the tension in the Commander and Chief Opâs bodies that sheâd missed her cue. Remembering a move that Ross had used against her in their sparring session, Noah charged from the store room and using her shoulder, speared the farthest bodyguard in the back, driving him across the room to smash into the concrete wall beyond. The sickening sound of crunching bones was loud in the enclosed space. Scooping up the guardâs dropped gun as she whirled to face the other shocked guard, Noah tossed it toward Ross.
Not looking to see if heâd managed to catch the gun, Noah sprang forward toward the 2nd guard, flipped in the air and grabbing the man under his chin as she passed over his head, Noah brought all her weight down behind him, snapping his neck brutally. Landing in a light crouch as the man dropped, she grabbed the second gun and tossed that toward Susan.
Ross and Sue had caught the weapons though Ross with some fumble as he'd not expect Noah to attack. Figure her lack of appearance at first a sign that she had failed in getting into the building. But after some fumbling he'd aimed it at one of the men who'd been too shocked to pull his weapon.
Standing slowly, Noah rose and moved to stand behind Ross and Susan, but well within sight of the remaining occupants of the room. They had all gone still in dumb-founded shock caused both by the suddenness of the attack and the very presence of such an alien creature as she presented. Noah kept her dark eyes completely focused on the old man, but addressed Ross. âIs it time to bring the pain, Commander? If so, I have heard it is most sensible to cut off the head of the snake before it can bite youâ It was a clear threat to the old man, that he would die first.
Ross nodded at the Drell's suggestion. "Thank you Noah. I had a similiar thought. But we'll see if we can come to agreement before that"
"What the HELL is that?!" Shouted Charlie who for a moment lost his composure.
"That is Noah. Now Charlie focus. We were negotiating." He popped a fresh heat sink and turned him aim to the man in front of him. "20%. Consider it generous I don't ask for 10%" He said with a smirk.
The negotiations came to a quick conclusion with the old Don understanding when it was best not to call someoneâs bluff. Besides, he got his money out of a troublesome problem and got to make it go away. Ross and Sue lead the way back up through the bar and wasted no time in heading for the shuttle. Kang schlepped along in their wake grinning to himself with Noah shadowing him.
âOh yeah!â Kang chuckled as he stretched. âThat was sweet. I thought old Charlie was going piss himself. It was a beautiful thing.â He didnât seem too worried about reprecussions from the mob even though Ross and the rest of those with him werenât taking anything for granted. Sue and Ross kept their guns up and scanned every shadow. Noah kept close to Kang in case he needed to be thrown to the ground to protect him. Kang turned his eyes to Noah and his nose wrinkled slightly. âWhereâd they find you? The zoo? Nice pet, Ross.â
Noah merely looked at him without answering.
Ross, however, did. âShut up, Kang. We arenât out of the woods yet.â
âHey, you do whatever you want, Iâm heading out. Have a nice time.â Kang retorted. He began to veer off away from the shuttle. He was blocked by the sudden appearance of Noah in his path making him stop short. âGet out of my way, Frog.â He snorted.
Sue turned a hard glare at the man. âYou arenât going anywhere, Kang. Let me spell this out for you so that you are crystal clear. We paid off your debt. That means you now owe us. And that means you just enlisted.â She waggled her gun barrel at him. âGet on board before I throw you on board.â
Ross traded a look with Kang when the man looked like he might argue the point. It made the Doctor bite back a harsh retort. Climbing inside, Ross climbed into the pilot seat and soon heard a swearing Kang follow him. Soon, Sue was in the seat beside him and Noah in her seat as well. As they lifted off, the tension seemed to leave the air to be replaced by one of seething anger. Some of it came from Kang who kept grumbling about being kidnapped and having to sit so close to a Frog. But the bulk of it was from Sue.
Once off the ground and headed back toward the ship, Noahâs body relaxed and her head dropped slightly. She knew she had failed and they all might have died because of it. How could she explain? Was that even an excuse? She could feel the heat fairly radiating from the Chief Ops. âIâŠI apologize.â She murmured. It was clear whatever personality change sheâd undergone previously had ended.
Sue's head twisted around so quickly to the Drell it cracked."Apologize? Apologize? Just what the fuck happened back there? You left us out there twisting in the wind." Sue spat out. "You do not...do NOT fucking leave your friends out there like that."
Unseen by any of the others, Rossâ shoulders jerked slightly when Sue railed against Noah for leaving friends behind.
Noah took the blast of heat from Sue with her eyes aimed at the floor. The Chief Ops was absolutely correct and she couldnât fault the woman for her anger. âYes,â She said softly. âYou are rightâ She didnât even attempt to defend herself, probably to Sueâs great disappointment.
Kang looked back and forth between the two women, his eyes a bit wide by the blast of heat that came from the Susan. "Well...glad I'm joining such a tight knit group."
"You shut the hell up," Said Susan. "You'd better be worth the trouble and money we are spending or I'll deliver you back Charlie and let you deal with the rest of the payments on your own."Kang eyes flashed right to the floor as he became a target to the Ops Cheifs harsh words. And the entire shuttle was silent until they reached the ship.
Once theyâd docked, Ross, who had remained completely silent throughout the flight, stood and exited the shuttle. His jaw was clenched tight as he passed Kang and Noah. Sue rose and waited for Kang to exit in front of her. With a sigh, Noah followed along behind.
Waiting in the shuttle bay, Noah saw Menar had gathered a squad of Marines and looked slightly disappointed that he hadnât had to come to their rescue. He dismissed the squad and looked for someone to tell him what had gone down. It looked as though everyone was on their way out without pause.
Noah knew she had to explain to Ross somehow. Heâd never spoken a word since theyâd left Earth. âCommanderâŠplease. May I have a moment? I feel I should explain.â
Menarâs head came up, âExplain what? What happened down there?" The Krogan asked belligerently.
Ross looked at Noah, his voice and face expressed nothing more than a sad disappointment. "You have no need to explain Noah. Just know you almost got people killed, you need to keep it from happening again."
âBut..â Noah began. A movement from Menar, drawing closer caught both of their attention. Noah continued, âI do need to explain if you will allow. It excuses nothing, but I wish for you to have some understanding.â
Menar snorted aggressively, âWhat the hell happened?â
Ross paused and looked at her expectantly.
âThe Drell have a gift. The gift of eidetic memory. But it is more than that.â She spoke softly. âIt can be so strong that at times we lose ourselves within the memory, unable to tell the difference between memory and reality.â
Menar grunted, âWell shit.â
Ross nodded his head with a small disappointed smile, the kind parent give children who try and explain their actions that might had hurt them."Thank you for telling me Noah. It does sound like quite the gift for your people. The draw back however nearly got people killed. You must be more aware of when you slip into it. I want to be able to trust you with the lives of my friends Noah." With that he began was about to walk away.
âYou better get off your high horse, Ross. Noah canât help when that happens and itâs damned rare.â Menar stepped forward to stop the Commander from leaving. âI wouldnât have her working for me if I didnât trust her.â A rumbling growl sounded in his chest, âNo oneâs perfect. Or did you forget your own shortfall? Lost a whole company, I remember.â
Noah stepped forward to keep between the Krogan and the Commander, âMenar please. He is within his rights to be suspect.â
Menar barely looked down at her, he was so focused on Ross.
Rossâ face though showing no emotion lost some of it's color. Just as he was about to speak, however, Sue swore and charged the Krogan intent on tearing his heart out. âYou god-damned, genophage neutered plate-face! You donât ever question your Superiors!â Sue cocked her fist ready to deliver a devastating blow only to be intercepted by Noah who got her shoulder under the Chief Ops center of mass and literally lifted the woman off her feet to carry out of Menarâs armâs reach
Swinging heavily, only to be carried out of range, Sue delivered a punishing elbow to the back of Noahâs shoulders. âGet off of me , you Frog!â
Noah grunted softly in pain, but put Sue down gently just in time to take another shot to her cheek. She hadnât bothered to duck out of the way. She merely stood there and blinked softly at the livid Chief Ops.
Red-faced, Sue glared from Noah to Menar, âYouâre both trouble. If we were smart youâd have been spaced the minute you came aboard!â With that, she spun on her heel and began to march out of the shuttle bay under a full head of steam.
"Vasquez Halt!" Boomed a voice from behind her she turned her red face slightly to see the source came from her Commander. "At attention soldier." She snapped into attention from sheer instincts. She heard footstepd coming slowly over to her. Ross stopped beside her and leaned in and whispered. "You will go straight to my office and we will talk about your actions when I get there."
"He was talking about them, he doesn't deserve to ever fucking speak about them. But you're going to talking this and not that.....fucking plate he-" She said as well barely keeping her anger and voice soft enough so others don't hear her.
"You're the one acting like a Krogan Sue. You attacked a member of my crew. Not him." He waited a moment to let it sink in, he could almost feel the heat lower from her.
"Yes sir...."
"Good now I'll join you once I dealt with the plate head." Ross said before standing straight. "Dismissed." He said loudly.
As the Ops Chief walked off, Ross walked directly to the other two. He stopped and looked toward the Drell first. "Thank you for stopping her." He bowed slightly. She bowed back and when Ross Noticed she had no damage he looked back to Menar. "I lost my team Menar. I learned from it and now I'm never going to make that mistake again. I'm simply asking others who work under me to strive to do the same. To not will result in the offender being spaced. Man. woman." He looked at Noah. "Drell." Then took a step closer to Menar who growled. "Or Krogan."