The Illusive Man took the call from Harper. "Report." He took a thoughtful drag of his cigarette as he leaned back in his chair. His eyes were closed, but he could still feel the heat of the nearby red giant star on his face. For a brief moment, he imagined himself relaxing on a beach and idly wondered what it would feel like to actually take a vacation. It sounded like such a monumental waste of time.

"Shepard is still unaccounted for," said the operative's voice. "But Quentin's men are keeping up the search, and he also has multiple spotter teams all along the possible routes back to the Normandy. I'm now heading into the interrogation of Subject Zero. I will let you know ASAP if she tells us anything. I have also received an automated notification from the Normandy. XO Lawson has initiated Directive Nine Twelve Sigma."

"I see." He took another drag. "It sounds as if EDI is behaving as she should. And it seems that Miranda has the attempted mutiny well in hand. But we still need to know if the conspirators have planted any Trojan viruses into EDI. Just make sure to use minimal violence in your interrogation. I need Subject Zero in...reasonably good health."

Harper clicked off. The Illusive Man thought through the possible ways this whole operation could progress. The initial abduction attempt on Shepard had been in part to prevent any detailed imaging of Shepard's reconstruction. But the main purpose of the attempt was to distract the Normandy crew. It was something that Miranda could use to interfere with any rescue attempt for Subject Zero, at least until the biotic was safely off of Illium.

However, now it sounded as if things were getting serious on board the Normandy. If she had invoked Nine Twelve Sigma, then that meant that she had taken direct control of the mission. And that also meant that Cerberus didn't need to obfuscate as much. If Shepard still managed to elude his pursuers, then it would probably be prudent to simply send the Blue Suns in to surround the Normandy. After all, that was the only logical destination for Shepard.

----------------------------------------

Harper opened the door to Jack's room. His testicles had finally stopped throbbing, and he hoped that Subject Zero would resist at least a little bit. After all, it would be very satisfying to cut off a few toes or a finger as payback. The room's overhead light shone down on the biotic. She was still seated in her high-backed, bolted-down chair. The scene almost reminded Harper of some old photos he'd seen of an ancient execution device called an 'electric chair'. Subject Zero wasn't moving, and sat slumped in her restraints. Harper walked closer while careful to keep out of kicking range. He wheeled the torture cart off to one side. She still didn't move.

He regarded her with a little puzzled frown. Subject Zero's eyes were half closed and rolled back in their sockets. All he could see of her eyes was white. A copious amount of drool ran from one corner of her mouth as she twitched spasmodically.

"Come on, now," he said. "I'm not falling for the 'oh, I'm so sick' routine. I'm not letting you out of those restraints. Not until we've had our little discussion." He moved up to one side of her chair and looked down at her. She didn't respond to his voice, she just kept twitching. "You really can cut the act, you know," continued Harper. "You are not fainting or in catatonic shock. You're much too tough for that. As you said, I know everything about you."

Harper pushed his index finger against her forehead for emphasis, only to pull back with a shocked grunt. Subject Zero's flesh was burning hot, worse than any fever he'd ever felt. He placed the back of his hand against her forehead to make sure. It almost felt like he'd touched a stove. He jerked his hand back again and yelled at the door.

"JACKSON! GET THE CRASH CART!"

Within seconds a Blue Suns merc came bursting through the door. He'd obviously hadn't had time to fully don his armor; he was only wearing a chest piece and leggings. He was pushing a car laden with emergency medical supplies.

Harper rubbed his forehead and tried not to panic. "She's got a severe fever. What have you got for that?"

"Ahhh...let's try some Keldrol, that should act as a fever reducer."

"Give me 5 cc's. We need to get that fever down, or her brain's going to cook."

Jackson nodded. He quickly sorted through the medicines and found what he needed. "Weren't we going to torture her anyway? What's the big deal?" asked the merc as he drew the medicine into a syringe.

Harper snatched the syringe from him and carefully injected it into Subject Zero's limp arm. "Torture, yes," snapped Harper. "But no brain damage or death. Subject Zero is the result of a lot of money and effort. If she dies, The Illusive Man will have us both peeled like grapes. Now shut up and do what I tell you. I want somebody else in here, just in case."

Jackson jogged back to the door. "Cooper! We need you!" he yelled around the door's edge. They were quickly joined by another merc, this one fully armored.

"Thermometer." snapped Harper. Jackson placed a small pill-sized probe in his outstretched hand. "Cooper, hold open her mouth. You've got gauntlets on." The merc moved in front of Subject Zero, carefully reached with his armored hands, and gently pushed on both her jaw and upper lip to open her mouth. There was still no response from the captive. Her twitching became less severe. Harper reached past Cooper's hands and carefully inserted the probe under her tongue. Cooper then just as gently closed her mouth.

Harper then opened his omni-tool to access the probe's data. "Oh, Christ. Her body temp is almost forty-one Celsius. At least it's dropping."

"What happened?" asked Jackson. "She was fine when we left her. Well, apart from the smacking around we gave her. That shouldn't do anything like this."

Harper stared off into space as he thought. "Maybe she's allergic to Haldoran? We did give her a large dose, but she's had it before. Nothing in her medical file to indicate any allergies." He checked his probe again, and sagged a little in relief. "Much better. Thirty-nine and still dropping. Maybe...can you acquire an allergy to a medication through repeated dosing?"

"I think you can for other allergens," said Jackson. "But I've never heard of it happening for medications. And in any case, it wouldn't cause a massive fever." He scratched the side of his head. "At least, I don't think it would. I'm just a field medic."

Harper looked down. Subject Zero wasn't twitching anymore, and her eyes were now completely closed. "Cooper, wipe her mouth." The armored merc grabbed a wipe off of the crash cart and complied.

Harper thought more on the situation. It was critical to determine if EDI was targeted for sabotage. But it was also critical that Subject Zero be returned to Cerberus in 'reasonably' good health. She couldn't have any brain damage or major organ trauma. He couldn't reconcile the two goals. He checked his probe again. Her temperature was now almost normal.

"I have to call this in," he said aloud. "I don't want to risk any trauma to her, not right now. Jackson, continue to monitor her condition." Jackson nodded, and leaned down over her. He pried back her eyelids and shone a light in one of her eyes.

Harper turned to the door. "I'll be back in a bit. I need to see if we have any additional medical files on Subject Zero." He took two steps...and then heard a croaking voice which pinned him to the spot.

"I told you fuckers. My Name. Is. Jack."

Harper heard the high-pitched groan of metal restraints giving way. He turned just in time to see two glowing blue hands swing around from each side and smash together with irresistible force right in the middle of Jackson's head.

He was almost blinded by the resulting welter of blood and brains. He also felt a chunk of Jackson's skull bounce off his forehead. In a panic, Harper backpedaled out through the door and slammed it shut. He heard Cooper bellow a challenge which quickly turned into a drawn-out scream. Harper sprinted down the hallway with Cooper's scream echoing behind him. The scream turned into a horrible gurgling as he opened his comm. "CORBIN! Get your team to high alert. Subject Zero is loose and is fully active, I repeat she is fully active."

He tried and failed to keep the terror out of his voice.

----------------------------------------

Shepard leapt out of the Big Wheel. He turned and regarded the black vehicle with glee. "This is great!" he said happily. "I want one!"

"I'm still not certain you should be moving around, Shepard," said Chakwas from the door. "Mordin had to use twice the recommended dose of stimulant to get you awake. And I'm not sure how that will interact with your cybernetics, or what the aftereffects might be."

"Aw, c'mon doc, I feel fine." And he truly felt just capital. He took a deep breath, and the air moving into his lungs made him feel clean and strong. Everything was glorious. Between the Big Wheel's cloak and Karlon's driving, they had managed to elude their pursuers for the moment. He thought that was really slick and awesome. They now sat in some sort of covered concrete alcove which was part of the drain system that they were trying to access. The entrance to the alcove looked out over the late afternoon sky of Illium, which was a lovely shade of purple. It all smelled like moldy feet and old piss, and that was also just so wonderful. The staining of the surrounding concrete walls was particularly nice. Shepard looked down and smiled at the huge rusted metal grate which blocked their way into the storm drains. It was all so cool looking.

"It's all great. I love it all." He looked back up at Chakwas. "Hey doc, did I ever tell you how pretty you are? Really, you are beautiful." Chakwas opened her mouth, yet nothing came out. She closed it again and shook her head.

Rentola and another salarian stepped down and began placing packages on the huge grate, all around The Big Wheel. Shepard walked over to them. "You guys are wonderful. I told you that, right? Hey, is that C4? I love it, that's great stuff."

Rentola gave him a sidelong glance. "Um, yes it is Shepard. It is a useful material. And...thank you again."

Mordin swung himself down. He reached back into the vehicle and grabbed a travel bag. "Normandy team is almost here," he said as he zipped open the bag and re-checked its contents. "These supplies should be sufficient in case Jack requires medical attention."

"Jack's in trouble?" asked Shepard. He figured that was great, too, in a way. He could go help her and also get in some shooting and killing as well. That was always fun. "I gotta go help her. Somebody gimme a gun."

Mordin patted him on the shoulder. "Rescue well in hand. Just need me as contingency. You require rest."

Shepard snorted and waved him off with one hand. "I dunno why everybody's so worried 'bout me. I'm a mean, lean, fightin' machine. I'll whup the ass of anyone or anything you point me at." He peered at Mordin. "I told you how great you are, right Doc?"

"Yes, Shepard. Six times so far."

Two silhouettes appeared at the mouth of the alcove and moved silently towards them. Shepard was overjoyed to see that it was Garrus and Zaeed. They were both armored, and Garrus was carrying a large duffel bag.

"Garrus! My man!" Shepard stepped forward and grabbed his turian comrade in a bear hug. He heard a faint unh of expelled air from Garrus.

"Oof...er, great to see you too, Shepard," gasped Garrus as he dropped the bag.

"I love you, man," said Shepard into the turian's chest. "Really, I do. I hope you know that. Just platonically, though. Not that there's anything wrong with the other way, I just don't swing like that, you understand, right?"

Before Garrus could reply Shepard's eyes lit on Zaeed. "Zaeed!" he cried. He let go of Garrus and clapped the mercenary on the shoulder. The yellow-armored man staggered a bit with the cybernetically-enhanced impact, but still managed a smile.

"Heya, Shepard."

"I'm really sorry about the Vido thing," said Shepard. "That whole situation was soooo fucked up. We'll get him, though. You an' me, we'll find him again. I'll hold him down an' then you can kick him in the balls for about a week straight. That sound good?"

Chakwas joined them and gently moved Shepard away. "I think you're still a little loopy, Commander."

"Loopy? Hah. I'm fit fer duty. Oooh, Garrus, didja see this?" He pointed at The Big Wheel. "It's great! It's like a Mako, but it's gotta cloak. We gotta get one!"

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"We may not have space for it on the Normandy, John," said Garrus.

"But we gotta! It's sooo cool! Did I mention it has a cloak?"

"Fine, we'll get one," replied the turian. He looked over and twitched a questioning mandible at Chakwas, who shrugged. "Now, John," he continued, "We need that coverall you're wearing. I brought some of your clothes, so if you want to go around the other side of the vehicle to change-"

"Sure! No problem!" Shepard unzipped his coverall and stripped it off in less than two seconds. "Here ya go!" He handed the coverall to Garrus. The air was cool on his bare skin. He smiled at their shocked faces. "Heh. Maybe I should go into battle like this, right? I'll scare 'em with my other gun." He put his hands on his hips, struck a heroic pose, and cackled. His friends looked at each other.

"C'mon, that's some funny shit," said Shepard. "You guys need to loosen up."

"Um, John, maybe you could at least put on some pants...?" said Garrus in a hopeful tone.

"Fine, ya prude." He unzipped Garrus's bag and began rummaging. "Pants, pants, pants, where are my...ah." He pulled on a pair of pants, humming happily. "Better?"

"Much better, thank you," said Chakwas. Garrus handed him a shirt, and with a happy shrug Shepard pulled that on as well.

In the meantime, Zaeed had taken off his yellow armor. "Take good care of this stuff, okay Shepard? It's seen me through a lot."

Shepard was delighted. "Hey, do I get to wear your armor? That's cool!" He didn't realize it before, but he and Zaeed were about the same size. That was so neat.

Mordin was also rummaging through Garrus's bag. "Excellent!" he said. "Thank you for bringing them." He slipped on a pair of sunglasses and a black fedora. The hat was a little taller than the human norm, in order to accommodate the salarian's horns.

In the meantime, Zaeed had put on Shepard's coverall and zipped it up as Rentola approached. The salarian attached a transparent collar around Zaeed's neck, then stepped back and touched a few controls on his omni-tool. The mercenary's face seemed to ripple and then snap back into focus. But now. he looked exactly like Shepard. Shepard's image smiled, and spoke in Zaeed's raspy voice. "Don't worry Shepard, I don't mind bein' this ugly for a while."

Shepard couldn't stop grinning. In a day full of cool things, this was the coolest. A thought struck him, and he pointed a finger at Rentola. "I got it! You got the neat car, and all that cool tech...you're Batman! Ya even got the ears for it!"

The salarian tilted his head in puzzlement.

"Just roll with it," muttered Garrus. Then, in a louder voice. "You're right, John, he is indeed Batman. And now you get to ride in the Batmobile, okay?"

"Awesome! What're you guys gonna do?"

"We're gonna be a distraction," said Zaeed.

"We're going to be a stylish distraction," added Garrus as he slipped on his own pair of sunglasses.

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Harper hugged the side of the hallway door. He had managed to clean the gore from his face and hands, but his once-pristine gray suit was now a hopeless bloody wreck. At least his heart rate was just about back down to normal. Fire team Gamma surrounded him. The team consisted of ten Blue Suns which had taken up positions all around the hotel lobby. All of their guns pointed at the same door he stood next to. Their weapons consisted only of flechette guns, at Harper's insistence. The guns' ammunition was non-lethal and loaded with Haldoran.

"Perimeter Team, check in," he muttered into his comm. "Any signs, Corbin?"

"Nothing's happening out here," came the reply. "Nobody's left the building. There's no movement inside that we can see."

Cooper had, mercifully, stopped that horrible gurgling screaming; Harper was very certain the merc was very much dead. Now all was quiet. There was not a single sound from back down the hallway. Harper began to rationalize to himself. It must have been a freak occurrence. Somehow, Subject Zero had managed one final expression of biotic power, and she was now back in the catatonic state he'd found her in. At least, he hoped that was the case. If she was dead, his only hope was to run far enough for The Illusive Man to never find him.

And Harper knew that nobody had ever been able to run that far.

He checked his own weapon, which was a flechette pistol loaded with Haldoran-injecting ammunition. He then slipped a hand into his pocket and made sure he had a gas grenade ready as well. The grenades weren't his first choice of weapon; they carried too much risk of overdosing Subject Zero. Harper then peeked down the hall. It was all dark and quiet down there. He heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing. He turned back to the mercenary group.

"Gamma One and Two," he said softly. "You're on point. Shock batons only. Gamma Five and Six, you're behind them. Give suppressing fire if needed. Three and Four, you watch the team's back. I'll be right behind One and Two. The rest of you, stay here. No matter what happens, nothing gets out the main door behind you, understand? When we reach the door, I will do a check of the room first before we enter. Everybody keeps in contact. Now move out."

The mercs shuffled themselves into position and began moving down the hall. Harper was right in the midst of their tightly-packed group. He kept himself between Five and Six, so that they would have a clear field of fire if needed. Harper kept jerking his head around; there were too many little unexplained noises. He supposed most of them were just due to an abandoned hotel settling. It was only noticeable because it was all so damned quiet.

They reached the door to Jack's room. One and Two took up positions on either side. Gamma Two pushed at the door, and it obediently swung open. He took a quick peek inside, then jerked his head back with a curse. Harper moved up next to the armored man's side. Two leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Shitload of blood and guts in there. Saw one bare foot behind the chair."

Harper gestured the man aside. He dropped close to the floor and edged one eye around the edge of the door. The room beyond looked like an abattoir. Streaks of clotted red spewed all over the walls, along with various lumps of bloody gristle scattered at random. Several smoking chunks of armor sat embedded in the walls. A big pile of offal in one of the far corners looked like a heap of bloody ground meat. There was nothing left which was recognizably human. Whatever remained of Jackson and Cooper looked as if it had been put through a blender.

And sure enough, there was one bare foot just sticking out from behind the chair. Harper supposed that Subject Zero must be curled up behind the chair's solid back. Maybe she took that position to shield herself before passing out again. He watched carefully for a full two minutes, hardly daring to blink. There was no movement of the foot, not a single twitch.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Harper eased his pistol around the corner. He took careful aim at the foot. This wasn't an ideal shot; it would be more certain to get her in the neck or another main artery. But he would take what he could get. He took a breath, held it, and fired. He saw the flechette strike home. There was no reaction. He took another breath and made another shot. There was another successful strike, but still there was no reactionary jerk from that limb. He nodded to himself and edged up the door jamb, then slowly walked into the room. He felt the mercs begin to move in along either side of him. "Hold your positions," he muttered to them. He took about two minutes to walk the ten feet to the chair, all the while looking at the foot to make sure there was no movement.

He reached the chair and peeked over its back.

The foot was attached to nothing but a severed leg. The leg had been ripped off just above the knee.

It was a bare leg, with no tattoos.

"Motherfucking shit-" blurted Harper.

He dropped to the floor just as the pile of offal in the corner exploded. He caught one brief glimpse of Subject Zero hurtling out of it, a snarling dervish streaked with red gore and blue biotic power. He began scrabbling on his elbows and knees for the door, amongst a confusion of shouting. Harper saw one of the mercs step over him while swinging a shock baton, and then saw the same merc get flung back over him into the wall with a sickening, crackling crunch of breaking bones. He kept crawling for the door. He heard the snapping noises of flechette rounds going off, along with the whine of shock batons being deployed, there were above all of those noises some truly horrible screams. Harper didn't dare look behind him. He reached the door and scrambled around it, then regained his feet.

There was a roar from the room behind him. "YOU WILL ALL SCREAM MY NAME, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Harper threw the gas grenade around the door jamb and ran for the lobby. He tried to ignore the crunches and screams and gurgles behind him. He grabbed for his comm. "Corbin and the perimeter team, go to high alert. Gamma Team, hold fire, I'm coming through. Fire for maximum effect once I'm clear." Harper burst back through the door into the lobby and dove for the ground. He rolled as he heard the snapping of the team's flechette guns. He came up in a kneeling position, his own pistol pointed at the doorway.

He could see the green Haldroran gas pouring out of the door to Subject Zero's room, but there was no other movement. Harper took a breath. It was time to get more serious. "Right, now we deploy more gas grenades-". He was interrupted by a distant crash which rattled the entire ancient hotel. Bits of dust rained down on him and the remnants of the fire team. They all stood in shock for a moment.

"What the fuck was-" began one of the fire team. He was cut off by another and slightly louder crash. More dust coated everything. Then a rhythmic smashing began, with the sounds getting louder and louder. It sounded like the approaching footsteps of a huge and furious beast. The mercs began to shift their weight nervously. Some instinct made Harper back up to the exit door just as the wall next to the hall's doorway buckled and blew apart. Bits of wood and plaster ricocheted around the room as Subject Zero smashed through. Harper caught a glimpse behind her of the tunnel of destroyed hotel rooms that she'd created to reach the lobby.

Subject Zero was now a goddess of war made flesh. She floated, surrounded by a spherical blue field. Her slim and muscled form was covered with blood. Her face was a mask of red out of which stared her white-rimmed eyes. To Harper it looked like they were glowing.

Her teeth were bared in a rictus of joyful fury.

And when she spoke her voice was that of thunder.

"WHO'S FIRST?"

Harper fired off a few flechettes as he tumbled out of the hotel exit. The grounds surrounding the hotel were paved, and dotted with the occasional abandoned vehicle. He sprinted for the perimeter just as the lobby seemed to explode in gunfire behind him. "Perimeter Team, hold fire until I'm clear!" he gasped. He stumbled and went down hard on one shoulder. He ignored the sudden sharp pain and pushed himself back up.

Harper ran past two of the perimeter guards. "I'm clear! Fire at anything that comes out of there!" He didn't hold out much hope for the remnants of Team Gamma. There was no firing, oddly. He took cover behind a burned-out aircar and peeked over the edge at the lobby door.

The lobby windows were murky, and the room itself was filled with a green haze. Somebody on Team Gamma must have gotten off another gas grenade. Many of the windows were cracked from either biotic discharges or flechette rounds. Nothing appeared to move. Harper took a deep breath. As powerful as Subject Zero was, he had the numbers advantage and also better positioning. They just had to wait for the gas to take effect, and then-

Harper heard a soft thump behind him, and on pure instinct he spun and fired a full burst. He saw a blur of blue skin and red leather just before something smashed him into the aircar's side with irresistible force.

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Jesperson was the merc in charge of the ground team pursuing Shepard. "Pull over, guys," he said. "We've lost 'em again." The two remaining cars jerked to a stop, and he bounced a little in his harness. He opened a channel to the air team. "Nathan, you got eyes on anything?"

Barry Nathan was his counterpart in charge of the air team. "Nothing yet," said Nathan's voice. "And none of our scouts have seen anything in this district. I think they're holed up somewhere close to the gate."

Jesperson gave a little growl of frustration. "Okay, keep an eye out. We'll see what we can do here." He clicked off the comm. "Where the hell could they hide something that big?" he said to his driver. "Do we have any maps of the area?"

The merc driving the pursuit vehicle nodded. "Yeah, have a look." He called up a map that superimposed itself on the vehicle's windscreen. "This is all homes in here," continued the driver. "If they tried hiding out anywhere in here, the owners would be calling the police. Maybe they backtracked into the warehouse district?"

"Or there's something we're not seeing," replied Jesperson. "Is there anything else that isn't shown on here? Maybe underground, like a sewer or something?"

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Corbin heard a smashing noise from over where Harper had taken cover. The huge armored merc peeked out from behind a rusted van. He didn't see anything from the burned-out aircar which marked Harper's position. Maybe the Cerberus operative had just fallen over? Two of the nearby perimeter guards were edging towards Harper's position with weapons at the ready. They both suddenly brought their guns to bear on something at the aircar. They were then both promptly smacked into the ground by an expanding blue shockwave which appeared above their heads.

Corbin cursed. How the hell had Subject Zero gotten out of the hotel without anybody seeing it? He snapped a few flechette rounds in the direction of Harper's last position. A blue aura suddenly surrounded Harper's aircar. It creaked upwards slightly and then flung itself towards him. He dashed clear of the van just as the aircar impacted into it with a horrible screech.

Fuck that biotic bullshit. "Contact! South of exit!" he yelled. He let go of his rifle with one hand and fumbled for one of the gas grenades he'd been given. He flung it towards Harper's position, and a green cloud began to spread out. "Team Beta, use your grenade launchers! Pour it on!" There followed multiple thumping noises, and more green vapor billowed out from the same area. There was now a quite sizable cloud of gas. Corbin backed up, weapon trained at the green cloud. There was a flicker of movement and he loosed a long flechette burst. There was no more movement. Maybe he'd gotten her-

The lobby door of the hotel burst open, and Subject Zero dashed out. "Blue! Over here!" she yelled, before going down on one knee. The biotic coughed, probably from the gas.

Corbin had one moment of confusion. He thought Subject Zero had already left the hotel. Then who was in the gas cloud? But wasn't about to give up the opportunity to get a shot off at the maniac who had killed a good chunk of his team. He swung his flechette rifle around to aim at Subject Zero. There was the rolling crackle of a machine pistol from back in the gas cloud, and he saw the sparks of several rounds impacting off of his shield. He cursed again and sprinted back towards his teammates.

Fuck this flechette bullshit. The opposition had actual guns now. "All team, drop your flechette weapons and assume normal loadout. There are now two targets. Put them both down." He knew Cerberus wouldn't like damage to Subject Zero, but those fuckers weren't here now, were they? Just as he reached cover again, he heard the crack of gunfire. He connected to the team's sniper. "Girard, do you have eyes on them?" he snarled into his comm.

"I saw someone," came the response. "It's an asari in red armor, wearing some kind of filter mask. She's...she's really fucking fast. She grabbed Subject Zero. I think they took cover. Southwest of exit, behind the green-colored aircar."

Corbin began to feel more in control. Okay, both targets were in one position and he had the numbers to surround them. "All teams, move in. Flank each side. Be careful." He scuttled out of cover, and felt two of his own fire team on each side of him. His confidence began to come back to him. They could do this.

He rounded the corner of the hotel and saw the junked green aircar in question. He saw something move behind it. A blue head popped up, and Corbin snapped off a three-round burst which made the asari duck back down. At least he could keep their heads down and keep them from aiming their fancy biotic bullshit-

But then there was a deep BOOM sounding out behind him. It almost sounded like an artillery piece going off. He jerked his head around as he heard his men shouting in alarm. One of his men was down and writhing on the ground. The man's shoulder was simply gone; it was as if something had taken a large wet bite out of him. There stood a huge and hunchbacked shadow in the far corner of the parking lot. The shadow held an equally huge gun; smoke wafted gently from the giant gun's muzzle.

The shadow let forth a huge bellow. "I. AM. KROGAN! WHO DARES TO THREATEN MY KRANTT?"

Corbin felt his stomach clench. Fuck this whole mess. He had to call it in.