Rebirth: The Mass Effect. Book 1. part 7.1

Chapter 7.1 Dr. Michelle's office.

Theoretically, I knew where to look for the irrepressible Turian. Really, first I should go to Cora's Lair and talk to Harkin, a former C-SEC who got kicked out for drinking. He'll tell me where Garrus is heading, but the feeling that I'm LATE has been boring into my brain since the Council, so I spit on the drunk and pulled over at the nearest taxi terminal, quickly scrolling through possible destinations.

There were some... Tens of thousands! There are hundreds of clinics... Which one is the one I need? All I remember is that the key character is Dr. Michel. Damn it! How do I find the RIGHT clinic?! Okay, stop! Why am I being stupid? This is a real world, not a linear game!

It turned out to be quite easy to find Vakarian's number.: The lists of C-SEC employees for the military of the Alliance were quite accessible, and there were contact details next to each name. Having dialed the required number in my instrumentation, I sent a communication request with the words "Garrus, respond urgently!". Hopefully, the nimble guy would notice him and deign to respond BEFORE he got involved in an unequal battle.

I walked in circles by the taxi and slowly sat down, torn between the desire to drop everything and drive to the nearest clinic and shoot a Fist! The omny-tool suddenly lit up: a direct incoming call symbol flashed on a small holographic panel.

"Shepard's on the line!"

"This is Garrus Vakarian." The Turian's voice was muffled and very quiet.

"Where are you right now, Garrus?"

"I'm sorry, Commander, I can't meet you right now..."

"I'm offering to help."

"Clinic 38-12, residential area." He replied, confused.

"Wait for it! I'm flying out immediately!"

The connection went out, cutting off the uncertain words of refusal. What else! Jumping into a small flyer, I chose the right destination and leaned back in a fairly comfortable seat.

There was a situation... Not too good.

My weapon is a light pistol, barely capable of pushing through an average kinetic shield, no armor, no cover. The asset is Garrus in light C-SEC armor. As far as I remember, he had an assault rifle and a heavy pistol strapped to his back before the Council meeting. I hope he will be so kind and share a normal weapon. There is no point in calling the fighters from * Normandy*, and they simply won't have time.

The taxi parked at the clinic's door, gurgling at me to signal the end of the journey. Avina's tedious electronic voice began broadcasting about the Citadel and offering to take an excursion. Later! Everything is later!

The clinic turned out to be a fairly large complex, larger than a full-fledged colonial hospital. This is not two game rooms, but a full-fledged hospital, living its own life: staff were scurrying past me, patients and visitors were walking, someone was chatting with friends, someone was kicking ass, someone was harassing doctors, at the counter some crumpled guy was arguing with the doctor on duty. In general, it is a normal hospital suffering from an influx of patients and a shortage of staff.

I found out the location of Dr. Michelle's office by simply stopping a girl in a medical uniform who was running past. Pretty azari pointed out the office I needed on the clinic map right on my instrument, not forgetting to inform me that the doctor is currently busy. I thanked her and assured her that I wouldn't bother her and quickly went to the elevator.

And then the canon came into force again. The door to the doctor's office was ajar, and I slipped into the waiting room without any problems. Voices were heard in the examination room: rude, masculine, full of superiority and menace:

"Do you understand me?!"

"I... I... The woman's voice, trembling with fear, could only belong to Dr. Michelle."

"When Vakarian appears, behave yourself! Keep your mouth shut, otherwise we'll come back and..."

"it's time."

Putting the pistol in the firing position, I entered the exam room. In a small rectangular room stood a short, pretty red-haired woman dressed in the standard white uniform of Citadel doctors and five big men. Fist's mercenaries. The mercenaries reacted quickly to the rustle of the opening door: the mercenary who was talking to the doctor wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her to him, hiding behind her back, while the others grabbed their weapons.

"Who are you?!"

With a startled cry, I pressed my hand to my chest. In the second one, I was holding a pistol ready for battle, but behind my back, and the mercenaries couldn't see the weapon. To the left, by the support column, I saw Garrus. The Turian's mercenaries hadn't noticed him yet. Amazing stupidity!

"I... I..."

I move slightly to the side so that after the mercenary turns around, looking at me, the hostage does not block Garrus' firing. The Turian was watching me intently, but appreciating the maneuver, he nodded gratefully, raising his pistol.

"Raise your hands!"

" yes... now!"

Step aside. Garrus darted out from behind a pillar like a shadow, raising his pistol. The roar of the shot merged with the scream of the mercenary, who saw the weapon in my hand, and I already pulled the trigger, shooting at the blinking man, frozen against the wall. My shots were lost in the bluish haze of the shield, Garrus took down the human mercenaries with three accurate shots to the head. The shield disappeared with a pop, and my bullets finally hit the target, piercing the Salarian's chest.

I've always been infuriated by those pop-eyes.

The deactivated weapon whistled softly, and I tucked the pistol into my belt. The Doctor stood in mute shock in the same place and in the same position in which she had been shot by Garrus, and at her feet lay a corpse with a bullet through its head. A heavy bullet entered the idiot's forehead and tore out the floor of the skull at the exit, smashing somewhere into the wall.

"Dr. Michel?"

I approached the woman, cautiously peering into the terrified face.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

The woman woke up from her stupor.

"Wh-who are you?"

"Commander Shepard, Alliance Air Force." Garrus answered for me, tucking the weapon into the fastener on his back. "You've chosen a very good time."

I smiled.

"It was a perfect shot."

Garrus blinked in embarrassment, twitching his mandibles.

"Oh, yeah... Sometimes you get lucky..."

"And that's what a born sniper tells me!" I shook my head, turning the corpse onto its back. "Four shots offhand, all right in the forehead. What kind of luck are we talking about?" After removing the assault rifle from the fastener, I carefully examined the weapon.

"Thank you for your help." The Turian shifted nervously.

Oop-pa on! I could have blushed, I would have blushed. I smiled at the guy, tucking the captured "Stinger" into the belt of my service weapon.

"Not at all, Garrus." I waved it away. "Michelle, what did these idiots want from you? What shouldn't you have told Officer Vakarian?"

The doctor nervously rubbed her hands, looking hungrily at the Turian.

"Commander..."

"Michelle." I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, drawing the frightened woman's attention. "You don't have to worry about their owner anymore. It's a fist, isn't it?"

Chloe nodded.

"I promise you that after our visit to this undoubtedly colorful person, he will not bother you anymore."

I didn't lie. After my visit, I'm afraid there will be no one to bother. So Michelle really doesn't need to worry about the attention from this asshole.

"He didn't want me to mention the Quarian." The doctor said softly but confidently.

"Dr. Michel." Garrus's rumbling voice was deliciously soothing, like a purring cat. "Tell me what happened."

Michelle sighed, hugging herself and slowly walked over to the large viewing window.

"A few days ago, a Quarian woman came to my office. She was shot at. With polonium bullets." The doctor turned around. "She did not say who did it. It was obvious that she was very scared. Probably on the run."

Garrus and I exchanged glances.

"She asked me about the Gray Intermediary."

Garrus started, but I wiggled my fingers a little, telling him to be quiet and not confuse the doctor. The guy nodded slowly.

"She wanted to get asylum in exchange for information." Michelle didn't notice our silent negotiations, walking back and forth. "I gave her a Fist contact. He works for a Gray Intermediary."

"Not anymore." Garrus said sharply.

Michelle blinked in surprise.

"Has Fist betrayed the Grey Middleman?" There is an abyss of amazement and disbelief in the voice. "It's stupid even for him!"

I couldn't agree more. The influence of the Gray Intermediary is enormous. And Fist would have figured it out quickly. If he hadn't crossed our path.

"This Quarian has something." Garrus murmured thoughtfully. "Something to betray the Gray Middleman for."

"Perhaps this information will help... in the investigation." I met Garrus' gaze, burning with understanding and excitement. "Did the Quarian say anything about the Council Spectr? Or about the Geth?"

"Spoke." Michelle stopped abruptly, interrupting her nervous running in a circle. "Something about the Geth's. The information she was going to sell was related to them."

"So it's time to visit Fist." I purred, meeting bright sky blue eyes burning with anticipation.

And Garrus is an adventurer! As if he decided to confirm my conclusions, he gave out this miracle:

"This is your investigation, Shepard. But I want proof as much as you do! I..." The Turian stammered, not knowing how best to offer his help. He was rejected too often.

Grinning, I looked into those expressive blue eyes and just said:

"Join us."

I don't like it when such strong-minded beings humiliate themselves with requests. Garrus nodded gratefully.

"Shepard."

"M?" I looked at the guy questioningly.

"We're not the only ones who need a Fist. The Gray Middleman hired a Krogan named Rex."

"A bounty hunter?"

In response, a short nod.

"So we have to hurry."

"Rex is currently at C-SEC." said the Turian. "Fist filed a complaint that he had threatened him. And we detained him. He'll be stuck there for a while. And we detained him. He'll be stuck there for a while."

"Still, it's worth a hurry."

The distant corpse had a butt sticking out over its shoulder, and damn if it wasn't a sniper rifle. Stepping over the body, I jerked the corpse over. Precisely! After removing the weapon, I wiped the blood and pieces of brain off it, critically examined it, and tossed it to Garrus. The guy caught it reflexively and stared at me in surprise, blinking his eyes questioningly.

"You're a natural sniper."

The expression on his face caused an uncontrollable attack of emotion! Childish surprise and no less childish joy from an unexpected gift, gratitude and excitement. And HOW he held that weapon in his hands! Like a treasure!

"Shall we go?"

A dozen grenades slipped into his pocket and disappeared into his shapeless military trousers, as if they had never been there. A moment later, three packages of panacelin fell into the same place. Garrus watched my marauder with interest, but without surprise or disgust. I pulled the drugs out of the second corpse and tossed the package to the Turian. Garrus caught it, the medicine dissolved somewhere in the bins of his armor.