Rebirth The Mass Effect is old

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 master anymore. It's a Fist, isn't it?"

Chloe nodded.

Irene promised her that after their visit to this undoubtedly colorful person, he would not bother her 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 anymore.

"He didn't want me to mention the Quarian." The doctor said quietly 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 didn't 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 Shadow Broker."

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 Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore." Garrus said sharply.

Michelle blinked in surprise.

"Has Fist betrayed the Grey Broker?" 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 Shadow Broker is enormous. And Fist would have figured it out quickly. If he hadn't crossed our path.

"This Quarian has something." Garrus purred thoughtfully. "Something to betray the Shadow Broker for."

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

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

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

And Garrus is an adventurer! As if he decided to confirm my conclusions, he gave me 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 lith 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."

"Mm" I looked at the guy questioningly.

"We're not the only ones who need a fist. The Shadow Broker hired a Krogan named Rex."

"The liquidator?"

In response, a short nod.

"So we have to hurry."

"Rex is currently at the C-sec Academy." said the Turian. "Fist filed a complaint that he had threatened him. And we detained him."

"That means he's going to be stuck there for a while. But 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 out the drugs from the second corpse and tossed the package to the Turian. Garrus caught it, the medicine dissolved somewhere in the bins of his armor.

"Bark's Kora." It was here that Garrus dragged me in search of Fist. However, it makes sense, because this bar belonged to a not entirely reasonable person we were looking for.

The Lair was greeted with a roar of music, conversations, shouts and cursing. The place was working as expected. The sensible ones were boozing and staring at the half-naked Azari strippers, someone was cleaning someone's face in the corner, in separate booths, cute Azari were writhing in a sensual dance on small catwalks. A high-tech but banal strip bar.

Garrus cut through the crowd like an icebreaker. Men of different races swore and were indignant, but they did not dare to cross the path of the evil Turian in armor. There were bouncers at the doors to Fist's private quarters: a Krogan and a human.

"Where are you going, Turian! This is private property!"

There was an undisguised threat in the Krogan's deep, booming voice. I came up from the side, smiled affectionately and showed my hands, showing that I was unarmed and put my palm on the massive shell, tickling the delicate skin with my fingers. The Krogan was freaking out.

"Well, why so rude?" Suddenly, a grenade clenched in my fist beeped in my hands, getting into combat mode. The Krogan was petrified. A small metal disk slid easily behind his collar. "Oh, I'm so clumsy... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... You have thirty seconds, handsome." my purring voice sounded surprisingly loud. You can start dancing a striptease. With a spark and an explosion... emotions. I've always dreamed of watching it.

The Krogan shied away from me, quickly disappearing into a small room. I smiled no less affectionately at the second bodyguard.

"Mmm... Handsome, are you sure you want my attention?" The disk of an assault grenade flashed between his fingers.

"She's not normal..." The mercenary muttered.

"I love you too." My leering grin seemed to contrast too much with my kind-kind voice...

The indicator on the door blinked and changed to green. The doors opened and we went into a small hallway.

Garrus was silent, looking at me strangely.

"Is something wrong, Garrus?"

"It was... suddenly." The guy gurgled softly.

"But I didn't have to kill those assholes."

There was a muffled explosion somewhere nearby. I grinned at him.

"I hope the adorable Krogan can undress quickly. If not..." I spread my hands. "The sadness. Okay, we're joking and that's enough. Is the fist there?"

I nodded at the door.

"Yes." Garrus intercepted the sniper.

"Come on, let's go. And try not to expose yourself." To the questioning look in her lith blue eyes, I said: "Rumor has it that Fist has a pair of turrets."

Garrus blinked, but took note of the information.

That asshole really had turrets! When the hatches in the floor opened, and I saw two tripods rising with the muzzle still lowered, the grenades seemed to fly out of my hands by themselves. Demolition! One turret sparked, skewed and fell, but the second one was cocked...

A sniper rifle shot rang out nearby. The turret swayed. The second shot! A heavy bullet shattered something in the bowels of the deadly machine, it sparked, smoke billowed, and the turret shorted out completely. And a panicked voice came from the room:

"Wait! Don't kill me! I give up!"

That brute! I spat on the floor. Garrus growled in frustration, but he didn't lower his rifle. Under his cover, I slowly entered the room, holding a massive man in light black armor at gunpoint. Fist twitched. I fired reflexively. The blue shield film did not appear, Fist howled, crouching on his shot leg.

"I need information." I said calmly, aiming the gun at the pussy-faced brute. "Tell me where the Quarian is, and then maybe I'll stop shooting you in the foot."

The rifle in my hands jerked, Fist screamed.

"What are you doing?!"

"You're healthy. You legs are long, and I've had a hard day. Speak!"

"She's not here!"

"I can see that." The gentle tone was replaced by steel.

"I do not know where she is! I'm telling the truth!"

The rifle jerked again, shooting through his left leg.

"You're lying." I said softly. "You have another leg. It's still intact. You have three seconds.

Garrus came over and looked at Fist lying in the blood with an indifferent look. The long muzzle of the sniper rifle was pointing straight at the man's forehead. And now this jerk realized that the jokes were over. And he began to speak, choking on the words:

"She's not here! She said she would only talk to the Shadow Broker! PERSONALLY!"

"It's impossible. The Shadow Broker only works through agents." Garrus cut it off, and I was amazed at how cold and raspy his voice had become.

Fist wrapped his arms around his injured leg, trying to stop the bleeding. I dropped the panacelin syringe in front of him. Let him be happy. He grabbed the package, tore it open, and stuck it right into the bullet hole in the armor.

"No one meets with a Shadow Broker. Never! Even I do not know who he is! But the Quarian didn't know that. I said I would arrange a meeting.

What a brute! I exchanged glances with Garrus. His blue eyes were dark with anger and blazed with rage.

"Farther."

"They'll be waiting for her there."

"Where?"

Fist faltered. I waited for exactly one second, after which I kicked the wounded limb heartily. The man howled.

"The place! Where?"

"Here! In residential sectors!" Fist croaked. "The alley behind the markets!"

"When?"

"Now!" Fist grinned. "If you hurry, you might make it."

I raised the rifle.

"I promised Michelle that you would never bother her again."

"What... NO!"

The rifle roared hollowly, hitting me in the shoulder with the recoil. The bullets shattered his head, instantly turning his fear-stricken face into a bloody mess.

"Too many sentients have died because of you for you to live."

Lowering the rifle, I turned to Garrus. The Turian looked calmly, with a degree of academic interest, looking from the dead body to me and back again.

"Don't you approve?" I raised an eyebrow.

The rifle in his hands folded up and went into a non-combat position.

"It was... the best solution to the Fist problem."

"I'm glad you understand." I smiled. "Sometimes only death can bring you to reason. Come on, Garrus, or we'll be late for the meeting between the Quarian and Saren's envoys."

The name of the Spectr had a miraculous effect! Vakarian roused himself, nodded, and walked forward. To my lazy objections, the Turian quite rightly pointed out that he was the only one wearing armor. I didn't argue.

As I was leaving the bar, I noticed the Krogan bouncer. A burly mercenary was treating his nerves with some kind of brown mutter at the bar, and inexcusably negligently turned his back on me. I couldn't miss such an invitation!

His wrinkled and slightly singed face fell sharply when the Krogan, who was gawking, heard a sacramental message in his ear:

"Handsome!" and the quiet squeak of a grenade being cocked. "You undressed so fast that I don't even know..." My fingers caressed the neck of the numb Krogan. "Is ten seconds enough for you this time?"

The Krogan choked on his drink, and the cold disk slipped out of my fingers and down his neck. I watched with a smile as the terrified, burly Krogan frantically pulled off his combat jacket. The grenade slipped out of his sleeve and fell to the floor. Inactive.

"A keepsake! Don't forget me, handsome!" Blowing a kiss to the stupefied bouncer, I grabbed the numb Garrus by the elbow and dragged him out of the bar.

Chapter 7: Evidence

"Garrus!"

I shook the still-astral Turian by the shoulder. The ligth blue eyes blinked.

"Don't take some of my actions so personally." the guy blinked, his eyes finally focused.

"It was... cruelly."

I shrugged my shoulders. It was cruel the first time. But there was plenty of time on the grenade, so he would have had time to undress. Well, the second one... maybe this case will teach him not to click his beak." I caught his apprehensive gaze and smiled. "Garrus, with your own... I don't joke with friends like that. And with colleagues too. Almost."

There was a look... strange. I don't know what he's up to, but I hope he doesn't give up on the idea of becoming a member of my team. And by the way...

"Lead the way. I don't focus on the Citadel at all."

The Turian nodded and ran down the corridor. I'll follow him.

How he found his way through these absolutely identical corridors is a mystery shrouded in darkness! Ten minutes of fast running, and now we flew into a corridor flooded with reddish light, around the corner of which we heard the rumbling voice of a Turian:

"Did you bring it?"

Garrus slid towards the turn, activating his sniper rifle. A moment later, I did too, comfortably settling into a squat. Peeking around the corner, we saw a rather interesting picture: a Quarian and a tall Turian, a little to the side — four, judging by the characteristic shape of the helmet — Batarians.

"Where is the Shadow Broker?" The Quarian's soft voice sounded a little muffled because of the helmet. "Where's Fist?"

We exchanged glances. Garrus shifted the rifle more comfortably, and I shifted the submachine gun. The fact that I was squatting at the Turian's feet didn't bother me or him at all. There were no shelters in the corridor. Even the most cluttered crate!

"They'll be here soon." The Turian reached out and patted the tense Quarian patronizingly on the head, for which he received a slap on the wrist. "Where is the evidence?"

"No!" The girl took a step back. "The deal is off!"

And with the girl's next step, Garrus raised his rifle and stepped out from around the corner, crouching at gunpoint. The Batarians drew their weapons, and the Quarian staggered back against the wall.

Our shots rang out almost simultaneously: a booming one from snipers and dry coughing ones from machine guns. The Turian in black armor collapsed to the floor, and my shots cut down one Batar. A booming shot, and the second one fell to the floor and twitched in agony. Garrus decided to change his habit and shot the idiot in the spine. He's kind! I cut off the two remaining batars in one burst.

The girl huddled behind a support and looked at us with wide-open eyes, gushing with panic. Garrus put away his rifle, took out his pistol and went to his unfinished victim, and I crouched down next to the frightened Quarian woman and said softly: