Rebirth the mass effect book 1.part 7-2

Chapter 7.2 A trip to the Fist.

"Bark's Lair". 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 blinked in surprise.

"Well, why so rude?" a grenade suddenly squeaked in my hands, clenched in my fist, rising to a combat platoon. 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."

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 appreciate and respect 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 blue eyes, I said: "Rumor has it that Fist has a pair of turrets."

Garrus blinked, but took note of the information.

* * *

This freak 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 from the room came a panicked:

"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 my 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. Your 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."

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: he recognized Garrus right away. And he began to speak, choking on the words:

"She's not here! She said she would only talk to the Grey Intermediary! PERSONALLY!"

"It's impossible. The Gray Intermediary only works through agents." Garrus snapped, 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 at last. He grabbed the package, tore it open, and stuck it right into the bullet hole in the armor.

"No one meets with a Gray Intermediary. 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 stumbled. 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."

"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.

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."

"Sometimes only death can bring you to reason." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Come on, Garrus, or we'll be late for the meeting between the Quarian and Fist's mercenaries."

The mention of mercenaries 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.