[Earth, Washington DC] Watch your Back

Earth.

Lear really didn't like being here. It reminded him of everything that had happened last year. Cerberus, the Reapers, the amount of desperation that had gone into that final battle. He could only imagine what is was like for the people that actually lived here. Opening his omnitool, Lear checked the adress he had written down from Vik's message (after it had ever-so kindly deleted itself). He had grabbed the first chance he could for a ride down to Washington, and he had gotten another one to an area nearby Vik's apartment...

Finally finding the right apartment, Lear sent Vik a message and procceded to wait, growing more and more nervous at the feeling that he was being watched.

"Come on, Vik... hurry up please..."

Vik had been working on his plans all night. He had been tracking a few key individuals, making some small withdraws here and there for some funds, even studying his "role" so to speak. And then Lear had called half crazed and probably out of his mind with worry. He didn't bother to cover up what he was doing, the map of the compound was still up along with the surveillance photos. He could trust Lear, the question was if Lear really wa sin some kind of trouble or he just thought he was. That email sounded suspiciously like something he would've written.

He opened the door and let the panicky Lear in. He looked terrible.

"By the Ancestors, you look like hell." He told him. "Get in here, mate. You need a drink? All I got is dextro-tupari, but its got artificial flavours, mostly earth fruits. Other than that, dextro-tea... sorry no caffeine."

Not like he needed it, the poor quarian looked pretty ragged.

Lear was basically on the edge of going into a full blown, paranoia-induced panic attack when Vik let him in. Trembling, Lear took a moment to calm himself down, supporting himself against the wall. After a quick moment, Lear finally stood up straight, calm and collected (although his hands were still a tad bit shaky). He looked at his friend and smiled.

"Nah... I'm f-fine... Just a bit shaken up from the trip here, I guess... but thanks..." He didn't want to worry Vik by telling him that he thought he was being followed. If Vik found out... Well, Lear didn't want to get dragged down that road just yet.

"So this is your apartment, huh? Bit surprising, really. Thought you'd have more-" Lear froze when he'd turned around, seeing the mass of photos and plans.

"Nevermind. There they are... Man, looks like someone took my workspace back home and used it to paint a room or something like that. Speaking of which, did I leave my door locked? If not Najhil might snoop around that stuff... I should call... No, I'm sure she'll be fine. Oh, right! Hi, Vik! Long time no see!" In the past year, Lear had gotten better at being more sociable. Unfortunately, his habit of speaking his thoughts had gotten worse, as had his fear of the mountain-sized terrors known to the galaxy as: The Krogan.

"Nahji is staying with you?" Vik said looking surprised. "That's interesting. Don't worry about her, Lear. I've recently worked with her on a job in Tunguska. She's a good egg, and I'm not just saying that because she's a bird. You can trust her."

Vik motioned Lear to sit down on his rather crappy looking couch. He sat across from his fellow quarian.

"Now, what exactly is this all about, Lear?" he asked "I haven't seen you this worked up since that scum of a turian joined our little raid on the Lelantos Cell HQ. What's wrong?"

At the last part, Lear clasped his hands together tightly with his eyes focused on them. To anyone who knew him, they'd be the first to tell you that if Lear was in a mood like this, something was troubling him deeply.

"Yeah... It's got to do with him... "Flint Locke"... How could I have been so naive as to realize it wasn't even his name. Caecilius Corvinus. I dug up some old information on him. Apparantly he was the brother of some big shot. Couldn't get a name, but after that... Shit started getting strange. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. Like someone was watching me whenever they could. It only got stranger when I got a message from someone using the alias of "Redemption". Take a look." Lear opened the message and quickly sent it to Vik.


"I did some investigating and eventually managed to get some answers. It was a Quarian slave they had purchased. That's what they held. Naturally, that wouldn't bother me too much, as cruel as that may sound, but curiosity got the better of me, so after a... regretfull arrangement, I managed to get a copy of the transfer details... You'll see what's wrong once you look." Without another word, Lear sent over the file to Vik, remaining silent, as he had nothing more to say.

It didn't take long for Vik to figure out why Lear was so scared.

"Your dad has been caught by slavers." He reasoned simply. "I'm sorry, Lear. I know this must be devastating."

He had been a slave, he knew what his father was going through right now, but he had never thought what would happen if his family was captured by those bosh'tet scum sucking monsters.

"What do you need from me?" he asked simply.

Lear looked up, meeting Vik's gaze with his own, blue eyes bright behind the usually tinted visor.

"When we spoke in that restaraunt on Zakera, you said you needed a ship. I might have enough saved up to get a small ship, or I might not. I'm prepared to give you that so you can do... Whatever it is your planning." Lear gestured over to the wall covered in pictures. Not once did he take his eyes off of Vik.

"However... I want two things in return. I don't care if you pay me back. Nor do I care for the promise to do so. Whatever you plan on doing, I'm coming with you. That's the first thing. The second thing..." Lear looked back at his hands. The silence continued to grow. Lear had no idea where his father and his captor's were, or where to even start looking, so why bother asking for help if he didn't even know what he'd need help doing. It hurt Lear to say it, but it needed to be said.

"The second thing can wait... Sorry if this is a heavy load on you, Vik, but I don't know who else to trust other than Nahjil... But that's not the kind of "help" I need..." Looking over to the wall, Lear finally noticed-

- a compound?

"Vik? What exactly are you planning, here? Because this looks bigger than Lelantos... Who are you after?" Lear looked at his friend curiously. He understood Vik's hatred towards Cerberus and slavers, but that couldn't be the whole story, could it?

"It's not bigger actually." Vik admitted. "If everything goes well I won't have to fire a shot. And I need to pull it off, not just for the money but to prove something to myself. I'm going to be stealing something from a group of bad people who don't deserve it. All I need is to get in and let them let me take it. It's fairly simple. Although, some hired muscle would indeed go a long way to making my case with them a lot stronger."

Vik wasn't sure about taking a hand out, but a job against some slavers would at the very least give him the chance to do some good. And perhaps even impress the Sandman. A rescue mission would go a long way to convincing him he was worth investing in. This compound mission in contrast wasn't about fighting, it was about playing the part he had failed to live up to previously.

"Ship or no ship, I will find a way to help out." he promised. "And if you're up for this I'll take you with me. But I need to know what exactly is going on first. How did your dad get mixed up in this?"

"I don't know, Vik... But he didn't deserve to be dragged into this..." Lear sat quietly. He thought of his father. His mother. His childhood. Those had been happier times, for sure...

"How'd you get caught up in Titan?" Lear looked at Vik, wanting an answer to the question he'd been meaning to ask for a while now. It had sprung into his mind, almost as if it was geyser.

"Let's just say I helped Mr. Sandman clean up a leak, and I asked for a job." Vik explained. "The problem is, back then we had mutually beneficial goal. Now that Cerberus is six feet under, he seems fit to marginalize me. Not because he sees me as a threat, because he sees me as an annoyance. Some stupid little fish trying to play the big nasty shark's game."

Anticipating Lewar's next quesiton he went into further detail.

"I'm sick of not doing anything, of people looking down on me for one reason or another." he continued. "I'm sick of slaver scum thinking they can just roll over anyone in their way. That business as usual can continue after we've defeated the most dangerous force that ever threatened organic life. The Genophage is cured, our people are on the homeworld working side by side with the Geth and yet despite all that there are still evil people getting away with their shit in this supposed golden age."

He bent his head slightly and sighed.

"Maybe I am out of my league, but I'm not going to just do nothing. I can't." He almost said "she wouldn't want that. She would've told me to keep fighting." But he didn't. "I lost friends because I did nothing. That will never happen again."

He refocused on Lear's problem once more.

"I don't need payment for this, this one is a favour." he promised. "Killing slavers is worth the trip alone for me."

Once more, Lear remained silent for a long time before speaking.

"We have a habit of getting in over our heads, don't we?" Behind his visor, Lear was smiling at how much his friend wanted to help.

"I can't guarentee us coming back from this... Hell, I don't even know what we're up against. It could be anything from a buisness tycoon to some guy in his basement, but regardless of who or what we're going against, I can guarentee they'll probably be taking shots at us..." Lear thoughy about what Vik had said. Vik had lost friends because he'd done nothing. Lear had lost friends because he'd acted and done something. Each knew what the other had gone through.

"If there's anything I can do to help you show Sandguy you aren't just some typical Quarian, I will, Vik. Count on it..." Even if Vik said no, Lear wasn't going to simply let his friend get possibly killed because some idiot saw him as "beneath him".

"I appreciate the offer, Lear." Vik thanked him. "But right now I just need people who can act the part I want them to act and look convincing. Maybe some turians... or better yet a krogan but that won't come cheap. I'm looking into potential Mercs, but there may be something you can do for something else I have in mind."

Vik quickly pulled up a datapad and ciphered through it a bit.

"Contact Zhukoi if you can," he said, "I'd do it myself, but I can't do that yet until I get a ship and a bit more intel. Otherwise I'll set something off early. I need him to procure me a few things from the armoury, nothing much, just enough for my purposes. I'll forward you some money to send to him so he can replenish his stock of the stuff. Try not to small talk too much, he's busy with something and he can't be disturbed for too long. Everything else I can handle. If you want in further on this, then contact me. But you'll need to study your role, I can't explain more, not until you're sure. For that you'll need this."

Vik handled him and OSD module.

"That has over seven terrabytes worth of drug culture mainstays. Documentaries, popular films, music, some audiobooks on the subject." Vik told him. "If you want in, you got to learn how to speak the lingo, walk the walk and understand the culture inside and out. I've already put together my persona. Don't worry, you won't need to actually get high on red sand on anything, just understand who these people are first before you try to mess with them."

Lear sat there, gaping at the OSD in his hands.

Keelah, What have I gotten myself into this time?

"If you don't mind me asking- as a concerned friend, I might add- but what exactly have you gotten involved in if you require all of this... stuff, as well as what I'm assuming will be military grade armaments? I'm fine with the first, it's the second one that has me worried." That was a petty lie, and Lear would be disappointed if Vik didn't catch it. Hell, Vik probably knew Lear better than Lear knew himself. In truth, he wasn't comfortable with any of this. Ancestors, he was hardly comfortable being out of his own home, but even a Vorcha could (probably) tell you that Lear wasn't going to back out from something like discomfort when his friend could end up dead (probably not, but you never know).

Then again, Vik was doing what Lear should have been doing. If he was going to succeed in his mission, he'd have to start obtaining resources... Meaning he'd have to put off his search for a little longer.

Keelah, what was that human saying? Out of the cooking pan and into the shit?

Standing up, Lear started pacing.

"Okay, so learn the part, contact Zhukoi, forward cash, secure armory stuff, get them to you, and hope I'll live to procrastinate writing out my Will. Anything else I should know about?" Lear stopped facing the covered wall, looking at Vik over his shoulder.

"No, just be ready when I call." He told him. "I'll do the same likewise when you need me. I have some money saved up, I can probably get a transport if I'm lucky. As for what I've got myself into... the less you know the better for now. It's for your own rpotection."

That last part was probably supposed to make Lear feel better about not knowing.

Fun fact: It didn't.

In fact, the moment Vik said it, Lear immediatly looked at his friend, wide eyes visible behind the tinted visor.

"Own... Protection?" Lear twitched ever so slightly as his paranoid brain started running through a list of ideas of what could possibly happen if he "knew".

"I'm not going to be followed, am I? Because the location of my apartment isn't hidden. I don't want to have to worry about someone following me." Before he could go any further, Lear took a calming breath that his suit vocalized into an obnoxious crackling. He decided the air was a bit... tense. Time to lighten the mood.

"So... How'd you afford such a... nice place?" Okay, so Lear wasn't the best at making small talk, and Vik would probably se it for what it was.

"Don't worry, it's not that kind of protection. More like, the less you know is safer and all that."

When Vik considered the second question, that was a bit easier to answer.

"Landlord is very forgiving. Economy is still in the garbage system, so he accepts barter. I have to play superintendant now and again, fixing up pipes and what not. Otherwise. if nothing needs fixing, I pay through pocket. I got a good rate though, the rent is very low in this part of town. Mostly because the apartment block is so old and the city in general still looks like someone sat on it. You take what you can get. Sixty-five credits a month is a decent price and all I could afford back when I first shacked up here."

"Oh... You know, maybe you shouldn't have told me that... But it's good that you found yourself a place to live. My place is always open if you need it, of course... well, it's not literally open, but... you get it. I should probably head off here so I can get a ride back to the Citadel..."