[Citadel] Clients (closed)

Mekan nodded as he thought about the problem, his upper set of eyes firmly locking onto the manufacturer's logo. "Shit. No wonder you're having problems. The Letterman security systems have always sucked." He knelt, scanning the keypad with his omnitool and pulling open its casing to inspect its internal circuitry. "...Have you checked this recently?"

Moving out of the way to show it to Alina, the batarian pointed at the damage. Some of the cables inside was clearly cut, and some of the wires were crossed. Someone hadn't bothered to repair the damage after the fact. The batarian's expression spoke of the sheer level of professional disgust he was filled with at the sight. "Look at this! That's amateur shit! If this burglar of yours' was a specialist, he'd have just plugged into the damn keypad and hacked his way in. This guy had to fuck with the hardware to get anything done!"

Alina stared the offending wires down grimly. "What the fuck?" She sounded surprised. "I didn't notice that. C-Sec didn't notice that."

She scratched her head as she tried to regain her composure. "I swear it wasn't like that last time. I would've noticed."

"...So, wait, this was done after you reported the break-in? C-Sec checked this and didn't spot the problem? That's not like them. They're not sloppy." Mekan's eyes narrowed as he thought. "OK, you officially have a problem on your hands. And I'm not sure if it's one I can really fix. The actual technical issue is easy enough, but you have a guy who came back to do this. That's a bad sign, to say the least."

Yes, it is, and yes, you CAN fix her problem. Ask around. You know some criminals here. People who might know something about this. Burglars have got to fence stolen goods somewhere. The batarian glanced over at Alina. "So. You want to report this to C-Sec too, or should I quietly send out the word to some of my...shady pals here on the Citadel? Some people might know something."

Alina shuffled in place uneasily. "I'd... rather not run afoul of the law. I'll just let C-Sec know so they can have another look. I don't want to make things any worse as it already is."

She glanced back at the sabotaged wiring with concern. "I guess that means you won't be able to fix this. C-Sec wouldn't like it if they found out somebody tampered with what might be evidence."

Mekan nodded in agreement, having not thought of that at first. "Good point. I won't tamper with it, then, but if I don't, this security issue won't get fixed until after C-Sec checks it out. My offer to spread the word to some contacts of mine here on the Citadel still stands. Burglars have gotta sell their stolen goods somewhere. Maybe someone knows what they intended to do by rigging this up like this. Or maybe they know enough to point C-Sec at the right guy." Mekan thought more on the issue as he spoke. If the initial sweep had missed this, or if the intruder hadn't tampered with the hardware until they came back a second time, that meant that his initial analysis of the intruder's handiwork was off. They'd hacked their way in the first time, and then came back to ensure continual easy access to the apartment later.

Meaning they were probably dealing with an expert. But that didn't make sense because if they could hack into the lock before, they could do it again. The Letterman security systems were always full of crap. Getting inside was child's play for anyone who knew what they were doing. Mekan just sighed as he thought it over before looking back to Alina. "Have you noticed anything else missing when you came home? Someone around the neighborhood a lot lately that you don't recognize? Anything odd?"

Alina shook her head. "Funny thing, really. Whoever this guy is, he certainly wasn't interested in stealing anything. Now, breaking things, that seemed to be what he was into. Whole place was a mess when he was done with it." For a moment, she remembered how lucky it was to have had insurance in place on everything. "Everyone's unfamiliar in this neighborhood. Most of the housing around here is just for temporary residents. If this guy was lingering around it would've been easy for him to blend in."

That was troubling. It didn't fit with a typical pattern of criminal behavior. There was no sense in breaking things except to scare people. "Well, he had to have cased the place either way, and if there was no damage to the locks before, then he had to have gotten in the smart way. I'll ask around. Quietly. You'll want to call C-Sec." Mekan moved the casing on the keypad back into place with a smile. "No charge." Not like I did anything important anyway.

"Uh... thanks." She twitched. "I... guess you were expecting some payment." She abruptly vanished as she darted into the bedroom, quickly coming back out with a credit chit in hand. "I guess it's the thought that counts. It's not much - all I can spare - but it's still a sign of good will." She offered it to the batarian.

The chit was a rather dilute shade of green that quickly faded into blackness to the right - a prepaid card that would be only of any value in C-Spec, if the various C-Space related emblems that dotted on the bottom were of any indication. The numbers molded into the chit itself showed it's worth - 100 credits, no more, no less.

Mekan looked at the credit chit for a second. For one, it was C-Space only. And second, he was sincere when he said 'no charge.' "No, seriously, no charge. I just want to help ya out. I didn't do anything anyway." He gestured to the keypad, and offered the credit chit back to Alina. "Did you see me tamper with any of the wiring, or fix your security issue? No service, no charge. All I did was offer some advice and to help find the guy that's messing with you." The batarian smiled again, ever friendly. "I promise it won't backfire and lead a bunch of thugs to your house or anything. Wouldn't be professional of them to mess with a...friend of a friend."

You're making a promise you can't keep, Mek. Just hope it doesn't fuck things up royally. It probably won't go anywhere bad, but you can't guarantee that...not without taking some security measures.

"Take it as an apology, for the very least-" She still kept the chit out in front of Mekan. "For the dumb shit I've done. I'd rather not burn bridges after some of my behavior around you and the others."

She seemed fairly adamant. "Hell, it's just a hundred. I can't even transfer it into my account, what's the use of holding onto it?"

Mekan looked down at the credit chit for a few seconds, before finally shrugging. "Well, if you insist..." He took the chit from her hand and pocketed it, thinking over just how odd the offer was. 'I was mean on the extranet! Take my money! It's an apology! No, really, take it!' Some people have a weird idea of making it up to others, I guess.

Glancing back at the keypad, and then at Alina, he stepped back a little before pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "I'd say that just about wraps this up, then. I'd better go, I've got some other clients I need to meet today. Glad I could help, though. Hope things work out with C-Sec."

Alina smiled lightly and nodded in approval. "Thanks." She gave Mekan a soft wave after opening the door for him. "Stay safe now."

Things could have certainly gone better, She thought. It was worth a shot.

Indeed it was.

Mekan tilted his head to the left again in another gesture of respect to Alina as he headed out to the aircar parking lot. He still had to swing by the Sniper's Touch to see Vindi and Raelon (and shoot at the gallery, of course), and then maybe go and pay William Lanning a visit, have some drinks and just relax. It would be good to see some actual friends again. First time in a couple of years. As he reached his aircar, Mekan waved his OT to open the driver's side door.

His work for the day was done, and hopefully some good would come of it. Juhani would get to talk to the outside world (arguably a good thing), and Alina might eventually get the guy that broke into her apartment. And all of it was impossible to trace back to Mekan if something went wrong.

As Mekan slid into the driver's seat, he smiled to himself. There are worse ways to spend your time than getting 100 credits for next to nothing and putting the word out to the Citadel underworld to find some nutbar burglar. It's been a good day.