[Citadel - Wards] Fresh Blood, Old Friends

Ethan lets the room settle down a moment before speaking.

"Well, if you two are done measuring dicks, it seems we have the chance to put an end to this mess and never have to talk to each other again."

Shank nods in agreement.

"I want this over just as much as you do. We should avoid killing them, if possible. C-sec doesn't like vigilantes much as it is, killing them, no matter how ultimately justified, will just upset them."

The drell rubbed his chin under his hood, he wasn't going to retaliate, or even correct the human. Let the idiot, -who turns their back on someone named Shank after hitting and threatening them anyway- think they have the biggest dick, well for now.

"exactly, find, verify, notify. Not hit widely," he glared at the Snow, "it's called using one's head."

"All right then, the clawball court is three levels down. We can use the stairs past the bazaar." Snow retorting as he walked over to a nearby cabinet, grabbing his turian combat blade and sliding into a coat pocket instead of taking the time to get his wrist sheath. Raising his hood he opened the front door, gesturing for both Ethan and Shank to exit. Despite his disdain for Shank, the red hood was looking forward to the activity, his hospitalization leaving him nothing to do but sleep and think for days. "Hope I didn't miss a beat this time around," Snow thinking about his other two recent periods of being sent to the hospital as the four left the building, entering Lower Tayseri.

As Ethan, Shank and their two local escorts made their way down to the level where Torr's pack was located, a few spotters made note of the red hood, making gestures to other duct rats making the rounds, lounging about, or on a data run on the rooftops. Snow gesturing to the two guests of this little meet and greet, "Looks like we've been spotted, that will actually work for us." Snow remembering the first time he encountered Torr's duct rat family, the turian was less than enthused about unexpected guests.

Nearing the clawball compound, Snow started to slow up, hearing sounds of a struggle at the court. Normally he'd assume it was a game in full swing. Given recent events however, in addition to the information Shank had given him and Miss Rondor, it was best to assume the worst. "Get into cover, I'm going to get a better look", whispering while holding his hand up to stop the group, Snow quickly climbed up to a nearby perch overlooking the court. Looking down at the court, a brawl was underway, a gang wearing unfamilar colors was attacking the duct rat family. The turian leader was engaged with three of them, trying to hold them back with his length of industrial pipe, Junar on top of another, the small batarian pummeling the bastard with another assailant trying to pull the duct rat off of his colleage.

"Seems Shank's former running dogs had the same idea as us", the red hood thinking as he leapt back down, all business as he addressed Miss Rondor, Ethan and Shank, "Let's get in there, seems your little problem found Torr and company. Junar and Torr are holding them off but it's only a matter time unless we intervene."

"Got it" Ethan muttered in reply. He pulled out his baton and flipped the switch, electricity shimmered at the tip of the nonlethal, but painful weapon. "I'll take point" and before Shank and Snow could protest, Ethan stormed the court.

"Hey assholes, leave the Duct Rats alone!"

One of the three attacking the turian turns around in surprise and anger.

"STAY OUT OF THIS, OR I WILL GO OVER THERE AND F-"

Ethan interrupts him with a "biotic punch", forcing a small blue ball of energy from his fist to fly across the room and hit him square in the chest. The impact knocks him over and he lands square on his back.

One of the gang members looks up, drops the struggling batarian kid in his arms and says "ah shit."

Shank stood there, shaking his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. After a sigh he set off, staying in the shadows he slipped past Ethan, an easy task as they were all looking at the biotic. Once in a flanking position he, he got on the top of a concrete structure and whistles, drawing the attention of those nearby.

"Well if it isn't Sync," he grinned as lowered his hood, "looking for little old me, did they finally let you of your leash?" One of the turian assailants growled, "And Crown is here too, you know that that blowjob you offered that one time when high? You girlfriend was more than willing to pay your debt, got a real taste for drell, explains why she was on the same flight as me to get away from that mud-ball." Now it was a human who turned to growl, only to be knocked out by kid with the pipe.

"Ouch, look I always said you need to learn to prioritize your targets, and know exactly what to do and when to do it." He looked over them from up high, extended a baton and jumped in the middle of the fray. There was a succession of quick, chirurgical hits and surprisingly effective blocks. By the time he was done, one thug was on the ground clutching his groin, the other, still standing, clutching his ribs.

"Now," he got himself in position again, "I wish to know who's bright idea it was to follow me to the Citadel of all places."

"Here I go again", Snow sighing as he made for the two still tussling with Junar, catching the distracted ganger with a savage right in the earhole, flooring the thug. The blow vibrating through Snow's arm, the crack heard by everyone as Junar rolled away,

The other thug leapt up at Snow, slightly battered from Junar's assault yet catching the red hood in the rib cage, the same side where Durix stabbed Snow a week ago. "Ummph", the blow staggering Snow, the red hood somehow parrying the blow to his face before dropping to a knee, hitting his assailant with a left hook to the knee, Snow's knee following up to the ganger's nose, a satisfying crunch filling Snow's ears.

"Hey Junar, I think I broke this one", smiling coldly at the batarian youth despite the pain in his ribs, the red hood grabbing the thug by his fringe, dragging him over to Ethan and Shank, trying to maintain a casual air despite the flaring pain due to the single shot he took. Tossing the thug with the others, he stepped back, exchanging a quick look with Torr, nothing was said but the message was clear, the red hood was back.

Michelle had stayed out of the way during the fight, but as soon as it died down she walked toward the kids.

"I'll see if there are wounded, please interrogate those gentlemen", she said to Shank and Ethan. I'm quite anxious to know where their friends are, and how many are there. "Mr Snow could you please contact one of our friends in C-Sec?"

Michelle was impressed with Torr's leadership. The pack was hidden in an impasse with a ladder leading to a duct entry to retreat to. The combat-able kids were holding the choke-point while the youngest were being evacuated before the gangers got routed.

A tough looking asari was down, knocked out cold, and a turian kid was bleeding from a shallow wound. Torr, Junar and two others had scratches and bruises.

"Kakro, come help me", she said to a young salarian who was helping a few kids climb down the ladder to the duct.

"We sure showed them miss Whiskers hu?" he said, all smile, as Michelle was handing him bandages.

"We?", asked Torr with an edge in his voice, "I don't recall seeing much of you during the fight."

"I was providing moral support, which is invaluable. Anyway, hood, you made some cool friends here. That lizard there kind of made you look bad."

"I'm drell," shank said to the kid as if that explain everything. He got on his haunches before the bleeding turian, and growling turian.

"Now, you all heared why I'm called shank," two of the older members did nod including the blooded turian, "exactly, because we already had someone called skinner and psycho." There was a moment of smile on the drell's lips, "now I've been behaving on this station, real nice like, and if you answer our question I'll continue to behave. If you don't answer..."

Shank moved fast, his baton placed between the turian's face and his mandible, there was a hit followed by a wet snap of cartilage breaking, the turian howled, "Shut-up big baby, it'll fix itself in two weeks and nobody will know notice it in a month, now answer the questions Sync! Or I'l really hurt you."

"I'm pacing myself, Durix can be a bit exhausting as a sparring partner." Turning his attention to Kakro, Snow's expression unchanged as he watched the salarian smartmouth pale slightly at the mention of the Beast of Armiger. Stepping back to let Miss Whiskers do her thing, the red hood watching as the turncoat started to torture his former gang members.

"Oh for fuck's sake", Snow thinking as he made his way over to Ethan, noting that the human 'escort' seemed content to let 'Shank' run the show. Standing beside the taciturn biotic, Snow raising the hood again as he watched the interrogation.

"So you're cool with all of this, helping a backstabbing shitbag like him rough up his former mates?"

Ethan paused for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, this guy makes me nervous, and this whole gang just rubs me the wrong way" Ethan said in a hushed tone.

"Shank isn't an idiot however, and I'm not quite sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I want this whole ordeal wrapped up with as little of a mess as possible, and him being rough like that is not going to make us look good when we call in C-Sec. If you wanna go and rein him in a bit, I'll be right behind you, just don't punch him again, I don't think that helps."

"They were never my 'mates', I always considered myself more like a contractor of sort" Shank said behind while moving back to the group. The gangers where nicely tied up.

"Good news, I know where they are, in the maintenance levels, two levels above the foundation. I'm sure Snow here can show us the way. Bad news, I know their new boss, and he really hates me." There is such an annoying smirk on his lips that it even shows under the hood.

"they manage to score some military grade weapons, and a microfab unit to boot. Probably a forgotten resistance cache from the war, or maybe something Cerberus left behind. Regardless, this is really a good thing, if we can box them in and call C-Sec, they'll come and nuke them, hard. They can't have a gang running around that have military hardware after all."

"Of course he fuckin' hates you, you fuckin' turned on them." Snow snarling back at the drell, not just for the red hood's benefit, but letting Torr, Junar, and Kakro know who to thank for the assault on their duct rat 'family'. Giving Ethan an knowing nod, Snow walked over to where one of the lightly injured gangers sat, pulling him up by the fringe.

"Now are you sure, because two levels above the foundations, that's Lower Tayseri Elite territory. And just between you and me, Boss Zahir isn't the type to let gutter trash like yourself shit in his backyard", Snow's voice a cold rasp as he got the thug's attention, "we...have an...agreement with those psychos", the thug gasping as Snow questioned him, Miss Rondor's request to call C-Sec on hold for the moment. Snow was every bit bewildered as he was enraged, this group of morons apparently had the LTE's non interference, at the very least. "This will complicate things, especially if I show up there", Snow thinking as he placed the call to C-Sec, getting hold of a desk sergeant he had dealt with previously.

"Yeah, the shooters at the club. I've got a few of them here, a bit used but alive, can you send someone here for pickup? Sure. Well, I'm sure Miss Rondor can provide an accurate account, all right." Snow's voice terse as he rejoined Ethan and Shank, his face no longer displaying the anger from earlier, rather a grim determination. "Well, apparently your former brothers in arms cut a deal with the LTE, explains how they were able to get away this shit. Simply put, I'm all in, but you need some advance warning, the Lower Tayseri Elite has a 2500 credit bounty on my head. When we enter their territory, it'll be hunting season."

"Not necessarily", said Michelle, coming back to the group, casually wiping some blue blood off her hands.

"I've been talking to the kids, and they know who the LTE have on the lookout in that area. In exchange for some food and items we can have them look the other way for a while. They just ask that you at least lose the red hoodie that one time, so it won't be too blatant.
That could be a pretty good thing for us if we play it right, if Mr Shank's friends count on the LTE to keep a lookout, we can have a complete drop on them.
What to do with that advantage if they have heavy weaponry is another problem entirely..."

"You're having me sit this one out boss?" Dropping the turian ganger, Snow letting a sigh of disgust escape him before turning to Shank. "You might want to lose the baton, when C-Sec arrives, they'll figure out right quick that one of these goons is not like the other", walking over to the smug drell, the anger gone from the red hood's voice due to pressing matters. Snow glanced down at Shank's handiwork, the contempt written plain on his face as he eyed the rest.

"You did good Torr, makes me wonder why you're not in boot?" The red hood giving the turian top boy an appreciative nod, the pommel of his knife sticking out of his coat as he finished surveying the area. Snow turned away from Shank for a moment towards Miss Rondor, still wondering why he was being 'benched'. "If it's about the LTE increasing the bounty, I can take the heat, nothing's changed."

Michelle chuckled. "Unless that red hoodie of yours is directly grafted to your skin, no. I'm just asking you to wear something else. I'm also to leave the glasses, so we all make sacrifices."
She activated her omni-tool.
"I'm contacting Shaart and Laykalar so they can make the food drop right now."

"You're wrong there, he never liked me in the first place. I could get into details but it's all stupid gang drama stuff, let's just say he insisted to be called King, but everyone knew he was the queens cuckold, even him." He said with a smirk, as his collapsed baton disappeared inside his coat.

"Anyway I'm not going to hang around here and wait for C-Sec not at long as that krogan still slaps his limp dick around. If they say he's hiding out below I'm gonna find him. Nice knife, by the way, where'd you get it?"

"This stupid gang drama bullshit, it brought the thunder to their doorstep", Snow sighing as he slowly removing his coat, a short sleeved t-shirt displaying a chiseled yet lean torso as he slung the jacket over his right shoulder. The red hood's exposed arms displaying hints of tattoos on his shoulders and lower neck and scarring along the forearms, indicating past fights and indiscretions. Nodding to the boss he turned his attention to the obnoxious drell and Ethan.

"The turian blade? I got it out of a vending machine." Snow deadpanning to Shank as he wrapped the coat up under his arm, the pommel still sticking out as the four of them planned the next move. "So we're dealing with a krogan, joy. Anything else we'll be walking into that, I don't know, you didn't bother fuckin' telling us?" The question came from Snow matter of factly, but his eyes had regained the 1000 yard dissonant look, making it clear to Shank that if the red hood were to kill him, he wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Michelle removed her glasses, pretending not to notice Snow's agitation.

"Seriously, anyone got a plan? We are NOT barging in that place with our tiny fists against their huge guns. Can't we, I don't know, seal them in?"