[Citadel] The Mixed Front

"What's vague about our 'friend' coming back?" She hissed under her breath. If he gave her the knife, she would flip it around.

"So, Derek's stolen your formula, abandoned you...and you're depending on him to fix your problem. About the girl?" Her brows knit a little. She had to phrase this just right. The asshole was undoubtedly angry enough at Derek to finger him even if he wasn't the person who gave the order-and torture enough meant that he might tell her what she 'wanted to hear', and that would have the same result.

Hearing the drell hammer Elthinus with a irrelevant question, Snow casually tucked the blade away, letting the rapist explain the situation, "weren't you listening bitch, the LTE has my goddamn formula, they sure as shit don't need me anymore." A new bout of sobbing began, Snow watching Kayana trying to be a hardass...and failing. The charity worker was fairly certain that she wouldn't turn the mandible over to Randall or carve him up herself, and pretending to do so was counterproductive. "Kayana, a quick word?" Snow gesturing for the teenager to come over to confer.

"Just one question, are you even willing to carry out your implied threats, or are you just that dumb?" Hissing angrily at Kayana, Snow kept his eyes and body language calm despite his irritation at her posturing.

Kayana's brows knit together in anger. She knew it wasn't going well, she wasn't a complete idiot. "I don't care about your fucking formula! I don't care about anything except my girl."

She turned on her heels, stomping over to Snow. "I am willing to slit his goddamn throat." There was honesty in that. She managed to get her voice down. "Do you think this is how I normally spend my weekends? Trying to help an organization I don't trust score points with people who are going to stab them in the back?"

She chewed on her lip. "...Help me."

"Welcome to my everyday Kayana", Snow softening his tone, glancing over at the rapist before turning back to the teenager. Thinking for a moment, Snow knew as long as Elthinus believed he was thrown under the bus, he'd have a residual need for payback. "Perhaps it's time to explain the full situation to this deviant. Tell him about the arrangement with the Hanar syndicate, and how they expressed interest in his capture." Pausing for an instant, Snow letting a breath out before finishing, "and make sure you stress his partner getting off scott free. Appeal to his desire for revenge and the 'unfairness' of it all."

Snow looking back over at the pervert, his stare returning to it's detatched state. Inwardly he was seething, this Derek that was mentioned had acted as a pimp to this piece of shit, slipping Elthinus underage girls and cleaning up the mess, and all for a fucking recipe for Slant??? "No fuckin' way, you're going to answer for this, whoever you are Derek." The ex-convict vowing to himself as he sat back down, hoping Kayana could finish breaking this waste of fucking life sitting in the chair.

"Mmm." Kayana frowned, but she seemed to be listening. She stretched out, crackng her knuckles. "Alright, give me another shot."

She strolled over the rapist. "Good news. You won't have to put up with me for much longer. The Hanar syndicate is interested in speaking to you. They tend to think all drell are a little bit theirs. Derek would have known that. But he's made off with your formula."

"Now I don't think you're the one who ordered all this..." He was going to die, she could swallow her disgust enough to lie to him.

"The Light that dwells within the Depths???? That means I'm good as dead." Elthinus recoiling at Kayana bringing up the Hanar, looking at Snow in desperation. "Don't fuckin' look at me shitbag, the girl asked you a question", the charity worker retorting, causing the turian to refocus on the angry drell. "Alright, Derek came to me after the dock incident, said he found a new one. He told me he found a new plaything, and that I'd be making myself useful by...introducing myself."

Snow grimly listened to Elthinus's explanation, his eyes maintaining the dissonant expression as the rapist confirmed his worst suspicions. The turian hadn't been told about Kayana, let alone the Hanar syndicates, Derek had planned on Kayana doing something foolish, not getting outside help. "Probably planned on sending Elthinus up the river as a bonus", Snow thought as the turian concluded his rambling,

"How was I supposed to know that Derek would steal my work and sell me out to the co-op?" Elthinus's tone becoming desperate, tinged with mania as he closed his eyes, "That's what the furhead did, turned me over to the T'Naron bitch."

Kayana made a bit of a face, slowly working though the pervert's story. She didn't like what it implied. She felt manipulated. She looked back at Snow, waiting for a moment to pull him aside.

"He's going to get away with it, you know. When there are like, two people who just want to see the mastermind punished. Might even put in a good word."

"You're half-right, this Derek planned on Elthinus being disposed of, but he didn't expect you to ask for help Kayana," whispering back, letting the turian snivel as Snow and Kayana discussed the next move. Snow was feeling slightly optimistic given the situation, a fact he was going to share with the drell, "I'm guessing once you were dealt with, Derek was planning to give this deviant to the hanar, two birds and all that. But it's backfired, the co-op is going to get the credit, and if we can get the location of the 'anthill', we can flush this LTE asshole out, if you're up to it."

Turning to glance at the pervert, Snow thought for a moment, before the answer came to him, "This piece of shit thinks Derek is working with the co-op shotcaller, Alystae T'Naron. Encourage the lie, and use it to get the anthill. Once we get that, we'll go hunting and leave this...thing to the co-op and Hanar syndicate."

She dropped her voice so she was genuinely quiet, with no chance of the turian overhearing. "Not quite where I was going with that, but whatever. He gets that we're not co-op right?"

She crossed her arms. "People really underestimate me sometimes. Like one of the kids you're supposed to be serving gets attacked and I was going to let you float around in ignorance. Please."

She turned back to the table. "So, the way I figure it, you've got one last chance to prove yourself useful. Give the Syndicate-and us-something that Derek and the Co-op won't."

"Does this bitch ever stop?" Snow thinking, the passive insults and jibes wearing on the charity worker, his face remaining impassive, he wasn't going to give the brat the satisfaction. Focusing his attention on the rapist, he watched the turian stammer for a minute before finding a coherent thought,

"Okay, I was told that the anthill was being moved five levels down, close to the old warehouses near the foundations. Derek told me that the co-op and C-Sec were getting too close for comfort so we needed to relocate. It's all I know, I swear!"

"That far down, why can't anything be simple for once", grumbling internally, Snow stepped forward, getting Elthinus's attention. The ex-convict checking the tourniquet before concluding his business with the deviant,

"Thanks for the cooperation, now I'm going to do something for you. I'm going to tell you the truth." Pausing for a moment, Snow leaned over, whispering to the turian, a cruel, indifferent grin on the human's face, "Derek never sold you out, at least not today. But you are right about the Hanar, they're going to make an example out of you, and I can't prevent that. But you can at die with some fucking dignity, knowing that this 'Derek' will be joining you very soon." Patting the pervert on the shoulder, Elthinus began sobbing in response, "you can't do this..." looking to the charity worker for mercy as Snow turned to Kayana, his face a death mask, "C'mon, I believe we're done with this...thing."

Really, the only thing that would make her stop was an apology for all the trouble and a "it was very generous of you to take her in".

""Have you ever been in this new 'Anthill'?" She glared at Snow, angry that he was breaking the guy before they had more intelligence. But she followed.

"That name sounds like multiple entries and exits, tight corridors clusterfuck. You sure we don't need more dudes?"

"The anthill isn't a specific place, it's a drug operation ", Snow remarking to the drell, opening the door to the main room where Randall, the drunk krogan and Aricia were keeping watch. Pausing in front of the exit, Snow decided to give Randall a parting shot, "We're done with the pervert, try not to break him before the handoff." "Don't worry about Elthinus Snowman, the Hanar rep just called, gave us the exchange location. Where are you headed?" Randall was maintaining his genial tone, but his eyes were a different story, revealing the co-op enforcer's annoyance to Snow. Snow just didn't care, brushing past his former block captain, giving him only the basic information, "checking out the anthill, see if I can't flush Derek out." Walking past the co-op's enforcers, Snow opened the door to the main hallyway, waiting until Kayana was clear before telling her his 'plan'.

"An anthill, is the way some gangs move their product and money, by getting duct rats to do it. Often by making purchases at stores and establishments where a gang collects protection. They get the product to the street dealers, and the money to the LTE by walking right in and running deliveries. It's a twisted sort of smart, no one suspects kids." Pausing to catch his breath as they exit, Snow thought about Kayana's suggestion, hire some dudes? "This idiot only knows one speed", a disdainful look appearing on Snow's face as he finished, "we watch the duct rats, and follow one to a shop that holds the slant. We stake out the shop, see who they get their drugs from, and trail them. We dont need 'more dudes'". The ex-salvager mocking Kayana with the last, "we just need to show some patience, a concept you are unfamiliar with."

""I know the Sundowners fairly well, and there are a couple of ex-Compactees at Temple I could probably talk into helping out. Either would have the skills for surveillance."

"You're generic-looking." She pulled her hood up, tying the cord under her chin. "But there are not that many drell on the station. A female, brown-skinned drell is me. I don't know the area, and I'm not stupid enough to think I'll spot all the duct rats keeping guard. I don't want this fucked up because you think we have to do this on our own."

"How long to get them into the area? The Sundowners strike me as too conspicuous and zealous for a passive surveillance." Snow musing as they left the co-op behind. "All I know about them, is that they believe everything can be solved with a sniper bullet." Thinking about the tortured rapist, Snow thought he'd be pleased, but the heavy sense of guilt was the feeling, a knowledge that he was just doing other people's dirty work, he pushed the dark emotion aside, turning back to the drell, choosing his next words cautiously for a change,

"what we're doing is illegal, the less that 'citizens', good people are involved, the better."

"'Give me a little credit. She made the call, routing it to her earpiece and stepping a little ways away from Snow. He could make out parts of the conversation. Their general location. Kayana's indignant defence of the girl as a drell.

Eventually she walked back over. "Yeah, he can't make it. But there's a turian grocer on the corner who owes the Drell Liberation Front a few debts. I don't really want to know how Jacal knows that."

"Coming from an mouthy little kid, that's rich," retorting to the uppity drell, the charity worker took a step back, letting Kayana do her thing. Hearing bits and pieces of her discussion, Snow took cold comfort in knowing that he wasn't the only one rubbed the wrong way by the self-righteous busybody. When Kayana finished up and told Snow about the turian grocer, he kept his facial expression non-committal, his disdain for the arrogant teen outweighed by the unvarnished truth, that she had more contacts than him. Sighing in resignation, the young man nodded in acquiescence,

"So where is this grocer, I want this done with."

"Two blocks down. ...Ugh, I hate the DLF. And this will probably impress them. He gave me directions, follow."

Her contacts were deep but narrow-she probably knew most drell but almost no salarians. The grocer in question was down a series of twisted alleys-but Kayana didn't seem to have any trouble finding it.

The grocer knew most of what was going on in the neighbourhood-Kayana glanced back at at Snow before she started asking questions, he knew what was needed better than she did-and through the back rooms they got access to some of the maintenance and delivery tunnels.

"Why's that? A group of drell high on the smell of their own piss, you'd fit right in." The red hood retorting, a good portion of his day gone, and for what? Some belief of justice, no that wasn't it, he had helped facilitate a turian rapist get tortured and handed over to the hanar, justice left the building long ago. Kayana wanted revenge, Snow got that feeling, but he was nearing his limit, for four months he was doing dirty work for a charity, under duress, on a place that was in his mind, an elitist hellhole. Now he was doing dirt with a teenager who acted like everything was his fault, "two more months", repeating the mantra as the unlikely duo neared the destination.

He let Kayana get the info from the grocer, content to let the drell do the talking while he kept a lookout, so far LTE hadn't made them, maybe their luck would hold. He heard Kayana call him over, apparently the turian was more than a grocer, he had a map of maintenance routes, ducts and alleys. Snow gave the map a once over, his brow furrowing slightly. Spotting one route that led from the foundations to the main thoroughfare, a maintenance walkway closed for repairs. "That's the one," whispering to Kayana as he turned to the turian, handing the grocer 100 credits for services rended, thinking all the while, "I need an fuckin' expense account."

"You're some kind of idealist yourself, or you wouldn't be doing this." She mae a rude gesture, but there wasn't much viriol behind it. "So laugh."

She did swaggering revolutionary well (of course she did)-and Kayana had the entire map memorized with a glance-so it seemed like she just jumped up and headed in without taking time to fully consider the route. However, it was clear she knew where she was going, and she didn't make any excessive noise.

"Idealistic, yeah right. I'm just doing this so you'll shut up, nothing more." Snow giving the drell a look of disdain as they made their way up to the walkway, the red hood hanging back, double checking the walls and floors, looking for duct rat markings. Seeing one as he reached the vantage point that Kayana had chosen, the mark indicating danger, covering an older duct rat mark meaning safe passage. Snow stopped, checking the area for a possible perch, ideally something with a line of sight on the entire thoroughfare and a bit of cover. Spotting a nearby stack of crates on the maintenance walkway he gestured to Kayana, sitting down behind the crates.

"Now we wait," whispering, Snow began to scrutinize the people walking below them, attempt to see any duct rat couriers making deliveries or LTE low rankers heading to their clubhouse. This was the most important, and boring time in a manhunt, doing passive observation in unfriendly territory, easy to miss something, get jumped or lose the mark in other ways if one wasn't careful. "Benning cured me of that," Snow thought to himself as he kept watch on the starboard side of the perch, trusting Kayana to cover the port side of their makeshift observation post. Snow kept silent as he watched, hoping that this job would be done soon.