"Donovan, are you serious?"
Already at the entrance, I stopped and, placing my fingers on the face shield, stroked it, though I really wanted to massage the bridge of my nose.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? At the entrance to the house, decorating the hallway with the rarest Asari stone, the export of which is strictly prohibited?"
"It's a replica..."
He gave a strained smile, but I saw that he was beginning to realize this search would not end well.
"Give me the Spectrometer..."
The device was brought to me, and right in front of Hock's eyes, I took measurements that allowed me to determine it wasn't a replica, but the real Asari stone.
"So, a replica?"
"Well... it was a gift, I didn't know what it was, I just liked the look of it, so I decorated the hallway with it. I didn't know, honestly!"
"Ignorance is no excuse. The stone will be confiscated."
"Of course, of course!"
Hock nodded quickly, and I saw him wipe the sweat that had broken out on his forehead with his fingers.
"I won't obstruct your work."
However, a cursory inspection of the other rooms revealed almost no problems. Almost, for the simple reason that in his bedroom was a Drell seascape, which was also on the wanted list. And regarding this masterpiece of galactic art, he was supposedly also unaware. And he also didn't say anything about the confiscation of the painting.
"Commander, we found the entrance to the vault."
"To the vault?"
I pretended to be surprised when Kasumi informed me about the found entrance.
"Donovan, when we were in this room, you said it was the last one."
"But I don't know about any vault?!"
Hock began to panic, and I noticed him make some strange gesture, and in the next second... nothing happened, and Hock made the gesture again and again.
"Did something happen?"
"N-no..."
He shook his head.
"Well then, let's go see what room you knew nothing about. I've even become interested in who could place a vault under your house and put its entrance in your own home."
"Ha-ha-ha..."
Hock's laugh came out strained, and when we reached the main rooms, we could see Hock's very tense guards, who were surrounded by huntresses.
"A-a-ah... what's here..."
"Oh, this? These are just precautionary measures. My colleagues in the corps told me that a couple of times during similar assignments, people tried to attack them. There were such idiots... can you imagine?"
I addressed Hock with admiring enthusiasm.
"They thought that a Spectre, if killed, would cease to be a problem."
Shaking my head, we followed Kasumi to the vault entrance.
"But a killed Spectre is a lot of problems. It feels like they just didn't understand that after a Spectre's death, a new squad would arrive, and this time they wouldn't be kind and sweet like I am with you. They'll gun down the guards while still on approach, and then break a couple of limbs to make them tell everything."
Hock turned pale.
"But theoretically, one could say the Spectre never arrived... wipe the data in the planetary registration system, and bribe the operators..."
"You're not serious right now, are you?"
Doubt about his intellectual level sounded in my voice.
"Who in their right mind relies on planetary systems when the planet's law enforcement system is in question? Why, according to regulations, we have a secure channel connection with a handler on the Citadel while on approach! And if I don't check in or say something wrong during the call, a squad will be deployed here."
"Well..."
Hock smiled strainedly.
"So, now we need to figure out what kind of vault this is."
"There's multi-level identification here."
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
Hock shook his head.
"I didn't even know there was something like this here."
"Well, no big deal, we'll resolve this issue now."
My voice was full of nonchalance.
"Everyone back."
"Spectre Shepard, what are you planning to do?"
"Oh, Donovan, it's quite simple: several of my subordinates, who like me are powerful Biotics, will come here now, and we, with a little effort, will create a collective Singularity that will literally rip out all the door leaves, and possibly even part of the wall."
"But this is my home!"
"Yes, but we can't allow such a decent citizen as yourself to be located above an unknown vault! What if one of your people decided to frame you! By the way, before I start, let's check if you have anything to do with the vault or not. Over there, I see a fingerprint scanner."
"Shepard... what do you want?"
It seems he decided to drop the act of the know-nothing master of the house. Well, since that's the case, I'll meet him halfway.
"I want to get into the vault, Hock. And the faster I do, the easier your fate will be."
"Shepard..."
"Hock, you're already doomed. The only question is what happens to you next. Uranium mines? A comfortable cell, or the most mundane death? And right now, it all depends on you."
"Fine."
He seemed to have resigned himself; two minutes later, he opened all the locks, after which we descended into the vault, and I could do nothing but shake my head.
"Damn, stolen goods on top of stolen goods. There's..."
"Well, I love antiquities, but I bought all this honestly!"
"Hock..."
I didn't even try to hide my irritation.
"...are you serious about the purchase right now? Do you want me to charge you with receiving stolen property too? Honestly, why don't you just keep quiet. We'll decide your fate a bit later, but for now, girls, go ahead, inspect everything and sort it. And call the ship that will handle the removal of all this loot."
"John, I hacked Hock's accounts, and there was an indecent amount. Even by your standards."
"Truly indecent?"
Turning off the external speaker of my armor, I answered EDI's words with a question that truly interested me.
"Completely indecent. With this money, you could build three more resorts entirely, along with their bunkers."
My eyebrows shot up at the amount.
"Well, misappropriating it all for ourselves isn't quite right, so part of the funds will have to be handed over to Tevos; let her decide what to do with them herself."
"And how much?"
"Leave us a third... we still need to not only have the funds for construction but actually build, and also hire personnel. In short, I hope we have time to put another resort on Bali into operation before the war starts."
"Are you sure? This is a lot of money..."
"Do you have a suggestion?"
"Not exactly..."
"EDI?"
"I don't have any suggestions, I don't. Or rather, I do, but I perfectly understand that they're just dreams, as we simply won't be able to keep track of everything. Although... part of the funds could be transferred to the Quarians..."
Now that thought made me freeze and think about it very carefully.
"Listen, that's an idea... And a very good one, you're a real star!"
"And how much to transfer to the Quarians?"
"None for now. Think about how many reliable ships, even if they're a hundred or two hundred years out of date, we can buy for the Quarians from the Asari and Turians. Theoretically, we don't even have to say how much we received... so we'll approach it from the angle that we're doing the Asari a favor."
"And only after that contact the Quarians? You're a genius!"
"Don't credit me for your achievements... I'm sure you calculated this option before me and just let me voice it. So you're the star here."
Kasumi stopped near one of the pedestals.
"And what's this?"
"That? Those are Cicadas, the pistols used to kill two presidents!"
"I see. So you're keeping murder weapons here too?"
"What does it matter now..."
Hock waved his hand.
"Hmm... and this?"
"That? The neural implant of a hacker; I kept it as a trophy. That bastard hacked my security system and thought he'd get away with it."
"Well... I can't say I understand. If he was that good, you should have used him to strengthen your own security. And what you did..."
Bang!
A single shot, and a neat little hole appeared in Hock's head.
"You bastard... how I wanted to do that!"
There was so much emotion in those words that I didn't say anything to her about what she'd done. Besides, Hock had to be finished off anyway. He couldn't be sent to prison; he had too many connections and they might try to get him out, and then he'd find a hole where his savings used to be and would be very offended.
Not that his offense scared me, but why have another enemy when you can avoid it?
"Well, we'll pretend you shot him while he was attempting to escape."
"Thank you."
Kasumi nodded to me, then broke the display case and took the neural implant from under it.
"Alright, we need to continue the work..."
* Some time later. *
"Kasumi, how are you?"
I entered the girl's cabin when, according to EDI, she was watching the recording of her late boyfriend for the third time.
"Shitty..."
"I... came to talk to you about what you're doing."
"And what am I doing?"
"You're torturing yourself... you must understand that the neural implant and what's recorded on it isn't your boyfriend."
"John..."
"No, listen to me. It hurts, it hurts a lot, and I understand that right now you won't do anything with it, but using a neural implant to revive your lover in your memory... I'm going to say a cruel thing now, but you need to hear it... it's the same as buying a sex android and, inserting a neural implant, forcing it to think it's Keiji."
The girl flinched at my words.
"You..."
"I'm telling a cruel truth, but it is the truth. You got your revenge... you got the neural implant, and now you can burn it and bury your lover."
She lowered her gaze to the floor.
"Kasumi, you know, I have three girls, and I would really hate it if, if I suddenly died, they compiled recordings of me, analyzed them, and then spoke with an AI that thought it was me. I would want them to be able to take a step forward and live a happy life."
"Easier said..."
"I can't say I understand, but... I'm ready to support you, and the girls will support you too if needed. Just don't lock yourself in here alone... share your feelings."
"Fine, but... I need time."
Nodding, I left the girl.
"You were a bit harsh..."
EDI was not very happy with my words.
"But perhaps anger at you will help her pull herself together faster."
"That's the plan... that's the plan... Alright, what's the final word on our idea?"
"Tevos agreed; she suggested including the Turians in the agreement as well. The Quarians also agree; they gave the parameters for the ships they should match. I've already forwarded the list to Tevos and Sparatus."
"And?"
"The ships will be older than we expected, but that's the Quarians' own choice; on the other hand, there will be more of them, and some of them will go for parts."
"That's their business."
I shook my head, making it clear I wouldn't interfere in that.
"And for us..."
"They'll allocate new employees for the shipyards. Especially since in their off-hours, they'll be modernizing the acquired ships at those same shipyards."
"That's good... that's right. By the way, load some of the shipyard capacity with non-core work. Have them make modules for shelters."
"They've been doing that for a long time..."
A slight mockery was heard in EDI's voice.
"...they've been producing them for a long time, and we just drop them onto the planet afterward. So don't worry, everything is being done in the best possible way."
"Good... very good..."
I returned to my cabin, and at that exact moment, a message arrived that a Collectors' Ship had been spotted near one of the colonies.
***
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