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[b][u][center]Oscar Does Omega

Chapter 3: The Safehouse

For bbbuuu

By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b]

Getting the delivery truck was the easy part. Oscar could have done that on his own, and ended up having to, considering his companion’s exorbitant pay rates. Even with a great deal of grumbling on his part, it wasn’t [i]that[/i] bad. Annoying, certainly, but not that bad.

Driving out of the Eclipse warehouse in the driver’s seat, he adjusted his armor a bit to allow him a chance to actually breathe, and set the truck to auto-pilot its way through Omega’s streets. Not that hard, really; of all the different bands, Eclipse had the best tech, and this thing came with a street-scanner as well as an advanced GPS. It could probably find its way through a war zone if one needed it to.

He leaned back, pressing one hand to his chin, going over the plan. So far, it had been a mixed bag. An easy truck grab, but with difficulties during the whole part where he had to get driver credentials. Easy supplies, hard sells.

Oscar wasn’t fond of ups and downs. He preferred things to keep going up and up, until they were great. And considering he’d just had a [i]very[/i] good up, he wasn’t looking forward to whatever ‘down’ was coming next.

Telling himself not to borrow trouble didn’t help, either. He’d been on too many of these ops, solo and otherwise, to simply tell himself he was imagining things. Usually, a gut instinct of something bad about to happen was pretty damn true, and they were just coming up to the most dangerous part of the mission. For the group, at least. The most dangerous part for him was at the very end.

[i]Just…play it by ear,[/i] he thought with a shake of his head. [i]If things go bad, get ready to react to it, but don’t start changing the plan because you’re freaking out. It’s a good plan. It’s flexible. Just…keep on going.[/i]

He realized that he was approaching Dresna and Roe’s hiding place, and slowed the truck down. To anyone watching on the scanner, he’d just be taking a turn at a cautious pace. In reality, it slowed the truck down just enough for them to leap on the back of it. He heard the soft thumps of the Asari and the Drell getting the back of the truck open, but didn’t slow down to check. If anything, he sped up, trusting them to know their business.

A few seconds later, there was another thump of the back of the truck closing, and he let out a soft breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Casually, in case there was a driver cam, he reached up and brushed his hair over his ear, and in the process turned on the communicator he had back there. He whispered under his breath.

“Oscar here. You two settled in alright?”

“[i]Alright being a relative term…that almost knocked my rifle off my back, asshole.[/i]”

“Almost is fine. Roe get in, too?”

“[i]Here.[/i]”

First word that the Drell had spoken all night. He shook his head, cutting off the channel with the motion.

[i]Okay, Sam should be getting into position soon, too. Better check in with him before we get too close to the safehouse.[/i]

Another head movement turned the channel of the communicator to the one he’d settled with the sniper, and he started muttering again.

“Sam, hoping you’re there, man. This op really needs a sniper.”

“[i]Can’t make it. Sorry.[/i]”

“…What?”

His face was paling, and he really, really hoped that there wasn’t a driver cam to pick it up. He leaned forward, taking manual control of the vehicle again, guiding it through the streets to cover his reaction.

“You can’t be serious. I need you on that rooftop. We’ve already started.”

“[i]Yeah, can’t make it. Sorry, man. You’ll have to get someone else.[/i]”

“You better have a damn good reason for it.”

“[i]Don’t you worry, I – mmph – do.[/i]”

“That better be the sound of someone beating the shit out of you, Sam.”

“[i]…[/i]”

“It’s an Asari sucking your dick, isn’t it?”

“[i]Look, she’s hot.[/i]”

“Asshole. If I get out of this, you’re dead.”

“[i]Hey, don’t be like –[/i]”

Click. He shut off the call with a nod of his head, shaking his head rapidly afterwards. The distance meter for the trip navigation system said that they would be at the safehouse in about fifteen minutes, which didn’t give him much time to cover the sudden hole in the plan.

[i]Should have gone for someone more reliable. Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK![/i]

Without a sniper on the rooftops, the escape plan was shot to hell. Sure, he could still draw people off of the other two with his run through the cargo yard, but without someone to make sure that the other snipers and their guys on the ground didn’t kill him, that distraction would last for a few seconds, at most. The operation might as well get shutdown now, if they weren’t going to have a sniper.

Except, if they did, then he would be in even deeper shit than he already was. The Quarians already wanted him dead, and so did Eclipse. If they found out that he’d stolen this truck and not gotten the job done, the Quarians would make damn sure that he was found dead in the morning. Hell, they might even hand him over to the mercs to score a few points, maybe even get a reward to get some of their losses back.

And if Eclipse found out that he’d stolen the truck, killed a driver, and nearly cracked their system…

Well, he’d be lucky to get out of here alive, let alone with any of limbs intact.

[i]Okay, so we have to finish this tonight. That means I need another sniper, or I need a different plan.[/i]

There was no time to make a different plan. He’d need to tell it to the other two, explain it in depth for Dresna in particular, and then hope that they understood it before they continued with the whole idea. There was no time for that, and no time for him to come up with something in the first place. He’d spent all this time coming up with the first one, and he wasn’t going to be able to come up with something better in fifteen minutes.

That left getting another sniper, and there weren’t a whole lot on Omega that didn’t want him dead. There was a Blue Sun guy that Azen had been dating a few weeks back, but that had probably fallen through by now, and he couldn’t ask another favor of the Salarian tonight. Not without getting massively guilty about it.

All the other professionals he knew that might work with him would want massive danger pay, and he’d already promised most of the loot in the safehouse to the two that he was lugging along behind him. There was no extra pay that he could work with.

That left precisely one professional, one sniper that might help him out. And he wasn’t sure if the guy would even pick up, but this was the time to find out.

He pressed his finger to his ear, grinding at it as if at an itch, until the call went out. It rung twice, and then the Turian on the other end picked up.

“[i]Looking for a pest extermination?[/i]”

“Gavorn. Not a lot of time here.”

“Oscar?”

“Yeah. Look. I’ll explain later, but grab your best sniper rifle, and get down to the Eclipse safehouse on the south side of Omega. I promise, I’ll explain later, but get here fast.”

He shut down the link, already hearing the crackles of communication distortion that came from this area. All the weird buildings, horrible wiring, and various scrambled signals played hell with any device outside of the ones on secure channels, and this wasn’t one of those. He took a deep breath, and put his hands back on the wheel.

No chance of turning back now. He just hoped that Gavorn would listen, and that Aria didn’t have need of her best enforcer tonight…

#

The safehouse came in sight a few minutes later, and the truck slowed down as other Eclipse soldiers came by, walking at the sides of the truck and escorting it forward. Most of them were wearing helmets, keeping him from seeing if he might know them, or if they were the sort of Eclipse that would shoot him if they thought he was pulling a scam.

He hoped that they were the nicer ones, if they even existed.

Dresna and Roe had been completely quiet for the last part of the journey, just as planned. No need to start getting people curious about anything moving around in the back of the truck, and it would be just like Eclipse to have some sort of communication scanner keeping an eye out for unwanted frequencies.

He pulled the truck up to the gate, all too conscious of the various guns that lined the top and sides of the wall. Auto-turrets, dozens of them, all of them waiting to plug him full of holes if there were any discrepancies with his particular disguise.

The gate window opened, and a mech held out a metal hand for his identity card. He held out the bio-print card that he’d taken earlier, and tried not to hold his breath when the robot took it away. The window closed, and the waiting game began.

[i]If the Quarians screwed me over with the transfer device, I’m dead. If that card was a bust, then I’m dead. So many ways to die…[/i]

And there was no way to prepare for it, either. Roe and Dresna might be able to fight their way out, considering the truck would protect them if the turrets went off, but he would be a sitting duck. Reaching for a weapon would give him away immediately, as well, and he doubted that he’d have any luck getting any of the turrets before they got him.

So, he sat there, his hands on the wheel, waiting and sweating.

Finally, the window opened, and the mech stared at him with those dead, electronic eyes for almost a full five seconds…

And then handed him the card back.

“[b]Identity Accepted. Enter and roll up to the loading dock.[/b]”

Oscar smiled, nodding as he took the card back and tucked it into his pocket. His heart was racing a mile a minute, but the labor mech didn’t seem to notice. That was something, at least.

The gate opened, the turrets going offline for a short time as he drove inside. The walls soared up around him, and he could just feel the itch of so many different snipers covering him as he worked the truck towards the buildings ahead. He turned around, far more cautious with his driving than usual, and slowly backed towards an opening sheet-metal door.

Bit by bit, he backed up, not even daring to say something to the mercs in the back of the truck. If they were on the ball, they’d already know what was going on, feeling the different motions. Backing up could only mean one thing…right?

The Eclipse soldiers that had been following him split off, heading back to the streets outside, and left only two by the truck. The other snipers up top would be looking away before long, and –

THUD THUD!

He winced, hoping that nobody else had heard that. The sound of bodies hitting the floor, two hard thumps in the back of the truck. Looking out the window, it didn’t look like anyone had, and he let out a soft sigh of relief.

Now, he had to get inside.

He leaned out the window, looking down at the merc. There was a slight twitch towards a weapon, but nothing more than that. No reason to do more, he guessed; same armor meant that they were on the same side.

“Mind if I get in there and use the bathroom?”

“You seriously need that?”

“Long drive and long day.”

“Fine. Make it quick, though.”

“No problem.”

He followed the directions the helmeted merc gave him, and went straight for the main building. As soon as he was inside, however, he ducked under a camera and went the opposite direction, heading towards the connecting hallway between security and the loading docks. He ducked under several cameras, and buzzed a third when there was no way around it, and soon enough, he was at the security door.

“Let’s see if this card is worth its price…”

Flashing the bio-print surface at the thing, it seemed that it was. He smirked, stepping inside just in time to see Roe leaping over a large mech, the Drell jamming something into its back before falling to the ground. A series of lightning charges arced over it before the big death machine hit the ground with a thud.

Dresna hadn’t even bothered being part of the fight, he noticed. She was sitting on what he hoped was just the sleeping body of a Salarian, her gun in her hands and getting polished once more. The Asari smirked at him.

“What kept you?”

“Mostly trying to keep cover. You guys are loud.”

“Heh, you try and break into a base like this? You have to be loud to knock these things out hard enough to keep them down.”

“Just…come on. The vault’s probably past security.”

“Cameras?”

“Mostly easy to dodge, but there’s one fucker that’s got a whole hallway in view.”

“On it.”

The Drell ducked down, rushing through the door that Oscar had just come through. He didn’t bother asking what Roe was going to do. The Drell’s assassination training probably included how to get by the different bits of security in the modern age.

Instead, he walked over to the truck, and pressed his ear to the slight gap between the back of it and the outdoor world. Listening for any sounds of curiosity, any sign that they were getting worried.

Not yet, though it sounded like someone was getting ready to go and check on him, make sure that he’d actually gone to the toilet. He pulled back.

“Best guess, we have three minutes before someone starts looking for me. Let’s get this done.”

“Heh, long as we get the money, let it get as loud as it can.”

[i]And you continue to remind me why I don’t like working with you,[/i] he thought as the Asari walked over to the hallway. They peered through the door, and saw Roe on the far end. The Drell gave them a thumbs up, and they rushed down to join him.

Security was damn near a joke, with the three of them around. A little biotic work, a few quick, silenced shots, and Roe’s up-close style of fighting brought the armored mercs to the ground in just a few seconds, and with a little thumb drive that he’d prepared special for the occasion, Oscar had the mechs dropped to a static patrol mode from the security console. They’d keep walking around, keeping up the pretense of guarding the place, but the mechanicals wouldn’t be able to fire for a while.

He scrambled the cameras, too, just to make sure. The last thing he needed was footage implicating him. Or giving anyone else warning that they were here.

“Alright…looks like their vault is…down that hall, two lefts, and a right from here.”

“Let’s get it, then. My pockets are aching.”

It was, again, a short trip. Without any mechs to back up the Eclipse mercs in the way, the only real threat that they faced were the auto-turrets. He wished that he’d been able to bring them down, but they’d been bio-printed, rather than set to the console. Anyone that wasn’t in the system properly was a target, and his bio-card didn’t go that far.

Thankfully, they had Dresna.

He and Roe sat back in the corridor, passing the time with a few throws of three-hands, while explosions and concussive waves echoed back, along with gleeful Asari shouts. There was no need to be quiet here.

After about a minute, she stepped back around the corner, holding a rocket launcher over her shoulder, smoking still. Oscar arched an eyebrow.

“Have fun?”

“Not enough of it, but yeah. Door’s open.”

They left cover, and sure enough, the vault door was open. Surrounded by a good dozen smoking turret stumps, as well. He could see the debris across the corridor floor where the turrets had ripped up the ground and the walls, and he was – as usual – amazed that Dresna had come out of it without a scratch.

Not particularly surprised, but amazed.

They stepped into the vault, and even he – who was ready for it – was surprised at how much the Eclipse had managed to stuff in there. He saw a full loading pad full of credits, stuffed in boxes and suitcases for easy storage, while there were weapons of various sorts that would have sold for thousands, if not millions, on the black market.

They whistled as they walked through, and each of them went to grab something beyond the money. Oscar did stop at the money first, grabbing his share of it – just enough to cover the Quarian money that he had to return, plus a little extra for his own expenses – before heading to the corner of the room with all the weapons.

Some of the rifles and the pistols were interesting, some even powerful enough to tempt him, but it was the grenades that had his attention. There were some massive ones in there, beyond the simple frag and EMPs that he’d seen in use. Plasma and incendiary grenades, while rare, were present in numbers that he hadn’t seen since he’d had to go running to Omega, and he was pretty sure that there were enough of them to blow a pretty damn big hole in the station, for that matter.

He picked up five of each. If nothing else, they might let him live a bit longer if he could leave a wall of fire between him and his pursuers.

He was just about to grab a pistol mod when he heard a soft beep. He froze, then slowly turned to look at the source of the continued beeping.

It was coming from underneath a large box that Dresna had picked up, the Asari flipping it over and groaning as a red light flickered in tune with the beeps.

“Well, fuck.”

“We’re made. Time to get the hell out of here.”

“What about –”

“We came here for the money. Grab what you can, and get the hell out. There’s a tunnel on each side, right into the sewer system.”

The Asari groaned, but Roe was already gone, the Drell dragging his half of the cash along with him. They’d meet up later to distribute it properly, but he was sure that the Drell knew exactly how much that he was owed. If nothing else, the assassin could disappear and live well for the rest of his life on what he’d taken.

The sound of people shouting echoed down the hallway that they’d come from, and Dresna gave him a nod before grabbing her half of the money. And a few rifles. She shoved them over her shoulder before making a dash towards her tunnel, leaving him alone to face what was probably dozens, if not hundreds, of very, very angry mercenaries.

[i]Why do I agree to this shit?[/i] Oscar wondered.

Almost as soon as he finished the thought, a shot rang out above his head. It spanged off of one of the crates, and he threw himself behind cover.

“Well, this is fucked…”

“[i]Intruder! Surrender or die![/i]”

“Can I get a third option on that? Not particularly fond of either.”

“[i]Die, then![/i]”

A hail of accelerated bullets and particles went over his head, shredding the boxes that were closest to him, and denting those that were made of sturdier stuff. He grunted, shaking his head as he worked his way down the line of crates towards the ones that were closer to the exit to the cargo yard. There were plenty of explosives around, and the last thing he needed was to be sitting next to a crate full of them with this many bullets flying.

He shimmied along until he was behind one of the few remaining credit crates, and found that it was one of the better built ones. Oscar dragged it behind him as the bullets kept flying, pulling himself towards the cargo yard, and dragging the Eclipse mercenaries further and further into the safehouse vault.

Slowly, he looked over the top of the crate. A quick count showed him about twenty mercs and a couple dozen mechs with them. The mechs were shoving things out of the way, but not firing. Something, at least.

[i]Well…[/i] he thought as he reached down to his waist. [i]I am supposed to be a distraction. Time to distract.[/i]

First, a plasma grenade. He pulled it free, set the time, and wrapped it in a bunch of biotic energy. Had to make sure that he got this right. Oscar lifted his head over the top of the crates again, watched the positions. A good half dozen of the Eclipse mercs were around some of the ammo crates.

Perfect.

He threw it, the biotics putting a spin on the grenade to make sure it went precisely where he wanted it to. It hit the crate –

BOOM!

The whole room shook as ammo and plasma went flying everywhere, the bullets carrying along bits and pieces of the burning mess with them as they went all over the place. Six Eclipse mercs down, and a good dozen more screaming and confused.

He kept it up, layering the ground in front of him with two more plasma grenades and three incendieries, just to keep it from getting any less hot. The mercs had to pull back as their armor started melting, and Oscar smirked.

“Annnnnd that’s my cue to leave.”

He kicked the crate of currency their way, and ran to the door. It opened with a smack of his hand. No locks there. They didn’t have any need of it, this far past the rest of the security. Plus, with all the sniper cover out there –

[i]Please, please, please be ready, Gavorn. The last thing I need is my sexy ass getting shot up.[/i]

He leaped through the door just in time to avoid another hail of bullets, the storm of them rushing over his head. Shouts between snipers and other Eclipse grunts on the ground kept him moving, rolling forward to find cover.

There wasn’t nearly as much as he’d hoped for. They must have split up the goods that he’d seen a day ago, sending some of them out. The stretch between the door and the sewer entrance was a good two hundred yards of open ground past about fifty feet of crates. If he ran out there, he’d be pegged almost instantly.

But if he stayed –

One yellow-armored idiot ran around the boxes, and leaped for him. Oscar blasted him with a Warp, sending him flying backwards, only to be caught by a lesser idiot that got him from behind. Armored gauntlets wrapped around his neck, squeezing him and cutting off his air supply. His struggles and elbow jabs did nothing besides make his arms hurt, and he was slowly pushed down to his knees. Gagging and gasping, he looked towards the edge of the yard…And saw a glimmer.

A split second later, the grip on his neck went slack, and the Eclipse merc hit the ground. He gasped for breath, kicking the body away, only to see a perfect mark in the middle of the asshole’s forehead. A perfect sniper shot. He raised his hand, pressing it to his ear.

“Heh…looks like I got someone watching out for me.”

“[i]Not like I can let that soft ass get taken by someone else.[/i]”

“You think that you can take it after this?”

“[i]Heh, think you can wiggle it all the way to the sewer entrance?[/i]”

“Maybe with a little help…”

“[i]Keep moving. I’ve got your back.[/i]”

“Long as you don’t spend too long staring at my ass…”

He leaped to his feet, jumping over the body and pushing his way further into the maze of crates. The storm of bullets flying overhead didn’t get any better, but he could hear the sound of other mercs pushing into the maze, following him to get in close quarters. Oscar felt confident enough dealing with them if he saw them coming, considering his biotics, but if they got in behind him again –

BANG!

Another body hit the floor, just ahead of him, and he jumped over it. The guy had been hiding, just out of sight for him, but not for Gavorn.

[i]Heh, that Turian’s a hell of a shot.[/i]

Swinging himself behind cover as he saw the tell-tale signs of cheap snipers – laser dots running across the ground ahead – he pressed his hand to his ear again.

“Looks like I got some people just waiting for me to run into the open here. Care to give me an opening?”

“[i]Heh, sure…just hold still…[/i]”

“Not a big option here.”

Another yellow-armored idiot stepped into the open, and he waved his hand at him, sending him flying back a few paces from the blast. More were coming, and he doubted that he could keep them at bay for long.

A few hard cracks filled the air, and each one made one of the laser sights fall from the path in front of him. Oscar kept himself busy, making sure that the Eclipse behind him weren’t making any headway. He pulled down a few of the crates, blocking the path, but he couldn’t do as much of that as he liked. Much more, and he’d lose cover against the bullet storm.

Another crack, another.

“[i]Okay, you’re clear. Make sure to shake that ass for me, if you really want to thank me.[/i]”

“I’ll give you all the ass shaking you like later, when I’m not about to die.”

“[i]Heh, do you think I’d let my favorite human get killed out here? Run. I’ve got you covered.[/i]”

“If you say so.”

It was the big, long run that had him worried. The path from the crates to the sewers. If he misjudged this, if Gavorn wasn’t on top of his game, this was where he was going to die. The snipers were just waiting for this…

But if he waited for any longer, then he was going to have to deal with reinforcements, as well. It was now, or never.

He put the pedal to the metal, sure that the Turian’s sniper scope was pointed right at his ass. Just for the hell of it, he put a slight shimmy to it, making his butt bounce. Hell, he’d spank it for the Turian if it kept him invested.

Hell, he did it anyway, for luck.

Further, further, the bullets tearing up the ground at his feet, stopping just before they could clip his legs. Cracking of sniper shots, warping wisps of biotic energy, angry shouting from the mercs as they tried to stop him. All of it echoing in his ears, all of it making him more panicked.

Save for one.

“[i]Down.[/i]”

He threw himself to the ground without hesitation, and a crack echoed over his head. He looked up, just in time to see a Krogan with an active Omni-Blade sliding out of a hiding place just by the hole to the sewer. One second slower, and that would have sliced through him, and he would have been dead.

“You know…I’m starting to think I owe you a hell of a lot here.”

“[i]You do. But I did leave you high and dry in the alley, so we can call it even.[/i]”

“Heh, you have a strange way of reckoning these things.”

“[i]What can I say? I’m a forgiving guy.[/i]”

“Yeah…Looks like I’m in the clear, though. Get the hell out of here, Gavorn, before one of them spots you.”

“[i]See you at Afterlife in a few hours.[/i]”

“Bet your ass on it…”

He pulled the hatch open, and dropped into the foulness that was Omega’s sewer system. The purge the day before was the only thing that made it bearable…that, and the fact that he knew for sure that Eclipse wouldn’t follow him down here. This was Blood Pack territory…

#

[i]Four hours and a shower later…[/i]

He passed the briefcase of credits across the table to the Quarians, shaking his head a few times.

“All the credits that you lost, plus a little extra.”

“You…actually did it?”

The leader sounded almost like he didn’t believe it. Then again, Oscar hardly believed that he’d done it, so that was a square enough thing to believe. He shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s done. You’re paid. We’re even.”

“Yes…yes, I would say so. That also pays for the little device.”

He’d forgotten about that, but he wasn’t going to argue. If they took it off of his debt to them, then it was all for the better. He didn’t want them coming back for more, not after all this crap.

Oscar shook his head as the three techno-wizards stepped into a corner to talk, pulling down a bottle from his pantry. He didn’t open it, though. This was something special, something to be saved for later. Instead, he just sat down and waited, knowing that the Quarians had something else to say. They always did, at the end of a deal.

Sure enough, their leader turned to him, eyes dimmed slightly behind his faceplate.

“We’re…sorry for trying to kill you.”

“I gathered that. But we’re even now.”

“We don’t suppose…you got any weapons?”

He arched an eyebrow at that. Sure, there were the few grenades that he had left from looting the place, but those were his. They could get their own. Not like he could say that, though.

“You haven’t learned, yet?”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“Eclipse had almost everything in that place bugged and tracked. Dunno why, but they’re getting more and more paranoid. I didn’t want to take anything out of there that I didn’t have to.”

“We understand, we understand. We just hoped…”

“Yeah, well, keep on hoping.”

They kept staring at him, and he shook his head.

“Anything else, or are you just going to stick around my apartment for the rest of the night?”

“Actually…”

“Oh, come on…”

The leader rubbed the back of his head.

“We did lose our home, too. They blew it up after they took the credits, and –”

“That is [i]not[/i] my problem.”

“No, but it still happened because of you.”

“You seriously think - I almost got killed, a dozen times, getting those credits back for you.”

“But you did get them back. And we were hoping –”

“No, nope, not gonna happen, never gonna happen, nope. Nuh-uh. Nope.”

“But –”

“OUT!”

They scattered almost as quickly as the Vorcha would have done if Gavorn was hunting them, leaving him alone in the apartment quick enough. He shook his head. He’d have to change the locks if he wanted full privacy again, he supposed. And make them better.

In the meantime, however…

He picked up the bottle properly, and gathered some of his leftover cash. It was time to go and visit the best sniper on Omega and give him a proper thank-you.

[b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]