During his most recent mission to Omega Leng had broken into Grayson’s apartment and murdered Liselle T’Loak. The Manning persona had been useful then and could be again. “Yes, thank you.”

  “Good. How can I assist you?”

  “I’m looking for a young woman. A human. Chances are that she arrived on Omega during the last few days.”

  “You have a picture?”

  “I do,” Leng said, as he slid a chip across the table.

  Hobar scooped it up. “That will be five thousand credits if we spot her and provide you with a location.”

  “Two thousand five hundred.”

  “Four thousand—and not a credit less.”

  Leng smiled thinly. “Three thousand.”

  “Three fifty.”

  “Done.”

  Hobar’s facial expression if any was hidden by the mask that covered most of his face. But Leng could tell that he was satisfied. “Your contact information?”

  “It’s on the chip.”

  “Excellent. Have a nice day, Mr. Manning. And don’t forget to give to the poor.”

  With the exception of those on guard duty all of the members of the Biotic Underground were gathered in the old hotel lobby or up on the mezzanine level where they could lean on the rail and look down onto the main floor. There were seventy-three of them including Nick, who was on the mezzanine standing next to Lem.

  Nick was feeling a little bit better by that time, but still regretted killing the biotic the Grim Skulls had sent against him, even if such deaths were, as Mythra Zon liked to put it, “an unfortunate but necessary part of the revolution”—meaning the process by which the biotics would eventually supplant the Citadel Council. That would take money of course. Large quantities of it. Which was why the biotics and the Grim Skulls were going to rob a bank.

  And not just any bank. But a bank owned and operated by none other than Aria T’Loak. The Pirate Queen. A daring act, which, if successful, would not only provide the Underground with some much needed capital but lift the organization up into the middle ranks of Omega’s criminal hierarchy. “So,” Zon was saying as her eyes roamed the faces all around, “the bank is heavily guarded. The Skulls will provide most of the conventional firepower. But we should be ready to assist them if necessary.

  “That being said,” she continued, “our primary task will be to confront and defeat T’Loak’s biotics. Based on information collected by both the Skulls and our people it looks like we’ll be up against at least twelve Level Three or better practitioners.”

  “No problem,” one of the men on the main floor said. “We’ll have them for lunch.” The comment was followed by a chorus of supporting comments.

  “Yeah, that’s right!” “Bring ’em on.” And, “We’ll crush the bastards.”

  “Talk is cheap,” Zon responded critically, “and overconfidence is stupid. Plus I would remind you that we will have to leave a third of our people here to defend the hotel. Because within an hour of the robbery, two at most, T’Loak’s forces will attack this building. And the Skulls’ headquarters as well. So we’ll send about fifty people. Roughly ten of whom will be prime talents like Nick Donahue.” The comment produced a round of applause.

  Was Zon aware of his doubts and trying to pump him up? Nick didn’t know. But when the asari looked straight at him, and said his name, the teenager felt a sense of pride so intense he would have done anything for her. And that included robbing a heavily defended bank.

  The meeting continued for another fifteen minutes as Zon and second in command Kathar went over the battle plan, communications protocols, and the post-robbery exit plan. Because breaking in was one thing—getting home with the loot was another.

  Then it was time for the biotics to leave the hotel and make their way to the bank, which was about three kilometers away. But rather than march through the streets in an effort to draw attention to themselves as they had in the past, the biotics were divided into three teams, each of which was to follow a different route to the objective. Nick was in the third group under the command of Arrius Sallus.

  The ten-hour-long artificial night was almost over as Sallus led his subordinates through the nearly deserted streets following a route that he had checked the day before. In spite of the early hour other predators were out and about. They could be seen lurking here and there, eternally ready to roll drunks, mug those on their way to work, or prey upon each other should the opportunity present itself. But they knew better than to attack the heavily armed group as it jogged through alternating pools of light and shadow.

  Eventually, having arrived at a predetermined assembly point, it was time to integrate the Skulls with the biotics and make final preparations for the assault. There was one team for each point of T’Loak’s triangular bank building. It had been a temple originally, built by members of a long-forgotten cult and surrounded on all three sides by pedways and streets. The open spaces made it impossible for people to sneak up on the structure—and provided what amounted to a free-fire zone all around.

  And making the objective that much harder to take were the weapons emplacements—one at each of the building’s three corners. They had been added by T’Loak seventy years earlier, and used only once, when a defunct gang called the Black Jacks attacked the “east” side of the bank. Not a single one of the attackers had been able to enter, or so legend had it, which explained why none of Omega’s many criminal organizations had attempted to break in since. So the direct approach was out, as was some sort of underground assault, because T’Loak had defenses down there as well.

  Simply put, T’Loak’s treasure trove was impregnable. That’s what the Pirate Queen believed anyway, although the assumption was about to be tested. And Nick was going to be part of the combined team that would either succeed where the Black Jacks had failed or die trying.

  “Okay,” Sallus said, as about thirty biotics and Skulls came together. “You know the drill. Teams one and two will fire on the northwest and northeast corners of the building from positions on the opposite side of the street. Our job is to drop the hammer on the ‘south’ end of the bank. How ’bout it, Skulls? Are the charges ready?”

  “They’re preshaped and ready for placement,” a helmeted noncom said stolidly.

  “Good,” Sallus responded. “Now remember … Once the path has been established it will be important to go in fast. If the weapons emplacement is still in operation we’ll take it out. If it’s out of commission we’ll head for the control center. Meanwhile the defenders at the other end of the building won’t be able to respond without exposing their sectors to a possible breach. There will still be plenty of opposition though, so keep your heads on a swivel. Okay, follow me.”

  Nick felt his heart start to beat faster as he followed Sallus and the Skulls between two nondescript buildings to the base of a fifty-meter-tall column. There were dozens of them all across Omega and this one was positioned directly across the street from T’Loak’s bank. “Place the charges,” Sallus said, as he consulted his omni-tool. “Detonate on my command.”

  The Skulls placed the charges and motioned for the rest of the team to back away. Sallus nodded knowingly as the sound of gunfire was heard to the north—and held up a three-fingered hand lest one of the Skulls trigger the explosives early. Timing was critical. And it was his responsibility to give T’Loak’s quick response team enough time to reinforce the part of the bank that was under attack before blowing the column. “There,” he said, as sixty seconds elapsed. “Blow it.”

  Artificial daylight was starting to fade in by that time, so Nick could not only hear a series of resonant booms as the charges went off, he could feel the ground shake under his feet and see the column start to fall. The process began with puffs of pulverized debris that shot sideways from the structure’s base. Then came the strange moment when the column began to fall in what seemed like slow motion, followed by an explosion of dust as it hit the south end of the bank and crashed through the top two floors of the three-story building. The force of the impact caused the weapons emplacement at the south tip of the badly damaged structure to fall outwards and collapse onto the street beyond. There might have been survivors but not many.

  “That’s it!” Sallus roared. “We have our bridge … Follow me.”

  An enormous cloud of dust was still billowing upward as Nick followed a dimly seen Grim Skull up over a pile of debris and onto the top surface of the column. It stretched across the street to the point where the top of it was buried in T’Loak’s depository. The curved surface was difficult to walk on, and a scream was heard as a Skull fell, but most of the attackers managed to keep their balance. It was a mad moment in which all of Nick’s senses were alive in ways they never had been before, and his only concern was to perform well and earn additional respect from Zon. He wasn’t sure where she was, with Tactus probably, but he knew she would receive detailed reports.

  Devastating though the attack was there was plenty of opposition. That became apparent as the sound of gunfire was heard and a Skull staggered under the impact of multiple hits. But thanks to the fact that he and the rest of the lead team were wearing heavy armor he was able to stay vertical and fire back. The so-called heavies were relatively slow, however, which was why the people immediately behind them were clad in medium armor and carried lighter weapons.

  Nick had elected to stay with his light armor and the additional freedom of movement it allowed him. Flashes of light appeared all around as the bank robbers jumped down off of their makeshift bridge and opened fire. Nick considered throwing a biotic barrier up to protect his team but wasn’t sure who would wind up inside of it. So he shaped the energy required to create a singularity and willed it into existence. The effect was spectacular. Suddenly all of the defenders were sucked together along with loose pieces of furniture, chunks of debris, and a dead turian.

  Then, as T’Loak’s people floated helplessly in front of them, the Skulls opened fire. The defenders were a mixed group of salarians, batarians, and humans. They jerked spasmodically as hundreds of projectiles struck, beat their kinetic shields down, and left them vulnerable. Moments later all of them were dead, and as Nick allowed the singularity to collapse the bodies fell to the floor. “Well done!” Sallus shouted. “The control center is next. Follow me.”

  Nick wasn’t sure how leadership had been able to find out about the control center and its location, but suspected that a bribe had been paid to someone on T’Loak’s payroll. A person who, if they were smart, had left Omega for parts unknown.

  Sallus led the team to a set of emergency stairs and from there down to the first floor. Nick knew that taking over the control center was critical to opening the vaults. But if Nick knew it then so did T’Loak’s employees. And those that hadn’t been sucked to the north end of the building by the diversion were waiting as Sallus cleared the stairwell and was hit with a hail of high-velocity pellets.

  That made Nick angry. He sent shockwaves down the hallway. Then, having pulled the pistols, he began to fire as he marched forward. Skulls moved forward to add their fire to his. A pile of bodies lay just outside a door labeled CONTROL CENTER.

  A klaxon was bleating as one of the Skulls aimed a shotgun at the door lock and fired twice. The spray of projectiles tore the locking mechanism apart, allowing one of the biotics to slide the barrier out of the way. Overhead lights threw pools of light down onto the floor of the room beyond, and three people were standing about eight meters away, with their backs to a curved console.

  Nick was the third person to enter the room and knew he was up against an adept right away. The asari stood with hands raised. The barrier in front of her sparkled as high-speed particles hit it. That meant the biotic and the technicians sheltered with her were momentarily safe from the Skulls.

  But that didn’t apply to Nick, who knew that a biotic charge or a melee attack could penetrate the defensive screen. So he went in hard, felt a momentary resistance as he passed through the barrier, followed by the sensation of wading through quicksand. Then came the moment of release as Nick lumbered forward.

  The asari was worried by then. He could see it on her face. Once they collided, and the defender lost focus, the screen would fall. That would open the controls to the salarian who had been hired to hack the bank’s security system. He was bringing up the rear and should arrive at any moment. All of that flashed through Nick’s mind as a projectile slammed into his right shoulder, turned him around, and sent him reeling. The floor came up to meet him and suddenly Nick was laying facedown as a searing pain stabbed his body. The light armor had been a mistake.

  Fearful that he would take a round in the back Nick managed to roll over. That was when he saw the top of the asari’s head fly off as one of the Skulls shot her. Nick shouted, “Don’t kill the technicians!” but they were dead by that time. And that meant success would rest on the shoulders of the salarian.

  Nick was propped up on his good side as one of the weaker biotics paused to slap some medi-gel on his wound and help him to stand. She was about his age and dressed in medium armor. “You have to walk,” she insisted. “The Skulls aren’t likely to carry you—and I’m not strong enough.”

  Nick knew she was right and struggled to his feet. He’d been shot before, back at the academy, but that didn’t make it feel any better. He felt dizzy, swayed uncertainly, and felt grateful when the girl ducked under his left arm in an attempt to steady him. But wounded or not he had the satisfaction of seeing the salarian sitting in front of the control panel and heard a reedy cheer as one of the vaults opened.

  Then Zon appeared with Tactus in tow. They passed Nick without so much as a sideways glance, went straight to the control panel, and remained there until the other vaults cycled open. That was when Kathar rushed in. Judging from the damage to his armor he’d been in the thick of the fighting. Nick was close enough to hear as the quarian spoke to Zon. “T’Loak’s people are streaming in from all over. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “We’ll enter vault one,” Sallus said grimly. “Then we’ll clean it out, blow a hole through the west wall, and exit that way. I’ll order team one and team two to reposition themselves and provide covering fire.”

  The plan made sense and Zon was smart enough to recognize that. “Fair enough,” she said calmly. “We’ll redirect our people accordingly. I’m sorry there won’t be enough time to loot vaults two and three, but something is better than nothing.”

  Seconds later Nick found himself in a column of walking wounded that snaked out into a corridor, leading them to a blown door and the long narrow space labeled VAULT ONE. A muffled THUMP was heard as the Skulls blew a hole in the back wall and a biotic began to yell, “Take a pack! Take a pack!”

  The backpacks were cheap and flimsy but that was fine since they would only be used once. Time was of the essence and all of them knew it as they shuffled through the vault toward the ragged hole in the back wall and the artificial sunlight beyond. Those who had been wounded weren’t required to wear a pack, but the others were, so that predesignated “loaders” could dump small ingots into each one of them. Most of the galaxy’s commerce was carried out digitally, but such transactions could be tracked, so criminal enterprises were forced to use other forms of currency, Beryllium being one of them.

  The process was slow at first, but the line began to pick up speed as the loaders became more efficient, so it wasn’t long before Nick and his escort were stepping through the newly created door into a chaotic firefight. It seemed teams one and two had successfully repositioned themselves to provide covering fire, but T’Loak’s people were infiltrating the area, and snipers were firing from all around. “Come on!” the girl said, as they began to cross the street. “Run!”

  Nick couldn’t run. Not really. But he did the best he could as the battle grew more intense and projectiles pinged the pavement all around them. Then they were across the street and entering the narrow passageway that separated two buildings. The sound of fighting began to fade at that point and Nick thought they were safe until a batarian stepped out of a door eight meters in front of them. The merc was armed with an assault weapon that he leveled at them.

  Nick was reaching for a pistol with his good hand when the girl shook him off. She was Level 2 at best, but there was nothing wrong with her “throw.” It pushed the batarian backward and ruined his aim. A burst of high-velocity particles flew over Nick’s head as he pulled the trigger three times. The time spent on the range paid off as two of the three rounds pulped the merc’s unprotected face.

  Then it was time to shuffle past the body and clear the area as quickly as possible. It was clear that the plan to re-form and return to the hotel as a unified force had come apart and each biotic was on his or her own. And the girl knew that. “We aren’t going to make it back to headquarters,” she said grimly. “Not before T’Loak’s people attack the place.”

  “Leave me,” Nick said. “I’ll be fine thanks to you. All I need is a place to hole up until the fighting dies down.”

  The girl looked up into his face. She had a broad forehead, wide-set eyes, and a nice mouth. It was set in a firm line. “No. I won’t leave you.”

  Suddenly Nick saw something that was entirely new to him. There was a protective look in her eyes. And something more as well. A level of devotion he didn’t deserve. Nick smiled. “Thank you. Come on … There’s a hotel up ahead. You can check in for both of us. T’Loak’s people will be all over the place looking for stragglers pretty soon. We need to get off the street.”

  The hotel was on lockdown and for a very good reason. The last thing the owner wanted was to get involved in a raging gang war. But the girl was determined. She beat her fist on the door until the manager opened it a crack. Then having gotten his attention she told a reasonably convincing story about how she and her husband had been walking past T’Loak’s bank when all hell broke loose. He had been hit by a stray round and all they wanted was a place to take refuge until the craziness died down. Fortunately the manager was human and inclined to help a member of his own race.