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.

  The twosome were inside a minute later, and entering a shabby room shortly after that, as the fighting began to decrease and traffic noise increased. Gun battles were common, people had to work, and life went on. For most people that is, the exceptions being those who had been killed during the robbery.

  Nick sat on the bed, fought to suppress a groan as the girl lifted his feet up off the floor, and lay back against the pillows. “Tell me something.”

  The girl sat down next to him. Her eyes were brown and very serious. “What would you like to know?”

  “Your name.”

  “It’s Marisa. Marisa Mendez.”

  “My name’s Nick. Nick Donahue.”

  “I know. Everyone does.”

  “I want to thank you, Marisa. You saved my life.”

  Marisa looked down. “It was nothing.”

  Nick brought his left hand up under Marisa’s chin. Her eyes met his. He meant to say something but wound up kissing her instead. Her lips were soft, she smelled like soap, and the pain in his shoulder was momentarily forgotten. It felt good to be alive.

  NINE

  ON OMEGA

  Aria T’Loak was furious. She had returned from Thessia only to learn that her bank had been robbed the day before. Though a very small part of her net worth, the loss was irksome and might signal weakness. And that was never a good thing on Omega. The fact that the heist had been carried out by a low-rent gang like the Skulls, and a heretofore unknown group called the Biotic Underground, meant a loss of face. Both of the offending organizations had already been punished with reprisal attacks, but neither had been wiped out. That meant further efforts would be required in order to deal with them.

  So as the asari stood across from the bank and looked at the damage, she was angry. But something more as well. T’Loak was worried. Because when she climbed up onto the broken column that led across the street and straight to her bank she realized how elegant the plan had been. Not the sort of thing she expected from the Skulls. Had the idea originated with biotics then? Yes, she thought so. It seemed that there was a new and potentially dangerous player on Omega. One that would have to be watched.

  Fortunately her people had been quick to react to the attack. So while the bank robbers had been able to remove the contents of one vault the other two remained untouched. Still, the loss of material worth 2.5 million credits was nothing to sneeze at, and someone would have to pay. Even if T’Loak was partially to blame for failing to anticipate the way in which the column could be used. It was a lesson learned and one that would be applied to all of her other holdings. Anything that could be used as a giant club would be seized or purchased and destroyed.

  A very frightened batarian was waiting for T’Loak inside the building. Later, in the wake of the robbery, he had been apprehended trying to board a freighter bound for Khar’shan. That was why a pair of armed turians were positioned behind him. His name was Obo Pol and he’d been in charge of the bank on the day of the attack. T’Loak faced him across two meters of debris-strewn floor. “You’re alive,” she observed. “Why?”

  “They attacked without warning,” Pol answered lamely. “I thought they were going to try and enter through the north wall so I sent the quick response team there. That’s when they blew the column. And they had biotics. Lots of them.”

  “Excuses won’t cut it,” T’Loak said harshly. “The column was a surprise. I’ll grant you that. But once it hit you should have rushed reinforcements to the control center, yet you failed to do so. Not to mention the fact that you attempted to run rather than remain here and take responsibility. That’s why they’re going to hang you. And right out front too … So people can see the connection. Take him away.”

  Pol tried to run but the turians were ready. They stunned him, and with help from two additional mercs hauled the batarian away. The hanging wouldn’t repair the damage done to T’Loak’s reputation, but it couldn’t hurt, and would provide Omega’s citizens with free entertainment.

  Tann Immo had risen through the ranks of T’Loak’s syndicate to become one of her most trusted advisers. And that was why he had been brought in during the aftermath of the robbery to sort things out. Once Pol had been carried away he took the opportunity to speak. “We have three prisoners.”

  “Good,” T’Loak said irritably. “Hang them too.”

  “If you say so,” Immo said gravely. “But one of them claims to have been present when your daughter was murdered.”

  What felt like ice water trickled into T’Loak’s veins. “Where is this person?”

  “The prisoners are in a secured area at the north side of the building.”

  “Take me there.” T’Loak followed Immo down a passageway toward the center of the bank. Having left the column and the impact zone behind, things looked normal. They passed the offices associated with T’Loak’s profitable loan-sharking operation, and a data center that also functioned as a backup for computers located elsewhere, before entering the maze of small rooms that the guards lived in.

  One section of the residential area had been put to use as a medical clinic where the wounded were being cared for at T’Loak’s expense. Because she felt that just as incompetence should be punished, loyalty should be rewarded, which explained why the turnover rate in her organization was relatively low. “The prisoners are being kept here,” Immo said, as they passed a pair of guards. “They were wounded and left behind when the attackers were forced to withdraw. Two of them are Skulls. The third is a member of the Biotic Underground.”

  T’Loak nodded. “Which one claims to know about Liselle’s death?”

  “A Skull named Shella. She’s in the last room on the right.”

  A batarian was stationed at the door and came to something resembling attention as T’Loak approached. She gave him a nod and entered the room. It was empty except for a bed and the human female laying on top of it. She appeared to be about thirty or so and wore her hair in a military-style buzz cut that served to show off the elaborate tracery of tattoos on her scalp. She was skinny, her face had a pinched look, and T’Loak was struck by the look of defiance in her eyes. The human was sitting up with a pillow under her right knee. It was wrapped with bandages. “So,” T’Loak said, “your name is Shella. Do you have a second name?”

  “Yes,” the woman said. “It’s Shella.”

  T’Loak might have smiled on some other occasion but not now. “I see. Okay, Shella … I’m told that you murdered my daughter.”

  “No,” Shella said emphatically. “I said I was present when your daughter was murdered. There’s a big difference. The killing came as a complete surprise to me.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” T’Loak replied. “But go on—convince me. And while you’re at it tell me who slit her throat. More than that, make me believe it.”