This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#FreedomFalls – April 10, 2016
Their destination is in a small commercial section of the city, near the center point should you draw a line from Litae's Grace to the Miner's Respite. It's a single-story building, with a garage taking up most of it. On the side facing the road there's one door way off to the side which is locked, and another door beside the leftmost of the two wide garage doors.
There is a digital billboard between the leftmost garage door and the door beside it, and on it is a sign pointing to the unlocked door along with one mentioning that they forbid weapons and armor. There's another sign above the dore saying 'Cheatum and Howe', with 'Affordable Car Rentals' in smaller text under it.
Steve pays the driver and climbs out of the car, remaining near it until Renala joins him. He looks over the building and snorts at the mention of weapons and armor. "Looks like they're gonna have to make an exception today." he mutters.
Renala leaves the car after him, and walks up to his side. "Exception? Oh right, guns and armor," she says. "I see no armed goon by the door. We're either lucky, or they're putting a lot of faith in that sign."
Steve shakes his head and starts towards the unlocked door, figuring someone inside can probably point them to where they need to go. "Doubt they see a whole lot of trouble at a rental service. Prolly not enough to require security." he says as he opens the door. "Course if they're runnin' around shootin' at folks, maybe they do need it..." he adds before stepping inside.
The door leads into a large garage, with two trucks, four wheeled cars and one sky-car. The garage has room for at least three more cars. Along the wall to the left is a door and the receptionist's desk. Behind the desk, stands a human in his mid thirites, a pale man with short black hair. He's in a white formal shirt and black dress pants. There are nobody else present, not even a customer.
Steve approaches the desk. "Mornin'." he says, his helmet tucked under his left arm. "Got a bit of business to discuss with the owner. Mind pointin' me in his direction?" he asks, keeping his tone casual and polite.
The man is not so polite, as he picks up a shotgun from under the desk. He aims it at the asari who is the softer target of the two. "Stop right there," he demands. "Turn around and come back when you learn to read signs." The shotgun is a Katana.
Steve reels back slightly, raising his free hand, palms outwards. "Whoa, buddy! We're just here to chat with whoever's in charge. Not lookin' for any trouble! I'm gonna kindly ask you to lower the weapon. We work for a local security firm. Our business is concernin' the militia."
He doesn't lower his shotgun. "Can we meet again in an hour, without the combat gear?" he asks. "That sign is there for a reason, and it's non-negotiable."
Steve gives a shake of his head. "Hate to break it to ya, friend, but I ain't about to come and have a discussion with a man hidin' a shotgun behind his counter when I ain't got a way to defend myself. If you want us to leave, we'll leave." he says, insinuating from the man's use of 'we' that he's probably in charge, "But I got a feelin' that you're prolly gonna wanna hear what we have
to say. A little talk never hurt no one, right? You don't like what we have to say, we'll turn right around and head on home." he says, trying to talk the man down.
"Fine, but as much as think about pulling out your guns or some kind of asari magic...," he threatens before slowly lowering the shotgun, and holding it in one hand. "You've really got being a pain in the ass nailed down to a fucking science, Redrock Agency. Now what can I do for you?"
Steve eases up slightly, giving Renala a glance before his eyes return to the shotgun. It doesn't take long to realize the man can't read minds, because he's very much thinking of pulling his gun. His hand returns to his side and he remains in place for the moment. "Uvena Atana." he says plainly, "She rented a car from you. Came into a little trouble with said car, and was attacked by
Corporal Falten on, what we believe to be, your orders." He puts his hand back up defensively and gives a shake of his head, "I ain't tryin' to make somethin' out of this. Business is business and I know you gotta get paid. But runnin' around shootin' Redrock employees ain't gonna fly. We've got the car and it's in fine shape. We just wanna sweep this whole ugly ordeal under the rug
and make sure our people are safe. We return the car, you call off your goons." He shrugs and tilts his head to the side, "It's a damn good deal, I assure you."
"Here's the thing, they're not doing this under my leadership," he begins. "I pay them a tiny deposit, and they get me the money with interest. Sometimes all at once, sometimes in a steady trickle, but it always goes back where it belongs. I run a business out here, I can't have some purple bitch 'misplace' my car and get away with it scot-free. I need to send the message that my stock ain't ripe for the taking." He pauses. "I gave her th
three weeks to get it back before I sent a collector her way, and this operation has been an expensive one. It'll take a whole lot more than the car to sweep this under the rug."
Steve sighs and gives a shake of his head. "How 'bout this. You just tell me what you think it's gonna take to solve this whole ordeal and then we can see what we can do for you, alright?" His fingertips begin to gently rap against the side of his leg armor.
"You can turn around and never come back," he suggests. "The team gave me an update this morning. This ordeal will be solved, and they'll cover the losses caused by you getting in their way."
Steve blinks a couple of times. "I ain't followin'." he says, letting a deep, frustrated breath out through his nose. "Look. Your people are gonna drop this whole thing, alright? Now. I'm tryin' to handle this in a way where everyone gets what they want, but you're gonna have to work with me here, alright? Tell me what you need for us to put this behind us with Uvena walkin' away
He chuckles humorlessly. "I don't owe you anything, Redrock Agency," he says. "There's no calling this off, it's completely out of my control once they get their deposit. How they get what I'm owed is none of my business, and I can't say I give a shit." He pauses before adding, "It's probably ugly, though."
Steve lets out a deep sigh and shrugs his shoulders. "They got their credits. That's all they care about. You and I both know you could call this off if ya wanted to. Tell 'em their lil' scare tactics worked. Uvena forked up the credits. Job well done. Nobody gets hurt. You get your car back. Disaster avoided. Everyone's happy." he pleads with the man.
He shakes his head. "A hundred thousand credits," he says. "That's what they're offered if they go through with it, and they said it was pretty easy. If anything they'll keep the whole prize for themselves if I pull out."
Steve snickers humorlessly and gives a shake of his head. "Alright." he sighs, "Well. I sure hope it was worth the heap of trouble you've brought on yourself." he says plainly, turning towards the door and nodding for Renala to join him. "You have yourself a good day." he says as he opens the door and steps through it. waiting just outside for Renala.
He nods to them. "You have a nice day too," he says, muttering something under his breath as they leave. He doesn't put the shotgun down, however.
Steve lets out another deep breath once he's outside and puts his helmet on. "Well, polite conversation didn't work." he says, locking the helmet into place. "Time for plan B. You just wait right out here, darlin'."
Renala sighs. "Where do you think they'll conjure up a hundred thousand from?" she asks. She enables her omni-tool, and starts tapping away at it. "I'll see what I can do from out here."
Steve gives a shrug. "I don't really give a fuck where they think they're gettin' it from. I'm gonna go put a few rounds in that fuckface and see if he thinks his life is worth a hundred-thousand credits." He shakes his head in frustration as he unholsters his SMG and checks the thermal clip, "Seriously. A hundred-thousand credits over a damn' car?" he asks, staring sharply at Renala
Renala raises an eyebrow. "He mentioned interest, and those goons probably don't do it for free," she says. "You ever seen how much Redrock charges?" She shrugs. "Anyway, you go do your thing. I'll come in later if you need something off his terminal."
Steve gives a thumbs up and turns on his heels, activating his shields before tapping the door's interface. The moment it slides open, he steps back inside, SMG raised. "We could've handled this like gentleman." he taunts, "But you had to go and make things hard on yourself." If the man were to try raising his shotgun, Steve would fire a few rounds at the arm holding it, aiming to
Of course he did, and the shots do their job. He loses the shotgun on the floor, and crouches down to get in cover. "Told you there was nothing I can do!" he groans. He is holding his injured arm with the free hand, trying to apply pressure on the wound.
Renala manages to change the electronic billboard to say 'We're closed. Payment terminal is broken.'
Steve keeps his SMG raised as he approaches the counter. "Uh huh. Nothin' you can do. Right. They ain't goin' away until they get a hundred-thousand credits, right?" he says as he begins to round the counter, "So you're gonna come up with a hundred-thousand credits so they can get their money and we can all go on our merry way, got it? The alternative is I put a few more rounds in you
and we go about knockin' off your lil' friends anyway. Your choice, buddy. I don't particularly care one way or another."
He stands up slowly. "Alright, alright," he says, and reaches out to the terminal to do some one handed typing. "I can't pull a hundred thousand out of my ass, but I'll ask them to call this off."
Steve keeps his SMG sighted on the man but uses his free hand to reach into a compartment on his hardsuit. After a little digging, he produces a small canister of medi-gel and underhands it at the man. "Clean yourself up." he instructs. "I don't care where the credits come from. I don't care whether they agree or disagree. I don't care about shit aside from whether or not you're able
to stop this, understand?" he clarifies quite calmly, considering the circumstances, "If you ain't able to put an end to this, that's your ass. And there ain't enough medi-gel in the galaxy to fix what I'm gonna do to ya."
The man takes the offered medi-gel and starts applying it to the wounds on the arm. "I can tell you what kind of people they are," he says, the pain still clear in his voice. "I know the kind of shit they stoop to. Slavery or ransom. It's what they do when intimidation doesn't work." He finishes with the medi-gel and waits for the effects to kick in.
Steve gestures with his SMG for the man to get to the point. "And where do the militia tie into this?" he asks, "Why is one of Commander Arius' finest workin' as a two-bit debt collector?"
He steps towards the terminal and logs in. "They never said anything about that," he says. "Militia ain't full time work, it's something people that can fire a gun do to earn a tiny bit more every month." He starts typing up a message to someone named 'Taro Avoren', speaking while typing the same words.
"I handled the Uvena Atana debt. You fucked this one up big time, but I'm gonna let that slide if you pack up and go home. No hard feelings. I'm not going to forget all the times you came through and delivered because a single fuck-up. We'll stay in touch." He waits for confirmation before sending it off.
Steve gestures towards the keyboard with his SMG, giving the man a nod. "Sounds natural." he decides, "Go with it." He keeps his distance from the man as he watches, in case he tries anything. "Who are these people?" he asks, "Where do they operate out of?"
The message is sent. "Avoren Security, I think they have an office in the next state: Linissa," he says. "I've only met Taro in person, but they get the job done... except when you get in their way."
Steve doesn't seem to have any interest in leaving. "Avoren Security." he repeats with a nod, "How long does it usually take for one of these assholes to get back in touch with you? I don't have all fuckin' day."
He shrugs. "Anything from ten sec to a couple hours," he says. "Salarians gotta sleep too. Sometimes." Another five seconds passes before the terminal makes a noise and the message is brought up on screen. "Understood. Contract is terminated. Will keep the deposit. Sincerely, Taro Avoren." He read the message as it is written.
Steve gives a smile from behind his recon hood. "Well, seems like we're all square, then." he says, lowering his SMG. "We'll keep the car for a bit longer. If it seems like you're not going to fuck us, then we'll hand it over. But if I- or any of my coworkers- get as much as a dirty look from one of your lil' friends, I'm comin' back here, understand?" He holsters his SMG before going
right ahead and clarifying, "I will kill you. Now..." he folds his arms across his chest, "...Are we all square?"
He glances down at his arm. "I will leave your asari alone, because I don't doubt for a second you'll act on that threat," he says. "I washed my hands off that, for better of worse. I think they'll go home, but if they don't, I won't hear a single thing about it."
Steve shrugs and tilts his head. "Fair enough. But if they don't?" he says, reaching down to pat his SMG, "This will be the next thing you hear from me." He turns on his heels and starts towards the door. "You have yourself a good day." he repeats on his way out.
Steve cocks his head to face the asari as the door closes behind him. "Settled. He called off his attack dogs." he announces, taking a few steps towards Renala. "Whether or not he follows through on his word to drop it, or whether his goons let it go? Well, we'll just have to wait and see." He spots the sign and lets out a soft chuckle. "Good thinkin'."
Renala chuckles, as well. "I'm sure he'll thank me later," she says. "Did he say anything about how they would get the credits?"
Steve gives a shake of his head. "Not my concern, either. Seemed like he's worked with 'em quite a bit, so hopefully that means he knows how to handle 'em. I did get a name, though." he says, "Taro Avoren. Salarian. His company is called 'Avoren Security' which operates out of Linissa. Might be a good idea to do a lil' diggin'."
Renala nods. "I'll look over the reports again," she says. "It must've been them we ran into last time, maybe there's anything in the report that could help us track them down." She pauses. "We can't know if he goes back on his word if we don't know what they're after."
Steve furrows his brow, "After? Seems pretty cut and dry, doesn't it? Dickhead rents Uvena a car. Things goes wrong for Uvena." he says, failing to say out loud that he and Renala are responsible for 'what went wrong', "Dickhead has his goons threaten and attack her while strong-armin' credits outta her. He said he pays 'em a deposit. Means they've already gotten their paycheck, so what
Renala nods, again. "You heard him yourself, he said they could do it on their own," she says. "Did he mentioned how much that deposit is? If it's worth the trouble we've caused to their people, I mean."
Steve gives another shake of his head. "He didn't..." he sighs, "But if they're professionals, hopefully that means they're smart enough to know when to cut their losses and back off rather than starting a war over that fuckin' turian."
Renala hums. "I hope so," she says, "but he's not paying them, though. It's more the other way around by the sounds of things." She looks along the road. "So, how are we getting back?"
Steve gives a sigh as he listens before glancing back and forth up and down the road. "Well, shit... I can call us a taxi." he offers with a shrug before cocking a thumb in the direction of Redrock HQ, "Unless ya felt up for takin' a walk."
Renala takes a step away from the wall. "I'm fine with walking," she says, "but I'll leave that call to the one that's fully suited up."
Steve clanks his knuckles against his chestplate, smirking from behind his helmet. "Well, I'm feelin' fine, darlin'. Nothin' gets my blood flowin' like shootin' scumbags. A nice walk would do me well. Maybe allow me to unwind a bit."
Renala nods. "That's decided, then," she says as she starts making a few more steps towards the pavement. "What do you need to do at the office, though?"
Steve begins to unseal his helmet as he walks beside Renala, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air once he lifts it off. "Whaddya mean 'what do I need to do at the office'?" he asks, running a gauntlet through his hair as he glances over at her with a smirk, "Maybe I just wanna come along for the good company."
Renala chuckles. "That would be welcome, but my work isn't exactly interesting to watch," she says. "Right now I'm just playing the waiting game while I get the data off of a picture frame, which Atana dropped off at my desk yesterday."
Steve blinks a couple times. "Data off a picture frame...?" he repeats, feeling entirely out of the loop.
Renala nods. "It was a personal matter," she says. "Unless there's some secret mission where pictures of her daughter as a little kid is critical intel." She chuckles. "I'd normally refuse that... at least while I'm the clock, but maybe it'll soften the blow should the truth reach her."