I saw as the city lights stretched across the horizon like a field of stars as I left the coffee shop district behind. The sun was beginning to set so I knew I had to make my way out. But before heading to the Lawson estate, I made a few stops.
Preparation always came first.
I moved through a few stores and picked up what I needed: First a change of clothes, new cargo pants, a pair of shoes, a dark jacket with a hoodie, and a cap, and some leather gloves. Two sets of everything in different colors. They were nothing expensive. Just things that would let me disappear into a crowd or vanish into darkness. Plus it would be stupid to keep wearing the same clothes when I'm about to commit a crime.
After changing in a public restroom, I packed the old clothes into a plastic bag and tossed them in a dumpster several blocks away. Then I began the walk toward the estate.
Miranda told me Lawson estate sat on the outskirts of the city, deep inside one of the wealthiest districts in the region. Even from a distance the whole area stood apart from the rest of the city.
The houses here didn't look like homes, they looked like they were monuments to money.
Massive estates spread across enormous plots of land, separated by long stretches of private road and carefully sculpted landscaping. Security lights glowed across trimmed hedges and marble walkways.
I thought all of this seemed like to much, but rich people will be rich people, and flaunt their wealth like a peacock. But Lawson's estate dwarfed them all.
As I checked the address on my omni-tool. It confirmed that this was the correct location.
The property sat at the top of a large hill near the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. From the side of the hill a private road curved down toward a small private airport built along the coastline. I let out a quiet breath.
"I knew this guy was rich in the games, but this guy really has fuck-you type of money."
It was easy for me to get to this district while avoiding the camera's. Security and luxury for the rich don't always go hand in hand from my previous life's experience. What they actually want is the sense of security, but the moment it inconveniences them in any way or their little privilege they will throw it to the side.
That mentality will be the thing that help get in and out of here without being noticed. Instead of approaching the front gate, I moved around the property line until I reached the cliffside behind the estate.
There were fewer cameras there, and the ones around didn't have full range. So I was in a blind spot.
I have to give it to Miranda she really knows her stuff. Who knows after all this we might be able to meet again in the future after the events of the collectors. When she leaves Cerberus after she becomes disillusioned with the Illusive Man's ruthless, manipulative, and selfish goals.
I'm surprised it took her so long to realize that. She basically ended up working for another version of her father, and even became like him in some way. But that's her life and character development. But not speaking of the future I had a few things I was curious about.
I wonder who will this version of male Shepard will romance? Would it be. Best Girl Liara, or the Alpha Female Ashley. The Femme Fatale Miranda. There's also The Punk/Outlaw Jack. Or Little Sister Tali'Zorah.
Maybe Kelly Chambers to, but I don't count her or the male options, not that theirs a problem with Shepard being gay. But that would be interesting to see. But these are things I will have to wait and find out in the future.
I noticed the wind coming off the ocean whipped against my jacket as I climbed up the rocky incline and perched high enough to see over the stone perimeter wall.
I crouched low and hid. My eyes already adjusted to the fading light as the sun was about to drop past the Horizon. As I activated my kinetic vision, immediately the estate lit up in my perception.
Movement signatures appeared everywhere.
I saw two guards stationed near the front door of the house. One guard was inside a small shack near the main gate. Inside the mansion itself I picked up multiple signals.
Two people on the first floor moving slowly, likely staff. Probably a cook or housekeeper near the kitchen. Then another was near the counter area.
Then another movement. From the way it moved and looked, it was Miranda. I tried to focus my hearing on the house. But even my ears had limits.
I could pick up that it was her, and she was speaking with the staff in the kitchen, likely telling them to leave the house for the night.
Then I saw three more kinetic signatures upstairs.
One was small very small. Jasen knew automatically it was a infant. That had to be Oriana.
The other two figures were larger in another room. One was seated and another one standing. The seated one was probably Henry Lawson, and from the way the other signature moved and stood, it was probably his assistant.
I remained still, watching the estate for nearly twenty minutes, reviewing the plan Miranda and I had discussed earlier.
The only thing that wasn't discussed would be what I would take, and if I kill Lawson. Miranda said it was my choice if I wanted to kill, which would be a no brainer.
That's when my omni-tool notified me of a message, it was from Miranda.
-It's time.
I stood slowly. I began to shift my body slightly around. My muscles loosened as I rolled my shoulders.
The cool wind rustled through the grass along the cliffside.
I pulled my hood over my head, then I let my biotics ignite. As purple eezo energy radiated across my body like a fire. My amber eyes glowed violet.
I inhaled once and then I moved.
A Biotic Charge launched me forward across the distance. I moved two hundred and fifty feet into the air and vanished in a single violent burst of energy as gravity folded around me. I slammed into the front lawn of the estate like a meteor.
The ground shook beneath my boots. The guard inside the gate shack heard the impact immediately. His chair scraped the floor as he jumped up and he reached for his weapon.
By the time he stepped outside, his gun was already aimed in my direction. I lifted my hand. A biotic pulse ripped the weapon from his grip before he could fire. Then I sprinted forward and kicked him sideways and sent him flying into the wall of the shack.
His body smashed through the wall, leaving a jagged hole as he collapsed unconscious inside.
I then heard movement exploded across the estate. Footsteps rushed from the house. I could hear the two men approaching.
I breathed slowly. And allowed my adrenal glands flooded my body with controlled adrenaline. Within seconds the world slowed, and my heart rate elevated, as my senses sharpened.
Okay Jasen… let's see if you can control this. I been spending the last few weeks trying to control my adrenaline burst so I can use it to it's fullest. So far I am able to use it in burst for at least thirty seconds.
Which in my perception is plenty of time, but I want to be able to use it for a lot longer.
Suddenly, two guards sprinted toward me with pistols raised, flashlights cutting through the darkness.
I heard one of them speaking into a radio. "Intruder detected near the guard shack send...."
I didn't wait and flared my biotics again. I focused my hand toward the metal gate behind me. And with my biotics threw the massive iron gate. It tore free from its hinges and flew forward like a battering ram.
Both guards had no time to react before the gate smashed into them and sent them crashing onto the driveway. They both hit the ground hard.
I could hear there heart beats. Both were alive, but they were finished. I grabbed one of their guns and sprinted toward the mansion. I ran without stopping and kicked the front door. The reinforced metal door exploded inward off its hinges.
Glass from the surrounding windows cracked and shattered across the entrance hall as the impact reverberated through the building.
Inside the house alarms began screaming as my adrenaline burst ended. My senses still sharp focused back to their default state. Which for me was good the alarm was to loud for me.
I moved through the mansion quickly, following the only kinetic signature left in the building. It seemed like Miranda got away with Oriana.
When I got to the second floor there he was. Henry Lawson.
He stood in a large room shouting furiously. "Where is she Miranda?!" His voice was filled with rage. "Where is Oriana?!"
That's when he turned around and saw me. His expression shifted from anger to confusion.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. "Are you with Miranda?"
He took a step toward me.
"Listen here you little bastard. I don't know what you or that bitch of a daughter of mine has planned and I don't care. You and that girl better give me back what's mine or death will be the luckiest thing...."
He stopped mid sentence as he looked down
I had fired the gun and heard as the shot shattered his kneecap. The he screamed and collapsed onto the floor in pain.
I walked closer. He looked up at me through the pain, fury twisting his face. "You have no idea who you're dealing with," he snarled.
Jasen's face was cold and stoic as he stood of Lawson.
"I know exactly who I'm dealing with," he said coldly. " Your just a little man who wanted to be remember and tried to control everything, just to realize you control nothing and no one will remember you. So that makes you nothing but a foot note in the shadow of your daughters greatness."
I raised the pistol again and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed through the mansion and Lawson's body fell still.
Silence followed.
I then activated my omni tool and messages Miranda. I got a response in seconds.
-Meet me at the rendezvous location in one hour.
I typed back one short message. Understood.
Then I turned my attention to the room. It wasn't a nursery, it looked like a laboratory. Medical equipment. Data consoles. Genetic analysis hardware.
So this is what Miranda had to deal with growing up. I then moved quickly to Lawson's study. It had a hyper-modern, minimalist look that felt cold. The study overlooked the ocean. It was sleek, with dark metallic aesthetics from the walls to the desk.
I found his terminal and a hidden safe within seconds. I tried to hack them with my Omni tool, but no luck. They were both biometric locked, I sighed and walked back to the body.
I stood over the dead body. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and cut off his hand. Then used it to unlock both.
I can't wait until Omni-gel becomes a thing for a few years. This is to messy.
I then let my omni-tool connected to the system and began downloading everything. Corporate records. Genetic research files. Financial accounts information. Private communications. Anything that looked valuable.
While the download ran, I grabbed a stack of cash and a few encrypted data chips from the safe. Then I finished the transfer and wiped the terminal logs. Before leaving, I activated the stove in the laboratory and triggered several electrical overloads in the equipment.
The fire spread quickly with a little help. Within minutes the mansion began to burn. Flames crawled up the walls as smoke filled the halls.
I jumped outside and ran full sprint just as distant sirens began echoing across the hills. It was the police and emergency response.
But they were too late. I already disappeared into the night.
An hour later I arrived at the rendezvous location. Miranda stood beside a small private aircraft. Her expression looked calmer than before.
I could tell she was a little on edge but still relieved. "Oriana is safe now," she said quietly. "We can leave the country immediately. I arranged everything."
I nodded. "You really didn't even need me. But either way everything taken care of."
"I was always gonna do it whether your were gonna help or not. But it doesn't hurt to have back up plans. You just happened to be quicker to move, I can appreciate that. "
Miranda didn't even ask about her dad. Even if she didn't want to think about it. She was gonna find out one way or another.
"Let's go," she said.
"Ok, just give me one second. I need to change." I quickly changed clothes behind the aircraft while the pilot prepared for departure. Then we boarded.
Soon after the plane lifted off soon after, disappearing into the dark sky. The next few hours would pass in calm silence.
Miranda sat across from me in the dim cabin lighting. Neither of us slept, it's not like I could sleep after everything. Technically I should be tired, I been awake for basically forty hours. But I was still full of energy, but I didn't want to let my guard down since Cerberus might be close.
Then finally, after a long stretch of quiet, Miranda broke the silence. "Thank you," she said softly. "For helping me, and believing in me."
I nodded once. "Of course Miranda."