Chapter 35: Zaeed's Hunt
The System's alert hit me like a physical blow, warning icons flooding my peripheral vision as I reviewed defensive preparations in Aria's command center.
[DANGEROUS SIGNATURE DETECTED: HUMAN MERCENARY]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: EXTREMELY HIGH]
[IDENTIFICATION: ZAEED MASSANI - LEGENDARY BOUNTY HUNTER]
[WARNING: SUBJECT HAS NEVER FAILED A CONTRACT]
[INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS CERBERUS EMPLOYMENT]
My blood turned to ice. Zaeed Massani—one of the deadliest humans in the galaxy, a man who'd survived every major conflict of the last forty years and built a reputation on the corpses of targets who thought they were untouchable.
"Of course Cerberus would hire him. They want their 'escaped asset' back, and they're done playing games."
Miranda looked up from her tactical display, reading the tension in my posture immediately.
"What's wrong?"
"Company's coming. The kind that doesn't take no for an answer."
Before I could elaborate, Anto's voice crackled over the comm system from his bar: "Boss, you need to see this. Now."
We made our way through Omega's corridors, my enhanced senses cataloging everything for potential threats. The crowds seemed normal, but there was something in the air—a tension that made my Varren Alpha Instinct prickle with warning.
Anto's bar was eerily quiet when we arrived, the usual crowd of criminals and drifters conspicuously absent. Only one figure occupied the space—a scarred human man sitting casually at the bar, nursing a drink like he owned the place.
Zaeed Massani looked exactly as I remembered from the games. Weathered face that had seen too much violence. Eyes like chips of flint that missed nothing. The kind of relaxed posture that came from absolute confidence in his ability to kill everyone in the room.
"There he is. The man who never misses, never fails, never gives up. And he's here for me."
"Marc Wayne," he said without turning around, his gravelly voice carrying the weight of decades spent in combat zones. "Been looking for you."
"I imagine you have," I replied, positioning myself with clear sight lines to exits. "Professional interest?"
Zaeed finally turned, and I saw the calculating assessment in his eyes as he took in my enhanced physique, the predatory grace that marked me as something beyond baseline human.
"Got a contract to bring you back to Cerberus," he said matter-of-factly. "Dead or alive, but they prefer alive. How about you come quietly, save us both some hassle?"
"He's not threatening. Just stating facts. That's almost worse than if he were angry."
"How about you realize Cerberus is never paying you because I'm not going anywhere?" I countered.
Zaeed's grin was sharp enough to cut steel. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Been watching you, Chen. Fighting Collectors, beating Krogan warlords, surviving impossible odds. You're too goddamn interesting to just hand over."
He stood slowly, movements economical and precise. "But I need to test something. You've got power—genetic modifications, combat enhancement, the whole Cerberus special. But can you fight without relying on that legendary rage gene I know you're carrying?"
"He knows about Warlord's Legacy. Of course he does. Zaeed Massani doesn't take contracts without doing research."
"You're proposing what, exactly?"
"One-on-one fight. No powers beyond your base abilities. Just skill versus skill, experience against enhancement." His eyes gleamed with professional curiosity. "If you win, I walk away from the contract. If I win, you answer some questions about how you survive the things that kill everyone else."
Miranda stepped forward, biotic energy crackling around her hands. "This is insane. He's one of the most dangerous humans alive."
"Which is exactly why I want to test myself against him," I said, feeling the weight of approaching destiny. "Without genetic advantages, can I hold my own against legendary skill?"
"This is Zaeed Massani. In the games, he respected strength and honor above everything else. If I can prove both without going full berserker, I might gain an ally instead of an enemy."
The fighting pits beneath Omega's main levels provided perfect venue for our confrontation. Word spread fast—the enhanced human who'd fought Harbinger was going to face the legendary bounty hunter in single combat. Crowds gathered, credits changing hands as odds were calculated and bets placed.
I stood in the center of the arena, feeling naked without my full genetic loadout active. Batarian Four-Eyed Vision and enhanced baseline stats from Warlord's Legacy passive bonuses, but no active powers, no berserker rage, no pack coordination. Just enhanced human versus legendary mercenary.
"This is what I was before the System changed everything. Can Marc Wayne the software developer, enhanced but not transformed, stand against someone who's been killing for longer than I've been alive?"
Zaeed entered the ring with casual confidence, carrying weapons that had seen action on a dozen worlds. No fancy modifications or high-tech gear—just proven tools in the hands of someone who knew exactly how to use them.
"Rules are simple," he called out to the crowd. "No killing shots, no permanent damage. This is about skill, not murder." He looked directly at me. "Ready when you are, Chen."
The fight began without fanfare. Zaeed moved like liquid death, forty years of combat experience compressed into movements that wasted no energy, left no openings. His first shot forced me into cover, the round passing close enough to my ear that I felt the heat.
I responded with Turian-trained precision, my enhanced accuracy finding gaps in his defensive positioning. But Zaeed was already moving, anticipating my targeting choices with the kind of tactical prescience that came from surviving encounters with every type of combatant the galaxy had produced.
"He's reading me like an open book. Every move I make, he's three steps ahead."
We traded positions across the arena, neither able to gain decisive advantage. My enhanced reflexes kept me ahead of his shots while my improved strength let me maneuver obstacles he'd positioned to limit my movement. But his experience gradually began to tell—he was forcing me into disadvantageous positions, controlling the engagement's rhythm.
When he finally closed to melee range, the difference became apparent. Zaeed fought with the brutal efficiency of someone who'd learned combat in the worst possible schools. Every strike was calculated to maximum effect. Every defense flowed seamlessly into counterattack.
I gave everything I had—Anto's training, enhanced strength and speed, tactical knowledge drawn from multiple species' military doctrine. But fighting Zaeed Massani was like trying to defeat decades of warfare distilled into human form.
His final combination caught me perfectly—a feint that drew my guard high, followed by a devastating body shot that dropped me to one knee, then a precisely controlled strike that put me flat on my back without causing serious injury.
I lay there for a moment, staring up at the arena lights, feeling the weight of superior skill pinning me more effectively than any physical restraint.
"He's as good as I hoped he'd be. Better, maybe."
"You're as good as I hoped," I said, grinning despite the defeat.
Zaeed barely looked winded as he helped me to my feet. "And you're tougher than you look. Most people don't last thirty seconds when I decide to end things."
[QUEST COMPLETED: ZAEED'S HUNT]
[ZAEED MASSANI RELATIONSHIP: HOSTILE → RESPECTFUL ALLY]
[RARE TIER RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +400 XP FROM INTENSE COMBAT - 1800/4500 TO LEVEL 9]
[COMBAT FUNDAMENTALS: EXPERT 78% - APPROACHING MASTER TIER]
[REPUTATION GAINED: "HONORABLE COMBATANT"]
The crowd cheered as we stood together in the center of the arena, defeated and victor showing mutual respect.
"Here's what I learned," Zaeed continued, his voice carrying to the spectators. "You fight like someone who learned from everyone. Turian discipline, Krogan fury, human adaptability. And you didn't activate that legendary rage gene I know you have—you fought honorably. That's rare."
He turned to address the crowd, his words carrying the weight of absolute authority.
"Cerberus offered me five hundred thousand credits for Marcus Wayne's return. But I value interesting people more than credits." His scarred face split into a predatory grin. "Consider the contract terminated."
The arena erupted in cheers and groans as bets were settled and stories began forming. But Zaeed wasn't finished.
He approached me, producing a small data chip. "You ever need a gun for hire who doesn't ask stupid questions, call me. Something tells me you're going to face worse than Cerberus before this is over."
"He sees it too. The approaching storm. The sense that everything's building toward something terrible."
"Thank you," I said, accepting the contact information. "I won't forget this."
"See that you don't. And Chen?" His eyes hardened. "Next time we fight, I expect you to use everything you've got. I want to see what you really are when you stop holding back."
As Zaeed disappeared into Omega's crowds, leaving behind only reputation and respect, I felt the weight of another impossible friendship. The man who should have been hunting me was now someone I could call for help.
Aria appeared at the arena's edge, having watched the entire confrontation with calculating interest.
"You collect allies like some people collect debts," she observed. "Useful skill."
"Maybe that's the real power of foreknowledge. Not just knowing who to fight, but knowing who to befriend."
Miranda helped me back to our quarters, her expression amused despite the lingering tension.
"You fought one of the galaxy's best mercenaries without using your powers, lost, and somehow made a friend. That's very you."
I laughed, wincing as enhanced healing worked on bruises that would have hospitalized a baseline human.
"I knew Zaeed respects strength and honor. Showing both without going full berserker proved I'm not just a genetic monster."
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: USER LEARNING TO LEVERAGE CHARACTER KNOWLEDGE FOR DIPLOMATIC OUTCOMES]
[TIMELINE MANAGEMENT SKILL: IMPROVING]
[NEW CONTACT ACQUIRED: ZAEED MASSANI - AVAILABLE FOR CRITICAL MISSIONS]
My omni-tool chimed with an encrypted message from Zaeed: "Heard Collectors are your problem. They're my problem too—lost a squad to them years back. When you're ready to hit them hard, I'm in."
I stared at the message, feeling pieces of a larger puzzle clicking into place. Zaeed Massani wasn't just a legendary mercenary—he was someone else with personal reasons to hate Collectors. Another potential ally in the war that was coming.
The question was whether I'd be strong enough to deserve the loyalty of people like him when the real fighting began.
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