MEHR Ch. 51 Snippet 1 (Patreon)

Deus Ex Human Revolution is the property of Eidos/Square Enix

Mass Effect is the property of Bioware and Electronic Arts

Deus Ex is the property of Square Enix

Mass Effect: Human Revolution:

Chapter 51: In Sheep's Clothing, part 6

~[h+]~

The Arms of the Citadel shielded from Widow's light glittered in the dark below the flying X3m, alive with a million golden lights. Inside the common craft sat a robot, a spectre, and a human, all in search of answers.

"Why would anyone want to frame Adam Jensen?" asked Elsa out loud, more to herself than her passenger. Someone — possibly Tarkus, Vandermark, or both — had gone through great lengths to make sure Jensen would be framed for the horrible murder of three C-Sec officers, in a way that confirmed some of the worst rumours about him. The question troubled her greatly, mostly because it was now her job to bring him in. She didn't like it one bit, the idea that she was playing into someone's game.

"Many people, many reasons," replied Bau. "A vocal minority of Spectres, with Tarkus as the loudest, believe that Jensen is a potential security risk to the Citadel, and they became much more vocal once he managed to penetrate 99 percent of the Spectre Office's digital security."

"He did? Why was he interested in some Spectre's files?"

"Ostensibly, he suspected that someone among the Spectres was covering Saren's activities from just before Eden Prime. Everyone else suspected he was trying to to grab some paydata."

"And you didn't arrest him? Why?

"Two reasons. One, nobody in the Office wanted the rest of the world to know that our security was fallible. Two, we have a very large evaluation file on Jensen that rates his chances of evasion or victory against a squad of Spectres as 'very likely'. He wasn't quite worth the trouble then."

"And now the Council wants me to catch him. Great. Just Great."

"As for the Alliance... well, they seem to have quite the inferiority complex concerning Jensen, which puzzles me quite a bit."

"And their mutual hatred of him brought them to bed together?"

"As you say."

"This is giving me a headache," said Elsa, frustration barely contained. "I should be going after Saren, not dancing to the Alliance's tune, or the Spectres for that matter. No offence."

Bau barely nodded. "None taken. But all this changes nothing. If we are going to figure this out, then we need to have a word with Jensen."

"Fine," sighed Elsa. "So, where to?"

"That's up to you. We can examine the ruins of Oleen hospital, or we could visit Jensen's apartment."

"Think Jensen left a trail, there?"

"We won't know until we go. We could also have a word with Chad Devereaux. As I understand it, he was quite adamant about hiring Jensen, probably as his own personal bodyguard."

Elsa looked back, at the 108 Combat Mech DARPA had loaned her. It was just sitting there, completely still, waiting for another command. "Seeing as we've got an all-in-one investigation package back there," she said. "I think Oleen's our best bet... assuming Tarkus hasn't fucked with the scene already." She didn't mention that she hated dealing with bureaucrats. Dumier can wait, she thought.

Elsa turned the wheel, and changed lanes while simultaneously dialing up Zoller's comm channel on her Omni-Tool. "Devereaux to Yang, we're headed to Oleen hospital..."

"Understood. We'll meet you there."

~[h+]~

When Elsa arrived at the scorched ruins of Oleen hospital, she indeed found Tarkus there, fucking with the crime scene. "Hé!" she yelled, as she stepped out of the x3m, Bau and the 108 following her closely. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"