MEHR Chapter 53 Snippet 2 (Patreon)

"...Understood. Updating quest parameters."

~[h+]~

Ramsus had just begun interrogating Samesh Bhatia — the owner of the recently opened Chettinad Eatery — when the US Marine that had been stalking him and yang's Mechanical avatar entered the restaurant, clad in a perfect imitation of a C-Sec uniform. This Jane Proudfoot intrigued him a bit - she had the same inner fire that Junko had - almost as intense... and yet far more muted. In fact, it was getting harder and harder to distinguish her from the cops in the scene.

Fascinating, he thought. I really need to properly introduce myself to her one of these days. There had been little time for introductions before, not between the battle of Noveria, Ramsus' death and resurrection, and the sudden attack by a Spectre.

Refocusing on the matter at hand, Ramsus used his abilities to nudge Jane's mind to try and stay within earshot, and then pushed Bhatia to repeat his story, as if telling it for the very first time.

"Where was I?" said the middle-aged Indian man. "Ah yes... I was called upon by a customer who wanted to personally give me compliments for the meal. I was surprised to find none other than Mr. Jensen sitting at that table over there..." he pointed at a table, right behind Ramsus. "I was quite happy to see him as he helped me with a personal problem. I offered to waive his bill, but he insisted on paying."

"And then you compromised?" said Ramsus, for Jane's benefit. He really hoped she was listening, as he was not keen on listening to all this again.

"Yes, good guess! He would pay the bill, and I would answer some of his questions."

"Which were?"

Bhatia tapped his chin pensively, trying to recall the conversation. "He asked me if I served any Turians in the past few days. I replied that I did not know, as I spent most of my time in the kitchen. Then he asked me where I managed to get my hands on beef and..."

"...And?" Not this part again, Ramsus complained inwardly.

"...Well, it's a trade secret, you understand."

"Mr. Bhatia, an Asari is dead..." Ramsus reminded the man. "...secrets will only hamper our ability to catch the one who did this."

Bhatia sighed. "Alright... I was going to use a protein substitute by Sosamshin, but my greeter told me that she knew a biotech expert who knew a thing or two about bio-printed beef." He rubbed the back of his head. "He had just been released from prison."

"Oh dear... I assume he needed an initial investment?"

"Actually, no, he didn't. Apparently someone had already provided him with the necessary equipment for a previous job."

"And what was the expert's name?"

"Rudy Cullen."