The plane hummed softly around me as it cut across the night sky.
The cabin lights were dimmed to a muted amber, and most of the passengers were asleep, or keeping busy for the next few hours. I sat by the window with my hood up and my tray table down, watching my reflection faintly overlay the darkness beyond the glass.
My hoodie was still soaked from the rain, normally I would be cold, but my body already adjusted my internal temperature. I had already washed the blood from my hands when I pulled Miro's nails, but Finch's death still replayed in my head over and over again. Not just him but the warehouse incident as a whole.
I had expected everything that happened to happen more or less. But what I didn't expect was how cold I was to all of it.
The death and destruction.
I had never seen or done something like that in my past life. And as I walked over those corpse's and broken men I felt nothing. No guilt. Nausea. Or even regret. I knew that I crossed the line gangster's or not, but I knew I needed to watch myself or else I might start kill at the earliest inconvenience.
I wasn't sure whether that scared me or not. But I will handle it like I did everything after I woke up in this world.
Over time and with a plan
Around me, the other passengers looked ordinary. Business travelers, some students probably on a school trip. And a few small families. I was just a lonely twelve-year-old kid, that no one noticed and would fade into the background.
Which is good that's how I wanted to be. Remain anonymous and forgettable. A shadow moving from one country to another.
I closed my eyes for maybe twenty minutes, but sleep never came. My abilities made it harder to sleep in such a confined space. The smells. Sounds. My psionic sense picking up surface level thoughts and feelings.
It was hard to relax or sleep with the constant stimulation in such a small space. So instead, I decided to start thinking on others things to keep my mind occupied.
Like the spacer-route Shepard was real and confirmed to be male. He was out there somewhere on some satellite station living his life, and if I join the Alliance military I would definitely meet him.
Now Jane might be something else entirely. Or she might be another anomaly I still didn't understand. She was as strong and fast as me. She didn't seem to have my other abilities, but it just begged the question of who or what was she. The evidence I collected points to her being the female Shephard, but why do they both exist at the same time?
Then there was Victoria. She remained a mystery I kept choosing not to solve. She was always there and useful. It was strange I could tell her feelings and actions were genuine. But she was still unreadable, I knew she was hiding something, but it's not like I'm one to talk.
I will just have to deal with those things when I get back. I can't keep putting them off. Probably because I'm starting to get fond of her. She's the closest thing to a real friend I made since I came to this world and escaped that facility.
But first I need to focus on Ms. caged_bird. Some seventeen year old girl in Australia whose trapped by a controlling father and her sister needs help as well.
A father who apparently has plenty of money, power, influence . To the point he could control every aspect of her life and her sisters. And they would never be free, even as adults.
To think I would go from escaping a Cerberus experimental site. To helping build a home for runaways in Vancouver. Now I was crossing another ocean to pull another two girls out of a cage before the door is locked shut.
If I was being honest with myself, I wasn't doing it just for them. I was doing it for the version of me who had once wanted help someone like her, who was in a much worse situation in my old life, and I was to powerless to do anything.
I then reopened the encrypted chat and reread the address she had sent. It was for a Coffee shop. So I decided to hack into the local cameras to do some reconnaissance. I was in withing minutes, and hacked into the several camera's from in and out of the shop and the ones surrounding it.
It was nice public place. Enough coverage in certain area's from camera's. She really is smart. Probably paranoid but in the right way.
I sent a short message once the plane began descent.
Plane just landed. I'll message when I'm ten minutes away.
Three dots appeared, then vanished. No reply.
That was interesting. Hopefully it's not a trap. I would hate to have to destroy that area if this happened to be one. Especially since this was my first time in Australia
As I stepped out of the airport Australia felt wrong the moment I stepped outside. Not bad. Just… wrong.
The air was warmer than Vancouver's, softer somehow, but it carried a brightness even in the evening. Different birds. Different streetlight spacing. Different flow to the people walking past. Even the shadows felt unfamiliar.
Probably because everything in this damn place was dangerous. I kept my head down, and caught transport into the city.
The ride gave me more time to think.
I memorized the street names. I noticed how the architecture shifted. I watched through the glass as the city opened around me, wealthy districts, older storefronts, glass towers, patches of overgrown green pushing back against concrete. And large mountains beyond the city.
My omni tool said I was five minutes out. So I sent the message that I was ten minutes out. This way I can keep her off guard in case it's a trap.
This time she answered immediately.
Corner table near the front window. Walk slowly
That was a reasonable. I thought
As I got off the transport, I noticed it immediately. The coffee shop was small and upscale, the kind of place that pretended to be casual while charging obscene amounts for handcrafted drinks. I could hear Soft jazz being played. And low conversation filled the room. The smell of espresso and cinnamon hung in the air.
I stepped inside and let my eyes adjust to the corner table by the front window. She was already there.
Black hair. Fair slightly tanned skin. Her posture was upright, and seemed somewhat stiff but controlled. Too controlled for a teenager trying to look relaxed. Her clothes looked expensive, but understated, nothing flashy but they did seem to be carefully chosen.
She had the look of someone who had been taught her entire life how to behave in public, and read the room.
But it was her eyes that locked everything into place. Sharp. Blue with small hints of exhaustion. That was when she saw me. Her gaze dropped immediately to assess height, age, build, and then flicked toward the exits. Then she nodded towards me.
She has good instincts.
I approached slowly and sat across from her. She looked familiar, but I couldn't tell why, it was like I already new her.
After I sat down for a few seconds, neither of us spoke. Then she exhaled through her nose and said, "You're younger than I expected."
"So are you," I replied.
She just stared at me while sipping on her tea.
"So you really came. If this is just a plot don't waste your time I have a back up plan just case."
"Yes I came. I don't know what you think this is, but I came here to do as I said and help you and your sister escape. I don't know who your father is, but he couldn't buy me."
She studied my face more carefully now, probably trying to reconcile with the picture I'd sent with the reality in front of her.
"He could if he wanted to, if he didn't already." she said quietly.
"If you say so. I gain nothing from helping you. If you don't want my help, I will just enjoy the sites here since I came all the way."
That made her blink.
Then the server came by. I ordered tea. When the server left, she folded her hands on the table.
"My name," she said after a pause, "is Miranda.... Miranda Lawson"
My expression didn't change, but internally everything stilled.
More and more this world keeps surprising me. What were the odds I would meet Miranda Lawson on a chat forum, and now I'm here trying to help here escape her father's reach. This was good I can meet a companion character before the main story events but this was also bad to.
I was staring at one of Cerberus's most important future assets years before she was supposed to matter. Wait when she said she had a secret benefactor, she must have meant Cerberus. There's a possibility she's being watched, even now as we speak. I need to get out of here as soon as possible.
I kept my face blank.
"Nice to meet you. Miranda. You can call me thirteen."
Her shoulders eased a fraction at hearing her real name spoken without reaction.
"I won't ask. I'm sure you have your reason's for not giving your name. I guess I was just being foolish giving mine. To be honest I almost didn't come," she admitted. "I thought you might be lying or working for my father."
"Any father who sets this all up to get their kid to realize they own them is not someone I would want to work for.," I said. "I have my own plans and goals so I can't get tied down to someone as little as your father, and his narcissistic games."
That made her tense again.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're father is a little man compared to the people and things I have seen. But your right to be cautious."
She stared at me for a long moment. Then, finally she spoke: "My father's name is Henry Lawson. He's one of the most influential men in the galaxy."
There it was but not that I don't understand her reasoning for it.
I took a sip of tea and let the silence stretch. She mistook my calm for ignorance, which worked in my favor.
"You know the name?" she asked.
"I know enough."
Henry Lawson a powerful businessman who was obsessed with securing a way to make his mark on history. So he chose a "genetic dynasty". Rather than have a normal family, he took his own DNA and doubled his X chromosome to create Miranda, whom he ensured would have "desirable traits." The messed up part is that Miranda wasn't the first offspring he engineered in this way, but she was the first one he kept.
Henry spoiled her growing up, giving her everything she wanted, but everythign always came with a catch. An angle to fit his long term plan for her. But eventually, Henry grew dissatisfied with her and used her DNA to create a more ideal heiress. Her younger sister Oriana. When Miranda found about this she rebelled, taking Oriana and fleeing. Then Miranda went to Cerberus for protection, and Henry withdrew his support for the organization.
Compared to the Shadow Broker, Illusive Man, and the Reapers. Her father isn't even a real threat. He's just a delusional narcissistic billionaire.
Miranda leaned back, watching me carefully.
"He controls everything," she said. " My schedule. Food. Education. Social contact. Training. What I wear. What I read. Even what emotions are considered useful."
Her voice remained steady, but her fingers had tightened around the glass so hard the knuckles were pale.
"But lately after he brought back my sister he's, I seen the way he looks at her. He's gonna do what he did with me to her."
I stayed quiet.
She kept going.
"I had to get my sister out first, and then disappear with my benefactor. That is the only thing I can control."
"Sounds like alot for a over bearing parent."
Miranda's jaw tightened. "You don't understand what he is."
"No," I said. "I understand exactly what men like that are."
Something in my tone must have hit the right nerve, because her posture changed slightly. Less guarded. Not trusting. Just… less alone.
She lowered her voice.
"The benefactor I mentioned? She's real. One of my father's former associates. She despises him. She arranged everything and says if I get out alone and stay gone for a few weeks, she can do the rest."
I nodded once. "And you believe her?"
"No," she said instantly. "But I believe I don't have many option, that she hates my father enough for it to be useful to me."
That was a good answer. I slid my tea aside and leaned forward.
"Then we plan and get you and your sister out of here."
Miranda's eyes sharpened.
"You think it will be that easy?"
"I know it won't be, but I can tell your a smart girl. And I'm okay for myself so, I believe we can make it happen. Just remember this. Never be to trusting of someone who is willing to do anything for their own mean's. It means you might one day be a end to those means."
"I won't go back and I won't let him have my sister, I will burn his legacy down before I allow that." she said quietly.
"Of course you won't. Your Miranda Lawson after all." The confidence in my voice seemed to unsettle her more than comfort her.
"Why are you helping me?"
Because I know who you become. Because one day you'll help save humanity and nearly destroy yourself doing it. Because if I can move one important piece early, the whole board changes. But instead, I said, "Because I can so I will."
Miranda stared at me, then showed a short smirk. "You sound insane. I really can't get a read on you."
"I get that a lot too."
We then went over details.
Routes. Timings. Surveillance patterns around her father's estate. Household staff. Expected security presence. Where she could access private transit without being seen. Which accounts she still controlled. Which ones her father watched. What luggage she could carry without suspicion.
She had planned more than I expected. Miranda Lawson didn't survive by being reckless. By the end of the first hour, we had the shape of an exit for her and her sister.
By the end of the second, we had contingencies. And by the time the sky outside had fully darkened, we had something much more dangerous than a plan.
We had trust or just maybe a simple understanding of each other. When we finally stood to leave, Miranda hesitated.
"Are you really just a twelve year old kid?" she asked quietly.
"No, I'm thirteen"
Miranda smiled somewhat like that had been genuinely funny.
"If this works…" she began, then stopped.
"It will," I said.
She glanced at me one last time. Then she said the one thing I hadn't expected. "You feel familiar."
I went still while Miranda seemed surprised by her own words.
"I don't why but I feel like we met before," she added quickly. "I just… never mind."
"We leave at night, so get ready I'm gonna give you a big distraction. I just have one question Miranda. Do you want me to kill your father? I asked.
Miranda stared at me confused by the question. I could tell she didn't know how to answer it. The almost a moment later she nodded once. " I'll leave that up to you, but I won't be mad if you do or don't do it. If anything I might actually give you a nice reward if you did so."
She turned and left through the front entrance without looking back. I remained by the table for another minute, staring into the dregs of my tea.
If I kill Henry Lawson, then I can take care of alot of future problems. I would also be able to still files and cash from his estate. And Miranda won't have to worry about him going after Oriana in the future. Not to mention take care of the possibility of Miranda dying during the Reaper invasion.
Then my omni-tool vibrated. An encrypted message from an unknown sender. I looked around to find no one new in my sense's.
I opened it and it read.
Killing Lawson would be a good choice.
That was it. There was no signature, and I couldn't trace the origin.
I looked toward the window where Miranda had vanished into the city lights. Then I looked at the camera's.
"Great another stalker. I wonder who it is this time?"
I walked outside and headed to the Lawson estate. It was time to set Miranda and her sister free.