Mass Effect. The journalist's request
Characters: John Shepard, Emily Wong.
Location: Citadel, Hotel Solarias.
- Rumor has it that you haven't been idle. Congratulations on beating Fist.
The girl's voice snapped Captain Shepard out of his reverie, and he jerked his head to push the dark thoughts away, then turned to the journalist standing by the information column. Emily Wong was a rising star in the local media, a fairly well-known figure in certain circles, but the Alliance officer wasn't interested in her right now.
The Normandy had only docked at the Citadel docks half an hour ago, and the captain had already been pissed off by two different people in turn. First by Admiral Mikhailovich, who seemed to enjoy bickering with those below him in rank, and then by the reporter from the Westerland News. Shepard couldn't remember her full name... Larissa? Carissa? There was something Arabic about it, but the Alliance soldier couldn't remember the full name. In any case, she was no kinder than the unfortunate Admiral - she was even better at prying into the smallest nuances of an officer's work, and Shepard had to resist the urge to punch her in the smirking face.
The captain's mood had soured, however, and he entered the Citadel's residential level leading to the markets in a rather somber mood. He was noticed, though, so he had to put a benevolent expression back on his face and turn to the reporter who had called out to him. Emily Wong was a pretty young Asian woman with a chiseled figure, professionally accentuated by a simple blue dress with a plunging neckline. As in their previous encounter, the girl exuded energy. When she noticed that Shepard was paying attention to her, she perked up noticeably:
- I was sure Fist was a big part of what was going on here. Did you find anything in his office that might help me?
In truth, Captain Shepard had indeed copied the data from his digital storage device after the shooting at the strip club owned by Fist. Only after that, things got crazy fast. First the rescue of the Quarian Tali Zora, who later joined the crew. Then becoming a Spectre, buying new uniforms and getting orders from the Council... In short, Shepard had completely forgotten that his Uni-Tool stored data from the criminal mastermind's computer. But Emily hadn't forgotten, which made Shepard mentally praise her for her good memory and again mentally send her away for being intrusive. Still, he nodded and turned on his instrument.
- I'll give you copies of the disks that may contain the information you need, - the Captain said, starting the file transfer protocol.
Emily almost screamed with joy. She'd obviously thought that Shepard had long since reneged on his promise to help her, but the Captain wasn't the kind of man to make promises for nothing.
- You have Fist's data? I wasn't even hoping for that! - The girl quickly looked at the information she had received on the disk, her eyes gleaming with joy. Then the girl put on her serious mask again, more suitable for a journalist of her class, and started typing quickly on her tablet.
- Here you go, Captain, - she said. - For your work.
Emily blushed slightly, not knowing if the credits given to the Captain would be enough to pay for what he had done. The girl was undoubtedly aware of the leap in her career she could make with this data in hand, just as she was aware that she owed it mostly to the man in the dark green armor marked "N7" standing before her. She was rather sweet in her shyness, which made Shepard, not a man to be easily taken in by feminine charms, involuntarily admire the reddish blush on her cheeks and the long lowered eyelashes through which Emily looked at the Captain with a look of gratitude. An idea flashed through the Captain's mind, and before he had time to think it over, the Spectre spoke:
- And how would you rate our future cooperation? What if I agreed to give you an interview?
- Exclusive?! - the girl couldn't believe her ears. - Tell me what happened first?!
Her eyes lit up with such happiness that Shepard felt a little uncomfortable. Emily grabbed the captain's hand, squeezed it tightly and said:
- It won't cost much, but I'll be happy to pay whatever is required. Where can we meet?
Shepard hesitated, but Emily, moved by the captain's suggestion, offered the place herself:
- I'll get a room at the Hotel Solarias on Shalmar Plaza. Do you know where that is?
- I will know, - the captain nodded, giving the girl a well-deserved, slightly shy smile. Emily jumped up and down like a little girl who had finally received a long-awaited gift.
- Meet me in the restaurant on the first floor at eight o'clock tonight. I'll be waiting for you. Unless, of course, you're busy, uh.
- I'm free tonight, - Shepard said honestly. The girl nodded and held out her slender hand for another shake, smiling amusedly.
- See you later, Captain Shepard.
- See you later, Ms. Wong, - the commander said.
Shepard showered, combed his hair, and even trimmed his beard. He had also changed his military space suit into a civilian suit so he wouldn't look silly in the restaurant. In fact, John realized that the whole thing looked a little strange. He was going on a date? What a silly, childish word. But that's what it seemed to be.
Maybe it was too late for him to admit it, but he really wanted to spend the evening with Emily. It wasn't even so much about the girl, but rather the desire to relax after the shootings in the lower levels of the Citadel and the mission on Noveria. Shepard wouldn't have sacrificed an hour of his life while Saren was free, but the Normandy needed refueling and some repairs that would take until morning, so the crew had the evening off. Ashley had reserved it for a session with one of her sisters, Cayden had gone to the SBC Academy for some biotic business, Wrex had disappeared, promising to be back in the morning, and Garrus and Tali were repairing Mako, who had had a rough time after his encounter with the Geth on Noveria.
Shepard felt a little uncomfortable standing in front of the mirror in his expensive, perfectly fitting suit while Saren was out in the galaxy on his dreadnought, but there was nothing the captain could do about it right now.
Shepard arrived at the hotel at five minutes to eight. The small, beautiful building stood in the center of the plaza, slightly forward so that the occupants of the upper rooms could enjoy the view of Presidio Lake. The pretty Azari at the front desk greeted the Captain with a polished, white-toothed smile, but when he told her he was here to see Ms. Wong, she just popped her eyelashes.
- Ms. Wong left a message for you, Mr. Shepard. Please.
The note was real, written in neat handwriting on pink, pleasant-smelling paper:
"Captain, I didn't get a reservation in time. I hope you don't mind doing the interview in my room. I guarantee the wine. Looking forward to seeing you in room 69."
Shepard's lips broke into a mischievous smile of their own. This was too good to be true. Of course, John knew what he wanted out of this meeting, and the fact that he had to skip the foreplay at the restaurant didn't bother him at all. Shepard took the high-speed elevator to the sixth floor, where the rooms beginning with the number six were located. He stepped out of the automatic doors, crossed the hall and knocked on the mahogany door with the gilded number "69".
- Wait a second! - came from behind the door. The lock beeped, and then the door opened.
Emily Wong looked stunning. She was wearing one of those dresses that had become so popular with the Citadel fashionistas because of the not-so-vulgar cutouts in various parts of her body. Emily had two necklines: one exposed her slender belly with a cute little navel, and the other was just below her breasts, exposing the bottom of her small, seductive hemispheres. The color of the dress - sapphire blue - beautifully accentuated the beauty's jet-black hair and discreet, neat evening makeup, and a pale red lipstick emphasized the sexy plumpness of her half-open lips.
- Captain! - the girl smiled. - You are tactful, and I, being a girl, not so much. Come in.
Shepard stepped inside. The room was simply but tastefully decorated in a kind of Asian style. A large double bed took up most of the room.
- I need another minute, Captain. I hope you understand,- Emily disappeared into the bathroom.
- I think you look great already, - Shepard remarked.
He was answered by the shy laughter of the beauty. John walked forward and found the seat he'd been assigned. A small table between two burgundy chairs that matched the color of the linens. On the table was a bottle of wine and two glasses on thin legs. Shepard uncorked the bottle and poured the wine into the glasses.
- Captain, - came Emily's pleasant, soft voice. The girl stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking slightly different. Her black hair, which had fallen down to her shoulders, was now intricately braided into numerous plaits, accentuating the perfect shape of her face.
- I haven't dressed like this in a long time, - she admitted, as if to apologize. - I wondered if I'd lost my touch.
