1.3 Scuttlebutt

Normandy SR-2, Deck 3, Port Lounge

Miranda entered the starlit lounge. The large carbon-glass window on the port bulkhead gave the room a large view of space. To the right a bar area with neon lights and music lit up the corner. To the left an old school, green felt poker table was spread with cards, chips, cupholders and dice.

Kasumi slipped past Miranda and strode over to the reclined lounge chair. She wasted no time sprawling out on it and exclaimed, "Oh yeah. This is my spot." She looked at the window. "Room with a view." Her shadowed eyes gleamed at Shepard from beneath her dark hood. "Beats stowing away in the cargo hold."

"I have to admit," Miranda lingered by the doorway. "I'm actually quite impressed with the last mission."

"I know," Kasumi cooed. "Shepard was so dashing in his fancy suit. You should have seen the ladies swooning at him, Miranda."

"The vault you two broke into had triple redundancies," Miranda ignored the dashing comment. "Hock had that vault moved. Our best agents had a go at it on several occasions at several different locations. The password changes every day and requires voice authentication."

"We got the password from the surveillance office," Kasumi explained, stretching out her arm to examine the new Cerberus tech added to her stealth suit. "It was hidden behind the library, triggered by an old fashion moving statuette."

"And you knew about the statuette how?" Miranda was genuinely curious.

"We didn't," Kasumi smiled.

"Yeah, I kind of found that by accident," Shepard admitted.

Kasumi finished looking over her suit sleeves and threw her arms behind her head. "You're never going to believe this, Miranda, but he knocked it over with this ass."

Miranda turned to Shepard. "Jon," she tried to remain serious. "Is that true?"

"There was a serving girl," Shepard defended, "They wouldn't let her through. So I tried to help clear a path. I must've knocked it over when I was getting myself out of the way. I'm just glad I didn't break anything. That would've been embarrassing." When both women looked at him with confusion, he elaborated. "I mean come on, it was a stealth mission." He looked at Kasumi for reassurance. She smiled with delight.

"That's right, Shep. Stole a priceless graybox and the original dual Locust submachine guns but at least you didn't break anything."

"You'd still need Hock's voice saying whatever word the password was that day." Miranda's need for specific details on their mission's success was undaunted. "How would you get him to speak it aloud? He'd have to know."

"What he didn't know - about graphene - could fill a book," Kasumi answered for Shepard. "Shep here talked about the uses of graphene with such vigor and passion that it was all Hock could do to end the conversation. He was putty in Shepard's verbal hands."

"And a current DNA sample large enough to satisfy the final fingerprint?" Miranda would not be stopped.

"We were searching his apartment for prints," Kasumi kept answering for Shepard. "It was pristine, spotless. At least it was until Shepard set off the alarm."

"I'm not even going to ask…" Miranda trailed off.

"Hey, I'm the reason we got the DNA," Shepard stated authoritatively. "If I hadn't bumped that panel the guards wouldn't have come in, we wouldn't have gotten into a contained gunfight with small arms, and"

"I know," Kasumi interrupted. "One of the guards happened to be a little closer to Hock than was public knowledge because this particular large and dark man had a very strong Hock handprint on his drawers."

Jon looked at the stealth-suited thief in shock. "I can't believe you said that. Did you just say drawers?"

"And Hock's gunship??" Miranda continued to ignore Shepard.

"Oh, that was me," Kasumi beamed.

Miranda was silent but seemed at least minimally satisfied. "I suppose it would take someone of your impressive agility to make it close enough to take out the ship's shields."

"Oh, Shepard cleared the way for me with his biotics," Kasumi, still leaning back, rolled her hooded head to look at Miranda. "He has a really neat bowling trick he does. Knocks all the guards out like pins."

Miranda was about to argue.

"Just as soon as he learns how to aim it," the thief finished.

"There," Miranda exhaled. "He couldn't have done it on his own."

Kasumi gasped. "Oh god no. He needs constant supervision."

"I'm right here," Jon stated.

"That's what I said," Miranda responded. "I spent the previous two missions reaving the enemies he leaves floating in singularities."

"I enjoy dipping and darting and picking them off like that," Kasumi chirped.

"Okay," Shepard interrupted. "I'll let you ladies continue your girl talk. I'm going to plot out our next course." He turned and left.

The girls watched him leave. Then Miranda turned to Kasumi, "He must be feeling down."

"Why do you say that?" the thief perked up.

"The courses are pre-plotted in the CIC," Miranda answered. "Joker told me that whenever he says he's got to plot the next course, he goes up to his room and stares at his picture of Ashley."

"Oh that's so sad," Kasumi leaned forward. "How do you know?"

"Kelly Chambers walked in on him crying the other day."

"Yikes," Kasumi poured herself a glass of wine and slid back in her chair. "We have to look out for Jonny boy. He's so sweet I could eat him up. But he also needs a chaperone."

"That's actually my job description," Miranda smirked.

The smirk elicited one back from the thief. Then Kasumi let out a giggle. Then Miranda stifled a giggle. Then Kasumi broke into laughter and Miranda let a few laughs slip. Then they sobered up, nodded silently, Miranda left the room and Kasumi sipped her wine.