Mass Effect: The Complete Novels 4-Book Bundle (106 page)

Now, in the wake of the bank robbery and Shella’s account of what actually occurred that night, it seemed likely that a Cerberus operative named Manning had slit her daughter’s throat. Because he enjoyed such things? Or on orders from the Illusive Man? Given the extent of their involvement Kahlee and Anderson might have relevant information. T’Loak nodded. “Send them up.”

Immo hadn’t met the humans before and looked surprised. Or as surprised as he was capable of looking. “Armed? Or unarmed?”

“They can keep their weapons. I have no idea what they want. But they aren’t assassins.”

Immo said, “Yes, ma’am,” and disappeared.

T’Loak took a sip of the drink at her elbow and looked out at the asari dancers on the ring beyond. They were young. And hungry. The way she’d been back when the nightspot’s original owner hired her as an exotic dancer. That had been a mistake because what had been his club then was
her
club now. Was that how it would end, she wondered? Would one of
the lithe females performing on the ring in front of her find a way to bring her down? Maybe. But not yet. Not for quite a while.

There was a slight disturbance as Immo arrived with the humans in tow and ordered T’Loak’s bodyguards to let them pass. The crime lord was seated on a curving bench-style seat. She waved the visitors over. “Please … sit down. It’s been awhile.”

“Yes, it has,” Anderson agreed. “The last time we were on Omega your hospitality was a little over the top.”

T’Loak laughed. “There were locks on the doors. I admit that. But the rooms were nice.”

“Much nicer than where we’re staying now,” Kahlee allowed. “Let us know if you have a vacancy.”

“I’ll keep you in mind,” T’Loak said. “So, what brings you to the Afterlife? Or is this a social call?”

“I wish it were,” Anderson said soberly. “We’re here regarding Paul Grayson’s daughter.”

T’Loak allowed an eyebrow to rise. “What about her?”

“Her name is Gillian,” Kahlee replied. “And she’s the biotic who killed your employees last night.”

T’Loak frowned. “You’re serious? That was Grayson’s daughter?”

“Yes,” Kahlee said. “It was. Not his biological daughter, but his daughter nonetheless. Gillian demonstrated biotic abilities at a very young age. The Illusive Man became aware of her and ordered Grayson to play the part of her father and enroll her at the Grissom Academy. Grayson did as he was told, but at some point over the years he came to care for her the way a
real
father would, and a bond was formed.
Meanwhile her biotic abilities continued to develop, and based on what took place here, we believe that she had new amps installed.”

“She killed two of my best biotics,” T’Loak said sourly. “And she’s going to pay for that.”

“That’s why we came,” Anderson put in. “We know about the price on her head—and we’re hoping that you would be willing to remove it. Then, if we can find her, we’ll make sure that she gets the help she needs. Gillian is very impetuous—and determined to kill the Illusive Man. In fact, if I had to guess, I’ll bet that is why she came here. She’s looking for a way to find him.”

That piqued T’Loak’s interest. “Why?”

“Because the Illusive Man killed her father,” Kahlee answered. “She wants revenge.”

T’Loak thought about that. Ironically enough it seemed that she and Gillian Grayson had some complementary goals. The girl wanted to strike back at the Illusive Man, and assuming that Shella was telling the truth, so did she. But rather than share that with Anderson and Kahlee, T’Loak chose to keep the information to herself. “So there’s something you want,” T’Loak said. “And, as it happens, there’s something I want as well. Perhaps we can come to some sort of an agreement.”

Kahlee frowned. “What, exactly, are you looking for?”

“Information,” T’Loak replied. “Grayson wiped his computer just before he left Omega. But there was evidence that he sent a copy of everything he had to someone off-station first. Do you know who that person was?”

* * *

As it happened, Kahlee
did
know who that person was. Because just prior to running for his life Grayson had sent a copy of his hard drive to her. And she still had the information. Files that Grayson had been updating for years. Notes that included everything he knew about Cerberus. That included lists of agents, the location of key facilities, and safe houses on a dozen planets. All compromised with a single keystroke. “Yes,” Kahlee answered. “Grayson sent the contents of his computer to me.”

T’Loak smiled. “Of course he did. And, being a thrifty sort of person, you still have that information.”

“She does,” Anderson acknowledged. “But while it was an incredible intelligence coup at the time, the data is meaningless now. The Illusive Man knew how unstable Grayson was—and knew he was desperate. So agents were warned, codes were changed, and safe houses were closed. All within a matter of days. I’m reluctant to say that, because we’d like to arrange some sort of trade, but the truth would soon become apparent.”

“You’re very forthcoming,” T’Loak said with only a trace of sarcasm. “And I appreciate that. However, even though the operational data is no longer accurate I’m looking for historical information. And history is what it is. The Illusive Man can’t change that.”

T’Loak was investigating something. An event of importance to her. But
what
? Kahlee saw no harm in asking. “What are you after? Maybe we can help.”

“It’s a private matter,” T’Loak responded dismissively. “For the moment anyway. But I see the makings
of a deal here. Can you access the Grayson files from Omega?”

Kahlee gave the matter a moment’s thought. “Yes, if I can get a link to the extranet on the Citadel, I’ll be able to pull them up. Once I do it should be a simple matter to download them here.”

“Excellent,” T’Loak said. “If you have no objection to working with one of my communications specialists we can make sure that the process goes smoothly.”

“Okay,” Anderson said cautiously. “But you mentioned the possibility of a deal. What sort of terms did you have in mind?”

T’Loak nodded. “Here’s my proposal … I will order my people to put out the word. I still want Gillian Grayson, and am still willing to pay ten thousand credits for her, but only if she’s alive and in good health. In the meantime you will download the files.”

Kahlee shook her head. “No way … Once you have Gillian in custody I will download the files. Not before.”

T’Loak smiled thinly. “That’s what I
meant
to say.”

Kahlee didn’t believe that. Not for a minute. But she was quite satisfied with the terms of the deal. The agreement meant they were much more likely to find Gillian than if they tackled the job by themselves. Kahlee forced a smile. “Yes, of course.”

“But remember,” T’Loak said gravely. “You must promise that if I deliver Gillian Grayson into your hands you will keep her confined. Should you fail I would be very angry.”

“We’d like to avoid that,” Anderson said dryly.

“See that you do,” T’Loak said sternly. “Now, can I buy you a drink?”

Gillian was impressed by the smooth manner in which a street gang had been used to block the Cerberus agent who had been following her. Because of her father? Yes, probably, although Gillian wasn’t sure what the Illusive Man hoped to gain. It wasn’t as if she had access to secret information. However, if the biotics were able to track the man called Leng perhaps Gillian would find a way to take advantage of the situation.

Before she could consider such a possibility it would first be necessary to deal with the Biotic Underground. They wanted her. That’s what Cory Kim claimed. But did Gillian want
them
? Not that she had a great deal of choice given the need to hide. Such were Gillian’s thoughts as she followed Kim through the surreal cityscape that was Omega.

The fake sunshine had started to fade as a computer somewhere began to dim the lights for the comfort of races that were diurnal or nocturnal and still required alternating periods of light in order to get sufficient rest. So as the women followed an ancient
sluiceway west, all sorts of lights and signs began to blink on. There were shadows, lots of them, which gave predators a place to hide. Gillian knew that and couldn’t help but feel a sense of concern.

Not Kim though. She maintained a steady stream of chatter as they walked along, most of which was centered on Nick’s exploits, and seemed to be unaware of the danger that lurked all around. That struck Gillian as strange until a trio of street toughs appeared up ahead. They positioned themselves to block the path and the one in the middle did the talking. The turian was wearing armor and carrying an assault rifle. “Good evening, ladies … We’re collecting donations for a good cause, which is to say ourselves.”

The batarian and the human thought that was very funny and guffawed loudly. Kim spoke from the side of her mouth. “I’ll take the four-eyed joker on the right. You handle the others. Let’s slam them.”

After proving herself in the Afterlife Gillian felt confident of her ability to carry out the order and was already in the process of gathering the necessary energy. Having brought her hands up Gillian plucked her targets off the ground. When the street toughs came down it was with considerable force. The human uttered a yelp of pain as both of his ankles shattered. Meanwhile the turian fired a burst of rounds into the air as he landed on his back. He struggled to get up, and was about to do so, when Kim dropped the batarian right on top of him. A shockwave followed and put both out of action.

Kim spit on the batarian as they passed the heap of bodies. It was an act of contempt that both repelled
Gillian and thrilled her at the same time. Because in keeping with the guidance received from Kahlee Sanders and Hendel Mitra she was accustomed to downplaying her biotic abilities in order to be accepted by society at large. So to see an individual like Kim using her talents openly, even proudly, was a revelation. Suddenly she realized that other people should be afraid of
her
, not the other way around.

It was almost dark by the time the women arrived in front of a much-abused steel door. Alien hieroglyphics had been etched into the barrier and looked to be very, very old. A human male and an asari were standing out front and in spite of their casual demeanor Gillian could tell that they were guards. The asari palmed a switch and the door rumbled upward to reveal the tunnel beyond.

The way the guards were looking at her made Gillian feel uncomfortable as Kim took her inside and the barrier closed behind them. “Why were they staring at me?”

“You’re famous,” Kim replied, as they followed a set of partially buried metal tracks through the wide, dimly lit tunnel. “Here on Omega anyway. More than that you’re a living example of biotic superiority.” That was a new idea to Gillian, who had always thought of herself as a freak rather than a person to be admired.

Three dusty gyrocycles were parked off to one side of the passageway, along with an open cart and a beat-up ground car. The tunnel came to an abrupt end in front of another heavily guarded door and this one appeared to be new. Even though the heavily armored biotics knew Kim, she was still required to
pass a retinal scan. Gillian was asked to remove everything from her pockets and stand with legs spread and arms raised. A loud beep was heard as the guard passed his wand over her chest. He glanced at the terminal located next to him. “The jewel is a data storage device. Please remove it.”

Gillian was confused. “It’s a what?”

The guard ignored her response. “Do we have your permission to check the storage device for malware?”

Gillian looked at Kim and back again. “Sure, I guess so. Honest … I had no idea that it was a storage device.”

The guard accepted the jewel, dropped it into an opening on his terminal, and eyed the words that appeared on the screen. “No encryption, and no malware. You’re good to go.”

The jewel popped up out of the receptacle and was returned to Gillian. She zipped both it and the chain into a pocket and made a mental note to open the storage device as soon as she got the chance. “It was a gift,” she said to Kim. “From my father. But I had no idea there was a message on it.”

Kim smiled. “How nice. You have something to look forward to. Come on, people are waiting for us.”

They passed through the checkpoint and into the area beyond. It was a great deal more than the played-out mine that Gillian expected. Solid rock had been removed to create a sphere-shaped chamber with a flat floor. The interior surface of the cavern was pockmarked by rows of symmetrical holes, all fronted by a succession of ledges and connected via a spiraling
path. As Gillian looked upward she could see people coming and going.

There was a dome-shaped structure at the center of the vast room, and as Kim led her toward it Gillian thought it looked as if it had been built by a race other than those responsible for the hollowed-out sphere, although there was no way to be certain. “We believe the original cavern served as a nest,” Kim volunteered, as they crossed an open area. “Not that it matters. The main thing is that this place is safe. Or as safe as anything can be on this turd ball. The hotel where we were headquartered earlier was okay, but when this came on the market we jumped on it. And, thanks to the money we stole from T’Loak, we were able to pay cash.”

There it was again. An unabashed statement of confidence and power. And Gillian couldn’t help but be impressed. The structure in front of them consisted of a roof supported by fluted columns. Judging from appearances it was being used as both a communal meeting room, dining room, and kitchen. There were about fifteen people lounging about and all of them turned to look at the newcomers as Kim led Gillian through the facility and toward the other side of the cavern. And that was when she heard a male voice. “Gillian! It’s me! Nick.”

Gillian turned to see a familiar figure coming her way. Except that Nick seemed taller somehow, his right shoulder was swathed in bandages, and he was wearing two pistols. That was the sort of thing she would expect of him, as was the big grin, and the kiss on the cheek. “Damn girl, it’s good to see you.”