“Sanak’s waiting by the ship,” one of the asari said.
Anderson could feel blood pouring down his face; the rifle butt had broken his nose and split his top lip. But he was more worried about Kahlee—her skin was pale and her eyes were glazed. The trauma of having all ten fingers simultaneously broken in multiple places had combined with her physical and mental exhaustion to send her into shock. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could to do help her.
Their captors dragged them out into the hall. Bodies were strewn along the entire length of the corridor; most were turians, but there were several batarians, a few krogan, and even the odd asari among the dead.
They were hustled through the station until they reached a large breach in the hull. A wide, fully enclosed gangway extended out from the breach, no doubt leading to the assault vessel the attackers had used to board the station.
Several enemy troops of various species were milling about the area, all following the shouted orders of a batarian who seemed to be in charge.
He was standing with his back to them, but turned as they approached. Seeing the prisoners, he blinked all four eyes in surprise.
“What are you doing with him?” he said, pointing his weapon in Anderson’s direction.
“You said take the humans alive,” one of the asari replied.
“I meant her, not him!” the batarian exclaimed.
“Are you sure that’s what Aria wanted?” the asari asked, looking for clarification.
At least Anderson knew now who they were working for, though he had no idea why the legendary Pirate Queen of Omega had launched an attack on the station.
“Fine. Put them both on the ship.”
Anderson decided to take a chance and speak up.
“She’s going into shock,” he said, nodding in Kahlee’s direction.
His voice sounded strange to his own ears, distorted by the damage to his face.
“If Aria wants us alive, you better see to her injuries.”
“Get them on board and give them each a shot of medi-gel,” the batarian ordered. “Then load up those data banks from the lab and set the explosives. I want to be out of here before reinforcements arrive.”
The batarians dragged them up the gangway and into the hold of what appeared to be some type of frigate. They were forced roughly down into two of the seats lining the wall. Anderson winced as his weight fell on the hands cuffed behind his back, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his shoulders. Kahlee cried out in agony, and he could only imagine what it felt like to have her broken fingers pinned between the seat and the weight of her body.
“You better get those cuffs off her,” he said.
“You should worry about yourself,” one of the asari suggested as she jabbed a long needle into his shoulder.
A few seconds later, everything went dark.
SIXTEEN
When Anderson came to, he was surprised to find himself lying on a large, comfortable couch in what appeared to be a well-furnished living room.
Shaking off the lingering effects of the medi-gel, he rolled over to put his feet on the floor and stood up. He realized he was naked, and then he noticed his undershirt and boxers folded and sitting on a chair nearby. They had obviously been laundered; there were no traces of the bloodstains from his broken nose. Next to his underclothes were pants, a shirt, socks, and even a pair of shoes.
Puzzled, he slowly got dressed as he took a quick survey of his surroundings. There was an archaic set of hinged double doors at one end of the room, open just a crack. Through it he could see a large, luxurious bed. At the other end of the room was a more contemporary sliding door, closed and—judging by the red light on the wall panel—locked.
Though they weren’t his, the clothes fit him well enough. Doing his best to move silently, he approached the locked door and pressed the wall panel just to be sure. It beeped but didn’t open. Despite the expensive surroundings, he was still a prisoner.
But where’s Kahlee?
Moving quickly but quietly, he crossed to the double doors and gently pushed them open. To his relief, Kahlee was lying on a bed, under several covers. She appeared to be naked as well; someone had piled her clothes on a chair beside the bed. Unlike the unfamiliar garments Anderson wore, however, he recognized her outfit as the same one she had been wearing when they’d been taken prisoner.
She was snoring softly, her body still recovering from her recent lack of sleep and the medi-gel she’d been given on the frigate.
Coming closer, he was relieved to see her fingers had been splinted. It would probably be close to a week before the bones properly mended and she regained full use of them, but at least she had been tended to.
Curious, he made his way over to the bedroom’s en suite to check his reflection in the mirror. Like Kahlee, his injuries had been tended to. His nose had been reset and his split lip was healed; apart from some minor bruising and swelling it was hard to tell anything had happened to him at all.
He considered waking Kahlee up, then decided to let her sleep. They couldn’t do anything to escape their gilded cage at the moment, and she still needed to rest. He returned to the couch, where he lay down and closed his eyes, just for a moment.
“Hey, soldier,” a voice whispered in his ear, “on your feet.”
Anderson’s eyes snapped open to discover Kahlee standing over him, dressed and fully awake.
“Must have dozed off,” he mumbled, sitting up.
“You snore like an elcor with asthma,” she told him.
“Not my fault,” he objected. “Bastards broke my nose.”
Kahlee held up her splinted digits. “I’d say you got off easy.”
“How’d you manage to get dressed?” Anderson asked.
“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. Coyly she added, “You could have helped me if you’d been awake.”
The situation was too grim for Anderson to generate much of a smile, but he did his best.
“You look like you could use a drink,” Kahlee said. “I know I could. I found a bar over in the corner, but I need someone else to pour.”
Anderson got up and headed in the direction she pointed.
“Right there. Open the cupboard.”
Doing as she said, he found an assortment of high-quality alcohol to suit a wide variety of species’ palates, from krogan ryncol to asari elassa.
Not in the mood for anything too exotic, he poured two glasses from a bottle of brandy.
“On the rocks?” he asked.
“Neat,” Kahlee replied.
Anderson brought the glasses over to the couch, where Kahlee sat waiting for him. She took one from him, cradling it awkwardly in her palms because of her splinted fingers.
“Any idea why we’re here?” she asked after taking a sip.
“I figure Aria wants to meet with us,” he said, still standing. “Can’t say how long we’ll have to wait, though.”
“Might as well get comfortable, then,” Kahlee said, patting the cushion beside her.
Anderson took a seat beside her and kicked back his drink in one quick gulp.
“Is this related to Grayson?” Kahlee asked as he leaned over to set his glass on the nearby end table.
“Pretty big coincidence if it’s not.”
Kahlee continued to sip her drink. Anderson realized they were sitting much closer together than was necessary—there was plenty of room on the couch to spread out. But when he shifted his position he ended up moving closer to her, not farther away.
He knew there were things Kahlee might not like to talk about right now, but in the end he finally decided he had to ask.
“How much did you manage to find out at the lab?”
“You were right,” she admitted. “Cerberus implanted Grayson with some kind of Reaper technology. Similar to cybernetics, but much more invasive. And far more advanced.
“Their results were still very preliminary, but they were changing him somehow. Turning him into … well, I don’t eve
n think they knew.”
“Can it be stopped?” Anderson asked. “Reversed?”
“I don’t know,” Kahlee said softly.
“I’m sorry I got you involved in all this,” she said after a few more sips of brandy. “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”
“I’ve stayed in worse hotel rooms than this,” Anderson replied, trying to make light of the situation.
“But at least they let you check out,” she glumly replied.
Anderson reached an arm around Kahlee’s shoulder and pulled her close. As he did so, she turned so she could snuggle into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.
“We’re going to get through this,” he promised her. “Somehow. Someway. We will get through this.”
He looked down into her eyes, and she tilted her head back so she could look up at him. Slowly, he tilted his head downward, bringing his lips to hers.
The room’s sliding door opened with a sharp whoosh, causing them both to sit up suddenly.
“Christ!” Kahlee swore as the glass slipped from her grasp in her haste to disentangle herself, spilling what was left of her drink onto her lap.
From the door there came a chorus of crude laughter, emanating from the entourage that had just barged in on them: three asari, a krogan, and two batarians. As the door slid shut behind them, Anderson caught a glimpse of two more krogan standing guard out in the hall.
The batarians and krogan were all grinning; he guessed they were the source of the laughter. He recognized one of the batarians as Sanak, the leader of the attack on the station.
Two of the asari looked nearly identical, though whether they were actually twins or if he—as a human—was simply unable to discern the differences between them he couldn’t say. The third asari, standing in the middle of the group, had to be none other than Aria T’Loak herself.
“Are we interrupting?” she asked, the corners of her mouth turning up in mild amusement.
Both Anderson and Kahlee got to their feet, but neither bothered to reply. Anderson could feel himself blushing with embarrassment, but Kahlee didn’t seem to be suffering the same reaction. She glared at the intruders with nothing but hate in her eyes.
“You know who I am?” Aria asked.
“We know,” Kahlee answered, her voice cold and hard. “What do you want?”
“I want Grayson, of course.”
“Why?” Kahlee demanded.
“That’s my business.”
“We don’t even know where Grayson is,” Anderson objected, joining the conversation.
“No, but you can help me find him.”
“What are you talking about?” Kahlee wanted to know.
“We hacked into your extranet account. There’s a message from Grayson. He wants to see you. So you’re going to send him a reply telling him to meet you here.”
“What makes you think he’ll come?” Kahlee asked.
“My sources tell me you and Grayson have a special relationship.”
“Maybe not as special as we thought,” Sanak chimed in with a snicker. “Or do you just stick your tongue down the throat of whoever you’re with at the time?”
He was obviously hoping for some kind of reaction. Anderson was pleased to see that Kahlee was smart enough to stay silent and disappoint him.
“Your sources might be playing you,” Anderson warned, his mind piecing things together. “That’s what Cerberus does.”
Aria didn’t bother denying her relationship with the Illusive Man.
“Cerberus was right about where to find you,” she said to Kahlee. “They were right about Grayson trying to contact you. Why shouldn’t I believe them when they say he’ll come if you reply to his message?”
“Why are you even working with a pro-human group?” Kahlee wanted to know.
“We share an interest in Grayson,” Aria admitted. “He betrayed both our organizations.”
“You’re going to kill him!” Kahlee exclaimed.
“That’s the plan,” Sanak replied with a grin.
“You’re crazy if you think I’ll help you!”
“You’d really sacrifice your life—both your lives—to protect Grayson?”
Anderson jumped in before Kahlee had a chance to answer.
“How do we know you won’t just kill us in the end anyway?”
“That’s a chance you’ll have to take,” Aria said with a sly smile.
“I’ll help you on one condition,” Kahlee offered. “I’ll try to bring Grayson in if you promise not to kill him.”
“You don’t get to make conditions,” Aria pointed out.
“Grayson’s smart. You need my cooperation if you want this to work.”
“You’ll cooperate eventually,” Sanak said, and the other batarians laughed knowingly.
“I don’t know what Cerberus told you,” Kahlee continued, ignoring Sanak and speaking directly to Aria. “But I know they didn’t tell you the whole story. Whatever deal they offered, you’re getting the wrong end of it.”
“Maybe so. But I doubt you can match their offer.”
“You’re right about that,” Kahlee admitted, though Anderson could tell she wasn’t backing down. “And I don’t know what happened between you and Grayson.
“But all I’m asking is for you to let Grayson tell his side of the story before you make up your mind. You might be very surprised by what you find out.”
“I’ll think on what you said,” Aria promised. “I suggest you do the same. I’ll send someone for you in one hour to record your message for Grayson.
“Regardless of my decision, it would be in your best interest to cooperate,” she added, her voice so cold it actually sent a shiver down Anderson’s spine.
The Pirate Queen turned on her heel and left the room, her followers trailing along in her wake. The door to the hall slid shut and the familiar red Locked display lit up on the wall panel.
Once they were alone in the room, Kahlee turned to Anderson.
“Just so you know,” she told him, “that was all a bluff. I’m not going to let them hurt you. When Aria comes back, I’m going to do whatever she wants.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Anderson assured her.
“The batarian was right,” Kahlee said with a shake of her head. “In the end I’ll do whatever they want. I might as well cooperate up front and save us both a lot of pain and suffering.”
Anderson knew what kind of person she was. If she was alone, she would have resisted to the bitter end. The fact that he was with her—that he could suffer for her decision—forced her to compromise. But he also knew she wasn’t the type to give up on someone. She was still holding out hope for Grayson.
“You’re still hoping she’ll agree not to kill him,” he said. “You hope Aria will see what Cerberus did and then let you try to help him.”
“I know it sounds crazy. But if you’ve got a better plan, I’m all ears.”
“Why didn’t you tell her everything?” Anderson wondered. “About how Cerberus implanted Grayson with Reaper technology?”
“Do you really think she’d believe me? I saw the research files and I barely believe it myself.
“Besides,” she added. “I figured I better keep a couple of our cards hidden.”
Anderson knew that Kahlee needed him to stay positive. But he couldn’t shake the feeling this wouldn’t end well.
“Even if she says she won’t hurt him,” he warned, “there’s no way to know if she’s telling the truth.”
“I know. But it’s better than nothing. At least I planted the seed. Now I just have to wait and see if it grows.”
There wasn’t much else to say, so they simply sat down on the couch and waited in silence for Aria’s people to return.
As promised, they arrived promptly one hour later to get Kahlee. Anderson had thought Aria might send Sanak; the batarian was obviously one of the alpha dogs in her pack. Instead, she sent the massive krogan and one of the asari twins.
&nbs
p; “What did Aria say about Grayson?” Kahlee asked as they came in. “Is she going to take him alive?”
“She’s still considering the offer,” the asari replied. “Have you considered hers? Are you ready to cooperate?”
Kahlee nodded.
“Smart girl,” the krogan growled as he led her out the door.
The half hour it took for them to return were the longest thirty minutes of Anderson’s life. In his head he knew Kahlee was in the same amount of danger whether he was with her or not, but emotionally he felt like he could keep her safe just by staying near her.
When the door finally opened and Kahlee stepped through, she was alone. He jumped up from the couch and rushed over to her.
“What happened? Did they hurt you?”
Physically she seemed unharmed, but he could tell by her face that she was upset.
“I did what they wanted,” she said quietly. “I sent Grayson a message.”
“You had no choice,” Anderson whispered, wrapping his arms around her in a reassuring hug. “You did the right thing.”
“For us,” she whispered. “But what about for him?”
SEVENTEEN
Grayson kept slipping in and out of consciousness as the shuttle drifted aimlessly through space. Every few hours he would suddenly become very tired and the world would slip away. When he awoke, he could never tell how long he had been out. He wasn’t sure, but he suspected the Reapers were behind the blackouts.
Each time his senses returned he quickly checked the shuttle’s navigational equipment to make sure the Reapers hadn’t programmed a new destination into the ship while he was out. Each time he found the vessel’s course unaltered.
It was almost as if they were waiting for something, harboring their strength until the moment was right. What that moment might be, however, he couldn’t even begin to guess.
The sixth or seventh time he woke up, he saw a blinking light on the shuttle communications console, indicating an incoming message waiting to be heard. But that was impossible. He’d disabled all hailing frequencies; there was no way for someone to contact the shuttle directly. The only way there could be a waiting message was if he had logged in to the comm network … or someone had done it for him.