Mass Effect: The Complete Novels 4-Book Bundle (115 page)

The whole episode had been humiliating, and to the extent that it lessened Gillian’s status within the group, it could have repercussions as well. What if the group decided to kill Leng? Thereby eliminating the bait intended to draw the Illusive Man in? She would be a failure … And the possibility of that filled Gillian with angst.

Such were the teenager’s thoughts and emotions as all of the biotics not required for guard duty assembled under the dome on the cavern’s main floor. They sat on mismatched throw rugs arranged in a U-shaped formation all looking in to where Leng and Kim sat strapped to a pair of sturdy chairs. Both were doing their best to look expressionless but Leng was slightly better at it. Mythra Zon made the opening statement.

“This is a sad day. We are biotics. That means we are inherently superior to other beings regardless of race. But we have free will. So we can make bad choices. And that is what Cory Kim did when she made the decision to place her personal desires before the needs of our organization.”

Kim looked defiant. “Let’s get something straight … It’s true that I had feelings for Kai at one time. But that isn’t why I helped him escape.”

Von looked surprised. “No? Why then?”

“Because I work for Cerberus too. We’re everywhere, freak … Keep that in mind.”

Leng groaned. “Are you out of your mind? Why did you …”

Leng wasn’t allowed to finish. His body jerked convulsively as Sallus applied a shock baton to the back of his neck. His unconscious body slumped against the straps that held him in place. Kim kept her eyes up but bit her lower lip. Little dots of perspiration were visible on her forehead. Zon frowned. “That was a good question. Why would you tell us that?”

“Because I’m proud of it,” Kim answered stiffly. “And you’re going to kill me anyway.”

Zon nodded. “You’re a spy, and unlike Leng, we don’t need you.”

Leng had recovered consciousness by then. He opened his mouth as if about to speak and closed it again as Sallus held the shock baton up for him to look at. There was nothing the Cerberus operative could do.

Zon’s eyes roamed the crowd and came to rest on Gillian. “The decision has been made. What we need is an executioner. And because Cory Kim attacked Gillian Grayson that privilege falls to her. Come forward, Gillian, and take your revenge.”

Gillian felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t want to serve as executioner and knew that, in spite of what Zon said, she was being punished for the moment of inattention that allowed Leng to escape. So as Gillian stood, and made her way forward, a battle was raging inside of her. What if she refused to kill Kim?
Then they will imprison you, or kill you
, the voice
inside her head replied.
And you won’t get the chance to avenge your father’s murder
.

So the price for revenge is revenge
, Gillian responded.

Yes
, the voice answered.
In this case it is. Think about your father. Think about what the Illusive Man did to him. And will do to others if he is allowed to live. It’s too bad about Kim. But she chose her fate. Just as you must choose yours
.

There was approval in Zon’s eyes as Gillian arrived in front of her and accepted a large pistol. “Shoot her in the head,” Zon instructed. “And take her place on the council.”

Gillian felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that once on the council she would be in the ideal position to make sure that the plan to kill the Illusive Man was carried out. But as Gillian raised the heavy pistol, and the rest of the biotics looked on, Kim launched a last-ditch effort to save herself. But she was strapped in and unable to focus her biotic powers properly. The result was a weak and ineffectual “reave” that did little more than give Gillian a reason to pull the trigger.

There was a loud
BOOM
as Kim’s head disintegrated. Bits of flesh and bone peppered the biotics seated in the front row. The resulting blood mist spread out to envelope Leng in a pink halo as the sound of the gunshot echoed back and forth between the cavern walls, and the chair to which Kim was strapped hit the floor. Justice had been served.

Leng closed his eyes and fought to control his emotions. He had orders to kill Gillian. But now it was
personal, and what had been a duty was going to give him pleasure. The only question was when and how.

Mott was nervous, and for good reason. This was going to be her second one-on-one conversation with the Illusive Man. And she didn’t want to make any mistakes. So as the video swirled and locked up she was very conscious of how she was seated, the way her hands were positioned, and the fact that a nervous twitch had taken control of her right foot.

The Illusive Man nodded. “It’s good to see you again. We have a great deal to discuss.”

The head of Cerberus had a magnetic quality that was still palpable even though he was light-years away. His glacier-blue eyes locked with hers. “I’ve been in contact with Aria T’Loak,” he said. “She’s going to provide us with some additional manpower.”

Mott’s eyebrows rose incrementally. “So she’s willing to help? To participate in a raid?”

“
If
I pay her a large sum of money … Yes.”

“That’s very interesting,” Mott replied. “But you might want to reconsider the deal with T’Loak.”

The Illusive Man produced a cigarette but didn’t light it. “Go on. I’m all ears.”

“As you know the Grim Skulls teamed up with the Biotic Underground to rob T’Loak’s private bank. Subsequent to the robbery she took her revenge by killing all of the Grim Skulls with the exception of their leader and a woman named Shella-Shella. I was able to speak with her and she has a very interesting story to tell. According to Shella she worked for a Cerberus operative at one time.”

“So?”

“So, Shella told me that she reported to an operative named Manning who, according to the description she gave, is a dead ringer for Leng.”

“That’s interesting,” the Illusive Man allowed, “but so what? Leng has assumed dozens of identities over the last ten years—and worked with hundreds of different people.”

Other individuals might have wilted under the Illusive Man’s unblinking gaze, but not Mott. She was on solid ground and knew it. “Yes, sir. Shella claims that Leng was on Omega, tracking a man named Paul Grayson, who was employed by T’Loak at the time. In an attempt to capture his target Leng and his team broke into Grayson’s apartment. An asari was there as well. They put a tranq dart into her and she went down. Then, after taking a look around, Leng slit her throat. Her name was Liselle … And she was T’Loak’s daughter.”

The Illusive Man was silent for a moment. “You’re sure of this?”

“As certain as I can be without access to Leng’s personnel file.”

The Illusive Man touched a button. “Jana, please send Leng’s P-one file to my terminal.”

The reply was nearly instantaneous. “Yes, sir.”

The Illusive Man’s lighter flared, and by the time the file appeared on his terminal, the head of Cerberus was taking smoke deep into his lungs. Mott was too far away to read the text on the screen but could tell that the Illusive Man was scrolling down through what appeared to be a long document. The better part of a minute passed before he said, “Ah,
here it is … Leng’s report regarding the night in question. Bear with me while I skim it.”

Mott continued to wait as the Illusive Man read the remainder of the report. Then, once he was finished, it vanished off the screen. “So,” he said, as his eyes flicked her way. “Your information is correct. Leng’s report mentions killing an asari female but doesn’t provide a name.”

Mott shrugged. “My guess is that he didn’t know who she was. And thought it was necessary to eliminate witnesses. In any case, it looks like T’Loak thought Grayson was responsible for her daughter’s murder until the bank robbery brought her into contact with Shella-Shella, who offered a firsthand account of what actually took place. At that point Leng became a marked man. T’Loak tried to kill him in the Blue Marble restaurant and failed. Then, before she could go after Leng again, the biotics captured him. So,” Mott concluded, “if she helps Cerberus attack the biotics it will be for the purpose of killing Leng. Not rescuing him.”

The Illusive Man sent a plume of gray cigarette smoke out to hover in front of him. His voice was calm. “All right … Unfortunately we can’t stop T’Loak from going after Leng because she knows where he is. So we’ll have to handle this in a different way. Here’s what you need to do.”

Mott listened carefully. And once the Illusive Man finished speaking she nodded her head. “Yes, sir. But I’m extremely worried about the timing.”

The Illusive Man exhaled a stream of smoke. “Yes. So am I.”

* * *

Gillian wanted to sleep but couldn’t. Because every time she began to drift off Cory Kim was there to confront her. Time after time Gillian felt the pistol go off, saw the chunks of bone flying into the air, and listened to the echo that lasted forever. Then she awoke with a start, her heart beating wildly, her bedding soaked with sweat.

So, short of using drugs to sedate herself, the only thing Gillian could do was to exercise so hard that her body would be forced to surrender the moment she put her head down. That was why she was in the middle of the cavern, in the area reserved for biotic workouts, when Mythra Zon came to speak with her. Gillian was halfway through what she thought of as the dance at that point. The series of carefully choreographed movements were intended to strengthen her body and biotic abilities at the same time.

“That’s very impressive,” Zon said, as Gillian completed the sequence of movements she called the “falling leaf.” “I wish all our members would work out as hard as you do. Perhaps you could give some lessons during the days ahead. Please join me … I have some news that you’ll find interesting.”

So Gillian used a towel to wipe the sweat off her face and followed Zon over to the side cavern where the leadership council held its meetings. None of the other members were present. “Please,” Zon said, as she gestured to an empty chair. “Have a seat.”

Gillian was more than a little curious by that time and listened carefully as Zon spoke. “There are two things I want to discuss with you regarding what the other biotics said. And they’re closely related. First, I would like to welcome you to the leadership council
on behalf of its members. We were very impressed by the way you handled the Cory Kim situation. It wasn’t easy, we know that, but you put your responsibility to the group before whatever personal feelings you had for Cory. And that’s the kind of commitment we’re looking for.”

That wasn’t entirely true, since Gillian’s primary motivation for playing the role of executioner was to avenge her father’s death, but she saw no reason to mention that and didn’t.

“I said I have news,” Zon continued, “and I do. The Illusive Man agreed to our ransom request.”

Gillian felt her heart start to beat a little bit faster. “That’s wonderful … Have we got a time and a place?”

“Yes. The exchange will take place at a location chosen by Cerberus at oh nine hundred local tomorrow.”

“They get to choose the location? Is that safe?”

“No, it isn’t,” Zon admitted. “But the Illusive Man isn’t willing to show up in person otherwise. And that’s critical if we want to kill him. Which we most assuredly do.”

“Yes,” Gillian said emphatically. “That will put an end to Cerberus.”

“Precisely,” Zon agreed. “What we need to do at this point is to make sure that we’re ready for tomorrow. The ransom team will consist of me, you, Lem, and Sallus plus a dozen lesser talents. Kathar will remain here along with your friend Nick, and the balance of our warriors. We will abandon the cavern in the near future, but continue to use it for the next
week or so, which means we have to protect it. Do you have any questions?”

Gillian had questions. Lots of them. But none Zon could answer. Not unless she could predict the future. “No. Thank you.”

“All right then. We won’t know the exact location of the handoff until one hour before it takes place. That makes it all the more important to assign key roles, create plans to cover all of the possible scenarios, and stage some run-throughs. So meet us out on the floor in half an hour. In addition to being a member of the council you are one of our most powerful biotics. We’ll be counting on your strength.”

Gillian felt a new sense of purpose and determination as she made her way up a ramp to her quarters. She would have her revenge. And in the wake of the Illusive Man’s death she would have more as well. The future was hers.

There were three things that the majority of the beings on Omega needed: air, food, and water. The first being more important than the others because without it the oxygen breathers would die very quickly. And that was why Hendel, Immo, and a batarian named Pa-dah were crawling through a duct that was labeled OMAS 462.3410.497 on the detailed schematic provided by T’Loak’s staff. It had been created after her rise to power hundreds of years earlier and updated on a regular basis. Not because the Pirate Queen was looking for ways to be of service to her
fellow citizens, but because she thought the information might come in handy someday, which it had.

Like all the infrastructure on Omega, the hundreds of kilometers of ventilation ducts that served the space station had evolved according to the ever-changing needs, whims, and technological capabilities of those who lived on it. Among other things, that meant there was no such thing as standard-sized ducts. Some were large enough to stand in. Others, like the one Hendel was traversing, were barely wider than his shoulders. And that was uncomfortable. Especially for a man who didn’t like small spaces. But by concentrating on the task at hand, which was to scout out a route that would allow T’Loak’s mercs to launch a surprise attack on the Biotic Underground, Hendel managed to keep his fear under control.

His headlamp flooded the first couple of meters ahead, and Hendel had a crink in his neck from looking up, as he elbowed his way forward. Whenever he arrived at an intersection it was necessary to pause and check the schematic on his omni-tool. Some of the side shafts were marked and others weren’t. It wouldn’t do Hendel any good, but the trip was being recorded via the cameras located over his ears, so that T’Loak’s staff could add even more detail to the master schematic.