Drew Karpyshyn - Retribution

A few minutes later Kahlee sat down beside him.

“Had to make sure you were alone,” she explained.

“You told me not to tell anybody.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m getting a little paranoid.”

“It’s not paranoia if someone’s really out to get you.”

In person she looked even more nervous than she had over the vid screen. She sat with her knees pulled close up against her chest, her head low as she cast furtive glances from side to side.

“You’re going to draw attention,” he warned her. “Relax. Try to act casual.”

She nodded and methodically removed her footwear, moving in tight beside him as she dipped her feet in the water. Anderson knew she was just getting close so they could speak in confidential whispers, but it still stirred up all his old feelings for her.

The one that got away. Only now she’s come back.

He waited for her to speak, but after several minutes of silence he realized he would have to be the one to break the ice.

“Kahlee? Tell me why you’re here.”

He listened carefully as she told him about Gillian, Grayson, and Cerberus. He tried not to show any reaction, keeping his face and manner calm both for her sake and to avoid drawing the notice of the other park patrons. When she was finished, he took a deep breath and let it out in a long, easy sigh as he thought about everything she’d said.

“You said Grayson was part of Cerberus. Are you sure he’s not still working for them?”

“He’s not,” she replied with absolute confidence. “He’s been on the run for two years.”

“And you’re sure they’re the ones who found him?”

“I’m sure.”

“And now you’re afraid they’re coming after you?”

“Maybe. But that’s not why I came to you. Grayson’s a friend. He needs my help.”

Anderson didn’t say anything at first. He had more experience dealing with Cerberus than Kahlee realized. For example, he knew that Cerberus had recently joined forces with Commander Shepard to stop the Collector abductions in the human colonies of the Terminus Systems. But he also knew that had been a temporary alliance of convenience; the Illusive Man was just using Shepard like he used everyone else. And when Cerberus had no further use for someone, they tended to show up dead.

“You realize it might be too late for your friend,” he said carefully.

“I know,” she conceded, her voice a barely audible whisper.

“But even if he’s dead, I still want to take those bastards down,” she added more loudly. “I owe him that much.”

“The Alliance has been trying to bring down Cerberus for thirty years,” he reminded her. “So far we haven’t had much success.”

“He sent me a file,” she said, casting a quick glance over her shoulder as if she expected to see the Illusive Man standing right behind her. “Names of agents. Secret bases and meeting locations. Bank accounts and corporate financial records. Everything you need.”

“I want to help you, Kahlee. I really do. But it’s not that simple. Even if the information is good, we can’t act on it without tipping Cerberus off.

“They’ve got people in our government. Our military. Grayson may have given you a list of Cerberus agents he knew of, but what about all the people under the Illusive Man’s thumb he doesn’t know about?

“The Illusive Man is smart. He’s got a contingency plan in place for something like this. We start arresting people, or gearing up for a raid on these locations, and he’ll know about it almost before we do.

“If we’re lucky we come up with a handful of low-level operatives. But we’ll never get close to anybody important. And if Grayson is still alive, we might just spook them into killing him.”

“You’re telling me you can’t do anything?” Her voice rose sharply at the end of the question, her anger and frustration spilling out.

“If you stay here on the Citadel, I can keep you safe,” he assured her. “I’ll handpick a team of four or five soldiers I trust to watch over you.”

“It’s not enough,” she said, shaking her head in a stubborn defiance he remembered even after twenty years. “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life hiding from Cerberus. And I’m not going to give up on Grayson. There has to be a way to get to the Illusive Man.”

“Maybe there is,” Anderson exclaimed as a sudden flash of inspiration hit.

The ideal solution would be to call on Shepard for help, but that wasn’t an option. The commander was off the grid, doing God knows what, God knows where. But there was another option.

He jumped to his feet and extended a hand to help Kahlee up.

“Do you have somewhere safe we can stay for a few hours?”

“I’ve got a place in the Wards,” she replied, her eyes suddenly alight with eager expectation. “Why?

What’s your plan?”

“The Alliance can’t help us. But I know someone else who can.”

“We need to see Ambassador Orinia,” Anderson told the turian receptionist. “It’s urgent.”

He recognized the young male behind the desk, though he couldn’t remember his name. Fortunately, the turian recognized him as well.

“I’ll tell her you’re here, Admiral,” he said, sending a message through his terminal.

It was well past supper time; most of the embassy offices were empty. But Anderson knew the turian ambassador would be working late.

“Go right in,” the receptionist said, though he did give Kahlee what Anderson assumed was the turian equivalent of a suspicious glance.

Orinia’s office was smaller than Anderson’s — not surprising, given the fact he held a much higher position than her in the Citadel hierarchy. Like his own, it was functionally Spartan in dйcor. A desk and three chairs — one for the ambassador, two for guests — were the only pieces of furniture. Three flags hung on the walls. The largest was the emblem of the Turian Hierarchy. The second represented the colony where Orinia was born; its colors matched the markings on the hard carapace of her bony skull.

The third was the flag of the legion she served in during her military career. A solitary, bedraggled plant stood out on the balcony, sorely neglected. If Anderson had to guess, he would have said someone had given it to her as a gift.

Orinia was already standing to greet them. Warned by her assistant’s message, she showed no surprise at Kahlee’s unexplained presence.

“I’m sorry you missed today’s negotiations,” she said, extending her hand. “Has Din Korlak become too much for you to handle?”

Anderson ignored the joke as he clasped the ambassador’s hand. As always, the exchange was both awkward and clumsy. Orinia had readily adapted the familiar gesture of greeting in her dealings with humans, but she had yet to truly master the art of the handshake.

“This is Kahlee Sanders,” he said by way of introduction.

“Welcome,” the ambassador said, though she didn’t extend her hand.

Anderson didn’t know if Orinia had sensed his reaction to her handshake and decided not to repeat the effort, or if turian culture somehow viewed Kahlee as unworthy of the gesture.

You’d know all this if you were any good at your job.

“I’m guessing this isn’t a social visit,” the ambassador said, getting right to the point. “Sit down and tell me why you’re here.”

As they’d agreed on earlier, both he and Kahlee remained standing as a way to convey the urgency of this meeting. Taking her cue from them, Orinia did the same.

“I have a favor to ask,” Anderson said. “One soldier to another.”

“We’re not soldiers anymore,” the turian replied carefully. “We’re diplomats.”

“I hope that’s not true. I can’t go through official diplomatic channels for this. Nobody in the Alliance can know I’m here.”