Drew Karpyshyn - Ascension

Kahlee answered with a half-truth. "He's very busy right now."

As the security chief, he was still dealing with the fallout of what had happened in the cafeteria. All attempts were being made to downplay the incident: a statement had been released to the media, staff and students were being debriefed, and parents were being notified. As a further precaution, Grissom Academy was still in full emergency lockdown. Yet as busy as he was, she knew there was something else keeping him away right now. It could have been anger, disappointment, or even guilt. . quite likely it was a mix of all three. However, she wasn't about to try and explain all that to a twelve-year-old.

"When will he come see me?"

"Soon," Kahlee promised. "I'll tell him you're waiting."

Gillian smiled. "You like Hendel."

"He's a good friend."

The girl's smile broadened even further. "Will you two get married some day?"

Kahlee laughed out loud in spite of herself. "I don't think Hendel wants to get married."

Gillian's smile slipped, but didn't disappear completely. "He should marry you," she insisted, matter-of-factly. "You're nice."

This wasn't the time to explain why that would never happen, so Kahlee decided to change thesubject.

"You have to stay in this room for a few days, Gillian. Do you understand?"

This time the smile vanished completely and she nodded. "I want to sleep now."

"Okay," Kahlee told her. "I might not be here when you wake up, but if you need anything you push that red button over there. A nurse will come help you."

The girl glanced over at the call button dangling from the side of her bed and nodded again. Then she lay back down and closed her eyes.

Kahlee waited until Gillian was asleep before she stood up and left her alone in the room.

Kahlee remained seated at the desk in her room andignored the knock at the door. She continued to stare at the computer screen trying to make sense of the numbers they'd pulled from Gillian's implants. There was going to be fallout from what had happened in the cafeteria. Over the next few days people would be screaming for answers. They'd expect Kahlee to tell them what had happened, and why nobody had seen it coming. So far, she hadn't found any explanation to give them.

The knock came again, more insistent.

"Door — open," she said, not bothering to get up.

She expected to see Hendel, but it was actually Jiro who had come calling. He was dressed casually, in a blue, long-sleeved button shirt and black slacks. He had a bottle of wine and a corkscrew in one hand and a pair of long-stemmed glasses in the other.

"Heard you had a rough day," he said. "Thought you could use a drink."

She was on the verge of telling him to come back later, but at the last second she nodded. He stepped in, waving the bottle in front of the access panel so the door slid shut behind him. Setting the glasses down on the table, he set about using the corkscrew to open the wine.

"Any idea what happened?" he asked as the cork broke free with a soft but audible pop, his question a preview of the endless inquiries to come.

"I really don't want to talk about work right now," she answered, getting up from her chair and crossing the room as he poured the wine.

"Whatever my lady desires," he said with a wink, handing her a glass.

She took a small sip, letting the wine's flavorful bouquet fill her palette. She tasted fruit, though it was more earthy than sweet.

"That's nice," she said, taking another, somewhat larger sip.

"I picked it up last time I was groundside on Elysium," he replied with a mischievous smile. "I thought it might be a good way to loosen up my boss."

"This could get me pretty loose," she confessed, downing the rest of the wine and holding out her glass for a refill. "Now that the bottle's open, no sense letting it go to waste."

Jiro obliged by refilling her glass. As he turned to set the bottle down, Kahlee leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. He responded by wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in close, so their hips pressed tight against each other.

"I didn't know this stuff would work so fast." He laughed.

"I can't help it if I'm a quick study," she answered, deftly undoing the top button of his shirt with her free hand.

"They say you should let wine breathe before you drink it," he whispered, nuzzling her earlobe.

"Works for me," she answered, setting her glass down on the table then leaping up to wrap her legs around his waist as he carried her over to the bed.

Their lovemaking didn't last long. Kahlee set the pace, fast and fierce as she tried to work off the stress and tension of the day, and Jiro was happy to follow her lead. When it was over they simply lay intertwined atop the sheets, naked and sheened with sweat as they tried to catch their breath.

"You really know how to make a girl work up a thirst," she panted.

Taking the hint, Jiro disentangled himself and rolled from the bed. He returned a few seconds later with the wine.

"Ready to talk about it now?" he asked as he handed over her glass and crawled back into bed beside her. "It might make you feel better."

"I wasn't actually there," she reminded him, taking the wine and snuggling up close against his body. "I only know what I've heard."

"Did you talk to Hendel?"

As he spoke he ran his fingers along her shoulder and up the side of her neck. The soft caresses caused tiny goose bumps of pleasure to form on her flesh.

"He didn't have much time. I only spoke to him for a few minutes."

"Then you know more than me. So what happened?"

"Gillian tore up the cafeteria," she said simply. "Hendel had to disable her with his stunner."

"Any idea how it started? What set her off?"

"We think Nick was teasing her."

Jiro shook his head. "Always looking for trouble, isn't he?"

"Got more than he bargained for this time. Hendel figures Gillian threw him twenty feet."

"Was he hurt?"

"Roughed up. Nothing too serious."

"That's good," he replied, but the words seemed hollow, an automatic response. "Did you run Gillian's numbers?"

Kahlee nodded. "Her alpha waves began to rise the day after Grayson came to see her. They're completely off the charts."

"Do you know whatcaused the increase?"

Something about his tone made Kahlee uncomfortable. He seemed more excited than concerned.

"Not a clue," she admitted. After a moment's hesitation she added, "Hendel said she created a singularity."

"Jesus," he gasped in amazement. "That's incredible!"

She sat up quickly, shaking his tender hand from her shoulder and glaring down at him as he lay on the bed.

"What's wrong with you?" she snapped. "You sound like you're glad this happened!"

"It's pretty exciting," he admitted, with no hint of shame or apology. "A girl with no advanced training unleashes one of the most powerful biotic abilities? Damn. I knew she had potential. But nothing like this."

"You realize what kind of a PR nightmare this is going to be for the Academy, right?"

"Let the board worry about that," he told her. "We have to look at this as an opportunity. We've always wondered what Gillian could do if she learned to tap into her power. This could be the kind of breakthrough we've been waiting for!"

Kahlee scowled at him, then realized he was just being honest. And he was only giving voice to the idea a small part of her was already thinking. She was worried about Gillian, of course, but the scientist inside her was already trying to figure out what this could mean for their research.

She let the scowl slip from her face, and took another drink from her glass before settling back down against Jiro's bare chest. She couldn't get mad at him just because he had been honest with her. He was passionate about his work; still young and impulsive. The people running the Grissom Academy, however, were older and wiser.