Drew Karpyshyn - Ascension

That all depends on who gets to write the history books, doesn't it?

He made his way over to the vid screen on the far wall, then reached down and pressed the button to activate the message playback.

"Mr. Grayson? This is Dr. Kahlee Sanders from the Grissom Academy."

By default he had video conferencing capabilities disabled; he preferred the privacy of audio-only communications. But even without visual cues, he could tell from her tone something else had happened. Something bad.

"I'm not sure exactly how to tell you this, Mr. Grayson. Gillian was in the hospital, recovering from her episode in the cafeteria when. . well, we think there may have been an attempt on her life. We think Dr. Toshiwa tried to kill her.

"She's alive," Kahlee's voice quickly added. "Hen-del got to her in time. She had a seizure, but she's okay now. We're keeping her under medical observation. Please, Mr. Grayson, contact the Academy as soon as you get this message."

The recording ended with a click. Grayson didn't move or react, but merely stood frozen in place as his mind tried to wrap itself around the implications of her words. We think Dr. Toshiwa tried to kill her.

Jiro's only contact with Cerberus was through Grayson; they had no way of reaching him directly. . at least, none that he knew of. This was standard operating procedure: fewer operatives with direct access meant less chance of a security breach. And if one of their own people compromised the mission it was easier for Cerberus to figure out who the traitor was.

Jiro's not dumb enough to turn on the Illusive Man. And even if he did, trying to kill Gillian doesn't make any sense.

There was another possible explanation: the new medication. If it had caused the seizure, and if they caught Jiro giving it to her, then they might think he was trying to kill her. But did that mean they had Jiro in custody now? And if they did, how much had he already told them?

He pushed the button to play the recording again.

"Mr. Grayson? This is Dr. Kahlee Sanders from the Grissom Academy. I'm not sure exactly how to tell you this, Mr. Grayson. Gillian was in the hospital, recovering from her episode in the cafeteria when. . well, we think there may have been an attempt on her life. We think Dr. Toshiwa tried to kill her.

"She's alive. Hendel got to her in time. She had a seizure, but she's okay now. We're keeping her under medical observation. Please, Mr. Grayson, contact the Academy as soon as you get this message."

All the other calls had come from the security chief. He didn't know if it was significant that this one was made by someone else.

Did Jiro rat you out? Are they setting a trap? Trying to lure you in?

He couldn't put it off any longer; he had to make the call. And this time he'd need to reactivate visual communication. He made a quick scan of the room to verify he hadn't left a needle or a baggie of red sand in view of the vid screen. Then he checked himself in the mirror — he looked tired and disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. But if he sat in the chair on the far side of the room it shouldn't be noticeable. At least, that's what he hoped.

With everything in position he sat down and placed the call. A few seconds later the image of the Illusive Man appeared, filling the vid screen. He had a face born for the screen: his silver gray hair was cut short, framing and accentuating his perfectly symmetrical features, which were highlighted by the sharp line of his clean-shaven jaw and a perfectly proportioned nose.

"Grayson," he said by way of greeting, his voice smooth. If he wondered about the fact that Grayson was sitting on the far side of the room for the call, rather than the customary six to ten feet away from the screen, he didn't show it.

"Something's happened with Gillian," Grayson said, studying the Illusive Man's reaction carefully. Is this new information? Is he surprised, or does he already know? Of course the Illusive Man's steely-blue eyes gave nothing away; his face was an emotionless, unreadable mask.

"Is she all right?" he asked, his voice showing just the slightest hint of concern, though that could have been for Grayson's benefit. It was possible he already knew everything that had happened.

"She had a seizure. The new medication was too much for her."

"Is that what Jiro said?" His face showed just enough care and worry to make the question not seem callous. Again, Grayson wasn't sure if it was an act.

"The Academy called to tell me. Jiro's been compromised."

There was a flicker of emotion across the Illusive Man's face, but it was gone too quickly for Grayson to identify it. Anger? Surprise? Disappointment?

"How much has he told them?"

"I don't know. The message came in last night. I called you as soon as I heard it."

"We need to play this out," the Illusive Man told him after a moment's consideration. "Assume he hasn't blown your cover yet."

It was a reasonable assumption. Jiro was new to Cerberus — they'd only recruited him a few years ago — but he understood how things worked. Two things would helpensure his silence, for a while at least: his loyalty to their cause, and his fear of the Illusive Man's retribution.

It was inevitable he'd tell them something — sooner or later the Alliance would break him. But the longer he could hold out, the more time he gave for someone to clean up the mess. If he held out long enough for the mission to be salvaged then he didn't have to worry about Cerberus coming after him to extract its revenge. As long as he kept his mouth shut, he could even cling to the hope that the Illusive Man might send someone to rescue him. It had happened with key operatives in the past, though Grayson figured Jiro would ultimately be deemed expendable.

"Contact the Academy," the Illusive Man instructed him. "Tell them you're coming to take Gillian out of the program. We've gotten everything we can from the Ascension Project. It's time we took direct control of her training."

"Yes, sir." He'd hesitated only a split second before answering, but this was enough for the Illusive Man to pick up on it.

"What happened at the Academy was an accident. A mistake," he said, his face morphing into an expression of sincere apology and regret. "We don't want Gillian to get hurt. She's too valuable. Too important. We care what happens to her."

Grayson didn't answer right away. "I know," he finally replied.

"We always feared there could be side effects with the new treatment, but we didn't think anything like this would happen," the Illusive Man continued to explain. "Monitoring her from a distance, analyzing all the results after the fact… it increases the risks of something going wrong. Once you bring her in, we'll keep her under constant observation. We can be more cautious with our tests. Bring her along slowly."

He was saying all the right things, of course. And Grayson knew there was at least some element of truth in his words.

He's just telling you what you want to hear! He's playing you!

"I give you my word this won't happen again," the Illusive Man vowed.

Grayson wanted to believe him. He needed to believe him. Because if he didn't, what options were left? If he didn't turn Gillian over to Cerberus, if he tried to take her and run, they'd find him. And even if they somehow managed to stay hidden, what then?

Gillian needed order and routine to function. He couldn't even imagine how she would cope if she had to live the life of a fugitive, constantly fleeing from one location to another in an effort to stay one step ahead of their pursuers. And what would happen as her power continued to grow? Could she ever learn to control her abilities? Or would she always be some kind of biotic time bomb, waiting to go off?