Drew Karpyshyn - Ascension

He lowered her until she lay on the ground, not gently but carefully. Then he came over to Grayson.

"Did he at least say why?" Grayson asked, standing motionless as the man reached out with the hypodermic and pressed it against the side of his neck.

"We don't take orders from the Illusive Man anymore," Pel replied.

There was the now familiar sound of the spring's recoil, and the world slipped away before Grayson had time to ask what he meant.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he finally woke up, but it felt like he'd been out for several hours at least. The familiar craving to dust up was there waiting for him, but it was more mental than physical. Red sand was a drug that tended to clear the body's system quickly; the physical symptoms of withdrawal usually faded within twelve to sixteen hours.

That was probably a good thing, considering that he now found himself lying on the floor in what appeared to be a makeshift holding cell. There was a door, presumably locked, on the far wall, and the only illumination came from a high-efficiency LED light overhead. The room was devoid of all furniture and decorations, though there was a small camera up in the corner to keep an eye on him.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, it took a moment for his still groggy mind to register the fact that he wasn't alone. Kahlee was sitting with her back against the wall in the opposite corner.

"Guess your friend is going to hand us over to Cerberus after all," she said.

He was confused for a moment, until he realized she hadn't heard his final conversation with Pel. She still thought he was a drug dealer, and she had no idea who Grayson was really working for.

"I don't think he's working with Cerberus," he admitted, figuring that small bit of information could do no harm. "Do you know what happened to Gillian?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen her or Hen-del."

Grayson chewed his lip, thinking hard. "Pel knows they're biotics," he muttered. "He must be taking extra precautions with them. Probably keep them both unconscious until…" he trailed off, realizing he had no idea what Pel had planned for them.

"You checked the door?" he asked her.

"They disconnected the access panel. It only opens from the outside." She shifted and crossed her legs, trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard floor. "Any idea how we can get out of this?"

The only answer he could give her was a shake of his head. There wasn't anything more to say, and so they sat like that for a good ten minutes before the door opened with a loud swoosh, startling them both.

Pel came into the room, accompanied by a pair of armed guards, and set a small wooden chair down in the center of the floor. As he settled into his seat the guards took up positions on either side of the door, which remained open.

"Figured I owed you an explanation after all we've been through," he said.

"Where's my daughter?" Grayson demanded angrily, not caring to listen to Pel's attempts at justifying his betrayal.

"Don't worry, she's safe. We wouldn't want to hurt her. She's too valuable. Same with your friend," he added, turning to Kahlee.

"How much is Cerberus paying you?" she asked.

Pel laughed, and Grayson felt his stomach clench. "Cerberus pays pretty well," the big man admitted. "Isn't that right, Killer?"

Kahlee looked over at him, but Grayson couldn't meet her gaze.

"So Hendel was right," she said, her voice hopeless and defeated rather than angry as the truth dawned on her. "You and Jiro were working together. How could a father do that to his own child?"

Grayson never even considered defending himself by claiming that he wasn't Gillian's real father. There was no biological link between them, but he had raised her from infancy. For ten years he alone had cared for her, teaching and nurturing her until she'd been accepted into the Ascension Project. She had been, and still was, the center and totality of his world. There was no doubt in his mind she was truly his daughter; if she hadn't been, everything would have been so much easier.

"It was never meant to be like this," he said softly. "Gillian is special. All we were trying to do was help her tap into her biotic abilities. We just wanted her to reach her full potential."

"Kind of sounds like your Ascension Project, doesn't it?" Pel said to Kahlee, grinning.

"We would never do anything to endanger the life of a student!" she shot back at him, finally showing some anger. "Nothing is worth that risk!"

"What if it meant helping dozens — or even thousands — of other lives?" Grayson asked quietly. "What if your child had the potential to be a savior of the entire human race? What is that worth? Then what would you risk?"

"In other words," Pel chimed in, still grinning, "if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs."

"They're not eggs!" Kahlee shouted. "They're children!"

"Not everyone can be saved," Grayson said, repeating the words of the Illusive Man, though he stared down at the floor as he spoke. "If humanity is to survive, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. The Alliance doesn't understand this. Cerberus does."

"Is that what we are?" Kahlee demanded, her voice filled with contempt. "Martyrs to the cause?"

"Not really," Pel said, gleefully interrupting once more. "See, Cerberus pays well. But the Collectors pay better."

"I thought the Collectors were just myth," Kahlee muttered, as if she suspected Pel was toying with her.

"Oh, they're real. And they're paying good money for healthy human biotics. We'll make enough off that girl and your friend to live like kings for the rest of our lives."

"What do the Collectors want with them?" she asked.

Pel shrugged. "I figure it's probably better if I don't know all the grisly details. Might give me nightmares. You know what that's like, right, Killer?"

"You're a traitor to the cause. A traitor to the entire human race."

"Cerberus really sunk their hooks into you," Pel said with a laugh. "You know, if all their agents were this dedicated, the Man might actually accomplish something. But the fact is, it's human nature to look out for number one. Too bad you never figured that out."

"What's going to happen to the two of us?" Kahlee asked.

"I figure the Collectors will pay us a little bonus foryou, sweet-cheeks, seeing as you're something of an expert on human biotics.

"As for my old friend over there, we'll throw him in for free. Should help buy us some time to disappear before Cerberus figures out what happened."

"The Illusive Man will hunt you down like dogs," Grayson snarled.

Pel stood up from his chair. "With the kind of rewards they're offering, that's a chance I'm willing to take."

He nodded toward Kahlee. "Throw her in with the other two. If we leave the two of them alone together she'll probably scratch his eyes out."

One of the guards stepped forward and hauled Kahlee to her feet, dragging her from the cell.

Pel, chair in hand, paused just before closing the door.

"Nothing personal, Killer," he said, getting the last word in as always.

Pel followed the guard and Kahlee down the hall to the room on the far end, then opened the door so they could toss her in. The woman gasped when she saw the two figures lying motionless on the floor.

"Relax, sugar," Pel said with a wink. "They're just unconscious."

The guard shoved her into the room and the door slid shut before she could reply.

"Keep a close eye on the cameras," Pel warned the two guards charged with watching the monitors that showed the inside of each cell. "If either one of those biotics even rolls over in their sleep, you hit them with another dose of the night-night juice. We're not taking any chances with them."