Mass Effect™: Retribution Read Online Free PDF Page A

somehow linked, though it was also possible her abilities were the result of the drugs her father and Cerberus had been secretly pumping into her system.
    In the end, Grayson had chosen his daughter over his loyalty to Cerberus, and with his help Kahlee had managed to get Gillian onto the crew of a quarian deep-space exploration vessel … one of the few safe places in the galaxy beyond the Illusive Man’s reach.
    Kahlee understood how hard it had been for Grayson to send his daughter away; it had been hardfor
her
to. But Gillian wasn’t alone: Hendel Mitra—the former security chief of the Grissom Academy—was with her, and he cared for her as much as her own father did.
    Kahlee’s train of thought was derailed by the soft beeping of an incoming call over the extranet. The point of origin was blocked, but she had a pretty good idea of who was on the other end of the line.
    She tapped the bottom right corner of the hovering interface screen to accept the call, activating the video feed on a separate screen. Staring back at her was Grayson himself, as if Kahlee’s thoughts about his daughter had somehow conjured him up.
    “Kahlee,” he said, his face brightening as he spoke her name.
    For the past three years, Grayson had called her every two or three weeks. Though he would never openly admit it, she knew he was checking up on her. She suspected that after Gillian was gone, he’d struck some kind of bargain with the Illusive Man to guarantee her safety … though what that bargain was, or what it had cost him, she’d never been able to find out.
    From the image on her screen, it looked as if he was calling from a computer station set up inside a small bedroom. She couldn’t make out any other significant details, however; Grayson was always careful to give her no clue as to where he was calling from. So she studied his physical appearance instead.
    He seemed to be wearing some type of body armor or combat suit, though it was hard to be sure with only his head and shoulders visible. She was relievedto see that his pupils and teeth were white, with no trace of the rosy pink hue that would indicate he had started using red sand again. Yet his face looked lean and haggard, as if he was under a great deal of stress.
    “You look good, Grayson,” she said, letting a smile slip across her lips to sell the white lie.
    “I’m keeping busy,” he responded, as vague and evasive as ever. “How have you been? Everything going well on the Ascension Project? Nothing unusual?”
    “Unusual? You mean other than teaching children how to move objects with their mind?”
    Grayson forced a polite laugh. Kahlee could see he was on edge.
    “Is something wrong?”
    “No,” he answered quickly, shaking his head. “Everything’s fine. Just got back from a job. Always leaves me feeling a little off.”
    “What kind of job?”
    “The kind that pays my bills.”
    There was an awkward moment of silence as Kahlee debated whether to keep pushing for more information. In the end, she decided to let it go.
    “I was thinking of Gillian when you called.”
    A wave of conflicting emotions flickered across Grayson’s face at the mention of his daughter: longing, regret, and happiness ran in rapid succession across his features.
    “I’m always thinking of her,” he said softly. “Have you heard anything? From the quarians? Or Hendel?”
    “I’m sorry. No.”
    After a pause, Grayson gruffly insisted, “It’s better this way.”
    Kahlee couldn’t help but feel like he was trying to convince himself, not her.
    “You’re welcome to come visit the Academy,” she reminded him. “I’ve put you on my precleared-visitors list.”
    Grayson’s association with Cerberus had never become known to anyone at the Academy other than Hendel and Kahlee, and she knew those days were behind him. As far as the rest of the staff knew, he was just the father of a former student … and a major donor to the program.
    “I know how much you miss