Mass Effect™: Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn Read Free Book Online Page A

so much easier if the Illusive Man had simply wanted Grayson dead. Kai Leng could have completed that job within hours of locating him: a slow-acting poison slipped into his drink at the club; a sniper shot between the eyes from a hidden vantage point as Grayson walked down the street. But extraction was always more difficult than simple assassination.
    Kai Leng wasn’t acting alone, of course. He had six of his own people—loyal Cerberus operatives—on standby in an apartment in a neighboring, human-controlled district, just waiting for him to give thesignal. With a little luck, it could happen in the next few hours.
    Everything had been in place a few days ago, when Grayson had suddenly dropped off the radar. At first Kai Leng feared he’d been made, but some careful inquiries revealed that Grayson had gone on a special mission for Aria. He hadn’t been able to learn all the details, but he’d gathered enough secondhand information to know it had something to do with drugs and one of the rival gangs.
    Kai Leng had staked out the club, knowing Grayson’s eventual return to his alien master was inevitable. For three nights he had waited for a glimpse of his target in vain. But tonight his perseverance had been rewarded.
    Grayson had entered the club less than an hour ago. If he went home alone tonight, instead of accompanied by the young asari he was sleeping with, they’d strike. If he wasn’t alone, they’d wait for another chance. Kai Leng was nothing if not patient.
    Still, he was eager to get off the station. There were too many aliens on Omega, and too few of his own kind. He was an outsider here, subject to the whims of strange beings with cultures and values he had no interest in adapting to. The high crime rate, brutal dictatorship of the gangs, and relative powerlessness of humanity were a grim example of the Illusive Man’s vision of an alien-dominated future. Kai Leng was convinced that anyone who had doubts about Cerberus had only to visit Omega to truly grasp the fundamental necessity of a pro-human organization willing to do whatever was necessary to defend the species.
    The VIP door to the club opened and everyone in line craned their necks eagerly to see who was coming out. They hoped to see a large group: six, seven, or eight individuals leaving the club meant the same number waiting in line would be allowed in to take their place. On seeing only a single human exiting, a palpable murmur of disappointment rippled through the crowd.
    Kai Leng felt the opposite emotion as he watched Grayson emerge and wander off in the direction of his apartment alone.
    Several patrons near the back of the line gave up in disgust, stepping out of the queue in search of other entertainment. Kai Leng blended in with this crowd to avoid drawing attention, heading off in the opposite direction Grayson went. He continued around a corner until he was safely out of sight; he didn’t want to risk Grayson noticing him if he happened to glance back for any reason.
    Reaching up, he activated the two-way transmitter looped over his ear with a light touch.
    “Target has left the club alone,” he whispered, knowing the receivers worn by the rest of his team would automatically amplify his words so they could be heard clearly. “The plan is go.”
    Grayson made his way back to his apartment, his pace quickening with every step. He didn’t feel right. Tense. Restless. Frustrated.
    Leaving the club had been the right decision; the scene at Afterlife held no appeal for him tonight. But he still felt bad about brushing Liselle off.
    She’s right about Kahlee, you know. You always get moody after you talk to her
.
    He nodded to the guards at the district’s gate as he passed, but didn’t bother to speak as he blew by, his mind too caught up in his own thoughts.
    Kahlee was a link to his old life; speaking to her was a way to keep the connection with his daughter alive. Their conversations were a reminder of what he’d once