Kahlee remained seated at the desk in her room and ignored 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 what caused 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.
"Don't get too excited," she cautioned him. "After all this, the board will probably decide it's too dangerous to keep her in the program."
"You're not going to let them kick her out, are you? Not when she's finally beginning to show progress!"
"Gillian's not the only student in the Ascension Project. We were lucky this time, but another outburst and someone could get seriously hurt. Or killed."
"That's why we have to keep her here," Jiro insisted. "Where else can she go to get the kind of help she needs? Who else is going to teach her to control her power?"
"Her father can afford to hire private biotic tutors," she countered.
"We both know it's not the same," he answered, his voice getting louder. "They won't have access to the kinds of staff and resources we have here."
"You don't have to convince me," she told him, her voice rising to match his. "I don't get to make this decision. It's up to the board. And her father."
"Grayson will want to keep her in the program," he answered with absolute certainty. "Maybe he could make another donation to convince the board to let her stay."
"This comes down to more than money."
"You can talk to the board," he continued, still pressing the issue. "Tell them the Ascension Project needs Gillian. Her numbers are so far ahead of every other kid here it's like she's a whole different species. We need to study her. If we can identify the source of her power we could advance the science of human bi-otics to places we can't even imagine!"
Kahlee didn't answer right away. On some level, everything he said was true. But Gillian was more than just a test subject; she had an identity beyond the numbers on their charts. She was a person; a young girl with a developmental disorder, and Kahlee wasn't convinced that keeping her in the program was the best thing for her in the long run.
"I'll talk to the board," she finally promised, choosing her words carefully. "But I can't guarantee what my recommendation will be. And they might not listen to me, anyway."
"You could always get your father to talk to them," he said with a wry smile. "I think they'd listen to him. After all, they named the school after him."
"I'm not bringing my father into this," she said with cold finality.
For several minutes they sat there in silence, but then Jiro spoke again, not quite willing to let the topic of Gillian die.
"I heard they're keeping her in the quarantine ward."
"Just for a few days. Hendel thought it would be safer until he's had a chance to sort this all out."
There was another long silence, broken when Jiro said, "She's probably scared. I'd like to go see her."
This was the other side of Jiro: the compassionate young man who was worried about the feelings of a twelve-year-old girl rather than his research. Kahlee rolled over and kissed him on his bare chest.
"She'd like that. You can go tomorrow. I'll make sure you have clearance."
When Kahlee woke the next morning her head was pounding from the aftereffects of the wine. Jiro was gone, and she was shocked to see from her bedside clock that she had overslept by a full hour.
You know you re getting old when half a bottle of wine makes you sleep through your alarm, she thought as she slowly rolled out of bed and stood up.
It was then she noticed a note on the table, held in place by the empty bottle of wine. Pressing her hands against her throbbing temples, she staggered over to read it.
Gone to see Gillian. Turned off your alarm. Figured you could use the sleep.
She crumpled up the note and dropped it into the recycling bin as she made her way to the bathroom.
By the time she was showered and changed, the last of her hangover was gone. She wanted to speak to Gillian again and see if she remembered anything else, but first she needed to check on Hendel. Glancing at her watch, she knew she'd find him in his office.
"How you doing, kiddo?" Jiro asked, poking his head into Gillian's hospital room.
She was wearing a hospital gown and sitting up in her bed, staring straight ahead at an empty wall. But when she heard his voice, she turned toward the door and smiled.
Early on, when he'd first started treating her, Jiro had worried she'd get a bad vibe off him. Her condition made her more perceptive than other children, and he was afraid she might sense the ulterior motive behind his interest in her. As it turned out, however, Gillian's reaction was just the opposite — she genuinely seemed to like him.
Jiro had developed his own personal theory to explain her reaction. He was fascinated by the research Cerberus was conducting in the field of human bio-tics; he couldn't wait to see what results their latest serums would have on Gillian. As a result, he was always upbeat when he came to check her numbers. He suspected she was feeding off this energy and excitement, making her more responsive to him than most of the other techs.
"Nice place you got here," he said, coming over to stand by the side of her bed.
"I want to go back to my own room," she answered in her familiar monotone.
He studied her carefully as she spoke, looking for signs she was somehow different now. No visible changes in alertness, he noted silently.
"You can't go back to your own room quite yet," he told her out loud. "Everybody's still trying to figure out what happened to you in the cafeteria." Including me.
When Grayson had given him the vial of unfamiliar fluid last week, he'd had a feeling something major was going to happen. He couldn't explain it, but somehow he'd known they'd made a breakthrough. Something they wanted to test on Gillian right away. But he hadn't expected anything this soon… or this big.
There was no doubt in his mind that the girl's remarkable display was linked to the mysterious Cerberus elixir. Unfortunately, the incredible success of the treatment had thrown a wrench into the experiment. He was supposed to give Gillian another dose of medication today, but he couldn't give it to her here. Too many people, and too many security cameras.
"I hate this room," Gillian informed him.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" he suggested, seizing on the opportunity to get her out of the quarantine wing and somewhere more private. "We could go to the atrium."
She pondered the offer for a good five seconds, then nodded once, definitively.
"You get dressed," he told her. "I'll tell the nurse where we're going."
Leaving the room, he made his way over to the admissions desk. He recognized the nurse on duty from seeing her around the facility, but he didn't know her name. However, that hadn't stopped him from flirting with her when he'd first arrived and signed in.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked, smiling brightly. She was small, with dark skin and a round, pretty face.
"I'm going to take Gillian down to the atrium. A little break from that room will be good for her."
She frowned slightly, wrinkling her nose. "I don't think we're supposed to let her leave," she said, apologetically.
"I promise to bring her back when I'm done," he joked, flashing his most charming grin.
The frown fell away, but she still looked uncertain. "Hendel might not like that."
"Hendel's as bad as an overprotective mother," he told her with an easy laugh. "Besides, I'll have her back before anyone even knows we're gone."
"I don't want to get in trouble." She was wavering, but she wasn't quite there yet.
He reached over the admissions desk and set a reassuring hand on her arm. "Don't worry, Hendel and I are good friends. I'll protect you from him," he said with a sly wink.
After a moment's hesitation, she relented and handed him the patient register. "Just don't be too long," she warned as he signed Gillian out.
Handing the register back, he gave the nurse one last smile, then turned to see Gillian standing silently at the threshold of her room, watching them intently.
"Time to go," he told her, and she obediently moved forward and fell into step beside him.
Kahlee wasn't surprised to find the door to Hen-del's office closed when she got there. She could only imagine all the things he'd had to deal with over the past twenty-four hours.
"Door — open," she heard him call out in response to her knock.
When he saw her standing there he motioned for her to come in before saying, "Door — close."
Hendel's office was a mess, but that in itself wasn't unusual. He didn't like paperwork, and it tended to pile up quickly. He always had stacks of printed reports piled on his desk, with a few more piles stacked on the floor beside it, waiting for his review. The tops of the tall metal cabinets along the back wall were covered with all manner of forms, requests, and waivers needing signatures or waiting to be filed in the proper folder.
The security chief was seated behind his desk, staring intently at his computer screen. She crossed the room and took one of the two chairs across from his. He reached out and flipped off the monitor as she sat down, let out a long, weary sigh, then leaned back in his chair.
He'd changed his soaked, food-stained clothes since she'd seen him yesterday outside Gillian's hospital room, but it looked like he hadn't taken the time to shower. She could still see tiny bits of bread caught in his hair and clinging to the short, reddish brown whiskers of his beard. There was a day's growth of stubble on his cheeks, and his eyes were bloodshot and baggy.
"Were you working all night?" she asked him.
"Damage control," he answered. "Some anonymous jackoff on staff already leaked the story. I've got calls coming in from media, school administrators, government officials, and angry parents. The parents are the worst."
"They're just worried about their kids."
"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "But if I find out who leaked the story I'll make damn sure their ass gets fired." He sat forward in his chair, thumping his hand hard on the desk to punctuate his words.
"Did you get in touch with Grayson yet?"
Hendel shook his head disapprovingly. "I left a message, but he didn't call back."
"Maybe he's not available."
"An emergency contact number's no damn good if you're not there during an emergency," he snapped back at her, then immediately apologized. "Sorry. I've got a lot of things on my mind."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"No," he said, resting his elbows on the desk and placing his head in his hands.
Kahlee stayed silent, waiting patiently. A few seconds later he looked up at her and said softly, "I think we might have to pull Gillian out of the program."
"I was thinking that myself," she said with a sympathetic nod.
Hendel leaned back in his chair again and put his feet up on the desk, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling.
"I'm thinking of offering the board my resignation," he said, the casualness of his voice at odds with the bombshell he'd just dropped.
"What?" Kahlee exclaimed. "You can't quit! The children need you!"
"Do they?" he wondered out loud. "Yesterday I let them down when they needed me the most."
"What are you talking about? Nick and Gillian were the only ones hurt, and they'll both be fine in a few days. You did everything right!"
He swung his feet down from the desk and sat up, leaning forward intently.
"No, I didn't," he told her, his voice gravely serious. "When I realized Gillian wasn't going to stop, I should have hit her with my stunner without a second thought. But I hesitated."
"I think that's a good thing," Kahlee protested. "I'd be more worried if you didn't think twice about it."
"Everyone in that cafeteria was in danger," he explained, speaking slowly. "Every second I let her keep going there was a chance someone else could get hurt. Or worse."
"But that didn't happen. There's no point beating yourself up over it."
"You don't understand," he said, shaking his head in frustration. "I put the safety of Gillian ahead of every other student at this Academy. I can't afford to do that in my position. I'm trained to react in emergency situations, and I can't let my personal feelings get in the way."
Kahlee didn't say anything right away, her mind reeling as she processed the information. She thought he was overreacting, but he wasn't a man prone to empty comments; she had no doubt he was serious about leaving.
"What will you do?"
"I was thinking of asking Grayson to hire me as a private tutor for Gillian."
Suddenly everything made sense. Kahlee realized this wasn't about Hendel feeling guilty over what had happened. Not really. Hendel cared about all the kids in the program, but Gillian was different. She needed more help than the other children. She needed more time and attention. Because of this, Hendel had grown more attached to her than the others. It wasn't fair, but who ever said life was fair?
Gillian was special to him. Hendel cared for her. He loved her. And he was willing to do whatever it took to stay in her life, even if it meant throwing away his career.
"Hold off on that resignation for a while," Kahlee said, reaching out to pat him gently on the hand. "At least until we know for sure if the board will let Gillian stay."
"They're not going to let her stay. We both know that."
"Probably not," she admitted. "But there's always a chance." Her mind went back to her conversation with Jiro from the night before. "If I have to, I could get my father involved."
"Your father?" Hendel asked, confused.
"Admiral Jon Grissom."
HendePs jaw gaped. "Grissom's your dad? 1… I
didn't know that."
"I don't like to talk about him," she said. "Jiro's probably the only one who knows."
"What did he say when you told him?" Hendel asked, still stunned.
"I… I don't remember," Kahlee answered uncertainly, trying to think back. Funny. I should remember telling him something like that. "I actually can't remember telling him. But he knows. We were talking about it last night." But if I didn't tell him, then how does he know?
Hendel's expression changed from disbelief to one of concern. "Kahlee? What's the matter? What's wrong?"
"Nobody knows who my father is," she said slowly, still trying to work out the implications for herself. "It's not even listed in my Alliance personnel file. There's only one document that mentions my father: the classified report Anderson filed twenty years ago. Top secret clearance required."
"And you're positive you never mentioned it to him? Why the hell would one of your lab techs have top secret clearance?" Hendel asked, worried. "Something doesn't add up."
Kahlee could only nod, numb from the possibility that the man she'd been sleeping with had been lying to her all along. Lying about how тисЫAnd why?
"I need to talk to Jiro. Now!" Hendel told her, yanking open the drawer of his desk and pulling out a pistol. "Where is he?" he demanded, strapping the pistol onto his hip.
"He went to see Gillian."
Hendel slammed the buttons of the speaker-phone on his desk, moving quickly, but still staying calm and focused. Kahlee was upset as well, but even so, Hendel's urgency surprised her. Perhaps he was eager to get back to being in control, anxious to focus on something other than the events of the past day.
"Quarantine ward," the nurse's voice answered.
"This is Security Chief Mitra. Has Dr. Toshiwa come to see Gillian yet?"
"Yes, sir. He took her to the atrium. Would you like me to—"
Hendel killed the call, barking out, "Door — open!" as he sprinted from the room. He moved so fast it took Kahlee a full second before she reacted and took off after him.