Leng’s thoughts were interrupted as an old-fashioned key rattled in the lock and the door to his cell swung open. “Rise and shine,” Kim said as she stepped inside. “It’s time for your walk.”

  “Just like a dog.”

  “Yeah, pretty much. Now get off your butt. You have all day but I don’t.”

  So Leng swung his feet over the side of the bed and onto the floor. Then came the task of pulling his boots on. Once they were secured he slipped the toothbrush into one of them and stood. Kim jerked her head toward the open door. “You know the drill. Get going.”

  Leng walked past her, through the doorway, and out into the brighter illumination of the main cavern. As he looked down onto the area below he saw very little activity. There wasn’t much going on insofar as he could tell.

  Gravel crunched under Leng’s boots as he followed the path down and out onto the floor. “Okay,” Kim said, “start walking.”

  Leng obeyed. And it felt good to stretch his legs. They followed their shadows across to the far side of the cavern where they were forced to turn back. “So,” Kim said, as she broke the silence. “Are you ready?”

  “Ready for what?”

  “Ready to escape. Look straight ahead. See the door? That’s the only way out. Gillian Grayson is on duty and the second guard is taking a bio break. She’s a lot more powerful than I am but I’ll take her by surprise. There’s a biometric scanner but I can open it.

  “Then we’ll run through the tunnel. That leads to a second door which you can open by hitting the slap switch. Two guards are stationed outside and I should be able to deal with both. But if something goes wrong jump in with both feet.

  “From there we’ll run straight across the street into the shantytown on the other side. People will follow us, but the place is like a maze, so with any luck at all we’ll be able to lose them. Got it?”

  Leng looked at her. He’d seen that expression before. Back in Hell’s Half Acre. Kim had been in love with him then and still was in spite of words to the contrary. “So, you think I’m worth saving?”

  Kim smiled. “Maybe … But it doesn’t matter what I think. The Illusive Man wants to get you out of here. And he’s willing to blow off all the work it took to place an agent in the Biotic Underground.”

  Leng’s eyebrows rose. “So, you’re still part of Cerberus?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you.”

  Kim made a face. “You can thank me if we survive. Get ready … Now!”

  Gillian was standing next to the first door looking at her omni-tool when Kim sent a biotic shockwave straight at her. The dark energy plucked Gillian off her feet and threw her against the wall. Then, before she could recover, Kim was there to pistol-whip her.

  Leng felt helpless as he waited for Kim to step in front of the retinal scanner. It seemed to take forever before the green light came on and Kim hit the switch. As the door rumbled up out of the way Leng heard a distant shout and knew they had been spotted. The alarm was followed by a burst of gunfire as what sounded like a host of angry bees buzzed past his head. “Come on!” Kim shouted. “Follow me.”

  Leng followed the biotic as she ran to the next door and slapped a switch. The second door rumbled open to reveal a couple of street guards. They looked surprised. Kim slammed one of them and Leng took care of the second with a right cross. His fist connected with the man’s jaw, the biotic went down, and his submachine gun fell free. Leng scooped it up and followed Kim as she led him across the street. A horn blared as a car came to a screeching halt. Leng dodged around the front of it as one of the guards shouted something unintelligible and gave chase.

  As Leng and Kim entered the shantytown, and pounded down a narrow garbage-strewn lane, residents looked on in dull-eyed surprise. A mongrel gave chase. It was next to Kim, trying to nip at her legs, when she shot it with her pistol. The body tumbled end over end and hit a pile of trash.

  Leng’s leg had begun to ache by then. The gunshot wound suffered aboard the Grissom Academy space station was nearly healed. But every time he was forced to run it set the recovery process back. Still, there was no choice, so all Leng could do was grit his teeth and put up with the pain.

  “This way!” Kim shouted, and led him into what amounted to an alley. That was when Leng heard a loud bang, saw a geyser of soil leap up near one of Kim’s heels, and realized that one of the local residents had taken a shot at her. Because of the dog? Or for sport? There was no way to be sure as they dodged in between a couple of shacks and paused to rest.

  But it soon became apparent there wouldn’t be any time to rest as shouts were heard and some of their pursuers arrived on the scene. It was impossible to know how many without peeking around the corner and inviting a head shot. “We know you’re in there!” a male voice said. “Put your weapons down and come out with your hands clasped behind your head.”

  Leng was surprised. He glanced at Kim. “They want to take us alive. Why?”

  “They want to take you alive,” she answered. “The Underground’s leaders told the Illusive Man that he could have you back for ten million credits. He countered at five—and as of a day ago they were trying to get seven five.”

  Leng experienced a momentary surge of pleasure. Silly though it might be it felt good to know that the Illusive Man wanted him back. “First the bank job, now this … What are the biotics planning to do with all that money?”

  “It isn’t about money,” Kim answered.

  “This is your last chance,” the male voice shouted. “Come out now.”

  “Not about money?” Leng inquired, as he checked to make sure that the submachine gun was fully functional. “Well, if it isn’t about money, what is it about?”

  “The Illusive Man,” Kim replied. “They want to lure him in, kill him, and destroy Cerberus. It was Gillian Grayson’s idea.”

  Leng was still in the process of absorbing that news when he heard a clang as something landed on the metal roof of the structure to his right. That was followed by a rattling sound. He grabbed hold of Kim and jerked her back. “Grenade!”

  It was a grenade. A flash-bang to be precise, and it went off in midair. Light strobed the passageway and the accompanying concussion shook flimsy walls on both sides of them. The purpose of the attack was to stun the fugitives so the biotics could turn the corner of the building and take them down. Only Leng had anticipated that strategy and been able to close his eyes in time.

  Now, as he opened up on them he saw the first attacker step into the passageway. But rather than fire the assault rifle slung over his shoulder the man raised both hands as if to launch a biotic attack. That was a mistake, as the would-be attacker learned when a well-aimed burst of projectiles struck his armor. Sparks flew as the projectiles ate their way through the protective suit. But the real damage was inflicted by Kim who “threw” the man backward. He was still in the process of falling when she touched Leng’s arm. “Let’s go!”

  As Kim ran down the garbage-strewn path between two shacks Leng followed. His goal was to escape rather than inflict casualties on the Biotic Underground. Because now that he knew what was going on Leng had to warn the Illusive Man.

  But it wouldn’t be easy. A shotgun blast narrowly missed Leng as he splashed through a rivulet of sewage and passed by an open window. It seemed that at least one local resident was unhappy about the battle taking place outside his home. Maybe he would shoot at the biotics too. Leng hoped so.

  At that point Leng spotted a street up ahead and felt a surge of hope. If they could cross it, and plunge even deeper into the maze of shacks, perhaps it would be possible to shake their pursuers. It seemed that Kim was thinking the same thing as she ran into the pothole-cratered byway.

  Leng was limping by then, his speed was half what it had been previously, and every time his foot landed it sent a jolt of pain up his leg. So Kim was already on the far side, waiting for him, when the roar of a powerful engine was heard.

  Leng looked right, saw that a gyrocycle was coming straight toward him, and felt an invisible fist hammer his chest as the two-wheeled vehicle flashed past. There were two riders—a driver and a passenger. The latter having launched the attack.

  Leng hit the ground hard, and laying on his back struggling to breathe when Kim arrived to help him up. Meanwhile, half a block away, the gyrocycle was halfway through a U-turn. Leng put paid to that plan by firing a long burst from the submachine gun.

  The range was long, but luck went his way for a change, and a slug smashed the driver’s visor. He toppled onto the ground, which left the passenger to scoot forward and take the controls. But being unable to steer and attack she sped away.

  That was good, but far from the victory they needed as a second engine was heard, signaling another attack. “We’ve got to find some cover,” Kim said. “Or better yet, a place to hide. You won’t get far with that leg.”

  Leng knew Kim was right as she helped him hobble into the space between two dilapidated shacks. A baby was crying somewhere nearby, a dog was barking, and the engine noise was louder. A local armed with a shotgun appeared up ahead and Kim shot him three times. With no armor to protect him he went down as if poleaxed.

  But no sooner had that threat been neutralized than another materialized. Leng heard the screech of brakes, followed by the sound of an over-revved engine, and turned to see another gyrocycle coming straight at him. He was bringing the submachine gun to bear when Kim pushed past him and sent a shockwave surging through the narrow passageway. The tightly focused ball of energy struck the driver, who lost control and crashed into a wall. Even the built-in gyro stabilizer couldn’t keep the vehicle upright and it fell over, trapping both riders under its weight.

  Leng turned back in the direction they had been going and attempted to run. But there was no place to go. Three biotics were standing shoulder to shoulder blocking the passageway. The one in the center was Mythra Zon, and judging from her expression, she was pissed. Her hands were raised and Leng knew she could kill him. “There is no point in further violence,” Zon said. “Give up. You won’t be harmed.”

  Leng knew that Zon was right. He couldn’t escape. What he could do was borrow Kim’s pistol and shoot himself in the head. That would end the plot to suck the Illusive Man into a trap. Or would it? No, the biotics would simply pretend that he was alive, thereby making his act of self-sacrifice meaningless.

  But there was someone else to consider. “What about Kim? What will happen to her?”

  “She will be taken alive. But we have to maintain discipline. I imagine it’s the same inside Cerberus.”

  Leng remembered McCann and the hard-fought battle in the men’s room. He looked at Kim. Her face was expressionless, but he could see the fear in her eyes. He turned back toward Von. “So what does ‘discipline’ mean in this case?”

  “There will be a trial,” Zon replied. “Kim’s peers will decide her fate.”

  That wasn’t much, but it was something. At least the biotics weren’t going to execute Kim on the spot. Maybe something good would happen before the trial took place. “Okay,” Leng said wearily, and placed the submachine gun on the ground. He turned to Kim. “I’m sorry, hon. Whatever you do, don’t tell them you work for Cerberus.”

  She shrugged. “My mother told me not to date soldiers. I should have listened.” Kim thumbed the safety on and let the pistol fall.

  “Good,” Zon said. “Very good.” The slam came without warning. One moment Leng was standing there. The next he was in the air. Then came the impact. Pain lanced up his leg, arrived in his brain, and exploded. That was followed by a long fall into nothingness. And a cessation of pain. The escape attempt was over.

  FIFTEEN

  ON OMEGA

  It was dark and well into the evening when Aria T’Loak and her entourage arrived at the Afterlife club. Her bodyguards got out of the heavily armored limo first, and having consulted with the security guards stationed in front of the building, returned to open the door.

  T’Loak got out, ignored the usual handful of onlookers who’d been waiting to get a look at her, and swept in through the front door. A red carpet led straight to the cage located at the center of the lobby. Sy Tactus was there waiting for her. And he was a sight to see. His expression could best be described as a snarl, and he was standing with both hands on the vertical bars. “Good evening … Bitch.”

  T’Loak smiled serenely. “Nice try, Tactus, but I’m not ready to kill you just yet. Still, it is something to look forward to, isn’t it?” And with that she walked away.

  Tactus produced a mournful howl loud enough to be heard on the dance floor. But T’Loak didn’t look back as she made her way up to her second-floor office. As always there was a lot of work waiting to be done. Everything from the need to hire a new exotic dancer to how to bribe a government official on Camala and get away with it. But T’Loak enjoyed such challenges and took pride in her ability to come up with solutions. So she was happily lost in her work when Immo entered the enclosure. “You have a call.”

  T’Loak looked up from her terminal. “Who is it?”

  “The Illusive Man.”

  “Really? Well, that’s interesting. Activate the privacy barrier. I’ll take it.”

  The privacy barrier was a semiopaque electronically generated curtain that “dropped” into place on command—thereby sealing T’Loak and her guests off from the rest of the nightclub. But in this case she chose to take the call alone.

  The lights dimmed slightly, the air seemed to boil as the image took shape, and the Illusive Man appeared. T’Loak had interacted with him on numerous occasions in the past and with one exception he looked the same. During past calls the Illusive Man had always been seated in front of an eye-catching backdrop. A sun perhaps, or a planetscape, but not this time. The background had a gray neutral appearance, as if he was in transit on a spaceship, or located in a place that he didn’t want to reveal. He nodded politely. “Aria T’Loak. It’s always a pleasure. You don’t look a day over two hundred.”

  T’Loak smiled. “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “Only to members of your race. To do otherwise would be dangerous.”

  T’Loak chuckled. “So, what can I do for you?”

  “I lost something and I want it back.”

  “I see. What sort of item are we talking about?”

  “A man. One of my operatives. He was abducted.”

  T’Loak felt her pulse start to quicken. The conversation was getting interesting. Very interesting. “And he’s on Omega?”

  “Yes. That’s why I called you.”

  “Of course,” T’Loak said. As if that was the most natural thing in the world—which it was. “What can you tell me about him?”

  “His name is Kai Leng,” the Illusive Man said, as his lighter flared. “This is what he looks like. An organization called the Biotic Underground has him.”

  A three-dimensional image appeared in place of the Illusive Man and began to rotate slowly. And T’Loak felt something cold trickle into her bloodstream. The man with slightly Asiatic features was a perfect match for the human that Shella had described to her. Which was to say the man who murdered Liselle in cold blood.

  Not only that, but if the Illusive Man was correct, Leng was being held by the Biotic Underground! One of the two organizations responsible for robbing her bank, and the one she hadn’t been able to get a lead on until the day before, when Kahlee Sanders and David Anderson had stopped by. They knew where the biotics were hiding and hoped to rescue a couple of Sanders’s ex-students. A silly impulse really, since both teenagers were on Omega by choice, but a blessing nevertheless.

  But it was critical to keep that fact to herself, because while the Illusive Man wanted to rescue Kai Leng, she was determined to kill him. “Capture and store,” T’Loak said, knowing the image of Leng would go into her files.

  The Illusive Man reappeared. He was smoking and the ember on his cigarette glowed like a malevolent red eye as he took a deep drag. “I know where he is but I’m shorthanded and could use some help breaking him out. Can you help me?”

  “Yes, I will. But it will cost you.”

  The Illusive Man smiled thinly. “Of course it will. How much?”

  T’Loak took a moment to consider. It was important to set the fee high enough to make the Illusive Man wince, but not so high as to chase him away. She was looking forward to killing the Illusive Man’s operative and making some money at the same time. “Two million.”

  The Illusive Man exhaled and the plume of smoke eddied as a current of air hit it. “Leng is valuable to me … But not that valuable. One million.”

  “One five.”

  “Okay, one five. If you move quickly. I’m stalling but the biotics are pushing hard, and I’m running out of time.”

  “Why don’t you simply pay the ransom?”

  The Illusive Man tapped some ash off the end of his cigarette. “Do you trust the Biotic Underground?”

  “No.”

  “Neither do I.”

  T’Loak nodded. “I will launch a rescue attempt within the next two cycles.”

  “Aren’t you going to ask where he is?”

  T’Loak smiled. “I already know.”

  * * *

  Things had gone terribly wrong—and Gillian had no idea how to put them right. One moment she’d been standing next to the inner gate, consulting her omni-tool, and the next she’d been flying through the air. No bones had been broken during the collision with the cavern wall, but Gillian had been knocked unconscious, and left behind when Zon and the rest of them took off to recapture Kim and Leng.

  The whole episode had been humiliating, and to the extent that it lessened Gillian’s status within the group, it could have repercussions as well. What if the group decided to kill Leng? Thereby eliminating the bait intended to draw the Illusive Man in? She would be a failure … And the possibility of that filled Gillian with angst.