up and turning to face them. An awkward silence hung in the air.
Kahlee broke it by saying, 'The doctors say she's going to make a complete recovery. They just want to keep her here for a few days to monitor her. Because of her condition.'
'You said Dr. Toshiwa did this to her?' Grayson's face had lit up when Gillian patted his hand. Now, however, his expression was one of dark, barely contained anger.
Kahlee nodded with her head toward the door, indicating they should step outside to continue the conversation so their words wouldn't disturb the sleeping girl. The two men took the meaning and the three of them went out into the hall, far enough that they were out of earshot. She did notice, however, that both Hendel and Grayson stopped just before they rounded the corner that would have taken them out of sight of the room.
'Jiro was conducting some kind of unauthorized experiment on her,' Hendel explained, picking up where they had left off. 'We have him in custody.'
Grayson nodded slightly. 'Good.'
'He was working for a group called Cerberus,' Hendel suddenly shot out, firing the words quickly. Kahlee could see he was looking to provoke some kind of reaction.
'Cerberus?' Grayson said quizzically after a moment, turning his head slightly to the side.
'A radical pro-human terrorist group,' Hendel replied. 'Well funded. Jiro was one of their agents. We think he infiltrated the Ascension Project to get close to Gillian.'
'Never heard of them. Was he working alone?'
Hendel hesitated before answering, and Kahlee worried he might be trying to play some kind of game with Grayson. To her relief, when the security chief finally replied he did so honestly.
'We don't know yet. Interrogations take time. He's giving it up bit by bit. Probably figures he can negotiate a better deal on his prison time by holding something back.'
'You should try torture instead of negotiation.' Grayson's voice was flat and cold, but the anger was impossible to miss — the primal rage of a father defending his only child.
'That's not how the Alliance does things,' Kahlee told him.
'We'll get the answers soon enough,' Hendel added, though Kahlee wasn't sure if he meant it as comfort to a concerned parent, or a threat.
Grayson began to pace back and forth in the narrow confines of the hospital corridor, one hand reaching up to scratch at the stubble on his chin.
'So for all you know, there could still be more of these Cerberus agents working in the facility.'
'That's not likely,' Hendel assured him. 'I had some run-ins with Cerberus during my years with the Alliance. I picked up a few things about their methods. Their undercover operatives tend to work alone.'
'But you don't know for sure,' Grayson pressed, stopping directly in front of him. 'Dr. Toshiwa worked here for years, and you had no idea he was with them.'
The security chief didn't reply, but shifted his feet uncomfortably.
'Anyone could be working for them. Another researcher. A teacher. One of the nurses. Even you!'
He punctuated his accusation by jabbing his finger in Hendel's muscular chest. The bigger man bristled, but held his tongue. Kahlee stepped forward and put a hand on Grayson's wrist, gently lowering his hand.
'Hendel saved Gillian's life,' she reminded him.
The father dropped his head, chagrined. 'I forgot. I'm sorry.'
He looked up again and extended his hand. 'Thank you, Chief Mitra.' Hendel shook it without comment.
'I appreciate everything you two have done for Gillian,' Grayson told them, his voice taking on a more businesslike tone. 'Not just now, but in all her years here at the Academy. And I'm grateful she had the opportunity to be part of the Ascension Project.
'But after all this, I can't let her stay here. She needs to be with me. It's the only way I can be sure she's safe.'
Kahlee nodded. 'We're sorry to lose her, Mr. Grayson, but we understand. We'll find a place for you to stay here on the station until she's well enough to travel.'
'I don't think you understand,' Grayson said, shaking his head. 'I'm leaving. Now. And I'm taking my daughter with me.'
'I. . I'm sorry, sir,' Kahlee replied, momentarily caught off-guard. 'But that just isn't possible. She needs medical attention. Until we release—'
'You said there's nothing physically wrong with her,' he protested, cutting her off.
'She's still weak from her ordeal,' Hendel countered, his voice rising. 'Biotics require an extremely high caloric intake to—'
'I've got food on my ship.'
'She needs a specially balanced diet because of her condition,' Hendel stressed.
'I'd rather have her miss out on a few optimally nutritious meals than leave her here with you people!' Grayson shouted, his anger boiling over. 'The last time she was in this hospital somebody tried to kill her!'
Kahlee held her hand up to cut off Hendel before he responded. 'We'll make sure there's a guard posted outside her room at all times,' she assured Grayson.
'What if the guard is working for this Cerberus group?' he shot back. 'What about the nurses who check on the monitors? Or the people who fix the meals? Don't tell me she'll be safe here!'
'She won't be safe anywhere!' Hendel shot back. 'Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? Cerberus probably has agents on every Alliance world and colony. They've got operatives in every level of the government and the military! If you take her away from here, they'll find you!'
'Damn it, Hendel!' Kahlee shouted, smacking him hard on the shoulder to shut him up. He looked over at her angrily, but kept quiet when he saw the expression on her face.
'Why don't you go tell Gillian you're leaving,' she suggested to Grayson. 'We'll find someone to unhook the machines.'
'Thank you,' Grayson replied, with a small nod of acknowledgment. Then he turned and made his way back toward Gillian's room.
Kahlee waited until he disappeared inside the door before wheeling on Hendel.
'What the hell is wrong with you?' she demanded. 'Did you really think you could scare him into letting Gillian stay?'
'He should be scared,' the security chief replied. 'Cerberus is dangerous. You can't let them leave.'
'We don't have any other choice,' she told him. 'Gillian's not a prisoner here. If her father wants to take her, we can't stop him.'
'Then stall him,' he insisted. 'At least until we learn more from Jiro.'
'And how long is that going to take?' she asked, incredulous. 'An hour? A day?'
'That little punk wasn't calling the shots,' Hendel told her. 'We've got to keep Grayson around until we find out who was giving Jiro his orders.'
'You can't possibly think he's involved?' Kahlee asked in disbelief.
'I get a bad vibe from him,' the security chief told her. 'There's something off about that guy. And even if he isn't working for Cerberus, he's still a drug addict! I'm not turning Gillian over to him without a fight.-
She knew Hendel well enough to realize he wasn't going to back down. She also knew Grayson was scared for his daughter's life, and he wasn't going to let Hendel bully him. If she didn't come up with a solution, something bad was going to happen. Her mind was racing, shuffling through ideas, trying to sort out some way to resolve the situation.
As if on cue, she saw Grayson and Gillian, still wearing her hospital gown, exiting the room. Hendel saw them, too, and headed straight for them.
And that's when a wild plan hatched in Kahlee's frantic brain.
Grayson's heart was pounding as he waited in the hospital room for a nurse to come and disconnect the machines monitoring Gillian's status. He had played his part well enough so far, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the Alliance interrogators got Jiro to cough up the name of his contact. He needed to be well away from the station before that happened.
He began to pace anxiously in the room, back and forth at the foot of Gillian's bed.
