she slouched over into her father's waiting arms.
Feeling guilty over using the weapon on her, but knowing they had precious little time to spare, he scooped her up and carried her aboard the shuttle.
Once inside, he took her to the bedroom, setting her gently down on the bed. He removed the enviro-suit helmet, and for a long moment he just stared at her face, only glancing up when he heard the pilot addressing him again.
'Sir?' he said, standing at the door. 'The docking clamps are still attached.'
'Go release them,' Grayson ordered. 'I'm not leaving my daughter's side.'
The man nodded, then turned and left them alone.
'Don't worry, Gigi,' he whispered. 'I'll make sure they take good care of you from now on.'
Twenty-four
Kahlee ran through the deserted trading deck, heading for the shuttle Gillian now thought of as her home. She was so focused on finding the girl before something happened to her that she didn't even think to check on Hendel behind the desk.
She slowed down as she moved through the hall separating the trading deck and the landing bays, moving quietly in case any of the Cerberus troops were waiting for her. Her caution proved well founded; there was a single guard just outside the shuttle. He was standing with his back to her, one hand punching at a control panel to disengage the docking clamps on the vessel while his other hung at his side, casually gripping his assault rifle.
Gunfire might alert anyone else nearby, but that didn't mean she couldn't use her assault rifle as a weapon. She knew his armor was equipped with kinetic barriers, but they were programmed to respond specifically to speed. If you sat down or slapped someone on the back they didn't activate; it took a high-velocity round to trigger them. A sharp incoming blow to the head wouldn't be fast enough to set them off.
Moving quickly, Kahlee crept up behind him, wrapping her arms around the end of the barrel and holding the gun like a baseball bat. As soon as she got within range she took three quick running steps to build up momentum, then swung her makeshift club as hard as she could.
The sound of her feet clanging against the metal floor of the landing bay during her quick charge gave the soldier just enough warning to react. He half-turned toward her, bringing one arm up and ducking his head so that the blow landed on his shoulder rather than the side of his helmet. The force of the impact knocked his assault rifle from his grasp, and it clattered to the floor as he was knocked sideways, staggering to keep his balance.
Kahlee swung again, but she was in too close to get the leverage she needed. The blow struck him on the side of his helmet, but not hard enough to knock him out. Dazed, the soldier stumbled away from her, his hands fumbling for the pistol on his hip.
Spinning the assault rifle in her hands, Kahlee repositioned her grip so that she could jab forward with the heavy butt of the gun. She came in low, just beneath the edge of the three-quarter visor, smashing in the front teeth of his lower jaw. His head snapped back and he fell over. Kahlee leaped on top of him, driving the butt of the rifle down on his head with both hands.
Even his helmet couldn't protect him from the savage force of repeated impacts. After six consecutive blows Kahlee was certain he would never get up again. She gave him two more shots just to make sure.
Rising to her feet, she saw the assault rifle had been bent out of alignment by the attack.
With her enemy down, she took a quick glance around the rest of the landing bay. When she saw the bodies of the two Cerberus troopers beneath the fork-lift, she knew the girl had been by.
She crept into the shuttle, moving as quietly as possible. The passenger cabin was empty so she headed up to the cockpit, only to discover it was deserted as well. When she made her way to the sleeping quarters in the back, she was only mildly surprised to find Gillian lying on the bed, her father protectively sitting over her.
Raising the soldier's pistol, she pointed it at Grayson. 'Get away from her, you son-of-a-bitch.'
He glanced up at the sound of her voice, and his eyes widened in shock. It took him a moment to recognize her behind the enviro-suit and mask.
'Kahlee?' he muttered.
She nodded and gestured with the pistol, and Grayson slowly stood up and backed away from the bed.
Kahlee glanced down at Gillian and realized she was unconscious. 'What did you do? Drug her again?' she demanded.
'Stunner,' Grayson whispered, and Kahlee thought he actually sounded ashamed of himself. She realized that, despite everything he had done, he truly cared for his daughter. Somehow it made his devotion to Cereberus seem both more terrifying and more pathetic.
Then she felt the hard jab of a pistol digging into the side of her ribs.
'Drop the gun,' a voice from behind her said.
For a split second Kahlee considered shooting Grayson. But killing her father wouldn't save Gillian, and it would almost certainly get Kahlee killed. Instead, she let the pistol fall from her hands.
'Lay facedown on the ground, hands behind your head,' the voice ordered, jabbing her again with the pistol.
She did as ordered, and then she heard the sound of her unknown assailant walking past her over toward the bed.
'Don't touch her, Golo,' Grayson warned, the cold anger in his voice causing the footsteps to stop.
Flat on her belly, Kahlee dared to tilt her head to look up. She was stunned to see he was speaking with a quarian.
The world came back to Hendel in a wave of pain. Every bone and muscle in his body ached from being slammed into the wall, and as consciousness slowly returned, he just lay there, trying to get his bearings. After a few seconds, it all started to come back to him. He was on the trading deck, where the quarians had been battling Cerberus.
He could still hear gunfire, but it was coming from far away.
Ignoring his protesting muscles, he forced himself to stand up. There were a few seconds of vertigo before he steadied himself. Looking around, he located his assault rifle where it had fallen on the floor and picked it up.
Before he could clamber out from behind the desk, however, he heard heavy footsteps running down the stairs. Two Cerberus guards burst into view from the deck above, their attention not focused on Hendel, but rather on the quarians pursuing them.
Biotics were out of the question. His head was still spinning slightly from being thrown, and he suspected he had a mild concussion. But he was feeling well enough to use his assault rifle.
Relying on the weapon's autotargeting systems to overcome any lingering unsteadiness he might be feeling, he lined up the nearest Cerberus soldier and opened fire.
From this range, the bullets made short work of his shields. They lasted just long enough for him to turn toward Hendel, but not long enough for him to bring his weapon up and return fire.
The second soldier wheeled on him as the first fell to the ground, and Hendel had to duck behind the heavy desk for cover. The first burst from his enemy chewed away huge chunks of hardwood, but the cover held together in time for Hendel to dart into the safety of the stockroom.
He poked his head through the door to return fire, only to see that the Cerberus soldier was about to be caught in a crossfire. Hendel opened fire, as did several quarians coming down the stairs from the deck above. With enemies both in front and behind, the soldier didn't last more than three seconds.
'It's me, Hendel!' he shouted out from the stockroom, not wanting to suddenly pop into view and get
