Now that he had found his target, the Illusive Man’s first impulse was to give the exterminate order.
But then an idea came to him. He still needed subjects for the upcoming experiments; why not kill two birds with one stone?
“Bring him in,” he said. “Alive. Be sure to cover your tracks.”
“I always do,” Kai Leng replied.
Satisfied, the Illusive Man muttered, “Off,” and the holographic image of the assassin flickered once, then disappeared.
He leaned back in his chair, casually swirling the contents of the glass in his hand before downing the last of his drink in a long, satisfying gulp.
It’s been a long time coming, Grayson, he thought, his mood much more cheerful than it had been only minutes ago. But I’ll make sure the wait was worth it.
One
Paul Grayson knew the Illusive Man was still looking for him. It had been almost three years since he had betrayed Cerberus for the sake of his daughter, but even if thirty years had passed he knew they wouldn’t give up the hunt.
He had changed his name, of course: Paul Grayson was gone; he went by Paul Johnson now. But creating a new identity for himself was only the first line of defense; it wouldn’t hold up should any of the Illusive Man’s agents come across his credentials. And his agents were everywhere.
Since its inception, Cerberus had seeded operatives throughout nearly every branch of the Alliance government. There was almost no place in Council space he could run where they wouldn’t eventually track him down. So he had fled to Omega.
The Illusive Man had never managed to secure a foothold on the enormous space station that served as the de facto capital of the Terminus Systems. Cerberus was well known for its radical pro-human agenda, making its agents extremely unpopular among the various alien warlords, gang leaders, and despots who held sway on Omega. Even if they suspected that Grayson was hiding here, it wouldn’t be easy for them to get to him.