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dropped, and his voice snagged in his throat when he answered that last one. And then clarified it when
that asshole of a major asked him if he d capitulated. Capitulated, like it was a fucking euphemism for
gagging for Faceless cock.
 No, sir. Cam s voice wavered.  I was restrained and drugged.
Then there was that awful silence where they faltered between revulsion and compassion and came
down in some uncomfortable place in the middle. I looked at Chris. He was still writing down what Cam
had said, but his jaw was clenched. That was the only sign he was at all affected by what he had heard.
Screw them, and screw what they thought. I curled my fingers through Cam s and squeezed his hand.
 It s okay, LT.
Major Durack pounced on that.  Keep your mouth shut, Recruit Garrett.
 Yes, sir. I fixed him with a stare that didn t match my respectful tone.  Sorry, sir.
Major Durack narrowed his eyes at me.
My brain reminded me that it wasn t a great idea to make enemies of these men. My gut told me I d
be dead in a few days and it didn t matter.
 Brady, Cam murmured. His hand trembled in mine.
A wave of nausea hit me.  LT?
He was pale. His skin was clammy.
 Another word and you re out, Garrett, Major Durack growled.
 He s sick, sir, I protested. I put my free hand on his chest. It was covered in sweat. His heart was
thumping wildly.  Last time this happened he arrested.
 Well, he s not going to play possum today, Major Durack said.
My jaw dropped. Play possum?  Sir, his heart stopped!
Major Durack exchanged a look with Captain Lutkus.
 I m okay, Cam managed.  I ll be okay. I m stronger now.
 Glad to hear it, Rushton, Major Durack said, like he didn t give a damn either way.  Are you
strong enough to tell me what you know about the Faceless weapons systems?
Cam raised his eyes.  I don t know anything, sir.
 You were with them for four years, Major Durack said.  I don t believe you.
Cam smiled slightly and shrugged.
I closed my eyes as a rush of memories washed over me. I saw the usual flashing lights and heard the
usual hisses, but this time his memories showed me something new: I was standing on a platform and
looking down into what appeared to be a spinning turbine. And the hell if I knew what it was, but I knew
Cam s memory had snagged on it because Durack had asked about weapons systems. It was something. It
was something important. And then I saw Cam s hand our hand on Kai-Ren s shiny black suit, that
impenetrable black suit. And I saw Kai-Ren peeling it off his skin. His skin was like porcelain: white and
cold and hard.
Jesus, the things Cam could tell intel. So why wasn t he?
I looked at Cam, wide-eyed.
 Cam-ren, you will obey me in this. Cam-ren&  The memory of that voice sent chills down my
spine.
 Why? I wondered.  What does Kai-Ren have over you?
Cam s green eyes couldn t meet mine.  It s not like that, Brady.
I turned away again, and Captain Lutkus, who hadn t done much up until now, suddenly spoke up.
 You have a telepathic link, he said.  Is Rushton telling the truth?
 Yes, sir, I lied.
You can t bullshit a bullshitter. Lutkus knew I was lying.
 Stand up, recruit, he said, narrowing his eyes.
I obeyed nervously.
 Turn around, he said.  Hands behind your back.
Fuck me. Really? Cold metal cuffs snapped closed behind me. I pulled my wrists apart reflexively,
and the cuffs rattled. I turned back to face Lutkus and bit my lip to stop from burying myself even further in
the shit.
 Maybe they ll let you hold my hand when they water-board me instead, LT. Fuckers.
But I wasn t water-boarded. I guess they didn t want to make a mess. The thing with Captain Lutkus,
though, was that he d read more medical books than me. He knew all about the pain withdrawal reflex
and just how to work me like a fucking puppet. Sudden pressure on my collarbone forced me down onto
my knees, and then he bent down and gripped my cuffed wrists. He dug his fingers right into my ulnar
nerves, and I almost ripped my arms out of their sockets trying to pull away.
 Leave him alone! Cam was outraged.  He s just a recruit!
I whimpered like a kid. Fucking asshole. I couldn t even wipe the tears away.
Captain Lutkus leaned close to my ear.  Is Rushton telling the truth?
 Yes, I said through gritted teeth.
He dug his fingers in again, and I tried to wrench away again. It was a fucking mistake. Again.
Apparently I just didn t learn. I whimpered on the floor for a bit, and then he dug his fingers in under my
jaw, and the pain propelled me back up onto my feet. I think I saw white.
 Is he telling the truth? Lutkus asked again.
 Yes! Fucking amateur, this guy. Half the guys in Kopa could have given him some decent pointers.
They also could have warned him that you couldn t beat an admission out of Brady Garrett. I was always
way too stubborn to give in.
 Major! Cam exclaimed. He tried to get up, but Durack held him down by the shoulder.  Jesus!
What the hell are you doing? He s a fucking kid! Chris! 
 Major, Chris said in a worried tone.
Durack let Lutkus have one more go first.
Solar plexus this time.
Fucking hell.
 Is he telling the truth?
 Yes! I was crying like a scared kid by then, but it didn t mean I d break. And the fucked-up thing
was if they d taken me aside and asked me quietly, maybe I would have admitted Cam was lying. Because
I hated the Faceless, and I was scared of them, and I didn t owe Kai-Ren anything. But the moment Lutkus
hurt me, I hated him more.
 Let him go, Durack said.
Fucking assholes. The second Lutkus uncuffed me, I turned around and threw a punch. And that was
pretty fucking dumb of me. For a start, he was an officer. Secondly, my shoulders were killing me, and I
could hardly make a fist, so he blocked the punch easily and knocked me onto the bed like I was nothing.
 Stay down and shut up, Garrett, Major Durack told me.
 Assholes. It was Cam who said it, not me.  Fucking assholes.
I d only ever heard him swear before when he was close to coming. I was a bad influence on him,
apparently. He reached over and caught my hand.  He s my medic. He s not my fucking whipping boy!
 Let s begin again, Major Durack said.
I curled up on the bed and cried. I hurt. Worse than that, I was humiliated. I was a kid all over again.
Whenever Linda belted me, I took off for a while and then sneaked back into the house when she d drunk
herself to sleep. Sometimes I went into the kitchen and opened the drawers to look at the knives. Once I
made it as far as Dad s bedroom, as far as the edge of the bed, but I couldn t do it. Most times I just slunk [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]