9. CHAPTER 9 #3
She said one of the first things that came to mind. One of the strange things Zayne said to her as if they'd discussed it when they hadn't.
Whatever that phrase meant, it paled Dr. Cooper's face. He breathed out slowly and looked at Zayne. “Did you?”
“I thought you could tell from her readings.”
One glance at the screen, and he quickly looked back at the sergeant.
What the hell was happening?
“What made you tell her something like that?” Dr. Cooper asked. “It's the last thing I expect from you. You've never spoken of that.”
Kira couldn't process what was happening or what it meant, but the distraction gave her the precious minutes she needed to pull her mind back from collapse.
“Well,” Zayne said. “The prisoner needs to understand what happens to idealistic fools who think they can defy orders. She needed to see that if the son of the High General cannot get away with it, then there's no way she can. You've heard her. She's spirited.”
Kira's eyes widened. Was he saying that he once defied orders and got caught?
“That's why she's panicked,” Zayne spoke so confidently that Kira believed him, even though they both knew it wasn't true. “I threatened to hurt her if she defied me. I won't tolerate her uttering a word about the reprogramming or the girl.”
On the rarest of occasions, Pixi Dust exploded unexpectedly in the air in red swarms so bright that it lit the sky for a mile.
Everyone, no matter who they were, ventured outside to see the Pixi explosion and to marvel at the bewildering phenomenon.
Kira understood it was never random. That the Pixi Dust degraded over the hundreds of years after the Collapse and overreacted to pollution.
Most people, though, considered it a miracle. Or a terrible omen.
What she was witnessing right now, Zayne Riven interrupting her interrogation while she melted down in panic, only to reveal he underwent reprogramming…
This was a Pixi Dust explosion if she ever saw one.
A miraculous phenomenon. Or a terrible omen.
Kira didn't know, but he saved her when he spent the last few days threatening her.
Was it true? This cold-hearted man defied orders and suffered through brainwashing to align him with the Phaedra again?
“This…” The anger melted from Dr. Cooper.
“This is a mark of progress, my boy. Bless the Phaedra and the old ways.
I never thought I'd see a day like this.” Turning back toward Kira, the older man laughed with enthusiasm.
“This closed-off son of a bitch must truly care about you.
The interruption is not okay, but I must confess, I don't mind if it means enjoying this moment. This is evidence of systems-level integration.” Then he shook his head, pinching his eyes.
“I'm very sorry. There are times in my profession when a breakthrough is so profound I lose myself.”
Zayne's brilliance astounded her because he didn't just interrupt the interrogation, but distracted Dr. Cooper and shifted his mood.
Why help her, though?
Her mental log of all the things Zayne had said to her over the last four days played through her mind.
His interruption today was not a spontaneous decision.
He planted this seed when he uttered those words to her, so she answered truthfully when Dr. Cooper questioned her.
So the machines did not detect her lies.
The painful hope fluttering amid the fear and isolation replenished her like the sun.
This might serve his own purposes, but it looked an awful lot like Sergeant Zayne Riven, future High General, just saved her from certain ruin.
It looked an awful lot like he once betrayed the Phaedra and endured one of the harshest punishments in the empire.
What if he wasn't the monster he made himself out to be?
He prepared this interruption in advance. Did Zayne know about her illicit activities? Was he protecting her rather than turning her in?
Zayne's eyes narrowed at her, and the ice in them chilled her blood into a sludge that struggled through her veins. These were crazy conclusions she jumped to. For all she knew, he was too cruel in the line of duty. Maybe he went insane and massacred orphans, so they treated him for his sociopathy.
Outlandish. But it wasn't wise to assume anything benevolent of his intentions. Hope lured her into trust, and Zayne boasted that she couldn't resist trusting him. That it was inevitable. Maybe he didn't want her to tell Dr. Cooper all of his secret cruelty.
Lead settled in her gut. That was the most obvious answer, wasn't it?
That Zayne worried about her showing just how much of an asshole he was.
Defying the Phaedra came at a high price.
It might have been worth the interruption to prevent Kira from telling the doctor.
Zayne told her to keep it a secret that he refused to manipulate her.
That may have been the lie he saved her from. Saved himself from.
Did he call himself a poison to demoralize her or warn her?
Her mind swirled so much it hurt. This man was a maze, and she was already getting lost in him.