“Lucky,” Taloncrest said.
Metya snorted. “We are highly trainedpractitioners. Setting a trap for a mundane warrior is easier thana first-year telekinesis test.”
“Turgonian men are horrible at acknowledgingthat women can be skilled,” Litya said, sharing a look with hersister. “One wonders why the intelligent women living here don’tleave.”
“Perhaps,” Taloncrest said, “you’d have themgo to the Kyatt Islands where they’d be kicked out if theirresearch methodologies did not fit in with the humanitarian valuesof your Polytechnic?”
“We’ll handle this,” Litya said. “Go back toyour research on your side of the lab, the lab that our goldfunded and that we are graciously letting you work in.”
Taloncrest stepped past Basilard to thrust afinger at the woman’s nose. “Don’t order me around. Youpresume-”
Metya closed her eyes briefly, then flickedher own finger. Taloncrest lurched to the side, his head crackingagainst the back of the machine he’d been leaning against. In theprocess, he bumped against Basilard.
Basilard feigned a stumble and used themovement to palm Taloncrest’s knife. The ex-officer glared at thewomen and did not seem to notice. He clenched his fists and stoodto his full height. The veins in his neck strained beneath theskin.
The twins smiled sweetly.
Basilard watched, hoping the confrontationwould elevate into a worthy distraction for an escape, butTaloncrest took a deep breath and stalked back the way he hadcome.
“Tie him up next to the assassin,” Metyasaid. “They can chat from adjoining beds.”
Basilard wriggled his fingers to remind themhe needed his hands free for talking, but Metya had already turnedaway. She stroked the globe controlling the liquid oozing intoSicarius’s veins.
The guards pushed Basilard past her. Heresisted the impulse to make their work difficult. If he cooperatedmeekly, they might be less prepared when he did strike. He kept hishand down, the knife pressed against the inside of his arm. It wasnot a small blade, and it would take luck to keep the guards fromnoticing it while they tied him. Should he strike before then? No,he would probably need Sicarius’s help to escape, and Sicariuswould need to be alert for that.
The guards pushed him back against the tablewhile it was still vertical. Its cold metallic surface pressedagainst his bare flesh. One guard bent to strap his ankles andthighs to the table. Basilard inched the knife around his side.
He wondered if he was being a fool forwaiting and letting them secure his legs. He glanced at the othertable. Metya was still fiddling with the globe, and Sicarius’s eyesremained vacant.
Basilard slipped the blade behind his buttand pressed his cheeks into the cold metal. A heartbeat later, oneof the guards grabbed both of his wrists, yanking them beforehim.
“Leave them free for now.” Litya held out herclipboard.
Basilard hesitated. Would it be a mistake toreveal that Sicarius could understand his signs? At the moment,they did not realize Basilard and Sicarius worked together. Thewriting would be slow, though, and the women would be able to readeverything he shared.
He pointed at Sicarius, touched his owntemple, and signed, He understands, figuring the women wouldget the gist.
Litya’s eyes narrowed. “The assassin knowsyour sign language? Why?”
Basilard accepted the clipboard and wrote,He’s traveled to my country. To slay people.
“I see.” Litya took the clipboard away andflipped it back to her papers. “Give him a few moments, and heshould regain a measure of cognizance. I mixed in some of my truthelixir, too. He resisted it before, but perhaps if he’s familiarwith you and doesn’t see you as a threat…” She eyed him a littletoo knowingly. “The more you can get me, the more favorably thingswill turn out for you. I want to know his parents’ names, whetherthey were distinguished warriors or athletes, and what mix of bloodis in his veins. The Turgonians are mongrels through and through,but most of them are a combination of their ancient Nurian rootsand the brawny tribesmen that roamed these lands before they came.He looks like he might have some Kendorian in him though. Find outas much as you can.”
Basilard nodded. She propped her hip againstSicarius’s table and waited. One of the guards at the head of theaisle yawned. No privacy for this chat.
Basilard waited for Sicarius to come around.Already his own toes felt numb from the straps around his legs andankles. He was conscious of the steel of the knife behind him, itsmetal warm now from his body heat. It reminded him not to squirm,lest he drop it.
His gaze drifted toward the nearest of thestrange tanks where a fleshy blob floated. Something nagged at theback of his mind, a feeling that he should have put the puzzlepieces together and figured things out by now. The women’s wordsfloated through his mind. He’s already what our clients wish usto create….This is a long-term project.
Babies? He stared at the blob. Were theycreating babies? Was that possible? Would that make thecaptured men and women the parents? Not parents. Brood-stock. Likehounds being used to whelp offspring with desirable traits.
One of Sicarius’s fingers twitched. Basilardwatched his face, waiting for a sign that the drugs were losingtheir hold. It came, not in an expressive show of recognition, butin a hardening of his features-a resumption of the stony mask healways wore. It replaced the blank stare, though his eyes were notas sharp as usual.
Basilard signed, You recognize me?
Sicarius nodded once. His eyes shifted fromside to side, taking in the woman and the looming guards.
I got captured, too, Basilardsigned.
Though Sicarius’s wrists were strapped to thetable like the rest of his body, he could manage some of theone-handed signs. The one he chose was, Obviously.
Basilard clenched his teeth, sensingcondemnation in that brief gesture. Sicarius must assume Basilardhad done something foolish to get here. He didn’t even considerthat Basilard might have been planted as part of a rescue plan fromthe team.
Basilard forced his jaw to loosen. He couldnot read Sicarius’s thoughts, and, even if his guess were close,Sicarius would be right, wouldn’t he? Basilard had beenfoolish and had gotten himself captured.
I was competing at the Imperial Games whenthey got me. How did they capture you?
Heartbeats thumped past with Sicarius doingnothing but gazing impassively. Maybe he had done somethingfoolish, too, and was loathe to admit it. The thought pleasedBasilard. Sicarius was too cursed perfect. Nobody should be soperfect that he never made mistakes. It wasn’t human. Of course,Sicarius might not be responding because he could not explain withone-handed signs what had happened and did not want to speak of itwith their captors listening.
Amaranthe is looking for us, Basilardsigned. She’s concerned about you. He did not know why headded the latter. Even as an incapacitated prisoner, Sicarius didnot look like someone who needed bolstering, and he probably didnot care if anyone ever worried on his behalf or not.
“I presume we have a limited time to talk,”Sicarius whispered in flawless Mangdorian. “Stick to relevanttopics.”
Basilard winced, both because his offering ofcompassion was being shoved aside, and because he was all too awareof the reason why Sicarius had learned his tongue.
“I’ve learned little,” Sicarius added, “onlythat we are in the lake, possibly deep enough that we’d drownbefore reaching the surface if we simply went out a hatch. Ibelieve there are forty people in the facility, half scientists andhalf guards. Have you obtained any information?”
Litya glanced at the nearest guard.
The man thumped Sicarius on the temple withthe butt of his pistol. “Speak in Turgonian.”
Sicarius leveled a cold stare at histormentor. Even though Sicarius was immobilized, the guard steppedback, shifting uneasily.