“You’d better put me back in stasis,” Villars said, “because I’m not going to tell you anything. You can try drugs or hypnotism. None of them will work. You’re right in saying I’ve been programmed. I allowed it willingly. The professor is the one you want to talk to. I won’t give away any of his secrets. If I do, you won’t have to talk to the professor. If I keep mum, though, you’ll have to speak to Ludendorff. The curiosity will drive you crazy. I know that much about you. You have a curiosity quotient that will spin out of control. Wanting to know will make you sick. They were smart to put you into Intelligence.”
“I’m not going to take your word about the drugs,” Maddox said.
“Yeah,” Villars said. “I know. It don’t matter, though. I’ve been in bad places before. I probably will be again, if I live through this one. It don’t bother me none. Do what you gotta, boy.”
“Remember,” Maddox said, “you decided to do this the hard way.”
“Sure, sure.”
Maddox headed for the exit. It was time for step two.
***
Dana injected Villars with a powerful cocktail of mind-benders and will suppressors. She stood by the medical panel, watching his life support signs.
Maddox sipped a cup of coffee. These sessions could go on for quite some time. Pulling up a stool, Maddox sat down.
The captain got started, speaking about Wolf Prime, particularly about the dig concerning the Swarm. He couldn’t get Villars to say a thing in response. Maddox talked about Sten Gorgon and the slarn that had maimed Villars. That didn’t produce a flicker either.
Changing tactics, Maddox began rapid-fire questions. Villars remained closemouthed like a clam. Finally, the captain sat back in frustration.
Villars laughed in his smoker’s raspy manner.
“What’s so funny?” Maddox asked.
“You,” Villars said in a slur. “I’m a dead end for you. Wake up the professor. He can talk if he wants to. I have to wait for orders to do so.”
Maddox tried more questions, standing close so his face was centimeters from the hunter’s features. Dana left with a mutter of displeasure. Soon, Maddox finally admitted defeat. Whatever Ludendorff had done to program Villars, the captain couldn’t defeat it this way.
Maddox exited the room, pacing in the corridor. Villars had been a dead end. Now, he began comparing what he knew so far, looking for clues, for something he’d missed.
Soon, Dana walked around a corner. She stopped in surprise. “You should be in sickbay monitoring Villars.”
Maddox looked up at her. “Doctor, I’m curious. What do you think the silver object is: the one Ludendorff brought back from the Builder base?”
“I have no idea,” Dana said. “It’s resisted all analysis. Obviously, it’s Builder technology. That’s another reason we have to wake the professor: so he can tell us what he risked his life to acquire.”
Maddox eyed the doctor.
“Ludendorff has been under extreme pressure,” Dana said. “We should help him, not persecute the man. He’s helped us in many areas, fixing the disruptor cannon, ridding Galyan of the Swarm virus—”
Maddox clapped his hands, grinning, as an idea blossomed in his mind
“Are you all right?” Dana asked.
Ignoring her, Maddox said into the air, “Galyan, can you hear me?”
The holoimage appeared. “Yes, Captain. I hear you quite well. Thank you for asking.”
“Can you tell me what computer systems—what ship systems—the professor worked on while you were turned off?”
“I can,” Galyan said.
“First,” Maddox asked, “did the professor keep certain ship systems shut off even after he rebooted you?”
“What are you getting at?” Dana asked.
Maddox motioned for her to remain silent. “Did the professor keep—?”
“I heard you the first time,” Galyan said. “I’ve been checking just now—why yes, Ludendorff most certainly did keep certain ship systems cold. Isn’t that odd I haven’t noticed it until this moment?”
“It is odd,” Maddox agreed, the excitement building in him.
“This is intriguing,” Galyan said. “I wonder why I haven’t acknowledged the situation before this moment.”
Maddox glanced at Dana. She looked worried. “We have a decision to make,” he told her.
“The professor may have left these systems offline for a sound and solid reason,” Dana said.
“I realize that,” Maddox said. “That’s why we’re going to have to sit down with the others and decide what to do next. I think we’ve come to a crisis point.”
-22-
Kane wore a large and extra-bulky pressurized suit as he waddled the last few meters to an air-cycler.
He was about to leave Cestus Hauler EV-3498-Z109, which was now in Low Earth Orbit. Earth security had become extraordinarily tight since he’d left months ago with Meta in his company. Even so, the hauler had already passed every safety inspection.
As Kane neared the cycler’s entrance, a premonition stirred in his subconscious. He halted and shuffled around. With exaggerated care, he looked where he’d just been. The short corridor led to a closed hatch.
Why did it feel as if the hatch had been open?
He’d walked many kilometers already from his secret module. During that time, he hadn’t seen or heard anyone. Nor had he felt surveillance equipment watching him.
Someone is watching me now, though. I can feel it.
The intensity of the scrutiny made his nape hairs lift. He trusted his feelings in these situations. Clearly, someone aboard the hauler knew of his presence. Would he or she be watching him this last hour?
That struck Kane as doubtful. The hauler crews had never interfered with him before. The secret agent embedded within the crew was always highly-trained and motivated. Who would watch him then that would cause his senses to flare like this? Could Star Watch Intelligence have him in sight? Were they about to let him run loose on Earth in order to follow him to his target?
Slowly, Kane shook his head inside the helmet. He didn’t believe that for a moment. Star Watch personnel would grab him now if they could, not let him escape onto Earth.
Kane had always considered himself the best at what he did. He was stronger and smarter than his opponents. This time, he came as a commando with a single mission. The enabler was tucked away in his pressurized suit.
As he stood in the chamber, he bent his considerable intellect to the problem of feeling watched. The conclusion seemed obvious.
I’m missing something or forgetting a critical piece of information. What can I have forgotten?
Kane opened his mouth. In that moment, his memories stirred. Something on the scout had been abnormal. He had sensed it during much of the journey. It had plagued his dreams.
Did the dominants modify my mind for the mission?
Kane had long suspected them of that, but had never found the evidence to substantiate the idea. Would he find such evidence if they’d modified his brain?
What have I missed? I must reason this out.
Kane carefully retraced his days aboard the scout but he did not recall the ghostly hatch. Thus, after a few more minutes of looking around, he faced the air-cycler once more.
The intense feeling of scrutiny refused to leave him, though. He would have to endure it for now. Maybe the years of spy work were finally getting to him. He’d heard that the pressure of living in the cold for too long had devoured many agents’ nerve.
My nerves are like ice, though. Succumbing to mental pressure can’t be the reason for these odd sensations.