Straight out, without trying to fool me; the only thing I had to look forward to was pain if I didn’t cooperate, a final end to all the trouble if I did. It was the closest they were willing to let me come to freedom or death, and were offering it as a prize for my cooperation. I didn’t want to shiver, but not wanting to didn’t stop it.
“I really do have to remember to thank them for their generosity,” I said, letting my mind reach out as I looked away from her. “Just what kind of answers do they think they can get from me, and what good do they expect it to do them?”
“They want to know what you did to Serdin,” she answered willingly enough, still sounding mostly unconcerned. “They also want to know if you can do anything else, and if so, what.”
My searching mind had had some difficulty getting through the-tension-of some sort that seemed to surround the room, but once through I was aware of all the minds available to be reached. Most of them were rather far, but a group of five plus three null minds couldn’t have been more than a room or two away. They were also listening to what was going on in my room, that was almost as clear as words, and suddenly I knew how I wanted to respond to their questions—and incidently divert them from looking outside for a while.
“I can’t explain what I did to Serdin,” I said, bringing my eyes back to her while giving no indication that I knew anyone else was listening. “I don’t understand myself how it works, all I know is how to do it. As far as the rest of it goes-what I can do is beat any Prime in this place. If none of them have ever gotten out the way I did they can’t be much, which is exactly what I think of this whole operation. Half-baked normals puffing up the pride of a bunch of so-called Primes, all of them trying to hide how incompetent they are by telling each other how great they are. But they are men, Finner, so I never expected any more.”
“Is that supposed to be between you and me?” she asked, fractionally more amused. “Did you check a mind or two on your way out, and that’s how you know what they’re like? And while we’re near the subject, just exactly how did you get reawakened in the first place?”
“How I got to be awake is a piece of information I’ll be keeping to myself for a while,” I said, making it sound as though I intended bargaining with the point at a later time. “You can tell or not tell what I said about their operation, I couldn’t care less, but I don’t think they’ll really enjoy hearing it. And no, I didn’t check any minds on my way out, but I didn’t have to. As great as Kel-Ten thought he was, he was still here. By getting out, I proved I’m better.”
“I see,” she said, stirring in the chair before getting to her feet. “For some reason they don’t want any men around you, so you and I will be spending some time together. I’ll let them know you’re awake and somewhat willing to be reasonable, and then I’ll be back. Want anything to eat or drink?”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said with a snort, folding one leg under me on the leather couch. “What I found in the woods and got from the Ejects was no banquet, but at least it wasn’t added to. I’d rather starve than find myself drugged up again.”
“So it was the Ejects who helped you,” she said, nodding at the confirmation she’d gotten out of me. “We thought so, but didn’t know for sure. They’ll end up teaching them not to do that again, especially after they thought they knew better than to interfere with one of ours to begin with. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
She went out and closed the door behind her, leaving the room a little darker without the presence of her white uniform. I kept my face expressionless and my mind curtained, but I wanted to bare my teeth at what they thought they’d be doing to those “Ejects” who had helped me. I couldn’t wait until they really were mixing it up with those who had helped me, but I had to stall for time until everything was ready. That was why I’d insulted them and their precious Primes, pretending at the same time that I knew nothing about the level of mind power I’d be going up against. Injured pride very often makes people act like fools, especially if they believe they can get the answers they want along with a good deal of satisfaction. If they let me challenge their people they could have me watched while I did it, and then they could find out about my abilities before I was flattened. That was the way I was hoping it would work, but I still kept my fingers crossed out of sight while I waited.
It was longer than the couple of minutes Firmer had mentioned before she got back, and she certainly hadn’t been reporting anything to anyone. She’d gone to the room her bosses were in and had waited while they argued about what to do, and I thought I knew how it had worked out. If Serdin hadn’t been one of the ones listening my planning probably would have ended up down the drain, but he had been one of them, and what he wanted was revenge. The others had argued with him but he’d shouted them down, and then he’d given instructions to Firmer.
“You were right about them not liking the way you looked down your nose at their Primes,” she said as she closed the door behind her before going back to her chair. “They decided that if you’re all that good, you won’t mind answering a challenge or two from their men. I told them I doubted if you’d mind at all.”
“Of course I wouldn’t mind,” I blustered, trying to sound nervous and unsure but too stubborn to back down. “I know they can’t be anything much, so why would I mind?”
“You wouldn’t, so you’ll be glad to know they’re setting it up now,” she said, getting some amusement out of my discomfort. “As soon as everything’s ready they’ll send for us, so we can relax until they do. And in case you were wondering, this room is in the middle of the complex, but don’t expect to pick up anything through the walls. The room is shielded, so you won’t be able to get through.”
“Oh,” I said in a wilted way, hoping I looked completely chastened instead of ready to stick my tongue out and make a rude noise. So that was what that strange tension around the room was supposed to be, shielding, and didn’t Serdin and his friends feel safe behind it. I made myself more comfortable on the couch while I hoped they felt very safe-right up to the minute I reached through it to get them, and then gave them my thanks for what they’d done to me and the child I would now never know.
It took me a couple of minutes to back my rage down to a manageable level, but once it was done I found I had nothing to occupy me enough to keep it down. I needed a distraction until my challenge was arranged, but friendly conversation with Firmer was out; the less I said the less chance there would be of my saying the wrong thing, and I didn’t particularly want to get friendly with Firmer. That left nothing but her mind to occupy me, a mind I couldn’t touch because she was a null. I’d never really been that close to a null before with nothing else happening, and I had nothing better to do anyway . . . .
Twenty minutes later that was all I had out of my efforts: a whole lot of nothing. Firmer sat relaxed in her chair while I shifted on my couch, trying to figure out where she could be feeling whatever it was she did feel. I’d done a little gentle sending just as a test, but the big blond Sec hadn’t felt a thing. I knew she was there and alive, I could see that even if I couldn’t prove it with my mind, but where the hell were her emotions? They had to be .some place if she was feeling things, and the amusement shed shown meant she was feeling them. Were they working on a different frequency, hidden in another dimension, what? Where in hell could they possibly—