The Truth that wasn't there

Seven

Three hours later, an aide from the Prime Minister's office called to report that the files had been found and recovered from where they were bound and stashed in a leather bag, underneath the tiled floor in a state Library in Izecha.

Five files in total.

"You are in so much trouble, Owondiki," the director said, breathing heavily.

Owondiki tended to the director's wound with a torn piece of the bedsheet.

"I have done what no other officer could do, Sir."

"He fired you and you're still licking his boots," Jera sneered.

Ignoring her, Owondiki continued what she was doing.

"You're like a blind dog. The truth stands before you, yet you close your eyes, choosing willful ignorance."

"Let me get some more material," Owondiki said.

"Don't worry. This time, when you end up in Ibesan, it won't be a ruse. You won't have protection." She laughed. "You won't even have me."

"Because you'll be somewhere worse," Owondiki said, looking back at her.

"Better that than life as a puppy, no?"

Owondiki could play this game.

"Wherever that is, you won't have me, either. No one to stand between you and the director."

"I'll make this clear so you two stop using me as a weapon," the director said. "I never touched her. Never. Not once. You two keep insinuating that I sexually assaulted her or something but that never happened."

Owondiki looked back at him, but he stared up at her in confidence. When she looked at Jera, Jera had a smug look on her face.

"What?" Owondiki asked.

"I never raped her. I never molested her. I never even hit her."

"If that's true, why didn't you just say that? Why all the mystery when I asked what you wanted to do?"

"Because it's classified."

"What's classified about it?"

"Yes, Director," Jera asked, wagging her eyebrows. "What's classified about it?"

Jera was a different person, all of a sudden. But then again, right before Jera's eyes, she'd morphed from a scared prisoner to an angry captive, to a smug villain in a matter of hours. This Jera was nothing like the protective woman who'd sat by Owondiki's side when they were in Ibesan.

"What's going on, Director?"

"I'm not supposed to–"

"So, help me God, Director."

"She's LBD."

Instinctively, Owondiki stepped away from Jera.

"She's what?"

"She is a former Lireh Bena agent of Clans Authority."

"No, she's not," Owondiki said, heading for her gun. "I've read her file a thousand times and there's nothing in there about her being LBD."

"Do you think the clans wanted to admit to anyone that they'd trained the biggest threat to Usehjiki?"

Owondiki pointed the gun at Jera while looking at the director.

"You sent me to Ibesan, knowing what she was capable of. What if she'd found me out?"

"You survived."

"That wasn't the point."

"It wasn't," he agreed. "The point is, that I wouldn't have had to touch her. LBD agents are trained to withstand pain on an astronomical level. Because of this, their programmers place pain markers in their memories that are tied to code phrases. Nothing you do to a Lireh Bena will cause them to "break under pressure". If I wanted to punish or interrogate her, all I have to do is activate those pain markers." Holding his shoulder, he stood with effort, looking at Jera. "Which is why I'm wondering what could have made her want you to believe that I would do something to her that she knew I wouldn't."