The End is Near

Chapter 14

15 July 2045 – Houston Military Base

Laila wondered if giving her an Asian-looking interrogator was supposed to have made her comfortable. Her ancestors had been living in the United States for five generations and none of her closest friends were Asian. She wondered idly if they knew that.

"Before we start," the nameless guy said, "I was told to let you know that your good behaviour will impact the way the researcher is treated. Failure to cooperate could be - unpleasant for him."

Just one sentence and her powers were effectively made useless.

I wonder if the mysterious Mickael is being given the same ultimatum and if he cares enough to try to get us out of this? Was he taken too?

How quickly can this guy communicate with whoever is holding Shio?

She could over-power him and use telekinesis on the door but then she would have to try to find Shio.

"I don't know where he is," the nameless one continued, "obviously it would be foolish to send in an interrogator who had that knowledge, since you are both telepathic and telekinetic. He is far enough away physically that you couldn't make it in time." It was like he'd read her mind, so she said nothing and continued looking at him with a calm she didn't really feel.

"Tell me about Dr. Yokahani's new device..."

She smiled because it was a safe question to answer. "It's unstable and experimental. It would be disastrous for you to try to use it before we test it more."

"What does it do?"

She shrugged. "Connects thoughts. Moves things around. The usual."

Her interrogator's eyebrows tried to reach his hairline. "The usual?"

"All of Shio's research is around the areas of telepathy and telekinesis. Making mystical-seeming abilities a matter of physics and stripping away the biological aspects. So obviously that's the kind of machinery we work on. Didn't they brief you?"

He cleared his throat. Had he been expecting more resistance? There was nothing in what she told him that they didn't already know. Camera-guy had made that very clear.

"Who was the stranger in your apartment?" he changed topic.

"Isn't he one of yours? He made it quite clear he had been spying for the American government."

"That's not who I meant – and I think you know it." He snapped. So early for him to be getting edgy. I wonder which part of what I am saying is irritating him though. Or was it just the attitude of nonchalance he found vexing? She found that intriguing and funny enough to continue in the same vein.

She put a little disdain into this shrug, watching his reaction. "My memory is a little fuzzy. Must be from the dart your people hit me with. Can you describe him?"

He looked even more uncomfortable now. "Tall, cape, pointed ears, tilted eyes?"

"Pointed ears?" she said, allowing her amusement to show in both the mocking tone and smile, "Are you sure you saw someone like that? Sounds like you've been watching some fantasy movies."

The interrogation went on. Pointed questions on who the stranger was while she blamed the drugs for a fuzzy memory. Back to questions on the experiments which she answered with more clarity.

The combination of cooperation on one topic and a supposed ignorance of the other had her interrogator clearly frustrated.

I wonder how the others are doing.