Ms. Shin grinned. “I like you, Mr. Gabris. And I appreciate how you've remained calm despite the distressing nature of your situation. I will see what we can do to make you more comfortable.”
“It's not like I can do anything.” I nodded at the armed men. “You've got me under guard.”
“Yes, but you see, your tests are showing that you may indeed be able to do something.”
I went still. “Like what? Are you saying he gave me his magic?”
“I don't know, Mr. Gabris. But until I do, until I'm sure of whatyoucan do, you're not going anywhere.” She leaned closer. “But if you tell us everything you know, it may speed up our investigation.”
“I have told you everything I know. Sorry to be crude, but most of the time I've spent with him, we were fucking.”
“I see. At least provide us with his name.”
“He hasn't given it to you?”
“He is not awake yet. We had to give him a significantly higher dose of sedative than you received. I'm told it was enough to take down—”
“An elephant?” I cut her off with a smirk.
“A herd of them.”
My smirk vanished. “What? You could have killed him!”
“No, Mr. Gabris, I don't believe we could have. His regenerative capabilities are vast.”
“You didn't know that then!”
A man in a lab coat leaned in through the doorway. “Ma'am, he's awake.”
“Wonderful,” Ms. Shin said as she held my stare. “I believe there's another way for you to help us, Mr. Gabris.” She lifted her chin at one of the soldiers. “Put him on the chair and bring him to the room.” She walked out.
“Hold on. What chair?” I called after her. “What room?!”
My first question was answered a few minutes later when a wheelchair came rolling into the room. Except this was a wheelchair for Hannibal Lecter. It was fully metal, with a high back and restraints. And yes, the restraints were metal too. All that was missing was that mask with the bars over the mouth.
One of the soldiers pulled his gun and pointed it at my face. “Try anything, and I will put you down.”
“Nice. Real nice.” I rolled my eyes. “I'm a fucking firefighter, asshole. I risk my life to save others. And this is the thanks I get.”
“I risk my life every day,” the man shot back. “And as dangerous as a fire may be, it doesn't shoot back. Now, we're going to do this real slow. They'll unbuckle you, and you're going to stand up and sit in that chair. Make any sudden moves, and—”
“I get it,” I cut him off. “You'll put me down like a rabid dog. Sheesh with the drama. Are you gay, Queen?”
“Already looking for a new fuck?” He lifted his brows. “Sorry, I'm straight. Maybe one of the others will give you a pity fuck later.”
“Wow. That was all kinds of wrong. I don't even know where to begin. But first, you need to understand something very important—I can make fun of gay people because I'm gay. It's like making fun of someone's brother—they can do it as much as they want, but they'll beat up anyone else who talks shit about him. So, for that shit talk of yours, you straight dickhead, I'm gonna have to kick your ass later.”
The soldier snorted. “That's going to be hard to do when they're cutting you open.”
“Wilcox!” one of the others said. To me, he added, “That's not the plan, Mr. Gabris. We don't want to hurt either of you. Now, please, try to be still while we unbuckle you.” He glanced at the gun-guy and added, “I swear to fuck, Wilcox, if you shoot him without reason, I will shoot you.”
Wilcox grimaced. “I know how to deal with lippy prisoners. Just fucking do your job, and I'll do mine.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can we get on with this?”
They unbuckled my restraints and jumped back.
“Wow. You guys are that scared of me? Sheesh. Relax.” I held up my hands and slowly slid to the edge of the bed. “I'm getting down now.” I slid onto my feet.
