Miller appears in the doorway, with Sidorov himself right behind him.
Both of them are out of breath, like they had sprinted here straight from the main building.
Interestingly, the sight of Sidorov only fires up my adrenaline.
My eyes meet Bram’s, and he probably feels the weight of duty pressing down on him as his own boss assesses the situation…
I let out a low, challenging AO growl, and that seems to set him off.
The head of the guards fires his taser at me, but it’s doomed to fail.
The current hits me, not strong enough to stop me. I’m too much of a veteran for that.
I rip the prongs free with a brutal yank.
"Now you listen!" I jump onto the table. There’s no way anyone in this room will fail to hear what I’m about to say to these bastards.
As I do the jump, I catch Salt’s gaze on the fly. He’s still sitting on his chair, recording, eyes wide, staring at me in something dangerously close to awe. Wow. What did I do to deserve that? That’s not like him at all.
Then I shift my gaze to the people around us and to the warden. This has to land, and it will.
"There will be NO more rapes on this island! No more fucking blackmail! The original program rules state five years of waiting for pregnancy, with three as the absolute minimum. You have no legal basis to force anything on betas after barely two!"
Silence crashes down over the room. The crowd stays perfectly still.
All eyes are on me.
Miller reacts first, like a well-programmed machine. His face stretches into that conciliatory smile, the facility’s trademark.
"But… no one is forcing anything here! Everything here is voluntary and designed to advance the program’s goals. It serves everybody, you too!"
I let out a low growl in AO, which roughly translates to "shut the fuck up."
I turn toward the table where the oldest pairs are sitting. I already know most of their names, so I use that to drive the point home.
"Trevor! Do you want Spencer to be raped by a purple’s dick? Aren’t you next in seniority here? Unit five, right? Beside Bashir’s. And still no pregnancy!" I put strong emphasis on that. "They’ll come for him next month. You know that, right?" I point straight at Spencer. Then my gaze slides to the next couple. "And you, Russell? Unit number six! Do you want Ansel pressed against a wall and brutally fucked while you sleep? Because that’s what they do. They want fucking high stats. They won’t give you another three years. They’ll blackmail all betas with going back to state prison if you don’t comply!"
Then I point toward a few more visibly shaken couples, lifting my other hand in a counting gesture, as if their months are numbered, and they clearly understand what I mean.
A murmur starts to rise among the surrounding pairs. Alphas begin making disgruntled sounds in AO, and their betas stand up, throwing out more questions. The room grows loud and chaotic.
I also notice Pip and Hugh standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Both look tense, staring at me in open shock.
That’s when, finally, the warden decides to intervene.
"Hey!" Sidorov raises his hands, and heads turn toward him immediately.
He steps forward.
"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves! No one is being expelled as long as the program rules are being met!"
Hearing this, Bashir pushes himself upright to sit. Blood runs from the corner of his mouth, maybe he bit his tongue, but he speaks firmly, spitting the blood onto the floor first.
"And I surely don’t remember signing the contract that says if my beta doesn’t get pregnant in two years, he gets raped!"
People start to murmur again.
Sidorov lifts his hand one more time. "Everyone, calm down! Don’t escalate this. No one will be forced or expelled…"
