“No. I panicked.” I pointed to Ponife. “He scared me.” I tugged on the loop. It didn't budge. “What is this thing?”
“A control collar,” Ponife said. “You will...listen to us.”
“But she can't be trusted,” Hank said.
“No matter. She is…attached to us. We know where she go.”
“She will listen or…” Fosord, who hadn't moved during the whole incident, motioned to his colleague.
Ponife twisted the metal X with his fingers. Sharp needles of pain stabbed into my neck and traveled down my spine. Unrelenting pulses of fire coursed through my body. I collapsed to the ground, shrieking. Vinco's knife had been a caress in comparison to this anguish.
The pain stopped as quickly as it had arrived. My relief was almost as intense as the pain. Hank pressed the mask to my mouth as I gasped. Shudders overwhelmed my muscles as sweat pooled. If I had to guess how it felt to be kill-zapped, I'd imagine that torment came pretty damn close.
Hank straightened. “Impressive. Do you have more of those control collars?”
“Yes,” Ponife said. “We find them to be…useful for…solving problems.”
“Can I?” Hank wanted to take the X.
“No. Only Controllers can…correct problems.”
“What else can it do?” he asked.
Ponife pulled on one of the ends. Numbness spread down my body, deadening all feeling below my neck. I could only move my head.
“She is…stopped,” Ponife said. He flipped it around and tugged another side.
Feeling returned with a sudden flush of heat. My body tingled like I had just been kissed by Riley. It intensified as pure pleasure raced along my skin as if invisible hands stroked my body. To me, this was more humiliating than the pain.
“She is…rewarded. That is all.” He righted the X.
The tingling stopped, and I had control of my body. For now.
“Plus, you know where she is, right? It works like a tracer?” Hank asked.
Ponife dug into the pocket of his suit. The white material creased like fabric but crinkled like very thin metal. He pulled out a small box that resembled a hand sized computer the PopCops had used. He opened it, displaying a miniature screen. Inserting the X into the opposite side, he pushed a few buttons. Then he showed Hank the screen.
“That's a map of level five,” he said. “What are those numbers on the side?”
“Her vitals. To know if she tells untruths,” Ponife said.
Just when I thought my situation couldn't get any worse, he proved me wrong.
“Can we interrogate her now?” Hank asked.
“No. She is…terrorized. You must wait until her vitals return to normal.”
“How long?”
“Depends on her.”
Hank yanked me off the floor and hustled me from the conference room. He pushed me toward Bubba Boom. I fell into his arms.
“What happened?” Bubba Boom asked, supporting me.
“She tricked you boy. She's spying for Jacy,” Hank said. He tossed a long thin box at Bubba Boom who caught it in midair. “Take her to the lock up. When she settles down, we're going to have a nice long chat.” He returned to his post.
Bubba Boom looked at me with a pained expression, but he followed orders, half carrying me from the control room. Right before the doors closed, I spotted Karla Trava watching me with a smug smile.
