Cazin’s one eyebrow lifted. A moment passed between them where Sawyer kept his expression fixed with mild curiosity, and the general stared, assessing.
“She checked out too.” He pushed off the wall, straightening. “But enough of that.” He glanced at his PALM. “I have your report here. Is there anything you’d like to add?”
The urge to tense, to think about everything he deleted from the official record, rode him hard, but Sawyer kept his gaze level and his breathing even. “No, sir.”
A pregnant pause filled the silence following his answer, and Sawyer’s mind went over anything they could use against him. The abandoned torture session, the unsanctioned research, the voids of missing time. Could they have discovered any of it? He didn’t think so, not with the untraceable programs he’d used, but technology was ever-changing, always advancing.
The general shifted his weight. “Your mission is complete. I’m here to discharge you officially. You’ll need to remain aboard for forty-eight.”
“Do I need to stay confined, sir?” As quarters went, these weren’t bad, especially on a Guardian. At least he wasn’t in a cell.
“No. You’ll have restricted access to the ship. Colonel Biggs will see to your needs. I’ve sent the information to your PALM.”
The name and image of a defender scrolled across the bottom of his ocular implant.
A babysitter.Of course. Because generals knew that if you let an agent loose on your ship, secrets were bound to escape.
Busy work for another day.Sawyer had more important things to figure out first.
“Do you have regeneration baths on board, sir?” His fight with the Calypson still ached in his bones.
Cazin tipped his head. “Deck Sixteen. There’s a long waitlist.” He turned to face the door. “I’ll see you’re bumped ahead.” He raised his hand and swiped his PALM. The door opened.
“Thank you, sir.”
Cazin hadn’t moved fully into the corridor when Sawyer asked, “What will happen to her?”
Cazin paused mid-step. The air between them shifted and charged.Fuuuuuck. Sawyer didn’t even know why he’d asked, but it would earn him a marker on his file. He was in no position to ask questions.
His back tense, the general turned slightly and met his gaze over his shoulder. Sawyer kept his expression bored. Their stare lengthened, Cazin’s eyes assessing and Sawyer forcing himself not to look away.
Nothing to hide. The CORE knew everything about him. Controlled everything about him. He knew nothing.Nothing. Nothing. An empty vessel. A tool. A means to an end.
The general didn’t ask him to clarify the question, or ask anything at all. He broke the stare and headed down the corridor. “Stay out of trouble,” he said, the last of the words muffled as the door closed.
“Yes, sir,” Sawyer muttered. A wave of something similar to embarrassment rolled through him.
Bracing his hands near his hips, Sawyer rose. His legs twitched beneath him, watery in a way that meant he hadn’t used them for some time.How long have I been here? He looked down at his PALM and noted the time. Two days.
Sawyer turned away from the door and flexed his stiff shoulders.Need to get dressed.The compartments would have something, either an off-duty uniform or some sort of civilian garb.
When he’d first received this mission, he’d hoped the general’s termination order would come across his schedule at some point, and the sentiment hadn’t shifted.
Viscous regeneration fluid suctioned against his skin. Sawyer inhaled through the breathing tube attached to his nose and mouth, then let it out slowly again. A strong antiseptic scent filled his nostrils, clearing his nasal passages with every breath.
He should feel claustrophobic in here, but never had. It was more like what he thought a hug might feel like. Only a muffled murmur penetrated the fluid, the world ceasing to exist. He enjoyed the idea that everyone else had disappeared, and it was just him surviving in this suspended reality, comfortable.
But when his mind emptied of his usual thoughts, the unusual crept in, things he shouldn’t be thinking about.
What are they doing to the doctor?Why had they wanted her in the first place? Besides the fact that those beasts had killed her colleague, she’d led an unremarkable life.
He shouldn’t care, but found his mind returning to those questions over again.
And what had the Calypson wanted with her?
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.The bath’s timer echoed hollowly through the thick fluid, telling him his session was over.
It hadn’t been long enough. When inside a bath like this, he had the urge to disappear, to just sink down inside and melt, to let the goo fill his mouth, nose, and throat, and to drift away.
