Warren’s eyes didn’t leave the shift-start checklist. “There was an incident today.”
“An incident?”
“I don’t think the powers-that-be figured out how to handle it, so instead they tightened security and they’re running interviews again.”
“Seriously? They ran interviews two weeks ago. Other than some bad Mexican on Saturday, I’ve got nothing new to add. My life is so boring, my mother only calls me once a month, and I can hear her banging around the kitchen, doing the laundry, and God knows what else while she pretends to give a shit.”
“Yeah, well, be prepared to discuss your formidable burrito habit in detail on the record. I was in there an hour ago, and they made me run through the past ninety days—recount things that happened here, at home, at the grocery store—right down to what I watched on television each night. Like I could remember. Random questions about mundane stuff. Crazy.”
“You’d think they’d ask about all the supplies you steal from this place and take home.”
“I took one roll of toilet paper six months ago,” Warren said. “Hardly a criminal enterprise.”
“What exactly happened?”
Warren let out a breath. “The kid whispered something.”
“Huh?”
“Subject ‘S’ was in there with him, and at some point he leaned over and whispered something to her.”
“What did he say?”
Warren rolled his eyes. “That’s the problem. Nobody knows. The microphones didn’t pick it up.”
“What about the doc? She reads lips, right?”
“According to her, he told Subject ‘S’ he loved her.”
“Well, that’s not so bad. Kinda cute. Our boy was bound to develop a case of blue balls at some point. Imagine being a teenage boy locked up like him, only girl he knows—aside from the doc, anyway. His hormones are probably eating him alive.”
“They don’t believe her.”
“Who?”
“Corporate. Hibbert was on, and he said they scrambled—pulled Subject ’S’ out and isolated her in 304 down the hall, then dragged the doc off for an interview. Grilled her, from what I heard. She didn’t waver, though. She insisted all he said was ‘I love you.’ Said they were overreacting.”
“The girl’s okay, right? I mean if he would have said something else, if he wanted to hurt her, he would have.”
Warren shrugged. “Seems okay. She said the same thing, he said ‘I love you.’ The Oliver woman took her out about thirty minutes ago, took her back to the house.”
“If everyone is okay, why are they making a stink of it? Why the interviews?”
Warren lowered his voice. “Rumor is, corporate thinks the kid may have planted some type of command. Something delayed.”
“Can he do that?”
Again, Warren shrugged. “Who knows? It’s not like he came with an instruction manual. We’re figuring this out as we go. I guess they’re worried the kid is figuring it out, too.”
“That still doesn’t explain the interviews.”
“I think they’re concerned he might have done it to somebody else.”
“Planted instructions?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not possible. Aside from the doc and the girl, nobody else goes in there. There’s no opportunity. Even if he did somehow get to somebody, there’d be a record. Someone is always watching.”
