“Pain would be the fairly obvious consequence. Your leg is going to be hurting. A lot. And don’t be shy about telling me how much it is when you feel it, Hell. I have to know.”
“Have I ever been shy about anything, Doc?” Helen smiled. “I promise I won’t hide the pain.”
“You might not be able to.”
“Okay, then you don’t have to worry about me lying to you about feeling pain, then,” she said. “What else?”
“Maybe sensitivity to light. Your body lacks sleep. Your thinking might be affected. You haven’t eaten much so you’ll definitely be hungry. Your brain and body might compensate for your lack of sleep by producing different levels of hormones. With Armando, he definitely sees ‘things’ after using the serum. He also likes to sit in the dark, says the light bothers him.”
Besides looking for Heath to ask him about the “retrieval,” she also definitely needed to talk to Armando. She could do this before the serum wore off. She had a feeling she would be sleeping like a log, after.
“All right,” Helen said. “I’ll get hold of you when things go crazy, Doc. Can I go now? Is it okay to walk on my own? Not too much, of course.”
“Yes, but be careful. Take these painkillers. Get hold of me if there’s any problem.”
“All right. Umm, can someone give me some clothes to wear? And can I have my boots back?”
Once she was alone, she pulled out the electronic comm card from the side slit in her boots. It was Armando Chang’s. She slid the card through the security slot in the communications channel and punched in her own security code. Armando would know it was from her and that she was calling from inside Center.
He came on after the third buzz. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Princess of Darkness calling me,” he drawled. “And how was the experience?”
“You’re suddenly right to the point, Chang,” Helen commented. “What, no roundabout chitchat about illusions and pain?”
“But you’re calling me precisely to talk about that, aren’t you?” he mocked. “I don’t like being predictable.”
He was far too perceptive. Of course he’d known she would call him with questions afterwards. “You gave me your card,” she reminded him. “I take that as an offer to answer my questions.”
“Everything has a price, Miss Roston,” he said. “Are you ready for yours?”
“You’re pissing me off, Chang,” Hell warned. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“You’re feeling anger? Cool. The serum’s wearing off a bit. The drug takes the edge off emotions like anger and pain, as you know.” He affected a heavy accent, very similar to Dr. Kasparov’s during their first meeting. “It increases your pain threshold by producing analgesia that blocks your pain receptors. It’s antianxiety. It acts on the limbic system, thalamus and hypothalamus of the CNS to produce hypnotic effects. It also blocks serotonin and motor neurons. So, tell me, how’s your limbic system and hypothalamus doing, Hell?”
She laughed. She liked his sarcasm. “They seem fine. At least, I think so.”
“Then why do you need me, if you’re fine?”
Hell looked at the clock on the wall. “I don’t know how much time I have before I conk out from lack of sleep. When did it happen to you? I’d also rather see you in person to talk about this. I’m not comfortable with talking over the comm system.”
“These walls have ears,” Armando acknowledged softly.
“So you can whisper into mine,” she retorted.
“I love an innovative woman. Where would you like to meet?”
“Any suggestion?”
“Room 18.”
She tried to remember what that was. “The interrogation observation room? Why?”
“Because there are no cameras there.”
“I don’t have the clearance.”
“Silly child. Do you need one with me?”
“All right. When? Now, I hope.”
