The Enemies

Talk

Oden

The guard leads me into another part of the building. The room is in a secluded hall. He motions for me to enter and closes the door with a key behind me the moment I am in. The place is dark and dusty, with closed windows covered by heavy velvet curtains. A gigantic oak table and a chair are near the velvet, worsening the view. On the opposite side are two armchairs with cushions decorated with some sort of embroidery – birds, flowers, colorful splatters of whatever sick idea the designer had. Twisted and achingly colorful. It used to be an office, but obviously, the room is not used anymore.

Not an interrogation room I imagined. Then again, what do I know about interrogation for a Karmian? Those people are strange. Maybe they have their own ways of tortures, and they do not necessarily imply grey half-lit rooms with cheap chairs and a table.

I pick through the curtains. It is still a brightly lit morning. I walk about the room, examining the peculiar furniture; pictures on the walls, then study the book covers on the shelves. I even pick one and attempt to read to kill time, but everything is in Karmian. And my head hurts so bad that I find it a terrible idea.

I end up on the sofa in a far-right corner. My body throbs with pain. The left eye is swollen to the point I have trouble keeping it open. Putting my uninjured arm on my closed eyes, I wait for what comes. Under different circumstances, it would feel nice. After almost two months with several people next to me, a minute of quiet is a gift.

As my head aches severely, I cannot concentrate enough to come up with decent ideas on what I heard and saw today. Eventually, I drop the attempts until I can think clearly. I doze off, and when I open my eyes, I am not alone.

Rhea sits in one of the armchairs, watching me. Relaxed and slightly bored. She is in the same clothes, but her hair is now in a braid, revealing a long thin scar on her beautiful neck. G390 is still there in the holster by her side. I gaze at her with only my healthy eye opened.

'What's up with your arm?'

She slants her eyes to point at my injured limb. It is like we did not meet in the cell several hours ago.

'Broke it.'

I don't sit up.

'Did you?'

I nod.

'So are you trying to beat each other to death to avoid spending time in Rompsbrigde?'

'I am not going to tell you anything willingly. You may get straight to the interrogation part. Now I know who you are, remember?'

I sit up with a groan that makes her chuckle.

'This is not an interrogation. Just a talk. Plus I am aware of what happened to you,' she says, sliding to the edge of her seat. 'First. It would be more prudent not to provoke people around you with that air of superiority. You are held captive, after all. I may take some glee in your swollen eye. But I don't agree with their methods. I am a sucker for justice. You will shortly see a doctor about your arm and ribs. Second. When I promised I would help you, I meant it. Otherwise, I would never have shared that phrase. The point is I promised to save you alone. Imagine my surprise when they told me seven A9 members were waiting for me in Rompsbridge. You used me, Major. Don't you afraid that you will pay for that?'

'First. I figured sparing our lives was a favor from you, and you were not planning to get me out of Rompsbridge at all. It would be a nice touch. But, again, you are not exactly known to keep Drellians alive. Second. I do not like to be treated as a lab rat, and you did not mention what that phrase did to Karmians. They stared at me like I was a traitor. There was an ambush. We were taken from our positions and gathered in one room by your friend - Guss. They were planning to execute us. I just tried one last option,' I shrug. 'I was surprised it worked actually. I did not expect much from you when you said you owed me. And, yes, I did not recognize you.'