Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(44)
“Come in,” a tired-sounding male voice called from inside. Norcross pushed the door open and strode in, head back, chest puffed out, looking tremendously proud of himself.
“I brought you our little defector, Commander. I thought perhaps you’d like to interrogate her yourself before we throw her into a cell. The Lyran garbage she’s been keeping company with is already captive down in the brig. Dr. Stirling will be performing a few tests on him. I imagine he’ll like a crack at this one as well, as that disgusting alien has managed to . . . infect her.” He looked me up and down with dramatic disgust while I stared back impassively.
“Infect her?” Wickman’s voice sounded more tiredly incredulous than anything.
The guards gave me a shove, and I stumbled through the door just ahead of them. “Nice touch. Very theatrical,” I muttered as I caught my balance. Norcross was rubbing off on them—badly. I looked around, seeing shelves full of old, real paper books lining the walls and ceiling of the enormous office. A steel and wood desk of a very old design dominated the room. A row of four chairs sat before it, and behind it, the base commander sat in his office chair, slouching slightly, his eyes sunken and dull with exhaustion.
Wickman’s eyebrows rose as he looked at me. He was a tall, older man, slightly weak-chinned, his brown and gray hair thinning at the temples. His watery gray eyes had snaps of red in them, which I had long since learned were the direct result of all the drinking he did. A wet bar was set into the wall behind him, and I saw its row of bottles was largely dry. I almost felt sorry for him, except I couldn’t. If he had actually been doing his job instead of crawling into a bottle regularly, he would have noticed what Norcross had been getting up to behind his back.
“Dr. Bryant, what is this? I only know what Norcross has told me. He claims you defected and you have taken one of the Lyran upper class as your lover. He claims you have betrayed us. Is there any truth to this?”
I took a deep breath and reached out psychically to the Lyran noble in question. Dekkir and I had a strong bond, strong enough for me to seek his mind on a whole different level of the complex. I sensed him faintly: awake, calm, waiting. He sent me a strong current of love and strength, and I felt my fear melt away in its warm torrent.
I squared my shoulders and looked Wickman in the eye. “Commander, this is a much more complicated situation than Lieutenant Norcross is letting on. I will gladly explain the entire situation to you. I will provide you with proof of my assertions as required. But I’m going to have to ask that I do this without Norcross being here. It is in his best interest to muddy the waters as much as possible, as he has been committing war crimes behind your back.” Fuck you, Damon.
The commander sat back in shock, gripping the edge of his desk. Norcross, meanwhile, simply let out a high, nervous laugh. “Will you listen to this little bitch? Lying to save her own skin. So typical of a woman. But look at her. Look at her eyes. She’s gone native. It’s disgusting. She can’t be trusted. You don’t want to be alone with her, Commander. She’s crazy and probably dangerous!”
Wickman held up a hand. “That’s enough, Lieutenant. I’m very interested in hearing what she has to say, but if she will not speak in your presence—”
Norcross started talking very fast as he fidgeted nervously in his seat. “Then we can go straight to assisted interrogation. I’m sure an electroshock device connected to her brain would provide proper punishment for when she tries to lie again, and if she won’t talk, we can hit the button a few times to get her going.”
I thought of Dekkir’s calm strength, drew a deep breath, and turned my head to look at Norcross. “You know what? Go ahead and hook me up. You won’t hear a single lie from me, so the device will never be set off.” I looked him deep in his empty blue eyes, watching them widen in surprise at my show of backbone. Before Dekkir and all this strife, I had always been as diplomatic with Norcross as possible, understanding he essentially had a personality as unstable as badly stored explosives. But now I simply didn’t care anymore. The only liar in the room was Norcross. And I intended to make sure the commander knew that fully.
The commander frowned but looked mildly impressed. “That’s a very big show of confidence, considering the circumstances you’re in, Grace. But since you have had an exemplary performance record up until now, I will consider what you have to say. However, Norcross stays, at least for now. He is your immediate superior, and if Dr. Stirling was not currently busy with our other captive, I would want him to be here as well.”
Shit. “Understood, sir.”
He gave me another surprised look. “I was expecting a lot more insubordination.”
I smiled tightly. “I’m afraid you’ll have to look to Lieutenant Norcross for insubordination today, sir. And I’m sure he’s going to come out with it quickly enough.” I gave Norcross a glance as he reddened. “You see, there was no conflict between ourselves and the Lyrans until he decided to act on his own.”
Norcross tittered nervously again. “Will you listen to this woman? There’s no end to her lies. Commander, she’s trying to manipulate you before the machine can get here.”
Wickman looked between the two of us. “I see. Well, fine. Let’s attach the interrogation unit to her before we go on. If she lies, she will receive an electric shock, and we will know. If she does not lie, then, Lieutenant Norcross, we’re going to talk a lot more about what you’ve been doing while I have been otherwise occupied.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “For example, your unauthorized visit to the planet’s surface to capture her in the first place. I also happened to notice we are missing several drones and scores of our soldiers.”