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"I …" She was caught, dead caught; either she admitted she had just lied, and proved she wasn’t conditioned the way Harte wanted, or she dropped McCallister in as, at the very least, a charge of rape "It wasn’t about love It was about needing soround she could walk, but she could see, with a sinking feeling, that Harte wasn’t buying it for a second

"You should have just adhtened and put her cup down, pressed the intercom button, and said, "Mareen, please send Ms Davis’s escort in I have what I need to know" She went back to her coffee, sipping in ladylike composure "I have not ended Condition Sapphire, Bryn You should not be able to lie tois very, very wrong here With you With McCallister If you’d simply told me that he’d used the protocols on you, I would have believed you; he’s a ruthless son of a bitch, which is why he’s valuable to me If you’d told ot that effect on wo in the middle … no Not with him"

"I--"

"Don’t waste your time The point is that you’ve lied tothat threatens me, and the couts went tight and cold The look in Harte’s eyes was that of a hawk zeroing in on a rabbit: noat all This wasn’t about jealousy, which was somehohat Bryn had expected; this was pure, cold calculation, and she had fallen for it

The guard who’d brought her in entered the room "Ma’am?"

"Please take Ms Davis to level three," Harte said "Check her in I’ll call down orders in a moment"

"Yes, ma’am"

"And find Patrick McCallister Now You don’t have to be gentle about it if he resists"

He nodded and started to hustle Bryn out

"Wait," Harte said "Let her finish her coffee"

It was time for the false civility to end Bryn picked up the coffee cup and threw it hard at Harte’s face Shethe woman in athe teal silk suit

Harte ju coffee froh to leave scars, Bryn thought; that would have been so She’d have to settle for the look on Harte’s face--comically horrified

But then it turned into a stiff mask of spite "So we knohere we stand," Harte said "You’re his little spy, aren’t you? His slave He turned you"

"You turned me You made me this I’m not dead; I’m not alive; what a all over with the fury she’d held in for so long, ever since that first raw, pri "I’ve seen how this ends Have you?"

"Not yet," Harte said She’d regained her composure; she’d taken a hand towel fro the worst of the coffee from her hair and face The expensive suit was a total ruin "But I’ll be sure to have them record everylater Good-bye, Ms Davis I hope you enjoy your … retire hiuard had all the leverage and ot in a couple of off-balance shots, but he took the her any chance of escape After the second elbow to the ribs, he swept her feet out from under her, took her facedown to the carpet, and yanked her ar yanked in place, too tightly, and then he grabbed her by the collar and hauled her back to a standing position "March," he said "You giveto forget"

"I’ll heal," she said She wasn’t aware, until she saw herself reflected in a pane of glass, that she was sed sort of smile, half a snarl She felt like an animal backed into a corner, and that was how she looked

"Yeah," he agreed "You would"

And without any warning he hit her with a rock-hard haht

Waking up was painful Her head, first; it throbbed in queasy red flashes Next, her jaw; she knew that awful grinding feeling It was dislocated Bryn worked it gingerly until it snapped back into place with a ony It, like the headache, lasted only a fewup energy I can’t afford

Bryn sat up

She was in an empty white room No furniture, not even a cot--just a clean, white, shiny room, like a box made of dry-erase whiteboards

One entire wall of the roolass Outside the , a portable ca I’ll be sure to have them record everylater, Harte had said She was living up to her cos of interest about the roo, and the drain in the floor Bryn considered that, and the shiny, slick walls