“I’m going to ram this right up your cunt. Just like I did to her.”
Stunned again. His eyes were wild, jagged on homemade Zeus, that wonderful chemical that made gods out of men, with all the power and insanity that went with delusions of immortality.
The knife, with the scarlet drenched blade hacked down, whistled.
And she dropped him.
The jolt zipped through his nervous system. His brain died first, so that his body convulsed and shuddered as his eyes turned to glass. Strapping down on the need to scream, she kicked the knife away from his still twitching hand and looked at the child.
The big doll’s eyes stared at her, and told her—again—that she’d been too late.
Forcing her body to relax, she let nothing into her mind but her report.
The VR section was complete. Her vitals were checked again before she was taken to the final testing phase. The one-on-one with the psychiatrist.
Eve didn’t have anything against Dr. Mira. The woman was dedicated to her calling. In private practice, she could have earned triple the salary she pulled in under the Police and Security Department.
She had a quiet voice with the faintest hint of upper class New England. Her pale blue eyes were kind—and sharp. At sixty, she was comfortable with middle age, but far from matronly.
Her hair was a warm honey brown and scooped up in the back in a neat yet complicated twist. She wore a tidy, rose toned suit with a sedate gold circle on the lapel.
No, Eve had nothing against her personally. She just hated shrinks.
“Lieutenant Dallas.” Mira rose from a soft blue scoop chair when Eve entered.
There was no desk, no computer in sight. One of the tricks, Eve knew, to make the subjects relax and forget they were under intense observation.
“Doctor.” Eve sat in the chair Mira indicated.
“I was just about to have some tea. You’ll join me?”
“Sure.”
Mira moved gracefully to the server, ordered two teas, then brought the cups to the sitting area. “It’s unfortunate that your testing was postponed, lieutenant.” With a smile, she sat, sipped. “The process is more conclusive and certainly more beneficial when run within twenty-four hours of an incident.”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
“So I’m told. Your preliminary results are satisfactory.”
“Fine.”
“You still refuse autohypnosis?”
“It’s optional.” Hating the defensive sound of her voice.
“Yes, it is.” Mira crossed her legs. “You’ve been through a difficult experience, lieutenant. There are signs of physical and emotional fatigue.”
“I’m on another case, a demanding one. It’s taking a lot of my time.”
“Yes, I have that information. Are you taking the standard sleep inducers?”
Eve tested the tea. It was, as she’d suspected, floral in scent and flavor. “No. We’ve been through that before. Night pills are optional, and I opt no.”
“Because they limit your control.”
Eve met her eyes. “That’s right. I don’t like being put to sleep, and I don’t like being here. I don’t like brain rape.”
“You consider Testing a kind of rape?”