Specimen

“Was I a prisoner?”

“When I found the oath, I went digging a little deeper. Galen Braggs was convicted of murdering two Mills soldiers. There’s no photo associated with the file, but his description matches yours. It says his sentence—your sentence—was execution. I found the death records, and the date matches the date you were brought to this facility.”

I narrow my eyes as I try to make sense of her words. If what she is saying is true, how could she not have known about it before? Who exactly did they tell her I was? Her words are a little too convenient.

I trust you, I trust you not.

“You said you chose me. You said you saw me and picked me as your specimen.”

“I did.”

“Are you trying to convince me you didn’t know where I came from?”

“I only knew what I was told.”

“You never checked it out? You knew prisoners were used before, and they all ended up dead. Now you want me to believe you thought a bunch of people would just volunteer to have this done to them? Is that what you are telling me?”

“It’s the truth, Sten.”

“My name,” I say through gritted teeth, “is Galen.”

“Do you really think I can just start calling you that here? Do you think they’ll let you live if they figure out you have all your memories? McCall wants you destroyed already. She thinks you got Pike killed. This is the final piece of information she needs to make that a reality!”

“I can’t hide it forever.” I blink a few times as I stare at her. “Can I?”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Riley shakes her head. “Not long term. Someone will eventually figure it out.”

“You’ll have to tell them,” I say. “If you don’t, you’ll be implicated.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Aren’t you?” I cock my head to the side and raise an eyebrow. I don’t see another course of action that won’t end up costing her career.

“No!” She wraps her fingers around my hand. “I won’t do that to you!”

I close my eyes and let all the possible outcomes buzz around in my head. There isn’t a definitive solution, and I don’t understand Riley’s motivations.

“I don’t know what to believe,” I finally say.

Riley runs her hand through her hair, sighing audibly. She looks around the room, as if she can find some answer in the equipment that surrounds us and then looks back to me with clear eyes.

“I can prove it to you,” she says, “but not here.”

“Where, then?”

She chews on her lip as she pokes around at the scanner controls. A light comes on over my head.

“What are you doing?” I ask

“I came in here to scan your implants,” she says. “If I don’t, someone might get suspicious. It’s just a low level scan; it won’t have any adverse impact on you. I need a minute to think.”

“Think about what?” I clench my fingers impatiently.

“I need a viable reason for taking you out of the facility,” she says. “Something no one will discover for at least a few hours.”

She looks at the clock and breaks into a smile.

“Got it!” She heads across the room and pulls an interface chip from a cabinet. She links it up with the computer and then brings it over to place it on the side of my head.