“Do you have no control over that dog at all?” Bruno asks Cole.
“You asked to see the captive. Remember that, if he’s dangerous, it’s not my fault,” Bill says. He leans against the doorframe, his eyes rolling in his head. “So here goes nothing.”
“Who’s there?” the man asks in a shaky voice.
I flip on the light.
Oh my God.
Sitting in the hallway, duct-taped to a wooden chair, is a man. He’s been blindfolded. Just looking at the large shiner on his head makes mine throb. His chin quivers. His knuckles are bloodied and dirty. I push Bill aside as I file into the hallway to get a better look at him. That’s no guard. On his dark blue uniform is the United Powers emblem, right on the collar.
“What the hell, Bill! You’re holding a monitor hostage?”
“A what?” he asks. He stumbles into the space to my right. “He’s a computer monitor?”
“Oh hell.” Cole lowers his gun, whips out his knife, and immediately begins cutting the blindfold and restraints away from the man.
“He came down here, and I don’t know him. People I don’t know make me very nervous and on edge.”
“Bill, a monitor is a person the United Powers sent to help us,” I say, pushing him aside. “He’s not a guard.”
As the man is freed, he flexes his wrists and fingers. He blinks several times, revealing dark blue eyes that if you weren’t close enough, you’d think were black. He clenches his jaw and stares at us, seemingly unsure of what to do.
“Were there any other monitors who came with you?” Bruno asks. The man seals his lips while evaluating Bruno, who’s appearance would be enough to intimidate anyone.
“Hey, slow down a minute, give the man some water and a second to breathe before you jump down his throat,” Grace says.
I hand her a bottle, and she gives it to the monitor, who hesitantly takes it. He drinks it slowly, never taking his eyes off us.
“Thank you,” he says to Grace. His voice comes out raspy.
“Now … answer my questions,” Bruno says.
The man clears his throat. “How did you know there were others with me?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“We just assumed someone as important as you wouldn’t have come to a place like this alone,” I say. His eyes rest on me, on my brand, and then he focuses on my eyes.
“I’m not sure if anyone else made it,” he says. “We were shot at, the lot of us. Somehow, I found a way down here.”
“So that’s it? You could very well be the only monitor that’s left. And from the looks of things, if Wilson finds out you’re still alive, he’ll try to kill you too.” Cole’s words are harsh, but they about sum up what’s happening. The little hope that sparked inside me when I saw this man’s United Powers emblem vanishes.
I’m suspicious and hopeful and scared as I stare at the monitor who survived the attack. There are a million things I want to ask him, but I don’t know where to start. He could be the key to our future.
Before I can get my thoughts together, Grace asks, “So how on earth did you manage to survive?”
“As soon as the others around me started falling to gunfire, I fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. Once they had us in a pile, I slowly made my way out. When no one was watching, I took off down the nearest alley.”
“Wow, that’s brave of you,” Grace says, despite the skeptical look on her face.
“I didn’t have many options,” he says, his lips forming a wry smile.
Bill starts pacing in circles, making my headache worse.
“So are you going to tell us what we need to know, or are we going to have to beat it out of you?” Bruno steps forward, his frame menacing the strange dignitary, who winces under Bruno’s intense stare. “What’s your connection to all of this? Why should we care you’re alive or, better yet, why should we keep you that way?”
The man winces again, leans back, and then looks away.
“I suggest you start talking,” Cole says.
The monitor looks to Cole. “My name is Roméo; I’m a monitor. After the revolt, Sutton managed to get some sensitive information to the United Powers. It was enough to grab their attention.”
“What kind of information?” Grace asks.
“All I know is there were some images, documents, and a little video footage,” Roméo says. He shifts positions. I can’t tell if the questions or his bruises are causing his discomfort.
“So … that’s what was on the disk?” Bruno asks.
“What disk?” Cole asks, turning his attention to Bruno.
“During the revolt, Sutton told me he had to get to the control room, that he needed to download something. Huh, it all makes sense now,” Bruno says. “Man, he’s good.”
“So they got the disk,” Cole says. “Why’d it take them so damn long to send you here?”
“Because the United Powers are not about to put other countries at risk, or possibly spark another world war unless they have good reason to.”