Page 62 of Thorn

“Lynx patted me on the shoulder.”

“Comforting,” Nutsbe dead-panned.

Thorn squinted at the screen. “I thought so. I have meal replacement bars to sustain me, and you’re eating dessert. Seems cruel.”

“Lynx lost a bet. It’s my reward.” He shoveled up another bite. “I’ve never won a bet against Lynx. Let me relish this victory, man. My ass has been in this chair supporting you since the airport. I’ve barely gotten up but to go use the can.”

“Appreciated. Is Lynx there now? Can you update me?

Juliette moaned.

Thorn held up a finger and moved over to the bed to see if she was rousing.

Juliette was mouthing something that Thorn couldn’t make out.

“Put your phone at her mouth,” Nutsbe suggested. “Let’s see what the computer can do with it.”

Thorn put his computer on the stool where he could still see Nutsbe. He pulled his phone from his pocket, swept his finger across the screen and quick dialed the war room as he heard Nutsbe call out. “Hey, Lynx I need you here.”

“Check.” Thorn spoke into the phone and listened for Nutsbe’s “Affirmative. I have it connected to the software.”

Thorn moved the phone in front of Juliette’s mouth.

The computer amplified and compressed the words, making them comprehendible. Through his ear comms, Thorn heard Juliette saying, “Do you know what’s going on? Why are we here?” then the language slipped into something else that Thorn couldn’t understand.

She was silent.

Thorn waited.

“Russian,” Lynx said. “Hang on, I have a translation on my screen. ‘George for god sake what did they do to you? Are you all right? It sounded…did they burn you, too?...Whales. Whales…Free I want to be free!...It’s science not magic!’”

“Fevered gibberish,” Nutsbe said.

“She said, ‘Did they burn you, too?’” Thorn sat down on the bed next to Juliette’s leg. “Surely that happened before her accident, right? It happened before her operation?”

Now in English, Juliette mumbled, “Free me. Whales.” And as odd as that was to hear, it was a little clearer.

Thorn felt a glimmer of hope that they might be getting some answers.

“This is her subconscious brain,” Lynx said. “Per the burns, I suppose that in a delirious state, someone might be able to remember things that were wiped from the conscious brain. My mentor, Spyder McGraw, trained me in hypnotism, and that’s exactly the goal, to calm the brain’s protective layers so that one can access what’s beneath.”

“This would be our opportunity, right? To ask some questions and maybe get some answers? Like why is she thinking about whales?”

Juliette was writhing. “I have no choice. Stop…What choice do I have?” That was in English. The words and the agony that came with whatever decision she was making was hard to listen to.

Thorn shifted on the bed. He wanted to soothe her, but he also wanted to know what was going on. He thought he could lull her back into a sleep by stroking her arms. Calming her though, might shut this window of opportunity. The more their team understood, the better they could protect the outcome. Thorn pulled back from his instinct to gather her in his arms and hold her, so she’d feel safe.

Again, he thought about how reactive he was to this woman.

That wasn’t a good thing.

Operatives had to keep their emotional distance to be coldly calculating. Honey would have been a better choice for this assignment. He had a knack for managing both empathy and calculation. It was a unique trait, and it was why he was so successful at pulling victims away from their kidnappers. Honey could leave them vulnerable, dangling them over the pit of hell, until the means for getting them out safely was cleared. Yeah. That wasn’t Thorn’s nature. Thorn wanted a bad guy and an opportunity to take that bad guy down. Action. Brute Strength. Strategic thought. And a reward on the other side of a job well done.

This time, he’d taken his reward too soon.

He shouldn’t have screwed around with Brigitte. The mission wasn’t done. She’d called herself a piece of pie; he known since he was a toddler not to eat dessert before his vegetables.

Of course, if he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to pass that information. And he wouldn’t be here with Juliette now.

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