Page 27 of Trapped

Montgomery scowled. “I don’t know the guard protocols.”

Yeah, sure, Cash thought, but he kept the observation to himself.

“I’ll make sure they don’t disturb you again.”

That was something, anyway. Next time Sophia came to his room, he wouldn’t have to worry about a guy with a flashlight barging in.

Montgomery gave him a piercing look. “What are you thinking about now?”

“Why?”

“You have a strange expression on your face.”

“I was thinking about an old girlfriend.”

“Why?”

Cash scrambled for an answer and came up with a plausible memory. “Well, we were talking about my room. About the guard opening the door. And I was thinking about a time when I was at Janna’s house. In her bedroom. We were . . .” He stopped as though thinking about how to phrase his next words. “Her parents were supposed to be out for the evening, and we were half naked in her bed. When we heard her dad coming up the stairs, I had to duck into the closet. Then, when the coast was clear, I climbed out the window. I loosened the drainpipe on the way down.”

The story wasn’t made up. It had really happened—but he’d just pulled the girl’s name out of the air.

The doctor was still watching him closely. “I thought you were having memory problems.”

“Yeah. But your question triggered a memory.”

“Maybe we can dig up some more memories,” Montgomery shot back.

“How?”

“Perhaps hypnosis would be more effective than a dream.”

Cash felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. “I don’t want to do that.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t feel . . . comfortable.”

The doctor’s expression grew brittle. “By not cooperating, you’re jeopardizing the safety of everybody in this installation.”

Cash’s throat tightened, but he managed to ask, “How?”

“We need information from you.”

Wondering if he would get an accurate answer, he said, “Probably you told me before, but I can’t remember—what is my diagnosis?”

“You’re suffering post-traumatic stress—connected with your assignment in Afghanistan. You were in a military hospital for several months after villagers turned you over to American troops.”

Cash considered the implications. He could have asked exactly what was supposed to have happened to him. But he didn’t want to hear the doctor’s story. If it was a story.

Instead, he asked, “And my next assignment was Thailand?”

“Yes.”

“So, I was cleared for duty.”

“It was supposed to be an easy assignment. The bird flu epidemic changed everything. You went berserk and endangered the lives of everyone with the diplomatic mission.”

Cash gripped the arms of the chair to steady himself. He had almost gotten a bunch of people killed.

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