Page 113 of Retribution
She sits up, and then stands, and we make room for her.
She pulls up her pants, not looking at us, hiding the contraption from our eyes and hers.
‘For correction,’ she says, her voice stronger, ‘Slouch in your chair. Zap. Talk back. Zap. Don't get up on time in the morning. Zap.’
Her mouth curls into a sneer. ‘It was how theycuredus.’
‘Did he know?’ Shade asks. ‘Did my father know?’
She holds his eyes for a second and nods. ‘There was video of my time there,’ she whispers. ‘He gave some of it to the Bandervilles so they’d know what they were… getting into, I guess. Joe told me he liked watching it.’
‘Jesus,’ I whisper as I rake my fingers through my hair harshly.
‘And Joe put that thing on you?’ Mav asks quietly.
She nods. ‘The nurse, his bodyguard, and Marcus held me still so he could do it.’
She turns away from us and leaves us in the living room, going into the bedroom and closing the door quietly without another word.
No, she's not running from this.
I follow her.
I go in and I find her in the bathroom.
I'm afraid she's going to be crying, but she's just staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes find mine in the reflection.
'I didn't want anyone to know. That's why I didn't say anything.’
‘Because you're ashamed?' I ask.
She nods.
'This one's…' She looks down at her leg. 'It's stronger. A lot more powerful. The one at The Heath wasn't as bad as this.'
'Why did it go off at dinner?'
She shrugs, 'I don’t know. I got the impression it’s a prototype Joe had made. Maybe it shorted, or something.’
She chuckles mirthlessly. 'Maybe Joe and Nasty Nurse are driving around the city pushing the button to see if I'll out myself. Maybe he's as desperate as Sauvage says he is and he’s trying his luck.’
‘I want to see it again.’
I see her jaw tense, but she nods, unbuttons her pants, and I hear the zipper.
She pushes them down around her knees and then turns, looking at the ceiling.
I kneel in front of her, taking in the metal straps around her leg that go into the device itself, and the ones that go up. I move her sweater away and see that they wind around her waist with no tie or seams.
'So, it’s a single metal strap that goes all the way around and into this slot,' I say quietly, almost to myself.
‘There's a key,’ she says.
I nod as I see the small slit in the side of the flat, rectangular gray box.
‘But not a regular one,’ I replyquietly.
She shakes her head. 'I think it was a little card like the ones that open the doors in the hotel, only smaller.'
