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“It’s not that easy. She belongs to the prison. That means only the warden has the authority to release her. She’s not under my control or supervision.”
“But you’re in charge of this part of the prison. Surely you can arrange for her to be released to me?”
“I can’t.”
He sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I can speak with the warden if you like. I can see she means a great deal to you. But I can’t guarantee she’ll be released. It’s bureaucracy, I’m afraid. There are just too many rules we have to follow. I’m sorry.”
He was sorry? He was sorry?
I ground my teeth, clenched my fists, and stared at the floor. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed the guards turn stiff and angle their shock rifles in my direction. One false move and they would zap me.
I couldn’t afford to lose my temper.
Not here. Not now.
I let my fingers unfurl and my back straighten, forcing myself out of fighting mode.
I was looking directly at the computers and monitors and all the data they were collecting.
“What are you looking for?”
“Excuse me?”
“What are you looking for?” I repeated. “You’re a scientist. You watch our fights every day. We see you watching us. There are rumors why you do it but no one knows and no one much cares. But what do you work on here day after day?”
The Supervisor looked at me thoughtfully and cocked his head to one side.
“It’s not a secret. We try to learn how you’re capable of the abilities you have.”
I didn’t have an ability, at least not to his knowledge. I ran a finger over one of the monitors. It was alien to me. I had no idea what its purpose was but the scientists were clearly using it for something.
“You used to run experiments on me,” I said. “When I was a boy.”
“We ran tests on many inmates.”
“I wasn’t an inmate.”
“No. I expected to find a latent ability buried deep inside you like the stories I told you about once. But it wasn’t to be. They only turned out to be stories.”
I wet my lips and considered my next few words carefully. Did I want to do this? I could jump on the shuttlecraft right now, leave, and never have to see this place again. But what was the use when I didn’t have Ivy on my arm?
“What if I told you the stories weren’t wrong?” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“What if I told you there was a reason I’ve never been defeated in the pit? That I do have an ability that allows me to win?”
The Supervisor looked me over, unsure whether or not to believe me.
“What ability?”
Oh, no. I wasn’t about to give that away for nothing.
“I could show you. But only if you let me have Ivy.”
“How do I know you’re not only saying this to get what you want?”
