“Okay.”
“The kid started pulling books from the shelf and just dropped them on the floor. Didn’t seem concerned at all. It was like he had been here before.”
“And?” Blaine seemed bored with the specific details, although it was clear he listened to them intently.
“At the time, we weren’t exactly sure what we had, but figured it would be best to make a move rather than wait and see.” I have to own this. Thomas cleared his throat. “It was me that made the decision to go and take control of the situation.”
“Control, huh?” Blaine pointed over his shoulder. “And what happened to the window there? The kid doesn’t appear to be cut.”
“Well…” Thomas calculated his response as quickly as he could. “I overestimated our advantage and missed what he had done with the lantern.” Nervously, he massaged his palm with the thumb of his opposite hand. “The kid almost got the best of us, but I manage— we took care of the situation.”
“You know that I’ll be speaking with the prisoner once I’m finished here, correct?”
Thomas paused. Through the lenses of Blaine’s glasses he saw an unimpressed gaze, but upon their surface, Thomas could see himself in the reflection—his own face showed worry. Blaine had caught the deceit in Thomas’s answer.
“These questions are simply for fact gathering.” Blaine expelled his breath. “This is nothing more than that. Do not turn this into something larger than what’s transpiring here.”
“I understand.” You’ve done nothing wrong to act this way. Yes, it’s embarrassing, but shit, man… Get it together before he really thinks you’re trying to hide something. Thomas diverted his attention from Blaine to the office. “It…” he tried to explain, but the laughter from inside the office was distracting—James with the others, currently the center of attention, chatting and laughing boisterously with the Soldier reinforcements from the Capital. A half circle wrapped around him while he acted out what appeared to be some sort of fight scene. No telling if it was a recent run-in or something from his past.
“It wasn’t what we were expecting.” Thomas said, finally able to gather his thoughts. “When we realized that he wasn’t there—that it was just the light—we retreated to the office. The kid threw a chair through it and came after us. The fight didn’t last long—”
“I would hope not,” Blaine retorted.
Thomas furrowed his brow, caught off guard by the remark. It was how he said it, as if to say “You’re a Second Alliance Guard. He’s a boy. It should never have been a fight.” He wasn’t completely wrong. But, for this man—this small and delicate person—to make a comment like that, to insult Thomas, when very clearly Blaine would’ve been completely overwhelmed and bested. Thomas and James had thwarted the attacker when the advantage he held was substantial. Blaine, on the hand, would be sprawled out across the floor on the other side of that broken window, his last breath taken several hours ago.
Despite Thomas showing disdain for Blaine’s comment, the interrogator continued unfazed, “Restrain yourself from sharing that you and James had issues with the kid. Lying is in poor taste, but being bested by a child is worse. Keep it close to the vest.” Blaine paused for a moment, finally realizing the death stare that Thomas had focused on him. “In addition to any interrogations required during this endeavor, I’ve also been instructed to mitigate any perceived weaknesses of yours—”
What the hell?
“—so, believe it or not, your well-being is part of my orders. Someone out there thinks very highly of you and has made it a point to ensure that this trial comes to a favorable conclusion. A conclusion that…” He looked to the ceiling while in thought. “Holds you in the most positive light.”
“And who’s that?” Thomas replied, doubting the notion.
“William Haverty. I’m sure you know him or at least of him. Currently, he’s been assigned to the transition of River’s Edge Academy. He speaks well of you for whatever reason,” Blaine said coldly with a hint of jealousy. “You’ll be presented with his terms should you not fail this trial.”
“I see.” No arguing with that.
“For now, I need you to focus on the trial and instill in James the importance of keeping with the narrative on what occurred…” Blaine ensured Thomas paid attention before continuing. “There was no struggle. You simply captured him.”
Thomas nodded. It wouldn’t be a problem. He knew James would more than likely do this on his own, his pride being a strong motivator, a close second to the promise of the analyst position. James would never admit that they had any trouble with the kid. Honestly, he could tell the truth and say he never struggled with the guy—that only Thomas’s life slipped toward death.
But if asked, James knew better than to try and play games. He wouldn’t have a choice otherwise, he too needed this promotion, and Thomas had the ultimate say in whether or not James would accompany him. A simple lie would be his stepping stone—a way to move from his unappreciated position and into one of increased responsibility and respect.
At this very moment, as James spoke with the others, he was probably telling the lie, affirming the struggle hadn’t occurred—that all was right with the world—that an intruder came and was taken—that Thomas and James, two invincible warriors, killed two crazed maniacs in the train yard—that the two of them were unstoppable, infallible, and nothing could stand in their way.
Thomas watched James, knowing of course that none of it was true. But, it didn’t matter as long as the lie was believable.
In his periphery, Thomas could see Blaine inching forward in his seat. He whispered, maybe out of habit or for effect as there was no one around, but his voice came out softly. “Do you trust him?”
“Completely,” Thomas lied, his eyes likely showing the truth. He could feel it swelling inside, bubbling toward the surface.
“And why’s that?” Blaine waited for an explanation as Thomas searched himself for an answer.
“He’s been doing a good job. We had our run in with the prisoner, and”—This is going to make us sound like idiots—“we were ambushed in the rail yard too. Ended up—”
“Again?” Blaine nearly choked on the word trying to get it out so swiftly.
“Sounds worse than it was. We’ve had our run-ins but we’ve always come out on top. We ended up killing a man and his wife.” He caught himself. “But they attacked us. Got the jump on James, but he reacted appropriately, and he made it out fine.” He glanced over through the window again—James still going at it, his lying seemed to come so easily to him. “It’s not going to be a problem.” Thomas faced Blaine once again. “He’ll be on board with whatever I tell him.”
“Just make certain of it,” Blaine ordered. “And the boy? Is there anything additional I should be made aware of?”
“There’s nothing more to say, neither of us talked to the guy. I watched him all night, and then James watched over him when I left for the meet up.”
Blaine nodded. “If that’s all…” He placed his notepad into his pocket, slid the chair from the table, and turned to leave, finishing his statement from over his shoulder. “…I guess I’ll get started. I’ll let you know if there’s anything relevant for you before you depart. Keep reading or whatever it is you wish.”
“But what about that girl?” The question stopped Blaine a few steps into his exit. “What information did she give you about the camp?”
“I wasn’t ready to delve into that.”
“I’d like to know now, so I can get a jump on my planning.”