Page 69

Stella

Hyperion Black Site

Outside Roanoke, Virginia

C onsciousness returned slowly. Stella lay on a bed, willing the fog to clear. No, not a bed, she was strapped to a medical chair. An IV pole stood behind her, and a clear liquid dripped through the plastic tube and entered the cannula in her hand.

Whatever was in that IV—no doubt, a truth agent of some kind—was clouding her brain.

Stella employed her training techniques to combat the effects as best she could.

The room spun as she tried to gather some intel.

She was on the first floor of what appeared to be a cabin.

The shade was pulled, and the curtains were drawn, but she could see daylight and trees through a small gap at the bottom of the one window.

Stella knew The Priest had brought her to a black sight deep in the woods.

Judging by the warmer weather, they were significantly farther south.

Her thoughts drifted to Ren. He had served his country and put his life at risk every day in the SEALs and his job at Bishop Security.

Stella had managed to get him killed in less than a month.

If that was the fate of someone she loved, the message was loud and clear: Stella was meant to be alone.

She would kill Theo and The Priest, and Stella Keen would disappear forever.

She scanned the room, unsurprised by what she saw when her eyes focused.

It was a standard black site interrogation room.

Surveillance cameras were evenly spaced around the ceiling.

The lone door was reinforced and had an electronic lock.

The walls and ceiling were soundproofed.

Stella had been in rooms like this many times—just never in the hot seat.

There was one thing she knew about these medical chairs: they weren’t designed for small women.

The beeping of the lock alerted her to an arrival. Stella lay still and stared off into space as a kind-looking man in a white coat pushed a surgical tray. He had a fringe of hair around his bald head and wore tiny round glasses.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. Stella, dear, can you hear me? I’m Doctor Moon.”

When she didn’t reply, he said, “Phase One is complete.”

Stella couldn’t resist asking, “Phase One?”

“It’s the latest breakthrough in interrogation treatments.

Two drugs that work in concert to override deception.

It’s completely impossible to resist.” The man spoke as he removed the empty IV bag and replaced it with a new one.

“The only downside is that it takes time. You’ve been in that chair for twelve hours.

Fortunately, Phase Two only takes about half that long. ”

“Where’s Theo?”

The man removed his glasses and stared at Stella. “You are remarkable. Most of my test subjects were incapable of coherent thought at this point in the procedure.”

“Where’s Theo?” she repeated.

“Mr. Stritch will arrive shortly. Phase Two can be a bit disconcerting. It turns out that rerouting brain chemicals can be painful. Mr. Stritch preferred to skip that part and arrive when you were ready for questioning.”

“And The Priest?”

“His work is complete. There is an intimidating guard at each door, but they have strict instructions not to enter the house.” The doctor ran a finger from the hollow of Stella’s neck to her breastbone. “We have a few hours to ourselves.”