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.They held him captive in that dark room andmade him repair the damage they did to us.Every time he tried to escape, tried to stop, theywould hurt him.I saw it myself.They shocked him with a cattle prod, and I swear his headhit the floor so hard I thought I could hear it crack.It always shorted out his implants, andhe d spasm with aftershocks.The pain must have been unbearable. Kera frowned at the memory. He didn t talk, either.At first I thought it was becausehe was shy or angry.But then I realized he wasn t allowed to speak to the prisoners and wasbeaten every time he did. And with all that, he still managed to smile every time I was wheeled in.He wouldsmile at me, and stroke my hair and give me painkillers.The other prisoners, they all hadsimilar stories about T.Here is this man, indentured for the next hundred years to pay off his 140 Astrid Amarainsurance debt, and he still is able to smile at us and make us feel better, for the fewmoments we were with him. Kera wiped her eye with the back of her hand, and looked at Levi. Once they came inwhile I was still barely conscious.They kept asking me about my husband.I could hardlystand, and yet they wanted to interrogate me again.Tiergan tried to protect me.He foughtthem. And? Levi asked hoarsely.He remembered the scene from the implanted chip.It hadbeen the only sign of humanity in the man who had worn the implant.Kera closed her eyes. They beat him down and& well, none of us had medicalattention for a while. She grimaced at the memory. After that, I guess he decided he d hadenough.Tiergan slit his own throat. Oh God. Levi felt like throwing up.He was such a fucking idiot.He rememberedwondering about that scar. How did he survive? Levi asked softly. He didn t, Kera said flatly. He died.But they just brought him back to life.Again. How did he escape? Levi looked down at his hands.They were shaking. I don t know.After I was released I came to Ishan and a couple of years later I foundhim in Washoe.He was a broken man, starving and recovering from his self-inflictedwounds, afraid of going to any hospital, because Trust Insurance would find him and forcehim back into slavery. Kera opened her eye and smiled. I told him that I remembered he always gave mecourage.He made me believe there were still good people in the world.And I told him thatit was time someone gave him a smile, and stroked his head.I took him to my mother-in-law s house and we helped him recuperate.Once he saw the poverty of Washoe, he gatheredequipment and donations from other doctors around Ishan.He started the clinic, I think, as away to rectify the mistakes he made on Tarus 9. A Policy of Lies 141 What mistakes? Levi asked.Regret made his throat tight.Why had he neverconsidered the possibility of Tiergan working for Surayo Corporation against his will? Theyforced him, didn t they? Kera nodded. Yes, you and I see that.But he still feels responsible.He blames himselffor not fighting harder.For doing his job so well that they could go on torturing usindefinitely. Kera rubbed her leg constantly now, perspiration breaking out along her forehead fromthe pain. The clinic was the only thing that made T happy. Kera leaned back in the bed,eyes scrunched closed.Her voice had gone wispy. Well, the clinic and birds.Until he metyou. Levi found it hard to speak. I feel awful.The things I said to him& Kera had her eyes scrunched closed.He watched her slide into sleep and then left her,closing his bedroom door behind him.He sat down on the living room couch, staring at thewall screen in front of him.At once, he understood what his father must have felt, all those years ago, afterdivulging the names of his friends.Levi had betrayed Tiergan.He hadn t trusted his owninstincts, hadn t seen beyond his own obsessive lust for revenge.He hadn t consideredTiergan s side of the issue, and now Tiergan was injured, hunted, and exposed to TrustInsurance.Levi hunched over, head in his hands.He probably would have stayed that wayindefinitely if it weren t for the sudden, obnoxious beeping of his operator.The noise rattledhim, and he switched on the visual connection angrily. What? he shouted. Levi! Rowan s face appeared on the screen, his concern plainly visible. For God ssake! What s happened down there? Are you all right? I just saw footage on the Tova Heraldheadlines! What the hell is going on? Where is our camera crew? 142 Astrid AmaraLevi steadied his voice. The clinic exploded. I can fucking see that! Rowan barked. It s all over our competitor s netcast! What thehell happened? Rowan, the camera crew never showed.The building was bombed, out of nowhere. Rowan s eyebrows scrunched together. Are you all right? What about Tiergan? Did hesurvive? Did anyone else get hurt? I have a few scratches, but I m fine.A lot of people were severely injured, though. Levi was about to tell him that Tiergan survived, but he remembered the look of devastationon Tiergan s face when he found out his identity had been betrayed.He had a chance now tomake things right, to make Tiergan disappear. I don t think anyone inside survived, Levi said finally. It was chaos down there. Rowan looked ready to punch someone. What are the odds that a breaking news storywould occur at the very location that my crew is supposed to be, and they miss it? Ourratings are in the shitter! He buried his face in his hands.Levi realized his anger wasn t at him.Ratings were all Rowan cared about.The front door opened behind Levi.He turned to watch Tiergan enter, carrying aplastic bag of supplies in his good hand
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