“So youknowit’s bullshit and you’re going along with it anyway. Why? Where are your bollocks? I thought alphas were supposed to be strong and brave.”
“Alphasare.Don’t you think it’s brave and strong to take action when we find a traitor? Don’t you think it takes strength and courage to accept that criminals—whoever they are and however much we care for them—must face justice?”
“Yes, but surely that starts with finding therightperson who actually committed the crime, you dolly?”
Kavat shook his head. “I’m not having anything to do with this.”
“Fine. Go bugger yourself with a broken bottle, because I won’t rest until I know what really happened down there.”
“Actually, given that you’ve just had major thigh surgery, theonlything you will be doing for the foreseeable is resting. Nurse, don’t let this patient leave her bed.”
With that, Kavat left the medical bay.
The nurse stood up and came to my bedside. She was enormous. I’d never seen such a big woman, not even wrestlers or female bodybuilders. Her uniform barely contained her biceps. Her ID badge said she was called Falal.
“Why do some people have two names and others only have one?” I wondered.
“Depends which region they’re from. Or, more specifically, where their parents were from.” She gave me a wink. Was she trying to tell me something? “You must be very bored, since you’re not allowed to leave your bed. Let me go find something to keep you occupied.”
“Don’t trouble yourself. I can do without making papier mâché out of puke bowls, thanks.”
She left the medical bay. Was she giving me a chance to escape? I tried to get up but my head felt weird and my vision was obscured by black dots that got bigger, while a roaring sound deafened my ears.
The nurse returned holding a tablet. When she saw me perched on the edge of the bed she tutted and shook her head.
“Back in bed, young lady. Doctor’s orders. And here’s a film to watch. I think you’ll find it fascinating.”
I sighed. “I don’t want to watch a film. I want to find out how Urgoth has stitched up Ryon.”
“Press play. No arguments. And use the headphones. I don’t want to get a theme tune stuck in my head for the rest of the day.”
She pressed a pair of small spherical things into my hands. Wireless earphones? Having nothing else to do, I put them in my ears and picked up the tablet. Looked at the film she’d gotten ready to play. The preview was very grainy and had obviously been shot in bad lighting.
Not feeling hopeful this was going to be even slightly interesting, I hit play.
All I could see was the shadowy form of an alpha from behind. He held a tablet, and the man on the screen was visible to the camera. It was Oriel.
“Grand Vizier Oriel? We have a problem. The new beta who is working her way into Beta Liberation is a spy. Sent by U-branch.”
I recognized the voice but I couldn’t quite place it.
“I see. Let her come anyway. I have a job for her with a very high accident rate. And don’t use my name in communications.”
“Sorry, sir.”
The tablet’s screen went dark and the lighting levels in the image re-adjusted, brightening everything else in the picture although the colors still weren’t great.
The hand holding the tablet had a bandage on it. And this alpha had light-colored hair, not dark like Ryon’s. He walked out of the camera’s range and the video clip ended.
I played it again a couple more times. I was convinced this wasn’t Ryon. It was Urgoth.
I looked over to the nurse and saw she was busy working on something.
“How do I use this to prove Ryon’s innocence?” I asked her.
She looked over her shoulder and frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand, dear. It should have beenPeople Falling off Things IV.What would that have to do with Ryon?”
Okay. I could take a hint. This whole thing was so weird. Maybe she really hadn’t known what I’d just seen. But I doubted that. My best guess was some faceless bunch of people had decided Ryon was getting away with this. That happened a lot with drug dealers. It was rare for the top geezer to show his hand. It seemed the same here.