“This is torture,” hissed Jack.
“Billions of lives are at stake,” said the colonel, although his body language indicated that he was as disturbed with Falko’s methods as Jack was.
Jack’s fingers wound into fists. His knuckles turned white. On the other side of the observation room’s thick windowpane, Falko stuck his face in Alexandra’s and shouted another question. She offered another trite answer. Falko stepped back and raised his hand. The electrical current ran up the chair and through Alexandra’s body. Her back arched and her fingernails dug into the chair’s arms. When it stopped, she went limp.
Jack turned away. “That doesn’t make it right.”
Taylor’s eyes dropped to the ground, but only for a moment. “Call Hector.”
Jack moved to the corner of the room and was about to try contacting the missing timeslinger again when his datapad buzzed. “Hector?”
“Jack! I need your help.”
“What happened? Where are you?”
“My teleportation drive broke. Is Alexandra all right?”
Jack grimaced. “She’s here.”
“Good. We’re running out of time. I’m headed for the assembly center. I need your help getting inside.”
Taylor strode across the room and grabbed Jack’s upper arm. “Get him back here!”
Jack pulled away from the colonel’s grasp. “Hector, you can’t do that. I–”
“Listen, I don’t know what they’re up to, but it can’t be a full-scale assault. They’re working from the inside somehow. We need to get into that facility. Can you meet me there?”
“I don’t—I don’t know.”
“It’s our only chance. With the information that Alexandra has, and with what I’ve seen, we might be able to stop them. It’s my one shot at fixing this mess.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jack said.
He hung up.
“Well?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.
“His teleportation drive is busted. He’s headed for the assembly center. Wants me to meet him there.”
Falko burst through the observation room door. Anger coursed through his features. “I’m not getting anywhere. I need to increase the pressure.”
“Hector is headed for the assembly center,” said Taylor.
“Have him arrested when he gets there,” said Falko. “and somebody get me a gun.”
