Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

41 - Bad Answers

"You're going to pay for this, Toran!" she screamed, pulling against the restraints, wrenching her body from side to side and rattling the cradle violently. "When my father finds out what you've done he'll strip your fucking implants out of your bones while I watch!"

"I see you've had your usual effect," Piper muttered.

Toran gave her a look of feigned hurt, before turning towards Lenor, a smirk playing on his features.

"Keep talking, Karga," he said, his mocking tone shot through with an undercurrent of threat. "But nobody fucks with my family and gets away with it. You can blame your dear old daddy for putting you here not me."

"You're insane!" She surged against her bonds and Piper felt the girl's implants boiling. For a moment she thought Lenor might actually snap clean through the clamps, but Ferra stretched out her amplifier and twisted it in the air.

Lenor slammed back against the solid seat-back with a yowl.

"Ferra," Odiye growled. "Take it easy."

"Oh, grow up, Tambo."

"You're not going to get anything useful out of her if you snap her spine." He moved up and grabbed her wrist, shoving her amplifier down to face the floor. Ferra shook herself loose with a look of disgust, but she didn't press the matter any further.

"What exactly is she doing here?" Piper asked, sliding her own amplifier back into its holder. "And why did you have to do this?"

"She's daddy Karga's golden girl," Toran replied. "And since he's shut himself up behind his fucking lawyers, I'm going to either get information from her, or use her to loosen his tie a little bit – if you know what I mean."

"Toran, I told you already," Lenor gasped. "I don't know anything about the wraiths."

"Yeah, I got the same schooling in keeping my mouth shut." He shot her a withering look. "But I guarantee you, it's not going to be worth your trouble."

"Piper, are you sure you want to be a part of this?" Arrow asked quietly.

Her jaw tightened. She smoothed her hair back with one hand, keeping her eyes on Lenor's battered figure.

"Are you sure she knows something?" she asked Odiye.

He gave an awkward shrug. "I believe she does. I do not like this Piper, but it may be the quickest way to get the answers you seek. I've seen the pay logs that Toran pulled. They are ... interesting."

"I'm not a fucking accountant," Lenor spat.

"Oh, enough."

Toran suddenly spun around and took a single, decisive stride towards her, jamming his amplifier out in her direction and wrenching it hard, like he was twisting a knife inside a wound.

He might as well have been, given the blood curdling shriek that erupted from Lenor's throat at the motion. Her back arched and she writhed wildly against her bonds before slumping back limp, her chest heaving as she fought for breath.

"Karga is carving crypts out of our discretionary funds and making off-the-books, payments," Toran snapped. "He's got half the fucking instructors dancing on his payroll. Why is he so interested in the wraiths?"

"I don't know!"

Another wrench. Another scream.

"You're lying."

"He told me that he didn't trust your father to investigate the wraiths," she blurted, managing to ease her head up from the chair enough to look him in the eye. "Told me that you were the ones screwing around with blacktech."