"And it won't be long until I'm in their capable hands no doubt," Leigh said, scowling, "and what gave you the impression that I see things in black and white? Everyone does some damn distasteful things. The Order has done it, the LSF has certainly done it, there isn't a group left in Sirius that hasn't, but it doesn't change the fact that unless we put that aside to face a threat greater than the threat we pose to eachother, we will all die."
"Well, I told you that I'll be the one working with you for now. So you don't have to worry about our spa treatment... mostly. I don't like the old methods of acquiring information which involve physical pain. After all, we're not some barbarians," Norman takes some thing that resembles a pen out of his pocket, "although there are some people who prefer old-fashioned ways. Are you one of them by chance, Colonel?". The agent was examining the "black pen", paying no attention to Leigh. "It's not a surprise that you keep silence, the question was rhetorical anyway."
"And you seem to be quite pessimistic, Colonel, even though I tend to agree with you when it comes to evaluation the level of the threat. I believe people will be able to throw their differences aside, should the invasion you're talking about truly happens. Then the nomads would become a primary threat to Liberty, and LSF will stop them. It's either that, or the destruction of everything we know and love," he sighed, "I'm not offering you to step aside or not hinder us at least, because I already know the answer. I also know the answer to the question I'm about to ask, but I must ask you anyway: will you cooperate willingly?"
"You're asking if I torture people?" the Colonel asked increaduously, "God no I don't..."
He eyed the pen suspiciously.
"No doubt the prisoners you've recovered from the Order have told you that we have pretty good prison facilities. If they don't defect then they find themselves treated well enough."
"As for my 'cooperation', I think you're fooling yourself in asking that question," he went on, "you should know better than to think I'm going to give you anything that would compromise the safety of the Order."
"Oh, you just got the wrong idea, Colonel. I never expected you to cooperate. In fact, I'm not surprised that you reject it even without finding out what would be required of you. I'm not sure what that question really was... A necessary formality? Or perhaps it was merely an attempt to justify my further actions. And here I am, trying to justify them to myself."
Leigh noticed that the "mirror" started darkening.
"We're not barbarians," O'Connor mumbled, as if he was indeed faced with some hard choice, "at least we're not supposed to be." He was holding the pen as a handle of a pistol. And although the "pistol" wasn't pointing at the Colonel, Leigh could see that Norman is in doubt. "I am sorry, Colonel, but you leave me no other option," the agent said, pointing the imaginary pistol at Leigh in a blink. The last thing the Colonel could see was a flash of light...
Some time later...
He woke up and took a look around. For some reason, the room looked familiar, but he couldn't remember why. Now to stand up from the metal slab, which served him as a bed and examine the room thoroughly. "A dim light set into the ceiling, a table and a chair in the centre of the room. The faint hum of a power generator. The locked door. Obviously, a prison cell." But why does everything look so familiar? That's the question that Leigh had to ask himself several times. For several days he kept waking up trying to remember what had happened. Some awakenings brought new discoveries, like bruises, burns or leftovers of intensive pain, yet the Colonel had to discover them again every time he woke up in the room. In fact, he had to find out where he was every time he woke up...
A talk behind the mirror, several days after the first questioning
- So, can you give me an update on the progress you've made?
- We've been... 'working' with the Colonel for some time. Each and every questioning has been recorded, so you can familiarise yourself with the data whenever you see fit, Advisor.
- What methods of interrogation have you... wait, I don't want to know. That's why I stepped down from the position of... the interviewer. However, I'd like to talk to him again... eventually.
- You'll have that opportunity then.