Infernal Affairs by Jes Battis

sudden coldness. The tug of anesthetic. Then the undulating swell of you, everything that was you, spreading out slowly in a blank pool. And once the pool dispersed, you were gone.
    Basuram was staring at me again. “Where do I know you from?”
    I tried not to look at it. “Maybe we went to school together.”
    I didn’t like the pressure of its eyes. But I couldn’t look away. I kept breathing, kept covering my defenses. There couldn’t be any weak spots. It sensed what I was working on, but didn’t push too hard. It was still playing with me.
    “Your odor makes me remember something.” Its eyes widened. “I recognize it now. You’re his daughter.”
    Selena looked at me sharply.
    I swallowed. “Whose daughter?”
    Basuram leaned back with a smile. “If you don’t know his name, I’m not going to be the one to tell you. But I can see the resemblance now. It’s undeniable.”
    “Tell me his name.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “Are you afraid of him?”
    “Yes.”
    I approached the table. “Tell me.”
    “Tess.” Selena gave me a warning look. “Let me handle this.”
    “I’d much prefer you let Tess handle it.” Basuram was smiling. “I can’t believe I’m looking at you in the flesh. His own daughter. And you weren’t even hard to find.”
    “How do you know him? What is he? One of the Ferid?”
    “What are you willing to give up for that information?”
    “Do not answer that.” Selena glared at me. “Tess, you need to leave.”
    “Not until he tells me—”
    Basuram moved so fast that its arm was a blur. One second it was standing still. Then its hand plunged through the curtain of force that separated them. The baryon field devoured its hand, stripping the flesh and muscle tissue. It kept reaching, until its hand was almost entirely skeletonized.
    I don’t know how Selena anticipated it, but she managed to move out of the way. Its ruined fingers closed over empty air. Snarling, it withdrew its hand. The flesh was already regenerating.
    Selena hit the intercom button on the far wall. “Reactivate it!” she yelled.
    I felt a subtle vibration in the air. Nothing changed, but Basuram’s eyes suddenly went blank. It stood absolutely still for a moment, hanging like an aimless puppet. Then its body slumped over the table. Its eyes remained open.
    “I’m sorry,” I said to Selena.
    “It was goading you. Just smoke and mirrors.”
    “All of it?”
    “Come on, Tess. I doubt it knows your father. Basuram was messing with you. It sensed that you’re mixed-blood, and it wanted to manipulate you.”
    “Are you sure? We thought Ru was telling the truth, and now he may be hiding a weapon on us.”
    “I don’t think either of them are telling the truth. And they’ll keep lying until it profits them not to. For now, all we can do is explore every possibility.”
    We exited the interrogation room. Selena sealed it behind us. The elevator doors opened just as we were reaching the end of the hallway, and a group of agents poured out, all carrying athames.
    “Don’t wake it up,” Selena said simply. “Call me once it’s been transported.”
    They nodded and filed past us.
    “What if something goes wrong?” I asked her.
    She stepped into the elevator with me. “Something already has gone wrong. We’ve got one demon that we won’t be able to hold for long, another who’s probably lying to us, and a security leak on top of it all.”
    The doors closed. I leaned against the paneled wall. “You want me to check up on Rashid tonight? It may be tricky if he’s still in custody.”
    “No. It can wait until tomorrow morning.”
    That was good. I had to meet with Mr. Corvid soon. I hadn’t seen Corvid since the demon had given me Hex two years ago. It promised to be an interesting conversation.
    “For now,” Selena said, “I need you to come look at Ru’s test results.”
    “Something weird?”
    “That doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
    “Can we get something to eat first?