“Where is Officer Bronsky?”
Scepter sat at his desk calmly. “Do you see him here?”
“Answer the question, Doctor.”
“I am,” came the annoyed reply. “Officers, I have answered
all your questions, and either you don’t like them or don’t believe them. But
you’ll get those answers over again just the same, however many times you ask.”
“We know he came here—“
“Yes,” Scepter replied. He was in contact with all their
minds, and saw the questions coming. And what answers to give. “And he was
here. But I have a lot of transcription to do. I got caught up in it when he
came in.”
“He’s your patient?”
“No. I told you,” Scepter said, now putting on a very good
show of being very annoyed. “He takes me home because I am congenitally blind.”
He took off his glasses, showing two solid white eyes. He sensed revulsion in
some of the officers. “My place is on his way back to his place.”
“But you sent him away?”
“I’m not helpless, thank you,” Scepter shot back. “I can
find my way to the bus station perfectly well. It’s just nice to have a friend
take me back home. I know I’m not going to be patronized, looked down upon, or
taken advantage of because I can’t see.”
Ouch.
“Fine. So he left. Where did he go?”
“To the Moon,” Scepter snapped. “How should I know?” He
crossed his arms. “You’ve broken into this building and into my office, and if
I am not mistaken, you are pointing guns at me right now. Am I under arrest?”
There was a pause. “Not yet.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Step away from your desk, Doctor.”
Scepter scowled for a moment, but rose and did as he was
asked. He heard, and sensed, a man take his seat. “What are you doing? I
haven’t saved my transcriptions! Stop that!” But he was ignored entirely. ROM,
please be as good as I think you are…
“There’s nothing here, sir. The most recent thing was a
Google search.”
“For?”
“The Lincoln Bedroom, sir.”
Oh, hell, Scepter thought.
“Can you explain that, Doctor?”
Scepter crossed his arms again. “No idea. Can you explain
why you just asked a BLIND man over an IMAGE search?” He hadn’t put his glasses
back on. But even with dead eyes, his indignity was obvious. “Officer, I cannot
even see you, much less anything in the Lincoln Bedroom. I have no idea why
that is there, but I don’t lock my door during the day. Anybody could have come
in and done a search. Even you could have.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning since I can’t see, I have no idea one way or the
other if you are trying to plant something.”
“We don’t do that, Doctor.”
“Of course you don’t,” Scepter muttered. “In case you don’t
know, I’ve worked with the SFPD several times over the years. I think that by
now I would have proven myself. If I have not, perhaps that is due to your
paranoia, and not my ability.”
He sensed a change of tactics. “We have reason to believe
that Officer Bronsky has broken the law.”
“Mr. Goody Two-Shoes?” Scepter asked, almost laughing.
“Please. I know that man. He doesn’t even jaywalk.” Which was actually true.
“Is he what this is all about?”
Silence. Verbally.
“Because if it is,” Scepter said, scanning their minds, “he
is not here. Not for some time. The sun was still up when he left.”
“And how do you know that.”
Scepter sighed. “It sets behind me. I could feel the heat on
my back when he left.”
Slick shrink. “Did he say where he was going?”
“Oh, for the love of…NO. I told you that,” Scepter replied.
“I’m going to ask again: What is this all about? What did he do?”
“We’re not at liberty to say.”
Bullshit, Scepter thought. Some of the men here were very
well trained. Their minds were very cool and disciplined…but not blocked from
him. At the same time, even a complete neophyte knows when another enters their
mind. He received each mind easily, but reading was more direct, more intrusive. In
the meantime, Scepter took a backseat and Dr. Manny Veracuz took over.
His questions and responses were purposefully indignant and
evasive. The more irritated the
SWAT boys got, the easier they were to read, bringing even the deepest thought
to the surface. After that happened, it was a simple matter of picking up the
thought. He was playing them, but only as long as he could get away with it. It
was clear that they had been ordered to retrieve him but did not know why.
Scepter focused on the captain. So who ordered you? Oh, man.
The police commissioner. Oh jeez.
