“No. He did, however, inform me that you are a compulsive liar and manipulator who uses your undeniable sexual allure to get your own way.”
“Ah. Right. Of course he did.” Alex gave a tight smile.
“We took note of what he said, but C and I prefer to make our own assessments. It didn’t take long before we came to suspect that Mr Tyler might not have been entirely honest with us.” A flash in Gideon’s eyes betrayed a certain contempt. “After spending time with you myself and hearing your story, I formed the opinion thatyouwere not the liar. In fact, it might have been easier for you if you were more accomplished in the arts of deception, but you are actually rather naïve in many ways. A result of your sheltered upbringing, I’d suggest.”
“You’re probably right.”
“One thing I would like to make clear. I would never have asked you to give sexual favours to F.” Gideon’s lip curled in distaste. “I was merely intrigued as to whether you would offer such a thing in exchange for an easier time – as Tyler had suggested you would. I was very surprised to find you would do for a friend what you would not do for yourself. That was quite a turning point for me. I found it a very noble gesture. I’m certain it wasn’t pleasant.”
“It wasn’t, but it’s nothing I haven’t done before,” Alex said wearily.
“I’m sure. I’ve met many unusual indies over the years, and some houders who’ve made extremely strange requests, but you are by far the most interesting of my students. It’s been a pleasure getting to know and understand you, Alex.”
“The pleasure is all yours,” Alex retorted. “I’m just surprised Tyler didn’t specify precisely what he wanted when he handed me over to you.”
Gideon gave a little laugh. “Prostitution and blackmail are illegal. Tyler knew I wouldn’t compromise his position, given his friendship with Miss Madeleine, but he could hardly openly ask me to clap you in irons and beat you until you gave in. Nor would I have agreed.” His lip curled in distaste. “We could already see you’d been badly abused when you arrived. If that kind of treatment worked, then he’d already have what he wanted from you. It clearly doesn’t. There really isn’t an indie training facility in the country that would agree to turn a recalcitrant IS into a willing sex slave. However, I can see why you were so confused when you first arrived. No wonder this wasn’t what you’d expected.”
“I was puzzled about that for a long time, but what you say makes sense. So, you were watching me the whole time?” Alex glanced at the monitors.
“Of course,” Gideon replied. “We always keep an eye on our indies, even on the regular courses, but when we do a bespoke training assignment, it’s imperative that we understand what we’re dealing with. Most difficult indies merely need to be understood. Only then can they be helped to accept their situation and adapt to it. In my experience, they won’t speak honestly to anyone who isn’t an indie. That’s why we go to such lengths to ensure we fully know their personalities and stories. I also believe that’s why we have such a good reputation. It looks like a miracle when we return a difficult but expensive indie to their houder fully trained and willing to embrace their situation in life, but it’s our painstaking attention to detail that sets us apart from our rivals. There hasn’t been a single IS we haven’t managed to turn around and set on the right path.”
“Except me,” Alex pointed out.
Gideon laughed. “Oh, my dear boy,youare my greatest success. Look at how you were when you first arrived compared to now. We even managed to teach you how to cook.”
Alex had to give a grudging smile at that. Then he fell silent, stirring his tea absently. “So, you know all my secrets – what now?” he asked eventually. “Where does that leave us?”
“I don’t knowallyour secrets,” Gideon said softly. “In fact, you are what I would call a type-three personality.”
“What the hell is that?”
“Well, most people are type-ones. They’ll give a certain amount away and keep a certain amount back: usually the things they are most ashamed of or traumatised by. However, in time, with coaxing and the right amount of pressure, they’ll tell you even their darkest secret. The type-twos, on the other hand, are a little rarer. They hide all their secrets, refusing to give away any part of themselves. They protect their core self. But once you’ve breached their armour and gained their trust, they’ll tell you everything.”
“And the type-threes?”
“Rarer still. At first, they seem like the type-ones. They give themselves away very easily. They offer their stories, their friendship, and their sexual favours, seemingly without any qualms at all.”
Alex flushed at that, remembering the clumsy advance he’d once made towards Two.
Gideon leaned forward. “I’ve found that those people – superficially so easy to understand and manipulate – are the ones who will never, ever tell you their most important secret – the one thing, at their very core, that they would die to protect. You can never truly know and understand them. Because there’s that one thing you can’t factor into your calculations about how they will behave.”
“And you think that’s me?” Alex snorted. “I think I’m an open book. I’ve told you everything.”
“No, you have not.” Gideon looked him squarely in the eye. “There is a black hole at your centre, Alex. C and I have discussed it at length. Oh, I don’t expect you to tell me now. I doubt you ever will. Yet it’s there, eating away at you – your secret, the one that’s key to your whole being, the one that you will never share.”
Alex stared at him. “There is no secret,” he said firmly.
Gideon smiled and poured himself a fresh cup of tea. “Yes, there is,” he said gently. “It’s okay. I understand. We all have parts of ourselves we’d prefer not to share. Yet very few of us would die to protect them. You would. You’re a type-three – of course you would.”
Alex fell silent again. This was not a conversation he felt confident having. Gideon, it seemed, really was a master of his art, dark though that art was.
“Now, perhaps, you will ask the question you most want answered,” Gideon said, gazing at him keenly.
“Fine.” Alex was relieved to change the subject. “Where do we go from here? You know about Solange – you know what Tyler did to her. What will you do with that knowledge?”
“Do? I willdonothing.” Gideon shrugged. “Like I said, everything that happens here stays here. If you’re expecting me to call the police, or an investigation agency, or even get in touch with the lovely Josiah Raine, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
“She was murdered,” Alex said helplessly.
