Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
It was a soft, staccato rhythm as the pen made contact with a tablet over and over again. The only other sound was the low thrumming of the ventilation fans and quiet breathing of the small group of Pilots seated at the stark table, all staring intently into the adjacent room through a large one-way mirror. Only a handful of them were privy to what was about to happen in that room. There was the Head of Candidate Affairs, Head of Covert Ops, the Pilot Imperial (via a report), the Candidate in question, and then there was him.
Alec was not really someone important enough to have this kind of clearance, but he was entrusted with the evaluation of each Candidate’s mental stability. He had worked with Candidate Thorne from the beginning. It was too late to hide the information from him. The Pilot Noble, mere counselor to the Candidates, was already aware of what this boy could do.
Someone coughed softly, then shifted in their chair, drawing Alec’s attention back to the window. A tall, broad young man in a Candidate uniform had been brought into the observation room. He looked right at them through the glass, even though they knew the boy couldn’t see them Alec thought more than one of them shifted uncomfortably in their seat. It was hard to blame them. What they were about to witness was sure to be unpleasant. Everyone knew what the Candidate could do, in theory, but they didn’t actually know what to really expect.
Alec stood and made his way into the room for the demonstration. Folding his hands neatly behind his back and giving a faint nod to Liam Thorne.
A side door opened within the observation room and two handcuffed men were dragged inside with black bags over their heads. The Pilots that brought the prisoners pulled the velvet sacks to reveal very terrified faces. He didn’t blame them either. They didn’t know what the Candidate could do, but there was no doubt they knew that this was the day they would die.
An intercom allowed the observers to hear what happened on the other side of the glass. The men that brought the prisoners were dismissed with a subtle hand gesture. He waited until they had gone before speaking.
“Candidate Thorne, you will demonstrate your unique psionic ability by executing one of these men.” One of the men, it really didn’t matter which. Alec handed Thorne a pistol. Both prisoners bowed their heads and began praying, their eyes squeezed shut. Thorne took the weapon and knelt down in front of the closest man.
“Look at me.” Came the smooth, almost soothing command. The man raised his eyes, locking them with Thorne’s for a second. Alec watched with morbid fascination as the condemned man’s eyes glazed over. The Candidate handed the prisoner the pistol with a smile. The man smiled back at his own executioner, completely oblivious to the fact that he was already dead. “It’s going to be alright.”
“Yes.” The response was faint as the man’s fingers shakily gripped the weapon, his smile split into a grin as he brought the gun up under his chin and pulled the trigger without hesitation, spraying the wall behind him with brains and blood. The second man broke down into hysterics, struggling against his bonds.
Alec glanced at the second prisoner and handed Thorne a second side-arm. “Kill that one yourself.”
The boy took the guy and a second shot rang out a second later, bits of the second man’s brains joining the first’s gory mess. Alec didn’t watch that, his eyes were trained on the Candidate’s face, an emotionless mask stared back at him.
“You didn’t ask why you were told to kill either of those men.” Alec observed casually. Of course he expected the answer.
“You gave me an order. I needed no other reason to kill them. Was there anything else you required of me?” What a good little solider. Terrifying. But good.
“I just had a question. How do you sleep at night?” It wasn’t a judgmental question, Alec simply wanted to evaluate the young man’s mental state insofar as it affected his sleeping patterns.
“Soundly, Sir. May I be dismissed?” Remorseless.
“Yes, that’s all for now, Candidate.” Alec waited until Thorne had left before shivering faintly and turning to stare at the observation window, wishing that he could see the faces behind it.
