The soft expression masking her face dissolves. “You abducted me. Chained me to a fucking gurney”—she snaps her wrists against the restraints—“and you’re actually using the word please? Like this is some social experiment for your fucking lab geeks and I’m a willing participant? Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“I will be civil with you,” I say, my tone level. “I only require you to be the same.”

Her features harden. “I’m going to tear your face off.”

There she is, the monster beneath the facade. “I’m sure you would,” I say, as I walk toward the curtain. “But you won’t be given the chance.”

And to think, just hours earlier I was doubting myself. Questioning my commitment to the project, my choice in selecting Blakely. That one moment between us at my apartment, right before we left, I was on the verge of abandoning it all.

There had been opportunities prior to that where I could have subdued her. We didn’t need to go through the whole farce of the Ericson revenge job. But I had doubts, I had reservations, and I wasn’t sure until that final moment that she was the right choice.

“You know,” I say, as I collect the syringe and glass vial of general anesthetic from the metal tray, “there was a second where I was second-guessing my decision about you. A moment of hesitancy, a bout of conscience, if you will.”

“So what changed your mind? My charming personality?”

A flat smile lines my face. “No matter how focused one is on their goal, the human condition dictates that we should wrestle with the choice to cause another human being harm.” I draw closer to her, so that we’re staring into each other’s eyes. “And then you admitted that you didn’t care what happen to the hooker, that she was collateral damage. Expendable was the word you used.”

I use the needle tip to touch the tender part of her hand, and she jerks away. “In that moment, I knew I didn’t have a choice,” I continue, meeting her eyes again. “You are the perfect subject.”

“Everyone has a choice,” she says, jaw set tight.

“That may be so, but you also had a choice to protect her.” I insert the needle into the vial and fill the syringe. “Instead, true to your nature, you found her expendable. A means to your end. Her life was of no consequence.”

“And yet, did you stick around to help Maybelline, Alex?”

My shoulders tense. “I never entered the penthouse. I used a recorded track from the MMA fight. I removed the background noise and played it for you while you waited to be lured to the park.”

Her lips twist into a smirk. “That’s not what I asked.”