I would still be locked in a featureless room, watching people who refused to give me their names as they came and went around me. No weapons, no way of initiating communication with the outside world, no way out.

“Sleep well, Miss Miller?” purred the nameless agent. There was a bright, smug note in her tone, like she already knew what my answer would be.

Then again, maybe she did. The green patch on my arm was an announcement of its own kind. I tried to pull my arm against my body, instinctively shielding it from her, and stopped as the scientist who had been trying to take my blood pressure jerked my elbow back into position. It hurt. I bit the inside of my cheek, and did my best not to let it show.

“There was a glitch in the wireless field surrounding the complex last night,” said the agent. “It was nothing serious—we were never concerned about losing physical containment—but for a short period, we were unable to maintain a closed circuit.”

“I don’t understand what you think this has to do with me,” I said. “I was asleep. It’s not like there’s anything else for me to do in here.”

“Of course.” She gave the green patch on my arm another meaningful look. “Did you have pleasant dreams?”

“Oh, sure. I dreamt you’d known about us for long enough to build an entire facility just to keep us in, one where we couldn’t possibly learn anything we’d be able to use against you—not that we’d be looking, since I’m pretty sure few, if any, of us are trained spies—but you could learn about us at your leisure. I dreamt you know how to keep us from communicating with one another.” I looked at her levelly, fighting the urge to yank my arm away again. “This needs to end.”

“If you wanted this to end, you shouldn’t have invaded our planet.” The levity drained from her face. “Thus far, we’ve been more than pleasant to you. We’ve practically turned your incarceration into a vacation getaway.”

“Most vacations don’t require me to give this much blood,” I snapped.

“They might, if they knew what you were.” She took another step forward, looking around at my swarm of scientists. “Give us the room.”

They stopped, some looking shocked, while others simply looked resigned. None of them argued with her. They just gathered their equipment and left the room, pouring out around us, until it was only the two of us left, me and the agent without a name. She folded her hands behind her back, looking down her nose at me. I crossed my arms, hiding the green patch from her view. I felt better knowing that she couldn’t see it. Even if nothing could make her forget that it was there, she couldn’t see it.