Psion Gamma (48 page)

“I don’t care if they execute me. I’ve been dead for a long time. Might as well make it official.”

“Are you going to—?”

“Did Sammy make it out alive?” Wrobel interjected briskly. He observed Commander Byron’s face and eyes for a long moment. Then shook his head and laughed like Sammy’s survival was the greatest joke ever told. “That lucky little kid! I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe it!”

Byron didn’t know what to think. Victor truly seemed mentally unbalanced. “Will you please let me ask you some questions?”

“Absolutely. Go ahead.”

Byron ignored the sarcasm in Victor’s voice and pushed ahead.

“Why was the attack on Artemis called off?”

“How’s Al doing?” Wrobel asked in response. “Does he harbor any animosity toward you?”

Byron calmly gazed back into Victor’s green eyes, which held nothing but hate, despite the quick laughter he displayed.

Wrobel leaned forward. “You didn’t tell him, did you?” He bounced his knee up and down as if it were some hilarious joke. “You’re a cod, you know that? A sneaky, yellow-bellied cod.”

“How did you get access to the Beta building after I terminated your codes from the system?”

“How could you choose your son?” Wrobel asked. “You could have made everything so much easier—I bet everything on you choosing Samuel. It never ever
ever
crossed my mind you’d pick your own kid. You really are a heartless prick. You know that, don’t you?”

“Victor,” a touch of impatience crept into Byron’s tone, “you know what General Wu will do to get the information out of you. Why not talk? Give me some names of people you have had contact with.”

But Wrobel seemed to have shut down, staring straight at the floor.

“Please. You have done so much good for us—”

“Go to hell, Walt!” Wrobel screamed violently, much like he had at Baikonur. Then he immediately calmed himself. “I made up my mind long ago. This is my path, and I got caught . . . so be it. I’m not giving you anything.”

“You know they will get it out of you eventually.”

“Let them try.”

“Why do they want Samuel dead so badly?”

Victor said nothing.

“Is there something else about him I should know?”

Still nothing.

“Why did you bring Katie Carpenter into this?”

Victor sat as still as a corpse. Commander Byron brought his hand down on the table hard. The former commander jumped slightly.

“Please! I am sorry about Claire. And Emily. And Blake. I wish I could redo every decision that has led to deaths of Psions. You know I regret them, Victor. We were friends for years. Cooperate with me and undo some of this mess.”

Wrobel turned his head slowly until his eyes rested on Byron. The deadness in them chilled the air in Byron’s lungs. He saw nothing of his old friend left in his hollow pupils. Burying his hate for so long had taken Victor Wrobel to depths of insanity that Byron couldn’t fathom. And he knew for certain that General Wu could not break Victor. He would try. Wu had to try. But this man would never break.

“You’ve got much bigger things to worry about now. So much more than before.” He wore a smile that stretched from ear to ear, but his eyes were as void of life as ever. “You have no idea, Walter—how deep it all goes. You don’t have a clue. And I sincerely pray that when you finally figure it out . . . it will be too late.”

THE END

Thank you for reading
Psion Gamma
! I hope you appreciated a less-cliffhanger-ish ending. As you probably guessed, Sammy’s adventures are not over.
Psion Gamma
will be followed by
Psion Delta
,
Psion Alpha
, and
Psion Omega
. My plan is to release one book a year over the next three years. I hope for your continued support and enthusiasm; it makes the writing and editing process more enjoyable to know that my Fellow Bookworms are excited to read more about our mutual friends.

The best way to continue to support the
Psion
series is to leave helpful Amazon and Barnes and Noble reviews, share your enthusiasm through social networking, and tell your friends and family about your favorite books. Word of mouth is the most powerful advertisement out there.

Another project currently in the works is an epic adventure series:
A Tale of Love and Adventure
. The first volume is already written,
The Flight from Blithmore
. It is not a science fiction novel, but an adventure story set in a pre-Victorian era in a fictional land called Blithmore.

As always, for more information on me, my writings, and for updates on my work, follow me on twitter @psionbeta or, even better, join the Psion Beta Facebook Fan Club.

Long live Sammy!

--Jacob Gowans

www
.psionbeta.com