Heaven Bent by Robert T. Jeschonek

was wearing a huge grin, and much of the tension had left his frame.
    He even said this: "Get him off there, Curie. The bro says he's in the clear, he's in the clear."
    But just as he headed for the door, and Curie started unstrapping me, he said something else. "On second thought, maybe we'd better be sure . Don't you think?"
    "Absolutely, sir." Curie stopped unstrapping me and walked away. The next thing I heard was the sound of something rolling across the floor on squeaky wheels.
    "You understand, don't you, Stagger?" Byzantine popped back into my field of vision with a grin and a wave. "We can't take a chance you might be lying."
    I heard the rolling stop behind me...then the sound of switches being flipped and dials spun.
    "Just tell the truth, and you'll be fine," said Byzantine. "This'll be over before you know it." With that, he grabbed the neck of the hospital gown and tore it downward, exposing my chest.
    Then, he let go of the gown and walked away. Lillian lingered a moment longer, staring at me coldly, and then she left, too.
    Meanwhile, whatever had been rolled up behind me was emitting a high-pitched whine that grew steadily louder. I tried to crane my neck to see what was back there, but couldn't.
    Then, Curie walked around to where I could see her again, and I understood. In each hand, she held the metal clamp of a set of jumper cables--one red, one black--one positive, one negative.
    She bumped them together, and a spark crackled between them. "Let's talk, Mr. Lincoln. Tell me the truth about what happened to you last night."
    "Please, no!" I said. "I already told you!"
    "Wrong answer," said Curie, and then she touched the clamps to my chest, sending streams of electrical current coursing through me...

    *****
    Â 
    Chapter 7

    Again, Dr. Curie touched the clamps of the jumper cables to my chest, and searing electrical current poured through me. My entire body galvanized from the impact, stiffening like a metal rod on the exam table--make that torture table.
    Then, when Curie drew the clamps away with her black rubber-gloved hands, I slumped. I lay there, twitching, praying she wouldn't bring back the clamps for another round.
    How many times had she shocked me already? Seven? Ten? I'd lost count. Each time, she asked questions in the same even tone, as if this were just another routine medical procedure without human suffering.
    Seconds after the latest zap, she asked another question in the exact same tone. "Have you accepted an assignment from the Heaven Liberation Front?"
    "No!" Even as I said it, I surprised myself a little. There I was, on electroshock treatment eight or eleven or twenty, and I still wasn't giving her the true answer. I wasn't telling her, Why yes, I've agreed to try to kill the boss of Heaven, Byzantine, in cold blood.
    Thank you, Academy Award-winning acting chops .
    "Tell me the truth, Mr. Lincoln," said Curie, "and I'll finally stop your suffering. Persist in your denials, and things will only get worse for you."
    "Already told you...the truth." I knew she wouldn't buy it, she wasn't done yet, but I stuck with my story. I wasn't about to rat on my heroes E.P. and J.L., even if it somehow guaranteed my safety. Plus which, I was in the middle of the acting challenge of a lifetime. That was a great way to look at it, a way for someone like me to survive it.
    Even as she brought in the clamps for another hardcore blast to the chest.
    I stiffened yet again, teeth clamped tight like every other part of me. Every nerve roared with blazing pain, as if I'd just been set on fire. Just when I thought I couldn't take another second, she held the clamps to my chest another second.
    My mind went away for a little bit, then. It just switched off. When it switched back on, the clamps were gone, and Curie was waving a penlight in my eyes.
    "There you are." She nodded and flicked off the penlight. "You'll be happy to know we're done with the shocking now."
    I didn't respond. I'd seen enough torture