Chapter Ten
"Wow. You found a Gundam? One of the ones from the battle?"
The doctor rose to her feet and looked down at me, frowning in her attempt to press her point. "Your Gundam."
"My…? Look, I told you, I'm no Gundam pilot." I ran one of my hands behind my ear nervously, pulling a few strands of auburn hair with it. "Would I be here if I were flying a Gundam? Those guys never get shot down."
"But one did. And I think you were piloting it."
"What are you? A doctor or an interrogation officer?"
She folded her arms over her chest as she took her seat. The look in her eyes was far-away, almost as though she were reliving some moment of her past. "I'm actually trained at both."
"Damnit!" I carefully checked my temper. I was still wary, but this woman wasn't acting as though there was anything untoward going on. In fact, she was acting more like a worried mother.
"Look, we have a Gundam in our possession. Tell me, right here and now if you're the pilot, or we're going to have to consider our next course of action without your help."
They had Honiara. That was when it finally began to sink in for me. And I was either going to come clean or some forsaken, god-knows-who, heehaw was going to get his grubby paws on her.
Not happening.
But still… I couldn't give anything away. Especially not this early on in the game. I'd never live it down, to those around me or myself.
"Honiara… help me," I whispered.
"Honiara?" The doctor inquired, with a new curiosity.
My expression hardened as I looked towards her again. "I'm not in a position to reveal anything about myself. Surely you understand that?"
"Well, Liushu, I suppose I do. But that doesn't leave us with much to go on…"
"I want the suit back," I snapped, cutting her off.
"But if you won't admit to being the pilot…"
"Wasn't it painfully obvious before you started asking me questions? What do I have to admit that you don't already know?"
"So you're a Gundam pilot?"
I sucked in a deep breath. I let it out again slowly. "Yes. I am."
