Chapter 29

Jack was already seated on the couch, so Irina sat down next to him, facing him at an angle. He looked nervous; she waited for him to speak. "Laura," he said after a moment, "have I ever told you about something called Twilight?"

Irina was surprised. She'd expected something a little more personal. "You mentioned it a year or so ago," she replied. "It was supposed to be some kind of new truth serum." She hesitated, then added, "It's one of the things that the KGB wants me to find out about."

Jack frowned, but took the last comment in stride. "I'll mention that to Dawson. I don't suppose there would be much harm in telling them, because it's completely useless as an interrogation technique." She waited, confused. He took a deep breath. "The drug is a mixture of a sedative and a mild hallucinogen. If the subject is relaxed when it's administered, it can induce a deep hypnotic state. As far as we can tell, someone can only tell the truth when they're in that state."

She suddenly understood. "And you want to use it on me."

"Dawson wants me to use it on you," Jack corrected. "I don't think it's a good idea. Some of the side effects can be rather.unpleasant."

"Such as?"

"Well, a lot of people can't stay relaxed enough for the drug to work properly. If someone gets agitated, then the drug can cause hallucinations. That's why it doesn't work for interrogation-the subject has to be willing to relax. And even if it does work, a lot of people have general side effects from the drug. Headaches, nausea, drowsiness, that sort of thing. It's a fairly short-lived drug, so the side effects usually only last about an hour."

Jack seemed awfully reluctant to use the drug, Irina thought. "Have you tried it?"

"Once. I couldn't relax enough to get into the trance. Luckily I didn't have hallucinations, but I did have the worst headache of my life afterwards." He paused. "It was.very unpleasant. It's up to you. I mean, you don't have to do it."

"I'll do it," she said firmly.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "The worst-case scenario is that I'll be miserable for an hour, right? Best-case scenario is that it will work and you'll actually believe me when I say I intend to cooperate fully with the CIA. Seems like a good deal to me."

Jack studied her for a moment. "Well, if you're sure, we should go upstairs. You'll need to be in bed."

She nodded, and they stood and headed upstairs.