Chapter 5
Down in the depths of the Dollhouse, Topher continued to question Victor. "And so Miss Farrell murdered your girlfriend?"
"I thought you called her Echo," Victor growled, his voice deepening the way Fang's did when he got angry.
"Well, yeah. Echo Farrell. And she's a murderous, killing...killer." Topher stood up from his chair. "Cream soda?"
Victor sneered. "No. Thank you."
"Suit yourself," said Topher. He crossed the room and stuck his head out the door. "Ivy? I need a cream soda, on the double! Chop chop!" He returned to the chair on which he was sitting before. "Well now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Victor's eyes darkened. "Where's Patrick Jane? I need to talk to him."
"Well, first you need a treatment, and then you'll be given back to Jeb Batchelder," said Topher. "He's been waiting for you."
"Don't lie to me, you Dollhouse bastard!" yelled Victor. "Treatment, my ass! I know what you guys do here! Where's your boss? Where the fuck are they?! They're gonna pay for what they did to Max! You're gonna rot in hell, you assholes!" At this point, he lunged at Topher, who luckily managed to dodge out of the way just in time and open the door, allowing the enraged Fang-brained Victor to run into the hall, nearly bowling over Ivy as she returned with the can of cream soda requested by Topher.
Adelle joined Topher as he watched the guards intercept Victor and stick him with a tranquilizer. "Oh dear, what a violent personality," she commented sardonically. "Did he say anything?"
"Echo completed her last mission successfully," Topher reported dutifully. He decided to keep the news that Fang had known about the Dollhouse a secret, for now. No need to worry the queen over nothing.
"I think we have exactly what we need, then," Adelle said, rubbing a ruby-studded gold bracelet on her wrist. "Make more copies of...Fang's personality. God, what a name. Where do they come up with them?"
Topher shrugged. "I think they came up with them on their own. At least, that's what Batchelder said."
"Batchelder," Adelle spat. "He's only in this for his own ends. Once he has what he wants, he'll betray us just like he did with Itex. He's a user, and he'll just find some other company to screw over when this is all done."
"Ever the pessimist, aren't ye?" Topher laughed. "Cheer up, Ms. DeWitt. With that many Fangs in hand, Batchelder won't be able to throw us under the proverbial bus that easy. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta run through the wake-up process with a deactivated Doll."