They were back in the interrogation room.

The light was stabbing in Burke's eyes, giving him the worst headache since he had crashed on this fucked-up version of his home planet many moons ago. Damn monkeys hadn't let him sleep ever since Vanda had dismissed him, pounding him with unholy noise - gongs, whistles, rattles, and what sounded as if someone was throttling a herd of geese.

Probably their version of 'Born in the USA'.

Burke suspected that they had positioned the big band at the other side of the ventilation shafts of his cell, but it had been pitch black in there, so it was just an educated guess. After a while, the sound had seemed to crawl into his brain through the very bones of his body, even though he had pushed his fingers deep into his ears; his teeth were vibrating with the rhythm of the rattles and drums that were marching up and down the corridor. Or maybe they had been clattering from the cold.

This time, Vanda didn't allow him to sit - she pretended to be engrossed in her files, rifling through the pages as if she was looking for something. She put up a good show, Burke granted her that.

An aspirin would be nice.

"So, Burke, how about filling out that form with me today?" Vanda asked without looking up. Burke just sighed and scratched his brow.

What do you do when you get captured by the enemy? Try to escape? Wait for the cavalry to show up and get you out, hopefully without killing you in the process? Hold out until whatever information you have stored in your brain has gotten past its due date so it's worthless to your captors?

Whatever you do, there's a simple rule to follow in the meantime: don't tell the bastards anything but the bare essentials.

"Burke, Peter J..."

"Ya ya ya," Vanda said impatiently, flapping her hand. She was still pretending to be busy with her folder. "I know, I know. Major, service number D 39046375, born November 29th, 2042..." She shot him a quick glance.

Burke blinked.

"Ah." Vanda smiled at his surprise. "Do you think I didn't do my homework, Major Burke? Did you think I'm a dumb monkey?"

Am I talking in my sleep?

He hoped he had managed to keep his face blank this time, but damn, it was a one-two punch to first hear your birthday - your effing year of birth! - and then your favorite term of endearment for the damn m... the apes in the span of ten seconds. That chimp knew how to get her blows in.

"I know just about everything about you that there is to know." Vanda didn't give him time to regroup. "Parents both deceased, you have no wife, no children... presumably..." She raised her brows at the last word, "you indulge in dangerous activities that you call..." she consulted the topmost file in her folder, "'hobbies', and you are quite promiscuous, even for a human."

"What can I say? The ladies love me," Burke quipped weakly. Where the hell had she gotten all that information on him? He tried to remember what he had told Zana back in the institute. He had amused himself with running verbal circles around her, but perhaps it had been her who had tricked him ...

"Oh, so you agree with my entries for your admission form so far? - I'll take that as a yes," Vanda said when he didn't answer, and scribbled something in the margins of her file.

Better get your shit together, Major.

"Well, let's see," Vanda said busily, "before you became an astronaut," she only hesitated slightly over the word, "you were a member of the Aehr Foss..."

"Air Force," Burke muttered.

"Why thank you, Pete," Vanda smiled at him, and Burke bit his tongue.

He was tired now. He'd be exhausted tomorrow, and delirious some time after that, and if he couldn't even manage to keep his tongue in check now...

"Oh, come on, sit down! I don't want to have to crane my neck throughout our conversation," Vanda said genially, and Burke obeyed.

No need to antagonize them over inconsequential shit, right?

Vanda folded her hands over her papers and leaned forward, giving him a sympathetic smile. "I'm saddened to see how badly the rough handling by General Urko's men has affected you, Burke." Her smile turned into a worried frown. "You're pale, withdrawn, exhausted-"

"Yeah, you try sleeping when there's a damn brass band marching up and down the corridor of your cell..." Burke muttered before he could stop himself.

Vanda's frown deepened. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Burke eyed her warily, but she seemed to be genuinely confused. Perhaps that little torture hadn't been her idea, but Urko's. He gestured vaguely towards the door behind him. "Someone's playing Death Metal on the other side of my door." A thought occurred to him. "I'll skip the bath you offered me, for a nap."

Vanda raised her brows, nonplussed. "Oh." Then she smiled and pointed her pen at him. "I have a better idea: I'll find out who's behind that prank and make sure they stop, if you help me fill out the rest of that form."

Burke leaned back. "No can do. Sorry."

Vanda sighed. "I somehow get the feeling that you aren't fully aware of the realities of your situation, Burke. So let's lay down some facts. You're currently my prisoner. The only persons I'm accountable to are General Urko and Council Eldest Zaius."

The dynamic duo...

Burke remembered the old orangutan from the secret tribunal that had been held by some inner circle to decide his and Al's fate. The first glimpse of that old bastard had sent a warning tingle down his spine that had somehow alarmed him more - or differently - than the bloodlust in Urko's eyes.

Urko was brutal. But Zaius was calculating. Of course he'd be behind this whole clusterfuck.

"They, and the guards at this facility, are also the only ones who know where you are," Vanda continued. "Nobody else knows that you've even been captured. There are no reports anywhere, no paper trail that'd help Galen to determine your whereabouts." Her eyes bored into him. "Nobody will come to your rescue, Burke. So don't put your hopes on your friends. There's no point in 'holding out'."

Burke felt his eyes drooping shut. He was so damn tired... he heard Vanda, and he understood her words, they just didn't mean anything. A wave of dizziness swept over him.

"Burke!"

Burke yanked his eyes open. Vanda was still staring at him. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah."

She held his gaze for a long moment, appraising him. "A suggestion: I'll read the entries on your admission form to you, and you just confirm the entries that are correct. And then you'll get to sleep. The full ten hours, Burke. How about that?"

Burke was so tired that he was alternating between hot flashes and freezing chills in turns. He could sense himself lying down in his cell, pulling that old blanket over him and drifting off-

He clenched his teeth and forced his eyelids up again. It was so tempting to just let her go through her list of his hobbies and former addresses and just nod along while she checked the boxes. So damn tempting.

But he wasn't yet tired enough to forget that this wasn't the point of the fucking game. Vanda didn't give a damn about the color of his favorite underwear. Those little factlets were completely irrelevant. The point was to make him submit to her demands, however small and ridiculous they were at the beginning. 'cause that was the second point: they wouldn't stay small and ridiculous.

Mind games. That's what that chimp was playing with him. Messing with his head, making him comply, undermining his will.

He shook his head. "'m not gonna help you, Vanda. You said it yourself, I'm your prisoner. That makes you the enemy."

Vanda put her pen down. "Oh, Burke," she said sadly, "you're wrong. I'm the closest thing to a friend that you have here. I told you that General Urko is my superior - as the head of the police force, he is fully entitled to lead the interrogations himself." She watched him closely. "You may want to reconsider your decision."

His upper lip had begun to prickle at the mention of Urko, and now the sensation had spread to his lower lip and chin, and down his throat. His heart was leaping against his ribs, and his arms felt heavy and weak.

He took a trembling breath. "I can't remember a single thing from my former life. 's all gone." Happened to a different man, in a different life. It wasn't even a lie.

"If the general decides the results aren't coming in fast enough, there's nothing I can do," Vanda warned him. "And I don't understand why you're so stubborn - I want to help you, Burke! I know that you didn't do anything wrong."

When he didn't react, she shrugged with a sigh and waved for his guard.

"I hope I'll see you again, Burke," he heard her voice as the bag was pulled over his head again. "But I'm afraid it'll be Urko you'll have to convince of your innocence."


Galen didn't consider himself to be religious anymore - he had shed that habit a long time ago, to the chagrin of his mother - but it was hard not to feel awe at the sight of the massive building breaking out of the forest like the hunter god it was dedicated to. He secretly wished that Melvin's cousin had chosen a different order than that of Blue Eyes, but as his mother was fond of saying, beggars couldn't be choosers, and right now, they needed any help they could get.

At least simian art wasn't figurative. There was a slim chance that Alan would never learn that this particular deity was also venerated by the apes as the Slayer of Man.

Galen had left him and Zana waiting in the underbrush by the side of the road; for one thing, the monks didn't look too kindly on women, and even less on humans - naturally -, but he was also pretty sure that if Urko hadn't called off his men, as Alan had said, they'd be looking for an ape couple with a human in tow, and he didn't want to make it that easy for the general. Right now, he was just a single traveler. A tired, dusty, and thirsty traveler. He rang the bell.

"I'm here to see Privat Ango," he said, when the concierge of the day finally appeared. He hoped he had remembered the title right. The ape eyed him critically, told him to wait, and disappeared again. It took him a while to return, giving Galen the opportunity to worry himself into a quiet frenzy over secret police and priestly informants. When the monk finally returned with Ango in tow, he caught himself scanning the yard behind the returning monks for black uniforms.

"You need my advice, son?" Ango said gently, and Galen fought down his amused irritation at his choice of address - Ango was several years younger than him. Galen had remembered him from Melvin's numerous parties, but apparently he hadn't made the same lasting impression on the younger ape. Or maybe Ango had truly parted ways with the world when he had decided to join the order.

"I need more than that, Privat," he said politely. "Let us walk a bit, if you please."


There were brief moments of silence.

Burke jerked up when a gong boomed right above his head all of a sudden, adrenaline sizzling through his spine and radiating into his limbs. He could feel his blood pressure shooting through the roof as his heart took up a stumbling gallop, and his stomach hurled acid into the back of his throat like a fucking volcano. He rolled over with a moaned curse and tried to bury his head deeper into his blanket.

The pauses in the cacophony came at random intervals and never had the same length; they weren't respites from the infernal noise, but amplifiers. By now, Burke was covered in cold sweat, and his cell seemed to spin around him even in the complete darkness that engulfed him. The damn monkeys apparently had no idea what they were doing, how to measure out the stimuli; they were going at it full speed. By the time they'd pull him out of this hole again, they'd already have pureed his brain, and he'd be nothing more than a gibbering, incoherent mess...

-at least he wouldn't be able to tell them anything then.

Someone grabbed him by the neck - he hadn't heard them entering through all the noise - and yanked him up, and the spinning sensation shifted into higher gear. Burke's knees buckled, and he broke down again, and the guard cursed and dragged him out into the corridor.

There was light, but the noise was even louder here. Before his eyes could get used to the sudden brightness, the ol' stinking bag was pulled over his head again, and he was walked down the corridor to his next session. Burke remembered that Vanda had threatened him with letting Urko ask the questions next time. He hoped she had been bluffing. He didn't feel up to wrestling King Kong today.

But when the guard yanked him to a halt, he knew he was out of luck even before they ripped the bag off. The very air seemed to be heavy, and the silence radiated darkness and...

... and death. Burke felt the tiny hairs on his neck rise.

Urko's face was unreadable as he studied him.

"Strip," he said finally.

Another wave of dizziness swept over Burke, and he blinked rapidly. He wasn't sure he had heard the gorilla right. His ears were still ringing, even in the silence of this room, so perhaps...

"...what?"

Urko raised his brows. "I told you to take your clothes off," he said calmly. "They reek."

Burke swallowed, but didn't move. "Well, Vanda promised me a bath..."

Urko nodded almost imperceptibly at the guards; the fabric was no match to simian strength. Burke tried not to cower - it wouldn't conceal anything, and damn it, he had no reason to be embarrassed.

But it was a strange feeling to be the only one naked in a room full of clothed people, even if the people were apes.

"Our citizens like to dress up their pets as if they were people," Urko said with a slight, humorless smile. "Or maybe they just don't want to be forced to look at your genitalia all the time, especially since you can't control yourselves. But in here, I see no reason to pretend you're anything else but an animal."

Fuck you.

There was no folder on the table this time. There wasn't even a single sheet to make notes. Urko got up from his chair and casually rounded the table. "You gave me a nice chase there, Burke, and I greatly enjoyed it, but I'll enjoy this even more." He gave him a toothy grin. "It's really simple: I ask you a question, you answer it truthfully, and I won't hurt you." The grin broadened. "Of course I'm counting on you to refuse to answer... right away."

Burke focused on his breath, keeping it calm and steady. The adrenaline had wiped away his exhaustion, and he felt almost ready to take on whatever Urko was going to dish out to him.

Urko leaned against the desk. "Who helped you to evade my men?"

Burke took a deep breath. "Nobody helped us."

Urko smiled again, and Burke tensed, expecting the first blow. "I want the names of the apes that befriended you," Urko said mildly, "the ones that gave you food, the ones that hid you from my patrols, and I want to know when and where you met them."

"I... I'm sorry," Burke improvised. "I have this ringing noise in my ears... must've come from the noise in my cell - all those drums and gongs and stuff. I can't hear you... couldn't hear you when you told me to strip, either." It wasn't the most elegant way of delaying his answers, but if he made communication too much of a hassle, perhaps Urko would give up and send for Vanda again...

"Dako, what does a human need to answer a question?" Urko asked one of the guards.

The chimp startled; apparently he hadn't expected to become part of the game. But he quickly recovered, or remembered the correct answer. "Just its tongue, sir."

"Ah. Not its nose, or its eyes?"

Burke didn't like where this was going.

"No, sir."

"Then I guess we'll focus this human's attention a bit. Take out its left eye."

Burke jerked back, "Whoa there! Hold up!", and collided with the guard behind him, who shoved him back. He came to a stumbling halt before Urko. "You gotta be kidding!" That monkey had been raised on too many crappy horror B-flicks, no doubt about that!

"So you can hear me when it suits you," Urko drawled. "You think I'm bluffing? Huh?"

"No." Hell, it wasn't enough to crash into a future with walking, talking apes - it had to be walking, talking, sociopathic apes. Just his luck. Burke wiped the sweat from his lip. "But I'm not bluffing, either. Look," damn, was he really trying to talk sense into a gorilla? Would he ever get used to the sheer absurdity of this whole setup? "Look, I can't answer your question. We have no list of contacts, we never expected to land here. We never wanted to land here! And all we want now is to get the hell out of here!" He took a step back and raised his hands. "We're not conspiring with any apes, and we're not touching your humans, okay?" And yes, he felt crappy about it, because somebody should take them out of the apes' dirty paws, but it wouldn't be him, not today.

Urko wasn't moved. Well, there was a surprise. "You'd never have escaped me for so long if you didn't have help, from apes or humans, or both. That's treason, even if you were dumb and mute." He eyed Burke as if he contemplated how to put him into that condition, and Burke took another step back.

This time, Urko followed him, step by step by step, until Burke felt the wall at his back. Urko closed in, the heat of his body radiating against Burke's bare chest.

"I want the names, Burke. I want the places, and the dates, and I will get my answers, today, tomorrow, or some time later. I have all the time in the world." He smiled and closed his hand around Burke's throat. "This is exactly how I had your friend against the wall, down in that hole. And he learned soon enough to do as he was told." His grip tightened, and stars exploded in Burke's vision. "You'll learn, too, and I'll take my sweet time teaching you."

He let go all of a sudden and gestured to the guards. "Beat him up. But go lightly - you know how fragile humans are."

The guards closed in around him, eyes alight with excitement. Burke couldn't see Urko anymore, but he heard the deep gravelly voice as the first blow exploded against his ribs.

"I still have plans for this one."


"You want me to pose as what?"

Alan looked even more pale and haggard than before with his freshly colored hair; but his eyes were made brighter and more striking by the dark brown color. They had immediately caught the attention of the monks - all animals with bright eyes belonged to the god - which had given Ango the idea of dressing him up as a...

"It is just a masquerade, Alan," Galen said soothingly. "Nobody is going to harm you."

"I'm not a goat," Alan said through clenched teeth, "or a pig. I can't believe that at one time, you actually did this!"

Galen shrugged apologetically. "You know how it is with religion..."

"I'm a Kristian," Galen made a mental note about the unknown word from Alan's language - he'd ask him about it when he wasn't so outraged anymore; it seemed to be a human religious sect... He tuned back in just in time to hear the rest of Alan's tirade. "...no human sacrifices! That's barbaric!"

"Well, they don't do that anymore," Galen said in the same calm and, he hoped, soothing voice. "They just draw some drops of blood andwewon'tevendothat," he rushed to assure the human.

Alan stared at him for a long moment, and Galen suddenly remembered the episode he'd had in the temple ruins. The human had apologized to Zana the next morning, and Zana had hugged him and forgiven him - of course! -, but it had been scary. During that frozen moment, neither he nor Zana had remembered the fact that any ape was infinitely stronger than a human. Alan wouldn't have been able to hurt either of them, even if he'd wanted. But for some reason, the sheer force of his rage had paralyzed them.

Then the human heaved a deep sigh, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Alright. I guess it's the best option."

"At least you'll get a nice bath," Galen said encouragingly. Alan just growled, and Galen found it wise to leave him in Zana's care. He retreated to the shade of a jasmine bush to read Melvin's note again.

So... "Yuma"

of course I'd be happy to meet you for talking about that splendid business opportunity you spoke of. Don't worry about your lodgings, I'll take care of everything. Spill a little blood for me, I've set eyes on this cute (and very rich) lady, and I could use some luck!

Best regards

Melvin

Galen fought the urge to roll his eyes - he half expected to find "nudge, wink" scribbled in the margins. Of all his acquaintances, Melvin was the least suited to clandestine meetings and secret missions.

Well, always do the unexpected. Maybe Urko wouldn't even consider Melvin, either.

He glanced across the yard to where Zana was leading Alan into one of the basins for the ritual bath for the... the sacrifices. Not that he had approved of the practice before... well, to be honest, not that he had wasted a single thought on the practice before. But seeing their human - their friend step into the water, with Ango swinging an incense burner over him, suddenly made him feel profoundly uneasy, and out of step with the rest of apekind.

I don't belong to them anymore, he realized as he looked at that scene. But it didn't make him feel closer to the human, either.

He just felt lonely.

Galen sighed and turned his thoughts away from Alan, who was dunked under water repeatedly by Ango - don't push it, Privat, or I won't guarantee for our human - and to their next steps.

They would walk brazenly through the gates again, the same way they had left weeks ago: with fancy costumes and faked identities. Galen had to clamp down on his panic every time that realization bobbed into his consciousness like a cork he was trying to hold under water. No matter that they had been getting better at changing their appearances, and no matter that Peet had stolen one of Aken's sealed orders so that Alan could use it as a template to carve another prefect's seal, his own acting abilities hadn't improved since that first encounter with Urko's patrols.

Neither had his nerves.

Assuming they wouldn't be snatched up immediately by the guards, he and Alan would meet with one of Melvin's carriages halfway to the city's temple district, and be brought directly to one of his family's town houses, where they'd reunite with Zana, who...

... who would need to cross the gates on her own, and he still had no idea how she was planning to pull off that miracle. Galen crumpled Melvin's note in frustration and stalked back to her and Ango; the two Chimpanzees were busy fumigating poor Alan with holy smoke, Ango chanting some verses from the Scrolls. Alan's eyes were staring unseeingly into the distance; Galen had no idea if he was dazed by the smoke, or planning how to find Peet... or how to get back at him for turning him into a sacrificial offering.

Alan took a deep breath all of a sudden, returning from wherever his mind had taken him, and turned to Ango, who was now holding a smudge stick over his head. "Is that... hashish?"

Galen didn't know the word, and Ango froze for a second, looking equally confused. Before either of them could react, the human had snatched the bundle from the priest's hand. "Gimme that!" He took a deep draw.

Galen gaped as Alan let the smoke drift out of his nostrils again. His eyes drooped shut, but he didn't look any more relaxed, just tired and dejected.

"This holy weed is a drug," Ango ventured. "It's relatively mild, and it's meant to relax the animal..." he took a step back when Alan opened his eyes and gave him a piercing look, "but I was given to understand by your... by Yuma here that he wants you awake and alert."

"Don't worry," Alan murmured and took another draw. The glowing tip of the bundle flared up with a faint crackle. "I can take a bit of weed without dropping out."

This was very untypical of Alan. Galen glanced at Zana; her expression confirmed his assessment, and his unease deepened. Although he was responsible for getting them into the city, everything else from that point on was in Alan's hands. Zana had said he had been a kind of soldier among his own people. Galen had counted on it that Alan knew what should be done next.

"Don't worry," the human repeated, and Galen found himself caught in the glare of those bright blue eyes. "I won't space out on you. Just get me inside the city walls, and I'll take care of finding Pete and getting him out of wherever Urko is holding him."

"What about you?" Galen asked Zana, glad to have a reason to avert his eyes. "You can't pose as a priest, at least not for Blue Eyes..."

"Don't worry about me, dear," Zana said and plucked the bundle from Alan's fingers, who didn't protest, to Galen's secret amazement. "I'll attach myself to a nice grandmother who needs help with her shopping basket, or a young mother with unruly children in tow..."

Zana was much more comfortable with playing a role, Galen thought, slightly envious. Pretending to be someone he wasn't felt all too much like lying to him, and right now, he wished his genna wouldn't be so adamant about choosing the truth at all costs-

He remembered The Book.

But then you didn't get to choose your spirit.


He never got his clothes back.

It was completely dark in his cell, and cold, and it got worse once the guards decided that he stank (and it was true, his sweat stank, and his piss stank, although he produced less and less of both; not enough water left in him, and he was so thirsty) and hosed him down with ice water until he was a shivering naked mess, curled up on the stone floor of his cell. His whole body was in pain now, it was impossible to ignore anymore, there just wasn't a single part of it left that didn't hurt.

Shift your mind to a safe place, a good memory, they'd said. But he couldn't hold a thought any longer, he couldn't remember anything - which was good, for some reason, but he couldn't remember that reason anymore, either. He couldn't remember, and he couldn't figure out a plan, and past and future shrank down to this moment in the darkness, an eternal now of fear and pain.

Burke found he welcomed the pain when it finally came; it was better than waiting for it, tensing up in anticipation, wondering where the next blow would hit. It was just like his Dad to kick him in the ribs when he was already down, but the man was drunk, didn't know what he was doin', would be sorry in the morning, not that Pete gave a shit...

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no pla-

Someone grabbed him under the arms and dragged him upright, and all his bruises and cracked ribs and swollen joints howled in unison. "Rise and shine, my pretty, rise and shine!"

They dragged him out into the corridor; the noise was not as bad out here, or perhaps it was only in his head now, a constant gurgling and hissing as if someone had left the shower running, or as if there was a dinner conversation going on in the other room...

His captor let go of his arm, and his knees buckled, and he dropped on the floor. The light was stabbing in his eyes and he couldn't focus them right and rubbing them didn't help, either.

The others laughed (there were always others, whenever one of them took him out to play, always a captive audience, ha, nice pun, right, captive audi-)

"Look at that thing."

"It stinks - pissed itself again." Someone kicked him, but not too hard, and he didn't react. Play dead, make yourself uninteresting, maybe they'll give up sooner...

Cold fluid washed over him, and a terrible stench filled his nostrils. The other voices cried out in disgust. "I'm gonna puke!" - "You shithead, that was the piss bucket!" - "Oops."

That last voice was full of chuckles.

"Yeah, think we have to clean you up now for real, frog."

Frog was his name now. His guards had gleefully explained it to him - no fur, and croaks all day. Although he'd stopped talking a long time ago.

A long time a long time a long... how long? Couldn't remember. How long'd he beenhere? No idea. Forever.

Icy cold hitting his chest, taking his breath away. Someone tore at his arms, bound his wrists and then yanked him to his feet. His wrists were pulled up, over his head, and fastened to a hook. He looked to his left, but Al wasn't there.

He wasn't at the institute. He remembered now. That had been... before, when they had been brought into the city for the first time. The apes had hosed them down, just like n-

For a while, no thoughts, just fighting not to drown.

At least he was more awake now, adrenaline pulsing sluggishly through his veins. Burke turned his head and licked the water off his arms. It wasn't enough, but it was so good, the only good thing about the ice bucket treatment they gave him.

"Look at the little kitty!" Laughter, and the ape unhooked him. Burke managed to stay on his feet this time, a little wobbly, but at least he was at eye level now.

Not that he'd make eye contact with any of them. That just invited more abuse.

"Gonna clean yourself up like that all over? Think you'll reach everywhere?" More laughter, but that was something he was good at ignoring now. He knew the drill by now, the comments would only get nastier, but sticks and stones and stuff, right?

"Now, I'm taking good care of you, sweetheart, got you cleaned up nicely, so I'd say it's time to put you through the paces, hmm? We wanna keep you fit and... well, not healthy, that'd be a lie."

A fresh wave of exhaustion swept through his limbs, hot and dry and heavy. He wasn't up to this shit, he wasn't...

"Squat."

He obeyed. Standing had been too much effort, anyway.

"Now hop."

Burke forced his heavy head up and blinked at the chimp. "Wha-?" His voice was a hoarse whisper. Too dry, and he hadn't used it for a while now.

"You heard me." The guard nudged his ass with his boot. "Hop around, my little frog."

Burke stayed where he was. His legs were like water; he doubted he'd be able to stand up again, let alone leap down the corridor. They'd beat him up for that, but he just couldn't-

"Can't."

"Yeah, I see you need a bit of encouragement."

The guard started to loosen his belt, and Burke hung his head and waited. He could take a beating; he'd learned that a long time ago.

It was okay until the guard switched ends and used the belt buckle on him.

Burke made a stumbling leap, more a crawl than a hop, really, but that wasn't the point anyway, the point was to make him obey whatever senseless thing they'd demand of him. Another crawl-leap, on all four now, to the cheers and whistles of the audience.

"Look at that dangling dick!"

"He's hung like a horse!"

"A tiny horse!"

More laughter.

He couldn't go on anymore. He just didn't have the energy. His body was hot, and dry, and the muscles in his thighs were cramping and the cramps wandered up his back and into his neck and jaw. He stayed squatted, limbs trembling, until the guard kicked his back, and he just fell on his side.

"You're not finished, frog!"

"What is going on here?"

A new voice. New shift coming down to his hell. New games...

"Just exercising the prisoner, mate. Nothing serious." Shuffling feet, amicable chatter between incoming and outgoing monkeys. Didn't concern him, for a few precious moments they were busy with each other. A few precious seconds of sleep...

"Get up, you!" Another kick in the butt, another vise-like grip around his arm, and he was dragged down a corridor into another room.

There was a tiny cage in the middle of the room. He couldn't stand upright in it - not that he'd have the strength to do that anymore - and he couldn't lay down, either. Burke drew his knees to his chest and hugged his arms around his shins. The new guard bent down and stared at him through the bars.

"Enjoy your new home, frog. And remember - stay awake." He winked.

"You never know what's coming for you."


"Come in, come in!" Melvin ushered them into the hall with a dramatic whisper and a blatant conspiratorial glance up and down the street.

This had been a terrible idea, Galen thought tiredly.

The ground level of Melvin's house was dark and bare, typical for the older town houses - the lower levels were used for storing food and housing the slaves - and for greeting guests that one intended to get rid of again as soon as possible. Galen sniffed; a faint smell of urine hung in the air. It had a sharp note to it, like from a predator, but not human.

Melvin bent down and swooped a small, furry creature into his arms. "There you are, you adorable little fluff ball! Where's your sister, hmm? No, you're not getting out. There are bad apes out on the streets."

A cat. Melvin had cats.

Yes, it had been a terrible idea.

"You know," Melvin said as soon as he had closed the heavy front door, and turned to face them, "I suspected you weren't out to watch actual birds when we last met, but I must admit, I thought you were talking about some pretty bird you were meeting behind her father's back. Imagine my surprise when Urko started glueing your picture on every tree in the city!" He glared at Galen, although the effect was somewhat diluted by the cat clawing its way up his arm until it perched on his shoulder.

All of a sudden, Melvin thumped him on the back. "The scandal! The outrage!" He roared with laughter. "You really should've let me in on your dirty little secret! Well, at least now we'll have a little fun together. - And that's yours?"

It was impossible to get a word in when Melvin was on a roll; Galen straightened and rotated his bruised shoulder. Melvin was circling Alan, who suffered his inspection with a stony face. Well, at least Melvin didn't touch him - their human was in a dangerous mood lately.

"Well, trust you to fall on your feet, old boy! Where did you find this fine specimen?" Melvin peered into Alan's eyes. "That's not its natural color, is it? Why did you color its hair- oh well, probably for the best if you don't want to strap it onto your back. I can think of some apes who'd pay a fortune for this one, and ask no questions how the trader came by it..."

"Has my fiancée already arrived?" Galen found it best to distract Melvin from his current train of thought before he could say something that would set off the human - again. Besides, he really was worried about Zana, who had been forced to try her luck separately from him and Alan. If she had been taken in by the guards-

"Oh yes, some time ago, in fact, which is amazing, considering her state. Follow me..."

Melvin led them upstairs to the living quarters proper, and into a small room with equally small windows. "I thought it would be best if the neighbors didn't get a view of you," he said, clearly proud of his foresight. "It's actually the room of my body servant, but in this special case, it's just what we need for our meetings." He swung his arm out in a grand gesture. "And here's your lovely mommy, Galen. Who'd have thunk you'd have it in you, huh?" The cat jumped from his shoulder with a thud and hurried over to where Zana sat on the human's bed, sporting a huge belly.

Galen felt his brows climb into his hairline against his will. So this had been the meaning of Melvin's cryptic remarks! She did look remarkably pregnant.

And, well, annoyed. "I told you, it's just a rolled up blanket, and I would've already removed it if I had just a moment of privacy! Hello dear," she turned to Galen without missing a beat. "What took you so long? I was getting worried..."

Galen hesitated. Their journey towards the temple district had been slowed down unexpectedly by a procession of devout apes who had asked for his blessing, and who had touched Alan for good luck. Well, some of them had pricked him with needles, for even more good luck, which hadn't exactly improved the human's mood. Galen had secretly admired his equanimity, but Alan knew they couldn't blow their cover over some tiny pinpricks. His self-control had only wavered once, when a woman had asked for a real cut so that she would finally carry to term after several miscarriages.

There just had been no way to say no to that; not with so many bystanders. Galen hoped Alan had understood that, too. He was pretty sure, though, that Zana wouldn't be that understanding.

"Just, just some ministerial duties," he said vaguely. Alan flicked him an unreadable glance, but kept silent. The human had been pretty silent since his breakdown in the temple ruins. It was beginning to unnerve Galen.

"Well," Melvin clapped his hands, "I'd say settle down, get some rest, and I'll send something to eat to your room, and then I'll meet you in an hour or so, and we can start making plans how to steal back your other human - that's the dark one, right, the one you overloaded with all that bird watching gear? Bird watching, ha!" He shook his head, still amused at Galen's cover story.

Then his eyes wandered back to Alan, who was still standing in the doorway, exuding a quiet impatience. Melvin gestured at him. "That one's better built for carrying loads, my friend. But of course we both know that's not its real selling point. I do admire you for your business acumen, Galen; instead of schlepping the contents of your bank vault into exile, you let your asset walk there by itself! Genius! Oh, remind me to give you a list of reputable breeders later... I mean, he is intact, right?"

Galen took him by the arm and steered him gently into the corridor. "That's too kind, Melvin, but right now, I have more pressing concerns on my mind." Like putting enough distance between Alan and his thoughtless, well-meaning acquaintance before the human shook off his uncharacteristic stupor, for example. "We'll get freshened up, and then we'll meet for a war council, like you suggested..."

"We'll show them, eh, Galen?" Melvin pounded his paw between his shoulder blades again, making him cough. "We'll show the old buffoons what two fellows from Cesar's Academy of Law are capable of!" He waddled downstairs, and with a sigh, Galen returned to their room.

"We need to set up surveillance of Urko as soon as possible," Alan said without preamble as soon as Galen had closed the door behind him. "Knowing him, he won't be able to stay away from the proceedings." The human's voice was completely devoid of emotion. "He'll want to be there... probably wants to lead the interrogation himself. If we can follow him undetected, he should lead us directly to where they're keeping Pete."

"Where does Melvin come in?" Galen wanted to know, becoming fascinated by the details of the operation against his will.

"Not at all, if you're sensible! He thinks of this as a game," Zana threw in. "Really, Galen, I know it was difficult to find someone who Urko wouldn't suspect of having connections to you, but this Melvin seems to be the worst choice you could have made!"

"He's the only choice I could have made," Galen clarified. He sat down on the cot beside her and eyed her blanket-enhanced belly. She really did look pregnant, it was uncanny. "Don't worry about Melvin," he continued, consciously tearing his gaze away from the sight and fixing it instead on the cat that was kneading the blanket with her paws, "he may look like a bumbling idiot, but there's a sharp mind under all that bluster. And we can't cut him out - as long as he feels he's an important part of this mission, he'll be motivated to help us."

"I don't give a damn about Melvin's motives," Alan said, still in that flat voice, "only his usefulness. We have a base of operations that Urko doesn't even think of in his wildest dreams, and we can use your asset to get access to information and resources we'd otherwise have no chance of obtaining. I intend to set up surveillance as soon as it's gotten dark." He eyed Zana, and Galen felt his fur bristle at the human's appraising, completely inappropriate gaze towards an ape.

"I think it's best if you stayed here for the night, Zana," Alan said finally, "and I take the first shift with Galen. I need to teach you how to follow a target inconspicuously, and it's easier if I only have to keep an eye on one of you at a time."

"Ooh no! Don't you dare to sideline me like that!" Zana was furious. "If you think I'll sit here and... and do the dishes for you, while Peet is suffering unspeakable things-"

A faint smile tugged at Alan's lips, the first emotion Galen saw since the human had hurled his cup at her in the temple ruins. "You are part of the mission Zana, don't worry. I need a map of the city; the last... the last time Pete and I were trying to find the council, we lost precious time because we got lost a few times and had to circle back. We need to have our routes of retreat planned out in advance this time. And I have some other tasks for you later... but I need to talk to this Melvin first."

It wasn't much, Galen knew. But it was enough to give them a sliver of hope.

If only Peet could hold out long enough.