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“Tell me,” Judge urged gently.
“Tiberius put me in charge of the recruits younger than me…” His voice trailed off.
Judge’s heart squeezed hard in his chest. “They looked up to you.”
Brian nodded. “But it was more than that. I was there when they cried in the night. I helped them learn the things the older recruits picked up quickly. I took the blame when they got in trouble and the punishment that fit the infraction.” He looked up, his expression one of pain. “Without me, they have no one to run interference. No one to stand up for them.”
Judge remembered seeing the younger recruits marching in a line, the tallest one calling out orders as they went. That had been Brian, the one they’d called Mud. Being responsible for their welfare had given the teen purpose and a reason to live.
“Even if I wanted to take you back, I can’t,” Judge said. “We went to the camp after dropping you off at the hospital. They were gone. Everything in the camp was gone. We haven’t been able to find them since.”
Brian’s lips twisted. “That’s right. We move every time someone leaves, so they can’t lead anyone back to us.” He frowned. “Was I hallucinating when you took me out of the infirmary?”
“Why do you ask?”
Brian tipped his head. “I thought I saw PJ with you.”
In case Brian managed to make it back to TCW, Judge didn’t want him to reveal PJ’s part in the great escape. “She was there, trying to stop me.”
He didn’t like lying to the teen. Until Augustus and Tiberius were captured and everyone was safely freed, he couldn’t risk anyone knowing PJ had helped him leave the compound.
“Brian, I have to go to work now, but Hank and Sadie are here to take care of you. You need to stay here where you’re safe. Their security system is the best and will keep anyone from getting in without them knowing.” Or out, for that matter. But Judge didn’t tell Brian that.
“Brian, if you know anything about where TCW might have gone, let us know. We’d like to help those kids you were in charge of and anyone else they forced into the group. They have families who are worried about them. Those kids probably cried because they were homesick and wanted to be with their moms and dads.”
Brian’s frown deepened. “Their families didn’t love them. They were thrown away like I was.”
“That’s what TCW wants you to believe. It’s how they make you feel like they’re your family now. It’s their method for brainwashing recruits. If they tell you something often enough, you begin to believe it.”
Brian’s lips thinned.
“They told you all that, didn’t they? That no one but TCW loved you. They told those kids that their families weren’t looking for them, didn’t they? That they were glad they were gone, and that TCW cared about them and welcomed them into the TCW family.”
Brian’s left eye twitched.
Judge guessed that he didn’t want to believe what Judge was saying.
“Remember, though, when you were sick, they didn’t care. They were willing to let you die. If one of your kids is injured or sick enough to need a hospital, they’ll let him die rather than seek the help needed to save a life. When your parents were alive, would your mother or father have denied you medical attention?”
Judge shook his head when Brian didn’t. “They would’ve taken you to the hospital a lot sooner, before you got so sick you almost didn’t make it. Think about that. Think about why those kids who looked up to you cried in your arms. They were probably homesick. Or maybe they cried because one of the adults fed them the party line that their parents didn’t love them and would never come looking for them.
“If they truly cared about your kids, they wouldn’t have kidnapped them away from their families. They’re using classic brainwashing techniques to manipulate you and everyone else in that camp. They play on your weaknesses. You’re smarter than that. Don’t believe everything they told you.”
“Why should I believe you?” Brian demanded. “You could be using the same techniques you claim they did.”
Judge sighed. “You’re right. But have I punished you for telling me about your past? Have I told you that your parents didn’t love you or that you’re to blame for their deaths? Have I asked you to hurt anyone in the name of TCW and making the world a better place?”
Brian’s eyes narrowed.
“They trained assassins to kill people they didn’t believe deserved to live.”
“Bad people who lied, stole and murdered others,” Brian argued.
“What proof did they have?” Judge challenged. “Just the word of the TCW leaders like Augustus or Tiberius? Augustus lied about loving you. If he loved you, would he let you die?”
The more Judge tried to show Brian TCW was corrupt and bad, the more Brian became agitated. “Look. All I ask is that you think about it. And even though it’s hard, think about your family and how they loved you unconditionally. I’ll be back tomorrow. We can discuss this further then.”
He touched the boy’s leg. “I care about you, Brian. I care about your kids and the other people who’ve been lied to, brainwashed and forced to do things that no one should have to do. I fought for this country. For our freedom. No one in that camp was free. It makes me sick to know that while I was fighting wars in other countries, there were people back home who’d had their freedom taken away.”
