The Rig Read Online Free PDF

string of thin cotton through the eye of a small needle. ‘Well that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose. However the re---habilitative programmes here are world class, at the very forefront of academic and practical application. If you give it a chance, the Rig can help you. Now hush a minute while I disinfect this needle and sew you shut. Should only need four or so stitches.’
    Drake looked away as the needle pierced his skin. It was uncomfortable, but didn’t really hurt. A few minutes later and the doctor was done. She washed his hand and stuck a butterfly bandage over the stitches. All the medical waste went into a sealed bag and into the bin.
    â€˜Good as new, Will.’
    Drake flexed his hand and felt a gentle pull at the neat row of little stitches beneath the small bandage. He’d have to be careful with it for a day or two to avoid popping a stitch. ‘Thank you, Doctor Lambros.’
    â€˜You’re welcome.’ She cleaned up the rest of the mess and returned the first-aid kit to its proper place, before sitting down in her chair on the other side of the desk. ‘Now, since we have a few minutes, let’s have a chat, shall we?’
    â€˜Sure.’
    â€˜Officer Brand tells me you hurt your hand in an altercation in the exercise area this morning. What caused the fight, Will?’
    Drake sat up a little straighter in the chair. ‘Oh, you know, an overabundance of world-class rehabilitation.’
    Doctor Lambros laughed. ‘We’ll work on that attitude in the weeks to come. Do you know I can make recommendations to the Alliance about sentence reduction if you show signs of improvement?’
    â€˜I didn’t know that, but I don’t think the Alliance likes me that much.’
    â€˜Fighting, however, is not a sign of improvement.’
    Drake frowned. ‘I didn’t start the fight. One of the idiots I flew in with wanted a little payback, is all.’
    â€˜Payback for what?’
    â€˜I … smacked him last night.’
    Doctor Lambros sighed. ‘I see.’
    Drake rubbed the back of his hand and felt he had disappointed the woman across the desk. He had only known her for a quarter of an hour, but he liked her, and so said nothing to fill the silence.
    Doctor Lambros tapped a manila folder resting on her desk, next to the computer. ‘I read your file –’
    â€˜I thought as much.’
    â€˜â€“ and there are several notes in there about other altercations. A particularly disturbing note about an incident in Cedarwood, in which one of the boys lost his life.’
    A memory of a cold morning in the facility high up in the Alps, Cedarwood, flashed through his mind. He saw the smoke and the flames, and heard the screams. One of many flawed escape attempts. He pushed those thoughts away. ‘Am I supposed to just let them hit me, then?’
    Doctor Lambros raised her palms towards the ceiling. ‘No, but a little forethought could avoid such incidents altogether. I know you’re a smart boy, Will, and yet you find yourself here – looking at five years before you’ll even see land again.’
    Drake scowled. ‘I won’t be here that long.’
    â€˜Ah, yes. Your tendency towards escape, but I’m afraid there is no way off the Rig.’ She tapped a fountain pen against the edge of her desk. ‘How did you escape Harronway, incidentally?’
    â€˜I walked out the front door.’
    â€˜No, you didn’t. You couldn’t have. Tell me, do you think you deserve to be here?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Really?’ Doctor Lambros smiled again. Drake wasn’t so sure he liked her any more. ‘You were sentenced eighteen months ago in London for aggravated assault and a string of other offences. Theft and arson, to name just two. Those aren’t light offences, Will, no matter your age.’
    â€˜If I hadn’t done what I did then my mum would’ve