Contents
Book Three: Double Feature — 6.
Overview
Van, restrained in a fortified hotel-like room, is interrogated by Joe Valentine, who offers release in exchange for information about the entity linked to Van’s family mark. With Nurse Dover and enforcer Mr. Francis present, Valentine reveals plans to seize Donna and use her as leverage, hardening Van’s refusal.
Summary
Van wakes restrained under a blanket as Joe Valentine arrives with Nurse Dover and a mustached thug. The nurse offers soft food and checks Van’s vitals while Van demands his restraints removed and labels them kidnappers. The thug’s familiar mustache makes Van recall Greenland, confirming prior surveillance.
Valentine dodges questions about location, promises release within two weeks if Van cooperates, and suggests an NDA will bury everything. Van rejects the offer, citing his public platform and the attempted abduction of Donna in Brooklyn.
Valentine pivots to the Brooklyn blast, casualties, and the mysterious chest mark shared by Van, Donna, and Allie. He presses for the entity’s name and origin, dangling painkillers and luxuries for answers, while hinting at scientific tests to reveal the mark. Van warns Valentine will see the entity’s face.
As the team departs, Van pleads for his sister’s release, but Valentine states the opposite: Donna’s captivity ensures Van’s cooperation. The exchange ends with Van’s defiance intact and Valentine confident in leverage through Donna.
Who Appears
- Donovan "Van" McBrideRestrained captive; refuses to cooperate about the entity and the family mark despite threats and inducements.
- Joe ValentineInterrogator with striking blue eyes; offers release and NDA for intel; plans to seize Donna as leverage.
- Nurse DoverCheerful caregiver; monitors Van’s vitals and offers food, complicit in his captivity.
- Mr. FrancisLarge enforcer with a Freddie Mercury mustache; present at Greenland debriefings; oversees security.