Book Three: Double Feature — 10.

In a guarded motel room, Dr. Patrick breezily introduces herself to Van, who details his humiliating restraints but notes he has detoxed and remained sober. She immediately tests his resolve, offering alcohol and medical-grade cocaine in exchange for cooperation. Van resists, recalling prior abuse by staff and recognizing the trap.

Van asserts his identity—Donovan or Van, not Donnie—and sets terms: restore his sister’s TV access, allow a supervised outdoor walk, and include Donna. He needles the operation’s codename hierarchy and warns that people playing at being saints get eaten by something bigger.

Dr. Patrick steering the talk toward “the big fellow,” feigns concern about Allie. Van threatens to end the conversation unless they answer questions. Pressed, Dr. Patrick reveals Allie has already annihilated a twelve-man team, flipping a Jeep into a tree and incinerating others, worse than the Brooklyn incident.

Leveraging this, Van demands a CD player and specific classic rock albums before offering terminology. He then provides the name of the entity they are hunting—King Sorrow—and cautions that if King Sorrow ever learns their true names, they are doomed, implicitly challenging Dr. Patrick’s alias.