“There’s a difference between being forced to do something and being allowed to do it, sir,” Abner said. He didn’t explain further—he’d already been told to stop, after all. Instead, he obediently fell into step behind his superior, breathing a quiet sigh of relief that wherever they were going, it wasn’t back to the lab. Not with him in tow, at least. It had been hard enough to explain his behavior without Subject 51 in control, he couldn’t imagine Anderson would react well to seeing him drop the soldier persona.

“Where are we going?” he asked. It was strange, asking questions of a superior, but he felt pretty good about his chances this time. The lieutenant seemed to appreciate it when he acted like a person.