"Yes," Bradford said, "with Ranger Medart and Lt. DarElwyn."
"If you'd care to, you're welcome to join me in here."
"Thank you, Excellency." Bradford switched off the intercom and turned to the others, looking surprised. "That's a first; she doesn't normally allow anyone in there except Captain Odeon or other Inquisitors. The disadvantage is that you can't avoid her prisoner's screams by shutting off the intercom."
"Even so," Medart said thoughtfully, "if an invitation's that rare, we ought to accept."
The three entered the larger room, which smelled of antiseptic—rather to Medart's bemusement. Why should Cortin care about infection in people she was torturing to death? He kept that question to himself, though.
"The interview went all right?" Cortin asked.
"Quite well," Bradford replied. "I'll get the operation moving as soon as I get back to my office."
"Good—thanks, both of you." Cortin turned back to her prisoner, still addressing the observers. "This one's nothing special, except in the number of his crimes and the fact that he wanted witnesses until he got to the last victim in each series. It was the rapes that were his particular thrill; the murders were enjoyable, but more of a side effect. So I'll be concentrating on the punishment for rape."
Medart tried not to pay too close attention to what she went on to do, sometimes with Odeon's assistance. He had to learn about this culture's less pleasant aspects as well as its more enjoyable ones, and he definitely had to learn all he could about Cortin herself; that didn't mean he had to like, or even approve of, what he found out.
This was one of those things. Medart couldn't reasonably argue against the criminal's execution; most societies, the Empire included, had death penalties for some crimes, and Medart himself had ordered or carried out a few. Those, though, had been quick; Imperial justice didn't demand vengeance.