Hip said, ‘Hi.’
Gerry looked at him weakly. ‘Get the hell out of here,’ he croaked.
Hip sat still.
‘I could’ve killed you,’ said Gerry. He opened his eyes a little wider. ‘I still could.’
‘You won’t though.’ Hip rose, walked to the knife and picked it up. He returned to Gerry and deftly sliced the knots of the cord which bound him. He sat down again.
Gerry said, ‘No one ever… I never…’ He shook himself and drew a deep breath. ‘I feel ashamed,’ he whispered. ‘No one ever made me feel ashamed.’ He looked at Hip, and the amazement was back again. ‘I know a lot. I can find out anything about anything. But I never… how did you ever find out all that?’
‘Fell into it,’ said Hip. ‘An ethic isn’t a fact you can look up. It’s a way of thinking.’
‘God,’ said Gerry into his hands. ‘What I’ve done… the things I could have…’
‘The things you can do,’ Hip reminded him gently. ‘You’ve paid quite a price for the things you’ve done.’
Gerry looked around at the huge glass room and everything in it that was massive, expensive, rich. ‘I have?’