Read Subject Nightingale 1: Birth and Death for Free Online Page B

face as she looked between Jonny and Theo.
    “ No, child,” Michaela chuckled lightly at the misunderstanding, “we say 'Roger' to show that we understand.”
    “ Oh...” Nightingale thought about it for a moment, staring down at her feet as she leaned against the security console. “Well, roger.”
    “ You are a quick learner,” Michaela said.
    “ How come the guy who left was calling Jonny a different name?” she asked next.
    Michaela let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the console beside Nightingale. Her visage looked a little troubled as she explained. “Every family has a black sheep, I suppose...” She looked down at Nightingale, but could tell she didn't understand.
    “Is there a word for the opposite of 'Roger'?” Nightingale asked.
    Michaela smiled and clarified. “It is custom for soldiers to be addressed by their last names. But when Jonny first formed Glitch squad, he insisted we call each other by our first names... He said it was more personal—that it would help build camaraderie, and friendship. We all thought he was just some sentimental fool, but over time, we learned that it actually worked. We became close, like family, so when we enter combat, we truly have each other's backs.”
    “ Why wasn't he calling him Jonny, then?” she asked.
    Michaela let out another sigh. “Tommy and Jonny never quite saw eye to eye... He was once in command of his own squad, but was demoted because of his own recklessness. Even after Jonny picked him up, all he wanted was to be in charge... But he lacks a certain quality that a good leader requires.”
    “What's that?” Nightingale asked.
    “ Compassion,” she answered. “Tommy is a very smart man, and a very capable soldier... But without compassion, all you have is a ruthless killing machine...”
    Back at the map, Jonny and Theo were wrapping up their escape plan.
    “With Tommy being in play as a wild card, it's difficult knowing how we'll have to adjust as we go,” Jonny explained.
    “ So basically, our plan boils down to walking right out the front door?” Theo asked.
    Jonny just shrugged. “I told you it was gonna turn out to be a crappy plan. But it's the best we've got for now, so let's get moving. Check out the weapon lockers, grab anything that was left behind.”
    As Theo took to smashing the locks off the black steel lockers with the butt of his shotgun, Jonny tugged the combat knife out of the sheath attached to his shoulder and stabbed the map. He grabbed the map with one hand and the knife in the other, and tore it in two. Its blue light faded along with the positions of the ECHO squads, including their own.
    “ We're officially dark,” Jonny announced.
    “ A name can be a very important thing,” Michaela said to Nightingale. “What is yours?”
    “ It's Nightingale,” she answered.
    Michaela's gaze suddenly turned sympathetic, and she shook her head slowly. “No, child... 'Nightingale' is just a codename that the Lab assigned you... You do not know your real name?”
    Nightingale frowned, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “N-no, I thought that...it was Nightingale... It's what everyone was calling me, isn't it? Why's everyone calling me something that's not my name?”
    “ Doctor Metzger was using you for an experiment. It is likely he names all his experiments for his own record keeping.” Michaela's naturally blunt and honest personality shone through, but Nightingale seemed to appreciate the straight answers.
    “ What was he doing to me?” Nightingale asked. She saw a glimmer of hope that Michaela, or another member of Glitch squad, may know something about her.
    “ We do not know exactly what he was trying to accomplish... I am sorry. The file containing your information is very limited.”
    “ Did it say where I came from? If we do get out of here, I don't even know where I'd go...”
    “ I am sorry, but no... You do not remember where your home is?”
    Nightingale shook her head. “I don't remember anything