Paulus scowls. "Very well," he says. "If that is how you choose to play it."
It is better to pass over the next thirty minutes or so in silence. Suffice it to say that Paulus knows a great deal about inflicting pain.
You manage to take the punishment without giving him any information, despite his best efforts. The beating you receive is likely to have a lasting impact on your health and ability to perform various tasks.
[In the endgame, you will suffer from the following penalties because of your injuries:
Health −1
Gunplay −1
Fisticuffs −1]
Panting with exertion, Paulus puts the knuckle-duster back on the table. "Very well, I see this is getting us nowhere. Perhaps we should move on to something else."
Paulus reaches into the chest at his side and withdraws another artifact: a round object about the size of a baseball, wrapped protectively in leather. He does not remove the wrappings, but he doesn't need to; you know exactly what is inside.
"Tibet," he says, stroking the object's leather wrappings. "Three months after the business in Jerusalem. I understand you had a very difficult time of this one. So, Dr. Spillane. Once again, will you tell me your story?"
You close your eyes and see the high Himalayas dropping away below you, the peaks shrouded in a raging blizzard as the rickety red biplane you are riding chugs along toward the plateau, buffeted by icy gusts of mountain air.
And once again, you remember.
Three Years Earlier