by Judd Vowell
Something about Jacob made Anna soften. It was not a feeling she had experienced many times before. She had a difficult time trusting people. She always had, even before the Great Dark. It was another asset that had helped her become an information expert. But she saw that Jacob was desperate. She could see that he was on a mission, but not one for ANTI‑. Instead, it was personal. And she knew in that moment, if she wanted any chance to escape, that she needed to tell him everything. Including the fact that Jessica and Henry weren’t her children at all.
10.
J acob listened closely as Anna revealed her past year’s true history, since the beginning of the Great Dark. She had been a horse trainer when the darkness came, living and working her life's passion in Kentucky. After ANTI‑'s unforeseen attack against the world's population, she made her way south across the border into Tennessee, where her parents still lived. But they were dead by the time she reached their home. Soon enough, she began to wander, like so many others, in search of food and community.
She told Jacob that she had been recruited by the American Liberation Effort while on her travels. The Effort was a grassroots organization, utilizing word-of-mouth to spread and grow. They called themselves "Lefty" for short, and they were gathering in small pockets across the United States.
"Right now," she said, "there are ten camps in America, with a few hundred Leftys in each."
"How?" Jacob asked.
"Easy: radios," Anna said. "That's the one thing you guys couldn't take away from us. Antiquated, yes, but effective, no doubt. A radio frequency can travel a long way. And once the word spread, the congregating at camps began."
Anna then described the camps, how they were each named after a famous American military operation. The Leftys were looking to their country's short but poignant success story as inspiration.
"Overlord,” Jacob said, the connection dawning on him. “The codename for the invasion at Normandy.”
“That’s right. The battle that won that war.”
“I can't believe how quickly this rebellion has come together," Jacob commented, his astonishment obvious. Anna even thought she noticed a subtle smile on his face as he said it.
"Never doubt the will of a wounded populace," she reminded him. "Especially Americans. It's in our DNA to fight back."
Geographically, Camp Overlord had been the closest Lefty camp to Anna, and once there, she took on a leadership role. Although she had followed her dream of horses after her formal education, she had learned the capabilities of technology and communication while in school. And when she needed those dormant skills to awake for the new rebellion, they were there waiting. She knew computers and research and analysis. And she had trained enough horses in her time to know how to instruct incoming Leftys.
"I found out that people look to me for direction instinctually,” she said. “Just like horses did."
"So tell me about the girl and the boy," Jacob pushed her. "They aren't your kids?"
"No, they’re not," Anna said. "Although I'd be proud to say that they were. They showed up at Overlord a few days ago, with their father. They weren't there for the rebellion. They were just trying to get medicine for their sick mother. Apparently, the only supply is inside this grid. We figured we could kill two birds with one stone: the kids could get their mom's medicine while I explored the grid, gaining some intel."
"You guys were out of your minds trying to get inside like that," Jacob said.
"You think I don't know that now? We knew it was a huge risk, but we thought our plan was a good one. We never anticipated that you and Simone Vincent would be here."
"Wait, you mean you know who we are?"
"We know, Jacob," Anna said with resolve. "And we've known for a long time. Don't underestimate the Leftys. You'll regret it if you do."
As they continued talking, Jacob found himself forming a powerful respect for Anna and the Lefty rebels and what they had accomplished against such devastating circumstances. Much like he thought he had respected Salvador when they met so many years before. But he could finally see what Salvador had been doing to him, and respect had nothing to do with it. Jacob had been a petulant and cynical young man when Salvador found him. And Salvador had used the resentment that Jacob held for his mother and authority and society to persuade the impressionable younger version of himself. Then the clever ANTI- leader had taken advantage of Jacob's weaknesses, while employing his expert hacker abilities to unleash havoc on the world. Now, talking with Anna about a group of brave and resilient rebels, Jacob could see what Salvador had manipulated him to do. And he hated himself for not seeing it sooner.
"You probably won't believe me when I say this," Jacob said, wrapping up their first conversation together. "But I feel like things have changed for me. ANTI- isn't what I thought it might be. I'm not sure it ever was."
Anna listened closely without responding. She could almost see Jacob's conflict, and its transformation to resolution.
"I’m don't know how, Anna, but I'm going to get you out of here. You don't deserve this. Nobody did." He stood up quickly. "I've got to go. I've been down here too long as it is. I'll figure out a way to communicate with you."
He reached his hand through the cell's bars. Anna stared at it for a moment, then stood, her tall frame bringing her eye-level with him. Then she grabbed his hand and squeezed.
"This better be for real," she said, her face just a few inches from his.
"I think I finally understand what's real and what's not," Jacob answered. "I'll do everything I can."
As Jacob left her in her solitude, Anna still didn't know if she could trust him. But he was the only chance she had left. So she waited.
11.
J acob left the old courthouse with a clearer head. He had made a connection with Anna, one that was real and human. As disillusioned as he was feeling about Salvador and Simone and himself, she had calmed his spirit. And once she had described how organized and confident Lefty was, he believed he had a chance at redemption with them. That is, if he could somehow get to them. He didn’t know how he was going to pull it off, but at least he felt there was a chance. And one thing was certain: if he could find a way to abandon ANTI‑, it would all hinge on deception, and the lies would have to start with Salvador.
He went to the Nashville hotel suite that ANTI- had transformed into an apartment for him, where he showered for the first time in almost three days. While the hot water cleansed his body, he tried to formulate a plan. Unfortunately, there was no easy way that he could find to escape the grid and the hold of ANTI‑, if that’s truly what he wanted to do. And then there was Anna. And Jessica, whose recovery might take months if she was to recover at all. He couldn't, with a clear conscience, leave either of them behind. The only thing he could decide before his next conversation with Salvador was to continue being the same Jacob he had been for the past ten years. He would have to become an actor, playing his former self.
He opened his laptop after getting dressed and requested a video conference with Salvador. The ANTI- leader was waiting. He answered almost immediately.
“Jacob,” he said in a jovial tone. Jacob could see that he was in his top-floor Philadelphia apartment in Sector 1. There wasn’t much light in the room, but Salvador appeared clearly on the screen. His geniality caught Jacob off-guard. “Where have you been hiding, hijo?” Salvador asked, using his familiar Cuban nickname for Jacob.
“Nowhere special, Salvador. Just had to make sure that Simone was going to be alright.”
“I hear that she’s going to be just fine. A little worse for the wear, but she brought that on herself, right?”
“It appears that she did,” Jacob acknowledged.
“I also hear that Simone hasn’t been your only concern, hijo. How’s the girl doing?”
Jacob suddenly realized that Salvador had been watching him and his movements since coming back to the grid. His interest in Jessica wouldn’t be alarming to Salvador, but his visit to Anna would. H
e quickly resolved to maintain a stoic attitude and answer anything Salvador may ask without betraying his anxiety. “She’s alive, but that’s about all that can be said. The doctors have told me that her chances are not great.”
Salvador’s questioning turned serious. “What happened out there, Jacob?”
“Honestly, Salvador? I don’t know. Our soldiers had breached the camp’s walls. They were overtaking the rebels inside. It was just a matter of time before the battle would have been over. Then came the explosion.”
“Yes, the explosion. We’ve been trying to figure that one out. You were fortunate, avoiding it and all. Where were you when it happened?”
Jacob began to sense mistrust in Salvador’s questions. Or maybe his own apprehension was heightened because he was trying to hide something from his mentor for the first time in their relationship. “A couple miles away by then,” he tried to answer calmly. “I was following Simone back to the grid. I didn’t know what had happened to her.”
“I see,” Salvador said, then he hesitated in thought. He decided to stop his interrogation and tell Jacob the information his ANTs had gathered, believing his protégé was still ignorant of what had really happened. “We know a little more than we did yesterday, hijo. There were two explosions, almost simultaneous. They came from the base of the bridge, and they caused it to collapse into the river below. Everyone atop that bridge died in its destruction, just as you would have. But fortunately you had left, to follow Simone.”
“I’m guessing we still don’t know who or what caused the explosions?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. And so are you, I assume.”
The statement didn’t surprise Jacob. He was smart enough to know that Salvador would want an explanation for his talk with Anna. He responded directly and without qualms. “You’re referring to my meeting with the rebel prisoner?”
“I am.”
“I thought it was time to shake her up, scare her a bit. That’s all,” Jacob told him. It was the first blatant lie he had ever told Salvador. It had come easier than he expected. “She knows more than she’s letting on, Salvador. I wanted her to know that she was going to tell us everything, one way or another.”
“Very good,” Salvador said. “Because you’re right, hijo. She is going to tell us everything she knows. And she’s going to start telling us today. I’ve commissioned two Omega XT specialists to begin enhanced interrogations with her in an hour.”
“Enhanced interrogations?” Jacob asked, already knowing the answer.
“Simple waterboarding, for starters. It’s incredibly effective. And we need answers fast.”
“Hold on, Salvador. Give me another shot at her. I was getting somewhere this morning. She’ll talk to me.”
“I know she will, Jacob. Because you’re going to be there while she thinks she’s drowning.”
12.
T he Omega XT interrogation specialists were different from their more militaristic counterparts. While Salvador’s Omega XT soldiers were advanced and intelligent, his specialists displayed a higher level of sophistication and training. They dressed in all-black uniforms, their fatigue pants tucked firmly into their combat boots and their long-sleeved shirts tucked firmly into their pants. They didn’t wear the face-hiding headgear that other Omega XT wore. In fact, they wore nothing on their heads at all. There was no mystery to them, only hard and emotionless visages.
They had moved Anna to a separate and enclosed cell by the time Jacob got back to the courthouse’s basement jail. The cell was not like the others. Its door was solid steel, and inside it held a long, padded table that was bolted to the floor. Anna was lying face-up on the table, strapped down with leather shackles at her ankles, wrists, and forehead. Jacob had known before he walked into the room that he could show no reaction when he saw her, but it was a much harder proposition once he was there. He thought that if he had a chance, a moment when the Omega XT weren’t looking, he might try and give her a signal. But the specialists were hyper-observant, as they were trained to be, and that chance never came.
Anna’s first waterboarding lasted just fifteen minutes, but for Jacob it felt like hours. The specialists placed a thin cloth over her entire face, then slowly poured water over her mouth and nose. Every thirty seconds, they would stop and allow her to take a few labored breaths. She would gag and gurgle each time until she had cleared her throat of liquid, then after she gasped for precious air, they would begin the pouring again. This went on repeatedly while Jacob watched helplessly. His stomach wrenched at the brutality, but he had to hide his disgust. Finally, when he could take no more, he ordered them to stop.
“Alright, guys. That’s enough for now. I think she gets the picture.”
The Omega XT obeyed Jacob. They removed the cloth from Anna’s face, allowing her to suck in full gulps of air. She made horrific sounds at first as she regained her basic senses. There were shrieks and moans of desperation. Jacob remained steadfast in his mock apathy. After a minute or so, her breathing calmed. He went to her side and stood above her head, preparing for his performance as he did. There were the two specialists who would be watching him closely, but he had also noticed a video camera in the far corner of the room when he entered. He assumed that Salvador would be watching, too.
“I told you this morning, Anna, that you were going to have to talk. Now you know I wasn’t kidding. Listen, I’m a nice guy. I want this to be easy. But the people upstairs? They’re not like me. They don’t have the patience that I do. They want answers, and they want them now.”
Anna cleared her throat loudly. “You can tell the people upstairs one thing...PISS OFF!" She began coughing uncontrollably.
“It doesn’t work that way, Anna,” Jacob yelled over her coughs. “I know you’re a smart girl, so you’ve got this figured out already. But I’ll say it anyway. You talk to me, or these guys here keep pouring water on your face. Got it?” He thought he was being quite convincing, maybe almost too convincing. He wished he could tell her to give him something insignificant or untrue, just so the torture would stop.
Her coughing eased, and she grew quiet.
“Well, what’s it gonna be?” Jacob asked.
She shut her mouth tightly, demonstrating her intent to protest his demands with silence.
“Dammit,” he thought to himself. “Now what do I do?”
He turned to the Omega XT specialists and gave them direct instructions. “Come on, guys, let’s leave her with her thoughts for a while. Maybe she’ll come to her senses by the time we get back.” With that, he walked to the cell’s door, banking on the two men following him. When they did, he opened the door and let them walk out first. Then he said one last thing to Anna before turning off the room’s buzzing fluorescent lights and slamming its steel door shut. “Anna, you gotta give me something eventually. This is just the beginning of what they’re willing to do. I can only slow them down for so long.” After that, he left her alone in the dark, secretly hoping that she would understand what he was doing.
It had not taken long for Jacob to see the difficulty of what lay before him. Anna was trapped, with someone watching her at all times. He would never get a chance to have another private conversation with her. And so one thing became hauntingly clear as he walked down the hallway past the other cells. He began to truly realize just how improbable his escape was going to be.
13.
A nna’s enhanced interrogations occurred every day until Jacob figured out how to get through to her. She maintained her silence for a full week, all the while withstanding repeated waterboarding sessions. Jacob was there for every one, playing the role of frustrated interrogator while Anna refused to speak. But in moments he had to himself, he contemplated a way to give her a message in spite of their situation’s overwhelming obstacles.
There were cameras throughout the basement jail, so leaving a note or something like it in her regular cell was out of the question. And the Omega XT specialists were always with him in the
interrogation room, watching his every move. He never saw Anna otherwise, and he was afraid that requesting a private meeting with her would raise suspicions. His options were severely limited. Even so, he kept searching his brain for an answer. After six days of watching Anna suffer but resist, it came to him.
Anna was an information analyst, an expert at taking words and sentences apart to find both clear and hidden meanings. If Jacob could somehow get her attention, have her focus on his words instead of the questions they formed, maybe he could pass a message to her. He didn’t need to be elaborate. More than anything else, he just wanted her to know that he was still willing to help her. Then, maybe he could tell her to start talking to him, but without revealing too much about herself or the Lefty organization.
He arrived at the jail on the seventh day of her interrogations with a plan. He would alert her with a specific reference to their first conversation, when just the two of them had spoken without interference or distraction. It would need to be subtle so that it wouldn’t raise concern from anyone watching, especially Salvador on the other side of the cell’s solitary camera. He knew just what he would say.
He walked into the specialized interrogation cell as the two Omega XT were preparing Anna for another round of waterboarding.
“Afternoon, guys,” he said. “Here we go again, huh?”
“Yes, sir,” one of the specialists answered. “Until she talks, we keep pushing.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Jacob suggested, motioning for the men to join him in a corner of the room. He spoke softly, so only they could hear. “We know what’s coming. She knows what’s coming. We’ve been doing this for six days and gotten nowhere. Why don’t you let me start today by just talking with her? You never know – might work.”
“This is a proven technique, sir. Everyone eventually breaks.”