"I wasn't sure the two were connected, and I'm still not sure, but when I wasn't able to reach you, I thought I should get out here. Did you happen to check all the rooms in this building before coming to this one?" He looks at the two men with a knowing eye and takes a long warm drink from his mug.
The two officers look at each other before answering. They know that the sheriff will not be happy that they didn't follow protocol and clear every room before heading straight to the one with the light shining through the bottom of the door. "No Sheriff," Stuart finally utters to break the awkward silence. "We checked the first room, the one with all of the computer equipment. When we left that room, we could see the lights coming from this one and we came straight here." The injured officer has turned a little pink in the cheeks, with the judgmental eyes of the sheriff piercing a hole right through him.
"You guys were not very quiet either. I knew you were coming from the minute you opened that outer door. The computer equipment you found is what they call servers. If you would have taken the time to check the other two rooms, you would see that they are used to power all the things in those rooms. The other two rooms are connected, they tore down the wall between them, making one very large room."
"They? Who is they?" Mitch is eager to find out who is responsible for everything that has been going on, but his father sits calmly in the wooden chair and takes a slow drink of his coffee. How can his old man be so calm in a time like this, he wonders to himself?
"I'll get to that. That double room is filled with dozens of computer monitors and about ten television screens. They have the whole park wired with cameras and it looks to me like they are running some kind of game show on the internet. My guess is they are charging the viewers to watch the players take each other out, one by one." As he places his cup back on the counter, he points to the small closet on the other side of the room. "Mitch, go over there and wheel out my new friend."
Mitch is confused at first but rises to his feet and heads toward the small closet door in the opposite corner. When Sheriff Thompson says something, people usually listen and do what he says, another lesson Mitch learned very early in life. As he gets closer to the closet door he can hear muddled groans coming from inside. He opens the door with a quick swing and just like the sheriff inferred, there is a man sitting in an office chair, who looks up at him with large eyes. The man is no doubt thinking that he is being rescued. His eyes dart to the badge on the officer's chest and his head instantly hangs in shame once more.
Mitch grabs the back of the chair and wheels it out into the center of the room. Sheriff Thompson has succeeded in securing him with the use of duct tape and thick rope. The man looks far too young to be the mastermind of anything as lethal as the game that is going on, especially if it is linked to a similar event that happened a decade ago. Mitch notices the large red spot on the man's forehead, which is no doubt the result of the famous right hook the sheriff uses when things get serious.
"Take the tape off of his mouth so we can finish asking him questions. I was in the middle of my interrogation when you dummies decided to interrupt." The sheriff throws his feet up on the counter, once again looking cool and collected, as if he has not a worry in the world about how this whole mess will turn out.
Mitch on the other hand is sweating profusely and his heart still has not returned to its normal rate. He rips the tape from the guys mouth and the man lets out a loud scream. Mitch gives him a swift smack on the head with the back of his hand and tells him to be quiet. Violence had never been a forte of his but after the events of the evening so far, it has become increasingly more relevant. "How much have you gotten out of him so far?"
"Not much. He thinks he's a tough guy and hasn't said a single word. I was just about to practice some of the things I learned in the war in an effort to convince him that talking to me would be beneficial." Sheriff Thompson is slow to rise to his feet but once he does he towers over the younger man in the chair. Bill Thompson has always been able to get what he wants in life, usually without having to ask for it. Mitch likes the added effect the sheriff achieves by mentioning things he learned in the war, even though his father never served.
Now all three officers are standing in a circle around the man in the office chair. The prisoner's eyes dart back and forth as he tries to figure out which one of them is the most immediate danger to his well-being. He studies Stuart for a long time, the blood running down his leg is enough to convince anyone that he is a threat. The man twists his head in order to look at Mitch who stands firmly behind him. Mitch is possibly the most unassuming member of the trio, especially since the man can only see his head. Finally, the man returns his attention to the sheriff. He has already felt the power of the right hand, so it is obvious that the sheriff is not fooling around.
"I'm going to ask you some questions and I want answers. If you decide to stay quiet, my deputies and I will take turns beating the crap out of you until you beg us to stop. The choice is yours." The sheriff leans into the man’s face to stress the importance of the words he is telling him. The man decides the only thing to do is to avoid eye contact and lowers his head to look at the linoleum floor. The sheriff brings his arm back and delivers a strong right hand to the man's cheek.
In a thud, the fist makes contact with the soft flesh and Mitch is certain he saw at least one tooth leave his mouth and fly across the room. Mitch has been a witness to his father’s power several times before but this time it seemed to have a bigger effect than normal. "I suggest you answer his questions, he's just getting warmed up," Mitch tells the man as a small stream of blood begins to flow down his chin.
"What do you say we start with an easy one, shall we. What's your name?" Mitch and Stuart sit back down in their chairs and watch as Sheriff Thompson does what he does best, get the information he wants. The sheriff walks around the chair giving a hard slap to the back of the head of the prisoner, and again asks him for his name. The man remains silent for a long time until he sees the sheriff pull a long hunting knife out of his pocket.
"OK...OK. My name is Steven Graham. My uncle owns this park. Are you happy now?" The prisoner hangs his head in defeat after giving up his name. The Graham name has long been a fixture in Twisted Timbers and dates back to the years of the gold rush. It never crossed the minds of the police officers that the owner of the park had anything to do with what was going on.
"You're telling me that old man Graham allows you to do this here? I find that very hard to believe young man. Now come clean with me or else I'll clean your flesh right off of the bone." Sheriff Thompson makes a slicing motion with his blade, making sure that Mr. Graham has a good look at it.
"I'm telling the truth! You asked me my name and I told you. I never said my uncle knew anything about what I was doing. My uncle and father haven’t had a very good relationship of the past twenty years." Steven Graham is careful not to give out too much information, only telling the sheriff exactly what he asks.
"Mitch, get Mr. Graham on the phone. I think he should know what we found out. Tell him the F.B.I. will be here in the morning to sort everything out, it's best if he stays away until then." Mitch gets up from his chair as his father requested but stops once the meaning of what his father has asked sinks in. As if he knew what his son was thinking the sheriff continues, "there's a land line phone in the next room over."
Mitch exits the room quickly and the sheriff returns his focus to the man tied to the chair. Stuart follows Mitch with his eyes until he is out of sight before turning his head back to watch the sheriff. Anyone who has ever seen the sheriff in action knows that it is a spectacle to watch. The injured officer is confused as to where he should be or what he should be doing, so he just sits in the chair and remains quiet.
Sheriff Thompson kneels down in front of Steven, with the sharp knife blade aimed directly at the man’s throat. "I'm going to give you the facts as we know them and any time I miss something, or you have something to add, I want to hear it. Do we und
erstand each other?"
The captured man says nothing but even Stuart can tell that the man is defeated. He is unable to move and there is little chance that he would be able to escape his current situation even if he could. Steven Graham looks up at Sheriff Thompson and simply nods his head.
"Let's see, somehow you managed to bring six very deadly individuals to our quiet town, and stick them all inside our favorite amusement park. For some reason, every ride in the park remotely starts up at random times and lights up the night sky."
"The Ferris Wheel was used as the starting and ending time for the game. All the players knew this. As for the other rides, if you are able to kill another player with the ride somehow, you are given a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus. The people who are paying big bucks to watch this thing go crazy when someone is killed like that." The captured young man adds this little bit of information as if he is proud of the rules he has set up for the players to abide by.
"Well that clears up why the rides would randomly turn on. You're able to start them from your little control center next door?" The sheriff waves a hand toward the rest of the rooms in the building but since he wasn't expecting it, the hand wave makes Stuart jump.
"I can do just about anything from that room. I have access to anything in the park that is hooked to the power grid. It took several months for me to get things set up, just for you guys to come in here and ruin it before the game was over." After he says the last word, the man spits out a long stream of blood from his mouth that lands on the floor not far from the boot of the sheriff.
The sheriff responds with a slight chuckle before addressing the man again, "I'm sorry to crash your party but maybe my deputies are a little better than you gave them credit for."
"I wouldn't say that. I think they've been extremely lucky." Once again, the man has an oddly cocky attitude for someone who finds himself in a situation as dire as this one.
"I don't care what you think they've been, so far they've been able to hold their own against your team of trained killers." Sheriff Thompson gives a wink to Stuart, knowing the deputy isn't fond of violence and the fact that he stabbed someone to death will weigh on his mind far after this ordeal is over. "Let's get back to the facts. One of your killers somehow used the Wood Splitter coaster to take off another guy’s head. Then my guys took out two of your other guys, one of whom had a head in his bag. Apparently, if I read these rules correctly, the killers are paid extra money if they bring back body parts as evidence of the killing. On top of all of that, you are in these rooms acting as the leader of the game and running all of the cameras that you set up. People are paying you money for the ability to watch everything go down. Am I right so far?"
"That's the big picture. You've missed a few details, like the giant increase in revenue I gained in the moments after the roller coaster killing. Not only are people watching the action that I am streaming online, I also set up a site that allows them to bet on the person they think is going to be the last man standing. So far we have about nine million dollars wagered since the time we started." The man seems impressed with the large amount of money he has generated. He looks at the sheriff with a smug grin and half a smile.
"Sheriff, can I interrupt for a second?" This is the first time that Stuart has said anything for quite a while and his voice rips apart the tension that had been building between the prisoner and the sheriff.
"Sure, go right ahead. The more we get out of him, the more we'll know." For the first time since the interrogation began, Sheriff Thompson returns to his seat and just stares at the prisoner.
"When I was on the carousel, someone fired a shot in my direction. It missed but caused me to take cover. Once the ride started up, I was able to get out of the little room. I saw Mitch and Fred coming to save me but before I reached them I was shot. What I'm wondering is why were there several ropes tied to some of the animals on the ride?"
Another small chuckle from the prison, "All of the participants in the game were tied to the carousel by yours truly. I worked very hard on tying the knots the best I could but I’m afraid they were tied tight enough. If they were unable to get out of the ropes then the ride would start up and pretty much slice their body in two. Unfortunately, they all made it out long before the ride started up.”
Stuart musters up the energy to rise his body out of the chair he has been sitting in. The blood has quit flowing from his leg, but the soreness and pain has intensified with the lack of adrenaline rushing through his body. "That doesn’t make much sense to me, but if you say so. If all of these guys are the best killers on earth, why am I still alive? Whoever was shooting at me had multiple chances to take me out and he missed, twice."
Following these questions Steven Graham breaks into full-fledged laughter that comes from deep in his gut. "I think I know who was shooting at you and if he wanted you dead, you'd be dead. He has one flaw that the other killers don't. He is a former Ranger, the best sniper the Army has produced in decades. He is solely responsible for clearing a whole village in Afghanistan. What makes him different from the others is his conscience. His name is Jesse Meyer and he has a long family history of fighting for this country, he practically bleeds red, white and blue."
"So, you're saying he didn't kill me because I am American? If that's the case, then the odds are suddenly looking better for us." Stuart suddenly feels a strong surge of pain in his leg and falls into his chair again. "There's now three of us and only two of these crazies are trying to take us out.”
"I'm not saying he won’t kill you because you're an American, I'm saying he will only kill an American who deserves it. Once provoked, he is just as ruthless as any of these other maniacs. I wouldn't necessarily consider him an ally"
“By the way, we found your hat by the Ferris Wheel. I assume it’s yours because we originally thought it belonged to a child, but I guess it could also fit a small man like you." Stuart looks down on the man with the disgust that comes from looking at the person who is responsible for the gunshot wound in your leg.
Sheriff Thompson sees that Stuart needs a minute to catch his breath and rises to his feet again. He is about to begin asking more questions of the prisoner, since he now seems more forthcoming with answers, so he can brag about the game that he has built. Before he can ask any more questions Mitch charges into the room with a red face and out of breath.
"Dad...Sheriff. You guys have to come here and see this." Mitch has his hand over his chest as if he needed to hold his heart to prevent it from beating out of his skin. "I think I found Fred. If it’s him then he is still alive, at least he is for now. We have to hurry, or he won’t be for too much longer."
Chapter 22
Sheriff Thompson instructs Stuart to stay put and keep an eye on their prisoner. He is happy to oblige because sitting in the chair is a lot less than painful than moving. The sheriff gives him directions about shooting at the first sign that the prisoner is trying to escape and turns to follow Mitch out into the hallway. They walk into the room directly next to where the interrogation was taking place. The room is filled with television screens, each one showing a different ride or attraction of Graham Park.
The two men stand silently in front of the screens for a long time. The sheriff eyes each of them intently, shifting his eyes from screen to screen before settling on one on the bottom row, directly in the middle of array. "I see it Mitch but tell me what I'm looking at."
Mitch leans closer to the screen so that he can point at certain aspects for emphasis. "This is the back side of the Ferris Wheel. I'm pretty sure that's Fred who is laying on the ground. It looks like there is a rope or chain around his neck." The figure on the screen is tiny and the quality of the video isn't the best, making it hard for the sheriff to see what his son is trying to point out.
Sheriff Thompson pulls out his glasses from his shirt pocket. He hates wearing his glasses, but his elevated age has started to take a toll on more than just his hips and knees. He knows that this is no time to miss det
ails because of blurry vision. "Are you sure that's Fred? I thought you guys said he was killed in the fire at the ice cream building."
"We thought he was killed in the fire because when we stopped to look for him, he was nowhere to be found. We just assumed that he failed to make it out safely." Mitch is still out of breath and his words come out in an obvious sign that he is beginning to panic.
"Mitch, how many times have I told you boys about being thorough in your investigations. We can't just go around saying someone, especially a fellow officer, is dead. Without a body or any kind of evidence at all, we say that he is missing." He has harped on this point several times over the years. Even though the town doesn't have a high crime rate, he has always tried to keep his deputies informed and ready for any scenario.
"I get it but that is definitely Fred right there. If you look at the area where his left shoulder meets the ground, you can make out his badge, or at least I think that’s what it is. The bigger problem is what your friend in there was telling us earlier. The game is over at sunrise and the Ferris Wheel will start up again to signal to the players that it's all over."
"And if the Ferris Wheel starts up, whoever that is out there will be left hanging by his neck!" It's not often that Mitch figures something out before his old man does, but when he does, Sheriff Thompson always finishes the thought. The older man thinks this gives his son the impression that he had it figured out at the same time. "It might be too dangerous to go out there and attempt a rescue but let's see if our newest friend can help us out at all."
The two men rush back to the room and find that Stuart has made his way back to his feet. He is standing over the man and seems completely out of breath. The prisoner now has a few more bruises on his face than he had when the two Thompson men left the room. "Stuart, you should be sitting down and resting. We need to get some more information out of this guy, so we need him to be able to move his mouth, otherwise I would let you continue."
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