by F Stone
“Yes, Greystone. Mostly. Sometimes, I … ”
He put up his hands. “Then, you’ve done well. Nothing more is required.” He cocked his head. “You’ve come here for advice, perhaps?”
“No. I just miss everyone. How’s Danik?”
“We have him busy most every day attending to our livestock. Keeping him occupied with herding instead of scheming. He’s tempted to charge in to rescue you.”
“Oh no. He mustn’t. These people would destroy him at first sight. They’re a rather angry lot. More concerned about following rules than anything else. Few listen to their inner wisdom.”
Greystone nodded. “Hmm. That’s military life, I suppose. Sidney, I want you to make a promise to me.”
“Yes, anything for you, Greystone.”
“Promise me you’ll follow your heart.”
“I always do.”
Greystone waved a finger in the air. “You’ve put limitations on where you allow your heart to go. Let it be free. Free as you when you decided to swim in the river’s current rather than near the safety of the shore. Free as you when you climbed the cliffs instead of taking the pathway to the top of the mountain. Free as — ”
“I think we all get the message, Greystone.” Livingstone rolled his eyes. “Do you Sidney?”
Sidney shrugged. “I guess so. But my heart belongs to the Guardian people. I don’t need to — ”
Birthstone interrupted. “True enough, Sidney. You don’t need to. But, if your heart should speak to you about being confined and limited, listen. Listen and follow your heart.”
Sidney looked back into Greystone’s eyes. They shone with love for her. They spoke of his wisdom and patience. Then, they faded away as she returned to her isolation room. The supper tray was still there.
She tested the sides of the teapot. It was still hot. She poured the tea into a cup and pulled the tray of food closer to her bed. Holding her hands palms up, just above the food, she thanked the Creator for the gifts of the Earth, her life, and her lessons. Then, taking a fork into her hand, she scooped up a portion of the cheese and noodles and tasted it. It was hot and delicious.
When her supper was eaten, a feeling of doom still hung over her. She resumed her meditation. She had to consider the promise she’d made to Greystone. She heard her door open, and knew it was a man when the fragrance of aftershave hit her nostrils. Her eyes remained closed.
As Sidney sat cross-legged, ignoring his presence, she felt his tension, even a hint of contempt. She continued to breathe slowly, eyes closed and her hands placed on her thighs, palms up. He stepped closer to her bed. She sent loving kindness to the man, attempting to soften his anger. Quietly, he moved to the side of her bed, careful not to disturb anything.
She opened her eyes. Commander Moon was bent down closely, inspecting the old bullet wound in her left hand. Without warning, she spoke.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Moon gasped and bolted up straight. Sidney smiled, amused at having surprised him.
“Excuse me.” He grabbed his hat off his head, and then placed it on again. In the next breath he was in command again. “You appear fine.” He waited for a response.
It seemed to Sidney as if he expected a report from her — as though she was one of the seamen. She got off the bed on the opposite side from where he was standing and stood up straight.
“Yes, sir. All systems are functioning at optimum performance. Do you require verification, sir?”
His face remained as a stone for a moment before a sneer took shape.
“Very amusing, miss. And, if I asked for verification, what would you do?”
“Well, let me see.” Moving around to the end of the bed and toward the door she considered her response. “I know. Swimming is a great workout for the body. Perhaps I should jump into the ocean and see how far I can swim. Would that satisfy you, sir?”
Moon simply glared at her. “If you have any notions of getting off this ship, I suggest you come back to reality.”
Sidney had hoped to break through his hard shell, but she discovered it was impenetrable. There was only one other alternative — challenge his beliefs about her. She walked right up and stood toe to boot with him.
“I know more about reality than you can guess.”
She stabbed one of her fingers into his breastbone. Moon grabbed her hand, lifted it off his chest and held it painfully tight. For a brief moment, she could see he’d lost command of himself. He regained it quickly once he released her hand.
“You won’t give me any trouble. You won’t step outside the infirmary doors. You’ll do exactly as the medical staff commands. Is that clear, miss?” he snarled.
“I have no wish to be any trouble to you or anyone else.”
“That’s difficult to believe in view of your attempted escape this morning.”
Sidney now realized she’d made a serious mistake in making light of the situation. She’d made her escape attempt during his shift, and it was now obvious he held a grudge against her beyond the fact that she was a prisoner.
Looking directly in his eyes, she declared, “It clearly states in the Prisoner of War manual that a prisoner is duty bound to attempt to escape. So when I found the door unlocked and no one around … well, it occurred to me that perhaps I’d overstayed my welcome. You would’ve done the same thing, Commander. Except, I think you’d have been more successful than me.” She hoped that would be enough to repair some of his damaged ego.
A smug grin emerged on his face. “The captain tells me you claim to have decided not to continue with your escape attempt because you became concerned the admiral would punish the captain’s family for your escape. Do you realize that the captain’s sons have been well taken care of by Admiral Garland since the captain’s wife died? They live in luxury in the admiral’s mansion, attended to by servants and go to the best school in New Seattle. No, Captain Waterhouse’s boys wouldn’t have suffered any ill fate.”
Sidney was initially staggered at the news of the close relationship between Captain Waterhouse and Admiral Garland. It created a new depth of fear and doubt in Sidney’s mind. The captain’s benevolent manner toward her was truly just pretense, a ruse for a gullible prisoner. Sidney was humiliated and angry.
Moon leaned down to her face and grinned. He went in for the kill. “I want you to think about that. You could be on your way home, right now, had you not been so näive. Pleasant dreams, miss,” he said sarcastically before he strode out of the room.
Sidney paced around her bed. Her anger continued to gain strength and fury. Sam opened the door, and she spun around on her heel and glared at Sam.
He was lacking his usual military stance. There was even a flicker of concern on his face.
“You’re upset,” he said.
She stood rigid. “Do you have a question, Captain?”
Sam stepped into the room and shut to door behind him. “All right. You have a complaint?”
Sidney narrowed her eyes. “As if that matters.”
“What’s at the bottom of this?”
Sidney stepped forward. “I have a question of my own, Captain.”
“You answer my question, and I’ll answer yours. Deal?”
“No deal. I know exactly what would’ve happened if I’d escaped? Nothing! Apparently, I’ve been a fool. Your sons are quite safe. In fact, Admiral Garland has taken on the role of protector to your kids. Is that not so? You and Admiral Garland must be great pals!”
“Who’s been talking to you?”
Sidney crossed her arms over her chest.
“Come with me,” he demanded.
He took Sidney by the arm to lead her out of the room. She tried to pull away.
“I can walk on my own.”
Sam tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her through the doorway and into the infirmary.
“Phillip, who’s been talking to the prisoner?”
“Commander Moon stopped by. Left just half an hour ago. No o
ne else that I know of, sir.”
Sam clenched his teeth. It was disappointing to discover that his first officer had been nosing into his personal life. His actions had seriously jeopardized his relationship with the prisoner.
“I’ll be using the Doctor’s office for the next while. I don’t want to be disturbed. Get her clothes ready. She’ll be transferred now.”
Sam let go of Sidney’s arm and motioned for her to go into Dr. Duncan’s office. Still fuming, she complied. Sam followed her and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Sit down!” he demanded.
Sidney hesitated but decided to show some cooperation. She chose a chair farthest away from Sam, who went behind Dr. Duncan’s desk and sat down.
“What did Commander Moon say to you?” he asked stiffly.
“Why do think this has anything to do with Commander Moon?”
“Sidney, answer my question and I’ll consider answering yours.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right! We’ll all be honest.” Sidney’s anger was turning into rage. She stood up and shouted, “I’ve been told once today that I’m naïve. I think he was right. All you want, Captain Waterhouse, is to know how I got into the missile room and how I defused the missiles. Let’s get this over with. Now!”
Sidney was trying to hold back the tears. She felt like a fool. Her anger was more with herself than anyone else. How could she have been so stupid as to turn down perhaps her last opportunity to go home?
Sam stood up and ordered her to sit down. She refused. Sam took her by the arm and pushed her back into her chair. Grabbing another chair, he sat in front of her.
“Now, calm down.”
“I won’t calm down. I’m fed up with your bloody rule book and never knowing what’s going to happen next.” A tear escaped. Roughly brushing it aside, she continued, “And … ”
Sam decided to take extraordinary measures to regain her trust. Bending forward so his face was near hers, he whispered, “Sidney, there’s one thing I can say honestly but off the record.” He paused. “Admiral Garland is not my friend.” He stared intently into her eyes.
She breathed in the warmth of his scent. The tension in her gut gave up its hold. She raised her chin just a bit in an effort to appear defiant.
“Your boys live with him, don’t they?” She sniffed.
Sam had never told anyone about his boys living with Admiral Garland. “Commander Moon told you that?”
Sidney nodded. “Yes.”
“Thank you for your honesty. I’ll continue to be honest with you. For now, all I can say is that things are not as they appear. I’m grateful you decided not to leave the ship this morning.”
He resumed his military posture, stood up, and returned to sit behind Dr. Duncan’s desk.
“Now, I want to make one thing as clear to you as I have to my officers — there are specific people allowed to speak to you besides myself, Dr. Duncan and his staff, Commander Moon, and Lieutenant Bridges. Commander Moon is in charge during the night, and you must cooperate with him whether he is on duty or not. However — ” he brought up his hand with the index finger raised “ — at no time is anyone allowed to cause you pain of any kind. Understood?”
She nodded and looked away from the brown eyes. It was impossible to stay angry.
“And, anything even remotely connected with your activity at the base or your status as a prisoner is off limits to everyone. Therefore, you won’t provide information to anyone on this ship except to me. Any questions?”
She was still suspicious, but knew there was no point in debating with him. “No.”
“Dr. Duncan has advised me that you’re well enough to leave the infirmary. Therefore, I’m confining you to a locked room. No one will have access to that room other than Commander Moon and myself. The two seamen posted at your room will be responsible for ensuring you don’t wander off.”
He gave a hint of a smile, and Sidney found herself once again having to shield herself from his masculine charm. It was a most annoying predicament. Her anger was gone, but trust had jumped overboard. The feeling that he could be orchestrating this whole charade nagged at her, and he certainly had the means to create an illusion of hope. Yet his calm strength stirred her feelings for him. She had to admit that Captain Sam Waterhouse was more than her only hope for survival. He was a man who seemed to have the power to rule out her determination to be solely focused on her mission. She had to remind herself that he’d be pointing a gun at her head in a few days.
“Actually, Captain, I’m eager for some privacy, and I want to apologize for being so angry. I hope we still have an agreement.”
Sam stood and motioned for her to go into the infirmary’s main room. “Nothing’s changed. Now, let’s get started. Get your clothes from Phillip.”
“Do I need to bring towels and sheets?” she asked.
“No, the room is completely equipped — bathroom, linens, toiletries.”
“Does it have a window, er, I mean, a porthole?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
Phillip handed over her jeans, socks, and jacket, cleaned and folded neatly in military fashion.
“Perhaps if you’re more cooperative, you could be moved to a room with a porthole later,” Sam said.
“Captain, if I’m more cooperative, I won’t need any room for very long.”
“Let’s just take this one day at a time. Now follow Lieutenant Bridges. Seaman Yarns and I will follow. Do you have everything?”
“Some of my clothes seem to be missing — underwear, blouse, shoes.”
“Must have been too badly damaged. You weren’t wearing shoes when you arrived.”
Sidney looked off into the distance, her eyes wide. “My shoes!”
“What about them?”
Sidney thought for a moment. A memory had flashed, and then it was gone. “Oh, nothing. Just thought I remembered something.”
“All right. Let’s go, Lieutenant.”
Sidney followed Bridges as he led her through hallways and down three flights of stairs. The hint of the evening’s daylight rapidly disappeared as she stepped further into the bowels of the ship. The thundering footsteps of the seamen’s boots spoke of their power over her. Artificial lighting brightly lit the corridors with a harsh greenish glow as steel rapidly closed in around her.
The few seamen they met along the way stood at attention as Sam walked by. She could hear their murmurs as they returned to their duties. At the end of a hallway, Bridges stood to the side. Sam opened a flap on the security system unit bolted to the wall and entered a code onto the numbered pad.
“Disarm and release,” he said
The unit’s red light flashed to green and announced, “Code and voice print acknowledged and approved. Open door within eight seconds.”
Sam pushed down on the lever and pulled the door open.
He motioned for Sidney to enter the small, austere room. It measured about ten by fifteen feet. A single bed with a gray mattress stood directly opposite the door against the far, white wall. A black metal bedside table and one gray metal folding chair were the sole amenities in the room. At the far corner was a white toilet against the same wall as the bed. Between the bed and the toilet was a gray locker. Next to the toilet on the adjacent wall was a white, pedestal sink with a bar of white soap on its ledge and a simple square mirror on the wall. On the floor beside the sink was a black garbage receptacle.
If it weren’t for the neatly folded navy blue linens and blankets on the bed, the room would’ve looked like a movie set from the era of black and white motion pictures. The room was illuminated by one ceiling fixture that shone so brightly the only shadow noticeable was the dark recess under the bed. Sidney noted a tiny video camera high on the wall above the bed.
Sam stepped into the room close behind her and shut the door. She stepped away from him, and nodded with approval at the space.
“This is good. I’ve never had a master en suite attached to my bedroom before.
It’s very clean, too. Who’s your housekeeper?”
She wasn’t going to let him see her crumble, not for a second. The room wasn’t the problem. It was the ceiling, its one, cold, lifeless eye glaring down on her. It grated at her skin like a badly tuned violin. If there were an opening to the outside world, a tiny window, it would have been at least tolerable.
Sam didn’t sway from his stiff manner. “You’re the housekeeper for this room. You’ll be expected to keep it clean and tidy.”
“I hope I measure up. I’m not the best housekeeper. Usually there are a few dust bunnies in my humble abode, might keep a spider to two as a pet.”
“There are a few more rules you need to know about.”
“I should have guessed.”
He ignored her comment. “The camera over the bed is monitored by only myself from my office. A record will be kept of who enters and leaves this room twenty-four hours a day. No one can enter this room except by my voice command. I’ll release the locking mechanism via my office comlink and observe on my monitor all activity at this doorway. Understood?”
Sidney tilted her head to the side. “Are you more worried about someone getting in, or me getting out?”
He hesitated. “There will always be two personnel guarding the entrance to this hall and your door.”
“You’re very thorough, Captain.”
“Thanks to you, we’ve found where things were getting slack. The admiral has come to the same conclusion. There will be no civilians allowed on the base from now on.”
Sidney held her breath. The news was a shock. The underground would have little chance of retrieving the hidden memory rod if they hadn’t already. Now it looked like the mission was all for nothing. Time was running out. The admiral would have his demonstration the following week, and the world would go mad.
Sidney endeavored to hide her alarm. “All because of one lost visitor?”
She thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face. This time, though, she resisted being led into surrendering her trust to a false benevolent master. She moved farther away and turned her back to him. Opening the locker door, she noted fresh towels, an extra blanket, disposable cups, and pajamas. A white plastic box sat on the top shelf.