by A. American
Even though he couldn’t see the men, Calvin heard them enter the cell. He tried to brace himself, but there was nothing he could do to prepare. He was grabbed by both arms and jerked to his feet. A painful moan escaped him as he was forced to stand. The fire tearing through his side caused his knees to buckle.
“Get on your feet, dammit!”
With as much effort as he could muster, Calvin moaned, “You fuckers broke my ribs. I can’t.”
With even more force the two men tried to pull him to his feet. The pain was so intense Calvin completely collapsed. He could feel his ribs popping.
“Son of a bitch, now what?”
“Get the doc over here to see if they really are broken,” one of the men said.
The men stepped out and the door slammed shut. Calvin lay there trying to get his breath. He could only take small gasps of air. A full breath was a wish at this point.
“Dad! Dad, you all right?” Shane called out. He’d found his way to the door and had his face pushed into the edge.
The man that just left Calvin’s cell stepped over and kicked the door. “Shut up!”
“Come in here and try that shit with me, asshole!” Shane shouted.
Silence answered him. Shane moved his face around the door, trying to determine if the man was still there. After a moment of silence, he was answered with a whisper, “Don’t worry, boy, your time is coming.”
Shane jerked his head from the door, surprised by the proximity of the voice. He recovered quickly and yelled out, “Big talk on the other side of that door! Open it up, cocksucker!”
Jess shook her head. They have no idea what they’re getting into, she thought.
Soon, more voices came into the building. The door to Calvin’s cell was opened once again, this time without the blinding light that had accompanied the earlier encounter. Before he could even react, a sack was pulled over his head. He could feel hands running over him and something being pushed down his shirt, then an incredible coldness on his chest.
A woman’s voice told him to take a breath. He tried, but all he could muster was a gasp.
“Deeper.”
Calvin shook his head and managed to say, “Can’t.”
A set of hands pressed on his side, causing him to wince and moan. After the brief examination, the people left, leaving the sack on his head and slamming the door.
Though muffled, Jess, Fred, and Shane could hear the guards and medics discuss Calvin’s condition. “He’s got at least two broken on one side and possibly some more fractures,” one of them said.
“We’re supposed to interrogate him today.”
“You can try, but it’ll probably kill him.”
Another man spoke up. “Whatever, get the other one.”
Hearing those words paralyzed Shane momentarily. His mind raced. I’m not just going to sit here and wait for them to take me. He felt around the door, trying to see if there was a handhold, but came up with nothing. He knew he couldn’t run at them, but then he remembered an old football drill. He squatted down in front of the door, reaching out to make sure he was close, then took up the position of a lineman, his hands on the floor and his knees bent. With his feet shackled he had to keep them side by side, but he hoped he’d have enough leverage for what he planned.
As the key slid into the lock, he squeezed his eyes tight. The door started to swing open. Even with his eyes closed, the spotlight bore through his eyelids. Shane launched himself through the door. However, it was wider than he anticipated, causing the guard to be standing farther away. Shane’s shoulder hit the man’s knees. He managed to knock the man down, but he fell directly onto Shane’s back, the spotlight crashing to the floor. The guard quickly recovered and drove an elbow into Shane’s back again and again, taking all his breath away.
Shane lay on the cold concrete, trying to get air into his lungs.
“Thought you were smart, didn’t ya, you little shit?”
A hood was quickly pulled over his head, and he was grabbed roughly by the arms.
“Get up, get on your damn feet!” one of the men shouted.
Shane was finally able to get a breath and managed to stumble along. As a door was opened, the warmth of the sun washed over him. Even through the hood on his head, he could see the sunshine through the cloth. As he was pulled along he marveled at the feel of the sun on his body. For a moment he was elsewhere, but only for a moment.
Another door was opened and he was dragged inside another structure. The two men forced him into a chair, then spent several minutes undoing his restraints and securing them to the chair.
“He’s all yours,” one of the men said.
“Keep an eye on him. He thinks he’s pretty smart,” the other said. Shane’s head snapped forward as one of them slapped him in the back of the neck.
Shaking off the insult, Shane rotated his head. The fabric of the hood was thick and he couldn’t see anything, but turning his head allowed him to focus his hearing. His other senses were also more acute. The place had an antiseptic smell. It reminded him of the nurse’s office from his elementary school.
The room was silent, but he knew someone was there. Shane wanted to say something, but he decided to wait for whoever was there to speak first. Instead, he focused on controlling his breathing and trying to relax. He was worried about his dad, and rage was building inside of him. They hadn’t done anything to deserve this. Was it illegal to be driving down the road now? Even if it was, it certainly didn’t justify all this. They hadn’t bothered anyone. Some of their group members wanted to take the fight to the Feds, but Calvin had counseled against it. He assured them the fight would come to them, but that they shouldn’t go looking for it. Unfortunately, when it did find them, they were caught completely by surprise.
After an uncomfortably long time, Shane jumped at what sounded like a chair scraping across the concrete floor. Footsteps followed and he listened as this person moved about the room. Despite his efforts to remain calm, his breathing began to increase, sucking the sack in with every inhalation. After a moment, the hood was snatched from his head. Shane closed his eyes against the light.
The man who pulled the hood from his head was balling it up, his back to Shane. As he tossed the hood onto a small table, he began to speak.
“Shane, my name is Raidon Niigata. You may refer to me as Niigata.” He spun around and leaned back on the table, crossing his ankles.
Niigata smiled and began to speak again. “You and I are going to have a conversation. I will ask you some questions and you will answer them.”
As he spoke, Shane was trying to remember what his voice reminded him of. Then it dawned on him: he sounded like Sulu from the original Star Trek series. This realization caused a small smile to creep across his face. Niigata noticed immediately and smiled back.
“Have I said something that amuses you?”
The smile disappeared immediately. “No, just an old memory is all.”
“Ah, memories, yes, we all have them. Maybe we can talk about some of yours.”
Shane didn’t respond. He simply stared back.
A scowl wrinkled Niigata’s face. “I hear your father is not well—pity. But that is what brought you and me together, isn’t it?”
Shane shook his head. “Not well? That what you fuckers call it when you beat a cuffed man? What happened to our rights?”
Niigata smiled again. “How quaint. I assume you are referring to your oft-misquoted Constitutional rights. I am certain you realize we are operating under a different set of rules at the moment.”
Shane snorted. “Yeah, I’ve seen your rules in action.”
“Then we can skip the pleasantries and move ahead,” Niigata said, picking up an instrument from the table behind him.
Shane’s pulse immediately jumped when he saw the scissors. As Niigata moved toward him, he strug
gled against the restraints, to no avail. Without saying a word, Niigata began to cut his shirt off, the blade of the instrument cold against Shane’s skin. Niigata jerked the tatters of the shirt off him.
“What the hell are you doing?” Shane shouted.
As Niigata knelt down at his feet, he began to speak again. “Tell me, Shane, what do you know about interrogation?”
Shane watched in horror as Niigata began to cut up the left leg of his pants. Niigata paused and looked up expectantly.
“Uh, I uh, I know it’s mainly psychological,” Shane stammered as Niigata snipped through the waist of his jeans.
Very deliberately, Niigata moved to the right leg. “Very good. You are both right and wrong.”
Trembling, Shane asked, “Why are you doing that? What the fuck?”
“We are establishing the basis of our relationship,” Niigata said, as he stood he snatched the flayed jeans out from under Shane.
Shane let out an audible gasp, looking down at his exposed chest and legs. The room was cold and caused goose bumps to rise. He was thankful he still had his underwear on. In an effort to stop Niigata from going any further, he started to talk, fast.
“You haven’t even asked me anything yet! Why are you doing this? You don’t know I won’t cooperate.”
Niigata turned and laid the scissors on the table, much to Shane’s obvious relief.
“Good point, but you can’t fault me for thinking you would be resistant to answering my questions.”
• • •
Calvin laid on the floor of his cell. He knew they had taken Shane away, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was in so much pain. His sides were on fire. With much effort he was able to get himself up into a sitting position. The effort required to do so was intense, and he sat panting against the wall. Once he caught his breath, he called out.
“Hello?” His voice was weak, and he wasn’t sure anyone was even around to hear it. He called out again. “Is there anyone here?”
Fred and Jess both heard him and moved toward their doors. Fred answered him in a loud whisper, “Yes, we’re still here.”
Calvin looked around, unable to see anything in the blackness. “Where’d they take my son?”
“We don’t know,” Fred answered.
Jess sat at her door wringing her hands. Whatever was happening surely wasn’t a good thing.
“Will they bring him back?” Calvin asked.
“I hope so,” Jess whispered, to herself more than to Calvin.
Fred leaned against the door. “I’m sure they will,” she said unconvincingly.
Calvin’s chin dropped to his chest as tears started to roll down his cheeks. How could it be that one day ago, they were free, and now his son was going through God knows what?
• • •
Shane was tense, waiting for Niigata to start questioning him. But the man was in no hurry. He leaned against the table and stared Shane in the eye. After a moment, Shane noticed the small stand behind him. Turning, Niigata gripped the stand and pulled it around the table. The small stand was covered with a cloth. Niigata positioned it in front of Shane, pulling off the cloth to reveal an assortment of medical instruments and tools.
Shane stared at the implements lying before him. He started to feel light-headed and his ears began to ring. Niigata looked over the items on the tray, inspecting the occasional piece.
“It’s time to begin, Shane.” Niigata paused and looked at him. “How we proceed is entirely up to you at this point.”
Shane’s eyes moved back and forth from Niigata to the tray. His chest was heaving, as he was nearly hyperventilating.
“Let’s start with the obvious: why was your group on Highway 40?”
Shane’s mind was racing as fear crept in. “I didn’t know driving down the road was illegal. You guys just started shooting. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
Niigata inspected the tray, then picked up another pair of scissors. Without looking up, he said, “You didn’t answer my question.” He looked at Shane. “I do not like to repeat myself, so please do not make me.”
Shane licked his lips, looking at the instrument, but said nothing.
Niigata smiled and stepped toward him. “Remember how you said interrogation was mostly a mental exercise?” Niigata leaned over and swiftly cut the band from one side of Shane’s underwear, causing him to jump.
“What the fuck, man?”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Niigata said as he snipped the other side, leaving the front of Shane’s drawers lying limp in his lap.
Shane was entirely off-balance now. His mind was running away, the fear of the unknown taking over.
“We were just out for a ride. We met some people and were headed home!” Shane shouted.
Niigata leaned back against the table and crossed his arms. “Very good. Who did you meet?”
“Uh, just some people. I didn’t know them.”
Niigata smiled again. “You have a pretty good poker face, Shane. It’s a shame your eyes betray you.”
“Huh?”
“You looked left, which tells me you made that up.” Niigata stood up and turned to the tray. “It’s not your fault: it’s involuntary.”
“No, no, it’s the truth, I didn’t know them.” It was technically correct, but Shane didn’t know how to convey that.
When Niigata turned to face Shane, he was pulling a pair of latex gloves on his hands. “Let’s say that’s true, you did not know them. Then your father, Calvin, he must know them?” He let the glove snap against his wrist.
“No, he didn’t know them either!”
“How many people did you meet?”
“Only two that I saw?”
“So you think there were more?”
Shane shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, maybe.”
Niigata stepped forward quickly, leaning over so his mouth was beside Shane’s ear. “It only gets worse from here.” He snatched the remnants of Shane’s underwear out from under him.
Shane yelped as a cruel smile spread across Niigata’s face.
Chapter 5
Thad and I were sitting in camp chairs by the fire. He was stirring the pot of slurry. After the wood ash soaked in water, the lye was leached out. Now it had to be reduced.
“How do you know when it’s done?” I asked.
“There’s a test for it we can do in a few minutes,” Thad replied.
Jeff and Danny walked up carrying fishing rods. “We’re going fishing while you Girl Scouts make your soap,” Danny said. Jeff started to laugh.
Thad looked up and shook his head. Rolling my eyes, I said, “Go ahead, yuk it up. But when we’re done, I’ll know how to make soap and I can catch fish.”
“Good, then there will be twice as many people around here who can make soap,” Jeff replied, laughing.
I looked at the pot bubbling on the fire. “Thad, would that stuff burn your skin?”
He lifted the stick he was stirring with, the thick slurry sloughed off in thick strings. “It might”—he raised it back as if to swing it—“let’s see.”
Danny and Jeff looked like two of the three stooges as they pushed and shoved one another and ran away.
Thad looked up, laughing. “Serves ’em right.”
“Damn straight! Shoulda slung it at them. I would have,” I said with a chuckle.
Taylor and Lee Ann walked over.
“Dad, can we take a walk in the woods?” Taylor asked.
Without looking up, I replied, “Not right now. You guys need to hang out around here. I’ll go with you later.”
“Come on, Dad, we’ve got our guns. There’s no one around here,” Taylor protested. Lee Ann shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“You don’t know that,” Thad said.
I nodded at him and stood up. “I know you guys are bored, but we can’t chance it. Just because you have guns doesn’t mean you’re protected, as we have already seen.” I felt kind of bad adding that last line, but it was true, and I hoped they took it for how it was meant. The last thing I wanted was for one of them to get shot again. “Look, why don’t you two go work on the garden plot over there? We’ve got to get those plants in the ground soon.”
The girls looked at one another. It was obvious they weren’t impressed by the suggestion.
“A little hard work never hurt anyone,” Thad said with a grin.
“If we do that, will you promise to take us for a walk later?” Lee Ann asked. The past few weeks, she had been staying inside the cabin, sleeping late into the afternoon. A little bit of fresh air would do her good.
With a smile, I replied, “Sure.”
They turned and headed for the small plot. We watched as they took up the rake and hoe and set about chopping at the ground. I looked at Thad. “Why is it you can get them to do chores with a little suggestion, but I can’t pay them to do it for me?”
“It’s that third-party thing. You know, other people can get kids to do things they won’t do for their parents. I read about it somewhere.”
“Well, third party, I hope you stick around for about ten years.”
Thad’s head rocked back as he started to laugh.
Little Bit came over and wanted to help the girls, but it was quickly obvious that none of them were very interested in what they were doing.
“I’m bored,” Little Bit said.
Taylor leaned against the hoe she was using. “Yeah, this sucks.”
My head popped up. “It what?”
She gave me an innocent smile. “Can we do this later?”
I sighed. “Yeah, go see if your mom needs anything first, though.”
I looked at Thad. “So much for that.”