by S. K. Lessly
We drove for what felt like a long time before we stopped abruptly. I damn near fell out of the seat from the sudden movement. I sent angry glares to the two goons with me, but their stoic expressions didn’t change one bit.
Assholes…
The back door suddenly opened, and one of the big guys stepped out while the other grabbed me by my arm and angled me out of the van. I stepped down awkwardly and looked at my surroundings. We had driven for quite some time, turning here and there, essentially throwing off my sense of direction. I had no idea where we were. Maybe we were still in Delaware. Hell, maybe we were still in the city. I couldn’t tell either way.
I took a quick glance at my surroundings and found we were parked in a rundown parking lot with pot holes and debris scattered on the property. Trees surrounded us, and I assumed we were in the middle of nowhere. Perfect!
I clocked a huge RV stationed to my right. It seemed abandoned, but I couldn’t be sure of that either. Nothing was what it seemed, I started to realize. I had no clue what was real and what wasn’t. Maybe I was dreaming all of this. I hoped so because if this was my reality, I was truly screwed.
In front of me was a very large, four story, abandoned looking warehouse. I didn’t want to go inside but as the grip on my arm tightened, it looked like I didn’t have a choice. I walked awkwardly along the rocks and broken asphalt, in flip flops I might add, trying to maintain my balance.
Once we stepped inside the rundown place, it transformed into a functioning office building. I frowned and glanced behind me at the parking lot. The warehouse looked dilapidated on the outside, but the inside looked modern, decorated, very functional, and open for business. There was a huge desk to my right with two security guards sitting stock still. Dark marble panels adorned the walls and gray marble covered the floor. As we passed the security team, I noticed they were staring down at an extensive group of monitors. At least five 25" monitors sat in front of the men with each screen showing six different viewpoints of the building both outside and inside.
We continued to a bank of elevators in silence, the cuffs at my ankles biting into my skin. Typically, prisoners wore pants or socks around their ankles when they were shackled in the movies. I had nothing to protect my delicate skin. I wanted to cry out with every step I took but I remained quiet.
I will not break. I will not break.
One of the guys with me called for the elevator. It dinged immediately, opening to reveal an average looking car. I ungraciously stepped inside, hoping we would go up and not down. There was something scary about going to the basement of a guarded, practically abandoned, building. Good things never happened in a basement of those places. Never!
The elevator doors opened on the second floor and I was escorted out and down a hall. I looked around and gasped at what I saw. It looked as if I had stepped onto an average looking office floor. Clean, crisp white walls were everywhere. Cubicles filled spaces on either side of me. Decorative pictures hung on the walls, tall plants accented corners making the space feel warm, and beneath my feet was plush tan carpet. If I didn’t feel like I was being led to slaughter, or that I saw the outside of this place, I would think I was downtown at a reputable business or something.
We came to an average looking door with a security panel to the left. A code was punched and a loud click sounded, indicating the door was unlocked. The guy to my left opened the door and I was roughly escorted inside. More white walls greeted me, but no outside windows, which told me a lot about this room. There was plenty of space in here; however, the room was cold and void of any charm. Well, unless you counted the one-way mirror to my left.
In front of the mirror was a large table with about six gray metal chairs. Toward the back of the room was a comfy-looking couch, a chair and a table. I had hoped I would be led toward the back of the room but no such luck. Instead, I was pushed toward one of the cold metal chairs and pushed down awkwardly. The shackles were removed, thank God, and I massaged my sore ankles and wrists as the guards exited the room, leaving me in silence and uncertainty.
I looked at the mirror for a while, really staring at myself. I looked a mess. I tried to run my hands through my hair, but it didn’t make me look any better. My eyes were puffy, dark, my face sullen and hopeless. I took a deep breath and hoped this nightmare would end soon. But, it didn’t. It actually got worse.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been in this room, alone, but I was freezing. I didn’t particularly have decent clothes on, and no one bothered to give me a blanket or something to cover myself with. I pulled my arms inside my shirt and brought my thighs to my chest for some warmth, but I was still freezing. I figured this was an interrogation move to make suspects uncomfortable. The problem was, I wasn’t a suspect. I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Finally, the door to the room opened and this big black man, with gray hair in his temples and a tire size mid-section, walked in. He wore a dark suit and shirt and carried a folder in his arms. When he sat down, he rummaged through the folder without looking at me. I figured this was another tactic, ignore your suspect until they started talking, but I wasn’t saying a word. As a matter of fact, once I realized what he was doing, I rested my head on my bent knees.
After a few minutes of him ignoring me, I heard the man clear his throat. I raised my head and looked at him.
“So, Ms. Stone, I’m going to ask you a series of questions and I expect answers understood?” His voice was a smooth baritone. There wasn’t an authoritative tone to his voice. He seemed very relaxed, as if he did this sort of thing every day. He probably did.
I didn’t reply to his question and by the look on his face, he didn’t expect me to. He gave me a stiff nod and continued.
“Do you know these people?”
He spread out three pictures along the table in front of me. Two of the pictures were of white men. The first picture was of an older, hard looking man with salt and pepper hair and a thick body type. His eyes were round and menacing. His picture alone scared the crap out of me. I looked at the other picture and saw a younger version of the older man. The younger version was quite attractive, for a psychopath looking rapist type that is. He seemed very dangerous in the picture with black hair flying around clearly from the wind blowing. He had crazy eyes like the older man, but I could tell he was deadlier and scarier than the other.
I then looked at the final picture. It was of a stunning woman. She was tanned and beautiful, dark features and dark black hair pulled back. Her eyes were slanted and black as coal. I’d never seen the men before in my life but the girl...I squinted and stared at the picture. Something was familiar about her but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I wanted to tell him I didn’t know these people but, he probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.
“Ms. Stone, have you seen these people before? Do you know who they are?” he asked again.
I didn’t reply.
“Look, this can go easy for you or hard, which would you prefer?”
I said nothing.
“You are in a lot of trouble. Do you know what we do to people that perform an act of treason?”
I said nothing but my mind was racing.
Treason? What on earth is he talking about? I haven’t done anything treasonous; well, not for a while anyway.
“We are talking about the death penalty, not just prison. You will never see your family again, your friends.”
Well hell, sir. If you knew my friends, that would be a blessing. I smiled briefly and he caught it.
“You think this is a joke? That this is a game? You are in serious trouble and you’d better start talking to me now. Your cooperation could mean the difference between the death penalty and life in prison. Just tell me what you know about these people in the photos. What are they planning?”
I said nothing.
“Alexis. Can I call you Alexis?”
You already have, idiot.
“Look Alexis, you seem like a good kid. Maybe you had no choice but to help the
se people. Maybe they threatened you or your family? We can help you with that, okay? Just help us. Help us get to the bottom of what’s going on. What are they planning?”
I said nothing. I knew nothing but the right to remain silent and I stuck to it.
I knew this guy meant well, but I’d watched enough cop movies to know that if I said anything, they would hold it against me. Plus, they wouldn’t believe me. It was obvious they thought I had done something or knew something I didn’t and nothing I said could change that.
I tightened my arms around my legs in an effort to gain warmth in my otherwise frigid body and laid my head back on my knees. I shivered slightly and closed my eyes.
The man sat there for a while and didn’t say anything. Finally, I think he got very frustrated with me because he shot up abruptly, knocking the chair back as he stood. I popped up and looked at him.
He said, with a look on his face that kind of scared me, “So be it. I tried to help you, but you don’t seem to want my help. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
What the hell did that mean?
The man left the room and I stared after him wondering what the hell.
I turned and gazed at the one-sided window. I knew someone was watching me, so I watched me watch myself and then put my head down again. No matter what happened, I had to keep my mouth shut. Maybe they would eventually tell me what this was all about. I didn’t know how to help myself in this situation but that guy that just left wasn’t the person to help me. He didn’t have the power to. I could tell just by the way he sat in here.
Someone sent him in here to see if I would talk. If I would give up something to him. Maybe he was the good cop and soon I would meet the bad cop. Well, I didn’t have to wait long. Next thing I knew, Ethan walked in the room with a look that frightened the hell out of me.
Introducing…bad cop.
Chapter Sixteen
Alexis
BANG!
Holy crap. This freaking motherfreaker just tried to kill me!
Good God, I was in trouble.
I held my ear and started rocking. I kept screaming, “I’m not lying, I’m not lying.” But I didn’t think it was doing any good.
“I’m through playing games with you!” I faintly heard Ethan yelling and I risked a glance up at him. God, his eyes were manic and wild. This couldn’t be happening. This was far worse than any nightmare I ever had.
“You better stop testing me or the next shot you hear will be your last,” he threatened, and I believed him. “I’m good at what I do, Alexis. Believe it. I will kill you and not lose sleep.” He gave me one of the hardest stares I’d ever seen.
“Now, I don’t like repeating myself, but I will,” he continued, his voice calming. He sent an annoyed look my way.
“Stand up and sit the fuck back down in the chair.” He folded his arms and stared down at me until I started to move. With my body shaking from not only being cold but being frightened, I placed my trembling body back in the seat.
Ethan watched me closely, nothing on his face. Finally, once I was seated, he took his seat. He laced his fingers in front of him and gave me a bored look.
“Start talking. What are these three planning to do with the weapon you stole for them?”
I tried to calm my nerves. My heart was racing, my hands were shaking. I looked into a pair of eyes that had once shown love but now showed hate and darkness and pain. No trace of my friend. No trace of the lover I had come to know and no trace of the future I thought I was going to have. Nothing.
I looked back at the pictures, shivered and brought hesitant eyes back to Ethan. I realized in that moment all of the secrets I thought I held back from him weren’t secrets any more. It was the confident way he sat in front of me that told me all I needed to know. I didn’t need to hide my true self anymore. I should be thrilled. Instead, I felt nothing but sadness, loneliness, and emptiness.
Now that the cat was out of the bag, I needed to come at this a different way in hopes he’d finally listen to me.
“Ethan, please. You have to believe me, I—”
“Believe you!” he barked incredulously then laughed humorlessly. “You’ve got to be joking. All you’ve done is lie to me.”
My eyes grew large and I shook my head. “I didn’t lie to you. I told you, I don’t know about this weapon.”
“Tell me again how you and Lionel met?”
I started to give him an off-handed reply then I stopped. I needed to come clean, but I didn’t know how to start.
“Ethan, I may have done some things in the past but… I don’t know anything about hacking into the DOD for some weapon—”
“People like you disgust me you know that?” he barked out bitterly and I shrunk back, stunned at the venom in his voice. “You think you’re above the law.”
I stared blankly at him. I didn’t know what to say. He then asked me the ‘coup de gras’ and I knew I was in trouble.
“Have you ever hacked into the DOD?”
“The DO…” I replied, trying to stall.
“The Department of Defense, have you ever hacked their databases?”
Shit... “Yes,” I admitted softly.
“I’m sorry? Say that again?” he asked me. I knew he heard me, but I repeated my answer again. “How many times have you hacked in the database?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, about five or six times.”
He looked at me, his hard façade falling for just a second before the mask was back up. “Five or six…?” He looked at the one-way mirror then back at me. “What for? What on earth were you looking for?”
I looked down at my hands not wanting to make eye contact. I sighed heavily, dreading this next part. “I was looking for you.”
“What?” I shocked him again but this time he didn’t try to hide his astonishment. It was dripping from his voice. “What do you mean you were looking for me?”
I sighed again, resolve settling in my chest. I met his questioning eyes. “I searched for you everywhere after graduation. I had hacked into the Detroit school district database and I saw what type of grades you had so I figured you didn’t go to college. Next, I checked the morgues around Detroit, then I checked the prisons, with my fingers crossed the whole entire time. The last resort was the DOD.”
“So, you knew I was in the army before I told you?”
I nodded. He stared at me blankly and I just looked down at my hands. I wasn’t proud of what I had done, but I felt I needed to.
He cleared his throat and said to me, “Okay, so you found me. Why did you hack the system so many times?”
I stared wringing my hands in my lap nervously for this next part. I knew deep down he would definitely look at me differently; more different than he was right now.
“Well, I wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay. I checked the KIA and MIA lists for your name all the time. Then, for some reason, you disappeared from the database, so I stopped looking.”
Again, he gave me this blank stare. I didn’t know what he was thinking about and I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I just waited for him to ask me something else.
Finally, he asked, “How long did you do this?”
“How long did I check for you? Ummm… about four years.” When he stiffened, I added quickly, “I would check only on your birthday. I didn’t stay in there long and I didn’t look at anything else. I went to one place then I left, undetected.”
“You weren’t undetected, Alexis.”
I nodded, frowning. “Yes, I was.”
Ethan pulled out another sheet from the folder. He pushed the sheet in my direction. “You were arrested for hacking into the DOD three years ago, Alexis. The sheet is right here.”
“They questioned me yes, but I was never convicted, Ethan. They didn’t have any proof. They only suspected.”
Ethan let out a frustrated sigh. “From what I understand, all unbalanced beings such as yourself have a signature if you will, ah… fingerprint that identifie
s you and your style of hacking. Your fingerprint was found that time and it was found last night. You mean to tell me this wasn’t you?”
“It wasn’t me.”
I saw Ethan reach for his gun and I continued quickly, sitting straight up in my seat, “Ethan, please. I’m telling you the truth. I didn’t hack into the DOD three years ago nor did I do it last night. You can ask Lionel. He was my lawyer back then. That’s how we met. I showed him how easy it was for me to go into a system undetected.”
“How did you do that?”
“Well, I had frequented Detroit’s school district system on multiple occasions as I said. This time, I did it to show Lionel. I had gone inside and found a girl who was a straight A student but had low SAT scores. She was from one of the most dangerous parts of Detroit and didn’t have any means to pay for a good education, so I made sure she got a chance. I showed Lionel what I could do by raising her test scores. After I did that, all of the schools wanted her, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Oxford. She was destined for greatness and I made that happen for her. She ended up picking Stanford. She wanted to be in California.” I smiled at the memory. Ethan however did not.
“That’s cheating, Alexis.”
I shrugged. “No, it’s not. Those tests are geared to bring kids like her down. She could do the work, no problem. She was a straight A student since grade school. Her father was on crack, her mother sold her body for crack and her older brother sold crack to both his parents on a regular basis. I was trying to save her, to get her out of the hood.”
“Why didn’t you send her money or something, or help pay for her education?”
“I did that too. I sent her a letter, anonymously, and sponsored her trip to Stanford in the fall. I just needed to make sure she got there. I did a good thing, Ethan.”
He shook his head disapprovingly. “You say tomato, I say bullshit!”
I didn’t speak again. I folded my arms, my lips in a tight line. He had no right to sit there and judge me. What I did was right. Lashara Williams needed just a little bit of help and I was happy to help her.