Every once in a while, I like to sit back, relax, and figure out where I went wrong. Not literally, but more philosophically. Really just examine my last couple days, couple weeks, couple months, to find every little problem, every little detail. I can’t do that with all of these people, all the noise. Standing at the subway station, waiting, I whisper, “Be quiet.” The noises all quieted down. No one really talks about anything important waiting for the subway. Hell, no one thinks about anything important waiting for the subway. It isn’t like I was having any great impact on anyone’s lives. Taking a moment to breathe and enjoy the silence, I thought back on the week.
I screwed up. Big time. I let myself get into my own head, I became what I had been trying to avoid for, well, forever. I forgot about technology. I can do a lot of shit, but just because people don’t remember it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. And dumb ol’ me went and forgot about the damned street cameras. But that wasn’t where I really messed up. Where I went wrong. No, where I went wrong was years before, when I left the hospital without deleting, or more specifically having one of the staff delete, my file. That meant the image they’d gotten of my walking away could be traced to me. Being traced to me meant they’d be tracking me. And even I couldn’t escape the cameras in this city. So, I gave up on running.
The subway pulled into the station, and everyone waiting on the platform boarded. Only one person was still waiting with me. “Are you here for me?” I asked, politely.
She was equally polite. “Yes.”
“You are aware the police are on their way. Probably the Feds, too.” I sat down on one of the benches. It wasn’t as though standing would help me fight, and I doubted it would come to that.
She leaned on one of the pillars, facing me. “Yeah, wouldn’t expect them too soon, though.”
That caught me off guard. “What? Why? I set this whole thing up perfectly for them to ambush me. That was the whole damned point.”
“Don’t know why, bossman just said that I’d have three minutes to convince you not to turn yourself in.” As I expected, she was one of Alden’s lapdogs. Too bad. I did wonder what she could do, though.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, I’m tired of running.” Then, looking around, I added, “And if we’re completely honest, a brief stint for conspiracy to clear my record might do me some good.”
“We could help your record go away without any prison time, you know.” She was committed, I had to give her that. Did she believe in the Cause, or just the Man, I pondered. I wasn’t sure it mattered, or whether I particularly gave a rat’s ass.
With a smile, I replied, “You can tell Alden that if he tries this garbage with me again, I’ll find him and make him forget himself, his cause, everything. Just a warning, though, the last guy I did that to is recovering from his suicide attempt well enough, though he did go from four star general to cab driver in one day flat.”
“His will is stronger than yours, and you know it,” she retorted, “That’s why you didn’t do that when you left.” So, I thought somberly, it was the Man she believed in. Too bad.
“No,” I said, “The reason was simple, just because I don’t want any part of his ridiculous crusade, doesn’t mean I don’t think it’ll be interesting to watch from the sidelines. Now, leave, before I get upset.”
She didn’t leave. Instead she smiled, like this was what she’d wanted all along. “He warned me you might be less than cooperative,” she said. She gripped her right hand into a tight fist. I could feel my throat close. I tried to eek out a word, a breath, but no air passed whatever vice was tightening around my throat. “No talking for you.”
That just pissed me off. I stared, eyes filled with rage, into her eyes, and quietly thought at her, ‘I don’t need to.’ I watched as her eyes went from a wicked gleefulness to a terrified darkness. ‘Let. Go.’ Her fist fell away, and air rushed back into my lungs. ‘Kneel.’ She bent down into a kneel as I walked up and got my breath back. Leaning in, I quietly whispered to her, “Go now and report what I said to Alden. Forget how I escaped from your grasp.”
She looked up at me, fear of the unknown filling her eyes. After all, I’d somehow broken free and taken control of the situation, and she didn’t remember. I liked to keep some aspects of what I could do strictly to myself. Standing up, fighting the impulse with every nerve in her body, she turned and walked up the subway stairs. Stretching my neck back, then forth, I returned to the bench. She’d said she had three minutes. That meant I had just over a minute to wait. That wouldn’t be a problem. I still needed to get my breathing back to normal after the choking. Mentally, I took note of her face, and that she was a telekinetic. Useful to know. Considering how many of Alden’s inner circle had left or been demoted after my escape, I needed to learn his new lapdogs.
It was the Feds who got to me first. Surrounding me, the leader pointed his gun towards me. “Lady, put your hands up,” he said.
“Could we wait for the local precinct?” I asked, putting my hands in the air, “After all, I’m technically under their jurisdiction.”
He looked at me, somewhat confused. “Are you trying to order me around? I’m in charge of this investigation.”
“I would never. There is far too much at stake for me to give orders.” As I said that, the ESU stormed the scene, led by Detective Marian. I’d run into him before, once or twice. He already had an implanted idea of pleasantness towards me.
“The lady’s clearly surrendered, you don’t need to keep threatening her,” Mitch Marian told the Fed.
“You’re real trusting,” the fed said as Marian walked behind my back and put the handcuffs on.
“So,” I said, “Why exactly am I being arrested?”
“You were caught on camera entering and leaving a location believed to be the temporary headquarters of the Carvers, a notorious bank robbing crew, just days after they were involved in a robbery.”
“So, you caught them, and now you’re just rounding everyone who might be involved up?” I said, disguising my mockery as understanding. I could hear that they hadn’t caught anyone. They were hoping for me to flip on them.
“Not exactly,” the fed answered as he led me to the big truck. Marian drove, while the fed sat in the back with me. “See, we found the warehouse days too late. They’d cleared out already. But we got lucky, because we saw you on camera visiting it, and what do you know, you’ve got a record already.”
I nodded. “Indeed, I do. I was a bit of a naughty kid, got tossed into a hospital for stealing. No need to worry, I learned to control the voices since then.”
“So, we were just thinking, maybe the known felon could tell us where the other known felons she met with were heading.”
I bit my lip. “See,” I began, “Here’s the thing. I didn’t do anything illegal, and you know that, you were hoping I was headed for them, which is why you waited until you realized I was waiting for you to storm the station. As is, I’ll be tossed into jail for a year or two for obstruction or some sort, right? Then, once you’ve started interrogating me, you’ll likely give me a deal where, if I tell you where they are at, you’ll either not give me time, or let me serve out my sentence somewhere comfy. Only problem there is, as the Detective has probably realized by now, I wouldn’t actually mind having a year or two in prison to sort out what happens next, which means if you want me to cooperate, you’ll probably need to sweeten the pot some.” I made certain not to give any sort of commands as I talked, keeping everything hypothetical. Messing with law enforcement was a commitment to be sure, they always had records and cameras and far too many moving parts to account for.
As I finished my monologue and the fed fought for a reply, the car pulled into station. Shaking his head, the fed gripped my arm and led me into interrogation room 2. They unlocked the handcuffs and went into the other room. Behind the glass, they began chatting about what they could offer me to get me to tell them. Deep in the mind of the desk sergeants who was in the room with them, I implanted a small idea. The idea that everyone wants to be anonymous. To be absolved of their pasts. Five minutes into the discussion, the thought finally came to her, and she asked the others if it would be possible. A minute and a half later, the fed walked in. “Listen,” he said, “I know you don’t want to snitch. You don’t mind prison, and you don’t want to get yourself stabbed for giving anyone up. But what if we could seal your record. You weren’t convicted, due to insanity, so by sealing it we can make it as though it never happened. It wouldn’t be on any background checks. You could move on. You aren’t really a criminal, and we don’t want you. We just want you to talk to us, honestly.”
I looked expectantly, and so he showed me a document, listing everything. He wasn’t holding back, which was good. To be fair, they didn’t have anything to actually charge me with if I cooperated. I sighed and gestured for the document. After signing it, I admitted, “They won’t remember me, I didn’t meet with them. I know that warehouse, and it doesn’t have cameras or nothing inside, and I wanted a place to sleep. I entered, and saw them splitting a lot of money, so I stuck around for a bit, trying to, well, if I’m completely honest, waiting for them to not be looking at the money so I could grab some for a hotel room. Anyways, they never stopped watching the money, and eventually I left.”
“You realize, you have to give us something, or else the deal is void, right?” the fed stated forcefully.
“I know, I was explaining the circumstances. Now could you please let me finish. While I was waiting, I heard one of them mention to another that his ‘bro’ had a ‘place in the country.’ The leader then said, ‘We’ll head there, tonight.’ And then they talked some more, and I left to find an uninhabited warehouse to sleep in.”
The fed looked confused and walked out of the room. I waited patiently as they conferred about how they didn’t have anyone involved, so it wasn’t super helpful. He walked back in, shaking his head. “He looked like a paratrooper, if that helps. And I don’t think it was a family member, but from the intonation, just someone he served with. Oh, yeah, and if they’re smart, they wouldn’t leave the state with the cash, and since you caught me and not them, I’d say they’re smart. If I were looking for them, I’d look for paratroopers with farm properties in state.”
“Thanks for your help. We’ll keep a unit on you while we check out your information, of course.”
I sighed and stood up. Walking out to the lobby, I requested, “Actually, would you guys mind if I stayed here the night? It’s cheaper than a motel, and I don’t mind the smell.” Then, after a pause, I added, “If it’ll make you feel better, I can act super drunk and vomit on one of your cars.”
Detective Marian chuckled. “Go right ahead. Just make sure you’re gone by morning. I want everyone cleared out if we’re bringing in the Cutters.”
“Will do, sir,” I replied, and walked back to the cell. Lying down, I slowed my breath. Beside me, sitting on the tank’s bench, a woman was singing a hearty drinking song, clearly intoxicated. Turning to face the wall so no cameras could see my mouth, I whispered under my breath, “Sleep.” She yawned, and lying across the bench, fell into a deep sleep. Turning back and giving the guard a smile, I, too, fell asleep.