by T. K. Harris
But the last thing they needed was a serious coordinated hack attack on any front. He would have to let his investors know and make sure his FBI team was ready.
Chapter Forty
It had been several days since Tommy had seen the doctor or talked to the others. He tried to keep his mind active by working on the Sudoku puzzles in the book she had brought him. The opening and closing of the meal doors, punctuated by the gruff announcement of each meal, were all the sounds he’d heard outside of the scribbling of his pencil and the faint buzz of the overhead light. His TV had broken and had not been replaced. He couldn't remember throwing it against the wall.
When he heard the metallic sound of the slot sliding, he automatically set his book aside and grabbed his breakfast tray.
Or was it lunch?
He couldn't remember as he walked to the door, waiting for the slot to open. When the door opened instead, he blinked a few times, staring at the two guards.
"Put the damn tray down and move."
For some reason Tommy couldn't understand the guard's words. He stared at the man, taking in his deep, black eyes set in skin the color of night.
Curiouser and curiouser, he thought.
He jumped as the tray was knocked out of his hands.
"I said move, punk!"
Both guards grabbed him, dragging him from the cell so fast he nearly lost his footing. The smack across the back of his head sent him to the ground.
"You know the doctor's orders," one of the guards said.
"Fuck that. Why should we treat these traitors with any humanity? Giving them a break for gods sake. Should just do what we used to do. Line 'em all up against a wall and shoot 'em."
"Save it, Aims. We've got orders."
"Fucking traitors"
Tommy was yanked up and shoved forward. He finally realized he was being led to the common room. Straightening, he felt a sense of excitement, quickly dashed as they continued past the usual door.
"We're supposed to go in there," Tommy said.
"Shut up and move."
He continued moving.
"But we were supposed to turn there."
"Look who thinks he's in command?"
The one called ‘Aims’ laughed.
They walked for what seemed like ages, making so many turns that Tommy quickly lost his way. Not since they had first brought him here had he-
"Are you letting me go?"
Both guards barked with laughter.
"You hear that? He thinks we're letting him go."
"You must have knocked him stupid back there."
They both chuckled and continued walking.
Finally they came to a door. Aims opened it and motioned Tommy up a set of stairs. They seemed to go on forever.
I don't remember going down this many stairs. Where are they taking me this time?
Tommy’s heart stuttered, caught between excitement, fear and the lack of any real exercise for weeks. When they reached the top step, one of the guards thrust the door open and pushed Tommy through. The sudden intense light of day blinded him for a long moment as the hot July sun beat against his skin. He heard a door slam shut behind him.
When his eyes finally cleared, he realized that he was outside. Dumb struck, he turned in a circle, taking in the chain link, fenced-in area around him. The fence, topped with rolled razor wire, surrounded him on three sides while a cliff made up the fourth ‘wall’. It was from the cliff that they had emerged. He looked up and saw a reddish, patterned net of some kind that provided a bit of shade, even as it seemed to camouflage the area he stood in.
Beyond the fence stretched a desert as far as he could see. In the distance, craggy mountains rose. Dotting the landscape were occasional, gangly outcroppings of red and brown rocks, as well as a variety of plants and trees all stunted from the harsh sun. He had no idea where he was other than somewhere in the mid-west, but he didn't care. He had given up on ever seeing the sun again. His face stretched into a smile.
"Nice, isn't it kid?"
Tommy turned around to face Frank and noticed Uday praying off to the right.
"I can't believe they let us out. Do you think this means they might let us go?"
He couldn't quite read the expression that shot across Frank's face before he replied, "Maybe kid. But let's just take what we can get okay?"
Tommy nodded, closing his eyes and turning his face toward the sky, breathing in the arid desert air. As if from far away, he heard the door open and close.
Great, Wayne is here, he thought.
Determined to ignore the loud mouth, he kept his eyes closed until-
"Tommy?"
His eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. Turning, he found his uncle staring at him.
Alex looked startled. "Son of a bitch! What did those asses do to you?"
Finally, feeling like he’d swallowed a stone, Tommy managed, "Alex? What are you doing here?"
But he already knew the answer. Alex was here because of him. Just like the others. And, from the looks of it, he had been interrogated as well.
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Alex stared at Tommy, taking in his stricken expression, the discoloration on his face and arms from the many bruises, and the awkward thinness of a tall kid who hadn't eaten well in a while. With each second that passed, his anger grew. Someone was going to pay for this.
"Hey, how do you two know each other?"
Alex turned to face the man who had been in front of him as they were led through the maze of concrete and into the yard. He looked as if he could be a linebacker. Based on the man's expression and the way he spoke and held himself, Alex pegged him as a loud mouthed ass.
Tommy seemed to swallow hard and then replied, "This is Alex. M-my uncle. Alex this is Wayne."
Wayne turned from Tommy to Alex. "So you're part of your nephew's grand scheme that got us all thrown in here?"
"I told you I didn't have-"
"Can it, kid. We all know you're the reason we're here. Or was it your uncle?"
Alex watched as Wayne plodded toward him, stopping a little over a foot away.
"I heard the guards talkin' about you. They said you’re the mastermind behind some great hacker plan that we're supposedly all a part of."
"That's enough, Wayne."
Alex looked over at one of the two men he'd noticed on first entering the yard, just before he recognized Tommy. This man had 'soldier' written all over him.
Wayne spun to face him. "You know, I'm fuckin' tired of you acting like you got some say around here."
Alex readied to grab Wayne, but it wasn’t necessary. With a dirty look thrown over his shoulder at Alex, Wayne stalked to the far left side of the yard as the other man came forward, hand out.
"Hi, I'm Frank." Alex shook the proffered hand and nodded. Frank pointed at the dark-skinned man who knelt in the corner praying. "That's Uday."
Tommy had shuffled closer as Frank spoke, but moved back slightly when Alex went to hug him, mumbling, "I'm sorry, Alex. This is all my fault."
The kid hunched his shoulders and would not look him in the eye. Alex felt his heart breaking. Up close, he could see that Tommy had taken more than one beating, and the smile that always seemed to be just on the edge of breaking into a full grin was gone. Someone was definitely going to pay.
"Tommy, it’s not your fault."
"It is."
Before Alex could say anything else, Tommy turned and walked away. Alex watched as he approached the fence, noting that he first glanced to where Wayne stood, making sure to head in the opposite direction.
"He's a tough one."
Alex looked at Frank who tilted his head toward Tommy. "Kid’s had it hard, but he'll be fine."
Turning back to Frank, Alex inclined his head toward Wayne and asked, "Did he do something to Tommy?"
Frank's jaw was clenched as he glanced at Wayne and then Tommy. "No. But I’m sure he would if he were allowed."
Alex nodded and then asked, "So what has been going on then?"
"The usual. Isolation techniques followed by physical torture. That is until they brought in the doctor."
"Ya. Met her already. Interesting woman."
Frank barked in humorless laughter. "Nice choice of words."
He eyed Alex for a second, as if taking his measure, and then looked around at the guards. A few moments later, he began quietly filling Alex in on everything that had happened since the night the four of them had been taken. Alex repeatedly glanced over at Tommy, who still had not looked directly at him for more than a second or two.
When Frank finished Alex said, "Tommy blames himself."
"Ya. And in a way it is his fault. Though it shouldn't be. Tough break for a kid. He won't be the same after this."
Alex glanced at Tommy who was now facing the opposite direction, shoulders hunched forward as if he wished he could disappear. The slight cockiness in the way he usually held himself – the kind only the young or stupid can really have – was gone. Everything he had come to see as Tommy was gone.
"He already isn't the same."
He started to walk toward Tommy until he heard the sound of the opening door and turned to watch as several guards stepped out and motioned for them to enter the building.
Break time was over.
As Tommy passed him, he reached out to get his attention, but Tommy ignored him and kept walking. The joy Alex had felt when he had first noticed Tommy, shattered a little as he watched his nephew shuffle down the stairs.
Alex hoped he would have another chance to talk to him soon.
Chapter Forty-One
Police Commander Nathan Lee stared at the officer in front of him as he listened to what his ex-partner had to say on the phone.
"You're sure about this, John?"
"I can only confirm the rumors once I actually find where they are possibly being held. But there has been higher than normal traffic at the local airport and suits staying at the local casino that aren’t the gambling type. A few members of the tribal council promised to show me in a few days. I'd go find it myself but they wouldn't take too kindly to that if you know what I mean."
Lee knew his friend could probably find the place just fine on his own, and never be detected, but he had a code of honor he followed and he had a special appreciation and respect for the Native Americans.
"Okay. And thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. You going to take this public or wait to hear from me?"
"I think it's time we talk to the press. Not about what you’re doing specifically. Just to put public pressure on the senator to release the names. Especially since his office is basically ignoring us. Regardless of what or when you find something, we know they are holding people and they aren’t cooperating with our investigations by telling us who they are holding. But since I don’t have a valid reason to get a warrant issued yet, my hands are tied. Maybe, just suggesting they might be holding them somewhere nearby and in violation of their rights…well it might inspire them to be more forth coming."
John grunted. "Or make them nervous enough to move them."
Lee agreed and said, "Yes, but then you'll be there to see it happen won't you?"
John laughed. "And I suppose you'll want the picture and video type of evidence."
"I'm not picky. But that would be nice."
"You know you're going to owe me."
"I'll be in your debt. I may even consider forgetting some of the best blackmail material I have on you."
Lee smiled a bit, thinking of several situations he and John had gotten into in their younger days. Mostly John. And John was well aware that Lee had evidence to back it up. Nothing like a partner to get you with some good old fashioned blackmail.
In response, he heard the line go dead. Lee laughed, but as he put down the phone, he felt suddenly weary.
The government kidnapping American Citizens, without due process and possibly interrogating them. I think I read something like this before, he thought. But then that had been fiction.
His voice was quiet and careful as he spoke to the officer in front of him, "Get Millie on the line. Tell her to call Chief Kopeks office and explain that we think it’s time to hold a press conference concerning the missing five."
"Yes, sir."
Lee watched as the officer left, wishing he could be a rookie again and have nothing more to deal with than the crap every rookie had. But that was long ago and far away and he had a potential nightmare to deal with in the here and now. Next he called Mrs. Borne and Mr. Moore to let them know he was setting up a press conference in the hopes of upping the pressure on the FBI and the senator to release names. And to ask that they consider participating. He left out the information about what John was doing. If it helped, great, but no one else needed to know. He then called the families of the other missing to update them and see if they would like to be a part of the conference as well.
Calls done, he resignedly turned back to the stack of paperwork that never seemed to diminish. Like Sisyphus and his punishment of having to push a boulder uphill each day only to have to do it again the next, Nathan felt it was a hopeless task.
At least Sisyphus got to complete his task each day, Nathan thought as he picked up a sheet from the pile and started reading.
Chapter Forty-Two
Alex couldn't stop the images of Tommy’s expression when he’d recognized him, or the sight of all the fading bruises, from flashing through his mind. All night and most of day they had kept playing in his head, a disturbing slide show that wouldn't leave him alone. The way Tommy had held himself, the way he wouldn't look up after that initial recognition. The way he wouldn't listen when Alex tried to tell him it wasn't his fault.
The sound of the bolt sliding open sent him sitting upright. When the doctor entered he couldn't stop himself from leaping forward and pinning her against the wall.
"How could you?"
Pain exploded in the side of his head and he found himself on the floor staring up at a guard, who was raising his rifle to strike again.
"Stop!"
The guard looked at the doctor. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.
"I have my orders and I just gave you yours. Stop and tie him if you have to. If you had been doing your job, he wouldn’t have gotten that close in the first place."
Alex watched the guard's face turn an interesting shade of red, rendered strange because he could see two of the same guard. As the man and another guard yanked him up, his vision began to clear.
"You bitch! How could you torture a kid?"
This time the guard punched him.
"I said stop! I can't get anything out of him if you kill him or break his jaw."
Handling him more roughly than necessary, they rapidly bound his arms with zip ties, tightening them just a little too tight. The doctor stepped aside as they led him out of the cell and followed quietly behind.
It was all Alex could do to contain his rage.
When they arrived at the room that Alex had first woken up in, the guards shoved him toward a chair, pushing him into a sitting position. He ignored them, directing his gaze to the two-way mirror and then towards the doctor who was setting her bag on the table in front of him.
As she pulled out a syringe, she said, "Now, Mr. Tough Guy, I have some more questions for you."
"I'm not talking to you, bitch."
She raised an eyebrow, lips pursed in annoyance. "You won't have a choice."
With a quick jab, she sank the needle into his arm.
"Feel better?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"Not as good as if you had screamed but it will have to do."
Turning to the guards she motioned for them to leave and then began pulling a variety of things out of her bag, one of which he recognized as a frequency jammer. Alex glanced at the two-way mirror and then back at the doctor, noting she had carefully put her back to the mirror, effectively hiding the jammer.
Pulling out her laptop, she sat in front of him and said quietly, "I need you to listen. I've been trying to think of a way to stop this and I can't. All this hacker stuff is beyond me, but it's not beyond you and if I'm going to help y-"
"I don't need your help."
"-your nephew, then you are going to have to help me figure this all out."
Alex was silent.
"Alex?"
"What have you done to him?"
The doctor closed her eyes. "They isolated him. Then they beat him and the others a few times. I-"
"You did nothing to stop them!"
"It was done before I was called in! I never would have condoned this. I never have! That's why I do what I do, to try and stop crap like that from happening to people. To stop…"
She moved her laptop, hiding the frequency jammer before standing. Shoving her hands in her lab coat pockets, she began pacing. After a few minutes she continued, "I know what I do is distasteful to you, to many people. But I know of much worse things our military, other countries, most anyone, will do to try and get what they want. What I do, is try to stop that."
"Like you did with me?"
Her mouth pinched. "I didn't know they were bringing you in as early as they did and, like I said before, they had promised they would not do this or I would have been here when you arrived. My job is to get answers, stop disasters, and hopefully save people. All without breaking them."
There was anger and a hint of pain in her voice as she said this. Alex recognized it for what it was. Begrudgingly he asked, "Who was it?"
"The people that beat Tommy?"
"No. The person you lost."
She turned and looked at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I didn't lose him. Not exactly. Jonathan, my cousin and best friend, was captured in the second gulf war. Five months passed before they found him, mostly by accident. They had starved him, beaten him, and kept him isolated for weeks at a time."
She shuddered and began pacing again.
"When they finally brought him home he just wasn't the same person. He never was again. Now he's in a mental institution. And he'll probably never get out."
