Page 33 of The Captive Missing

The other agent forced Jason onto his belly, then knelt down on top of him, one large knee pressing into his back. It was then that Jason completely lost it.

“Fuck! You! John!” Jason screamed, picking up his head from the sidewalk in order to yell. “You’re a fucking traitor! You’re a fucking snake! How could you?! How could you?!”

Holstering his weapon, Agent Finn slid his hand into his waistband and produced another set of cuffs. He pulled Val’s arms around to the small of her back, then fastened them snugly around her wrists. Unceremoniously, he turned her around, then marched her away from Jason. Away down the sidewalk, where a black sedan sat purring at the curb.

Jason’s screams followed them. Haunting their steps all the way to the car before following them inside of it. The echo of his words didn’t stop until the doors slammed shut and together they drove away.

Chapter 12

Sitting in the rear of the vehicle, the scene was all too familiar. Agent Finn drove in silence, the radio switched off, concentrating on the road. Wrists bound awkwardly behind her, Val twisted to the side in her seat, watching the buildings pass in the darkness beyond her window.

She didn’t know the procedure. She wasn’t sure of the exact timing. But she knew that she was on her way back to Cambric. They had a conscription intake protocol which she was vaguely familiar with, having heard stories about it from back in the day.

Unbidden, her mind traveled to Bee. For some reason she was inundated with flashes of her old friend. They were young and in training, Bee’s smile was bright, always filled with a mischievous tilt.

This was the part where she would say something sarcastic to break the mood. This was the part where she would make a face behind an instructor’s back, or spill her water in front of her trainer’s feet, causing him to slip and fall. Why, Bee? Why are you here with me now?

The car made a turn and Agent Finn shifted around in the front seat. Val glanced over and watched him. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, then away. Reaching into his pocket, he produced his silver cell phone, pulled up a contact, then held it to one ear.

“Alright,” Agent Finn spoke into the phone. “Release him. No. No report, no paperwork, just let him go. Keep the gun though.”

After listening for a beat, Agent Finn ended the call, then tossed his phone down onto the center console. The silence that had occupied the cab before, resumed.

At least Jason wouldn’t be brought up on more charges, Val thought. Assaulting a federal agent, violating a court order, assisting in the flight of a conscript. Agent Finn could have made things worse for him, but in the end, he made it go away. What he could anyway, she corrected, as the vehicle headed for the highway and what lay ahead in Upstate New York.

* * *

The drive took a little over three hours between stopping for fuel, bathroom breaks and fast-food. During that time, they didn’t share a single word. Laying low in the backseat, Val wedged herself into a ball. Occasionally, she shifted her head, craning her neck to check the windows for signs of where they were.

The area just outside of Albany was thick with Balsam Fir, Scotch Pine and Norway Spruce. The old growth trees stacked up one against another, forming a forest of overlapping needles that prevented you from seeing more than ten feet. She hadn’t missed them. She hadn’t missed them at all.

When the vehicle slowed and she heard the crunch of gravel beneath the tires, Val’s stomach began to twist. They had driven through the night and the sun had just risen into the sky. Sitting up straight, she spied the enormous red brick building.

It was half-hidden under decades worth of clinging ivy. Behind it, stretched the sprawling Cambric estate. Gardens, a pool, a gym, and two towers that stretched towards the heavens. Those were the dorm rooms in which thousands of captives were housed. Home sweet home. The sight of it made her break out in a cold sweat.

Shifting the car into park, Agent Finn unlocked the doors and got out. Val waited in the backseat, covering her face with both hands. About an hour into their drive, Finn had removed the handcuffs, but as he opened her door, she could see he had them ready once more.

Sucking in a ragged breath, she let him help her from the car, then studied the ground as he bound her wrists together in front of her. He wrapped one large hand around her right elbow and urged her forward. He was more gentle than she had expected.

Together, they walked up the stone steps and pushed through the wide double doors into the lobby. A Cambric receptionist sat tidily behind a desk along one wall. Chairs meant for waiting were positioned along the other. No one occupied them.

Walking up to the woman, Agent Finn explained that he was turning over a flight risk conscript and had called ahead. Little mouth forming an “o” in surprise, the woman tapped at her keyboard and then picked up a phone.

“Doesn’t look so bad here,” Agent Finn spoke to Val under his breath, eyes scanning the expensive furnishings and clean space. “Jason’s lawyers should have you out in no time.”

Val took one look at Agent Finn and laughed.

It was a rueful one, full of shock and malice and spite. The tone of it had his eyes narrowing. She could see the calculations running through his head. Before he had a chance to speak, the receptionist stood and directed them down the far corridor.

“Follow the hall to the end and then make a right,” she said, smiling easily. “The door should be marked Conscription.”

Taking her again by the elbow, Agent Finn followed the path indicated. When they reached the heavy metal door, he frowned. It had a reinforced glass window just at eye level so he peered through it while laying one hand on the doorknob.

Briefly, he tried the handle, but it was locked. After a beat they heard the sound of a buzzer and a metallic click. The door swung slowly inward of its own accord.

Beyond the threshold was a wide blank room. It had a long metal bench that ran the length of one wall and every few feet there was a metal ring bolted to the floor. This was where captives were chained if Cambric had to deal with more than one at once.

Standing in the far corner, hand braced on a padded table, the other holding a clipboard, was Shane. Another man, clad in light blue medical scrubs, was adjusting instruments off to one side.

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