Page 56 of Gabe

A little bravery returned to my soul. I imagined a ticking clock counting down each second until Gabe and Sebastian arrived. All we had to do was outlast the clock. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least the goal was simple.

Newt and I kept to ourselves and tried not to draw any more attention while we were on the boat. We sailed into the heart of the swamp, much deeper than any commercial tour would have taken us.

At least another half hour passed before we came across a structure among the trees.

The building was surprisingly modern for its surroundings. A low squat design with a small upper floor, it had been built right on its own platform to compensate for the lack of stable ground. It was not the kind of place where anyone would usually choose to build anything, right in the heart of a massive swamp, but it was the perfect area for something that needed to remain a secret.

Newt’s shoulder bumped mine when he leaned over to whisper in my ear. “This land is completely wild. It’s probably preserved. How is there a building here?”

“The same way these things always work. If you line the right person’s pockets, you can get away with anything.”

The boat pulled into an empty spot in the building’s expansive dock. Knowing the purpose of the building, I was glad to see the dock mostly empty, but hated the fact that they needed such a large dock in the first place.

Upon arriving at the dock, however, we ran into a problem. Or, more accurately, Ozias ran into a problem. The person in charge of the building’s security wouldn’t let Ozias off the boat, and the two got into an argument.

“We had a deal,” Ozias shouted, gesticulating so wildly that he rocked the boat.

The security officer didn’t look impressed and kept one hand positioned on their impressively large gun.

“The deal was for you to help us capture either the Roth brothers or Agent Long. We have no use for their little whores.”

Ozias was a surprisingly brave individual and didn’t back down despite facing someone so heavily armed. “No, the deal was that I bring you something useful and I’m allowed on the island to have my pick of the selection here. Well, these two are useful. You can use them to lure out at least one of the Roth brothers, and that FBI agent. I’ve held up my part of the deal, now give me what I’m due.”

The argument went back and forth for a few minutes but was eventually ended when the security officer received instructions from someone on his radio.

“Fine, you can come onto the island. But you’re meeting with the boss first. If he decides these two are worth something, then you’ll get your payment.”

Several pairs of hands dragged Newt and I off the boat. No one listened to our protests or even seemed to notice our struggles. We may as well have been bags of flour being hauled from one place to another.

I’d never felt so powerless. Not even when we had to make a mad escape from the hospital. At least back then there had been something we could do. There were actions we could take to try and solve our situation. Now, there was nothing. Newt and I were being marched at gunpoint to face the very man in charge of all our recent suffering. Even if we could free ourselves from our ropes, we wouldn’t make it two steps before we were gunned down. These people had already made it clear that we meant nothing to them. The only reason we were alive is that we weren’t worth killing yet.

Inside the building, we passed the entrance to a long hallway on our way to the stairs. The brief look I got down the hallway showed rows of doors on either side, all heavily reinforced. It was like a perverse mix between a hotel and a prison.

I didn’t count the doors. I didn’t want to know how many children were probably locked away behind them.

Just the sight of the hallway made me want to scream, and I picked up my steps to hurry away from it. However, I was stopped abruptly when I ran straight into Ozias, who stood staring down the hallway with eager eyes.

“Keep moving,” someone said, and shoved Ozias with the butt of their gun. “You haven’t earned anything yet.”

I gnashed my teeth, savoring the idea of tearing out the man’s jugular any way I could.

Or maybe chop off his hands. Yeah, that was a satisfying idea.

Imagining everything I would do to the man if I could helped to keep me calm as we were marched away from the hallway and up the stairs.

The second floor of the building was much smaller than the bottom, consisting of just a few rooms. Newt and I were deposited inside a large office and left sprawled on the floor like a pair of broken toys.

It was a miracle I managed to land on my shoulder and not on my face.

Struggling to sit up without the use of my arms, I first noticed a couch on the far side of the office. The large piece of furniture dwarfed its only occupant. A young boy lay asleep on the couch, curled up on one end in a tight ball like he wanted to try and wrap his arms around himself as many times as possible.

There were bruises on his wrist and he looked too thin for his size. Only a small portion of his face was visible over the cushion he slept on, but it was enough to identify him.

It was Tansie Bell’s son.

I couldn’t look at the boy for long and turned my head away. This brought me face-to-face with the stout desk that took up the majority of the room, and the man sitting behind it.

Senator McLeod.

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