Page 77 of The Captive Missing

“Where have you been?” Shane demanded, his face was swollen, dried blood was smeared beneath his nose.

“I removed her from harm’s way, then she had to use the bathroom,” Agent Finn explained, releasing his hand from her elbow.

“I want to press charges.” Shane’s left eye was a tiny slit, the skin had already begun to turn blue.

“That sort of thing involves a lot of paperwork.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I’m sure we can get started on it here, but it could take a few hours. We’ll have to order in some dinner.”

Shane sneered at the implication. He understood what Agent Finn was trying to accomplish. Stall him long enough to feed Val. There was no way Shane was going to let that happen.

Turning to the two security guards, he instructed one to stay with him and the other to escort Val back to Cambric. He would either stay overnight in the city or call for another vehicle, depending. Making sure that Agent Finn overheard, he told the guard in charge not to stop for food.

“Straight back,” Shane stated. “No stops.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The guard nodded his head before wrapping a massive paw around Val’s arm and taking her away.

* * *

The drive back to Albany was a slow one, full of hunger both physical and emotional. Val slumped by herself in the backseat, absently watching the sunset through the thick window. The tint made everything darker, more purple, unnatural even.

And that was exactly how Val felt, unnatural, out of sorts. She rubbed at the place her tracker lay just beneath her skin. Catching herself, she tore her hand away, eyes darting to the front seat. But no one was paying any attention. The driver drove and the guard played on his phone.

Val had promised Agent Finn that she wouldn’t tell a soul about his manipulation of the tiny device, but she knew in her heart she couldn’t keep it from Charlie. As soon as they let her back in to see him, she would whisper her news in his ear.

If somehow, someway Val was going to get out of Cambric, then she had to take Charlie with her. She couldn’t leave him there, not after everything that had gone on. Her blood picked up a bit at the thought of him, then regret came to follow, knowing she shouldn’t feel that way. Pinching at the bridge of her nose, Val willed her mind blank, tired of fighting with herself and everyone else.

When they pulled into the front drive of Cambric, night had fallen. It was dark. There was no moon. The crowds that Val had seen gathered before were no longer there. Even earlier in the day, when they first left for the city, there hadn’t been one protestor around. Val wondered if the gunfire from before had anything to do with it.

The driver pulled into the garage and parked in a designated slot. Her guard walked her as far as the door leading back to Cambric before passing her off to someone else. His shift was over and he was ready to go home.

Val held her forearm out for the new Cambric security, who happened to be a woman. She was short, but fit, with toned shoulders that were highlighted beneath her collared shirt. Glancing briefly at the electronic display of her reader, she took Val by the elbow and guided her down a hall and out into the courtyard. They crossed towards the low front building and beeped inside, then all the way back into Isolation. Val’s stomach clenched with hunger and she trembled slightly with raw nerves.

“I think there’s been some sort of mistake,” Val said, as the guard motioned her inside the cell.

“Not a lot of mistakes around here.” The guard muttered, pushing at Val’s back firmly.

“I’m supposed to be in Breeding.” Val stepped reluctantly into the room, then turned to face her guard.

“Take it up with the next shift, I’m done in another few hours.”

“Please,” Val pleaded. “May I have something to eat? They were supposed to start feeding me again.”

“I’m sorry that’s not on the reader.”

“What about water? May I have a drink of water?”

Frowning, the guard shook her head no before swinging the door shut. Val’s shoulders sagged in defeat. She had wanted to see Charlie, to tell him what had happened. She was sure there would be food again in their apartment, now that she had made a deal with Shane.

The weight of it all, the overwhelming blend of exhaustion and emotion was simply too much. She sat on the concrete floor in the middle of the room and cradled her head in her hands.

A minute later the door swung open again, but this time, Val didn’t lift her gaze. Suddenly her neck was too weak and her head too heavy to bother. It was the female guard again. She cleared her throat and set something down on the floor before retreating back out and locking it.

When curiosity finally weaved its way into Val’s mind, she straightened to find a single bottle of water and yellow bag of chips. The labels were ones she had seen many times on the outside, but they weren’t brands stocked by Cambric.

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