Page 36 of Resistant

What kind of work is he doing, and why does the superior consider it so important? I realize that I’m a pawn in whatever is happening around me. Yesterday I believed that living in the camp was lowest low of my life, but now I realize that I still have more to lose.

To the Burbs

Declan

I’ve had to bribe some of the other inmates here to help me move my bed to the new housing. Most of the other prisoners want my clothing, so I’m down to two pairs of jeans, several t-shirts, 7 pairs of boxer briefs, socks, a pair of tennis shoes, a uniform, toothpaste, and a toothbrush.

I shove all of this into an old rucksack that has seen better days and is taped together. Today is the last day my Angel will wear her duct-taped uniform.Fuck, I’d love to keep her naked.I’m pretty sure she would not agree to that.

She looked like she was ready to stab the superior with a fork when she agreed to this arrangement. I saw fire in her that day in the office, and though I’m not afraid of getting burned by my feisty Angel, I’m certain that I’d be starting off on the wrong foot with her. If I have any hope of helping the Resistance, I need her to trust me.I need to tuck that caveman shit away.

I head towards the women’s wing to find my Angel. She’s waiting at the elevator with two armed guards. She has a hairbrush and toothbrush in her right hand and a pair of worn men’s boots in her left.

Her uniform hangs off her, and I can see a tank top in the open spaces between the tape. I clench my jaw and nod at her. Fuck, I’m pissed. People here are treated worse than animals.This must stop.

One guard takes point and I fall into step beside my Angel. I glance over at her; she’s looking straight ahead. What does she feel about all this? I hope she’s more amicable to this arrangement than what she’s letting on.

We walk for about 10 minutes through fenced gates that have guards posted on either side. Escaping from the Southern Camp will not be easy, there are too many guards.

We walk silently through a paved alley and turn the corner and I can’t believe my eyes. It’s like we’ve suddenly been transported back in time.

We are standing on a side street in what appears to be an aged neighborhood, base housing circa 1950. The houses are small bungalows that are set back from the street.

Some of the yards are bare and others have large mature trees blocking the view of the homes from the street. Mailboxes dot the driveways, which all have cracked and broken asphalt.

The guards lead us down Patriot Street for about half a mile, and they point towards a small bungalow, the white paint is peeling, but the roof looks like it’s in good repair and a small portico peeks out from behind low hanging branches at the front door.

The guards stay on the street as my Angel, and I approach the door. I glance back, the guards are continuing down the street, they must be part of the regular patrol.

I stop at the door, look down at my Angel, and hold one finger to my lips. I put my hand in front of her face, the universal signal for stop. She looks at me in confusion and nods.

I open the door wide, and I begin scanning the space. There is furniture here, a small living area and eat-in kitchen.

I’m looking for cameras and bugs. I find one in the back corner of the bookshelf and work quickly to disable it. I don’t want to break it, but I need the sound to be muffled.

I flick on a light switch and am stunned to realize we have power. I’ll have to monitor it to see if it’s continuous or if it will shut down on a schedule.

I turn the corner into a small hallway. A tiled bathroom is in front of me with a tub/shower combo, toilet, and pedestal sink. I scan the medicine cabinet, shower, anything for more bugs. I find nothing.

The bedroom to the right is a disaster, my mattress, box spring and frame are leaning against the wall haphazardly, and I hope the frame is still in good shape.

A chest of drawers sits in the corner. I scan the corners and furniture in here and I find a bug inserted in the frame of the metal headboard.Fucking predators. That bug is getting completely broken, I’ll have to be stealthy about it and break it while I’m putting the bed together.

The last bedroom has been staged as a lab,with all my equipment from the prison.

There is an empty desk and a box of files sitting on the floor. I close the door to this room; I’ll check it later for bugs.

I scan the kitchen quickly and find another bug behind the heating vent. Tonight, I’ll come in here in the dark and stick some putty over the lens. I go back to the front door, smile at my Angel, grab her hand and bring her inside.

I put my finger to my lips and shake my head. I pull her into the bathroom, she’s craning her neck trying to look around as I pull her inside.

It’s cramped in here, both of us occupying this small space. I set my rucksack on the toilet. I turn on the water in the sink, pull back the shower curtain, and turn on the bath water as well. I glance over the shower head to make sure no bugs are there, and I pull my angel into my chest and put my lips right over her ear.

“There are bugs all over the house,” I whisper.

I lean back and her emerald eyes are saucers, and I see resignation pass over her features. I smile.

“I’m going to disable them, but we’ll have to have convenient accidents to break them. I’ll need to teach you how to look for them and disable them. The kitchen is bugged, no talking in there. The bed is bugged, but that’s getting broken tonight. I’ve reduced the sound to a bug in the living room, but it still has picture, all the sound in there will be muffled. We’ll check more in my lab tomorrow.”

---