Chapter 19: Easy Come Easy Go
Morgan, who was escorted by two enforcers, entered the Enforcer Headquarters. ‘Bring him to Interrogation Room One,’ said the Head Enforcer as he walked back into his office. He opened the Carvaress video tape files. He clicked on the viewing data. It showed what sections of the video had been viewed. Each video had been viewed to the same time and no further. The Head Enforcer viewed each video to see why they were stopped at that point. What he saw confirmed his suspicions about Vulay.
Suddenly, an enforcer ran into his office. ‘Victor is dead. They had to shoot him. He was attacking the commander,’ said the enforcer in a startled voice.
‘Is she alright?’ asked the Head Enforcer in a nonchalant tone.
‘She is with medical staff right now. She appears in shock but is most likely physically fine,’ replied the enforcer.
‘It’s been a tough day. Let’s call it quits. The night staff can hold the fort down until morning,’ said the Head Enforcer as he patted the enforcer on the back.
‘What about Morgan?’ inquired the enforcer.
‘Let him stew overnight,’ replied the Head Enforcer as a slight grin appeared on his face.
In the holding cell, Orcille had pulled out the sofa bed. ‘This is fine. It even has sheets on it. The cushions make great pillows,’ he said in a chirpy tone.
Denise did not respond. She remained facing the bars.
‘Do you want the left or the right side?’ inquired Orcille.
Again, Denise did not respond. Orcille thought he had the whole bed to himself. Suddenly, she turned around. She walked over to the bed and plonked herself down in the middle. She spread her arms and legs out like a starfish and replied, ‘I’ll take both sides, thank you.’ Orcille gave her a slight smile as he curled up on the rug.
‘Good night, Denise,’ he said softly. Denise did not respond. They were both asleep within a few minutes.
Early the next morning, an enforcer tapped on the cell. ‘Breakfast is here,’ he said.
Orcille got up off the rug to take the food from the enforcer. He was handed two small boxes. They contained sweet breads and pastries. He walked over to Denise and tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Breakfast is here,’ he said in a soft voice. She peered over the covers. She looked at the food. She sat up and took the box from Orcille.
‘Would it be okay if I sat here with you to eat?’ inquired Orcille. Denise shook her head. Orcille sat down on the rug. They ate in silence.
After they finished, Orcille stacked the boxes, and Denise made the bed and folded it back into the sofa. Denise walked over to the bars of the cell. ‘You can have the sofa,’ she said to Orcille. She noticed he appeared to be in some pain. Orcille sat on the sofa.
The Head Enforcer, who was accompanied by two other enforcers, approached the cell. ‘Orcille, you need to make a new statement,’ he said sternly. ‘I have been informed that you were coerced into making your previous statement.’
‘I have faced so much abuse since I’ve been here,’ replied Orcille as the Head Enforcer unlocked the cell. ‘When I’m released, I’m going to make a formal complaint about the commander. She is brutal.’
The Head Enforcer turned to the two enforcers beside him. ‘Pull all this stuff out and place a partition in the cell. We have some new guests arriving soon,’ said the Head Enforcer in an authoritative voice. He then grabbed Denise’s arm and handcuffed her to the bars. The Head Enforcer turned to Orcille and said, ‘Right, follow me.’
Orcille followed the Head Enforcer into an interrogation room. The Head Enforcer slammed the statement in front of him and demanded he sign it. Orcille started reading. After a few seconds, he started laughing.
‘I’m not signing this crap,’ he said as he giggled.
‘If you sign this now, I will let you walk straight out of here,’ said the Head Enforcer in an annoyed tone. ‘You’ll be free to continue your miserable existence.’
‘I came here accusing Victor of taking the girls,’ said Orcille in a calm tone. ‘Yesterday, I made a deal with the commander to retract that accusation. Now, you give me a statement claiming I’m accusing Morgan and Denise of kidnapping them. There is no mention of Victor.’
‘We both know this is the truth,’ said the Head Enforcer assertively. ‘Do the right thing and sign it.’
He held out the pen to Orcille. Orcille took the pen and appeared to be signing the statement. The Head Enforcer looked at the statement. Orcille had written, ‘Go Fuck Yourself’ on it.
Orcille sat back in the chair, smiling at him.
The Head Enforcer screamed for his enforcers to come in. Two came in immediately. ‘Take it back to its cage,’ he said in a slow, deliberate voice.
Orcille stopped laughing. The enforcers grabbed Orcille. Orcille did not break eye contact with the Head Enforcer until he was out of the room.
The enforcers moved Orcille along the corridor. Jewels and Pearls were in the corridor with their parents. Orcille looked at them carefully as he was pulled past them. His face changed from anger to horror. ‘These are not your children,’ shouted Orcille.
Everyone stopped moving. There were a few seconds of silence. ‘They are our children. We know our own children,’ said the mother of Jewels.
‘Sure, they look like your children. They talk like your children, but do they act like your children?’ said Orcille insistently.
‘They have been under a lot of stress. I would not expect them to be the same quite yet,’ replied Pearls’ mother.
‘You’re insane and a danger to society. Get the hell away from my family, you freak,’ shouted Jewels’ father.
The Head Enforcer entered the corridor. ‘Take this thing back to its cell, now,’ shouted the Head Enforcer.
Orcille grabbed the two enforcers and slammed their heads together, knocking them both unconscious.
‘Get behind me now,’ demanded the Head Enforcer firmly. The families moved past the Head Enforcer and out of the corridor.
Several enforcers started to close in behind Orcille. Orcille did not move. He just gazed straight at the Head Enforcer who was now starting to feel a little nervous. Orcille gave him a half-smile.
‘That’s it. I’ll go back to my cell,’ said Orcille calmly. ‘I’d like my medication now, please.’ Two enforcers escorted him back to the cell.
‘Help these two up,’ said the Head Enforcer to two other enforcers as he pointed to the two on the ground.
The Head Enforcer exited the corridor into the main lobby of the headquarters. ‘Anyone see those two families that were here just now?’ he called out.
‘They ran out the front door. They seemed terrified,’ responded an enforcer.
The Head Enforcer rushed out the front door. A media crew rushed towards him.
Orcille was back in the cell. It was a little different now. It had been partitioned. The furniture had been removed. It had been replaced with four simple single matrices, two on either side of the partition.
‘I hope you don’t mind that I took the side with the toilet,’ said Denise to Orcille.
Orcille signalled back with the ‘okay’ sign.
A medic approached the cell with Orcille’s medication.
‘I would like to do this myself,’ said Orcille in a worried voice.
‘Sorry, I can’t let you handle these medications in this environment,’ the medic replied.
‘Whatever,’ responded Orcille. He looked over to Denise. ‘Would you mind turning around?’ he asked politely.
‘Oh, sure, sorry,’ she responded. She quickly turned around and covered her eyes.
Orcille rolled up his sleeve, revealing his badly scarred arm.
‘That must have hurt,’ remarked the medic.
‘Just get on with it,’ responded Orcille in an annoyed tone.
Morgan was still waiting in the interrogation room. He had been waiting almost twenty hours without anyone entering the room. He was feeling incredibly stressed. Finally, the door opened. It was Arville. He was the enforcer who had punched Morgan the night before.
‘I’m sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot,’ said Arville in a calm tone. ‘My name is Arville. I’m a senior enforcer here,’ he said with a pleasant grin on his face.
‘Nice to meet you, I guess,’ replied Morgan.
‘I feel terrible about all that’s happened with you and your family,’ said Arville to Morgan as he reached over to rub his shoulder. ‘I’m going to help you out.’
‘Okay,’ said Morgan, looking very concerned.
‘I’ll get straight to the point,’ said Arville. ‘Denise is in a lot of trouble. She might have to be taken away for a long time, or worse. She might be classified as a “gone” case. We both know what that means,’ he said in a sullen voice.
Morgan bowed his head down. ‘She wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not even a Sape,’ responded Morgan.
‘I agree with you 100%. She is amazing. I remember what she did at the Sape Market a couple of years ago. I was completely moved,’ said Arville in a sympathetic tone. ‘Sadly, the evidence is telling a different story.’
‘So how are you going to help?’ inquired Morgan with a little more frustration in his voice.
‘She doesn’t need to have her life destroyed. She can be protected,’ said Arville. ‘You have the power to save her.’ Arville pushed his finger under Morgan’s chin to raise his head so he could look him in the eyes. ‘Are you willing to do whatever is necessary to save your little girl?’ asked Arville.
Morgan nodded.
‘Excellent, let’s begin,’ said Arville with a grin on his face.
Outside the front of the headquarters, the media confronted the Head Enforcer. He did not intend to make a statement at this time but felt compelled to say a few words.
‘The two girls have been returned safely to their families,’ said the Head Enforcer. ‘We have detained a few suspects involved with their disappearance. I will provide you with a full update once we can confirm all the facts.’
Another media team was hounding Jewels’ family. They were unwilling to talk to them.
‘Leave them alone,’ shouted the Head Enforcer to the media team as he briskly walked towards them. ‘All interviews about this case go through me.’ The media backed down.
‘This is just too much. We want our lives back,’ said Jewels’ father angrily.
‘I understand. This will be over soon,’ replied the Head Enforcer calmly.
‘I want this to be over now,’ demanded Jewels’ mother.
‘I hate this stupid region. I want to live somewhere nicer,’ shouted Jewels.
‘We won’t be in Adoy much longer. I have applied for a transfer out of this region,’ said Jewels’ mother. ‘The other family is leaving as well. We’re done with this place.’
‘That’s great, but I need Jewels to look at just one more photograph,’ explained the Head Enforcer.
The two parents looked at Jewels. ‘I want ice cream. Double scoop,’ replied Jewels with a doe-eyed expression on her face.
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