Chapter 5 -- The Basement
Sarah Reynolds was in bed watching LAW & ORDER when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, very faintly: "Help me."
Sarah tried to place the voice. "Julian?" she said.
"Yeah," he whispered.
"Where are you?"
"My office." His voice cracked when he said it. Was he crying?
"What is it?" she asked.
"I...I can't...." Barnes squeaked. He seemed barely able to speak.
Sarah didn't press further. "Julian, don't do anything, just stay where you are. I'll be right there."
She quickly got out of her nightgown and pulled on some sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a jacket. Then she snatched her keys off the front hall table, walked quickly to her car, and drove towards Fuller somewhat faster than the law allowed.
-----
It was after lights out, and Faith was just beginning to drift off to sleep when there came a whisper from below.
"Rochelle is gonna kill you."
The speaker was Faith's cellmate, Kim, who normally never spoke to Faith unless absolutely necessary. Kim was a member of one of the biggest gang factions in Fuller -- a contingent from the Crips. Rochelle was their local leader.
"You mean for real, or, like, metaphorically?" Faith asked.
"I mean she and maybe fifty girls are gonna beat you and Sonya to death," Kim replied flatly.
"Oh." Faith paused for a few seconds, then asked, "You know where or when?"
"Soon. Don't know where."
Oh, good, Faith thought, 'cause I was afraid you were going to be vague.
"Why are you telling me this?" Faith asked.
"I never liked Rochelle. If you get her first, Shawanda will move up, and I'll be next in line after her."
Faith blinked. Damn, she thought, I hope me and Sonya inspire more loyalty from our gang than that.
"Thanks," Faith said.
"Don't thank me yet. 'Cause one day I might have to kill your ass."
"OK, then," Faith said with false cheer. "Nighty-night."
-----
Sarah Reynolds pulled her second-hand Volvo into the Fuller's staff parking lot, then got out and ran to the main entrance. She was glad she had worn sneakers.
She signed in and passed through the metal detector, then fairly dashed to the main guard station. She didn't know what was going on with Julian, but on the off-chance that there was any physical danger, she wanted to be prepared. She ordered a burly-looking guard to go with her to Barnes' office.
Sarah knocked rapidly on Barnes' door, then threw it open. Barnes was seated at his desk. He stared straight ahead, even though his eyes were red and the shiny tracks of tears marked his cheeks.
"Sarah..." he said. His voice was high and shaky.
"Julian, what is it?" Sarah said, stepping in front of the guard who had come with her.
That was when she noticed the forty-five-caliber pistol on Barnes' desk.
"I...I can't..." Julian said. He seemed barely able to speak. "I can't keep going like this. I can't do this job. I can't handle it. I act like I know what I'm doing, but I don't know anything. I..."
Sarah heard the guard behind her drawing his own gun, and Sarah raised her hand in a halting gesture. Wisely, the guard kept the gun out but held it by his side, unobtrusive.
"Go on," Sarah said softly to Barnes, never taking her eyes off him.
"I look at the future...and it's always going to be like this...just, just pain. I don't want it." He began to lift the gun from the desk.
But before Julian could put the gun to his head, Sarah took three quick steps forward and put her hand over his. She knew he wouldn't resist; he was almost too drained to lift the gun by himself, let alone fight Sarah for it.
Sarah had only been at Fuller for a few months, but she had gotten to know Barnes reasonably well, and he had always struck her as very stable. His coping mechanisms were strong: an optimistic attitude, a good sense of humor, and a strong marital relationship. Why was he now having what appeared to be a major depressive episode?
"Julian," she said, "I know we've only been working together a few months, but I think I know you well enough to say that you're not a quitter. You're strong, and you're capable; you've just been drawn into a dark place. So dark that you can't see a way out."
She swallowed to clear a lump of fear from her throat. "But there is a way out," she went on, "and this isn't it." She indicated the gun. "Can you trust me about that? Can you believe me when I tell you that you won't always feel this way?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, Julian nodded.
"All right," Sarah said. Gently, she took the gun out of Julian's hand and handed it to the guard behind her. "Let's get you some help."
Sarah put an arm around Julian's shoulders and helped him stand, then guided him out to her car and drove him to the emergency room.
-----
Nearly a week later, Sonya Medford had just arrived at her cell for nighttime lockdown. Her cellmate, Maria, was already there, sitting on her cot and taking off her prison-issue sneakers. Maria was a new entrant to the prison; she was also a recovering addict and a member of Faith and Sonya's gang. Warden Teague had transferred Sonya's old cellmate and replaced her with Maria so that Sonya could help her with her recovery, and so that each of them could watch the other's back. The warden was still waiting for an excuse to move Faith's cellmate and move another new recruit in with Faith, but the opportunity hadn't come up yet. Sonya liked that about Teague; he made it obvious that he cared about Sonya, Faith, and their new followers, but he never jeopardized their efforts or their safety by doing anything to suggest a connection between the gang and the prison administration.
Prisoners flooded past Sonya on their way back to their own cells, clogging the hallway like a sclerotic artery. Sonya had almost reached the door to her cell when the prisoners in front of her suddenly stopped walking and turned.
They were all Crips. And when Sonya looked behind her, there was Rochelle and ten more of her homegirls. By the time Maria saw what was going on and stood up, a trio of Crips got there first and blocked the way.
Sonya knew she was in big trouble. This wasn't a fight she could win, maybe even if Faith were there to help. But Sonay also knew that, if she gave in now and begged for mercy, everything she and Faith had done so far, and everything they could do in the future, would go right down the toilet.
Sonya turned and looked Rochelle right in the eye. "I hope you want some of this, Rochelle," Sonya shouted, raising her fists. "'Cause your girls might beat me down, but I promise, I will get a piece of you before they do. So come on!"
Rochelle's eyes widened. Much to Sonya's surprise, she looked genuinely frightened.
"I-" Rochelle started. She looked to either side of her; all of her followers were watching her now.
"F-forget it," Rochelle stammered. She turned around and walked quickly away. The other Crips looked at each other with shock.
Sonya took advantage of their moment of confusion. She darted towards her cell door, shoved a Crip out of the way, and ran inside to stand next to Maria. Now Sonya and Maria had a tactical advantage; there might be thirty Crips in the corridor, but only a few at a time could get through the door and attack.
One of the two remaining Crips in the doorway stepped forward; the ball of Sonya's foot hit her in the stomach and stopped her cold. Maria, who was still holding the sneaker she had just removed, threw it at the other Crip's face. The distraction enabled Sonya to fire a side kick into the woman's ribs. Sonya gave both of her disabled opponents a hard shove into the doorway, blocking anyone else from entering. Maria moved up next to Sonya as the two women waited for their attackers' next move.
The buzzer sounded.
"Shit!" one of the Crips yelled. The gang girls dispersed and ran in all directions. There were penalties for not being in one's cell at lockdown.
Seconds later, the cell doors closed. Sonya could hear guards yelling at the prisoners who hadn't gotten into their cells in time.
"Jesus," Maria said. "I've heard of being saved by the bell, but...I guess God is watching us, eh?"
"Somebody sure is," Sonya said.
-----
Three days later, Rochelle was dead.
The news came as a shock to no one. Rochelle had shown that she couldn't handle leadership of a gang, or even membership in one. So she had been summarily jumped out with the traditional severe beating.
What was shocking, however, was that it was not the beating that killed her. Instead, the story went, Rochelle had awakened that morning in the infirmary, walked into the bathroom, and started screaming because the whites of her eyes were completely yellow. The jaundice signaled total liver failure; she died within hours.
-----
Faith had an appointment with Dr. Reynolds that afternoon. When Faith walked into Reynolds' office, she was surprised to see the woman standing up in front of her desk instead of sitting behind it as usual.
"Faith," the doctor said, "I need to discuss something important with you that has nothing to do with your therapy."
"OK," Faith responded, raising a dark eyebrow.
"As you've no doubt noticed, several odd incidents have occurred here at Fuller in the past few weeks," Reynolds began.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Faith said.
The truth was, Faith hadn't just noticed; she was starting to freak. Sonya had told her about the fight, and Faith heard about Rochelle's death that morning. Sarina Thompson, the woman who went berserk with fear and nearly murdered a guard, had also died not long afterwards.
"At first," Reynolds went on, "I thought the incidents were unrelated. A prison is a stressful environment, after all. But I now believe it is more than that."
Reynolds paused for a moment, then went on. "You know that Mr. Barnes has been absent for over a week now."
"Yeah," Faith said. "I heard he went on vacation or something."
"That's what everyone was told. The truth is that he is currently on medical leave due to a suicide attempt."
"What?" Faith replied, stunned. "I guess you know better than me, doc, but Barnes didn't seem like the type to kill himself."
"There isn't a type, per se, but you're quite right. The hospital attributes his suicide attempt to drug abuse; apparently, their tests found substantial amounts of midazolam in his system."
"Midazzle-what?"
"Midazolam. Also called Valium."
"Barnes was doing downers? That REALLY doesn't seem like his style."
"They found half a bottle of them in his desk."
"Wow. Just when I was starting to think I knew the guy."
"You may, indeed, know him. I believe someone else gave Mr. Barnes the midazolam against his will."
"What makes you say that?"
"He had a needle puncture on his left shoulder."
"I don't know," Faith said. "If he's popping pills, maybe he's shooting smack or something, too."
"There were no other drugs in his system besides the midazolam, which Mr. Barnes denies ever having taken. Additionally, the puncture mark was on the BACK of his shoulder -- not the easiest place to inject oneself."
"Junkies are pretty creative. I've known a few. Besides, if somebody else shot him with the stuff, wouldn't he have told somebody?"
"He may not remember the moment of injection. In addition to its sedative properties, midazolam is known to induce short-term amnesia."
"Hm. Still not a lot of proof."
Sarah sighed. "Perhaps you're right. But look at all of the other odd things that have happened in Fuller lately. To paraphrase Ian Fleming, one peculiar occurrence may be chance, and two may be coincidence, but three means something is going on. And we've had more than three."
"OK. So what are you telling ME all this for? I don't see how I can help."
"I've been checking in with Mr. Barnes every few days, and yesterday he told me that the last thing he remembered before he found himself in his office with a gun was that he had gone down to the basement for some reason. I would like to go down there and have a look around, and I want you to come with me."
"Why?"
"Frankly, because I'm afraid. I don't know what's down there, and I'd rather have someone go with me."
"Why not just take one of the guards?"
"Faith, if there is some sort of plot being carried out here, at this incredibly secure facility, what are the odds that it is not an inside job?"
"Good point. OK, I'll be your bodyguard. When do you want to go?"
"Now would be fine."
-----
Faith and Sarah Reynolds walked casually down the basement stairs, trying to act as though they were doing something completely legitimate. When they opened the door at the bottom of the stairwell and stepped into the basement corridor, Faith said, "OK, now what?"
"This way," Sarah whispered. She led Faith down the hall to a steel door. The door would not open; Sarah bent down and inspected the lock.
"It's just as I suspected," she said. "This is the door to the old solitary confinement unit. It's supposed to have been unused for the past year, but there is no rust on the inside of the lock, despite the dampness of the basement. Someone's been using it."
Faith put her ear to the door. "And they're still in there," she whispered. "I can just barely hear them moving around." After a few seconds, Faith hissed, "Shit!"
Whoever was inside was approaching the door. Faith jumped back and tried to drag Sarah around the nearest corner, but it was too late; the door opened and a heavyset man emerged. He spotted Faith and Sarah immediately and raised some kind of pistol. Faith shoved Sarah aside, trying to push her out of the line of fire and dodge in the other direction at the same time.
Faith felt a stinging sensation in her left hip. She looked down and saw the fuzzy red tail of a tranquilizer dart against the dark blue of her prison jeans. Faith yanked the dart out as the man reloaded.
"You drug me AND ruin my pants?" Faith shouted, moving towards the large man. "That's just more than a girl can...stand..." Sleepiness began to overcome her; her advance towards her enemy slowed to a halt. Faith fell to her knees.
Suddenly, Dr. Reynolds dashed into view from around the corner where Faith had pushed her. Faith had expected the doctor to run away, but instead she charged the big man and grabbed his wrist just as his finished reloading the tranq pistol. She clamped her other hand around the bottom of the man's large fist and twisted, forcing him to drop the gun.
Sarah started trying to push the man to the floor by his trapped arm, but he backhanded her with his free hand. She was stunned and released his wrist. Faith tried to get up to help, but she could barely even keep her eyes open, let alone move. Before Sarah could recover from the blow, the big man bent down, wrapped one arm around her waist, and picked her up on his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Sarah thrashed and beat at his back with her fists, but she was in no position to hurt him seriously.
The man carried Sarah through the steel door. A few seconds later, he came back and did the same with Faith.
Faith was growing sleepier by the moment, but she remembered what Sarah had told her -- that the tranquilizer also caused amnesia. With what was left of her mental energy, Faith went over and over the events of the last few minutes in her mind, determined not to forget them.
The man carried Faith into a hallway with a row of three steel doors on each side -- the solitary confinement cells, she guessed. The first door on each side was open. Faith caught a glimpse of some glassware and other laboratory equipment inside one cell, and heard the staccato screeches of several small animals of some sort from the other doorway.
The big man stopped and opened the middle door on the left. While the other doors were steel gray, this one was green and had a handle on it, like the ones Faith had seen on meat lockers.
A big, green cooler, she thought as the world began to go dark. This is SO not good.
And then she was out.
-----
"Faith!"
A voice shouted at her from somewhere far away. It was really annoying; she was trying to sleep, after all.
"Faith! Wake up!"
Faith rolled over and found herself very uncomfortable. Awakened somewhat by the shouting and the aching in her arms, she realized that her hands were cuffed behind her back, and that she was lying on top of them. Faith rolled back over and opened her eyes.
She was on a thinly-carpeted floor in a small room whose walls and ceiling were covered in what looked like black foam rubber. Dr. Reynolds was standing against the back wall, her arms and legs bound to it with thick steel bands.
"What is this place?" Faith asked.
"It's a sound-attenuating chamber," Reynolds replied. "Normally, they are used in psychological experiments to prevent subjects from being distracted by extraneous noise. In this case, however, I believe the chamber's purpose is to keep anyone from hearing us if we shout for help."
Faith made a feeble attempt to get up, but found that she couldn't even move her feet apart. A thick chain had been wound several times around her ankles and secured with a padlock.
"How long have we been in here?" Faith asked.
"About an hour. I believe our captors are trying to decide what to do with us."
"Something tells me they're not gonna take us to Disneyland."
"Then we can rule out one form of torture," Reynolds replied dryly. "But yes, we must get out of here, sooner rather than later. Can you break out of those handcuffs?"
"I'm still feeling pretty weak, but-" Faith paused, narrowing her eyes. "Hold up. What makes you think I can break out of handcuffs?"
"Faith," Reynolds said slowly, "I'm very sorry. I was under strict instructions not to discuss my purpose here with you. However, under the circumstances, I can see no reasonable alternative."
"What purpose? What are you talking about?"
"I..."
Reynolds swallowed once, then tried again.
"I'm your Watcher."
END CHAPTER 5
Sarah Reynolds was in bed watching LAW & ORDER when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, very faintly: "Help me."
Sarah tried to place the voice. "Julian?" she said.
"Yeah," he whispered.
"Where are you?"
"My office." His voice cracked when he said it. Was he crying?
"What is it?" she asked.
"I...I can't...." Barnes squeaked. He seemed barely able to speak.
Sarah didn't press further. "Julian, don't do anything, just stay where you are. I'll be right there."
She quickly got out of her nightgown and pulled on some sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a jacket. Then she snatched her keys off the front hall table, walked quickly to her car, and drove towards Fuller somewhat faster than the law allowed.
-----
It was after lights out, and Faith was just beginning to drift off to sleep when there came a whisper from below.
"Rochelle is gonna kill you."
The speaker was Faith's cellmate, Kim, who normally never spoke to Faith unless absolutely necessary. Kim was a member of one of the biggest gang factions in Fuller -- a contingent from the Crips. Rochelle was their local leader.
"You mean for real, or, like, metaphorically?" Faith asked.
"I mean she and maybe fifty girls are gonna beat you and Sonya to death," Kim replied flatly.
"Oh." Faith paused for a few seconds, then asked, "You know where or when?"
"Soon. Don't know where."
Oh, good, Faith thought, 'cause I was afraid you were going to be vague.
"Why are you telling me this?" Faith asked.
"I never liked Rochelle. If you get her first, Shawanda will move up, and I'll be next in line after her."
Faith blinked. Damn, she thought, I hope me and Sonya inspire more loyalty from our gang than that.
"Thanks," Faith said.
"Don't thank me yet. 'Cause one day I might have to kill your ass."
"OK, then," Faith said with false cheer. "Nighty-night."
-----
Sarah Reynolds pulled her second-hand Volvo into the Fuller's staff parking lot, then got out and ran to the main entrance. She was glad she had worn sneakers.
She signed in and passed through the metal detector, then fairly dashed to the main guard station. She didn't know what was going on with Julian, but on the off-chance that there was any physical danger, she wanted to be prepared. She ordered a burly-looking guard to go with her to Barnes' office.
Sarah knocked rapidly on Barnes' door, then threw it open. Barnes was seated at his desk. He stared straight ahead, even though his eyes were red and the shiny tracks of tears marked his cheeks.
"Sarah..." he said. His voice was high and shaky.
"Julian, what is it?" Sarah said, stepping in front of the guard who had come with her.
That was when she noticed the forty-five-caliber pistol on Barnes' desk.
"I...I can't..." Julian said. He seemed barely able to speak. "I can't keep going like this. I can't do this job. I can't handle it. I act like I know what I'm doing, but I don't know anything. I..."
Sarah heard the guard behind her drawing his own gun, and Sarah raised her hand in a halting gesture. Wisely, the guard kept the gun out but held it by his side, unobtrusive.
"Go on," Sarah said softly to Barnes, never taking her eyes off him.
"I look at the future...and it's always going to be like this...just, just pain. I don't want it." He began to lift the gun from the desk.
But before Julian could put the gun to his head, Sarah took three quick steps forward and put her hand over his. She knew he wouldn't resist; he was almost too drained to lift the gun by himself, let alone fight Sarah for it.
Sarah had only been at Fuller for a few months, but she had gotten to know Barnes reasonably well, and he had always struck her as very stable. His coping mechanisms were strong: an optimistic attitude, a good sense of humor, and a strong marital relationship. Why was he now having what appeared to be a major depressive episode?
"Julian," she said, "I know we've only been working together a few months, but I think I know you well enough to say that you're not a quitter. You're strong, and you're capable; you've just been drawn into a dark place. So dark that you can't see a way out."
She swallowed to clear a lump of fear from her throat. "But there is a way out," she went on, "and this isn't it." She indicated the gun. "Can you trust me about that? Can you believe me when I tell you that you won't always feel this way?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, Julian nodded.
"All right," Sarah said. Gently, she took the gun out of Julian's hand and handed it to the guard behind her. "Let's get you some help."
Sarah put an arm around Julian's shoulders and helped him stand, then guided him out to her car and drove him to the emergency room.
-----
Nearly a week later, Sonya Medford had just arrived at her cell for nighttime lockdown. Her cellmate, Maria, was already there, sitting on her cot and taking off her prison-issue sneakers. Maria was a new entrant to the prison; she was also a recovering addict and a member of Faith and Sonya's gang. Warden Teague had transferred Sonya's old cellmate and replaced her with Maria so that Sonya could help her with her recovery, and so that each of them could watch the other's back. The warden was still waiting for an excuse to move Faith's cellmate and move another new recruit in with Faith, but the opportunity hadn't come up yet. Sonya liked that about Teague; he made it obvious that he cared about Sonya, Faith, and their new followers, but he never jeopardized their efforts or their safety by doing anything to suggest a connection between the gang and the prison administration.
Prisoners flooded past Sonya on their way back to their own cells, clogging the hallway like a sclerotic artery. Sonya had almost reached the door to her cell when the prisoners in front of her suddenly stopped walking and turned.
They were all Crips. And when Sonya looked behind her, there was Rochelle and ten more of her homegirls. By the time Maria saw what was going on and stood up, a trio of Crips got there first and blocked the way.
Sonya knew she was in big trouble. This wasn't a fight she could win, maybe even if Faith were there to help. But Sonay also knew that, if she gave in now and begged for mercy, everything she and Faith had done so far, and everything they could do in the future, would go right down the toilet.
Sonya turned and looked Rochelle right in the eye. "I hope you want some of this, Rochelle," Sonya shouted, raising her fists. "'Cause your girls might beat me down, but I promise, I will get a piece of you before they do. So come on!"
Rochelle's eyes widened. Much to Sonya's surprise, she looked genuinely frightened.
"I-" Rochelle started. She looked to either side of her; all of her followers were watching her now.
"F-forget it," Rochelle stammered. She turned around and walked quickly away. The other Crips looked at each other with shock.
Sonya took advantage of their moment of confusion. She darted towards her cell door, shoved a Crip out of the way, and ran inside to stand next to Maria. Now Sonya and Maria had a tactical advantage; there might be thirty Crips in the corridor, but only a few at a time could get through the door and attack.
One of the two remaining Crips in the doorway stepped forward; the ball of Sonya's foot hit her in the stomach and stopped her cold. Maria, who was still holding the sneaker she had just removed, threw it at the other Crip's face. The distraction enabled Sonya to fire a side kick into the woman's ribs. Sonya gave both of her disabled opponents a hard shove into the doorway, blocking anyone else from entering. Maria moved up next to Sonya as the two women waited for their attackers' next move.
The buzzer sounded.
"Shit!" one of the Crips yelled. The gang girls dispersed and ran in all directions. There were penalties for not being in one's cell at lockdown.
Seconds later, the cell doors closed. Sonya could hear guards yelling at the prisoners who hadn't gotten into their cells in time.
"Jesus," Maria said. "I've heard of being saved by the bell, but...I guess God is watching us, eh?"
"Somebody sure is," Sonya said.
-----
Three days later, Rochelle was dead.
The news came as a shock to no one. Rochelle had shown that she couldn't handle leadership of a gang, or even membership in one. So she had been summarily jumped out with the traditional severe beating.
What was shocking, however, was that it was not the beating that killed her. Instead, the story went, Rochelle had awakened that morning in the infirmary, walked into the bathroom, and started screaming because the whites of her eyes were completely yellow. The jaundice signaled total liver failure; she died within hours.
-----
Faith had an appointment with Dr. Reynolds that afternoon. When Faith walked into Reynolds' office, she was surprised to see the woman standing up in front of her desk instead of sitting behind it as usual.
"Faith," the doctor said, "I need to discuss something important with you that has nothing to do with your therapy."
"OK," Faith responded, raising a dark eyebrow.
"As you've no doubt noticed, several odd incidents have occurred here at Fuller in the past few weeks," Reynolds began.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Faith said.
The truth was, Faith hadn't just noticed; she was starting to freak. Sonya had told her about the fight, and Faith heard about Rochelle's death that morning. Sarina Thompson, the woman who went berserk with fear and nearly murdered a guard, had also died not long afterwards.
"At first," Reynolds went on, "I thought the incidents were unrelated. A prison is a stressful environment, after all. But I now believe it is more than that."
Reynolds paused for a moment, then went on. "You know that Mr. Barnes has been absent for over a week now."
"Yeah," Faith said. "I heard he went on vacation or something."
"That's what everyone was told. The truth is that he is currently on medical leave due to a suicide attempt."
"What?" Faith replied, stunned. "I guess you know better than me, doc, but Barnes didn't seem like the type to kill himself."
"There isn't a type, per se, but you're quite right. The hospital attributes his suicide attempt to drug abuse; apparently, their tests found substantial amounts of midazolam in his system."
"Midazzle-what?"
"Midazolam. Also called Valium."
"Barnes was doing downers? That REALLY doesn't seem like his style."
"They found half a bottle of them in his desk."
"Wow. Just when I was starting to think I knew the guy."
"You may, indeed, know him. I believe someone else gave Mr. Barnes the midazolam against his will."
"What makes you say that?"
"He had a needle puncture on his left shoulder."
"I don't know," Faith said. "If he's popping pills, maybe he's shooting smack or something, too."
"There were no other drugs in his system besides the midazolam, which Mr. Barnes denies ever having taken. Additionally, the puncture mark was on the BACK of his shoulder -- not the easiest place to inject oneself."
"Junkies are pretty creative. I've known a few. Besides, if somebody else shot him with the stuff, wouldn't he have told somebody?"
"He may not remember the moment of injection. In addition to its sedative properties, midazolam is known to induce short-term amnesia."
"Hm. Still not a lot of proof."
Sarah sighed. "Perhaps you're right. But look at all of the other odd things that have happened in Fuller lately. To paraphrase Ian Fleming, one peculiar occurrence may be chance, and two may be coincidence, but three means something is going on. And we've had more than three."
"OK. So what are you telling ME all this for? I don't see how I can help."
"I've been checking in with Mr. Barnes every few days, and yesterday he told me that the last thing he remembered before he found himself in his office with a gun was that he had gone down to the basement for some reason. I would like to go down there and have a look around, and I want you to come with me."
"Why?"
"Frankly, because I'm afraid. I don't know what's down there, and I'd rather have someone go with me."
"Why not just take one of the guards?"
"Faith, if there is some sort of plot being carried out here, at this incredibly secure facility, what are the odds that it is not an inside job?"
"Good point. OK, I'll be your bodyguard. When do you want to go?"
"Now would be fine."
-----
Faith and Sarah Reynolds walked casually down the basement stairs, trying to act as though they were doing something completely legitimate. When they opened the door at the bottom of the stairwell and stepped into the basement corridor, Faith said, "OK, now what?"
"This way," Sarah whispered. She led Faith down the hall to a steel door. The door would not open; Sarah bent down and inspected the lock.
"It's just as I suspected," she said. "This is the door to the old solitary confinement unit. It's supposed to have been unused for the past year, but there is no rust on the inside of the lock, despite the dampness of the basement. Someone's been using it."
Faith put her ear to the door. "And they're still in there," she whispered. "I can just barely hear them moving around." After a few seconds, Faith hissed, "Shit!"
Whoever was inside was approaching the door. Faith jumped back and tried to drag Sarah around the nearest corner, but it was too late; the door opened and a heavyset man emerged. He spotted Faith and Sarah immediately and raised some kind of pistol. Faith shoved Sarah aside, trying to push her out of the line of fire and dodge in the other direction at the same time.
Faith felt a stinging sensation in her left hip. She looked down and saw the fuzzy red tail of a tranquilizer dart against the dark blue of her prison jeans. Faith yanked the dart out as the man reloaded.
"You drug me AND ruin my pants?" Faith shouted, moving towards the large man. "That's just more than a girl can...stand..." Sleepiness began to overcome her; her advance towards her enemy slowed to a halt. Faith fell to her knees.
Suddenly, Dr. Reynolds dashed into view from around the corner where Faith had pushed her. Faith had expected the doctor to run away, but instead she charged the big man and grabbed his wrist just as his finished reloading the tranq pistol. She clamped her other hand around the bottom of the man's large fist and twisted, forcing him to drop the gun.
Sarah started trying to push the man to the floor by his trapped arm, but he backhanded her with his free hand. She was stunned and released his wrist. Faith tried to get up to help, but she could barely even keep her eyes open, let alone move. Before Sarah could recover from the blow, the big man bent down, wrapped one arm around her waist, and picked her up on his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Sarah thrashed and beat at his back with her fists, but she was in no position to hurt him seriously.
The man carried Sarah through the steel door. A few seconds later, he came back and did the same with Faith.
Faith was growing sleepier by the moment, but she remembered what Sarah had told her -- that the tranquilizer also caused amnesia. With what was left of her mental energy, Faith went over and over the events of the last few minutes in her mind, determined not to forget them.
The man carried Faith into a hallway with a row of three steel doors on each side -- the solitary confinement cells, she guessed. The first door on each side was open. Faith caught a glimpse of some glassware and other laboratory equipment inside one cell, and heard the staccato screeches of several small animals of some sort from the other doorway.
The big man stopped and opened the middle door on the left. While the other doors were steel gray, this one was green and had a handle on it, like the ones Faith had seen on meat lockers.
A big, green cooler, she thought as the world began to go dark. This is SO not good.
And then she was out.
-----
"Faith!"
A voice shouted at her from somewhere far away. It was really annoying; she was trying to sleep, after all.
"Faith! Wake up!"
Faith rolled over and found herself very uncomfortable. Awakened somewhat by the shouting and the aching in her arms, she realized that her hands were cuffed behind her back, and that she was lying on top of them. Faith rolled back over and opened her eyes.
She was on a thinly-carpeted floor in a small room whose walls and ceiling were covered in what looked like black foam rubber. Dr. Reynolds was standing against the back wall, her arms and legs bound to it with thick steel bands.
"What is this place?" Faith asked.
"It's a sound-attenuating chamber," Reynolds replied. "Normally, they are used in psychological experiments to prevent subjects from being distracted by extraneous noise. In this case, however, I believe the chamber's purpose is to keep anyone from hearing us if we shout for help."
Faith made a feeble attempt to get up, but found that she couldn't even move her feet apart. A thick chain had been wound several times around her ankles and secured with a padlock.
"How long have we been in here?" Faith asked.
"About an hour. I believe our captors are trying to decide what to do with us."
"Something tells me they're not gonna take us to Disneyland."
"Then we can rule out one form of torture," Reynolds replied dryly. "But yes, we must get out of here, sooner rather than later. Can you break out of those handcuffs?"
"I'm still feeling pretty weak, but-" Faith paused, narrowing her eyes. "Hold up. What makes you think I can break out of handcuffs?"
"Faith," Reynolds said slowly, "I'm very sorry. I was under strict instructions not to discuss my purpose here with you. However, under the circumstances, I can see no reasonable alternative."
"What purpose? What are you talking about?"
"I..."
Reynolds swallowed once, then tried again.
"I'm your Watcher."
END CHAPTER 5
