Chapter 5

Ada turned off the main road onto the long gravel driveway.

"Fisher Mineral and Ore" Read the sign at the driveway's entrance, just below it said .

"NO TRESPASSING"

Ada: "It seems nobody remembered to roll out my red carpet" .

Leon: "Better try a new joke, 'cause that one's gettin' old".

Ada: "Easier said than done".

An eighteen-wheeler rumbled past them in the opposite direction. It's paperwork will say it is carrying coal, but that is just a cover. Trucks roll in and out every day but not a single piece of ore ever leaves. The trucks leave carrying garbage and other waste, and they return carrying supplies (Water, food, office supplies ,etc).

Sometimes the trucks would run empty, just to give the impression of a profitable mine. At the top of the rise in front of them, a guard post could be seen with razor wire fencing on either side. Granted, fences and guards are fairly common at mine sites, but guard towers along the fence line with snipers atop, were not.

Ada gently brought them to a stop at the guard station outside the gate. A guard carrying a clipboard walked towards the driver's window and motioned for Ada to roll it down.

Guard 1: "Name, organization and reason for visit".

Leon: "Kennedy, STRATCOM and above your clearance".

The guard riflled through the papers on his clipboard before asking

Guard 1: "...Identification" he glanced at Ada and Barry.

Guard 1: "Theirs too"

The three produced their credentials and handed them to the guard, he took them back to the guard post to verify them.

Leon: "So which fake ID did you use this time?"

Ada: "Just wait and see".

The guard returned to the car and handed back their IDs.

Guard 1: "Welcome to The Blacksite, and I hope you enjoy your time in the US, ".

Ada: "Thanks!" she beamed a delightfully fake smile as the guard waved them forward.

Leon: "Really?".

Ada: "You never know when diplomatic immunity will come in handy" .

The gate slowly started opening in front of them. Two guards stood either side of the opening. One had his face covered by a scarf, as the car approached he opened his coat and held out one side saying.

Guard 2: "Welcome! Stranger…" .

Leon: "...".

Ada: "...".

Barry: "THANKS!" .

The large sprawling campus lay before them. The Blacksite still tried to keep up the appearance of a mining operation. Heavy machinery strewn about, large piles of rock and dirt, even a loading station for the "coal" trucks. The machinery even appeared to be well used, even going so far as to move the machinery every few days so that satellite imagery would appear to show a working site.

Barry: "They really go the extra mile, huh?"

Beneath all the pageantry lay the sites true purpose. The Blacksite was a level 4 detention facility. The detainees typically fell into 2 categories. The first being "Too valuable to kill", think high ranking members of terrorist organizations or scientists that performed unspeakable experiments. The second, is members of upper class, basically rich or politically connected people whose families wish to keep them….. "Underwraps" . This could be due to a legitimate mental illness, or possibly just knowing a little too much.

They parked in front of a building that appeared to be a large hanger for storing mining equipment. They entered through a simple, unadorned, door. Inside it appeared to be just like any lobby from a modern hospital, complete with a receptionist sitting at a desk. Around the perimeter there were artificial windows, screens really, displaying a boring exterior view of a hospital parking lot just off a busy street.

Barry: "Sure seems nice for a place that doesn't get too many visitors" .

Ada: "This isn't for visitors, it is for the detainees." .

Leon: "The idea is, if an escape attempt makes it this far, the generic lobby might help the guards convince them that they are just in a normal mental institution. Helping to pacify the situation and prevent them gaining any clues about where they really are." .

Unlike most receptionists, this one had been staring intently at them since they entered, waiting for them to reach a reasonable distance to great them.

Receptionist: "Mister Kennedy, the party you requested has been moved to an interview room and is ready for you" she said while gesturing towards the door to the left of the reception desk.

Receptionist: "A member of our staff will escort you there" .

An orderly wearing navy blue scrubs met them at the door and led them to an elevator. He selected their floor and they began their long decent down towards the holding facilities. The elevator stopped, nine stories below ground. Without a word, the orderly stepped out of the elevator and led them down the long, beige, hallway. They passed countless doors, each with a small window, covered by heavy metal shutter. The muffled wails of the inturned could be heard seeping through the thick doors. Some were laughing, others crying, one particularly loud voice kept screaming.

Lunatic: "PINEAPPLE DOESN'T GO ON PIZZA! PINEAPPLE DOESN'T GO ON PIZZA!"

Leon: "I can see we're not in the 'too valuable to kill' wing" .

They rounded the corner at the end of the hall and found a man in a white coat with thick glasses and long silver hair, standing by one of the doors. These doors were different, they seemed to be plain wood doors with large windows that covered most of the top half. The wire reinforcement making a grid pattern across the glass. The plaque on the door read "Interview Room #4", and the door to it's left read "Observation Room #4". The man in the white coat greeted them with a smile.

Doctor Farnsworth: "Mister Kennedy, I'm Doctor Farnsworth, your party is waiting in the interview room. That will be all Geofry" the orderly turned and left without uttering a word.

Leon glanced through the window, noticing that her entire head was wrapped in bandages.

Leon: "What happened to her?" .

Dr Farnsworth: "Ah yes, 2 weeks ago there was a bit of an incident between her and one of our guards. I was certain that they would have told you when you made your arrangements."

Leon: "Well it must have gotten lost in translation, care to fill me in?" Doctor Farnsworth appeared visibly uncomfortable with the conversation.

Doctor Farnsworth: "Well, you see" He removed his glasses and began nervously fidgeting with them.

Doctor Farnsworth: "Well,2 weeks ago, she was being moved back into her cell after a routine exam….."?.

Ada: "And?" .

Doctor Farnsworth: "Uh, she grabbed the guard's baton and proceeded to attack the guard. The guard's response may have been a bit of an overreaction." .

Leon: "Can she speak?" The doctor smiled and enthusiastically replied

Doctor Farnsworth: "Yes! Well….. No" .

Leon: "Well which is it?" .

Doctor Farnsworth: "Uh, she can speak, but not so much with her mouth. She suffered a broken cheekbone AND a broken jaw.".

Ada: "You call that a 'bit' of an overreaction? I would hate to see one of your staff really lose it." Doctor Farnsworth's unease ever increasing.

Doctor Farnsworth: "To be fair, she did manage to give the guard two black eyes and a broken nose. She (the guard) was found slumped against the door in the hall. Your party was unconscious in her cell." .

Leon sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Leon: "... can she answer my questions or not!?" Leon snapped .

Doctor Farnsworth: "Yes! She has been quite cooperative in using a small white board to communicate. She has actually been much more docile since the incident." .

Leon: "Great, Ada, Barry, wait in the observation room. If you notice anything remember, I am just a call away" Leon pointed to his wireless earpiece.

Leon: "Doc, you're going in with me"

Doctor Farnsworth: "Is that really nece-" Leon cut him off before he could finish. The Doctor appeared to be more nerves than man at this point.

Leon: "That wasn't a request." .

The Doctor reluctantly followed Leon into the interview room, Barry and Ada went into the observation room. The dimly lit observation room was separated from the interview room by a one-way mirror. Leon sat himself at the table opposite the detainee. The doctor stood in the corner closest to the door, his back pressed against the wall. The detainee was shackled to her chair at the waist with her legs following suit. Her arms were left free so she could use her white board. Her head hung limp, looking down at the table. She was in a stupor, whether it was caused by medication, the pain from her injuries, or a broken spirit, Leon couldn't tell.

Leon took the keychain from his vest pocket and set it on the table between them.

Leon: "Ashley, long time no see" .