The Remnant

1.1.1 Colton Pierce watched the interrogation from behind the window. Josh Mosley was about to confess, and if this didn’t take long, Colton would be able to make it to the department’s annual fundraising event that evening. He loved watching these confessions and wanted to hear Mosley say it. Something about confessions always made for a good night’s sleep. He watched Tracy Grover, interrogation specialist and long-time colleague, do what she did best: drill the subject relentlessly and from every angle until there was a genuine, honest confession. From there, she could get what she really wanted: more information. Colton watched silently from behind the observation window, which looked like a mirror inside the interrogation room, and checked his phone: 4:23 p.m. Still time, he thought. “Now, Josh,” Tracy Grover said, folding her hands together in her lap. She glared at him sternly, like a principal addressing a problem child who had been marched into her office. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail, and her slender cheeks, which just a moment before looked flushed, now appeared suddenly pale. “We technically don’t need your confession. You know that, right? A judge has already deemed you guilty. You’re already in our custody. But by confessing, you’ll be starting with the truth, and from there, we’re hoping you can give us more information. Perhaps there are others you know who may have done what you did? Birds of a feather, right? This is all pretty standard questioning, and you understand the gravity of what you’ve been telling me, but we need to finish this conversation. You understand how serious this is, don’t you?” Josh nodded. “And you understand why you’ve been brought here? We take these actions very seriously.” “I know,” he said. The guy looked like a nervous wreck. “We’re going to have to walk through this step by step,” Tracy said. She reached over to the table beside her chair, picked up her tablet, and began to tap away at the illuminated screen. “I need to know exactly what happened.” “Can’t I have a lawyer?” “A lawyer?” Tracy smirked. “What year do you think you live in? And you’ve already been found guilty, remember? A lawyer doesn’t apply to situations like this anyway. That law changed decades ago. Now, let’s get back to the matter at hand. I need to know exactly what happened.” “Are you sure we need to go there?” Josh asked. “I never meant to do anything wrong. I’m sorry I tried to run. I never meant to—” “But you did try to run, Mr. Mosley, and you realize the neuro-chip in your skull makes it impossible to get away from us. The Neurological Registry of Neurological Transmissions monitors you night and day. You know this, don’t you Mr. Mosley? You haven’t been living under a rock.” “Yes, I do, but I never meant to—” “Mr. Mosley,” she said, interrupting him. “I’ve already explained to you that we need to finish this sooner rather than later. I’m afraid we can’t stop now. You must finish. Take me through this step by step.” Josh looked like he was trying to gather his thoughts but obviously wasn’t doing a very good job of it. He didn’t say anything. “You were alone with your ten-year-old niece,” Tracy reminded him. “You were alone with her in her bedroom, putting her to bed, because you were babysitting for your sister. She and her husband went out to dinner. That’s what you told me, correct?” “Yes,” he said, voice trembling. “That’s true.” “And then what happened?” Josh sighed. Clearly, he didn’t want to relive what had happened and probably didn’t want to have to explain it to someone in graphic detail. Come on, Colton thought, hurry it up. Any longer standing here waiting and he’d miss out on most of the appetizers at the fundraiser. “Mr. Mosley, can you please continue by explaining to me exactly what happened? As you were saying, you were alone with her in her bedroom. You were putting her to bed.” “Yes,” Josh said. “I was tucking her into bed, and she was really upset because her mom and dad have been fighting so much lately. Part of the reason they went on the date that night was as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, but it’s been clear for a while that it’s over. I just wanted to help her. I wanted her to feel better.” Tracy cleared her throat, and her fingers danced across the illuminated screen of her tablet. “So tell me what happened. Exactly.” “Exactly?” Josh asked. “Do I have to walk through every detail?” “Yes.” Josh slumped forward in his seat, defeated. Colton expected the confession would come any second. They always looked this way before confessing. “I sat next to her on the bed,” he admitted. “She was upset about all the fighting, and I wanted her to feel safe. To feel loved. I wanted her to know she’d be okay. She’s always looked up to me as an uncle.” “Go ahead,” Tracy said. “Let’s just focus on what happened. We’ll talk about your motivations in a moment.” Josh sighed. “I kissed her on the cheek like I always do. And then I…then I…” He leaned forward and clawed at his hair. “Why do I have to say it? You know what happened. Why do I have to say it?” “Because you need to,” Tracy said. “You need to for yourself and for your niece. Just say it. Acceptance is the first stage, Mr. Mosley. This is just the starting point. From here, we can move on and discuss other things.” “I know.” He continued to scrape his nails along his scalp and, grunting, looked at the mirror. Colton suspected Josh knew it was a one-sided mirror and someone was standing on the other side of it, observing him. “All right, I’ll say it.” Tracy looked up expectantly from her tablet. Her fingers froze above the screen. “I prayed,” he said, forcing the words out of his throat like razor blades. “I prayed, okay! I prayed! I prayed for my niece! Now what? Does that mean I’m going to be taken to the Island?” “Bingo,” Colton said, and turned away from the observation window. From here, the real questioning would begin, and Tracy would try to find out if Josh knew others who prayed. Such information could be handed off to the investigative branch of the agency, which would follow any leads for more possible extractions. Colton checked his phone again as he made his way out of the building, pleased that he wouldn’t be tardy for the fundraiser that evening.