Shadow Me

Eight - Would You Rather Starve?

Evan

"Okay," Jan says as she stops what she's doing and knocks on the main door.

She opens it and walks in and I stand there, hardly breathing. Something is not right. Can't be right.

"Come in, Evan," she says.

I walk through the God-awful hall and make my way to stand before them. Before I can even stop walking, the main guy that always talks to me starts.

"Let me guess. You've finally seen the subject," he says.

"She's a girl," I say.

"That, she is. We finally have a file. We were going to brief you tomorrow, but you felt the need to come now. Want to see it?" he says as he gives Jan the file. She hands it to me.

I open it to begin reading but he answers the question before I can find the answer among her information.

"She's seventeen," he says.

"You knew the entire time. Kept it from me. You never would have named that protocol otherwise. Why leave that information out?"

He smiles.

I grit my teeth.

"She's the youngest any of them have ever been," I add when no one speaks up.

"I think you understand the protocol now," one of the ladies says.

My eyes about bug out of my head when she speaks.

"What'd she do to end up with us?" I say.

It's not lost on me that he narrows his eyes at me.

"Would it bother you if I told you she hadn't done anything?"

"No, but can you blame me for being curious?"

"Not at all. The girl did nothing. I guess you missed her name searching for her age, or you would have seen the why. Haley Vaughn. The scientists have been stashing a daughter," he says.

"So you think she has information?" I say, trying to come to any kind of logical reason they'd take her.

"You could say that," he says.

I have low tolerance for anyone being particularly vague around me. I've had it with this guy.

"Middle of the road," I say as I take her file and tap the corner of it to my eyebrow before using it to salute them goodbye, my sarcasm not lost on them. I watch the mouths of the council members harden into a straight line as I turn and walk away.

I'm about as approachable as a rabid dog to them. Got to keep up certain appearances.

"Thanks, Jan," I say as I walk out of the office, taking the file with me.

***

Getting back to Lidell and up the stairs, I stop at the girl's door and stand there. No screaming. Either the facility is really soundproof, or she's asleep. I open the door and peek inside, half amazed that she hasn't managed to claw her way out of the bathroom. The TV is still on, so I turn it off. I head back to the door, but stop before opening it. I put my ear close to the bathroom door and hear nothing. Considering the fact that she might have found a way to kill herself in there, I ignore the nagging feeling to check on her and leave.

I go downstairs and back out to my SUV, where I stashed a ton of boxes of surveillance equipment. I'll be watching this facility and the girl on my own, whereas other facilities had more tenants. Why the need for privacy all of a sudden I don't know, probably something to do with them wanting to be as far away from torturing a seventeen year old girl as possible. I begin taking boxes from the SUV to the main lobby of the place and opening them as I go, taking out what's inside.

Monitors. Cameras. Everything I could need. I busy myself the rest of the night with setting up cameras around the perimeter, and in her room. I shake off the feeling that I'm being a pervert, reminding myself that I have a job to do. A lot of people will die if we don't get the formula for the cure.

By the time I get done with the cameras and begin setting up the monitors and main CPU, my alarm goes off. 0255 hours. Time for bed. I check the main doors of the place before I shuffle upstairs and into the room I chose. Marty and Paul dropped off a few of my things with the girl. I open my suitcase and pull out the bag that stashes the syringes and solution. I pull out the required amount and jab the syringe into my hip. The sting used to bother me; the idea of stabbing myself. Once I'd been doing it for a month I no longer even felt it. I sit down on the bed and check my watch. 0259 hours. I feel it coming on, sensing it everywhere. Laying down, I grimace, going on Cool Down.

***

Like always with Cool Down, I wake with a start. Heart racing, skin tingling, and fist tightening, but for what reason I never know. I look at my watch, like I do every morning. 0600 hours, and I feel refreshed. Ready to start the day with Kept. First, however, I have to figure out what in the world middle of the road protocol would be right now. Do I smack her around a little? Make her some eggs? I can't decide, so I say screw it. I'll get her out at lunch. By then she has to eat, or she might die. Or some s**t like that.

I head out for my morning workout, needing to burn off some of the excess energy that the Cool Down creates in me. The jog around this town clears my mind. It's not particularly small, but not particularly big, either. Easy to get lost in, but not lost enough that you can't be found. I run harder as I start to annoy myself with my thoughts, staring at the layout of the streets. It's a grid, easy enough to maneuver. I end up back at the facility and run my weight training. A quick shower and I'm ready for more surveillance. I didn't hear anything from the room when I'd passed it earlier. Twice I'd considered taking her out and showing her the extent of the facility and how screwed she was to be here. Nothing says hopeless like this dank place.

I thought better of it. I bide my time until 1100 hours, when I decide it's time to think about what I'm going to feed this girl. What would she want after not being fed for how long? I think, protein for sure. I make my way into town, finding the smallest grocery store I can manage. I busy myself with finding certain things I can stash in the facility without feeling like someone's stupid nanny. I fill the cart to the brim, knowing I won't want to make many trips back here. I get to the checkout lane and don't miss the look of the cashier when she sees me behind her current customer. She hides her face, a blush spreading across her cheeks. I smirk.

I don't need any help with my ego.

She checks out my items, but doesn't make any move to really talk, which I'm thankful for. I don't have time or the desire to play games when I'm working. There are plenty of games I enjoy with girls when I'm off duty. Not now. She finishes my transaction and I'm out quickly enough and in the grimy kitchen of Lidell, cooking chicken, broccoli, and rice. Kept is a prisoner, but she still needs a meal to keep her alive. I clench my jaw. Usually I don't have to do this type of stuff on the job. I've never minded cooking, and actually took it up as a hobby for awhile on my own. A guy's gotta eat. But this feels a little over the top, like a bonus in the making if Infinite payroll coordinators knows what's good for them. I plate the food and take it upstairs. I unlock her door and walk to set the plate down on the little table in the room. I walk to the bathroom door and open it.

"Time to come out," I say.

She looks at me for a second, determination in her eyes, even though she looks exhausted and weak.

"I'd rather stay."

I consider her answer for a second, deciding that she's probably going to be a bit of trouble in the beginning, smiling at the idea of trouble.

"Would you rather starve?"I say.

With that, she submits, pulling herself up. I don't hesitate in grabbing her arm and dragging her behind me to the table.

***

I'd let her out. I'd given her food. Put the fork in her hand, and what did I get for it? A change of clothes. Little girl has a temper, like a kitten that suddenly gets annoyed with her play time. She'd launched her lunch right into me without a second thought. Without thinking, and without even really seeing her in the moment I lashed out, smacked her across the face and watched as she fell straight to the floor. I'd grabbed her arm and dragged her back into her bathroom. Here I am now with eggs, bacon, and toast, ready to try again after keeping her in that bathroom another day. Kept should be a lot more agreeable now, or this middle of the road s**t is going to get old, fast.