Arms drawn in, legs crossed, the surrendered group sat patiently on the ground, mostly Max. Because of his earlier, unwavering actions that led to him being pinned to the ground and arrested on sight, he had been handcuffed.
Alice rested her head facing the ground. Sheltered by the shadow of a nearby building, the concrete pavement was cool to the touch. Soldiers came and went. She looked up once in a while, and lowered her gaze again. She was lucky. If things had gone south, she wouldn't have known what to do. She contemplated.....
A hand reached out and lightly tapped her crossed knee. "Hmm?" Alice turned her head to the right out of shock. It was Luna.
"Hey, Alice, when are we going to be released? It feels like this is going to take forever… or not forever," she shifted her tone. "Just look at them. They have guns. I don't feel safe being around them. They give me the creeps, you know?" She went on, whispering discreetly as she vented her frustration.
Alice gave up on listening. She didn't mind her—not really—but why should she be concerned? Wasn't she the one who got them arrested in the first place? Was it her ego that led them astray? And now she acted so nonchalant in yet another situation.
Alice brushed it off.
She stopped hearing the complaints altogether, caring only about one thing—being set free again.
The same could be said for the main man in front of the group. He sat there, oddly patient.
What's his deal? Alice thought. That idiot is the reason we're in this situation.
She glared at him, her thoughts spiraling deeper. Him in his fancy suit, his perfectly styled hair—What a load of bullshit!
Anger boiled inside her. It hadn't reached a full boil yet, but it was getting there. She gritted her teeth, fumes escaping her nostrils like that of an early steam machine.
Max sat stiff as a leaf, then slowly rotated his head ninety degrees to the right.
Shit! Alice quickly dropped her gaze back to the ground.
Max's eyes lingered for a moment, as though he might have heard something, a name perhaps, before facing forward again...After so long in an isolated-silence state he finally spoke, "Don't worry too much...." He calmly added, "We'll be out of here soon enough."
"That'll be the day," Alice muttered.
Max took the criticism without reacting.
"You wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't followed me."
"What?!" Alice snapped.
He shrugged. "I'm just saying. It's your loss."
The tension between them caught Luna's attention.
"That's not even true," Alice said sharply. "I followed you because I experienced—we experienced—something that wasn't ordinary to begin with. I know it. Luna knows it." She said Luna's name firmly, as Lunna too, hardened her expression. "And then there's how your government reacted. Why are your people hiding the problem when it's clearly right in front of you?"
"It has nothing to do with you!" Max scowled.
"Really? That's not how I see it."
Max rolled his eyes.
"I know for a fact something is happening in this country," Alice pressed on, "and the government is covering it up. I'm not about to let that slide."
"And if you do find it," Max shot back, "what then?"
"I'll—"
"You'll what?!"
"I'll expose it to the world!" Alice shouted.
A soldier pacing the perimeter barked back, "HEY! KEEP IT DOWN BACK THERE!"
Full stop. The debate over who is right and who is wrong ended. It felt as if this conversation took place at a totally different location; the soldiers on both sides forgotten for the time being, and active throughout.
"It's best you stay out of my way—and out of this country," Max said calmly, almost kindly. "You'll only get yourself hurt."
Alice wanted to respond. She didn't.
Her thoughts drifted to the mine. To her recklessness, the chaos could include her. To the people who were injured. Some of them: Dead.
Silence fell over the group once more like a deep—endless falling—sleep.
Still seated on the cool pavement, his legs—crossed for more than ten minutes—were beginning to ache. Numbness spread through his thighs. The waning of his eyelids crept in slowly. He was tired—sleep-deprived—but he didn't want to admit it. He had too much to do ( it's not like anyone took him seriously, anyways). The last time he'd had a proper night's sleep was five days ago.
When was that again? Max wondered. It doesn't matter. All I need to do is this one job then its to the next.
He looked beyond his peripheral vision and spotted soldiers patrolling the outside fence. In one of that instance, he noticed the arrival ofnother soldiers who stood out of the crowd. They had the same exact uniform but the stripes bore a slightly darker tone in contrast to their counterparts. At their center, escorted from behind, walked someone of clear authority.
They were coming his direction. What's this? He thought.
From the incoming marching soldiers, they scattered, and revealed that person from behind.
It was then that Max's face was faced with the shock of his life.
He automatically sprang up in boring absence and called, "That's him!" as though his bodily energy made a comeback.
"Hey, sit down!" The soldier who guarded ordered. He came over and blocked his way from stepping any further.
"His right over there!"
"I'm telling you to sit down or you'll be put down again."
"Aren't you listening?!"
As they argued among themselves, the fence door screeched and a voice familiar to Max ordered the soldier to calm, to essentially stand down.
"Here," Max said, offering his hands forward. He showed his cuffs.
"Release him," the man said. The soldier complied. He inserted the keys to the key hole and clicked the cuffs.
"Finally, I was thinking I'll never get this cuffs off."
Max was relieved to have it off his wrists. Metal strain on the wrists hinted redness with outlines on the skin.
The man looked at Max. One after the other, his mouth blew. He laughed. He was laughing profusely.
"What's so funny?" Max asked. He found the whole incident stupid.
The man infront of Max was none other than Theodore Lockyn aka the Director.
The men who tagged along with the Director were also confused. Never in their time working for the organisation did they ever see the Director in such an unseen behaviour. He usually was strict. Disciplined. And a heavy hitter at his words. No one would dare to confront his character, for if they did however, the consequences are just.....unpredictable to comprehend.
That's what rumors told. But for Max, he didn't mind much. He knew who this person was. He knew him better than anyone, and the rumors although true in some cases, wasn't true to begin with.
"I was supposed to meet with you at the organisation, but..." Max shrug.
"You got my message."
"Yeah, I did. It was an inconvenience coming here."
"Well I'm sure my men handle it good, you know."
Max shot a sharp glance at the guard who'd roughed him up. "Yeah. It's their job, right?"
The Director smiled. He chuckled, "Come now, we must talk. Much to discuss."
But before leaving, the Director saw the girls who were on the floor. "And bring your friends along," he said cheerfully.
"They're not with me," Max insisted.
Looking again, the Director disapproved. "With these two beautiful ladies, you'd be making a very huge mistake. I say BRING THEM," he laughed, bright and carefree like that guy celebrated during the holidays, red and white all over.
"Ughh.....!" Annoyed, Max turned around and walked off.
The two girls stared at each other, pondering what had just happened. Inevitably so, they stood (because why not) and followed along. Their lips closed shut. Saying a single word or sentence was out of the question.