Epilogue
Anna had been left for twenty four hours in a cell with no update or interrogation. She had simply been picked up by Thomas and his team and brought to this cell. She had a black head cover on her head the entire journey. She was on the road for three hours which gave her no indication of where she could be. Eventually, sounds could be heard outside the door. The sounds outside were that of heavy debate but it was muffled. The door opened and in walked Director Espinoza, the head of the CIB. He had two aides flanking him, one carrying a foldable chair, the other a folder and a bottle. He sat down on the chair and proceeded to open the folder. Anna stayed leaned up against the wall as he began to talk. “Anna, I came here personally to delivery this plan of action in regards to you, Thomas, Oculus…and these ghosts that are haunting us. Thomas has been placed into a review process that could ultimately see him working a desk job for the rest of his life. You on the other hand are not so lucky. We have decided to place you into internment, indefinitely. You will have zero contact with legal professionals, family or colleagues for obvious reasons. You will be reported missing and never be seen again due to the nature of the secrets you hold on behalf of the Central Commission and the CIB. You will be given three square meals a day and a bed. You will be given a change of clothes every day. After that Anna, it will be you and the four walls. Your pleas of intent to cooperate will be ignored. There will be no review, parole or clemency…”. “Unless?” Said Anna, cutting straight to the point. “You give us Shiels. If we turn him we can take down the others without another incident”. “A battle? You mean the ambush where my men defended themselves?” Asked Anna, curious about the details of this incident. “Oh that’s right! You don’t know do you? Your story is that you were arrested and have nothing to do with what’s going on out there”. “If I already know, then you can tell me, if I don’t, you should tell me … so out with it”. “Your guard dog, Shiels, has joined up with the three amigos who faked their deaths. He brought another Operator with him, Susan Grimes. He also saved Charlie and likely Dale Moorehouse from our hit team”. “You sent a hit team after my Operators and failed? I should have your Job Espinoza don’t you think?”. Espinoza normally had a smart remark for everything, but he was pre loaded with the next piece of information. “They rallied together and set up camp on a wooded property in the middle of nowhere, a dissident safe house”. “How many teams?” Anna interjected. Espinoza stared her down with venom for a good twenty seconds or so and spoke a number. “Five”. Anna followed up with another question. “How many survivors? how many did you capture?”. “We lost five whole units, including two apaches. Both pilots reported trouble with their eyes before losing their minds and crashing the hardware during the raid”. “Losses on the other side Espinoza? Out with it?”. “The answer is none. James Fleet reported that directly to me when I asked him”. “I’d believe him too” Anna said smirking. She knew Fleet was no bullshitter. “What’s that then? Twenty five, thirty trained agents wiped out without a single point on the board? You need me to turn Shiels, bring him in or worse, give him up. I can tell you right now I won’t. You crossed me Espinoza for one mistake in a fringe program that is pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the Lenses. You panicked and tried to bury us. You wanted Oculus for yourself well I will gladly tell you to your face. It’s ours”. “Ours!?” Espinoza was genuinely taken aback. “Yes, and without my help you will find out soon enough how good those Operators actually are. Best of luck Director. I hope they give you hell”. Anna turned her back to Espinoza. He spoke a few more loaded sentences, trying to bait her back into talking but Anna didn’t even listen. She blocked him out completely. Conventional spooks like Espinoza just didn’t get the future of this tech and other emerging technologies. She seen him as an obsolete model, and herself as a trailblazer in a new generation of intelligence. Espinoza stood up and gestured to his aides to leave the bottle of water the chair and exit the room. “You believe waiting for me to mess this up is your way out of here Anna don’t you? That you can escape from the belly of the beast by going sour in its stomach?”. “I look forward to our next discussion Director”.