The door opened, attracting the man’s attention. The guard entered along with a large man. He had a square jaw speckled with dark stubble and his shaggy hair was dirty and under kept. His overall appearance seemed disheveled but his eyes were cold and unyielding as steel.
The guard made quick work of linking his shackles to the legs of the chair and table. His hands were conjoined at the wrists by his handcuffs that were loosely connected to his shackles but allowed enough freedom for him to prop his hands onto the table.
The guard left after explaining that he was just outside the door if needed. Then he left, shutting them both inside, alone. The General leaned over the table as Rick watched him dully.
“So you are Rick Harris, the one who managed to capture Maria Rivera?” the General asked as Rick nodded obviously bored.
“That has already been established and call me Ricky.”
“Fine then Ricky why did you capture Maria Rivera?” the General continued as Ricky glanced at him curiously.
“You know about her too.” Ricky finally stated as the General nodded.
“Yeah I want to capture her too. She can serve as a weapon for the military.”
“Damn right she could,” Ricky agreed.
“How did you learn of her abilities?”
“My crew was clearing out this house, the family had a lot of pricy jewelry, and we just saw her just standing in the middle of the street. She looked winded and unresponsive. Then this cop cruiser came and demanded her arrest and she just sent the robo-cop away. It was then when I realized that she could enable us to bypass security systems and protect us from getting caught. I knew how valuable she could be to us.”
“How did you capture her?”
“Well she fought hard. She sent the cop to kill me then attempted to run me over with an auto-flyer. I managed to evade her then I just chased her down and threw her in our escape vehicle.”
“Why didn’t she escape? She could control the auto-flyer so why did she stop fighting?”
“Yeah but she is terrified of me. She thinks I am going to kill her like her…” Ricky stated carelessly when the General’s stare hardened. Ricky looked away, breaking eye contact.
“Finish what you were going to say.” the General demanded but Ricky remained silent.
“Tell me!” he yelled getting to his feet, leaning heavily on his palms.
“I don’t care about your guilt. I just want that girl but if you withhold any information regarding her I promise that you will be sentenced to something far worst than death now answer me!” the man yelled as Ricky watched him warily.
“I killed her father. She is terrified of me because she knows that I won’t hesitate to kill her if she disobeys, if she fails to prove her worth.” Ricky mumbled as the man began to settle down, knowing he still had Ricky cooperation.
“Why did you kill her father?” he asked sitting back down.
“He was a scientist and he kept expensive lab equipment in his basement. He had a brain interpreter.”
“So you wanted the money?”
“Yeah but I wanted to keep the brain interpreter to test the loyalty of my subordinates so we could expand and take on bigger heist. I was a lab technician for some time but I was fired for stealing.”
“I see but what do you think he was using the machine for?”
“It was definitely related to that girl. He had a bunch of notes but I am not a scientist and his handwriting was too messy for me to make any sense out of any of it.”
“Do you still have his notes?”
“Yeah, maybe you can get something out of them.”
“I intend to.
“Um, so when I capture her, she insisted that we bring that stupid toy. I think you can use that as leverage.” Ricky added
“How did she escape from you?”
“She found an opening. She is very clever.”
“Then we must not leave any openings or better yet you can cause her to be so frightened that she does not think to look for them. She will be too afraid to disobey us, to think about her escape.”
“Are you suggesting that you want me to help you subdue her?”
“You caught her once. Do you think you can do it again?”
“Well if you free me and clear me of all charges…”
“If you catch her I will make you a billionaire and pay for your estate on the island of your choosing,”
“Then hell yeah I will catch her,” Ricky readily agreed, as eagerness gleamed within his steely eyes.
A Disarming Demeanor
Maria crawled out of the hatch, sitting on the mound of chilly metal coated in slippery dew that seeped into her pants. The edges of dawn highlighted the great field of crops. A haze thickened the grey air causing Maria to shiver from the cold. Her cooled fingered burled into Snickers malleable plush sides as a gentle breeze lifted the back of her shirt.
The farming company’s harvesting machines roamed in the distance. Great rows of crops fell, forming flattened areas of broken stalks where the sun attempted to pull itself over the horizon, lacking the strength to meet the new day with the same amount of gusto that she imagined it had long ago when times were much simpler. A small town lay before her but the field, that she was resting in, was so large that she had no fear of meeting the inhabitants. The shadowy figures of houses were faint like apparitions of her past life.
She was alone and now she feared that she would never be able to seek the companionship of another, that she would never be able to find another family when everyone was hunting her down like a scared rabbit. The only safe place for her was by herself in the middle of nowhere carrying out a meaningless existence. Her only comfort was Snickers but even Snickers could not keep her sadness at bay.
Tears spilled from her eyes, flowing down her face in great torrents. The wind stung the wet tracks with its biting presence as she stooped low in an effort to block the persistent gale. Her muscles felt stiff from sleeping in the cramp rigid tank with only Snickers to cushion her head on.
There was a deep humming coming from the direction of the town as she looked up to see a dark object hovering over the crops, its powerful engines tore leaves off the life sustaining plants and shook their long stalks erratically as it passed. It became more defined as it neared, the haze being pulled into its powerful slipstream that trailed behind the auto-flyer in a dense misty cloud. Its piercing lights reflected off the steel clad tank as Maria fumbled with the hatch then leaped inside, pulling Snickers after her as an afterthought. She sealed herself in as she looked at one of the monitors to see the auto-flyer park itself beside her tank. It looked like a commercial auto-flyer but she dare not leave the safety of her tank. It could be a trap.
The door lifted with an inaudible hiss as a woman exited the craft. Her face was rather round and she seemed slightly overweight. Her skin was the color of melted chocolate and she wore an apron stained with grounded in flour, which seemed oddly misplaced, due to the situation, but seemed to suit her well. She wore a lavender bandanna like a bonnet, over her straightened hair that curled gently at the ends, resting softly on her shoulders.
“I know you are in there. I saw you enter and that is no place for you to be, Sweetie.” the woman stated as Maria turned on the speakers then listened silently.
“The company would not appreciate you staying in their odd aboveground storage unit,” the woman told her then looked the tank over curiously, “Though I must admit it sort of resembles a grounded tank. They must be storing something very important.”
“You poor dear, sleeping in this metal compartment for however long. This is not a proper place for a child to live. You should stay with me Sugar, until you find a more adequate home.” the woman said casually as she touched the steel plates that hung off the tank.
“Wait you want to care for me?” Maria asked, over the intercom as hope blossomed, dispelling her fears of indefinite loneliness.
“Well yeah I can’t jus
t leave you. You are just a child.” the woman stated as Maria smiled, despite herself. She reached for the hatch but stopped herself. What if she was recognized like last time.
“Are you coming out Honey Bun?” the woman asked as Maria slowly opened the hatch. This woman was not a threat and she was in a tank. She will peek out then she will see how she responds.
Maria poked her head out then gazed down at the woman below. The woman smiled then extended her hand to help her down. She felt that she had nothing to worry about so she picked up Snickers then climbed down the sloping side of the tank. The woman grabbed her then lowered her down the rest of the way. Maria glanced at the tank nervously when the woman released her.
“Um, what is your name?” Maria asked shyly.
“My name is Rhonda.” she answered as she led the way to her auto-flyer but Maria stayed close to the tank. Rhonda turned back to her, puzzled by her hesitancy.
“My name is Maria Rivera.” Maria stated as the woman nodded.
“That is a nice name.” she stated pleasantly then turned back to the auto-flyer.
“Are you coming, Sweetie.” Rhonda asked already inside the craft as Maria nodded following her. She could control the craft so she did not feel helpless even though she was leaving her tank behind.
She sat across from Rhonda as Rhonda closed the door, pausing when she noticed Maria’s tearstained face. She touched her face softly with the back of her hand as she frowned.
“You poor dear,” she whispered as the craft rose into the air before heading back toward the town as