Chapter 4 – Black walled interrogation

The suit guy takes off his glove and takes a hold of my hand. The parking lot disappears and is replaced by darkness before a new room materializes around us. To my left is a screen hiding most of the room from view. Straight in front of me is a black box reaching almost to the ceiling and appearing to be even-sided. A lady in a black blazer and matching skirt walks up to us, puts a hand on the side of the box and opens a hole in the side of it. The suit guy nudges me in, and I see no opportunity to do anything but follow orders. Another man follows me through the black hole, but this one is dressed in jeans and a plain shirt instead of the uniformal black suit the others wear – I’m pretty certain his wardrobe doesn’t decide his trustworthiness though. I’m in what I can only assume is an interrogation room. It’s small, somewhat claustrophobic, and all it contains is a table and three chairs. There’s no mirror window like you see on TV, no microphones, cameras or even one of those small TVs to show suspects incriminating evidence on. There literally is nothing but the table and the chairs – so without the lady to open the hole, there is no way out.

Mother said they did everything they could for Uncle Howard; what did that include? Did they try to get him out? Did they come for him? Or did they simply leave him to fend for himself? These people are accustomed to dealing with people like me, and I am greatly outnumbered. But I’m not my father’s daughter for nothing, I know there’s a weak point in every armor, and if I just show a little patience, I will find the weakness in this place too. I just need a little time, gather a little intel, and I’ll get out somehow. There were three suits at the parking lot, people I didn’t recognize and who were dressed like the man who brought me here. Then there’s the woman who opens the hole in the wall, and there’s this casual dress guy. That makes it five against one, that I know of at least.

“We have institutions for people like you. Somewhere you can be safe, not pose a danger to anyone else, maybe even make a friend or two.” That sounds like a kindergarten-prison sales pitch. “We just need the names of your family members, and where we can find them.” Of course, you do. I tune him out and start feeling around instead. I reach out through the room, feel around for any hidden contrapments, anything technical to open the wall hole. I can feel nothing but smooth walls. I try to move beyond them, feel my way around outside.

“Don’t bother, you won’t succeed.” He can… “Yes, I can tell what you are doing. That is my gift. Yours seem pretty strong too, have you been practicing a lot?” Yeah, every day for 10 hours. I call it ‘life’.

“You are going to have to talk to us sooner or later.” How about never, it’s almost the same letters.

“What about just their powers then? We already have their names from your friend Sasha. Can you tell me what Hale does?”

“Works for a computer factory in Australia.”

“What about your father?”

“Decorated war hero. This is public information, why don’t you just google them instead?”

“What about the youngest? Nico, you call him the baby? Does that have anything to do with his abilities?” I smile – that is completely absurd, like what, he can turn back his own time, alter his age?

“You mean other than getting in fights at school?” He doesn’t answer, just leans forward and looks me straight in the eye.

“I’m not here for idle chit-chat or to entertain you. I want answers, and I will get them.”

“63,360,” I tell him with a serious face.

“What?”

“There are 63,360 inches in a mile. My sister is a Selena Gomez fan,” I smile.

“What?”

“There are 63,360 inches in a mile. That’s an answer, you just didn’t ask the question.”

“Don’t play games with me girl, I want real answers.”

“Well, for starters I know you can’t wrap your hand round your elbow and make your fingers meet.” He tries to stare me down. If I hadn’t been living my whole life with the sergeant, it might actually have worked. “I’m a David Tennant fan,” I explain. Do we doo.

“I don’t have time for your little games,” he objects. “Don’t you understand lives are at risk here? Is that what you want, civilian casualties?”

“Is that what you want? I don’t remember messing with Dan’s car, maybe your little spy can tell you something about putting people in danger?” Dan might not be the bravest soul at the office, but that also means he’s a careful driver. Dan losing control of his car on a straight lane just at the time Sasha is pumping me for information about my gift, and just as these guys were all in position? What is it Sherlock says about coincidence? ‘The universe is too lazy.’

“Sasha acted under orders, we were in complete control of the situation.”

“Is that why you need to change people’s memories? Because you were in complete control?”

“No, because you decided to make a public display of your powers.”

“Because you threw a car at me.”

“Because you lied to your best friend,” he fires back. The rose, the fall…

“The fall was deliberate too, wasn’t it?”

“She was not prepared for you to be so adept at hiding, most untrained aren’t.”

“Untrained? Trained for what?”

“Trained for the ballet,” he mocks. My none-answers answer got under his skin. This is actually somewhat enjoyable.

“Oh, I helped my sister practice when she was younger, took her to classes and everything. I have had training.”

“You sister did ballet? Was she any good?” There’s a hint of a satisfied smile trying to burst out in his face.

“Well, she’s bossy and a perfectionist and she can be a bit of a bitch sometimes. I’d say she was a natural.”

“How about physically?” No, she can’t fly or jump high with ease, she also doesn’t have abnormal strength.

“She has tiny feet.” A smile is playing on my lips now too, this guy is too easy.

“If you won’t talk to me, you force me to send someone in you will talk to.”

“Obama? I’d love to talk to him.” He gets up. “No? Okay, then. Exactly how powerful are you guys? Cause you know, I wouldn’t say no to a chat with the Bard either. Tom Hiddleston?” The hole opens again and the man leaves and is replaced by the suit guy from the scene of the accident. I close my eyes and lean back. I wonder if the other one can still sense my powers on the other side of the wall? I make an attempt again, feeling my way around.I try to sense anything on the other side of the wall, but all I can sense is darkness. I can’t move. I go back into the interrogation room and reset myself. When I walked in here I had to physically step in the wall, it was too wide to step over. If they are somehow protected against powers, why would they also need to be that thick? Assuming all the walls are the same thickness… I move out further, but it’s still only dense, shapeless darkness making it impossible to breathe. I reset and try again. I can’t calculate the size of the other room based on the other side of the wall until I know where the wall ends, I can’t calculate the end of the wall based on where it begins like I usually do, and if I keep missing… well, either I’ll keep ending up inside the wall and the suit might notice my breathing changing, or alternatively I’ll end up inside something or someone else instead. The wall I walked through was about three feet thick I think. I measure out the distance in my head and place it over the wall. I need a safe zone on the other side, the question is whether or not there is anything or anyone immediately on the other side, or if it’s moved back. The things people generally place up against walls is bookshelves or couches or stuff like that, but any seat placed against the wall would be facing away from it, and given how careful they seem to be around me I hope I can assume they wouldn’t want to turn their backs on me. That leaves a table turned sideways, but usually, that’s only done with dining tables in apartments without enough room. Am I missing anything? A TV is a possibility, but why would they need it? No, it doesn’t matter, it’s worth the risk. I move out three and a half feet. I was right. No furniture immediately outside the room. A small sigh of relief escapes me – hopefully, the suit won’t have noticed. I move around the room outside, feeling my way around and mapping it out in my mind.

I count 17 shoes and assume at least 9 people – I might have miscounted, or someone might only have one foot on the floor for some reason. I can feel several thin legs, some of them closer together than others, and some paired with shoes. I’m guessing four tables with two chairs by each. I recognize a pair of high heels with a pointy snout and a buckle at the top standing a bit away from everyone else. I helped Sasha buy those shoes.

I feel my way to a wall and follow it around until I find a door. I move to the other side of the door and follow the wall around until I have a feel of the room. I follow wall to door to wall until I am good and lost and still haven’t found a way out or any indication of where I am. For all I know I could be in the basement of area 51, or on the 30^th floor of a skyscraper on the moon. I give up trying to figure out where I am and start mentally shouting instead. Mother can read minds, if I shout loud enough there’s a chance I might be able to warn them to get out.

“Uncle Howard was found,” I shout at the top of my inner voice. The suit keeps questioning me more and more furiously. I keep shouting with my eyes closed. “Uncle Howard was found. Uncle Howard was found. Uncle Howard was found. Run.” To the credit of the suit, he does manage to break my concentration a few times. His fist slamming down on the table in front of me pulls me back to the doorless room. I take a deep breath and venture out again. I make it through the walls, through the room outside, and through two doors from there, before I start shouting again. After a few hours, I sense him leaving. I let myself get pulled back to the room, but maintain my silent position with my eyes closed. I hear two pairs of feet coming in and flanking me.

“Blindfold her.” The calmer one of the suits tells them. “The fewer senses she can use the harder it will be for her to get an accurate layout.” A piece of fabric is put over my eyes. It hardly matters, my mental feel is stronger than my sight anyway.

“How good a feel did you get of her?” A female voice asks somewhere behind him I think.

“She’s strong and controlled. But she’s still got a long way to go, however self-assured she is.”

“Take her away then. Unless you think you can get something out of her?”

“Even if we could it would be of no use to us now. We’ve passed the five-hour mark. They’ll be long gone by now, regardless of whether or not they heard her little warning.”

“Gave you a headache, didn’t I?” I mock him. He doesn’t reply. Earmuffs are placed over my ears.

“Can you please make sure they don’t clash with my outfit?” I ask them in what I hope is a normal tone. “I do work in fashion you know, we have a certain standard.” Okay, I have a certain standard, the people who came up with leather socks don’t.