Kindred Spirits

Part 35

Joan was walking back to her unit after dinner. Marie and Tesia hadn't shown up, and she supposed they were together. It had made Joan feel increasingly lonely if she were honest with herself. No one had been there to distract her from her thoughts of Stevie and she felt the loneliness invading her soul by the hour. She missed the redheaded wonder woman. She missed her smile and her laugh. She missed the way she held her at night. Joan just missed Stevie.

She wasn't paying close attention when she turned a corner and she ran into someone.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I-"

"Joan."

Vera looked up into the face of the taller woman. Joan's face was a myriad of emotions showing openly her sense of loss of her companion and it served to make Vera even more determined of her plan.

"Miss Bennett." Joan replied, and Vera almost smirked. Joan glanced up and saw a second guard, a man Joan wasn't familiar with, step behind her.

"Come with me." Vera said before turning on her heel. She stopped when Joan didn't follow her.
"Don't you want to discuss the situation with Miss Simmons? I heard someone tried to kill her."

Curiosity overcame Joan although she found it extremely strange behavior. What was Vera up to?

"Yes, but she survived, didn't she?" Joan asked, her eyes narrowing.
"It will be quite interesting to know what she has to say to the police."

Vera's lips turned up in a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I would like to talk to you about that very thing." Vera replied, lying through her teeth as she turned and started walking down the hall.
Joan was suspicious but she followed along, noticing the confidence in Vera's steps as they walked through the twisting hall until they came to the stairwell.

"Where are we going, Miss Bennett?" Joan asked, pausing at the top with the male guard right behind her as Vera descended. The shorter woman turned around to look at Joan's hesitancy.

"Somewhere you're familiar with." Was Vera's only reply.

"Hurry up. We don't have all night." The man said at Joan's hesitancy, knocking her shoulder with the palm of his hand and Joan's skin prickled. They descended down until they reached the basement floor, every cell in Joan's body screaming at her that she was in danger.
The guard pulled out his baton and shoved Joan forward.

"Walk for fuck's sake." The man growled impatiently as Vera opened a door farther down on the other end of the long hallway. Joan knew that room well. At her lack of movement, the baton came down between her shoulder blades, and Joan couldn't help the cry that flew from her lips. She hadn't been expecting it.

"Greg." Vera held out her hand to motion for the man to stop and Joan regained her balance. Joan glared at the man as she turned on him, and he raised the baton in the air again.

"Come now, Joan, don't tell me you're frightened to have a conversation with me?" Vera asked sarcastically.
"What could it hurt?"

Joan sent the man a death stare before straightening her back and walking into the room, feeling the ache of the hit from the top of her back to the bottom. She didn't have much of a choice, did she? She could try to overpower the man, but as there were no cameras in this part of the hall it would be her word against two officers. Best to wait and see how whatever this was played out. Greg passed Vera his baton before she shut the door and turned to face Joan.

"Joan." Vera moved away from the door, walking a half circle around Joan before circling back to her original place.

"Remember anything?" Vera asked as she pointed around the room with the baton.
"This is where you brought Spitteri to torture her for weeks."