The Manifest

Chapter 38

     Jerome knew he and Jessica were in big time trouble the moment their heads where covered. Even though this practice is strictly forbidden by international law and considered a form of sensory torture, it didn't stop their captors from doing it anyway. He wasn't a dummy and was well aware the real reason for the shrouds was to mask their approach to a location their captors didn't want revealed. It was evident they were after Edgar and Devon and there was no telling what these people were going to do to them both, him especially, to obtain that Intel. During their ride over, he could hear Jessica squirming and yelling in the background and on a few occasions, he told her to knock it off. She was going to need her energy later, but any interrogation of her was useless. Jerome didn't tell her anything about what Edgar and Devon were up to. She knew about the whole online auction part, but where they were going and what plan they had up their sleeve wasn't exactly provided to her. Jerome knew a lot, and knew they were going to push him hard to make sure he split his guts and gave away everything. Jerome had no intentions of helping them, but only needed to know what time it was because once it was done, that information was no longer valuable. Chances are the operation they had on the go is likely already done.

     Once the vehicle they were in came to a stop. Jerome didn't put up any fight and did his best to cooperate with his captives as much as possible. He walked when told to and stopped when commanded to. By his count, he took a little over seventy steps since getting off the truck and passed through four doors that required either a pass card or some voice authorization before finally being told to take a seat. While people were walking around the room and mumbling he took the time to use his foot to survey the texture of the floor. It was a smooth surface, and based on the grooves he was feeling, it was tile. Not a good sign. Not good at all.

     They were separated and likely in their own rooms, but Jerome did his best to keep his cool. There was no need to panic until his captors gave him a reason to do so. For all he knew, they were going to just sit down and have a conversation, in which he would do his best to stall and chit chat as long as possible. In the background he heard the door slam, and took that as a clue that they wanted to get started.

     "Hello?" he called out to no one in particular, "Is there anyone there?"

     He sat there in silence until a voice finally responded, "Are you going to co-operate with us Mr. Ryan?" the voice said with a rather calm tone.

     "I'm not sure." Jerome said rather honestly, "I have a hard time trusting someone I can't see."

     "A good motto to live by." the man responded.

     Moments later the cloth covering his head was removed. Jerome couldn't identify the man sitting at the other end of the table in front of him, but he seemed to be the man in charge. Jerome got this from the fact that his handcuffs were removed by the guards by a single gesture. He sat there for a moment, and the finally asked a question,

     "Do you plan to co-operate, Mr. Ryan?" he asked as second time.

     "Of course." Jerome said with a friendly smile, trying his best to remain calm, "I don't want to cause any problems, Mr...."

     "Carlson." the man at the table responded quickly but a little too casual for his liking.

     Jerome likely suspected the name was an alias but it was something to go with, "Thank you, Mr. Carlson. I want to let you know that Jessica's interrogation is pointless. She knows very little if anything about what Edgar is up to. The information she does know, I'm going to give you with very little if any resistance."

     "That's very kind of you." Carlson responded, with a hint of disbelief, "If that's true, I'll make sure you both are taken care of during your stay."