The Manifest

Chapter 5

     Based on how nice it was that morning, it was looking to be a good day. Yet for this old lady, it couldn't have been darker. She knew she was in trouble, but didn't know what to do about it. It was only a matter of time before they found out. Stuff like this was nearly impossible to hide from them. She didn't have to wait very long. As she was doing the dishes, she spotted the black car pulling into her driveway. As the two men in dark suits started to approach her house, the old lady knew this was the moment she had been dreading since the vigil. She had no idea what was going to happen next, and at some point feared for her life. These men walking up to her house were capable of doing anything, and she knew that first hand. She was tired of explaining herself to them, but realized that was what she would have to do if she wanted to stay in their good graces. That was going to be easier said than done as they didn't look too happy as she opened the door for them.

     "Gentlemen," she said with a warm smile, trying kill them with kindness. "Nice to see you both again; what can I do for you?"

     "Mrs. Johnson." the younger man started, "You know exactly why we're here. We need to talk about your little field trip."

     "Even if that is so Mr. Smith," she replied with a sharp tone, "There is no need to be so rude and condescending. We can talk this out like adults, can't we Mr. Carlson?"

     She looked over at the older man who was there, aware that he was the man in charge. Mr. Carlson was therefore the man she should be addressing. Mr. Carlson removed his sunglasses and cracked a small smile.

     "Of course we can." Mr. Carlson replied, "I wouldn't mind a nice cup of tea while we mull this over."

     "I put on the kettle the minute you pulled up," she said with a smile as she left to the kitchen.

     The two men walked into the house and made themselves at home, sitting down in the living room to wait for Mrs. Johnson to return. When she came back into the room, she handed a tea over to Mr. Carlson and a tall glass of diet soda to Mr. Smith. They had been there to visit her so often that she didn't need to ask him anymore. After Mr. Smith took a sip of his drink, it was clear he was not going to let up.

     "We need to speak to you about the vigil and about your daughter." He informed her.

     Mrs. Johnson was again surprised by their overwhelming ability to know everything that was going on. "How did you know about Jessica?"

     "Every law enforcement and PI in the city knows about it." Mr. Carlson answered, taking another small sip of his tea, "She's been trying to find anyone who will listen and help her try to find you."

     Mrs. Johnson couldn't believe what she was hearing, "She's hired someone to find me?"

     "No," Mr. Carlson corrected her, "She tried, but was unsuccessful."

     "Early yesterday morning, she cleaned out all her savings." Mr. Smith added, "She took out over seven thousand and then tried to hire anyone who would take the case. Lucky for us, no one believed her or wanted anything to do with what she was telling them."

     "How do you know this?" she asked, trying not to see to worried.

     "She put the money back in the bank." Mr. Carlson replied, "Every penny was re-deposited into her savings account by 3pm that afternoon. We can assume that since she never spent any money that not a single PI agreed to work with her."

     "The people in the city are not very fond of doing any kind of charity work." Smith added in with a grin, "So chances are the private investigators and the police laughed off her crazy story about someone from these flights still being alive."

     "It's been years and the story is holding up." Carlson said, almost like an artist who was proud of his work. "People are too busy trying to move and don't want to look back. They don't want to reopen that old wound and are not willing to listen to her. So we've dodged a bullet here."

     "You mean I don't have to move again?" Mrs. Johnson said with a sense of surprise.

     "That is correct," Carlson confirmed, "Your cover hasn't been blown. You just have to promise not to attend any more vigils. We realize you were there to pay respects to your son, and I want to make it clear that we understand your desire to be there. He was a good soldier who paid the ultimate price to serve his country. We have a great deal of respect for the sacrifice your family has made for our nation's security."

     Mrs. Johnson was tearing up a bit but she wiped her eyes quickly. "Thank you. It was foolish to attend, I know that now."

     "We know you didn't intentionally go there to see your daughter, but you have to be more careful than that." Carlson said, putting his cup down, "When things like this happen, you're not the only one who gets in trouble. Do you understand?"

     "I do, and I'm very sorry about what happened." Mrs. Johnson really was. Even though she was happy to see her daughter in the flesh, she feared these men and what they are capable of more, and was happy that she was off the hook at least for the time being.

     "This is however our last warning." Smith said as he also finished his drink, "We can't have anymore exposure like this, accidental or not."

     "I understand." she said, looking down at her tea, "I'll do my best to make sure that never happens again."

     "We really appreciate that Mrs. Johnson. The reason why we are not punishing you for this incident is because you at least attempted to go through the proper channels." Carlson explained, "You didn't desert your house contact and actually got her permission to attend the vigil. While she was wrong to approve the move, your respect for our system is why we're taking this not as harshly as we normally would."

     "Thank you," Mrs. Johnson said, please she wouldn't have to move everything in the house again.

     Carlson took a deep breath and stood to leave, "And just to be on the safe side. We recommend you stay indoors for at least the next month or two. Get everything you want ordered and delivered through our offices for the next while, and we'll cover the tab for it."

     "Just don't break the taxpayer's backs like Eva did." Smith added with a grin as he walked to the door.

     "Of course, I'm not that eccentric." she said, as they all had a laugh from the comment.

     She knew not to argue, because she knew the drill pretty well by now. Based on how they've reacted to some of the other exposures over the last five years, she was actually getting off lightly and couldn't take that for granted. People had been relocated many times and often imprisoned if they intentionally tried to make contact without their consent. Since her contact was unintentional, she thinks that's the reason for her leniency.

     Mrs. Johnson watched as the two men walked back to their mysterious cliché ridden black car and pulled out. She was lucky this time out, but she couldn't imagine how Jessica must have felt. Trying to seek help and only getting stonewalled at every corner. If only there was someone out there that could help her, because with these men watching over her and people like her, there was no way she would be able to. At least not right now.